Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Forget France, Armenia is the center of winemaking. Euronews’s coverage of Armenian winemaking

Kalantarian Kevo

Forget France, Armenia is the center of winemaking. Euronews’s coverage of Armenian winemaking

Save

Share

 12:55,

YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS.  “Forget France: Armenia is the hub of winemaking!” The leading international media network “Euronews” headlined its reflection, declaring the Armenian plateau the ancient homeland of winemaking.

 ARMENPRESS reports “Euronews” tells about the 8000-year-old traditions of Armenian viticulture and 6000-year-old winemaking culture, adding that one should not miss one of the oldest winemaking regions, Armenia when thinking about wine. The media emphasizes the fact that the unique exhibits kept in the Wine History Museum recently opened in Armenia open the way for visitors to the past and modern solutions of Armenian winemaking, showing the deep connection of the region, religion, culture, and medicine with Armenian wine.

“The museum is located only 30 km away from Yerevan, in Armenia Wine Winery, it is located in 8 meters deep basalt rocks ։ when you go through an underground tunnel, you feel like you are entering a huge wine cellar.”- says “Euronews” adding; “The historical-archeological-ethnographic samples in the museum show how the wine accompanied the Armenians from the cradle to the burial rites.” Taking advantage of the museum’s tendency to popularize the culture of ancient winemaking, “Euronews” points out the existence of a bibliography, which proves that Armenia is truly the cradle of winemaking.

AW; ANC of MI meets with Wixom City Manager

Kalantarian Kevo
 Kristen Bagdasarian ANCA News 0

Dzovinar Hatsakordzian, Kristen Bagdasarian, Wixom City Manager Steven Brown and Raffi Ourlian

WIXOM, Mich.—Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Michigan members and activists met with Wixom City Manager Steven Brown on May 26 to discuss issues relevant to the Armenian American community. Residents highlighted the actions of Turkish nationalists in the city of Wixom. In 2019, the Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM), which has its community center located on Beck Road in Wixom, inaugurated a park to Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk Park was created with the intention to serve as a celebratory hub for Turkish Americans and, according to TACAM’s website, “All over the world, there are several designated areas named after Atatürk. But TACAM’s Atatürk Park is the largest such park in the US and outside the Turkic world.”

The meeting with Brown was held to discuss the dangerous implications of this park created in the memory of a man responsible for the deaths of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Kurds and Assyrians, all of which have diaspora communities in the metro-Detroit area. Beck Road is one of the busiest main roads in Wixom, where Armenian residents have to drive by the sign on their daily commutes. Brown heard the concerns of Armenian American residents of Wixom and was provided with educational materials including articles and books in order to supplement his knowledge on Atatürk’s responsibility in the ethnic cleansing of minorities from the Republic of Turkey.

Brown also promised further steps that can be taken by the city in order to determine future decisions regarding the “Atatürk Park” sign located on the edge of Beck Road, as well as seeking legal counsel regarding the park. He also noted that members of TACAM have been pushing for the space to gain the status of a public park within the city of Wixom and have pressured the local government to pass problematic proclamations.

ANC of MI thanks City Manager Brown for the meeting and welcomes further actions by the city. 

Dzovinar Hatsakordzian, Kristen Bagdasarian, Wixom City Manager Steven Brown and Sarkis Arakelian

  •  Bio
  •  Twitter
  •  Latest Posts
Kristen Bagdasarian is a sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is studying anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Armenian history.


PM Pashinyan congratulates medalists of EUBC Men’s European Boxing Championships in Yerevan

Kalantarian Kevo

Save

Share

 10:26,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan praised the successful organization of the EUBC Men’s European Boxing Championships in Yerevan.

“It sounds strange but I was very surprised to find out that never before was a European or World championship of any Olympic sports organized in Armenia during the years of independence. This isn’t good, and we hope to host such championships more frequently in the future. The last major championship before this boxing championship was the chess Olympiad, which took place either in 1995 or 1996 if I am not mistaken,” Pashinyan said during parliamentary committee debates on the 2021 state budget performance.

Pashinyan congratulated Team Armenia for the medals won at the EUBC Men’s European Boxing Championship.

The Armenian PM added that next year Armenia will host the European Weightlifting Championship. He said that this championship will also be organized on the highest level.

Agrarian University hosts 1st Armenian-Iranian Agrotechnology Conference

Kalantarian Kevo

Save

Share

 14:08,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The 1st Armenian-Iranian Agrotechnology Conference will lay the foundation for effective and sustainable cooperation between agrotechnology companies from Armenia and Iran, the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri said in his remarks.

The 1st Armenian-Iranian Agrotechnology Conference is underway at the National Agrarian University of Armenia in Yerevan.

Ambassador Zohouri noted that agriculture and animal husbandry are strategic directions for both countries.

“Armenia and Iran can closely cooperate in organic food. I am sure that we will be able to achieve big results through university and sectoral ties. It is important for both sides to have information base accessible to everyone, and the best platform for this is the university,” the Iranian Ambassador said. He added that short-term trainings and courses can be organized for students of both countries.

