Armenian News... A Topalian... Conglomerate of news

There is a major choreographed initiative by the upper echelons
of the Armenian establishment for a major PR exercise to promote
Armen Sarkissian's candidature for the presidency. 
As he has lived abroad for decades, he does need an introduction to the general population
(excluding the ruling class and church hierarchy). 
This includes consultations (including one in London) and interviews 
examples of which follow. One striking detail is the way that the stories 
about the falling out with Vazken Sargsyan are explained away (they 
and their wives were great buddies), but does not shine a light on why 
his period as prime minister ended so abruptly after four months. 

Shant News
Interview with Armen Sarkissian (in Armenian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5py8WpI8Ro 

Kentron Channel
Interview about Armen Sarkissian (in Armenian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyF_WR0utK8 

168.am
Official: Azerbaijan guns down Artsakh soldier
February 8 2018 
A 20 year old soldier of Artsakh’s Defense Army has been killed by Azerbaijani forces while on duty, the country’s defense ministry said.

In a statement the ministry said the shooting happened at 13:50, February 7, in a military position located in the southern section of the Defense Army.

The killed soldier is identified as Hayk Kalantaryan. An investigation was launched.


Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 8 2018
Catholicos’ encyclical on 100th anniversary of First Armenian Republic publicized 
On February 8 the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the Feast of Feast of St. Vartan the Warrior and His Companions.

Following a divine liturgy at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin the Encyclical of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicons of All Armenians, dedicated to the 100 th anniversary of the Fisrt Republic of Armenia and the heroic may battles, was publicized.

We give thanks and praise to God, that our nation meets the 100th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia and the heroic battles of May with restored statehood in Armenia and Artsakh and with achievements. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of these significant events, we send our Pontifical Message to our beloved people, voicing the message that “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith,” the encyclical reads.

“A century ago, our people were on the verge of life and death. Ottoman Turkey, taking advantage of the confusion of World War I, carried out its Armenian Genocide program. Western Armenia and Armenian settlements were ruined in Turkey, the Turkish troops even entered Eastern Armenia, thus threatening the existence of our people,” His Holiness says.

Our whole nation, that had united into one will and one soul, stood up to save the homeland, its life, its sacred places, to protect its right to live freely in the native land. Eastern Armenia was saved from the ruin and massacre, and after a long pause of five and a half centuries the Armenian statehood was restored. to God, the heroic spirit of faith, patriotism and devotion united and defended our people that in their supreme effort under the auspices of the Armenian statehood raised their lives in the homeland and the Diaspora and walked on the path of ascension,” the Catholicos continues.

“Today, the 100th anniversary is an invitation to remain dedicated to our national awakening, to keep our homeland strong and to be consolidated in the homeland. This significant jubilee is also a new milestone for devoting ourselves to strengthening our country and national life, to continue consistent efforts for the settlement of the Artsakh issue, strengthening our army so that peace can be safeguarded within our homeland. The 100th jubilee brings a message of national unity, development of Motherland-Diaspora relations, and the re-establishment of unity in our Church,” the encyclical reads.


Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
February 7, 2018 Wednesday
Ateshyan responsible for Istanbul Patriarchate election fiasco – Agos
The terming which the interior ministry of Turkey used regarding the elected patriarchal locum tenens Archbishop Garegin Bekchian in a letter sent to Istanbul’s Armenian Patriarchate has caused serious discontent among the local Armenian community.

Columnist of the Istanbul-based Agos newspaper Ohannes Kılıçdağı
published an article about the letter and namely the terming Turkish
authorities used – “So-called patriarchal locum tenens.”

The columnist reminded that the interior ministry said that as long as
Mesrop Mutafyan is Patriarch and the seat is not vacant new elections
cannot be held.

In addition, the letter said that Patriarchal Vicar Archbishop Aram
Ateshyan continues to remain the only official representative in these
conditions. While Bekchian’s election and all decisions made after it
are invalid.

