Category: 2022

Armenpress: Austria interested that people of Nagorno Karabakh live in favorable conditions. President of Federal Council of Austria

Emil Lazarian

Austria interested that people of Nagorno Karabakh live in favorable conditions. President of Federal Council of Austria

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 20:40,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by the President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan, who is in Austria on an official visit, was received by the President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria Christine Schwarz-Fuchs.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the National Assembly of Armenia, in a conversation with his colleague, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia noted that in recent years a positive dynamic of the development of bilateral relations has been observed in the political platform between Armenia and Austria: active reciprocal visits, meetings at the level of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers have taken place.

He added that it is necessary to establish cooperation between the Armenian parliament and the upper house of the Austrian parliament, as parliamentary diplomacy plays a significant role in the Armenian-Austrian bilateral agenda at both the federal and decentralized levels.

Alen Simonyan reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment, together with its European partners, to expand and deepen the process of institutional reform aimed at further strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In this sense, according to Alen Simonyan, the entry into force of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement is a turning point, which will open new perspectives for the deepening of Armenia-EU cooperation.

Issues related to Armenia-EU visa liberalization, opening of the Austrian Embassy in Armenia, opening of Austrian visa services in Yerevan were discussed during the conversation.

Touching upon the 44-day war and the numerous problems that arose as a result, Alen Simonyan once again welcomed Austria’s efforts aimed at strengthening peace and stability in the region, creating an atmosphere of mutual trust, and developing regional cooperation.

The parties also touched upon the importance of the centuries-old Armenian community in Austria, which is a reliable bridge between the two countries. Christine Schwarz-Fuchs proudly emphasized Armenians’ great contribution to their country’s cultural, economic and political life.

At the end of the meeting the President of the Federal Council of Austria highlighted the visit of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, noting that it will provide new opportunities for the expansion of inter-parliamentary cooperation between Armenia and Austria. “We are interested that people of Nagorno Karabakh live in favorable conditions. In this sense, you can consider Austria as a reliable partner”, President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria Christine Schwarz-Fuchs said.

Asbarez: Kristina A. Kvien Nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Kristina A. Kvien


President Joe Biden nominated Kristina A. Kvien for the position of United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Armenia, the White House reported in a release on Thursday.

Kvien arrived at the U.S. Embassy Kyiv in May 2019.  From 2016 to April 2019, she served as Acting DCM/Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy Paris.    

Previously, Kvien served as Acting DCM and Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand; Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy London; and Director for European Union, Ukraine, and Belarus Affairs at the National Security Council in the Executive Office of the President.  Kristina has also served at U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia; the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium; and the U.S. Embassy Manila, Philippines.  At the Department of State in Washington, DC, Kristina worked on European Union issues and on bilateral relations with Slovenia.

On a related diplomatic matter. the U.S. Ambassadors to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan Lynne Tracy, Kelly Degnan and Lee Litzenberger discussed U.S. policies and programs in the three states, the message distributed on the page of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia on Facebook reads.

At the U.S. Ambassadors Conference in Washington, the three ambassadors exchanged views around U.S. policies, programs in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and their coordination.

They underscored the U.S.’s commitment to strengthening engagement, supporting independence and promoting a safer, more stable and prosperous future for the people of the region.

Asbarez: Resistance Movement Representatives Visit Artsakh

Adrine Hakobian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

Members of Armenia’s Resistance movement visit Artsakh


A delegation from Armenia’s opposition Resistance Movement has been in Artsakh since Tuesday meeting with representatives of parliamentary political factions, government agencies, civic groups, as well as the country’s former presidents.

While in Artsakh, the delegation visited the Askeran, Martakert, and Martuni regions of Artsakh and met with local residents and local government leaders.

In addition, a meeting was held at Stepanakert Municipality with the administrative leadership, staff, as well as directors of educational and cultural institutions of the Artsakh capital.

During the meetings, Resistance Movement coordinator Ishkhan Saghatelyan—the National Assembly deputy speaker from the opposition “Armenia” Faction and a representative of the Supreme Body of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation—presented the path, challenges, and upcoming activities of this movement.

It was emphasized that Artsakh plays a key role in the effort to make the Resistance Movement a more pan-Armenian and comprehensive effort.

Agreements were reached that despite the lack of reasonable and proper cooperation between Armenia’s authorities and Artsakh, joint programs and reciprocal visits should be implemented.

It was reaffirmed that the statement unanimously adopted by the Artsakh National Assembly on April 14—which sets out the key principles and red lines with respect to the future of Artsakh—remains a benchmark for the Artsakh authorities and people.

AW: Armenian Professional Network of Rhode Island hosts networking event

Ani Tigranian
 Guest Contributor Community News 0

Armenian Professional Network of Rhode Island hosts networking event

PROVIDENCE, RI—The Armenian Professional Network of Rhode Island, sponsored by the Armenian Cultural Association of Rhode Island, held a successful meet and greet networking event on Tuesday, June 21. This was the third networking event for the group, which took place at The Patio on Main in East Greenwich, RI, an Armenian-owned restaurant.

More than 50 Armenians from around the state, mostly young professionals, attended the networking event to learn about real estate. Attendees enthusiastically engaged in conversations revolving around career opportunities and enjoyed a friendly and social atmosphere while also expanding their professional network to connect with other Armenian professionals.

