Author: Lilit Nahapetian

Massachusetts Mandates Education on Armenian Christian Genocide in Public Schools

Lilit Nahapetian

Jan 21 2022


01/21/2022 United States (International Christian Concern) – This year, Massachusetts will require its public schools to cover the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century following a decision by state legislators. This makes Massachusetts the sixth state in the United States to mandate education on the genocide, during which the Ottoman Empire killed or displaced around 2 million Armenian Christians.

Despite much advocacy from Armenian groups regarding the addition of the Armenian Genocide to Massachusetts’ curriculum, some Turkish groups fought against the new mandate. The Turkish government continues to undertake a campaign of denial surrounding the genocide, and has been known to spread disinformation surrounding the atrocity.

Last year, President Joe Biden became only the second United States president to affirm the existence of the genocide, greatly angering his Turkish counterparts and adding to the already tense U.S.-Turkey alliance.

Although the Armenian Genocide occurred more than a century ago, education about the atrocity is still vital to continue. In the 2020 Karabakh War, Turkish-paid mercenaries and Azerbaijani soldiers committed several war crimes against the Armenian Christian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) in manners reminiscent of the genocide.

In order to preserve the memory of the rich Christian heritage of Armenia, the first Christian nation in the world, and prevent such future atrocities from happening, institutions must continue to educate future generations on the devastation of the Armenian genocide.


Newspaper: Armenia authorities want to get rid of commissioner for diaspora

Lilit Nahapetian
  NEWS.am  
Armenia – Jan 15 2022
09:51, 15.01.2022

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: In recent days, Zareh Sinanyan, the [High] Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, has once again appeared in the spotlight of media and social media users; particularly the fact that he had commented on his own photo on Facebook—congratulating himself on Christmas.

According to Past newspaper’s information, the pro-government circles noticed this episode and were the first to publicize [it] and consistently started “circulating” the topic in the social domain.

According to our government source, this is not accidental. The authorities want to get rid of Sinanyan, and this was just another pretext to carry out information anti-propaganda [against him].

Let us note that the fact of appointing Sinanyan to that post was not unequivocally accepted by various circles of the Armenian diaspora, and the negative moods towards him have increased even more because of his activities—more specifically, inaction—and, in general, the incomprehensible policy pursued by the RA on diaspora affairs.

Ex-PM: Armenia authorities want to leave Karabakh to Azerbaijan’s whim

Lilit Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 28 2021
17:53, 28.12.2021

The Armenian authorities want to leave Karabakh to the whim of Azerbaijan. Former PM of Armenia, chairman of the Freedom Party, and political scientist Hrant Bagratyan told this to a press conference Tuesday.

According to him, the aforesaid means that Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), in fact, will not get any autonomy.

“After a while, Baku will start demanding that the laws of Azerbaijan be extended to the whole territory of Karabakh. Yes, the Russian military will stay [in Artsakh]. But after the approval of the Azerbaijani legislation, the issue of the return of refugees will be raised. The Azerbaijanis will return to Karabakh, whereas the people of Karabakh—no. Then the Azerbaijanis will start settling in Armenia, whereas they, the Armenians, will not return to Baku and Sumgait. And so, the problem will start to deepen,” Bagratyan said.

At the same time, he did not rule out the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent from Artsakh in case of a change of power in Russia.

“Turkey and Azerbaijan want to resolve the Karabakh issue as soon as possible. This is due to the fact that Russia’s attention is now focused on Ukraine. Besides, Russia is in a rather distorted information area in terms of Armenia. Not only some MPs of the Russian State Duma, but also representatives of the MFA, even the press secretary of the Russian president are behaving wrongly towards Armenia,” the former premier noted.

Travel That Changes You: 10 Favorite Adventures Of 2021 [Wings of Tatev included]

Lilit Nahapetian
Forbes
Dec 28 2021

Travel That Changes You: 10 Favorite Adventures Of 2021

Ann Abel, Senior Contributor
Travel

I’ve never had a bucket list—I detest the term. But I have been gratefully keeping track of my peak adventures and experiences for nearly as long as I’ve been writing about travel.

The year 2021, was, of course, one of reduced expectations and gratitude for ever-smaller little pleasures and tiny glimpses of magic. Maybe transformative travel was too tall an order this year; maybe just getting out and feeling alive was a thing to celebrate.

With that in mind, here are my peak experiences of 2021—the things that made me feel happily, gratefully alive.


