Category: News

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. The name of the new secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be announced at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan on October 14, that will be a representative of Armenia, the organization’s Secretary General, Nikolai Bordyuzha, told on Tuesday.

“Armenia’s representative will be my successor as the CSTO secretary general, who exactly, I cannot say now… His name will be announced at the upcoming meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council at the presidential level in Yerevan on October 14,” he said.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited one of the military units of the NKR Defense Army to meet with the commanders and soldiers.

The Catholicos was welcomed by NKR Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan.

“We have come to express our appreciation and love to you, and bring our tribute for your feats we witnessed during the April war. We saw how you rebuffed the attack of the Azeri troops and drove them sway from our borders. We bring our tribute to the brave soldiers –the hero sons of our nation, who defended our Motherland at the cost of their lives,” His Holiness Karekin II said at the meeting.

Noting that the protection of the Motherland is a sacred mission for every son of the nation, His Holiness stressed the importance to the power of faith.

About 30 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired more than 370 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

Private of the NKR Defense Army Arman Alik Ghandilyan, born in 1997, was fatally wounded as a result of breach of rules of military duty.

Investigation into the details of the case is under way.

The NKR Defense Army shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses support to his family and friends.

Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

Syria has been the hub of shifting international military and political intrigues since the start of the ‘civil war’ in 2011. The diverse conflicting sides include: Hezbollah, Iran, Islamic State (ISIS), Israel, Jordan, Kurdish fighters, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, assorted terrorists from around the world, Syria, Syrian opposition groups, Turkey, the United States, and other NATO states.

The latest ominous development is the Turkish invasion of the Syrian border town Jarablus, which had been occupied by ISIS. However, contrary to Turkish propaganda, Turkey’s military did not invade Syria to chase out ISIS, and the U.S. Air Force did not drop any bombs on Jarablus to pave the way for the advancing Turkish troops, according to David Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Phillips had served as a Senior Adviser and Foreign Affairs Expert to the U.S. Department of State under Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama.

Turkey’s actual plans were to prevent further inroads into North-West Syria by Kurdish YPG fighters (People’s Protection Forces) who have been the most reliable military allies of the United States in countering ISIS, while Erdogan calls the YPG ‘terrorists.’

Phillips revealed in his Huffington Post article that “Turkish-backed Islamists never engaged ISIS in the so-called battle for Jarablus. Before invading, Ankara made a deal with the Islamic State. Rather than resist, ISIS forces simply changed into FSA [Free Syrian Army] uniforms. Jarablus was ‘liberated’ from ISIS with barely a shot.” ISIS had evacuated all civilians from Jarablus prior to the Turkish invasion because it did not “want civilians to identify newly clad FSA members as hard core ISIS fighters,” Phillips wrote.

“It is not surprising that Erdogan and ISIS made a deal. ISIS and Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) are ideologically aligned,” Phillips asserted, since “they are both branches of the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite official denials, there is a mountain of evidence that Turkey provided weapons, money, and logistical support to Islamists in Syria beginning in 2014. Turkey also underwrote the Islamic State by transporting its oil and selling it on the international market. About 500 Islamist fighters are still transiting from Turkey to Syria each month.”

Turkish leaders have made no secret of their true aim. Erdogan announced that his objective is to go after YPG and “terror groups that threaten our country.” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pledged that Ankara would “do what is necessary” to keep the Kurdish fighters away from the Turkish border.

Washington is not pleased with Turkey’s misdirected military actions in Northern Syria. Senior Pentagon official Brett McGurk told CNN that “the Turks never cared about Jarablus until the Kurds wanted to get there.” McGurk called the Turkish attacks on Kurdish fighters “unacceptable and a source of deep concern” for the United States.

The Editor of Veterans Today was also highly critical of the Turkish invasion of Syria as reflected in his cynical explanation: “Turkish troops who had been in Syria for years dressed up as ‘ISIS’ have simply gone home to Turkey, had a good wash and shave, put back on their Turkish uniforms then returned to Syria.”

Saadeddine Somaa, a Syrian Arab militant who joined the Turkish incursion into Syria, expressed to The New York Times his disappointment for being misled into fighting the Kurds instead of ISIS and the Syrian government. “Everyone is pursuing their own interests, not Syria’s,” Somaa complained.

