Category: 2019

Asbarez: ‘Armenia Uncovered:’ Behind the Scenes with the Film’s Production Team

Tatoyan Vazgen
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6 hours ago

“Armenia Uncovered”

“Armenia Uncovered” documents the journey of Kev Orkian – one of the U.K.’s finest, award-winning comedians – on a fun-filled journey to discover his roots in Armenia. Kev’s travels take him through a country the world knows little about, which has one of the most ancient cultures on earth, unbelievable natural beauty, and incredible hospitality.

From the ancient streets of Yerevan to the rural towns and villages of Artsakh, Kev explores everything there is to know about Armenia – from it’s beautiful cities, diverse religious architecture and breathtaking landscapes, to its mouth-watering food.

Throughout his journey, Kev meets with locals and celebrities alike, to find out if Armenians really are THE most hospitable people on the planet. He’s also on a mission to learn why it’s compulsory to do everything on a full stomach in Armenia.

During the film, Kev interviews Armenia’s greatest soccer player, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenia’s pop sensation, Sirusho, as well as the legendary French Armenian singer, Charles Aznavour.

Recently, Asbarez had the opportunity to discuss the making of “Armenia Uncovered” with the film’s Director Andy Simon and Executive Producer Raffi Tanielian.

The individuals behind the making of “Armenia Uncovered.” From l to r: Director Andy Simon, Kev Orkian, and Executive Producer Raffi Tanielian

Asbarez: What inspired the creation of Armenia Uncovered?

Andy Simon: Growing up in Australia, with Armenian parents, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I found it difficult identifying with my Armenian heritage. Armenia at the time was under Soviet rule and traveling there was almost impossible. None of my family or their friends ever set foot in Armenia. My father died without ever having visited Armenia and when my mum became very ill, I promised I’d take her if she got better. Thankfully she did, and, in 2015, we became the first people in our family to visit Armenia.

Raffi Tanielian: As a Diasporan Armenian growing up in the U.K., nobody had ever heard of Armenia. That changed briefly in the late ‘80s, because of the earthquake, but generally we seem to be known for two things: the genocide or Kim Kardashian. Having been a frequent visitor to Armenia, I felt it was time that this changed, and, when I found out about Andy’s vision, I was always going to back him to make this film.

Asbarez: Can you tell us a bit about the process? How did you come to choose the locations and interviewees you shot?

A.S.: When I returned to Australia and decided to make the film, I thought it was really important for audiences to not only be informed about Armenia, but to also laugh and be entertained. I wanted them to feel what I felt when I first set foot in Armenia and to connect with the beauty of the land, and to also feel the warmth of the people. That’s what led me to Kev Orkian. In my mind, he was the perfect host to bring this dream to life.

Director Andy Simon

I also believed it was really important to capture a level of “realness” on screen with Kev and for that reason we worked primarily without a script. I wanted him to engage with every person he met along the way and, if there was genuine laughter, it had to go into the film. That’s why virtually every scene was shot in one take. For audiences to be fully entertained, Kev had to be himself, humorous, irreverent, and friendly. It’s for this reason a lot of it is shot in a “reality” style format with the camera constantly rolling. It was also important to get the right balance between funny and serious stories, and this became somewhat of a challenge for me throughout the post-production phase.

Having visited in 2015, I had a pretty good idea of the locations I wanted to film – I mean, how can you visit incredible places like Noravank and Garni and not be inspired? I also understood the importance of getting out of Yerevan and into the villages, to shine a light on the amazing warmth and hospitality of the local people, because I truly believe that once the word gets out, Armenia will become one of the hottest new tourist destinations on earth.

R.T.: We wanted to ensure that we showcased the best of Armenia. Everything from the people we interviewed to the locations we visited. Understandably, some of the celebrities we approached were unable to find time within their busy schedules, or simply were unable to coordinate something that worked within our tight production schedule. But, I think we still ended up with a pretty good mix of A grade celebrities and locals alike.

Asbarez: What message do you hope to get across to the audience through this film?

A.S.: Put Armenia on your must-see list of places to visit in the world and don’t delay, because the secret’s already out.

R.T.: I think we want audiences to understand that Armenia is a very special place on earth, like no other country they have ever seen before. It’s a land with an ancient past and a wealth of culture, but most importantly it’s also got a modern, vibrant fun-filled capital city in Yerevan. It’s also made up of very proud, friendly, happy people who love eating, singing, dancing, and making visitors from around the world, feel right at home.

Asbarez: What was the most difficult part of the process?

A.S.: Initially, before Raffi and Alice (Tanielian, Associate Producer) came on board, funding the project was always going to be a major hurdle. We started a crowd funding page and hoped to raise enough to cover travel to and around Armenia and other production expenses. Despite over a million shares of our crowd funding page, we raised less than $3,000. Similarly, we had problems getting rights to film in a lot of places in Armenia (museums, holy sites, some public areas). Once Raffi was involved, I didn’t have to deal with any of that.

Kev Orkian embracing an Armenian police officer

R.T.: Having good relationships with a number of government departments and several NGOs certainly helped. Children of Armenia Fund and Tufenkian Foundation – I’m a Trustee for the foundation – made so many introductions, without which the production may never have happened. Similarly, the church was too happy to assist, as they could see we only had philanthropic aims to the project. In particular, Srpazan Nathan Ohanessian in Echmiadzin and Srpazan Hovakim Manukyan in London organized for the crew to film in otherwise restricted areas.

Asbarez: Did you learn anything new about Armenia while creating this film? If so, what?

A.S.: That it’s true – Armenians do the longest goodbyes in the world.

R.T.: Never underestimate the power of the Diaspora. This production is also the story of how three Armenians, from around the world, who met through social media, have worked together for the last two years on the power of a handshake. Armenia is a place where you meet as strangers and part as family.

Asbarez: Is the film what you expected it to be? Did you follow the same vision from when you first started, or did it shift as the project progressed?

A.S.: I think that my vision when I first started was much smaller. Raffi kept pushing me to think bigger and better. The longer filming went on, the more Kev’s infectious and indomitable personality shone through. We have so much great footage, probably enough to make a part two, even a part three.

“Uncovered Armenia” will feature Armenian dancers

R.T.: Better. Much better. I think Andy has done a phenomenal job and our collaborative efforts to edit down the huge number of hours of footage to what we have now, worked much better than expected. Sometimes, as a producer, you have to take the editing process away from the director as their vision isn’t always as “commercially viable” as it needs to be. No such concerns in this case.

Asbarez: What’s next? You have shown the film in London and Sydney. Where else would you like it shown?

R.T.: We wanted to showcase the movie in both London, my hometown, and Sydney, Andy’s hometown. Our world premiere in London was attended by 250 people including ambassadors, high ranking clergymen of all faiths, members of the British Parliament, representatives from the worlds of fashion and art, as well as a number of journalists eager to cover the event. The following evening we screened at a charity event (organized by Hamazkayin) so that the London Armenian community would have a chance to see the film.

In Australia, we were honored to be invited to be the closing film at the Armenian Film Festival of Australia. We also visited Melbourne and showed the film at an event organized by the AGBU.

We will be closing the ARPA Film Festival in Los Angeles on November 9th and closing the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto on November 17th.

Our aim is to show the film to the world, and we’re eager to get on streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime, so any help from your readers in introductions to the right people at those organizations would be very welcome.

My hope is that what “The Promise” did for our past, “Armenia Uncovered” will do for our present and future.

ARF Western U.S. Central Committee Meets with Zareh Sinanyan

Parkev Tvankchian
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2 hours ago

Armenia’s High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan with members of the ARF Western U.S, Central Committee

Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western United States Central Committee on Thursday met with Armenia’s High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan and discussed ways to advance the strengthening of Homeland-Diaspora relations.

Attending meeting were ARF Western U.S. Central Committee co-chairs Avedik Izmirlian and Dr. Carmen Ohanian, as well as C.C. member Levon Kirakosian.

Sinanyan discussed the priorities of the High Commissioner’s office and ways the Western U.S. Armenian community engage in the process to better formulate strategies to elevate Diaspora-Homeland relations.

Among the topics discussed were the process of dual citizenship, the establishment of a Diasporan legislative body, the military and the draft as it pertains to Diasporan Armenians. The Diaspora’s role in assisting Armenia in judiciary, tax and election reforms was also discussed.

