Friday,
Armenia Signals Continuing Opposition To ‘Corridor’ For Azerbaijan
• Shoghik Galstian
Armenia - The main government building in Yerevan, March 6, 2021.
Armenia signaled on Friday its continuing rejection of Azerbaijan’s demands for
an extraterritorial corridor to the Nakhichevan exclave that would pass through
a strategic Armenian region bordering Iran.
Baku renewed those demands this month after Armenian leaders expressed hope that
the two South Caucasus states will sign a peace treaty soon. Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev insisted on Wednesday that people and cargo transported
to and from Nakhichevan through Armenia’s Syunik province must be exempt from
Armenian border checks.
Aliyev’s top foreign policy aide, Hikmet Hajiyev, claimed last week that this
would not compromise Armenian sovereignty over Syunik. Hajiyev argued that the
European Union has a similar arrangement for Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave
sandwiched between EU members Poland and Lithuania. He said Baku is seeking the
same solution for Nakhichevan.
In written comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service sent on Friday, the Armenian
Foreign Ministry declined to clarify whether Yerevan has discussed it with Baku.
It said that the Armenian government’s “Crossroads of Peace” project unveiled by
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian last November should serve as a blueprint for
opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to travel and commerce.
The project says that Armenia and Azerbaijan should have full control of
transport infrastructure inside each other’s territory. Hajiyev criticized it in
a newspaper interview published on January 4.
By contrast, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian praised the
project when he visited Yerevan late last month. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
reportedly told a visiting Azerbaijani official in October that the “Zangezur
corridor” sought by Baku is “resolutely opposed” by his country.
Yerevan has not yet officially reacted to Aliyev’s latest comments on the
corridor. An Armenian pro-government lawmaker, Hovik Aghazarian, rejected them
on Friday.
“Just because we are in a difficult situation doesn’t mean Aliyev should make
such a statement … If he thinks that after achieving some military successes he
can dictate terms, he is badly mistaken,” said Aghazarian.
Yerevan Election Kingmaker Ditched By Party
• Astghik Bedevian
A screenshot of YouTube video posted by Vartan Ghukasian, May 25, 2023.
A fugitive video blogger who helped Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian install a new
mayor of Yerevan in October has accused the Armenian government of breaking up
his own party that did unexpectedly well in municipal elections.
Vartan Ghukasian, who is wanted by Armenian law-enforcement authorities, is a
former police officer who emigrated to the United States about a decade ago. He
has since attracted large audiences with his hard-hitting and opinionated
comments on political developments in Armenia. He has been notorious for using
profanities in his videos posted on YouTube.
About a year ago, law-enforcement authorities issued an international arrest
warrant for Ghukasian and arrested his associates in Armenia on charges of
blackmail, extortion and fraud strongly denied by them. The detainees include
Artak Galstian, the nominal head of a small party called Public Voice.
The blogger nicknamed Dog has been widely regarded as the party’s de facto
leader until now. His popularity was instrumental in the 10 percent of the vote
won by Public Voice in the September 2023 elections.
That performance put Public Voice in a position to effectively determine the
choice of the Yerevan mayor by the newly elected city council. Armenia’s ruling
Civil Contract party and another group allied to Pashinian fell short of a
majority in the council.
Public Voice and the two other election contenders in opposition to Pashinian
won a combined majority of council seats. However, Ghukasian’s party refused
back potential opposition candidates for the post of mayor. It also blocked an
opposition attempt to force a repeat election.
Ghukasian subsequently fell out most senior members of Public Voice loyal to
Galstian. In a statement issued earlier this week, the party said that it has
terminated the blogger’s membership because he holds Russian citizenship.
Ghukasian rejected the decision as illegal and scheduled a “real” congress of
the party for the end of this month. He argued that Galstian, who remains in
detention, also held a Russian passport when he registered the party a few years
ago.
Ghukasian went on to allege that Pashinian’s government ordered Galstian to
“blow up” Public Voice and neutralize him ahead of snap general elections which
he said will be held in Armenia soon.