Lisa Ardente Manoushag Violet Krikorian

Guest speakers were industry specialists Lisa Ardente and Manoushag Violet Krikorian. Ardente highlighted the key points to focus on when purchasing a home, while Krikorian expanded on the mortgage lending process of the real estate industry. Both speakers are valued experts in the domain of real estate with careers spanning many decades. They both expressed their concerns about the current housing market and interest rates. They also shared their valuable knowledge and wisdom with an eager crowd who had many questions for our panelists.

Similar to the previous two events, this event was well-received by the participants. It achieved its purpose of providing valuable information to our community while also creating networking opportunities for many professionals.

The Armenian Professional Network of RI looks forward to hosting its next networking opportunity in Q3 and invites all area Armenians to join this engaging event.




AUA to co-host 5th Armenian Genealogy Conference in September

George Mamian
 American University of Armenia Announcements 2

YEREVAN — The fifth Armenian Genealogy Conference will be held in Armenia this fall.

Since 2016, four conferences devoted to Armenian genealogy have been held in the United States. As was the case with so many events worldwide, the global pandemic required postponement of the conference for over two years. This year, for the first time ever, the Armenian Genealogy Conference will be hosting its annual assembly in Armenia. The conference is cosponsored by the Hamazkayin Cultural Association and the American University of Armenia (AUA) during the weekend of September 23 to 25.

Building on the foundation set by previous conferences, the program will consist of sessions devoted to the genealogy of Armenians from different regions. The resources available to Armenians tend to be very geographic specific, and thus, experts are generally regionally focused. The sessions will be informative as well as pragmatic, providing practical tools for all genealogists, regardless of their level of experience. The working languages of the conference will be Armenian, English and Russian. Simultaneous interpretation will be available.

“AUA is incredibly excited to co-host and organize the fifth Armenian Genealogy Conference, especially as the University is launching an undergraduate course on genetics in the fall of 2022,” said Dr. Sharistan Melkonian, AUA’s dean of General Education. “We look forward to welcoming participants to explore their family histories as well as the extensive research available in tracing lineages.”

Conference presenters include Dr. Haroutune Armenian, Dr. Sonya Mirzoyan, Dr. Rafael Abrahamyan, Dr. Hayk Hakobyan and George Aghjayan. 

Dr. Armenian has had a long and distinguished career in academia, including over 10 years as president of AUA (1997-2009). He will speak about the Armenian parish microfilm collection of the Latter-day Saints Family History Library. Dr. Armenian was one of the first to research this underutilized material in the study of infant mortality, widowhood and other patterns of mortality.

Dr. Abrahamyan is chairman of the Armenian Historical and Genealogical Society and one of the primary initiators of the first journal devoted to Armenian genealogy (whose first volume was published this year). His published articles touch on both medieval and modern Armenian genealogy. He will present on the genealogy of Artsakh: sources, methodology and the history of its study.

Dr. Hakobyan is a senior researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Yerevan specializing in epigraphy, theology, Caucasian studies and codicology. While genealogical research during medieval times is thought to predominantly focus on aristocracy, Dr. Hakobyan notes that the phenomena of remembering family trees and ancestors were typical of medieval Armenians. His presentation will aim to rediscover the role of lithographs and memoirs in the field of Armenian genealogical studies.

Dr. Mirzoyan has been working in the Armenian National Archives for over 30 years, over 10 of which she spent as director. The Armenian National Archive is largely an untapped, yet indispensable, resource for genealogists. Her presentation will cover the photographs, official documents and memoirs contained in the archives.

Aghjayan is the founder of the Armenian Genealogy Conference and has been involved in the planning of each of the previous conferences. He writes frequently for The Armenian Weekly and Houshamadyan on various aspects of Armenian genealogy and the demographics of Western Armenia. Aghjayan will present on Ottoman population registers and their usage and value in Armenian genealogical research.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Registration for the fifth Armenian Genealogy Conference is open and available to the public on the conference website. 




AW: President Biden waives Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
 ANCA ANCA News 1

WASHINGTON, DC – Despite ongoing Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, President Joe Biden has, yet again, waived Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan, clearing the way for continued US assistance to the corrupt, anti-Armenian Aliyev regime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“President Biden’s decision to green-light military aid to Azerbaijan by waiving Section 907, again, emboldens President Aliyev to continue his illegal imprisonment of Armenian POWs, deadly attacks against Artsakh, and ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territory,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “The ANCA will continue to work with US Senate and House leaders to zero-out US military aid to Azerbaijan and restrict presidential waiver authority of Section 907.”

The ANCA has been running an online campaign urging President Biden and Congress to maintain section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan.

During his run for office, on October 14th, 2020, then-candidate Biden stated that the United States must “fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijian.” As President, he first reversed his position on the issue on April 23, 2021 – on the eve of his historic announcement properly recognizing the Armenian Genocide. “American recognition of the Armenian Genocide comes with responsibilities, among them, not arming or abetting Azerbaijan’s drive to complete this crime,” commented Hamparian at the time. “Any action by President Biden that green-lights US aid to the Aliyev regime runs counter to his clear stand and, more profoundly, the spirit of his recent recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”

Section 907, enacted in 1992, establishes statutory restrictions on US assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan “until the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.” Congress included a Section 907 waiver in the FY2002 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. US presidents – Republican and Democrat – have waived Section 907 annually ever since.

