Author: Parkev Tvankchian

“Today we are celebrating the feats of all our generations, which never fade and find their reflection in the deeds of  today’s soldiers and volunteers. They further enrich our history,” Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told reporters today.

The Defense Minister said the situation at the frontline is relatively calm.

Asked whether the recognition of Artsakh could lead to new aggression on the part of Azerbaijan, Minister Ohanyan said: “The Armenian diplomacy is fulfilling its task at full, and the efforts are targeted at the gradual recognition of NKR. It demands a delicate and consistent work, and the military-political leadership of Armenia is busy with that. I think we’re on the right track,” Seyran Ohanyan noted.

A musical project in Dresden has come under fire for branding the Armenian massacre a “genocide.” The head of Germany’s cultural council says it’s yet another case of Turkey’s inappropriate interference abroad, reports. 

The director of the Dresdner Sinfoniker Markus Rindt conceived an ambitious project in November 2015, alongside German-born Turkish guitarist Marc Sinan. Musicians from Turkey, Armenia and Germany would come together for the concert project “Aghet” in remembrance of the persecution and massacre of Armenians 101 years ago during the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The event was intended to be a sign of reconciliation.

Turkey, however, has taken umbrage in this, and is particularly offended by the use of the term “genocide” on the homepage of the European Commission, a main sponsor of the event. The EU appears to respect Turkey’s position and has removed its related pages. But Olaf Zimmermann, head of the German Cultural Council, says that this could become a slippery slope leading to encroachment of freedom of art and expression.

DW: Turkey appears to be targeting German cultural figures once more. This time it has taken aim at a concert by the Dresdner Sinfoniker orchestra, scheduled to be performed this weekend to commemorate the Armenian massacre at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish government does not view the killings as a “genocide” – but surely that’s not all?

Olaf Zimmermann: No, it’s not just about that one word, of course. It’s about an artistic endeavor that examines the unique fate suffered by Armenians as they were forced into migration. Needless to say, the characteristics of this project deal with a situation 101 years ago. So referring to these massacres as genocide is not a creative concept, but rather builds on the opinion of reputable historians. Those artists in Dresden don’t represent dissenting views, but are part of the mainstream interpretation of events.

But Turkey has repeatedly resisted being associated with the terminology of genocide in the past when it comes to Armenians.

And that’s perfectly fine. Everyone has to find their own way to come to terms with the past. But trying to enforce one particular interpretation of a historic event amounts to a transgression and is, simply put, unacceptable. What they are doing is like aiming their cannons in the general direction of Dresden to do nothing but hit mere sparrows.

But Turkish President Erdogan skipped the immediate step of voicing his grievances at the orchestra and rather went straight to the EU, which is one of the sponsors of the project. And in response to his complaint, the EU actually went ahead and removed the description of the concert from its website to rephrase its wording. What do you think about these measures?

I think that’s problematic. Mr. Erdogan tells our leaders to jump and they seem to ask “how high?” At first it was only our chancellor, who reacted that way to that poem recited by comedian Jan Böhmermann, and now it’s the entire EU. Instead they could just tell him that it’s none of his business and that we won’t do anything about these things.

There have been such interventions in the past already, but they’re beginning to amass. And this is on account of the fact that Erdogan apparently seems to believe that the German government and the EU as a whole have become susceptible to such blackmail since we need his assistance in dealing with the refugee crisis. That’s why he seems to feel free to intervene in our domestic issues. Both the German government and the European Commission have become nervous and fearful, and the Turkish president is abusing this. This is a considerable problem.

Markus Rindt, director of the Dresdner Sinfoniker, says that this amounts to a major encroachment on freedom of expression and freedom of art. Are these freedoms being undercut?

At the very least, we’re getting accustomed to a foreign president having something to say about what we choose to do artistically in Germany, and if he doesn’t like something he seeks to prevent it. That is a rather unusual way of dealing with things, and I would really, really, really like to ask the government for more backing here, telling Erdogan to keep out of our business.

Serviceman of the NKR Defense Army Hamlet Hajoyan, bon in 1970, was fatally wounded as a result of shooting from the Azerbaijani side in the northeastern (Talish) direction of the line of contact, NKR Defense Ministry reports.

Investigation into the details of the incident is under way.

The NKR Defense Army shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses its support to Hamlet Hajoyan’s family and friends.