Armenia To Phase In National Health Insurance
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - A man undergoes surgery at the Nairi Medical Center in Yerevan,
January 24, 2023.
Health Minister Anahit Avanesian reaffirmed on Friday government plans to start
gradually introducing in July this year a system of mandatory health insurance
in Armenia.
Avanesian said that the system will initially cover medical costs for underage
and disabled citizens and several other vulnerable groups of people who are
already eligible for many free services. It will be extended to pensioners next
year and the entire population in 2027, she told a news conference.
The insurance plan calls for a special tax that will cover the cost of surgeries
and other essential medical services. The precise tax rate remains unclear, with
Avanesian saying only that a working citizen and/or their employer will pay up
to 200,000 drams ($495) annually for such coverage.
Minors, pensioners and persons with disabilities will be exempt from the tax,
she said, adding that Armenians earning less than the country’s average wage
will enjoy significant tax discounts. The official monthly wage currently stands
at 274,000 drams ($675).
Armenia - Health Minister Anahit Avanesian, January 19, 2023.
Another unanswered question is the diseases, surgeries, other medical procedures
and drugs that will be covered by the mandatory insurance. Avanesian did not
release their list. She only assured reporters that it will be detailed enough
to prevent “misunderstandings” among patients, hospitals and health authorities.
Other officials from the Armenian Ministry of Health said earlier that the new
system will pay for heart and cancer surgeries. They said it also envisages free
or subsidized medication for people suffering from chronic diseases.
Armenia’s former governments too had promised health insurance for all citizens.
But they eventually backed away in the face of financial difficulties. Some
medical experts have questioned the current government’s plan, saying that it is
short of specifics.
Public access to healthcare in the country declined following the collapse of
the Soviet Union as cash-strapped Armenian hospitals were allowed to charge
their patients. Most of those hospitals were privatized in the 1990s.
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.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s abandoned capital transforms under Azerbaijani rule
eurasianet
Jan 11 2024
It's a ghost town that looms large in the minds of both Armenians, who know it as Stepanakert, and Azerbaijanis, who know it as Khankendi.
It served for three decades as the de facto capital of the self-proclaimed, now-defunct Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
It was home to the majority of the republic's 100,000-some population, nearly all of them Armenians, who fled to Armenia after Azerbaijan's lightning offensive to seize the whole of the NKR on September 19-20. As they fled they endured a gas explosion that killed over 200, a days-long traffic jam during which 64 people reportedly died, and faced an uncertain status once they reached their destination.
Azerbaijan never accepted the existence of the NKR, nor even the term "Nagorno-Karabakh," let alone the idea that it had a capital. But the town of Khankendi is of enormous symbolic importance for it, too, as its seizure represents the total nature of Baku's victory in Karabakh.
It was Khankendi where President Ilham Aliyev delivered his most triumphant victory speech, raised the Azerbaijani flag and mocked the detained former NKR leaders.
And it was Khankendi where the victory in the 2020 war against Armenia over Karabakh was celebrated with a military parade attended by Aliyev and his family in November.
“During these 20 years [of my presidency], I never doubted that this day would come and a military parade under the Azerbaijani flag would be held in the city of Khankendi,” he told the parade. “I once said [during the 2020 war] that without Shusha, our work would be incomplete. However, even then, I knew that without Khankendi and Khojaly, our work would be incomplete.”
Footage posted on social media from Khankendi by a handful of Azerbaijanis with access to the town shows virtually no signs of life. According to the Armenian government, more than 100,000 people had left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia within the 10 days following the NKR's surrender after Azerbaijan's lightning offensive.
In December, Azerbaijani media reported, citing the country's commission for Internally Displaced Persons affairs, that 50 Azerbaijani families, originally from Khankendi, would soon be resettled in the town. While the town served as the seat of the government of Soviet Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (1923-91), its population was overwhelmingly Armenian with an Azerbaijani minority. Its population was 11 percent Azerbaijani according to the latest Soviet census conducted there in 1979.
