Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

A new program for record-breaking Camp Haiastan Teen Session

Tatoyan Vazgen
 Camp Haiastan Community News, Diaspora, Youth 0

FRANKLIN, Mass.—The summer program and activities of AYF Camp Haiastan are reviewed and discussed at length during the off-season (September-May), and last year was no exception.

The Board of Directors decided to update the Teen Session schedule to introduce additional activities, ranging from challenging, educational and entertaining. Teen Session is limited to campers who are ages 15 and 16, along with 14-year-olds who are entering their sophomore year of high school.

With a record-breaking 123 teen campers this year, the new activities reached a large group of youth. Although many campers live in the heavily Armenian-populated states of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, 13 other states, including Texas and California, were also represented. Campers also traveled from England, Brussels and France.

The board welcomed AYF Camp Haiastan Program Coordinator Seran Tcholakian to prepare and implement the new teen program. Tcholakian brought her professional background as a longtime teacher at the Alex and Marie Manoogian School in Southfield, MI, and her many years of involvement with Camp Haiastan to her role. Tcholakian has been a camper, a staffer and a summer director, as well as the mother of campers and counselors.

“We wanted to select someone who understood the needs of the camp’s current campers and staff to ensure the continuation of a positive, developmentally appropriate and special experience,” Board of Directors chairperson Hratch Najarian stated. “Digin Seran was asked to develop a new program to address the needs of the different age groups.”

The age and education level of the teens allowed for a varied number of activities, both in and outside of camp.

On the second day of the two-week session, 150 campers and counselors boarded buses and headed to Watertown, Massachusetts, home to many Armenian churches and institutions. The Boston suburb has played a significant role in the American-Armenian community.

Teen Session campers touring the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown with guide and director of finance Berj Chekijian

The campers visited the Armenian Museum of America located in Watertown Square, where they were greeted by the staff, including executive director Jason Sohigian. They then traveled to the Hairenik building where they received a tour of the Archives by director George Aghjayan, learned about the newspapers the Armenian Weekly and Hairenik Weekly from their editors Pauline Getzoyan and Zaven Torikian, respectively, and concluded with the Armenian Relief Society, Eastern Region (ARS) executive director Vart Chiloyan. The ARS has been a benefactor and supporter of Camp Haiastan since the property was acquired in 1940.

The Armenian Preference Day cooking class option was elevated to a manti class. Michael and Susan Guzelian, longtime supporters and volunteers, demonstrated the fine art of making manti. The enthusiastic campers quickly learned how to prepare the labor-intensive Armenian delicacy. Later that evening, the manti was baked and served with yogurt and tomato sauce to the hungry campers.

Campers learning about the ARS of Eastern USA programs from executive director Vart Chiloyan

Thursday’s professional day brought the largest number of outside volunteers to camp during a single session. The teens took part in one-and-a-half hour seminars on a topic of their choice. The areas offered were marketing, cooking, jewelry design, basketball, football, soccer, engineering, politics and art.

“We were thrilled that we had 10 groups with 15 different professionals in the particular fields presenting at our Thursday afternoon seminar,” Tcholakian stated. “Our goal was to engage these 15- and 16-year-olds in the discussion of an area that interests them and perhaps they may want to pursue in the future,” she added.

This activity allowed the teenagers to meet specialists in various professions, but it also provided a unique opportunity for the presenters to participate in Camp Haiastan life. All were impressed and inspired by the concentration of so many young Armenians in one place. In a letter thanking the Board and Tcholakian for inviting her to participate in this Professional Day, Ani Babaian, who led the art class, wrote, “The overall atmosphere of Camp Haiastan spoke volumes about its efficient management, and the happy and enthusiastic campers reinforced this impression. Their engagement and enjoyment confirm that your efforts have had a positive impact. I am genuinely impressed by the teens in my workshop. They are talented, educated, well-behaved, and energetic.”

