Category: News

Earlier this month, two brown bears, Masha and Girsha were relocated from the cramped quarters in a zoo in the Armenian town of Gyumri to the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Romania, bringing to a happy end to more than six months of efforts to rescue them, according to

The bears and three lions had been living a miserable life in captivity in a privately-owned zoo in Gyumri. The zoo had been featured in the British tabloid, Daily Mail, back in January as “the world’s saddest zoo.” The article, which went viral, said that the animals were starving and had been left to die by the owner who had abandoned the facility.

An absolutely wonderful place in Romania, Libearty Sanctuary, the largest brown bear sanctuary in Europe, agreed to provide homes for the bears. Just as critical, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation (BBF), France’s leading animal protection organization, agreed to fund the relocation of the bears.

In the following months individuals and organizations from Armenia (Yerevan and Gyumri), France, Spain, and Romania put together an impressive effort to rescue the Gyumri Zoo animals.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan will visit Moscow April 12-13 to participate in the sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.

PM Hovik Abrahamyan is expected to meet with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

A number of findings uncovered in the village of Yervand, Syunik Province date back to the Urartian times. The 200 items unearthed by a treasure hunter include poleaxes, works of art, bronze statuettes, etc.

“The findings date back to 8-6 centuries BC, the era of the Kingdom of Van,” Hakob Simonyan of the Ministry of Culture told reporters today.

The story came to light, when the treasure-hunter tried to sell the findings.

Archaeologist, art critic Hakob Simonyan says the collection is of great value and should be showcased not only in Armenia, but also the best known museums of the world.

The military aggression against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, unleashed by Azerbaijan in the early hours of April 2, was accompanied by war crimes, flagrant violations of the laws and customs of war, as well as norms of international humanitarian law, the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

On April 2, as a result of the deliberate artillery shelling of civilian settlements, a 12-year-old boy, Vagharshak Grigoryan, was killed, and two other kids were wounded near the secondary school in the NKR Martuni region. In the village of Talish of the NKR Martakert region, three elderly members of the Khalapyan family, the eldest of whom was 92 years old, were brutally killed and mutilated by an Azerbaijani subversive group. Traces of torture and mutilation were also registered on the bodies of the deceased servicemen of the NKR Defense Army, transferred to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by Azerbaijan on April 10.

This is not the complete list of the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani army during the military aggression against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Grossly violating the norms of international humanitarian law Azerbaijan poses itself against the entire civilized world by openly challenging it.

In accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law, in particular, Article 1 of all Geneva Conventions, the High Contracting Parties undertook the obligation not only “to respect” the norms of the Conventions, but also “to ensure respect” in all circumstances.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic is taking steps to provide the international community, including the specialized agencies, with  these egregious facts of inhuman acts committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces and will consistently seek to ensure not only the strongest condemnation of these crimes, but also holding the perpetrators accountable. There can be no justification for such acts committed by Azerbaijan.

Initiatives for Development of Armenia Foundation (IDeA Foundation) thanks all individuals and organizations that support 100 LIVES and the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. We express our deepest gratitude to the partners of Aurora Prize Inaugural Сeremony: producer of the legendary Armenian brandy “ARARAT” – Yerevan Brandy Company, Armenia’s Leading Telecommunications Operator VivaCell-MTS and Panarmenian Media Group.

“We are grateful to the companies that have joined us in sharing the ideas and values of our initiative. This is especially relevant today, when the humanitarian challenges of the world are as urgent and important as a century ago, ” Edgar Manukyan, CEO of IDeA Foundation, noted.

“The idea of honouring heroes a hundred years later on behalf of all the survivors of the Armenian Genocide in gratitude to their saviours, and launching a new global initiative, is unique, and we are very delighted to contribute to its realization”, said Igor Arakelyan, Chief Operation Officer of Yerevan Brandy Company.

