Sunday 20 January 2019

Armenian News... A Topalian...10 editorials

Agence France Presse 
January 14, 2019 
Armenia's Pashinyan appointed PM after 'velvet revolution'

Armenia's president appointed former protest leader Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister on Monday as the Caucasus country's parliament met for the first time since an election last month.
 
Pashinyan won a landslide victory in the snap December parliamentary elections, cementing his authority after he swept to power in a peaceful revolution last year.
 
Speaking in the National Assembly, President Armen Sarkisian said the election had "endowed this parliament with a high legitimacy".
 
Only parties who backed Pashinyan's "velvet revolution" made it to parliament as a result of the vote which international monitors hailed as democratic.
 
Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won 70.43 percent of the vote.
 
"The main political change expected in Armenia has already happened: power has been returned to the people and democracy has been established," Pashinyan said in a meeting with the president according to the prime minister's press service.
 
"Now there is another task: to strengthen this democracy with institutional guarantees."
 
The 43-year-old former journalist has pledged to root out endemic corruption and address widespread poverty in the impoverished, landlocked ex-Soviet republic of three million people.
 
Pashinyan first became prime minister in May after spearheading weeks of peaceful anti-government rallies that ousted veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian.
 
But he resigned in October after efforts at reform stalled in the face of opposition from Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party. The move triggered a snap election which Pashinyan said would "bring the velvet revolution to its logical end".
 
The Republican Party failed to clear the five percent threshold needed to make it into parliament.
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Pashinyan a congratulatory note, the Kremlin said.
 
"I hope our dialogue and constructive joint work will further strengthen Russian-Armenian united cooperation," a statement quoted Putin as saying.
 
"This is undoubtedly in the interest of our brotherly nations."
 
While seeking reforms at home, Pashinyan has also pursued a balanced foreign policy during his first five months in office.
 
He has reassured Putin that Armenia would remain Moscow's loyal ally but at the same time sought to charm Western leaders.
 
During an international summit in the capital Yerevan in October he danced traditional Armenian dances with French President Emmanuel Macron and wore matching socks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.


ARKA, Armenia
Jan 15 2019
Armenian parliament condemns 1990 pogroms in Baku 

The Armenian National Assembly condemns the Armenian pogroms committed in Baku in January 1990, Parliament Speaker Arrarat Mirzoyan said on Tuesday. 

He said all the members of the parliament denounce that violence as well as any violence based on discrimination. 

”We, as people that had experienced several times in our history such tragedies will never tolerate such violence against any nation,” Mirzoyan said. 

On February 26 to 29, 1988, authorities-backed mass pogroms and atrocities against Armenians were committed in Sumgain, a city in Azerbaijan.   

According to the official reports, 32 Armenians were killed and hundreds injured in these pogroms. As many as 14,000 Armenians fled their homes in Sumgait. 

Anti-Armenian pogroms took place also in other cities of Azerbaijan. In January 1990 they were raging in Baku. 

As a result, more than 360,000 refugees from Azerbaijan’s different cities have come to Armenia over a period between 1988 and 1992. Other 140,000 ethnic Armenians migrated to other countries. --0-- 


ARKA, Armenia
Jan 15 2019
About 30 percent of Armenian IT engineers are girls, Russian edition says

The Russian vc.ru publication has a story about the impressive achievements of girls in Armenia’s IT industry.

"What captures attention, apart from the rapid growth of the sector is the large percentage of girls involved in work at all stages and in all directions," it says.

The story recalls that in 2000 the Armenian government announced the IT sector a priority: it stimulates the attraction of foreign investments, considers ideas about building engineering campuses and introduces tax privileges.

As a result, more and more people are seeking positions in IT industry, but the number of applicants still does not keep pace with the ever-increasing number of open positions. Less than 3 million people live in Armenia, a little more than a million in Yerevan, and more than 22 thousand of them work in the IT sector, whereas there are still about 3 thousand vacancies.

