Armenian News... Armenian population 2,969,800

ARKA, Armenia

July 31 2018

Armenia’s resident population stands at 2,969,800 people

Armenia’s resident population stood at 2,969,800 people as of July 1, 2018, according to the numbers, released by the National Committee of Statistics (NCS).

Compared to the same time span of 2017, the number of resident population was down by 10,100 people. Compared with the beginning of the year, the population decreased by 2,900 people. The decline is explained by the prevalence of the negative migration balance of 6000 people over the natural growth of the population by 3,100 people.

According to the NSC, the urban population as of July 1 stood at 1,894.400 people, with 1,077,600 people living in the capital city Yerevan. The rural population stood at 1,075,400 people.

The number of babies born in January-June, 2018 decreased by 5.7% to 16,189. The number of deaths in the reporting period decreased by 9.5% to 13,112.

On January 1, 2016, Armenia’s resident population for the first time was less than 3 million people since the 1970s.

HurriyetDailyNews.com

July 31 2018 17:51:00

Turkey’s religious communities deny ‘oppression’ claims, say they are ‘freely’ practicing religions

Representatives of Turkey’s religious communities have denied claims their groups were facing oppression, stressing that they are practicing their religions freely.

“Statements alleging and suggesting there is oppression toward us are completely unfounded and injudicious,” the communities said in a joint statement, signed by the representatives of 18 religious minority groups, on July 31.

The representatives, including Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Dimitri Bartholomew, Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, and Chief Rabbi of the Turkish Jewish Community Ishak Haleva, said that as minority leaders they “felt the responsibility to inform the public with the truth.”

They said there were different criticisms wrongly portraying Turkey and claiming that there is religious and cultural oppression in the country.

“As religious representatives of ancient communities with different religions and beliefs, which have been in this country for centuries, we hereby declare that we are practicing our religions in accordance with our traditions and are practicing our beliefs freely,” the statement read.

“Many problems and victimizations that happened in the past were resolved over the years. Regarding the subjects that we aim to work on, we are in continuous dialogue with our state’s institutions with mutual goodwill and solution-based conscience,” it added.

Fifteen other representatives of religious communities in Turkey that signed the statement included Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin, Apostolic Administrator of the Armenian Archeparchy of Istanbul Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, Chaldean Catholic Community spiritual leader François Yakan and pastor Krikor Ağabaloğlu of the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church.

Public Radio of Armenia

July 31 2018

President of Italy in Armenia for a state visit

President of the Italy Sergio Mattarella  has arrived to Armenia on a state visit.  A meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Italy took place at the Presidential Palace. Present at the meeting were the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.

Welcoming the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, President Armen Sarkissian noted that his visit was a historic one since this was the first time President of Italy visits Armenia.

Underscoring that the Armenian-Italian relations rest on the historical connections of the two ancient nations and common system of values, Armen Sarkissian said that in the quarter of a century since Armenia’s independence, the Armenian-Italian interstate relations have been developing in the atmosphere of partnership and mutual trust.

Presidents Armen Sarkissian and Sergio Mattarella exchanged views on the extensive agenda of the Armenian-Italian cooperation, noted that the multifaceted relations of the two countries hold great potential for development and through joint efforts might be elevated to a qualitatively new level.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Armen Sarkissian awarded the President of Italy with the Order of Glory for his considerable contribution to the strengthening and development of the interstate relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Italian Republic.

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian and President of Italy Sergio Mattarella recapped the results of the meetings with the statements for the representatives of the mass media.

“The conversation with President Mattarella was conducted in a warm atmosphere. We have had a substantial discussion over a wide range of the Armenian-Italian cooperation,” Armenian President Armen Sarkissian told reporters.

“We have reiterated our commitment to strengthen the interstate relations. We have also agreed that extra efforts should be made to give an impetus to the Armenian-Italian cooperation in the bilateral format as well as at the international fora, including in the framework of Armenia-European Union partnership,” he said.

