Author: Hovhannisian John

Art: Armenian painter’s exhibition opens at Council of Europe headquarters

Hovhannisian John
News.am, Armenia
Dec 7 2017
Armenian painter’s exhibition opens at Council of Europe headquarters Armenian painter’s exhibition opens at Council of Europe headquarters

16:49, 07.12.2017
                  

Official opening of Armenian painter Vardan Gabrielyan’s exhibition, entitled “The Reflection of Stars,” was held Wednesday at the Council of Europe (CoE) headquarters in Strasbourg, France.

The exhibition is organized in the lead-up to the New Year and Christmas holidays, and under the auspices of the Permanent Representation of Armenia to the Council of Europe.

Heads of the permanent representations of the CoE member countries, diplomats, as well as representatives from the CoE Secretariat and the Armenian community attended the opening of this painting exhibition, which will run until December 14.

Sports: Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s documentary premieres tonight

Hovhannisian John
Public Radio of Armenia
Nov 16 2017
19:00, 16 Nov 2017

MUTV‘s new feature documentary ‘Micki: An Armenian Hero’ premieres on Thursday night, providing a detailed analysis of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s story, according to Manchester United’s official webpage. 

“I could never imagine that, playing at Manchester United, I would have our flag on the top [of Old Trafford],” says Mkhitaryan, surveying his surroundings as he sits in the Sir Bobby Charlton stand. “I think every Armenian child would like to be here.”

Filmed in Yerevan and Manchester over recent months, the documentary exposes the depth of Henrikh’s influence on his homeland, while also shedding light on his compelling background.

“He is the hero of this country, of this society,” explains Armenian journalist Ara Tadevosyan. “Everyone is proud of him. Even people who don’t normally watch football every day, even they started to watch the Premier League and follow Manchester United. He is a very important man for this country, not as a footballer but as a guy who symbolizes the Armenian dream.”

Azerbaijani Press: Baku says Yerevan may join new rail after pullout from Karabakh

Hovhannisian John 
APA, Azerbaijan
Nov 2 2017
Baku says Yerevan may join new rail after pullout from Karabakh
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Azeri edition of APA]
Azerbaijan has said that neighbouring Armenia may start using the
newly-inaugurated Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway after the long-standing
conflict over breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh is resolved.
"Our precondition for Armenia's joining this project is that first of
all the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict must be resolved and [Armenian]
troops must withdraw from our territory. After that it will be
possible to use every opportunity for cooperation and neighbourly
relations. Azerbaijan has not invaded any lands," APA quoted Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as saying on 2 November. Mammadyarov was
speaking at a news conference with visiting Montenegrin Foreign
Minister Srdjan Darmanovic.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway linking Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey
was put into operation on 30 October. The railway bypasses Armenia,
which has been locked in a largely frozen conflict with Azerbaijan
over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region since the late 1980s. Many
in Armenia view the new rail route as a tool used by Azerbaijan and
Turkey to deepen the country's isolation; Armenia is a landlocked
country that shares borders with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Iran.

Kachik Manukyan is at stake of losing his apartment (video)

Hovhannisian John
  • 12:25 | October 28,2017 | Interview
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

Kachik Manukyan, poet, member of the Writers’ Union of Armenia, was presented an ultimatum, according to which he had to release his apartment with his family members yesterday.

A1+ tried to brighten the messy story.

Why was the writer at stake of losing his apartment?

“I have always avoided giving public attention to this story,” says Khachik Manukyan, adding that no matter how many promises had been given  after the suicide of the bank’s manager on solving issue, it did not receive a solution.

Details are available in the video

Arménie – «Recette d’Arménie», une histoire de tradition cachée dans une vieille malle

Hovhannisian John
RFI , France
Vendredi 27 Octobre 2017
 
 
Arménie – «Recette d’Arménie», une histoire de tradition cachée dans une vieille malle
 
par Elena Gabrielian
 
 
Corinne et Richard Zarzavatdjian, auteurs du livre «Recettes d’Arménie».
 
Recette d’Arménie, paru ce mois d’octobre aux éditions Solar, représente à la fois un héritage familial très intime mais aussi une histoire millénaire très riche.
 