Teen Session campers have a conference call with Artsakh youth

Hye Jahm (Armenian Hour) classes focused entirely on one subject. The topic selected was Artsakh. In addition to its history, current affairs, and the social and political life of the region, all teen campers learned a traditional Artsakh dance. However, the highlight of the week was the video conference call between the AYF Camp Haiastan campers and the ARF youth of Artsakh.  It was a memorable event for youth from the Diaspora and the homeland. Later, the teens wrote letters to their counterparts.

Campers write letters to their Artsakh counterparts

“Overall, we are pleased with the introduction of new activities to the camp schedule while maintaining and improving the decades-old traditions of Camp Haiastan, such as the Peanut (now Starburst) Carnival, Vartevar, Detective Game, Back Breaker, Alphabet Games and many other games and programs that three generations have now experienced,” stated Najarian.

***

The Staff and Management extend their deep appreciation to those who participated in Professional Day 

Peter Alemian ● Ani Babaian ● Taline Badrikian ● Steve Elmasian ● Grace Eziglioglu ● Daron Hamparian ● Theresa Jelalian ● Katherine Kazarian ●  Anto Keshgegian ●  Talar Malkadjian ● Steve Mesrobian ●  Billy Manzo ● Garo Tashian ● Sasoun Tcholakian ● Mher Tcholakian ● Dave Tikoian ●  Berge Zobian

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Located in Franklin, Massachusetts, AYF Camp Haiastan, was founded in 1951 and is the oldest Armenian camp in the United States. The Camp prides itself on providing a healthy and safe experience to Armenian-American youth to help them foster their Armenian identity and establish lifelong friendships.


Stepanakert considers it unacceptable that Baku’s threats against Artsakh are left unanswered by Russian peacekeepers

Tatoyan Vazgen

 20:48, 6 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh issued a statement about the activation of belligerent and aggressive rhetoric by Azerbaijan, considering it unacceptable that the international community and, in particular, the Russian Federation, whose peacekeeping troops are stationed in Artsakh and under whose security guarantees tens of thousands of Artsakh citizens returned to their homeland after the 2020 war, leave the threats of Azerbaijan without proper attention and response.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Artsakh, the statement reads as follows,

“Recently, Azerbaijani state institutions and government-controlled media have launched a massive disinformation campaign aimed at misleading the international community and creating a pretext for new aggression against the Republic of Artsakh and its people. In particular, by creating and promoting false narratives against the Artsakh Defence Army, the Azerbaijani authorities, in fact, deny the inalienable right of the people of Artsakh to self-defence and seek to deprive them of any means and opportunities to ensure their own safety and security in the face of the constant threats and military provocations of Baku against the civilian population of Artsakh. 

Despite the fact that the Russian peacekeeping forces have never reported a cease-fire violation from the side of Artsakh, official Baku continues to falsely accuse the Artsakh Defence Army of shelling their military positions and, at the same time, intensifies aggressive and warmongering rhetoric, thereby creating information and propaganda grounds for new aggression against the Republic of Artsakh. This is also evidenced by the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities continue to consistently reject proposals to send an international fact-finding mission to Artsakh, including the Lachin Corridor, which would be able to assess the situation and present to the international community an objective picture of the developments on the ground. 

Such undisguised military-political blackmail against Artsakh, including continued violations of the cease-fire, the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage, the total transport and energy blockade and the illegal establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor are unacceptable and constitute flagrant violations of Azerbaijan’s obligations under the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, as well as the ICJ order of 22 February 2023. 

It is obvious that such aggressive and destabilising actions of Azerbaijan are aimed, inter alia, at preventing the creation of conditions conducive to constructive dialogue between the parties based on the principles of equality and good faith and the resumption of the peace process to resolve the conflict.

Being encouraged by the complete impunity and permissiveness, the Azerbaijani authorities do not take into account any appeals or statements from the international community on the inadmissibility of such destructive actions and the need to resolve disputes through constructive dialogue. In this regard, we consider it unacceptable that the international community and, in particular, the Russian Federation, whose peacekeeping forces are stationed in Artsakh and under whose security guarantees tens of thousands of Artsakh citizens returned to their homeland after the 2020 war, leave Azerbaijan’s threats without due attention and response. 