The Section 907 waiver and subsequent extensions require a number of certifications, including that granting the waiver “will not undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan or be used for offensive purposes against Armenia.”

A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, issued earlier this year, revealed that the State Department consistently failed to inform Congress of the impact of over $164 million in assistance to Baku on the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“In fiscal years 2014 through 2021, State’s reporting to Congress did not address some required elements, such as the impact of proposed assistance on the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” asserts the GAO report. “State’s 2021 guidance to agencies did not provide detailed instructions about the information required for its reporting to Congress. Unless State takes steps to ensure its reporting addresses all required elements, Congress may lack important information about US assistance to the government of Azerbaijan.”

The GAO report went further, to explain that State and DOD, from fiscal year 2014 to 2020, “did not document how they determined that their programs would not be used for offensive purposes against Armenia.” While program-level considerations of the waiver provision are not statutorily required, documenting such considerations would help ensure State’s access to quality information to support its certification of the waiver extension and its related reporting to Congress, explains the report.

According to the GAO, the US has provided about $808 million in overall US aid to Azerbaijan in fiscal years 2002 through 2020.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


RFE/RL Armenian Report – 06/23/2022

Emil Lazarian 
                                        Thursday, 
President Defends Pashinian Against Opposition Criticism
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Vahagn Khachatrian prepares to address the National Assembly before 
being elected by it as president of Armenia, Yerevan, March 2, 2022.
President Vahagn Khachaturian has defended Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
domestic policies and conciliatory line on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 
strongly criticized by the Armenian opposition.
In an interview with Armenian Public Television aired late on Wednesday, 
Khachaturian insisted that Pashinian’s government is right to avoid publicly 
stating that Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be placed back under Azerbaijani rule.
“If you say that, you will lose room for maneuver,” he said. “We must be able to 
tell policy and diplomacy from populism and public discourse.”
“The people who are in charge of the negotiating process and our country must 
not be stripped of that possibility. The prime minister had the courage to 
openly talk about that. What’s wrong with it?” added the largely ceremonial head 
of state who was elected by Armenia’s parliament in February.
Addressing the parliament controlled by his party on April 13, Pashinian said 
the international community is pressing Yerevan to “lower the bar” on the status 
of Karabakh acceptable to the Armenian side. He signaled his readiness to make 
such concessions to Azerbaijan.
The country’s leading opposition groups condemned the speech as further proof of 
Pashinian’s readiness to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over the disputed 
territory. They launched on May 1 daily protests in Yerevan aimed at forcing the 
prime minister to resign.
Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate in Yerevan, May 4, 2022.
During the six-week protests, the opposition tried unsuccessfully to push 
through the parliament a resolution rejecting any peace deal with Baku that 
would restore Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.
Khachaturian deplored the opposition leaders’ tough anti-government statements 
made during the protests. He also denied the existence of political prisoners in 
Armenia and other authoritarian practices alleged by Pashinian’s detractors.
“If there was dictatorship nobody would demonstrate in the streets,” reasoned 
the president.
Lilit Galstian, a parliament deputy from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, 
hit back at Khachaturian on Thursday. Galstian said he proved that he is a 
partisan figure who ignores constitutional provisions requiring the president of 
the republic not to side with any political faction.
“He probably suffers from political blindness,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service.
Khachaturian, 62, is an economist who had served as mayor of Yerevan from 
1992-1996 during former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s rule. He was a staunch 
political ally of Ter-Petrosian until agreeing to join Pashinian’s government 
last August.
Galstian charged that just like Pashinian, Khachaturian is not committed to 
defending the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
Pashinian and other Armenian officials say that a peace deal with Baku must 
address the issue of Karabakh’s future status. But they have not publicly 
clarified what they believe that status should be.
Head Of Armenian Judicial Watchdog Sacked After Accusing Government Of Blackmail
        • Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Ruben Vartazarian, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, holds a news 
conference in Yerevan, September 4, 2019.
The nominal head of a state body overseeing Armenia’s courts was formally 
relieved of his duties on Thursday three days after publicizing what he sees as 
evidence of illegal government pressure exerted on him.
Ruben Vartazarian was already suspended as chairman of the Supreme Judicial 
Council (SJC) in April 2021 immediately after being charged with obstruction of 
justice amid rising tensions with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Pashinian’s 
political allies accused him of encouraging courts to free arrested government 
critics.
Vartazarian denied the charges and said that he was indicted as part of 
government efforts to replace him with Gagik Jahangirian, a controversial former 
prosecutor widely seen as a figure loyal to Pashinian. Jahangirian was named as 
acting head of the SJC pending the outcome of the criminal investigation into 
Vartazarian, which is still going on.
The SJC launched disciplinary proceedings against Vartazarian last month 