Ce jour-là, Corinne Zarzavatdjian s’en souviendra toute sa vie. Il y a tout juste un an, dans son appartement parisien, elle retrouve une vieille malle dans un placard. La comédienne quinquagénaire est alors surprise de retomber sur ses cahiers d’école, des jouets ou encore des vêtements de son enfance. Parmi ces affaires soigneusement rangées et ravivant tant de tendres souvenirs, un classeur orange attire son regard. Corinne reconnaît l’écriture de sa mère, Jacqueline. Soupe, plats chauds, confitures… voici l’intitulé des chapitres, chacun marqué d’une couleur différente. La mère dotée d’une sagesse bien orientale note en outre quelques aphorismes savoureux, à l’instar de «tout ce qui se dit à table se plie dans la nappe».
 
En feuilletant ces pages, Corinne se plonge avec nostalgie dans ce véritable manuel de recettes traditionnelles arméniennes, soigneusement assemblées par sa mère. Frère et sœur «déplient» légèrement cette nappe cachée afin de faire découvrir un héritage riche.
 
«On ne pouvait pas laisser ce classeur au fond de la malle. Cette tradition culinaire et ces gestes millénaires doivent pouvoir être transmis et partagés, car l’ADN même de la cuisine arménienne est cette ouverture aux autres. Ce n’est pas une cuisine pour manger, c’est une cuisine pour manger ensemble», explique Corinne.
 
Cuisiner arménien, le trait d’union entre les générations
 
Ainsi les frère et sœur en font un livre intitulé Recette d’Arménie, qui recense pas moins de 90 recettes. Pour les Zarzavatdjian, sauvegarder la tradition était une question de survie. Car les grands-parents de Corinne et Richard ont fui le génocide arménien commis par l’Empire ottoman en 1915.
 
Le grand-père Garabed, à son arrivée en France, commence par un travail de mineur à Gardanne et devient chef d’entreprise dans le sentier parisien. «Ils ont été Français sans oublier leur identité arménienne. Parler la langue, respecter les traditions, cuisiner arménien, dans notre famille tout ceci était le trait d’union entre les générations», se souvient Richard.
 
Cette transmission culturelle passait par les femmes de la famille. Pour les repas festifs, elles se mettent à plusieurs pour faire ensemble des feuilles de vigne farcies à la viande ou au riz ou bien pour éplucher des légumes grillés.
 
Dolma, Baba ganoush, Kechkeg, Gatnapour…familiers aux auteurs du livre qui ont grandi avec, le nom de ces plats paraitrait barbare à un public français. Voilà pourquoi Corinne et Richard ont décidé de leur trouver des dénominations en français. De jolies illustrations en outre représentent ces légumes farcis, ce caviar d’aubergine, la purée de blé à viande, ou encore le riz au lait.
 
Revisiter la cuisine arménienne
 
Corinne a reproduit plusieurs fois les recettes de sa mère en se remémorant des paroles de son grand-père Garaped : «Fais de ton assiette le meilleur médicament». Ainsi, certaines recettes ont évolué sans perdre leur caractère authentique. «On a volontairement allégé et dégraissé certains plats. C’était une évidence pour nous. On a un mode de vie qui est très différent de celui de nos ancêtres. Physiquement, ils se dépensaient énormément, surtout ceux qui vivaient dans les montagnes. Ils avaient besoin d’une nourriture riche», explique Corinne, tout en soulignant que la cuisine arménienne respecte la nature en privilégiant des produits de saison.
 
Revisiter la cuisine traditionnelle arménienne est un défi osé, comme le savent ceux qui en sont familiers depuis leur enfance, à l’instar du musicien français d’origine arménienne Andre Manoukian. Il a pris sa plume pour écrire la préface de cet ouvrage. «Sensualité exacerbée, trop de tout, trop d’huile, de sucre, d’amour…cette cuisine orientale a su au XXIe siècle s’adapter à la mode «light». Une nouvelle cuisine arménienne existe bel et bien. Ce livre en est la traduction saisissante», note l’artiste.
 
