European Lawmakers Call for Mechanisms to Prevent ‘Cultural Genocide’ in Artsakh

Chalian Meline
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

A conference tackling the protection of cultural heritage in Artsakh takes place at the European Parliament on Jan. 25


Members of the European Parliament on Thursday called for the dispatch of an international peacekeeping mission to Artsakh, as well as the creation of succinct mechanisms to prevent the “cultural genocide” being perpetrated by Azerbaijan.

The European lawmakers made the suggestions during a conference on Protecting Armenian Cultural and Religious Heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh that took place at the European Parliament on Thursday.

“The European Parliament has on numerous occasions raised the issue of the fake Azeri narratives and deliberate destruction of Armenian cultural heritage. But nevertheless, the EU is playing a short-term economic game and has an agreement with Azerbaijan. This is unacceptable, and it is our duty to do everything to save the Armenian heritage,” said European Parliament member Miriam Lexmann, who organized the conference.

Armenia’s representative to the EU Tigran Balayan said that Azerbaijan is not only deliberately destroying and distorting everything that is Armenian, but it is also violating all legal obligations. He blamed the arbitrary enforcement of legal decisions and inconsistent posture of actors for what’s happening.

“We must create a monitoring mechanism, and the European Parliament has sufficient means to create such a group. Our duty is to save what’s still left in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Balayan said.

Pierre d’Argent, professor at the University of Louvain and a guest professor at the University of Leiden, warned the European lawmakers that Azerbaijan is trying to “control history.”

“Discrimination and falsification of history are state policies in that country,” he said, noting that Azeri authorities are “questioning what’s Armenians, and for them, Nagorno-Karabakh doesn’t exist,” d’Argent said.

More than 4,000 Armenian monuments, monasteries and cultural buildings are under Azeri control today and face the risk of destruction.

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, the Secretary-General of Europa Nostra, pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage called on the EU to adopt stronger rhetoric and introduce clear mechanisms to prevent the cultural tragedy.

Conference of European Churches Secretary Peter Pavlovic also called for a monitoring mechanism in Nagorno-Karabakh.

European Parliament member Fabio Castaldo said that European satellites should be used to monitor and document what’s happening in Nagorno-Karabakh and use the images as evidence in international organizations. He said that only a strong package of sanctions against Azerbaijan could be the solution to the issue.

Baku Extends Jail Terms of Former Artsakh Leaders

Emil Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh leaders were arrested by Azerbaijan


Azerbaijani authorities on Thursday extended the pre-trial incarceration period of all imprisoned former Artsakh leaders by another four months, directly defying international calls against the arrests.

During the days of the forced mass exodus of Armenians from Artsakh, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Artsakh’s former presidents Arkady Ghoukasian, Bako Sahakian and Arayik Harutyunyan. Artsakh’s Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan was also arrested. Artsakh’s former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, as well as high-ranking Artsakh army general Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manoukyan were also arrested. Artsakh’s former foreign minister Davit Babayan turned himself in by traveling to occupied Shushi.

Azerbaijani authorities sentenced the former leaders on a slew of trumped up charges and assessed a four-month pre-trial remand.

An Azerbaijani court granted the respective motions and extended the custody of each accused for another four months, Azerbaijani media reported.

Asbarez: Yerevan Will Provide Minefield Maps to Baku, Armenia’s Security Service Says

Jhanna Virabian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories


Armenia’s National Security Service announced on Thursday that it will provide Azerbaijan what it called “new documents” containing information about a minefield in occupied Artsakh.

This comes days after President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan demanded such maps during his conversation with European Union leaders.

The copies of these documents will be handed over to the international partners, the NSS said in its statement.

“Committed to the peace agenda with Azerbaijan and based on humanitarian considerations, the Republic of Armenia transferred 972 minefield maps with information about minefield to Azerbaijan on June 12, July 3, October 19, November 1 and November 29, 2021 without preconditions,” the NSS said.


“Following this unilateral humanitarian gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan initiated an information campaign, accusing the Republic of Armenia of providing inaccurate and incomplete maps and using the humanitarian step to incite hatred,” explained the statement.

“Representatives of the Republic of Armenia have repeatedly stated at the public and working levels that there are simply no better quality maps at the disposal of the Republic of Armenia. And the transferred maps were obtained through Nagorno-Karabakh servicemen,” the NSS statement added.

“Following the agreement established on December 7, 2023, between the office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, aimed at taking tangible steps to build trust between the two states, the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia has resumed survey work among former military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result, eight new documents containing information on minefields have been identified,” the NSS said.

