Category: 2018

JAM News

May 6 2018

Arab Times

May 5, 2018 Saturday

Sheikh Mohammad attends festive mass

 

Armenian patriarch voices his deep love to Kuwait

 

 

KUWAIT CITY, May 5, (KUNA): Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on Friday attended a festive mass at the Armenian Archdiocese in Kuwait and neighboring countries.

 

Patriarch of Orthodox Armenians in Kuwait Archbishop Masis Zuboyan led his first mass since being consecrated Archbishop, Lebanon, April 15. Archbishop Zuboyan voiced his deep love, high appreciation and loyalty to Kuwait and His Highness the Amir. “His Highness the Amir deserves to be named hero of forgiveness and reconciliation,” he said.

 

He also noted that His Highness the Amir has “overwhelmed us (Armenians)” with kindness and generosity, making them feel at home and allowing them to perform their rituals freely and safely.

 

Archbishop Zuboyan highlighted His Highness the Amir’s humanitarian work initiatives which have been extended globally, bringing him international recognition as a “Humanitarian Leader” by the UN, the world’s top organization.

 

He also recalled the visit to Kuwait by Patriarch Aram I and his meeting with His Highness the Amir. Archbishop Zuboyan vowed loyalty to Kuwait which has been embracing expats with all generosity, love and tolerance.

ArmInfo, Armenia

May 5 2018

Bako Sahakyan: Security of Artsakh depends on internal security in Armenia

Yerevan May 5

Alexander Avanesov. On May 4, the President of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan received a delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, consisting of representatives of the Republican Party factions, Tsarukyan Bloc, Elk and ARF.

As Artsakh head press service reports, a number of issues concerning the domestic and foreign policies of the two Armenian states were discussed at the meeting.

Particular attention was paid to the internal political situation in the Republic of Armenia.

The President of the Republic of Artsakh stressed the need to establish internal political stability in Armenia, noting that the security of Artsakh also largely depends on this.

The Chairman of the Artsakh Republic National Assembly Ashot Ghulyan, State Minister Araik Harutyunyan, and other officials attended the meeting.

ArmInfo, Armenia

May 5 2018

Media: Serzh Sargsyan held meetings not only with RPA representatives, but also with Gagik Tsarukyan and Khachatur Sukiasyan

Yerevan May 5

Ani Mshetsyan. During the last meeting of the faction of the Republican Party of Armenia, which lasted very long, Serzh Sargsyan was very excited. The newspaper “Hraparak” reports.

At the meeting, Sargsyan spoke very briefly and said that, based on the precarious situation in the country, one should not obstruct the election of a candidate for a premiere, which would be nominated by 1/3 of the deputies. Some of the RPA representatives opposed, to which Serzh Sargsyan stated: “We have no other way out. People surrounding Nikol Pashinyan will soon become a problem for him.”

After that the vice-speakers of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov and Arpine Hovhannisyan together with Sargsyan went to the cabinet of the Speaker of the Parliament Ara Babloyan in order to write the text of the statement of the RPA faction, according to which the party will support the candidate for premieres nominated by 1/3 of the deputies.

Zhamanak newspaper reports that Serzh Sargsyan met with Gagik Tsarukyan, Khachatur Sukiasyan and Ishkhan Zakaryan yesterday. This meeting is interesting because during the elections of the Prime Minister on April 17, then Serzh Sargsyan, the candidate for premieres, said that if the sleeping volcanoes are not awaken, the situation in the country will stabilize. According to the newspaper, saying “sleeping volcanoes”, Sargsyan had in mind Gagik Tsarukyan and Ishkhan Zakaryan. Sargsyan hinted that he knew who was behind Pashinyan’s movement and who was financing it.

ArmenPress, Armenia

May 5 2018

2018 Yerevan Wine Days to offer exclusive experience for connoisseurs and tourists

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Wine Days will once again gather wine connoisseurs and enthusiasts in the Armenian capital.

2018 Yerevan Wine Days will take place May 11-12. The festival has a unique outdoor format and will take place in the intersections of downtown’s Saryan, Tumanyan and Pushkin streets, where local winemakers will present more than 200 types of wines from Armenia and Artsakh.

Mr. Mekhak Apresyan, first deputy chairman of the state tourism committee, says although this is the second time that the event is being organized the festival has huge potential of becoming a traditional fest.

