Armenian News... A Topalian...9 editorials

[the deluded Azeri administration accusing Armenia of doing precisely what they consistently practise themselves!]

Interfax: Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama

February 13, 2019 Wednesday 

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urges Armenia not to escalate Karabakh tensions

BAKU. 

Azerbaijan has rejected Yerevan's allegations of aggressive rhetoric and urged the Armenian administration not to escalate tensions around the Karabakh conflict but to assist in a peaceful settlement process, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said on Wednesday, commenting on a recent statement made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in parliament.

"Pashinyan shouldn't be escalating tensions with his remarks; instead, he should lay the foundations for productive talks on the settlement of this conflict, which the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs called for in their latest statement," Abdullayeva told Interfax.

Azerbaijan rejects Armenia's allegations of Baku's "aggressive rhetoric" and attempts to change the format for negotiations, she said.

"On one hand, he [the Armenian prime minister] talks of the importance of creating peaceful environment for the sake of settling the conflict while, on the other, he is trying to change the format of the negotiating process and to accuse Azerbaijan of 'aggressive rhetoric' and apparently preparing its population for war, instead of peace. Truth be told, this is not about the 'aggressive rhetoric' of Azerbaijan, but about the aggressive actions of Armenia," Abdullayeva said.

In her words, Azerbaijan is continuing peace talks with Armenia despite 20% of its lands having been occupied by the Armenian army.

"Nagorno-Karabakh and adjoining territories are an integral part of Azerbaijan, which is internationally recognized and currently occupied by the Armenian forces. The international community recognizes members of the local Armenian community as Azerbaijani citizens," Abdullayeva said.

So far, the statements made by Armenian leaders are simply raising more questions instead of promoting peace and development in the region, she said.

"That's the stance of the Armenian administration. Naturally, all these useless comments are not helping Armenia's appeals for an exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict," Abdullayeva said.

"The sooner the Armenian prime minister realizes the good a settlement of the conflict will do for the region and, specifically, his country, the sooner he'll be able to keep his promise of 'an economic revolution' to the Armenian population," she said.

Pashinyan said in parliament on Tuesday that Armenia was considering an exclusively peaceful settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, but all conflicting sides should be trying to create an atmosphere of peace in order for that to happen.

Eurasianet.org

Feb 15 2019

Armenia adopts plan for “economic revolution” 

Pashinyan: “The poverty is in our minds.” 

Ani Mejlumyan  

 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan defends his government's five-year economic plan in parliament on February 13. The plan eventually passed but without opposition support. (photo: parliament.am)

The Armenian parliament has adopted a five-year plan that the government proposed to fix Armenia’s economy, the country’s most pressing problem. But the plan was subject to broad criticism and passed without support of the two opposition parties in parliament.

“The economic revolution has begun,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, presenting the program in parliament on February 12. “I am announcing the start of the nationwide economic revolution in the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian people won in the fight against corruption, impunity and clan management, and the Armenian people will win in the fight against poverty and unemployment.”

The 62-page government plan promises a “significant decrease” of the severe poverty in Armenia and a “significant decrease in unemployment by 2023.” Very small businesses would be exempt from taxes; public sector salaries would be increased. The plan gave a few specific targets: that GDP would increase by five percent a year, exports would be increased to over 40 percent of GDP by 2024, and solar energy would make up 10 percent of the country’s total consumption by 2022. 

Many, though, criticized the plan for being generous with words but stingy with details. 

“For me, this [the plan] is a conversation between the prime minister and the citizens, or the prime minister’s message to the government, but not a measurable program to which the government can be held accountable,” said Mane Tandilyan, an MP from Bright Armenia, during a February 14 parliament session. 

Others criticized the plan for being insufficiently ambitious. “This plan is not revolutionary,” Gagik Tsarukyan, the head of the Prosperous Armenia party, told journalists. “If it doesn’t change, we can’t vote for it.” He allowed, though, that: “I don’t deny that there are two or three provisions which will create positive changes in people’s lives.” 

MPs from the ruling “My Step” alliance defended the lack of specificity and modesty. Babken Tunyan, chairman of the parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee, said that the government could have picked a higher target than five percent GDP growth. "On the other hand, it is better to target less, but to achieve more,” he said. 

