Category: News

The U.S. Embassy in Armenia has issued the following statement on Armenian elections:

The U. S. Embassy congratulates the people of Armenia on their April 2 parliamentary election, following a period of widespread competition among various parties and blocs in an environment that allowed all viewpoints access to the media.  Election day was generally calm and orderly across Armenia and voters were able to freely exercise their right to vote. The U.S. Embassy concurs with the preliminary conclusions of  the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Mission which assessed elections to have been well administered and fundamental freedoms generally respected, while noting the elections “were tainted by credible information about vote-buying” and pressure on voters.

We urge the Armenian government, political parties, and civil society to work together to address these concerns through existing or new legal and enforcement mechanisms.

For 25 years, the United States has been committed to supporting Armenia as it seeks to develop its democratic processes and institutions. During this election, we were proud to partner with the Armenian government, opposition political parties, and civil society – as well as with the European Union, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations Development Program – in implementing new voter identification technology.  With the help of this new technology, procedures within polling stations on April 2 were generally administered without major incident and within guidelines set forth by Armenian electoral laws.

The United States will continue to monitor and analyze reports from international and domestic election observers, as well as the adjudication of election grievances during the post-election period.

Now that the election results are known, we encourage all parties – the government, the opposition, and civil society – to continue engaging in peaceful debate and discussion.

President Serzh Sargsyan today sent a congratulatory message to Aleksandar Vucic on being elected President of Serbia.

President of the Republic of Armenia wished success and new achievements to President-elect Vucic in this high and responsible position.

Emphasizing the fact that the centuries-old friendship between both people is based on the historical and cultural commonalities, which serves as a solid basis for further expansion of intergovernmental relations, President Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of cooperation with Serbia, both on bilateral and multilateral platforms.

I am joining & to to never forget. TY

— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain)

Actor, writer and filmmaker Dean Cain has joined an array of celebrities to  to never forget the Armenian Genocide.

“I’m Dean Cain. In college I studied history, I learned about genocides, like the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. There is genocide going on right now, here, today. I’m talking about Syria, Iraq, Sudan. I vow to keep the promise to relegate genocide to history books,”  Cain says in a Twitter video.

Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Andre Agassi, Sylvester Stallone, Cher and others have also expressed support for the Armenian Genocide-themed film “The Promise,” which hits theatres on April 21.

Dean Cain visited Armenia earlier this year and .

Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, “The Promise” is an epic human drama about a love triangle between Michael Boghosian, a brilliant medical student played by Golden Globe winning actor Oscar Isaac, the beautiful and sophisticated Armenian artist Ana played by Charlotte le Bon, and Chris Myers, a renowned American photo-journalist covering the war played by Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale.

The film is also supported by an impressive cast of international actors. Their relationships unfold amidst the start of the Armenian Genocide, causing major upheaval of their lives and a struggle just to survive.

Photo: EMC

 

At least 35 people have been killed and 60 wounded in a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in north-western Syria, a monitoring group says, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that strikes on Khan Sheikhoun by Syrian government or Russian jets had caused many people to choke.

The Syrian Observatory cited medical sources in Khan Sheikhoun as reporting that the symptoms among those affected by Tuesday morning’s attack included fainting, vomiting and foaming at the mouth.

The victims were mostly civilians, and included at least nine children, it said.

Armenian Weekly – A fire erupted in the Armenian Evangelical Church of Alfortville at around 6 a.m. on the morning of April 2, in what is being described as an arson attack—the third attack on the church in the last 12 months.

According to reports, the flames woke Pastor Gilbert Léonian and his wife, who live in the first floor of the building.

Though no injuries reported in the incident, Léonian said that the two were shocked to wake up to the fire. The church’s entrance also sustained substantial damage as a result.

According to reports, a trash bin in front of the church was deliberately set on fire. Firefighters arrived on scene on time to stop the spread of the fire to the rest of the building.

Eight days earlier, stones were thrown against the facade of the church causing some damage. Léonian became the pastor of the church 18 months ago and leads the congregation of about 30 people.