“The event enables to present our cuisine, traditions, opportunities of wine tourism. Armenia is presented to the world with a sustainable, safe, attractive and diversified result for tourism,” Mr. Apresyan said.

Yerevan City Hall tourism department Chief Mr. Gevorg Orbelyan highlighted the festival and mentioned its positive feedback.

“As you know, our capital is marking the 2800th anniversary of its foundation this year. The Yerevan City Hall is supporting this process by highlighting the development of even tourism”, he said, thanking the organizers of Yerevan Wine Days. “We can confidently say that this is an anticipated event in the capital”.

Ms. Mary Badalyan, co-founder of EVENTTOURA, the organizer of Yerevan Wine Days, says this year the date of the festival was changed, but according to her it will not impact the celebrative mood.

Badalyan said this year visitors will be offered to buy a coupon-book which enables to taste products of 27 winemakers. Visitors will keep the book, available in Russian and English, as a souvenir after the event. The price of the coupon-book will be roughly 10 dollars.

Areni Festival Foundation direction Ms. Nune Manukyan highlighted Armenia’s great potential of wine tourism development.

“Armenia is known as a country of brandy in the world, but we have all opportunities for presenting high quality wines also,” she said.

The event is expected to attract tourists from Russia, Canada, USA and Europe.

Commenting on the possible impacts of the recent domestic political developments on the festival, Manukyan mentioned that although several cancellations took place among tourists because the initial date of the event was May 4 -5, the cancellations were very few. The new date of the event is May 11-12 and organizers say the cancellations might be restored.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator – Stepan Kocharyan

ArmenPress, Armenia

May 5 2018

Generosity, love and simplicity – Lebanese blogger on Armenian cuisine

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. Generosity, passion, love and simplicity: this is how famous Lebanese blogger Anthony Rahayel, who is in Armenia during these days, describes the Armenian cuisine.

The blogger arrived in Armenia to show to the world the Armenian cuisine with all its features.

No Garlic No Onions project’s shooting team arrived in Armenia to discover tasty Armenia on the sidelines of the policy of the State Tourism Committee of Armenia’s ministry of economic development and investments to increase Armenia’s attractiveness in Lebanon and Arab countries of the Gulf.

Anthony Rahayel gave an interview to ARMENPRESS.

Anthony Rahayel and No Garlic No Onions project

I am Anthony Rahayel, I am a Lebanese blogger and I am showing to the world the real cuisines of different countries through my No garlic No onions project which are not seen on TV, discovering their national, traditional dishes and spreading happiness everywhere. This project is a unique “guidebook” for those interested in gastro-tourism. It tells about cuisine features of different countries, famous and not so famous restaurants by discovering the entire gastro-tourism potential of that country.

No Garlic No Onions project in Armenia

We are doing two things within the frames of No Garlic No Onions project – spread happiness and share positivity everywhere. It is already 7 days we are in Armenia and trying to discover this amazing country, to show what has not been told and showed. We already visited Dilijan, Goshavank, Sevan, Garni, Geghard, Gyumri, Yerevan’s Victory park and etc. We will also visit Areni, Noravank, Khor Virap monastery, Goris, Tatev monastery and Jermuk. By our project we also want to show the reality and change the people’s perception on this or that issue. We are here to discover this amazing country with its amazing people and show through media what has not been told for quite a long time.

Armenians in Lebanon

In reality we are two peoples who live in one country, in other words, more than 800.000 Armenians live in Lebanon and we are quite close and share the same culture. The fact that the flight from Lebanon to Armenia lasts 2 hours is perfect, there is no need for visa and I invite everyone here to “taste” this amazing country. When you say an Armenian cuisine in Lebanon, people immediately understand garlic, spices and other different things. When I was visiting Armenia, I couldn’t imagine well what to expect, what I will see and feel. Coming here I saw people who really love live, enjoy it, but as for the cuisine here, I didn’t see any similarity with the Armenian cuisine of Lebanon. I have been in many countries, and all cuisines are very different, there are cuisines that are based on passion or are more sophisticated for gourmets. Armenian cuisine is very simple for me, but at the same time is very complicated and full of passion.

Armenian cuisine through Lebanese eyes

In the Armenian reality, the spices are relatively less, but at the time the tastes are different and very varied, are more focused on greenery, herbs and spices and every dish lets you “travel” around Armenia. I liked the variety of things in Armenia, especially the white cheese which we had again and again and every time it was better and better, all the breads I had are amazing and the way of doing lavash was quite interesting to me. In Lebanon all breads are different, but here all breads and lavash are being done with the same receipt and all are very tasty. You, Armenians, have the best jams. I have already bought the walnut jam, the eggplant jam, the apricot jam are also very tasty, and the dried fruits are “out of this world”.

