Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan met today with Head of RF Government Dmitry Medvedev in Astana.
Both sides noted that trade turnover is growing between Armenia and Russia and there are positive trends in economic indicators. The meeting discussed a number of issues on the agenda of Armenian-Russian cooperation, including the timing of the scheduled visit of the Head of Russian Government to Armenia.
Note that Karen Karapetyan is attending a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Astana.
Schauspieler Christian Bale als trinkfester Reporter in dem historischen Drama „The Promise – Die Erinnerung bleibt“.
Foto: Verleih
Oscar-Gewinner Christian Bale über Superhelden, seinen neuen Film „The Promise“ und den Genozid an den Armeniern.
Berlin – In jungen Jahren machte er Werbung für „Pacman“ und
spielte in der Astrid-Lindgren-Verfilmung „Mio, mein Mio“ mit.
Weltbekannt wurde Christian Bale
jedoch als Batman in Christopher Nolans „Dark Knight“-Trilogie. Jetzt
ist der Waliser als trinkfester Reporter in dem historischen Drama „The
Promise – Die Erinnerung bleibt“ zu sehen.
Mr. Bale, Ihr neuer Film „The Promise –
Die Erinnerung bleibt“ handelt von dem Untergang des Osmanischen
Reiches und dem Völkermord an den Armeniern. Waren Sie mit diesem
Kapitel der Geschichte vertraut?
Zu meinem eigenen Erschrecken wusste ich gar nichts über diesen
Völkermord. Und war dann noch schockierter, dass ich damit längst nicht
der Einzige war. Eigentlich hatte niemand, mit dem ich im Vorfeld des
Films sprach, in der Schule oder sonst irgendwo etwas darüber gelernt.
Als ich zum ersten Mal das Drehbuch in den Händen hielt, jährte sich
dieser Genozid allerdings gerade zum 100. Mal. Plötzlich fingen
Politiker auf der ganzen Welt endlich an, über die Ereignisse von damals
zu sprechen.
Haben die im Film gezeigten Ereignisse aber auch heute noch eine Relevanz?
Oh ja, das wurde mir damals schnell klar. Im Fernsehen war zu sehen,
wie in den nordirakischen Gebirgen Tausende Jesiden von der Terrormiliz
Islamischer Staat eingekesselt und ermordet wurden. Die Ähnlichkeiten zu
dem, was ich im Drehbuch zu „The Promise“ über das Schicksal der
Armenier las, war erschütternd. Es ist fürchterlich, wie sich Geschichte
immer aufs Neue wiederholt. Wenn ein Film wie unserer auch nur ein
bisschen dazu beitragen kann, dass wir als Menschheit dazulernen, dann
ist schon viel gewonnen.
Man
muss dazu sagen, dass „The Promise“ auch von der Liebe erzählt. Genauer
gesagt eine Dreiecksgeschichte, in der Sie und Oscar Isaac die gleiche
Frau lieben. . .
Ich gebe zu, dass
ich anfangs unsicher war, warum es unserem Regisseur und Drehbuchautor
Terry George so wichtig war, das thematisch auf diese Art und Weise
miteinander zu verbinden. Ich hatte irgendwie den Eindruck, man müsse
die Brutalität der Ereignisse noch viel drastischer zeigen. Doch Terry
hat mir erklärt, dass man gerade bei einem so wenig bekannten Kapitel
unserer Geschichte versuchen müsse, ein möglichst breites und vor allem
junges Publikum zu gewinnen. Hätte man ausschließlich und gnadenlos das
reale Grauen gezeigt, wäre es schwer geworden, die Menschen zu
erreichen, statt nur zu verstören. Aber über diese drei Figuren und ihre
Liebesgeschichte gelingt es hoffentlich, einen persönlicheren Zugang zu
dieser Thematik zu finden.
Sind die Unterschiede zwischen Ihnen und Isaac in der Realität so groß wie im Film?
Oscar ist ein toller Typ und ohne Frage einer der besten Schauspieler
seiner Generation. Aber tatsächlich sind wir ziemlich verschieden. Wie
gesagt: Er ist ein echter Schauspieler. Und ich bin das – ohne dass ich
kokett sein will – irgendwie nicht.