“These minefield maps will be transmitted to the Azerbaijani side through official channels in the coming days, and copies of these documents will be provided to our international partners,” the NSS said.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 01/25/2024

Nahapetian Samvel 
                                        Thursday, 


Yerevan Confirms Azeri 'Discontent' With Armenian Constitution

        • Shoghik Galstian
        • Karlen Aslanian

Armenia - A copy of the 1990 Declaration of Independence.


Senior Armenian officials have acknowledged that Azerbaijan has objected to 
Armenia’s 1990 declaration of independence which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
seems intent on removing from the national constitution.

Pashinian declared late last week that Armenia must adopt a constitution 
reflecting the “new geopolitical environment” in the region. He emphasized that 
in that context the country’s “external security” and “internationally 
recognized sovereign territory”.

The preamble to the current Armenian constitution makes reference to the 
declaration adopted by the republic’s first post-Communist parliament. The 
declaration in turn cites a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative 
bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. It 
also calls for international recognition of the 1915 genocide of Armenians “in 
Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.”

Analysts and opposition figures believe that eliminating these references is the 
main reason for the change of the constitution sought by Pashinian. The latter 
also said last week that Armenia is ready to formally pledge that it will not 
have any territorial claims to Azerbaijan in the future.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said late on Wednesday that during peace talks 
and exchanges of written proposals with Yerevan Baku described the declaration 
of independence a “problem” and “presented legal questions” to the Armenian side.

“For our part, we considered their legal provisions contentious,” Mirzoyan told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

“As part of the peace process, each side has noted problems in the other’s legal 
framework and informed it about that, and both sides have provided relevant 
clarifications,” he said. “There will definitely be such discussions.”

Mirzoyan insisted at the same time that none of the written proposals on an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty exchanged by the two sides calls for any 
constitutional changes.

Opposition leaders and other critics of Pashinian say that he wants to enact a 
new constitution at the behest of Azerbaijan. Five lawmakers representing the 
main opposition Hayastan alliance issued on January 19 a joint statement 
accusing the premier of planning to meet “another of the nonstop 
Turkish-Azerbaijani demands.”

Vahagn Aleksanian, a deputy chairman of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, denied 
the opposition claims on Thursday. Still, Aleksanian said that Baku has voiced 
“discontent” with the 1990 Armenian declaration and that it “could and should be 
taken into account.”

“By the same token, Baku should take into account what is stated by Armenia,” he 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

The Azerbaijani leadership has indicated no plans to address Armenian concerns. 
Mirzoyan spoke on January 10 of “some regression” in its position on the peace 
treaty. He said Baku is reluctant to explicitly recognize Armenia’s borders 
through that accord.

In televised remarks aired hours later, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
renewed his demands for Armenia to open an extraterritorial corridor to 
Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave. He also demanded Armenian withdrawal from 
“eight Azerbaijani villages” and again dismissed Yerevan’s insistence on using 
the most recent Soviet maps to delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Pashinian countered that Aliyev’s demands amount to territorial claims and 
seriously complicate the signing of the treaty. He went to make his statements 
on the new Armenian constitution and additional “guarantees” to Azerbaijan.




Armenian Court Overturns Entry Bans For Diaspora Leaders

        • Artak Khulian

France - President Emmanuel Macron, Mourad Papazian (right) and other 
French-Armenian leaders visit the Armenian genocide memorial, Paris.


A court in Yerevan has overturned entry bans imposed by Armenia’s government on 
two Armenian Diaspora leaders from Europe highly critical of Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian.

The two men, Mourad Papazian and Massis Abrahamian, lead the pan-Armenian 
Dashnaktsutyun party’s chapters in France and the Netherlands respectively. They 
were deported from Armenia on their arrival at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport in 
July 2022.

The Armenian government said afterwards that Papazian was denied entry to the 
country because of organizing an angry demonstration against Pashinian’s June 
2021 visit to France. It said the protesters threw “various objects” at 
Pashinian’s motorcade when it drove through Paris. Papazian, who is also the 
co-chairman of an umbrella structure representing France’s influential Armenian 
community, denied any involvement in that protest.

The government never explained the entry bans for Abrahamian as well as at three 
other Dashnaktsutyun activists.

Dashnaktsutyun, which is a key member of Armenia’s main opposition alliance, 
strongly condemned the bans and accused Pashinian of seeking to silence his 
vocal critics in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora.

