Category: 2019

Romania, Honduras recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Arpi Talalian

Romania, Honduras recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

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09:53,

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Romania and Honduras on March 24 declared recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez delivered their announcements Sunday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference in Washington.

Both countries intend to move their embassies to Jerusalem.

However, according to media reports the Romanian president has said the prime minister has not consulted the move with him.

Earlier in 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump had recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




NATO Secretary General meets with Georgian PM in Tbilisi

Emil Lazarian

NATO Secretary General meets with Georgian PM in Tbilisi

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10:13,

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze in Tbilisi on March 24 during which they discussed the Georgian integration to the alliance and the issues on deepening the cooperation, the Georgian Public TV reported.

“During the meeting Georgia’s integration process to the NATO and the EU, as well as the process of ongoing reforms in Georgia were discussed”, the TV said.

The NATO Secretary General arrived in Tbilisi on March 24. The Secretary General will visit the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) together with the Minister of Defense Levan Izoria where he will receive a briefing on the NATO-Georgia Exercise.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Asarez: Gladys Berejiklian Becomes First Elected Female Premier of Australia’s New South Wales

Jane Topchian
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Gladys Berejiklian with her family and supporters after accepting victory in Saturday’s election

SYDNEY—The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) congratulated Armenian-Australian Gladys Berejiklian on becoming the first elected female Premier of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales. While it is yet unclear whether she will win with a majority or minority government, the Leader of the Opposition Michael Daley has conceded defeat, and Berejiklian has accepted victory.

A gracious Berejiklian thanked many in her speech, reserving special praise for the people of New South Wales: “No matter your background or where you live, you can be the Premier of New South Wales – a state where someone with a long surname and a woman can be the Premier.”

In January 2017, Berejiklian asceneded to the position of Premier of tNew South Wales  following the resignation of her predecessor Mike Baird.

Berejiklian’s victory has ensured she also makes history as the first leader of the Liberal (LIB) and National (NAT) Coalition to lead her political party to a third consecutive term in office.

“This is a historic day for Armenian-Australians and for the global Armenian community, as Ms Berejiklian continues to be the most powerful Armenian woman in world politics; this time being elected in her own right to lead the executive branch of a government that runs a state of 7 million people – the largest state of a G20 nation,” said ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.

“The Armenian community of New South Wales is filled with joy, as support for Ms Berejiklian extends beyond party politics – the opportunity for an Armenian-Australian, for ‘Our Gladys’ to be elected was too big not to get completely behind,” Kayserian added.

ANC-AU has also congratulated the close friends of the Armenian-Australian community, who were re-elected to their seats in the NSW Parliament, including Berejiklian (who has also retained her seat from Willoughby.

“We congratulate all our friends and victors during the NSW State Election, which includes a series of Members in the Legislative Council that will become clearer in coming days,” Kayserian said. “We also extend our condolences to all losing candidates, many of whom we met and won support from on key issues to our community, including but not limited to justice for the Armenian Genocide and the rights to self-determination of the Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh.”

“We also wish to thank all our community volunteers, who helped the Armenian National Committee of Australia understand community needs and numbers during this NSW State Election campaign,” added Kayserian.

Sports: BiH wins Armenia 2-1 in UEFA European Championship 2020 Qualifiers

Jirair Kafian
Sarajevo Times


9:00 AM

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH’s) national football team won Armenia 2-1 here on Saturday evening for UEFA European Championship 2020 Qualifiers.

At full Grbavica Stadium in BiH capital Sarajevo, both teams played evenly in the first thirty minutes of the match, after which Rade Krunic from the host team scores in 33rdminute.

Five minutes to the end of the half, host team continued to control the match, after which Eldar Civic from the host team gets yellow card for fouling Henrikh Mkhitaryan from visiting team.

The second half saw visiting team attempting three times to score a goal, but all three times goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic from the host team blocks. In 65thminute, Goran Zakaric from the host team exits and Deni Milosevic enters. In 78thminute, the host team attempts three times to score a goal in only ten seconds, but misses all three times.

Two minutes later, Deni Milosevic scores for the host team.

In the 93rdminute, after ball hit Deni Milosevic’s hand from the host team, Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the visiting team scores after getting penalty.

BiH national football team is on the third place with three points, while Italy and Greece are on the first and second place, respectively.

‘Great sense of pride’: Armenian community celebrates Gladys Berejiklian’s election win

Eduard Nalbandian
SBS, Australia
‘Great sense of pride’: Armenian community celebrates Gladys Berejiklian’s election win

Australia’s Armenian community is celebrating Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s historic win in the NSW election on Saturday night.

