Category: News

The Armenian national team has climbed 18 places and is currently placed 67th in the FIFA World Ranking.

Brazil has reclaiming its seat at the top of the podium after a seven-year hiatus. Argentina and Germany follow in the 2^nd and 3^rd places respectively.

The bust of Canadian Armenian photographer Yousuf Karsh will be installed in Ottawa, Mr. Armen Yeganian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Canada, informed in a Facebook post.

The bust is a gift from grateful Armenian people to the Canadian people on the occasion of the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of Canada and the 25^th anniversary of Armenian-Canadian diplomatic relations.

Photographer Yousuf Karsh captured portraits of everyone from Albert Einstein to Martin Luther King during his career – as well as some of the century’s greatest artists, musicians and actors.

Armenian-Canadian Karsh escaped genocide to move to Quebec and become one of the most celebrated portrait photographers of the 20th century.

In 1921, Karsh’s family escaped the Armenian genocide into Syria, with a single donkey their only real possession. Karsh’s uncle, who lived in Quebec, wrote to the family to ask for help in his photography studio – the 16-year-old Yousuf embarked on a 29-day trip to get there.

His apprenticeship led to Karsh training in portrait photography in Boston, studying old masters painters and their approach to light and perspective. He moved to Ottawa, and began photographing visiting dignitaries. His breakthrough came with a portrait of Winston Churchill that ended up on the cover of Time magazine. Another photograph from the same session with Churchill graces the UK’s new £5 banknote.

Karsh would go on to photograph the most famous people in the world, and among other accolades, has a crater on Mercury named after him.

Republic of Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan recently completed a ten-day tour organized by the ANCA Eastern Region to highlight Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses and the potential war crimes committed during the Four-Day War in April 2016. The Ombudsman made stops in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington, DC, New York, and New Jersey holding over 40 meetings with government officials, media representatives, and NGOs active in the fields of human and legal rights.

“We were happy to be able to connect Mr. Melikyan with key officials and groups during his visit to the U.S.,” said ANCA-ER Community Outreach and Communications Director Dr. Artur Martirosyan. “Today, in the midst of rising autocratic and populist tendencies in the entire region, Artsakh stands as a beacon of democracy, human rights, and freedom. We are proud of the progress that the Artsakh Republic has made in upholding Western values and traditions since its independence a quarter century ago.”

His Washington, DC itinerary included two public talks and a series of meetings with various groups and officials. On March 15 Melikyan headlined an event entitled, “Human Rights in Non-Recognized States: The Case of Karabakh” at the prestigious Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Benedikt Harzl, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Fellow at CTR, moderated the event. The Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States hosted Melikyan for his second public event where he presented his recent report “Atrocities Committed by Azerbaijan During the 2016 April War” and answered questions from the audience.

“It is important to deliver Artsakh’s message throughout major capital cities in the world,” said Melikyan. “I am thankful to the ANCA Eastern Region for organizing such a fruitful visit to Eastern United States and look forward to collaborating with all of our partners throughout the Diaspora to raise awareness and understanding about Republic of Artsakh and its unique human rights situation.”

Melikyan’s visit to Washington, DC also included an interview with the renowned Foreign Policy Magazine as well as discussions with reporters from The Washington Post. He also met with other leading human rights, civil society, and public policy organizations discussing the general human rights situation in Artsakh Republic and the projects that his office undertakes to safeguard and further strengthen the overall human rights situation in the country. Melikyan also met with ANCA coalition partners In Defense of Christians, A Demand For Action, and the Hellenic American Leadership Council, where he shared the details of his report on the Four-Day War. The parties also exchanged ideas about regional developments and held consultations.

His visit to Washington, DC concluded with meetings held on Capitol Hill with various Members of Congress, including House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Dave Trott (R-MI), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA), and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA). Melikyan touched upon the duties and responsibilities of his office, the general human rights situation in the country, and challenges facing the region. The Ombudsman’s last Capitol Hill stop was the event commemorating the one-year anniversary of U.S. recognition of ISIS Genocide, where Melikyan was present in solidarity with all the victims of this horrific atrocity.

In New York, Melikyan held meetings with the representatives of the Armenian Bar Association, Archbishops Oshagan Choloyan and Khajag Barsamian as well as leading human rights organizations headquartered in the city. A special community briefing entitled, “Human Rights in Artsakh Amid Azerbaijani Aggression” was held at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral and Fr. Nareg Terterian of St. Sarkis church hosted Mr. Melikyan on his podcast show.

AA photo

Efforts to clear mines have been launched on Mount Ararat in Turkey’s eastern province of Igdir as part of a project financed by the European Union and Turkey in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

According to the source, the project aims to clear Turkey’s eastern border of mines to increase Ankara’s ability to control the border and provide socio-economic development. As part of the project, mines along the borders with Armenia, Iran and Azerbaijan will be cleared within two years.

