Category: News

Massis Post – The Armenian Studies Program and Armenian Students Organization of California State University, Fresno are co-sponsoring the 15th Annual Armenian Film Festival on Friday, February 17, 2017.

The featured film making its Fresno premiere is SaroyanLand (2013) (Turkey), directed by Lusin Dink. SaroyanLand is a docu-drama focusing on the journey of famous writer William Saroyan to the birthplace of his Armenian family Bitlis, in Turkey in 1964. While retaking the same road, the film aims to understand Saroyan’s unique attitude to belonging, witnessing the self-discovery of a man who followed the traces of his Armenian ancestors.

The featured short film is director Anahid Nazarian’s Shesh-Besh (2012), shot entirely on location in Fresno. JC & Son Automotive is an auto garage in Fresno where Armenian men and other locals gather daily to play backgammon and catch up on the local gossip. The business of the auto garage seems almost a side aspect of what is in essence a men’s social club, the main focus being the game of backgammon. Those who come here continue the old country tradition of their fathers and grandfathers of meeting at social gathering places and enjoying each other’s company.

Also showing will be I Hate Dogs!: The Last Survivor (2005) (Sweden) by directors PeAHolmquist and Suzanne Khardalian. Garbis Hagopian-Ghazarian is a dynamic person of 99 years old, who lives in Paris. He is one of the last survivors of the Armenian Genocide. He has a deep secret that has made him hate dogs. The film is about the art of survival.

Georgian citizens will be able to enter the Schengen area without a visa for short stays, under a new law passed by Parliament on Thursday.

The legislation still needs to be formally approved by the Council and will only enter into force once the suspension mechanism, which allows the temporary reintroduction of visas in the event of migration surges or risks to public security, is in place.

Parliament´s rapporteur for the proposal, Mariya Gabriel (EPP, BG), acknowledged the “broad and complex reforms” carried out by Georgia in order to get the visa waiver and thanked the country’s authorities and citizens for their consistency and patience. She also congratulated them on the strength of their democratic conviction and noted that the visa exemption brings the country closer to the EU.

Under the visa exemption, endorsed in plenary by 553 votes to 66, with 28 abstentions, Georgians who hold a biometric passport will have the right to enter the EU visa-free for 90 days in any 180-day period, for business, tourist or family purposes, but not to work.

Tbilisi has complied with all the benchmarks of its visa liberalisation plan, the text notes, underlining that “continuous fulfilment by Georgia of such criteria, especially on the fight against organised crime, will be duly monitored by the Commission.”

The visa waivers apply to the Schengen area, which includes 22 EU member states (all except Ireland, the UK, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria), plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

 

The legal change transferring Georgia from the list of countries whose nationals need a visa to enter the EU (the “negative” list) to the list of countries exempted from this requirement (the “positive” list) will have now to be approved by the Council of Ministers. Following its formal signature, the text will be published in the EU Official Journal.

The visa waiver for Georgia will enter into force on the same date as the revised  suspension mechanism, approved by Parliament on 15 December but still pending finalisation of the official translation of the legal texts

The Azerbaijani side used firearms of different calibers as it violated the ceasefire more than 20 times at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

Karabakh Defense Army reports about 130 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

Besides, as it was reported earlier, the in the northeastern direction of the line of contact at about 15:00 yesterday.

The NKR troops were quick to thwart the attack, capturing one Azeri soldier.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep full control of the situation at the frontline and confidently continue with the protection of the military positions, the Defense Ministry said.

No one has suffered in a road accident in Syunik province, Spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan has said.

Speaking to Public Radio of Armenia, the Spokesman refuted the reports on a major crash involving a military vehicle.

“The vehicle has not crashed, it has just run off the road,” Hovhannisyan said. He added that none of the soldiers in the car has been injured, no one has been hospitalized.

Armenia and China are planning to expand business cooperation and expand the trade relations. For this purpose, the Armenian government has adopted a decision, under which Armenia will appoint a Trade Attaché to China.