Wie meinen Sie das denn?
Na ja, ich kann Ihnen zum Beispiel etwas darüber erzählen, wie ich
meine Rolle in „The Promise“ gespielt habe. Aber über die
Schauspielerei, als Handwerk und als Kunstform, weiß ich eigentlich
nicht das Geringste. Deswegen bin ich anders als Oscar und die meisten
anderen Kollegen bei Dreharbeiten so gar nicht gesellig.
Das müssen Sie bitte genauer erklären . . .
Für mich ist die Schauspielerei etwas, das ich aus dem Bauch heraus
mache. Ich habe keine Technik, die es mir erlaubt, von einer Sekunde auf
die nächste umzuschalten und zurück in der Rolle zu sein. Deswegen
ziehe ich mich während der Arbeit zurück und bleibe in meiner eigenen
kleinen Welt. Das tut mir manchmal leid, weil ich eine gewisse Distanz
halte zu meinen Kollegen und der Crew. Aber wenn ich die zu gut
kennenlerne, will ich mich als Privatmensch mit denen amüsieren und
könnte mich nicht mehr darauf konzentrieren, vor der Kamera jemand
anderes zu sein.
Privat sind Sie nicht so kontaktscheu, oder?
Nein, es gibt sicherlich größere Eigenbrötler als mich. Allerdings
würde ich schon sagen, dass ich mich nicht selten umgeben von Kindern
und Tieren wohler fühle als zwischen lauter smarten Erwachsenen. Das
Gefühl zu haben, immer etwas Intelligentes zum Gespräch beitragen zu
müssen, setzt mich manchmal unter Druck.
Dabei scheinen Sie jemand zu sein, der Druck aushalten kann. Zumindest
gibt es nur wenige Schauspieler, die für Ihre Rollen so häufig so
radikal psychische und körperliche Grenzen überschreiten . . .
Für mich war in dieser Hinsicht immer Jimi Hendrix ein Vorbild. Den
habe ich als Kind, vermutlich im Fernsehen, Gitarre spielen sehen und
war wie vom Donner gerührt. So wie er in dem Moment aussah, wollte ich
auch wenigstens einmal im Leben fühlen. Dieser vollkommen
selbstvergessene Gesichtsausdruck, diese Ekstase, die schon blutig
gespielten Finger. Daran wollte ich – ohne mich annähernd mit Hendrix’
Talent zu vergleichen – zumindest ansatzweise mal in meinem Beruf
herankommen. Und das geht nun einmal nicht ohne Hingabe und das Bringen
von Opfern.
Ihre ersten
Kino-Hauptrollen liegen inzwischen 30 Jahre zurück. Hätten Sie als
Zwölfjähriger damit gerechnet, heute immer noch vor der Kamera zu
stehen?
Im Leben nicht. Ich habe
jeden Film, jede Reise, jede Party in dem Glauben genossen, das sei das
letzte Mal. Mir hat das unglaublich viel Spaß gemacht, mein Leben
verwandelte sich vorübergehend in einen Disneyland-Ausflug. Aber ich
habe damals nicht viel an die Zukunft gedacht.
Hatten Sie einen Plan B für die Zukunft?
Gar nicht. Ich war kein besonders guter Schüler, also wer weiß, ob ich
studiert hätte. Mein Vater hat mir aber auch mit auf den Weg gegeben,
dass man nicht zu viele Pläne machen soll, weil sowieso immer alles
anders kommt. Abgesehen davon war ich damals ein Kind. Da hat doch kein
Mensch eine Ahnung, was er für den Rest des Lebens machen will.
Werden wir Sie jemals wieder in einem Superhelden-Film sehen?