following a newspaper interview in which he claimed that Jahangirian was 
appointed as a member of the judicial watchdog in breach of Armenian law.
In its decision read out by Jahangirian, the SJC said Vartazarian has been 
sacked as both chairman and member of the council as well as judge of a Yerevan 
court of first instance for a “significant disciplinary violation.” The decision 
was backed by eight of the nine other SJC members.
Armenia - Gagik Jahangirian chairs a session of the Supreme Judicial Council, 
Yerevan, July 26, 2021.
Jahangirian claimed that the decision was made on June 16 and is only being made 
public now. He thus seemed to deny any connection between it and a scandalous 
audio of his February 2021 meeting with Vartazarian which the latter secretly 
recorded and publicized on June 20.
The 14-minute recording suggests that Jahangirian warned Vartazarian to resign 
or face criminal charges. He also said he wants to help Pashinian prevent former 
President Robert Kocharian from returning to power.
The audio caused uproar in Armenia, with opposition and civil society figures 
describing it as clear evidence of political orders executed by Jahangirian and 
his illegal interference in the work of law-enforcement bodies. They said that 
he must be not only sacked but also prosecuted.
The country’s main opposition groups portray Vartazarian’s revelation as further 
proof that Pashinian’s administration has been trying to tighten control over 
the judiciary, rather than reform it.
The SJC discussed the scandal on Tuesday but did not move to take even 
disciplinary action against its acting head.
For their part, prosecutors ordered the Investigative Committee to look into the 
audio. The law-enforcement agency has still not opened a criminal case in 
connection with it.
Vartazarian’s lawyer, Hovannes Khudoyan, said on Thursday that his client has 
been summoned to the Investigative Committee for questioning.
Armenia’s Ruling Party Accused Of Curbing Local Democracy
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia - Riot police guard the entrance to the headquarters of the ruling Civil 
Contract party in Yerevan, June 20, 2022.
The ruling Civil Contract party has drafted legislation which critics say would 
allow the Armenian authorities to force opposition members of local councils to 
elect pro-government mayors of cities and other communities.
Until last year, the councils elected by local voters were required to appoint 
the mayors by secret ballot. The Armenian parliament controlled by Civil 
Contract scrapped this requirement and introduced an open ballot system ahead of 
local elections held in the vast majority of the country’s communities last fall.
The party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian suffered serious setbacks during 
those polls. It now wants to revert to the secret ballot. Lawmakers representing 
it have added a relevant provision to a package of fresh draft amendments to the 
Electoral Code unveiled this month.
Opposition parties have not yet commented on the proposed change. But some civic 
activists have expressed serious concern.
Daniel Ioannisian of the Yerevan-based Union of Informed Citizens claimed on 
Thursday that Pashinian’s political team is seeking a legal tool for effectively 
overturning unfavorable local election results through “political trading.” He 
said it tried unsuccessfully do this in the wake of last fall’s polls.
“The authorities tried to put pressure and convince or buy -- not necessarily 
with money, but by offering, for example, a job, as they tried to do in Meghri 
-- opposition members [of newly elected councils] so that they vote for Civil 
Contract,” Ioannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Many oppositionists did 
not vote for Civil Contract, and in all of those communities except Talin 
opposition mayors were elected in the end.”
Armenia - Daniel Ioannisian is interviewed by RFE/RL. June 20, 2021.
Ioannisian said the ruling party’s attempts were foiled by the open ballot 
system. “Now they want to make things secret again,” added the prominent 
activist.
One of the authors of the bill, Vahagn Hovakimian, denied that the authorities 
want to be able to co-opt opposition members of local councils. He claimed that 
the controversial amendment is aimed at facilitating power-sharing deals among 
election contenders.
The ruling party has reportedly begun preparations for the next municipal 
elections in Yerevan. The city’s current municipal council and mayor elected by 
it are due to complete their terms in office in September 2023. According to 
some media reports, Pashinian and his entourage may cut short their tenure and 
hold the elections this fall.
Ioannisian pointed out that Armenia’s former leadership exploited the secret 
ballot after being defeated in a local election held in the country’s third 
largest city of Vanadzor in 2016. Its mayoral candidate, Mamikon Aslanian, got 
elected at the time because some opposition members of the city council broke 
ranks and voted for him for still unknown reasons.
Ironically, Aslanian was arrested in December 2021 just days after an opposition 
bloc led by him essentially won the last Vanadzor election with about 39 percent 
of the vote. Civil Contract finished second with 25 percent.
Aslanian went on trial earlier this month on corruption charges rejected by him 
as politically motivated.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Fwd: The California Courier Online, June 23, 2022

Antonian Lara

The California Courier Online,

1-         Gallup Poll Shows 89% of Armenians

            Oppose Placing Artsakh Under Azeri Rule

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Michigan’s Armenian community rejects Pashinyan’s Diaspora Envoy

3-         Najarian, Asatryan Win in Glendale Council Elections

4-         ANSEF: Supporting Armenia’s Scientific Researchers

5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

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

1-         Gallup Poll Shows 89% of Armenians

            Oppose Placing Artsakh Under Azeri Rule

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

In a May 26-28, 2022 Gallup International Association poll, 89.3% of
Armenia’s surveyed citizens said it was unacceptable for them “if the
population of Artsakh will be granted the status of a national
minority within Azerbaijan.” Only 4.4% of those surveyed found it to
be acceptable.

