Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi openly called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “dictator” on Thursday, Agence France-Press reported.

Draghi’s remarks came following a question over the treatment of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday during the meeting with the Turkish president, in which von der Leyen was seated separately from Erdoğan and European Council President Charles Michel. The incident has reverberated through international media since, and Michel issued a statement on Thursday over Facebook, describing the moment as “distressing”.

Responding to a question on what has come to be known as “SofaGate”, Draghi said the scene was a “humiliation” for von der Leyen, AFP reported, adding:

“Let’s call them for what they are, dictators, but with whom we need to cooperate.”

By Aram Achemyan

In the first two months of this year, the outflow of money from Armenia to the United States has increased sharply—by about 80%—, whereas the inflow from Russia decreased—by about 20%. It is assumed that a new wave of emigration from Armenia will follow them.

The economic crisis of 2020 was unprecedented compared to the last ten years. Amid deep economic downturns, remittances to Armenia also fell, worsening the living standards of the country’s people who are  living on remittances. In 2020, individuals in Armenia received $1.84 billion in remittances through banks, which is $116 million—or 6%—less than the previous year.

It is noteworthy that since 2015, remittances from Armenia to abroad have increased considerably. And from the $1.26-billion outflow recorded in 2020, it can be assumed that people are withdrawing their money from Armenia due to political instability or socioeconomic situation in the country. The recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, in turn, has contributed to the growth of this instability and emigration.

The situation is virtually the same this year. In January-February 2021, compared to the same period last year, 4.4% more money was transferred to Armenia; in particular, remittances from Russia decreased by 19.1%, whereas those from the US increased by 83%.

During the same period, outflow of money from Armenia to the United States increased by 78.8%. It turns out that our compatriots who have settled in the US are transferring money to Armenia for charitable, domestic or other purposes, whereas those living in Armenia are withdrawing their money from the country.

The outflow of money from Armenia continues, and this once again proves the deepening of the socioeconomic and political crisis in the country. Therefore, new waves of emigration from Armenia can be expected in the coming months.

Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli has been freed from prison in Azerbaijan where he was serving a 6-year sentence for charges widely condemned by rights groups as being trumped up.

Mukhtarli was conditionally released from the remainder of his sentence on Tuesday by the Surakhani District Court. 

His lawyer, Nemat Kerimli, told RFE/RFEL that he had filed an appeal to the court earlier. 

The news of Mukhtarli’s release was first shared by Mukhtarli’s brother, Ramazan Mukhtarli on Facebook on 17 March. 

The news was shared by Mukhtarli’s brother, Ramazan Mukhtarli on Facebook on Tuesday. 

‘My brother Afghan Mukhtarli has been released. He has been directly taken to the airport and carried to Germany’, he wrote. 

Mukhtarli, a veteran investigative journalist, was charged by the Azerbaijani authorities with smuggling €10,000 in cash, illegal border crossing, and resisting police. He was sentenced in January 2018 to six years imprisonment.

His wife, Leyla Mustafayeva, wrote on Facebook following his release that ‘there are still more than 100 political prisoners in the prison’ in Azerbaijan.

The release ‘was not unexpected’

Upon arriving in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday night, Mukhtarli was welcomed in the airport by his wife Leyla Mustafayeva and their daughter, who live in Germany, and journalists. 

Mukhtarli told RFE/RL that his release was not unexpected.

‘International organisations have been involved in this issue for around a year and eventually, I was released.’ 

‘Just like they kidnapped me in Georgia and [then] jailed me […] I was brought from the prison secretly to the airport and delivered to Germany by plane in the same way,’

‘I should [legally] have either been deported from the country or stayed in prison. I preferred to be released, even this way, than to stay in prison’, he said.

Mukhtarli told Meydan TV he had asked the government to be allowed to stay in Azerbaijan for 10-15 days before his departure to meet with friends, but he was refused without explanation.

He told news agency Turan that the court also fined him ₼1,000 ($590). 

