Author: Manouk Vasilian

PM Pashinyan, Markéta Pekarová exchange ideas on the prospect of establishing sustainable peace in the region

Manouk Vasilian

 18:19,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted the delegation led by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Markéta Pekarová.

In a readout, the Prime Minister's Office said that Nikol Pashinyan attached importance to Mrs. Pekarová's visit to our country and emphasized the importance of continuous development of Armenia-Czech Republic relations. In this regard, Nikol Pashinyan noted that bilateral high-level mutual visits give a new impetus to interaction and contribute to the expansion of relations.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of close parliamentary cooperation, including within the framework of international organizations.

According to the source, Markéta Pekarová emphasized that her country also attaches great importance to multi-sectoral cooperation with Armenia and noted that Prime Minister Pashinyan's official visit to the Czech Republic in 2023 contributed to its development.

The interlocutors discussed a number of issues related to the agenda of Armenia-Czech relations, aimed at expanding political, economic, humanitarian ties and joint projects.

It is noted that the sides exchanged ideas on the prospect of establishing security and sustainable peace in the region. The Prime Minister emphasized the key approaches of the Republic of Armenia.

Artbox Incubator by Creative Armenia is currently accepting applications

Manouk Vasilian
 Guest Contributor Diaspora, Announcements 0

Creative Armenia has announced an open call for applications to the second edition of its signature Artbox Incubator program, designed to develop creative ideas into business plans. 

In Spring 2024, Artbox Incubator will run an eight-week program through a cutting-edge online platform, and selected projects from various creative fields will be given an unprecedented opportunity to work with prominent business leaders and renowned cultural figures to develop a complete package for their projects, covering a business model strategy, production strategy, marketing strategy and more. Following the preparation of this package, all participants will present their projects for financial support, enabling them to bring their creative projects to life. This encompasses grants of up to €10,000, available for up to 10 strongest projects each.

To learn more about the Artbox Incubator and to apply by the February 29, 2024 deadline, visit the website.

“While it is vital for us to support the growth of existing creative businesses, cultural institutions and individuals, giving a strong and smart spark to creative ideas and supporting artists to develop those into creative projects and businesses proves to be our big investment in the future and even more vital for the growth and sustainability of Armenian culture. This is why we are thrilled to run our second Artbox Incubator and push new ideas upward,” said Anush Ter-Khachatryan, director of programs at Creative Armenia.

The application is open for creators from across the world with projects intended for implementation within the Republic of Armenia. Priority will be given to projects demonstrating potential for commercial success.

“AGBU Katapult is thrilled to launch this next round of Artbox incubator with Creative Armenia. This will mark the final incubator round within Katapult, but we’re sure there are many more to come beyond our cooperation scope. We have done our due-diligence to make sure to provide all stages of creative business ideas with support along their journey – from incubation to acceleration and hub establishments. We can’t wait to see what new ideas Artbox incubator will seed and blossom over the next few months,” said Anna Gargarian, the head of the KATAPULT Creative Accelerator Program.

Inspired by innovative models in business and tech, Artbox is a reinvention of the incubator and accelerator models for the art world – a dynamic entrepreneurial system that supports individuals, projects and institutions across disciplines with potential for success. Through a set of signature cutting-edge programs, Artbox develops commercial viability, audience growth and investable creative products.




Armenia considers NATO standards in new military uniform

Manouk Vasilian

 14:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities consider introducing new, NATO-standard uniforms in the military.

In comments for Sputnik Armenia, the Ministry of Defense said it has studied ‘uniforms of NATO member countries, including the USA, France, Greece and the Czech Republic’ for the initiative.

“In the selection procedure for the new uniforms, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia is guided by studies carried out through the exchange of international experience and in accordance with NATO standards. Samples of the uniforms of NATO member countries, including the US, France, Greece and the Czech Republic have been studied,” the Ministry of Defense told Sputnik Armenia in written comments.

Furthermore, the Armenian Ministry of Defense also seeks to ban the sale of standard-issue military uniforms.

