Category: News

The Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade of the Republican Guard – backed by the 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard – imposed full control over the Armenian Cemetery of Deir Ezzor after a violent battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) on Sunday,  reports.

The Syrian Armed Forces were able to liberate this strategic site in western Deir Ezzor after repelling the Islamic State’s offensive at the Panorama Checkpoint. As a result of ISIS’ failed offensive at the Panorama Checkpoint, the Syrian Armed Forces took the opportunity to strike back against the terrorist group and recapture the Armenian Cemetery.

According to Yarob Zahreddine of the 104th Airborne Brigade, the Syrian Armed Forces killed several ISIS terrorists during the battle for the Armenian Cemetery, including several foreign terrorists from North Africa.

Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS

    The lower house of the Tajik parliament has unanimously approved on Friday the amendments to the country’s current Constitution enshrining Emomali Rahmon’s right to be president for life,  reports.

These amendments will take effect after being reviewed by the Constitutional Court and popular support at the referendum whose date will be determined later.

According to the new wording of Article 66 of the country’s Constitution, “a person at least 30 years old who has a command of the state language and who has lived in the country for at least 10 past years can be nominated for the post of Tajikistan’s president.” Lawmaker Mahmadali Vatanzoda noted that it was planned to supplement this article with the following content: “The restrictions envisaged in this article do not apply to the founder of “peace and national unity – leader of the nation.” This legal status was conferred on incumbent President Emomali Rahmon by parliamentarians on December 9, 2015.

Among other significant amendments to Tajikistan’s Constitution are a ban on religious and nationalist political parties and associations and the abolition of the Council of Justice. The activity of foreign political parties is banned as well. The Constitution enshrines the presidential form of government, which has actually been in force since 1994. All these amendments will take effect after a national referendum.

Emomali Rahmon has been the head of state since 1992.

Photo: AP

 

At least 65 people have been killed in multiple blasts in Syrian government coastal strongholds, reports say, the BBC reports.

Explosions hit the cities of Tartous and Jableh. Several of the blasts were suicide bombings, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

State media said packed bus stations and a hospital were among the targets.

Attacks of this scale are rare in these areas. A news agency linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) says the jihadist group was behind the attacks.

Charles Aznavour celebrates his 92nd birthday today. The legendary French Armenian singer, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records in all, was born Chahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, the younger of two children born to Armenian immigrants who fled to France. His mother was a seamstress as well as an actress and his father was a baritone who sang in restaurants. Both Charles and his sister waited on tables where he performed. He delivered his first poetic recital while just a toddler. Within a few years later he had developed such a passion for singing/dancing, that he sold newspapers to earn money for lessons.

He took his first theatrical bow in the play “Emil and the Detectives” at age 9 and within a few years was working as a movie extra. He eventually quit school and toured France and Belgium as a boy singer/dancer with a traveling theatrical troupe while living the bohemian lifestyle. A popular performer at the Paris’ Club de la Chanson, it was there that he was introduced in 1941 to the songwriter Pierre Roche. Together they developed names for themselves as a singing/writing cabaret and concert duo (“Roche and Aznamour”). A Parisian favorite, they became developed successful tours outside of France, including Canada. In the post WWII years Charles began appearing in films again, one of them as a singing croupier in Goodbye Darling (1946).

Eventually Aznavour earned a sturdy reputation composing street-styled songs for other established musicians and singers, notably Édith Piaf, for whom he wrote the French version of the American hit “Jezebel”. Heavily encouraged by her, he toured with her as both an opening act and lighting man. He lived with Piaf out of need for a time not as one of her many paramours. His mentor eventually persuaded him to perform solo (sans Roche) and he made several successful tours while scoring breakaway hits with the somber chanson songs “Sur ma vie” and “Parce que” and the notable and controversial “Après l’amour.” In 1950, he gave the bittersweet song “Je Hais Les Dimanches” [“I Hate Sundays”] to chanteuse Juliette Gréco, which became a huge hit for her.