Nein, mit dem Thema bin ich durch. Verstehen Sie mich nicht falsch,
denn ich bin sehr stolz auf die drei Batman-Filme, die ich mit
Christopher Nolan gedreht habe. Wenn man schon Comic-Verfilmungen dreht,
dann sollte man verdammt noch mal die besten drehen, die es gibt. Genau
das ist uns gelungen. Aber Chris hatte immer gesagt, dass es bei drei
Filmen bleibt, und ich war da stets seiner Meinung. Deswegen halte ich
es für ziemlich ausgeschlossen, dass Sie mich je wieder in einem
Superhelden-Kostüm sehen werden.
Tuesday,
More Corruption Charges Brought Against Armenian Judge
. Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - A courtroom in Yerevan, 8Jun2017.
An Armenian law-enforcement agency has brought more charges of
corruption against a senior judge who was arrested two months ago, it
emerged on Tuesday
State prosecutors said in early June that Aghvan Petrosian, the
chairman of a court in Armenia's Gegharkunik province, was paid
$23,000 to give a suspended prison sentence to a young man prosecuted
for a 2014 violent assault. The lenient sentence was subsequently
struck down by the Court of Appeals in Yerevan and sent back to the
Gegharkunik court.
The 45-year-old Petrosian and another judge, Vanik Vartanian, were
also charged in June with accepting $2,500 in exchange for an "illegal
verdict" in a property dispute involving Gegharkunik residents. The
ruling was handed down by Vartanian. Both judges were taken into
custody.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS), which is conducting the
corruption probe, now claims that Petrosian was also paid another
kickback worth $30,000.
Petrosian's lawyer, Armen Melkonian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am) that his client is denying the bribery charges and
refusing to cooperate with SIS investigators. He declined to comment
further.
Vartanian, the other arrested judge, has also denied any
wrongdoing. "We believe that the criminal case was opened without
legal grounds," said his lawyer, Ruben Hakobian.
Hakobian said that the main piece of evidence in the corruption case
is audio of a secretly recorded conversation that took place in
Petrosian's office. He insisted that the recording does not prove the
bribery alleged by the SIS.
At least two other Armenian judges have been prosecuted on similar
charges recently. One of them, Ishkhan Barseghian, was allegedly
caught red-handed in October while being paid $1,000 by a
citizen. Barseghian, who served in a district court in Yerevan for 20
years, pleaded not guilty when he went on trial in April.
Another judge was charged with taking a $600 bribe in May. He worked
in the court of general jurisdiction of the Ararat and Vayots Dzor
provinces.
Corruption within Armenia's judicial system, which has undergone
frequent structural changes over the past two decades, is widely
believed to be endemic. The country's former human rights ombudsman,
Karen Andreasian, highlighted the problem in a 2013 report that
accused judges of routinely taking bribes.
The report based on confidential interviews with lawyers, judges and
prosecutors singled out the Court of Cassation, the highest body of
criminal justice. Both the court and an Armenian government body
monitoring the judiciary denied the allegations.
Yerevan Seeks Russian Recognition Of Armenian Driving Licenses
. Aza Babayan
Kazakhstan - Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev (L) of Russia, Andrey
Kobyakov (C) of Belarus and Karen Karapetian of Armenia arrive for a
meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarabyev in Astana,
14Aug2017.
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian has reportedly objected to Russia's
controversial decision to stop recognizing the validity of driving
licenses issued by Armenia at a meeting with his counterparts from
other Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states.
A Russian law which took effect on June 1 banned foreign nationals
with driving licenses issued by their home countries from working as
drivers in Russia. The Russian parliament subsequently waived the
restriction for citizens of those countries, including EEU members
Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, where the Russian language has an official
legal status.
Armenia is not one of those countries, meaning that a large number of
its migrant workers driving trucks, taxis and other vehicles in Russia
now risk losing their jobs. The Armenian parliament speaker, Ara
Babloyan, discussed the matter with his Russian counterpart,
Vyacheslav Volodin, when they met in Moscow in July.
Volodin suggested that Armenia adopt Russian as its second official
language in order to circumvent the ban. Volodin's remark caused
outrage in Yerevan, with local opposition politicians, media
commentators and intellectuals accusing Moscow of meddling in
Armenia's internal affairs.