The New York Times article stressed that due to in-fighting, the rebel groups “risk reinforcing criticism that they are Turkish and American proxies at best, de facto allies of ISIS at worst.” Furthermore, “Turkish airstrikes had killed 35 civilians in Kurdish-held villages. And there was a video online showing rebels kicking prisoners from the Kurdish-led militias.” Some of the fighters accompanying the Turkish troops’ incursion into Syria, such as members of Nooredine al-Zinki, “were accused of having ties to Qaeda-linked groups” and were “widely condemned when a group of its fighters videotaped themselves beheading a young prisoner…. Its participation in the Jarablus operation was an indication that it has not been completely shunned, at least by Turkey.”

David Phillips ended his revealing Huffington Post article with an ominous prediction: “Syria will be Erdogan’s Waterloo. The U.S. Government must not be tethered to Turkey’s sinking ship.”

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is joining this week with In Defense of Christians (IDC) and a broad array of faith-based and human rights coalition partners in seeking solutions to the challenges facing Christian communities in the Middle East and attaining justice for the genocide committed against Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians from 1915-1923.

The third annual IDC National Advocacy Convention, titled “Beyond Genocide: Preserving Christianity in the Middle East,” is cosponsored by the ANCA, Philos Project, and Institute for Global Engagement and supported by many other DC-based and grassroots organizations.

“Recognizing that the profound challenges facing Christians in the Middle East require strong coalitions and a coordinated American response, the ANCA is pleased, once again, to team up with In Defense of Christians to help realign U.S. foreign policy with the American people’s commitment to human rights and religious liberty,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Armenian Church and ANCA leaders will be offering insights throughout the three-day program starting on Wednesday, September 7th, with remarks by Hamparian at the opening press conference, which will also feature insights by Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); Robert Nicholson, Executive Director of the Philos Project; Alexis Moukarzel, former Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, Lebanon; Andrew Doran, journalist and expert on religious persecution in the Middle East; and IDC Executive Director Kirsten Evans.

Wednesday evening, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern U.S. will participate in an ecumenical prayer service for Christians in the Middle East at the historic Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Washington, DC.

Thursday’s day of Capitol Hill advocacy will be kicked off with a policy briefing by Raffi Karakashian, ANCA Government Affairs Director; Juliana Taimoorazy, founder and president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council; and Kristina Olney, IDC Director of Government Relations and Outreach – followed by Congressional office canvassing by conference participants.

In the afternoon, ANCA National Board Member Aida Dimejian will be offering remarks alongside a host of Senate and House members and organization leaders at the Congressional Visitor Center Auditorium.

On Friday, the ANCA Eastern Region’s Armen Sahakyan will be offering insights at a panel titled “Genocide and Persecution: Past and Present” alongside Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett; Andrew Walther, vice president for communications and strategic planning for the Knights of Columbus; and the IDC’s Kirsten Evans.

The complete schedule and listing of all speakers is available at:

Among the key policy issues advocated by the IDC conference participants is the Armenian Genocide Truth + Justice Resolution (H.Res.154) – which is now pending before Congress – calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity. The ANCA is strongly in support of congressional passage of H.Res.154.

The ANCA has worked closely with IDC and a coalition of over 100 organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, the International Religious Freedom Roundtable and the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in a grassroots campaign to have Congress and the Obama Administration declare the slaughter that Christians and other minorities in the Middle East are facing a modern-day genocide.

Earlier this year, on March 15th, with a vote of 393 to 0, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously condemned as genocide the ongoing ISIL/Da’esh crimes against Christians – including Armenians and Assyrians – as well as Yezidis and other religious minorities in the Middle East by adopting H.Con.Res.75, spearheaded by Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).  Two days later, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry clearly and unequivocally characterized the ongoing ISIL / Da’esh attacks and killings of the Christians, Yezidis, and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East as genocide, with specific mention of the destruction of Armenian churches as part of the cultural destruction of these historic communities.  The Senate adopted a similar resolution (S.Res.340) on July 7th.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, joined with Christian leaders from throughout the Middle East at the inaugural IDC conference in 2014, offering a powerful call for unity in the face of the existential threat against historic Middle Eastern Christian communities.

On 7 September Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the Getavan village of the Martakert region and partook at a solemn opening ceremony of memorial complex devoted to the memory of freedom fighters from Getavan perished during the Artsakh Liberation struggle.

