Over 130 flights cancelled or delayed in Moscow airports
11:35,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS. 122 flights were delayed and 10 more were cancelled in Moscow’s airports due to fog, RIA Novosti reported.
25 flights were delayed in Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, 52 in Sheremetyevo and 45 in Domodedovo.
Fog is reported in Moscow at the moment.
Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
Armenia’s Pashinyan congratulates Alexander Lukashenko on birthday
13:11,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan congratulated President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on birthday, the PM’s office told Armenpress.
The congratulatory letter runs as follows:
“Dear Mr. President,
I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday.
Your years-long, productive efforts aimed at protecting the interests of Belarus, ensuring the welfare of people and raising the life quality deserve respect.
I am confident that we will manage to enrich the traditional friendly ties between Armenia and Belarus with a new qualitative content through joint efforts and also through the mutually beneficial cooperation within the frames of the EAEU and other integration unions for the benefit of our peoples.
I wish you good health, prosperity and great achievements in your responsible state activity”.
Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
ANCA-WR Board Members and Staff with Governor Gavin Newsom
SACRAMENTO—Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region Board and Staff members traveled to California’s capital to meet with Governor Gavin Newsom to discuss policy priorities and issues of concern to the state’s Armenian American community. During the visit, delegation members also met with the Governor’s Appointments Secretary Cathryn Rivera-Hernandez, Director of External Affairs Priscilla Cheng, Director of Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Maricela Rodriguez, and Legal Affairs Secretary Catherine E. Lhamon.
ANCA-WR Board Chair Nora Hovsepian with Governor Gavin Newsom
“As the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization, we work on the local, state, and federal levels to promote our community’s interests and policy priorities,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “We are grateful to Governor Newsom for taking the time to meet with us to discuss our priorities and to connect us directly with members of his staff who are responsible for the policy areas we discussed. We look forward to delivering tangible results for our community in the coming months and to continuing our productive relationship with the Governor and his Administration in line with his stated agenda of promoting cultural diversity and ensuring inclusiveness for all Californians.”
The day kicked off with a meeting with longtime friend California State Senator Anthony Portantino, who later introduced the ANCA-WR Board of Directors on the floor during the regular session of the Senate, where several Senators and friends of the Armenian-American community welcomed the ANCA-WR delegation.
On behalf of the Board, Governor Newsom and Senator Portantino each received a signed copy of Matthew Karanian’s “The Armenian Highland: Western Armenia and the First Armenian Republic of 1918,” as a show of gratitude for their friendship and overall support of the Armenian Cause.
The delegation also met with Appointments Secretary Cathryn Rivera-Hernandez, who recently took on the responsibility of vetting and recommending over 3,000 senior staff as well as boards and commissions appointments to the Governor. ANCA-WR highlighted the need to ensure more equitable representation of the State’s diversity by also considering qualified Armenian-Americans for a number of vacancies in State government.
In a meeting with Director of Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Maricela Rodriguez, the ANCA-WR’s HyeVotes initiative for voter registration and participation as well as its creation of the first ever Armenian-American Complete Count Committee (AACCC) for Census 2020 were discussed at length in order to find ways to maximize our community’s participation in elections and in the upcoming Census through proper engagement and allocation of resources.
The visit culminated with an hour long meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been a longtime friend and ally of the Armenian-American community, previously also serving as the State’s Lt. Governor and prior to that as the Mayor of San Francisco. Some topics of discussion included the ANCA-WR’s Divest Turkey initiative and current bill AB1320 introduced by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian; California’s proposed ethnic studies curriculum and the need to include the Armenian experience in the final draft both at the high school level as well as at the university level through the pending bill AB1460; allocation of resources to ensure the appropriate teaching of the Armenian Genocide in public schools as codified in Education Code Sections 51220 and 51226.3; and other high priority topics. As a follow-up to the ANCA-WR’s recent Legislative Trip to Armenia which included Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis who has been appointed by Governor Newsom to represent California in foreign affairs, the discussion also included further deepening and institutionalizing bilateral relations between California and Armenia and identifying prospects of strengthening California-Armenia trade and economic relations, including the trade office proposal introduced by Senator Portantino and currently pending as SB302 in the State Legislature.