Sinanyan also briefed the ARF leaders on his office’s efforts to tackle the challenges facing the Syrian-Armenian community as Turkey continues its attack and incursion into northeastern Syria.

During the discussion, the ARF Central Committee members stressed the need for comprehensive efforts to familiarize citizens of Armenia with the Diaspora, its history and significance in our national priorities. The ARF also conveyed the need for the Armenian Genocide Museum to include a section on the Diaspora to which Sinanyan responded that it is part of the High Commissioner’s plan to implement such a plan because it is imperative to show the short- and long-term consequences of the Genocide and shed light on the Diasporan communities.

The ARF Western U.S. Central Committee members pledged to support the activities of the High Commissioner’s office and engage the community in the efforts to enhance Diaspora-Armenia relations.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/21/2019

Yeghisabet Vorskanian 
                                        Monday, 

Yazidi Activist Wins Prize Created In Memory Of Armenian Genocide


Armenia -- Yazidi activist Mirza Dinnayi receives the 2019 Aurora Prize for 
Awakening Humanity at a ceremony in Yerevan, October 19, 2019.

A Yazidi activist who has helped civilian victims of atrocities committed by 
the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria has received an annual 
humanitarian award created in memory of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman 
Turkey.

Mirza Dinnayi was named the winner of the 2019 Aurora Prize for Awakening 
Humanity at a weekend ceremony in Yerevan attended by members of the Aurora 
Prize Selection Committee, including former Presidents Ernesto Zedillo of 
Mexico and Mary Robinson of Ireland.

Dinnayi, who lives in Germany, was awarded the $1 million prize for helping 
more than 1,500 Yazidi women and children seek medical treatment in Europe. He 
decided to donate the money to his organization, Air Bridge Iraq, and two other 
aid groups helping victims of the ISIS.

The prize runner-ups were Zannah Mustapha, a lawyer who set up a school for 
children affected by violence in northeastern Nigeria, and Yemeni lawyer Huda 
Al-Sarari, who investigated human rights abuses in the war-torn country. They 
received a $50,000 grant each.

The annual award was established in 2015 by three prominent Diaspora Armenians: 
philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan, and Vartan Gregorian, the 
president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. It is designed to honor 
individuals around the world who risk their lives to help others.


Armenia -- The co-founders of Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, Vartan 
Gregorian (L), Ruben Vardanyan (second from left) and Noubar Afeyan (R), pose 
for a photograph with its latest winner, Mirza Dinnayi, Yerevan, October 19, 
2019.

The international prize is named after Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian genocide 
survivor who witnessed the massacre of relatives and told her story in a book 
and film.

“The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative empowers those who risk everything for the 
sake of others and show extraordinary courage and conviction in situations of 
adversity, and Mirza Dinnayi is a perfect example of that,” Gregorian said at 
the award ceremony. “He embodies the power of compassion, of personal 
commitment, of a burning desire to save lives.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also spoke at the solemn event. “Mr. 
Dinnayi, what you have been doing for the friendly Yazidi people in Iraq 
reminds us of the activities a century ago, during the Armenian genocide, of 
Western missionaries and other individuals that had helped to save thousands of 
Armenian lives,” Pashinian said. “I also want to thank you on behalf of the 
Yazidi community of Armenia.”

In January 2018, Armenia’s parliament unanimously passed a resolution 
recognizing as genocide the 2014 mass killings of Yazidis in Iraq perpetrated 
by the ISIS. The National Assembly also called on the international community 
to track down and prosecute those directly responsible for the killings.

About 7,000 Yazidi women and children were seized by the ISIS when it overran 
Iraq's northwestern town of Sinjar in August 2014. Almost 3,000 of them remain 
unaccounted for. The town was regained from the jihadist group in late 2015 and 
dozens of mass graves of Yazidis have since been found there.


Iraq -- Ayman, a boy from a minority Yazidi community, who was sold by Islamic 
State militants to a Muslim couple in Mosul, hugs his grandmother after he was 
returned to his Yazidi family, in Duhok, Iraq, January 31, 2017

The U.S. government officially declared in March 2016 that the ISIS is 
“responsible for genocide” against Yazidis as well as Christians and other 
religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. A subsequent report released 
by United Nations investigators similarly concluded that the Islamist 
militants’ actions against Yazidis meet a 1948 UN convention’s definition of 
genocide.

“The recognition of genocide is the first step in order to satisfy the 
victims,” Dinnayi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He said Yazidi families 
will not feel safe returning to their homes in Iraq until ISIS militants 
involved in the atrocities face justice.

The 46-year-old doctor also expressed concern about the Turkish offensive 
against Kurdish forces in northern Syria. He said it could further hamper 
efforts to see justice done by providing militants jailed there with a “big 
opportunity” to escape.



Pashinian Denies Persecuting Constitutional Court Head

        • Artak Khulian
        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, October 9, 2019.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian denied through a spokesman on Monday opposition 
claims that he ordered criminal proceedings against the chairman of Armenia’s 
Constitutional Court, Hrayr Tovmasian, in a bid to force the latter to resign.

Pashinian’s spokesman, Vladimir Karapetian, at the same time effectively 
accused Tovmasian of complicity in “crimes” committed by members of the former 
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).

Two law-enforcement agencies announced separate criminal investigations into 
Tovmasian on October 17 two days after seven of the eight other Constitutional 
Court rejected the Armenian parliament’s calls for his dismissal.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) said it is investigating a possible 
“usurpation of power” by Tovmasian and former senior officials that helped him 
become head of the country’s highest court in 2018. For its part, the National 
Security Service (NSS) interrogated his father and two daughters.

HHK representatives as well as other critics of Pashinian denounced the 
criminal proceedings as acts of political prosecution. They were particularly 
critical of the NSS’s actions, saying that the authorities are now targeting 
Tovmasian’s relatives as part of their efforts to oust the court chairman.

Karapetian brushed aside those claims. “If the NSS has some questions regarding 
corruption issues then I see nothing wrong with that,” he told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service. “That body can address questions to any person. The 
proceedings are carried out at this level at this point, and any talk of 
[government] pressure is just meaningless.”

“They know very well who Hrayr Tovmasian is,” Karapetian said of the HHK 
critics. “He shares their ideology, he is well aware of the spate of crimes 
which … had been committed by many representatives of that party. This explains 
their support for their, so to speak, last of the Mohicans.”

The official also made clear that Pashinian stands by his recent claims that 
Tovmasian, who used to be affiliated with the HHK, was installed as 
Constitutional Court chairman as a result of legally questionable political 
deals cut with Armenia’s former political leadership.

Tovmasian, who also served as justice minister from 2010-2013, dismissed those 
claims. He said on October 2 that the authorities want to force him out in 
order to gain control over Armenia’s highest court.

Under Armenian law, Tovmasian cannot be prosecuted without the consent of at 
least five other members of the Constitutional Court. In a joint statement 
issued on Friday, seven court justices said they are “monitoring developments 
relating to Hrayr Tovmasian and members of his family and will react if need 
be.”

The head of the SIS, Sasun Khachatrian, stressed on Monday that Tovmasian has 
not been charged or regarded by his investigators as a suspect as yet. But he 
did not rule out the possibility of such charges.

“Do you want me to make presumptions?” Khachatrian told reporters. “I repeat 
that … a criminal case been opened in connection with the existence of signs of 
an apparent crime.”

SIS officers raided the Constitutional Court and HHK headquarters in Yerevan to 
confiscate some documents on Thursday.

On Friday, the NSS sought to justify it decision to summon Tovmasian’s father 
and two daughters for questioning.

In a statement, the former Armenian branch of the Soviet KGB said it is 
investigating a possible misuse of some 855 million drams ($1.8 million) in 
funding allocated by the Justice Ministry in 2012 for capital repairs of three 
buildings. It said also suspected that Tovmasian’s relatives had not submitted 
accurate asset declarations to a state body.

Lawyers for Tovmasian’s family said NSS officers asked his daughters on Friday 
questions about a car and a garage which they received as a gift from a cousin 
who emigrated to the United States in 2016. According to them, Tovmasian’s 
75-year-old father was summoned to the NSS headquarters to explain who repaired 
the roof of his house in a village near Yerevan.



