Armenian News... A Topalian...10 editorials
A play called “The Weight Of Repopulating A Nation”
By: Leianna Boodaghian-Owens
Date: June 13th 2019.
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Toxeth TV studio in Liverpool
Tickets: Liverpoolfringe.co.uk £7/£6 concession [http://liverpoolfringe.co.uk/tickets-events/]
Leianna is a writer with Armenian-Liverpool heritage. She graduated from LIPA with a degree in community drama in 2016 and last year completed the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Playwrights’ Programme.
She is a mum of two and has a passion for creating and performing her own work. Leianna was inspired by reading Unprotected (Everyman 2006) to write plays that she feels need to be heard, and to create conversation.
‘The Weight Of Repopulating a Nation’ is about family, the importance of knowing where you come from and history that is trying to be hidden! The play aims to fight for justice and share the truth before it gets lost forever! This is a one-woman autobiographical performance documenting the writer’s journey as she uncovers her own and her ancestors’ story.
Arminfo, Armenia
May 13 2019
Mnatsakanyan: Armenia has its own expectations regarding the start date of the dialogue between Armenia and the EU on the liberalization of the visa regime
Marianna Mkrtchyan
Armenia has its own expectations regarding the timing of the start of the dialogue between Armenia and the EU on the liberalization of the visa regime. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said this in an interview with ArmNews.
According to his assessment, Yerevan successfully and effectively fulfills its obligations under the agreements on visa facilitation and readmission, and insists that the time has come for the start of the second stage - the start of a dialogue on visa liberalization. However, according to him, there are indirect reasons, not connected with Armenia, which are slowing down this process, in particular migration flows to Europe and the attitude of the European population to this. "But, we continue to insist that it is necessary to take a differentiated approach, and in the decision-making process about the beginning of a dialogue, do not proceed from reasons that are not directly related to Armenia. We are convinced of the need to start a dialogue as soon as possible and continue to insist on it, however, discussions on this issue should be discussed in a number of European structures, "the Armenian Foreign Minister emphasized.
Touching upon the process of ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Mnatsakanyan assured that he did not see any preconditions for deliberately delaying the ratification process with political or other implications. According to him, the ratification process depends on the peculiarities of the legislation of each of the EU member states, and somewhere this process takes place more quickly, and somewhere it does not. At the same time, he pointed out the importance of this document from the point of view of the development of relations between Armenia and the EU. Mnatsakanyan stated that CEPA is a multifaceted and comprehensive document covering almost all sectors of life, and which will allow to bring cooperation to a new level. He also expressed the conviction that a roadmap of cooperation would be approved in June of this year.
MediaMax, Armenia
May 13 2019
Armenian president: Strengthening democratic values is important for us
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has said today that “it is important for our country to develop in all areas and strengthen democratic institutions and values”.
“In this regard, the consultation from Global Leadership Foundation can be helpful, valuable assistance for Armenia, as our country adopted the democratic way of development,” the President said while receive the GLF delegation.
The delegation was comprised of U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1989-92 Thomas Pickering, former President of Switzerland Michelin Calmy Rey, UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations in 2011-17 Herve Ladsous, as well as GLF Projects Director Amitav Banerji.
“You are now striving to build a truly democratic, wonderful country. We all admire Armenia, which is why we are here,” said Michelin Calmy Rey.
Global Leadership Foundation is an independent, non-profit structure that supports leaders all over the world by providing them access to the experience of former leaders.
Panorama, Armenia
May 13 2019
Armenian doctors performed 241 operations in Syria
The sappers of the Armenian humanitarian mission in Syria have continued the mine-clearing operations in Aleppo . As the Armenian Humanitarian Demining and Expertise Center reports, in the period from February 19 to May 19, the Armenian de-miners have cleared around 25,860 square meters of land.
Meanwhile, medics in the Armenian mission group have performed 241 surgeries, provided therapeutic aid to 534 people and conducted 959 clinical laboratory examinations.
To remind, the 83-member group of Armenian humanitarian experts, including doctors, sappers, as well as supporting personnel headed to Aleppo, Syria in early February to carry out humanitarian mine clearance activities, raise mine awareness among the population, as well as offer medical aid in Aleppo exclusively outside the zone of military operations.
News.am, Armenia
May 13 2019
Turkish Minister of Interior visits Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
Turkish Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu visited today the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.
As reports Istanbul’s Agos Armenian newspaper, members of the Patriarchate’s religious assembly, including Archbishop Aram Ateshyan and chairman of the board of trustees of Surp Prkich Armenian Hospital Bedros Shirinoglu were at the Patriarchate during the Turkish minister’s visit.
