Author: Tambiyan Samvel

 10:06,

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister on Friday, in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo, News First reports. 

This is the first appointment made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on his first day in office.

Gunawardena was the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government since April 2022.

 18:38,

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament David McAllister is on a regional visit to Armenia. The correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports that during the press conference held in the National Assembly of Armenia, Eduard Aghajanyan, the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, stated that on July 22, David McAllister had meetings in Yerevan with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, Vice President of the National Assembly and the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.

According to Aghajanyan, David McAllister’s delegation also met with the representatives of the three parliamentary factions.

"During the meetings, current regional issues were discussed, in particular, regional developments in the post-war period in the context of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Armenian-Turkish relations, the problems associated with these processes and their possible solutions. The positive activity and influence of the European Parliament on the mentioned processes were also recorded, in particular, specific statements and resolutions related to the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, the statement by the European Parliament regarding the prisoners of war were noted and highlighted, and the Armenian side is grateful to our partners for this firm and impartial position", Eduard Aghajanyan said.

 19:08,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Hayk Mamijanyan, Head of the National Assembly opposition "I have honor" faction, intends to appeal to Azerbaijan with the request to organize a visit to see the war prisoners, ARMENPRESS reports Hayk Mamijanyan wrote on his Facebook page.

"Tomorrow, I will write an official letter to the speaker of the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan with the request to organize a visit to see our compatriots held in prison in Azerbaijan, to learn about their health condition and conditions of detention.

I will also inform the presidents of the CIS, Council of Europe, and Euronest parliamentary assemblies, the president of the European Parliament, as well as the Ambassadors of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries to Armenia," Mamijanyan wrote.

 10:01,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. House passed four Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)-backed amendments demanding Baku’s release of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), calling for investigations into Azerbaijani war crimes, reporting on the impact of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, and placing restrictions on the sale of F-16s to Turkey, ANCA reports.

Three of the measures were adopted as part of larger groupings, or blocs, of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA – H.R.7900). The fourth, placing restrictions on F-16 sales to Turkey, passed by a vote of 244 to 179, withstanding powerful opposition from pro-Erdogan lobbyists during final days of consideration of the measure. The U.S. House is expected to pass the underlying NDAA measure later Thursday evening.

“The ANCA thanks the Congressional leaders, coalition partners, and tens of thousands of ANCA activists from across the United States who made today’s victories possible,” said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “Working together – against deeply entrenched and powerfully vested interests – we are helping to protect Artsakh, promote Armenia, hold Azerbaijan accountable, and stop the flow of U.S. arms to Turkey.”

The four pro-Artsakh/Armenia amendments adopted by the U.S. House are provided below:

Amendment #121: Spearheaded by Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the amendment calls for a report by the State Department and Defense Department that would detail the use of U.S. parts in Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan against Armenia and Artsakh; Azerbaijan’s use of white phosphorous, cluster bombs and other prohibited munitions deployed against Artsakh; Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters during the 2020 Artsakh war.

The amendment was adopted by voice vote as part of “en bloc 1” – a larger grouping of amendments to (H.R.7900)

Joining Representatives Tony Cardenas, Brad Sherman, and Adam Schiff (D-CA) as Congressional cosponsors of the bipartisan amendment include Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #611: Introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the amendment expresses the sense of Congress that the government of Azerbaijan should immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians. The amendment was adopted by voice vote as part of “en bloc 5” – a larger grouping of amendments to H.R.7900.

Joining Rep. Schiff as Congressional cosponsors of the bipartisan amendment include Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #337: Introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), the amendment directs the U.S. Department of State in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to:

1) document the State Department’s consideration of all waiver requirements of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act

2) report on whether U.S. security assistance to the government of Azerbaijan undermines efforts toward a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and

3) provide an assessment of Azerbaijan’s use of offensive force against Armenia or violations of Armenian sovereign territory from November 11, 2020, to the date of the enactment of this Act.

In powerful remarks on the House floor, Rep. Frank Pallone condemned the annual U.S. presidential waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan and urged passage of the amendment. “We don’t believe that there is any justification for waiving [Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act] because of the constant threat that Azerbaijan poses not only to Nagorno Karabakh but also to Armenia itself, that continues ever since [the 2020] war.”

The amendment was adopted as part of “en bloc 3” – a larger grouping of amendments to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R.7900) – by a vote of 362 to 64.

Joining Rep. Speier as congressional cosponsors of the bi-partisan measure include Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Amendment #399: Led by Representatives Frank Pallone, Chris Pappas (D-NH), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the amendment places conditions upon the sale or transfer of F-16s or F-16 modernization kits to Turkey.

Rep. Pallone rallied Congressional support for the amendment during floor debate prior to the vote. “The sale of American advanced fighter jets to Turkey will not incentivize Erdogan to suddenly transform into a good ally. More likely these weapons will lead to further death and destruction in the region. For far too long the United States has allowed Erdogan to dictate his terms and hide behind Turkey’s status as a NATO ally. He has avoided facing real-life consequences greater than a slap on the wrist for his flagrant violations of international law at home and abroad and it’s time we finally say enough is enough. This amendment will do just that and help take the leveraging power out of Erdogan’s dangerous autocratic hands,” argued Pallone.

Former Congressional Turkey Caucus Co-Chair Pete Sessions’ (D-TX) arguments – calling Erdogan a “reliable ally,” citing Committee jurisdictional issues, and questioning whether Turkey really violates Greek airspace – fell flat.

The measure was adopted by a bipartisan vote of 244 to 179.

 16:18, 6 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. It is planned to hold an international festival of duduk players in Yerevan next year, which will be titled “Jivan Gasparyan” in memory of the legendary Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia Vahram Dumanyan said during the inauguration ceremony of the bust of Jivan Gasparyan in Yerevan.

“I share the view that Jivan Gasparyan’s play is also a player. It was not a coincidence that he was bestowed with the title of the King of Duduk by the public. And the ministry is going to organize an international festival of duduk players, named “Jivan Gasparyan”, next year”, the minister said.

In his turn Deputy Minister Ara Khzmalyan said the most effective way of preserving memory is to keep it alive. “Jivan Gasparyan is the person who dedicated his entire conscious life to the popularization and internationalization of our national instrument, the duduk. I think that the greatest appreciation of his merits and past path will be to have an international festival of duduk players named after him. As duduk is included in UNESCO list, it’s very important for Armenia to have an international project which will regularly confirm that it is the owner of that instrument”, he said.

He informed that they present the idea of the festival for the first time and are going to discuss it also with the family of the legendary duduk player.