The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.
Members of the Armenian Bar with Ombudsmen Aram Tatoyan and Artak Beglaryan at the annual meeting
LOS ANGELES—Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its founding, the Armenian Bar Association returned to the place of its provenance, exhilarated with the energy and excitement of the Los Angeles metropolis, to convene its annual meeting.
The conference, which took place from June 28 to 30, showcased the Association’s enduring activism and valuable output in one of its seminal dimensions: the protection, respect and importance of the human and civil rights of Armenians around the world and, in particular, in our homelands of Armenia and Artsakh. The special guests from abroad included Arman Tatoyan, Ombudsman and Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Artak Beglaryan, Ombudsman and Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, and Robert Avetisyan, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Artsakh to the United States of America.
Founder of the Armenian Bar Association Raffi Hovannisian
“We were incredibly honored that Dr. Tatoyan, Mr. Beglaryan and Mr. Avetisyan graciously accepted our invitation to attend and participate as our keynote speakers for our 30th annual meeting, where our attendees learned of their outstanding and ground-breaking work in the field of human rights. A very special added bonus was the presence and participation throughout the weekend of our Association’s founding father, Raffi K. Hovannisian,” stated Chairman Gerard V. Kassabian.
The conference schedule began on Friday, June 28, with a meeting of the 18-member Board of Governors, where the Association’s leadership rolled up their sleeves and, with an eye towards improvement and innovation, examined the work of its robust collection of committees. Following the Board meeting, members and guests were treated to a festive and entertaining reception under the Southern California’s shining stars at the, finely-appointed, outdoor deck of the luxurious Sheraton Grand Hotel. In a true reflection of the Association’s broad and all-embracing appeal, gathered together in the spirit of fun and fellowship were our founding members, judges, law professors, law students, friends and family.
From l to r: Ombudsmen Aram Tatoyan, Board Member Garo Ghazarian, Ombudsmen Artak Beglaryan
The meeting on Saturday morning began with a plenary session where the multi-faceted workings of the Association’s affairs were shared and discussed. Reports were provided by Student Affairs Committee Co-Chairs Aleksan Giragosian and Zepur Simonian, Scholarship Committee member Saro Kerkonian, Armenian Rights Watch Committee and Artsakh Law Initiative Committee Co-Chair Karnig Kerkonian, Armenian Genocide Reparations Committee Chairman Armen K. Hovannisian, and by Pro Bono Committee member Lucy Varpetian. The Nominations Committee then presented the slate of recommended members to the Board of Governors. The nominees, two accomplished newcomers and four incumbents, were unanimously approved by the membership.
“We are thrilled that Deputy District Attorney Hrag Alex Bastian of San Francisco and esteemed civil litigator Souren Israelyan of New York City, along with a team of veteran members, were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Governors. They bring the passion and energy to carry forward the positive momentum that the Armenian Bar Association has developed in the past several years,” noted Co-Vice Chairwoman Lucy Varpetian.
The first group of panelists with Ombudsmen Tatoyan and Beglaryan
After the business portion of the meeting, the first signature panel discussion explored the plunder of historic Armenia’s native culture and civilization and an examined the legal opportunities and challenges in restoring some of what was wrongfully taken. Moderated by Board member Armen Hovannisian, the panel opened with a riveting visual presentation by attorney Matthew Karanian rooted in his monumental pictorial and documentary work of critical acclaim, “The Armenian Highland.” Karanian presented a photographic simulation of his travels through Western Armenia documenting the evidence of religious sites, cultural artifacts, and the remains of the heart-breaking ruins throughout the region.
