Category: News

Armenian-American singer and actress Cher united with Armenian-American reality stars Kourtney and Kim Kardashian to support the new film The Promise,  reports. 

The trio attended the Los Angeles premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, joining the film’s star, Christian Bale, on the red carpet.

Director Terry George’s new historical drama, also starring Oscar Isaac, focuses on the Armenian Genocide carried out by the crumbling Ottoman Empire during World War I. As the war drags on, the national mood gets worse and Armenian citizens become the victims of raging hate crimes.

Following the screening, the wife of Kanye West, 36, tweeted: “So proud of the movie #ThePromise Everyone please go see it and finally hear the story of the Armenian people.”

In April 2015, Kim and sister Khloé Kardashian traveled to Armenia for eight days during which they paid their respects to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the country’s capital. The visit was later shown on their family’s E! series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in October 2016.

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) Executive Director Bryan Ardouny outlined key priorities in the congressional  submitted to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. In the testimony, Ardouny reiterated the bipartisan letter sent to the Subcommittee, spearheaded by Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and commended the Members of Congress for signing.

In particular, the Assembly’s testimony calls for: $40 million in U.S. economic assistance to Armenia; $40 million to support Armenia’s efforts to serve as a regional safe haven for refugees; $20 million to implement the Royce-Engel initiative to advance peace; $11 million in U.S. military assistance to Armenia; $8 million to Artsakh; assistance to the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia; regional energy security; and reaffirmation of the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide. Armenia continues to demonstrate its resilience, which is why the Assembly also strongly supports a second U.S.-Armenia compact of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

The Assembly’s testimony specifically drew attention to Azerbaijan’s deadly cease-fire violations, including last April’s unprecedented offensive that started with the killing of a 12-year-old boy and continued with the gruesome ISIS-style beheading of an Armenian soldier and mutilation of an elderly Armenian couple. Given Azerbaijan’s blatant cease-fire violations, the Assembly called upon the United States to “directly condemn such actions and avoid engaging in false equivalency between the aggressor and those defending themselves” and urged the Subcommittee to cease military funding to Azerbaijan.  America cannot afford it and Azerbaijan does not need it.

Ardouny highlighted the fact that Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301 A.D. and emphasized the importance of safe guarding Christian and other minority communities wherever they may reside. The Assembly testimony also commended the work of the Near East Foundation (NEF) in this regard and urged funding to support NEF’s work in Armenia. In addition to allocating aid to Armenia and Artsakh, Ardouny urged Members to visit Armenia as well as watch the movie titled The Promise, a film which depicts the extraordinary events of the Armenian Genocide and comes to theaters this month.

A Turkish court Wednesday remanded in custody two security officers over their suspected links to the killing of a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist, Anadolu Agency reports.

Gendarmerie sergeants Haci Sefik Simsek and Bekir Yokus are accused of homicide, being a member of an armed terrorist organization, and attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

Hrant Dink, founder and editor of bilingual Armenian-Turkish weekly newspaper Agos, was shot dead in an Istanbul street in January 2007.

Although a suspect was convicted, the case has been re-investigated several times amid concerns that police conspired to allow Dink’s killing to happen.

Ogun Samast, age 17 at the time of the killing, claimed he murdered Dink for “insulting Turkishness” and was jailed for 23 years in 2011.

Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia failed to prevent a school siege in Beslan in 2004, in which more than 330 people died.

The operation to end the siege, with the use of heavy weaponry, and the investigation that followed have also been strongly criticised.

The Court concluded that the use of lethal force by security forces had contributed, to some extent, to the casualties among the hostages.

The Court held that Russia had failed to set up an effective legal framework of safeguards against arbitrariness and the use of force, since the applicable legislation had failed to set the most important principles and constraints of the use of force in lawful anti-terrorist operations.

The Court held that Russia was to pay the applicants a total of 2,955,000 euros (EUR) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and the applicants’ representatives a total of EUR 88,000 in respect of costs. The individual awards to the applicants took account of the extent of their suffering and of the measures taken by Russia with the aim of compensating and rehabilitating the victims.

The case concerns a terrorist attack on a school building in the city of Beslan, North Ossetia in September 2004.

In the siege, Chechen rebels took more than 1,000 hostages, mostly children.

It ended when Russian forces stormed the building. Survivors say the troops used excessive force.