He said that he was brought to Germany via Moscow. Tuesday was the last day flights were allowed between Baku and Moscow, before a ban over the coronavirus came into force. 

Mukhtarli said he would continue his investigations ‘like before’. 

‘But we have to change the methods of our fight and be more active’, he said. 

‘I think that we have to once again form a group in a country bordering Azerbaijan, conduct investigations, and restore our activities in this direction’, he said. 

Mukhtarli’s wife Leyla Mustafayeva told Meydan TV that ‘nothing can compensate these three years stolen from our life’. 

‘His release was delayed. He should have been released earlier. Because the accusations brought against him were fabricated’, she said.

‘Abduction’ in Tbilisi

Mukhtarli disappeared in Tbilisi on 29 May 2017 on his way home after meeting a friend in a café, before resurfacing in jail in Azerbaijan the next day.

His sudden disappearance in Tbilisi led to widespread accusations that the Georgian Government was involved.

In June 2017, reporters from the OCCRP and Rustavi 2 watched two hours of CCTV footage of the route Mukhtarli took home in Tbilisi before his abduction, which according to them appeared to have been doctored.

In July 2017 Georgia suspended the head of their Border Police and Chief of Counterintelligence over the investigation into his disappearance.

After being temporarily released from prison in February 2018 to attend a memorial service for his sister and her two daughters in Zagatala, Mukhtarli repeated the accusation.

He told Georgian TV station Rustavi 2 that the Georgian authorities — including then–Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili — conspired with Azerbaijan to deliver him across the border. 

His wife Leyla Mustafayeva claimed his compassionate release was cut short at the request of Georgian authorities after he spoke with Rustavi 2.

Mukhtarli also told Rustavi 2 he had been investigating business ties between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and former Georgian Prime-Minister, the current head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

In September 2019, Mukhtarli went on hunger strike in Azerbaijan and stopped taking his medication in protest against his the ‘mistreatment’ of his lawyer at the hands of prison officials.

International outcry

Mukhtarli’s abduction in Georgia and conviction in Azerbaijan was roundly condemned by rights groups, both local and international. This included the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Freedom House.

Then–US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly described suspicion of the Georgian government’s involvement in the abduction as ‘serious’ and ‘troubling’ allegations. 

The US State Department released a statement urging the Azerbaijani government ‘to release all those incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms in accordance with its international and OSCE commitments’, adding that they were ‘closely following the Georgian investigation into the reported abduction’, urging that ‘it be full, transparent, and timely’. 

The statement also mentioned the arrest of Deputy Chairperson of the opposition Popular Front Party, Gozal Bayramli, who was detained for alleged smuggling of money while crossing the Georgian-Azerbaijani border on 26 May 2017.

On 15 June, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging Georgia to conduct a ‘prompt, thorough, transparent and effective investigation’, to bring the perpetrators to justice, and ‘clarify beyond any doubt all suspicion regarding the involvement of Georgian state agents in the forced disappearance’.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister, Professor Kostas Vlasis, met with the Armenian Ambassador to Athens, Fadey Charchoghlyan, on Tuesday.

On Twitter, the Deputy Foreign Minister posted a photo of him with Charchoghlyan and commented that it was taken “a few days before the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.”

The Armenian Genocide is commemorated on April 24.

“The ties that connect Greeks and Armenians are close and multidimensional, and the cooperation of our countries in matters of Diaspora is continuous and constructive,” he added.

The Greek Foreign Ministry said that the meeting “took place in a very friendly climate” and that the two officials “underscored the excellent level of bilateral relations” between their countries.

They also discussed the potential for deepening these relations further.

Special mention was made of the Greeks in Armenia and the Armenians in Greece “who are a bridge of friendship between the two states.”

The pair also stressed the need, following the pandemic, to resume in-person meetings on diaspora issues to further enhance cooperation.

The EPP Group in the European Parliament calls for a plenary debate on the recent visit of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel to Turkey.