Updated Updated 18 hours ago
By Peter Theodosiou

The daughter of Armenian migrants became the first woman to be popularly elected premier of NSW and she’ll lead the coalition into a third straight term.

Haig Kayserian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, said the community was celebrating the win with a “great sense of pride”.

“We’re very excited about the win, Gladys is someone who was born into the community. She was a member of many organisations,” he told SBS News.

Gladys Berejiklian, bottom right, grew up only speaking Armenian at home.

“The Armenian community of New South Wales is filled with joy, as support for Ms Berejiklian extends beyond party politics – the opportunity for an Armenian-Australian, for ‘Our Gladys’ to be elected was too big not to get completely behind.

“It’s a sense of pride to have an Armenian in such a position of power in what is a G20 nation.”

Ms Berejiklian told SBS News in 2018 that she grew up speaking only Armenian at home and began learning English when she started school at the age of five.

“I can’t remember how I learned it, but it obviously didn’t cause me any stress. I seem to have picked it up quite quickly,” she said.

Her father worked on the Sydney Opera House and Ms Berejiklian attended public school in Sydney’s North Ryde.

Mr Kayserian said she was a “very active” member of the community throughout her teens and early adulthood.

“During that time we didn’t have a day school in that community she attended the local Saturday school in Willoughby and that’s where she continued to learn the language, the culture, the history and the rest of it,” he said. 

“She was part of what we call the Homenetmen Scouting and Cultural Association where she was a scout, played basketball, a member of the Armenian youth federation, then she graduated to the Armenian national committee.”

Ms Berejiklian was congratulated by all sides of politics.

She followed in the footsteps of Queensland’s Annastacia Palaszczuk who became the first woman to be popularly elected as premier at the 2017 Queensland election.

At a time when women in politics has been in focus, former prime minister Julia Gillard led the congratulations, despite coming from the Labor side of the political divide.

“In a world of far too few women leaders, I congratulate @GladysB on being the first woman to win a NSW state election,” Ms Gillard, the first woman to be an Australian prime minister, tweeted.

-With AAP

Sports: Mkhitaryan on Armenia’s defeat: We did not have enough experience

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Mkhitaryan on Armenia’s defeat: We did not have enough experience

By Samvel Sukiasyan

Armenia and Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan commented on the defeat from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first match of EURO 2020 qualifying round.

“We were close to scoring a goal when it was 1-0, but we did not succeed. We also had hopes after a penalty kick, but we had little time,” Mkhitaryan said after the match. “We did not have enough experience. In the first half, we defended more, and the second half began much better. We had more space and chances. I hope we will achieve a positive result in the game against Finland”.

Armenia will face Finland in Yerevan on March 26.

Event is covered with assistance of Ucom

Watch video at

NSW: Berejiklian claims victory in NSW election

Arbi Tashjian
AAP Newsfeed, Australia
Saturday 10:59 PM AEST
NSW: Berejiklian claims victory in NSW election
 
SYDNEY March 23
 
  Gladys Berejiklian has thanked the people of NSW for re-electing her government – and for voting for a woman with a long surname to be premier.
   While several seats still hang in the balance, Ms Berejiklian said the Liberal Party would concede no seats lost on Saturday evening.
 
   “First and foremost, I want to thank the people of this great state for having confidence in me and my government,” she said after claiming victory in Saturday’s election.
   “My team and I will continue to work our guts out to make sure this state and its people continue to ensure that wehave the best opportunities on this planet.”
   She said her priorities would be to continue to provide a strong budget for the projects, infrastructure and services for the state.
   “We will continue to govern for all of us, for all of you,” Ms Berejiklian said.
   Ms Berejiklian, whose family migrated to Australia from Armenia, said she was most proud that “no matter what your background … everyone has the chance to be their best”.
   “I am most proud of the state of NSW, I’m incredibly proud of the wonderful place in which we live,” she said.
   “A state in which someone with a long surname – and a woman – can be the premier of NSW.”
   Thousands of Liberal supporters – many chanting “four more years” – and Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former PM John Howard were on hand for the victory celebrations.
   The coalition was returned for a third term on Saturday, but it’s still to be determined whether it will be able to govern in its own right or will depend on the three expected independents.
   Ms Berejiklian said she would work with the three independents – Wagga Wagga’s Joe McGirr, Sydney’s Alex Greenwich and Port Macquarie’s Greg Piper – regardless of the result.
   “Whether or not my government is a majority government or a minority government, we will work closely with the three independents that are elected to the NSW parliament,” she said.
   “And that is so important for stability and strength here in NSW.”
   Before Ms Berejiklian’s hero’s entrance, Mr Morrison told the crowd her Liberal government was “a great advertisement for the Liberal Party” and promised to celebrate another win in two months time after the federal election.
   “Well fellow Liberals, how good is Gladys Berejiklian?” he asked the crowd to loud cheers.
   Ms Berejiklian thanked her family, staff, volunteers and party workers for their efforts to return the government.
   Her mother and father, Krikor and Arsha, and sisters Rita and Mary, were among those celebrating below the stage.
   She also praised Nationals leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet for their efforts.