“We have registered that Italy, as the country presiding at the OSCE this year, will continue to support the only international format for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue – the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. We have also spoken about the Armenia-EU partnership. This is another direction on which the Armenian-Italian relations have great potential for development. With this regard, we have expressed hope that Italy too, will ratify the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement soon,” President Sarkissian said.

“In the framework of the sustainable development of the bilateral cooperation, we have also stressed the importance of a full use of the existing legal field which comprises over three dozen documents. We have noted the necessity of expanding and deepening the economic, business, cultural, scientific and educational ties and the importance of people-to-people contacts,” he added.

“To underscore the importance of preservation of the cultural heritage, we will give a new impetus to our cooperation tomorrow when in Yerevan there will be opened the Armenian-Italian Center for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. I am confident that the state visit of the Mr. President will create a solid base for the elevation of the Armenian-Italian political dialogue and multifaceted cooperation to a qualitatively new level,” President Sarkissian said.

PanArmenian, Armenia

July 28 2018

Slavik woman denied entry to Azerbaijan due to “Armenian looks” 

Famous blogger Lena Miro has revealed that one of her Slavic friends was not allowed to enter Azerbaijan because the border officers decided that she “looks like Armenian.”

“My friend, a brunette with huge eyes, was turned back directly from the passport control in Baku after a whole council of Azerbaijani border guards decided that she looked like Armenian. Thank you for not being put in jail,” Miro said on her blog.

According to the blogger, except for big eyes and dark hair, there is nothing Armenian in the way her friend looks: she is a Slav, her parents are from Poland and Belarus.

“Your child looks like Armenian too," the vigilant Azerbaijani guards said, looking at the blue-eyed little girl, whose father is German.

“Who can vouch in Baku that you are not an Armenian?", the guards said, then tortured them for three hours and sent them back.

The border service of Azerbaijan has a record of denying entry to citizens of various countries due to their Armenian family name.

In 2013, a Russian journalist, Anna Sahakyan was not allowed to enter Azerbaijan, later being even declared a persona non grata for her Armenian family name.

At various points, Azerbaijan Airlines refused to transport people with Armenian surnames, citing an order from Baku as a reason behind such a decision.

In May 2016, an 8-year-old child with an Armenian surname was denied entry to Azerbaijan at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport.

A Russian citizen, M. V. Uyeldanov (Galustyan) was detained in Azerbaijan over his Armenian origin in July 2016.

An Estonian citizen of Armenian origin was held at the airport in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku for 12 hours and sent back to Estonia in late March.

PanArmenian, Armenia

July 27 2018

Armenian folk dance main feature at international festival in Scotland 

Armenian folk dance was the main theme of the international Findhorn Festival of Sacred Music, Song and Dance, held 14-20 July 2018, at the Findhorn Park in Scotland.

The Festival, now in its 27th year, celebrates the transformative and healing power of circle dance and brings hundreds of people together every July to dance in Scotland.

Shakeh Major Tchilingirian, an acclaimed solo dance artist, choreographer and teacher, was the special guest teacher at the festival, where she conducted daily workshops for nearly 100 participants, accompanied with presentations on Armenian history, culture and folk dances.

Laura Shannon, known worldwide for her pioneering work with women's ritual dances, said: “Shakeh teaches with great awareness of the sacred dimension of Armenian dances and their capacity for personal transformation, as well as historical context.” She explains that the “motifs and patterns” of Armenian dances “are very ancient, forming a nonverbal language of movements which are deeply symbolic, powerfully evocative and profoundly spiritual.”

Shakeh brought traditional Armenian dance to the Festival for the first time. The repertoire included a mixture of folk and lyrical style dances. Her program was designed to give the participants an opportunity to experience, as she put it, “the living and blossoming culture of the Armenians in the homeland and the Diaspora.” Particular dances and music were chosen to create a sense of spiritual connection with the land, with nature, and human roots that continue to flourish. “This was a journey of discovery, connection and reflection through dance,” explained Shakeh.

