Category: News

US Secretary of State John Kerry has issued the following statement on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day: 

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send my best wishes to the people of Armenia as you celebrate your independence day this September 21.

The United States values our relationship with Armenia, which remains as strong as ever, as evidenced by the historic level of American investment in Armenia’s economy today. We are grateful for the dedication and sacrifice of Armenian troops serving in international peacekeeping missions and celebrate the many achievements of Armenians who have enriched the cultural fabric of both our nations.

As you celebrate 24 years of independence, know that the United States is a partner and friend and that we fully support the security, prosperity, and democratic development of Armenia.

Congratulations and best wishes to all Armenians around the world for a peaceful and prosperous year to come.

Emmy-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Peter Musurlian traveled to what is now eastern Turkey in 2013 along with 25 other Armenian-Americans. His documentary “Historic Armenia” shows remnants of an ancient civilization systemically destroyed over the past 100 years,  reports.

The film will be shown at the Worcester Public Library Sept. 22 during a commemoration sponsored by the Knights of Vartan Arshavir Lodge No. 2 and Daughters Of Vartan Santoukht Otyag No. 5 in honor of the 24th anniversary of the Republic of Armenia’s independence. The program also includes a proclamation on behalf of the City of Worcester from Mayor Joseph M. Petty; a presentation of books and videos to the library’s Knights Of Vartan Collection; and a reception with refreshments.

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the Branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) in Yerevan which has been established as part of an interstate agreement. Accompanied by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, RA Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan, the Minister of RA Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations, Armen Yeritsyan, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MSU Branch in Yerevan, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, RA NAS President Radik Martirosyan, MSU Rector Victor Sadovnichy, Ivan Volynkin, RF ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the RA, and by the branch leadership, the President toured the newly-opened educational institution, familiarized himself with its activities, teaching conditions and educational programs.

The Yerevan branch has mainly employed qualified professionals from Moscow. In the 2015-16 academic year, the university is attended by 65 students; 15 are state-financed and 50 study on a contractual bases. Courses are conducted in five professions – Applied Mathematics and Informatics, Law, Journalism, Linguistics and International Relations.

Joined by the faculty, students, their parents and other guests, Armenia’s president listened to the speeches on the branch’s kickoff activities made by RA Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan and MSU Rector Victor Sadovnichy at the university hall. In their welcoming remarks, they congratulated the university students on the start of the academic year, wished them success and attached importance to the entry of a new educational institution, Moscow State University, into Armenia’s education system.

At the end of the visit, Serzh Sargsyan had a private conversation with MSU Rector Victor Sadovnichy.

Representatives of Musaler Compatriotic Union visited Tsitsernakaberd today to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.

They visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute (AGMI) to participate in the presentation of a book by French Armenian engineer Georgia Kevorkian, titled “The Aid of the French Navy to Armenians in 1909-1915.”

Hailing Georgia Kevorkian’s work, AGMI Director Hayk Demoyan awarded him with a Franz Werfel medal. The author also received a “Musa Ler” order of honor.

The presentation was followed by an exhibition of items brought from Musa Ler that present the life of its residents.

After the event the guests participated in a tree-planting ceremony.

Season 10 of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” returns to E! on Sunday, and the first four episodes will feature the sisters’ Armenia trip, the Latin Post reports, quoting E!

Khloé Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West are joined by Kim’s husband, Kanye West, and their daughter, North, on a trip to Armenia.

The sisters are descendants of Armenian immigrants on their father’s side of the family. They have always wanted to visit their ancestral homeland. Fans will get to see their emotional visit to Armenia where they learned about their family roots.

Iranian trucks transporting goods to Georgia through Turkey currently prefer the route through Armenia, although the roads are more inconvenient because of the mountainous relief, Akunq.net reports, quoting its sources.

The reason is that the Iranian trucks have been burnt by unknown armed groupings in Turkey over the past 4-5 months.

The source reports, quoting Iranian drivers, that 40-50 trucks have been burnt in Turkey over the past months. They are not certain, however,  who stands behind this – state officials or PKK militants.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will nominate Armenian Sevan Nisanyan as candidate at the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey, assistant to the party’s Secretary General Tarik Beyhan told

Beyhan said Nisanyan has greatly contributed to linguistics, culture and architecture, but more noteworthy is his role in the field of the freedom of speech.