Later, Bedros Shirinoglu declared that Deputy Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan agreed to hold the elections of the Patriarch and that it was decided to hold the elections on June 24.
On April 29, the religious assembly of the Armenian Patriarchate decided that there was no need to elect a vicar and that there was only a need for the elections of a Patriarch.
ARKA, Armenia
May 13 2019
Armenian pavilion at Expo Beijing 2019 visited by 40 thousand people daily
The Armenian pavilion at the Expo Beijing 2019 gardening exhibition ‘In Harmony with Nature" opened on April 29 is visited by about 40,000 people daily, the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments reported.
It said the pavilion has on display species of plants grown in Armenia, in particular, two apricot trees and two grape vines. The best Armenian wines, brandy, dried fruits, pita bread, fruit jams, Armenian carpets and much more are also on display. Videos about the tourism potential of Armenia and winemaking are broadcast on the big screen.
The exhibition includes international and interregional conferences and discussions. The Chinese CCTV channel aired a report about the Armenian pavilion.
The international exhibition, which will be open until October 7, features 97 countries. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Garnik Petrosyan and Armenian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China Sergey Sanasaryan took part in its opening. –0-
MediaMax, Armenia
May 13 2019
Emery: I don’t know the solution to Mkhitaryan’s political issue
Arsenal will face Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku on May 29.
Head coach of the Gunners Unai Emery has talked to the press about Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s situation.
“One is a political issue and I don’t really know the solution. We want to play with him and against Burnley he worked very well. We will do all possible to have every player and him, but the solution is not in my hands,” he said.
Arsenal beat Burnley 3-1 yesterday in the final Premier League game of the season and finished 5th with 70 points. The champion is Manchester City, for the second consecutive year.
The Sunday Telegraph (London)
May 12, 2019
Mkhitaryan jam leaves UEFA in a pickle over final
by SAM WALLACE
Of all the impractical considerations of getting to Baku for the Europa League final, the chance that Henrikh Mkhitaryan might not be able to go is the worst. The Armenian did not travel for Arsenal's group game against Qarabag because of the diplomatic stand-off between his country and Azerbaijan.
Uefa only now seems to be getting around to addressing this, which should have been a condition of awarding the final. Perhaps they gambled this might be a year when the Europa League, the future of which is unclear, was contested by two clubs who would accept the inconvenience of Baku. Instead they have two high-profile, well-supported clubs, an Armenian whose safety cannot be guaranteed and the whole thing is a mess
Panorama, Armenia
May 13 2019
Armenia's Srbuk walks down orange carpet as Eurovision 2019 kicks off
Armenia’s Srbuk, along with the other 40 contestants, walked down the orange carpet in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening to inaugurate the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Armenian singer performed her second rehearsal on 10 May.
She will perform ‘Walking Out’, a song composed by Lost Capital and tokionine, with the lyrics penned by Garik Papoyan, who also wrote Aram MP3’s “Not Alone” for Eurovision 2014.
The Grand Final of Eurovision 2019 will take place on Saturday, 18 May, with the two Semi-Finals to be held on Tuesday 14 and Thursday 16 May. Srbuk will take to the stage first in the second Semi-Final.
Already one of Armenia's biggest music stars at a tender age of just 24, Srbuk has reached the final of X Factor in Armenia and Voice of Ukraine and now she is ready to make a big impression internationally.
Srbuk been touring festival and television shows and now that experience will help her at the world's biggest music competition of all.
Irish Independent
May 11, 2019 Saturday
Keeping histories alive: Ireland's thriving Armenian community
by Sarah Mac Donald
Having faced the ravages of genocide and deportation, many Armenians have made Ireland their home - yet our links go back many centuries
An exhibition on show at Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin concludes with the statement: "Yes Ireland Can". Despite its Obamaesque echo, it is, in fact, a call for Ireland to recognise the Armenian genocide in which 1.5 million people perished between 1914-23.
The Armenian genocide saw the systematic extermination and mass deportation of Armenians from their historic homeland in eastern Turkey by the Ottoman authorities. The men were summarily executed while many of the elderly, women and children died on long marches into the Syrian desert having been treated brutally and deprived of the sustenance needed to stay alive.
In the grounds of Christchurch Cathedral, tourists often get their photos taken alongside a large red carved cross, no doubt thinking it is an Irish high cross. It is in fact an Armenian khachkar (cross-stone) and its inscription explains it was unveiled on April 24, 2015 - Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
Designed by Aram Hakhumyan, an Armenian electronic engineer living in Ireland, the cross was carved in Armenia by Artak Hambardzumyan, who incorporated into it Irish and Armenian motifs.