South African firm DENEL-MECHEM will conduct the mine-clearing works as part of the project. Company officials said a total of 15 square kilometers will be cleared of 222,000 mines in 511 areas near the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Iranian borders within two years.

Speaking at the ceremony, the head of the EU delegation in Ankara, Ambassador Christian Berger, said hundreds of innocent people, including children, die each year after stepping on mines. Berger also said land mines produce serious societal and financial effects and prevent development, as well as killing individuals.

“This project aims to reduce these effects by taking plenty of precautions including clearing the area of mines and helping the victims. The support given by the EU to mine activities is a part of our support for border management. The mines were planted between 1984 and 1999 for border security. Turkey, the EU and the U.N. are jointly working to clear the area of mines, as well as creating a modern, humanitarian and strong border security,” Berger said on April 4.

The April session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe promises heated debates with President Pedro Agramunt expected to be in the spotlight. The spring session that kicks off on April 24 may even be the last one for the Spanish lawmaker.

“Pedro Agramunt’s recent visit to Syria has stirred outrage among legislators at PACE. Axel Fischer, who heads the German delegation and the European People’s Party (EPP) group, the largest faction in PACE, has drafted a resolution condemning Agramunt’s steps. This can be called nothing but crisis at PACE,” says Samvel Farmanyan, member of the Armenian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly.

The reaction has been ambiguous first of all because Agramunt’s visit to Syria had not been sanctioned by the Assembly or any of its structures.

“The draft resolution makes it clear that the President’s recent actions amid the corruption row at PACE strike yet another blow to the reputation of the organization and cast doubt on its impartiality,” Farmanyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

Samvel Farmanyan sees Pedro Agramunt’s resignation as the only civilized way out of the crisis, especially considering that the criticism comes from the faction that has enabled him to take the post.

The new scandal comes amid serious allegations of corruption at PACE.

Money laundering scandal has tainted the organization with allegations of shady money transfers and votes for cash.

A judge in Milan recently decided to try Luca Volontè, the former chair of the European People’s Party group in the Council of Europe and a former Italian MP, for money laundering.

Prosecutors allege that Volontè was paid almost €2.4 million by Azerbaijani officials in exchange for “his support of political positions of the state” at the Council, which also promotes democracy and rule of law.

The court hearing into the case, to take place in April, is likely to draw renewed attention to allegations of corruption and bribe-taking at an institution that has long sought to create better governance practices in countries such as Azerbaijan.

Perdo Agramunt was also summoned to the Spanish Senate to give explanations about his connections with Azerbaijan.

Baku deliberately deepens the mistrust between the parties and tries to make the process of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict a hostage of its destructive policy and maximalist demands, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement, marking the anniversary of the end of Azeri aggression.

The statement reads:

Today marks exactly one year since the end of military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with a view to resolving the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict by force. On the night of 1 to 2 April 2016, in flagrant violation of the ceasefire, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a large-scale offensive along the entire border using heavy equipment, artillery and aviation. Only after suffering heavy losses in manpower and military equipment, on 5 April 2016, Azerbaijan was forced to ask for a cessation of hostilities with the mediation of Russia.

The April aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh, accompanied by numerous violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes, became a serious challenge to regional peace and security and  caused great damage to the negotiation process for the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

During the year that has passed since the end of the hostilities on 5 April 2016, the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have been making efforts to ensure conditions for a full restoration of the negotiation process.

The Republic of Artsakh has been consistently supporting the statements of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the need for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement of 12 May 1994, practical application of the provisions of the agreement of 6 February 1995 on strengthening the ceasefire regime, as well as implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna (16 May 2016) and in St. Petersburg (20 June, 2016) on introduction of a mechanism for investigating incidents and increasing the capacity of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

Azerbaijan not only rejects these proposals, but also disrupts any initiative aimed at excluding the possibility of resumption of hostilities. Moreover, throughout this time Azerbaijan has been sparing no effort to transfer the logic of confrontation to the spheres of economy, culture and even human contacts.

While demonstrating complete unwillingness to reach a negotiated peace settlement, the Azerbaijani authorities threaten to unleash another war. By consistently increasing the degree of tension on the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan and continuing the policy of confrontation and hostility, Baku deliberately deepens the mistrust between the parties and tries to make the process of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict a hostage of its destructive policy and maximalist demands.

France has reiterated the belief that the current status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh is unsustainable.

“A year ago, the hostilities that had broken out in Nagorno-Karabakh between April 2 and 5, to the grief of the people of the region, were suspended. As co-chair of the Minsk Group, France worked actively with its Russian and American partners to end the fighting and resume negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Foreign Ministry of France said in a statement.