In this context, we reiterate that all responsible members of the international community and, in particular, the actors involved in the peace process, should not ignore or even encourage with certain statements Azerbaijan’s violation of its international obligations, including the policy of ethnic cleansing against the people of Artsakh, which may escalate into an even larger crime against humanity. We believe that only a proper and unequivocal political assessment of Azerbaijan’s actions, as well as specific and effective measures by the international community aimed at putting an end to these internationally wrongful acts, can create conditions for ensuring the rights and security of the people of Artsakh and establishing lasting peace and stability in the region”.

NM: Turkish parliament report fails to refer to ISIS, al-Qaeda as terrorist organizations

Tatoyan Vazgen
by Levent Kenez
March 24, 2023

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

The Turkish parliament’s Human Rights Committee published a report on Islamophobia and racism on March 9. Turkish lawmakers visited the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands during the two-year preparation of the report, which includes such chapters as racism, the presence of Muslims and foreigners in Europe, the historical origin of Islamophobia in Europe, the reasons for its rise and the role of politics and media in the rise of racism. The report, which includes accusatory language targeting the Western world, calls European-based right-wing extremist groups “terrorist organizations” while referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda simply as “organizations.”

Stating that many acts alleged to have been carried out in the name of Islam fueled racism and Islamophobia in Europe, the report claims that the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics turned the opinion of Europeans, which until then had been positive, against the Palestinians and Muslims as well.

The report mentions al-Qaeda and ISIS as “some organizations” that cause Islamophobia.

“Islamophobia has turned into a state-sponsored movement,” the report states. “Islam and Muslims, as victims of an organized network, have been turned into objects of a lynching culture through a media industry based on lies. According to lawmakers, in countries such as France and Germany, all elements of the security sector, especially the law enforcement agency put state power at the service of anti-Muslim movements.

“The effects of the attacks carried out by organizations such as al-Qaeda and DAESH (ISIS) in Europe on the increase of Islamophobia and the formation of prejudices against Muslims in Europe cannot be denied. At this point, September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, the Madrid train station attack in 2004, the London attack in 2005, the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, the 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Belgian airport attack are among the biggest reasons for the increase of Islamophobia in the West because with these attacks, the perception that Islam is a religion that does not exclude violence has been created,” the report reads.

The report, which describes far-right organizations such as the German-based Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) as terrorist organizations, does not make similar references to ISIS or al-Qaeda.

Parliamentary committee chair Hakan Çavuşoğlu argued that violent acts against Muslims were organized but added that they have generally been considered individual crimes and covered up by the European authorities. 

Ruling party lawmaker and committee member Osman Nuri Gülaçar claimed that Islamophobia is entirely of Western origin and was invented to prevent the spread of Islam. Gülacar, who asserted that between 170,000 and 190,000 people a year converted to Islam in the US before the September 11 attacks in 2001, said Islam was deliberately presented by the West as a threat.

The report includes serious accusations against the French and German governments, with French President Emanuel Macron in particular accused of trying to dilute the basic teachings of Islam by creating “French Islam.”

The report also states that the far-right Gray Wolves were discriminated against in France because they were Turkish. In 2020 France banned the group, which is linked to a key ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and is seen as the extremist wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a staunch supporter of the Erdoğan government.

Erdoğan often refers to the fight against Islamophobia, telling his followers that European governments discriminate against Turkey because of its Muslim identity,

Erdoğan on February 25, 2022 wanted members of the Union of International Democrats (UID), his ruling party’s organization in Europe, to be united in the fight against Islamophobia and urged them to help other non-Turkish Muslims.

Turkish parliament’s report on Islamophobia and racism:

[see web page for image]


AW: ARS of Eastern USA answers the call for Camp Haiastan

Tatoyan Vazgen
 Guest Contributor Community News 0

FRANKLIN, Mass.—At the end of the 2020 camping season, the AYF Camp Haiastan Board of Directors put out a call for help to improve the Camp’s aging kitchen. Operating in the same condition for over 30 years, the kitchen had been managed each year by great staff working to feed over 400 kids every summer. Over the years, these numbers added up to a lot of wear and tear!

35 chapters rallied to raise $100,000 for the Camp Haiastan kitchen renovation project.

