VIENNA: Mayor Thierry Kovacs strengthens the bonds of his city with the Nagorno-Karabakh

October 31, 2016 By administrator

vienna-mayor-karabakh Thierry Kovacs, Mayor of Vienna, President of ViennAgglo and regional councilor, received officially at the Vienna City Hall on October 21, ahead of a conference at the MCA Vienna, Hovhannes Gevorkian, representative of the Republic of Karabakh in France, François Rochebloine, MP of the Loire and president of the friendship circle France-Karabakh and Loussiné Movsisyan, vice-consul of Armenia in Lyon, in the presence of representatives of the Viennese Armenian community.

On this occasion, Thierry Kovacs recalled the friendship between the City of Vienna and the Armenian people, fed by an old presence of Armenian survivors of the genocide in Vienna, and thus a common history that has contributed to the development and influence City and at the same time that the Viennese can remain indifferent today to all aspects of near or far to the Armenian cause.

This is so in respect of the fight karabaghtsi people’s right to live freely on their land, to exist as a sovereign nation and willing to build an exemplary democracy. A friendship charter had also been signed in February 2014 between Vienna and Hadrut in Karabakh in order to materialize this support Viennese residents of Karabakh.

This charter was challenged by the State representative in the department earlier this year and it was therefore ordered the Vienna mayor not to pursue this cooperation with the City of Hadrut.

On the occasion of this meeting with Mrs. Movsisyan, gentlemen Guevorkian and Rochebloine Thierry Kovacs has held in the name of friendship between Vienna and Armenia but also in terms of its numerous meetings with the French of Armenian origin as the Armenians of Armenia, to indicate that under no circumstances can be no question for him to yield to the dictates of the state and the French government.

Under what:

1 Thierry Kovacs announced that the Charter of friendship between the City of Vienna and Hadrut not only would not be removed but it is still relevant;

2 He officially requested the President Rochebloine who agreed to join the Friendship Circle France-Karabakh;

3 He said that during an upcoming trip to Goris, twin city of Vienna, he would visit the Nagorno Karabakh Hadrut and specifically to strengthen the bonds of friendship.

Monday, October 31, 2016,
Claire © armenews.com

Sarkisian and Aliyev to Meet in Vienna Next Week

May 13, 2016 By administrator

Serzh-Sargsyan-Ilham-Aliyev-1 MOSCOW (Arka)— “The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will hold a meeting next week in Vienna. It is also planned that the foreign ministers of co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, United States, France – will take part in the meeting,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to take part in the meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian in Vienna on May 16.

US State Secretary John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will also take part in the meeting.

“The main aim of consultations that are currently being coordinated, is to try to strengthen the ceasefire regime, reduce military risks, agree on strengthening concrete confidence-building measures,” Zakharova said.

“We proceed from the fact that such meeting may and should facilitate stabilization of the situation in the conflict zone and, of course, create necessary conditions for resuming the negotiations process aimed at achieving comprehensive settlement,” Zakharova added.

Vienna concert commemorates Armenian Genocide centennial

November 10, 2015 By administrator

Vienna hosted “With you, Armenia” concert commemorating the Genocide centennial on Saturday, November 7.

According to Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, the concert was organized by the Armenian Genocide centennial committee, Armenia’s Ministry of Culture, and the country’s Embassy to Austria, in cooperation with Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival.

The event took place at famous Wiener Musikverein concert hall’s main stage in the Grosser Saal.

Violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, pianist Nare Aghramanyan, world famous cellist Mischa Maisky and his family trio played works by Komitas, Babajanian, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Bizet and other composers. A group of prominent opera singers, including Liana Harutyunyan, Hovhannes Ayvazyan, Varduhi Khachatryan and Barsegh Tumanyan performed Mozart’s Requiem to the accompaniment of Camerata Salzburg chamber orchestra.

Ambassadors to Austria, heads of various international missions, diplomats, politicians, and Austrian-Armenian community members attended the event.

—————————– Armenia Genocide —————————

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

Vienna: Mogherini dubs Syria crisis talks as ‘historic, substantial’

October 30, 2015 By administrator

Following the conclusion of the international talks on the Syrian crisis, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini describes the negotiations held in Vienna as “historic” and “very substantial.”

“We tackled major issues that were on the table… but we found common grounds to continue talks,” Mogherini told reporters at the end of the Vienna meeting on Friday.

She emphasized that the meeting was not an easy one “but for sure a historic one as we had, for the first time, all the actors around the table, and I would say a very constructive atmosphere.”

She said she believed that participants at the international meeting have “some common grounds” on which they can build in the future.

“So there’s hope for a political process to start under the UN auspices and with all of us coming together again,” Mogherini pointed out.

The international meeting on the Syrian crisis kicked off in the Austrian capital on Friday. Foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Egypt, Russia, Jordan, Britain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Lebanon, China and Oman attended the talks.

Envoys from the United Nations and the European Union were also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday that the participants had agreed to hold another meeting in two weeks’ time to find a political solution to the four-year crisis in Syria.

Speaking to reporters following the talks in Vienna, Fabius said the participants discussed all issues, “even the most difficult” ones.

“There are points of disagreement, but we advanced enough for us to meet again, in the same configuration, in two weeks,” the French minister added.

Russia’s hope for further compromises

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, expressed hope that further compromises would end the war in Syria.

Speaking after the Vienna meeting, Lavrov said the multilateral talks on the Syrian crisis had failed to reach a consensus on the fate of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

He emphasized that only “the Syrian people should decide Assad’s fate.”

‘Differences remain’

Meanwhile, participants in the Vienna meeting called for a nationwide truce in Syria.