All five blacklisted activists have challenged the authorities’ refusal to let 
them visit Armenia in local courts. In separate rulings handed down in recent 
days, the Administrative Court ordered the country’s National Security Service 
(NSS) to remove Papazian and Abrahamian from its list of “undesirable” foreign 
nationals.

The NSS declined to clarify on Thursday whether it will appeal against the 
rulings. Ruben Melikian, a lawyer representing Papazian and Abrahamian, 
suggested that it will likely file such appeals.

“But I still harbor small hope that the NSS will try to find a solution to this 
matter after looking into it,” Melikian told a news conference.

During the court hearings, the security service did not present any grounds for 
the travel bans, he said, adding that this is the reason why the Administrative 
Court overturned them.




Azerbaijan Frozen Out Of PACE


France - Flags wave outside the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg, France 
March 14, 2022.


The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has effectively 
suspended Azerbaijan’s membership in the Strasbourg-based legislative body, 
citing, among other things, last September’s Azerbaijani military offensive in 
Nagorno-Karabakh.

The PACE refused to ratify the credentials of its Azerbaijani members in a 
resolution adopted late on Wednesday. It said Baku has failed to fulfill “major 
commitments” to the Council of Europe and still has a poor human rights record.

The PACE also pointed to its two earlier resolutions that condemned the 
Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor and the September 19-20 military 
offensive that restored Azerbaijani control over Karabakh and forced the 
region’s population to flee to Armenia. It said “allegations of ‘ethnic 
cleansing’ cannot be unaddressed by the Assembly.”

In anticipation of that decision, Azerbaijan said earlier on Wednesday that it 
will “cease its engagement with and presence at the PACE until further notice.” 
The Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation in Strasbourg accused the PACE of 
exhibiting “Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia” and creating an “unbearable 
atmosphere” in the organization.

The PACE decision came two days after the European Union expressed serious 
concern at what its foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, described as 
territorial claims to Armenia made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. 
Borrell warned that any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity would have 
“severe consequences for our relations with Azerbaijan.” The Azerbaijani Foreign 
Ministry rejected the warning, accusing the chief EU diplomat of “blatant 
misinterpretation of facts.”

Aliyev on January 10 rejected a proposal by Armenia to use Soviet-era maps drawn 
in the 1970s to delineate the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, claiming that 
Azerbaijani territories had been handed to Armenia by the Soviet authorities. 
Yerevan said this and other comments made by Aliyev undermined prospects for a 
peace treaty between the two South Caucasus nations.



Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2024 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

"Moscow needs continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict". Opinion from Yerevan

Antranik Varosian
Jan 25 2024
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

About the peace treaty

The Russian model of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process assumes a “corridor”, i.e. unblocking of roads without Armenian control, endless delimitation of the border, and strengthening of Moscow’s position in the South Caucasus, according to political scientist Areg Kochinyan.

None of these points, in his opinion, will lead to lasting peace with Azerbaijan. He says “it is a constant that Russia does not want a peace treaty, but just a process”, i.e. discussions with its mediation, not conflict resolution.

  • “Baku has no political will to settle relations” – Armenian Foreign Minister
  • Armenia fulfills Aliyev’s demand? Pashinyan proposes a new constitution
  • Signing of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty is only theoretically possible

Kochinyan emphasized that the final settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not part of Moscow’s plans. It needs the continuation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict “albeit without Karabakh”:

“If it succeeds in settling relations, the sides will be freed of Russian influence and bludgeoning.”

According to the political scientist, the West also does not want to remain aloof from regional processes, but it is not clear to what extent. He believes that Turkey and Russia are ready to invest enough energy, resources and political will to preserve their role in the region. And what the West is ready to do for this is unclear.

The political analyst believes that it is not worth signing any document with Baku without specifying the principles of border delimitation, the logic of unblocking transport and political guarantees for its implementation. Otherwise, it will mean only a documentary confirmation by Armenia that “Artsakh is part of Azerbaijan, and Baku will put a stamp and close the issue”.

According to Kochinyan, this is what Azerbaijan wants and this is what Russia means when it speaks of the peace treaty.

He believes that if before the exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh it was possible to separate these issues because one of them – the Karabakh issue – had no solution, the situation is different now:

“There are no Armenians in Artsakh, ethnic cleansing has taken place. It is not in Armenia’s interest to sign a treaty without resolving its own issues.”

