Monthly Archives: May 2012
A Good Day for Homophobia in Yerevan
There has been much talk of the LGBTI community in Armenia lately. A bar, widely considered to be a gathering spot for those who think and act differently than most in this country, was recently firebombed and vandalized. The violence was condemned in large part only by the LGBTI community and its supporters, until two […]
Aftershocks: Recent seismic activity in the region remains public concern in Armenia
Dozens of relatively strong quakes and aftershocks that have hit the region in general and Armenia in particular in the past several months have caused anxiety among the population of the landlocked South Caucasus country where many remember the devastation and massive loss of life brought about by a powerful tremor more than two decades […]
A Blurry Line in Yerevan Between Hate Crime and Defense of “National Interests”
Reactions to a recent arson attack on a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan are raising concerns among civil liberties advocates that Armenia’s political establishment is indirectly encouraging intolerance and violence toward lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. The DIY (Do It Yourself) Rock Pub, a hangout owned by Armenian punk rocker Tsomak (a play on the Armenian […]
Armenia Shuns NATO Summit Over ‘Pro-Azeri’ Declaration
Armenia boycotted a NATO summit in Chicago at the weekend in protest against what it described as the pro-Azerbaijani wording of a declaration adopted by the leaders of the alliance’s 28 member states. The declaration mentions the unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as Georgia and Moldova in a long list of security challenges facing […]
King John – review
The Latin for apricot, says the very informative Armenian gentleman sitting beside me, is prunus armenicus (Aremnian plum). He’s telling me this because the Globe has been filled with the sound of the duduk, an instrument traditionally made from the wood of an apricot tree, as the Sundukyan Theatre’s production of King John gets off […]
Karabakh: Can resolution by smallest state indicate changing Western attitude to Armenia?
The parliament of the U.S. state of Rhode Island last week adopted a resolution urging President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The resolution also calls upon Nagorno-Karabakh to “continue efforts to develop as a free and independent nation” and praises Artsakh’s “constructive involvement with the international […]
Comics Art in Armenia Opening New Horizons
YEREVAN (A.W.)—Comic strips are known as the ninth art worldwide, comprised of both literature and drawings. It is a genre that allows you to see, feel, and live through the stories at the same time. It is often viewed as being equivalent to graphic novels, and there are many feature films and animations that are […]
Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad visits Armenia
YEVERAN: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received on Thursday Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, President of Kuwait Association for The Ideal Family at the presidential headquarters. Sheikha Fareeha met First lady of Armenia, Rita Sargsyan. During the meeting, they discussed issues of women, family and children in both countries. She also met the Armenian Minister of […]
Support of Bar Bombing by Officials Causes Outcry
Prominent officials in Armenia have made public statements in support of arsonists who firebombed a popular bar in Yerevan in a hate crime against the country’s gay community, a move that activists and human rights group Amnesty International have strongly condemned. Following the early morning blast at DIY bar which left thousands of dollars in […]
Turkish Publisher Ragip Zarakolu Honored by PEN
NEW YORK — At the annual Literary Gala held by PEN on May 1 at the Museum of Natural History, Istanbul publisher Ragip Zarakolu was the recipient of the annual Association of American Publishers’ Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award. Peter Balakian, whose memoir, Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian […]
Full text of RI House Resolution on Artsakh
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (A.W.)—The House passed a resolution on May 17 calling on the U.S. President and Congress to recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR). The resolution also encouraged the republic’s “continued efforts to develop as a free and independent nation,” and praised Artsakh’s “constructive involvement with the international community and its efforts […]
A Tale of Two Monuments
An Extremely Belated Anatomy of Two Radically Understudied Makings and One Unmaking The Armenian Weekly Magazine April 2012 PREAMBLE The annals of Turkish-Armenian “rapprochement,” “reconciliation,” “initiative,” and “dialogue” marked Jan. 8, 2011 as the day when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the Monument of “Humanity” by Mehmet Aksoy in Kars a freak (ucube), […]
Armenian Alarm at Spate of Border Shootings
A series of shooting incidents on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan and around Nagorny Karabakh has heightened fears among local civilians, even though they are well used to the sound of gunfire. The border village of Dovegh in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush region came under sustained fire for 90 minutes on April 25. Two days later, three […]
Latest Digital Mammography Technology Introduced to Armenia
WASHINGTON — The women of Armenia received an early Mother’s Day gift this year from the Armenian American Cultural Association, Inc. (AACA). With a value of more than $1 million, the gift is the latest Three- Dimensional (3D) Digital Mammography System, sent to the Armenian American Wellness Center in Yerevan. “In March 2012, less than […]
Armenia: A Pioneering Winery Brings Winemaking Back to its Roots
Oenophiles tend to classify wines into either coming from the “old world” — France, Spain, Italy and other European countries that have traditionally produced wine — and the “new world,” which includes upstarts such as the United States and Australia. Soon, though, we might need to come up with a new classification: the “ancient world,” […]
Tbilisi Armenians struggle to save their crumbling churches from neglect
The collapse of the bell tower of the Armenian St. Nshan Church in Tbilisi Sunday night again reminded the local Armenian community about the defenseless status that Armenian churches have in Georgia. While the main reasons for the collapse is considered to be an earthquake that hit the territory a few days before as well […]
HOW WE CAN HOLD THE SOUTH CAUCASUS?
Arevagal: The following article by the former Russian ambassador to Armenia was written just before Moscow liberated South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgian/Western aggression. The commentary by the ambassador is a little insight into how Moscow views Armenia and its role in the Caucasus. The article clearly suggests that Moscow was feeling the urge to […]
The story of Armenian Jerusalem to come to life in feature film
Jerusalem – The story of the Armenians of Jerusalem, a fascinating tale of courage, hope and endurance, sprinkled with the inevitable grains of turmoil and tragedy, is planned to be told, for the first time in a feature film. While there have been previous attempts to tell part of the story in a book or […]
Azerbaijan ‘targets activists’ as it prepares to host Eurovision
Baku’s Hospital Number 1 is an impressive building. It is immaculately clean and well equipped, a symbol of the modern state that oil-rich Azerbaijan wants to be. But upstairs in a hospital bed was another symbol of modern Azerbaijan – a badly injured journalist. Idrak Abbasov was lying, struggling to breathe, with a bandage around […]
Azeri President Uses Platform at UN Security Council to Revile Armenia
Special to the Mirror-Spectator UNITED NATIONS — Lies, distortions and propaganda took center stage on Friday, May 4, as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed the topic of “anti- terrorism” before the United Nations Security Council and accused Armenia of “terrorism against civilians, military aggression and ethnic cleansing.” Possibly aware this diatribe would occur, the UN […]
