Author: admin

[RUS] [ARM] [ENG]

27 сентября в 17:00 в Ереване, в церкви Святой Анны (на перекрёстке улиц Абовяна и Саят-Новы), отец Зенон Барсегян проведёт молебен о возвращении домой всех незаконно удерживаемых в бакинских тюрьмах армянских заключённых и пленных.

Год назад Азербайджан насильно выселил тысячи жителей Арцаха в Армению. 27 сентября у моста Хакари был арестован и отправлен в бакинскую тюрьму известный филантроп и гуманист Рубен Варданян. За ним последовали аресты семи бывших политических и военных деятелей Арцаха. В настоящее время в бакинских тюрьмах незаконно удерживаются десятки армянских заключённых.

[ARM]

Սեպտեմբերի 27-ին, ժամը 17.00 -ին, Երևանի Սուրբ Աննա եկեղեցում (Աբովյան և Սայաթ-Նովա խաչմերուկ) հոգևոր հովիվ Տեր Զենոն քահանա Բարսեղյանի ձեռամբ կկատարվի միասնական աղոթք՝ Բաքվի բանտում ապօրինի պահվող բոլոր հայ պատանդների ու գերիների ու նրանց տունդարձի համար։

Մեկ տարի առաջ սեպտեմբերի 27-ին, հազարավոր արցախցիների հետ Հայաստան բռնի տեղահանման ճանապարհին, Հակարի կամրջի մոտ Ադրբեջանի կողմից ձերբակալվեց և Բաքվի բանտ տեղափոխվեց հայտնի բարերար և մարդասեր Ռուբեն Վարդանյանը: Ռուբեն Վարդանյանի ձերբակալությանը հաջորդեցին Արցախի նախկին քաղաքական ու ռազմական յոթ գործիչների ձերբակալությունները: Ներկայումս Բաքվի բանտերում ապօրինի պահվում են երկու տասնյակից ավելի հայեր:

[ENG]

On September 27, at 5:00pm, Father Zenon Barseghyan will hold a prayer service at the Saint Anna Church of Yerevan (intersection of Abovyan Street and Sayat-Nova Avenue) for the safe return home of all Armenian prisoners and captives illegally held in Baku prisons.

A year ago, on September 27, during the forced deportation of thousands of Artsakh citizens to Armenia, the famous philanthropist and humanitarian Ruben Vardanyan was arrested near the Hakari bridge by Azerbaijan and transferred to Baku prison. The arrest of Ruben Vardanyan was followed by the arrests of seven former political and military figures of Artsakh. At the moment, dozens of Armenian prisoners are illegally held in Baku prisons.

Sylvia Hovnanian, a UWC Dilijan International School graduate, spoke about her studies at the school founded by Ruben Vardanyan.

According to Sylvia, about 98% of Armenian students study at the school for free or almost for free. In particular, the girl studied at UWC Dilijan College on Ruben Vardanyan’s personal scholarship.

“We, especially the Armenian students of UWC Dilijan, as representatives of the host country, had to present our culture to our friends and classmates so that they too would fall in love with our country and keep an attachment to this land”, Sylvia shared.

She noted that the knowledge gained at UWC Dilijan opens doors to the best universities in the world. Sylvia received her higher education in the United States, but returned to Armenia after the 2020 conflict. This decision was encouraged, among other things, by the example of Ruben Vardanyan, who moved to Artsakh and did a lot for the development of this region.

The co-founder of UWC Dilijan dreamed that it would be possible to receive quality education in Armenia and that our country would take a worthy place on the international educational map. “This goal was pretty ambitious, but it’s becoming a reality”, Sylvia concluded.

Details: https://news.am/rus/news/844080.html

“This means a lot to our entire family,” the social entrepreneur’s daughter thanked the Skolkovo students for supporting her father and read a letter that the school’s founder sent to students and teachers.

“Today, as I did three years ago, when I gave a speech at the 15th anniversary of the SKOLKOVO, I want to start with words of gratitude and thank everyone who brought life into this unique project, through whose efforts it still lives now and, I hope, will live for many, many years to come. Communities are not formed by instruction – only by love. And I wish the SKOLKOVO community to maintain the love and respect for each other that was established from the very beginning.

There are different interaction strategies. I always thought the best strategy was the one where you give more than you expect to get in return. Paradoxically, my personal experience shows that this strategy turns out to be the most advantageous in the long run. In the case of SKOLKOVO, it has proved to be fully justified: we are finally seeing the fruits of what we sowed 18 years ago. It took years for them to mature, but we worked for the long term and planted trees under the shade of which our children and grandchildren will be sheltering.

Unfortunately, they have to live in difficult times, but evil is finite and good is infinite, and I believe that together we will overcome everything. Your support gives me strength and makes me happy even here in the prison cell. I am sure that soon we will meet again and I will see your happy faces and eyes burning with joyful excitement. It will happen!

Always yours, Ruben”.