Kochinyan presented three scenarios of how events may develop:

  • “Azerbaijan agrees to a settlement, the establishment of relations, does not make any territorial claims to Armenia, and there are political guarantees [of the West] for all this.”
  • “the West fails to bring Azerbaijan to the negotiating table, but not wanting to finally fall out of the region, it creates such a format: Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey and Russia, Armenia by Western countries”,
  • “peace cannot be achieved, the West does not assume sufficient responsibility, Armenia remains [alone in the struggle] with the Russian-Turkish agreements.”

According to the political analyst, the first and second scenarios are dependent on the interests of the West, and if they are not realized, Armenia will need to find a “formula for peaceful coexistence” with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“The worst case scenario is not that it will be necessary to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan and Turkey, even at the cost of concessions. The worst is when these concessions will be made for you and someone will negotiate instead of you. And then you will be forced to accept it all and you will get nothing in return,” Kochinyan said.

The analyst believes that in order to establish long-term peace in the region, Yerevan should try to act as an economic partner for Ankara and Baku:

“We need to develop as many infrastructure and energy projects as possible and announce them periodically.”

According to Kochinyan, Armenia should strengthen its defense capabilities. This is not only about reforming the Armed Forces, but also about establishing military-political ties, and cooperation with those states that are not ready “to see Armenia’s elimination or its further weakening in this geopolitical struggle.”

He emphasized that peace is established in case of balance of power, so Armenia should solve the problems it faces to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Unfinished Business: Azerbaijan’s territorial designs on Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Reaction.Life
Jan 25 2024
  • Brian Brivati

On 19th September 2023, Azerbaijan finally took back the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, fully reversing its defeat in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War of the early 1990s. To mark the beginning of this new era in Azerbaijani history, the country’s elective dictator, Ilham Aliyev, announced snap Presidential “Elections” for 7th February 2024. Aliyev is seeking a new mandate after 20 years in power. 

The result may be a foregone conclusion: the result of his 2013 election victory was accidently released the day before the polls opened. Elections in Azerbaijan are more coronation than competition, and after his military success and swaggering indifference to international law and human rights, he is more popular than ever at home. The question is why Aliyev feels he needs a new domestic mandate right now? 

The answer was revealed in a rambling three-hour television interview with selected journalists in Baku on January 10th. There was a lot of self-aggrandisement in his answers to a string of fawning questions. (You cannot entirely blame the journalists for their submissiveness: eight have been arrested by the authorities in the last two months alone.) 

Amid Aliyev’s celebration of the seizure and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, there was a clear indication that he may not be finished in his ambition “to fully restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan”. He made calculated attacks on Armenia, France, the UN, EU and anyone else not signed up to his historic mission to achieve “justice”, or who might oppose his ambitions for “waging”, as he put it, “political and diplomatic war at the international level.”

Geography is the key to why Aliyev has not finished “waging war”. His country remains split, with the large enclave of Nakhichevan separated from the main part of Azerbaijan by a 35km wide strip of Armenia. At present, the Azeris can only reach Nakhichevan over ground via Iran. There are also eight border villages to which the Azeris lay claim. 

Aliyev himself has formally agreed on several occasions that the demarcation and delimitation of borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be based on the 1991 December Alma-Ata Declaration (in Prague in October 2022, for example, and then again in Sochi in October 2022 and Brussels in July 2023).

Now, following military success, he is making outlandish demands to go back to maps from 1918 when the Soviet Union drew the borders between its Socialist Republics. 

“It is no secret that in the 20th century the lands of Azerbaijan were given to Armenia in parts”, he stated ominously on 10th January; “The city of Yerevan was handed over to Armenia […] But it was actually an Azerbaijani city, which was demolished and destroyed.”. This was “a huge historical crime”, he added. This was followed by more and more land being given by the Soviet government to Armenia. The implication is clear: he wants this territory “returned” to Azerbaijan. 

There is also unfinished business is the Zangezur Corridor which is a transport link demanded by Baku between the main part of Azerbaijan and the autonomous region of Nakhichevan. One of those gifts of land was the ceding of West Zangezur to Armenia. If you take the 1918 or pre-World War One maps as the basis for future negotiations, then the President is claiming not just a corridor but the region to be historically part of Azerbaijan. That is also why he does not want the technical process of delimiting the border, i.e. agreeing the precise position of the border line, to be completed before a peace treaty, many of these “historic” claims would not stand up to scrutiny. 

In positioning Azerbaijan for the maximum land grab possible, Aliyev also disregards his obligation to honour the tripartite agreement brokered by Russia that ended the fighting in the Second Nagorno Karabakh war in 2020. Russia was meant to provide security guarantees for that agreement and has failed to do so. 