“The Ankara visit of Presidents von der Leyen and Michel should have been a message of firmness and unity of Europe’s approach to Turkey. Unfortunately it has resulted in a symbol of disunity as the Presidents failed to stand together when it was needed. We expect more from Europe’s foreign policy”, said EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber MEP.

“Besides the failure of unity, we need to know what was put on the table by President Michel, as the issues being mentioned need approval from the European Parliament. We are extremely concerned commitments on visa or customs where made, without concrete and durable changes of Turkey’s policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, towards Cyprus and our external borders. In addition the visit failed to show our wider concerns when it comes to President Erdogan’s attacks on civil society and the political prisoners in the country. These issues need to be clarified and we will have therefore requested a plenary debate in the Presence of the two Presidents”, explained Weber.

The US Embassy in Cyprus has strongly condemned the misuse of Saint Magar Armenian Monastery in Cyprus.

“Freedom of worship is a fundamental value, and we echo the call from religious leaders that all places of worship, in use or not, be protected against misuse, vandalism, and desecration,” Ambassador Judith Garber said in a Twitter post.

Last week, young Turks held a party in the yard of Makaravank, Cyprus, without permission.

According to the statement the live techno party was organized by an event-planning group, that apparently organizes and broadcasts electronic music events at entertainment venues, including  historical and cultural locations. The event was recorded and uploaded on YouTube on 7 April 2021.

Sourp Magar is an Armenian Monastery is an 11th century Monastery founded by the Coptic Orthodox Church in memory of Saint Makarios the hermit of Alexandria.

The Monastery was transferred to the Armenian Community in Cyprus during the15th century and has belonged to and has been intrinsically linked to the community ever since.

St Magar Monastery has been left uncared for since 1974 and is in dire need of immediate protection, renovations and full restoration.

It is the most important place of worship and pilgrimage for the Armenian community of Cyprus and the only Armenian Monastery in Cyprus.

Cyprus has been occupied since the 1974 illegal Turkish invasion.

A whopping 115 percent increase in prison population in a decade.

210329_Key_Findings_SPACE_I_2020

Prisons and Prisoners in Europe 2020: Key Findings of the SPACE I report

Marcelo F. Aebi and Mélanie M. Tiago

210329_Key_Findings_SPACE_I_2020

This document summarises the main findings of the 2020 Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations, better known under the acronym SPACE I. The rates and percentages presented here correspond to the European median values and are presented in the text in round numbers unless they are lower than 10; in particular, the rates are calculated on the basis of data weighted by the population of each country (see Methodology for further details). The detailed state-level data are presented in Tables 3 and 4 at the end of the document.

Forty-eight (48) of the 52 prison administrations in the 47 Council of Europe member states answered the SPACE I 2020 questionnaire, which corresponds to a participation rate of 92%. The following prison administrations did not send their answers: Bosnia & Herzegovina (State level, Federal level, and Republika Srpska), and Ukraine. However, data concerning the total number of inmates in Republika Srpska (Bosnia & Herzegovina), the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine, as well as the total capacity of prison institutions in these same prison administrations were retrieved from other sources (see comments to Tables 3 and 16 of the SPACE I 2020 report for further details) and are therefore included in the computation of the relevant European median and average values. On the contrary, these computations do not include the few inconsistent figures detected during the validation procedure (see Table B of the SPACE I 2020 report for details).

Source: https://wp.unil.ch/space/files/2021/04/210329_Key_Findings_SPACE_I_2020.pdf

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) welcomes the inclusion of Armenian-Americans in the CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC).

