Author: Maral Takmazian

Former French international, World Chmpion Yuri Djorkaeff has arrived in Armenia to participate in the Yerevan RunArm 2015 half-marathon.

The event will take place on October 3. It will commence from Yerevan’s central Republic Square. The Yerevan half-marathon will include four races – half-marathon (21,097 km), a half-marathon relay race (2 x 10,550 km), a 5 km running race, and a 2.5 km running race for teenagers.

The will be organized with the support of the Yerevan City Hall, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and the Armenian Athletic Federation.

After a year of assembling and organizing, the Armenian Student Association (ASA) is now recognized as an official student organization at the University of Miami, reports. 

President Mercedes Alvarez-Gechidjian worked with the Committee on Student Organizations (COSO) since January 2014 to get the organization formally recognized. Now that they are official, ASA has big plans for the campus community.

“We want to let the campus know that we are here and to show everyone our beautiful culture,” said Alvarez-Gechidjian, a junior international studies major. “We want to educate Floridians about the Armenian culture. People don’t know where Armenia is, they don’t know what Armenia is about and how rich our culture is, so our main goal is to let them know.”

Events are being planned to expose the campus community to the tradition, events and holidays that the Armenian culture celebrates. One idea is an Armenian dinner where guests can try khorovats and kebabs, traditional Armenian barbecue.

“Armenians love meat,” Alvarez-Gechidjian said of the proposed event.

An Armenian Easter is also planned. Alvarez-Gechidjian wants the organization to be a home away from home for students, Armenian or otherwise.

Having lived in various places such as China, Kuwait, India and Mongolia, Alvarez-Gechidjian, who has Argentinean roots, first came to Florida in 2013 and attended Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. When she transferred to the University of Miami in the fall of 2014, she met many Armenians but found no club to represent them.

“We all knew an Armenian in UM, so we decided to start a club. It was just an idea we had and we went for it,” she said.

While making the club official, Alvarez-Gechidjian and the other organizers still tried to maintain close family ties within the group. They made trips to St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Ft. Lauderdale and began connecting with Florida International University’s Armenian club.

“I am happy that the Armenian student body is coming together on this,” sophomore  and ASA member Michael Ara Bezjian said. “Being a part of a small community or group that takes care of each other is a part of Armenian heritage. It’s a good way to remind us of our roots when we’re busy with school and commitments.”

The club will still have to do an orientation with COSO to learn what it means to be a student organization and what is expected of them on campus. However, the club already has plans lined up and a sense of family among them.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received today the delegation headed by Mark Horton, the Chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission to Armenia.

The interlocutors discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, namely the results of the regular inspection of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. In this context the parties referred to the current state of Armenian economy, the trends of development, the tax-budgeting and fiscal and monetary policy, reforms implemented in different spheres. The perspectives of providing assistance to Armenia under the EFF program were discussed.

The Prime Minister noted that the government will continue reforms to ensure economic growth, improve the business environment, promote exports and attract investments.

Mark Horton, in turn, attached importance to the continuity of measures targeted at ensuring economic stability and growth.

Journalist and writer Hayko Bağdat has filed a counterclaim against Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek over the content of Gökçek’s legal claims against him, Today’s Zaman reports.

In March, Gökçek made what some see as a verbal attack on Cem Özdemir, the co-chairman of the Green Party in Germany, writing on Twitter: “I am asking Özdemir just out of curiosity… Please give me a response Cem Özdemir… Are you of Armenian origin?”

Gökçek’s tweets came after Özdemir called on Turkey to recognize the killings of Armenians during the last years of the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

In response to Gökçek’s tweets, Bağdat posted several tweets mocking Gökçek’s question. “Reply Cem Özdemir! … You are said to be an Armenian,” posted Bağdat.

In his following tweets, Bağdat suggested that Gökçek is Armenian. “I formally say you are an Armenian. In my opinion, you should sue me @06melihgokcek,” Bağdat wrote.

“The capital city [Ankara] was handed over to an Armenian! What a shame! I wait for you to come to church on Sunday @06melihgokcek. We are all grieving…” wrote Bağdat.

After these tweets, Gökçek first filed a criminal complaint against Bağdat and then filed a lawsuit demanding compensation of TL 10,000 for psychological damages, arguing that Bağdat’s remarks defining him as an Armenian were insulting and libelous, and made with the intention of harming Gökçek’s reputation.