London-based musicians Tigran Aleksanyan (duduk, zurna) and Ara Petrosyan (dhol) accompanied her with exhilarating live music. Resident teachers at Findhorn, including long-standing community members Barbara Swetina, Peter Vallance, Rory O’Connell and friends, Sheila Pettit (choir) and Maya Buckley (orchestra) shared their knowledge and experience with a series of master classes. The Festival Choir and Orchestra provided music for the final night’s celebration.

Laura Shannon, who has travelled widely to research Greek, Armenian, Balkan and Roma traditional dances in their original settings, taught deeply meditative circle dances. Kostantis Kourmadias and Nikolas Angelopoulos accompanied her classes with exquisite live music, as well as played with the Armenian musicians on two special occasions.

Sacred dance in Findhorn serves as a spiritual practice and combines traditional circle dances with modern choreographies. It took root in the Findhorn community in 1976, when visiting dance master Bernhard Wosien shared a collection of traditional circle dances and modern meditative choreographies as tools for group connection and inner work.

PanArmenian, Armenia

July 31 2018

Tourism flow to Armenia grew 10% year-on-year 

The number of tourists who visited Armenia in the first six months of 2018 has grown by 10% year-on-year, according to information provided by the National Statistical Service.

In particular, 685,971 travelers arrived in Armenia in January-June, up from 622,381 who spent some time in the country in the same period last year.

Also in January-June, the number of Armenians leaving the country for holidays abroad grew from last year’s 570,400 by 7.1% to total 610,950.

RFE/RL Report

Former Armenian President Arrested

July 28, 2018

Sisak Gabrielian

Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharian was arrested late on Friday after being charged in connection with the deadly breakup of opposition protests staged following a disputed presidential election in 2008.

A district court in Yerevan allowed the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to keep Kocharian under arrest pending investigation into the crackdown which left ten people dead.

The court’s decision was communicated to the press by his lawyers shortly after midnight. One of them, Ruben Sahakian, said they will appeal against it. He and the other attorney, Aram Orbelian, declined to comment further, saying that they will hold a news conference on Saturday.

Kocharian was remanded in pre-trial custody after a lengthy court hearing attended by him. According to Sahakian, the ex-president made no statements in 

the courtroom and reacted to the court ruling “very calmly.”

The SIS on Thursday charged Kocharian with “overthrowing constitutional order” in the wake of the February 2008 election official results of which gave victory to his preferred successor, Serzh Sarkisian. The main opposition presidential candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, rejected those results as fraudulent and held nonstop demonstrations in the Armenian capital, demanding a rerun of the ballot.

Security forces broke up those protests on March 1-2, 2008. Eight protesters and two police servicemen died as a result.

Kocharian angrily rejected the accusations as politically motivated and “fabricated” in televised remarks aired later on Thursday.He defended the 

legality of his decision to declare a state of emergency and order Armenian army units into central Yerevan late on March 1, 2008. He also said that the coup charges ran counter to the decisions of Armenia’s Central Election Commission and the Constitutional Court that validated the official election outcome.

The SIS’s decision to prosecute Kocharian was condemned by Sarkisian’s Republican Party but welcomed by Ter-Petrosian’s associates. Relatives of some of the protesters killed in the unrest also welcomed it.

The SIS levelled the same accusations against Yuri Khachaturov, a retired army general who was Armenia’s deputy defense minister during the dramatic post-election developments. But unlike Kocharian, Khachaturov was granted bail by the district court. His lawyer told reporters after midnight that the ex-general, who serves as secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty 

Organization (CSTO), will pay 5 million drams ($10,400) to avoid arrest for now.

Shortly after he swept to power in May, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian named a new head of the SIS and told the law-enforcement agency to finally complete its protracted investigation into what was the worst street violence in Armenia’s history.

