Category: News

The first batch of humanitarian aid from Armenia has reached the St. Astvatsatsin Church in Latakia.

The humanitarian aid (18 tons, primary foodstuff) was delivered to Syria by an IL-76 aircraft of the Airforce of the Russian Federation.

Minister of Defense of the Republic Vigen Sargsyan and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia Ivan Volinkin were at the “Erebuni” airport to see off the plane.

 

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Germany February 16-17 to participate in the Munich Security Conference.

Minister Nalbandian is expected to meet with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the sidelines of the Conference.

Edward Nalbandian will hold a number of bilateral meetings, as well.

Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Raffi Hamparian recently held a working meeting on Capitol Hill with U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on a range of shared priorities, including the negotiation of a new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty.

This bilateral tax agreement, which would facilitate increased investment by removing the threat of earned profits being taxed twice, is among the ANCA’s economic development priorities, along with Millennium Challenge funding for STEM education and direct Los Angeles to Yerevan commercial and cargo flights.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Senator Menendez serves, is constitutionally charged with ratifying all treaties, including a future tax accord with the Republic of Armenia.

“We are pressing forward with our pro-active engagement with the full range of American and Armenian stakeholders in support of a new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty,” remarked Hamparian. The ANCA looks forward to the day when Senator Menendez and his colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have the opportunity to further strengthen America’s partnership with Armenia by ratifying this long overdue bilateral accord.”

In an opinion article late last year, Hamparian made the case for why a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty is mutually beneficial: “A new tax treaty would represent a great way to give substance to the rhetoric – from both Washington and Yerevan – about improving U.S.-Armenia bilateral relations. This accord would both reflect and reinforce the progress we saw last year [2015] with the signing of a U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. It would, as well, create the conditions for the future growth of the U.S.-Armenia economic relationship, the continued development of bilateral government-to-government ties, and, of course, the strengthening of the enduring bonds of friendship that have long connected the American and Armenian peoples.”

The current treaty governing double taxation issues between the two countries is the 1973 U.S.-U.S.S.R. Tax Treaty, an outdated forty year-old accord. The lack of a double tax treaty between the United States and Armenia creates legal uncertainty that deters potential U.S. investors, diverts investment flows and disadvantages American businesses seeking to invest in the Republic of Armenia.

Photo: Reuters

 

US actor Harrison Ford has been involved in a near-miss while flying his plane in California, US media say, the BBC reports.

They say Ford, aged 74, was instructed to land on a runway at John Wayne airport in Orange Country on Monday.

But instead he mistakenly landed on a parallel taxiway, passing over a waiting American Airlines plane with 110 passengers and crew on board.

That plane safely departed minutes later. Ford has not commented on the reported incident.

Just before the landing, the Indiana Jones star is quoted as asking air traffic controllers: “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”

The Federal Aviation Authority confirmed that the pilot of the single-engine Aviat Husky plane had been cleared to land on the runway.

But it declined to confirm that the pilot was in fact Harrison Ford.

MEP Frank Engel and Ruben Melikyan, Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Nagorno-Karabakh, presented on  14 February 2017, a report on the human rights implications of the four-day war that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh in April 2016.

They also discussed the need for international observers to be present during such incidents in order to ensure that the human rights of the local population are safeguarded and that violations are reported.

Please follow to read the report.

 

Asbarez – On February 13, Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian unveiled the official plaque of the LA City Hall pomegranate tree to mark the commemoration of the Centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In April 2015, Krekorian planted the first pomegranate tree on City Hall’s lawn and launched the Armenian Genocide Memorial Tree Project, which planted 100 pomegranate trees in parks in each of the city’s 15 Council Districts. Councilmember Krekorian was joined by Archpriest of the Armenian Apostolic Church Western Diocese Arshag Kahatchadourian, and Executive Officer and Chief of Staff of the Department of Recreation Parks Anthony-Paul Diaz at the plaque dedication ceremony.