For more than a decade, survivors and relatives have been asking whether the siege could have been prevented and whether so many people had to die in the rescue operation. So more than 400 of them applied to the European Court of Human Rights.

Armenian football player Yura Movsisyan urges all to watch the Armenian genocide film The Promise.

“I urge all my friends to go out and watch The Promise in theaters nationwide on Friday, April 21st!

At last, the true story of the #ArmenianGenocide brought to life on the big screen,” Movsisyan said in a Facebook post.

On April 12, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received Mr. Aleksander Čeferin, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) President. He was accompanied by Mr. Ruben Hayrapetyan, President of the Football Federation of Armenia.

During the meeting, His Holiness referred to the important role football and sports plays in the mutual recognition and reconciliation between nations, noting with regret that it has also become the target of political manipulation by some forces. His Holiness expressed his condolences to the UEFA President on the occasion of the recent terrorist attack in Germany perpetrated against the Borussia Dortmund team. Condemning the incident, His Holiness stressed that the state and public organizations should make every effort in order to prevent sports from such violence.

His Holiness also expressed his appreciation to UEFA and the Football Federation of Armenia for the joint efforts to establish a football academy and stadium in Vagharshapat.

His Holiness stressed that the Armenian Church also emphasizes the importance of sports, all opportunities are provided at the 10 Armenian Church Youth Centers in Armenian, so that the teenagers exercise and participate in various sports clubs.

During the meeting, UEFA President Čeferin expressed his deep gratitude to His Holiness for the reception, and noted that the history of the Armenian people has left a great impression on him. Čeferin also stressed that sports and football in particular, are called to unite people and not to divide. He also noted that football has great importance in the education and upbringing of the young generation.

At the conclusion, The Armenian Pontiff wished the UEFA President success, and productive cooperation with the Football Federation of Armenia.  The UEFA delegation also visited the Mother Cathedral.

“Shocked” Borussia Dortmund players will “pull together” when they face Monaco, 24 hours after their team bus was damaged by explosions in Germany.

Defender Marc Bartra fractured his wrist in the incident, which led to Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg being postponed.

The match has been rescheduled for Wednesday, with a 17:45 BST kick-off.

“In such a crisis situation, all of Borussia will pull together,” said chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, the reports.

“The team and coaches were shocked. Now we must channel it in some way.”

Dortmund said Bartra had an operation on Tuesday after “breaking the radial bone in his arm and getting bits of debris lodged in his hand”.

The 26-year-old, who has played 12 times for Spain, joined Dortmund from Barcelona in June last year.

Captain Marcel Schmelzer said: “We’re all in shock and our thoughts are with Marc. We hope that he will make a speedy recovery.”

The bus was damaged at 18:15 BST on Tuesday – 90 minutes before kick-off – when it was about six miles from the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.

Police said there were three explosions in the vicinity of the coach. They called it “a targeted attack” and found a letter at the scene, but did not disclose its contents.

They are preparing for a “large deployment” at the rescheduled game.

For the first time, a big budget, wide-release feature film-complete with a-list, Hollywood celebrities and a renowned, Academy Award-winning director-will depict the Armenian Genocide. This monumental film, The Promise, will be released in mainstream theaters across the United States and Canada on April 21, marking a major triumph for the Armenian community.

Produced by the legendary Kirk Kerkorian’s Survival Pictures and directed by Academy Award winner Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), The Promise features an outstanding international cast, including Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Sarafyan, and many more. All proceeds from the film will be donated to non-profit organizations, the first time for a film of this scale.

In the film, it is 1914. As the Great War looms, the vast Ottoman Empire is crumbling. Constantinople (Istanbul)-its once vibrant, multicultural capital-is about to be consumed by chaos. Michael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac) arrives in the cosmopolitan hub as a medical student determined to bring modern medicine to Siroun, his ancestral village in southern Turkey where Turkish Muslims and Armenian Christians have lived side by side for centuries. Photo-journalist Chris Meyers (Christian Bale) has come only partly to cover geo-political news. He is mesmerized by his love for Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), an Armenian artist he has accompanied from Paris after the sudden death of her father. When Michael meets Ana, their shared Armenian heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between the two men, even as Michael hangs on to a promise from his past. After the Turks join the war on the German side, the Empire turns violently against its own ethnic minorities. Despite their conflicts, everyone must find a way to survive-even as monumental events envelope their lives.

