Author: Parkev Tvankchian

MFA Armenia strongly condemns prosecution of Artsakh’s President and two former Presidents of Armenia by Azerbaijan

Parkev Tvankchian

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 20:37,

YEREVAN, 21 FEBRUARY, ARMENPERESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia has issued a statement over initiating criminal prosecution against President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan and two former Presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan by Azerbaijani authorities and declaring them internationally wanted, strongly condemning these trumped-up and anti-Armenian persecutions, as well as the abuse of international legal procedures, ARMENPRESS was informed from the MFA Armenia.

"Recently it became known that the Azerbaijani authorities have initiated criminal prosecution, have declared an international search for Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.

"We strongly condemn these criminal prosecutions initiated by Azerbaijan on these trumped-up and anti-Armenian grounds, as well as similar abuses of international legal procedures," the statement said.

According to the Armenian MFA, instead of trying to find the people involved in the extrajudicial killings of Artsakh civilians, the forced disappearances of Armenian prisoners of war, as well as the criminal networks that brought terrorists to the region, Azerbaijan is pursuing its anti-Armenian policy in Nagorno Karabakh with a new impetus, making new attempts to raise tensions on Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry calls on Azerbaijan to seek solutions in the constructive field, to take steps to protect the rights and well-being of all the peoples of the region, while reaffirming the Republic of Armenia's commitment to making efforts for peaceful coexistence and mutual tolerance in the region”.

The Aznavoorian Duo to Release GEMS FROM ARMENIA On Cedille Records

Parkev Tvankchian
Feb 22 2022
by Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 22, 2022  

        

On Friday, April 8, 2022, celebrated Armenian American sisters Ani (cello) and Marta (piano) Aznavoorian will release their debut duo album, Gems from Armenia, on Cedille Records. The Chicago-based Aznavoorian Duo celebrates the sounds of their ancestral homeland through a panoramic survey of Armenian classical music, including works by composers Komitas Vartabed, Aram Khachaturian, Arno Babajanian, and Avet Terterian; contemporary Armenian composers Serouj Kradjian, Alexander Arutiunian, and Vache Sharafyan; and the world premiere recording of a new piece by Peter Boyer. The duo will perform a recital featuring works from the album on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 3:00pm at Nichols Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago in Evanston.

The Aznavoorian Duo comments, "The idea for this CD sprung out of gratitude to the proud and soulful people of Armenia and our homage to the historical challenges they have overcome and continue to engage with." In the liner notes, Gary Peter Rejebian writes, "Gems from Armenia voices a range of opposing emotions across three periods of time: some ringing clear in their own right, others but a whisper of other peaks and valleys in the Armenian story."

The album opens with five ancient folk songs arranged by early 20th-century Orthodox priest, composer, and musicologist Komitas Vardapet. Rejebian says, "Komitas strove not merely to capture melodic tunes, but to evoke the very life and heartache of the people who passed down poetic lyrics in song over centuries as he documented them for the ages."

He continues "Soviet-era composers Aram Khachaturian, Arno Babajanian, Avet Terterian, and Alexander Arutiunian collectively represent a musical renaissance for the Armenians; a period of greatness analogous to the first millennium 'Golden Age' of the Armenian kingdom… Khachaturian's glorious ode to his hometown (Yerevan) and Babajanian's tribute to Khachaturian, his mentor (Elegy), speak with impassioned fondness in very different voices. Terterian's Sonata, first performed in 1956, precedes the symphonies and stage works for which he is best known… As a snapshot of his lively style inspired by memorable folk melodies, Alexander Arutiunian composed his Impromptu in 1948."

A third era, of contemporary music, is embodied by Serouj Kradjian, Vache Sharafyan, and Peter Boyer. Rejebian shares, "Lebanese-born pianist and composer Kradjian arranged Sari Siroun Yar (Beautiful Mountain Girl) as a faithful retelling of the troubadour Ashod's ballad about a mountaineer pining for his beautiful village love… Sharafyan composed his Petrified Dance through multiple iterations of string-piano combinations for Harutyun Khachatryan's documentary about Armenian street artist Vahan Ananyan."

"Boyer composed Mount Ararat for the Aznavoorian Duo specially for this project as a reflection of how Armenia's biblical heritage resonated with a composer from a completely different background," Rejebian writes.