New “ambassador” of Armenian cuisine

I felt passion and love in all Armenian dishes I tried. I can say that I will be the new ambassador of the Armenian cuisine and will show everyone the Armenian cuisine.

There are passion, generosity, love and simplicity in Armenian dishes. This is how your cuisine is and it’s simply amazing.

Interview by Lilit Demuryan

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan

The Independent – Daily Edition

May 5, 2018 Saturday

 

by OLIVER CARROLL

 

 

As one of the scientists behind the Tetris computer game, Armenian president Armen Sarkissian says he often reverts to logic models for political guidance. But there was little in his country’s dramatic revolution – or “democratic change” as he puts it – that he could have predicted with mathematics.

 

“Humans are not machines,” he tells The Independent. “They are much more complex.”

 

After Armenia transitioned to a parliamentary system of government this year, Mr Sarkissian’s office was supposed to have become non-political. The long-time ambassador to London was even nicknamed the “British Queen” on account of his largely ceremonial duties.

 

But as the standoff between the country’s longtime leader Serzh Sargsyan and protest challenger Nikol Pashinyan enraptured a whole country, President Sarkissian was unexpectedly thrust onto centre stage, becoming an important mediator between the opposing factions.

 

As a second parliamentary vote next Tuesday looks set to approve Pashinyan as prime minister, Armenia looks finally to be walking back from the brink. But the road has not always been easy.

 

“It was quite hard work bringing the sides together,” says Mr Sarkissian. “I did things that are not usually expected of a president, such as going into the crowds. But you couldn’t do your job by simply sitting in an office.”

 

The president’s 21 April visit to a protest rally in Republic Square was a turning point in the protests. Many on the square – Mr Pashinyan included – remained suspicious of the president, still seen as a loose ally of the prime minister.

 

Some attacked him over his historic British citizenship. But Mr Sarkissian says he enjoyed a “fantastic” experience on the square and describes his relations with the protest leader as “constructive”.

 

As the two men shouted into each other’s ears, the president promised to arrange a meeting with Mr Sargsyan for the very next day.

 

“The one thing I emphasised was that this must be decided by dialogue and within the constitution,” he says.

 

On 22 April, Mr Sargsyan and Mr Pashinyan met, but they failed to reach an agreement. Later that day, the situation threatened to get out of control when the protest leader, two fellow MPs and 200 supporters were plucked from an evening rally by police.

 

President Sarkissian says this was not a development he welcomed. The next day, he convened a meeting with Mr Sargsyan and his leading officials in his modest residence in central Yerevan. There, it seems, Mr Sargsyan’s future was decided.

 

“Confidential meetings will remain confidential, but you can make your judgments from the results,” says Mr Sarkissian. “Straight from the meeting, the deputy prime minister went with a warrant to release the parliamentarians. And a couple of hours later, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned.”

 

The 65-year old says he intends to stay on in his role for the foreseeable future, casting himself as the father of a young nation of “survivors”.

 

“We are all learning, and I’m ready to get involved again if things go wrong,” he says. “I’m ready to stand between police and protesters if I have to.”

 

Swept along with mass popular support, Armenia’s uprising and the road to Mr Pashinyan’s likely premiership have been remarkably bloodless.

 

But it might not continue thus. The country’s old elite still hold a grip over most of the levers of power. Corrupt forces still control the country’s electoral systems, which will be crucial in in any snap parliamentary vote. And the decapitated ruling Republican Party is unlikely to miss a chance to strike back at some point in the near future.

 

Mr Sarkissian hints at the problems that lie ahead for Armenia’s revolutionary leadership. “Mr Pashinyan has shown himself to be a very talented politician, with an acute sense of public opinion,” he says. “But running the government provides a completely a different challenge. He will have to provide answers to all the questions he has asked. And people will have to realise that not everything that went before was black, and not everything will be white tomorrow.”

 

But for the first time in a long time, the president is confident that Armenia is finally heading for less choppier waters. “The models have become predictable again,” he says. “And I’m proud of that.”

