Category: News

Some recent reports in Russian media claim the negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh settlement are going to enter a more intensive stage with a focus on territories and the status of Nagorno Karabakh.

Spokesman for the NKR President David Babayan says the “publications pursue no geopolitical objective.” “The media outlets are thus trying to make a sensation, to publish information of great interest to the society, taking into consideration  the existence of large Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in Russia and the importance of the South Caucasus region.”

“What the Russian press writes about is not new. They just present the Madrid Principles and try to manipulate the issue by discussing unrealistic scenarios,” David Babayan told .

The Spokesman reminded that “the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries are mediators, not judges; therefore, they cannot impose any decision.”

As for the Madrid Principles, Babayan said “it’s just a working document, where the suggestions of the parties are being taken into consideration. The only issue Azerbaijan is interested in is territories, that’s why they have to make such offers, and the mediators have to include them in the working document. The Armenian side also makes proposals, which the co-chairs take note of. This is not an ultimatum, a final deal,” the Spokesman said.

He reminded the consensus principle, according to which “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

“What final resolution can we talk about, when the war is just over? Today the efforts are focused on maintaining peace and stability,” Babayan said.

Speaking about the exchange of territories for status, the Spokesperson said “it’s not realistic today.” According to him, the two issues are on different levels. “Let’s assume we give territories in return for status. What if Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the status of independent Artsakh? Will we then be able to regain any land?” Babayan said, adding that “there can be no return to the borders of 1988, Karabakh will never be an enclave.”

He stressed that even if Artsakh is granted the status of an independent state, there are no guarantees that Azerbaijan, which glorifies an axe-murderer, tortures 95-year-old civilians and beheads soldiers, will not unleashnew  aggression.”

“Therefore, exchange of territories for status is impossible. There are a number of security, humanitarian, geopolitical issues, which are not easy to solve,” David Babayan concluded.

Asbarez – Documentary “Orphans of the Genocide” will be featured on April 24 at 1:30 p.m. PT on KCET, while documentary “Uprooted” will premiere at 8 p.m. ET/PT nationwide on Link TV (DirecTV Channel 375 and Dish Network Channel 9410) and at 7 p.m. PT in Southern California on KCET.

“Orphans of the Genocide,” Emmy award-winning Director Bared Maronian’s critically-acclaimed documentary, sheds light on crimes against humanity and tells part of a larger story of the Armenian genocide of 1915 through the eyes of some of its more than 130,000 orphaned children. The documentary focuses on one orphanage, Antoura, where 1,000 children orphaned by the Armenian genocide lived and were forcefully converted to Turkish beliefs and culture during World War I. The film features never-before-seen archival footage as well as recently discovered memoirs of orphans.

“Uprooted” is a documentary from Producer and Director Hagop Goudsouzian that traces the evolution of Armenian culture, identity and heritage. Research in “Uprooted” weaves together stories in an attempt to answer the question of what being Armenian means in America today. Goudsouzian’s personal and passionate film features interviews with expert sources who continue to delve into the critical elements of Armenian identity.

As an additional way for KCET and Link TV programming to amplify the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide, viewers who tune-in to the broadcast will have the opportunity to receive DVD copies of “Uprooted” as a gift for a $60 donation, or acclaimed filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian’s DVD trilogy set of “Armenian Exile, My Son Shall Be Armenian” and “Uprooted” for a $150 donation.

In addition to the broadcast documentaries, KCET.org is offering multimedia content that showcases stories that allow users to further explore more history on Armenian heritage:

–I Am Armenian: The Intriguing Life of Aurora Mardiganian
–Visiting With Huell Howser: Armenian Christmas Meal, [www.kcet.org/shows/visiting-with-huell-howser/episodes/armenian-christmas-meal]
–Subtle Commemoration: Pasadena’s Armenian Genocide Memorial, [www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/subtle-commemoration-pasadenas-armenian-genocide-memorial]
–Armenian-American Artists Reflect the Diaspora Experience, [www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/armenian-american-artists-reflect-the-diaspora-experience]

On April 20, Council of City and County of Honolulu, state of Hawaii, adopted a resolution 16-78, CD1, encouraging and supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society and urging the president and congress of the united states to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the South Caucasus region.

WHEREAS, Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a land-locked region in the South Caucasus that historically has been Armenian territory and is populated by an ethnic Armenian majority; and

WHEREAS, in 1921, the region was severed from Armenia and placed under the Soviet Azerbaijani administration as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region; and

WHEREAS, February 20,1988, marked the beginning of the national liberation movement in Nagorno-Karabakh, as the elected legislature representing the people of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted a resolution returning Nagorno-Karabakh to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia; and

WHEREAS, on September 2,1991, in accordance with its enacted law, the legislature of Nagorno-Karabakh declared formation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; and

WHEREAS, on December 10,1991, the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic voted in favor of independence, and on January 6,1992, the democratically elected legislature of the republic formally declared independence; and

WHEREAS, since proclaiming independence, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has built a democratic nation with a free-market-oriented economy and a vibrant civil society that has held presidential and parliamentary elections that have been assessed by nongovernmental international monitors as free and fair; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that it encourages and supports the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s continuing efforts to guarantee its citizens those rights inherent in a free and independent society; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council urges the President and Congress of the United States to support the international community’s efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to security issues in the strategically important South Caucasus region; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.