In a joint statement at the end of the Vienna talks on Friday, Iran, the United States, Russia and 14 other countries said “substantial differences remain” but it was “imperative to accelerate all diplomatic efforts to end the war”.

According to the statement, the participants called on the United Nations to bring together representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to launch “a political process leading to credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance, followed by a new constitution and elections.”

VIENNA: Armenia Team Advances to Eurovision 2015 Final (Video)

May 20, 2015 By administrator

VIENNA, Austria (A.W.)–Armenia, represented by the group “Genealogy,” has moved forward to the final stage of the Eurovision 2015 contest. Armenia was one of 16 countries taking part in the first semi-finals in Vienna on May 19.

Armenia, Belgium, Greece, Estonia, Serbia, Hungary, Russia, Albania, Romania, and Georgia qualified during the first semi-final round.

The second semi-final round will take place on May 21, when 17 more countries will compete to move onto the final stage of the contest.

Below is a video of Armenia’s performance.

On March 12, Armenia released its Eurovision 2015 song entry, “Don’t Deny.” The song enraged some in neighboring Azerbaijan, which claims the lyrics carry a political message. The Armenian delegation denies any specific political subtext in the song.

Along with the release of the song and its music video, Inga Arshakian of Armenia was revealed as the final performer of Genealogy. Arshakian joined Stephanie Topalian, Essaï Altounian, Vahe Tilbian, Mary-Jean O’Doherty Vasmatzian, and Tamar Kaprelian, who hail from Europe, Asia, America, Africa, and Australia, respectively—and are all of Armenian origin.

According to the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision.tv), this is the first time a country is participating with performers from different parts of the world.

A few days following the release, the Armenian delegation announced that it would rename the song to “Face the Shadow” in order to suppress concerns of a political theme and to “strengthen” its themes.

The music for Armenia’s entry was written by award-winning Armenian musician and composer Armen Martirosyan, who also composed Armenia’s entry into the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, “Apricot Stone.” The lyrics to the song were penned by Inna Mkrtchyan; the music video was directed by renowned Armenian director, Aren Bayadyan.

The finals take place on May 23, when 27 countries compete for first place. The 10 qualifying countries from both semi-finals will qualify to the finals, where they will join the host nation Austria and the five main sponsoring nations: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and Australia, which was invited this year to commemorate the contest’s 60th anniversary.

Hundreds of protesters in the streets against the coming of Erdogan in Vienna (Austria)

June 20, 2014 By administrator

European tour of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan began badly. In Vienna (Austria) where he held his first meeting, the Turkish Prime Minister was greeted by jeers of hundreds of protestors Armenians, Kurds and Alevis, Kurds waving Armenian flags. According CNNTurk, held on Pratestern instead of Vienna, demonstrators crowd headed for the Donazernourm place with Armenian flags, Kurdish PKK and Austria. Austrians who were many in the crowd of demonstrators. At this event clashes occurred with activists “Turkish Popular European Party.” The police intervened and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Krikor Amirzayan

Vienna, Austrian media outlets clearly voicing their opposition to the to Turkish PM Erdogan visit, saying, “You are not welcome here.”

June 19, 2014 By administrator

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Vienna on Thursday continues to generate reactions in the European country, with Austrian media outlets clearly voicing their opposition to the visit, saying, “You are not welcome here.”

The headline of the Austrian newspaper Kurier was “As an election campaigner, you’re not welcome here!” — a headline similar to that of the German newspaper Bild during Erdoğan’s visit to Cologne last month.

Erdoğan was in Cologne to address the city’s large Turkish community on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD). “Erdoğan, you’re not welcome here. … We do not want politicians like you,” the Bild tabloid wrote in an open letter to the Turkish prime minister that appeared on its front page.

Erdoğan’s visit to Vienna, where he is scheduled to address an estimated 17,000 Turkish citizens residing in Austria as part of his campaign for the presidential election, has caused days of controversy in the European country, with many concerned about what they see as Erdoğan’s inflammatory language and authoritarian behavior dealing with demonstrations, as well as his handling of a corruption scandal that touched four former Cabinet ministers in Turkey.

Erdoğan typically addresses a large audience of expatriate Turks when visiting Austria. He will also mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the UETD in Vienna. His visit comes ahead of the Turkish presidential elections scheduled for Aug. 10, though he has not yet announced his candidacy for the presidency.

Kurier based its headline on a survey conducted on its website regarding the Turkish prime minister’s visit to the capital. The newspaper stated that 70 percent of Austrians were against Erdoğan making an election speech in their country.

Kronen Zeitung, Austria’s biggest-selling newspaper, stated, “Erdoğan is dividing the Turks living in Austria.”

The visit particularly sparked debate after Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said he had warned Erdoğan not to bring the political unrest Turkey has experienced to Austrian society through his polarizing and marginalizing speeches, adding that if Erdoğan were to give a speech similar to the one he gave earlier in Germany, the Turkish population in Vienna would be harmed more than anyone else. Speaking to the Zaman daily, Kurz said many people are worried that Erdoğan might send polarizing and aggressive messages to the Turkish population living in Vienna during his planned address.

Changes to the electoral system that now allow expatriate Turks to cast votes from abroad make them a significant bloc of voters in the upcoming presidential election. About 268,000 people of Turkish origin live in Austria, according to government figures, of which nearly 115,000 are Turkish citizens.

Erdoğan is scheduled deliver an address at the Albert-Schultz ice rink in Vienna, a facility capable of hosting 7,000 people. Many believe that uneasiness is the reason a big football stadium was not made available to the Turks as the Turkish prime minister requested. Big screens outside the hall will make it possible for 10,000 more people to watch Erdoğan’s address. Various groups of Turks living in Austria are also preparing to protest Erdoğan’s visit.