The Azerbaijani government created a "reintegration portal" for Armenians deciding to remain in their homes and accept Baku's rule. It claimed in October to have received 98 applications, but the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that only about 20 have stayed behind.
While Armenia says that the local Armenians' flight in the face of Azerbaijani military advance amounted to ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijani officials insist that they left by their own will, as Aliyev reiterated in an interview with Euronews in December.
“Our public communications with Karabakh Armenians, and what we did after, demonstrated that we wanted them to stay. We openly announced that and I, during my appeal to the Azerbaijani people after the end of the anti-terror operation [the September offensive], said that they could stay,” he said. “We opened the electronic portal of registration. All of those who want to come back have this right. Their property is duly protected. All the historical and religious sites are duly protected.”
In the reports of meetings of Azerbaijani officials with Armenian residents in Karabakh for the purpose of registration, we see mainly elderly people who were likely too weak to join the exodus.
Azerbaijan disclosed its reintegration plan for Karabakh Armenians publicly only in October, after the vast majority of the population had fled the region. Vague as it is overall, it makes one thing clear: as expected, there will be no special treatment for Armenians; they are to have the exact same legal status as Azerbaijanis or other ethnic minorities.
“The word reintegration, which I use many times, unfortunately, was met with a kind of irony, both from the Armenian government and also from the separatists. The same separatists who now wait for the verdict in the detention center,” Aliyev said in a forum in early December.
“We even delivered the message to them that we will have a municipal election at the end of 2024, so they will participate. They will select their representatives, who will be the leaders of the municipalities. So, what else should we have provided or offered? It was the maximum and it was totally transparent.”
He also spoke to the forum about how Azerbaijani social workers were taking care of the Armenians who stayed behind. “[Y]ou have to eat, you have to have heating, you have to have other means of living. Not many of them, I would say, remained. But those who remain, they have been taken care of and those who want to come back, they can use this mechanism,” he said.
A few Karabakhis have mused on social media about possibly going back to their homes given the difficulties they face in settling in Armenia.
But it's not clear how widespread or serious the intention is, especially given the social pressures against accepting Azerbaijani rule.
When it comes to the physical landscape, as soon as it restored its sovereignty, the Azerbaijani government rid Khankendi of all flags and other attributes of the former NKR. A presidential decree established "Karabakh University" in place of what had been known as "Artsakh University" under Armenian rule. And the seats at the local stadium had been arranged in such colors as to form the NKR flag but are now arranged to spell out "Karabakh is Azerbaijan."
Turkish Press: Azerbaijan approaches completion in Zangezur Corridor construction
TRT World, Turkey
Jan 11 2024
The construction of roads and railways passing through the corridor, set to function as a route from China to Türkiye, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Azerbaijan is continuing the construction of roads and railways passing through the Zangezur Corridor, a route to connect its western regions with its exclave of Nakhchivan and serve as a route for the middle corridor extending from China to Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, and finally Türkiye.
Following the Second Karabakh War, on November 10, 2020, a declaration was signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia agreeing to open land roads and railways between Azerbaijan and the eastern Nakhchivan region, a non-contiguous part of Azerbaijan, with a section of Armenia lying in between the two.
After the war, Azerbaijan began construction of roads and railways extending from its own territories to the Armenian border.
While construction of the railway and road in the Azerbaijani part of the Zangezur Corridor is progressing rapidly, Armenia has not taken any steps on the project. In the absence of an agreement with Armenia, Azerbaijan is also working on alternative routes.
Azerbaijan has reached an agreement with the Iranian government for the construction of roads and railways connecting the country to Nakhchivan through Iran, as Iran’s territory lies nearby, south of the already proposed corridor.
According to agreements signed between the two countries, bridges for both roads and railways will be built over the Aras River – a river that flows through all four countries – providing transportation to Nakhchivan via Iran.
If an agreement is reached with Armenia, Azerbaijan will have two transportation alternatives to Nakhchivan, through either Armenia or Iran.
Turkish companies are actively involved in the construction of the line.