According to Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Bakitzhan Sagintayev,
Karapetian raised the issue at Monday's meeting in Astana of the prime
ministers of the five EEU member states, including Russia's Dmitry
Medvedev. Sagintayev reportedly hinted that Moscow will address
Yerevan's concerns.
A statement released by the Armenian government listed "mutual
recognition of national and international driving licenses" among
issues on the agenda of the Astana meeting. It did not elaborate.
Medvedev also held separate talks with Karapetian in the Kazakh
capital. The Armenian premier said at the meeting that Medvedev will
visit Yerevan later this year.
Russian Plane Joins Firefighting Efforts In Armenia
. Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - A wildfire in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, 14Aug2017.
A Russian firefighting plane dropped on Tuesday more than 200 tons of
water on a nature reserve in Armenia engulfed by one of the country's
worst wildfires in decades.
The Russian government dispatched the Ilyushin-72 heavy aircraft at
the request of Armenian authorities struggling to contain the blaze
that broke out in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve on Saturday.
The special plane capable of carrying 42 tons of water at a time
carried out six flights from an airbase in Yerevan to the mountainous
area southeast of the Armenian capital throughout the day. The
Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations said the water dropped by it
had a "considerable" impact on its continuing efforts to contain the
fire. It said the aerial firefighting operation will resume on
Wednesday morning.
As the Russian plane flew over burning trees, bushes and other
vegetation dozens of Armenian firefighters, joined by over a hundred
army soldiers and 55 forestry workers, waited on the ground for the
resumption of their firefighting efforts.
Armenia - A Russian firefighting plane is filled with water at the
Erebuni airbase in Yerevan, 14Aug2017.
"Nobody is allowed to enter the reserve until the plane finishes its
work," Mushegh Ghazarian, the chief of the national Rescue Service,
explained at the scene. He cited safety reasons.
Ghazarian coordinated the ground operation and communicated with
Minister for Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan through a radio in the
presence of reporters. "Black smoke has turned white," he told Tonoyan
when asked about the first results of the Ilyushin-72
flights. "Mr. Minister, if they continue like this we will finish the
job."
Earlier in the day, President Serzh Sarkisian held an emergency
meeting with Tonoyan and other officials involved in the effort. "I
want to thank those people and structures that are battling the fire,"
he said at the meeting. "And special thanks to our Russian partners
who quickly responded to our request and are now actively involved in
this important work."
Armenia - Trees in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve burned by a
wildfire, 14Aug2017.
The Khosrov reserve encompasses roughly 25,000 hectares of land,
around 9,000 of which is covered with forests originally planted by a
4th century Armenian king, Khosrov III. Officials said on Tuesday that
the fire has already destroyed about 400 hectares of woodland.
Some environment protection groups have blamed the Rescue Service and
other divisions of Tonoyan's ministry for the scale of the damage,
saying that the authorities were not prepared for coping with such a
calamity. Ministry officials reject the criticism. They argue that the
mountainous terrain makes is practically impossible for them to deploy
fire engines near the blaze.
The Khosrov reserve is also a major wild animal sanctuary. Ghazarian
insisted that brown bears, wild boars, foxes, vultures and hundreds of
other species inhabiting the area not in danger.
"Animals are smarter than us," the Rescue Service chief told
journalists. "They left the burning area long ago. We just need to
save the trees."
Press Review
"Zhoghovurd" reports and comments on continuing wildfires in two
Armenian forests. "As a result, quite serious damage has been
inflicted on nature," writes the paper. "Decades will be needed to
reverse the damage to the Khosrov Forest Reserve caused in the last
few days. These wildfires have demonstrated that contrary to
[emergency situations] ministry claims, the system is not prepared for
emergencies # It is scary to even imagine what will happen if there is
a real emergency in our country."
"Environmentalists are bringing the Ministry for Emergency Situations
to task," writes "Haykakan Zhamanak." "They criticize it for not
taking preventing measures and lacking the equipment to deal with the
continuing fires." Ministry officials counter, the paper says, that
there have been no such massive wildfires in Armenia for the last 14
years, that the Khosrov forest terrain is extremely rugged and that
the fire is fanned by strong winds. "The ministry's justifications are
understandable," comments the paper. "Still, some questions do arise."