Indicted Tycoon Delays Return To Armenia

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - Businessman Samvel Mayrapetian at the official opening of his Toyota 
car dealership in Yerevan, 23 June 2009.

Citing health reasons, a wealthy businessman prosecuted on corruption charges 
has postponed his return to Armenia from Germany where he was allowed to 
receive medical treatment early this year.

The businessman, Samvel Mayrapetian, was arrested in October last year on 
charges of “assisting” in large-scale bribery alleged by a fellow entrepreneur, 
Silva Hambardzumian.

Hambardzumian claimed to have transferred millions of dollars in cash to former 
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian and another former official 
through Mayrapetian in 2008. The latter denied the allegation before being 
freed on bail in late December.

In January, the Special Investigative Service (SIS) reluctantly allowed 
Mayrapetian to undergo treatment in a German clinic. Doctors in Yerevan said 
the tycoon, who suffered from a serious form of pancreatitis, needs the kind of 
surgery which is not performed in Armenian hospitals.

Mayrapetian promised to return to the country after recuperating from the 
life-threatening disease. The SIS said recently that it expects him to fly back 
to Yerevan by October 15.

According to the SIS, Mayrapetian’s lawyers have told investigators that he was 
on his way back to Armenia when his condition deteriorated sharply at a German 
airport. They said that he was therefore taken back to hospital.

An SIS spokesperson told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that the law-enforcement 
body is now trying to check the veracity of the lawyers’ claims.

Mayrapetian, 60, is one of Armenia’s leading real estate developers who also 
owns a national TV channel and a car dealership. Some media outlets for years 
linked Kocharian’s elder son Sedrak to the Toyota dealership.

Kocharian is currently held in pretrial detention, having been charged in July 
2018 in connection with the deadly breakup of post-election opposition protests 
in March 2008. He was also charged with bribe-taking in February this year. The 
ex-president denies the accusations as politically motivated.

The bribery case against Kocharian is based on Hambardzumian’s testimony. In a 
February interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service, the businesswoman insisted 
that she had asked Mayrapetian to “take the money to the three persons” so that 
they “don’t interfere with my business.”

“I myself gave the money. They didn’t demand it from me," she stressed, adding 
that she did not meet with Kocharian or Sarkisian and does not know whether the 
alleged bribe reached them.

Unlike Kocharian, Sarkisian is not facing any criminal charges.



Deputy PM Criticizes Departing Official

        • Nane Sahakian

Armenia -- Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian speaks in the National Assembly 
October 2, 2019

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian criticized on Monday the head of Armenia’s 
Cadaster Committee who has resigned in protest against government policies on 
urban development.

Sarhat Petrosian, who was appointed to run the government agency following last 
year’s “Velvet Revolution,” tendered his resignation on Friday. In a statement, 
he said he “can no longer tolerate dilettantism and sectarianism bordering on 
corruption.”

Petrosian, whose agency regulates and registers property deals in Armenia, hit 
out at the current and former heads of the government’s Urban Development 
Committee. The latter now works as an adviser to Avinian.

Avinian rejected the criticism, saying that Petrosian wanted to overstep his 
powers. “The post of head of the Cadaster Committee did not allow him to 
operate in the area of urban development,” he told reporters. “I presume that 
Mr. Petrosian is a bit disappointed with this fact.”

Avinian dismissed Petrosian’s claim that government regulation of urban 
development in the country has “regressed” despite a buoyant real estate 
market. “I think that Mr. Petrosian, who has not been the head of the Urban 
Development Committee, hardly has in-depth knowledge of problems existing in 
the area of urban development,” he said.

The head of the committee, Vahagn Vermishian, could not be reached for comment.

In his resignation statement, Petrosian did not give examples of mismanagement 
and incompetence alleged by him. He said he will talk about concrete cases 
later on.

The 37-year-old official held a farewell meeting with his staff on Monday. In a 
Facebook post later in the day, he thanked well-wishers for their support. He 
also reiterated that unnamed “opportunists” must not be allowed to discredit 
the 2018 revolution or use its achievements “for personal welfare.”

Petrosian actively participated in the revolution that brought Nikol Pashinian 
to power. The Armenian prime minister has not yet commented on his resignation.



Another Former Armenian Official Arrested


Armenia- Arsen Babayan, the deputy chief of the parliament staff, April 6, 2018.

An Armenian law-enforcement agency made the first arrest on Monday in its 
ongoing investigation into a possible “usurpation of power” by Constitutional 
Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) said Arsen Babayan, the former deputy 
chief of the Armenian parliament staff, is suspected of forging documents 
during the “process” of the resignation in early 2018 of Tovmasian’s 
predecessor, Gagik Harutiunian.

An SIS statement on Babayan’s arrest gave no details of his alleged crime 
punishable by up to two years in prison. It indicated that he has not been 
formally charged yet.

The SIS said that it found evidence of forgery committed by multiple 
“officials” during the criminal investigation into Tovmasian’s election as 
Constitutional Court chairman by the former Armenian parliament. Such a probe 
was demanded by an Armenian parliamentarian who alleged recently that the 
process of replacing Harutiunian was illegal.

The probe was launched on October 17 two days after the Constitutional Court 
rejected the current parliament’s demands to oust Tovmasian. The former ruling 
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), with which Tovmasian was previously 
affiliated, says it is part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s continuing 
efforts to force the high court chairman to resign.

The HHK’s deputy chairman, Armen Ashotian, said Babayan’s “ludicrous” and 
“immoral” arrest is meant to serve the same purpose.

“This will not help you either,” Ashotian warned the authorities on Facebook. 
“Hrayr [Tovmasian] will stay on in his trench no matter how much you and your 
propaganda machine whimper.”

Babayan condemned the criminal proceedings against Tovmasian prior to his 
arrest. He has also been very critical of the Pashinian government.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

The California Courier Online, October 24, 2019

Garo Vardanian
The California Courier Online, October 24, 2019

1 -        Trump Surrenders to Erdogan’s Demands:

            The Tail Wags the Dog

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Trump Advisers: Recognize Armenian Genocide as Tactic to
Pressure Turkey

3 -        Ohanian, Tankian to help build Armenia social network

4-         Buying Airtime? Artsakh conflict makes it to prime time on
'Seal Team'

5-         U.S. Congressional Delegation Visit Armenian American Wellness Center

*****************************************

******************************************

1 -        Trump Surrenders to Erdogan’s Demands:

            The Tail Wags the Dog

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Anytime Pres. Trump talks to another head of state on the phone, we
can expect a disastrous outcome. Trump does not realize the
consequences of his decisions on the United States and the world. He
does not ask for proper briefing from his top aides and does not
follow their advice.

Pres. Trump’s telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on October 6 was no exception. While the White House
reluctantly released the summary of Pres. Trump’s scandalous phone
call with the President of Ukraine followed by the whistleblower’s
report, Trump’s conversation with Erdogan is not yet made public and
no one knows what exactly transpired during that phone call. All we
know is that Erdogan asked Trump to remove the U.S. troops from
Northern Syria, allowing Turkey to invade Syria, to expel hundreds of
thousands of Kurdish civilians from the 20-mile area inside the Syrian
border, and kill hundreds of Kurds, the U.S. allies on the ground in
the fight against ISIS terrorists. The Turkish troops are committing
War Crimes and Pres. Trump has allowed them to do so.

The whole world immediately realized that this was a grave mistake by
Trump. Even Republican members of Congress who had been blindly
supporting him and ignoring his many illegalities and immoralities,
have loudly criticized their ‘darling’ president. The U.S. Congress
discussed adopting sanctions against Turkey which pressured Trump to
do the same.

On Oct. 9, three days after Erdogan’s phone call with Trump, the
Turkish forces invaded Syria. On that same day, Trump sent Erdogan a
childish letter, threatening to “destroy the Turkish economy—and I
will.” Trump also warned Erdogan that history “will look upon you
forever as the devil if good things don’t happen.” Trump ended his
letter by telling Erdogan “don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool! I
will call you later.” This was a uniquely stupid presidential letter
in the annals of diplomatic correspondence. Pres. Erdogan’s office
stated that he promptly dumped Trump’s letter in the garbage can,
where it belonged.

