Author: Manouk Vasilian

offers visitors the 15 best things to do in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

“The capital city of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It dates back to the 8th century, when the fortress of Erebuni was built by king Argishti I,” the website writes.

“Yerevan is often pegged as the ‘Pink City’ because of the colour of the stones used to build much of the city centre, which is a compact area known as Kentron. This area, amongst others, has been greatly developed over the past decade, resulting in more restaurants, cafés, shops and hotels.”

“The capital city is fast becoming a major tourist destination thanks to its numerous landmarks, extensive nightlife, great museums and lovely parks.”

The best things to do in Yerevan:

1. Go on a walking tour of the city centre

 

2. Watch the city from the top of the Cascade

 

3. Window shop on Northern Avenue

 

4. Have a picnic in a park

 

5. Splash around in the water

 

6. Go ice skating

 

7. Get lost on winding streets and alleyways

 

8. Learn about the city’s history

9. Shop for local art

10. Hang out at Republic Square

11.  Sip on brandy

12. Delight your taste buds

13. Step back into medieval times

14. Listen to Music

15. Go to a football match

The Karabakh conflict settlement is one of the priorities of the Russian foreign policy, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing today.

Commenting on the results of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meetings with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts earlier this month, Zakharova said “the negotiations were constructive” and added that “concrete ideas on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict were discussed.”

She said new meetings will be held in the future, but the timetable has not yet been finalized.

Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to United Nations participated in the high-level dialogue on “Building Sustainable Peace for all: Synergies between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustaining Peace”

There were several important messages in Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments on Nagorno Karabakh, Spokesman for the NKR President David Babayan says.

“The most important is that Russia and other Minsk Group countries exclude the use of force and stress there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement,” David Babayan told Public Radio of Armenia.

Besides, David Babayn said, “we should remember that all issues will be settled only after the status of Nagorno Karabakh is determined.”

“Lavrov made it clear that the Karabakh issue is not an internal affair of Azerbaijan and its settlement does not depend on Baku’s will.”

As for the Russian Foreign Minister’s regret for the lack of consensus on the implementation of an investigation mechanism, Babayan said “Azerbaijan foil s any step in that direction, despite the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg.”

Speaking about Lavrov’s reference to the four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and the demand to “liberate the occupied territories,” the Spokesman said: “We have not occupied any territories. We have been forced to liberate some territories to form a buffer zone.”

“There cannot be a return to the borders of 1988 and 1991, because we’ll not be able to ensure our security having Azerbaijan as a neighbor,” David Babayan said.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, highlighted three key challenges facing the Organization and its participating States as Austria took over as the 2017 OSCE Chairmanship: deplorable and complex crises and conflicts in the OSCE area, a fundamental lack of mutual trust and confidence, and an alarming phenomenon of growing radicalization and violent extremism, especially among young people: “We must vigorously engage and address this situation. The OSCE is the right platform to do so,” said Kurz.

“It is my firm belief that a strong OSCE is the basis for a secure Europe – particularly in these agitated times. Austria stands ready to take responsibility and chair the Organization for a second time within two decades,” Kurz added.

Pointing to the OSCE’s experience as a facilitator, mediator and connector for a common space of 1.2 billion people, the Chairperson-in-Office emphasized that the organization can provide all necessary tools for promoting de-escalation and enabling sustainable political solutions to the conflicts in the OSCE area, not least the conflict in and around Ukraine.

Kurz stressed that, to respond effectively to current challenges and threats to our common security, the OSCE’s capabilities must be upgraded and its approaches in all three dimensions of security must be updated. “This concerns both the conflicts in the OSCE area and the threat from transnational radicalization. Open and constructive dialogue, credible confidence-building measures as well as reliable co-operation must be our common ground.”

“We must do whatever it takes to prevent further escalation of armed confrontation, including working through the established formats to peacefully resolve the protracted conflicts in the OSCE region. The safety and security of the affected populations must be a priority. This is achievable only if we all work together and take an inclusive approach,” said Kurz.