In particular, it points to vague ministry warnings to citizens
regarding how to prevent and cope with fires.
Meanwhile, a ministry spokeswoman, Nana Gndoyan, assures "Aravot" that
firefighters and other ministry divisions have "done everything" to
contain the fires. She disagrees with claims that the ministry's
decision to ask Russia to send a water-dropping plane to Armenia
proves the opposite. Gndoyan argues that Russian emergency services
themselves needed months to end wildfires across Russia. "A natural
disaster is such that you can be properly prepared for coping with it
but will struggle at some point," she goes on.
"Hraparak" reports that the governing body of President Serzh
Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) will hold its first
meeting after a summer recess. Sarkisian returned from vacation,
reportedly spent in Germany, at the weekend.
(Artur Papian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Armenian military analyst: Maariv’s report is serious blow to Azerbaijan’s image
16:12, 14.08.2017
YEREVAN. – The reports of Israeli daily Maariv are a serious blow to Azerbaijan’s image , Armenian military analyst Arkadi Grigoryan told Armenian News – NEWS.am.
His comment came in response to the recent Israeli media publications saying Israeli company was asked by Azerbaijan to test the drones on Armenian positions.
According to the analyst, the aim of this “leak” was probably to soften Armenia’s criticism over Israel’s role in supplying arms to Azerbaijan: “If they believe that we will slam them less, they are mistaken. We will still scold them. There will be people in their country who will criticize their government, too.”
Arkadi Grigoryan considers that there is also the second point which we don’t see under the influence of emotions: “Perhaps, some circles of Israel aren’t really happy with military cooperation with Azerbaijan. This is an interesting message addressed to Azerbaijan.”
At the same time, the analyst emphasized that the operator of the UAV must get special permission of the Ministry of Defence, but not be guided by morality.
“This also shows the low level of training of Azerbaijani specialists. In fact, they have been working with the Israeli side for 10 years, but they still need help to operate the equipment. There were rumors that during the April war Israeli drones were operated by Israeli experts. This report confirms the speculations could have been right,” Arkady Grigoryan noted.
At the same time, he believes Azerbaijan’s behavior is a blow to the authority of Israel as reliable military partner and supplier of arms.
“In fact, Baku tried to force the Israeli experts to take an illegal step.”
Food prices rose in Armenia recently, while the prices of other kinds of commodities did not, news.am reports.
The inflation reached 0.9% in Armenia in July. It has been particularly evident in retail trade which increased for 6.2% from January to June. The favorable factors are supposed to be the outer financial transfers – substantially from Russia – to physical persons in Armenia. The purchasing capacity increase has entailed price increase of several commodities. The food prices rose for 3.3% in July. The increase of alcohol and cigarette prices is probably connected with the excise taxes for the cigarettes and not with the increase in number of the consumers.
However, the transfers did not change much. A limited supplement to the frugal family budgets has helped only to improve the nourishment. The prices of other kinds of commodities have not increased and even dropped to some extent.
The prices of communication services decreased but only for 0.1%. There is a negative tendency in the sphere of mobile services (24.7% fall). The situation is almost the same with landline phone – profits dropped for 18%. On the contrary, the physical availability of internet connection increased for 34.8%.
Internet provides large opportunity for communication, as for example video-communication by Skype and social networks, as well as Viber. It is natural that free video-communication is more attractive than paid talk. Thereby, the shift from paid phone communication to internet is not ruled out.
The water levels of Lake Sevan continues dropping. As of 11 August, the lake level decreased from its highest peak of June 2017 – 1900.91 meters – by 18 centimeters, making up 1900.73 meters, EcoLur reports.
Compared to the same day of the past year, the lake level is only above by 2 cm – it was 1900.71 meters on 11 July 2016.