The story says  there are teams specializing in game development, web design, cryptocurrency and blockchain, but most of them focus on software development. And it turns out that a small number of large software development companies bring up to 48 percent of the total income of the sector. Of 22 thousand IT engineers, 74% are engaged in software development. For comparison, in Ukraine, developers make 58% of all workers in the IT sector, in Belarus - 40%.

"The main feature of the Armenian IT sector is not fast growth and neither creative offices. As long as the technical world is striving for gender balance and diversity, and the percentage of girls working in IT does not exceed 20% on average, in Armenia the figure is close to 30 %, " it says.

Moreover,  the girls are involved not only in the business departments and marketing, they are game developers, programmers and testers. ---


PanArmenian, Armenia
Jan 16 2019
Russia hopes to return citizen with Armenian roots from Azerbaijan 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hopes that the issue of the return from Azerbaijan of Marat Ueldanov-Galustyan, a Russian citizen of Armenian descent, will be resolved through dialogue.

Ueldanov was detained in summer 2016. Russian Embassy in Baku asked Ueldanov’s relatives back then to “be understanding” as "his Armenian origin makes it extremely difficult to protect him" in Azerbaijan.

The Russian citizen works at the Austrian company Do & Co and was in Baku on a business trip. In baku, he is accused of illegal acquisition, production, storage and distribution of drugs on a large scale.

During a press conference on the results of 2018, Lavrov said issues that concern Russian citizens who find themselves in a difficult situation in other states, including the CIS countries, are in the Foreign Ministry's center of attention.

"I assure you that this particular topic was weighed in on during the recent negotiations with our Azerbaijani colleagues," Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS.

"I hope we will be able to find a solution through dialogue and make decisions based on legal norms in order to return this person to Russia."


ARKA, Armenia
Jan 16 2019
Armenia has not yet got rid of consequences of market monopolies

Armenia has not yet got rid of the consequences of long-running market monopolies, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) David Ananyan told a news conference today. According to him, in the course of years, monopolies had been established on a great number of goods, including sugar and bananas.

He said now there are no obstacles for new suppliers to enter the market, and the number of sugar importers has increased.

He said also because the Armenian market is not large monopolist are reluctant to give up their positions. He said in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments the State Revenue Committee is looking for opportunities to increase consumption of sugar, for example, through establishment of new companies which use sugar or other goods in their production for the subsequent export of finished products.

"We have not yet got rid of the consequences of the monopolies, but we are working on the revitalization of production," said Ananyan.


Arminfo, Armenia
Jan 15 2019
Alexandr Avanesov
Yerevan ranked 167th in the world for quality of life

The city of Yerevan ranked 167th in the world in quality of life with an index of 122.13. This follows from the ranking of the best cities in the world for  life published by the site numbeo.com, compiled by several parameters  - climate, quality of health care, prices for consumer goods and  housing, pollution levels, transportation, safety and purchasing  power.

According to the portal  of UfaTime.ru, the capital of Belarus -  Minsk ranked 130th in the table with the figure of 143.39, Almaty  (Kazakhstan) - in 208th place with a score of 87.69, Kiev (Ukraine)  immediately followed Moscow, located on the 192nd place with  indicator 104,51. 

The leader among the Russian cities became Nizhny  Novgorod with a general index of 151.74. The city on the Volga took  the 109th place in the world ranking among 226 megapolises.  The  capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, took 172 place, Baku - 197th.Caracas,  the capital of Venezuela, turned out to be the most poor quality city  for living.The list of the best cities in the world for living is  Australian Canberra with a quality of life index of 224.3. It is  followed by Eindhoven (Netherlands), Raleigh (USA), Adelaide  (Australia), Zurich (Switzerland), Madison (USA), Brisbane  (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Columbus and Charlotte (USA). 


