Category: News

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received Bulgarian Ambassador to Armenia Maria Pavlova Tzotzorkova-Kaymaktchieva.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Armenia is interested in the furtherance of bilateral relations. Highlighting the development of economic cooperation and business ties, Karen Karapetyan stressed the need for reinvigorating the activities of the Armenian-Bulgarian Intergovernmental Commission.

Noting that Bulgarian investors may consider Armenia as an appropriate platform for entering the Eurasian and Iranian markets, the Premier said that the Bulgarian capital has the opportunity to engage in the free economic zone of Meghri. Karen Karapetyan went on to note that he could see good prospects of cooperation in the transport sector in terms of implementing multimodal transportations via the Black Sea-Persian Gulf transport corridor. The Prime Minister conveyed his greetings and congratulations to newly elected Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov.

Maria Pavlova Tzotzorkova-Kaymaktchieva said Bulgaria keen to strengthen relations with Armenia, noting that they could be bolstered by centuries of bilateral ties. Stressing the importance of developing economic cooperation, she considered it necessary to boost trade turnover mediating business forums, promoting new business ties and implementing investment programs. The Ambassador added that Bulgaria is ready to share its experience in different fields, including public administration and the agrarian reform.

The interlocutors concurred in that cultural and educational cooperation might serve as a milestone on the way to strengthening contacts between the two peoples by means of cultural and educational exchange programs.

Russian soldier sentenced to life for murdering a family in Gyumri, Armenia, will serve his term in Russia, RIA Novosti reports, quoting a representative of the North Caucasus Regional Military Court.

Valery Permyakov was sentenced to life for killing a family of 7 in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015.

Permyakov was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.

On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.

On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing.

The family of a prominent Armenian folk singer who died following routine gallbladder surgery accused her surgeon of missing obvious signs of infection after the operation in a medical malpractice trial currently underway in California state court,  reports.

An attorney for Flora Martirosian’s adult children accused Dr. Mardiros Mihranian of failing to prescribe adequate antibiotics and discharging their mother from Glendale Memorial Hospital despite her running a fever after surgery. During her opening statement on April 28, Amanda McClintock of Girardi & Keese LLP told jurors that these errors resulted in Martirosian’s unnecessary death.

“If the defendants had been practicing according to the standard of care, they would have kept Mrs. Martirosian in the hospital,” she said.

Martirosian was a well-known folk musician in Armenia who later developed a loyal following in the United States, going on to perform with headliners like Stevie Wonder. She underwent emergency gallbladder surgery in 2012 and died days later of sepsis at the age of 55.

McClintock told jurors that infection is one of the most common complications from this type of surgery, and that Dr. Mihranian should have determined the cause of the fever Martirosian presented the morning she was discharged. She said infection should have been even more of a concern due to Martirosian’s weight and the presence of a lap band in her abdomen, two factors that make infection even more of a risk.

When Martirosian returned to Glendale in respiratory distress after being discharged, Bradford said she was treated by a team of doctors that didn’t include Mihranian, and that everyone agrees the original surgery was done correctly.

The trial before Judge Brian Currey is still underway and expected to continue through at least May 9.

Asbarez –  The “Friends of Maria Jacobsen” committee has organized a special memorial service in commemoration of the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The ceremony will be held at the courtyard of the Bethania Lutheran Church (where Maria Jacobsen’s bust stands), 603 Atterdag Rd., Solvang, California on May 14, following the church worship service at 11 a.m.

Armenian community representatives will lay a wreath in honor and memory of 1.5 million Armenian martyrs as well as Danish humanitarian/missionary Maria Jacobsen (1882-1960) whose entire life was dedicated to serving orphaned Armenian children both in the Ottoman Empire and in Lebanon and was a key witness of the Armenian Genocide. “We are honoring Maria Jacobsen’s memory on Mother’s Day”, said Dr. Garbis Der-Yeghiayan, chairman of the Committee, “she is known as the beloved ‘Mama” by her grateful former orphan children.”

On October 23, 2016, Jacobsen’s bust was unveiled in the courtyard of the Bethania Luthern Church in the presence of hundreds of her admirers, including her former orphans.

The Committee will make an important announcement at the conclusion of the memorial ceremony: Student Essay Contest in Honor and Memory of Maria Jacobsen. The theme of the essay contest is: In the more than 100 years that have passed since the first Genocide of the 20th century – the Armenian Genocide of bigotry, prejudice, intolerance, persecution, deportations, and heinous plans to annihilate a nation – what you believe your generation can do to make NEVER AGAIN a reality? The essay contest is open to all students attending Armenian, public or private high schools in Southern California and all high school students living in Solvang, California.

The Mother See of holy Etchmiadzin will donate a four-room apartment to the family that welcomed quintuplets earlier this week.  Fr. Vahram Melikyan, Director of Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has confirmed the news.

