Category: News

 

 

 

“There cannot be two opinions regarding the killings of the innocent people, be it in this region, Asia, Africa or in Latin America. We are obliged to adopt the universal values,” India’s Vice President

India’s Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari met with students and faculty of the Yerevan State University today and visited the Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts.

On a three-day official visit to Armenia, Vice President Hamid Ansari visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Tuesday to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Speaking about the feelings, the Vice-President said “any killing of humans by other human beings can generate only one feeling.” He said “it’s part of history no one can be proud of.”

“There cannot be two opinions regarding the killings of the innocent people, be it in this region, Asia, Africa or in Latin America. We are obliged to adopt the universal values,” he added.

Hamid Ansari also revealed the message he left in the guestbook of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. “These materials are witnesses to the terrible violence that befell the Armenian people. Only through values like tolerance and mutual understanding can we hope for a peaceful and harmonious future,” he wrote.

Born in the city of Kolkata so dear to Armenians, India’s Vice-President emphasized the centuries-old Armenian-Indian ties and hailed the role of Armenians in the development of his country.

“I’ve come to a country far from India, but close to the individual and collective memory of Indians,” Hamid Ansari stressed. “This year we celebrate the 25^th anniversary of diplomatic relations and I hope high-level visits will contribute to the further deepening of relations,” he said.

Armenia has welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity.

“The resolution adopted by Czech lawmakers along with President Milos Zeman’s statements condemning the Armenian Genocide, are a valuable contribution of the Czech Republic to the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

Armenia is ranked 79th among 180 countries in the 2017 Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders.

According to the report, “the print media in Armenia are diverse and polarized, investigative journalism prospers on the Internet, but pluralism lags behind in the broadcast media. In the crucial transition to digital TV, a future space for critical broadcasters will depend on the impartiality of the frequency bidding process.”

Other countries in the region are placed as follows: Russia – 148th, Georgia – 64th, Turkey – 155th, Azerbaijan – 162nd, Iran – 165th.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands are ranked as the countries with the highest degree of freedom for journalists.

North Korea ranked last, with Reporters Without Borders saying the country “continues to keep its population in ignorance and terror.Also at the bottom of the list, just ahead of North Korea, were Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and China.

Glendale residents and community leaders came out Monday night to a commemorative event in honor of the roughly 1.5 million Armenians killed more than a century ago by Ottoman Turks during the Armenian Genocide, the informs.

Although a somber night, the event held at the Alex Theatre aimed to unite those in attendance as a community through awareness of Armenian culture and history. Event speakers included Glendale Mayor Paula Devine, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and keynote speaker Robert Avetisyan.

Schiff started by expressing his disappointment that President Donald Trump and past U.S. presidents have failed to recognize the massacre as a genocide, but added that their inaction shouldn’t deter the community from seeking recognition and justice.

“The souls of 1.5 million demand it,” Schiff said.

He also took the time to lambast Trump for sending a congratulatory message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week despite protests from Trump’s own state department — along with international monitoring groups — after a series of voting irregularities during the country’s referendum that expanded presidential powers.

“The changes have effectively empowered one man, President Erdogan, who has systematically seized political power in the country and marginalized or imprisoned his critics,” Schiff said. “And what did America have to say about this? Sadly our answer was only ‘congratulations’ … We cannot defend democracy when we celebrate its defeat.”

Between speeches, performances by the Zvartnots dance ensemble and music by guests Harout Pampoukjian and Narek Makaryan rounded out the event.

The audience was also treated to portions of “I Am Alive,” the first-ever musical about the Armenian Genocide by Emmy-nominated composer Denise Gentili.

City Councilman Ara Najarian, also a co-chair on the annual commemoration event committee, shared a story contained in a 250-page memoir written by his grandfather that was discovered recently. It details a firsthand account of the Armenian Genocide.

Through tears, Najarian read from his grandfather’s story about an emaciated boy he found near death in the fields after returning home from the market.

Najarian’s grandfather, a boy himself at the time, hid and nursed the sick boy back to health until one day a Turkish man shot the boy dead.

Avetisyan, a representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic to the United States, spoke about ongoing Armenian strength and resilience despite the human-rights atrocity committed against them.

“Armenians survived to fight for justice, to make the world a safer place by sharing lessons of our history and doing whatever we can to prevent more genocides,” Avetisyan said.

Hebrew University professors and students along with representatives of the Armenian community in Jerusalem gathered Tuesday in order to pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians massacred by Ottoman soldiers in the Armenian genocide committed from 1915 to 1923, reports.

Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Jerusalem Mr Tsolag Momjian addressed the crowd and affirmed that he hopes for a day when Israel recognizes the Armenian genocide.

“Yesterday Armenians all over the world commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian genocide,” he said. “Yesterday Israel also marked annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, on this occasion I would like to express my solidarity with the Jewish people who died during the Second World War.”

Very Reverend Father Samuel Aghoyan, who spoke on behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, explained that, while Armenians were being killed, the world remained silent.

“The world at the time was silent and never tried to stop it, thus Armenians lost more than one and half million of their people,”Aghoyan said. “My parents were the lucky ones to escape from being killed but their relatives and brothers were the victims.”

“Turkey today vehemently denies that its ancestors committed such barbaric acts and it is sad to say that the Israeli government has not the courage to side with justice by recognizing the historical fact of genocide of the Armenians,” he said.

Aghoyan affirmed that the world has not learned the lessons of the past.

