Author: Jagharian Tania

Sergio Markarian resigned as Greece’s head coach on Tuesday but it was unclear if he would leave the post after the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) rejected his resignation, Eurosport reports. 

Dear compatriots,

The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was adopted twenty years ago, on 5 July 1995. The Supreme Law is the pillar of each country’s statehood-building, the bright symbol of statehood formation, and the guiding landmark for social development.

The adoption of the Constitution in the newest stage of our history brilliantly epitomized Armenians’ ages-old dream to establish an independent state, became the testimony of our legal equality in the international family of states, and the key guarantee for the establishment of a sovereign, democratic, social state governed by the rule of law.

The constitution of 1995 played a fundamental role in the establishment of democracy in Armenia, the strengthening of foundations for a law-governed state, enshrining constitutional guarantees for protection of human rights and in the gradual improvement of state institutions.

At the same time, the progress in public life requires adequate constitutional developments. They ought to take us to a destination when it will be possible to finally state that democracy stands firm on the ground, human rights are reliably protected and an effective system of government has taken root.

Life has demonstrated that constitutional developments are an objective necessity. It was true in 2005, and it is true today.

Nevertheless, the irrefutable fact is that it is man who must be at the core of constructional relations, with his unbreakable dignity, inalienable and immediate rights and freedoms.

Dear compatriots,

I cordially congratulate us all on the occasion of Constitution Day. I am confident that regardless of difficulties we may face on our future path, we will achieve the desired results through national coherence, tolerance, a deep understanding of our place and role in history and through our responsibility towards the nation, people and generations, and that our new generation of independence will become the crucial bedrock developing our country through the establishment of constitutionalism.

On 30 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory letter to President Serzh Sargsyan of the Republic of Armenia in connection with his birthday.

The letter runs as follows:

“Your excellency, Mr. President,

I cordially congratulate You on Your birthday anniversary.

Having a substantial contribution in the formation of the two Armenian states and the Armenian army, You continue to serve devotedly to safeguarding the security and raising the welfare level of the people, solving nationwide issues and realizing our historic goals.

I am confident that all Your patriotic projects aimed at reinforcing and ensuring the prosperity of Mother Armenia and Artsakh will be further on crowned with success and our people will gain new victories.

I once again congratulate You on Your birthday anniversary and wish peace, robust health and all the best”.

Yevgeny Primakov, a former Russian prime minister, foreign minister and spymaster, has died, the Kremlin said on Friday, Reuters reports.

Primakov, whose political career began in the Soviet era, was 85.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Primakov’s death and was deeply saddened, but gave no other details.

Born in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in 1929, Primakov was brought up in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

After graduating as an Arabic scholar from the Moscow Institute for Oriental Studies in 1953, he went on to be a correspondent for state radio and television, including postings in the Middle East in the 1960s.

He entered the Soviet parliament in 1988 and chaired the chamber from 1989-90. He then played a prominent role in failed efforts to avert the 1991 Gulf War when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sent him to negotiate in Baghdad with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Primakov was made head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and was appointed foreign minister in January 1996. Primakov was seen abroad as a hawk but won respect from peers such as U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during negotiations on NATO enlargement.

President Boris Yeltsin appointed Primakov prime minister in September 1998, seeing him as a compromise figure to help ease political tensions after a market crash and effective default.

Primakov was credited with restoring a degree of stability after years of chaos but liberals accused him of freezing economic reforms. He was sacked in May 1999.

Out of government, Primakov aligned himself with a left-leaning political bloc and indicated he would run in the 2000 presidential election, but dropped out when Kremlin powerbrokers united around the bid of Vladimir Putin.

In a 2003 reprise of his mission to Iraq before the first Gulf War, Primakov met Saddam Hussein at Putin’s request for last-ditch peace talks. Three days later, the U.S.-led offensive got under way.

In later life, Primakov headed a business lobby group and was respected as one of Russia’s leading elder statesmen.

Police in  Georgia say a tiger that broke loose after severe flooding at a zoo has killed one man and wounded another, the Associated Press reports.

The Tbilisi zoo had previously said all lions and tigers missing after the flooding had been found dead and only one jaguar remained unaccounted for.

The Interior Ministry says police killed the tiger, which was hiding at an abandoned factory turned into a construction market when he attacked the men Wednesday.

Zoo officials had said Tuesday that eight lions, all seven of the zoo’s tigers and at least two of its three jaguars were killed in the flooding in Georgia’s capital caused by heavy rains over the weekend.

Former Turkish Colonel Dursun Çiçek, who spent years in jail for allegedly masterminding a plan to defame the ruling party and Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, admitted that the army had been running web-sites to defame and discredit the government as well as Kurds, Armenians and the Gülen movement, reports. 

The web-sites, which date back to early 2000s, were seen as part of an Internet campaign to discredit the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Islamist politicians before it came to power. The military had intensified its campaign to defame the government led by late Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and eventually forced him to resign in 1997.