The Armenian Relief Society of Eastern USA (ARS of EUSA) answered the Camp’s call. At its 2021 regional convention, the ARS of EUSA passed a resolution to raise funds for the kitchen project.

In the year that followed, the 35 chapters of the ARS rallied to raise $100,000 for the Camp Haiastan kitchen renovation project – all while continuing to work for their ongoing humanitarian programs and projects aimed at helping Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk, Lebanon and Syria. 

“The ARS has been a staunch supporter of AYF Camp Haiastan since the Camp was purchased back in 1941. Throughout the years, we have answered the call for assistance from Camp Haiastan. Our commitment remains as strong as ever,” stated Caroline Chamavonian, chair of the ARS of EUSA Regional Board.

The swift response from ARS chapter members and their executive bodies to the community’s needs ensured that the Camp kitchen will be fully operational with largely new and updated equipment for the start of the 2023 summer season. The new appliances include an industrial oven with six burners, along with a grill, mixer, salad bar, beverage dispensers, warming rack and serving station. 

“The nutrition team is extremely thankful for those who made the new kitchen equipment possible. We are very excited to start using it to bring delicious and nutritious meals to the campers and staff of Camp Haiastan,” enthused head chef Thomas Houle.

The Camp board, executive director, staff and all current and future campers extend their deepest gratitude to the ARS of Eastern USA for always offering unconditional support and for being an example of what is possible when a community comes together.




Azerbaijan has banned all humanitarian transportation in and out of Artsakh through the Lachin corridor

Tatoyan Vazgen

 18:02,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh has issued a statement regarding the banning of all humanitarian transportation in and out of Artsakh through the Lachin corridor.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, the statement reads as follows,

“Following its military provocation at the Hakari bridge in the morning of June 15, Azerbaijan has banned all kinds of humanitarian transportation in both ways, including people and cargo, through its illegal checkpoint installed on April 23. By this, Azerbaijan once again blatantly violates its international obligations towards ensuring the safe and unhindered passage through the Lachin corridor under the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020 and disregards the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision of February 22, 2023.

25 patients and their accompanying relatives which were to be transported from Artsakh to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today were not allowed to pass through the illegal checkpoint over the Hakari bridge by the Azerbaijani side, being forced to return back to Stepanakert. In addition, the scheduled transportation of people with urgent humanitarian needs, as well as the trucks with humanitarian supplies, which were to be carried out by the Russian peacekeeping forces through the Goris-Stepanakert Highway, was also cancelled.

Azerbaijan uses the already limited scale of humanitarian transportation and assistance to Artsakh, carried out only by the ICRC and Russian peacekeepers, as an advantage to create unbearable living conditions, terrorize, intimidate and exert psychological pressure on the peaceful population of Artsakh, in full accordance and consistency with its systematic policy of ethnic cleansing against Artsakh.

The humanitarian nature and vital importance of the Lachin corridor for the people of Artsakh has been clearly reflected in the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, which granted a special regime to the corridor. By cutting the corridor of life of Artsakh, Azerbaijan not only grossly violates its international obligations, but also reaffirms its true intentions with regard to Artsakh – the destruction of its indigenous Armenian population.

The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh has numerously warned the international community about the existential threats and danger for the people of Artsakh in connection with the installation of the illegal checkpoint in the Lachin corridor. Today’s incident once again reaffirms our concerns and highlights the persistent and increasing nature of these threats, since the deliberate and criminal blocking of humanitarian transportation by Azerbaijan further deepens the humanitarian crisis caused by the blockade of Artsakh”.

Let Turkey fail

Tatoyan Vazgen
Opinion
by Michael Rubin
May 31, 2023 11:08 AM

Recep Tayyip Erdogan will continue his authoritarian rule well into its third decade. International observers confirmed elections were neither free nor fair. Those who claim Erdogan won fairly focus on balloting, but what preceded it tipped the scales: arrests of opposition candidates, state media amplifying Erdogan while largely ignoring his competitors, and local authorities approving Erdogan’s rallies while denying opponents equal access to the public square.