Cellist Ani Aznavoorian and pianist Marta Aznavoorian are Armenian American siblings renowned for their passion, artistry, and energy. The Los Angeles Times describes Ani as a cellist "who shows great sensitivity and great virtuosity at all moments" while The Boston Globe praises Marta as a pianist of "exceptionally finished technique and purity of musical impulse."

Ani Aznavoorian, 15-year principal cello of Camerata Pacifica, is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician with some of the country's most recognized ensembles and has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras. Marta Aznavoorian has performed to critical acclaim throughout the world as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and educator, and has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. She is a founding member of the Lincoln Trio and has a vast discography.

The Aznavoorian Duo has toured France, Armenia, and Finland, performed at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, and presented numerous programs in their hometown of Chicago. They have individually worked with leading contemporary composers including John Harbison, Clarice Assad, Lera Auerbach, William Bolcom, Osvaldo Golijov, Shulamit Ran, Peter Boyer, Augusta Read Thomas, and Stacy Garrop, among others. Separately, the Aznavoorians have recorded for the Warner Classics, Cedille, ARTEC, and Erato labels.

Ani proudly performs on a cello made in Chicago by her father, Peter Aznavoorian. Marta is a Steinway Artist. Learn more at www.aniaznavoorian.com and www.martaaznavoorian.com.

1. Komitas Vartabed (1869-1935) – Chinar Es [2:47]
2. Komitas – Tsirani Tsar [3:13]
3. Komitas – Garoun A* [4:01]
4. Komitas – Al Ailux [1:23]
5. Komitas – Krunk [3:49]
6. Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) (arr. Antti Hakkarainen) – Ivan Sings [1:41]
7. Khachaturian – Yerevan [3:04]

8. Arno Babajanian (1921-1983) – Elegy* [4:16]
Babajanian – Aria & Dance (5:33)
9. Aria [3:52]
10. Dance [1:40]
Avet Terterian (1929-1994) – Sonata for cello and piano
11. I. Andante [9:19]
12 II. Adagio [6:08]
13 III. Presto [5:06]
14. Serouj Kradjian (b. 1973) – Sari Siroun Yar [4:52]
15. Alexander Arutiunian (1920-2012) – Impromptu [4:25]
16. Vache Sharafyan (b. 1966) – Petrified Dance [5:15]
17. Peter Boyer (b. 1970) – Mount Ararat** [9:31]

Total Time: 75:41

* Solo Piano
** World Premiere Recording

CDR 90000 209
Producer: James Ginsburg
Recording Engineer: Bill Maylone
Recorded August 11-13, 2021 Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago

Karabakh: Martakert residents close road to Karvachar, Azerbaijani convoy turns back

Parkev Tvankchian
 NEWS.am 
Armenia – Feb 17 2022
17:36, 17.02.2022

Residents of Magavuz village of Martakert blocked the road of the Azerbaijani convoy on Thursday.

The convoy was forced to turn back. Local residents did not open the road to Karvachar for them.

Artsakh MP Metaqse Hakobyan told NEWS.am that Artsakh people have voiced their protest over the latest ceasefire violations by Azerbaijanis. The villagers are outraged because Armenian conscript Khachatur Khachatryan was shot and wounded from a position near Mazavuz on Tuesday.

"The villagers demanded not to shoot at Armenian positions and not to target civilians. They also demanded that Azerbaijanis not interfere with their agricultural work, " Hakobyan said.

Azerbaijanis in recent days have not only wounded an Armenian soldier, but have also been targeting civilians. The other day in the Martakert they fired at Armenian villagers cultivating land near the line of contact.

As a result of the shots, a tractor was damaged. The next day, the Azerbaijani military, at gunpoint, did not allow the villagers to enter the territory in question. Russian peacekeepers were also present during all the incidents.

According to Hakobyan, the presence of peacekeepers does not at all deter Azerbaijanis; there are cases when the peacekeepers themselves are forced to ask Artsakh people to stop working on the land in the area because they understand that Azerbaijanis can become uncontrollable at any moment.

Today, Russian peacekeepers accompanied the Azerbaijani convoy.

"The peacekeepers urged the villagers to open the road, but they disagreed, saying it was their message to Azerbaijanis," said Metaqse Hakobyan.