Jerusalem: Armenian Christians fight controversial land deal

Manouk Vasilian
BBC. UK
Jan 21 2024
By Yolande Knell
BBC News Middle East correspondent

While Christmas may be a distant memory for many, the Armenians of Jerusalem only just held their annual celebration on 19 January.

This year, the holiday was overshadowed by the war in Gaza and the ongoing threat to the survival of the community from a deeply controversial real estate deal.

Many spent the day in an unconventional fashion, joining a sit-in at a tent in their church car park, which is part of a large plot at risk in the Armenian Quarter of the walled Old City.

"This illegal, treacherous land deal actually brought us all together," says Setrag Balian, a ceramicist turned activist.

Armenians date their presence in the holy city back to the 4th Century. Many of the 2,000-strong community live inside the large, cobble-stoned compound of St James Convent.

In the past, they have often been divided by political differences and family fights and there have been rifts between Jerusalemite Armenians and their Church leaders who act as employers and landlords for many.

Yet for two months, local Armenians and priests have all been staying in a large, improvised tent here, around-the-clock, to try to block the development going ahead. They eat here and work shifts as guards behind a makeshift barricade decorated with Armenian flags.

Together, they say, they have seen off attacks by contractors with bulldozers, armed settlers and masked thugs.

  • Controversial land sale angers Jerusalem Armenians
  • Jerusalem Christians say attacks on the rise

"Everything was put in danger with this deal," Setrag says. "Whoever wants to take away our rights and endanger our presence and our lives here, we will stand up against them and defend our rights till the end."

Last April, facts began to emerge about a 2021 contract secretly signed between the Armenian Patriarch and a Jewish Australian-Israeli developer. It gave a newly-created firm, Xana Gardens, a 98-year lease to build and operate a luxury hotel in an area known as the Cow's Garden.

The deal covered a plot of 11,500 sq m, abutting the ramparts of the south-western corner of the Old City, with an option to take over an even bigger area.

It includes the car park, some church buildings and the homes of five Armenian families, accounting for about 25% of the Armenian Quarter.

Located on Mount Zion, it has huge religious significance and is incredibly valuable real estate but an annual fee of just $300,000 (£237,000) was to be paid by the developer.

"For that amount you could barely rent yourself a couple of falafel shops in the Old City," commented one Armenian using the car park, who asked for his name not to be used.

Amid heated protests by locals and a decision by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to withdraw their recognition of the patriarch over his role in the deal, pressure grew on the Church to cancel the contract.

Meanwhile, an international team of Armenian lawyers came to investigate and give advice.

The patriarch claimed he had been tricked by a trusted priest who was later defrocked. He finally announced a formal move to cancel the deal in October.

At that point, tensions between Armenians and representatives of the developer – whose workers had forcibly taken over the car park – began turning into direct confrontations.

When Israeli bulldozers arrived at the contested site to try to begin demolition, Armenians rushed to block it. The next month, there were claims of intimidation as the developer arrived with several armed men.

Further attempted incursions came after the protest tent was set up. The most violent was last month when masked men came to the car park beating people with sticks and using tear gas. A priest, Father Diran Hagopian, broadcast events on Facebook Live.

"They were shouting, 'you should go out from this land'," he later told the BBC. "One of their leaders was shouting: 'You can break their legs, you can even kill them, but they should leave.'"

The apparent involvement of known Jewish settlers in attacks alongside other evidence has increased long-held suspicions that a powerful settler organisation is involved in the attempted land takeover.

Ever since Israel captured the Old City and its holy sites from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War, Jewish investors in Israel and overseas have sought to buy properties to try to cement Israeli control over occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinians want this part of the city as the capital of their hoped-for future state. Jewish Israelis view the whole of the city as their eternal, undivided capital.

Researchers at the Israeli non-profit organisation Ir Amim, which is focused on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and supports the diversity of Jerusalem, are worried about developments in the Armenian Quarter.

"This is close to sensitive places," says Aviv Tatarksy. "Creating a settlement in this area is part of very far-reaching aims of settler organisations who basically want to Judaise completely the Old City, with their eyes on the Temple Mount or al-Aqsa Mosque."

