Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Saturday Opposition intends to continue rallies Baku / 23.09.17 / Turan: "There is no corruption, freedom for political prisoners" is the motto of the Saturday rally of the opposition. Participants in the opposition rally demanded that the authorities "return the money stolen from the people". This thought sounded a refrain in all speeches at the rally. "This corrupt regime, which tramples our rights for decades, is now caught red-handed. Now there is evidence of this corruption,"said the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Ai Kerimli. Now it's time to return the people stolen money from him, Kerimli added. "The people do not want much. The people say that you have plundered billions of the country. Now at least raise salaries for workers, raise pensions, allowances, create jobs, cancel paid education. Enough already to plunder the wealth of the country,"Kerimli continued. He also called for the release of political prisoners. At the same time, Kerimli pointed out that in the process of preparing for the rally 53 activists of the PFPA were detained. IlhamHuseyn, who was supposed to be the leading rally, was arrested the day before for 15 days. Other members of the party Emil Salamov, SagifGurbanov, BahruzHasanli, AgilMaharramov were arrested for the same terms. "The purpose of these arrests is not to allow rallies to be protracted. But everyone cannot be arrested,"Kerimli said. NuraddinMammadli, chairman of the Supreme Majlis of the PFPA, drew attention to the obstacles created by activists in the regions to put their participation in the rally. Jamil Hasanli, chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), accused the authorities of "corruption and theft". "This power is used to steal. She stole from the people the right to free elections, stole national wealth. And finally she stole the journalist AfganMukhtarly from Tbilisi,"Hasanli said sarcastically. He focused on the authorities' suppression of media freedom. Hasanli pointed to the blocking of websites criticizing the government, the closure of the newspaper Azadlig and finally attempts to eliminate the agency Turan. "This power is struggling with free media to prevent the people's voice from reaching the international community," Hasanli said.He said that the struggle of democratic forces continues, and on October 7 at 15.00 the next meeting is scheduled. Exactly at 17.00 at the stadium was turned off electricity and the organizers could not read the resolution of the action. Participants of the action periodically chanted the slogans "Resign!", "Freedom!".- 06D-- * * * 2017 September 23 (Saturday) 15:11:05 The protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces Baku / 23.09.17 / Turan: Several thousand people gathered on Saturday for a protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces, which began at 15:00 at the stadium "Mehsul" in the Yasamal district of Baku. The rally is held under the slogan "Return the money stolen from the people!", almost $3 billion, which were illegally exported from the country under various pretexts in recent years and spent on bribery and lobbying the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities abroad. These facts were revealed by the international journalistic organization Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP). In particular, it was alleged that Baku bribed the German politician Eduard Lintner (former head of the PACE monitoring committee), the Bulgarian politician Irina Bokova (former UNESCO Director-General) and Italian politician Luca Bolonte (former vice-president of PACE). Lintner led the commission of observers from Germany in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan in 2013, Bokova held the photo exhibition "Azerbaijan - the space of tolerance" in the same year. In turn, Bolton received money to prevent the adoption of the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on political prisoners in Azerbaijan, Radio Liberty reports. The OCCRP argue that most of the funds that the Azerbaijani authorities brought to the accounts of fictitious British companies belonged to Azerbaijani banks, including the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan. In addition, the Russian state company Rosoboronexport transferred $ 29 million to the "front man from Azerbaijan" in 2012. Two million dollars, presumably, went to bribes, the rest of the amount, it is claimed, went to the structures connected with high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan. However, the Azerbaijani government rejected all these accusations, saying that they are being spread by the Armenian lobby and philanthropist and businessman George Soros. The opposition of Azerbaijan considers the OCCRP report to be real and objective and requires the government to give explanations. -02D-
Category: 2017
Azerbaijani Press: The protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces
