Category: News

They stand at 8 to 15 feet tall, surrounding people with their knowing faces. Imposing photographic sculptures of  survivors from the 1915 Armenian genocide come to life in California State University, Northridge photography professor Levon Parian’s exhibition “iwitness,” according to the

Showcased at Los Angeles Grand Central Park, Parian’s 24 mammoth photo sculptures stand out at the epicenter of a maze-like installation. Each of the structures is supported by 2,000 lbs. of cement at the base and 500 lbs. of steel for the frame to be able to withstand 125-mph wind, Parian said.

“The whole point was to make a public art statement in an environment that is huge,” Parian said. “It needed to be something that people would notice. This way people have to actually walk through and around the images.”

With this year being the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Parian and his photography partner, Ara Oshagan, and architect Vahagn Thomasian used “iwitness” as a testament to the survivors in their show. The photo structures are  part of a much larger project.

Parian began photographing Armenian Genocide survivors in 1989. In 1996 he started to work with Oshagan on what is now called the “Genocide Project,” a series of more than 80 portraits and oral histories from eye witness survivors designed to bring attention to the genocide.

“The reason we pursue this work is to preserve history and to counter the Turkish government’s denial of the genocide,” Parian said. “The word ‘genocide’ was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe the events of what happened to the Armenians in 1915, so how can you deny it?”

As both sides of his family have survivors, his work is also a testament to them.

“My mother’s parents fled to Jerusalem and stayed in an Armenian convent, and my father’s father was an Ottoman cavalry soldier who escaped to the desert and brought thousands of fellow survivors to safety,” he said.

The show will be at Los Angeles Grand Central Park through May 31, but Parian said he hopes the park is just the first stop.

“We’ve had offers from Fresno, Sacramento, New York and even Paris,” he said. “There are still a lot of possibilities for the show to travel.”

Parian noted that the “Genocide Project” is ever developing. A book will soon be published with stories and images of survivors.

“It’s a work in progress; it has been since its inception,” he said.

A jury has sentenced Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to the death penalty, the BBC reports.

After 14 hours of deliberation, the jury of five men and seven women came to its decision.

Three people were killed and 260 were injured when Tsarnaev and his brother placed bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.

Jurors made findings on 12 factors that would support the death penalty and 21 mitigating factors his defence said support the decision of life in prison.

Seven of 30 charges Tsarnaev, 21, was convicted of allow the possibility of the death penalty.

The Turkish government is discussing ways to save the Armenian orphanage in Tuzla from demolition, said the head of the Foundations Department, adding nationalization is the best option, reports. 

Syria’s army dispatched reinforcements to Palmyra in a bid to push back jihadis who advanced Friday to within touching distance of the ancient city, officials and a monitor said, AFP reports.

“Islamic State group jihadis are now one kilometer from the archeological site of Palmyra,” Rami Abdel Rahman, director of activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

UNESCO describes Palmyra as a heritage site of “outstanding universal value.”

The ancient metropolis stood on a caravan route at the crossroads of several civilisations and its 1st and 2nd century temples and colonnaded streets mark a unique blend of Graeco-Roman and Persian influences.

Since ISIS’s offensive began Tuesday night, more than 138 combatants – including 73 soldiers and 65 jihadis – have been killed.

But the governor of central Homs province, where Palmyra is located, said the situation was “under control.”

“The army has sent reinforcements and it is bombing the (IS) positions from the air,” said Talal Barazi.

According to Barazi, the inner city houses about 35,000 people, including displaced Syrians who fled there after their hometowns were engulfed in violence, and the suburbs host roughly another 35,000.

– Following a six-month course of church doctrine and basic knowledge of Christian belief, 12 more Dersim Armenians took their first step back to Christianity with a collective baptism ceremony. Two married couples also held religious engagement ceremonies following the baptism ceremony held on 9 May 2015, Saturday at the Yeşilköy Surp Istepanos Church.

The efforts of forcibly Islamised Armenians to ‘return to their identity’ has accelerated in recent years. Such individuals display a desire to live and express their identity openly, which they are forced to conceal in their neighbourhood, at school and at their workplace, and to bring an end to the division of identities sometimes even experienced within the same family.

Dersim Armenians have thus organized collective baptism ceremonies at Armenian churches to officially rturn to their religion. Following a six-month course of church doctrine and basic knowledge of Christian belief, 12 more Dersim Armenians took their first step back to Christianity with a collective baptism ceremony. Two married couples also held religious engagement ceremonies following the baptism ceremony held on 9 May 2015, Saturday at the Yeşilköy Surp Istepanos Church.

A new life

Led by Father Dırtad Uzunyan, the baptism ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Aram Ateşyan. Nazar Binatlı, Pakrat Estukyan, Boğos Çolak, Kamer Karataylı ve Hagop Altınkaya were the godfathers of the Dersimians who returned to Christianity and took the names Karin, Derev, Naira, Lia, Arev, Arşaluys, Kristin, Hovnan, Rupen, Hovannes Minas, Lusin Mane and Minas. The couples Boğos-Sırpuhi Çolak and Hovannes-Lusin Çolak consolidated their marriage ties by repeating their vows in the presence of the Church. Yervant Dink and Kamer Karataylı acted as groomsmen for the couple.

We spoke to some of the Dersim Armenians who were baptized on Saturday at the Surp Istepanos Church, and asked them about their feelings.

