Author: Talar Tumanian

Asbarez – The American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. (AARFA) presented “Field of Dreams,” the 2017 float which was the winner of the “Past President’s Trophy” for the most creative design and use of floral and nonfloral elements. “Field of Dreams” depicts this year’s 128th Tournament of Roses Parade, themed Echoes of Success, is comprised of about 18,000 plus white and red roses and other flowers, placed on the artistic rendering of Mount Ararat with thousands of other non-floral elements such as pomegranates, artichokes, nuts, lentils and more that covered the Artsakh Stallion.

This is the third year that the American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. presents a float in the Tournament of Roses, which takes place annually in Pasadena, California.

In continuation with now a yearly tradition and to honor the role of the American Armenian community in the United States, the AARFA unveils a float to represent the strength, beauty and symbols of the Armenian community to the world. The three children upon the Artsakh stallion represent the echoes of success of the American Armenian community in science, literature and music.

A few of the float riders included Houry Gebeshian, gymnast; Michael Aram, artist; Claudette Stefanian, TV news Personality; Sarkis Mazmanian, Caltech Medical Microbiologist; Ralph Winter, Producer  of Armenian Genocide movie The Promise.

Photo: AP

 

US actress Debbie Reynolds has died, a day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, her son has announced, the BBC reprts.

US media said the 84-year-old had a stroke. She was taken to a Los Angeles hospital earlier on Wednesday.

The Hollywood legend is best known for her role in the 1952 musical Singin’ in the Rain, opposite Gene Kelly.

Fisher – renowned for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series – died on Tuesday aged 60, following a cardiac arrest on a plane.

Reynolds was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after being taken ill on Wednesday.

Announcing her death later, her son Todd Fisher told AP news agency: “She’s now with Carrie and we’re all heartbroken.”

He added that the stress of his sister’s death “was too much” for their mother.

The first of two flight data recorders belonging to the sunken military plane in the Black Sea has been raised to the surface, a source in the Russian security services told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

The flight parameter and cockpit voice recorder were presumed to be located in the tail assembly of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Tu-154.

“The first Tu-154 black box was found and raised to the surface at 8:48 a.m. [05:48 GMT],” the source said.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s Tu-154 aircraft en route to Syria from Moscow crashed soon after takeoff near Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi early on Sunday.

The plane was carrying 92 people including eight crew members, 64 musicians of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine reporters, head of Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity Elizaveta Glinka, and two federal civil servants.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian briefed President Serzh Sargsyan on the Foreign Ministry’s activity towards ensuring Armenia’s active involvement in international organizations. Minister Nalabndian presented the achievements and future plans, the chairmanship of the International Organization of the Francophonie, the organization’s reference to Nagorno Karabakh in its recent statement.

Minister Nalbandian reported on a number of meetings to be held within the framework of international organizations – the priorities of Armenia at the meeting of Foreign Ministers in Vienna dedicated to nuclear security, the “Support to Armenia” mission within the framework of NATO, the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Paris, the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Gamburg.

President Sargsyan called Minister Nalabndian’s attention to the directives to be given to diplomats during the traditional meeting with Armenian Ambassadors expected in Paris.

Serzh Sargsyan instructed to hold the next meeting with diplomats in Armenia. The President presented his views on intensification of economic diplomacy.

Today, at the Meridian exhibition center President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with the Chair of the Kimberley Process, representative of the United Arab Emirates Ahmed Bin Sulayem who is in our country in framework of the annual conference of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) held in Yerevan on October 24-28.

The President of Armenia welcomed the guest to our country and expressed hope that Mr. Ahmed Bin Sulayem’s visit to Armenia will signify not only strengthening of cooperation in the framework of the Kimberley Process but also, considering his rich experience in diamond processing and jewellery making in the UAE, will be useful in the shaping and implementation of the mutually beneficial bilateral projects. According to the President, with this regard the convening of the COBJO Conference in Yerevan creates excellent possibilities.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of the Kimberley Process as a bright example of the consolidation of the efforts throughout the world for the prevention of the circulation of the so called “conflict” or “blood” diamonds and commitment of the parties – members of the process. He underscored that the process acquires a greater importance especially nowadays when conflicts in the world have multiplied and new hot spots have come into existence. The President of Armenia viewed as upsetting the fact that natural resources are being used not for good but for evil purposes.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia joined the Kimberley Process in 2003 which allowed our country to become a full member of the world diamond market and now is persistent in carrying out her commitments made in the framework of the Process.

The Kimberley Process Chair noted that he has arrived to Armenia also as a representative of the trade community of Dubai and is eager to discuss with the government of Armenia issues pertinent to the Kimberley Process and strengthening of Armenia-EAE trade and economic relations.

“Turkey has no place in and should be kept away from the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

“The only positive impact Ankara could have on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is the opening of the border with Armenia and ceasing of encouraging Azerbaijan’s provocative and destructive steps,” Kocharyan said in comments to News.am.

The remarks come after some media reports quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying that “Turkey could play a positive role in the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“The statement on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, adopted by the Presidents of the CSTO member-countries in Yerevan on October 14, expresses its support to the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg aimed at the prevention of escalation of situation in the conflict zone, stabilization of situation and creation of conditions for the advancement of peace process. The exclusively peaceful settlement should be based on the three well-known principles of International Law – non use of force or threat of force, the territorial integrity of states and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,” Shavarsh Kocharyan added.

