UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the South Caucasus, including Armenia has been postponed, the Organization’s office in Armenia said.
“The Secretary-General has a keen interest in the South Caucasus region so his visit will be rescheduled,” Officer-in-Charge at UN Department of Public Information Armineh Haladjian said.
It was earlier reported that Ban would arrive in Armenia on April 25 as part of his official visit to the South Caucasus countries.
Hundreds gathered at the Republic Square in Yerean to protest against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Armenia.
The participant of the rally marched to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed fo the Russian Embassy in Armenia.
Andrew E. Kramer
On a crystalline spring morning, Iosif Adamyan sipped coffee on the veranda of his guesthouse, overlooking a pear orchard in bloom and, in the distance, a range of snowy mountains.
In this picturesque spot, he entertains guests from England, France and Russia; in fact, people from “the whole world,” wind up here, he said, with the peculiarity that many of them speak Armenian.
At the stately Hotel Armenia, which caters to the diaspora visiting the capital of the disputed mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, dear to the hearts of Armenians everywhere, the dining room clings to the traditional starched tablecloths and, of course, aged Armenian cognac.
“Karabakh is the cradle of Armenia,” said Lyudmila A. Oganyesyan, the director of School No. 3, beautifully restored in a facade of tan, locally quarried stone and paid for, naturally, by a wealthy Armenian benefactor, in this case an insurance executive from Moscow.
For being the capital of a war-afflicted former Soviet splinter region, a category of places better known for mud and misery, Stepanakert, with a population of 50,000 or so, is surprisingly livable.
Throughout the city, which went onto a war footing this month during three days of fighting with Azerbaijan’s military, signs of the careful attention and largess of a wealthy diaspora are everywhere: a new hospital rising on a hillside; smooth new asphalt on the road into town.
This support from the broader world of Armenian émigrés, not least from the large community in Southern California, adds an improbable metropolitan flair to the tiny republic of Karabakh and its capital.
The city still has some rough edges, beginning with the six-hour drive to get there on endless switchbacks that take you past a parade of burned and abandoned villages of the Armenians’ enemies, the Azerbaijanis, and terrifying thousand-foot cliffs. In its mountain perch, the region is surrounded, marooned in Azerbaijan, with this road the only supply route. No airport functions.
The sustenance from the diaspora makes all the difference. Funds flowed in from the late Kirk Kerkorian, the California financier. A Swiss-Armenian built a sturgeon farm called the Golden Fish. California and six other American states have recognized the splinter republic, though the federal government and in fact no other country have.
During the fighting, Stepanakert’s main square — immaculately paved, with stunning views of an alpine valley — became a hub of excitement for young and old alike.
Jeeps wheeled about, screeched to a stop for soldiers to hop in. An old veteran from the 1991-94 war stood nearby to see them off, the empty right sleeve of his jacket carefully ironed and tucked into a pocket.
David Agamalyan, 14, stood with two friends gaping at the armed men and bustle. In this city, any boy on the street has two numbers on the tip of his tongue, his age and his best time for disassembling and reassembling a Kalashnikov rifle, a skill that is taught in schools from age 13.
David’s best time is 27 seconds, certainly a feat considering all the springs and rods and sheet metal parts involved. Girls are taught first aid. Both boys and girls are taught to march and stand at attention.
At School No. 3, children’s drawings adorning the walls show in crayon and colored pencil the smoldering fight that is all they have ever known: a tank in a mountain landscape; men marching with rifles.
All boys join the army. Asked whom he would fight in four years when he signs up, David shrugged at the ridiculous question. “Our neighbor, of course,” he said.
Photo: Getty Images
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.
Rep. Adam Schiff took to the house floor to present an open letter to President Obama:
I dearly hope, as do millions of Armenians descended from genocide survivors around the world, that he will take this final opportunity as President to speak plainly about the genocide. To say that the Ottoman Empire committed the crime of genocide when it sought to wipe out the Armenians, and very nearly did. That their campaign of extermination nonetheless failed. And that, above all, we will never forget and we will never be intimidated into silence.
Mr. President, there is no higher moral calling than speaking the truth in the face of genocide denial. Please, this year, add your voice to the millions who speak out for those who died in the desert, for the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee has released the schedule of events to commemorate the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney and Melbourne, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reports.
This year, the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening will be held on Sunday 24th April from 7pm at the Willoughby Concourse Concert Hall, Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. The keynote speaker will be Professor Peter Stanley, Professor at the University of NSW (Canberra).