And Pashinyan said the numbers will depend on the Armenian people themselves. “The numerical parameters of the economic revolution actually depend on how many Armenian citizens will respond to our call to become an activist of the economic revolution and how many will decide to take advantage of the opportunities of the same revolutionary platform,” he said while presenting the program in parliament.

Pashinyan’s emphasis on people’s responsibility for fixing the economy, including a statement that “poverty is in people’s minds,” raised some hackles. 

Edmon Marukyan, the head of Bright Armenia said that was a means of dodging responsibility. “In the 90s, when I was a child, the only one responsible for our poverty was [the country’s first post-Soviet president] Levon Ter-Petrosyan,” Marukyan said during a February 14 session debating the plan. “Then, when we lived in poverty again, it was [second president] Robert Kocharyan. In 2018, of course, it was Serzh Sargsyan. And now a revolution occurs, and the leader declares that poverty is in people’s minds. Remove it from your minds and the economy will grow. Great, but then it’s not clear why the three previous leaders were responsible for our poverty, if the fourth one isn’t.”

On February 14, the plan was adopted with an 82-37 vote. While it wasn’t disclosed how individual MPs voted, the numbers suggest that all or nearly all My Step MPs voted for the plan, while the opposition parties didn’t.

PanArmenian, Armenia

Feb 11 2019

Turkish politician calls for expulsion of Armenians 

A far-right Turkish politician wants his government to expel tens of thousands of Armenian nationals residing in Turkey in retaliation against France for declaring a remembrance day for victims of the Armenian Genocide, Eurasianet.org says in an article.

President Emmanuel Macron said last week France would mark April 24 as a "national day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide.” Turkey’s government, which denies the genocide, has vigorously condemned the decision.

Researchers estimate between 10,000 and 30,000 Armenian nationals are in Turkey, many of whom have overstayed tourist visas after finding work there. They often face greater scrutiny when foreign governments pressure Turkey to formally recognize the Genocide.

“There are 100,000 Armenians here who came from Armenia and are illegally filling their stomachs. I’m saying we should expel them. Why are we letting them stay? While they lobby against Turkey, we continue to feed them,” Mustafa Destici, who leads the small Great Unity Party (BBP), said at a campaign rally on February 7.

It was not clear where Destici came up with a figure of 100,000 nor what “lobbying” efforts Armenian labor migrants living in Turkey could have conducted to persuade Macron. It is not the first time Destici has used the number, or threatened to expel Armenian citizens from Turkey; he made a similar demand in 2015. In 2017, he called on Russia to abandon its military alliance with Armenia.

Destici’s hardline party only receives a few hundred thousand votes in Turkish elections but retains an outsized influence at a time of heightened nationalism in Turkey. In June, the BBP joined President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s electoral alliance, along with a larger right-wing group, in parliamentary and presidential polls, earning one seat in parliament.

PanArmenian, Armenia

Feb 11 2019

Armenian Resource Center receives $300,000 in Australian govt. funding 

The Armenian Resource Center of Australia (ARC-AU) has announced it will begin full-time operations from a Ryde location, after receiving Commonwealth funding to provide support to humanitarian visa entrants and other vulnerable migrants within their first five years in Australia.

The Australian Department of Social Services funding of over $300,000 – which is part of over $1,200,000 granted to a Consortium that includes the Armenian Resource Center, the Assyrian Australian Association, the Chaldean League and the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese – will cover operational expenses to assist with the resettlement of migrants.

“Once we are up and running, the Armenian Resource Center will help migrants with services that meet their settlement and social needs,” explained ARC-AU Chairperson, Taline Megerditchian. “These services will include help with housing issues, liaising with government services and departments, community integration, student requirements and more.”

ARC-AU Board member, Chris Shahinian added: “The Armenian Resource Center was founded to replicate the model of the already-operational Assyrian Resource Center. With the increase of Armenian migrants from Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, we needed to take action and form a Center in the heart of the Armenian-Australian community in Ryde, to facilitate their settlement into Australian society.”

This funding from the Australian Government will allow the set up of the physical Armenian Resource Center in Ryde, a Resource Center in Blacktown, as well as allowing the continuation and expansion of the Assyrian Resource Center.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), which supported the Consortium’s application process, welcomed the announcement.

“Our community will be delighted that the Armenian Resource Center will move from the planning phase to the operational phase of its existence thanks to this funding,” said ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian. “We congratulate all Consortium members, as their cause is noble and will help many people settle into their new lives in Australia.”

