Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Databases on Armenian traditional games and edible plants in Armenian cuisine available online

Khondkarian Raffi
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 24 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

With the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, and on the initiative of Vanadzor-based Civil Society Development NGO “Center,” electronic databases entitled “Armenian Traditional Games” and “Edible Plants in Armenian Cuisine” were created within the framework of the “Let’s Play Armenian” program. Ten video master classes were also created within the framework of the project.

The purpose of databases and master classes of traditional Armenian dishes is the preservation and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage related to games and food in ten communities of Tumanyan region of Lori marz of RA (Chochkan, Shamut, Chkalov, Shnogh, Dsegh, Artsatsag, Kachachut, Akori, Mghart, Odzun).

The database of Armenian traditional games contains important information about many traditional Armenian games that have already been forgotten. The staff of the program has already started presenting some traditional Armenian games to the beneficiaries of the organization by advertising their practical application.

The database of Armenian traditional games is available online at the NGO “Center” website and Facebook page.

The “Edible plants in Armenian cuisine” database of Lori region of the Republic of Armenia was compiled as a result of field work, study of existing literature, various sources and interviews with masters of Armenian cuisine. The database is available here.

The master classes are available online on the NGO Center’s YouTube channel.

Armenian games and national cuisine is one of the important manifestations of intangible cultural heritage that must be preserved and passed on to future generations.

Armenpress: Gagik Jhangiryan and David Khachatryan elected members of Supreme Judicial Council

Khondkarian Raffi

Gagik Jhangiryan and David Khachatryan elected members of Supreme Judicial Council

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. In a closed and secret ballot at the National Assembly, Gagik Jhangiryan and David Khachatryan have been elected members of Supreme Judicial Council, ARMENPRESS reports Chairman of the NA Counting Committee Vahagn Hovakimyan said at the extraordinary session of the parliament.

The ruling My Step faction had nominated Gagik Jhangiryan’s and Davit Khachaturyan’s candidacies for the members of the Supreme Judicial Council.

City in Cyprus renames Talaat Pasha Street at the request of Armenian community

Khondkarian Raffi
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 19 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

The Municipal Council of Paphos, Cyprus, has renamed the Talaat Pasha Street into Street of Justice after examining requests from the Armenian and Pontian Greek communities.

Given the leading role of Talaat Pasha in the planning and execution of the genocides of Armenians and Pontian Greeks, and aware of the weight of its responsibility before the present and future generations, the Council, unanimously decided to remove the name of Talaat Pasha from a street name and rename it into Street of Justice by a majority vote.

The Council thus sends a strong message to the local community and the international community that people who committed genocide have no place in the bright pages of history.

“The struggle we are waging for justice in Cyprus is an element that must unite Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots at this historic juncture. It is noteworthy that there are many Turkish and Turkish Cypriot intellectuals and progressives who also describe Talaat Pasha as a horrible politician and a ruthless man,” reads a post on the Municipality’s Facebook page.

Talaat Pasha (1874-1921) served as Minister of the Interior of the Ottoman Empire and ordered the deportation and slaughter of minorities, mainly Armenians and Greeks. He was assassinated in 1921 by Armenian Soghomon Teilirian in Germany, where he had escaped in 1918.

Bodies of seven more servicemen found in search operations in Artsakh

Khondkarian Raffi
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 19 2021

Eight more bodies of killed were found during the search operations in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Monday, Hunan Tadevosyan, the head of the press service of Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations, told Panorama.am. As Avetisyan informed, one of the victims is a civilian, identified as resident of Hadrut town Arsen Gahramanyan, born in 1976. 

Five of the bodies were retrieved from Jabrayil, while the other  recovered from Aygestan village from the former administrative area of Davit Bek village of Syunik province. All of the killed are servicemen and yet to be identified through a forensic DNA analysis. 

Search operations continue in the Varanda, Jabrayil, Hadrut regions and former administrative area of Meghri town, currently under the control of Azerbaijani forces, Tadevosyan added.

So far, a total of 1246 bodies of fallen soldiers and civilians have been found during the search operations. 

Newspaper: Armenia prosecutor general says there are all legal grounds to arrest PM Pashinyan immediately

Khondkarian Raffi
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
  

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: According to the information of Past newspaper, the RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan has recently been frank in a narrow personal environment regarding the events unfolding around him.

In particular, according to our source, he noted that the reports of high treason [regarding PM Nikol Pashinyan] contain sufficient grounds to initiate a criminal case and prosecute Nikol Pashinyan. Especially invulnerable is the report submitted by legal scholars, which [the report] legally assumes the immediate arrest of Nikol Pashinyan.

Davtyan expressed concern that he could become a scapegoat in this process, but realizing all this, he cannot take any concrete steps for fear of posing new threats to Armenia’s security.