In the meantime, in response to strong criticism by almost everyone in
the world—except for Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia—Pres. Trump started
spewing his usual nonsense. First, he called the Kurds U.S. allies. He
then changed his mind and called them “Communists,” “terrorists” and
“no angels.” Trump went so far as blaming the Kurds for not supporting
the U.S. army in Normandy, France, during the Second World War,
forgetting that the Kurds possessed neither a country nor an army.
According to the Washington Post, Pres. Trump has made 13,435 false
and misleading claims in his first 1,000 days in office. That’s on
average 13 lies per day—an unprecedented record for anyone, let alone
the President of the United States.

After undermining the Kurds in his pronouncements, Pres. Trump
dispatched his Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo to Ankara, supposedly to restrain Erdogan’s brutal treatment of
Kurds in Northern Syria.

After several hours of negotiations, the two sides made contradictory
announcements about what they had agreed upon. The American side
called the agreement a “ceasefire,” while the Turkish side called it a
“pause” for five days. Nevertheless, Trump quickly claimed to have
scored a major victory, as he does on all occasions, usually without
any merit. If anything, it was a victory for the Turks who gained
everything they wanted from the United States—the green light to
proceed with their invasion of Northern Syria, mass deportations and
brutal killings of Kurds. What’s worse is the escape of hundreds of
ISIS terrorists from their detention camps during the Turkish attack.
The ceasefire or the pause did not even last 24 hours. The Turkish
forces and their jihadist partners violated it on day one. Only a fool
would trust Erdogan’s promises or agreements. Amazingly, Trump agreed
to remove the U.S. sanctions against Turkey before they were even
implemented.

The removal of the U.S. sanctions was confirmed in a lengthy letter
signed by the Turkish and U.S. delegates at the UN, titled “Joint
Turkish – US Statement on Northeast Syria” which was submitted to the
UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General on October 17.

In this letter, the United States shamelessly capitulated to all of
Turkey’s demands:

– “…The US understands Turkey’s legitimate security concerns on
Turkey’s southern border.”

– “The Turkish side expressed its commitment to ensure safety and
well-being of residents of all population centers in the safe zone
controlled by the Turkish Forces and reiterated that maximum care will
be exercised in order not to cause harm to civilians and civilian
infrastructures.”

– “The two sides agreed on the continued importance and functionality
of a safe zone in order to address the national security concerns of
Turkey, to include the recollection of YPG heavy weapons and the
disablement of their fortifications and all other fighting positions.”

– “The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to
allow the withdrawal of YPG from the safe zone within 120 hours.
Operation Peace Spring will be halted upon completion of this
withdrawal.”

– “Once Operation Peace Spring is paused, the US agrees not to pursue
further imposition of sanctions under the Executive Order of October
14, 2019, ‘Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons
Contributing to the Situation in Syria,’ and will work and consult
with Congress, as appropriate, to underline the progress being
undertaken to achieve peace and security in Syria, in accordance with
UNSCR 2254. Once Operation Peace Spring is halted as per paragraph 11
the current sanctions under the aforementioned Executive Order shall
be lifted.”

Interestingly, the text of the US – Turkish agreement never once
mentions the Kurds by name, whereas the whole Turkish invasion is
being carried out for the purpose of eliminating Kurds from Northern
Syria.

The U.S. forces were stationed in Syria in violation of international
law, and contrary to the wishes of the Syrian government. The same
applies to the Turkish forces. The departure of the U.S. forces is not
wrong. Their arrival was wrong. And Trump’s claim that he wants the
U.S. forces out of the Middle East is an outrageous lie, since the
same day that he decided to withdraw the American troops from Syria,
it was announced that most of these soldiers would be relocated to
Iraq and he will send 3,000 fresh U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia. This is
yet another one of Trump’s lies which needs to be added to his over
13,000 other lies.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

2-         Trump Advisers: Recognize Armenian Genocide as Tactic to
Pressure Turkey

            By James LaPorta and Tom O’Connor

Donald Trump’s advisers offered him several options aimed at
fulfilling his desire to pull back U.S. troops in Syria without
allowing Turkey to commence its incursion. One tactic on the table:
threatening to recognize the deaths of millions of Armenians and
members of other ethnic minorities under the Ottoman Empire as a
genocide, a National Security Council official told Newsweek.

Whether or not the deaths of up to a million and a half Armenians and
hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Assyrians in 1915-1923 should be
termed a “genocide” is a controversial topic in international
relations. Turkey, the modern-day successor to the Ottoman Empire,
rejects that these events constituted a systematic campaign to
slaughter ethnic minorities, but more than 30 countries and
governments have gone on the record to say it does.

The United States government has not joined them. While 49 U.S.
states—Mississippi is the sole exception—have officially recognized
the Armenian genocide, no federal legislation to do so has ever
succeeded.

The issue has high-profile supporters. This past April, Senators Bob
Menendez of New Jersey and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a resolution
“affirming U.S. recognition of Armenian genocide.” Democratic
presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris signed on,
as did Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to the House version.

Just last week, on October 11, Kim Kardashian, who is of Armenian
descent on her father’s side, Instagrammed photos of herself being
baptized with her children Saint, 3, Chicago, 1, and Psalm, 5 months,
in Armenia. (Eldest daughter North was baptized in an Armenian church
in Israel in 2015.)

“Thank you Armenia for such a memorable trip,” she wrote on Twitter,
calling herself “blessed.”

In April 2018 the reality star tweeted a plea for the U.S. to
recognize the genocide.

Two years earlier, in April 2016, she wrote an open letter to genocide
deniers on her app, which the Armenian Education Association reprinted
as a full-page ad in the New York Times that September.

Kurdish forces in Syria now accuse Turkey and its rebel allies of
pursuing genocidal policies against them.

As Newsweek reported Wednesday, the president was presented by his top
officials with a number of plans to realize his desired exit from
war-torn Syria, where a U.S.-led coalition largely defeated the
Islamic State militant group (ISIS) with the help of the Syrian
Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that included separatist
groups seen as terrorists by NATO ally Turkey. These tactics included
economic and political pressure moves, but Trump opted instead for a
hasty departure to avoid an upcoming clash between two forces the U.S.
considered friendly.

The U.S. plan would have come as the Syrian Democratic Forces warned
that Turkey was planning a new campaign of ethnic cleansing against
another ethnic minority in the region, the Kurds. The Kurdish homeland
spans parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, all of which have
complex relations with this local community that has sought some form
of autonomy in all four countries.

Turkey has battled with a three-decade insurgency against a group
known as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist
organization both at home and by the U.S. The group once found refuge
in Syria, but the outlawed group’s leader was expelled and ultimately
arrested in Kenya as Damascus looked to improve ties with Ankara. In
the wake of the 2011 uprising across Syria, Kurds have fought both
with and against government forces and, as of last week, ultimately
chose to side with them as the U.S. pulled out of the war-torn
country. The mostly Sunni Muslim Arab rebels and jihadis that make up
the opposition, once a U.S. partner for regime change against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia and Iran, have deeply
opposed efforts for Kurdish autonomy and now comprise the forces
mobilized Turkey to enact a roughly 20-mile “safe zone” across the
Turkish-Syrian border.

“The practices of the Turkish affiliated forces are similar to ISIS,
even though these forces have different names,” the Syrian Democratic
Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said
Wednesday in a statement sent to Newsweek. “The Turkish State is also
trying to use the refugees’ issue to occupy further Syrian regions and
to implement the demographic change policy, just as it did in Afrin
and other Turkish-held regions in Syria.”

“The Autonomous Administration reaffirms that what Turkey is doing
amounts to genocide and occupation practices,” the statement added.

That same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied reports
of atrocities committed by his forces past or present, telling a
parliamentary meeting of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party
that “Turkey has never committed any civilian massacre throughout its
history, and it never will, neither our faith nor our culture or moral
values allows that.”

Trump ultimately disagreed, threatening sanctions against Turkish
officials “who may be involved in serious human rights abuses,
obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning
home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace,
security, or stability in Syria.” He also warned of a steel tariff
hike and the suspension of $100 billion-dollar trade talks, but did
not use the diplomatic cudgel of the Armenian genocide issue.