Turan news agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Sept 23 2017 The protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces Baku / 23.09.17 / Turan: Several thousand people gathered on Saturday for a protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces, which began at 15:00 at the stadium "Mehsul" in the Yasamal district of Baku. The rally is held under the slogan "Return the money stolen from the people!", almost $3 billion, which were illegally exported from the country under various pretexts in recent years and spent on bribery and lobbying the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities abroad. These facts were revealed by the international journalistic organization Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP). In particular, it was alleged that Baku bribed the German politician Eduard Lintner (former head of the PACE monitoring committee), the Bulgarian politician Irina Bokova (former UNESCO Director-General) and Italian politician Luca Bolonte (former vice-president of PACE). Lintner led the commission of observers from Germany in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan in 2013, Bokova held the photo exhibition "Azerbaijan - the space of tolerance" in the same year. In turn, Bolton received money to prevent the adoption of the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on political prisoners in Azerbaijan, Radio Liberty reports. The OCCRP argue that most of the funds that the Azerbaijani authorities brought to the accounts of fictitious British companies belonged to Azerbaijani banks, including the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan. In addition, the Russian state company Rosoboronexport transferred $ 29 million to the "front man from Azerbaijan" in 2012. Two million dollars, presumably, went to bribes, the rest of the amount, it is claimed, went to the structures connected with high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan. However, the Azerbaijani government rejected all these accusations, saying that they are being spread by the Armenian lobby and philanthropist and businessman George Soros. The opposition of Azerbaijan considers the OCCRP report to be real and objective and requires the government to give explanations. -02D-
Azerbaijani Press: US Mission to OSCE called to release political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Turan news agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Sept 23 2017 US Mission to OSCE called to release political prisoners in Azerbaijan Warsaw/23.09.17/Turan: At the 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, the US Mission to OSCE has made a statement noting facts of violation of human rights in some countries. Concerning Azerbaijan the statement calls to release political prisoners in Azerbaijan. "During the first week, we welcomed the release of Mehman Aliyev, the director of Turan, the last independent news agency in Azerbaijan. We also welcome the Azeri government"s decision to drop charges against opposition leader Natig Jafarli and to release Faig Amirli, financial director of the Azadliq newspaper. We call on the government to drop the remaining charges against Aliyev and to lift travel bans against him and others, including investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova and defense lawyer Intigam Aliyev. Over 145 people are estimated to remain incarcerated on politically motivated charges, including Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the REAL political movement, who remains imprisoned despite a ruling in his favor by the European Court of Human Rights. They, too, should be freed expeditiously, without condition", - reads the statement. -02D-
Azerbaijani Press: Azerbaijan detains seven activists ahead of opposition rally
Turan news agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Sept 23 2017 Azerbaijan detains seven activists ahead of opposition rally [Armenian News note: the below is translation from the Russian edition of Turan] Turan, 23 Sep: Police [in Azerbaijan] have detained six activists ahead of today's sanctioned rally to be staged by the [Azerbaijani opposition umbrella group] National Council of Democratic Forces. Among the detainees are members of the People's Front of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP]: Ilham Huseyn, Maharram Rza, Bahruz Hasanli, Emil Salimov, Saqif Qurbanov and Aqil Maharramov. A member of the Muslim Unity Movement, Ahsan Nuruzada, was also detained. The PFAP leadership told Turan news agency that the reasons for the detention of the activists are not reported, but this is certainly connected with the conduct of the opposition rally. As for [Azerbaijani religious activist] Ahsan Nuruzada, he disappeared on 19 September [as published; Turan reported earlier that Nuruzada went missing on 24 January] and it became known later that he was subjected to 10-day administrative arrest. [Turan said earlier that he was kept in the main directorate for combat organised crimes of the Interior Ministry until 30 January without informing his family and was not allowed to meet his lawyer Yalcin Imanov]. We should recall that at 1500 local time [1100 gmt on 23 September], a rally will be held at the Mahsul stadium in [Baku's] Yasamal district with a demand that the authorities explain the illegality of spending almost 3bn dollars, which were used to bribe foreign politicians and plundered by state officials.
Sports: National Olympic Committee of Armenia launches medical initiative with Georgia
Inside the games.biz
Sept 23 2017
- Saturday,
The National Olympic Committee of Armenia (ARMNOC) has begun working closely with Georgia on cooperation in the area of sports medicine.
A seminar entitled “Raising awareness of sports doctors on doping, food additives, emergency care during sporting events, and treatment of injuries” was held at the initiative of ARMNOC.
The seminar, held at the ARMNOC headquarters in Yerevan, was funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Solidarity programme.
