Armenian News... A Topalian...Aznavourian's Death...

TASS, Russia

Oct 1 2018

Charles Aznavour’s death is great loss for Armenia - prime-minister

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said the death of French singer, lyricist and actor Charles Aznavour is a great loss for his country.

"It is a great loss for Armenia and the Armenian people. It is a great loss for France, for the French people and for entire humanity," Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

In his post Pashinyan offered condolences to Aznavour’s family and the people of Armenia and France.

Aznavour died in his home in southern France last night. Just recently he returned from a concert tour of Japan. At the end of the year he planned to give concerts in France.

Charles Aznavour was born on May 22, 1924 to the family of Armenian immigrants in Paris. A singer and musician of world renown, he always kept in touch with the land of his ancestors. After the Spitak earthquake disaster of 1988 he created the Aznavour for Armenia charity foundation to provide relief aid to the affected population.

In 2004, Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan awarded to Aznavour the country’s highest government decoration - the title of the Hero of Armenia. A square in the center of Armenia’s capital Yerevan is named in his honor.

News.am, Armenia

Oct 1 2018

Macron on Aznavour’s death: We share grief of Armenian, French nation 

The French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences over the death of Charles Aznavour.

“Deeply French, but connected with his Armenian roots, recognized all over the world, Charles Aznavour accompanied with his works the joy and sadness of three generations. His masterpieces, his image and light will survive him for a long time.

I invited him to go to the Francophonie summit in Yerevan, where he was supposed to perform. We share the grief of the peoples of Armenia and France,” Macron tweeted.

Aysor, Armenia

Oct 1 2018

Charles is eternal: Armenia’s FM

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan expressed condolences on the death of world famous singer Charles Aznavour.

“One of the world’s treasures, the legend, the son of Armenia and France passed away. Charles Aznavour touched the hearts of all generations in all the corners of the world. Charles is eternal,” Mnatsakanyan wrote in Twitter.

Aysor, Armenia

Oct 1 2018

Charles Aznavour’s funeral day to be declared mourning day in Armenia

On the day of funeral of the legendary French-Armenian singer will be declared mourning day in Armenia, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the reporters at the memorial service conducted in Aznavour Square in Yerevan today.

“His visit was planned to Armenia in the sidelines of Francophone summit, but unfortunately it will not take place,” the PM said.

Pashinyan said that Charles Aznavour will remain a great singer and national hero in the hearts of all. “He will always have his place in the world art,” he said.

Chansonnier Aznavour will more probably be buried in Montfort Community cemetery, not far from Paris. According to French media, Aznavour wished to be buried there.

News.am, Armenia

Oct 1 2018

Mkhitaryan: Aznavour's devotion to Armenia will remain forever in our hearts

Midfielder of Arsenal and the Armenian national team Henrikh Mkhitaryan expressed his condolences in connection with the death of the Armenian National Hero Charles Aznavour.

"It is with great sadness that I have learned about the death of Charles Aznavour. But Aznavour's devotion to Armenia will remain forever in our hearts," Mkhitaryan wrote on his Facebook page.

French singer of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour has died aged 94.

Charles Aznavour died in his house in the south of France. Earlier he was on a tour to Japan.

Charles Aznavour (born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian) was born on May 22, 1924 in the family of Armenian migrants.

Charles's parents introduced him to performing at an early age, and he dropped out of school aged nine, taking the stage name "Aznavour".

He started writing sons in early 40s. During the early stages of his career, Aznavour opened for Edith Piaf at the Moulin Rouge. Piaf then advised Aznavour to pursue a career in singing. Piaf helped Aznavour develop a distinctive voice that stimulated the best of his abilities.

In 1950 he emigrated to Canada and started singing as “Charles Aznavour”. He sold 180 million records during his lifetime.

In 1988, after the Spitak earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, Charles Aznavour founded the Aznavour pour l'Arménie (Aznavour for Armenia) charitable association and organized several actions to help the victims. For one of the actions, he invited Henri Verneuil and 90 other French singers and actors, in collaboration with which he recorded the song “For you, Armenia”.

In November 2000, chansonnier was appointed Minister of Culture of France

On December 26, 2008, Aznavour was granted the citizenship of Armenia.

On May 6, 2009, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan appointed Charles Aznavour as Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland, Permanent Representative of the Republic to the UN Office in Geneva.

In 2001 Charles Aznavour square was opened in Yerevan, and in 2009 House Museum of Charles Aznavour was founded in Yerevan.

Aznavour had a long and varied parallel career as an actor, appearing in over 80 films and TV movies.

Aznavour was married three times, to Micheline Rugel (1946), Evelyn Plessis (1956) and current wife Ulla Thorsell (1967). Six children were produced by these marriages: Séda, Charles, Patrick, Katia, Mischa, and Nicolas.

Voice of America

Oct 2 2018

Armenians Pay Last Tribute to Beloved Singer Aznavour 

October 02, 2018  

Thousands of people gathered in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Tuesday to sign a condolence book and pay last respects to Charles Aznavour, a French singer of Armenian origin who died on Monday.