“The position of the Russian Federation on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is expressed by the abovementioned statement, not through the distortion of Sergey Lavrov’s words by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey as presented in the Azerbaijani media: a qualification, which previously was ascribed to the Azerbaijani side for its misrepresentation of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process,” the Deputy Foreign Minister stated.

According to a decree signed by President Serzh Sargsyan, Hrachya Rostomyan has been appointed as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.

President Serzh Sargsyan received participants of the Pan-Armenian scientific conference due on September 21-23 in Yerevan, among them renowned Armenian scientists from the US, Russia, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Spain and several other countries.

Held under the RA President-supported Young Scientists Support Program, the conference is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Welcoming the scientists, the President congratulated them on the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of holding the conference in Armenian capital Yerevan with the participation of well-known Armenian scientists representing almost all the fields of fundamental research.

According to the President, events like that provide a good opportunity to not only bring together Armenian scientists from all over the world, but also to use their experience and contacts in order to properly represent young scientists of Armenian descent on international platforms and keep in touch with the development trends in modern science.

The scientists in attendance shared with the President their impressions and expectations of the conference. Serzh Sargsyan answered the questions of interest to scientists, outlining the main directions of State policy in the field of education and science. In particular, the President dwelt on the programs aimed at providing additional incentives in support of young researchers’ activities.

The Armenian scientists and the President exchanged views on ways of making joint efforts to help promote the development of science and education in our country.

A preliminary by the Council of Europe’s constitutional law experts (the Venice Commission) criticizes draft modifications to the constitution of Azerbaijan, which will be put to a national referendum on Monday 26 September.

Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving “unprecedented” powers to the President, according to the Venice Commission opinion.

For example, the extension of the presidential mandate from five to seven years “cannot be justified” given the already very strong position of the President, who since 2009 can be re-elected without term limits.

Another reform gives the President power to dissolve parliament, which does not only make political dissent in parliament “largely ineffective”, according to the opinion, but also affects the independence of the judiciary, since parliament’s role in the approval of judges will be reduced.

The Venice Commission experts were “particularly worried” by the introduction of the figure of unelected Vice-Presidents, who may at some moment govern the country, and the President’s prerogative to declare early presidential elections at his convenience.

The opinion also criticizes the procedure of the referendum as having lacked proper debate in parliament and having been carried out too quickly and without real public discussion beforehand.

Indeed, due to time constraints, the opinion rapporteurs themselves were unable to visit Azerbaijan and did not benefit from direct consultations with the authorities, experts and other stakeholders. In this context, the Venice Commission regrets that the authorities of Azerbaijan did not consult it prior to submitting the draft to the referendum.

The experts praised proposed amendments in the human rights chapter of the Azeri constitution, such as the introduction of the concept of “human dignity” and of the right to “conscientious treatment excluding arbitrariness” by state bodies and of certain procedural rights. They also praised the proposal to elevate the “principle of proportionality” to the constitutional level, which means that every restriction to human rights should be proportionate to the aim the state seeks to achieve.

However, the experts expressed reservations with other proposed changes in the human rights chapter, in particular one which provides for limitations to public gatherings for the sake of “public order” and “morality”, since this provision risks to be too broadly interpreted. The opinion also is concerned about a proposed provision on withdrawing citizenship that “reduces the scope of the current guarantee” that prevents withdrawal of citizenship in absolute terms.

Asbarez – Aline Ohanesian’s book, “Orhan’s Inheritance,” is among 12 finalists announced for the 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize — half for fiction, half for non-fiction. A winner and runner-up in each category will be announced Oct. 11. Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and runners-up receive $2,500.

Set against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide, the book tells the story of Ohan, whose brilliant and eccentric grandfather, who built a dynasty out of making kilim rugs, is found dead in a vat of dye, Orhan inherits the decades-old business. But his grandfather’s will raises more questions than it answers. Kemal has left the family estate to a stranger thousands of miles away, an aging woman in a retirement home (Ararat Home of LA) in Los Angeles. Her existence and secrecy about her past only deepen the mystery of why Orhan’s grandfather would have left their home to this woman rather than to his own family.

Joining Ohanesian as finalists are “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara; “Delicious Foods” by James Hannaham; “Green on Blue” by Elliot Ackerman; “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and “Youngblood” by Matt Gallagher.

“Many of this year’s finalists explore the contradictory strength and fragility of the family bond, and the threat that external forces such as poverty, war, and prejudice can place on that bond,” said Sharon Rab, co-chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation. “Through these narratives we explore the sources of conflict within the family but also what our immediate relationships can teach us about healing and reconciliation in the larger world.”

The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony hosted by award-winning journalist Nick Clooney in Dayton on Nov. 20.

Last month, organizers of the event announced that novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson will receive the 2016 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. Holbrooke was the U.S. diplomat who helped negotiate the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that put an end to the three-and-half-year-long Bosnian War.

The finalists for nonfiction: “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates; “Find Me Unafraid” by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner; “Nagasaki” by Susan Southard; “Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America” by Wil Haygood; “The Reason You Walk” by Wab Kinew, and “The Train to Crystal City” by Jan Jarboe Russell.

Inspired by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize was launched in 2006. It is the only literary peace prize awarded in the United States.

Finalists will be reviewed by a panel of prominent writers including Alexander Chee, Christine Schutt, Ruben Martinez and Evelyn McDonnell.