Author: Jagharian Tania

A woman dressed all in black and holding what is thought to be a child’s severed head has been arrested near a metro station in Moscow. She was shouting, “I am a terrorist,” and reportedly threatened to blow herself up, reports.

According to LifeNews, the victim was a girl, identified as Nastya M. After the murder, the female suspect went to a metro station, where she was stopped by a local police officer. She immediately took the severed child’s head from her bag and started shouting that she had killed the child. The suspect is currently being detained by police authorities, Russian media reported.

“The end of the world is coming in a second…I’m your death,” the woman is heard shouting in the video released online. “I hate democracy. I’m a terrorist.”

She is heard shouting that she has been “cursed” and “destroyed” “so many times.”

“I’m your suicide bomber… I’m going to die in a second…The end of the world…,” she shouted.

The woman appeared near Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station in northwest Moscow.

Russia’s Investigative Committee later released a statement that rescuers have found a body of a three or four-year-old child after extinguishing a fire in a Moscow apartment block. A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a children’s nanny in her late 30s, who is a citizen of a “Central Asian country.”

The suspect waited until the child’s parents left the apartment with an older child, then killed the child and set the apartment on fire, the Investigative Committee said.

The mother of the murdered child was taken to hospital in unconscious after she learned the news, Russia’s Zvezda TV channel reported.

Earlier on Monday, reports emerged that police had found a child’s headless body while extinguishing a fire at a Moscow apartment block. The child was about three or four years old, Interfax reported, citing sources.

The woman, identified by LifeNews as Gulchekhra Bobokulova from Uzbekistan, committed the murder because of her husband’s betrayal. According to LifeNews sources, she failed to explain how the child was connected to her husband. The woman was reportedly drugged, a source in police authorities told Interfax.

People in shops near the Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station have been evacuated, TASS reported, adding that police have sealed some exits from the station.

Switzerland’s Gianni Infantino has succeeded countryman Sepp Blatter as Fifa president, the BBC reports.

The Uefa secretary general polled 115 votes in round two, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was third with four, while Jerome Champagne failed to get any. Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before voting began in Zurich.

The first round of voting had failed to determine an outright winner.

“I accept the result of this election, thank you,” said Infantino.

“I went through an exceptional journey, met many fantastic people who love football, who breathe football.

“I want to be the president of all of you, of all 209 nations.

“I want to work with all of you to work together and build a new era where we can put football at the centre of the stage.”

A simple majority of more than 50 per cent – 104 votes – was sufficient for victory in the second round.

Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter’s hometown of Visp.

Blatter, who led world football’s governing body since 1998, stood down last year and was later banned from football for six years.

Tonight, at the A. Spendiarian

President Serzh Sargsyan was present at the 15th Haikian award ceremony of the Youth Fund of Armenia at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater after Alexander Spendiaryan. It is called to encourage achievements of the youth organizations, certain young individuals, including students who in the course of the year stood out with their active stance and substance of the programs carried out in different areas.

The 2015 awards were bestowed in a number of nominations such as the best public youth organization in Yerevan, the best public youth organization in marzes, the exceptional youth project, the best Chairperson of the Student Council, the best higher education establishment program, the best youth announcement, the best journalistic project, the best international structure, the best scientific achievements made by a young scientist, the best student self-governing body.

Along with the traditional nominations presented were also special awards which were handed to the winners by President Serzh Sargsyan. Special awards were handed to Gohar Martikian for the Formula of Living military and patriotic book collection-program, Youth State Orchestra of Armenia for its contribution to the dissemination of classical art among young people and public at large and on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, to Edgar Vardanian – an alumnus of the specialized school of Physics and Mathematics for excellence in the international subject Olympiads in 2014-2015, to Samvel Karapetian for the Eghern after Eghern program carried out in the framework of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aram Antinian for implementing the idea on the creation of the first in Armenia charity café and for helping numerous needy people, to the serviceman of the Armenian Armed Forces, Major Sargis Stepanian for valor in executing his duties and infinite dedication. President Sargsyan congratulated all winners of Haikian award and once again welcomed and stressed the importance of this initiative by the Armenian Youth Fund and wished the young people undying vigor and new success.