The decrease in Lake Sevan water levels is conditioned with the water outlets. Additional 100 million cum water intake has already been performed out of Lake Sevan, for the purpose of which, upon the Armenian Government’s proposal, on 6 July the National Assembly adopted the bill on making amendments to RA Law on ‘On Approving Annual and Complex Programs for Recovery, Conservation, Reproduction and Use of Lake Sevan Ecosystem’.
Already 197.946 million cum water has been let out of Lake Sevan, out of which 0.741 million cum is an unregulated leak. According to the adopted law, still 72.795 million cum water shall be let out of the lake.
The Turkish Parliament member of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Garo Paylan visited Van to verify the information that toilets are built in a historic Armenian cemetery, Artsakhpress reports.
According to Akos, the territory was surrounded by barbed wire. Paylan talked to the local residents.
“Wherever I touched, human bones were found. There is no doubt anymore that this territory used to be an Armenian cemetery”, he said.
Paylan told Akos that the territory had been a dwelling place from the times of Urartu. “Armenian people lived there since then. Everyone whom I talked to told about churches and schools. But alas, these memories are erased.”
Paylan emphasized that according to the local residents, the gravestones of the cemetery had been eliminated in 1940-50s. “A Muslim chapel, a toilet and a café are built at the place of the cemetery. It is sad that we failed to protect the remains of our ancestors”.
According to Akos, Arshile Gorky was born in Dilkaya in Edremit region of Van. The spring that was built near his house and destroyed after some time was restored in 2015 and a sign was established by the Municipality of Edremit. Now the sign is removed and the spring water is cut off, Paylan says. According to him, all the documents of Armenian life are eliminated.
The signature of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkish army officer, founder of the Republic of Turkey was designed by Hagop Vahram Cherchiyan, a mathematician and calligrapher of Armenian descent, Ermenihaber reports, citing Haberler.com Turkish media outlet.
The Turkish news agency published an article, presenting the story of the origin of Ataturk’s signature, making use of the memories of Hagop’s son Tigran.
The source reports that after Mustafa Kemal took up a last name – Ataturk – under the Surname Law adopted in Turkey in 1934, the PMs of the Turkish parliament decided to present a nice signature to the latter.
At that time, a policeman came to Cherchiyan’s house with the proposal to design a signature.
Of Armenian descent, Hagop was a professor of mathematics, geography, and calligraphy at the Robert College of Istanbul. In 1920 he had travelled to the United States to study at the Palmer Method school, specializing himself in system of handwriting. He was known for teaching this method during his career as a professor.
Thus, Cherchyan designed five model signatures for the Turkish officer, who personally selected the fifth one of “K. Atatürk” depicted in the photo below.
An image of the Orbiter 1K, the drone that Israeli private company officials are alleged to have launched into Armenian territory. (photo: Aeronautics Defense Systems)
Officials from an Israeli arms manufacturer fired two drone missiles from Azerbaijan into Armenian-held territory, according to a complaint under investigation by the Israali Ministry of Defense.
According to the allegations — which have been denied by the company, Aeronautics Defense Systems — the episode occured a little more than a month ago. Company officials were in Azerbaijan to promote their “suicide drone,” the Orbiter-1K, and Azerbaijani officials asked for a sort of live demonstration, to launch the drone into Armenian territory.
The drone operators refused, but then company officials armed and launched the drones themselves, according to the complaint. Both are said to have missed their targets and caused no damage. The company has said that it is against their policy to demonstrate their arms using live fire.
The complaint was first reported by an Israeli newspaper, Maariv, then picked up by a number of other Israeli media. It’s not clear who filed the complaint.
Israel is one of Azerbaijan’s key foreign partners, and has provided Baku with some of its most sophisticated weaponry, including a reconnaissance version of the Orbiter. That drone is produced in Azerbaijan by an Azerbaijani-Israeli joint venture, Azad. Azerbaijan’s Israeli weapons, in particular drones, were used to significant effect in last year’s heavy fighting with Armenia.
Azad also has already been producing a suicide drone called Zerbe, apparently modeled on the Orbiter 1K. At an arms expo in Baku last year, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense Industry Yavar Jamalov said the Zerbes “have become a nightmare for the Armenian army.”