The ANCA-WR Education Committee as well as the Ethnic Studies Curriculum Task Force were actively engaged in the process for the past two years to ensure the voices of over 1 million strong Armenian-Californians are heard and the Armenian experience is part of the ESMC. The Armenian-American community was actively engaged with the California Department of Education, submitting tens of thousands of public comments over this process and demonstrating the importance of this issue.
“We thank our Education Committee,

Task Force, and tens of thousands of community members as well as coalition partners for their diligent work in ensuring that California’s new ESMC lives up to the values of the Golden State,” remarked the ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “We look forward to actively engaging with all the relevant stakeholders to build on this progress and ensure a meaningful representation of the Armenian experience in California schools.”
ANCA-WR once again reaffirms its strong support for a curriculum that “presents an opportunity for teachers to develop culturally/community relevant and responsive pedagogies that are both revitalizing and sustaining.” The organization welcomes the drafters’ efforts to include, and urge further development on diasporan experiences, inclusive of peoples historically marginalized from California curricula, and United States scholarship writ large, such as Armenian-Americans.
While its use is not mandated, the ESMC is intended to supply local school districts with the background, ideas, and examples to begin local discussions on expanding ethnic studies offerings.
For years, the State of California mandates the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject areas for the adopted courses of study in social science for grades 7-12.

Contact: Armen Sahakyan
tel. (818) 500-1918

LOS ANGELES – On April 6, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Armen Baibourtian visited the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles. He was greeted by the Holocaust Museum’s CEO Beth Kean and the Board Chair Michele Gold. They gave Ambassador Baibourtian a private tour through the halls of the Holocaust Museum, which has a mission to commemorate those who perished, honor those who survived, and educate about the Holocaust and inspire a more dignified and humane world.

The exhibits chronologically present materials about the time period preceding the Jewish Holocaust, the Holocaust perpetration and commitment of this heinous crime, and documented testimonials. Beth Kean and Michele Gold introduced the Armenian Consul General to the use of digital technologies, which creates a sense of direct communication with the survivors of the Holocaust conveying first-hand historical information. This mode of presentation is so interesting for students that they regularly visit the Holocaust Museum in LA from various U.S. states, even form neighboring Mexico.Ambassador Baibourtian shared his powerful impressions to the leaders of the Holocaust Museum.

He stressed on the importance of the continuous public awareness of the Holocaust history and its remembrance especially in these days of Holocaust commemoration, as is the case with other genocides, including the Armenian Genocide. Beth Kean and Michele Gold also introduced Ambassador Baibourtian to the Museum’s corner that represents the Armenian Genocide.The Consul General underlined the importance of cooperation between institutions and museums that exhibit and voice the horrors of the greatest evil committed against the humanity. They touched upon a possible cooperation between the Holocaust Museum LA, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, and the Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California in Glendale. The participants of the meeting agreed to initiate joint projects aimed at preventing in the future the crimes of the past.Founded in 1961 by Holocaust survivors, Holocaust Museum LA is the oldest museum of its kind in the United States. It has a 70-screen video sculpture that displays the 52,000 survivor testimonies from the USC Shoah database. The Holocaust Museum LA opened its permanent subterranean building in Pan Pacific Park in October 2010, where it has since had over 250,000 visitors.