The cable car over the mountains of Armenia WINGS OF TATEV

Flying over Armenia

My host during a culinary exploration of Armenia liked to throw out comparisons to both James Bond and Indiana Jones. The country especially lived up to those pronouncements during a ride on Wings of Tatev—a five-kilometer journey on the longest double-track cable car in the world, at some points suspended some 1,000 feet above the ground. Afterward, the trip back to the capital of Yerevan was in an Airbus H130 flown by Armenian Helicopters, zooming (the good kind) over the mountains of the Syunik Province as the sun was setting.

[Armenian News note: to read about the remaining 9 adventures, please click on the link below]

Pashinyan sees some kind of solution to the issue of unblocking the roads after the Brussels meeting

Lilit Nahapetian

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 20:25,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian side will never agree to provide a road to Azerbaijan without customs duty or inspections, ARMENPRESS reports Prime MIniste rof Armenia NIkol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question why it was impossible to reach some agreement on unblocking the roads, or did Azerbaijan bring forward other demandsand which are the red lines for Armenia.

“Before the Brussels meeting, I had already outlined the red lines for the Armenian side on my Facebook page, according to which we do not accept any corridor-related proposal, and what we talked and agreed over the railway in Brussels, was the summery of the Sochi talks and what we recorded there is that customs and border control will operate from both sides, which is acceptable for us, is acceptable for Azerbaijan and we agreed to launch the construction of the railway”, Pashinyan said.  

The Armenian PM emphasized that the position of the Armenian side on the roads has remained unchanged.

“Both I and the Azerbaijani president tried to delve deeper into the issue, tried to understand what are our reasons for having such positions, because the publicly voiced positions are the tip of the iceberg, but there are other reasons and issues behind our positions. And when we delved into details, frankly speaking, I saw some opportunities for reaching agreements here as well, where our positions and the purely practical issues of Azerbaijan can find a solution. But we do not have any agreement on this, I just saw some opportunities after that meeting, we should try to use the opportunities to find a real compromise solution to this issue, which does not cross the red lines I have already mentioned over the roads”, Pashinyan concluded.




We are interested in starting negotiations and concluding a peace treaty – Pashinyan

Lilit Nahapetian

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 21:00,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is interested in concluding a peace treaty and launching negotiations on it, ARMENPRESS reports PM Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question if it’s possible to conclude a peace treaty with Azerbaijan in the context of unblocking transport infrastructures and providing security guarantees.

“We are definitely interested in concluding a peace treaty and the launch of the talks on the treaty. Recently, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs proposed a negotiating agenda, one of the points of which was the issue of a peaceful and comprehensive settlement. And we are interested in that, we have not refused to talk about it, and we will not refuse,” Pashinyan said.

According to him, in the context of the desire of the Armenian government to open an era of peaceful development for the country and the region, it would be illogical for the Armenian Government to say that they do not want to hear about the peace treaty. “Of course, one of our key goals is a comprehensive peace treaty, a comprehensive solution. By and large, all the negotiations, all that we are talking about, what are we talking about? We are talking about a peace treaty, as well as its possible provisions and content,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that due to the propaganda chaos, constant attempts are made to create the impression that the Armenian authorities are against demarcation and delimitation. He assured that there is no such thing. “There is an impression that we are against the peace treaty and the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Of course, we are not against, of course, we are for, we are interested in it,” he said.

Armenia also wants to open communications, and it will move forward in all those directions. Pashinyan considers it normal that during these talks Azerbaijan will try to make its interests more expressive, and Armenia will try to make its interests better expressed.

“But if we manage to formulate a model of peace that will be beneficial to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, then perhaps the negotiating table will be less of a field of conflict or opposition, but rather an opportunity of understanding the other side’s point of view, come to some acceptable provisions from those points of view and to form some type of a new scheme“, the PM said, adding that there clearly were such preconditions in Sochi and Brussels.

According to Pashinyan, after Sochi, however, events took place that seriously called into question that conversation. Fortunately, no such events have taken place following the Brussels meeting.

In a country with 30% poverty, revolutionary official should not care solely about own comfort – Hayk Marutyan

Lilit Nahapetian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 22 2021

“In 2018, I put on sale the Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicle which was assigned to the Mayor and transferred the amount to the city budget,” Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan stated on Wednesday, during special meeting of the Yerevan Council on the impeachment process against him. In Marutyan’s words, he refused from the car, instead took economy class ‘Nissan’ he drives himself without even bodyguards. 

Responding to accusations that he had reportedly embezzled funds from the city budget, Marutyan said he had never received payment bonuses and refused a salary increase. 

“This is not something heroic. This is even not good but normal, and it is my conviction. This conviction should also guide any official who received the revolutionary mandate. In a country with 30% poverty, an official cannot care about improving own prosperity at the expense of the state. Furthermore, the public service should be a kind of self-sacrifice and destitution for coming years,” said Marutyan, adding the colleagues from the Civil Contract party regretfully do not share this view. 