Armenia ex-president: Artsakh will always be ours

Parkev Tvankchian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 20 2022
11:18, 20.02.2022

The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of Artsakh's Revival Day.

" 34 years ago on this day, a difficult for Artsakh and the whole Armenian nation, but promising future, events were launched. A process that led to the rebirth of Artsakh.

All Armenians took part in this movement. After the glorious victories, Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora were engaged in the renaissance and the strengthening of the Republic of Artsakh.

Today, however, it is with a heavy heart that I congratulate on the occasion of Artsakh's rebirth. We must regain our strength, determination and unity to overcome despair and the consequences of defeat.

Artsakh will always be ours," the second President's message reads.

Ex-President of Armenia: It is naive to believe that the CSTO will respond if Armenia is attacked

Parkev Tvankchian

Feb 17 2022


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Ex-President Kocharyan’s comment

“It seems that this government does not need a combat-ready army, the main component of the country’s security after the 44-day war is still not in the best condition”. This opinion was expressed by ex-president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan at a press conference on February 17. He stressed that the Armenian government had done nothing to rebuild the army.

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Robert Kocharyan emphasized that he was never against establishing relations with Turkey and opening the border, but he believes that everything should have been done in accordance with the procedures accepted in international practice, and not “in the current format”:

“The establishment of relations should occur naturally: exchange of notes, establishment of diplomatic relations, opening of embassies, then discussion begins on how to overcome the problems between the two countries. What is happening now is beyond my understanding. In fact, the format that I see today is not negotiations with Turkey, but with the Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem, where the agenda is formed by Azerbaijan and voiced by Turkey. This will not yield good results. This is the wrong way to normalize relations”.

According to the ex-president, Armenia should not “beg” Turkey to open the borders, because the Turkish side will benefit more from this.

Kocharyan believes that talking about benefits for Armenia is absurd. He recalled that from Yerevan to the border with Russia is 400 km, a significant part of the transportation is carried out by trucks. And the situation for Armenia will not change, because the Russian Federation is its main partner:

“If we carry out cargo transportation by the Azerbaijani railway, the route will double in length. This will further remove us from our sales markets – the Krasnodar Territory and Moscow. Don’t these people [the current government] look at maps? Or do they simply hate maps? I am not saying that there is no need to open borders, but we need a program for 3-5 years to protect our markets – introduce subsidies or taxes on Turkish products, for example, there are different models for this”.

In his opinion, the Armenian economy in the first 5 years after the opening of the borders “will be in shock”, therefore he insists on the need to protect local producers from the influx of cheap Turkish goods.

According to him, a situation is being created where Turkey can have a dominant position in the Armenian economy and full influence on the political elite:

“This is possible if Russian influence starts to be replaced by Turkish. This means that Armenia may abandon Karabakh altogether. This is one of the preconditions under which such an alternative for Armenia can operate. This policy will enjoy the support of the United States, since the confrontation with Russia suggests that in this way Moscow’s influence can be limited”.

According to Robert Kocharyan, there are three main components in ensuring the security of Armenia:

  • armed forces of the country,
  • the CSTO military bloc, of which the country is a member,
  • allied relations with Russia.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a military bloc operating under the auspices of Russia. Armenia is a member, along with Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

He believes that today the Armenian army is not able to protect the borders and security of the country on its own, since after the 44-day war, practically nothing has been done to restore its combat capability.

As for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the ex-president believes that it is necessary to maintain membership, but at the same time not to place hopes in terms of security on this structure:

“There is no other structure that could replace the CSTO. We must stay, cooperate, but not hope for protection․ There will be nothing but statements [by the CSTO]. It is naive to believe that the CSTO will react in case of an attack on Armenia”.

According to him, the member countries of the organization have warm relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. And in general, this military bloc works smoothly only when the interests of all participants coincide – as was the case with Kazakhstan.

The decision to send CSTO peacekeepers to Kazakhstan was made taking into account the threat to the sovereignty of this country, said Armenian Prime Minister and current chairman of the organization

According to Kocharyan, the guarantee of the country’s security is cooperation with Russia. He considers the creation of a new military-industrial complex and the supply of ammunition from Russia to be of particular importance. But at the same time, as the former president says, it is necessary to understand how ready Russia is to unilaterally support Armenia:

“During the war [in Karabakh in 2020], a sharp increase in the role of Turkey in the region was revealed. I do not see any serious steps now that could change this situation”.

