Anthony Barsamian, the co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America, speaks to CivilNet about the changing strategies of the non-partisan Washington-based lobbying group, and their activities during and since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Mr. Barsamian also discusses the recent news that USAID will provide $120 million in assistance to Armenia, the tactics of the Azerbaijani and Turkish lobbying groups in DC, and the changing nature of the Armenian community in the US.
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Caviar Diplomacy and the Middle Corridor: How does Azerbaijan avoid
Rasmus Canbäck, an investigative journalist for the Swedish online news site Blankspot, talks to CivilNet’s Paul Vartan Sookiasian about how Azerbaijan manages to avoid international sanctions despite ethnically cleansing Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. While fossil fuels and “caviar diplomacy” play a role, Canbäck says more attention should be paid to Azerbaijan’s geographic position on the “middle corridor” between Europe and China.
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“Discovering Armenia felt like I finally came home, at my
In this episode of Mindful Leaders, we explore the life of John Hodian, composer, conductor, pianist and founder of The Naghash Ensemble. Born and raised in Philadelphia to Armenian parents, John’s grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide, notably from the village of Perchendz near Kharpert. Around the age of 12, John serendipitously discovered the piano, which opened the gateways to his career in music as a composer and conductor. He has written scores for numerous feature films, dance pieces, musicals and over 300 documentaries, earning international recognition and awards, including an Emmy. Soon after his first visit to Armenia, […]
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Simulated Mars mission brings Armenia one step closer to space
AMADEE-24, a month-long analog training mission for a future journey to Mars, wrapped up earlier this month in Armenia’s central Ararat region. Managed by the Austrian Space Forum, the mission brought six analog astronauts to Armenia to carry out an array of experiments, backed by hundreds of researchers and staff from more than two dozen countries. Participants told CivilNet the mission has been a catalyst for Armenia’s burgeoning domestic space industry, which is now setting its sights on producing its own spacesuits, supporting its own analog astronauts, and setting up the region’s first space laboratory. Credits: OeWF/vog.photo
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Armenians’ right to return to Karabakh: Why is Yerevan silent?
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian The Armenian government appears to be continuing to rebuff calls for the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, despite a growing number of key regional and global players pushing Azerbaijan to allow the more than 100,000 Armenians forcibly displaced last year to return to their homes. While many international players do highlight this “right to return,” the Armenian government does not appear to be raising the issue in its already very difficult normalization talks with Azerbaijan, instead seeming to focus on the importance of integrating Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians into Armenia. In sharp contrast, Artsakh’s former leadership continues to […]