Nor should the West take the fairness of balloting at face value. Just as balance-of-payments errors gave early insight into the illegal financial plays of Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party two decades ago at a time when most diplomats and journalists praised his economic stewardship, so too does demographic data raise serious questions about the veracity of voter rolls. Simply put, analysts should never trust data from dictators.

A DEBT LIMIT WIN FOR THE GOP

Some analysts called foul about questions regarding the voting numbers of naturalized Syrians, Afghans, or other recent immigrants to Turkey. While opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s anti-Syrian populism especially ahead of the second round was nativist if not racist, this does not diminish real problems in the demographic data. The basic problem is that the increase in voting rolls does not appear to coincide with international estimates of birth and death rates over the same period. Even these are uncertain.

Turkish demographers identify the error in population statistics as between 1.5 and 6.7 million, but this depends on at which date between 2007 and 2018 they stop taking Turkish statistics at face value and begin to track problems, especially with statistical manipulation by the Turkish Statistical Institute after the COVID-19 outbreak. What is clear is few Turks believe TUIK; its own employees privately warn not to, and so it is curious that so many outside analysts do. The question then becomes what explains the extra population on the voting rolls. Officially, there are fewer than 200,000 new naturalized Syrians. The error, though, suggests a much larger number of new voters.

Some Turks explain that supposed new citizens do not live in the towns where they are registered. On Election Day, busloads of young male foreigners arrived to vote in towns before returning to larger cities where they actually reside. Turks say this might explain why the vote count in certain areas was 2-3% above predictions for Erdogan. The problem is, since locals did not know these new voters in the locations they voted, it was hard to sniff out legitimacy.

A greater problem is voting with fraudulent IDs, borrowed either from the dead or simply with ghost names. To be fair, while this was a problem anecdotally, it is hard to assign a number to the votes cast by Syrian, Afghan, Pakistani, Iraqi, and African citizens. Compounding this problem was the fact that the opposition (let alone outside, neutral observers) were not present in many polling stations. A few thousand boxes from these voting stations apparently had votes only for Erdogan. In some cases, voters expressed surprise the results showed 100% for Erdogan when they had voted for Kilicdaroglu, though not everyone would publicly say so due to fear of retaliation. Such questions about Election Day are important given that a swing of just 1.2 million votes could change the outcome.

That said, the outcome of Turkey’s elections was never in doubt; to pretend otherwise only bestows false legitimacy on the process. The question now is how to proceed.

Erdogan’s stewardship has been an economic disaster. Turkey increasingly looks to follow Venezuela’s path into hyperinflation and financial implosion. This will be tragic for Turks, but neither Washington nor Brussels should snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There should be no F-16s for Turkey. Erdogan will sooner use them against his neighbors than for defense. Just as with Iran today, the United States and NATO should differentiate between the repressive regime and the people whom it represses.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Turkey one day will have its color revolution. Repression does not last forever. Sometimes countries must fail before they can rebuild.

Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.




Speaker meets SNP’s Drew Hendry, calls for cooperation between Armenia’s self-governing municipalities and Scotland

Tatoyan Vazgen

 13:36, 8 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and members of his delegation have met with Drew Hendry, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom representing the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Hendry is the SNP Foreign Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Commons.

Regional challenges, post-war issues and consequences were discussed at the meeting, the Armenian parliament’s press service said in a readout.

Speaking about the ongoing Azerbaijani military aggression, the Armenian legislators presented the consequences of the Lachin crisis and spoke about the need to protect the rights of the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. In this context, the support and targeted statements by international partners were highlighted.

Armenia attaches importance to decentralized cooperation with the UK, the Armenian legislators said.

“The cooperation on the level of local self government supplements interstate relations, and in this context the experience of the UK is highly important for us. In this regard, we ask you to consider the possibility of partnership between Armenia’s local self governing entities and Scotland,” Simonyan said.

Deadline Extended: IALA’s 2023 Young Armenian Poets Awards

Tatoyan Vazgen
June 7, 2023 International Armenian Literary Alliance Announcements 0

The submission deadline for the International Armenian Literary Alliance’s annual Young Armenian Poets Awards (YAPA) has been extended until June 14, 2023. YAPA, organized in partnership with h-pem, is a contest for exceptional Armenian writers between the ages of 14 and 18.