“I would like to confess frankly that I always attend the Haikian award ceremony with pleasure, because I find myself in a milieu where new ideas, new initiatives, good deeds are being commended, appreciated and encouraged. It is not only gratifying but also useful because a person gets positive impulses. I really do not have any participation in the award process, so I don’t know why all the awardees thank me. You’d rather thank your peers. This is one of the advantages of this award because the initiative comes for young people, the appreciation comes from the young too. It means that adults do not impose their will, don’t say one thing is good, the other is bad. It is the young who say this one is fine, the other – not so. It is, of course, inspiring. Inspiring because what we’ve seen today in this hall is directly related to the future of our country, with what’s ahead. These are clichés, however it should be repeated constantly that the future of the country is always in the hands of the young. You all are brilliant people, nice young people. I should say frankly that the majority of our young people are brilliant, they are defending our Fatherland. Today Army is the youngest structure in our Republic. Our young people have achievements in every area. Look, today he can be called a young man – he defends Armenia’s honor at the international subject Olympiads, there are other like him, twenty-one young people. At the moment we have success in every area, and it became possible because of young people. It means that the future of our country is in strong hands. I wish that in 20, 30, 40 years you become the speakers on this podium and you think what kind of initiatives you should come up with to encourage young people, where to lead them. And it should go on and on, for a million years. Thank you,” said President Serzh Sargsyan in his welcoming remarks for the young people.

Guided by the August 22, 2002 Presidential decree NH-1164-N on the Establishment and Bestowal of State Awards of the Republic of Armenia, and taking into consideration suggestions of the Award Commission, President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree to confer state awards of the Republic of Armenia for year 2015 in a number of areas. Today, at the Presidential Palace there took place the Award ceremony.

State awards of the Republic of Armenia for year 2015 have been awarded in the areas of arts and literature, architecture and urban development, hard and natural sciences.

In different spheres of arts and literature such as literature and political journalism, music and cinematography state awards were conferred on Hakop Hakopian (Hakop Movses) for the book of poems The Seventh Chase (in the area of literature and political journalism), on Vartan Adjemian for the Theater of the Sound piece written for the string orchestra, timpani and piano (in the area of music), Vahe Kevorkov (director), Samvel (cameraman), Hayk Badalian (cameraman), Anna Derdzakian (scriptwriter) and Arthur Parsian (editing) for Armenia: From Sea to Sea documentary (in the area of cinematography). In the area of architecture and urban development state awards have been handed to Narek Sarkissian (architect), Paul Chatalbashian (designer) and Stepan Akhoyan (Director of Small White House Ltd.) for the government’s administrative compound on Vazgen Sarkissian Street in Yerevan. In the area of hard and natural sciences state awards were conferred on Ashot Saghian, Anna Mkrtchian and Hayarpi Simonian for the research on the Technology for the Efficient Small-Scale Production of the New Generation of Protein Amino Acids. The chairpersons of the sub-commissions presented the nominated works and conclusions reached by the sub-commissions as a result of their deliberations as well as the works which received awards and their authors.

This year, awards have not been conferred in the areas of visual arts, theater, social and humanitarian sciences. The chairpersons of the corresponding sub-commissions informed that after the secret ballot, the nominations in the mentioned areas for 2015 did not receive the necessary number of the votes.

After the ceremony of handing the state awards, the President of Armenia in his speech congratulated all the winners.