In addition to the all-star cast, acclaimed musician and activist Serj Tankian served as the film’s executive music consultant and contributed a modern rendition of the Armenian folk song, “Sari Siroun Yar,” to the soundtrack. “It’s been an honor to be an impartial ear and eye to the film,” said Tankian. “The best way to counter high budget disinformation campaigns by the Turkish government is to move people with the truth via the arts. I’ve been doing it for years with music and wanted to help do it through film somehow.” The original title song for the film was written and performed by Chris Cornell of the band Soundgarden and the original score was composed by Academy Award winner Gabriel Yared (The English Patient).

In addition to the release in the United States and Canada on April 21, The Promise will also be released in the Middle East (Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, UAE, Yemen) on April 20; in Armenia and Russia on April 27; in the United Kingdom on April 28; in Poland on May 5; in Australia on May 25; in Thailand on June 1; in Spain on June 2; in Belgium on June 14; in the Netherlands on June 15; in Singapore on June 22; in South Africa on June 23 and in Italy on August 24.

The grassroots campaign to ensure the box-office success of The Promise has been a worldwide effort supported by a joint coalition of Armenian organizations in North America, including: All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA), Armenia Fund, Armenia Tree Project, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, Armenian Catholic Eparchy in the United States & Canada, Armenian Film Foundation, Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association of New York (AGLA NY), Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA), Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Missionary Association of Canada, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), Armenian National Institute (ANI), Armenian Network of America, Armenian Prelacy of Canada, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of the United States, Armenian Students’ Association of America, Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art (AFFMA), Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), Constantinople Armenian Relief Society (CARS), Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada, Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Canada, Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States, Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society (GALAS), Hamazkayin Educational & Cultural Society of the United States, Hayastan Foundation Canada, Knights and Daughters of Vartan, National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), Office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the United States, ONEArmenia, Organization of Istanbul Armenians (OIA), Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada, Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR), Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Zoryan Institute.

Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a candidate in Iran’s presidential election, despite being told not to by the Supreme Leader, the BBC reports.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who served two terms between 2005 and 2013, filed paperwork for the 19 May poll at the interior ministry in Tehran.

Last year, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned him that such a move was “not in his interest and that of the country”.

But Mr Ahmadinejad told reporters on Tuesday that had been “just advice”.

Asbarez – For​ ​the​ ​second​ ​consecutive​ ​year​ ​the​ ​Orange​ ​County​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Supervisors​ ​issued​ ​a proclamation​ ​designating​ ​April​ ​24​​​ ​as​ ​Armenian​ ​Genocide​ ​Remembrance​ ​Day,​ ​commemorating​ ​those who​ ​perished​ ​during​ ​the​ ​first​ ​Genocide​ ​of​ ​the​ ​twentieth​ ​century.

Representatives​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Armenian​ ​American​ ​community​ ​of​ ​Orange​ ​County​ ​were​ ​in​ ​attendance.

Chairwoman​ ​Michelle​ ​Steel​ ​opened​ ​the​ ​program​ ​by​ ​stating​ ​that​ ​this​ ​year​ ​marks​ ​the​ ​102​nd​​ ​anniversary​ ​of the​ ​Armenian​ ​Genocide​ ​that​ ​took​ ​the​ ​lives​ ​of​ ​one​ ​and​ ​a​ ​half​ ​million​ ​Armenians.​ ​She​ ​stated​ ​“Not​ ​only were​ ​Armenians​ ​massacred​ ​within​ ​their​ ​historic​ ​homeland​ ​but​ ​their​ ​lands​ ​and​ ​property​ ​were​ ​stolen.” The​ ​Chairwoman​ ​explained​ ​that​ ​Orange​ ​County​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​do​ ​its​ ​part​ ​in​ ​honoring​ ​the​ ​victims​ ​of​ ​this tragedy​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​it​ ​is​ ​not​ ​forgotten​ ​or​ ​repeated.