Panorama, Armenia

Feb 11 2019

Disaster film "Spitak" wins top prize at int’l film festival in Russia

“Spitak” drama, which centers on the catastrophic earthquake that shook Armenia on 7 December 1988, won the top prize at the “17 Moments” Third International Film Festival named after famous Soviet Russian actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov held in Russia from 6 to 10 February.

Directed by Russian filmmaker Alexander Kott, the film also won awards for best director and best composer, TASS reported.

World-famous Armenian-American singer-songwriter Serj Tankian composed the score for the film. 

The drama’s screenwriter is Marina Sochinskaya, cameraman – Pyotr Dukhovskoy, composer – Karen Margaryan, producers – Elena Glikman and Theresa Varzhapetyan.

A joint production of Armenia and Russia, the film tells the story of Gor, who left Armenia in search of a better life but now returns back after the earthquake in order to find his home and family. But it is too late. Everything is destroyed by the disaster, and he has to re-learn to love what he destroyed himself.

Sierra Leone Times

Feb 11 2019

The arrival of the Armenian crocodile

Armenia has a lot to offer visitors. Natural spectacles? Check. Ancient history? Check. Vibrant culture? Check. If there is one thing that is missing it may be crocodiles, but this oversight is about to be corrected.

One local entrepreneur, Khachatur Sargsyan, has announced that he is setting up a crocodile farm in the country. Sargsyan is convinced that the farm will be a big hit with kids and that tourists from all over the region will flock to see the farm, planned as a part of a larger entertainment park. There is no place like it in the whole region, Sargsyan told journalists.

He has picked what he says is a perfect spot for his project: 60 acres of land in the village of Dashtavan, some 17 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of the capital, Yerevan. Village residents and local authorities are entirely on board with the plan, Sargsyan said.

The park will be called Apshak, or Marvel in English, and while crocodiles will be the main draw it also will feature more mundane specimens of local fauna such as geese, chicken and ducks. Also included will be a dog park, sports infrastructure and a surfing machine.

Sargsyan has done his calculations carefully. He said African crocodile eggs run $400 a pop an investment he plans to recoup with ticket sales and, later on, crocodile skin sales. We are in negotiations with several tribal farms in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia on purchasing the eggs, he said.

Although he has secured the backing of the authorities, the businessman has still run into some red tape. Since the crocodiles have not been to Armenia before, there was a snafu categorizing the reptiles for import purposes. It was eventually decided that live crocodiles will be classified animals and the eggs as birds. Scientists say that, in many ways, crocodiles are birds anyway.

For too long, Armenia has lagged behind its neighbors Azerbaijan and Georgia as a tourist draw. Armenias much-hated neighbor Azerbaijan has been spending its oil and gas riches to host extravagant international events like the Eurovision Song Contest and Formula One car races. Georgia has attracted visitors with its mountain vistas, sea resorts and its (now shaky) status of being the most promising democracy in the Caucasus.

But lately Armenia has been punching above its weight and is threatening to steal the show from its neighbors. Last years political upheaval turned Armenia into the most dynamically developing place in the region. The country has also invested heavily in high-tech and boasts of the worlds longest zip line. The crocodiles could be a clincher.

But, like any bold enterprise, the crocodile village has its detractors. Environmentalists say that Sargsyan has not done a proper assessment of the environmental impact and without it the program is full of risks, in the words of a local environmental NGO, Civil Voice. One suck risk: the creation of a crocodile reservoir could put pressure on the water supply system in an area that is already too dry. Some worry that the project could go wrong Jurassic Park-style if the crocodiles fly the coop. How will the crocodiles blend with our ecosystem? asked environmentalist Karine Danelyan in comments to the Voice of America Armenian service.

With such talk, an old surreal joke from Russia incidentally, Armenias key economic and political partner finally makes sense: So do you know why crocodiles have red eyes? No, why? Because it helps them blend in with the tomatoes.

168.am

February 15 2019

Every year in Armenia 80-100 children up to 18-years-old suffer from cancer

The whole world celebrates February 15 as International Childhood Cancer Day since 2002 to raise awareness and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, survivors and their families.

Every year in Armenia 80-100 children up to 18-years-old suffer from cancer.

Currently, the full treatment of these children is possible in Armenia with the standardized American and European schemes.