“France reiterates its belief that the current status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh is unsustainable and that there can be no military solution to the conflict. It calls on the parties to respect the commitments made at the Vienna Summits of 16 May 2016 and St. Petersburg on 20 June 2016, namely respect for the ceasefire, confidence-building measures and recovery Negotiations,” the statement reads.

“As the President of the Republic, during his recent talks in Paris with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, reiterated, France remains fully committed to bringing a negotiated and lasting solution to this conflict for the benefit of stability, stability and prosperity of the entire region,” the statement concludes.

Photo: Survival Pictures

– “The Promise,” a movie about the Armenian genocide, screened at the Vatican on Tuesday with director Terry George, producer Eric Esrailian and some talent in attendance, in a clear sign of Catholic Church support ahead of the film’s upcoming U.S. release.

The big-budget epic was bankrolled by late billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. Its lead actors, Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, did not make the trek to Vatican City, but the intimate event held for Vatican officials in the 50-seat Vatican Cinematheque’s screening room was attended by stars Shohreh Aghdashloo and James Cromwell and by singer-songwriter Chris Cornell, who composed the theme song.

The Vatican screening comes after Pope Francis last year made his first visit to Armenia. During the visit, he used the term “genocide” to describe the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I.

The pope’s remark sparked an angry reaction by the Turkish government, which strongly denies that a genocide occurred, arguing that it was wartime and many Turks were killed as well and insisting there was never a systematic plan to execute Armenians.

Esrailian, head of Survival Pictures, which he set up with Kerkorian to produce “The Promise,” traveled to Armenia for the papal visit.

“When he [Pope Francis] mentioned the word ‘genocide’ once in the big Mass, you could hear a kind of collective gasp and people getting tearful because he spoke really as a world leader,” Esrailian recalled. He noted that Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, “so it has a special place in Catholicism.”

“When there was awareness [within the Vatican] that a major film was being made, we were contacted to screen the movie. So we sent a private link to be viewed,” he said.

“The Promise,” which world-premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September, will go on wide release in the U.S. on 2,000 screens via Open Road Films on April 21.

The roughly $100-million film is considered a breakthrough after several attempts to make a Hollywood film about the Armenian genocide failed during past decades because of what director Terry George calls a “denialist lobby,” which these days is efficiently run by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he claims.

George said there was a denialist propaganda machine behind “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” a film with strikingly similar elements to “The Promise,” but which allegedly takes the side of the denialists. “Ottoman Lieutenant” went on release via New York-based Paladin on roughly 200 screens in the U.S. in March.

“It’s an Erdogan propaganda film released as a feature film in the United States, remarkably, just ahead of us,” the director said. “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” which stars Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley, was produced by a Turkish company called Eastern Sunrise Films.

Variety critic Dennis Harvey, in his review of “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” wrote that, “[in] this primarily Turkish-funded production, the historical, political, ethnic and other intricacies — not to mention that perpetual elephant in the room, the Armenian Genocide, which commenced in 1915 — are glossed over in favor of a generalized ‘Whattaya gonna do… war is bad’ aura that implies conscience without actually saying anything.”

“The Promise” faces its own challenges, including tepid reviews. Variety critic Peter Debruge called it “a sloggy melodrama in which the tragedy of a people is forced to take a back seat to a not especially compelling love triangle.”

“The Promise” centers on a love story involving a medical student (Isaac), a journalist (Bale), and the Armenian woman (Charlotte Le Bon) who steals their hearts. All three find themselves grappling with the Ottomans’ decision to begin rounding up and persecuting Armenians.

“The construct of the love triangle is clearly there for people who are unaware of the genocide or not particularly that interested in it,” said George. “It’s a big, old-fashioned love story. I think we’ve created a classic form of story, and hopefully women in particular will be entertained by it,” the director added.

As part of its marketing strategy, Survival Pictures has launched a #KeepThePromise social impact campaign for which it has already recruited Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Andre Agassi, Cher, Sylvester Stallone, among others, for an anti-genocide call to action connected to the film which has a strong philanthropic aspect. Survival Pictures’ cut of the box office will go to charities including The Sentry, the non-profit group co-founded by George Clooney and activist and author John Prendergast.

The European Parliament has backed a motion setting out its position for the Brexit negotiations by 516 to 133, the BBC reports.

Although MEPs will not participate directly in the exit talks they will have to vote in favour of the final deal for it to go ahead.

UKIP’s Nigel Farage accused MEPs of trying to impose conditions that were “impossible for Britain to comply with” and likened them to the “mafia”.

The motion for debate was supported by the two largest groups of MEPs.

It set out general principles at the start of the two year negotiations for the UK to leave the European Union under the Article 50 process.