On Thursday, however, a Trump administration delegation led by Vice
President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo emerged from
talks with Erdogan and his officials with what the U.S. referred to as
a “ceasefire” deal. The agreement appeared to affirm Ankara’s desire
for a “safe zone” and the withdrawal of the People’s Protection Units
(YPG), a Syrian Democratic Forces militia that Turkey linked to the
PKK. The two warring factions themselves appeared to emerge with
different understandings, as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
declared “this is not a ceasefire,” but a “pause” and Syrian
Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Kobani argued the deal only
applied to a small border area between Ras al-Ayn and Tel Abyad.

The move was also met with cautious skepticism by those fearing a
repeat of history. In a statement sent to Newsweek, the Armenian
Assembly of America—which calls on Congress to recognize the Armenian
Genocide—said that it “joins the legitimate concerns raised by
Congressional leaders about Turkey’s invasion into Syria leaving
America’s Kurdish allies as well as other ethnic minorities, including
Armenians and Assyrians, in precarious conditions.”

“Turkey’s attack against innocent civilians is all too familiar,” it
added, accusing Erdogan of seeking “the continuation of the Ottoman
Empire” and “openly supporting ISIS” in Syria. “The international
community should not stand by and watch as Turkey once again subjects
ethnic and religious minorities in Syria to horrific atrocities. It is
our legacy to protect those whose lives are at risk and our
responsibility to prevent atrocities from being committed.”

Meanwhile, the agreement came only after Syrian and Russian
troops—whose countries both recognize the Armenian Genocide—joined
Kurdish-led forces at a number of positions once held by U.S. troops,
some of these locations within the planned “safe zone.” Erdogan was
likely to discuss the subject as he headed to Russia to meet with his
counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the Black Sea city that
previously hosted the two alongside Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
for trilateral peace talk designed to end Syria’s multi-sided war, in
which yet another front has opened.

This article appeared in Newsweek on October 18, 2019.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

3 -        Ohanian, Tankian to help build Armenia social network

            By Abhimanyu Ghoshal

(TNW)—I spent last week in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, which
played host to this year’s World Congress On Information Technology
(WCIT). The prestigious event brings together government agencies, IT
companies, lobbying groups, investors, and startups as they discuss
the latest developments in information and communications tech. And
this year, it also saw the announcement of a new social network —
HyeConnect.

Derived from Hayastan, the Armenian name for the country, HyeConnect
was described at a press conference as a platform to connect all
Armenians around the globe, as they seek to build partnerships, launch
new businesses, and collaborate on projects to benefit the country and
its people. That includes the country’s population of three million,
as well as its global diaspora of a whopping seven million people.

HyeConnect is currently still a work in progress, which is why I don’t
have any screenshots to show you. However, I can tell you what some of
its chief proponents — Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, musician and
activist Serj Tankian (who you might know from legendary rock band
System of a Down), and Armenia’s minister of high-tech industry, Hakob
Arshakyan — have in mind for the network while it’s being built.

Musician and Activist Serj Tankian speaks at the Technology, Society &
Democracy panel at WCIT 2019

Why does a country need its own social network? Speaking to TNW, Serj
Tankian explained that the idea makes a lot of sense now that the
Armenian diaspora is keen to connect with its homeland, following the
country’s own Velvet Revolution in 2018:

The idea of having some type of digital platform to connect Armenians
came up years ago. When it came up during the rule of the previous
regime, it was a way of connecting the diaspora to each other, so it
can better deal with the ongoing reality in Armenia.

But after the revolution, the concept evolved from being a diaspora
connection thing to a pan-Armenian connection thing, which I think is
more inclusive and more powerful. This is something we as Armenians
desperately need. We’ve got such diverse Armenian communities around
the world doing amazing things.

For example, I’m really dialed into the Armenian reality, but I have
no idea what’s going with the community in Marseilles. I know just a
couple of people there. Now if I’m developing a music project there,
and I need a French-Armenian rapper, there’s no way I can find someone
like that easily on, say, Facebook. You’d need an entire team for that
search.

Hakob Arshakyan, the country’s minister for high-tech industry, is
only 34 and has been in this new ministry and position for just a
year, but is already playing a major role in building out the
country’s tech and startup scene. In an interview with TNW, he
explained that the timing couldn’t be better:

The idea for HyeConnect, as it’s being developed now, came up right
after the revolution last year. Following the revolution and the
ushering in of a progressive new government, every Armenian within our
borders and around the world is feeling connected to the country and
to their fellow countrymen.

Arshakyan noted that this kind of a platform is practically a startup
idea, and needs to develop and evolve over time: We’ll make sure to
keep an open mind about how this can evolve. As we use it and see what
works and what doesn’t, we’ll make the necessary changes to adapt the
platform to suit its users.

The sentiment was echoed by Alexis Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit way
back in 2005 and knows a thing or two about building social networks.
I asked him about how the team behind HyeConnect planned to avoid the
problems of excessive noise and unsolicited messages that plague other
platforms.

Ohanian noted that while it’s still in the early stages, HyeConnect
will draw from learnings gathered from other networks to promote
meaningful connections and conversations. Plus, it’ll be a non-profit
venture. Hopefully, that means it won’t be gamed by publishers and
advertisers striving to attract users’ attention.

Unlike many other countries, the people of Armenia have plenty of good
reasons to feel united right now: a young new government, a
revitalized population, and a nationwide interest in advancing
Armenia’s interests and capabilities.

“The goal is to connect everyone, using their interests, to form
incubative platforms, focus groups, symposiums,” said Tankian. “The
amount of positive things that come out of this will be amazing.”

************************************************************************************************************************************************

4-         Buying Airtime? Artsakh conflict makes it to prime time on
'Seal Team'

            By Joshua Kucera

An episode of ‘SEAL Team’ aired on October 16 on CBS about the
conflict between Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
the dictatorship of Azerbaijan.

The episode description reads: “Bravo Team is on a mission in
Azerbaijan to help retake a power plant in order to avoid political
instability in the area.”

CBS portrays the Azeri regime as a democratic U.S. ally, whereas the
episode portrays Armenia as the “enemy.”

The show is based on fictitious characters and a fictitious story
line. In an episode of SEAL Team, a military drama on CBS, elite U.S.
forces are sent to protect an Azerbaijani power plant from an
incursion, possibly by an “Armenian militia.” The show kicked off a
firestorm on social media as Armenians accused its makers of bias and
suggested Azerbaijan had paid for it.

An elite team of American special forces airdrops into Azerbaijan to
defend a strategic power plant against “enemy” “Armenian militia” who
have taken it over in an attempt to force concessions over
Nagorno-Karabakh.

That’s the plot of a new product from the U.S. military-entertainment
complex, an episode from the TV drama Seal Team that aired October 16.
The show’s geopolitics caused an immediate controversy among Armenians
and speculation that Azerbaijan may have somehow had a hand in
developing the scenario.

Seal Team – a middle-of-the-rankings show that averages about 5
million viewers per episode – follows a band of Navy Seals around the
globe as they defuse one conflict after another. Given the number of
hot spots the team churns through it is probably inevitable that they
would hit the Caucasus, but their take on the conflict took a
noticeably pro-Azerbaijani framing.

“Twelve hours ago, Armenian forces violated their ceasefire with
Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region,” the team’s intel
officer says as she briefs the sailors.

“That’s a dangerous game of chicken,” one Seal observes. “Why the hell
do we care about turf wars between countries that I can’t even spell?”
asks another in a good-ol’-boy accent.

The no-nonsense intel officer educates him: “Azerbaijan is our only
ally in the Caspian Sea… With Russia and Iran stirring the pot, we
really don’t want to lose any traction.”

Someone has taken advantage of the ceasefire violation somehow to plan
an attack on a critical power plant in Azerbaijan, and the Seals are
flying across the ocean to prevent the attack. Who are the potential
suspects? “Armenian loyalists, Shiite militia, foreign powers looking
to reduce American influence in the region,” the intel officer
suggests. (It is perhaps noteworthy that the fact that Azerbaijan is
itself majority Shiite is never mentioned.)

Eventually the team settles on the explanation that the attackers are
an “Armenian militia,” seeking to “hold the plant and use it to force
concessions over Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Nearly all of this geopolitical exposition was laid out in a brief
scene, a clip of which was tweeted by Azerbaijan’s consul to Los
Angeles, Nasimi Aghayev, just before the show aired.