Due to mines laid during a nearly 30-year Armenian occupation that recently ended and challenging terrain conditions, completion of the line is expected by the end of 2024.
Over 80% is complete
The construction, coordinated by the Azerbaijan Highways State Agency, is being done by Turkish companies.
The road, with some sections having four lanes and others having six, includes 58 underpasses, 27 bridges, and three tunnels.
According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency, more than 80% of the road construction is already complete.
Türkiye and Azerbaijan also have a railway project to connect the Turkish city of Kars to Nakhchivan. The project, whose tender has been awarded, will start within the year.
Upon the completion of these projects, a new transportation connection will be established between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. At the same time, uninterrupted road and railway communication between Türkiye and Russia through Azerbaijan will be ensured.
https://www.trtworld.com/turkiye/azerbaijan-approaches-completion-in-zangezur-corridor-construction-16597004
Turkish Press: Azerbaijan’s president says delimitation concerning Gazakh-Tovuz region to be discussed with Armenia
Yeni Şafak
Jan 11 2024
Azerbaijan's president says delimitation concerning Gazakh-Tovuz region to be discussed with Armenia
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday that the process of delimitation concerning the country's Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region will be discussed with Armenia at an upcoming meeting of commissions responsible for the matter.
“The next meeting of the commissions is scheduled for this month, and this issue is on the agenda: the delimitation issue of that region, the Gazakh-Tovuz region,” Aliyev said during an interview with local television channels.
He said the issue of eight villages still under Armenian occupation is always on the agenda in talks between the two countries.
“This issue was discussed during my contacts with the prime minister of Armenia (Nikol Pashinyan), including the last conversation in St. Petersburg. I raised this issue, and this issue is also on the agenda of commissions dealing with delimitation.”
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan must fully restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty, adding they must solve this issue “once and for all” and there should not be “a single nest of separatism” anywhere in the country.
He later denied the need for guarantors, which he said is being sought by Armenia, expressing that the peace treaty needs to be signed at the bilateral level but that they don't mind if a third country expresses the desire to help.
“However, this help should not be mandatory,” he added.
Stressing that it is impossible to talk to them in “a language of threats or arrogance,” Aliyev said efforts to arm Armenia are aimed at keeping Azerbaijan “under constant pressure” and that France is at the forefront of such efforts.
“France is the country that arms Armenia, gives them support, trains their soldiers and prepares them for another war. When I said that France's policy is causing tensions in the Caucasus, this is exactly what I meant,” he said.
Aliyev further touched on the movement of cargo and citizens within Azerbaijan, indicating that it should take “place freely without undergoing any inspection.”
“Otherwise, Armenia will remain in an eternal deadlock, and if the (Zangezur) route I mentioned is not opened, we are not going to open our border with Armenia anywhere else. So they will do themselves more harm than good,” he said.
Aliyev went on to say that infrastructure projects in the Karabakh region give them the opportunity to return internally displaced peoples (IDPs) to their ancestral lands, adding that they plan on the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to the cities of Shusha, Jabrayil, Kalbajar, Khankendi and Khojaly in 2024.
“Former IDPs are expected to return to the cities of Aghdam, Zangilan and Gubadli in 2025,” he added.
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/azerbaijans-president-says-delimitation-concerning-gazakh-tovuz-region-to-be-discussed-with-armenia-3675865
Azerbaijan Rejects France’s Role in Normalizing Relations with Armenia
WE News, Pakistan
Jan 11 2024
BAKU: Azerbaijan has rejected France’s involvement in the normalization process of its relations with Armenia, said Zaur Mammadov, Adviser to the Academy of Public Administration under the President and Chairman of the Baku Political Scientists Club.
In a recent interview with a local TV channel, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev addressed various issues, including France’s alleged unfair policies and the exposure of a French spy network in Azerbaijan.
President Ilham Aliyev, in his recent address, criticized France for what he deemed as unfair policies and the exposure of a French spy network in Azerbaijan.