Bağdat also used a hashtag #melihgökçekermeniymiş” (Melih Gökçek turns out to be Armenian), which Gökçek referenced in his lawsuit.

In response, Bağdat announced the lawsuit on Twitter, saying: “Turns out Melih Gökçek sued me demanding TL 10,000 for calling him Armenian. We are going to have so much fun.”

After that case was launched, Bağdat filed a counterclaim against Gökçek based on the content of Gökçek’s claims against Bağdat, stressing that the word “Armenian” had been used to defame and insult him, amounting to an “explicit example of an attack on his rights and honor.”

Bağdat demanded compensation of TL 10,000 in damages.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will leave for Russia on July 9, President’s Press Office reported.

President Sargsyan is expected to participate in the summit of BRICS, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Scanhai Cooperation Organization to be held in Ufa.

With the aim of helping boost computer literacy in Artsakh schools, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Cypriot affiliate has initiated and sponsored the establishment of computer classrooms at five secondary schools in the Karvachar area, by donating six computer systems as well as computer furniture to each of the schools. The government of Artsakh has given the project additional support by funding the complete renovation of the computer classrooms.

The beneficiaries of the project comprise the William Saroyan School (city of Karvachar), J. Jlavyan School (Nor Verin Shen village), S. Erumyans School (Nor Brajur village), V. Nazaryan School (Nor Getashen village), and P. Ghevondyan School (Yeghegnut village). The five schools have a total of close to 300 students. As Zhora Sargsyan, principal of the P. Ghevondyan School, stated, today it would be hard to imagine the life of children and teenagers without computers, especially at school.

Sebouh Tavitian, chair of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Cypriot affiliate, said he’s delighted that the small Armenian community of Cyprus was able to help enhance the learning experience of Artsakh schoolchildren. “I’m sure they will take good care of their new computers and enjoy using them to broaden their knowledge and skills,” Tavitian stated.

 

“We are concerned at credible reports of excessive use of force by police officers, including against journalists, in their handling of protests in Yerevan on 23 June, and call on the authorities to investigate the incidents thoroughly and promptly,” Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

“As protests continue to take place in the country, the Government must ensure that the policing of demonstrations strictly complies with international human rights norms and standards, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement,” she said.

“We welcome the statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, expressing the Government’s commitment “to democracy, fundamental freedoms and protection of human rights in Armenia”. We encourage the Government to ensure that this commitment is translated in the way it responds to these protests, and we encourage all parties to engage in a constructive dialogue and to refrain from violence,” the statement reads.

Azerbaijan has spared no expense in staging the inaugural European Games, which will get underway on Friday with a lavish opening ceremony, but the event has also turned the spotlight on its human rights record, writes.

The energy-rich nation on the Caspian Sea has spent more than a billion dollars to stage its biggest sports extravaganza to date, according to officials, building several dazzling venues from scratch for the 16-day competition.

The Games, featuring about 6,000 athletes from 50 nations, have however failed to attract the biggest track and field athletes and swimmers. Instead, lower-ranked competitors will take part in two of the most popular sports in the Olympic world.

Officials have said some 35 leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be at the ceremony at the brand new Olympic Stadium, which will host just two days of competitions in total.

But money is obviously no object for the Azeri government and its president Ilham Aliyev, eager to lay the foundations for a highly likely Olympics bid in the future.

Organisers hope Friday’s opening ceremony, deploying some 2,000 participants, will mark the beginning of a successful event that will strengthen the country’s position in the international sports world, just as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have done before them in recent years.

But the government, which has banned officials from human rights organisations as well as some media from entering the country, has faced accusations of consistent human rights violations since it was awarded the Games in 2012.

 

 

 

Turkey will vote in parliamentary elections in two weeks. Expert of Turkish studies Gevorg Petrosyan says the elections are historic, as four Armenians representing three different parties are running for Parliament.

In particular, Armenian Margar Yesayan nominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party is the 12^th in the list and is likely to be represented in the Grand National Assembly. The expert says this is an expression of the Turkish cunning policy and does not exclude that Ankara will use the presence of Armenian MPs it the Turkish legislature for its own interests. He reminds that Margar Yesayan is a journalist and a proponent of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Petrosyan says Yesayan will always be in the center of discussions on Armenian-Turkish relations, and Turkey will use this to show it’s a democratic country.

The opposition Republican People’s Party has one Armenian in the list, while two Armenians are included in the list of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party.

Gevorg Petrosyan is confident we’ll have two or three MPs represented in the Turkish Parliament in June