The plaque reads: “The City of Los Angeles Commemorates the Armenian Genocide Centennial: 1915-2015. This tree was planted by Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmember Paul Krekorian on the occasion of the commemoration of the centennial.”

“The pomegranate is one of the most recognizable symbols in Armenian culture. In the wake of the Armenian Genocide, the pomegranate became a symbol of hope, rebirth, and survival of a nation,” said Councilmember Krekorian. “With the help of community members and my city colleagues, I planted this tree in 2015 to mark the commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Anyone who visits City Hall will see the pomegranate tree and this memorial plaque as an enduring symbol of the Armenian people’s culture and history.”

Photo: Reuters

 

Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has resigned over his contacts with Russia, the White House has announced, the BBC reports.

Mr Flynn is alleged to have discussed US sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Mr Trump took office.

He is said to have misled officials about the conversation.

Earlier, US media reported that the Justice Department had warned the White House about the contacts late last month.

They said that Mr Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.

Senior Democrats had called for Mr Flynn to be fired.

It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy, and the calls happened late last year before Mr Flynn was appointed to the administration.

In his letter of resignation, Mr Flynn said he had “inadvertently briefed the vice-president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador”.

A White House statement said Lt Gen Joseph Keith Kellogg had been appointed as interim replacement.

An Azerbaijani lawmaker blames France for pro-Armenian position and urges to send a note to Paris over President Francois Hollande’s recent statement on Nagorno Karabakh.

MP Azay Guliyev on Tuesday criticized French President Hollande’s latest comments on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, calling on Baku to send a note of protest to Paris.  He believes “France supports Armenia in violation of the norms of international law.”

Addressing the Parliament’s plenary sitting, the MP described Hollande’s recent statement on self-determination for Karabakh as a “non-constructive” step.

He said “France is a country which has the closest relationship with Armenia” and noted that French citizens constitute the majority of those visiting Nagorno Karabakh.

The comments come after French President Francois Hollande’s remarks at the .  Addressing the meeting Francois Hollande announced plans to discuss the Karabakh issue with Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan during the latter’s visit to France in March. He emphasized the urgency of finding a way out of the conflict “because the murderous clashes that occurred during those terrible days of April 2 to 5 remind us that deaths are reported in Nagorno-Karabakh almost every day.”

“So we have to act. We must act, first of all, to stop hostilities when they happen – this is what we did with our Russian and American partners: there was a halt to the fighting, the opening of a dialogue , a truce. But we cannot be satisfied with a truce, because the ceasefire is not the solution. We must open real negotiations for the resolution of the conflict. It would be a serious mistake, once again, to consider that the situation has stabilized. We need to find elements of conflict resolution. We know them; they have been fixed; these are the Madrid principles – I will not state them here – but we know that they will lead, if they are applied, to the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Hollande stated, in part.

“This was the first time a President of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing country declares that if applied, the Madrid Principles will lead to the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Kayts Minasyan,  analyst at the Center of Strategic Studies of France, said in an interview with . Accoridng to him, no President had done it before.

“President Hollande spoke about the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination, without even referring to the other ones. Surely, other principles are also included in the Madrid Principles, but he didn’t speak about territorial integrity,” said Minasyan, who was present at the dinner.

Commenting on Azerbaijan’s anger over the statement, the expert said: “Azerbaijan has recently suffered three defeats on the diplomatic fields.  First, France’s current Interior Minster is on Azerbaijan’s black list for having visited Nagorno Karabakh two years ago. The second defeat was President Hollande’s statement. The third defeat was the refusal of the French Court to accept a complaint from Azerbaijan against MP Francois Rochebloine, a friend of Armenians.”

Chairman of the Religious Council of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul Bishop Sahak Mashalian has announced his resignation in a statement released on Monday, stating that General Vicar Aram Ateshian is to blame for his decision, reported Istanbul-based newspaper.

Mashalian stated in his resignation letter that his decision came after the Clerical Assembly meeting on February 13, where he stated that Archbhishop Ateshian had “unfavorable attitudes.” Mashalian also announced that he will step down from his candidacy for the patriarchal seat, and has plans to leave Istanbul.

