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.

Second President Robert Kocharyan has sued Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia. Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned about this from the DataLex Judicial Information System.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday and assigned to the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan.

The lawsuit demands to confirm the violation of the plaintiff’s right to a fair trial, to compensate the non-pecuniary damage caused as a result of this violation, to obligate to publicly deny the statements made about the plaintiff, and to compensate the non-pecuniary damage caused to the plaintiff by defamation.

Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from Robert Kocharyan’s legal team that this lawsuit is based on Nikol Pashinyan’s statements made during his March 1 rally at Yerevan’s Republic Square.

The attorneys demand to consider these statements of Pashinyan as ” defamation,” to renounce them, and to recognize the presumption of innocence of the ex-President.

The total amount of compensation asked for these violations is 4 million drams.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday for talks that focused on bilateral ties and the implementation of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped last year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

Putin emphasized the “strategic character” of Russia’s relationship with Armenia in his opening remarks at the meeting held in the Kremlin. He also noted the “solid” volume of Russian-Armenian trade, expressing confidence that it will grow again after shrinking last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Putin went on mention the “post-war situation” in the Karabakh conflict zone and, in particular, renewed transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan envisaged by the ceasefire agreement which he brokered in November.

He said the reopening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for commercial traffic will give Armenia “new opportunities for the country’s development.” “In my view, this is an extremely important thing,” he told Pashinian.

Pashinian complained, for his part, that Azerbaijan is continuing to hold many Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives in breach of the truce accord. “I am very glad that we have no differences regarding how to resolve this problem,” he said.

Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev failed to reach an agreement on the prisoner release during their trilateral meeting with Putin held in Moscow on January 11. They only agreed to set up a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working group tasked with working out practical modalities of restoring transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The group co-headed by deputy prime ministers of the three states has held several meetings since January 30. Its Russian co-chair, Alexei Overchuk, visited Baku and Yerevan last week.

No concrete agreements were announced after Putin’s and Pashinian latest talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said late last week that Armenia’s forthcoming snap parliamentary elections will also be on the meeting’s agenda.

Pashinian has pledged to hold the elections in June in a bid resolve a domestic political crisis sparked by Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war.

Moscow has expressed concern at the deepening crisis. Putin discussed it with Pashinian in a February 25 phone call.

Neither leader mentioned the Armenian elections at the start of Wednesday’s meeting.

Pashinian cited instead the need to ascertain “some nuances” of Russian-Armenian military cooperation. He also announced that Armenia will receive on Thursday the first 15,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

“We need more than a million doses,” the Armenian leader said, implicitly asking Putin to facilitate their delivery.

“Our [vaccine] production is gaining momentum,” replied Putin. “We are talking about a fairly large volume of production of this vaccine. So I think that we will solve this problem.”

The Orion is a medium-altitude, long-duration unmanned aerial system with a maximum take-off weight of 1 tonne and a maximum payload weight of 200 kg..

MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation does not rule out the possibility of delivering Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Armenia, Federal Service Spokeswoman Valeria Reshetnikova told TASS on Wednesday.

“As of today, we are offering a number of unmanned aerial vehicles for exports, in particular, the Orion-E reconnaissance system with a long-duration flight capability. In case of the corresponding requests from the Armenian side, we are ready to consider them in accordance with the established procedure,” the spokeswoman said.

The Orion is a medium-altitude, long-duration unmanned aerial system with a maximum take-off weight of 1 tonne and a maximum payload weight of 200 kg.

According to the data of the state arms seller Rosoboronexport, today the drone is offered for exports as an air reconnaissance system. At the same time, Orion drones in their strike version are arriving for the Russian troops.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Tuesday with the European Union’s two presidents, but an awkward moment when the woman among them was left standing caused a bit of a diplomatic stir, The Washington Post reported.

A video of the leaders assembled in an ornate meeting room in Ankara showed Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel settling themselves into gilded chairs, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared unsure of where she was expected to sit.

Von der Leyen stood staring at them, gestured with her right hand and appeared to say “um” or “ehm.”

She was ultimately offered a beige couch about 12 feet away, opposite Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who occupies a lower-status rank in typical diplomatic protocol.

A member of the European Parliament, Dutch lawmaker Sophie in ‘t Veld, noted that at meetings between Erdogan and the prior pair of E.U. presidents, who were both men, the three leaders were seated next to one another, in equivalent chairs.

“It wasn’t a coincidence it was deliberate,” she wrote on Twitter, where some people explained away the incident as more about social distancing than protocol. “Why was @eucopresident silent?” she wrote, using Michel’s Twitter handle to ask why he didn’t offer his fancier seat to his counterpart.

Critics had already been taking aim at the visit, which came two weeks after Erdogan pulled Turkey out of an international treaty aimed at preventing violence against women known as the Istanbul Convention. Erdogan allies said the move didn’t mean women’s rights were being downgraded.