The presence of Armenia’s Trade Attaché in China will allow to better present the Armenian economic interests in China, will facilitate the bilateral cooperation in the economic, commercial, scientific-technical fields and  contribute to the establishment of ties.

The decision also pursues the aim of contributing to the implementation of the provisions of the Trade and Economic Agreement signed between the governments of Armenia and China.

Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, has been sworn in as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, the BBC reports.

The Texas native, 64, was cleared for full Senate approval in a 56-43 vote.

Mr Tillerson, who has never held political office, faced intense scrutiny over his ties to Russia.

“If confirmed, I will work with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful, long-term solution that allows for stability and prosperity in the region,” Tillerson during his  confirmation hearingat the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 23.

“The first step in this process must be to build trust by ensuring that all agreements between the parties are respected,” said Tillerson, calling the “frozen” Nagorno-Karabakh conflict “a threat to stability in the region and U.S. national security interests.”

On a question regarding US recognition of the Armenian Genocide and holding Turkey accountable for pursuing its current policy, Tillerson responded to Menendez (D-NJ) and Markey (D-Mass.) by saying, “The tragic atrocities of 1915 remain a painful issue in the relationship between Armenia and Turkey, and it is in the U.S. interest to ensure peaceful and stable relations between the two countries. If confirmed, I will support a full accounting of the historical events and an open dialogue between Armenia and Turkey in the interest of regional stability.”

Reuters – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans a referendum on whether Ukraine should join the NATO alliance given polls that show 54 percent of Ukrainians now favor such a move, Germany’s Funke Mediengruppe newspaper chain reported Thursday.

“Four years ago, only 16 percent (of the Ukrainian people) favored Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Now it’s 54 percent,” the media group quoted Poroshenko as saying in an interview. “As president, I am guided by the views of my people, and I will hold a referendum on the issue of NATO membership.”

He vowed to “do all I can to achieve membership in the transatlantic alliance” if the people voted in favor.

Manchester United remain four points off the Premier League’s top four after being held to a 0-0 draw by Hull City at Old Trafford, Goal.com reports.

The Red Devils struggled for fluency throughout against Marco Silva’s side and the result could have been worse for them if a superb effort from Lazar Markovic late on had not caught the post.

United’s best chance fell to Juan Mata, who appeared certain to score at the far post when Chris Smalling headed across goal only for Eldin Jakupovic to make a stunning save.

Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool all failed to win in their respective league outings on Tuesday but with Manchester City beating West Ham, Jose Mourinho’s men remain adrift in the race for Champions League qualification.

Refusing from its own soldiers fully fits into Azerbaijani logic, Spokesman of the NKR Defense Ministry Senor Hasratyan has said.

The comments come after the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said yesterday that the Azerbaijani citizen captured by the Karabakh forces on February 1 is not registered in the Armed Forces.

“In response to the report of the NKR Defense Ministry on an infiltration attempt on the part of the Azeri troops, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense issued a statement, claiming that Elnur Huseynzade, captured by Armenian forces had been expelled from the Armed Forces because of being an undisciplined serviceman,” Senor Hasratyan wrote in a Facebook post.

Baku’s refusal from its own soldiers fully fits into Azerbaijani logic, the Spokesman said.

“It’s not understandable and illogical how a serviceman expelled form army could penetrate into a zone between the positions of conflicting troops in military uniform and armed, try to carry out a special mission and get captures as a result,” Senot Hasratyan said.

On an official visit to Iran, Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan visited the editorial office of the Armenian Alik daily.

During the meeting with the editorial staff, Vigen Sargsyan spoke about Armenian-Iranian relations, the ongoing work at the Armed Forces and the future plans. He presented the achievements of the Army and answered questions. The Defense Minister briefed the attendees on the provisions of the “Army-nation”idea.

The delegation headed by Vigen Sargsyan later visited the Tehran Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and met with Prelate, Archbishop Sepuh Sargsyan and representatives of the Armenian community.

The Defense Minister hailed the constructive role of the Armenian Church and Diaspora organizations in the preservation of the Armenian identity, as well as the reinforcement of Armenian-Iranian friendly relations and their further development.