The Religious Council voted Archbishop Aram Ateshyan to lead the Patriarchate after Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan II withdrew from his duties due to his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mashalian in his letter presented the proper procedure of holding elections for the patriarch, indicating Ateshian’s attempts to sabotage the process.

He informed that the religious council had set up a commission comprised of 4 clerics, which was to submit an application to the authorities about holding new elections. But Ateshian did not allow the letter to be submitted to the governor of Istanbul as a result of which the submission process has been suspended.

Mashalian noted that the elections should be held following the constitutional referendum in Turkey, referring to the Armenian community leader Bedros Sirinoglu and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan January 27 meeting, adding that it should have accelerated the election process. Ateshian, however, used this information as another pretext to avoid elections.

“Ignoring his promise given to the community, he told the media without consulting with anyone that no application will be submitted for holding elections. The Religious Council of the Patriarchy, and I, the chairman of the Council, got to know about it from media,” the bishop stated.

During the February 13 meeting, Mashalian stated that the application of the commission should be immediately submitted to the governorate and released to the community. “His Eminence Aram managed to manipulate this issue with his capricious and threatening attitudes; he even threatened us with leaving the meeting,” he wrote in the letter, adding that his proposal was rejected.

“It’s evident there can be no Patriarchal elections as long as Aram Ateshian holds the position of the General Vicar of the  Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Today already everyone shares the opinion that the existing situation, when the post is vacant, while the chaos goes deeper, worsens due to Aram Ateshian,” said Mashalian, adding that the Patriarchal post has never been vacant for eight years in the Armenian Church’s history. “Manipulating for 8 years by using his powers, abusing his position has criminal nature and he deserves punishment according to Church laws,” the Bishop said, announcing that he steps down from the post of chairman of the Religious Council.

“Clerics, leaders and people, leave me alone. This is a speech of defeat. But I am not the only defeated, you are all defeated. Once again only one person remains victorious,” Mashalian concluded in his letter.

Mashalian’s letter can be read below:

It is a duty for me to inform all of my people on the following problems in the light of recent developments concerning the patriarchal election.

General Assembly of the Church decided to elect a new patriarch since our patriarch was superannuated and started the process. This process should have proceeded per tradition: a değabah (locum tenens) should have been elected, an Enterprising Committee should have been formed and governor’s office should have been informed with a letter in order to start the legal process. This simple process, which should have taken only a few weeks, has failed once again due to Vicar of Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateşyan’s resistance and reluctance, and no legal application has been made so far.

His Eminence Aram displayed the following unfavorable attitudes:

1. Right after the seat was declared vacant, a Değabah should have been elected. However, His Eminence Aram prevented this election with all kinds of threats and caprices. Considering some sensitive issues, the Clerical Assembly had to tolerate vicarship of His Eminence Aram. However, His Eminence Aram continued to have his own way in accordance with his old habits, instead of acting like a real değabah. This revealed the vital importance of the değabah in order to have a decent election process.
2. General Assembly formed a commission consisting of four clerics to write the letter of application to the state. This commission reviewed the previous applications and wrote a letter that includes main elements. This letter was supposed to be an informing letter. It should have included the existence of the Enterprising Committee and stated that their names will be given to the governor’s office later. His Eminence Aram vigorously insisted that the Enterprising Committee shouldn’t be mentioned and permission of the state should be asked. A letter was written after some compromises and we started to wait for an appointment from the governor’s office.
3. Meanwhile, Chair of Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation Bedros Şirinoğlu came together with President Erdoğan and announced that the problem of election will be solved right after the referendum. This development should have accelerated the process. However, His Eminence Aram used this good news as another excuse for evading the election. On January 6 Dzınunt feast, he even broke the promise that he made to our people and announced that he won’t apply for holding an election without talking to anybody in advance. The Clerical Assembly, and I as the head of that assembly, learned about it from the press.