Among the guests was Professor Pavel Karsadze, head of the Department of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation of the Tbilisi State Medical University, a member of the executive committee of the Anti-Doping Organization of the Eastern European Region and head of the Anti-Doping Service of Georgia.
Kasradze delivered a report on the topic “Using Plasmolift for the Treatment of Sports Injuries”.
He said: “We have long been cooperating with our Armenian colleagues, including the Armenian Olympic team physician David Mosinian and the team’s coach Karen Stepanyan.
“Often, we exchange ideas about methods that we use in our work.”
Kasradze said that plasmoliftling was a procedure for injecting an own-blood plasma, rich in thrombocytes.
This method has been used for almost nine years in Georgia.
The method was once illegal but was removed from the list of World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibitions in 2011 because there was no evidence it enhanced athletes performances.
“We would like to start the procedure in Armenia as well,” Kasradze said.
“There is such a need and we are ready to work closely on this issue.”
Music: Yerevan gathers jazz musicians and lovers of the craft for ArmJazz
PanArmenian, Armenia
Sept 23 2017
Yerevan gathers jazz musicians and lovers of the craft for ArmJazz
The Armenian capital city of Yerevan will gather jazz musicians and lovers of the music on Monday, September 25 for a special project called ArmJazz.
The concert will be held at Aram Khachaturian concert hall in downtown Yerevan and feature prominent musicians such as Stepan Shakaryan, Martin Vardazaryan, Levon Malkhasyan, Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Tigran Hamasyan and the Armenian State Jazz Band and bandleader Armen Hyusnunts.
Works by Armenian composers will be played throughout the night.
Music: President Sargsyan attends premiere of “Promise” film-based “Our Promise” musical spectacle
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 23 2017
President Serzh Sargsyan attended today a gala event hosted by the Armenian General Benevolent Union at the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater after A. Spendiaryan, in the frame of which a symbolic musical performance was presented, referred to as “Our Promise”, the press department of the President’s Office reports.
The event was dedicated to “Promise,” a film about the Armenian Genocide, shot by famous American Oscar-winning director Terry George, with its world premiere held at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2016.
In attendance were film director Terry George, producer Eric Israyelyan and renowned filmmaker Mike Medavoy. The film’s original music and history were among the main features of the gala event.
Theater: Arthur Elbakyan establishes “American Theatre of Nations” theatre platform in Los Angeles
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 23 2017
17:02, 23 Sep 2017
A new theatre platform “American Theatre of Nations” will be emerging this fall in Los Angeles. The creation of “American Theatre of Nations” pursues a very important purpose – to bring together theatre professionals from different nations who live and work in the theatre world in America according to the director of the project Arthur Elbakyan, the Broadway World reports.
The “American Theatre of Nations” will be born with Arthur Elbakyan’s “My Insane Shakespeare” performance on November 9th, 2017 at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, California.
The United States is a country where people from around the world live and create, and together they are all Americans. They all live, work, create, and serve one goal – to strengthen the land of dreams – the United States. And living in the United States, any representative of any nation never forgets their origin, their cultural foundation, and values, which have become a part of the wealth of the American society.
People from various nations, well-known and independent, award-winning and emerging directors, actors, authors, artists, and musicians can gather under one roof, the name of which is “American Theatre of Nations”, and share with each other their national theater’s history and modern day theatrical trends.
The world premiere of Arthur Elbakyan’s “My Insane Shakespeare” took place in 2014 at the world’s largest solo theatre festival, United Solo, in New York City. Sold out months in advance, “My Insane Shakespeare” was the festival’s bestseller and was performed three times. Elbakyan’s “My Insane Shakespeare” won the prestigious United Solo Audience award, created in partnership with Backstage Magazine. In 2016, “My Insane Shakespeare” also premiered in Montreal, Canada.
Arthur Elbakyan is a theatre, film, and television director, actor, writer, and producer. Having lived in Armenia, Russia, Europe, and the United States, Elbakyan has played over 30 leading theatre roles and has been the author and host of numerous television shows. Elbakyan was the founder of the Theatre Studio “13” and also co-founded the first independent television channel in Armenia, “AR”. Elbakyan’s passion for theatre was strong enough to bring theatre to television with his introduction of a series of television shows, “It’s Majesty Theatre”, on the National Television of Armenia, taking the audience to the unique world of the theatre and performing arts. Elbakyan has received Best Documentary Short Award at the Los Angeles Film and Script Festival. Elbakyan is an active member of the Dramatists Guild of America.