51% of the survey respondents were negatively inclined toward the
results of the May 22 trilateral meeting of Armenia’s Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan’s Pres. Ilham Aliyev and European Union
President Charles Michel in Brussels. Only 34.7% of the respondents
positively assessed the meeting. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
had agreed to unblock transport links between the two countries and
establish a road between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan crossing
Armenia’s territory.

Those who were surveyed thought that Armenia could receive weapons
from: Russia (48.1%), France (13.9%), United States (6.4%), Iran
(1.7%), CSTO — Collective Security Treaty Organization (1.1%), NATO
(0.5%), and UN Security Council (0.1%).

In an earlier poll conducted on April 2-6, 2022 by Gallup
International Association, 57.2% of the respondents did not believe
that “the current Armenian authorities will be able to sign a peace
agreement with Azerbaijan on acceptable terms in the interests of
Artsakh and Armenia.” 30.4% thought it would possible.

In response to the question as to who is responsible for the tension
created in and around Artsakh, 43.8% said it was Azerbaijan, 27% held
Armenia’s authorities responsible, 14.1% said the Russian
peacekeepers, 6.1% said the Artsakh authorities, and 3.5% put the
blame on Turkey.

47.7% of those surveyed gave a negative evaluation of Prime Minister
Pashinyan’s work,” while 38.8% thought it was positive.

The survey respondents were almost evenly divided between those who
said Pashinyan should resign (41.7%), and those who said he should not
(38.7%).

When asked which political party they would vote for if the elections
were held nowadays, 20.4% said they would support the ruling “Civil
Contract” party, 12% expressed support for the two opposition
parliamentary parties, and 1.7% for “Prosperous Armenia.” However,
28.8% of those surveyed said they would not vote for any party. The
ruling party’s rating has declined precipitously from 70.4% when
Pashinyan first came to power in 2018, and decreased even more from
the 53.9% of the votes his party received in the June 20, 2021
parliamentary elections.

When asked how they “assessed the current political situation in
Armenia,” 66.5% (two-thirds) of those surveyed gave a negative reply,
while only 22.3% had a positive opinion.

When asked for their solution to the current political situation in
the country, 27.6% saw no need for a change, 26.6% suggested that new
parliamentary elections be held, 21.8% favored the formation of a
transitional government, and 11.4% wanted more pressure exerted on the
opposition.

45.6% were against the recent street protests by the opposition, while
32.5% said they were supportive.

46.1% supported the confrontational conduct of the Armenian police
with the protesters, while 37.2% were critical.

In response to a question as to whether the survey respondents were
“for establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey without
preconditions and opening the borders,” 68% said they were against it,
while only 26.3% were in favor.

In conclusion, the Armenian society is sharply divided regarding the
country’s internal problems. There are those who support Prime
Minister Pashinyan and those who prefer that he be replaced.
Nevertheless, Pashinyan’s popularity has deteriorated significantly in
Armenia and most probably in the Diaspora compared to his initial
extraordinary popularity in 2018.

On critical issues facing Armenia vis-à-vis Azerbaijan and Turkey,
most Armenians are very negatively disposed toward any concessions in
order to improve relations with their two hostile neighboring
countries.

Respondents to several of the above questions have left no doubt that
the Prime Minister’s frequent claim that he has “the people’s mandate”
is no longer true. Pashinyan’s and his political party’s ratings have
diminished substantially, particularly after Armenia’s devastating
defeat in the 2020 war. His political party won last year’s
parliamentary elections with around 25% of the registered voters,
which is a small percentage of Armenia’s total population.

Since no such polls are conducted throughout the Diaspora, no one
knows Pashinyan’s exact rating among Diaspora Armenians. All
indications are that his rating in the Diaspora has suffered a
precipitous plunge just as in Armenia. Therefore, despite the Prime
Minister’s extremely high rating when he first came to power in 2018,
his followers now form a much smaller portion of Armenians in Armenia
and the Diaspora.

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2-         Michigan’s Armenian community rejects Pashinyan’s Diaspora Envoy

(The Armenian Weekly)—The Republic of Armenia’s High Commissioner for
Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan publicized an official visit to
Michigan that was not announced to the entire community. “Instead, we
learned of Sinanyan’s Michigan public relations efforts in our state
through various social media posts and press releases issued by
Sinanyan’s office,” Michigan’s nine major organizations wrote in a
joint statement. “Those press releases falsely stated that he met with
‘community leaders from various Armenian churches, educational and
cultural organizations in the Greater Detroit area.” In fact, the
press statements from Sinanyan’s official office do not reflect the
reality of what really occurred while Sinanyan was in Michigan,” the
joint statement said.

“We are a strong community with many organizations and four Armenian
churches. However, during his Michigan visit, Sinanyan only visited
one church, where he met with a handful of selected community members.
No official announcements from Sinanyan’s office nor any formal
invitation to meet was extended to Michigan’s three other Armenian
churches and community organizations,” the group wrote in its
statement.

“It is disgraceful that the Government of Armenia, through Sinanyan’s
official office, falsified the truth of Sinanyan’s Michigan visit and
the pretenses under which it was made. It is clear that the reason
Sinanyan’s visit was handled in the above manner was to use Michigan’s
Armenian community to present the appearance that the Pashinyan
regime’s agenda was advanced here. Sinanyan operated in secrecy in a
failed effort to isolate and divide our community, following the usual
blueprint of the Pashinyan regime and its divisive strategies and
policies. The Armenian Diaspora is an essential pillar of the Armenian
nation. We will not allow anyone—including any representative of the
Pashinyan regime—to intrude on our community and attempt to divide our
unity,” the statement said.