“The church always keeps the issues of large families in the spotlight, trying to support them both spiritually and materially to the extent of its capacities,” he said.

“Upon learning the news, Catholicos Karekin II decided to support the family to help ensure a peaceful childhood to the newborns,” Fr. Vahram said.

Lusine Poghosyan, 23, gave birth to naturally conceived quintuplets (four girls and a boy) at Erebuni Medical Center on May 3.

The US Missio to the OSCE has expressed regret over the closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

“The United States regrets the impending closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. We lament the loss of the last OSCE field operation in the South Caucasus,” Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Kate M. Byrnes told the Permanent Council.

The statement reads:

Field operations provide invaluable support to their host countries by helping to strengthen adherence to OSCE principles and commitments, providing early warning and crisis management, and promoting dialogue between government and civil society.

We appreciate the determined effort of both the German and Austrian Chairmanships to resolve the impasse over the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. We regret that Azerbaijan refused to agree to extend the mandate unless the Office ended its humanitarian demining-related activities. Armenia, in the spirit of compromise, agreed that the Office in Yerevan would end these activities. Despite months of effort by the Chairmanship, it could not find language satisfactory to all participating States regarding a Permanent Council decision extending the mandate of the Office.

We recognize the Armenian government’s cooperation with the OSCE. The Office in Yerevan has played an important role in supporting the host country with implementation of its OSCE commitments in all three dimensions. The Office’s promotion of community policing; assistance with tax and regulatory reform; and support for human rights defenders, women’s equality and media freedom, were bringing about positive results.

The United States encourages the OSCE to continue cooperation with the Republic of Armenia – with both the government and civil society. We call on the Chairmanship and the Secretary General to explore new ways of maintaining an OSCE presence in Armenia, and throughout the South Caucasus.

Finally, the United States would also like to thank Ambassador Avakov and his staff for their outstanding work and dedication, particularly during the past months of uncertainty over the future of the Office. We wish them the best in their future endeavors.

The Armenian Government will allocate funds from its reserve funds to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of providing humanitarian aid to Syrian citizens affected by crisis.

The government approved the decision at a sitting today.

The sum will be transferred to the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund for purchasing the necessary goods.

Armenia to Syria earlier this year.

Horizon Weekly – On May 2, 2017, Turkish parliamentarian of Armenian descent and a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Mr. Garo Paylan held a series of meetings in Ottawa and Montreal with Members of Parliament and various current and former Canadian officials.

During his meetings, Mr. Paylan had the opportunity to provide an overview of the current political climate in Turkey, the aftermath of the constitutional referendum and the ongoing uncertainty and concern regarding the rights and freedoms of minorities living in Turkey.

Later during the day, Mr. Paylan also had the opportunity to meet Canada’s former Minister of Justice and Attorney General and current head of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, the Hon. Irwin Cotler, where similar issues were raised and discussed.

Sixteen national organizations joined an Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) initiative earlier this year to prevent genocide denial ads from appearing in American newspapers, billboards and other media. Unlike 2016 and previous years, no major media carried genocide denial advertising in April 2017.

“We are thankful to our coalition partners who are principled in the matter of inadmissibility of genocide denial in any form,” said ANCA-ER Chairman Steve Mesrobian. “Genocide denial is not ‘provocative’ or ‘scholarly debate,’ but deeply offensive hate speech and we are glad to see such positive results from our ongoing anti-defamation activities. We are committed in ensuring that the memory of all the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and all other genocides are properly commemorated and remembered.”

A coalition of sixteen national anti-genocide and human rights organizations joined the ANCA-ER in efforts directed at major newspapers and advertising companies in the US.  The initiative sought to heighten awareness of attempts to place genocide denial advertising and to urge these companies not to accept such ads.

In April 2016, the ANCA-ER led a successful grassroots mobilization in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, and other areas to force media giants like ClearChannel to immediately bring down genocide denial billboards and issue an apology.  After the appearance of similar advertising in The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and The Philadelphia Inquirer in late April 2016, the ANCA-ER assembled a coalition of 14 anti-genocide and human rights groups which called upon the newspapers to formally review their advertising polices to prevent the placement of genocide denial ads in the future.

Earlier this year the ANCA-ER, together with its coalition partners, proactively reached out to media outlets across the US to remind them not to accept such advertising.

PHOTO: AFP/GETTY

 

The Duke of Edinburgh is retiring from royal duties this autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced, the BBC reports.

The decision was made by Prince Philip himself and is supported by the Queen, a palace spokesman said.

The duke, who turns 96 next month, will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August but will not accept new invitations.

The Queen “will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements”, the palace said.

The duke carried out 110 days of engagements in 2016, making him the fifth busiest member of the royal family, according to Court Circular listings.

He is patron, president or a member of more than 780 organisations and will continue to be associated with them, but “will no longer play an active role by attending engagements”, Buckingham Palace said.

In the statement, the spokesman said the duke “may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time”.