***

Congratulatory Remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the ceremony of bestowing state awards

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen;

Today, we bestow state awards of the Republic of Armenia on artists and scientists. I am confident that a new scientific achievement or a new artistic work is duly appreciated later, after it passes the test of time. It doesn’t mean that we have to wait a hundred or two hundred years to appreciate, to evaluate who did what. I am also confident that the contemporaries are responsible for those who create and those who invent. We have the responsibility to state out loud what we accept as a value and what we do not. This is an essential method for the reassertion of the society’s and the state’s system of values.
I see the very meaning of the Republic of Armenia’s state awards first and foremost in that reassertion. We point out, highlight and present to the public things which deserve recognition here and today.

Dear Attendees,

This year we have nomination areas with regard to which I certainly have mixed feelings. On one hand, I am sad that we don’t have awardees in the areas of, for instance, theater, arts, humanitarian and social sciences; on the other hand, I am glad that the relevant sub-commissions have demonstrated strict approach because if we lower the ban, we will simply devaluate our state awards. Hence, I encourage and urge the members and chairpersons of the sub-commissions which didn’t give as nominations this year, to carry on in the same spirit. I am hopeful that in coming years in these areas we will be having really outstanding nominations.

Dear Awardees,

I thank you for your important work and once again I congratulate you on receiving these prestigious awards. I wish you new scientific and artistic achievements for the benefit of our country, our science and culture.
Thank you.

New perspectives will open up for Armenia after the lifting of Iran sanctions, expert of Iranian studies Vardan Voskanyan told reporters today.

According to him, with Iran-Azerbaijan and Iran-Turkey relations strained for now, Armenia remains the most efficient, the most reliable and the most important route for Iran to the north.

“In this context Armenia can assume a very important role, as it has allied relations with Russia and good relations with Iran and Georgia,” he said.

According to the expert, the fears that Russia will necessarily block Iran’s energy projects through Armenia have no basis. “Russia understands that it must participate in the programs, as it’s clear that Iran will get to the international market anyway,” he said.

“We have the best opportunity to link Iran to the Black Sea through the North-South Highway, and we have to accelerate the process of construction, since every day spared works against Armenia’s interest in this new conjuncture,” Vardan Voskanyan said.

The expert believes the construction of the Iran-Armenia railway is also realistic. “Funding can be the only obstacle,” he said, reminding that China is another party interested in the project.

Vardan Voskanyan said “the unfreezing of Iranian assets will results in the further growth of investments in Armenia, especially considering that Armenia enjoys privileged regimes with both the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU.”

Photo: REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Commemorating the ninth anniversary of the assassination of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović reiterated her call for a swift and transparent judicial procedure to identify the masterminds behind the murder.

“I remain hopeful that recent developments in the trial will help bring the masterminds behind the murder to justice,” Mijatović said, referring to the December 2015 decision of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to approve an indictment by prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü to investigate 25 public officials on charges of negligence and misconduct related to the murder.

Dink, the editor-in-chief of the bi-weekly Agos newspaper was gunned down on 19 January 2007 in front of his office in Istanbul. In 2011, the perpetrator Ogün Samast was sentenced to 22 years and ten months in prison for the murder. His accomplice, Yasin Hayal, is serving a life sentence for supplying Samast with a weapon and money.

“I trust that the trial will finally serve justice to Dink’s family, friends and colleagues,” Mijatović said. “Exposing the masterminds would also demonstrate to the entire society the importance of freedom of expression, and the continued need to fight violence against journalists.”

Press Statement by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian following the 16th meeting of Armenia-EU Cooperation Council

2016-01-18

Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the framework of the 16th session of Armenia-EU Cooperation Council, together with our EU colleagues, we have had extensive discussions on the further development of Armenia – European Union relations, which included such issues as: Political dialogue, negotiations on a new framework agreement between Armenia and the EU, that would adequately reflect the depth and essence of our partnership, mobility, human rights, pace of reforms and others.

2015 was a special year for the Armenia-EU cooperation. We witnessed high level visits, an intense and constructive dialogue with an impressive number of bilateral meetings, simultaneous negotiations on Armenia- EU agreements in various areas.

