Category: 2022

Armenia’s former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, who is currently held in pre-trial custody, has responded to criticism from Gagik Melkonyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract party.

Speaking at parliamentary debates on the proposed amendments to the defense law on Tuesday, Melkonyan said that the country’s defense minister must necessarily be a member of Nikol Pashinyan’s political team.

He claims that one of the key reasons of Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war was that the defense minister was not a member of the ruling party, which led to “desertions”.

“The fact that Gagik Melkonyan previously held high posts in the Defense Ministry does not mean he has the necessary professional and organizational skills in the defense sphere to make a judgment about the outcome of the war,” Tonoyan said in a statement from prison on Wednesday.

“I am proud that as a government member I was not part of a “team” Melkonyan is a member of,” the former official said.

He also questioned the objectivity of the parliamentary inquiry into the 44-day war launched by pro-government MPs.

“I strongly believe that the defense minister, assuming political responsibility for implementing the government’s defense programs, should stand above the “political team-party” discourse,” Tonoyan said.

Opposition leader and deputy parliament speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan reiterates the protest movement launched by Armenian’s opposition groups continues despite the decision to dismantle the tents set up in Yerevan’s central France Square.

Addressing a rally on Tuesday evening, Saghatelyan announced the opposition’s plans to scale back daily anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and try to attract greater popular support to the resistance movement launched in May.

“Let’s appreciate our work and the path we have passed, let’s record our achievements and continue our struggle with renewed vigor,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

“I don’t have time or intention to respond to stupid comments right now. Time will put everything in its place and will give answers to all questions,” Saghatelyan said.

He said he was heading to the penitentiary in the town of Artik to visit opposition activists being held there. Saghatelyan added he and his colleagues will deal with organizational issues related to the movement later in the day.

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction has rejected a request to drop charges against Armen Gevorgyan, an MP from the opposition Hayastan bloc, and end his prosecution.

Presiding judge Anna Danibekyan on Wednesday denied the defense motion at a court hearing on the case also involving Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan.

The decision can be appealed to a higher court within one month after its delivery, Kocharyan’s lawyers said in a statement.

Gevorgyan is standing trial for alleged corruption and money laundering.

Members of the resistance movement launched by Armenia’s opposition staged a protest outside the Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Opposition Hayastan bloc MP Aram Vardevanyan denounced the arrests of opposition protesters based on the testimonies of police officers.

“The current authorities, who came to power through acts of civil disobedience, once said that the testimony of a police officer could not serve as a basis for arresting a person. However, people are now being held in custody based on it,” he said via a loudspeaker.

Meanwhile, the MP said no policeman has been arrested and prosecuted for using violence against demonstrators demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation during around 40 days of protests in Yerevan.

“The Prosecutor’s Office should not shy away from charging and prosecuting police officers,” the lawmaker noted.

Vardevanyan said peaceful protests will continue until Pashinyan’s ouster.

Afterwards, the opposition activists blocked a road near the building of the law enforcement agency.

The 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will kick off with “Amerikatsi” (American) by director Michael Goorjian. The official opening ceremony of the festival will take place on July 10 at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. This year, the International Film Festival will present to the public films from different countries of the world as well as films from the most prestigious film festivals, organizers said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Amerikatsi” is a 2022 Armenia / USA co-produced film. Producers: Arman Nshanian, Patrick Malkassian, Sol Tryon. Script: Michael Goorjian. Director of Photography: Ghasm Ebrahimian. Music by: Andranik Berberyan. Edit: Mike Solemn, Michael Goorjian. Cast: Michael Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova, Mikhail Trukhin.

As a young boy, Charlie escaped the Armenian genocide by stowing away in a trunk bound for the United States. His family was not so lucky. Despite his tragic start, as an adult, Charlie has managed to maintain his child-like wonder for the world. However, like so many refugees and orphans, there’s a hole in Charlie’s big heart. Our story begins in 1947, as Charlie repatriates back to Armenia only to be greeted by the harsh reality of Soviet Communism. The soul of Armenia has been suffocated beneath the iron curtain. Almost immediately Charlie is arrested and sentenced to prison for the absurd crime of wearing a tie. To further ensure that he doesn’t influence other prisoners with his “cosmopolitan” ways, Charlie is placed in solitary confinement. Just as he appears to be succumbing to the terror of his situation, Charlie discovers that the prison wall outside his cell window had been damaged during a recent earthquake.

Michael Goorjian is an Emmy Award winning actor, writer, and filmmaker of Armenian decent, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michael won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in David’s Mother alongside Kirstie Alley. He is also well known for playing Neve Campbell’s love interest, Justin, on the Golden Globe winning series Party of Five, as well as Heroin Bob in the cult classic SLC Punk. Recently he starred alongside Robert De Niro in HBO’s The Wizard of Lies. Other film & television credits include: Newsies, Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr., Forever Young with Mel   Gibson, Leaving Las Vegas, Hard Rain with Morgan Freeman, Broken with Heather Graham, The Invisibles, Lucifer, Covert Affairs, Lie to Me, House, Alias, Monk, CSI, Without a Trace to name a few. On stage, Michael has won numerous awards, including; an L.A. Weekly Theater Award for Best Lead Actor in Modigliani, and a LA Critics Choice Award for choreographing the world premiere of Reefer Madness the Musical. Most recently Michael appeared at Berkeley Repertory Theater World premiere of Imaginary Comforts by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket). As director, Michael achieved international acclaim for his award-winning feature film debut, Illusion, in which he starred alongside Hollywood-legend Kirk Douglas (and some other guy named Bryan Cranston).

The 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will take place on July 10-17, 2022.

Armenian director Jivan Avetisyan’s “Gate to Heaven” was successfully screened at the Armenian Film Festival Australia in Melbourne and Sydney.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejikian was also present at the opening ceremony of the festival, the Facebook page of the movie said.

“45 Days: The Fight for a Nation”, a documentary by British journalist and filmmaker Emile Ghessen telling about the war in Artsakh in the fall of 2020, was also screened at the festival.

“It is encouraging and inspiring that films telling about Artsakh continue journeys in various cities around the world,” the post reads.

Jivan Avetisyan’s next film, “Reborn”, also centers around Artsakh.