Panorama, Armenia
Jan 15 2019
Armenia reports second H1N1-related death

Acute respiratory infectious diseases have a tendency of growing in Armenia, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

As of Monday, 1,080 people with respiratory infections sought medical treatment in the country, with 837 people (95% of whom are children) receiving stationary treatment.

The ministry says it continues controlling the situation in kindergartens and schools. On 14 January alone, 499 children with acute respiratory infection symptoms were sent back home from educational institutions.
The experts of the ministry are touring medical facilities these days to get first-hand information and to discuss the ongoing measures with the experts and directors of the facilities.

Meantime, the ministry reported the second influenza type A subtype H1N1-related death in Armenia.
“A 62-year-old man who died in a hospital from severe cardiovascular failure was also tested positive for H1N1 subtype,” the ministry said, adding the man had applied for medical treatment too late.
The first death of H1N1 virus was registered in Armenia earlier in January.  


MassisPost
Oxford Armenian Studies Launches ‘Research Notes’
13 January 2019

OXFORD, UK — Oxford Armenian Studies launched short video “Research Notes” featuring Armenian studies scholars in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at University of Oxford.

Prof. Theo Maarten van Lint (Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies), Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian (Associate Faculty) and Dr. David Zakarian (British Academy Fellow) highlight various aspects of their current research in these audio-visual notes.

“This new initiative aims to reach a wider audience beyond academia and to draw attention to the depth and scope of Armenian studies by providing a snippet of a subject or research findings,” explained Hratch Tchilingirian, who conceived and produced the clips.

The five “Research Notes” posted on social media so far have reached some ten thousand people online.

In “Research Notes 1”, Prof. van Lint speaks about his intellectual and academic journey into Armenian studies. In three additional clips (Notes 2, 3 and 4), he presents highlights of his work on medieval Armenian authors. Dr. Zakarian speaks about his research in medieval colophons (Notes 5) and women in 5th century Armenia (Notes 6). In Notes 7, Dr. Tchilingirian speaks about his research on identity and notes a “connection” to chess in 12th century Armenia and, in Notes 8, discusses deaconesses in the Armenian Church.

All “Research Notes” are on Oxford Armenian Studies (OAS) channel and accessible through the following links:

Research Notes 1—Theo Maarten van Lint: the making of an Armenologist



Extract from AbuDhabi World
Jan 16 2019
You can hit the slopes with these amazing locations

Tsaghkadzor – Armenia

Gorgeous even during the winter months, the quiet town of Tsaghkadzor houses a popular ski resort frequented by tourists during the months of December to April.

Nestled on the scenic slopes of Mt Tanegiz, the resort stands 1,750 metres above sea level, with the top skiing point offering splendid views of Lake Sevan and Mount Ararat.

Visitors can enjoy 12km of diverse ski tracks for skiing, snowboarding and snow mobile activities.

The location is only 40 minutes away from the capital, Yerevan, and the scenic drive offers splendid views of magnificent snow-covered sites such as old churches and chapels dating back to the 11th century.

Complementing the activities are the leisure facilities such as saunas, bars and restaurants serving Armenian dishes, coffee and beverages.

Accommodation options won’t be a problem either with a selection of hotels, apartments and guesthouses in the vicinity.

WORDS Ferdinand Godinez


edinburghlive
9 Jan 19
The bizarre and hilarious story behind this derelict Edinburgh building is stranger than fiction
The crumbling former police station near Holyrood Palace used to be an unbelievably strange Armenian restaurant
By Hilary Mitchell Editor

Whenever you drive along Abbeyhill at the foot of the Royal Mile, you pass a very unusual single storey sandstone building with cyrillic lettering above the doorway. But have you ever stopped to wonder what it is - or what it used to be?

Well, wonder no more, because we've looked into its history, and it was way weirder, more entertaining and unusual than we could ever have imagined. Think a real life Fawlty Towers, but with an Armenian twist. But let's start at the very beginning.

