Author: Lilit Nahapetian

The second plane with Armenian humanitarian aid to Syria landed at Hmeimim airbase, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

Tigran Gevorgyan, the Consul General of Armenia to Aleppo, was at the site to receive it.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is back in training after injury and is set to make his return in Manchester United’s Europa League clash against Zorya Luhansk this week, accoridng to Teamtalk.com.

Mkhitaryan, who suffered a thigh injury playing for Armenia earlier this month, has not featured since he was replaced at half-time during the 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester City on September 10.

The 27-year-old has missed United’s last four games but returned to training ahead of the 4-1 win over Leicester at Old Trafford on Saturday, but was not considered for the game.

However, he is in line to be part of Jose Mourinho’s squad for Zorya, currently second in Ukraine’s Premier League, when they visit Old Trafford on Thursday. United lost their first Europa League group game against Feyenoord and will be looking to get their campaign back on track.

Wayne Rooney is also expected to start for United, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw look set to miss out.

Shaw is recovering from a groin problem while Martial missed the win over Leicester after he suffered a head injury during the defeat to Watford.

Ibrahimovic was spotted in Milan on Monday with reports in Italy claiming the the 34-year-old has been granted a short holiday by Mourinho.

System Of A Down frontman Serj Rankian has launched a petition on Change.org, calling for action for positive civic changes and reforms in Armenia.

“Friends (In Armenia and Worldwide) – Today marks the 25th anniversary of Armenian independence. We should take the opportunity to celebrate some of the successes of this small but beautiful nation while also tackling the troubling issues at hand,” Serj Tankian said in a Facebook post.

“Independence means little when a large segment of the public are discontent. That is why myself and a group of friends have drafted a statement of support for the people of Armenia and their call to action for positive civic changes and reforms. Please have a look at the campaign link on  and sign on if you agree,” Tankian said.

The petition reads:

We, as Armenians, residing in Armenia and throughout the diaspora, are collectively committed to immediate change and justice in Armenia. In the wake of yearly protests and recent upheavals during the spring and summer of 2016 that resulted in gross violations of human and civic rights,

We say
NO to systematic corruption, monopolies, judicial inequality, police brutality, partisan politics, unequal rights, national depopulation, and elections tainted by fraud, all of which have contributed to the ongoing unrest.

We say
YES to the equality of all people, the fundamental preservation and protection of human rights, direct engagement in fair and transparent elections, respect for the rule of law, fair wages, separation of powers, a free press and advocacy for the disenfranchised.  We say yes to tangible, democratic change through civic engagement with the citizenry of Armenia.

As a global community of Armenians, we would like Armenia’s political leaders to embody integrity, accountability, wisdom, intelligence, diplomacy, compassion, effectiveness and visionary thinking in addressing the pressing needs of the people of Armenia, thereby securing an egalitarian, just and constructive path towards real democracy where every voice matters.

Justice Within Armenia is a coalition of concerned Armenians around the world who believe in standing in solidarity with the people of Armenia and being present as eyewitnesses and monitoring free and fair elections while actively engaging with the Armenian populace in contributing to the present and future of our nation. We need to visualize an egalitarian state worthy of the resilience of our people and achieve it. Given our unique values and character, Armenia can and should become a country of opportunity, creativity, democracy and hope in a region rife with turmoil. The alternative is unthinkable.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is joining this week with In Defense of Christians (IDC) and a broad array of faith-based and human rights coalition partners in seeking solutions to the challenges facing Christian communities in the Middle East and attaining justice for the genocide committed against Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians from 1915-1923.

The third annual IDC National Advocacy Convention, titled “Beyond Genocide: Preserving Christianity in the Middle East,” is cosponsored by the ANCA, Philos Project, and Institute for Global Engagement and supported by many other DC-based and grassroots organizations.

“Recognizing that the profound challenges facing Christians in the Middle East require strong coalitions and a coordinated American response, the ANCA is pleased, once again, to team up with In Defense of Christians to help realign U.S. foreign policy with the American people’s commitment to human rights and religious liberty,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Armenian Church and ANCA leaders will be offering insights throughout the three-day program starting on Wednesday, September 7th, with remarks by Hamparian at the opening press conference, which will also feature insights by Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); Robert Nicholson, Executive Director of the Philos Project; Alexis Moukarzel, former Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, Lebanon; Andrew Doran, journalist and expert on religious persecution in the Middle East; and IDC Executive Director Kirsten Evans.