The government of Azerbaijan undertook to agree a ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone; guarantee the safety of traffic along the Lachin corridor for citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions. Azerbaijan ended the ceasefire in April and closed the Lachin corridor in September 2023, after ethnically cleansing Nagorno Karabakh of over 100,000 Armenians. 

The Azeris now want Russian FSB protection for the route Zanzegur Corridor and no border checks for Azeri citizens entering Armenian territory, a clear violation of Armenian sovereignty and international law. Only the weakest of the three signatories to the agreement, Armenia, has attempted to keep to its terms and uphold international law. 

Aliyev’s 10th January interview made clear that the President’s view of international law informs the Azerbaijan government’s attitude to the existing peace deal and will inform their approach to future negotiations: “If you look at my speeches, I have repeatedly said that international law does not work. These mechanisms are deployed only for the weaker countries. Bigger states ignore them. Under such circumstances, countries that demand justice, and rightly so, must secure this justice themselves.” 

He speaks from a position of strength. Russia is keeping out of the conflict, with some commentators suspecting an energy deal with Baku as Armenia reorients itself to the West. Turkey stands squarely behind Aliyev. The UK issued strong words but remains an ally of the regime in Baku. 

After Macron failed to get sanctions against Baku through the UN, Aliyev attacked French Imperialism in Algeria and revelling in the speed of the military operation in September, stated that: “I think this should be a lesson not only for Armenia, but also for those standing behind it [ie the French]– that we do not tolerate a language of threats and being treated with arrogance”.  The EU is divided and its most effective negotiator, Council President Charles Michel, is standing down early.

Our current age is one in which dictators act with impunity, and do not hide the fact. They boast about the irrelevance of international law while seeking endorsement for their regimes in elaborate electoral farces. After Aliyev secures victory on 7th February, he will be at his most dangerous, with a mobilised and heavily-equipped military and a geopolitical situation conducive to the realisation of his remaining territorial ambitions through force. 

For its part, Armenia is trying to sound the alarm: its Ambassador to the UK briefed the House of Lords on the risks this week. Aliyev claims the conflict between the two states is not a geopolitical issue, but it is one. The trade routes that cross the region and the spillover of the Ukraine war make it the crucible of the Eastern flank of the unfolding war between Russia and NATO. 

Professor Brian Brivati is a Senior Honorary Policy Fellow at Centre for Public Understanding of Defence and Security, Exeter University

Write to us with your comments to be considered for publication at [email protected]     

A Radiant Evening of Music and Art at St. Vartan Cathedral

Hagop Kamalian

PRESS OFFICE

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)

630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Contact: Chris Zakian

Tel: (212) 686-0710

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.armenianchurch.us

 

___________________

 

ATTENTION EDITOR: Four photos attached, with captions below. Please credit Diran Jebejian, Jebejian Images. Find additional photos at the following link:

https://easterndiocese.smugmug.com/St-Vartan-Armenian-Cathedral/At-The-Crossroads-Concert-Jan-13-2024

 


HEADLINE:

 

St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York was the stage for a spectacular evening of soulful music, creative artistry, and spiritual uplift on the evening of January 13.

 

The candlelight concert, titled “At the Crossroads,” went forward as part of the Eastern Diocese’s ongoing celebration of the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Church in America.

 

Several hundred audience members braved a frosty January evening to enter a cathedral enclosed by a network of scaffolding, as it undergoes an extensive restoration of its exterior.

 

But what they found inside was a novel and unique visual experience, as the familiar sanctuary was transformed by arrays of candles and special lighting, creating a mood that was at once mystical and warmly inviting.

 

The program itself featured the internationally-renowned projection artistry of Kevork Mourad, along with performances by a roster of superb vocal and instrumental artists. Together, they delivered a concert that reconceived traditional elements of Armenian culture in a memorably unique manner.

 

As Mr. Mourad painted on a digital canvas, his visuals came to life on a large projection screen situated at the front of the sanctuary. In front of the screens, embraced by the glow of candles, the performing artists appeared individually and in small ensembles, offering beautiful renditions of classic Armenian musical works.

 

 

* Sublime Talents, Masterful Performances

 

The projected Armenian landscapes, khatchkars, churches, and organic forms created by Kevork Mourad seemed to respond to the music, magnifying it, in a masterful performance that left spectators visually and acoustically captivated. The total effect transported the audience through a journey exploring Armenian identity, survival, and renewal.