The Eastern Partnership summit in Riga in May 2015 was a success with Joint Declaration reaffirming our shared vision of the Partnership based on mutual interests and commitments, supporting sustained reform processes in partner countries and highlighting the main directions for the further developing and strengthening of comprehensive cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

Armenia welcomed the European Neighborhood Policy review process. We highly appreciated the EU initiative to engage the partner countries in this process. We are pleased to note that on 14th December 2015 the EU Council endorsed the principle of differentiation to be applied to the partners, taking into account the progress made in implementation of their commitments and reforms.

We expressed our appreciation to the EU for its continued support and assistance provided to our country over the years which have been instrumental for the effective implementation and sustainability of the reform process and institutional capacity building in Armenia.

Last month’s launch of the negotiations on a new legal framework of Armenia – EU relations was a new threshold in our relations. We hope that the new agreement will reflect the depth and essence of our bilateral relations and set new guidelines for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Based on shared values, Armenia is interested in working with the EU on to the continuous promotion of human rights and rule of law, consolidation of democratic institutions and improvement of judiciary, good governance, fight against corruption, strengthening the civil society. We are thankful to the EU for its valuable support in this regard.

Constitutional reform in Armenia that the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe characterized as of “extremely high quality” and “ in line with international standards”, was approved by the nation-wide referendum last December. It is another important step also aimed at advancing many of the mentioned goals.

Dear Colleagues,

During recent months alongside the deliberations on the legal basis of our relations, the Armenian side has been actively engaged in negotiations with the relevant bodies of the European Commission regarding our participation in a number of EU programs. We are glad to state today that negotiations on Armenia’s participation in the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 are successfully concluded and we expect the Agreement to be signed shortly.

We look forward to develop our cooperation in the transport area as well, in this respect we underlined the importance of timely starting of negotiations on the Common aviation area.

We attach great importance to people to people contacts, and view enhanced mobility of our citizens as an important prerequisite for bringing our societies closer. It is almost two years now that the EU-Armenia Visa Facilitation and Readmission agreements are being implemented. We believe that time has come to move forward towards the Dialogue on Visa liberalization as it is enshrined in Joint Declaration of Eastern Partnership Riga Summit.

I have presented our European colleagues on the worldwide events on Armenian Genocide centennial, which we marked last year. Several thousands commemoration events held on all continents, supported by the four fundamental pillars. Those are remembrance, gratitude, prevention, and revival. These four notions are also deeply symbolic for the commemoration of all other crimes of genocide committed throughout the human history. I have used this opportunity to express our gratitude to the European Parliament, EU countries for their principled position on this issue and expressions of support and sympathy to Armenia.

I also talked about Armenia’s active engagement in efforts of international community on prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity. We thank the EU countries for their support to Armenian initiatives within the UN formats.

I briefed the Council on latest developments related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and in particular on the results of the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Bern. The agenda of that summit was dictated by the escalation of situation as a result of Azerbaijan’s provocations, gross violations of cease-fire regime. Unfortunately, the relative calmness in the conflict area has ended with resumption of gross violations of cease-fire regime by Azerbaijan.

We also touched upon regional security issues and other topics of international political agenda.

Thank you.

Armenian economist Carlos Melconian was appointed as President of the National Bank of Argentina on Wednesday December 23, reports.

Stressing that the Bank of the Argentine Nation “will take a more prominent role as a development bank,” Melconian began his tenure after being appointed by the newly elected President Mauricio Macri.

In 1980s Melconian worked in the Central Bank of Argentina and then as a private consultant at the World Bank, among others.

By Miriam Kairey

2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.  While many of us have heard about this tragedy, few are aware of what happened and how it foreshadowed the calamity that was to virtually destroy the Jews of Europe less than 25 years later.

