Category: 2017

Azerbaijani Press: President Aliyev: Azerbaijan’s principled position on Karabakh issue won’t change

Manouk Vasilian
Trend, Azerbaijan
Nov 14 2017
18:34 (UTC+04:00)

Details added (first version posted on 18:05)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

There will be no change in Azerbaijan’s principled position on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev addressing a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of creation of the New Azerbaijan Party at the Heydar Aliyev Center Nov. 14.

“The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country. There is no other way. We can never allow a second Armenian state to be established in our historical lands. The norms of international law should be fully applied. The UN Security Council resolutions should be fully implemented. Sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should be restored,” noted President Aliyev.

“This is a principled position. This position is based on history and international law, because Nagorno-Karabakh is our historical, ancestral land, because the whole world, all the countries recognize and respect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”

“Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. Another event confirming this took place this year. The illegal referendum held again in Nagorno-Karabakh due to Armenia’s recklessness was not recognized by the entire world community. Neighboring countries, co-chairing countries of the Minsk Group, the European Union and other organizations did not recognize the results of the referendum. By doing so, they once again confirmed that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan,” said the head of state.

Ilham Aliyev added that consistent efforts on recognition of the Khojaly genocide will further continue.

Saying that five years ago, three countries officially recognized the Khojaly genocide, the head of state noted that in only five years more than 10 countries have recognized the genocide.

“A consistent policy will be pursued in this direction,” added the president. “Simultaneously, we will increase our military power. According to international ratings, today the Azerbaijani Army is among the most powerful armies in the world.”

The Azerbaijani Army will be provided with necessary funds and equipment, said the head of state.

“There will be no limitations. Our military power plays and will play its role in the liberation of our lands and the restoration of our territorial integrity,” said Ilham Aliyev.

The president noted that the April battles, the liberation of a part of Azerbaijani lands, particularly, a part of Aghdara, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts, showed the power of Azerbaijani army to the whole world.

“Armenia is still trying to present the distorted version of the April battles to the world community, but it is a very ridiculous attempt. It is enough to say that today we are sitting in trenches dug then by Armenians in the occupied lands and control a large area from those trenches. The April battles are our glorious victory and they showed the power of the Azerbaijani nation and soldiers. It showed that the Azerbaijani state and people will never reconcile with the occupation and will restore their territorial integrity at any cost,” added President Aliyev.

Film: ‘Intent To Destroy’ director Joe Berlinger: ‘Armenians deserve their ‘Schindler’s List”

Nahapetian Zhanna
89.3 KPCC
Nov 13 2017


‘Intent To Destroy’ director Joe Berlinger: ‘Armenians deserve their ‘Schindler’s List”


Michelle Lanz | The Frame |

    

Joe Berlinger’s documentaries, which include “Paradise Lost” and “Brother’s Keeper,” have often focused on the justice system.

His new film, called “Intent to Destroy,” takes an unusual angle about what many people consider to be a miscarriage of justice. The film looks at how Hollywood has depicted the Armenian Genocide, and how it also has been pressured — and agreed — to ignore that story.

The Turkish government refuses to acknowledge — and even denies — what historians broadly agree was the Ottoman Empire’s extermination of about 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915.  

Berlinger takes an interesting approach to telling this story. He frames his documentary around the making of another movie — last year’s historical drama, “The Promise,” directed by Terry George and starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac. The film is set in the Ottoman Empire on the eve of World War I and follows Isaac as a  young Armenian medical student.

The Frame’s John Horn recently spoke with Berlinger.

On what a documentary can do that a narrative film can’t:

In the documentary, I have a lot of the real actors — some of whom are of Armenian descent — telling me how they feel and they’re in absolute tears. Along the way, I’m able to intercut actual survivor testimonies of those who survived those massacres and to bring in documentary elements and photographs from the time. So the documentary becomes much more graphic than a feature film could be, but the two work together and reflect off of one another. One of the concerns of mine is, how do you represent atrocity on screen, as well as the underlying theme that whoever controls the narrative actually controls the history? And how the story has been depicted over the years has determined why we’re in a situation where there’s been this terrible slaughter of the majority of Armenians living in Turkey in 1915, and yet it’s considered contested history today. 

On framing his documentary through the film “The Promise”:

Even though I’ve been fascinated by the Armenian Genocide … I never felt like I had anything to add to the dialogue. I never thought about making a film until I heard that “The Promise” was being made and I thought that would be a great way, from a filmmaking standpoint, how to bring a historical subject to life. So I thought that by embedding with the making of a big budget film on the subject, I could then pull the frame out wider and tell the historical context and give the audience a digestible way to consume all of this information by being in the present tense and telling an unfolding story. But there’s a larger thematic reason that embedding with “The Promise” really made a lot of sense to me. That’s because the basic facts of the genocide as a documentary has been done before. That’s not what’s interesting to me. What’s interesting to me as a filmmaker, where I feel like I’m adding to the dialogue, is to paint a portrait of denial — the aftermath of denial, the impact of denial, how denial works.