“Contrary to the picture presented by the press releases from
Sinanyan’s office, Sinanyan failed to advance Nikol Pashinyan’s agenda
in Michigan to gain supporters for his traitorous agenda which gives
away Artsakh, normalizes relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan at the
expense of the security and sovereignty of Armenia and Artsakh and
jeopardizes the fight for full justice for the martyrs of the Armenian
Genocide. Sinanyan does not represent the Armenian Diaspora, and he
certainly does not represent the Armenian community of Michigan,” the
statement concluded.

The joint statement was signed by St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic
Church, St. Vartan Catholic Church, Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) Azadamard Gomideh Detroit, AYF Detroit “Kopernik Tandourjian”
Junior and Senior Chapters, Armenian Relief Society (ARS) Tzolig,
Maro, Shake, Sybille and Zabel Chapters, Hamazkayin Armenian
Educational & Cultural Society of Detroit, Homenetmen of
Detroit,,Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Michigan, and Friends of
Artsakh.

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3-         Najarian, Asatryan Win in Glendale Council Elections

In the June 7 municipal elections, Glendale City Councilman Vrej
Agajanian lost his seat after receiving 11,701 votes. He was replaced
by newcomer Elen Asatryan (pictured, top right) who got 13,121 votes.
City Councilman Ara Najarian (pictured, top left) was re-elected with
11,843 votes.

Two non-Armenian candidates, married to Armenians, lost: Anita
Quinonez Gabrielian received 9,817 votes, while Isabel
Valencia-Tevanyan received 3,055 votes.

Suzie Abajian was elected Glendale City Clerk after receiving 16,397
votes. She defeated Greg Krikorian who received 14,716 votes.

Rafi Manoukian (pictured, bottom right), who ran uncontested, was
re-elected Glendale City Treasurer with 24,297 votes. In the Glendale
Unified School District board elections, Lerna Amiryans and Armina
Gharpetian lost. Shant Sahakian (pictured, bottom left), who ran
uncontested, won.

In other elections, Harout (Art) Kaskanian lost his election to the
Gardena City Council. Sasha Zaroyan lost in the Monrovia City Council
elections.Ciran Hadjian lost in the Pasadena City Council elections.In
the Los Angeles Unified School District elections, Gentile
Barkhordarian lost.

Cong. Adam B. Schiff was re-elected with 101,970 votes (62.48%) in
California’s 30th District defeating Johny J. Nalbandian who got 7,663
votes (4.70%).

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4-         ANSEF: Supporting Armenia’s Scientific Researchers

By Florence Avakian

The Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF), started 22
years ago with the support from the Fund for Armenian Relief.

This project was initiated by Drs. Gregory Adamian, Mihran Agbabian,
Aram Chobanian, Garabed Eknoyan, Vartan Gregorian, Anahid
Kazanjian-Longobardo, Edgar Housepian, Tavit Najarian, Yervant
Terzian, Yervant Zorian, and others.

The project has helped stop the ‘brain drain’ of top scientific
researchers and instructors from Armenia, and bringing international
recognition to Armenia, its extraordinary science and research
programs, and its talented individuals.

Dr. Artur Ishkanyan, a prominent physicist and the
Academician-Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia,
related that ANSEF is “one of the unique cultural structures created
by the Diaspora.”

The story of one of the ANSEF grant beneficiaries revealed the
extraordinary benefits that resulted. Dr. Victor Vardanyan wanted to
understand the intrinsic causes of child epilepsy. This had interested
him since he had taken his PH.D. studies in molecular neuroscience at
the University of Hamburg, Germany in the early 2000’s. Now, a 2022
ANSEF grant recipient, he and his research team is hard at work to
find an answer.

Dr. Aram Chobanian, one of the founders of ANSEF, was President
Emeritus of Boston University from 2003-2005, and is a world-renowned
cardiologist and formerly Dean of Boston University’s School of
Medicine. He was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award
in Hypertension by the American Heart Association, and served as
Director of the Hypertension Specialized Center of Research funded by
the National Institute of Health from 1975 to 1995. He went to Armenia
in 1991 and 1992 to see the clinical condition of the hospitals. The
ANSEF pioneers created the program in 2000 with five research grants.
“The grants increased, reaching 100 to 150,” Dr. Chobanian said.

Dr. Vatche Sahakyan, who received his PH.D. in Theoretical Physics,
including cosmology, and the fundamental laws of nature, from the
University of Chicago, has taught as a professor at Harvey Mudd
College for 19 years. In the last 22 years, ANSEF has received 200 to
300 research proposals annually, he related. “ANSEF is funding
approximately $150,000 per year,” Dr. Sahakian said. He is one of six
professionals on the Executive Board of ANSEF.

ANSEF Executive Board member Dr. Anna Ohanyan, born in Armenia, and
now a professor of International Relations at Stonehill College in MA,
organized an international conference in Armenia, as a Fulbright
scholar in 2021. She reviews ANSEF proposals in the humanities and
social sciences, which, she said, were not paid as much attention to,
compared to the natural sciences in the USSR.