In the late 50s, Aznavour began to infiltrate films with more relish. Short and stubby in stature and excessively brash and brooding in nature, he was hardly leading man material but embraced his shortcomings nevertheless. Unwilling to let these faults deter him, he made a strong impressions with the comedy Une gosse sensass’ (1957) and with Paris Music Hall (1957). He was also deeply affecting as the benevolent but despondent and ill-fated mental patient Heurtevent in Head Against the Wall (1959). A year later, Aznavour starred as piano player Charlie Kohler/Edouard Saroyan in ‘Francois Truffaut”s adaptation of the David Goodis’ novel Shoot the Piano Player (1960) [Shoot the Piano Player], which earned box-office kudos both in France and the United States. This sudden notoriety sparked an extensive tour abroad in the 1960s. Dubbed the “Frank Sinatra of France” and singing in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Portuguese), his touring would include sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall (1964) and London’s Albert Hall (1967).

Aznavour served as actor and composer/music arranger for many films, including Gosse de Paris (1961), which he also co-wrote with directorMarcel Martin, and the dramas Three Fables of Love (1962) [Three Fables of Love”) and Dear Caroline (1968) [Dear Caroline]. The actor also embraced the title role in the TV series “Les Fables de la Fontaine” (1964), then starred in the popular musical “Monsieur Carnaval” (1965), in which he performed his hit song “La bohême.”

His continental star continued to shine and Aznavour acted in films outside of France with more dubious results. While the sexy satire Candy(1968), with an international cast that included Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and Ringo Starr, and epic adventure The Adventurers (1969) were considered huge misfires upon release, it still showed Aznavour off as a world-wide attraction.  Later films included Yiddish Connection (1986), which he co-wrote and provided music, and Il maestro (1990) with Malcolm McDowell; more recently he received kudos for his participation in the Canadian-French production Ararat (2002).

Films aside, hus chart-busting single “She” (1972-1974) went platinum in Britain. He also received thirty-seven gold albums in all. His most popular song in America, “Yesterday When I Was Young” has had renditions covered by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Julio Iglesias. In 1997, Aznavour received an honorary César Award. He has written three books, the memoirs “Aznavour By Aznavour” (1972), the song lyrics collection “Des mots à l’affiche” (1991) and a second memoir “Le temps des avants” (2003). A “Farewell Tour” was instigated in 2006 at age 82 and, health permitting, could last to 2010.

In 2009 Aznavour was appointed Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland.

President Serzh Sargsyan’s Address to the participants of the Second Conference of the Armenian Political Parties

Esteemed Colleagues,

I cordially greet the participants and guests of the Second Conference of the Armenian Political Parties. I am glad that members of the political parties represented in the Parliaments of Armenia and Artsakh have responded to the initiative of the Republican Party of Armenia and gathered in the capital of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh – Stepanakert.

Consistent and coordinated efforts aimed at further democratization, enhanced efficiency of the state administration structures and full implementation of human rights, whose main implementers are the political parties, are critically important for the added empowerment of the two Armenian states.

I am aware that the invitation to participate at the Conference was accepted by the political forces and political figures which had in the past and have now different views and different positions on various issues. However they have expressed readiness to jointly outline approaches related to the activities of political parties within our society, information, civil society and foreign relations, issues pertinent to Nagorno Karabakh and other topics.

I am confident that this format will allow the political parties to forge united pan-national positions, based on their internally adopted policies. Moreover so since military activities, which took place at the Nagorno Karabakh borderline several weeks ago, revealed once again potential of the all-national unity and our nation’s resolve to live in freedom and defend that freedom. A strong state must have a strong army as well as modern political, social, and economic structures based on the national system of values.

I once again salute the representatives of the Armenian political parties and wish the Conference productive work.

Two Armenian Christian leaders from Syria have been in the UK to remind of the realities facing a country where half the population are either refugees or have been internally displaced, reports.

Bishop Armash Nalbandian, the Armenian Orthodox Bishop of Damascus, and Reverend Harout Selimian, a pastor of the Armenian Armenian Evangelical Church in Aleppo met with Church leaders in England, Scotland and Wales – including the Chair of our International Affairs department Bishop Declan Lang.

The Armenian clerics discussed the challenges they are facing both from the established political institutions on the one hand and terrorist organisations on the other. They asked that the Christian communities in the UK hold the people of Syria in their prayers and actions.