Over the past two years, YAPA has provided a space for young Armenian writers from all over the world to express themselves and have their voices heard on the global stage. This year is no exception.

This year’s entrants are asked to submit work that grapples with the notion of visibility as it relates to Armenian identity and experience. How visible are Armenia and Armenian issues on the world stage? What is the extent to which we feel visible as Armenians in our respective communities outside of Armenia?

Submissions – to be read by IALA board members and judges Gregory Djanikian, Armine Iknadossian and Raffi Wartanian – are encouraged from any young writer who identifies as Armenian, regardless of gender identity and _expression_, sexual orientation, disability, creed, national origin, socio-economic class, educational background, personal style/appearance, citizenship and immigration status or political affiliation.

Monetary prizes will be granted for the top three poems, which will be published online on the h-pem website and shared on IALA’s social media platforms in the fall. Winning authors will be invited to read their work at IALA’s annual Emerging Writers Showcase.

“Literature is a vital element of a people and a culture⎯we are our stories,” says founder Olivia Katrandjian. “As writers, we must support each other if we want to thrive not only as individuals, but as a literary community. As a people, Armenians must support our writers if we want the world to listen to our stories. IALA will provide a platform through which young Armenian writers can be heard.”

“We continue to honor and create a platform for the next generation of exciting Armenian poets who have so much to teach us,” says contest director Alan Semerdjian, “and we’re thankful for those who will spread the word about this fantastic opportunity.”

“Being involved in the Young Armenian Poets contest gave me a way to put the feelings I had been struggling to understand for years into flowing sentences and share them with the world, enabling me to see how my words can truly affect others and touch their hearts,” says 2022 YAPA winner Ani Apresyan. “Winning recognition and hearing what other like-minded Armenian youth have to say fills me with indescribable hope for the future that Armenia is taking steps towards fostering.”

For more details, full submission guidelines, and more information on past winners, please visit IALA’s website or contact Young Armenian Poets Awards founder and director Alan Semerdjian at [email protected].

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The International Armenian Literary Alliance is a nonprofit organization launched in 2021 that supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language. A network of Armenian writers and their champions, IALA gives Armenian writers a voice in the literary world through creative, professional, and scholarly advocacy.


North Korea says satellite launch fails, plans to try again

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 10:14, 31 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. A North Korean satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure, sending the booster and payload plunging into the sea, North Korean state media said, and the South’s military said it had recovered parts of the launch vehicle, Reuters reports.

The new “Chollima-1” satellite launch rocket failed because of instability in the engine and fuel system, Reuters reported citing North Korean state news agency KCNA.

The flight was the North Korea’s sixth satellite launch attempt, and the first since 2016. It was supposed to put North Korea’s first spy satellite in orbit.

It prompted emergency alerts and brief evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan. The notices were withdrawn with no danger or damage reported.

The rocket plunged into the sea “after losing thrust due to the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine,” KCNA reported.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea’s rocket disappeared from radar above the Yellow Sea and did not make it into space, and added the government had no further information to share now.

“We strongly condemn North Korea’s actions,” he said. Tokyo lodged a complaint to Pyongyang through diplomatic channels in Beijing, he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the satellite launch, a spokesperson said.

He said any launch by Pyongyang using ballistic missile technology was contrary to U.N. Security Council resolutions.

KCNA reported that Pyongyang plans to carry out a second launch as soon as possible.

Armenian PM meets several heads of state and government at European Political Community Summit

Tatoyan Vazgen

 15:55, 1 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the second European Political Community Summit in Chisinau, Moldova on June 1.

PM Pashinyan held brief meetings with several heads of state and government in attendance. In particular, the Armenian PM talked about issues of mutual interest with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Andorra Xavier Espot Zamora, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, President of Switzerland Alain Berset and President of the European Council Charles Michel.

The Armenian Prime Minister will have a meeting later on June 1 with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, together with the President of France, Chancellor of Germany and the President of the European Council.