Deputy Minister of Economy of Armenia Tigran Gabrielyan said that Armenia highly values cooperation with Iran in various areas, which is conditioned by mutual economic benefits and a common approach in regional matters.

“Today’s conference is very important for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries and deepening of business ties,” he said.

Armenia, Azerbaijan take small step towards peace deal

Kalantarian Kevo

Aliyev and Pashinyan announce the creation of a border commission after their 

trilateral talks in Brussels.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced that they had set up a border commission, a potential step towards ending a dispute over the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh that has festered for 30 years.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Monday posted a decree on his website creating a border delimitation commission under Vice-Premier Shahin Mustafayev.

Armenia’s commission on border delimitation and security will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, according to the Telegram channel of the Russian Sputnik agency.

The leaders of both countries had agreed in Brussels on Sunday to work on a peace plan, despite a wave of protests in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, fuelled by opposition claims that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is giving too much away.

A simmering dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians supported by Yerevan, flared up in 2020 into a six-week war in which Azerbaijan’s troops regained swaths of territory.

European Council President Charles Michel said after a meeting with Pashinyan and Aliyev that they had agreed to advance discussions on a future peace treaty, with respective commissions on delimiting their inter-state border to meet on the border itself within days.

Pashinyan has faced a series of protests in Yerevan in recent weeks since he said the international community wanted Armenia to “lower the bar” on ethnic Armenian claims to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Michel said on Sunday that he would hold another trilateral meeting with Aliyev and Pashinyan by July or August.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, Aliyev agreed with Pashinyan on the opening of the Zangezur corridor, allowing Azerbaijan to access its Nakhchivan exclave.

Aliyev aims to construct motorways and rail lines through the corridor, linking Turkey with Russia through Azerbaijan.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/24/armenia-azerbaijan-take-small-step-towards-peace-deal

Police detain 414 people in anti-Pashinyan demonstrations in Yerevan

Kalantarian Kevo
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – May 17 2022
May 17, 2022 – 14:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Police in Yerevan detained 414 people on Tuesday, May 17, who took part in opposition-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the Armenian service of RFE/RL reports.

The chairman of the National Assembly State and Legal Affairs Committee, Vladimir Vardanyan, said earlier in the day that they treat the absence of the opposition lawmakers with understanding, but if any employee of any institution dails to show up for work for a long time “without good reasons”, they should be held responsible.

In recent weeks, protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have taken to the streets to block major roads in the capital Yerevan and call on the population to commit acts of civil disobedience. Pashinian has come under fire after he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to start drafting a bilateral peace treaty to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and set up a joint commission on demarcating the borders.

Artsakh plans to transition to semi-presidential system of government

Kalantarian Kevo

Save

Share

 15:44,

STEPANAKERT, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Artsakh plans to transition to a semi-presidential system of government.

The Constitutional Reforms Commission under the Presidency of Artsakh published the draft concept for the reforms.

“Taking into account the imperative for ensuring the security of the Republic of Artsakh, the existing challenges facing the Republic of Artsakh, as well as with the goal of ensuring flexibility of the state administration system in times of martial law or state of emergency and in emergency situations, it is proposed to transform the government system by transitioning to a semi-presidential system of government,” reads the concept.

The semi-presidential system would rely on two centers: the President and a Prime Minister enjoying the trust of the parliament.

The President, being the guarantor of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Artsakh, will coordinate the work of the state bodies in the defense area, and will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the President of the Security Council.

The executive power will be vested in the government led by the Prime Minister, who will coordinate the work of the 15 members of the Cabinet (ministers). Currently, the President is the head of the executive power. There is no position of a prime minister now and the government is composed of the State Minister and Ministers who are appointed by the President.

Given the current military-political situation, the commission also proposed to hold general elections gradually – parliamentary elections with proportional system in 2023 and presidential elections in 2024. At the same time, the concept proposes to reserve parliament the right to elect a President in exclusive cases.

Asbarez: AEF Raises $560,000 for Educational Programs in Armenia

Kalantarian Kevo
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Community, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

From l to r: (From Left) Vice President Peter Baghdassarian, President Al Cabraloff, the Shrikchian Family & AEF Fundraising Chair Melody


More than $560,000 was raised at the Armenian Educational Foundation’s donor appreciation dinner on Sunday, May 15 at the home of Harry and Shireen Shirikchian. Over 140 supporters, sponsors and members attended the evening event.

The program kicked off with AEF President, Al Cabraloff, opening the evening with a brief update report on the AEF. Some highlights included the completion of 8 school renovation projects in Armenia and Artsakh in 2021. He also highlighted that AEF provided over 1,000 scholarships in 2021 to university students in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk.

Vahik Petrossian, AEF Scholarship Chair, presented an overview of the current status of the scholarship program as well as the desperate need to continue to raise funds to support more students, including for our wounded soldiers and veterans. During the event, AEF announced a $100,000 donation from the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund to cover scholarships for wounded soldiers and veterans of the 2020 war and another 15 new donors confirmed support for over 50 additional four-year scholarships for university students in Armenia and Artsakh.