The role of the City of Smile charitable foundation in the treatment of those kids is highly valued. The foundation fully takes care of all the treatment expenses.

By the initiative of healthcare minister of Armenia Arsen Torosyan, major changes occurred in the field of medicine acquirement, by ensuring the availability of non-registered, but very necessary medicines.

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 15 2019

First Holiday Inn Express Hotel opens in Armenia 

                           

The first Holiday Inn Express Hotel, part of the world-famous IHG hotel chain, opened its doors in Armenia’s capital Yerevan today.

The investment program was implemented by Ghukas Grigoryan, Founder / President of Harmony International LLC. The construction lasted three years. About ten million dollars were invested, with 50 new jobs created.

The Holiday Inn Express has 130 rooms, a well-equipped conference room. There are computers, comfortable seats, chargers and high-speed Wi-Fi in the lobby.

The opening ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The Premier toured the premises to get acquainted with the work done and the amenities available in the hotel.

Nikol Pashinyan welcomed the implementation of the investment program and the initiative to build new hotels in Armenia as a whole, which provide tourists with high-quality services and comfortable conditions.

In turn, Minister of Economic Development and Investments Tigran Khachatryan said that the number of tourists visiting Armenia reached 1.6 million in 2018, and added that the government’s goal is to ensure 7-10% annual growth in the area.

News.am, Armenia

Feb 15 2019

Armenian army equipped with new drones of local production 

The Armenian armed forces are equipped with new Armenia-produced drones.

According to information obtained by Armenian News-NEWS.am, another stage of supplying the military units with improved ARMI-55M drones is underway.

The upgraded aircraft has extensive capabilities for piloting and reconnaissance. During one flight,  UAV can cover a distance of 400–500 kilometers. The maximum range of communication with the operator is 100 kilometers. If need be, reconnaissance can be conducted in the depths of the enemy’s territory 150–200 kilometers far.

The development of new generation drones, including weapon-equipped drones, has started. 

smithsonianmag.com

Raising a Glass to Armenia’s Elaborate Toasting Tradition

In the backyard of the world’s oldest-known winery, a cherished national tradition evolved

By Benjamin Kemper

In Armenia, you learn quickly that “cheers” doesn’t cut it: Feasts among friends often entail elaborate ordered toasts sprinkled with poetry, religion, folk song and history. 

Armenians take toasts so seriously that they often nominate a tamadan (toastmaster) to hold court over, say, steaming bowls of khash or glistening mounds of stuffed grape leaves, and a skilled one can keep everybody around the table engaged, and pleasantly tipsy, for hours.

As far as Armenian rites of passage go, ritualistic toasting and feasting are up there with dancing the Kochari and praying at Geghard monastery. But ask the average Armenian why toasts must be made in a certain order, or about the origin of the tamadan, and you’ll likely be met with a shrug—sadly, there’s no ancient Armenian Book of Toasting. This murky history, paired with a widening generational divide, begs the question: How did toasting become part of the national heritage, and what would be lost if the ritual were to disappear?

It’s impossible to pinpoint the year Armenians started toasting, but there are some clues in the archaeological record. We know, for instance, that people were drinking wine in Armenia as early as 4,000 BCE, thanks to the discovery of the world’s oldest-known winery in the Areni Cave complex. Across cultures present and past, booze begets celebration and camaraderie, so it’s possible that Armenia’s first toasts took place before the invention of the wheel.

The first written records of feasting and toasting in Armenia date to the 5th century, when the region was under Persian rule. State documents called Gahnamak (“throne registrars”) offer a glimpse into how royal banquets unfolded in the time of the Arsacid and Sassanid Dynasties. “These writings mention some 400 feudal lords of different social standing,” says Levon Abrahamian, the head of the Department of Contemporary Anthropological Studies at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Armenia. “At the royal table, people took their seats according to this hierarchy, and toasts would have been made in the same order.” Records show that this convention continued well into the 13th century.

The attendees of these official gatherings were predominantly men, which probably helped lay the groundwork for Armenia’s male-dominated toasting culture. Until recently, women ate separately from men during ritual feasts in traditional communities. Even today, female tamadans are rare. 

Whether everyday Armenians had similar tableside rituals in the period in which the Gahnamak was written is anyone’s guess, since its pages reflected only aristocratic life, but Abrahamian believes commoners would have aspired to emulate royal feasts. This theory is supported by 19th-century documents that refer to bride and groom as queen and king. 

