Category: 2019

TIGRANAKERT, Artsakh (Panorama.am)—The excavation work in Tigranakert, Artsakh, lasted for 40 days this year, concluding in late August, the head of the archaeological expedition in Tigranakert, Hamlet Petrosyan, told Panorama.am. In his words, the excavation has been financed by Artsakh leadership. This year, some $37,800 was allocated to the project that involved around 30 workers, members of the expedition and covered some costs related to reconstruction, transportation and photography of the items.

As the head of the expedition explained, the works are carried out in three main locations. This year, the excavations covered the 66-foot-long part of the northern fence of the fortified region. The total height of the wall is about 7 feet long. Archaeologists hope to conclude the excavations of the whole fence in several years. The fence is of high interest, since its layout and structure is unique for the region.

“It seems to have been a reference structure and shows the scale of the initiatives of Tigran the Great, who gathered all famous architects from Asia Minor and Armenia to build a major city.”

Excavations of the second antique district continued this summer. The works in the first district are concluded. In Petrosian’s words, the districts were established next to the fortress during the 1st century BC, comprising separate walls and residential complexes.

“Several cultural layers have been discovered at the site built in the period of Tigran the Great at 1st century BC. Those are laid one on another with the old walls renovated and the new ones built. New tandoors were revealed,” noted Hamlet Petosyan.

In the archaeologist’s words, the findings uncovered by a team are mostly pottery – whole jars, pots and casseroles. “The richness of colorful pottery is striking which is phenomenal for the region. We have no monument in Caucasus that contained samples of so many colors and black tuned pottery. This proves Tigranakert had served as a regional hub that also spread modern trends.”

The excavation works in the third location are concentrated on the square of the early Christian period, where two churches have been discovered, the mausoleum, as well as remains of a Christian monument. The plans for this year was to expand the southern yard and the works are focused on layers dated in 12 to 13th centuries.

“Large complexes with plastered floors and tandoors are of particular important. Among numerous pottery there was a plate with a colored eagle depicted on it that demonstrated the richness of the city,” said the archaeologist

He added that, this year, they plan to work on top of Tsitsar Mountain, which is directly in front of Tigranakert. It contained a mausoleum with underground rooms, where remains of saints were found on the floors. An anthropologist from France has been invited to identify the gender, age and the chronology.

“Excavations works in Tigranakert discover a history of a major city that prospered until the13th century,” concluded Petrosyan.

The Western Prelacy “Harut Barsamian Scholarship Fund” Committee, headed by Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, announced that after a thorough review of applications for the 2019 – 2020 academic year, scholarships have been awarded to two students. The students, who are currently obtaining a higher education in the U.S. in the field of Science, were chosen based on their academic achievements and involvement in community life.

This year’s scholarship recipients are Armen Demirjian and Areni Chorbajian, both students at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Committee is comprised of benefactor Tamara Barsamian, Dr. Garo Agopian, and Shakeh Bogharian.

We wish all of our students continued success in their academic endeavors.

WESTERN PRELACY TIVAN

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Armenian National Committee of America participated in a demonstration outside the Turkish Embassy demanding the release of the unjustly jailed mayors of Amed, Mardin, and Van – three major, Kurdish-majority municipalities that were once home to vibrant, pre-genocide Armenian populations. The protest was organized by members of the Kurdistani American Committee.

Last month, the Turkish government of Recep Erdogan replaced pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) elected leaders – Amed Co-Mayor Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, Mardin Co-Mayor Ahmet Türk, and Van Co-Mayor Bedia Özgökçe Ertan with hand-picked state officials and also arrested more than 400 others accused of political crimes against the state. These moves are seen as part of a broader effort by Erdogan to tar the HDP as a front for the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States.

“We’re committed to working with our Kurdish American allies toward a democratic, pluralist, and tolerant Turkey – one that’s capable of reckoning honestly with its past and responsibly meeting its obligations to the future,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It’s in this spirit that we joined in protesting the removal of mayors of municipalities that were home to large pre-1915 Armenian populations that, until this day, include many Armenians whose heritage has remained hidden for much of the past century.”

BURBANK—Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region as well as Glendale, Burbank, Hollywood, and Crescenta Valley chapter representatives met with Congressman Adam Schiff as part of the 2019 August Recess Month to discuss the latest developments and policy priorities of the Armenian American community.

“We greatly value the relationship with Rep. Schiff, who represents the largest Armenian American constituency in California’s 28th District,” remarked ANCA-WR Vice Chair Raffi Kassabian, Esq. “For many years, Rep. Schiff has been one of the leading advocates of the Armenian Cause in the U.S. Congress and we continue to work closely with Rep Schiff in identifying new avenues to further deepen the U.S.-Armenia strategic partnership and the U.S.-Artsakh relations.”