On what embedding with “The Promise” allowed him to achieve:

It allowed me a perfect device to tell that story, because part of the denial is that any time Hollywood has, over the decades, attempted to tell a story that has the Armenian Genocide as its backdrop, generally speaking, the Turkish government complains to the State Department and the State Department has persuaded Hollywood studios to drop these projects. Most notably, as early as 1935, Irving Thalberg at MGM was making the film, “40 Days of Musa Dagh,” which — at the time — was one of the most popular novels in the world and it was the story of Armenian resistance … during the Genocide. That movie was in pre-production at MGM and the State Department convinced MGM to drop the project. It’s been a taboo subject over the decades.

This is just a partial transcript. For the full interview please press the play button at the top left. 

Art: Aivazovsky’s little known works on Armenia to be displayed in Ukraine

Chakhmakhchian Vatche
News.am, Armenia
Nov 14 2016
Aivazovsky’s little known works on Armenia to be displayed in Ukraine Aivazovsky’s little known works on Armenia to be displayed in Ukraine

14:02, 14.11.2017

An exhibition devoted to the 200th birth anniversary of celebrated Russian Armenian seascape artist Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Aivazian) will be held in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, reported AnalitikaUA.net.

Vahe Petrosyan, Executive Director of the “Erebuni” Armenian community of Zhytomyr, informed that this exhibition will open on Wednesday.

The great painter’s little known works devoted to Ukraine and Armenia, as well as his religion-themed works and icons will be displayed at this event.

Copies of materials, in which Aivazovsky’s family members and the separate chapters in his life are depicted, also will be put on view in this exhibition that will run until November 30.

Sports: U21 European Championship qualifiers: Armenia vs. Serbia – Bookmaker’s view

Kajoyan Gevork
News.am, Armenia
Nov 14 2017

The U21 national football team of Armenia on Tuesday will play host to Serbia, in their next European Championship qualifiers.
William Hill, which is one of the largest bookmakers in Europe, considers Serbia the favorites in this game, as it gives a bet of 1.20 for their win. The bet for Armenia winning this match is 12, whereas that for a draw is 5.50.

The match in capital city Yerevan is slated for kickoff at 3pm Armenia time.

Serbia currently lead while Armenia are third in Group 7.

Sports: Armenia beat Cyprus in football friendly

Hambardsumian Paul
The New Indian Express
Nov 14 2017


By IANS  |   Published: 14th November 2017 01:00 PM  |  

Last Updated: 14th November 2017 01:00 PM  |   A+A A-   |  

Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan | AFP

YEREVAN: Armenia beat Cyprus 3-2 in a football friendly at the Vazgen Sargsyan Stadium here.

Armenia’s Haik Ishkhanyan on Monday scored the opener in the 17th minute for his first goal for the national squad in his only second appearance for Armenia, reports Xinhua news agency.

Varazadat Haroyan doubled the score with a spectacular header in the 38th minute before the Cypriots pulled one back on Konstantinos Laifis in the 50th minute.

Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a flawless penalty after Armenia’s Tigran Barseghyan was fouled in the 63rd minute to make it 3-1.

Cyprus managed to close it again but were not good enough to stop Armenia from nailing down another win after crushing Belarus 4-1 last Thursday.

Sports: Four Armenian freestyle wrestlers to take part in U-23 World Championships

Garo Vardanian
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 14 2017

The Armenian national freestyle wrestling team is set to take part in U-23 World Championships to be held from November 21-26 in Poland. As the National Olympic Committee (ANOC) reported, the Armenian team is represented by four athletes – Gevorg Tadevosyan (57kg), Ghazar Hambardzumyan (61kg), Khachatur Papikyan and Hrayr Alikhanyan (74kg).

National team head coach Habetnak Kurghunyan has told ANOC press service, the athletes are in good physical conditions, and the World Championships will provide a good opportunity for young wrestlers to excel.

Ferrahian Armens Victorious Again

Kalantarian Kevo
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9 hours ago

The Ferrahian Armens soccer team after a win on Thursday

BY NYREE DERMEGERDICHIAN

As the final whistle blew and the fans began pouring onto the field, the Ferrahian Armens Varsity Soccer team became the International CIF Fall League champions knowing full well they had made history by being the only Armens soccer team to make it through the season undefeated.

“We knew we had to play hard, smart, and leave everything out on the field. Being a senior and this being my last game, nothing was going to stop us from success,” co-captain of the team Armond Mnatsakanyan expressed excitedly during the post-game celebrations.

The Armens beat the Le Lycee Francais Lions 1-0 after a late goal in the second half of extra time. There was a definite revenge factor because the Lions had knocked the Armens out of the playoffs for two straight years and had proved to be a difficult team to beat.