He called on the French government to recognize Azerbaijan’s adherence to international law, urging them not to interfere in internal affairs or involve themselves in the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute.
Aliyev also discussed the Zangezur corridor matter and said that Armenia must guarantee unhindered passage between the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the main part of Azerbaijan.
He warned of alternative measures less favorable to Armenia if this requirement is not met.
Moreover, Mammadov noted that direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, without external mediation, could have a more significant impact.
https://en.wenews.pk/azerbaijan-rejects-frances-role-in-normalizing-relations-with-armenia/
Land dispute in Jerusalem threatens Armenian Christians, nonviolent group says
Jan 11 2024
Jerusalem, Jan 10, 2024 / 12:45 pm
For the past two months, 33-year-old Kegham Balian, an Armenian Christian, has spent a significant part of his days and nights in a tent in a parking area known as “Cows’ Garden” in the southeast corner of the Old City of Jerusalem. He expects to spend his Christmas there, which the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Holy Land celebrates on Jan. 19 along with the Epiphany.
The tent is a permanent outpost established by the “Save the Armenian Quarter” (ArQ) association, founded by Hagop Djernazian and Setrag Balian (Kegham’s younger brother). It is a nonviolent movement created to defend properties of the Armenian Patriarchate from being taken over by Xana Gardens Ltd., a real estate company with alleged links to Israeli settler interests.
Kegham Balian is an Armenian with the “Save the Armenian Quarter” (ArQ) association, founded by Hagop Djernazian and Segrat Balian, the younger brother of Kegham. It is a nonviolent movement created to defend some properties of the Armenian Patriarchate. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In the last two months the Armenians have suffered seven or eight attacks by people Balian says were sent by Xana Gardens. The last was on Dec. 28, when 10 Armenians were injured by people throwing stones. Members of the ArQ community have been taking turns to maintain a constant presence on the property.
According to ArQ, the contract between the Armenian Patriarchate and Xana Gardens was illegal and jeopardizes the existence of the Armenian community in the Holy Land.
“In April, we found out there was an illegal leasing of the premises known as the ‘Cows’ Garden’ — an open area which today serves as a parking lot,” Balian explained to CNA. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem allegedly agreed to give Xana Gardens a 49-year lease of the property — with the option to renew for another 49 — to build a luxury hotel. The deal was signed in 2021 and kept a secret.
CNA reached out to Xana Gardens for comment but received no response.
The area known as Cows' Garden in the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, seen from above. Currently, it serves as a parking lot. The area, together with some other Armenian properties, is at the center of an economic and judicial dispute after a lease deal was signed between the Armenian Patriarchate and the real estate company Xana Garden. Credit: Marinella Bandini
CNA also contacted Kerkonian Dajani LLP, the law firm representing the Armenian community of the Old City of Jerusalem.
“The community is opposed to any deal that undermines the integrity of the Armenian Quarter and the centuries-old presence of Christian Armenians in Jerusalem,” said Karnig Kerkonian, co-founder of the firm. “Our investigation has revealed that the signing of the purported agreement at issue did not follow the internal procedures of the Holy Synod [the highest authority in the Orthodox and Oriental Churches] and the General Assembly [the general assembly of the monastic order of the Brotherhood of St. James]. This, and a number of other material irregularities including financial ones, fatally handicap the validity of the purported contract.”
Furthermore, according to Balian, “this contract doesn’t bring any benefit to the Armenian Patriarchate nor to the Armenian community. The rent is $300,000 a year, which is like a joke.”
When the Armenian community found out about the agreement, protests broke out. They felt threatened not only with regard to their security but also to their identity and cultural heritage. “We started protesting, asking for transparency from the patriarchate,” Balian explained.
The Armenian patriarch has reportedly said he was deceived about the details of the agreement and in October 2023 canceled the deal. The patriarchate is now bringing the case to court.
The positions of ArQ and the patriarchate have gradually come closer together in the past few months, “even if they’re not fully transparent yet,” Balian said. “In any case, the outpost in the parking lot has the full support of the patriarchate.”