The letter also contained a terming – “so-called patriarchal locum
tenens”. In Turkey, the term “so-called” is primarily used when
referred to the Armenian Genocide.

“Those who think that this term was used by accident are wrong.
Armenians of Turkey know this term very well. For many years it has
become a tool of symbolic pressure on them. However, if there is a
position worthy of being labeled “so-called”, then it is the position
of “patriarchal vicar”. This is a totally made up position created for
Ateshyan,” he said, adding that Ateshyan is guilty for the current
situation.

Commenting on the interior ministry’s remarks on Mutafyan’s health,
the Agos writer says that health issues are the most clear and
practical reasons of considering a position vacant.

“The ministry is in a situation which denies the absolute and logical
truth. In particular, this is about a serious neurological illness and
unfortunately Mesrop Mutafyan is in a coma for many years. How can
they say that this situation isn’t a reason for declaring the seat
vacant?

The author also emphasizes, that if there is a problem in this
condition, then why was Turkey in favor of the patriarchal vicar
position, which Ateshyan assumed.

“If practically the patriarchal seat isn’t vacant, then there’s no
need for a vicar. But if it is, then it must be occupied only through
the people’s vote. It turns out that the ministry’s letter itself says
that Mutafyan has stopped leading the patriarchate”, Agos said.

On February 7, Armenian community members are invited to the Istanbul
Governor’s Office to a meeting, which the interior minister himself
might attend.


PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 8 2018
Armenians among scientists who 'left much of a mark' on science 
At least 10 discoveries made by Russian scientists in recent years have left much of a mark on the world of science, RIA Novosti says in an article about those findings, two of which were made by Armenian scholars.

One of the four new elements recently added to the periodic table – with an atomic number of 118 – was named oganesson (Og), which bears the name of physicist Yuri Oganessian , who led several elemental discoveries. This is only the second time an element has been named for a living scientist.

In 1989, Sergei Vardanyan , who then worked at the Leningrad State University and had studied the ancient geography of the Arctic, came to Wrangel Island, lost in the Arctic Ocean. He collected bones of mammoths that lay there in excess, and with the help of radiocarbon analysis determined that they were only a few thousand years old. As it was later established, mammoths died out 3730 years ago. The article by Vardanyan and his colleagues about the last mammoths on Earth came out in Nature in 1993, revealing the discovery to the entire world.

The mammoth genome from Wrangel Island was deciphered in 2015. Now Vardanyan and his colleagues continue to analyze it to learn all the features of life of the mammoths and unravel the mystery of their disappearance.


RFE/RL Report
Armenian Lawyers Strike Again
February 07, 2018
Nane Sahakian
Hundreds of Armenian lawyers staged a fresh strike on Wednesday in
protest against government plans to allow judges to fine them for
contempt of court.

The one-day strike organized by the Chamber of Advocates led to the
cancellation of court hearings across Armenia.

"Our actions are approved by many of our international partners," said
Ara Zohrabian, the chairman of the national bar association. "We will
publicize their positions soon."

Government-drafted amendments to Armenia's Judicial Code passed by the
parliament in the first reading in November set the maximum amount of
such fines at 100,000 drams ($210). They triggered vehement objections
from lawyers fearing that judges would use the new power to limit
their rights during court hearings. A large group of them already went
on a one-day strike in December.

Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian, the key author of the
controversial amendments, said last week that they have been removed
from the Judicial Code before being passed in the final reading. But
he made clear that the amendments will be incorporated into another
code which the Armenian authorities plan to amend later this year.

The postponement failed to satisfy the lawyers. They insist that the
authorities have failed to substantiate the need for financial
penalties against purportedly unruly attorneys.

Lawyers representing radical opposition activists currently standing
trial feel that they are the main target of the proposed
penalties. They frequently argue with judges and are sanctioned by the
latter during those trials

Harutiunian has defended the fines sought by the authorities, saying
that they are needed to increase public respect for the Armenian
judiciary.