Today, on February 13, Clerical Assembly came together and His Eminence Aram managed to manipulate this issue with his capricious and threatening attitudes; he even threatened us with leaving the meeting. Majority of the Clerical Assembly refused the proposal of His Eminence Sahak, which was the following:

The news that we received from the president informally should have accelerated the process. For instance, we could form a new Enterprising Committee on Wednesday, give the letter of application to the governor’s office on Thursday and disclose the letter to our people. In this way, we could wait for an election that will be held after the referendum with inner peace. This was the prudent and honorable action that the people should have expecting from the Clerical Assembly. This suggestion of mine is refused.

However, the problem went beyond the issue of waiting for the referendum and His Eminence Aram made the Clerical Assembly decide to ask for STATE’S PERMISSON after the referendum. This means that the Enterprising Committee will be formed after the permission. In a friendly manner, I tried to explain him with legal terms that a secular state would never give such permission and this would mean that the election will be held when two Sundays come together. However, His Eminence Aram, who seems to be scared of Enterprising Committee more than he is scared of the devil, has got he wants. In sum, there WON’T be an election after the referendum!!! I don’t know how many times more this issue will be brought to this confused people, but I cannot stand it anymore.

It is obvious that this election won’t be held as long as His Eminence Aram is the vicar. Everyone agrees on the fact that His Eminence Aram makes the situation worse in a time when the patriarchal seat is vacant and the chaos is getting intense. In this regard, it is impossible to consider His Eminence Aram’s attitudes and actions as unintended simple mistakes.

1. He hadn’t realized the decision of the General Assembly immediately; on the contrary, he used his authority as the vicar for postponing the election by leaving the process hanging in midair.
2. He ignored the consultation of the Clerical Assembly, which is a higher authority than him, he hadn’t informed the assembly on the developments and decided not to hold an election on his own. Thus, His Eminence Aram committed a serious disciplinary action against the General and Clerical assemblies.
3. In the 1717-years-old history of the Armenian Church, the seat of the patriarch or catholicos has never been vacant for 9 years. The manipulations that he has been doing for 9 years by using his authority and his abuse of his seat and authority for the sake of his personal interests constitute crime and require penal sanctioning upon the ecclesiastics law.

For me, it is impossible to be together with clerics who are nothing but a bunch of cowards and His Eminence Aram, whose scandalous actions are rewarded instead being punished.

1. I resign from my duty as the head of Clerical Assembly.
2. I resign from my duty as the vice president of Hovagim 1461 Foundation, which stinks so much that I cannot take it anymore.
3. I don’t want to serve for imprudent foundation executives who hand over all the authority to a single person and for a people who are indifferent to the problems of the church and their society. I am leaving this city.
4. Let me answer the most intriguing question: I am not a candidate for the patriarchal seat. I want to use my productivity and the rest of my life for more meaningful services. There are more than enough people who would die for that seat anyway.

Clerics, executives and people; you left me alone. This is a cry of defeat. However, I am not the only one who is defeated; you are defeated as well. After all, a single person won once again.

God help you all.

Sahak Bishop Maşalyan

 

 

 

Fambox, a startup operating in Gyumri’s Technology Center (GTC), will develop a project for the World Bank’s Headquarters in Washington using the MarkLogic database.

GTC manager Amalya Yeghoyan says the cooperation is unprecedented for Armenia. “This is the first time the World Bank acts as a client and business partner, not as creditor,” she said, speaking to .

Fambox submitted a trial project before receiving an order from the World Bank, said David Hyusyan, the Company’s Founding Director.

The project will cost $50,000 in the initial stage. It will help create new jobs and open up good perspectives for young specialists of the sphere.

“This will also make Armenia better known to the world and will raise the country’s international standing,” said Technical Director Emil Yeritsyan.

Fambox was among the 12 winners of the competition of innovative ideas announced by the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) in 2015. The Gyumri Technology Center was established in 2014 by the Government of Armenia and Enterprise Incubator Foundation with financing from the  World Bank.