Aghayev’s promotion of the series raised suspicions that this was a
new frontier in Azerbaijan’s multifaceted efforts to promote its views
of its conflict on any platform available. Aghayev did not immediately
respond to a query for comment from Eurasianet, nor did PR people for
CBS, the network that aired the show. (This post will be updated if
they respond.)

But the show does seem to have a history of taking “incentives” from
foreign governments for positive coverage. Four episodes of Seal Team
were filmed in Belgrade, and the Serbia Film Commission described its
cooperation with the show in a press release:

“The show is highlighting the city of Belgrade as a modern
international capital, full of culture and beauty, and with Serbian
people playing positive roles,” the commission said. “The show’s
producers were drawn by great locations, the collaboration of the
Serbian Government and the experience of local film professionals. The
film incentive was also a key element in attracting CBS to shoot
here.”

Moreover, the scenario tracks closely to the talking points Azerbaijan
uses in the West: that it is a loyal U.S. ally (though Georgia would
take exception to the notion that it is the “only” one in the region)
stuck between Russia and Iran. The mention of a ceasefire violation
and the notion of concessions over Karabakh suggest that the writers
got some briefings from someone knowledgeable on the conflict, and the
repeated references to Armenians as the “enemy” suggests that the
consultant’s name didn’t end in “-yan.”

There is one line that stood out: “This is a clandestine operation,”
one of the sailors explains. “The Azerbaijani government doesn’t want
to appear weak enough to need help.” This is both true (see these
Wikileaks about U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan in a naval standoff with
Iran) and not something that Baku would like to be advertised. So
whatever influence Azerbaijan had over the script, it wasn’t total.

At the end of the episode, though, there is a twist: we learn that the
enemy is not in fact Armenian militia, but Iranian mercenaries, whose
motives appear to be purely destabilization of the region. We learn
this because in the course of the fight, the shadowy enemy fighters
deploy a small drone. It looks like the kind of thing a child would
play with, but it is apparently too sophisticated for Armenians.

“No way that’s Armenian militia,” one of the American soldiers muses.
“Who the hell are we fighting?” Further digging reveals it to be
Iranians – who in fact do play a role in Azerbaijan’s threat
perception, though not one they like to advertise as much as
Armenians.

It’s not clear what kind of influence a show has like this over
Americans’ perceptions of the conflict, but for the large majority of
those 5 million viewers it’s likely the first time they’ve ever heard
of Azerbaijan or Nagorno-Karabakh. And Armenian-American groups
immediately objected.

“Is #CBS on Aliyev’s Payroll?” tweeted the Armenian National Committee
of America, referring to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev. “That’s
the only explanation for the absurd story-line in tomorrow night’s
@SEALTeamCBS episode where ‘Armenian loyalists’ and ‘Shia Militia’
target an Azerbaijani power plant after an Armenian attack on
Azerbaijan.”

ANCA called on its supporters to object to CBS. The largest
concentration of Armenians in the U.S. is in Southern California, also
the home to the American entertainment industry. Might we look forward
to a makeup episode some time in the future when the Seals head to
Armenia to help that U.S. ally against its “enemy?”

Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at Eurasianet.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

5-         U.S. Congressional Delegation Visit Armenian American Wellness Center

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Members of U.S. Congress, Frank Pallone, Jackie
Speier, and Judy Chu, arrived in Armenia early October 2019 at the
invitation of Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Ararat
Mirzoyan to discuss relations between the United States and Armenia.

On Monday, October 7, at 10:30 a.m., Speier and Chu visited the
Armenian American Wellness Center (AAWC or Wellness Center), known for
being an exemplary model of public-private partnership, based on
American values, standards, and best practices. The Wellness Center
was founded in 1997 by the Armenian American Cultural Association,
Inc. (AACA), a non-profit organization based in the Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Area. Established as a single department to introduce
previously non-existent mammography screening in Armenia, with support
from AACA the Wellness Center has grown to include 10 departments
equipped with cutting-edge medical technology.

“The Clinic is amazing and state-of-the-art. I am so impressed with
the professionalism of the staff, equipment and facility. God bless
Rita Balian!” wrote Speier in the Wellness Center’s guestbook after
taking a tour.

 “This Clinic is inspirational! You are doing such important work for
so many women!” wrote Chu.

In 1997, in response to alarming breast cancer crisis in post-Soviet
Armenia, Rita and Vartkess Balian from the United States working
closely with Hranush Hakobyan, then-Minister of Social Welfare of
Armenia, established the first mammography center in the country and
named it the Armenian American Mammography University Center (AAMUC),
later renamed to the Armenian American Wellness Center. Registered as
the first non-profit entity/”Foundation” in Armenia on the campus of
the Yerevan State Medical University, AAMUC was created to provide
mammography screening for early and accurate detection of breast
cancer.

In 2002, through a Special Presidential Decree, the Armenian
Government donated the entire dilapidated five-story building, along
with its land, to the Armenian American Wellness Center, which had
previously occupied only the first floor of the building. With support
from AACA, AACA’s grassroots fundraising, contributions from major
donors from the Armenian Diaspora, and USAID grants, the building has
gone through extensive reconstruction, expansion, seismic
reinforcement, and renovation. The entire process was initiated and
supervised by the late Vartkess M. Balian, an architect-engineer and
real estate developer in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area, with
the assistance of architect Hovsep Sarafian from Michigan.

Today, the Wellness Center represents a state-of-the-art medical
facility providing advanced preventive healthcare services to patients
from Armenia and the wider Caucasus region. The mission of the
Wellness Center is to save, prolong, and improve the lives of women
and mothers through the early and accurate detection of their diseases
and provide appropriate treatment.

For the past twenty-two years, the Center has served a wide range of
patients, including vulnerable populations in remote regions of
Armenia during its Outreach Medical Missions provided free of
charge—356 to date.

Since the establishment of a partnership between AACA/AAWC and the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the early 2000s,
AAWC has expanded to include the following 10 departments equipped
with advanced medical technology: Breast Screening and Diagnosis;
Gynecology; Pathology Lab (Cytology and Histology); Family Medicine
and Endocrinology; Pharmacy; Urology (includes prostate cancer
screening); Dental Health Clinic; Ambulatory/Outpatient Surgery;
Diagnostic Imaging (CT Scanner, Digital X-Ray, and Osteoporosis
Screening using DEXA units); and Orthopedic Services.

Since April 28, 1997, through July 31, 2019, 626,608 services have
been provided to 496,633 patients. To date, close to 9,600 lives of
Women/Mothers have been saved through accurate diagnosis and
appropriate treatment provided at AAWC. Furthermore, 201 “Miracle
Babies” have been born to couples struggling with infertility from
chronic infections from four to fourteen years. In addition, AACA has
organized and sponsored 80 medical exchanges between AAWC and eight
U.S. medical university centers to provide training both on site in
Armenia and in the United States.

Furthermore, AACA and AAWC have been recipients of numerous
international and national recognitions and awards, including annual
public confidence awards, for being an exemplary medical facility
providing high quality healthcare services as well as promoting
patient care and women’s health.

The Wellness Center continues its life-saving mission, thanks to the
hard work and dedication of its Founders, mainly Rita Balian, who
donates her time as AACA President and CEO/CVO (Chief Volunteer
Officer), AAWC Executive Director Khachanush Hakobyan, and the 128
AAWC Staff Members, of whom 104 are women and 24 are men.
************************************************************************************************************************************************

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2019 Aurora Prize Laureate announced as Yazidi activist Mirza Dinnayi

Anna Tamamian

2019 Aurora Prize Laureate announced as Yazidi activist Mirza Dinnayi

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 20:52,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. The fourth annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was awarded today to Mirza Dinnayi, Co-Founder and Director of Luftbrücke Irak (Air Bridge Iraq). Driven by his passion to save lives, the Yazidi activist has found a way to overcome numerous bureaucratic and logistic obstacles to help the most vulnerable members of the Yazidi community during numerous conflicts in Syria and Iraq. He was named the 2019 Aurora Laureate at the Ceremony in Yerevan that was held during the Aurora Forum. The Aurora Prize is granted by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the IDeA Foundation told Armenpress.

Tom Catena, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Chair and 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate, praised the 2019 Aurora Prize Laureate Mirza Dinnayi by saying: “What makes Mirza Dinnayi an outstanding human being is the fact he couldn’t live in good conscience knowing that good people are left behind, that the innocent are suffering. Trying to help others while facing an unspeakable evil can be challenging and frustrating, but he never wavered. I am delighted to congratulate Mirza Dinnayi with being awarded with the Prize and welcome him to the Aurora family.”

