Category: News

President Serzh Sargsyan sent today a congratulatory message to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

“Distinguished Mr. President,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birth anniversary.

I sincerely wish you great health and new success in your policies aimed at the increase of the well-being of the citizens of Russia, prosperity of the country and strengthening of its role on the international arena.

There is no doubt that joint and consistent deepening and enrichment of the potential of our countries’ allied cooperation, based on the centuries-long brotherly and friendly relations of our countries, allows to register significant results in all areas of the Armenian-Russian cooperation. Thanks to your personal input, important interstate strategic agreements, including economic, military-technical, investment, humanitarian and other, are being called to life.

I am confident that the intensive and efficient political dialogue and our regular meetings will continue to play an important role in the active development of the entire complex of the Armenian-Russian cooperation on the bilateral level as well as in the framework of international and regional unions.

Joint steps aimed at the productive functioning of the Eurasian Economic Union, adaptation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and further development of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s structure create qualitatively new conditions for the future development of the allied relations for the benefit of our peoples, stability and security in the region.

I am glad for the upcoming opportunity to welcome you at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Armenia.

I cordially wish you, Distinguished Mr. President, all the best and success in all your undertakings,” reads the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia.

Photo: AP

 

The winner of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced later in Norway’s capital, Oslo, the BBC reports.

The winner of the prestigious award has been selected from a list of 376 candidates – 228 are individuals and 148 are organisations.

However, who or what they are is meant to be kept closely guarded secret.

Despite this, a list of front-runners has emerged – including Syria’s White Helmets, and the negotiators of the Iran nuclear deal.

Last year, the prize went to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a group lauded for helping their country’s transition to democracy, instead of Angela Merkel – who was widely thought to be in the running for her work with refugees.

Armenian serviceman Hayk Levon Hambartsumyan was wounded in Azeri firing at about 08:30 this morning, when protecting one of the military units located in the southern direction of the NKR Defense Army.

Probe into the details of the incident is under way, the NKR Defense Ministry said.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire about 50 times last night, firing more than 1,800 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock has officially proclaimed September 21, 2016 as “Armenian Independence Day” for the “twin states of the Armenian homeland, Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic),” reports the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR).

“Mayor Hancock’s celebration of the Armenian homeland and recognition of Artsakh’s ongoing struggle against aggression is a testament to the firm dedication of Armenian American grassroots in the Mile High City and the State of Colorado to raise awareness about human rights issues, including Azerbaijan’s April 2016 anti-Armenian war crimes,” remarked ANCA-WR Executive Director Elen Asatryan. “We thank the Hancock administration for their unwavering support of universal human rights, including recognizing Artsakh’s independence and ongoing struggle to preserve its ancient Christian heritage and protect its freedom-loving indigenous Armenian population against an army that wipes out medieval monuments and tortures civilians and soldiers alike,” continued Asatryan.

The proclamation notes that “the Denver Metro Area is home to thousands of productive and patriotic Armenian Americans who have enriched our city for many decades,” and that “Artsakh continues the monumental struggle to maintain its indigenous Armenian identity, preserve medieval monuments and secure its borders against war crimes.” Mayor Hancock’s Proclamation notes ANCA-WR’s “commit[ment] to advancing issues of concern to the Armenian community,” and “congratulates the Armenian community on their commitment to their heritage, their engagement in their new homeland and their ability to survive and thrive despite the challenges.”

The Washington, D.C.-based and US Office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic also thanked the City and County of Denver, as well as the area’s vibrant Armenian American community for celebrating the Armenian homeland’s 25th independence anniversary. “We are grateful to Mayor Hancock and to the people of Denver for marking and celebrating this important anniversary. For over a quarter of a century Artsakh has been living as a sovereign democracy and remains resolute to continue protecting its choice for freedom. We are grateful for this support and look forward to continued cooperation. I also want to thank the ANCA-WR for their steadfast efforts towards raising awareness about our nation’s common struggle for the security and prosperity of independent Artsakh” remarked Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of Artsakh to the United States.

Mr. Avetisyan also thanked ANCA-Colorado and the ANCA-WR Regional Office in Denver for their ongoing support of Artsakh that builds on community-wide successes such as the April 24, 2015 unveiling of the Armenians of Colorado-sponsored Colorado State Capitol Armenian Genocide Monument – a replica of one of the 2,000 medieval Djulfa khachkars demolished by the Azerbaijani army.