“Aurora Prize is a clarion call to go back to the core values of our human nature, to cherish once again the need of helping each other and save each other’s lives. We join Aurora Prize initiative to celebrate those people who are putting their lives at risk to save others,”stated VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

“It’s a great honour for us to be the main media partner of Aurora Prize. I hope that 100 LIVES initiative and Aurora Prize will make the world kinder and the people more humane”, Chairman of the Board of Panarmenian Media Group Armen Arzumanyan said.

The Inaugural Ceremony of Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will take place on April 24 in Yerevan, Armenia.

By Harut Sassounian 
Publisher, The California Courier

In last week’s large-scale attack on Artsakh (Karabakh), the Azeri military killed and injured dozens of Armenian soldiers and civilians, using the sophisticated weapons purchased from Israel and Russia for billions of dollars.

The Armenian government and Armenians worldwide accused both Israel and Russia of responsibility for the innocent Armenian lives lost in the recent Azeri invasion.

Prof. Israel Charny, a righteous Jew and a staunch defender of human rights, could not remain silent knowing that his country — Israel — had a bloody role in the Armenian killings. As Executive Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Dr. Charny sent a scathing commentary to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, under the provocative title: “Would Israel Sell a Used Drone to a Hitler?” Here is what he wrote:

“If the Nazis were not at all murdering Jews but ‘only’ were murdering say hated Slavs, Gypsies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses; and if our beloved State of Israel were in existence; would you agree to our selling arms to the Nazis?

“Israel is reported to have sold billions of dollars of arms including to governments that are killing or threatening to attack victim peoples. Last week, there came reports that an Israeli drone in the hands of Azerbaijan — a huge arms customer of ours — was responsible for the deaths of six Armenians in the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabakh.

“I am ashamed!

“The Armenians were the victims of a major genocide 100 years ago that has even been called the ‘Armenian Shoah’ by some Israeli scholars, including from Bar Ilan University. A great deal of their national and cultural concern continues to focus passionately on the memory of that genocide (does that sound familiar to us Jews?). For many years now, we Israelis — whether led by Labor or Likud — have insulted and hurt the Armenian people by failing to recognize their genocide officially and formally. Would we ourselves tolerate another government — say the U.S. or England — failing to recognize the Holocaust because of their realpolitik interest with the perpetrator government?

“One senior Armenian official has written several of us in Israel to express his deep pain as well as indignation now not only at our cowardly and self-serving denials of the Armenian Genocide, but also at our thick military trade alliance with Azerbaijan. I am reminded of the prophet Nathan crying out to King David for an earlier though more delectable murderous act of self-interest: It’s bad enough that you killed him, are you also taking a profit from the sordid affair? The Azeris are a Turkic people who adhere to Turkey’s bizarre and fascist tradition of rewriting history and denying the Armenian Genocide.

“In general, how much do we Israelis want to strengthen our economy by lucrative arms sales? Of course, ‘everyone’ in the world is doing it, but do we have to also? Have we given up the image/dream of Israel as a moral leader of peoples on this planet? Is this idea tiresome, naïve, and childlike in a madly destructive and self-destroying world?

“An alternative concept could be that along with our building arms first and foremost for the defense of Israel, that we sell — or contribute — arms only to underdog peoples who are facing mass destruction, and/or to allies like the U.S., who are essentially committed to shared democratic values and peace. Of course, we will still be making some mistakes, but at least our conscience will be more clear that we have not delivered used arms to the ‘Nazis.’

“To my Armenian colleagues and friends, I can only say that as a Jew and as an Israeli, I am mortified — and angry.”

Prof. Charny’s harsh words are fully justified as both Israeli and Russian officials have shamefully pledged to continue shipping more weapons to Azerbaijan!

Dr. Charny has never shied away from expressing his critical views on Israel’s immoral policies on Armenian issues. In a scathing letter in 2001, he told Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres: “You have gone beyond a moral boundary that no Jew should allow himself to trespass…. As a Jew and an Israeli, I am ashamed of the extent to which you have now entered into the range of actual denial of the Armenian Genocide, comparable to denials of the Holocaust.”