Pashinian played a key role in Ter-Petrosian’s 2007-2008 opposition movement. In particular, he was the main speaker at a rally held in downtown Yerevan late on March 1, 2008 as security forces clashed with some protesters several hundred meters away. He subsequently spent about two years in prison for 

organizing “mass disturbances,” a charge he denied as politically motivated.

Kocharian has repeatedly defended the post-election crackdown, saying that it prevented a violent of seizure of power by the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition. 

Earlier this year, he blamed Pashinian for the bloodshed.

RFE/RL Report

Kocharian To Appeal Against Arrest

July 30, 2018

Artak Hambardzumian

 Naira Bulghadarian

Lawyers for Robert Kocharian said on Monday that they will appeal on Tuesday against a Yerevan district court’s decision to allow law-enforcement authorities to arrest the former Armenian president on coup charges which he denies as politically motivated.

One of them, Aram Orbelian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that they expect Armenia’s Court of Appeals to start considering their petition 

already this week.

Kocharian was arrested late on Friday one day after being charged with “overthrowing the constitutional order” in the wake of a disputed presidential election held in February 2008 two months before he completed his second and final term. The accusation stems from the use of deadly force on March 1-2, 

2008 against opposition supporters demonstrating against alleged vote rigging.

Kocharian angrily rejected the accusations in televised remarks on Thursday. He defended the legality of his decision to declare a state of emergency and order Armenian army units into central Yerevan late on March 1, 2008. He also said 

that the coup charges ran counter to the decisions of Armenia’s Central Election Commission and the Constitutional Court that validated the official 

election outcome.

Orbelian and the other defense lawyer, Ruben Sahakian, echoed that denial at a joint news conference with Kocharian’s spokesman, Victor Soghomonian, held on Saturday. They also condemned his pre-trial arrest as illegal, saying that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) did not present any compelling evidence to the lower court.

“This is a [political] order and they are going to execute it,” charged Sahakian.

The lawyers also insisted that Kocharian enjoys immunity from prosecution in line with Article 140 of the Armenian constitution. The article says: “During 

the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or 

her status.”

Kocharian’s arrest was condemned as politically motivated by the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) of Serzh Sarkisian, who succeeded him as president following the 2008 election and the ensuing unrest. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), a political party represented in the current Armenian government, also expressed serious concern about it.

By contrast, the arrest was hailed as a triumph of justice by political allies of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who 

led the 2008 protest movement, as well as some human rights activists and relatives of protesters killed in the post-election violence. They have for 

years accused the Sarkisian administration of covering up the killings.

RFE/RL Report

Russia In Rare Diplomatic Spat With Armenia

July 30, 2018

Emil Danielyan

Sisak Gabrielian

Russia has criticized Armenia, its main regional ally, in unusually blunt terms following criminal charges brought by law-enforcement authorities in Yerevan 

against Yuri Khachaturov, the Armenian secretary general of the Russian-led 

Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Khachaturov was charged on Thursday with involvement in what an Armenian 

law-enforcement agency now considers an “overthrow of the constitutional order” that followed a disputed presidential election held in February 2008.

The vote sparked opposition demonstrations in Yerevan which were quelled by security forces on March 1-2, 2008. Eight protesters and two police personnel died as a result. Khachaturov was Armenia’s deputy defense minister at the time.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) levelled the same criminal charges against former President Robert Kocharian. He was arrested late on Friday after angrily denying the charges as politically motivated.

Khachaturov served as chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff from 2008-2016. Russia, Armenia and four other ex-Soviet states making up the CSTO 

appointed him as secretary general of the Russian-led defense pact in April 2017.

A spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it has formally asked the other CSTO members to “start a process of replacing the 

secretary general.”

The move seems to have irked Russia. The official Russian TASS news agency quoted an unnamed “high-ranking diplomatic source in Moscow” as calling it “amazingly unprofessional.”