The Armenian people have lived in the Northeastern portion of Asia Minor (now Turkey) for thousands of years.  They also inhabited Northern Syria.  In ancient times they were pagans who in time adopted the Christian religion, while their neighbors, the Turks and Kurds, became Muslims.  Up until their near extermination in 1915 they were an industrious and successful people who lived in comfortable villages.  They looked to their intellectual upper class for leadership.  Armenia was, for centuries, ruled by the Ottoman Turks.  They were loyal subjects who paid a special tax for being non-Muslims, the same way the Jews of the Ottoman Empire did.

By the late 1800’s the Ottoman Empire was in decline.  While many factors can be pointed to as the cause, Industrialization in Europe moved manufacturing westward and money began to drain from the Ottoman east.  The already precarious situation of the Armenians became more dangerous as the Turks looked to grab the possessions of their relatively successful subjects.  Using the rallying cry “Turkey for the Turks” the Ottomans periodically incited pogroms against the Armenians.  Turks and Kurds raided their villages, stole what they could and burned their churches.

European nations intervened to stop these vicious pogroms.  However, with the outbreak of WWI in 1914, these countries were too preoccupied to concern themselves with the Armenians.  Germany was allied with Turkey and certainly was not going to stop the genocide that was to come.  Turkey, taking advantage of the chaos of war, set about destroying the Armenian nation in a calculated and systematic way.  First, Armenian intellectuals were rounded up and killed.  Then the villagers were disarmed:  all guns were confiscated.  All military-aged males were supposedly  “drafted” but in fact they were taken to labor camps or killed. The Armenians left in the villages were the least able to resist.  The Turks emptied the villages and marched these unfortunate people eastward, giving them no food or water.

It is estimated that at least 1.5 million Armenians died this way.  Those who could get away swarmed into the towns of northern Syria, including Aleppo.   In Aleppo those who were not dying in the streets were hunted by the Turks.  Yet there is ample evidence that some made an effort to help these unfortunate refugees.  Orphanages, hospitals and refugee camps were set up around that area.

The forced marches the Armenians were subjected to were called “moving concentration camps”   by the author Franz Werfel, an Austrian Jew, in his book Forty Days of Musa Dagh.  This book was written in German and published in 1933.  Franz travelled in Syria in the late 1920’s.  It was here that he encountered Armenian survivors, malnourished orphans working in a carpet factory.  They told him the story of Musa Dagh, which means Mt Moses in Armenian — a story of resistance and survival. The hero of the story was Gabriel Bagradian (a pseudonym) who, just prior to the genocide, returns to his Armenia village from Paris with his French wife and son.

Gabriel feels the hatred of the Turks, and understands that the Turks seek nothing less than the total destruction of his people.  Under his leadership his fellow townspeople secretly stock nearby Mt. Moses with supplies, including guns that they had carefully hidden.  One night the five thousand villagers quietly took what they could carry and went to the top of mountain, which had a plateau.  Of course the Turkish army came after them, but remarkably they were able to hold off the Turks long enough to be rescued by the French navy.

Writing Musa Dagh probably saved Werfel’s life.  When Hitler ordered Werfels books burned, Franz understood what would happen next.  He escaped through Spain and wound up in California.

The story of Musa Dagh disappeared into obscurity thanks to the efforts of the Turkish government, which to this day denies the facts of the Armenian genocide.  The book was translated into English and became best-seller in the USA in 1934.  The movie rights were purchased by Louis B. Mayer of MGM who wished to turn this story into a major motion picture with Clark Gable in the starring role.  He resisted the objections of the Turks, which were full of anti-Semitic accusations against Mayer.  He finally caved in to pressure by the US government, who needed the cooperation of the Turks to build military bases there.

Today there are some 2 million Armenians living in 15% of the area of what used to be Armenia.  They never recovered from their calamity, and the loss of their intellectual class.  History, in general, is written by the victors.  It is up to us to pluck from obscurity stories such as this one, and learn their valuable lessons.

Miriam Kairey is a professional genealogist.  She holds a BA in History from Rutgers College.