55 Abbeyhill was built in 1896 as a police station in a unique style, with castle-like elements, corner turrets and animal figure gargoyles. It was used as a police station until at least 1932, as there are records of officers being based there at that time.


So far, so normal. But after the police service moved out of the property, the story of this building takes a fascinating twist.

From the 1980s until at least 2008, the small ex-police station became arguably the strangest and most mysterious restaurant in Edinburgh. It was called Aghtamar Lake Van Monastery in Exile, an Armenian eatery notorious for its random opening times and extremely eccentric owner.

For years, the restaurant was the stuff of legend. If you could track down the owner and make a booking (no easy feat - one reviewer says it took a "month of phone calls") you could access some utterly amazing food in the form of a ten-course Armenian banquet that diners raved about.

The man behind this delicious spread was Petros Vartynian, an unusual business owner who had a reputation for throwing customers out of the restaurant for - amongst other things - asking for more food or wine, turning up a few minutes late (he would refuse to give people directions to the restaurant), or failing to join in with one of his Armenian dancing tutorials.

We were also told that Vartynian, who still lives in Edinburgh, would ask customers to help with the washing up, and if people didn't finish one of their courses they weren't allowed any more food. 

The last online review for the Aghtamar was left in late 2008, so it seems likely it stopped operating regularly at that time, although there are some accounts of people dining there as late as 2011. However, the building has gradually fallen into disrepair since and is now classed as "at risk".

"A giant moose head adorned the wall, and posters advertising the Armenian tourist board were scattered around"

According to a now-archived blog post by local writer Jonny MacFarlane, the interior wasn't particularly welcoming. Jonny spoke to a friend who had the rare honour of eating there, who said:

"The main eating hall was vast, cold and dark with only candle-light to guide your steps. There didn't appear to be electricity.

"A giant moose head adorned the wall and various different posters advertising the Armenian tourist board were scattered around.

"There was a ghetto-blaster in the corner playing what sounded like red army choir music from an old, scratchy cassette.

"The whole place had a Soviet era, beyond the iron curtain feel. There were no amenities like heating, menus or salt and pepper.

"The best dish had minced pork and rice rolled up in cabbage leaves. The whole thing was steamed and served with a very nice salad with an amazing dressing. Dessert was also very memorable, a sort of fruit trifle, with very pungent flavors."

One group once asked for Turkish instead of Armenian coffee - forgetting that Turkey and Armenia have serious historical beef. They instantly regretted it:

"In a sudden rage the owner unceremoniously threw out the entire group, ignoring their apologies and protestations. I think most saw the owner as part of the charm, temper and all. It wasn't really about a meal, it was about an experience."

The article also says that an Armenian newspaper reported in 2012 that the restaurant was going to be turned into an Armenian Cultural Centre. However, it's currently on the Buildings At Risk Register and the Edinburgh City Council's planning officer hasn't added any information about planned renovations, so it's fair to say that's unlikely.

But whatever happens to it in the future, the next time you drive past this iconic building, you can imagine was it was like to dine at the bizarre Aghtamar Lake Van Monastery in Exile: Edinburgh's most unusual and mysterious restaurant.

Here's a personal account of a couple who dined there:  

We ate in this restaurant but at that stage the old laundry building on the other side of the city was being used ....but the host was the same

There were two tables ,one large circular table and one long rectangular one so one sat where there was a space ....not one plate matched another

The food was fantastic ..no other word for it and the Mezze alone was like a full meal with a whole fish for each person surrounded by all the other portions of Mezze

Then there was kofte the type cooked in a dish .....we thought we were finished then but the charcoal was fanned into life and we had wonderful kebabs

Dessert was coffee with a huge bowl of beautiful grapes on each table .
After that we never managed to find the place there or at Holyrood open but we did see carpets draped for sake over the railings outside what I presume was his flat .

Definitely a BIG personality but a wonderful cook
Isobel

He was also described as cantankerous!

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