Let us forget the ‘Lavrov plan’

Torgomian Varazdat
Aravot, Armenia
March 22 2019
Let us forget the ‘Lavrov plan’
Commentary by Aram Abrahamyan
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Russian edition of Aravot]

Of course, there are political forces and politicians in Armenia, who, in one way or another, link their aspirations to Russia’s support. Many of them closely cooperate with the political circles in that country, receiving and sending “messages”. “Handing over [Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-]Karabakh under Russian mandate” is precisely one of such messages. In my opinion, the proposal is unacceptable, because if you voluntarily cede some part of your sovereignty, the one, who receives that part, feels freer in imposing specific decisions on you. It seems to me that on the contrary, it is necessary to reinforce the sovereignty of the people of Artsakh [Karabakh]. In this regard, the efforts of Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] to have representatives of this country involved in the negotiations are essentially correct.

And on the contrary, it seems to me that the attempts to “bring a victory of the Armenian people from Mr Putin” are senseless. Before April 2018, [when a velvet revolution brought Nikol Pashinyan to power], this was a functional mechanism, but now that Armenian citizens elected themselves their own government (given all of their shortcomings) without pressure from anyone and without foreign interference it is senseless to search abroad for levers of influencing our reality.

Russia is unable to replace the governments in Armenia or Artsakh, but it can put pressure on Armenia by implementing the plan for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem it finds preferable (the so-called “Lavrov plan”, which, for its part, is a deteriorated version of the Madrid principles). This is the case, where all of us, having forgotten all disagreements, must resist this and help our government, enabling them to resist this too.

I do not know, whether there are any Armenians in the world, who would agree with this plan, which envisages ceding territories in exchange for the unclear promise of holding a referendum. However, even if such people do exist, they are badly mistaken, because this is a direct path to a full-scale war. The implementation of this “plan” will simply enable Azerbaijan to attack us from more advantageous positions.

I am sure that rejecting such a plan for settlement, it is possible to achieve the unity of not only Armenian citizens, but all Armenians and show it to the world. We are not arguing about whether the genocide of Armenians did take place or not and I think that precisely in the same manner, we can refuse to even discuss whether the “Lavrov plan” is acceptable to us or not. The sides and mediators should think about more realistic ideas.

Diplomat: Iran-Armenia Ties Strong, Friendly

Arsine Chaltikian
Fars News, Iran
 
 
Diplomat: Iran-Armenia Ties Strong, Friendly
 
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Kazzem Sajjadi lauded the good status of Tehran-Yerevan relations, describing the bilateral ties between the two neighboring counties as strong and friendly.
 
Sajjadi on Saturday praised the high-level relations between Iran and Armenia, adding that the two neighboring counties have always sided with each other in difficult times, Sajjadi said.
 
He made the remarks in a ceremony held to celebrate the Nowruz ceremony in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan.
 
The envoy referred to the recent Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Iran and described Iran and Armenia relations as friendly.
 
Commenting about the peaceful nature of Nowruz celebration, he said that the Iranian nation has always been peace-seeking and an advocate of regional and international peace.
 
Iran and Armenia have taken major strides in widening and deepening their relations in recent years, particularly in the economic sphere.
 
Late in February, Armenian Prime Minister Pashanyan visited Iran and in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani expressed the hope that his visit to Tehran would be a milestone in relations between the two countries, specially in economic fields.
 
Pashanyan welcomed development of economic relations with Iran, expressing the hope that his visit to Tehran would open a new chapter in the two countries’ relations.
 
 Pashanian also met with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei where Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that Tehran and Yerevan should endeavor to further broaden their relations and cooperation irrespective of Washington’s pressures.

A1+: Levon Zakaryan: We will have to rename a children’s park into a park that has been seized by adults (video)

Ophelia Vardapetian
  • 13:30 | March 22,2019 | Social
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

There are no carousels in Kirov’s children’s park, and instead of them there are unfinished buildings. And the construction has been stopped because the residents have appealed to the court.
Today, Levon Zakaryan, a member of the “My Step” council, addressed the mayor and chief architect Arthur Meschian at an extraordinary session of the council.

According to the council member, if this continues, the park will need to be renamed. “We will have to rename a children’s park into a park that has been seized by adults.”