But feasting and toasting traditions in Armenia likely predate the first known Gahnamak. The Orontid Dynasty, which ruled the region starting in the 6th century BCE, drank wine from silver rhytons and likely had undocumented toasting traditions of their own. And then there are the modern-day toasts themselves, passed from generation to generation, that make frequent allusions to sunlight and fire—key symbols of Zoroastrianism, the pagan belief system held by most pre-Christian Armenians. 

Beyond the Gahnamak, there’s hardly a peep in Armenian literature about ceremonial toasting until the 19th century, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. “Literacy came to Caucasia through Christianity,” says Peter Cowe, professor of Armenian studies at UCLA. “Any recorded history that fell outside Christian cult theology would have been oral, and as a result, we’ve lost it.” Perhaps toasting was so routine in Armenian daily life that it simply wasn’t remarkable enough to write about. 

When Armenia fell under Russian (and subsequently Soviet) influence, the nation’s toasting traditions inevitably evolved. Wine was replaced with vodka or brandy. Toasts became more regimented—the reflection of an order-obsessed society. And, most significantly, heavy drinking became the norm, thanks to the sudden availability of cheap, industrial-grade booze. 

Armenia was far more acquiescent to Russia’s culture war than neighboring Georgia, whose toasting culture is perhaps even more pronounced than Armenia’s with its signature drinking horns and codified rules. “The Armenian feast is less structured than the Georgian one,” says Yulia Antonyan, assistant professor of the Department of Cultural Studies at the Yerevan State University. “Spontaneous changes, unplanned toasts and intrusions by guests other than tamada are usually fair game.” 

While Armenians continued to take toasting for granted, the ritual took on new meaning in Georgia as a symbol of national identity. “Since the Russians, unlike former invaders, shared the same religion as the Georgians [...] the ‘self-othering’ of the Georgian nation had to be based on something else: folk culture,” writes German anthropologist Florian Muehlfried in an essay on the topic, adding that toasting was “a manifestation of ‘Georgian’ hospitality based on a distinct way of eating, drinking and feasting.” (Cowe for his part cautions that such analyses teeter on over-politicization.)

Yet despite Armenia’s less nationalistic attitude toward toasting, the country preserved its toasting traditions through centuries of occupation. The order of toasts varies depending on the region and occasion, but most banquets start with a Genatst! to the tamadan and his family, in order of seniority. Other non-negotiable toasts include tributes to Armenia, to friendship, to women, to children and (usually lastly) to the ochakh, or hearth, which symbolizes the family’s wellbeing. A favorite wedding toast is, “May you grow old on one pillow.” Every toast is rounded out with a “may it [the vodka/wine/brandy] be sweet,” to which all other guests reply, “it was sweet.”

The most memorable toasts are often those that diverge from the usual playbook. “A good tamadan will do some digging on every guest before the feast begins in order to individualize toasts,” says Eric Boadella, the Spanish writer and director of Toastmaster, the 2014 film that follows a young Armenian man on his journey to become a tamadan. About to graduate college? The tamadan might toast to your future. Grappling with a loss in the family? It’s bottoms-up to the deceased’s love and wisdom.

Done right, the experience can melt you into a puddle. “One evening, an Armenian friend came over for dinner and acted as toastmaster at my family home,” says Boadella. “By the end, he had my mom in tears. That’s when I knew I had to make a film.” 

Samvel Hovhannisyan, the owner of Bureaucrat Café and Bookstore in Yerevan, broke bread with Anthony Bourdain months before his death, on the Armenia episode of Parts Unknown. To Hovhannisyan, a well-articulated toast can be life-changing. “My happiest and saddest moments have been stamped into my memory through toasts,” he says. “The time I spent with Bourdain is no exception.”

As anyone who tuned into the episode noticed, many young Armenians value the eloquence and sentimentality of traditional toasting but take the old-fashioned, patriarchal stuff with a grain of salt. Women are not only present at almost all ceremonial feasts nowadays but they’re increasingly encouraged to be toastmasters. Now that Armenia is producing excellent wine, local varietals are gradually replacing vodka shots. “The Westernization of our culture means Armenians are working more, spending less time with friends and family and eating more fast food,” said Hovhannisyan. “But toasts keep us grounded and remind us of what’s important in life.”