Our source noted that Davtyan is not going to take the accountability for what Nikol Pashinyan did, and will take all the necessary actions at the right time.

VoA: Russia Hosts First Azerbaijan-Armenia Talks Since Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal

Khondkarian Raffi
Voice of America
Jan 11 2021
Russia Hosts First Azerbaijan-Armenia Talks Since Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal 
 
By VOA News
January 11, 2021 01:55 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders on Monday, marking the first meeting since Russia brokered a peace deal that ended a six-week conflict over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
 
 As he sat down for talks with the two leaders at the Kremlin, Putin said the truce has been successfully implemented, laying the foundation for a fair settlement to the conflict.
 
 The recent conflict that cost thousands of lives on both sides gained international attention after the Azerbaijani military began expanding into the region in late-September. Despite being recognized as Azerbaijani, Nagorno-Karabakh has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994, when another Russia-brokered truce ended a six-year-long separatist war in the region. No peace deal was signed back then.
 
 In November,  Putin brought his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts together to sign a peace agreement. The new deal establishes that Azerbaijan will hold on to specific areas that it has taken during the most recent conflict, while Armenia agreed to hand over additional adjacent areas.  
 
 Azerbaijani leaders overwhelmingly saw the deal as a major triumph, with President Ilham Aliyev describing the agreement as of “historic importance.”
 
In Armenia, however, the deal was deeply criticized, sparking mass protests and calls for the resignation of the country’s prime minister. On the occasion, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the deal “incredibly painful both for me and both for our people,” but saw it as a necessary step to prevent Azerbaijan from overruling the region.
 
 As Pashinyan left for Moscow on Monday, Armenian protesters tried to block his access to the airport. Police later dispersed them.
 
 Since November, Russia has deployed around 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh, who will be stationed in the region for at least five years. Putin has also indicated on Monday that the three countries will establish a working group to restore traffic links in the region.

How AYF Has Shaped Activism

Khondkarian Raffi

January 14,  2020



Thousands attended demonstrations this fall organized by the AYF to protest Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia and Artsakh

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

For generations of current and past Armenian Youth Federation members, January 14 is an important day as it marks the anniversary of the organization’s establishment in 1933 by General Karekin Njdeh, who was dispatched by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to the United States to organize the scattered Armenian youth in the nascent Diaspora.

For 88 years the AYF has been that singular organization that through its various programs and projects has marshaled the Armenian youth to advance the national aspirations of Armenians in the United States, internationally in countries with significant Armenian population and since the early 1990s in Armenia and Artsakh.

Njdeh believed that through education and understanding of the struggles of the Armenian people the youth can mobilize and become the torchbearers of our national ideals through the unique perspective and lens of a younger generation.

General Karekin Njdeh (center) in Los Angeles in 1933 for the installation of the AYF “Mousa Dagh”, currently known as the “Mousa Ler” chapter

“The strength of the AYF doesn’t come from one person or leader, but rather the efforts of the collective,” said Puzant Berberian a leader of the AYF Western U.S. in an article he penned last year for Asbarez to mark AYF Day.

It is that collective that has taken the broad concepts of persevering our national identity, advancing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the need for and strengthening of Armenia’s statehood and has advanced through specific projects and programs shaping community activism for decades.

Take AYF Camp as an example. It was Njdeh’s vision and the efforts of the early generation of AYFers to create a venue where Armenian youth can gather. The grounds of the AYF Camp Haiastan in Franklin Massachusetts were acquired in the 1940s with its summer camp session kicking off in 1951. Here on the West Coast AYF Camp has been part of the Armenian youth narrative since 1977 bringing together hundreds of youth every summer since to promote camaraderie and to instill and preserve their national identity with a focus on strengthening the participants’ commitment to the Armenian Cause.

Armenian Youth Federation

In 1994, AYF Western U.S. leaders believed that with a newly-independent Armenia and Artsakh there was an imperative for a direct bridge between the Diaspora and Homeland. They conceived the AYF Youth Corps program, which sent its first seven participants to Artsakh in the summer of 1994. Since then hundreds of Armenian youth have participated in the program creating lasting relationships and planting the seeds of activism for decades among the youth of Armenia and Artsakh, with offshoot programs developed by other AYF regions in Javakhk.

In 1991, the leaders of the AYF Eastern U.S. kicked off the AYF Internship Program in Armenia, which allows Diasporan youth to gain first-hand knowledge about the functioning of civil society in Armenia by proving work experience in governmental, non-profit and organizational structures.

The AYF has always been on the forefront of advancing justice for the Armenian Genocide. It was the AYF that launched the campaign to urge University of California to divest from Turkey. The movement, which began on one college campus soon spread to all UC campuses and was later adopted by the State Assembly and Senate with the measure being signed by the governor of California.

