Author: Kajoyan Gevork

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System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian was so moved by the resilience of Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh, during a four-day war in April that he wrote a passionate new folk song, “Artsakh,” in deference to them. The song voices support for the people of Artsakh – the Armenian name for the region – and protests Azeri aggression.

“These people have lived on those lands for thousands of years,” the singer wrote in a statement. “They have struggle but also great beauty written on their foreheads. The whimsical appropriation of land by an empire (Stalin) placed them under Azerbaijan. They have since gained their independence and have lived a prosperous existence for the last 20 or so years. I do not believe in wars and ultimately borders but I deeply believe in self-determination and life without oppression. Therefore it is time for the world to recognize them as the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).”

“It’s a crazy provocation,” the singer tells “It’s a land that these people have lived on from the beginning of time, from time immemorial, with children springing from the rivers and generations coming from their mountains. There is a national liberation struggle embedded within their character, their public mask, if you will. It goes on through trying to create peace. We will ultimately win with culture and all this beautiful stuff.”

Tankian made a video for the song, on which he sings and plays guitar, this past weekend.

“Artsakh” lyrics, translated:

We’ve always lived on these lands,
Reaped and harvested these fields,
Generations sprung from your rivers,
Children born from your mountains,

The public mask of tradition,
The struggle for liberation or death,
The enemy’s gaze at your terrain,
Our smiles at your bosom,
At your bottomless will.

We’re going to sing with our fists
With the tricolor flag of justice,
Humanitarian love of peace
With the holy blessing of a child’s face,
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail by being Armenian.

A band performs music by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian at Stachus, a large square in central Munich.

Video by Elza Manukyan

Armenia’s Iveta Mukuchyan had her first rehearsal on Eurovision stage today. During the Armenian stage performance different light effects and pyros were used, according to Eurovision’s official website.

“When I came in the arena, it feels like home: nice and really, really comfortable,” Iveta said before the rehearsal.

Iveta told how much work has been done for the preparation of her entryLoveWave: “We have been intensively preparing for two months, and we were waiting for this day! But I am not excited at all. It feels like when you want to see somebody and you miss him too much and then you finally see him. It’s the kind of the same feeling. I can’t wait for my first rehearsal”.

The Armenian representative has also revealed that she will be supported by five backing vocalists on stage: “I have really great singers with me on stage!”

Photo:  12 News

A cross stone installed at the St. Apkar Armenian church in Scottsdale was destroyed by vandals.

Someone broke it into pieces and church officials told that they feel the vandals targeted them.

Artin Kandjian, the architect of the church, said, “It feels deliberate because it’s a terrible coincidence that this happened during the week of April 24th, which is a traditional commemoration of the Armenian genocide, which took place in 1915.”

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are working to organize a new meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, RIA Novosti reports, quoting French Co-Chair Pierre Andrieu.

“We have met with the Presidents of both countries and we’re now trying to organize their meeting,” Andrieu said.

According to him, there are no concrete plans on the visit of the Co-Chairs to the region.

“The ceasefire regime must not be violated, it’s necessary to resume the negotiation process as soon as possible,” he said.

s – Thousands of Armenian-Americans and their supporters rallied in front of the Turkish Consulate on Sunday, the 101st anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide, demanding formal recognition and reparations following a march in Little Armenia.

Some carried large Armenian flags. Others carried signs of a closed fist that read “Justice” or simply “Shame on Turkey.”

“Everybody thought that with the centennial that would be the end of it, but our struggle has only begun,” said Nora Hovsepian, chairwoman of the National Armenian Committee of America’s Western Region, before the Rally for Justice on Wilshire Boulevard.

Many speakers featured at the rally expressed anger not only at Turkey for refusing to acknowledge the genocide by Ottoman Turks that killed up to 1.5 million Armenians more than a century ago but also at President Barack Obama who failed to use the word genocide again this year despite campaign promises to the contrary.

The U.S. Congress has also failed to pass a proposed resolution in recent years that would formally recognize the events from 1915-1923 as a genocide.

“The United States of America has openly condemned the atrocities committed by ISIS as genocide,” Tamar Poladian told attendees on behalf of the Armenian Genocide Committee. “The time has come for the United States of America to recognize the atrocities committed by the Turks against the Armenians as genocide.”