ԼՈՍ ԱՆՋԵԼԵՍՈՒՄ ՀՀ ԳԼԽԱՎՈՐ ՀՅՈՒՊԱՏՈՍ, ԴԵՍՊԱՆ ԱՐՄԵՆ ԲԱՅԲՈՒՐԴՅԱՆՆ ԱՅՑԵԼԵՑ ԼՈՍ ԱՆՋԵԼԵՍԻ ՀՈԼՈՔՈՍՏԻ ԹԱՆԳԱՐԱՆ
ԼՈՍ ԱՆՋԵԼԵՍ- Ապրիլի 6-ին Լոս Անջելեսում ՀՀ գլխավոր հյուպատոս, արտակարգ և լիազոր դեսպան Արմեն Բայբուրդյանն այցելեց Լոս Անջելեսի Հոլոքոստի թանգարան։ Նրան դիմավորեցին թանգարանի գործադիր տնօրեն Բեթ Քինը և թանգարանի խորհրդի նախագահ Միշել Գոլդը։ Նրանք դեսպան Բայբուրդյանին ուղեկցեցին Հոլոքոստի թանգարանի սրահներով, որոնցում ժամանակագրության սկզբունքով ներկայացված են Հոլոքոստի, դրա իրականացման մանրամասների, նաև՝ հրեաների ցեղասպանությանը նախորդող ժամանակաշրջանին վերաբերող նյութեր, ցուցանմուշներ, փաստագրական տեղեկություններ։ Բեթ Քինը և Միշել Գոլդը Արմեն Բայբուրդյանին ներկայացրեցին թվային տեխնոլոգիաների կիրառմամբ պատմության մատուցումը, որը Հոլոքոստից փրկվածների հետ անմիջական շփման զգացողություն է ստեղծում՝ փոխանցելով պատմական տեղեկություններ՝ առաջին ձեռքից։ Այդ մատուցումը հատկապես հետաքրքրական է դպրոցահասակ աշակերտների համար, որոնց համար ԱՄՆ տարբեր նահանգներից, ինչպես նաև՝ Մեքսիկայից, պարբերաբար կազմակերպվում են այցելություններ Հոլոքոստի թանգարան ։Արմեն Բայբուրդյանն իր տպավորությունները փոխանցեց Հոլոքոստի թանգարանի ղեկավարներին ազդեցիկ ցուցանմուշների կապակցությամբ։ Նա կարևորեց Հոլոքոստի պատմության պատշաճ հանրային մատուցումը և շեշտեց, որ այդ պատմությունը կարևոր է հիշել հատկապես այս օրերին՝ Հոլոքոստի տարելիցի առիթով, ինչպես նաև մյուս ցեղասպանությունների՝ ներառյալ Հայոց ցեղասպանությունը։ Բեթ Քինը և Միշել Գոլդը դեսպան Բայբուրդյանին ներկայացրին նաև հայերի ցեղասպանությունը ներկայացնող անկյունը։ Արմեն Բայբուրդյանը ընդգծեց մարդկության դեմ իրականացված հանցագործությունները և մեծագույն չարիքը ներկայացնող հաստատությունների՝ թանգարանների միջև համագործակցության կարևորությունը, ինչպիսին կարող է լինել Լոս Անջելեսի Հոլոքոստի թանգարանի, Հայոց ցեղասպանության թանգարան-ինստիտուտի և Կալիֆորնիայի հայ-ամերիկյան թանգարանի ու մշակութային կենտրոնի միջև։ Հանդիպման մասնակիցները պայմանավորվածություն ձեռք բերեցին համատեղ միջոցառումներ նախաձեռնելու մասին, որոնք միտված կլինեն պատմությունը հանրությանը ներկայացնելուն՝ հանուն մարդկության դեմ հանցագործությունները ապագայում կանխելու նպատակի։Լոս Անջելեսի Հոլոքոստի թանգարանը հրեաների ցեղասպանության մասին պատմող ամենահին թանգարանն է ԱՄՆ-ում։ Այն ստեղծվել է Հոլոքոստից փրկված և ԱՄՆ-ում ապաստանած մի խումբ վերապրածների ջանքերով՝ 1961 թվականին։ Թանգարանում ներկայացված են 52 հազար ականատեսների բանավոր վկայությունների տեսագրություններ՝ 32 լեզվով։ Թանգարանի այցելուների թիվը իր մնայուն շենքի 2010 թվականին բացումից ի վեր կազմել է 250,000 մարդ։

А consignment of 15 thousand doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Yerevan on April 8. The batch was received by the head of National Center for Disease Prevention and Control of Armenia, Adviser at Russian Embassy in Armenia Pavel Kurochkin reported.  

It is noted that this large scale assistance which Russia provided to Armenia is a vivid example of allied partnership and brotherly relations between the Armenian and Russian peoples. 

To note, vaccination with Sputnik V is carried out on a voluntary basis among medical workers involved in the fight against COVID-19. In total, 600 people have been inoculated since March 11, when vaccination with Sputnik V began.