According to Kocharyan, there are models of integration in the world that everyone admires, for example, the European Union. He says that the Russian-Belarusian process is far from the level of integration processes in the EU. One should not be afraid of them, but make a cold calculation and “evaluate what we will get and what we will have to give up” instead. He spoke about this, referring to the recently discussed statements of the President of Belarus that Armenia “has nowhere to go”, and it will have to enter the Union State with Russia.

President Lukashenko’s criticism of Armenia has sparked outrage in the country. Belarusian President, in an interview that ‘no one cares about Armenia, it has nowhere to run’

The ex-president says that during the years of his work such an issue was not discussed, but he is in favour of a pragmatic approach to such processes.

According to Robert Kocharyan, it is necessary to have strong relations with Russia, since there is no other country that would be “interested” in Armenia:

“It is beneficial for Russia to have a strong ally in the South Caucasus, as we were before the last war. It is beneficial for Turkey to have an extremely weak Armenia, since only in this case will it not become an obstacle to the implementation of its programs. Polls show that people are not ready for this option. […]

This is not about whether we are loyal to Russia or not. When we talk about state interests, we need to soberly assess what we can gain in either case, which option will lead to a stronger, more organized Armenia, so it will be able to play an important role in the region”.

The former president is waiting for the current Armenian authorities to present their vision, but believes that “it is more convenient for them to remain silent and not present any concept”.

Armenpress: Another earthquake registered near Armenia-Georgia border

Parkev Tvankchian

Another earthquake registered near Armenia-Georgia border

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 21:57,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS.  On February 14, at 21:03 local time (17:03 GMT), the seismological network of the Territorial Seismic Protection Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia registered an earthquake of magnitude 3.0, near Armenia-Georgia border, 13 km northeast of the village of Bavra. The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 10 km.

The earthquake was felt in the villages of Mets Sepasar and Saragyugh of the Shirak region.

Hours earlier, a 3.2 magnitude earquake was registered 15 km east of the village of Bavra. The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 10 km.




Deputy PM chairs meeting of North-South Road Corridor management board

Parkev Tvankchian

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 10:35,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan chaired the meeting of the management board of the North-South Road Corridor investment project on February 10 to discuss the launch of the tender for the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section.

Speaking about the importance and expected results of the project, Deputy PM Matevosyan noted that the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section is among the government’s priorities.

“The implementation of this project will enable to increase interest for transit through Armenian territory, to ensure the security of Armenia’s southern regions and to contribute to their economic development and improvement of the population’s standard of living,” he said.

According to the project, it is planned to build a Technical Class II, 60km long new road section (100km/h), including bridges with a total length of 4,7km and tunnels with a total length of 12,5km, the longest of which is the Bargushat tunnel – 8,6km long.

As a result, the road distance between Sisian and Kajaran will be reduced by approximately 58km, and the current average 50km/h speed of travel for vehicles will be increased to around 100km/h, to reduce the driving time by approximately 1,5-2 hours and increase comfort and safety.

The project is included in the EU Economic and Investment Plan Guideline 2 and the Armenian government is effectively cooperating with the EU, the European Investment Bank and EBRD.

Balance of electric-energy production, export, import volumes in Armenia is positive

Parkev Tvankchian

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 11:57,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The electric-energy balance in January-December of 2021 compared to 2020’s same period is positive, the Armenian Statistical Committee reported.

Electric-energy production volume in the reporting period totaled 7 billion 674,9 million kWh, which is a 0,6% drop compared to 2020’s same period.

995,2 million kWh of electric-energy was exported, a 25,3% drop compared to 2020.

Imported volume of electric-energy increased 15% and totaled 368,5 million kWh.

Thus, the electric-energy balance of 2021’s January-December totaled 7 billion 048,2 million kWh, a 5% increase against 2020’s same period.

US Ambassador meеts with MPs of “Hayastan” parliamentary faction

Parkev Tvankchian

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 19:20,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy met with the MPs of “Hayastan” faction to discuss a number of issues, to hear their concerns about recent judicial and political developments, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Twitter micro blog of the Embassy.

It is noted that Tracy underlined the US support for Armenia's democratic path.