 

 

With United Forces towards the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia
10th Anniversary

Volunteer Group from UWC Dilijan Building a Home with Fuller
Center for Housing Armenia

Yerevan, Armenia: This May a multinational volunteer group from UWC Dilijan again joined the
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia bringing dedication and readiness to give a
helping hand to a needy family. Since the college opening in 2014 the students
participate in the Fuller Center volunteer programme twice a year. 

This spring students from Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Germany, Lebanon, Portugal, Serbia
and South Africa were hosted in
Jrvezh community of Kotayk region, in the house of Chobanyan family who lived
in a basement for many years. The construction work done by the volunteers during these
three days was a huge support for the family.

Abraham,
the father of the family, couldn’t find words to describe his happiness and gratitude.

“For
many years I have dreamed of having a home, but I could have never imagined that
I would have so many helping hands. For my family this is a miracle, and for me
it is still an unreal seeming dream,” said Abraham.

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia helps to build homes with the mission of
keeping Armenian families in their homeland and giving them a dignified life,
and the cooperation with UWC Dilijan College is an integral part of that
mission.

“Community
service is part of UWC Dilijan experiential learning programme, through which
the students develop skills necessary for impactful humanitarian work. Participation
in the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a very important project for our international
students’ body. It helps students to get deeper involved into the Armenian
community and to give back to the country which becomes their second home,” said UWC Dilijan Biology Teacher
Mikayel Minasyants, who was supervising the UWC Dilijan students’ group.

“The students, who have come to Armenia from
different parts of the world to study, prove that humanism, love and respect are universal by giving a helping
hand to the Armenian families in housing need. The difference between other
nations, languages and religions makes the construction process even more
enjoyable. The will is one to help those who are in need today. This is the idiological
basis that unites the volunteers from UWC Dilijan College and Fuller team to
have their contribution in helping Armenian families to prosper,’’ said the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia
President Ashot Yeghiazaryan.

The Chobanyan family is one of
the 10 families of 10 villages in Armenia being assisted through the generous
$100,000 grant awarded to Fuller Center for Housing Armenia by the Hirair and
Anna Hovnanian Foundation.

 

This year, the Fuller Center for Housing
Armenia marks the decade of serving Armenian families, providing them with
simple, comfortable and affordable homes. During these years more than 630
families have been supported and enjoyed the joy of having a home.

***

Fuller
Center for Housing Armenia is a
non-governmental, charitable organization that supports community development
in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh by assisting in building and renovating
simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to a
decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action. FCHA provides long-term,
interest-free loans to low-income families. The monthly repayments flow into a
Revolving Fund, which is used to help more families, thereby providing a
financial foundation for sustainable community development. Since 2008 the
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has assisted over 630 families.

For more information, please visit
or email us at [email protected]

###

About UWC
Dilijan

UWC Dilijan is the first international
boarding school of the UWC education model in the post-Soviet
space. The college opened in 2014 in the Armenian town of Dilijan and currently
has 210 students enrolled from more
than 80 countries and 44 academic staff members from 16 countries.

UWC Dilijan represents an
exciting extension of the UWC movement into the Caucasus region at the junction
of Asia and Europe. Established in 1962, the UWC educational movement now
comprises 17 international schools and colleges, national committees in more
than 155 countries, and a series of short educational programmes.

UWC Dilijan was initiated
and masterminded by impact investors and entrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend with the support of
other Founding Patrons. The college was built with generous donations from over
330 benefactors. Its admissions policy aims to make enrolment available to
anyone, regardless of socio-economic background, on the basis of demonstrated
need. 96% of students receive full or partial scholarships, and 82% is an
average scholarship.

The UWC Dilijan academic
programme – The International Baccalaureate (IB)
Diploma Programme (DP) – is an assessed programme for students aged 16 to 19.

UWC Dilijan has two
generations of alumni from 2016 and 2017; many of them have continued their
education at leading universities worldwide – Princeton, Yale, Columbia, UCL,
Duke, Berkeley, McGill, University of Edinburgh, Minerva School at KGI, and
many more.

 

About UWC

The United World
Colleges movement, UWC, was founded in 1962 and today
unites 17 international schools and colleges on 4 continents, national
committees in more than 155 countries, and a number of short-term educational
programs. UWC’s core values are international and intercultural understanding,
celebration of difference, personal responsibility and integrity, mutual
responsibility and respect, compassion and service, respect for the
environment, a sense of idealism, personal challenge, action and personal
example.