As the 2019 Aurora Prize Laureate, Mirza Dinnayi will receive a $1,000,000 grant, through which he is given the opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by supporting organizations that have inspired his work. He has chosen to donate the funds to three organizations that provide medical care and rehabilitation to victims of ISIS terror:

  • Air Bridge Iraq;
  • SEED Foundation;
  • Shai Fund.

Vartan Gregorian, Co-Founder of the Aurora Prize and Member of the Selection Committee, added: “The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative empowers those who risk everything for the sake of others and show extraordinary courage and conviction in situations of adversity, and Mirza Dinnayi is a perfect example of that. He embodies the power of compassion, of personal commitment, of a burning desire to save lives. As one of the Aurora Co-Founders and a member of the Selection Committee, I am very proud that our shared vision has helped showcase the work of Mirza Dinnayi, who now, without doubt, will be able to achieve even more.”

Working on behalf of the Yazidi community, Mirza Dinnayi has dedicated his whole life to saving the victims of the Iraq war, evacuating women and children from territories controlled by ISIS and providing those tortured and violated with rehabilitation and support. It was Dinnayi who brought to Germany the future Sakharov Prize Laureate Lamya Haji Bashar. Today, she is a renowned human rights activist and has one of Aurora’s scholarships named after her.

Leading international humanitarian figures and Aurora Prize Selection Committee members, including Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London and Chair of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee Lord Ara Darzi gathered in Armenia to attend the inaugural Aurora Forum and celebrate the 2019 Aurora Prize Laureate.

Previous Aurora Prize Laureates include several noted international humanitarians – Burundian activist Marguerite Barankitse (2016), American physician and missionary Dr. Tom Catena (2017) and Rohingya lawyer and human rights campaigner Kyaw Hla Aung (2018).

Nobel Prize Laureate and a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee Leymah Gbowee commented: “The very name of the Aurore Prize for Awakening Humanity contains the most important message of this unique award. Right now, the world feels the need for humanity to rise and for people to step up. Mirza Dinnayi, whose courage and selflessness are a credit to his people, is doing just that: taking care of women and children, who suffer the most in a conflict situation, and putting himself at risk to save others. What an outstanding humanitarian.”

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative also honored the contributions of the other two 2019 Aurora Humanitarians who received a $50,000 grant each: Zannah Bukar Mustapha, Director and Founder of Future Prowess Islamic Foundation in Nigeria, and Huda Al-Sarari, Yemeni lawyer and activist.

The 2019 Aurora Prize Ceremony was part of the Aurora Forum, held in Armenia on October 14–21, 2019 and convening thought leaders and change-makers from across the world to share knowledge, perspective and ideas, which together can deliver practical action and change. The Forum far-reaching agenda is driven by partner institutions with a shared commitment to address global challenges and local development.

***

About the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative

Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid anywhere in the world and thus continue the cycle of giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) to support people and promote global projects that tackle the needs of the most helpless and destitute and do so at great risk. This is achieved through the Initiative’s various programs: The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have been joined by more than 440 new supporters and partners. Our Chair, Dr. Tom Catena, draws on his experience as a surgeon, veteran, humanitarian and the 2017 Aurora Prize laureate to spread the message of Gratitude in Action to a global audience. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our shared humanity. 

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is represented by three organizations – Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation, Inc. (New York, USA), the 100 Lives Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the IDeA Foundation (Yerevan, Armenia). 

Further information is available at www.auroraprize.com

Mayor of Yerevan participates in BusWorld Europe 2019 exhibition in Brussels

Karlen Baghdasarian

Mayor of Yerevan participates in BusWorld Europe 2019 exhibition in Brussels

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 09:54,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan is participating in the BusWorld Europe 2019, the biggest B2B bus and coach exhibition, in Brussels.

“Immediately after the [Yerevan Day] celebrations I departed for Brussels to take part in the BusWorld Europe 2019 exhibition. Introduction of a new transportation system is our priority task”, the Mayor said on Facebook.

This year on October 19 Yerevan celebrated its 2801th anniversary.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Everyone’s education level should be at least a little higher every next day, says Pashinyan

Karapet Navasardian

Everyone’s education level should be at least a little higher every next day, says Pashinyan

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 10:25,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. For Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan education is a continuous process.

During his talk with Edik Nazaryan, a 11th grader from Stepanavan, on the sidelines of the Education For All international network’s annual conference in Yerevan the Armenian PM said everyone’s education level should be at least a little higher every next day compared to the previous day.

“Many by saying education understand a period, which starts, let’s suppose, from the 1st grade or a pre-school and ends in the university. But for me education is a continuous process, and this is the reason that currently we are discussing a strategic vision in our country. We have a point there and hope to make it a reality for our country: we formulate it in the following way – to make education a national lifestyle in the Republic of Armenia. What do we mean by saying this? We mean that the person’s education should continue during his entire life. I have also proposed a slogan that the education, intellectual level of each of us should be at least a little higher every next day than the previous day”, Pashinyan said.

He added that by saying education he doesn’t mean only acquiring academic knowledge because everything is education. “Speaking is education, the way of talking, communication needs educational development. This relates to all, starting from craftsmen up to an artist, state official and so on”, the PM added.

 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




The most effective firefighter in U.S. Smokey Bear to visit Armenia

Arsine Chaltikian

The most effective firefighter in U.S. Smokey Bear to visit Armenia

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 10:36,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Smokey Bear, the face of the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history, travels to Armenia next week as part of his first-ever trip abroad, continuing his legacy of bringing awareness to unwanted, human-caused fires, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia told Armenpress.

The Smokey Bear wildfire prevention campaign has had a dramatic impact in the United States since its introduction in 1944. Smokey Bear’s iconic image—dressed in a ranger's hat, belted blue jeans, and carrying a shovel—and his one clear message, “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires,” have stood the test of time for over seven decades.

Throughout his illustrious career, Smokey Bear has appeared with thousands and thousands of children, leaving them with a powerful understanding of what they can do to prevent wildfires. He has met with presidents and movie stars, including John F. Kennedy and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to amplify his message. Thanks to Smokey Bear, several generations of Americans know that the vast majority of destructive wildfires are started by careless behavior like not properly putting out a campfire or adults tossing cigarettes out of a car window. Smokey Bear’s famous catchphrase is recognized by 96 percent of U.S. adults. 75 percent of young adult outdoor recreationists who are familiar with Smokey Bear see him as a role model for children.

During his time in Armenia, Smokey Bear, U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, and representatives of the U.S. Forest Service will meet with children and government officials and travel to notable forested areas in and around Yerevan to share with the public their lessons on how they can show their love for the outdoors and protect Armenia’s forests and wildlife. See if you can spot Smokey Bear around town and join him in celebrating his 75th birthday!

To learn more about Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention, visit www.smokeybear.com and follow Smokey Bear on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the hashtags #SmokeyBear75 and #OnlyYou.

***
The U.S. Forest Service is the agency responsible for overseeing the use of Smokey Bear in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands for the American public. Its mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

The U.S. Forest Service has been engaged in Armenia since 2010 and implements programs that build on each other from year to year. Working in partnership with civil society and government, the U.S. Forest Service works on a range of natural resource management issues in Armenia, including on wildfire management and reforestation and forest restoration.




Asbarez: Veteran ARF Leader Hagop Manjikian Passes Away

Rose Khoyetsian
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12 hours ago

Hagop Manjikian

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western United States Central Committee is saddened to announce the passing of veteran ARF leader and activist, Hagop Manjikian, who passed away on October 18. Unger Manjikian played a crucial part in the advancement of the ARF in the Western Region and served on the Central Committee. He was the founding chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Western U.S. Unger Manjikian was also the chairman of the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument in Montebello and was instrumental in shepherding its establishment. Unger Manjikian had a definitive role in chronicling the history of the ARF. He and his wife, Knar Avedian Manjikian, meticulously researched and published the three-volume ARF Album Atlas dedicated to the ARF 100th anniversary.