Aznavour passed away overnight at the age of 94 at one of his homes, in the village of Mouries, north of the French port city of Marseille.

His parents were Armenian and settled in France. As one of the most famous Armenians in the world, Aznavour was regarded as a national hero in the country.

"This is a great pain. But it is also a great pride [for us] that such a person was able to stun the world with his talent, skills and music for a century," Ara Babloyan, the parliamentary speaker, told reporters after writing a message in the book.

Armenia in 2009 named Aznavour ambassador to Switzerland, where the singer resided in later years. He was also made UNESCO's ambassador and permanent delegate of Armenia in 1995.

Aznavour wrote a song in 1975 in memory of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915, which Armenia says was a genocide but which Turkey disputes. He also donated profits from another song, "Pour toi Armenie," [For you Armenia] to help rebuild the country after its 1988 earthquake in the town of Spitak.

Large crowds had gathered on the streets of Yerevan on Monday and on the central square named after him to light candles and mourn, while posters with his portrait appeared in the streets the next day.

A day of mourning will be declared in Armenia on Aznavour's funeral day, the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday, adding Aznavour's death was "a big human loss."

Asbarez.com

2 October 2018

Pashinyan, Aliyev Agree to ‘De-Escalate Border Incidents’

Armenia Artsakh 

Pashinyan reports on conversation with Putin in Dushanbe

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday chatted in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikstan, where the two leaders were attending the summit of CIS States. There, according to Pashinyan, the leaders discussed ways to de-escalate tensions along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Azerbaijan borders.

In a Facebook Live post on Friday, Pashinyan explained that while he was introduced to Pashinyan at the opening ceremonies of the World Cup in June, he and the Azerbaijani leader did not converse. However, during two brief chats in Dushanbe, the two heads of state agreed on points impacting relations with Armenia and the Karabakh conflict resolution process.

“This time we had more practical conversation based on which we agreed on a number of important points. We agreed that we will task our defense ministers to take measures to de-escalate the situation and to prevent border incidents. I think this is an important agreement,” said Pashinyan.

The prime minister said that he immediately informed Artsakh President Bako Sahakian of the discussion and has “given relevant instructions to our Armed Forces.”

Pashinyan said that he and Aliyev registered their commitment to continuing negotiation under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

“We agreed to establish operative communication channels but we have not agreed about its practical implementation,” said Pashinyan. “I am happy and hope that those agreements will be respected, since they are extremely important.”

Aliyev’s top foreign policy advisor Hikmet Hajiyev assessed the discussion positively in an interview with the Azerbaijani Trend new agency on Monday. But, that’s where the similarities with Pashinyan’s account ended.

During his interview in Trend, Hajiyev again repeated official Azerbaijni claims that Armenia’s continued “occupation of Azerbaijani lands” was the main reason for continued unrest along the borders. He also interpreted the Pashinyan-Aliyev discussion to mean that the negotiations would continue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and will exclude representatives of Artsakh, a point continuously stressed by Pashinyan since the first day he came to power in Armenia.

The conversation in Dushanbe was also welcomed by Artsakh authorities with President Sahakian’s spokesperson David Babayan hailed the talks but expresses certain reservations given Baku’s track record.

“It is an interesting and commendable development if we were to give a political assessment. The three points on which they agreed is very important. But there is a reservation here that completely trusting Aliyev or generally the Azerbaijani leadership would not be right, because they might breach any agreement at their convenience in the lowest form, which experience has shown. Nevertheless, let’s hope that this time these agreements will yield some kind of positive results,” said Babayan.

He further cautioned that any substantive change should not be expected in the near future, arguing that Aliyev’s consent to a conversation might stem from outside pressure, noting that just before the Dushanbe summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Baku and held talks with Aliyev.

“Taking into consideration that Russia is one of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries, it cannot be ruled out that Aliyev finds himself in a very unique situation when great pressure exists against him. Hence he found a suitable occasion to both get to know the Armenia’s new leader and demonstrate that he is being constructive,” added Babayan, who referenced the most recent statement by the co-chairs, which he said was targeting Azerbaijan, since it is the main violator of the cease-fire agreement.

Discussion with Putin

Pashinyan also had a conversation with Putin in Dushanbe, where a range of issues regarding Armenia-Russian relations were discussed, according to the prime minister,

“We can note that Armenian-Russian relations are really on a new level and in my opinion our relations had never been on such a high level like they are now,” Pashinyan said during the same Facebook Live post on Friday.

He emphasized that there is complete mutual understanding between him and the Russian President. “This does not mean that we hold the same position on all issues. There are no unresolvable issues in our relations and an excellent working atmosphere has been created,” said Pashinyan.

The prime minister also reported that while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assmebly last week he brief meetings with President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo., with the focus of the those talks centering on future development of U.S.-Armenia relations.

BNE IntelliNews

Oct 2 2018

Mass protest outside Armenian parliament as MPs pass bill to block early election

Pashinian addresses the protests in April: on October 2 he again called to his supporters to take to the streets. 

Thousands of people gathered outside the Armenian parliament on the evening of October 2, in scenes reminiscent of the ‘people’s revolution’ earlier this year, after  MPs passed controversial legislation on that could prevent the government from calling snap elections. 