Poladian said they demand from the government of Turkey full compensation for all they have lost. That includes 1.5 million lives, billions of dollars in properties and priceless cultural and religious monuments as well as the return of historical Armenian lands located in eastern Turkey, she said.

Turkey has long denied that there was a systematic killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago.

Organizers estimated that as many as 60,000 people rallied in front of the Turkish Consulate on Sunday. A small plane continuously flew over the protest with a banner of the Turkish flag, which prompted the crowd to chant “Shame on Turkey” several times.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, whose district includes a large contingent of Armenian-Americans, called Obama’s decision not to use the term genocide last week in his final year in office “a grave disappointment.”

“How many administrations must be intimidated into silence before we realize it never changes Turkish behavior for the better and only emboldens their increasingly authoritarian regime?” Schiff asked to loud applause.

Christians in Syria, including Armenians who are descendants of those killed in the genocide a century ago, also are facing genocide today at the hands of “a terrorist scourge in Syria,” Schiff said. Turkey has “aided and abetted” the destruction of these Christians by failing to close its border to weapons, foreign fighters, oil and money, he said.

Meanwhile, the Eurasian country of Azerbaijan — which is aided by Turkey — has instigated “the worst violence in years” with tanks and heavy artillery and aircraft against Armenians struggling for self-determination in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, he said.

In addition to Armenians, a contingent of some 200 Assyrians waved their white national flags in a sea of Armenian flags at the rally.

The ancient Christian community that originally hailed from Mesopotamia, now present-day Iraq, lost some 750,000 of its people at the hands of Ottoman Turks a century ago — which was about three-quarters of its pre-war population, according to historians.

Earlier in the day, many thousands — most of whom were wearing black — also marched in Little Armenia in Hollywood in commemoration of the somber anniversary. Among them was Armenian-American Hermine Chobanyan of Sherman Oaks, who has marched every year here for at least the last four years.

“My mom’s grandmother is a survivor of the genocide,” she said. “We want justice. We want America to recognize (the genocide), Turkey to recognize it and to give our lands back.”

Her aunt Mareta Melkonyan said her grandmother was a child when she witnessed her parents killed with swords before her eyes by Ottoman Turks a century ago. Her family had a lot of wealth that they had buried and had to leave behind, something her grandmother never got to see returned to her before she passed away.

“We want everything back,” Melkonyan said. “We’re going to fight until the end.”

Brazil’s lower house has voted to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff over charges of manipulating government accounts, the BBC reports.

The “yes” camp comfortably won the required two-thirds majority, after a lengthy session in the capital.

The motion will now go to the upper house, the Senate, which is expected to suspend Ms Rousseff next month while it carries out a formal trial.

She denies tampering with the accounts to help secure her re-election in 2014.

The ruling Workers’ Party has promised to continue its fight to defend her “in the streets and in the Senate.”

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with Bundestag President Norbert Lammert today, President’s Press Office reported.

The interlocutors attached importance to the role of inter-parliamentary cooperation in the development of interstate relations.

President Sargsyan emphasized Mr. Lammert’s personal contribution to the development of bilateral relations. “You not only encourage inter-parliamentary ties, which have formed a practical platform for full comprehension of reciprocal interests, but also keep issues related to the Armenian people in the spotlight,” the Armenian President said.

As a testament to his words, President Sargsyan noted Mr. Lammert’s participation to the events conducted in Germany in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, as well as his statement at the special session of the Bundestag dedicated to the Armenian Genocide. Norbert Lammert expressed confidence that the official visit of the President of Armenia and meetings with the leadership of Germany conducted in the framework of the visit to Berlin, will elevate the Armenian-German political dialogue to a new level and will expand cooperation of the two countries.

The parties discussed also issues related to the future development of the Armenia-EU relations and expressed hope that the new framework Agreement, which will institutionalize the RA-EU relations, will be signed in the nearest future. In response to Mr. Lammert’s question regarding the constitutional changes conducted in Armenia, President Sargsyan informed him on the forthcoming developments conditioned by the changes and expressed gratitude to the German side for the consultative assistance to the process.

At the meeting, discussed were also the latest developments related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.