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5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

More than 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been
administered in Armenia since commencing the vaccination program a
year ago, authorities said on Monday, June 20. For the second week, no
new cases or deaths were reported. Armenia has recorded 423,104
coronavirus cases. Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths; 412,661 have
recovered.

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California Courier Online provides readers of the Armenian News News Service
with a few of the articles in this week’s issue of The California
Courier. Letters to the editor are encouraged through our e-mail
address, . Letters are published with
the author’s name and location; authors are required to disclose their
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California Courier subscribers can change or modify mailing addresses
by emailing .

Rescuing Armenia’s Bears | Close Up

Kajoyan Gevork
 Al-Jazeera
Qatar –

Ruben Khachatryan has made it his mission to save the captive bears of Armenia from a lifetime of neglect and misery.

Across Armenia, bears are being kept in captivity under terrible conditions – locked up in tiny, filthy cages, often subsisting on food scraps and rancid water.  It is a sad legacy of Armenia’s Soviet-era past when it was fashionable to keep exotic animals in private zoos as a status symbol or to attract visitors to a place of business.

Ruben Khachatryan runs the Great Bear Rescue, a mercy mission to rehabilitate these captive bears in a sanctuary in the mountains of Armenia. Here, the bears can live out their lives with proper diets, medical attention and freedom.

“You feel responsible for those animals,” says Ruben. “I feel like they need ambassadors to … fight for them.”

Ruben and his team have rescued 30 bears in just five years, but now they face some of their most challenging missions yet as they enter a tougher phase of this project.

In this film, we see the various strategies that are deployed as the Great Bear Rescue team battles against bear owners who refuse to relinquish their animals.

Credits:

A film by Mariah Wilson

Cinematographer: Zebediah Smith

Field Producer: Zebediah Smith

Translator: Emma Kazaryan

Editor: Catherine Mary Hallinan

Producer: Ala Alhussan

EP: Tierney Bonini

Watch the video report at 

Armenia diaspora faces waning influence on Turkey, Azerbaijan negotiations

Arbi Tashjian
Ani Mejlumyan Jun 22, 2022

As Armenia moves toward normalizing relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, the reaction from some parts of the global Armenian diaspora has been fierce. But will that opposition have any influence on the course of this potentially historic process? 

The Armenian diaspora, officially estimated at about 7 million around the world, has traditionally been deeply invested in national questions: Many in the diaspora are descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide, and the more recent conflict with Azerbaijan is often seen by Armenians as a continuation of the persecution they suffered in the Ottoman Empire. 

Now Yerevan is working to reach a peace agreement with Azerbaijan following their 2020 war, and simultaneously moving toward reestablishing ties with Turkey. Still traumatized by the defeat in the war, many Armenians have opposed the processes as a sellout of their national interest. 

That sentiment is particularly sharp among members of the diaspora. 

Diaspora media and social media has been full of angry rhetoric against the normalization processes, and diaspora political organizations like the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun (ARF) have been organizing protests against them.

The largest Armenian diaspora lobbying organization in the United States, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), which has strong ties to the ARF but has traditionally tried to stay out of domestic Armenian politics, has openly turned against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 

In a May interview, Armenia’s Diaspora Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan called the ARF’s opposition to Pashinyan “treason,” and when he made a subsequent tour of the U.S. he repeatedly faced hostile crowds accusing him and Pashinyan of being the traitors. “The demonstrators reminded Sinanyan that the diaspora will continue to remain vigilant about the future of Armenia and that he and his boss are the real traitors for attempting to silence the diaspora,” the diaspora newspaper Horizon Weekly wrote of one such episode. 

And the recent wave of protests in Yerevan against the government’s moves toward normalization have been heavily backed by diaspora members and organizations present in Armenia.

Garen Megerdichian, a 47-year-old Canadian-Armenian investment banker, moved to Armenia in 2015. He and his family have been regulars at the protests, as he says the government is wrong to pursue normalization with Turkey without demanding first that Ankara recognize the genocide and offer reparations to Armenians. (Yerevan has said it is negotiating “without preconditions.”)

“For any normalization process with Azerbaijan and Turkey to be sustainable, historical justice must be served, and Armenia’s national security must be respected,” he told Eurasianet. “Only then can a normalization process aimed at securing a lasting peace in the region be achieved.” 

A man defaces a poster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Los Angeles last November (Armenian Youth Federation/Facebook)

Megerdichian said he hoped the protests would force Pashinyan and the current government to resign and be replaced by a “transitional unity” government. But they have thus far failed to gain traction. “Like with Armenia, the diaspora is divided on the issue,” he said.

While the diaspora is often thought of in monolithic terms, there are significant differences in political views and level of engagement. They depend particularly on whether they are from the wave who fled the genocide or the wave who left after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“There is a vocal opposition to normalization and a silent majority who are either indifferent or more prone to compromise,” said Razmik Pannosian, a Canadian-Armenian historian and political scientist and director of the Armenian Communities Department at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a Portuguese arts and education organization.  

One prominent example of a diasporan prone to compromise is Serj Tankian, the outspoken Armenian-American rock star who has defended Pashinyan and the negotiations processes and has been branded as a traitor as a result. In June, he released a new song with Armenian unity as the theme.  