ARF Western U.S. Central Committee




[Press] From U․S. Embassy

Hovsep Chakrian 
NEWS  RELEASE
21 հոկտեմբերի, 2019թ.
Միացյալ Նահանգներում անտառային հրդեհների դեմ պայքարող  Սմոքի արջը կայցելի 
Հայաստան

ԵՐԵՎԱՆ, ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ – Իր առաջին միջազգային ուղևորության շրջանակում այս շաբաթ 
Հայաստան կժամանի Միացյալ Նահանգների պատմության մեջ ամենաերկարատև հեռարձակվող 
սոցիալական գովազդի կերպարը՝ Սմոքի արջը`  շարունակելու անցանկալի, տեխնածին 
հրդեհների մասին իրազեկման իր առաքելությունը:   Սկսած 1944 թվականից՝ Սմոքի արջը 
մեկնարկել է անտառային հրդեհների կանխարգելման արշավ, ինչը զգալի ազդեցություն է 
ունեցել ԱՄՆ-ում: Ինչպես Սմոքի արջի քաջածանոթ կերպարը (գլխին՝ ռենջերի գլխարկ, 
հագին՝ գոտիով կապույտ ջինս, ձեռքին՝ բահ),  այնպես էլ նրա միակ հստակ ուղերձը 
(«Միայն դու կարող ես կանխել անտառային հրդեհները») հաղթահարել են յոթ տասնամյակից 
ավելի ժամանակի փորձություն:

Իր աշխատանքային փայլուն գործունեության ընթացքում Սմոքի արջը հանդիպել է 
բազմահազար մանուկների և նրանց փոխանցել հրդեհների կանխման վերաբերյալ հիմնավոր 
գիտելիքներ :  Նա հանդիպումներ է ունեցել նաև նախագահների և կինոաստղերի, այդ 
թվում՝ Ջոն Ֆ. Քենեդու և Առնոլդ Շվարցենեգերի հետ՝  էլ ավելի ազդեցիկ դարձնելով իր 
ուղերձը: Սմոքի արջի շնորհիվ  ամերիկացիների մի քանի սերունդ լավատեղյակ է 
կործանարար հրդեհների ճնշող մեծամասնության առաջացման պատճառին, որն է անզգույշ 
վարքագիծը, ինչպես օրինակ` ճամբարային խարույկի պատշաճ կերպով չմարելը կամ 
մեծահասակների կողմից այրվող ծխախոտի մնացորդը ավտոմեքենայի պատուհանից դուրս 
նետելը: Սմոքի արջի հայտնի կարգախոսն անգիր գիտի ԱՄՆ-ի մեծահասակ բնակչության 96 
տոկոսը: Բացօթյա հանգստի սիրահարների 75 տոկոսը, ճանաչելով Սմոքի արջին, կարծում 
է, որ նա ընդօրինակելի կերպար է երեխաների համար:

Գտնվելով Հայաստանում՝ Սմոքի արջը, ԱՄՆ դեսպան Լին Թրեյսիի և ԱՄՆ Անտառային 
ծառայության ներկայացուցիչների ուղեկցությամբ, հանդիպումներ կունենա ինչպես 
երեխաների, այնպես էլ պետական պաշտոնյաների հետ, կայցելի Երևանում և դրա 
մերձակայքում գտնվող անտառապատ տարածքներ՝ հանրությանը ուսուցանելու, թե ինչպես 
պետք է սիրել բնությունը և պաշտպանել Հայաստանի անտառապատ   տարածքներն ու վայրի 
բնությունը: Տեսնենք՝ արդյո՞ք կհաջողվի ձեզ հանդիպել Սմոքի արջին քաղաքի 
փողոցներում և նրա հետ տոնել իր ծննդյան 75-ամյակը:

Սմոքի արջի և անտառային հրդեհների կանխարգելման մասին ավելին իմանալու համար 
այցելե՛ք  
www.smokeybear.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.smokeybear.com_&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=TtJsB0GHl4BWP74Gd2dY3umk-KBZ3rHJAsOj5QBl17Q&s=fRo1grrlC6kcbKeq46XD90YeWu2W-3m874u9_aIEDjM&e=

կայք և հետևե՛ք Սմոքի արջին ֆեսբուքում, ինստագրամում և թվիթերում 

#SmokeyBear75 և #OnlyYou  հեշթեգերով։

###

Սմոքի արջի վերահսկման պատասխանատու գերատեսչությունն է ԱՄՆ Անտառային 
ծառայությունը` Պետական  անտառապահների ազգային ասոցիացիայի և Գովազդային խորհրդի 
հետ համագործակցությամբ: Անտառային ծառայությունը սպասարկում է 193 միլիոն ակր 
ազգային անտառածածկ և խոտածածկ տարածքներ՝ հանուն ամերիկյան հանրության: Նրա 
առաքելությունն է պահպանել անտառածածկ և խոտածածկ տարածքների անխաթարությունը, 
բազմազանությունն ու արտադրողականությունը ներկա և ապագա սերունդների կարիքները 
բավարարելու նպատակով:

ԱՄՆ Անտառային ծառայությունը Հայաստանում իր գործունեությունն է ծավալում 2010 
թվականից՝ տարեցտարի իրականացնելով շարունակական ծրագրեր: ԱՄՆ-ի Անտառային 
ծառայությունը, համագործակցելով քաղաքացիական հասարակության և կառավարության հետ, 
աշխատանքներ է կատարում  Հայաստանում բնական ռեսուրսների կառավարման մի շարք 
հիմնահարցերի լուծման ուղղությամբ  այդ թվում` անտառային հրդեհների կառավարման և 
անտառապատման ու անտառների վերականգնման ոլորտներում:



NEWS  RELEASE



The most effective firefighter in the U.S. Smokey Bear will visit Armenia
YEREVAN, ARMENIA – Smokey Bear, the face of the longest-running public service 
announcement campaign in United States history, travels to Armenia next week as 
part of his first-ever trip abroad, continuing his legacy of bringing awareness 
to unwanted, human-caused fires.  The Smokey Bear wildfire prevention campaign 
has had a dramatic impact in the United States since its introduction in 1944.  
Smokey Bear’s iconic image—dressed in a ranger's hat, belted blue jeans, and 
carrying a shovel—and his one clear message, “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires,” 
have stood the test of time for over seven decades.

Throughout his illustrious career, Smokey Bear has appeared with thousands and 
thousands of children, leaving them with a powerful understanding of what they 
can do to prevent wildfires.  He has met with presidents and movie stars, 
including John F. Kennedy and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to amplify his message.  
Thanks to Smokey Bear, several generations of Americans know that the vast 
majority of destructive wildfires are started by careless behavior like not 
properly putting out a campfire or adults tossing cigarettes out of a car 
window.  Smokey Bear’s famous catchphrase is recognized by 96 percent of U.S. 
adults. 75 percent of young adult outdoor recreationists who are familiar with 
Smokey Bear see him as a role model for children.



During his time in Armenia, Smokey Bear, U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, and 
representatives of the U.S. Forest Service will meet with children and 
government officials and travel to notable forested areas in and around Yerevan 
to share with the public their lessons on how they can show their love for the 
outdoors and protect Armenia’s forests and wildlife.  See if you can spot 
Smokey Bear around town and join him in celebrating his 75th birthday!



To learn more about Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention, visit 
www.smokeybear.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.smokeybear.com&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=TtJsB0GHl4BWP74Gd2dY3umk-KBZ3rHJAsOj5QBl17Q&s=RqxjYA8eY7YMZvOOrE6M1qOHfnzRxBdriKyjjbb-WY0&e=

and follow Smokey Bear on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the hashtags 

#SmokeyBear75 and #OnlyYou.



###



The U.S. Forest Service is the agency responsible for overseeing the use of 
Smokey Bear in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and 
the Ad Council.  The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of national 
forests and grasslands for the American public. Its mission is to sustain the 
health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to 
meet the needs of present and future generations.



The U.S. Forest Service has been engaged in Armenia since 2010 and implements 
programs that build on each other from year to year.  Working in partnership 
with civil society and government, the U.S. Forest Service works on a range of 
natural resource management issues in Armenia, including on wildfire management 
and reforestation and forest restoration.





UNCLASSIFIED


Press Release - DV edited.doc
Press Release – DV edited.doc


Smokey 2.jpg
Smokey 2.jpg


Smokey phot by US Forest Service.jpg
Smokey phot by US Forest Service.jpg

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