Another program that has become a mainstay in our community is the AYF’s With Our Soldiers efforts, which, for years, has been providing for the needs of soldiers and their families in Armenia and Artsakh. The devastating toll last fall’s Karabakh war has taken on our soldiers will certainly become a priority for this program for months and years to come.

AYF members directly felt the impact and repercussions of the Karabakh War since many of their friends and colleagues in Armenia and Artsakh were on the frontlines or, as the war progressed, perished in defense of our homeland and nation. It was heart wrenching to read social media posts of AYF members who were maintaining contact on the ground as the war raged.

AYF Camp

This experience did not discourage them but made them more resilient and strengthened their conviction to continue their mission and directly confront the challenges created by the war.

As Njdeh had envisioned, the AYF has and will continue to be on the frontlines of justice for our people and the salvation of our homeland. And, we will, as always, look to the AYF to guide our convictions.

On this 88th anniversary of the AYF we bow our heads to all of their members—past and present—who have sacrificed their lives in pursuit of justice and freedom and in defense of our Nation.

Asbarez: Garin Angoghinian’s Book of Armenian Haikus Published in Yerevan

Khondkarian Raffi

January 12,  2020



Garin Angoghinian’s “Armenian Haiku”

YEREVAN—Dear Bed Books announced the publication of Garin Angoghinian’s book of haikus, “Hayeren Haiku” – “Armenian Haiku”) on December 31.

The cross-genre book is a collection of 63 haikus written by the U.S.-born Angoghinian on topics ranging from love, loss, politics, and assimilation. It features an introduction by the book’s editor and designer, Rupen Khajag. This is Angoghinian’s first published volume.

The book was published by Dear Bed Books and printed by NA-ME Press in Yerevan, Armenia.

Garin began writing short-form poetry as a way to conform to social media’s character limitations and to overcome writer’s block.

“Very often I find myself with a great idea for a title, opening line, or closing, but struggle to see an entire piece from beginning to end. When writing haikus, I found it to be more like a puzzle— to bring a beginning, middle, and end together in one thought while incorporating literary tools such as rhyming, alliteration, and wordplay,” Angoghinian said about his process. “It is exciting to see 17 syllables come together; they can be so simple and direct or have multiple meanings and interpretations.”

The wine blessing, held on Sunday, Jan. 3rd. From l to r: Roupen Khajag, Garin Angoghinian, C. Sarkssian

One of the reasons Angoghinian decided to publish his collection of haikus was to give an alternative to those who have difficulty reading Armenian. “Most often, those still learning the language are forced to turn to children’s books to match their reading level. I hoped to provide some light reading but with more relatable content,” he said.

“Garin’s haikus are raw and sincere. His subtle use of irony, hyperbole, ridicule, and wordplay exposes truths and criticizes the status quo,” said Khajag. “An American-born poet producing in Armenian is a rarity these days. Not only does Garin write in Western Armenian—he does so beautifully,” Khajag added.

A traditional ginedzon (wine blessing) for “Armenian Haiku” was held at an undisclosed location in Yerevan on January 3.

“Shaghzoyan Bookstore” is available for purchase at Yerevan’s Zangak and Bookinist bookstores, online and in-store at Abril Books in Los Angeles, Calif.

Established in 2020 and based in (Virtual-)Garin, Western Armenia, Dear Bed Books is committed to publishing and republishing books in Western Armenian.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia’s Putin hosts Azeri, Armenian leaders

Khondkarian Raffi
Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Jan 11 2021
Rival leaders did not shake hands at Kremlin meeting, only exchanging curt greetings as they sat down opposite Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it is time to discuss “next steps” regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh truce Moscow brokered, including the work of Russian peacekeepers stationed in the region, demarcation lines and humanitarian issues.
 
His comments came as he sat down for talks in the Kremlin on Monday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, bringing together the leaders for the first time since the truce sealed in November ended six weeks of fighting over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Pashinyan and Aliyev did not shake hands, only exchanging curt greetings as they sat down at an oval table opposite Putin.
 
Putin said the peace agreement has been successfully implemented, “creating the necessary basis for a long-term and full-format settlement of the old conflict.”
 
The Russian-brokered peace agreement halted 44 days of conflict between the Azerbaijani army and Armenian forces over the mountainous region and surrounding areas, locking in territorial gains for Azerbaijan.
 
But tensions persist, with sporadic fighting, prisoners of war continuing to be held by both sides, and disagreements over how a prospective new transport corridor cutting through the region will work.
  
The region is within Azerbaijan’s borders and is not recognised as Armenian land by any country, including Armenia.
 
But it has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces and self-appointed Armenian officials, backed by Armenia since a war between the rivals that claimed thousands of lives resulted in a ceasefire 1994.
 
Peace deal
Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh flared up again on September 27, 2020.
 
The Azerbaijani military pushed deep into the region and surrounding areas in fighting involving heavy artillery and drones that left more than 6,000 people dead on both sides, the majority of them soldiers.
 