“Division, violence, and treasonous condemnations have over time metastasized and gotten way out of hand,” he wrote in a recent open letter. “They are creating disunity and hate in Armenia and in the diaspora. It is time to stop it.” 

A shifting role 

The 2020 war – in which Armenia lost to Azerbaijan and lost control of most of the territories it had won in the first war between the two sides in the 1990s – was a turning point in relations between the diaspora and Armenia. It disillusioned many Armenians about the role the diaspora can play in the country’s affairs. 

The war “did galvanize the diaspora considerably but the defeat, the subsequent despair and the current political crisis has led many to tune out of the politics of Armenia and the region,” Pannosian said.

The abrupt shift in Pashinyan’s messaging – from a triumphalist “We will win” during the 2020 war to a focus on peace now – has disoriented many in the diaspora, said Vicken Cheterian, a Lebanese-Armenian journalist and scholar. 

“Since the catastrophic end of the war there has been no explanation about what happened,” he said. As a result, “the part of the diaspora that was mobilized in 2020, which could have been used as a resource, is disengaging. Then there is another vocal part that is reacting by anger, looking for ‘traitors,’ and following the slogans of the street opposition in Yerevan. The diaspora has no deep analysis of Azerbaijan, nor Turkey, only fear that those two states are hostile towards Armenia and towards Armenians in Karabakh.”

While many Armenians have in the past thought of the diaspora as a tool that could serve to blunt Azerbaijan’s advantage in size and oil wealth, that myth was punctured by the 2020 war, said Benyamin Poghosyan, head of the Yerevan think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies.

“There was always this comparison made, that ‘they have oil and we have the diaspora.’ But the diaspora couldn’t prevent the war,” he said. “It also created this confusion in the diaspora, that ‘OK we have been sending money to Armenia for 20-25 years hoping that security is guaranteed but we lost Artsakh [an alternate Armenian name for Karabakh]. So the war has resulted in mistrust, or the end of the myth, in the diaspora and in Armenia.” 

Political influence

While there is a popular perception that the diaspora wields heavy influence on Yerevan’s political decisions, especially vis-a-vis Turkey, that may be an exaggeration.

Diaspora Armenians can make loud public objections but their real political influence is minimal, Cheterian said. “The diaspora failed to be a political force because the diaspora does not think about politics, nor has it developed political institutions to influence Armenia. Its influence is marginal,” he said.

During the last attempt at normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey, in 2009, the ARF was able to play a mild spoiler role because it was a coalition partner with the ruling Republican Party of Armenia of then-President Serzh Sargsyan (though the process ultimately was scuttled by Azerbaijani pressure on its ally, Turkey). It left the coalition to protest the normalization process. 

Now, though, the ARF is in the opposition – and is one of the leaders of the ongoing street protests. 

“The difference [from 2009] is enormous,” Sinanyan, the diaspora commissioner, told Eurasianet in an email interview. President Sargsyan needed the ARF in his coalition, and “lacking any political legitimacy at home, Sargsyan relied on the ARF to provide it a degree of political legitimacy through its presence in the diaspora.” 

“The current government […] no longer relies on the diaspora for any measure of political legitimacy,” Sinanyan added. “In fact, the ARF, having adopted a hostile position to the current government, has thereby diminished its influence on the government to a minimum.”

Typically, the Armenian government has effectively outsourced its lobbying efforts abroad to diaspora organizations, who have focused primarily on issues like genocide recognition. But after Pashinyan came to power in 2018, his government sought to hire its own lobbyists in the U.S., in an apparent attempt to take some control away from the diaspora organizations, with which Pashinyan and his government had already had a tense relationship.

“The elected government of Armenia should set the foreign policy of the country,” while “diasporan political and civil society organizations should be free to mobilize and lobby on any issue they choose,” Pannosian, the Canadian-Armenian political scientist, said. “Ideally, the two parts of the nation should consult each other and coordinate their efforts. That has not happened in the last 30 years, and there is no chance of it happening in the foreseeable future.”

There are also few economic levers that the diaspora has over affairs in Armenia. The largest diaspora charity organization, the All Armenia Fund, has a budget of about $11 million per year. Meanwhile, “Armenia has been able to issue Eurobonds for $700 million dollars. There are discussions about $2.6 billion from the EU. No, the diaspora is not in a position, it’s not funding the state [to the extent that it can say,] ‘I can cut off funds and Armenians will face real difficulties,” said Poghosyan of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies. 

Even as many diasporans oppose the normalization processes, Armenia has little choice but to pursue them, one high-ranking government official told Eurasianet on condition of anonymity.

“The Armenian government knows that a lot of diaspora organizations and people in general are very against the idea of open borders, but the reality is that a little can be done,” the official said. “It’s understandable, the cards are bad, but the government should try to play them well despite the bad hand. As unimaginable as it is, just like many countries in Europe we can live next to each other and communicate and keep disliking each other. We are talking about survival … not morals and emotions. New trade routes are forming and if we stay out of them, we stay poor; and if we are poor, we can’t defend ourselves.” 

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

https://eurasianet.org/armenia-diaspora-faces-waning-influence-on-turkey-azerbaijan-negotiations