ANN/Groong Interview with Karen Ohanjanian, 31 March 1998
Current Social, Economic and Political Situation in Nagorno Karabakh
Hratch Tchilingirian conducted this interview for ANN/Groong.
KAREN OHANJANIAN, a member of the International Coordination Committeeof the Helsinki Citizens Assembly and a member of the Parliament ofNagorno Karabakh Republic, was recently in Boston as a guest speakerat a conference at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
The presidential election on March 16 will bring to power Armenia'ssecond leader since independence. Prospects for democracy, politicalstability and international credibility depend on the holding of afree, fair and non- violent poll.
More Priests, More Scholars While the legacy of communist oppression continues to hamper Armenia's seminaries, scholars have teamed up with the Church to offer a dynamic alternative to secular students, reports Hratch Tchilingirian
When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Republic of Armenia declared independence in 1991, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenia's national church, faced one of the greatest challenges of its history: how to care for the religious needs of the three million Armenians in the country with fewer than 150 clergymen.
Frontier (Keston Institute, Oxford) June-August 1996 pp. 12-14
LATE HARVEST Armenia's new church leader, Karekin I, must heal the rifts within the Armenian Church before he can plan for the future, writes Hratch Tchilingirian
In April 1995, the new Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church was elected in Echmiadzin, Armenia. Almost 9 million Armenians in the republic, the 'near abroad', and the diaspora were represented a the ceremony by 400 delegates from over 32 countries. The event represented many historical firsts. The National Ecclesiastical Assembly, the highest legislative body of the Armenian Church, composed of 26 per cent clergy and 74 per cent lay people) was convening for the first time in 40 years. The election was taking place for the first time in a free and independent Republic of Armenia. For the first time in history, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in Lebanon, was elected Catholicos of All Armenians in Echmiadzin. The President of Armenia addressed the NEA for the first time and witnessed the enthronement of the new Catholicos.
Weeks of political crisis in Armenia took a sharp turn when President Levon Ter-Petrosian announced his resignation on February 3. Forces opposed to Ter- Petrosian's compromise stance on Nagorno-Karabakh appear set for ascendancy in Armenia for some time.
In late December, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Copenhagen marked the end of Armenia’s yearlong efforts of political recovery subsequent to the Lisbon Summit in December 1996. Contrary to expectations and due to Armenia’s diplomatic efforts, the Ministerial Council did not make any substantive declarations concerning Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia characterized the outcome in Copenhagen as "positive," since it did not create "additional obstacles" for the peace process in general.
A senior presidential foreign policy adviser resigned last month at a time when Armenia has been mounting a relatively successful effort to build its international ties.
(c) Copyright Oxford Analytica 1996 - December 6, 1996
ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN: Nagorno-Karabakh Impasse
[Hratch Tchilingirian]
The Lisbon summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which ended on December 3, failed to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
... new generation, are coming around and integrating with us, especially through the Armenian school."
The large community of Plovdiv’s Armenian newcomers is made up of middle class traders in open-air ...
... Sarkissian, 38. “The motifs in my paintings are both from the Far and the MiddleEast. Living in the West, in Europe, I look to the East and try to bridge the two. In the West, we’ve lost much of our philosophy ...
... new generation, are coming around and integrating with us, especially through the Armenian school."
The large community of Plovdiv’s Armenian newcomers is made up of middle class traders in open-air ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 12, Issue 2, March 2001, pp 18-19
HEAVENLY TREASURES
The British Library's extensive exhibit dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of Armenian Christianity
By Hratch Tchilingirian
Ten years in the making, the British Library in London is staging a large-scale and first of its kind exhibit, called "Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art," that will be on displace from March 2 until May 28
... in the Armenian Church with roots in pre-Christian Armenian history and one that continues to be widely accepted, especially in Armenia and throughout the MiddleEast.
Through such practices, the Armenian ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) November 2000 Vol. 11, No. 11
Catholicos Visits John Paul II Heads of 'Sister' Churches Renew Ties
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The heads of the Armenian and Roman Catholic Churches met in the Vatican during Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II's official three-day visit to Rome.
... the Old City; and the final status talks (about the one-square-kilometer plot of land that has become the most complex and contentious issue in the MiddleEast for over 50 years) are very important for ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 2000, Volume 11, No. 7, pp. 44-45.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Votes In favor of Armenia’s membership
By Hratch Tchilingirian
On June 28 the Coucil of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted unanimously to approve Armenia’s bid to join the 41-member organization. Armenia is set to become a full member of Council of Europe (CE) when its Committee of Ministers meet in September. Azerbaijan’s bid was also overwhelmingly accepted, with just one vote against.
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Vol. 11, No. 6, June 2000, pp. 50-51
A Noble Cause Violinist Levon Chilingirian Crusades for Armenia’s Musicians
By Hratch Tchilingirian
With all the pomp and regalia of royal ritual, Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, has bestowed upon Violinist Levon Chilingirian, 52, the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his "contribution to music" during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February. OBE, established by King George V in 1917, is awarded to British subjects for their "outstanding work."
... Painters of the MiddleEast" exhibition. Subsequently, his works were exhibited in Canada, Germany, Argentina, France, and the US.
In 1994 a collection of his works of the last two decades was published ...
... while Armenia could serve as Lebanon’s and the MiddleEast’s gateway to the CIS.
During a state ceremony, President Lahoud awarded Kocharian with the highest Lebanese Medal for Special Services, and ...
Armenian International Magazine (AIM) February 2000, Volume 11, No. 2, pp. 54-56
Medieval Lobbyists
AUB Professor Explores Armenian-Moslem Relations in the Middle East
By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN
The political and cultural history of the Armenians in the Near East is one of the least explored areas within traditional Armenian Studies. But Seta Dadoyan, Professor of Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Art at the American University of Beirut (AUB), has created a new interest in the subject — with a particular focus on its contemporary significance.