“Freedom of speech and tolerance are the two important pillars of liberalism. Therefore, we think that Nisanyan is a very important figure both for our party and the country as a whole,” he said.

Nisanyan is currently serving time over a charge of “deliberately causing harm to the protection of immovable cultural heritage” for his building an addition to his home in the Aegean village of Sirince. However he is known for his outspoken criticism of the government, and it is widely believed that his sentencing was simply an excuse to silence the vocal critic.

Nisanyan has been imprisoned since January 2014, and he also has a pending prison sentence of 14 years 2 months.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has summoned journalist and Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) Chairman Hasan Cemal to testify because of a column titled “The number one [person] who is responsible for the bloodshed is the sultan in the palace, period!”

The sultan in the headline apparently refers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the accompanying column says Erdogan is responsible for the current bloodshed in Turkey, Today’s Zaman reports.

Cemal was called to testify in the case and was told that if he did not appear voluntarily he would be brought in by the police. The written notice of Cemal’s investigation was signed by Istanbul public prosecutor Umut Tepe.

Cemal received the prestigious Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from Harvard University this year.

On 18 September Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan attended the opening of sculptor Toros Rasguélénian’s “Eternity” monument and a solemn ceremony of groundbreaking the “Paul Éluard’s home” Francophone center held in the French park of capital Stepanakert.

In his speech President Sahakyan noted that Artsakh-France friendship stepped into a new phase stressing that deepening friendly relations with France was among the most significant directions of Artsakh’s foreign policy. “In the face of France we have a strong and civilized friendly country with which we are connected by multiple channels. I am optimistic about the future of our bilateral relations as I see sincere aspiration and perseverance to develop our fraternal relations,” he noted.

NKR National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, a group of parliamentarians and officials from France, guests from abroad and the Diaspora, other officials partook in the event.

By Allan Lengel

As a photojournalist, Michelle Andonian has captured many compelling images over the decades.

But her photo collection from Armenia and Turkey for her new book, “This Picture I Gift,” may be her most personal. It commemorates the 100 year anniversary of the Armenian genocide, and traces, through words and photographs, the footsteps of her grandmother back home.

Her grandmother, Sarah Andonian, survived the genocide which began in 1915, during World War I. About 1.5 million people perished at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, which is now Turkey. In 1922, she came to the U.S. and settled in southwest Detroit. She passed away in 1988, but not before sharing stories of the homeland.

Over many decades, Turkey has refused to acknowledge responsibility for the genocide, despite pressures from many fronts on the world stage. Andonian says she’s long thought about that dark chapter in history.

“I have been trying to find a way to tell the Armenian story for the last 25 years,” Andonian explains, sitting in her photography studio near downtown Detroit. “After my grandmother died and after the earthquake (1988) there, I went to Armenia, and that trip has kept me going back again and again for the last 25 years.”

“So in last three years I’ve really made a concentrated effort to publish this book and get a body of work out in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.”

“I felt this book was a way to bring Turkey and Armenia together, to tell the story of genocide, to tell the story of my grandmother, who is a survivor of the genocide, and just put it out there for what it is,” says Andonian, a former photographer for the Detroit News.

On Friday, the Center Galleries at the College For Creative Studies will host a book signing and launch an exhibition, which includes photographs Andonian took of children and Armenian churches from Turkey and Armenia in recent times. The exhibition will run through Oct. 24.

Also, in October, she’ll put on performances to commemorate the genocide, “Hope Dies Last,’ a collaborate effort that combines live music and visuals. The show will premiere at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Oct. 18, with a second showing on Oct. 29 at the Macomb Center. She’s producing it in collaboration with Alexandra Du Bois, a music composer, and the Detroit Chamber Winds.

The book includes photographs from Armenia and Turkey over the past three years, plus a photo of her grandmother in 1987 in southwest Detroit. One of the photos (displayed above) shows Kurdish children standing in a historic Armenian graveyard in Turkey.

The forward in the book is written by her cousin, native Detroiter Robert Ourlian, a former Detroit News reporter who now works as a national security editor for the Wall Street Journal in Washington. Ourlian has always taken a keen interest in Armenia and the genocide.