The Armens played the game with passion and perseverance. With 14 seniors on the team, all had an extra motivation to win their last game and end their careers on a memorable note. Co-captain Patrick Aharonian’s reaction was honest when he added, “Last year we had regrets and throughout this season we told ourselves that nothing was going to stop us. Coach Arshag prepared us very well and as a team we came into the game knowing that there was no possible way we weren’t going to pull through with the win.”

Six championships in eight years –some may call it a dynasty. The Armens soccer team will let others have those conversations as they will have only one goal in mind and that is to defend their title next year. Whichever way, the school and the team have made us proud.

Police urges drivers and parents (video)

Aram Torosian
  • 17:06 | November 13,2017 | Official
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

Police urges drivers and parents: Carry children only with cars having children’s chairs.

In Armenia, there were 237 road accidents involving children under the age of 12 in 2016, as a result of which there were 9 deaths and 265 injured.

Details are available in the police video

Armenia Submits Anahid Abad’s ‘Yeva’ for Oscar Consideration

Emil Lazarian
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8 hours ago

Filmmaker Anahid Abad

YEREVAN—Armenia has selected the film ‘Yeva,’ written and directed by Iranian-Armenian filmmaker Anahid Abad as its official submission to the 90th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Funded by Iranian cinema producer Taqi Aliqolizadeh, the film is a joint 2017 production between the two countries, Mehr News Agency reported.

The film is about a young woman named Yeva who escapes her influential in-laws with her daughter Nareh, after her husband’s tragic death and takes refuge in a village in Artsakh.

Scenes from “Yeva”

The 94-minute “Yeva” is set in Armenia and boasts an all-Armenian cast that includes Narina Grigorian, Shant Hovhanisian, Sergay Tovmasian, Vrejh Kasoni, Marjan Avadisyan, Roz Avadisova, Digran Davtian, Nanor Patrosian, Avalian Adamian and Marat Davtian.

The filmmaker Anahid Abad told the ISNA Iranian news service on Monday that she has her roots in the cultures of both countries.

“I’m really happy that this film has been chosen for the Oscars, because it is a joint production of Iran and Armenia,” Abad said.

“Due to my dual nationality, I have my roots in the cultures of both Iran and Armenia and I really love both of them,” she added.

She said that she got her start in cinema by working with various prominent Iranian filmmaker as an assistant. “Yeva” is her directorial debut.

“Yeva” is co-produced by Iran’s Farabi Cinema Foundation and the National Cinema Center of Armenia. It premiered in theaters in Armenia on September 23.

Tashir Group to Invest $1 Billion in Armenia’s Energy Sector

Kalashian Nyrie
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8 hours ago

Samvel Karapetyan (left) with President Serzh Sarkisian and Yerevan Mayor Taron Markaryan at the opening of Tashir Group’s new mall in Yerevan on Nov 13

YEREVAN—The Tashir Group of Companies, which is owned by Russian-Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetian, announced that it plans to invest $1 billion in Armenia’s energy sector, in partnership with Armenia’s Investors’ Club and international financial organizations. It was also announced that the investment will create around 2,500 jobs.

Tashir Group Vice President Karen Darbinyan said the investment program will target two aspects of the energy sector—distribution networks and energy production—adding that the most important part of the project will be the investment made for the construction of the Shnogh Hydroelectric power plan, with an approximate cost of $200 million.

“Soon $900 million will be directed for the installation of electricity calculation devices and reconstruction of electric-energy infrastructures in ‘Armenia’s Distribution Networks,’” said Darbinyan.

Darbinyan also announced that the projects that will result from the investment will create approximately 2,500 new jobs in Armenia.

“The production of nearly 80 percent of devices which will be used as part of the investment program will be made in Armenia. According to preliminary data, we are talking about 2500 new jobs,” Darbinyan said.

According to the Tashir Vice-President, since 2016 the company has been negotiations with several international financial organizations to implement the investment program. Specifically, Darbinyan said, the group has held talks with the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“An agreement to secure nearly $160 million was signed. Today a memorandum of mutual understanding will also be signed with the Eurasian Development Bank to secure $100 million,” reported Darbinyan.

He also pointed out that the investment will be made without increasing Armenia’s tax burden.

Soon after public protests against the raising of electricity fees in Armenia in 2015, the Tashir Group purchased “Electric Networks of Armenia,” which was until then held by Russian investors.

The director of the ENA, Karen Harutyunyan announced Monday that 30 percent of the investments to be made in the “Electric Networks of Armenia” over the next 10 years will be allocated toward equipment modernization, with approximately $12 million expected to be spent in 2018.

Harutunyan said the upgrade will decrease electricity loss by 4 percent and cut the company’s expenditures by 50 percent.