The exhibition explores the similarities between ancient Celtic high crosses such as Muiredach's Cross in Monasterboice, Co Louth, and the South Cross in Ahenny, Co Tipperary, and Armenian khachkars dating from the 4th century and later.
As Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin tells Review: "The crosses are instantly striking in their shared similarities."
This long connection between Ireland and Armenia is mentioned in the 13th century Book of Leinster, which references St Óengus Ceile Dé (the Culdee), who recorded the presence of an Armenian theologian bishop and scholar named as 'Cerrui' in Killeigh, Co Offaly a few centuries earlier.
Irish architect HG Leask believes local architecture from that era in Rathan was influenced by Armenian motifs and, according to Dr Paul Manook, an Armenian engineer married and living in Ireland: "There were probably Armenian monks who taught the Irish monks how to write manuscripts as well as Armenian stone carvers.
"At present I am looking at the Book of Kells (believed to have been created c800AD) and the (Armenian) Echmiadzin Gospels. One can easily see the similarities between them."
Manook's family were victims of the Armenian genocide at the start of the 20th century.
"My father was six years old when he, along with my grandmother and her five sisters, started their exodus from the village of Besni and walked to northern Iraq after the Ottoman gendarmes took my grandfather, along with thousands of Armenian men to be killed," he tells Review.
"It was a journey of more than two years. My two young aunties, who were aged 10 and 13, were left behind to die as my grandmother could not carry them. In all, my grandmother lost four daughters. Only auntie Miriam, my father and grandmother survived."
On his maternal side, his grandmother, who married as the genocide began to unfold, lost her parents, her husband and other members of the family and witnessed "their beheading after which their bodies were thrown into the river".
The Armenian community in Ireland is small but it is growing slowly. According to Manook, they are concentrated around Dublin as most of them work in IT. The Church of Ireland has reached out and offered Taney parish in Dundrum to the Armenians for their religious services. "We have a school on Sundays where a small number of children learn to read and write the Armenian language and learn about Armenian history," Manook explains, adding that there are also pockets of Armenians in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Northern Ireland.
The total number of Armenians on the island of Ireland is around 400.
Sadly, the conflict in Syria has meant that the country where many Armenians sought a safe haven in the wake of the genocide has now also been ravaged.
Syria, especially the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, is a "very sacred place" to the Armenians, explains Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, the primate of the Armenian Church in Great Britain and Ireland, because it is "the mother centre of the Armenian diaspora".
"After the genocide, Armenians settled in Aleppo and started their life there. Now they have had to leave their place once again and it is very painful," he adds.
One of those whose family sought shelter in Aleppo is writer, poet, artist and Fulbright Scholar Dana Walrath. A second-generation Armenian, she was born in the US. Walrath is a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin's Institute of Neurosciences, specialising in dementia. "I wrote a graphic memoir about my mother called Aliceheimer's and that brought me to the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity where people from multiple disciples from all over the world are trying to problem solve and come up with new ideas and solutions about dementia."
Her novel, Like Water on Stone, written in verse, tells the tale of three Armenian children running for their lives during the genocide. It is based on her grandmother, Oghidar, who came from a family of Armenian millers. When Oghidar's parents were killed in the genocide, she, as a 10-year-old girl, hid during the day and ran at night with her younger brother and sister. The three children journeyed hundreds of miles on foot from their home in Palu along the eastern branch of the Euphrates River to Aleppo, a place of safety.
The title of Like Water on Stone comes from the notion that water eventually erodes a stone and forms and shapes it. "I was thinking of stone being like denial of the genocide and water being the truth. Bit by bit, the dripping water on the stone will reveal the complete and full history."
She firmly believes recognising and commemorating the Armenian genocide is important. "We need to keep histories alive so that it doesn't happen again. Every time we act as bystanders and let a genocide pass without condemning it - it opens the door for genocide to be perpetrated again."
Hitler's infamous comment in August 1939, justifying his expansionist programme and antisemitic agenda, was: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" Walrath believes the Irish Government should recognise the genocide, as France, Italy and Portugal have already done. This has drawn the ire of Turkey, which still denies that the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide.
Walrath's view is echoed by Archbishop Michael Jackson. "The loss of life, the method of forced removal from a homeland where two cultures had lived peaceably for generations; the method of killing male Armenians and the uses and abuse made of female Armenians are terrifying. There is currently in certain countries an unwillingness to recognise the genocide as a genocide. Ireland is one such country."
'I was thinking of stone being like denial of the genocide and water being the truth. Bit by bit, the dripping water on the stone will reveal the complete and full history' ;
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