Reverend​ ​Fathers​ ​Moushegh​ ​Tshajian​ ​from​ ​St.​ ​Mary​ ​Armenian​ ​Church​ ​in​ ​Costa​ ​Mesa​ ​and​ ​Karekin Bedourian​ ​from​ ​Forty​ ​Martyrs​ ​Armenian​ ​Church​ ​in​ ​Santa​ ​Ana​ ​took​ ​the​ ​podium​ ​and​ ​addressed​ ​the​ ​crowd. They​ ​thanked​ ​Chairwoman​ ​Steel​ ​and​ ​the​ ​County​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Supervisors​ ​for​ ​their​ ​commitment​ ​to accurately​ ​remembering​ ​the​ ​past​ ​and​ ​honoring​ ​the​ ​victims​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Armenian​ ​Genocide,​ ​then​ ​together lead​ ​with​ ​the​ ​prayer.

Honorable​ ​Gassia​ ​Apkarian,​ ​Orange​ ​County​ ​Superior​ ​Court​ ​Judge,​ ​passed​ ​out​ ​pins​ ​with​ ​the​ ​U.S.​ ​and Armenian​ ​flags​ ​then​ ​thanked​ ​the​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Supervisors​ ​for​ ​upholding​ ​justice,​ ​setting​ ​the​ ​historical​ ​record straight​ ​and​ ​not​ ​playing​ ​politics​ ​with​ ​historical​ ​facts.​ ​Alexander​ ​Gonzalez,​ ​District​ ​Director​ ​for​ ​Congressman Dana​ ​Rohrabacher​ ​also​ ​stressed​ ​the​ ​importance​ ​making​ ​sure​ ​such​ ​atrocities​ ​are​ ​not​ ​committed​ ​in​ ​the future​ ​and​ ​pointed​ ​to​ ​Congressman​ ​Rohrabacher’s​ ​reintroduction​ ​of​ ​the​ ​House​ ​Resolution​ ​calling​ ​for​ ​the defense​ ​of​ ​Christians​ ​and​ ​Yezidis​ ​in​ ​the​ ​region.

Anahid​ ​Arakelian,​ ​ANCA​ ​Orange​ ​County​ ​chapter​ ​addressed​ ​the​ ​crowd​ ​and​ ​also​ ​thanked​ ​Chairwoman Steel​ ​and​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Supervisors.​ ​She​ ​gave​ ​a​ ​historical​ ​account​ ​of​ ​how​ ​a​ ​few​ ​of​ ​her​ grandparents escaped​ ​the​ ​devastation,​ ​survived,​ ​then​ ​eventually​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​the​ ​United​ ​States​ ​where​ ​many​ ​survivors relocated​ ​and​ ​contributed​ ​on​ ​multiple​ ​levels,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Calvin​ ​K.​ ​Kazandjian​ ​founder​ ​of​ ​Almond​ ​Joy​ ​and Mounds​ ​candy​ ​bars,​ ​MRI​ ​inventor​ ​Raymond​ ​Vahan​ ​Damadian,​ ​and​ ​Kirk​ ​Kerkorian.​ ​Arakelian​ ​urged​ ​those in​ ​attendance​ ​to​ ​see​ ​The​ ​Promise​ ​on​ ​April​ ​21​st​,​ ​a​ ​powerful​ ​film​ ​about​ ​the​ ​Armenian​ ​Genocide.​ ​She highlighted​ ​the​ ​freedoms​ ​we​ ​sometimes​ ​take​ ​for​ ​granted​ ​in​ ​the​ ​U.S.​ ​and​ ​the​ ​need​ ​to​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​such tragedies​ ​are​ ​not​ ​repeated​ ​in​ ​the​ ​future.​ ​Anahid​ ​closed​ ​by​ ​once​ ​again​ ​thanking​ ​the​ ​County​ ​of​ ​Orange​ ​and urging​ ​those​ ​in​ ​attendance​ ​to​ ​follow​ ​events​ ​at​ ​home​ ​and​ ​abroad,​ ​and​ ​highlighted​ ​the​ ​situation​ ​in​ ​Artsakh and​ ​the​ ​current​ ​struggle​ ​for​ ​liberation​ ​and​ ​basic​ ​human​ ​rights​ ​taking​ ​place​ ​there.

Community​ ​members​ ​gathered​ ​for​ ​a​ ​photo​ ​with​ ​the​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Supervisors​ ​and​ ​this​ ​year’s​ ​proclamation, and​ ​then​ ​again​ ​with​ ​David​ ​Gonzalez​ ​from​ ​Congressman​ ​Rohrabacher’s​ ​office.