During the meeting, local chapter representatives provided with an update and overview of the ongoing activities in their respective cities as well as some of the current needs of the community. The current Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice resolution H.Res.296, co-authored by Rep. Schiff, was a focal point of discussion. The continued U.S. assistance to the Republic of Artsakh was another agenda item. Rep. Schiff reaffirmed his commitment to advancing the Armenian American policy priorities in the U.S. Congress, including H.Res.296 and continued assistance to Artsakh.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—A British-American mining company has accused a Lebanese-based consultancy of misleading the Armenian government about the environmental risks of its project to develop the Amulsar gold deposit in southeastern Armenia.

In a statement released late on Friday, the company, Lydian International, also challenged the government to name rival mining firms that have allegedly helped to disrupt the multimillion-dollar project.

“The Government of Armenia has said publicly that Lydian and the Amulsar Project have been the subject of a campaign by rival mining companies providing support to opponents of the Amulsar Project … When will the Government of Armenia identify the rival mining companies conducting this campaign, how much has been paid to oppose the Amulsar Project and who has been paid?” read the statement.

It apparently referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s comments made during an August 19 video address to the nation.

Pashinyan suggested that some of the other mining companies operating in the country have sponsored environmentalists’ campaigns against Lydian in an effort to scuttle the Amulsar project. He said they thus hope to avoid spending large sums of money on complying with “unprecedentedly high environmental standards” which the government is planning to enforce in Armenia’s entire mining industry.

Pashinyan signaled his government’s plans to allow mining operations at Amulsar, citing the written findings of an environmental audit of Lydian’s project conducted by ELARD, a consulting firm contracted by the government in February.

ELARD submitted a 200-page report on the Amulsar project to Armenia’s Investigative Committee earlier in August. The committee cited the report as concluding that toxic waste from the would-be mine is extremely unlikely to contaminate mineral water sources in the nearby spa resort of Jermuk or rivers and canals flowing into Lake Sevan.

According to the law-enforcement agency, ELARD found greater environmental risks for other rivers in the area but said they can be minimized if Lydian takes 16 “mitigating measures” recommended by ELARD. Lydian expressed readiness to take virtually of all those measures.

However, ELARD experts offered a different interpretation of their report during a video conference with Armenian government officials and lawmakers moderated by Pashinyan on August 29. They said that they cannot definitively evaluate the Amulsar project’s potential impact on the environment because Lydian had submitted flawed and incomplete information to the Armenian authorities.

Armenian environmental activists said the experts’ latest statements substantiate their long-standing assertions that the Amulsar project is too dangerous for the country’s ecosystem. According to one of those activists, Anna Shahnazaryan, those statements mean that some Armenian officials sided with Lydian to give Pashinyan inaccurate information about the issue.

“State bodies must now investigate to find out whether the Investigative Committee or others have done a bad job in this process or whether Lydian has continued to mislead [the government,]” Shahnazarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

Lydian charged, however, that it was the ELARD consultants who mislead Pashinyan.

“While Lydian welcomed ELARD’s rightful conclusion about the lack of impact on Lake Sevan and the Jermuk water source, yesterday’s regrettable performance by ELARD reveals more about an apparent lack of capacity to review and analyze complex details of more than 20,000 pages of professional studies provided to them by leading global experts than it does about Lydian or the Amulsar Project,” said its statement.

“ELARD’S comments during yesterday’s call regarding available data appear to be about a ‘wish list’ of what they would have preferred to be able to review,” it added. “When asked, ELARD did not give any reference to any industry standards that Lydian did not comply with.”

Lydian again argued that its environmental impact assessments submitted to the authorities had been certified by more authoritative Western environmental consultancies. The company also stressed that it had been granted the mining license in line with Armenian law and has been “illegally deprived” of its ability to mine gold at Amulsar since June 2018.

In July 2018, Pashinyan instructed the Investigative Committee to launch a criminal inquiry in order establish whether a government body that issued Lydian’s operating license in April 2016 broke any laws or regulations. The committee said it has no evidence of such violations when it publicized the ELARD report on August 16. The head of the law-enforcement body, Hayk Grigoryan, and the man leading the inquiry, Yura Ivanyan, stood by that conclusion during Thursday’s video conference.

Still, it emerged on Monday that the Investigative Committee has launched an internal inquiry into the impartiality of Ivanyan’s actions. A spokeswoman for the committee pointed to a media revelation that Ivanyan is related to Aramayis Grigoryan, who was Armenia’s environment minister at the time when Lydian won the license. She said the committee will clarify whether this fact influenced the Amulsar probe.