Celebrations are taking place around the country on the day the Queen turns 90, the reports.

Crowds lined the streets in Windsor as the monarch took part in a walkabout, and royal gun salutes have been fired from each of the UK’s capital cities.

The Queen, who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh during her walkabout in Windsor, was presented with a birthday cake at the Guildhall by the Great British Bake Off champion Nadiya Hussain, who had created an orange drizzle cake with a butter cream and marmalade filling.

The monarch unveiled a plaque marking The Queen’s Walkway – a 6.3km trail that links 63 significant points in Windsor.

The trail was designed to recognise the moment the monarch broke the record on 9 September 2015 held by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria by being on the throne for 63 years and seven months.

The Queen will light symbolic beacons in Windsor later.

The Queen had been “a rock of strength for our nation” and the Commonwealth, Prime Minister David Cameron said, as he and fellow politicians paid tribute in the House of Commons.

Mr Cameron said: “Her Majesty The Queen has lived through some extraordinary times in our world.

“From the Second World War… to the rations with which she bought the material for her wedding dress.

“From presenting the World Cup to England at Wembley in 1966 to man landing on the moon three years later.

“From the end of the Cold War to peace in Northern Ireland.

“Throughout it all, as the sands of culture shift and the tides of politics ebb and flow, Her Majesty has been steadfast – a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions for the whole world.”

Earlier, a photograph was released showing the monarch with young members of the Royal Family.

The image, one of three taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, shows the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren.

The other Leibovitz photographs show the monarch walking in the grounds of Windsor Castle with four of her dogs and sitting with her daughter, the Princess Royal.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow received today Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

Among other issues the parties referred to the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

“There can be no military solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” NATO Deputy Secretary General said.

“Nagorno Karabakh conflict urgently requires de-escalation and diplomatic progress under the auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” Mr. Vershbow said.

Members of parliament unanimously approved the motion – which is not binding on the government – by 278 votes to zero.

The vote in the 650-seat lower House of Commons calls on ministers to accept formally that IS actions against Christian, Yazidi and other religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq constitute genocide.

But Foreign Office junior minister Tobias Ellwood, who has specific responsibility for the Middle East, said it was up to the courts rather than the government to make such a judgement.

“I believe genocide has taken place, but as the prime minister (David Cameron) has said, genocide is a matter of legal rather than political opinion,” Ellwood said.

MPs from all parties urged Britain to use its position as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to get the situation referred to the International Criminal Court.

The Regional Assembly of Sicily became the 105^th local self-government body in Italy to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In a resolution unanimously adopted by the Assembly on April 20 the lawmakers express their solidarity with the struggle of the Armenian people aimed at recognition of the historic reality.

The resolution calls on the Sicilian regional authorities and the national government to support the events aimed at recognition of the Armenian Genocide and disseminate information about historic facts for the sake of peace, democracy and the right of peoples of self-determination.

The measure was authored by MPs Cordaro Salvatore, (D’Asero Antonino, Papale Alfio and Grasso Bernadette Felice.

A group of young people rallied in front of the government building today, urging Armenians to refuse from goods of Turkish production.

Participants of the action inform that the goods imported from Turkey start with the code 869 and advise customers to pay attention to the figures.

Protesters  say they have even discovered Azerbaijani goods in Armenian shops.

As a sign of protest, the participants threw Turkish goods into the dustbin.

German Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier had a meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs James Warlick, Igor Popov and Pierre Andrieu and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Discussions focused on the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

The flame for the Olympic Games in Brazil has been lit in southern Greece, the BBC reports.

It will be taken by various runners on an international torch relay that will culminate at the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August.

The ritual was established eight decades ago for the Berlin Games.

The lighting ceremony took place in Ancient Olympia, where the games took place for more than 1,000 years. A priestess performed it, focusing the sun’s rays on a metal torch.

The flame was kindled on Thursday by Greek actress Katerina Lehou.

The torch will now begin a six-day relay across Greece, passing through the town of Marathon – which which gave its name to the long distance race – as well as a camp for refugees and migrants in Athens, the International Olympic Committee has said.

The flame is due to arrive in Brazil on 3 May for a 100-day relay across the country, travelling through 500 cities and villages in every Brazilian state.

It will be carried by about 12,000 torch bearers.