The Head of the State highlighted the significance of such initiatives from the viewpoints of keeping the nation’s devotees memory bright and patriotic upbringing of the younger generation.

On the same day Bako Sahakyan was present at a “Hrashapar” service held at the Gandzasar monastery with the participation of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos fo All Armenians.

National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan and other officials partook at the events.

Asbarez – The 6th World Doll Festival in Japan will display about 1,500 dolls from 71 countries, among them 14 dolls from Armenia. Various booths will provide tourist information about the countries as well.

The event will be held from October 28-30, 2016, at Izutsu Yashiki.

This year the exhibition is devoted to Germany and will harbour dolls from Bayern, hand-made Nutcrackers, smokers from the Harz Mountains made out wood, Christmas pyramids, doll houses, etc.

The Embassy of Germany to Japan, the German House in Naruto City, and Naruto City Tourism Association are patrons of the event.

The program will conclude with a performance of the 9th Symphony by Beethoven. Local restaurants will also offer their international dishes.

 

 

 

“The Public Radio of Armenia will always retain a leading role with its outspread, capacity, traditions and staff,” Arman Saghatelyan, Executive Director of Public Radio of Armenia, told reporters today.

He said two public opinion polls had been conducted to reveal the preferences of the public and review the broadcasting policy.

“What we found out is that the public needs social information, consulting, explanation. This refers to different spheres –healthcare, finances, agriculture, human and consumer rights, etc,” he said. Saghatelyan added that the new schedule in the new season will come to fill the gaps.

“Some programs will air live, which will provide the listeners with an opportunity to immediately interfere with the work of the radio station, ask questions and receive answers to issues of concern,” the Executive Director said.

“At the same time, the decades-long traditions have been maintained,” he said. “We have wonderful, beloved programs and authors. New voices will be heard along the familiar ones, which, I’m confident, will become no less beloved in a short period of time,” Arman Saghatelyan said.

Starting this school year, it will be mandatory for Michigan schools to add lessons about genocide to the social studies curriculum for grades 8-12, particularly teachings about the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide,  reports.

The mandate is part of bipartisan legislation that received near-unanimous support when the Legislature approved it in May. Gov. Rick Snyder signed it into law in June. Eleven other states already require instruction in genocide, according to the Genocide Education Project.

The new requirements “are not a lot of work for most districts” because genocide is already part of their curriculum, said Bill DiSessa, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education. But “some districts may need to take a look at what’s in it.”

The Holocaust and Armenian genocide were specifically cited because the Michigan Legislature has already passed laws commemorating both, said Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township, the primary sponsor of the legislation.

“This is something that should be a priority — teaching our children how to recognize genocide through past genocides,” Kesto said.

He said he has been discouraged by international studies that show large numbers of people have never heard of the Holocaust or have little knowledge of it. He said the motivation is that when people say “never again,” it actually means something.

 

The new law goes beyond mandating the teaching of genocide. It requires the state’s assessment system test students on genocide. It also requires the creation of a temporary commission, called the Governor’s Council on Genocide and Holocaust Education, that will have a number of functions, including looking for ways to enhance genocide education, advising school leaders on those efforts, promoting genocide education in schools and the general population.

Snyder, when announcing he had signed the legislation, said the next generation of leaders “needs to have the wherewithal to recognize and help prevent widespread harm to their fellow men and women. Teaching the students of Michigan about genocide is important because we should remember and learn about these terrible events in our past while continuing to work toward creating a more tolerant society.”

Photo: Suren Stepanyan

 

 – The little robot makes odd beeps as it spins around the room, detecting fires with its thermal sensors and extinguishing flames with a strong blast of air.

Its mission accomplished, the beeps die down and the machine comes to an abrupt halt.

Rather than being the brainchild of experienced engineers in a hi-tech lab, the firefighter robot was designed by Armenian schoolboys Rafael and Sahak Sahakyan – brothers aged 18 and 14.

It is one of several inventions to come out of Armenia’s youth robotics programme, which aims to establish engineering groups in every school by 2019. Already there are 121 after-school clubs, catering for pupils between 12 and 18.

The government hopes the scheme will improve the quality of engineering education and encourage inventors of the future.

At the brothers’ school in Gyumri, one of the poorest cities in Armenia, more than 20 pupils gather after lessons every week to design and create robots.

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