So it’s not clear why Israeli officials were on an apparent sales mission to Azerbaijan to show off the Oribiter 1K.
On July 7, the de facto military of Nagorno Karabakh reported that an Azerbaijani suicide drone hit close to an Armenian position near the line of contact between the two sides, injuring two Armenian soldiers. That attack would fit the timeline alleged in the Israeli complaint.
Later in July, a senior Israeli official made a rare visit to Armenia, and there have been signs that the Israeli government’s strong support of Azerbaijan may be wavering.
One Azerbaijani military analyst, Ramil Mamadli, said the new report was false. “This kind of disinformation aims to damage Azerbaijan-Israel military-technical relations. Behind this disinformation is either the competition between companies or the activity of the Armenian diaspora in Israel,” he told the website big.az. Azerbaijan’s government has yet to officially comment on the report.
CARL RUSSO/Staff photoThe owner of the site of the former St. Gregory the Illuminator church said he expects construction to begin next week on a new, 7,000-square foot development. 8/14/2017.
Carl Russo
HAVERHILL — What was once the old, crumbling St. Gregory the Illuminator church is now a leveled piece of ground across from City Hall.
But not for long.
Area restaurateur David Jenks, who purchased the site from the Armenian Archdiocese of New York, said Monday that he hopes to see construction begin next week on a new, 7,000-square foot development which will house a long-awaited Domino’s Pizza franchise.
Jenks is the president and CEO of Master Pie, Inc., a Danvers-based company which owns 21 Domino’s franchises in eastern Massachusetts, including one at 389 Main St., a half a mile north of the one being constructed on the former site of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
In addition to Domino’s, Jenks said there will be three or four additional retail tenants in the development.
The church was demolished in late June after standing at the corner of Main and Summer streets since the 1840s. The building which housed St. Gregory the Illuminator previously had been home to Unitarian and Episcopalian churches prior to being consecrated by the Armenian Archdiocese in 1945.
But for 15 years, the church tried to sell the building to help it offset costs of constructing a new church, the Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Pointe, and Family Life and Cultural Center, located at 1280 Boston Road in Bradford, near the North Andover border.
The $2.7 million Family Life and Cultural Center opened in April and construction on the new church itself — which officials estimate will cost between $1.5 million and $1.9 million — could begin within a year.
“We’re working on the plans for the new church and if everything goes according to those plans, (construction) could begin as early as October,” said the Rev. Vart Gyozalyan, the church’s pastor since 2011.
According to a quitclaim deed filed with the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds, the property containing St. Gregory the Illuminator at 130 Main St. was sold to Haverdom, LLC., of 100 Conifer Hill Drive, Danvers, on May 24, 2017 for $750,000.
While the former St. Gregory the Illuminator was located at 110 Main St., the city’s property website still lists the former church’s address as 130 Main St., the Armenian Archdiocese of New York as its owner, and its assessed value at $679,700.
The process of selling the church was a long, arduous affair for parishioners at St. Gregory’s, who had seen a prospective deal fall through several years ago to sell the property to a developer looking to put a Burger King franchise in its place.
Many in the community were upset with the idea of locating a pizza place on the site of the church, and there was even a movement to stop the sale and demolition of the church by requiring more extensive evaluations of historic properties inside the city’s Main Street Historic District prior to the granting of any demolition permit.
However, a June 2016 vote by the City Council stymied the effort and allowed the sale and demolition to proceed.
This allowed the region’s Armenian community — St. Gregory the Illuminator merged with the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church in Lawrence in 2002 — to move on to its new church in Bradford, which also welcomes parishioners from as far west as Tewksbury and as far north as Portland, Maine.
Gyozalyan said several hundred families attend the church. And while it has been hard to look at the hole on Main Street where St. Gregory the Illuminator once stood, he and his flock are focused on growing and building their new church and their parish community.
“We tried our best to save our items from the old church — our pews, our baptismal font, and our icons,” said Gyozalyan, adding that those items are in storage and will all be placed in the new church. “It’s been difficult for us (to see the old church gone). But we needed to move forward.”