The bill was put forward by the Republican Party that ruled Armenia for years until the mass protests in April and May this year forced prime minister Serzh Sargsyan to step down. 

Sargsyan was succeeded as prime minister by protest leader Nikol Pashinian, who told journalists earlier on October 2 that snap elections would be held in December. 

The bill amends the existing Law on Regulations of the National Assembly, and states that if a parliament session cannot be held because of lack of quorum, or if MPs are prevented from participating, it should be considered interrupted rather than failed, and resumed at a later date. The aim appears to be to limit the circumstances under which the parliament can be dissolved. 

In addition to Republican Party PMs, the bill was also supported by lawmakers from the Prosperous Armenia and ARF/Dashnaktsutyun parties. 67 MPs voted in favour, while others stayed away as Pashinian had urged them not to register for the vote. 

An ARF/Dashnaktsutyun representative told Yerkirmedia.am that the party is withdrawing its two ministers — Economic Development Minister Artsvik Minasyan and Agriculture Minister Artur Khachatryan — from Pashinian’s government, and will also withdraw its regional governors. 

Speaking to journalists at the parliament, Pashinian accused those behind the bill of being counter-revolutionaries. 

Later, Pashinian urged Armenians to gather outside the parliament to prevent the session from taking place. 

“All of us to the National Assembly. The [Republican Party] holds a special session,” he wrote on his Facebook page. 

He reiterated his warning of a counter-revolution in his address to the crowd. 

“The Republican Party of Armenia and the facilitating forces have officially declared the counter-revolution by introducing a draft law on amendments to the parliament’s regulations. However, the counter-revolution has no chance in Armenia,” the prime minister said, News.am reported. 

ArmRadio reports from Yerevan that Pashinian has announced he will resign as prime minister as soon as the decisions on dismissing ministers and governors representing ARF/Dashnaktsutyun and Prosperous Armenia come into force. 

As of 10.30 local time, Pashinian had entered the parliament for talks with parliamentary parties, local media reported. With the crowd still outside, MPs have been unable to leave the building. 

Panorama Armenia

Oct 1 2018

Medieval Armenian site to be granted UNESCO

enhanced protection status

UNESCO Committee on the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict held a session at the UNESCO headquarters on 27 September to debate, among other things, the petition on grating Enhanced Protection to Armenia’s Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley. 

The committee unanimously decided to include the bid approval in the agenda of the 13th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 1999 Second Protocol Committee slated for December, the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Panorama.am.   

     

“Enhanced protection” is a mechanism established by the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. It aims to ensure full and effective protection of specifically designated cultural property during international or non-international armed conflicts.

Cultural property under enhanced protection benefits from high level immunity which requires the parties to a conflict to refrain from making such property the object of attack or from any use of the property or its immediate surroundings to support military action. In case where individuals do not respect the enhanced protection granted to a cultural property, criminal sanctions have been laid down by the 1999 Second Protocol.

As of today, twelve cultural properties were inscribed on the UNESCO List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.

The Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley contains a number of churches and tombs, most of them cut into the living rock, which illustrate Armenian medieval architecture at its highest point. The complex of medieval buildings, which has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000, is set into a landscape of great natural beauty, at the entrance to the Azat Valley. High cliffs from the northern side surround the complex while the defensive wall encircles the rest.  The monuments included in the property are dated from the 4th to the 13th century.

Armenia’s Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, Cathedral and Churches of Echmiadzin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots are also UNESCO World Heritage sites.   

AMN Al-Masdar News, Iran

Oct 1 2018

Turkish Vice President says there was no Armenian Genocide

By Leith Aboufadel

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Oktay told the gathering of historians that Turkey does not respect the decisions of certain governments that recognize the events from 1915.       

“We do not respect the decisions of the parliaments that bow before the Armenian diaspora and ban Turkish views,” Oktay said, as quoted by the Hurriyet Daily.

“Despite all efforts, those who aimed to defame our history by using the events of 1915 did not reach their goals,” Oktay said, stressing that efforts “to smear Turkey have failed.”

“The slander campaigns, which intensified particularly before 2015, have been pushed back with our country’s stance and the efforts of our official institutions, such as the Turkish Historical Society,” he told the 18th Turkish History Congress at the Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center.

The Daily Mail, UK

Oct 1 2018

Henrikh Mkhitaryan WILL miss Arsenal's Europa League trip to Qarabag due to tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia

By Sami Mokbel for MailOnline

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss Arsenal’s Europa League clash against FC Qarabag this week due to political tensions between Azerbaijan and his home country Armenia. 

The Gunners have decided against trying to obtain the necessary international clearance in an effort to have the Armenia international is available selection. 

Mkhitaryan would be required to apply to the Azerbaijani government for a permit to make the trip to Baku but Arsenal have decided against going through the process.  

Additionally, there would be considerable safety risks if Mkhitaryan were to go to Baku given his standing as one of the Armenia’s most high-profile figures given the historical bad blood between the two nations. 

Arsenal will face the exact problem again should the reach the Europa League final, which is due to take place in Baku.