On 11 April President Bako Sahakyan held a meeting with the Armenian National Assembly deputy chairman Edward Sharmazanov and a group of deputies from Greek and Latvian parliaments.

The meeting addressed issues relating to the military operations recently launched by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic.

Bako Sahakyan hailed the support of many countries, representatives of their political and public circles to the peace process and condemnation of aggression

The President noted at the same time that the international community must have a tough and targeted assessment of the Azerbaijani militaristic and destructive policy, highlighting the importance of an adequate of the response for restraining aggression.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will hold a debate on Nagorno Karabakh, according to the session posted on PACE’s official website.

The current affairs debate on “The recent and tragic escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” is scheduled for April 18, the first day of the spring session.

As of 12:00 all military actions were ceased along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact. NKR President’s Spokesperson David Babayan confirmed the news to .

He added that the situation at the frontline is currently calm.

“The military actions of the past days have not changed the military balance in the region,” Babayan said.

In November Kolkata will witness the biggest congregation of Armenians in recent times. They will gather in the city to be a part of celebrations lined up by their alma mater – Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA), which will turn 195 this year. The get-together of sorts will also help the community relive its past, connecting with old acquaintances now spread across the globe, the  reports.

Amid all the hype, ACPA has embarked upon the most difficult task of creating a databank of Armenians from Kolkata. “This is the first such databank since 1956,” said Rev. Zaven Yazichyan, the India-Armenian Spiritual Postorate, ACPA.

Entrepreneurial and devout Christians, Armenians arrived here in early 1600s, some 60 years prior to East India Company. When Kolkata – then Calcutta – was the British capital, the Armenians poured money into colonial mansions, virtually transforming the wilting city into what Kolkata eventually became.

Though they called it their home, Armenians started leaving ‘Calcutta’ even before the British started moving out. For the last six decades, their numbers have dwindling alarmingly. The city of 4.5 milling barely has 150 Indian Armenians left now. According to the Armenian General Benevolent Union news magazine, the number of students dropped from 206 in 1961 to just six in 1998. Among the 68 students studying here now, only two are Armenian-Indians. The school relies on students from abroad – mostly immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Russia and Armenia – to fill its dormitories.

Ten more suspects have been arrested in three European countries as police step up efforts to prevent further attacks after the Brussels bombings, the BBC reports.

Seven were detained in Brussels, two reportedly in Germany and one in Paris.

An investigation is continuing into Tuesday’s bomb attacks, which killed 31 people in Brussels and have been linked to November’s Paris attacks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Brussels, said that so-called Islamic State (IS) would be destroyed.

Standing alongside Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, he expressed condolences for the victims and solidarity with Belgium, declaring “Je suis Bruxellois”.

The Western alliance would continue its fight to destroy IS, Mr Kerry said.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be deterred.”

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held consultations on Armenian-Argentine relations, ongoing bilateral programs and achievements.

The meeting featured Armenian Ambassador to Argentina Alexan Harutyunyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Chairman of the Armenia-Argentina Friendship Group, Vice-President of the National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov, Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Harutyunyan, other officials.

President Sargsyan noted that Armenia and Argentina have traditionally enjoyed friendly relations, and added that the cooperation further deepened after Armenia gained independence.

According to the President, the special relations between Armenian and Argentina are connected with the existence of a viable Armenian community in the country. He praised the role of Eduardo Eurnekian’s activity in the development of economic relations. “Althouargh we are not satisfied with the commodity turnover,  there is a great potential for boosting trade. Of course, it’s important that Argentina is the 5^th country in terms of the volume of foreign investments in Armenia, and the Argentine investments in the country have exceeded $400 mln,” President Sargsyan said.

President Sargsyan pointed out the activity of the “Armenia International Airports,” “Tierra de Armenia,” “Converse Bank,” and other companies as successful examples of Armenian-Argentine cooperation.

Ambassador Harutyunyan presented the spheres of promising and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. “I think the good relations with the newly-elected President of Argentina can play an important role in the further development of bilateral relations,” he said. The Ambassador informed Argentine President Mauricio Macri could visit Armenia in the near future.

The Azerbaijani side used artillery weapons of different caliber as it fired more than 1,100 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions last night.

The rival used HAN-17 grenades in the northeastern direction of the line of contact.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the situation all along the line of contact and confidently continue with their military duty, the NKR Defense Ministry said in a statement.