The complex of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The building is located in the Old City of Jerusalem in the Armenian Quarter, which comprises one-sixth of the old city and occupies the entire southwest corner of the town. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Armenian community has been present in Jerusalem for about 1,700 years. The Old City is today divided into four quarters, a legacy of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Armenian Quarter comprises one-sixth of the old city and occupies the entire southwest corner of the city. Here are not only religious institutions such as the patriarchate, seminary, and churches but also schools, shops, and residences for approximately 2,000 people.
The property involved in the disagreement with Xana Gardens constitutes approximately 25% of the neighborhood’s total area. In addition to the parking lot, it also encompasses a residential area, the private garden of the patriarch, and the Alex and Mary Manougian Hall of the theological seminary of the patriarchate.
“If they take 25% of the Armenian quarter, they condemn the next generation to extinction. It would be the biggest existential crisis in our history,” Balian said.
Garo Nalbandian, a professional photographer, and his wife, Hrout, risk losing their home because of the agreement. Sitting on a couch in their spacious living room, they share their story and the anxiety they feel at the thought of having to leave the house they purchased when they got engaged in 1969 and where they have raised their children.
“We were born and raised in the Armenian Quarter. Here we feel protected,” they said. “But if they take away this land, which belongs to all Armenians worldwide, our presence and heritage will be at risk.”
The contract with Xana Gardens was originally signed by the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian; the grand sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate, Archbishop Sevan Gharibian; and Father Baret Yeretzian (now known as Khachig Yeretzian), the former director of the Real Estate Department of the Armenian Patriarchate, who was defrocked and removed from his position.
The chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, Father Aghan Gogchyan, told CNA that according to the bylaws of the patriarchate, the contract cannot be considered valid because one of the three signatures — that of the then-priest Yeretsian — should not have been present.
“For transactions like this, where the property is transferred for a period of more than 25 years, the signatures of the patriarch, the grand sacristan, and the chairman of the General Assembly of the Brotherhood of St. James are required. The latter is missing, and instead, someone who should not have signed has done so. That’s why the contract is not valid,” he said.
This is also why on Oct. 26, 2023, the patriarchate announced that it would cancel the lease deal, saying it was illegal, but only after months of internal pressure from the Armenian community.
Since then, the patriarchate has consistently emphasized the exclusively Armenian character of the neighborhood and the importance of preserving it as such.
After the patriarchate’s announcement in October, bulldozers believed to be sent by Xana Gardens entered the parking lot to dismantle the pavement and take over the area, and the ArQ group started mounting protests and peaceful sit-ins there.
“Some people are trying to spin it as a religious battle, but the issue isn’t Jewish-Armenian or Muslim-Armenian,” Balian told CNA. “It’s not a religious fight or an ethnic issue, it’s purely against Xana Capital.”
The interior of the tent where the Armenian activists from the “Save the Armenian Quarter” (ArQ) association gather. For more than two months, a group of youth of the Armenian community of Jerusalem takes turns to maintain a constant presence and defend the area of the Armenian Patriarchate known as “Cows' Garden,” which is now a parking lot. Credit: Marinella Bandini
On Dec. 8, 2023, Archbishop Manougian, the patriarch, made a surprise visit to the members of the Save the ArQ Movement in a show of solidarity. All the members expressed their undivided and steadfast support for the patriarch for having initiated the cancellation of the illegal deal pertaining to Cows’ Garden.
Balian said there have been blessings in the struggle.
“The entire community gathered, we got united despite any political affiliation, personal differences, and familiar disputes,” Balian said. “Everyone was united around the common goal of protecting the Cows’ Garden and by extension preserving the Armenian heritage in Jerusalem … Before, there was no interaction between civilian people and clergy, but now we started to get to know each other better,” he said.
“Furthermore, through this struggle, the younger generation has come to understand the value of the land, of our heritage and presence, while before we took it for granted and not appreciated it,” he said.
The Armenian community is planning to take further legal action in the next few weeks, Kerkonian told CNA.