Then, in a most timely and illuminating presentation for the attendees, Thaddeus Stauber of Nixon Peabody, LLP spoke candidly about the often windy and uphill road to recover articles and areas of cultural heritage. His perspective was thought-provoking, sobering and constructive insofar as Stauber is known to represent successfully the world’s leading cultural institutions and foreign sovereigns in connection with Nazi looted art claims. His candid view from the other side of the litigation divide provided valuable lessons which will go a long way in informing future Armenian Genocide-related restitutions efforts.
Panelists from l to r: Matthew Karanian, Board Member Armen Hovannisian, Thaddeus Stauber
The morning session was followed by a sumptuous luncheon where the guest speaker was Gassia Apkarian, Judge of the Superior Court of California for the County of Orange. Following a light-hearted, engaging, and endearing introduction by Superior Court Judge Maria Daghlian-Hernandez, Judge Apkarian offered her personal and professional insights with respect to former governmental administrations of the Republic of Armenia and posed constructive critiques of the current state of the Republic’s judiciary.
After the luncheon, the nearly one hundred people in attendance listened and engaged with great interest the second signature panel, moderated by Board member Garo B. Ghazarian. The audience heard of the extraordinary work of the Ombudsmen and Human Rights Defenders of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. Ombudsmen Tatoyan and Beglaryan each provided a comprehensive overview of the purpose of their offices and how they and their staff members go about achieving their institutional objectives. They both emphasized that their positions are non-partisan and that they do not serve at the whim or direction of the government in power, but rather are independent investigatory and advocacy bodies. They also described how their professional independence is safeguarded by the fact that they are not subject to recall by any of the branches of government.
Judges at the Armenian Bar’s annual conference
The weekend ended with a big bang and beautiful tribute. A dazzling celebration of the monumental lifetime achievements of Judge Dickran Tevrizian took place at the magnificent California Club where more than three hundred guests came to honor the pioneering work and regal influence of Judge Tevrizian and to mark and revel in the Association’s thirty years of excellence and virtue.
Videos of the panels are available online.
One of the most important keys to the development of every society is the ability to choose acceptable compromise options from the triad of pluralism as a result of active discussions about the vision of the establishment of one’s own state and the rules of coexistence. However, a constructive debate about the future of the state, during which the fundamental ideas and values that will be the main landmarks and cornerstones of state building can be crystallized, is perhaps not mentioned in Armenia, so it is too early to talk about the rest.
It seemed that favorable conditions would be created in post-revolutionary Armenia for starting a civilized debate and forming a new vision of state-building as a result of clashes over different ideas, which would lead to the rooting of a qualitatively new policy. But, alas, instead of ideas, everything was focused on people. a trivial script was written, in which the antagonists – the revolutionary heroes, and the protagonists – the anti-revolutionary anti-heroes were clearly identified. A clear dividing line was drawn between “blacks” and “whites” so that the society would not be entangled in semi-shadows. As a result of this bifurcation, all the events and discussions in Armenia from a certain point were not about the future, but only about the past, because the politics was never removed from the patterns formed by the previous logic, and there was not enough thought to form and propose a new one.
Well, instead of ideas, “lack of ideas” came forward. Considering that every ideology is anchored on certain principles and value system, which implies a clear consistency in making every decision, then its absence opens up very wide horizons of action and creates good opportunities for the ruling power to evade.
Before, there were no “rights” or “lefts” in Armenia, because there was only one idea for both the regime and the opposition, and that idea was the “power” itself. Perhaps this is the reason for the simple fact that even today really ideological political units with their unequivocal “isms” are not imagined. if there is no clear idea, then everything is permissible, so no political unit wants to be constrained by additional “ideological” shackles, because in Armenia, according to the old tradition, power is always preferred to the idea.
As is often the case, time will tell whether there will be political units in Armenia that will be able to counterbalance the current ruling power and push it out of its comfort zone, laying the foundation for a real constructive political debate.