Most of the 42 web-sites were shut down in 2007, but the investigation into these propaganda sites were launched in 2011, when at least 22 army personnel, including generals, were taken into custody. Ret. Col. Çiçek was among the chief suspects. He is now a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Çiçek told reporters on Tuesday that the propaganda websites document was “authentic” and that military intelligence chief İsmail Hakkı Pekin, who earlier accused Çiçek of masterminding the plot, approved the document.

The propaganda web-sites were mostly run by Çiçek since 2007 and the military allegedly spent a lot of time and effort to run them. Most of them included contents that are aimed at defaming the government, Gülen, Armenians and Kurds.

 

 

 

The Ministry of Education and Science has announced Armenian schoolchildren will not participate in the 47^th International Chemistry Olympiad to be held in Baku from July 20-29.

It was initially reported that Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan would lead the team to Azerbaijan.

However, the Azeri side failed to provide security guarantees to Armenia before June 15 – the deadline for registration.

Minister Ashotyan today called on international organizations to take note of this particular case and refuse from organizing international scientific-educational events in Baku in the future.

A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane has made an emergency landing in Melbourne, Australia after reporting a possible engine fire, the BBC reports.

Flight MH148 had just taken off from Melbourne for the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Plane tracking sites showed the Airbus 330 circling Melbourne airport several times before turning back.

Fire engines were on site but airport officials said it landed safely at 15:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

A spokeswoman for Airservices Australia, the government’s aviation safety body, said the plane had reported an “engine fire” alert in the cabin.

“The plane proceeded to dump the fuel and returned to land and it landed safely at the aviation rescue sites,” she told Reuters news agency. Officials said this was standard procedure for an emergency landing.

Through July 9, 2015, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) will host “Ashfall,” an art installation and exhibit by Dallas-based artist Robert Barsamian that poignantly tells the story of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, the reports.

A 16’x16’ structure erected within the university’s Buley Library gallery space with the help of Southern art students, “Ashfall” contains its own lighting and sound system. Inside the structure are portraits on lace, framed by branches—elements from Armenian culture—along with a bench that allows visitors to pause and contemplate the exhibit, which has been called a “sacred space.”

In addition to the structure, the gallery displays text panels that speak to the violence and loss the genocide engendered. A smaller installation in the gallery space, called “Road to Aleppo,” is a boat with a figure lying on a funeral pier, representing the spirits of those who died on the death marches through the Syrian desert to Aleppo. Large drawings on silk are draped behind this piece.

“Ashfall” is open to the public through July 9, and admission is free. The gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 1-4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information about visiting “Ashfall,” which is being displayed in New England for the first time, call (203) 392-5768.

Artist Barsamian grew up in Whitinsville, Mass., the son and grandson of survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. In the 1990’s, Barsamian recalled the stories his grandmother had told him about her experiences escaping the genocide, and became inspired to depict such atrocities in his art. He eventually began to create art installations to convey the feeling of inhumane acts perpetrated by man against man and began expressing the injustices of the genocide with his multimedia installations. “Ashfall” is one such installation.

An opening reception for “Ashfall” on April 24 was one of several events held at Southern to mark the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. On April 23, the SCSU Symphonic Band presented a concert entitled “Music of Armenia,” featuring folk music by composers Hovhaness, Reed, Khachaturian, Komitas, and Strauss. The following day, guest musicians Anna Hayrapetyan and Tatev Amiryan performed a recital featuring pieces connected specifically with the genocide theme by Armenian composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Komitas, Mirzonyan, Kanachyan, and Amiryan.

“Southern’s commitment to social justice is very much animated by the recognition of man’s inhumanity to man,” said SCSU President Mary A. Papazian. “The Centenary of the Armenian Genocide gives us pause to recall the mass suffering that occurred at that time and at other periods throughout history. By remembering the past, we can work to build a better future for all.”

“Art and music are highly effective media to tell this heart-wrenching story and touch our emotions,” Papazian said.

 

President Serzh Sargsyan received Satoshi Tsunakawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation.

The president welcomed the guest and noted that he is happy about the activities carried out by Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation – a leading international healthcare services company – in Armenia and its intention to promote cooperation with Armenian companies.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that Mr. Tsunakawa’s visit will give impetus to the promotion of collaboration and inclusion of new dimensions and programs therein. The Armenian president underscored that he remembers with pleasure his visit to Japan in 2012 during which he had the chance to visit the Toshiba Science Museum which was very impressive.

The Armenian president attached importance to the active work of the Japanese and Armenian embassies to boost Armenian-Japanese relations in various spheres.

At the meeting, the president introduced the guest to the favorable business and investment climate in Armenia and the conditions therein to attract foreign investments which Toshiba might also be interested in.

Satoshi Tsunakawa expressed satisfaction with the fact that Toshiba Medical Systems continues to expand its activities in Armenia and stressed that his company will keep on supporting the development of healthcare in Armenia. He mentioned that the company is also interested in some other dimensions making up a part of the company’s activities; e.g. nuclear energy, seismology, as well as cooperation development and exchange of experience with Armenia.
The RA president and the president of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation attached great value to the work and development of cooperation aimed at the provision of quality services through the use of modern technologies and, hence, at the protection of human health and the increase in living standards.