Arev: ‘We are returning to our roots’

‘I am now experiencing the freedom of being able to defend myself against those who insult us. Today, I am the happiest person in the world. For years, Armenians suffered the greatest insults at my workplace, and I could not speak back, fearing I would lose my job. From now on, I will wear my cross around my neck. We dreamed of this day since our childhood. We are returning to our roots.’

Hovannes Minas: ‘We began as three, we ended up as twelve’

‘This is a very happy day for me. I have been both baptized, and we held our religious marriage ceremony. It is an inexpressible happiness. We never forgot our religion. We can live freely now. I had made a promise to my mother and father to bury them in an Armenian cemetery, I was able to keep that promise as well. We were three of us when we decided to become baptized, and we achieved our purpose as 12. We are very happy.’

Hovnan: ‘I will wear the Patriarchate’s cross around my neck’

‘I am very excited. We all received a course to become Christians. It was a beautiful experience to meet Archbishop Aram Ateşyan. The cross presented to us as a gift by the Patriarchate is very meaningful for me, I will wear it around my neck for the rest of my life. In the past, I could not defend myself on this issue, now I can. I feel much freer now, I can express my identity to everyone.’

Kristin: ‘I can now freely say I am a Christian’

‘I feel amazing. I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I no longer have to conceal my identity. I can now freely say I am a Christian. I felt, from time to time, both in the Armenian community and my circle of friends, that I was being excluded because I had not been baptized, but this emancipation will serve as a remedy.’

Genealogy, the group that represents Armenia at Eurovision Song Contest 2015, today presented a new song as a gift for their fans and all the Armenians around the world.

The song titled “Menq enq mer Sarery” (We are Our Mountains) is about Armenian spirit, nation and unity of Armenians.

 

 

 

Armenia will host an International Conference on women entrepreneurship “Vision of new developments” June 8-11. Laura Frati Gucci, member of the famous Gucci family, and the Princess of Kuwait, one of the 100 outstanding Arab women in the world, will arrive in Armenia to participate in the conference.

The conference is organized by AYWA (Armenian Young Women’s Association) & WENA (Women Entrepreneurs Network in Armenia) under the umbrella of FCEM (World Association of Women Entrepreneurs). Head of the Armenian Young Women’s Association Lilit Asatryan assures the event will be interesting and promising.

The conference aims to present the successful experience of women entrepreneurs from different countries, share the ideas and experience to establish a good basis for further cooperation among the local and international business women.

The conference is a good stage for women entrepreneurs to create new links with potential new partners, to find opportunities for investments in Armenia, to widen the network of women entrepreneurship on global level.

Particularly the encouraged areas for investment and cooperation are education, culture, energy, tourism, IT, (mining, textile, chemical, and other) Industry, agriculture. Conference also aims to identify the challenges in the entrepreneurship and encourage the strengthening women entrepreneurship communities on national and global levels.

FCEM members, other networks members, women entrepreneurs from different countries, representatives of businesses, state bodies, financial structures, international organizations, public sector, mass media, scientists and experts are invited to participate in the conference.

Participants of the 9th Bologna Process Ministerial Conference and the Fourth Bologna Policy Forum in Yerevan unanimously adopted the Yerevan Communiqué and the Statement of the Statement of the Fourth Bologna Policy Forum. The final sitting was chaired by Armenian Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyanand was attended by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

The Ministers responsible for Higher Education and Heads of Delegation to the Fourth Bologna Policy Forum reaffirmed their cooperation in developing higher education.

“Political instability in many of the countries, a high level of unemployment and migration arising from economic and social crisis and lack of access to higher education are among the challenges that we are facing. At the same time national awakening in the countries is arising hopes of the people for more democratic and tolerant societies, providing opportunities for personal development, as well as development of quality higher education. Reforms of higher education should further the development of democratic culture and equip our societies with the knowledge, understanding and skills to help address the challenges we face. Protect staff and students in answering the academic freedom, integrity and autonomy of higher education institutions is a key to achieving this,” the Ministers said.

“Mobility of students and staff facilitates exchange and creation of new knowledge and helps to build mutual trust and understanding. The rapid technological developments will impact on higher education and the way in which it will be reformed,” the document reads.

The next Bologna Policy Forum will be organized in 2018 in France in conjunction with the Ministerial conference.

The OSCE Minsk Group met in Italy for consultations on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.

“Consultations with the Italians take place today,” Jarlick said.

“ All Minsk Group countries support peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Karabakh conflict,” the American diplomat added.

France has offered to refund about 785 million euros ($865 million) besides re-export rights for cancelling the Mistral amphibious assault ship deal with Russia, but the latter has demanded 1.163 billion euros ($1.32 billion).

According to Sputnik News, Moscow disapproves the motion since the costs and losses of Russia due to the breach of the contract are estimated at about 1.163 billion euros ($1.32 billion). Moreover, Russia does not intend to issue any re-export permit before the money is returned, according to Kommersant.

Russia and France sealed a $1.5-billion deal for two Mistral-class ships in 2011. The handover of the first ship was slated for November 2014, but the ceremony did not take place. French President Francois Hollande put the delivery on hold, citing alleged interference by Moscow in the Ukrainian crisis.

Presidents of Russia and France Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande discussed the issue at a meeting in Yerevan, as the two attended the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial in the Armenian capital.