Sputnik, Russia
Feb 7 2018
Cryptocurrency Boom: Armenia Set to Be Home to 50 MW Mining Farm
Vladimir Astapkovich 
Cryptocurrency fever seems to have spread to the former Soviet republics with Armenia, the land of Mount Ararat, being one of them.

Armenia will soon boast a mining farm, involving a data center technically equipped for mining bitcoins as well as other digital currencies. It is first projected to have 50 MW capacity, potentially reaching 200 MW, which is to be supplied by the Razdanskaya thermal power plant, according to a report by ECOS-M, the mining equipment distributor.

The report further reveals that the mining center is now under construction and is due to be launched in April.

Earlier, Armenian Blockchain Forum reported that Armenia was planning to come up with a free economic zone to host a top-notch technology center – the republic’s "Silicon Valley". ABF remarked that the newly created cluster would aim to set up and regulate the infrastructure for Armenia to develop block-chain-, and AI-based hi-tech projects as well as those connected with computer-assisted learning.

According to the company, the first half of 2018 will see the construction of an international accelerator which will serve as a platform for the launch and development of innovative international projects, based on blockchain technology.

The estimates by ABF suggest the prospective ecosystem will create 250-300 well-paid jobs and attract as much as 120 million dollars of investment.


MediaMax, Armenia
Feb 7 2018
Igor Khalatian: We wish to help those who decide to stay in Armenia
On February 5 Science and Technology Angels Network (STAN), created by the initiative of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), started its operation in Armenia. This initiative unites 18 investors and entrepreneurs of Armenian descent from Armenia and other countries.

Among Co-chairs of STAN is Vice-President of Oracle and founder of a number of startups Igor Khalatian, who climbed Mount Everest in 2002.

Mediamax talked to Igor Khalatian on STAN and prospects of IT development in Armenia.

Why did you decide to join STAN and what issues you hope to tackle with the help of this network?

I’ve been in this sphere for a long time now, and I observed that there is a lot of talent in Armenian IT.

Whenever I come to Armenia, many people approach saying: “We have this idea, how can we take it to the next level?” And I understand that some people have really great ideas, they are very good software developers, but they are lacking some components for really being successful: different aspects in patent law, sells, marketing, etc.

Taking into consideration all the mentioned, we decided to supplement our knowledge to Armenian startups and fund projects which we believe have future. Our goal is to become “a pipeline to success”, find the best ideas and develop them further so that Armenia becomes a known destination for IT and science.

I believe that Armenians have a great talent in this area. For example, why Armenians play chess so well? It’s hard to explain but there is something in the brain, which makes them best chess players.

Similarly, Armenians definitely have a talent in tech area. I see great potential here. That’s why it makes sense to create this structure and support them.

You were a startup founder too some time ago. How easy was it to find investors?

Yes, I started my own company in New York. I also went for different funds, which existed in U.S. They liked and funded the idea.

In U.S. there are many, many choices, but it is never easy, you have to convince them that your idea is the best.


EurasiaNet.org
Feb 8 2018
Russia Picks Fight With Armenia Over Nazi Collaboration 
Armenians responded by vigorous defenses that mostly glossed over the liberation hero's alliance with the Third Reich.
Joshua Kucera Feb 8, 2018

A historical dispute between Armenia and Russia over Armenia's liberation-hero-turned-Nazi-collaborator has reignited, injecting tendentious World War II politics into the two allies' uneasy relationship.

A senior Russian lawmaker wrote a piece in the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, published February 6, headlined “The Return of Nazism from the Baltics to Armenia.” The theme is not a new one for Russia, which has in recent years made great efforts to delegitimize nationalist fighters who collaborated with Germany in World War II in the cause of liberating their countries from Soviet rule.