Viaggio in Armenia, il cuore cristiano del Caucaso
vera classe– Italia
14 set 2017
Viaggio in Armenia, il cuore cristiano del Caucaso
Bruno Cazzin, cuoco padovano che da vent’anni vive a Yerevan, ci aiuta a scoprire questa terra antica e ricca di bellezze: dai monasteri costruiti in luoghi di grande suggestione, ai caravanserragli sulla Via della Seta, alle atmosfere alpine del lago Sevan. Un paese che ha voglia di futuro dopo la tragedia del genocidio.
Doveva restarci soltanto 15 giorni, risiede là da quasi vent’anni! Storia d’altri tempi e decisamente singolare quella di Bruno Cazzin, cuoco padovano nativo di Vigonza che oggi vive a Yerevan, capitale dell’Armenia. Una storia che sa di sfida, capace di far pensare a certe migrazioni verso l’ignoto che caratterizzarono altre epoche (si pensi ai veneti finiti in Sud America o in Australia).
Quando Cazzin, su invito di un amico, raggiunse l’Armenia, il paese aveva da pochi anni ottenuto l’indipendenza da Mosca (prima fra le 15 repubbliche ex sovietiche) ed era reduce dalla sanguinosa guerra del Nagorno Karabakh contro l’Azerbaijan.
Era un paese in ginocchio, che ancora cercava nuovi punti di riferimento nello scacchiere geopolitico dell’area. Impresa non facile in Caucaso, regione da sempre percorsa da tensioni sotterranee e su cui ancora pesano certi spostamenti coatti di popolazioni da una regione all’altra imposti da Stalin, all’insegna del “Divide et impera”.
Bruno Cazzin in quel clima difficile aprì il ristorante “Ai leoni” in Tumanyan Street, una delle vie simbolo della capitale e del nuovo corso armeno, su cui oggi si affacciano locali e negozi importanti. “Ai leoni”, grazie alla passione e alla professionalità di Cazzin, oggi è l’unico vero ristorante italiano di Yerevan, dove la cucina e la cantina sfoggiano prodotti di qualità “made in Italy”.
Perché abbiamo scelto Cazzin come Cicerone per raccontare l’Armenia? Semplice: il suo ristorante è una sorta di ambasciata-ombra del nostro paese, dove passano molti personaggi importanti della società armena attuale. Dal Karakhin II, il Catholicos (ovvero il “papa”) della chiesa armena, la prima chiesa cristiana al mondo fondata nel 302 d.C., 12 anni prima dell’Editto di Costantino e quindi della Chiesa di Roma, al console onorario d’Italia Antonio Montalto, che andò in Armenia nel 1988 per aiutare il paese a superare la fase critica del devastante terremoto che colpì il paese quell’anno. Quel Montalto che nel frattempo ha favorito la costruzione di tre ospedali e di numerose altre strutture di pubblica utilità. Si deve a lui anche la presenza delle didascalie in italiano nei pannelli turistici posti davanti ai maggiori monumenti del paese.
Non solo: il ristorante di Cazzin è meta di imprenditori, uomini di cultura, turisti italiani, tutti sicuri di poter trovare da lui informazioni utili, consigli e, naturalmente, un buon pasto all’italiana.
“L’Armenia in questi vent’anni ha fatto passi da gigante” osserva Cazzin “il paese gode dell’amicizia, e delle fonti energetiche, della Russia, ma ha buone relazioni anche con l’Europa, gli Stati Uniti e persino con l’Iran. Lo stile di vita degli armeni oggi guarda molto all’Occidente. Con la Turchia e l’Azerbaijian invece i rapporti sono congelati: pesano molto le vicende del passato. Dico solo che la Turchia un secolo fa si è presa due terzi dell’Armenia storica e non ha mai riconosciuto il genocidio del 1915”.
Già, il genocidio degli armeni, costato circa 1.800.000 vite umane. Una della pagine di storia del XX secolo più vergognose, perpetrato dal movimento dei Giovani Turchi per strappare terre e beni di quel popolo. Si pensi che lo stesso Monte Ararat, quello dell’Arca di Noè, montagna simbolo della nazione armena, oggi è in territorio turco.
