Author: Karagyozian Lena

Photo by Lluis Gene, AFP

 

Catalonia’s regional government on Monday voted in favor of a resolution to split from Spain, launching a so-called roadmap towards independence which the central government in Madrid has vowed to block, Reuters reports.

The declaration on secession, the first step which pro-independence parties hope will lead to the northeastern region splitting from Spain within 18 months, was backed by a majority in the regional parliament.

Parties favoring independence from Spain won a majority of seats in the Catalan regional election in September. The Spanish constitution does not allow any region to break away, however, and the center-right government of Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy, facing a general election in December, has said it will immediately seek to block the resolution in the courts.

In 1937, hundreds of volunteers from around the world travelled to Spain to fight Franco’s nationalists. Among them was Misak Chelebian. Eight decades later, his American grandson visited the battlefield where he died, reports. 

On Christmas Day 1936, Francisco Franco was wrestling with a problem. Before the decade was over, he would be Spain’s fascist dictator and would rule for almost four decades. But at that moment, as a mere army general at the centre of a plot to unseat the democratically elected Republican government, his troops were stuck outside Madrid, unable to take the Spanish capital – it was crucial if the coup d’état was to succeed.

At the same moment, 3,500 miles away, Misak Chelebian was boarding a steam ship in New York. It was bound for Le Havre on the north coast of France. From there, the 47-year-old American of Armenian descent would travel, along with hundreds of other anti-fascist Americans, to the Pyrenees, cross the border into Spain and after a few rudimentary instructions on how to use their simple rifles, would be pitted against Franco’s forces.

Six weeks later the fates  of these two men crossed in the valley of Jarama, in what became one of the bloodiest battles of the Spanish civil war. After weeks stuck without progress to the west of Madrid, Franco opened a new front to try to cut the capital’s Mediterranean supply lines. Misak, along with thousands of his comrades-in-arms, members of the volunteer International Brigade, had come to stop him.

“I would like to think that this is his final resting place,” says Barton “Rocky” Chelbian (the family surname was later simplified) indicating an olive grove on a hillside.

A retired businessman from New Jersey, Rocky knows little of what happened to his grandfather, but almost eight decades after the two-week battle, which cost the lives of as many as 45,000 men on both sides, he has come to Spain to find out more about Misak and, as he says, to pay his respects.

At 47, Misak was not a typical recruit. Born in what is now Turkey, he had escaped the Armenian genocide of 1915. He returned to Europe to fight in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War, and then again in the mid-1930s to fight Franco’s Nationalists, which were supported by Hitler’s Nazis.

A commercial bus en route from Moscow to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, capsized in the small hours of Tuesday 221 km south of Moscow, TASS reports.

The accident took away the lives of seven people and left another 35 passengers injured, the press service of the Tula regional main department of the Interior said.

All the injured passengers have been admitted to district hospitals in the towns of Uzlovaya and Kireyevsk in the Tula region.

The accident occurred at the 221st kilometer of the M4 Don federal road at around 02:40 Moscow Standard Time on Tuesday. The bus was carrying 59 passengers aboard, Andrey Yartsev, a duty spokesman for Tula regional Interior Department told TASS.

“The bus was moving the in southward direction,” he said. “For the reason that’s yet to be established it began to waggle from one guardrail to another over a distance of about 200 meters and eventually tumbled on the right board.”

The regional division of the Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense dispatched a group of operatives to clear out and coordinate the situation.

Andrey Yartsev did not rule out, however, that the number of the injured might grow eventually.

The driver was not injured but was in a state of shock and unable to give any explanations for or details of the accident.

About 200 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan over the weekend, the NKR Defense Ministry reported.

The rival fired more than 2,500 shots from weapons of different caliber in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remained committed to the ceasefire regime and resorted to retaliatory measures only in case of extreme necessity.

On October 30, on the margins of the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan met with Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kohir Rasulzoda in Dushanbe.

During the meeting, the two prime ministers discussed a number of issues of mutual interest. They stressed the need for closer cooperation in economic, humanitarian and other spheres, as well as in the framework of international organizations.

Coming to trade and economic relations, the parties pointed to the need for revitalizing the activities of the intergovernmental commission through practical steps that will bring about tangible growth in bilateral trade turnover.

The Heads of Government of Armenia and Tajikistan considered it important to expand and deepen cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.

President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan are to pay a working visit to Georgia on October 30, President’s Press Office reports.

As part of the visit, the RA president will have meetings with Georgia’s top officials – President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Speaker of the Parliament David Usupashvili.

During the meetings, the parties will discuss the agenda of Armenian-Georgian relations and multifaceted cooperation, as well as will outline the prospects to push it forward.

In Tbilisi Serzh Sargsyan will also attend the re-consecration ceremony of the Cathedral of St George of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

 

 

 

The recent reports from the Armenian community of Syria are not encouraging, Armenian Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan said at the National Assembly today.

“Unfortunately, we are not expecting good news from Syria,” she said.