The full text of the Proclamation reads:
“City and County of Denver

Proclamation

WHEREAS, the Denver Metro Area is home to thousands of productive and patriotic Armenian Americans who have enriched our city for many decades; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, the twin states of the Armenian homeland, Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), celebrate the 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, Artsakh continues the monumental struggle to maintain its indigenous Armenian identity; preserve medieval monuments and secure its borders against war crimes; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, is a grassroots public affairs organization that is committed to advancing issues of concern to the Armenian community in the United States, as well as in Europe, Russia, South America, the Middle East, Australia, Armenia and Artsakh; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Denver congratulates the Armenian community on their commitment to their heritage, their engagement in their new homeland and their ability to survive and thrive despite the challenges.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL B. HANCOCK, MAYOR of the City and County of Denver, Colorado, by virtue of the authority vested in me, do hereby officially proclaim SEPTEMBER 21, 2016, to be known as:

“ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the official seal of the City and County of Denver to be affixed this 21st day of September, 2016
MICHAEL B. HANCOCK
MAYOR”

The Nagorno Karabakh issue may be touched upon on the sidelines of the meeting of CSTO Foreign Ministers in Yerevan scheduled for October 14, Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing.

Referring to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement on the impossibility to solve the Karabakh conflict at this point, Zakharova said: “The settlement process benefits from practical work, not statements.”

Yandex is opening a programming school for 8-10 graders in Yerevan. The school will offer free classes comprising thematic lectures and workshops.

The academic program has been worked out by the Yandex School of Data Analysis. Specialists from Armenia, Russia and other countries will be invited to teach at the school.

The classes will start in January 2017, the registration of students will start from December 12, 2016. Children will have to pass an on-line test and an interview.

FOX 11 – The last known survivor of the Armenian Genocide was a special guest at an event hosted by the Armenian Law Students’ Association at Loyola Law School.

Aleksan Markaryan shared his memories of the genocide.

He said he was fired from his childhood job at a pharmacy because he was a Christian.

Markaryan remembers being called an infidel. In order to save his life, he converted to Islam.

He remembers watching people in his village as they were taken away to never be again, the genocide ended a long eight years later in 1923.

During that time, up to 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Government – now modern Turkey.

A Hungarian Parliament panel has rejected an Armenian Genocide recognition bill submitted by the Green Party, which holds five seats in the 199-member Parliament reports, quoting Turkish media.

The bill failed to pass the Foreign Relations Committee because of the vote of the Fidesz and Jobbik parties.

Marton Gyongyosi of the Jobbik Party, vice-chairman of the Hungarian National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “the issue should be left to historians and international law experts.”

“Hungarian lawmakers should not be concerned about what Pope Francis, politicians and parliaments of other countries say,” he said.

At least 29 people, most of them rebel fighters, have been killed in a bombing near Syria’s border with Turkey, activists say, the BBC reports.

The attack reportedly occurred during a change of guard at the rebel-controlled Atmeh crossing, in Idlib province.

It was not immediately clear whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or a remote-controlled device.

A news agency linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) said a suicide car bombing had targeted a rebel convoy.

But an opposition activist network, the Local Co-ordination Committees, reported that a suitcase filled with explosives had been planted at the scene.

In mid-August, 32 rebels were killed in a suicide attack claimed by IS at the Atmeh crossing, which they use to travel from Idlib, via Turkey, to battle the jihadist group in other parts of north-eastern Syria.

Having designed many architectural artworks ordered by Ottoman Empire between the 18th and 19th century, the Balyan Family, a dynasty of famous Ottoman imperial architects, is getting its own mausoleum years after the deaths of its most prominent members. Built in the Balyan Family Graveyard in Üsküdar Surp Haç Armenian Cemetery, the Balyan Family Mausoleum was constructed by the Hraç and Hagop Kırmızıyan brothers, reports.

Designed with inspiration from the altar section of the Armenian Church in Besiktas, the mausoleum project was constructed with three-meter-long one-piece marble pillars and a tomb and arch placed on top of them. The block marbles in the background feature the names of the prominent family members as well as an Ottoman tughra.

Completed and carried out in two years, the project covers the clean-up and restoration of all of the sarcophagi belonging to the Balyan family, and the creation of a mausoleum befitting the creations of a dynasty that crowned Istanbul’s skyline with their artworks.

Among their buildings that grace today’s silhouette of Istanbul are the Dolmabahce Palace and the Ortakoy Mosque.