The settlements built in occupied territory are seen as illegal under international law, although Israel disagrees.

The BBC has contacted the developer behind Xana Gardens several times but not heard back.

The now-defrocked American priest who coordinated the deal, Baret Yeretsian , was surrounded by a mob of angry young Armenians shouting "traitor" as he exited St James Convent last year, assisted by Israeli police, before moving to Southern California.

He has since denied to journalists that the developer has any political or ideological agenda, describing such accusations as "propaganda" based on his Jewish identity.

The Armenian Church has now begun proceedings through the Israeli courts to challenge the validity of the contract for the Cows' Garden.

As locals gathered around a brightly lit Christmas tree in their makeshift tent last week, they remained resolute but were aware that their legal fight could easily take years.

Whether incursions can be stopped in the meantime remains to be seen.

Turkish Press: Slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink remembered

Manouk Vasilian
Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 19 2024
Haberin Devamı

The crowd walked to the site in Istanbul’s Şişli, the former office building of weekly Agos whose editor-in-chief was once Dink, carrying black-and-white placards written in Armenian on one side and Turkish on the other.

After the flower-leaving ceremony, doves were projected onto the building, in reference to Dink’s last article in which he mentioned that he felt “dove-like anxiety” due to death threats he had received.

On the same day the article was published, Dink was assassinated by a then 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, Ogün Samast, who was sentenced to almost 23 years in jail back in 2011 after confessing to the killing.

"On the 17th anniversary of the assassination of the intellectual and journalist Hrant Dink, whom we lost in a process that everyone knew but no one tried to prevent, I commemorate him with respect,” main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel said in a social media post on Jan. 19.

“Until all the truths come to light, until all those responsible are brought to justice, we will not let the Hrant Dink murder be forgotten,” he added.

Samast was released in November 2023, as he met the conditions for parole after more than 16 years in prison. His release decision sparked public debate and opposition.

Samast found himself back in court shortly after his release, this time facing charges related to terrorism. The chief prosecutor's office in Istanbul advocated for a prison term ranging from five to 10 years for his alleged involvement with FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 coup attempt.

Literary Lights 2024: A Showcase of New Literature by Armenian Authors

Manouk Vasilian
Jan 16 2024

The International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA), in conjunction with the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, is preparing to illuminate the literary sphere with ‘Literary Lights 2024.’ This annual reading series, set to happen monthly, aims to highlight the freshest literary works by Armenian authors. The events, all set to be held online, will feature authors reading excerpts from their latest works, followed by a panel discussion with an interviewer and opportunities for audience interaction.

The series’ launch on January 27, 2024, is set to spotlight Aida Zilelian, a recipient of the prestigious Tololyan Literary Prize. Zilelian will read from her novel, ‘All the Ways We Lied’, a riveting tale that has already piqued the interest of many. Adding to the event’s appeal, Nancy Agabian, author of ‘Princess Freak,’ ‘Me as Her Again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter,’ and ‘The Fear of Large and Small Nations,’ will join Zilelian.

Other authors set to grace the Literary Lights 2024 include Ariel Djanikian, Astrid Kamalyan, Anait Semirdzhyan, Leila Boukarim, Sona Avedikian, Armen Davoudian, and Lory Bedikian. Among the highlighted works is Djanikian’s ‘The Prospectors,’ a novel that takes readers on a journey through a family’s experience during the Klondike Gold Rush. Also featured is a children’s picture book titled ‘Babo,’ which celebrates Armenian cultural traditions. The series will also showcase a narrative depicting an Armenian boy’s journey to refuge.

On the poetry front, Literary Lights 2024 will feature ‘The Palace of Forty Pillars’ by Armen Davoudian, a debut collection exploring themes of estrangement and identity. The eulogy poem ‘Jagadakeer: Apology to the Body’ will also be among the featured works, offering readers a profound exploration of loss.