The guests listen to a presentation about AEF’s activities

During acknowledgments, AEF also announced major gifts from benefactors including a $100,000 donation from Mr. & Mrs. Rafik & Helly Khatchaturian, as well as a $50,000 contribution from Mr. & Mrs. Bobken and Hasmik Amirian.

AEF’s Fundraising Chair, Melody Petrossian, commented, “The success of our fundraising directly impacts the future we can give our Armenian youth and we are grateful to our donors who continue to entrust the AEF with the responsibility to assist Armenian students with its programs.”

The Armenian Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1950. Since 2000, AEF has disbursed over $11.4M for various education programs, including $5.2M renovating over 200 village schools in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk and $4.3 million in scholarships.

For more information on the Armenian Educational Foundation or to donate online, please visit www.aefweb.org.

Artsakh Ombudsman on number of Karabakh villages occupied by Azerbaijan and number of Armenian captives

Kalantarian Kevo
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.Azerbaijan occupied 215 settlements of the Republic of Artsakh, as a result of which 40,000 citizens were forced to move, and therefore their rights to property,  choice of place of residence, work, education, health care and other  rights were violated. Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan stated  this on May 19 during the session of the NKR National Assembly.

The Ombudsman stated that as a result of Azerbaijan’s large-scale  military aggression against Artsakh, 118 communities completely  passed under Azerbaijani control, and two more communities partially.

“Also on March 24, 2022, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces invaded the  zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers, took control of  the village of Parukh and nearby positions in the Askeran region,  after which they tried to advance in the eastern direction of  Artsakh,” the NKR Ombudsman added.

When asked to clarify the number of Armenian prisoners of war and  civilians held by Azerbaijan, Stepanyan said that at the moment  Azerbaijan confirms the presence of 38 servicemen and civilians in  captivity.

However, according to Gegham Stepanyan, the ombudsmen of Artsakh and  Armenia, as well as human rights organizations, have concrete  evidence of another 80 people being held captive. At the same time,  he expressed regret that to this day Azerbaijan does not confirm  these data. “This gives us reason to assert that Azerbaijan  deliberately hides the real number of prisoners,” the NKR HRD  stressed, adding that out of 38 prisoners, 35 are serviceman,  and 3  are civilians who were captured after the statement of November 9,  2020, and another 19 civilians are listed as missing, there are no  citizens of Artsakh among them.

“Among them there are people whose captivity is confirmed by facts,”  Gegham Stepanyan said, adding that all 38 prisoners of war held in  Azerbaijan were sentenced to long terms on falsified charges.  According to him, in this regard, the Armenian side has prepared and  distributed a document to the UN. 

Turkish press: Turkiye effectively fighting against irregular migration: Official

Kalantarian Kevo
Muhammed Ali Toruntay   |13.05.2022


ANKARA 

The spokesman for Turkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party on Thursday praised the country’s policy on migration management. 

“Our citizens, who have rightfully expressed their concerns about Turkiye’s demographic security, should know that this issue is being followed. We are highly sensitive about Turkiye’s demographic security,” said Omer Celik during an AK Party Central Decision and Executive Board meeting chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Celik decried recent provocations against Turkiye over the issue of migration, saying: “Turkiye has both experience and a policy on migration management. The country is effectively fighting against irregular migration.”

“On the one hand, Turkiye is making efforts to solve the problem at its source. On the other hand, effective security measures are taken at the border,” he said.

Celik noted that Turkiye always has a policy that takes into account its demographic security, adding that efforts are underway to send asylum seekers to their countries voluntarily and with dignity.

Normalization with Armenia

Celik also said that Turkiye is closely following the developments regarding the ongoing normalization process with Armenia.

“Recently, we see that some lobbies in the Armenian diaspora are making a special effort to sabotage this process. We follow the developments,” Celik noted.

“Until now, normalization talks have been progressing in a constructive and target-oriented manner,” he added.

The third meeting of envoys from Turkiye and Armenia for the normalization of ties was held on May 3.

The Turkish and Armenian envoys reaffirmed their goal of “achieving full normalization,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the meeting.

Ambassador Serdar Kilic was named Turkiye’s special envoy to discuss steps towards normalization with neighboring Armenia on Dec. 15, 2021. Three days later, Armenia appointed Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan as its own special representative.

The first round of talks was held in Russia’s capital Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions. Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24.

An historic bilateral meeting also took place between the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Turkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Feb. 2 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire and Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993, since when the land border between Turkiye and Armenia has been closed.

On Oct. 10, 2009, the neighboring countries signed a peace accord known as the Zurich Protocols to establish diplomatic relations and open the border but failed to ratify the agreement in their respective national parliaments.

Relations between Ankara and Yerevan entered a new phase in the fall of 2020 with the end of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, which lasted 44 days in which Turkiye helped Azerbaijan recapture its territory.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz