AGBU Press Office 55 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022-1112 Website: www.agbu.org PRESS RELEASE Wednesday, June 6, 2018 AGBU EUROPE MARKS THE CENTENNIAL OF THE FIRST REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA WITH MUSICAL WEEKEND IN BRUSSELS From June 1 to 3, the city of Brussels was captivated by a multi-genre Musical Weekend organized by the Performing Arts Department of AGBU France/Europe in partnership with the Boghossian Foundation, the City of Brussels and the Armenian community of Belgium. The three-day concert was inspired by the 100th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia, an historical milestone in the Armenian Nation's long road to independent statehood. "Since Armenia's rebirth in 1991, it has showcased to the world the depth and breadth of the musical achievements of its people. This concert series has crystalized those achievements all in one weekend," remarked Nicolas Tavitian, the director of AGBU Europe, when noting the considerable turnout at all three of the weekend's events. Together with AGBU Performing Arts Department of France, AGBU Europe assembled a roster of some of the best musicians of a generation, many whose talents were originally cultivated in Armenia. A new AGBU string ensemble, a classical piano trio and a jazz band played on successive nights, displaying their mastery of their respective genres. The entire weekend also served as a fundraiser to benefit the afterschool programs of the AGBU Children's Centers in Yerevan Armenia. "After 25 years of providing Armenia's youth with character-building and self-discovery programs through arts and sports, these centers are long overdue for a major renewal-not only to expand and upgrade interior space but also to enhance teaching proficiencies and enrich curricula," explained Karen Papazian, back at the AGBU Central Office in New York. As the director of Global Outreach and Development, she pointed out that "Armenia's youth deserve to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment. And no doubt, some of these children will grow up to follow in the footsteps of rising stars like those who performed this weekend." The concert series began Friday evening at the Brussels Town Hall, one of Belgium's most magnificent Gothic buildings. Opening remarks made by officials and dignitaries spoke to the significance of the occasion. H.E. Tatul Margaryan, Armenia's Ambassador to Belgium, stated, "On May 28, one hundred years ago, our nation restored its millenia-old state by declaring the birth of the First Republic of Armenia. Although the First Republic faced numerous challenges and was short lived, it laid the foundation for the establishment and development of state institutions and democratic governance." He was followed by Philippe Close, the mayor of Brussels, who referred to the turbulent context in which the Republic of 1918 was founded, citing the fall of the Ottoman empire, the chaos of the Russian revolution and the admission of hundreds of thousands of genocide survivors. The mayor also highlighted the will of the City of Brussels to collaborate with Armenian organizations to host this important cultural event, noting that "culture is the best expression of a people's vitality and of its presence in the world." Stepan Mirdikian, a former chairman of the Armenian community of Belgium also added words of inspiration. Quoting Ernest Renan, he mentioned, "What constitutes a nation is not so much speaking the same language or belonging to the same ethnic group, it is to have accomplished together great things in the past and to want to accomplish more in the future." On opening night, the AGBU String Ensemble[CE1], took to the stage to perform under the direction of young composer Alexandr Iradyan, who conducted the very first concert of the ensemble which interpreted the powerful and emblematic Symphony for Strings and Timpani, by Mirzoyan along with selected works by Komitas. The following evening, the diverse audience of Armenians and non-Armenians gathered at the Ceremonial Hall of the Boghossian Foundation Villa Empain for the performance of pianist Varduhi Yeritsyan, known for her vast and diverse repertoire. She performed along with the Brussels based brothers Hrachya Avanesyan (violin) and Sevak Avanesyan (cello). The trio performed the works of Shostakovich and Babajanian as well as a number of encore pieces by Komitas following the wide public acclaim. Sunday's performance at the same venue featured the contemporary works of Yessaï Karapetyan Trio, a jazz ensemble led by pianist Yessai Karapetyan, a gifted musician who performs on the most prestigious jazz stages in Europe. Yessaï was accompanied by Sylvain Fournet-Fayas on double bass and David Paycha on drums. Nadia Gortzounian, the president of AGBU France, hailed the event as a "brilliant" weekend. "I was thrilled to see such a high level of attendance at each of our three events and I am profoundly grateful to all the immensely talented musicians for their extraordinary performances. It was also a pleasure to collaborate with the City of Brussels, the Armenian community of Belgium and the Boghossian Foundation that allowed us to host our concerts in the particularly magical setting of the Villa Empain in Brussels." She went on to say, "It was a heartwarming and inspiring experience to see just how far the Armenian Nation has come since the First Republic, as we contribute to world culture through the arts." Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians around the world. For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit www.agbu.org.
Author: Khondkarian Raffi
How Armenia’s revolution has been different [The Economist Magazine]
The Economist
The Economist explains
How Armenia’s revolution has been different
It has been peaceful and Russia has kept away. Can that continue?
Almost a month ago, tens of thousands of Armenians filled the middle of the capital, Yerevan. They were listening to Nikol Pashinian, a journalist turned lawmaker. He was leading a protest against the old guard who had more or less controlled the Caucasian republic since it split from the Soviet Union in 1991. Power, he told the crowd, belonged to them and not to the politicians clinging on to their jobs. A few days later, the parliament reluctantly chose Mr Pashinian as prime minister and on May 23rd he formed a new government. What happened in Armenia amounted to a democratic velvet revolution—a rarity these days, particularly in Russia’s backyard. Unlike the revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, it was barely noticed in the West. That is partly down to Armenia’s small size and relative remoteness, but more important still was the lack of violence and the absence of Russian intervention. Few pundits or politicians outside Armenia saw it coming. So why did it succeed and what does it mean for the rest of the world?
First, the conditions were right. The Armenian government had lost popular legitimacy because of corruption and a prolonged economic slump. So when the outgoing president, Serzh Sargsyan, tried to retain power by changing the constitution and making himself prime minister protests erupted. A generation of Armenians that had never experienced Soviet rule started challenging the post-Soviet elite. Second, Armenia is a mono-ethnic country backed by a powerful diaspora. Politically it is freer than Russia and more consolidated than Ukraine. Using force against fellow Armenians would have turned Mr Sargsyan into a pariah both at home and abroad. Mr Pashinian broadened the protest both geographically and politically. He rejected traditional, divisive definitions of liberalism, nationalism and modernism. As Alexander Iskandaryan, the head of the Caucasus Institute, said, he campaigned “for everything that is good and against everything that is bad”. Lastly and crucially, he steered clear of geopolitics, focusing the protest exclusively on domestic issues, and keeping out of Russia’s confrontation with the West.
Moscow behaved with remarkable restraint, partly because it feels Armenia is not moving away from it and partly because despite its economic and military presence in Armenia, it had limited tools with which to influence the situation. In Ukraine, Russia exploited linguistic and historical divides between the Russian-speaking east and the Ukrainian-speaking west to ignite conflict, and then invaded the Donbas region. In Georgia in 2008 it used decades-long separatist conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as cover for an invasion. It had little chance of doing so in Armenia. It also had to tread carefully because of Armenia’s combustible relationship with two neighbours, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Yet the fact that Russia did not interfere and that the revolution was peaceful does not make it less important. Quite the contrary. In many ways, it poses a greater threat to Mr Putin precisely because it has been peaceful and so far successful. Mr Putin congratulated Mr Pashinian on his appointment and shook hands with him in Sochi. He may hope that economic difficulties, inflated expectations, populist promises and regional conflicts will in due course allow Moscow to gloat about the failings of popular revolutions. Mr Pashinian stresses Armenia’s strategic alliance with Russia alliance even as his country breaks away from the oligarchic system that Mr Putin embodies. Dismantling that system will be harder than ousting the government. So far he has behaved with caution, not promising miracles but retaining popular appeal. The revolution might be over; the transformation of the country is just starting.
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/05/25/how-armenias-revolution-has-been-different
Armenian Refugees from Azerbaijan are Treated as Second-Class Citizens in Armenia
Armenian Refugees from Azerbaijan are Treated as Second-Class Citizens in Armenia
18:53,
By Oksana Musaelyan
After the law on citizenship of the Republic of
Armenia was adopted in 1995, the process of “voluntary” naturalization
of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan began.
They were granted citizenship, which gave them the
right to be elected to public office and to vote, as well as the right
to travel. Yet, 25 years later, according to the State Migration Service
of Armenia, about 20,000 refugees from Azerbaijan still retain refugee
status.
About 83,000 naturalized citizens are convinced that
naturalization was forced upon them. They consider themselves victims of
the trap set by the country’s migration policy. They were hopeful that
acquiring citizenship would radically change their social and economic
situation. However, this was not the case. Both naturalized citizens and
those who have retained refugee status remain the poorest, most
marginalized and vulnerable segments of the population. For them, many
issues, including housing, education and employment, remain unresolved.
Naturalized citizens stand united in the belief that
the Armenian government deceived them. The government promised that they
would receive housing after acquiring citizenship. Also, the refugee
passport issued by Armenia limited the refugees’ rights to travel
outside Armenia. Naturalized citizens are convinced that they lost the
protection of the international community when they gave up their
refugee status. They also believe that the Armenian authorities are
enacting a silent policy of indifference. Naturalized citizens believe
that the authorities are waiting for them to either migrate or simply
pass away—the mortality rate is high among former refugees.
Nevertheless, Gagik Yeganyan, who heads the migration service, believes that such an excuse is a delusion.
“Many believe that refugee status gives them a
greater advantage than an Armenian passport because in the 1990s Armenia
received a large amount of humanitarian aid that was distributed
amongst vulnerable social groups, and refugees comprise some of these
groups. But after 2000, humanitarian aid ended. And yet, people still
have this mindset,” Yeganyan said.
About 700 refugee families received their own houses
under the housing security program, which operated from 2005 to 2008.
However, since 2009 no funding for housing has been allocated.
Nevertheless, for more than 1,000 refugee families, the housing problem
continues to be the most acute. These refugee families from Azerbaijan,
who were displaced due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict nearly 30 years
ago, continue to live in unfit housing conditions. They live in derelict
hotels, boarding schools, and hostels, often without their own
bathrooms. Commonly, four people live in a single11square-meterroom,
which serves as both a kitchen and bedroom. They are very often
subjected to the arbitrariness of the managers and new owners of these
buildings. They experience random water and power outages. Managers
sometimes guard building entrances to keep out “unwanted” visitors,
thereby creating a prison-like atmosphere.
Yeganyan said that the Armenian authorities would be
happy to help those with outstanding housing issues, but such “good
intentions” run contrary to international practice.
“There isn’t a single international document that
says that the country hosting refugees is obliged to provide them with
housing,” Yeganyan said.
The fact that they are not just refugees, but the
Armenians whose fate have been decided instead of them, when they were
forcibly dislocated as a result of the political issue raised in Armenia
and in Karabakh, proved to be absolutely not an important circumstance
in terms of the rule of the international law, which, as it turned out,
the Armenian authorities strictly comply.
In May 2011, the Armenian government held an
international forum with representatives of the diplomatic missions in
Armenia to come up with a way to solve the refugee housing problem. The
former UN High Commissioner for Refugees and now UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres participated. The forum aimed to encourage participants
to donate an $45 million in funding to solve the refugee housing issue.
In his opening remarks at the forum, former Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan noted that the refugee housing problem was the most important
among the social issues facing the country. Yet, despite that statement,
the funds were not allocated to the budget. Among the forum
participants, the embassy of Brazil was the sole contributor to the
fund, donating $50,000. The other forum participants ignored the appeal,
arguing that refugees are de jure citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
which means that the issues former refugees face are Armenia’s problem
to deal with.
During his meeting with Guterres in 2011, former
president Serzh Sargsyan finally stated the authorities’ position on the
problems facing refugees by saying that “Yerevan has never politicized
the issue of refugees.” One can only wonder why Sargsyan so belittled
the consequences of the forced resettlement of the Armenian population.
In 2011, refugee issues were finally excluded from the agenda of
Armenia’s foreign and domestic policy.
In 2007, during a press conference held on the
side-lines of the Ministerial Council of the OSCE conference in Madrid,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov said, “Do not believe
what you are told in Armenia … Armenians left Azerbaijan calmly,
selling all their property.”
Yerevan’s indifferent attitude toward the plight of
Armenian refugees is no different from the official Baku line on their
crimes of violent persecution and property committed against their own
ethnically Armenian citizens. Today, twice a year, the victims of the
Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku pogroms are commemorated, but the issues
their survivors face in Armenia are ignored. Yerevan’s silence suggests a
cynical, illiterate and antihuman position towards Armenian refugees,
who are treated as second-class citizens. Their rights remain
unprotected under Armenian law.
Today, Armenian refugees find themselves on the
periphery of human existence. They are displaced Armenians whose fate
was decided for them, living unjustly in their own hell.
Photo: Jan Zychlinski
Not Saakashvili. What popular protest leader Nikol Pashinyan will do as Armenia’s prime minister and how Moscow will treat him
Novaya Gazeta, Russia
May 10 2018
Not Saakashvili. What popular protest leader Nikol Pashinyan will do as Armenia’s prime minister and how Moscow will treat him
Report by Vyacheslav Polovinko
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Russian]
Nikol Pashinyan, leader of the protests which have been taking place in Armenia in recent weeks, became the country’s prime minister on his second attempt on 8 May when 59 deputies voted for him. Exchanging his casual jacket for a formal suit, Pashinyan has wasted no time and has now offered President Armen Sarkisyan to dismiss the National Security Service head and the police chief. These moves, however, are clearly tactical and even reflective: a revolution’s leaders often start by removing the previous regime’s appointees. As for other moves – first and foremost, those concerning foreign policy – the new prime minister has been extremely careful so far. It should be noted that Pashinyan’s first international visit will be to Sochi where he will meet Vladimir Putin (the Yelk party which nominated the revolutionary is opposed to Armenia’s membership of the Eurasian Union, while he himself supports it in principle and is therefore planning to attend the union’s summit). The new prime minister’s has been quite cautious in his statements about Nagorno-Karabkah, although Pashinyan did find time to travel there in a helicopter on 9 May to Baku’s dissatisfaction.
Pashinyan’s positions as prime minister are not completely clear yet, although it is now possible to discuss the outline of his agenda, Moscow Carnegie Centre analyst Vadim Dubnov told Novaya Gazeta. The situation is actually simplest as far as Nagorno-Karabakh is concerned: Pashinyan will most likely not change anything at all there. “I do not think that we should project the events in Yerevan onto the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Pashinyan will operate there within the same narrow margins that Sargsyan operated in. When we are discussing Nagorno-Karabakh, it is important to understand that this problem can only be resolved through compromises. Pashinyan cannot make those now (because he does not want to lose popular support), so the most he can do is to continue discussing the technical aspects of this problem. It is the only thing that is currently possible,” Dubnov said.
The situation is more complex in terms of Moscow’s attitude to Pashinyan. For the first time in many years, Russian officials demonstratively refrained from interfering in the events in another country, while some of them, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, for example, stopped short of endorsing the fraternal people’s independent choice.
Rosneft press secretary Mikhail Leontyev was the only person who spoke sharply against it, declaring during the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station’s broadcast that Armenia “can go to hell”. This was followed by something previously unseen: presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov started publicly making excuses for the journalist’s words.
“Those comments have nothing to do and cannot have anything to do with Moscow’s official policy towards Armenia. Neither do they have or could have anything in common with the warm feelings of friendship and fraternity which Russians have always had for the Armenian people.”
Moscow’s nonintervention is actually a strategy carefully designed at the “very top”, Vadim Dubnov believes. “Moscow reacted very correctly. It felt like a command had been given: ‘Let them do whatever they want because they cannot get away from us anyway.’ There is an understanding that Pashinyan cannot currently afford to sharply confront Moscow,” Dubnov said. The new prime minister’s problem stems not only from the fact that more than half of Armenia’s businesses are linked with Russia, but also the fact that many businessmen act according to Moscow’s interests. “Pashinyan will therefore need to discuss his position on any issue with Russia,” Dubnov added.
He cited the example of the Association Agreement with the EU, which former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan signed, as an example of how this works in practice. Dubnov described the agreement as a “castrated” one, noting that Moscow had decided that the format was admissible. He believes that the policy of relations between the two countries will continue to be based on similar modes of “consultation”.
Formulating his own agenda will be Pashinyan’s key problem. What does he actually want to achieve through his revolution now that it has succeeded? The new Armenian prime minister is yet to formulate an understanding of future goals of domestic and foreign policies, although experts already feel that Pashinyan will not become either Saakashvili or Yushchenko for Armenia and Russia. “On the other hand, I do not quite understand how one can reform Armenia [in its current state] without being like them,” Dubnov says.
ACNIS reView #17, 2018. Weekly Update: May 5-12
Weekly Update
Bloomberg writes,
that “Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected prime minister by
the country’s parliament, completing a remarkable rise to power backed by
massive street protests that he’s termed a “velvet revolution.”
Lawmakers voted
by 59 to 42 on Tuesday to name Pashinyan as premier, a week after the ruling
Republican Party, which holds a majority of seats, had refused to back his
candidacy. This time, 13 Republicans voted with minority parties in favor of
Pashinyan, who led the protests that ousted Armenia’s longtime ruler Serzh
Sargsyan.”
The Guardian in
their article about the situation in Armenia, write the following: “In an
interview with the Guardian during the protests, Pashinyan said dark political
forces had been trying to derail Armenia’s peaceful revolution. His aides said
Karen Karapetyan, the prime minister from September 2016 until last month, and
who is close to Russia, had sought backroom deals to derail a vote last week
for Pashinyan to become PM, which he lost.
“Some forces
are trying to engage us into political bargaining and propose me to become
prime minister but ensure and guarantee the continuation of the existing
system,” Pashinyan said. “And for me, my goal isn’t to become prime minister.
My goal is bring real changes to Armenia.”
The newspaper,
writing that “there is a touch of populist in Pashinyan”, quotes Ararat
Mirzoyan, a fellow member of Civil Contract, who was arrested with Pashinyan
last month: “He is not a populist. He is popular.”
In his article
for the New York Times Neil
MacFarquhar, writing about his encounter with Nikol Pashinyan and his
biography, says that “velvet revolution” was “the most sweeping change in this
small, landlocked country of about 2.8 million people in the southern Caucasus
since it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.” He further
continues: “If many Armenians find it nothing short of miraculous that their
country seems transformed overnight, Mr. Pashinyan described it as the
culmination of a journey that began some 20 years ago.”
Sepaking about
the bloody clashes that resulted in the deaths of 10 people in 2008 and being
on the lam for 16 months and the following arrest in 2009, Pashinyan said: “I
am proud that I experienced it and was able to stay true to myself in that
strange environment under all different kinds of pressure.”
Pashinyan also
spoke about the preparation of the protests: “I understood that the best way to
prevent violence is to be nonviolent,” he said. The author writes, that
“drawing inspiration from Nelson Mandela and from Gandhi’s famous 1930 walk
across India to protest British taxation, Mr. Pashinyan decided to walk around
120 miles across Armenia from Gyumri, the second-largest city, to Yerevan.”
In his
concluding remarks, MacFarquhar writes, that Nikol Pashinyan “brushes aside
fears that he has set expectations so high that he is bound to disappoint.”
“I am in a
working mood, there is no sense of euphoria, just work to do,” Mr. Pashinyan
said. “If we were able to do the impossible, that means we will be able to do
the difficult.”
Prepared by Marina Muradyan
Washington: 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide (Senate – April 23, 2018)
Impact News Service Tuesday Washington: 103RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE (Senate - April 23, 2018) Washington: The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following house proceeding: Mr. REED. Mr. President, this week we solemnly observe the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Over a century ago, one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century began when the Young Turk leaders of the Ottoman Empire executed more than 200 prominent Armenians. What followed was an 8-year systematic campaign of oppression and massacre. By 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and over a half a million survivors were exiled. These atrocities affected the lives of every Armenian living in Asia Minor and, indeed, across the globe. The U.S Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during this dark time, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., unsuccessfully pleaded with President Wilson to take action and later remembered the events of the genocide, saying, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.'' Clearly, the suffering of the Armenian people must never be forgotten. The survivors of the Armenian genocide, however, persevered due to their unbreakable spirit and steadfast resolve and went on to greatly contribute to the lands in which they found new homes and communities, including the United States. That is why we not only commemorate this grave tragedy each year, but we also take this moment to celebrate the traditions, the contributions, as well as the bright future of the Armenian people. Indeed, my home State of Rhode Island continues to be enriched by our strong and vibrant Armenian-American community. This genocide has been denied for far too long. To honor the memory of this tragedy, I have joined with several of my colleagues on resolutions over the years to encourage the U.S to officially recognize the Armenian genocide. As we remember the past, we remain committed to forging a brighter future. We must continue to guard against hatred and oppression so that we can prevent such crimes against humanity. As ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I remain committed to supporting assistance to Armenia to strengthen security, promote economic growth, and foster democratic reforms and development. We must find a way to come together to recognize the truth of what happened and to provide unwavering support and assistance to those facing persecution today.
Police in Armenia detain opposition leaders, protesters
Reuters
YEREVAN (Reuters) – Police in Armenia detained three opposition leaders and nearly 200 protesters on Sunday, drawing a rebuke from the European Union after demonstrators demanded newly appointed Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan quit.
Protesters accuse Sarksyan, 63, of clinging to power after parliament made him prime minister this month following a stint of 10 years as president. In the biggest political crisis in a decade, tens of thousands of his opponents have marched through the capital Yerevan, blocking streets and staging sit-ins.
The protests, though peaceful so far, threaten to destabilize a key Russian ally in a volatile region riven by a long low level conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and would, if successful, be a rare example of people power delivering reform in the former Soviet Union.
Critics accuse Sarksyan of ruling the South Caucasus nation of around 3 million people for too long, of being too close to Russia which has military bases inside Armenia, and of doing too little to root out corruption.
Sarksyan says his country needs him and that his party enjoys large-scale popular support.
Under a revised constitution approved in a 2015 referendum, most state powers shifted to the prime minister while the presidency has become a largely ceremonial post.
Police said in a statement that opposition politician Nikol Pashinyan and two other lawmakers had been “forcibly removed” from a protest. A Reuters reporter witnessed the “red berets”, as Armenian special police forces are known, grab one lawmaker by his hands and feet and carry him behind the police cordon.
The public prosecution service confirmed that three opposition leaders had been detained on suspicion of organizing an illegal protest.
Almost 200 people have been taken to police stations by law enforcement officers, the Interfax news agency cited police representatives as saying. Seven people had been taken to hospital, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
According to the law, the detainees must either be released within 72 hours, or a criminal case can be opened against them.
Opposition leader Pashinyan had earlier held talks with Sarksyan, who walked out of the meeting within minutes after accusing his opponents of trying to “blackmail” the authorities.
“This is not talks, not a dialogue, it’s just an ultimatum, blackmail of the state, of the legitimate authorities,” Sarksyan had said.
Genocide: Germany’s Responsibility for Armenian Genocide: First Step Toward Holocaust?
Sputnik, Russia
© AP Photo / Michael Sohn
Opinion
A recent report published by Global Net – Stop the Arms Trade (GN-STAT) found that Berlin can be viewed as an accomplice in the Armenian genocide, as many weapons used by the Ottoman Empire came from Germany. Radio Sputnik discussed the issue with French researcher Georges Estievenart.
Not only did Germany supply weapons to the Ottoman Empire that were used against Armenians, but it also laid “ideological foundations” for the genocide, political analyst Georges Estievenart told Sputnik.
“Even if Germany did not think about genocide, in particular against Armenians, at that time, its assistance to the Ottoman Empire, however, was not limited to a successful trade deal on the supply of weapons,” the researcher noted.
According to the analyst, Germany was striving “to teach the Ottomans their concept of conducting military operations” during a conflict.
READ MORE: Israeli Parliament Votes Against Bill Recognizing Genocide of Armenians
The idea was that “it is not enough to win military battles, sometimes you need to go further and completely destroy the ‘enemy.’ The totalitarian military theories that already existed in Germany were later applied by Hitler,” Estievenart said.
In his opinion, the report can’t be considered sensational, as in the resolution adopted by the Bundestag on May 31, 2016, Germany recognized its historical responsibility for the genocide.
Still, the report is quite useful as it presents several testimonies from the time, in particular those of the Prussian military, who were involved in the preparation and commissioning of war crimes, the expert said.
“This once again confirms that there was a very strong alliance between Germany and the Ottoman Empire […]. Thanks to the report, we’ve also learned that Germany exerted strong pressure in order to derive from this political alliance benefits for the German economy via arms supplies,” the analyst concluded.
READ MORE: Dutch Lawmakers Recognize Armenian Genocide, Foreign Ministry to Await Debate
In 2016 the German parliament, the Bundestag, formally recognized the Armenian genocide, sparking an angry reaction from Turkey, whose Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called it a “historic mistake.”
Around 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1917, something Turkey has consistently denied being a genocide, saying those who perished were simply collateral damage and not part of any deliberate effort to annihilate them.
The views and opinions expressed by Georges Estievenart are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik’s position.
Solar power plants to be built in Armenia, new map of solar energy development is formed
News.am, Armenia
Solar power plants to be built in Armenia, new map of solar energy development is formed Solar power plants to be built in Armenia, new map of solar energy development is formed
16:43, 13.04.2018
YEREVAN. – Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a consultation, during which the discussants conferred on the prospects and opportunities for solar energy development in Armenia.
Hayk Harutyunyan, Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, reported that a new map of solar energy development has been formed within the framework of the project to build solar power plants in Armenia, and that respective feasibility studies have been made along the lines of this new map, press office of the government informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.
Karapetyan, for his part, stressed that there is a great potential in Armenia for state-private sector cooperation in alternative energy as well as broad opportunities for its sale.
In the acting PM’s words, active steps need to be taken to implement new alternative energy development programs in Armenia, and this will contribute to the reinforcement of a safe and independent energy system in the country.