neighbors Archives

Armenian, Azeri youth should be brought up as neighbors: top cleric

September 10, 2017 by administrator

Armenian and Azerbaijani youth should be educated with the understanding that the two peoples will be neighbors and will live next to each other, Allahshukur Pashazade, leader of Muslims of Azerbaijan, head of Muslims of the Caucasus said on Friday, September 8.

Pashazade was meeting with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in the Russian capital.

“We should not meet for the sake of meeting. We should meet to ensure that we have the opportunity to address the leadership of our countries so that they do everything possible to prevent conflict,” Pashazade said.

“Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan will ever leave these territories, so they must live side by side, and the youth should be brought up in this spirit.”

Armenian collection translation efforts connect family and neighbors

January 12, 2017 by administrator

LOS ANGELES — It really is a small world after all.

When he reached some of the final Armenian Genocide Collection testimonies to be indexed, translated and subtitled into English, Armenian Genocide Collection researcher Manuk Avedikyan realized he needed some help. The testimonies he had saved for last were in rare Armenian dialects — from Mush, Musadagh (Musaler) and Kessab — that he couldn’t understand.

So, he asked his friend Garen, whose family is from Kessab, if his mother could verbally translate one of the testimonies for him. She agreed, and Avedikyan brought the testimony to her house.

After she translated the testimony, Avedikyan asked her if she would be able to translate another in the Musadagh dialect, due to its similarities with the Kessab dialect and the interview was filmed in the village of Anjar, in Lebanon, where she used to live during a part of her youth.

Although she couldn’t quite understand the entire interview, her son deciphered a part of a conversation and was surprised to hear the interviewee mention the family name of a mutual friend of his and Avedikyan’s, Hovannes Zeithlian. Avedikyan sent Zeithlian the testimony and asked him to listen to it, which he did.

Zeitlhian was amazed to hear the man in the testimony speak in his dialect and talk about his (Zeithlian’s) own great-grandmother. She was one of two people who fired the first shots against the encroaching Turkish soldiers during the famous Musadagh resistance during the Armenian Genocide in 1915.

After discovering the testimony about his great-grandmother, Zeithlian was so excited that he translated the whole tape with the help of his father.

The coincidences didn’t stop there. That same man who mentioned the Zeithlians’ great-grandmother turned out to be the family’s next-door neighbor back in Anjar, Lebanon. Another interview of a survivor that was filmed in Kessab that Avedikyan showed his friend Garen ended up being a relative of theirs from Kessab.

“We found their grandmother, a relative, and their neighbor all in one hour,” Avedikyan said. “It’s so unexpected.”

Discovering and translating rare dialects has been an unexpected bonus of the Armenian Genocide Collection. USC Shoah Foundation didn’t know such testimonies were part of the collection when it partnered with the Armenian Film Foundation to integrate the collection into the Visual History Archive, but translating them and making them available to the public is a unique opportunity.

A small number of people do still speak these dialects, but the languages are not well-known or preserved, Avedikyan said. The Syrian civil war also threatens the communities where native speakers live.

“These people [in Kessab and Musadagh] are not going through easy times,” Avedikyan said. “These are rare dialects and the fact that this collection has a plethora of these different dialects shows the linguistic wealth of this collection, the unintended linguistic wealth.”

The English subtitles for the non-English testimonies in the Armenian Genocide Collection are expected to go live in the Visual History Archive in February 2017.

Source: http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2017/01/12/armenian-collection-translation-efforts-connect-family-and-neighbors/

Moscow urges Turkey to stop ‘meddling in neighbors’ affairs’ Syria & Karabakh

April 4, 2016 by administrator

Russia’s foreign minister has urged Turkey to stop what he called interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and end support for terrorism.

“In general, it is important for our Turkish neighbors right now to aim at ending their meddling in the internal affairs of other states, be it Iraq or Syria,” Sergei Lavrov said.

He made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Moldovan counterpart Andrei Galbur in Moscow on Monday.

“There are enough facts and evidence that Turkey continues this interference and supports terrorism,” he added.

Ankara is widely believed to be the key conduit for armed militants slipping into Syria to join the foreign-backed militancy aimed at toppling the Damascus government.

Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that purported evidence showed Ankara transferred arms and military hardware to the Daesh terrorist group in Syria under the cover of air convoys.

In February, the Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Ankara has been helping militants enter Syria illegally and join the terrorist groups that are fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey also stands accused of buying oil from Daesh. Russia has released satellite images, apparently showing long lines of trucks carrying oil from Daesh-controlled areas in northeastern Syria into Turkey.