The Mayor of Alfortville Luc Carvounas was quick to condemn the attack and expressed his solidarity with the church’s congregation and leadership.

His Holiness Aram I asks the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to declare it has jurisdiction over the Armenian Church’s claim against Turkey for the return of its historical Seat in Sis.

When asked if he preferred Armenia or Lebanon, the Lebanese Minister of Tourism chose Armenia. Evidently, this resulted in quite the outrage among the Lebanese people, reports.

The Minister, Avedis Guidanian, is also the deputy chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun.

During the interview on Al Jadeed’s “Talk of the Town” show where the host, Mona Abou Hamze, asked him questions to which he could only choose between 2 options.

Among the questions, he was asked to choose between Israel and Turkey – which he refused to answer.

Then when he was asked to choose between Armenia and Lebanon, he quickly chose Armenia.

Understandably, Armenia is his mother country and he is a member of one of the main Armenian parties. Lebanon and Armenia have close relations – especially due to the fact that we both faced persecution from the same oppressor – the Ottoman (modern day Turkey). Lebanon became a safe haven for many Armenians fleeing the genocide.

Following his response, the audience applauded him and the host commended him on choosing his “motherland.”

Many people didn’t like his response. Following the outcry, he issued a statement saying the following:

“Let’s make things clear, I am a Lebanese with Armenian roots, Lebanon is my home country.”

There was an outcry among Turkish people – calling him racist – for his comments towards Turkey.

“I would not promote anything related to Turkey, none of their products, or establish relations with them. I cannot prevent Turks from coming to Lebanon and I do not want to welcome them at an airport,” he said.

The series of questions start at the 21-minute mark but this is the full interview:

On 4 April Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory address to President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in connection with the 2017 National Assembly elections.
The address runs as follows:

“Your Excellency,

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic people, authorities and myself, I congratulate You and Armenia’s citizens on the parliamentary elections held on April 2, 2017.

The elections took place in an atmosphere of free and active competition which was confirmed by the international observers.

I am confident that the elections and the new governance system to be formed will contribute to the consistent development and strengthening of Mother Armenia, raising the governing efficiency and cementing the independent Armenian statehood.

I congratulate You once again and wish peace, good luck and all the best.”

Photos: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

 

– Drivers headed into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge got a world history lesson without even asking Monday when a huge banner commemorating the 1915 Armenian genocide was displayed above the mouth of the Treasure Island Tunnel.

For the third consecutive year, the 70-foot-by-10 foot banner was unfurled on the span about 9 a.m. to mark the anniversary of the genocide — a historical event that has yet to be recognized by many world leaders.

The “genocide is very personal to us. We are grandchildren and great-grandchildren of genocide survivors,” said Alex Bastian, a member of the Bay Area Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee. “It is something that has really wounded our soul, wounded our community, wounded our people.”

Nearly 30,000 Armenians in the Bay Area contributed money for the hanging of the sign that read, “Armenian Genocide 1915” and “.”

“We want to have recognition for everyone coming across the bridge to understand our story,” said Kim Bardakian, also a member of the Bay Area Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee.

. has a message of support for injured Everton defender …

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan has sent a public message of support to Everton’s Seamus Coleman.

Coleman broke his leg in two places in a horror challenge with Wales’ Neil Taylor during the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifier in Dublin last weekend.

He is now recovering at home in Liverpool and could be out for eight months.

Mkhitaryan used the official United programme to send his best wishes ahead of tonight’s clash between the two sides at Old Trafford.

He said: “Yes, I have seen the injury to Coleman and I feel sorry for him.

“I wish him a very quick recovery. It was a very bad injury and, when I saw the footage of it, I felt very bad about it.

“I want to support him and tell him to stay strong and to come back as swiftly as he can.

“It is not nice to see but also it is football. Danger is a part of the game and you have to be ready for it, of course not that kind of injury as it is pretty rare, but that is football.

“He could not have thought that something would happen like this. It was a battle between him and the opponent and he got a very bad injury.”