L’Armenia odierna è un paese con tanta voglia di futuro e con moltissimo da far vedere a chi decide di visitarla. Per l’ingresso basta il passaporto, non serve più il visto. Si può noleggiare un’auto e andare dove si vuole.
La capitale Yerevan è una città molto dinamica, con uno standard di vita elevato rispetto al resto del paese. Il centro storico si presenta monumentale. Tra i palazzi più belli spicca il Teatro dell’Opera, la cui programmazione è sempre di alto livello. Di recente è stato aperto un museo dedicato a Charles Aznavour, il cui nome è in realtà Chahnouhr Varinag Aznavourian. Il cantautore, attore e diplomatico vive in Francia, ma è senza dubbio oggi l’armeno più famoso al mondo. Non a caso è stato chiamato lui ad aprire nel 2015 l’anno del centenario al memoriale del Genocidio di Yerevan.
“Le ferite del genocidio sono stimmate nel cuore di ogni armeno. Tutti ci stiamo battendo per una memoria condivisa in modo da rendere finalmente giustizia alle vittime di quel crimine collettivo” dice la scrittrice Antonia Arslan, padovana di famiglia armena, nota per il suo libro La Masseria delle Allodole da cui i fratelli Taviani trassero ispirazione per l’omonimo film. “L’Armenia turistica di oggi è soprattutto terra di grandi monasteri e di paesaggi di solenne bellezza, dove vive un popolo antico e di antica cultura, fiero della propria identità. Coltivata anche dai figli della diaspora”.
Già, i monasteri dell’Armenia, uno più bello dell’altro. Nidi d’aquila costruiti in pietra su luoghi arditissimi. Alcuni vanno nominati: Khor Virap con lo sfondo dell’Ararat; Ghegard, scavato nella nuda roccia; Novarank, incastonato fra spogli picchi in un ambiente roccioso; Tatev, raggiungibile con la funivia più lunga al mondo, costruita da un’azienda svizzera e lunga quasi 7 chilometri. Alcuni si specchiano sulle acque del grande Lago Sevan.
L’Armenia si trova lungo la Via della Seta, di cui conservano imponenti caravanserragli in pietra. C’è pure un’area a 2400 metri di altezza che assomiglia a Stonehenge e cela antichi segreti astronomici. Da vedere il complesso religioso di Echmiadzin, il “vaticano” armeno. Oggi risulta visitabile anche il Nagorno Karabakh, regione abitata da armeni che Stalin assegnò all’Azerbaijan e che si è svincolata da Baku solo attraverso una sporca guerra combattuta dal 1991 al 1994, costata 30.000 morti e un milione di profughi.
Oggi lo status quo della regione è in bilico, in attesa dell’esito di un negoziato internazionale aperto anni fa. Nel frattempo però gli armeni della diaspora (ben nove milioni, contro i tre viventi oggi nel paese) hanno inviato molti aiuti, così da trasformare la regione in una sorta di Svizzera del Caucaso, dove tutto è nuovo e pulito. Un armeno americano ha finanziato la costruzione della strada di Lacin che collega il Nagorno Karabakh (ora si chiama Artsakh) con l’Armenia. Per l’ingresso le formalità sono minime.
Insomma, l’Armenia va conosciuta. Un viaggio in questo angolo di Occidente incastonato in Asia riserverà molte sorprese. Bruno Cazzin lo testimonia con la sua decisione di rimanerci a vivere. “Qui si vive bene” assicura “anche gli armeni sono bravi e devo dire che gli italiani sono gli ospiti più coccolati. Vi aspetto. Anzi, l’Armenia vi aspetta, con le sue straordinarie bellezze, i suoi grandi vini, la sua gente cordiale e ospitale”.
Un’ottima guida per scoprire l’Armenia è stata realizzata da una giovane giornalista veneziana, Nadia Pasqual. Si intitola “Armenia e Nagorno Karabakh – Monasteri e montagne sulla Via della Seta” ed è edita da Polaris (360 pagine – 27 euro).
Antonia Arslan: “Il genocidio di un secolo fa, una ferita aperta”.