Prof. Charny should be highly commended for his bold and righteous stand, taking to task the callous leaders of his own country!

“Azerbaijani suffered a military defeat, as it failed to reach the goals it had posed thanks to our officers and soldiers. Today we hold a trump card given us by the Armenian soldier, and we should use this in diplomacy, as well,” Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, told reporters today.

According to Demoyan, one of the reasons of the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno Karabakh is the end of the “oil honeymoon.”

“The military adventurism was not just Ilham Aliyev’s caprice, this means the weakness of the state of Azerbaijan needs to be saved, and at least a small victory on the Karabakh front is the only tool at this point,” Demoyan said.

According to him, it was meant to ensure unity, to create new myths and heroic stories, that cement artificial state and artificial ethnic communities.

However, Demoyan said, Azerbaijan failed to achieve the goals. “The cement
fell to the ground like spot putty,” he said.

“In the current situation the two Armenian states have to come forth with a joint statement outlining our expectations and making it clear what we are ready for. The Armenian side should insist that Azerbaijan must be held accountable for the launching of large-scale military actions, for the unprecedented violation of the ceasefire regime, or whatever it was.”

Demoyan believes it’s high time to review the National Security Strategy. “Nothing has changed in the documents since 2007, while we’re facing a new situation and new challenges today,” he added. According to AGMI Director, the recent developments have changed the situation, and this cannot but affect the negotiation process.

A prosecutor has demanded a 7-year imprisonment for prominent Armenian businessman Levon Hayrapetyan who stands charged with stealing $700,000 from the mother of former Bashkortostan senator Igor Izmestyev who was sentenced to life for terrorism, RAPSI reported on Tuesday from Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky District Court.

The prosecutor also asked the court to collect from the businessman 20.8 million rubles ($310,000) in damages in favor of the injured party.

Investigators believe that the businessman has misled the woman by promising a reduced sentence for her son. In practice, he could not influence the judgment. The maximum penalty for such crime is 10 years in prison.

Hayrapetyan has pleaded not guilty. According to his lawyer, the case has been framed up.

Hayrapetyan also stands charged with involvement in an embezzlement case under which Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov, sold Bashneft, a midsized oil company he headed for three years, to the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema in 2009 at a huge “discount” of $500 million.

In early October 2014, Hayrapetyan was placed under house arrest. His defense attorney asked the court to release him, citing health problems.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop an agreement on mutual military assistance with Nagorno Karabakh, immediately after Azerbaijan launched an offensive against Artsakh.

President Sargsyan also declared that “should military actions continue and escalate into larger scales, the Republic of Armenia will recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh.”

The document has not been brought to the National Assembly, and it’s still unclear when it will be considered.

“The text of the document is being developed. Several versions are being worked out. We’ll make conclusions depending on the situation,” says Vahram Baghdasaryan, head of the Republican faction.

In general, all parliamentary forces agree on the opinion that the adoption of the document is a must. They believe it is the real step that Armenia can take in response to the current situation.

Head of the ARF faction Armen Rustamyan says the document will seek to solve two main issues. “First, it should be clearly mentioned that Armenia is the guarantor of NKR independence and security.”

Although the Armenian Revolutionary Federation favors the creation of a military-political union, it doesn’t mind reinforcing the two principles through an agreement on mutual military assistance.

According to Rustamyan, the second important provision that should be incorporated in the document is that “any assault against Karabakh will mean an assault against Armenian borders, with all consequences deriving from this.”

Some say the agreement on mutual military assistance could serve a basis for the recognition of Artsakh’s independence. “It’s not recognition, but a legal-political basis for standing next to Nagorno Karabakh,” MP Alexander Arzumanyan says. According to him, it’s more effective at this point than the recognition of independence

What is the main issue the agreement is meant to solve? What will Nagorno Karabakh gain from it? “Under this agreement we’ll assume political and military responsibility for NKR. We’ll say that Armenia will not stay apart in case of any assault against Karabakh,” Arzumanyan says.