“We are undertaking legal actions as well as diplomatic outreach to counter the attacks on the Armenian Quarter — and to hold those having brought about the circumstances and the violence accountable,” he said.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256496/land-dispute-in-jerusalem-threatens-armenian-christians-says-non-violent-group
Fr. Dr. Abraham Malkhasyan Historic Visit to Etchmiadzin, Armenia
Queens Gazette, NY
Jan 10 2024
On December 18, 2023, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received Reverend Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, Pastor of the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America (New York), who received the doctoral degree from Fordham University in the USA.
With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Father Abraham continued his studies at the Department of Religion and Religious Studies of Fordham University, defending his doctoral thesis on the topic “Understanding Disaffiliation in the Armenian Church: A Study of Older and Younger Millennials. Fr. Abraham is also teaches at St. John’s University in New York as a professor of Theology.
Presenting his doctoral work to His Holiness, Father Abraham emphasized that the purpose of the work is to identify the current challenges, as a result of which young families find it difficult to participate in church life, and to find ways to overcome them.
The Catholicos of All Armenians reflected with satisfaction about the academic achievement of Father Abraham, emphasizing that this work is an important contribution in the field of pastoral theology and an opportunity for the clergy to familiarize themselves with the issues related to youth.
The Armenian Pontiff noted with joy that the clergymen are engaged in scientific activities in parallel with the pastoral service, enriching their knowledge for the benefit of the spiritual service.
At the meeting, His Holiness, as a token of appreciation, granted a beautiful Pectoral Cross.
At the conclusion, the Reverend Father presented His Holiness his thesis work and the doctoral diploma.
A wonderful Christmas program was presented Sunday, January 7th in the church hall. For information, contact Lara Ciamcian on Facebook.
“THE CURRENT STAGE OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA” is a book co-authored by sociologist Armen Khachikyan, historian Mikayel Malkhasyan, and Fr. Dr. Abraham Malkhasyan. The publication highlights the Republic of Armenia’s demographic policy, historical demographic trends, the impact of the 2020 Artsakh War, the coronavirus pandemic, and other factors on demographic processes. The trend of birth and death rates is analyzed, as well as the impact of migration and population distribution system on the demographic situation. Visit Fr. Dr. Abraham Malkhasyan on Facebook.
Why should Greek Americans learn about the Armenian contribution to their history? The nation played a unique contribution to Eastern Orthodoxy and Hellenism. Few people know that they carried a lantern of light in the Byzantine Empire throughout its history.
The Byzantine Empire was multi-cultural. Nations and races were united under the Greek language, civilization, and Orthodox faith, calling themselves ROMANS. “Due to centuries of foreign domination, much of Armenian history has been neglected and surpressed,” according to” peopleofar.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/armenians-of-byzantium-part-1/.
“As such much of the influence Armenians had on the Byzantine Empire has been swept under the rug by the Ottomans and later the Soviets. Nevertheless, the contributions of Armenian people to the Byzantine Empire have been more than significant. As the historian P. Charanis (1959) says: “The important role played in the history of Byzantium by that talented minority, the Armenians, has been generally unrecognized.” Even though Armenia was only in part a vassel of Byzantium, many Armenians became successful in the Byzantine Empire. From bishops, architects, important military figures and even Emperors, Armenians were represented in all walks of Byzantine life. In fact, one out of five Byzantine emperors and empresses were ethnically full or in part Armenian.”
“The best example of this is Emperor Heraclius, whose father was Armenian and Mother Cappadocian. Emperor Heraclius began the Heraclean dynasty (610-717 A.D.).,” according toen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Armenia .The Akathistos Hymn sung during Orthodox Lent commemorates his victory and saving of Constantinople with the help of Our Lady, Virgin Mary.
Basil, “The Bulgar Slayer “became one of the strongest Byzantine emperors, winning territory in the Balkans, Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Georgia,” according to encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Basil+II+The+Bulgar-Slayer. “He was noted for his victory (1014) in the war with Bulgaria, which ended with his blinding all the soldiers in the defeated Bulgarian army. He increased his domestic authority by attacking the landed interests of the military aristocracy and of the church.” He was of Armenian descent.