Fighting over Karabakh

Also on Monday, Lavrov referred to the recent clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed border region of Karabakh, saying Ankara was “one-sided” in supporting its ally, Baku, in the fighting.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged his support for Azerbaijan, saying, “We pray our Azerbaijani brothers will prevail in these clashes with the least casualties.”

The fighting between the two countries erupted last Friday, leaving at least 33 troops and two civilians dead.

Businesslike Neighbors: Armenia, Iran consider deepening commercial ties

October 18, 2015 by administrator

The changes taking place in the global and regional markets, which are linked with softening sanctions against Armenia’s neighbor Iran, open new opportunities and field for cooperation of the two countries’ business environments.

This week, the Armenian-Iranian business forum held in Yerevan is the new stimulus, which, observers expect, will strengthen business ties, and create new opportunities for more sustainable arrangements.

“In terms of activation of bilateral transportation, the construction of the highway of the North-South Corridor is an important project, which is already underway. Another project is Armenia-Iran railway construction. I must also discuss our cooperation in the energy sector, in particular, the construction project of the third Iran-Armenia electricity transmission line and the Meghri hydropower plant,” said Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan at the Armenian-Iranian business forum.

During his official visit to Armenia Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, referring to Armenia’s membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), said that Armenia could become a platform for Iranian goods to be exported to EEU countries, and for its implementation only political will is needed.

“Besides, Armenia has an important role in terms of being a transit area. We have the North-South corridor, and now we should solve the issue of the railway construction, which can have regional significance. Iran is willing to carry out these two programs. We must do everything possible to eliminate all obstacles. In this regard, we should sign several agreements of mutual understanding: a preferential tariff agreement, for example, to set up a bilateral committee for addressing these issues,” said the Iranian vice-president.

Arsen Ghazaryan, chairman of Armenia’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, says that the Armenian side has been trying for several years to prove the Iranian side that Armenia is a very good business platform to transfer goods and services to the CIS area, and today already to Europe.

“We hope that this understanding will take place: to bring goods to Armenia through joint ventures, to reproduce, to re-label and take out to markets where we have a privileged tax status both in the EEU area, and through our GSP + system in Europe, which is extremely important,” says Ghazaryan.

However, Iranian businessmen point out that their problems in Armenia are caused by the taxation field, which has already forced many to move their businesses to neighboring Georgia, while they prefer to work in Armenia, with Armenians.

“A man comes from a foreign country and invests money in this country. It means the way for that person should be comfortable and without obstacles. The state should take measures so that foreign investors are not afraid of investing.

This is no problem in Georgia,” says Bitum-Armenia-Iran company founder Javid Zabihollahin, who plans to open a concrete works in Armenia.

According to Iranian businessman Danish Var, in case of public policy implementation, the results of the business environment will be more visible.

“We usually face difficulties in the investment field, because we are not familiar with the field and are not fully aware of the Armenian laws. The good business consultant is necessary for starting a business in Armenia,” said the Iranian businessman.

Arsen Ghazaryan said that during 24 years of Armenia’s independence Armenia has been regarded as a consumer market for Iran, but already today Armenia should be viewed as an investment and production platform.

According to the National Statistical Service, 4.9 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade turnover in 2014 comes from trade with Iran. The main part of the turnover comes from imports from Iran: $206.5 million out of $291 million.

Source: Gayane Mkrtchyan ArmeniaNow reporter

Turkey: HDP leader Demirtaş warns citizens not to spy on neighbors for money

August 31, 2015 by administrator

HDP Co-Chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş. (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Ali Ünal)

Co-chairperson of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş has criticized a recent law rewarding people who inform on terrorists in a sum of up to TL 4 million, warning citizens not to spy on their neighbors in exchange for money.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Demirtaş underlined the fact that Turkey has one of the largest militaries of the NATO member countries, in addition to police, gendarmerie and intelligence units.

“How can a country that has been claiming to be so big and powerful become desperate in spite of its all [security] forces and look to spying?” Demirtaş said. “My advice to all citizens is to not ever spy on your neighbors for money… Our people should turn down this call.”

According to a law that was published in the Official Gazette on Monday, people who inform on terrorists, help to have them detained, or reveal their identity anonymously will be rewarded with up to TL 200,000, an award that can be increased up to a total of TL 4 million with the approval of the Interior Ministry.

The Interior Ministry will reward citizens who inform on terrorists as long as they are not involved in the crime of terrorism that they report and are not public officers or village guards. People who report terrorists can file an application for the reward with the concerned provincial police department.

The amount of the award will be determined according to the information, the crime that is exposed or the terrorist who is reported. The upper limit for the reward is TL 200,000; however, this amount can be multiplied twenty-fold, reaching to as much as TL 4 million.