“It is all the more strange to hear such statements given that the changes that occurred in Armenia did not reflect on the staff of the [Armenian] foreign 

ministry which only recently submitted Khachaturov’s candidacy to the CSTO,” the source said, adding that Yerevan must formally “recall” the Armenian head 

of the alliance before asking the other members to replace him.

In a separate report, TASS said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the same point in a phone call with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanian on Thursday. “In particular, it was pointed out that in accordance with CSTO rules 

and procedures, the Armenian side must officially recall its citizen from the post of CSTO secretary general if such a decision was made in Yerevan,” it 

cited the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

The Armenian side dismissed the criticism later on Saturday. The Interfax news agency quoted “a highly placed source in Yerevan” as saying: “We regard as 

ineffective public discussions and explanations regarding the statutes, procedures and other documents of the CSTO which we know well.”

“We are committed to and respect the provisions of the CSTO statutes,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, insisted on Monday. “And during our presidency of the CSTO we have done everything to strengthen the CSTO.”

Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service Azatutyum.am), Balayan would not be drawn on who could replace Khachaturov. “We have to wait for the decision on replacing him,” he said.

Russia has rarely made public statements critical of Armenia in the past. The two nations have maintained close political, military and economic ties ever since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has repeatedly pledged to maintain this “special” relationship since he swept to power in a wave of mass protests in 

May. But he criticized it when he was in opposition to Armenia’s former leadership.

Moscow signaled its concerns shortly after the SIS charged Khachaturov and asked a court in Yerevan for a permission to arrest him. “We are closely 

monitoring what is happening on this issue,” Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told TASS on Friday.

The district court agreed to grant Khachaturov bail a few hours later.

The SIS bases its case against Kocharian, Khachaturov as well as for Defense Minister Harutiunian on a secret order that was issued to the Armenian military during the post-election demonstrations organized by Levon Ter-Petrosian, the main opposition candidate in the 2008 ballot. It says that military units were told to move into Yerevan before Kocharian declared a state of emergency late on March 1, 2008. According to the law-enforcement agency, that violated constitutional provisions guaranteeing the political neutrality of the Armenian armed forces.

Kocharian insisted on Thursday that the army was simply put on high alert in order to prevent some of its soldiers and officers from heeding Ter-Petrosian’s 

repeated calls for top military officials to join his opposition movement. The ex-president also argued that army units were not involved in vicious clashes 

between security forces and protesters which were followed by the introduction of emergency rule.

Pashinian, who played a key role in the Ter-Petrosian-led movement, was the main speaker at a March 1, 2008 rally held several hundred meters from the 

scene of the deadly violence. Pashinian subsequently spent nearly two years in prison for organizing “mass disturbances” in the Armenian capital. He denied the accusations as politically motivated.

PanArmenian, Armenia

July 30 2018

The Met unveils preview of "Armenia!" opening September 22 (video)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has published a preview of "Armenia!", opening in New York City on September 22 and running through January 13, 2019.

This is the first major exhibition to explore the remarkable artistic and cultural achievements of the Armenian people in a global context over fourteen centuries—from the fourth century, when the Armenians converted to Christianity in their homeland at the base of Mount Ararat, to the seventeenth century, when Armenian control of global trade routes first brought books printed in Armenian into the region.

In a video shared on twitter, Helen C. Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art, says that the exhibition is focusing on Armenian art over time and offers some details about the event.

Through some 140 objects—including opulent gilded reliquaries, richly illuminated manuscripts, rare textiles, cross stones (khachkars), precious liturgical furnishings, church models, and printed books—the exhibition demonstrates how Armenians developed a unique Christian identity that linked their widespread communities over the years.

Representing the cultural heritage of Armenia, most of the works come from major Armenian collections: the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin; the Matenadaran (Ancient Manuscripts); the National History Museum in the Republic of Armenia; the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Lebanon; the Brotherhood of St. James in Jerusalem; and the Mekhitarist Congregation of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Venice.

Almost all of these works are on view in the United States for the first time; some have not travelled abroad for centuries.