The Mayor then noted that he had decided to leave the ruling party in 2020 due to these differences and the implementation of his decision was delayed to the war and then after the post-war instability in the country. In his words, he left to the ruling force to publicize his decision. 

“You may ask why I have not voiced about this thus far. I kept silent not to escalate the internal political situation. The Civil Contract party, however, considers the stability in the country is favorable and the moment has come to implement the change of power in the Mayor’s Office. Thus, I am free now to talk openly to people about this,” said the Mayor. 

Armen Grigoryan clarifies why Ruben Rubinyan was appointed Armenia’s envoy for negotiations with Turkey

Lilit Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 22 2021
Armen Grigoryan clarifies why Ruben Rubinyan was appointed Armenia’s envoy for negotiations with Turkey
00:27, 23.12.2021

Ruben Rubinyan was the head of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly, specializes in this sector, and there is another factor that makes him an effective negotiator — he has ties with the Prime Minister and his team. This is what Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan said in an interview aired on Armenian Public Television, touching upon the question why it was decided to send Rubinyan as Armenia’s special representative to represent Armenia during the upcoming negotiations with Turkey.

Asked if it wouldn’t be right to place emphasis on rich experience in diplomacy and not the political ties of the envoy and the ties with the team, Grigoryan noted the following:

“We believe that the factors I mentioned are more important since any kind of issue can be set forth during the negotiations, and there will be a need to verify a particular issue with the Prime Minister. We took all this into consideration, and we considered Mr. Rubinyan’s appointment more effective. Modern diplomacy is undergoing several changes, and we shouldn’t think about the modern processes with old patterns,” he stated.

A few days ago, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declared that Armenia and Turkey will appoint special envoys to discuss the steps aimed at normalizing their relations. Turkey will be represented by Serdar Kilic, who served as Turkey’s Ambassador to the United States for 7 years and served as Secretary General of the National Security Council of Turkey before that. Armenia’s special envoy will be Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan, who held the position of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for a few months after shift of power and then chaired the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations in the seventh convocation of the National Assembly. In 2017, Rubinyan was in Turkey for a few months and, as he declared from the podium in parliament on August 3, conducted research.

Winesofarmenia.store: Online sales platform for Armenian wines in EU launched

Lilit Nahapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 21 2021
, 15:45

 1 minute read

To ensure the availability of Armenian wines in EU countries, the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), in cooperation with the ACBA Federation, have set up an online sales platform for Armenian wines at www.winesofarmenia.store, the Ministry of Economy informs.

The website is available in three languages: English, French, German, the Russian version will also be available in the first half of 2022.

It includes Armenian wines in accordance with 56 quality standards of 21 companies, which were selected as a result of blind tasting, as a result of a very objective sensory evaluation of wine samples.

The platform presents 56 Armenian wines made by 21 companies, all of which correspond to certain standards and have been selected as a result of blind tasting.

Director General of the Vine and Wine Foundation says that the website “is unique in that it contains comprehensive information on Armenia’s winemaking heritage, Armenian grape varieties and wine regions.”

She said that in the news section the EU consumers will be constantly informed of the developments and achievement of Armenia’s wine sector.

“Through the Private Sector Development and Technical Vocational Education and Training South Caucasus Programme GIZ has been supporting Armenia’s wine sector for about 10 years. We are delighted to announce the launch of another successful project, the online platform. Now Armenian companies producing quality wine, regardless of production volumes, will be able to make direct sales in Europe at more affordable and competitive prices,” said Sirvard Amatuni, an expert at the programme.

With the launch of the online store www.winesofarmenia.store, a joint storage and logistics center for Armenian wines was recently opened in Berlin, Germany. From here, Armenian wines will reach European consumers without any obstacles within days at the most affordable price. At the same time, the existence of a warehouse will facilitate the participation of Armenian wines in wine exhibitions and tastings organized in the EU.

A service center will also operate in Europe within the framework of the project. Customers will have the opportunity to ask questions through inquiries and to place orders.

Azerbaijani FM says the only way to avoid tensions is to start the process of demarcation

Lilit Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 12 2021
18:17, 12.12.2021

The only way to avoid tensions is to start the demarcation process, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told journalists, commenting on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, vesti.az reports.

According to him, until today Armenia did not allow this under various pretexts.

Despite the constructive talks initiated by the Azerbaijani state, we do not observe this from the opposite side, he said, accusing Armenia of provocations on the border and noting that this will have very serious consequences.