She noted that the Armenian-populated Nor Gyugh neighborhood of Aleppo has become a target of heavy attacks after the recent developments.

“We have had four victims in the past week – mother and son, an elderly woman and a 14-yer-old teenager,” Hakobyan said. She assured, however, that the Armenian ambulance, all Armenian religious and diplomatic structures are actively working in Syria.

According to the Minister, there are still 15 Armenian schools functioning in the country.

Hakobyan said most Syrian Armenian refugees prefer European countries and added that Armenia has sheltered about 2.5 thousand migrants since summer.

 

 

 

Armenian delegates have raised the issue of violation of the Armenian air space by Turkish helicopters on the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s annual session held in Norway October 9-12. Member of the Armenian delegation Tevan Poghosyan has informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the incident and addressed a letter to James Appathurai, the Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia and hopes to receive a response early in November.

Armenian delegates Tevan Poghosyan and Koryun Nahapetyan believe the issue should be addressed, but without escalating tensions.

“If NATO really values the inviolability of borders of its member states, it would be reasonable for the Alliance to serve an example and apologize for the incident, even if it has been caused by weather conditions. The incident is really an extraordinary and one, and I think NATO, of which Turkey is a member, should react to this case. Clear explanations are needed,” Tevan Poghosyan said.

Armenia will host NATO Week from November 1 and the issue is expected to be addressed within that framework.

During the NATO PA discussions on the Syrian crisis and the issue of refugees, Armenia came forth with concrete proposals. “Armenia has hosted more than 16 thousand refugees,” Koryun Nahapetyan said. He added that it would be correct for NATO to provide assistance not only to member, but also partner countries.

An Armenian-Iranian Business Forum kicked off in Yerevan today with Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Iran’s First Vice president Eshaq Jahangiri attending the event.

“We highly appreciate the Armenian-Iranian cooperation based on centuries-old friendship and mutual respect,” PM Hovik Abrahamyan said in his opening remarks. He voiced confidence that the new political situation established in the region would further contribute to the development of a new phase of Armenian-Iranian relations.

“Today’s business forum is one of the best means to boost the economic cooperation, and will provide the Armenian and Iranian entrepreneurs with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the economies of both countries, the investment opportunities and establish ties in most different fields of economy,” he added.

Mr. Abrahamyan noted the Armenian Government has adopted an “open door” policy, and does not restrinct the investment activity in any way.”

“The Republic of Armenia is conducting a multi-vector foreign policy and enjoying privileged trade regimes with a number of countries. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic union, which means Armenian goods can freely enter the 170 million consumption market of the EEU member states without any customs duties and administrative obstacles. We have free trade agreements with most of CIS member states with a total population of 250 million,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Armenia benefits from the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) regime of the US, Canada, Switzerland, Japan and Norway. Besides, he noted that the GSP+ trade regime provided by the European Union ensures access to 28 EU member states.

Returning to the Armenian-Iranian economic relations, Hovik Abrahamyan said “the intensification of bilateral cargo shipments is of strategic importance.” In this context he attached particular importance to the North-South Road Corridor and the Armenia-Iran rail project.

The Prime Minister voiced confidence that the construction of the Armenia-Iran third high-voltage power line and the Meghri HPP would give new quality to Armenia’s integration into regional energy systems.

Another Armenian-Iranian business forum is expected to be convened in Tehran in a month, Mr. Abrahamyan informed.

Addressing the participants, Iran’s First Vice-President Ashaq Jahangiri said to be happy for the opportunity to attend a meeting of Armenian and Iranian entrepreneurs. “The two neighboring countries – Iran and Armenia – have a common historic past and exemplary relations, a wide framework of cultural and political relations, which have reinforced over time.”

“Iranian Armenians greatly contribute to the progress of the country and we have no restriction with regard to our relations with Armenia,” the Iranian official said.

Mr. Jahangiri said Armenia’s membership in EEU could serve a good platform for the establishment of EEU-Iran dialogue and development of cooperation. “Armenia is the only country that can provide Iran with an access to EEU market,” he said.

The Armenian-Iranian Business Forum has brought together more than 300 entrepreneurs from both countries.

 

 

 

The National Assembly today continued the discussions on the report on the implementation of 2014 programs of the Council of Public TV and Radio Company.

Vice-President of the National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov said progress has been registered in all directions. He spoke separately of Public TV and Public Radio of Armenia.

“I would like to appreciate the work of Public Radio of Armenia, the cultural and education programs, and especially the news broadcasts.  They are rather open, public and comprehensive, plurality is guaranteed. While the Public Radio was unable to compete with private radio companies a few years ago, today it has a serious audience,” Sharmazanov said. He also expressed gratitude to the staff of the radio company.

MP Lernik Alexanyan said, in turn, he’s satisfied  with both the information provided by the Public Radio and the interpretation of political events. “Even the opposition cannot say anything bad about the Public Radio,” he added.