The Austrian Chairmanship will support all efforts within the OSCE to overcome divisions within and between participating States. At the same time, Austria will continue the 2016 German Chairmanship’s efforts to enhance informal and alternative channels of communication to improve mutual understanding and trust. “Instead of spending lots of resources on quarrels among ourselves, we should harness our energies to address the various external hazards,” said the Chairperson-in-Office.

Noting that more than 10,000 people from the OSCE area had served as foreign terrorist fighters, Kurz announced that Austria would organize a series of Chairmanship events aimed at fighting terrorism and preventing radicalization, especially among youth. These would include regional workshops as well as an informal meeting of foreign ministers in July 2017. “We must work together to identify and address root causes and triggers for the seduction and radicalization of young people. And we must empower our youth to address this phenomenon in our societies. Tolerance and respect will enhance their resilience against these con men,” Kurz said. He emphasized that the human dimension of security – including human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law – was of prime importance within the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security.

With regard to conventional arms control, Foreign Minister Kurz emphasized that, “the current situation is untenable. We need a meaningful dialogue on arms control and confidence- and security-building measures to address divergent security perceptions and find common ground. This is essential for ensuring military stability, predictability and transparency.”

The Austrian Chairmanship will also seek to address the increasing economic fragmentation in the OSCE space and to increase economic connectivity. “Connectivity can help improve overall relations within the OSCE,” said the Chairperson-in-Office. “Economic and environmental co-operation not only can help prevent conflict, but also can create vital confidence- and security-building mechanisms and promote economic development. Fostering dialogue on connectivity and avenues of integration will benefit everyone.”

“Taking over the OSCE Chairmanship is not an easy task – it is a team effort and it is worth it,” Kurz emphasized. He welcomed the commitment of Austria’s Troika partners, Germany and Italy, to make best use of the Organization to restore durable security on the European continent. “I personally look forward to closely co-operating with the Secretary General and his team in the Secretariat, the women and men serving in our Field Operations and the three Institutions – the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media – as well as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and all our other partners, to ensure implementation of our common principles and commitments in the next year,” Kurz concluded. “But one thing is clear: the success of a Chairmanship also depends on a constructive approach by all participating States – including with regard to our presences on the ground. This support is a prerogative on the support of all participating States to defend and protect our steadfast commitment to democracy based on human rights and fundamental freedoms and our vision of prosperity through economic liberty and social justice as well as equal rights to security for all our countries,” he added.

Yerevan will host an Armenia-Iran business forum on December 21, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments informs.

The forum will be organized by the Development Foundation of Armenia within the framework of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to Armenia with a view of boosting the expansion of bilateral business ties.

Opening remarks will be offered by Armenia’s Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan, Chairmen of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Armenia and Iran and others.

B2B meetings will be organized within the framework of the forum to help establish ties between entrepreneurs from the two countries.

The Parliamentary Friendship Group for Armenia was announced in the Federal Parliament of Australia by the group’s elected Chair, Trent Zimmerman MP.

The Member for North Sydney has been working closely with fellow MPs and the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) to re-form the group after the most recent Federal Elections.

Zimmerman told the House of Representatives: “Our relationship with modern Armenia – which celebrated 25 years of independence just this year – is an important one. I am pleased this has been recognised through the establishment of a Parliamentary Friendship Group for Armenia and I am honoured to have been appointed as its Chair.”

He added: “I want to thank the many members who have helped establish the group, including the Member for Hunter (Joel Fitzgibbon MP) and the Member for Bennelong (John Alexander MP) – both of whom have been such strong supporters of the Australian-Armenian community. I also want to particularly acknowledge the advocacy of the Armenian National Committee which has done so much to encourage the formation of the Group.”

ANC-AU Managing Director, Vache Kahramanian welcomed the formation of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Armenia.

“The Armenian National Committee of Australia always looks for ways to improve ties between Australia and Armenia, and the formation of this group – which has a sister group in Armenia’s National Assembly – is critical to achieving this goal,” said Kahramanian.

Some 58 young people from Armenia gathered today in Yerevan for the start of a two-day simulation of the OSCE’s Permanent Council, one of the key decision-making bodies of the Organization, to build their skills in negotiation, diplomacy, conflict prevention and to learn more about the OSCE.

Organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the two-day Model OSCE Conference will see participants discuss the diplomatic relations between the hypothetical countries of Dalutia and Varbia, which need to solve questions related to territorial disputes and cyber-security. The aim of the exercise is to give young people hands-on experience on dealing with some of the most important issues that states face in the era of information technology.

“The Model OSCE Conference has become a good tradition in Armenia, providing participants with an opportunity to practice and improve their negotiating skills,” said Ambassador Argo Avakov, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “The Conference has proved to be a productive way to promote OSCE values among youth. It also enables young people to come together and try to reach consensus through peaceful negotiations.”

Prior to the Model OSCE conference, the participants attended practical trainings in negotiation skills, public speaking, as well as lectures on the OSCE, its activities and cyber-security. The simulation aims to promote the engagement of Armenia’s youth in  issues that are important for the country. It gives them a chance to act as ambassadors and to discuss an agreement that meets the interests of all.

Last month a Model OSCE Conference was organized for students of the Russian-Armenian University. The focus of that simulation exercise was to find a solution to challenges relating to national minorities between two hypothetical states. The OSCE Office in Yerevan has been organizing Model OSCE Conferences since 2008.

Asbarez – Professor Taner Akçam of Clark University will give a lecture entitled “The Memoir of Naim Bey and Talat Pasha Telegrams: Are They ‘Armenian Forgeries’?” on Sunday, November 20, 2016, at 4pm, at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, Sheen Chapel, 15105 Mission Hills Road, Mission Hills, California. The program is sponsored by the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, the Armenian Bar Association, the Organization of Istanbul Armenians, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

In 1920-21, author and editor Aram Andonian published a book known in English as The Memoirs of Naim Bey and in Armenian as Medz Vojirě (The Great Crime). It contained the writings of an Ottoman official and telegrams from Talat Pasha containing orders for the killing of Armenians.

In 1983, Turkish authors Sinasi Orel and Sureyya Yuca published a book to establish that the memoir was fake and the telegrams were forgeries. The argument had three main pillars: 1) there was no such person as Naim Bey; 2) there is no actual memoir, since a non-existing person cannot write a memoir; and 3) the so-called Talat Pasha telegrams, like the alleged memoir, were invented by Andonian.

Although noted researcher Father Krikor Guerguerian (Kriger) in 1965 published a detailed examination of Andonian’s published and unpublished materials and Vahakn N. Dadrian in 1986 published a lengthy response to Orel and Yuca, in general the scholarly world ceased using the memoir and telegrams as trustworthy sources. Until now, the claims against Andonian have remained unanswered and became the cornerstone of denialism.

Akçam risked venturing into this highly disputed territory and pursued the matter to its necessary conclusion, seeking out the archival sources and documents needed for a proper scholarly assessment.  The first results of his research will be presented in this lecture and in a book to be published in Turkish later this fall.  The question must be asked: Is it time to remove one of the last bricks in the denialist wall and watch the façade crumble?

Akçam is the author of From Empire To Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide, A Shameful Act: the Armenian Genocide and Turkish Responsibility, and The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire, as well as other works in the English and Turkish Languages. Since 2008, he has been the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Professor of Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, MA.

Rio Ferdinand is struggling to understand why Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not featuring for Manchester United, joking: “I would actually like to see him play football!”

The Armenian has struggled for game time at Old Trafford since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund and the former England international has questioned why he isn’t in the team, reports.

Mkhitaryan was one of Jose Mourinho’s big summer signings, arriving from Borussia Dortmund, but hasn’t made a single start since the derby defeat to Manchester City on September 10.

Mourinho has claimed that the Armenian is fully fit and operating at “100 per cent” in training but he continues to be left out, much to the bemusement of former defender Ferdinand.

He told the London Evening Standard: “I don’t know what’s happened to Mkhitaryan. Does anyone know where he is?

“By all accounts he is fit and training well but you don’t see him in a Manchester United shirt.

“They paid Borussia Dortmund £26 million to get him in the summer and for that money, I would actually like to see him play football!”