– A proposed resolution calling on the German government to recognize the early 20th-century Ottoman Empire’s violence against the Armenians as genocide is important, as it may put an end to Turkey’s policy of denial, lawmaker from Germany’s Left Party Sevim Dagdelen told Sputnik Turkey.

On Monday, German lawmakers proposed the resolution, condemning the mass killings of Armenians ordered by the Ottoman government during World War I as genocide, for a parliamentary vote.

“I believe that this resolution is very important, because it can play a major role in the rejection of Turkey’s Genocide denial policy,” Dagdelen said in the interview.

According to the lawmaker, the parliamentary vote, which is set to be held on June 2, will be an important step in preparing the grounds for a reconciliation between the Armenians and the Turks and in establishing a dialogue between them.

“Thus Germany can do something that Turkey failed to implement,” she added.

The lawmaker said that she believes the resolution will be adopted by the parliament. According to Dagdelen, the June parliamentary vote will not result in serious tensions between Turkey and Germany.

Territorial integrity cannot be opposed to the right of peoples to self-determination, Armenian deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

The comment comes after PACE President Pedro Agramunt declared at a meeting with Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Parliament that “all conflict must be solved within the territorial integrity of the countries.”

“It would be preferable for an international official of that level to be familiar with the fundamental document of the international law – the UN Charter, according to which the territorial integrity cannot be opposed to the right of people to self-determination,” Kocharyan said in comments to Armenpress.

 

 

 

The Vienna meeting created new realities in international relations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Arman Navasardyan told reporters today. According to him, Russia has refused from  from its dominant positions in the Karabakh issue, which has, in turn, led to intensified efforts on the part of the other Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The Ambassador said “the three Co-Chairs seem to have a consensus on the Karabakh issue, and that’s good.” “The utmost objective at this point is to ensure the return of Nagorno Karabakh to the negotiating table,” he said.

Arman Navasardyan is “cautiously optimistic” about the results of the Vienna meeting. “Negotiations are better than war in any event. But are we sure the war will stop? I’m not confident Azerbaijan will not continue the military actions,” he said.

According to the Ambassador, the Armenian side should change its position on the lost territories. “Conceding a patch of land is a loss from all perspectives – psychological, physical and military.”

He does not rule out that the circumstances may force Armenia change the provisions of its military doctrine, shifting from a defensive to more offensive position.

“We deal with a country with a third country [Turkey] at its back, which pursues the policy of Armenocide, a policy of exterminating Armenians. This is an expression of neo-fascism on the state level,” he said.

Asbarez – Armenia Fund U.S. Western Region announces that a total of $1,102,357 was raised during the 6 hours of its Help Artsakh! emergency telethon aired on May 14 in Los Angeles.

“Armenia Fund is an organization that was born amidst a humanitarian catastrophe in Artsakh in 1992, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians from Artsakh and Azerbaijan became refugees with no shelter, food, heat or means to survive,” stated Maria Mehranian, Chair of Armenia Fund’s Board of Directors. “Armenia Fund stood by Artsakh through war and peace and will continue to do so. I would like to thank the world wide affiliates of Armenia Fund, specifically Armenia Fund in New York, Toronto, Paris, and Sao Paolo, for their participation in our Telethon with funds raised by their emergency fundraising activities that added $490,000 to the total raised,” added Mehranian.

Airing on all major Armenian American television stations, the emergency telethon highlighted stories of bravery, courage, and hope through the destruction of war. The video segments produced in Artsakh showed the massive damage caused by indiscriminate shelling of villages as well as the valor and bravery of young Armenian conscripts who courageously withstood a massive military aggression of the Azeri armed forces along the entire border with Artsakh in early April.

“Given the situation in Artsakh, this telethon was organized to solely provide short term humanitarian relief to the victims of war. Artsakh’s needs are immense ranging from immediate medical care for the wounded to rebuilding destroyed housing and infrastructure. I want to thank all Armenians for their wholehearted support of Artsakh,” said Sarkis Kotanjian, Executive Director of Armenia Fund.

Representatives from the greater Armenian-American community and prominent members of Congress and government appealed during the Telethon, voicing their strong support for Artsakh.

For the last quarter century Armenia Fund has been uniting the global Armenian community for the development of Armenia and Artsakh resulting in more than $350 million in large scale humanitarian relief and infrastructure development.