But while that has become an old story in the Baltics and Ukraine, it's a new one in Armenia. Armenia, unlike those other states, is a close ally of Russia and until recently has been spared criticism for its heroes' dabbling in Nazi collaboration.

That may now be changing. “Armenia, a strategic ally of Russia, has erected a monument in the center of Yerevan to the Third Reich collaborationist Garegin Nzhdeh,” the lawmaker, Lyudmila Kozlova, wrote. Nzhdeh, she wrote, “has the blood of thousands of our grandfathers and great grandfathers on his hands.”

That followed an event in January at Russia's Duma, a roundtable discussion on “The Fight Against Valorization of Nazism and the Return of Neo-Nazism: Legislative Aspects,” at which the participants called on Armenia to take down the statue of Nzhdeh, which was put up in 2016.

These salvoes reopened a battle that appeared to have resulted in a ceasefire last year, when a Russian military television station aired a program making many of the same allegations against Nzhdeh. After Armenia vociferously complained that time, Russia quickly backed down, removed the program from the TV station's website and issued an apology. This time, though, the accusations are coming from higher up the power structure, and Russia has not apologized.

Nzhdeh, like any other historical figure, is complex. Over a period of decades, he fought all Armenia's foes, including Ottoman Turkey and early Soviet Russia, and is credited in Armenia for his efforts in securing Zangezur, the southernmost part of Armenia, which the Soviets had wanted to award to Azerbaijan. But when World War II broke out, Nzhdeh threw his lot in with Germany, offering Germany his assistance and providing evidence that the Armenians were an Aryan people.

Ideally, an assessment of Nzhdeh's legacy would take all of that into account. But there's no room for nuance in the black-and-white, zero-sum game of post-Soviet World War II politics. And the attack on Nzhdeh was parried vigorously by Armenians across the political spectrum.

Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, used one of Russia's favorite tactics against it: whataboutism. “To those who attempt to tie Nzhdeh to fascists, I respond: if someone collaborated with fascists, then so did the entire Soviet leadership led by Molotov and Stalin from 1933-41 with the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler,” he said .

“Of course, neither will Russians be able to take down the monument of Nzhdeh, nor will we be able to bury Lenin from Yerevan, but at least in Russia they should realize that it will not be possible to return to the regime under which the Armenian people suffered,” added pro-Western opposition politician Stepan Safaryan.

Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian implied that Armenia's foe, Azerbaijan, was pulling the strings behind the scenes. “This is speculation from several enemies, and their reasons are completely obvious. This is being done intentionally, and it is not worth falling into the trap,” he said .

Azerbaijan's traces can in fact be found behind some of the anti-Nzhdeh movement from Russia. But not all. “Notice that in the Kozlova case, our leadership can not claim that we're dealing with some 'experts' or personal opinions, because the upper chamber the Russian parliament [in which Kozlova serves] is made of people who have been 'filtered' several times before reaching the Kremlin, where the candidates are examined with a microscope,” one worried commentator, Sargis Artsruni, wrote . “The Russians clearly don't have a problem with Gagerin Nzhdeh, or with his monument, but with [President] Serzh Sargsyan and the Republican Party of Armenia.”

Most of the rebuttals did not attempt to justify Nzhdeh's collaboration with the Nazis. But the anti-Russian-propaganda website run by the pro-Western NGO Union of Informed Citizens and funded by the European Union, sut.am , went there.

“First of all, we should note that the [Nzhdeh-led unit] Armenian Legion was part of Wehrmacht, and not SS,” the Union wrote , in bold contravention of the rule of thumb that if you start to argue about the precise nature of Nazi collaboration, you've pretty much lost the argument. They went on: “Few people know that the aim of the creation of the Armenian Legion in the Wehrmacht was mitigation of the Turkish threat.”

Meanwhile, the Nzhdeh fight is set to become further internationalized: a statue of the controversial hero is to be erected in Bulgaria . Buckle up.