Marina Muradyan
https://acnis.am/hy/ambion/26-2019
Defense Army serviceman abandons military position, Azerbaijan claims they have caught him
19:09,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh’s Defense Army serviceman Arayik Ghazaryan, 19, abandoned the military position at about 12:00, August 12 in still unclarified circumstances, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh.
“According to the information spread by the Azerbaijani media, Ghazaryan is in Azerbaijan. Investigation is underway to clarify circumstances”, reads the statement of the Ministry.
Earlier today, spokesperson of the Defense Ministry of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan confirmed that there is an Armenian citizen in Azerbaijan at the moment.
Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Armenian edition of news.am]
Kocharyan’s bank accounts were frozen in July 2018 days after he was first arrested on charges of overturning the constitutional order stemming from the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
Acting on a lawsuit filed by Kocharyan, a first instance court in Yerevan ruled on 7 June that the asset seizure constituted a violation of his rights. The Prosecutor General’s Office considered the decision unlawful and appealed appealed against it at a higher court. The Criminal Court of Appeals, however, rejected the appeal and left the lower court’s decision unchanged, the website said.
Kocharyan, who attended the hearing, complained that he had been unable to pay his legal costs during all this period. He said he had been forced to rely on the financial support of his relatives, which, he said, was not an “honourable thing” for him to do.
“This is a practice, when a person is deprived of everything, as well as of the possibility to defend himself, probably with an intention to intimidate and reach some aims,” Kocharyan was quoted as saying.
Asked why the investigators had taken 27,000 dollars from his lock box, Kocharyan told the judge that it was probably because of the shock.
“I think because of the shock. When they opened the safe and saw not 4bn but only 27,000, they were shocked,” Kocharyan was quoted as saying.
As the judge reprimanded Kocharyan for ironical remarks, noting that the investigators were doing their job, Kocharyan said that he was free to use the language he wanted to defend himself.
“My rights have been violated for a year, they are being violated in an impudent way, and I have the right to speak out about it,” News.am quoted Kocharyan as saying.
Anthony Ghanime, a 27-year-old Glendale resident, recently climbed the tallest peak in Africa—Mt. Kilimanjaro, Asbarez reports.
A Chamlian and Rose & Alex Pilibos School alumnus, Anthony traveled to Africa on Tuesday, July 9. The trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro took a total 8 days, from July 11 to 18.
When he reached the summit, Anthony raised an Armenian flag that kept in his Pilibos fanny pack throughout his climb. He returned to Los Angeles on Saturday, July 20.
Anthony is currently enrolled in an MBA program at the University of California, Irvine. With his program starting in September, he had enough time to plan and prepare for his trek up the mountain.
Prior to applying to graduate schools, Anthony spent time working abroad at Intel, as well as at an engineering company called Q-MEP.
“The privilege of being able to call myself an Armenian is something I’ve held dear to my heart my whole life and one I’ll continue to hold the rest of my life. It only seemed fitting for me to raise the Armenian flag on the summit, because of the meaning the flag holds in my heart,” Anthony said in an interview to Asbarez.
“Being able to raise that flag was my way of paying homage to my community, family, teachers, schools, and mentors for their effort in not only my development as a proud Armenian but the development of Armenian youth in general. I also hoped that it would be a type of catalyst for Armenian youth to pursue and challenge themselves in accomplishing feats that not only our community can be proud of, but that ones from other communities can also admire,” he said.
A leading figure in the development of bodybuilding in Armenia has died at the age of 86.
Karekin Simonian had been granted the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Gold Medal for his contribution to the sport.
For more than 50 years Simonian had dedicated his time and expertise to the development of sports in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, Australia, Armenia, United States of America and Canada, promoting bodybuilding in all these countries.
He shared his enthusiasm for bodybuilding with an equal appreciation of weightlifting.
Born in Iraq in 1932 to an Armenian family, Simonian held joint Australian and American citizenship.
Besides bodybuilding and weightlifting, he was involved in many humanitarian, social, and educational organisations, including the Armenian Relief Society.