On y trouve non seulement des secrets culinaires, mais aussi des histoires familiales et des photos d’archive illustrant ces repas de fête. Mais le plus difficile était de réussir à obtenir les grammages, car «maman Jacqueline» cuisinait toujours à l’œil. «On se remémorait des saveurs, on expérimentait et cuisinait pour nos amis afin de trouver les proportions exactes», se souvient Corinne.
 
Entre eux, le frère et la sœur ont donné un autre nom à leur ouvrage. Un nom plus intime : Les recettes de notre enfance. Car à la marge de ces recettes, Jacqueline rajoutait : «Gatnabour, riz au lait : le plat préféré de Raffi» (le frère ainé). Cette femme attachée aux traditions a soutenu le projet de livre de ses enfants dès le début. Elle les a même aidés, mais sans voir le livre être publié. Jacqueline Zarzavatdjian s’est éteinte deux semaines avant la sortie de l’ouvrage. Cette tradition culinaire qu’elle a réussi à faire aimer à ses enfants, elle, se perpétue.
 
 

Azerbaijani Press: Italy as OSCE chairing country will try to contribute to Nagorno- Karabakh conflict resolution

Hovhannisian John
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 19 2017
17:13 (UTC+04:00)
374

By  Trend

Next year, Italy, within the framework of the OSCE chairmanship, will try to contribute to the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Senator Benedetto Della Vedova, Secretary of State of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Vedova made the remark at the conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Italy, the Azerbaijani embassy reported.

Vedova highlighted the high level relations established between the two countries in all spheres, Italy-Azerbaijan strategic partnership, efforts by the Italian government to deepen relations, the importance of TAP project and the steps taken by the government for the timely realization of the project, the full support of Italy for further deepening of the cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Chairman of the Standing Committee on EU Affairs of the Italian Senate Vanino Kitty, addressing the event, touched upon the relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union and the contribution that Italy can make to their expansion. He further recalled his last year’s visit to Azerbaijan jointly with the members of the commission and informed about the meetings held during this visit, positive impressions of Azerbaijan.

Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, spoke about the difficulties faced by Azerbaijan in the early years of independence, Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan and the conflict resolution process, the growing influence of Azerbaijan in international arena, the independent foreign policy of Azerbaijan on bilateral and multilateral basis, and country’s success in political, economic, social and other areas.

He stressed that Azerbaijan plays an important role in ensuring stability and security in the region.

Vice President of the Italian Senate Linda Lanzilotta expressed her satisfaction with the strategic partnership established between the two countries, the dynamics of relations in the political, economic and cultural spheres and spoke about the opportunities for further expansion of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the contribution of interparliamentary contacts to the Azerbaijani-Italian relations.

The senator recalled the great geopolitical importance of Azerbaijan for established ‘political geography and location’.

President of the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Italy-Azerbaijan Sergio Divina, for his part, highlighted the importance of the event, the friendship between Italy and Azerbaijan and the excellent relations in all areas.

Azer Kerimli, the deputy chairman of the working group on Azerbaijani-Italian inter-parliamentary relations in the Parliament of Azerbaijan, spoke about the history of Azerbaijani-Italian relations, cooperation between the two countries in various spheres, mutual visits, the contribution made by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation to the development of ties, importance of the interparliamentary cooperation, the successes achieved by Azerbaijan in the period of independence, as well as the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Italian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Augusto Massari, who joined the event via a video call, stressed the importance of strategic partnership between the two countries, the importance of Azerbaijan for Italy and the opportunities that exist for further deepening of ties.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Italy Mammad Ahmedzade, speaking at the event, informed about the way that led the sides to the achievement of the strategic partnership level, high-level visits, a joint statement on strategic partnership, adopted during the official visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Italy in 2014, an important exchange of experience in the cultural, scientific, educational spheres, in particular the contribution of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, as well as the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Azerbaijan’s expectations in connection with possible contrubutions of Italy’s chairmanship in the OSCE in the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The event, which saw a very large participation, achieved the goal of highlighting all the way done in the relations between Rome and Baku, the many achievements made and to shed light on the new challenges on the horizon of cooperation strategic between the two countries.

The event held at Palazzo Giustiniani Palace on October 18 was one in the series of events organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and Azerbaijan, was attended by representatives of the Italian parliament, government, academic circles, diplomatic corps accredited in the country and mass media.