Wednesday evening, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern U.S. will participate in an ecumenical prayer service for Christians in the Middle East at the historic Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Washington, DC.

Thursday’s day of Capitol Hill advocacy will be kicked off with a policy briefing by Raffi Karakashian, ANCA Government Affairs Director; Juliana Taimoorazy, founder and president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council; and Kristina Olney, IDC Director of Government Relations and Outreach – followed by Congressional office canvassing by conference participants.

In the afternoon, ANCA National Board Member Aida Dimejian will be offering remarks alongside a host of Senate and House members and organization leaders at the Congressional Visitor Center Auditorium.

On Friday, the ANCA Eastern Region’s Armen Sahakyan will be offering insights at a panel titled “Genocide and Persecution: Past and Present” alongside Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett; Andrew Walther, vice president for communications and strategic planning for the Knights of Columbus; and the IDC’s Kirsten Evans.

The complete schedule and listing of all speakers is available at:

Among the key policy issues advocated by the IDC conference participants is the Armenian Genocide Truth + Justice Resolution (H.Res.154) – which is now pending before Congress – calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity. The ANCA is strongly in support of congressional passage of H.Res.154.

The ANCA has worked closely with IDC and a coalition of over 100 organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, the International Religious Freedom Roundtable and the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in a grassroots campaign to have Congress and the Obama Administration declare the slaughter that Christians and other minorities in the Middle East are facing a modern-day genocide.

Earlier this year, on March 15th, with a vote of 393 to 0, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously condemned as genocide the ongoing ISIL/Da’esh crimes against Christians – including Armenians and Assyrians – as well as Yezidis and other religious minorities in the Middle East by adopting H.Con.Res.75, spearheaded by Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).  Two days later, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry clearly and unequivocally characterized the ongoing ISIL / Da’esh attacks and killings of the Christians, Yezidis, and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East as genocide, with specific mention of the destruction of Armenian churches as part of the cultural destruction of these historic communities.  The Senate adopted a similar resolution (S.Res.340) on July 7th.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, joined with Christian leaders from throughout the Middle East at the inaugural IDC conference in 2014, offering a powerful call for unity in the face of the existential threat against historic Middle Eastern Christian communities.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire 30 times at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 430 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

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

Moscow condemns the seizure of police station in Yerevan and supports the measures taken by the Armenian authorities, Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a briefing, RIA Novosti reports.

“We strongly condemn the armed attack on the headquarters of the patrol service in Yerevan, which resulted in the death of a law-enforcement officer. We consider that these criminal expressions that pose a threat to the life and health of the citizens are unacceptable,” Zakharova said.

According to her, Moscow supports the measures taken by the Armenian authorities. “We hope they [the measures] will help settle the situation as soon as possible, release the hostages,  carry out a thorough investigation and punish those guilty,” she said.

Photo: Photoloure

Russia is taking efforts to maintain parity both in absolute terms and in the quantity and quality of the basic weapons systems it supplies, TASS reports.

Russia is committed to maintaining parity in the supply of military equipment to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the conditions of the intensified Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Alexander Fomin said in an interview with Izvestia daily published on Monday.

“Conflicts begin regardless of the fact that one side may be armed better than the other,” Fomin said. “However, it is necessary to seek parity, so Russia is taking efforts to maintain parity both in absolute terms and in the quantity and quality of the basic weapons systems.”

Fomin also said that the main purpose of military-technical cooperation is to preserve peace and stability in a given country, in a region and in the world in general. “Russia’s military-technical cooperation system is organized in such a way as to cause no harm, including to a particular region. We make all the decisions on the delivery of arms to one or another country invariably with taking into account such acute regional situations,” he added.

The Spanish city of Paiporta officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide on June 30.

All forces represented in the City Council voted to support the measure.

Paiporta thus joins the ranks of more than 20 Spanish cities that have adopted similar institutional statements.

About 600 journalists have applied for accreditation to cover the Pope’s visit to Armenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

Around 600 journalists applied for accreditation to cover visit to 1st nation.

— MFA of Armenia (@MFAofArmenia)

Pope Francis will visit Armenia June 24-26. Pope Francis has asked the faithful to pray for his upcoming trip to Armenia.

“I ask you to pray for me, who in a few days will go as a pilgrim to an eastern land, Armenia, the first among the Nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus,” he said at an audience for the Reunion of Aid Agencies For the Eastern Churches.