The Armenian military power, to some scholars, was the basis of the stability and longevity of Byzantium. A strong army was needed. Armenia was the source. “From the 5th century forwards, the Armenians were regarded as the main constituent of the Byzantine army,” states en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Armenia.
In the article, “Armenia, Byzantium, and the Byzantine Armenians” (www.looys.net/byz_arm.html), “another example of the impact of Armenians within the Byzantine Empire is the Great Church known as Hagia Sophia. As Rummel explains, ‘After the great earthquake of October 25, A.D. 989, which ruined the great dome of Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine emperor Basil II asked for the Armenian architect Trdat (or Tiridates), creator of the great churches of Ani and Agine, to repair the dome. The magnitude of the destruction in the church caused reconstruction to last six years. The church was re-opened on May 13, 994.’ The magnificent, reconstructed dome designed by Trdat in the tenth century remains aloft the “Great Church” to this day.” We must not only remember the 100 year genocide, but the unique contribution of Armenians as carriers of the Greek language, civilization, and Eastern Orthodoxy.
All photos by permission of Fr. Dr. Abraham Malkhasyan.
Customs officers seize $5,374 in undeclared gold, silver items on Turkey, Armenia borders
Agenda, Georgia
Jan 11 2024
Georgian customs officers seized ₾14,429 ($5,374) in undeclared gold and silver items on the Sarpi border crossing with Turkey in Georgia’s south-west and the Sadakhlo Border Crossing Point on the country's southern border with Armenia.
The country’s Revenue Service on Thursday said the items – weighing in at about 326,34 grams – were seized during personal and luggage search of Georgian and foreign citizens.
The body added the offenders were fined ₾14,429 ($5,374) for the offence.
Greece in Solidarity with Armenia Offers Aid to Nagorno-Karabakh Refugees
Jan 11 2024
Greece will offer aid to Armenia’s refugees of Nagorno-Karabakh who were displaced by Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said on Wednesday in Yerevan.
Greece “will soon support a program that will fund the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, to meet their needs, particularly accommodation,” he said.
“It will also relate to the preservation of the Christian cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are definitely in favor of preserving the Christian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we want the UNESCO fact-finding mission to be on the ground to reveal the damages that these sites have suffered or could suffer,” he added.
Greece, he noted, is closely monitoring developments in the Caucasus region. “From the first moment, we expressed our solidarity with the people of Armenia and sent humanitarian aid for the needs arising from the mass, violent, exodus of population from Nagorno-Karabakh.”
During joint statements with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Gerapetritis called for the resumption of talks between Yerevan and Baku to consolidate security and stability in the South Caucasus.
“Achieving lasting, just and sustainable regional peace and building good-neighborly relations must be the goal of both sides. The ‘Crossroads of Peace’ [transport connections] project presented by Armenia, which we consider to be implementable and inclusive, is in this direction.”
On his part, Mirzoyan stressed the friendship between Armenia and Greece.
“The friendship between the Armenian and Greek people arises from the depths of centuries and millennia, the Armenian and Greek states have worked closely together at various times throughout history,” noted.
The Armenian foreign minister thanked his Greek counterpart for supporting the development of Armenia-EU relations.
“We are truly ready to develop these ties on the basis of the values we share in Armenia, Greece and the EU. I am talking about democracy, human rights and other values. I expect future support from Greece in this process,” he said.
He added that Armenia and Greece have built strong, friendly ties over the past 30 years. “Our agenda is very rich in all areas. Today’s meeting is a very good opportunity to deal with this agenda, strengthen our relations and promote our intensive political dialogue, covering many topics, from the economy, security and defense to culture.”
In December, Greece and Armenia signed a cooperation agreement in the military-technical sector.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias expressed Greece’s readiness to collaborate with friendly and allied countries such as Armenia and to continue enhancing cooperation for mutual benefit.