“It seems that the world has not been changed since 1915, because today we hear of and witness new genocide being carried out on different scales and in different parts of the world, “ he said, affirming that “the great powers could care less- by shutting their eyes they silently permit them to happen.”

Aghoyan issued a call saying that “It is time for Turkey to stop lying,” and admit to the “horrible and inhumane” massacres committed by its ancestors.

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian, Sergey Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov will hold a meeting in Moscow on April 28.

The discussions will focus on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Th European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) organised a briefing to assess the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on 2 April, and their consequences for the future of the Armenia-EU cooperation.

Heidi Hautala, Member of the European Parliament who led the EP’s delegation which was an integral part of the International Electoral Observation Mission (IEOM), was the speaker at this Briefing, which was moderated by Diogo Pinto, Director of EuFoA, and attended by more than 30 representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, diplomatic corps and international NGOs.

Mr Pinto thanked and welcomed the speaker and the participants, and reminded that these were the first elections held in Armenia following the constitutional amendments, approved in a referendum in December 2015, which reduced the powers of the President in favour of the Prime Minister and the Parliament, and changed the electoral system from a majoritarian to a largely proportional one, and that they took place just a couple of weeks after the initialling of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

Ms Hautala, in her initial remarks, noted that the elections were preceded by an extremely constructive and inclusive process, which led to a new, consensual Electoral Code, and reminded that the EU contributed financially to the success of the elections, namely through the introduction of Voter Authentication Devices (VADs) and web cameras, which helped identifying voters and preventing multiple voting, impersonatio
n and fraud, significantly increasing the overall transparency. Ms Hautala added that despite the fact that the elections were well administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, observers were confronted with credible information about vote-buying and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies, exerted by various candidates from different parties.

During the interesting debate that followed, both the Central Election Commission and the Precinct Election Commissions were praised for the professional and transparent way in which their work was conducted; the public TV channel H1 was acknowledged for devoting equitable coverage to all contestants in its newscast; but concerns were expressed regarding the ownership and the independence of the media, and the causes and effects of the phenomenon of vote-buying.

In conclusion, and despite the shortcomings which need further investigation so they can be eradicated and overcome, these elections confirmed that Armenia is on the right track to consolidate itself as a strong democracy, where both the government and the opposition are able to learn from mistakes and integrate criticism. In this context, the EU should continue to encourage reforms and support Armenia’s sovereignty and independence, namely through assistance promoting the independence of the judiciary, transparency of the political process and good governance, but also training for journalists and continued empowerment of civil society.

Mr Pinto, speaking after the briefing, said: “This was a successful event, and I am happy to see that it attracted the interest of so many people. We wish all the best to the recently elected members of the National Assembly of Armenia, and look forward to seeing a renewed cooperation with the EU. The signature of the new Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which we hope will happen soon, will add impetus to that”.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

Controllers and scientists must wait until Thursday to hear from Cassini, the BBC reports.

The probe was due early on Wednesday to make the first of 22 dives in between Saturn’s cloudtops and the inner edge of its spectacular rings.

The daredevil flights are designed to gather pictures and other science data of unprecedented resolution.

But Cassini was out of radio contact for the duration of the plunge and is not scheduled to re-establish communications for another day.

Because the probe was moving so fast – at over 110,000km/h – there was some risk attached to flying through the ring plane.

An impact with even a tiny ice or rock particle at that velocity could do a lot of damage, and so the decision was made to point Cassini’s big antenna in the direction of travel, to act as a shield.

But, of course, that meant it could not also then talk to Earth at the same time.

Assuming all goes well, 21 similar dives will be made over the course of the next five months before the probe dumps itself in the atmosphere of Saturn. With so little fuel left in its tanks, Cassini cannot continue its mission for much longer.

The US space agency (Nasa) is calling the gap-runs the “grand finale”, in part because of their ambition. They promise pictures of unparalleled resolution and science data that finally unlocks key puzzles about the make-up and history of this huge world.

“We’re going to top off this mission with a lot of new measurements – some amazing new data,” said Athena Coustenis from the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France.

“We’re expecting to get the composition, structure and dynamics of the atmosphere, and fantastic information about the rings,” she told the BBC.

A key objective is to determine the mass and therefore the age of the rings. The more massive they are, the older they are likely to be – perhaps as old as Saturn itself.

Scientists will do this by studying how the velocity of the probe is altered as it flies through the gravity field generated by the planet and the great encircling bands of ice.

Armenian delegation led by Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has left for Moscow to participate in the 6th Moscow Conference on International Security.

Minister Sargsyan is expected to hold a number of meetings on the sidelines of the conference.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber.

The interlocutors referred to Armenia-EU relations, parliamentary elections in Armenia, reforms to be implemented in different spheres, as well as the opportunities of furthering the negotiation process on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The EU Special Representative congratulated President Sargsyan on the successful conduct of parliamentary elections, underlining that Armenia made a serious step towards stability and reinforcement of democracy. Mr. Salber hailed the progress in Armenia-EU relations.

President Sargsyan, in turn, emphasized EU’s considerable contribution in the process of preparation of the elections, which helped organize elections meeting international standards.

Serzh Sargsyan and Herbert Salber discussed the perspectives of furthering the negotiation process, the existing problems and challenges, the ways of EU’s possible contribution to the process.

The EU Special Representative assured of the European Union’s willingness to contribute to the settlement of the conflict by supporting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs within the bounds of possibility.