 

The sublime musical talents on display included sopranos Hasmik Asatryan, Anoosh Barclay, and Anahit Zakaryan; mezzo sopranos Hasmik Mekanejian and Solange Merdinian; pianist Hayk Arsenyan, cellist Ani Kalayjian, violist Sami Merdinian, duduk soloist Mher Mnatsakanyan, and organist Ari Terjanian.

 

Maestro Khoren Mekanejian conducted the artists throughout the program, which featured sacred works by Komitas, St. Nerses Shnorhali, St. Gregory of Narek, as well as compositions by Yekmalyan, Khachaturian, Babajanian, Chookhajyan, Hovhannisyan, Dolukhanyan, Arutunian, Emimyan, and Maestro Mekanejian himself.

 

The concert itself and its memorable format were the vision of the Diocese’s 125th Anniversary Committee, co-chaired by Bryan and Maria Stepanian, with artistic planning by Solange Merdinian and Seta Paskalian-Kantardjian. It went forward under the generous sponsorship of the Dadourian Foundation.

 

Following the event, 125th Anniversary co-chairs Bryan and Maria Stepanian (who hail from the St. Gregory the Enlightener parish in White Plains, NY) described the concert as “a powerful combination of sacred, classical, and folk music, that left the audience wanting more. All of the artists lifted our spirits, and reminded us of who we are as faithful Armenians.”

 

A message from Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, appearing in the beautifully-designed program booklet, summed up the spirit of the evening, and its place in the larger celebration of the Diocese’s 125th anniversary:

 

“Tonight, let the music and artistry around us lift your spirit, and strengthen your resolve to carry forward the legacy of our forefathers,” the Primate said. “Let us recommit ourselves to the mission of our church: to spread the love of Christ in our lives and communities, and to be beacons of light in a world that yearns for hope and peace.”

 

The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America will continue to celebrate the 125th Anniversary through the spring of 2024. Upcoming events in the celebration include a Children’s Day at the cathedral on Saturday, February 3; and a gala banquet at the New York Botanical Garden on Saturday, April 6.

 

Click here to view photos by photographer Diran Jebejian.

 

—1/19/24

 

***

 

PHOTO CAPTION (1):

Soprano Anoosh Barclay sings before the projected artwork of Kevork Mourad during “At the Crossroads,” a candlelight concert at New York’s St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on January 13.

 

PHOTO CAPTION (2):

Internationally-renowned projection artist Kevork Mourad, who along with a roster of superb vocal and instrumental artists performed in the candlelight concert at St. Vartan Cathedral.

 

PHOTO CAPTION (3):

Duduk soloist Mher Mnatsakanyan, violist Sami Merdinian, and cellist Ani Kalayjian perform during “At the Crossroads” in St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral.

 

PHOTO CAPTION (4):

Artists and organizers of “At the Crossroads”: the candlelight concert at St. Vartan Cathedral on January 13.

 

***

 

LINKS:

 

Photo Gallery (credit Diran Jebejian, Jebejian Images):

https://easterndiocese.smugmug.com/St-Vartan-Armenian-Cathedral/At-The-Crossroads-Concert-Jan-13-2024

 

# # #


 

5.2 magnitude quake hits Turkey

Dabaghian Diana

 18:12,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 struck the Malatya province of Turkey.

According to the data announced by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 13.93 km.

Armenian Ambassador meets with Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece

Greg Madatian

 18:16,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan on Thursday  met Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy  Kostas Fragogiannis.
The Armenian Ambassador presented the latest regional developments, the current state of the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiation process. The Ambassador also addressed the issue of unblocking regional communications based on the principle of reciprocity and equal jurisdiction, the Armenian Embassy in Greece said on social media.
According to the source, the interlocutors discussed the possibility of hosting the session of the intergovernmental commission on economic, industrial and scientific-technical cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Greece in Yerevan in the near future.
Both sides emphasized the importance of giving a new  impetus to Armenian-Greek economic relations as an important basis of traditional friendly bilateral relations. During the meeting, there was also a focus on intensifying relations among business circles.

Azerbaijan extends jail term of all captive former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh

Karagyozian Lena

 18:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has extended the pre-trial detention of the individuals who held leadership positions in Nagorno Karabakh and are currently held illegally in Baku.

According to Azerbaijani media,  the jail term of the ex-Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, the  former Foreign Minister David Babayan, the  National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, as well as Generals Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manukyan has been extended for another four months.

On January 25, Azerbaijan has extended the pre-trial detention of Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, for another four months.