All the events will be held on Zoom, and attendees can register for the event and purchase the featured titles from IALA’s online bookstore. This initiative not only offers a platform for Armenian writers to showcase their work but also promises readers an enriching literary experience.

    https://bnnbreaking.com/arts/literary-lights-2024-a-showcase-of-new-literature-by-armenian-authors/

    Russian official visits Kapan to discuss plans to open consulate-general

    Manouk Vasilian

     11:17,

    YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. A Russian foreign ministry official has visited the Armenian town of Kapan to discuss Moscow’s plans to open a consulate-general there, the Russian Embassy in Armenia said in a press release.

    The issue was discussed between Russian Foreign Ministry official Sergey Chashchikhin and Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan.

    The Russian official thanked the Kapan leadership for support.

    The importance of establishing and developing close ties between Kapan and Russian cities was underscored.

    Promising directions for cultural-humanitarian and trade-economic cooperation were discussed.

    ‘Armenian Melodies’ Float Wins Grand Marshal Award

    Manouk Vasilian
    Jan 8 2024

    The American Armenian Rose Float Association earned the Grand Marshal award for “most outstanding creative concept and float design” for its “Armenian Melodies” float in the 135th Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.
    Inspired by the strength of Armenian matriarchs throughout history, the float featured dynamic Armenian mother and daughter figures dressed in vibrant, traditional garb, surrounded by important symbols within Armenian heritage and culture. In line with the Tournament of Roses theme, “Celebrating a World of Music,” “Armenian Melodies” showcased several musical instruments endemic to Armenia.
    Glendale resident Meline Mailyan rode in the float, which was adorned with symbolic objects including Armenian instruments, birds and pomegranates. Mailyan is on the board of Center for Truth and Justice, an organization that formed to tell the stories of Armenian war survivors.
    This was the sixth year the American Armenian Rose Float Association has participated in the Tournament of Roses with the mission of “inspiring, educating and raising awareness around the rich history, traditions and values of the Armenian community” through its floats, as stated on the organization’s website.

    First published in the January 6 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.

    https://glendalenewspress.outlooknewspapers.com/2024/01/08/armenian-melodies-float-wins-grand-marshal-award/

    Iranian President to visit Türkiye

    Manouk Vasilian

     13:47, 3 January 2024

    YEREVAN, JANUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Ankara on Thursday along with a political and economic delegation, IRNA news agency reports.

    The Iranian President is expected to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and attend the eighth meeting of the Supreme Council of Iran-Türkiye Cooperation.

    During his visit, Raisi is also scheduled to meet with Iranian and Turkish businessmen, as well as Iranian expatriates.

    The 7th meeting of the Supreme Council of Economic Cooperation between Iran and Türkiye was held on July 19, 2022, during President Erdogan’s official visit to Tehran. During that visit, the two sides agreed to develop relations in economic, infrastructure, security, political, cultural, and sports fields.

    Asbarez: 55 Armenians Still Being Held Captive in Azerbaijan, Yerevan Says

    Manouk Vasilian
    by Asbarez Staff

     

     January 5, 2024

     

    in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

    Guards at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border during the prisoner exchange on Dec. 13 (Azatutyun.am screen grab)


    A senior Armenian law enforcement official said that 55 Armenians are currently being held captive in Azerbaijan, as official Baku claims that 23 remain in its custody.

    Argishti Kyaramyan, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, told Armenia’s Public Television on Thursday that Azerbaijan has confirmed holding 23 Armenians captives, but they have evidence on the forced disappearance of another 32 persons after the 2020 war.

    “At this moment 23 compatriots confirmed by Azerbaijan are being held there, 17 of whom are persons captured as a result of the 2023 aggression. We have evidence regarding the forced disappearance of 32 persons after the 44-day war, which we have presented to supranational organizations,” Kyaramyan said.

    The European Court of Human Rights mandates Baku to take interim measures regarding 22 of the prisoners, however Azerbaijan has denied the fact that these persons were taken captive.

    Last month the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan issued a joint statement announcing the exchange of prisoners. Soon after Yerevan returned two Azerbaijani soldiers who we imprisoned for killing a worker at a mine in Syunik. In return, Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian POWs during the exchange, which took place on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.