 
Under the peace deal, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh for at least five years.
 
The truce was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia, where thousands repeatedly took to the streets demanding Pashinyan’s resignation.
 
Many protesters on Monday tried to block a highway linking the Armenian capital with the airport to prevent Pashinyan from travelling to Moscow, but police dispersed them.
 
The Armenian prime minister has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.
 
 
Aliyev has meanwhile cast the war victory at home as an historic righting of wrongs, something Armenia rejects.
 
Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey have shut their borders with Armenia ever since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted, a blockade that has weakened the economy of the landlocked country.
 
Putin expands Russia’s military footprint
For Russia, the conflict highlighted the rising influence of Ankara in the South Caucasus, part of the former Soviet Union that Moscow has traditionally seen as its own sphere of influence.
 
But by brokering the deal and getting Russian peacekeepers on the ground, Putin has thwarted a stronger Turkish presence for now while expanding Moscow’s own military footprint.
 
 
Dmitri Trenin, a political analyst for the Moscow Carnegie Center, said the Kremlin hoped Monday’s talks would allow it to reaffirm its influence in the region.
 
“(The) peacekeeping function is Moscow’s advantage in its competitive relationship with Ankara,” Trenin wrote on Twitter. 
 
Journalist Onnik J Krikorian meanwhile said if Putin insisted on a “deal” between Armenia and Azerbaijan during Monday’s talks there “will be one”.
 
“That then raises the issue of longevity, but it does provide a window for economic links to be restored and for confidence-building measures to be implemented,” Kirkorian wrote on Twitter.
 
“And there are few, especially in Armenia, that will go against Russia. Successfully and without repercussions, anyway.”
 
SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 01/06/2021

Khondkarian Raffi 
                                        Wednesday, 
Pashinian, Entourage Shun Armenian Christmas Mass
        • Robert Zargarian
Armenia -- Catholicos Garegin II (C) leads a Christmas Mass at Saint Gregory the 
Illuminator’s Cathedral in Yerevan, January 6, 2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian declined to attend on Wednesday a Christmas mass 
celebrated by Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic 
Church increasingly at loggerheads with Armenia’s government.
Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan and other key members of Pashinian’s 
political team were also conspicuously absent. Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian 
was the only senior state official present at the liturgy held at Saint Gregory 
the Illuminator’s Cathedral in Yerevan.
Pashinian congratulated Armenians on Christmas, marked by their ancient church 
on January 6, with an excerpt from the Gospel posted on his Facebook page. His 
spokeswoman, Mane Gevorgian, said later in the morning that he did not go to the 
mass because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to the pandemic situation, the prime minister is self-isolated,” Gevorgian 
told the Armenpress news agency. She did not specify whether Pashinian has taken 
a coronavirus test.
Pashinian already went into self-isolation in June after announcing that he and 
members of his family have tested positive for COVID-19. He claimed to have 
recovered from the disease a week later.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian kisses a cross held by Catholicos 
Garegin II during an Easter Mass at Yerevan's St. Gregory the Illuminator 
Cathedral, April 21, 2019.
A group of Armenian opposition supporters warned on Tuesday that they will try 
to bar Pashinian from entering the Yerevan cathedral if he decides to attend the 
Christmas mass.
Virtually all major opposition groups blame Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in 
the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh and want him to resign and hand over power to 
an interim government that would hold fresh parliamentary elections within a 
year.
Garegin and other senior clergymen in Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora have 
publicly backed the opposition demands rejected by Pashinian. Some Armenian 
Apostolic Church priests demonstratively attended recent anti-government rallies 
in Yerevan.
Another priest based in the southeastern town of Sisian publicly refused to 
shake Pashinian’s hand when the prime minister visited a local church last 
month. Garegin’s office pointedly declined to criticize the priest’s behavior 
condemned by Pashinian’s supporters.
Armenia -- Worshippers attend a Christmas Mass at Saint Gregory the 
Illuminator’s Cathedral in Yerevan, January 6, 2021.
Garegin mentioned the Karabakh war and its “disastrous consequences” in a homily 
read out during Wednesday’s church service attended by hundreds of believers. He 
lamented “destructive mistakes” which he said were made before the six-week 
hostilities.
“Necessary vigilance was not shown in the face of the threats of an unstable 
peace and war, the interests of the homeland and the people were subordinated to 
individual aspirations and goals. God-rejecting spirit and alien ideologies and 
habits permeated our society,” he said.
“Let us stand strong in the face of the lethal test for our nation and people 
with hope and faith, girded with the life-giving power of the Lord. Let us gain 
strength to rise from disasters, to dispel this heavy darkness that is forced 
upon us with heavenly support, and to illumine the new horizons of our lives,” 
added the Catholicos.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.