On September 21, 2006, at the initiative of Ruben Vardanyan, the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, one of the leading private business schools in Russia and the CIS, was founded. The school offers educational programs for businesses at all stages of development, from startups to large corporations. Each program includes theoretical training, practical assignments, project work and international modules.

According to the school’s rector Alexander Kim, Skolkovo Business School was founded when there was no managerial or business education in the country. “Moreover, few people believed in this project from the beginning. Nevertheless, the school succeeded,” he said in the movie ”Being Human. Ruben Vardanyan’s Manifesto”.

In the same movie, other leaders of the Skolkovo Business School also spoke about the visionary nature of the ideological inspirer of the school. “This is a man who sees 30 years ahead at least. A man who leads people. When Ruben said that it was impossible to even imagine that such a project could even be in Russia, what he really meant was that it would be a Russian project that would develop in the world. And all our results show this,” said Marina Karban, Vice-Rector of the Skolkovo School of Management.

“A great humanitarian project that created models of new practices for Russia”, this is how Andrey Sharonov, CEO of the National ESG Alliance, characterized Skolkovo in the movie. He believes that the creation of the school has increased the attention of business to education. “Many other private projects in the field of education began to appear. Not only business education, but also higher, secondary, primary education. It became fashionable in a good sense of the word. I think that Skolkovo’s contribution to this is also there,” he explained.

Alexander Kim specified that today the school is a globally recognized educational and research institute. For example, in 2022, it ranked 26th among all business schools for corporate training programs, and its Executive MBA program is in the top 50 global programs. “On the other hand, we are a school that fulfills its mission to develop talents and leaders who change themselves, their businesses, companies, country and the world,” the rector of Skolkovo added.

Head of the Arts Department of UWC Dilijan International School Yaroslav Zabavsky said that the school will change the country as a whole and increase Armenia’s influence in the international arena.

Yaroslav Zabavsky highly appreciated the contribution that the founders of the school, Ruben Vardanyan and his wife Veronica Zonabend, made to the development of education.

“If you look closely at Ruben Vardanyan’s projects – at this school, at the Skolkovo School in Moscow and other projects – it is obvious that education, learning and knowledge, the community where this education and knowledge is brought to life, are of vital importance”, he emphasized.

Details: https://news.am/rus/news/842948.html

Free Armenian Prisoners appealed to the management of Formula 1 for help in the release of Armenian prisoners. The participants of the Free Armenian Prisoners initiative sent an open letter to Stefano Domenicali, Executive Director of the Formula One World Championship. On the eve of the competition in Baku, the authors of the letter urged to support the release of Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners.

“They are kept hostage, denied a fair trial and subjected to inhumane treatment. The world is watching. “Formula-1″ cannot turn a blind eye to these blatant human rights violations taking place under the shadow of the event. Profit should not be at the expense of human rights,” the statement said.

Details: https://newsarmenia.am/news/politics/initsiativa-free-armenian-prisoners-prizvala-glavu-formuly-1-k-deystviyam-po-osvobozhdeniyu-armyansk/

Philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan has been in Baku pre-trial detention center for 11 months. Azerbaijan illegally detained the social entrepreneur on September 27, 2023 when he was trying to leave Artsakh for Armenia.

In May, the court extended Vardanyan’s arrest for another five months. The philanthropist’s team found this move unreasonable.

Because of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) that will take place in Baku in November, the organization named Free Armenian Prisoners has demanded that Azerbaijan release Vardanyan and other illegally detained Armenians. The movement called on the international community to pay attention to the fact that the next session of the conference will be held in a country that grossly violates human rights.

In June, Moscow hosted the premiere of the movie “Being Human. Ruben Vardanyan’s Manifesto”. A documentary by the famous entrepreneur Artyom Agabekov was presented in the Noodome club space. The businessman explained that he wanted to highlight Vardanyan’s way of thinking through the people with whom he was in close contact. The movie featured friends and business partners of the philanthropist, who told about his educational and humanitarian projects, as well as explained why he decided to move to Artsakh in the midst of the war.

In early July, Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights, stated the need to ensure foreign presence at court hearings in the case of Vardanyan and other former leaders of Artsakh. This, she believes, will create a counterbalance to Azerbaijani pressure and allow violations to be recorded.

Soon the British magazine Express published an article by former UN Global Compact Deputy Prime Minister Paul Polman on the international community’s reaction to the illegal arrest of Vardanyan and other former Artsakh officials. The UN, he says, must demand that Azerbaijan release all Armenian prisoners before the COP29 summit, as well as reconsider the selection of host countries in the future.

In mid-July, the Territorial Development Agency “We Are Our Mountains” signed a cooperation agreement with the French union “In Support of Artsakh”. Grigory Martirosyan, General Director of the agency, expressed confidence that the joint work promises to be fruitful.

The significance of the appeal filed by Vardanyan’s lawyers with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture was noted on July 17 by the American lawyer Garnik Kerkonyan. He suggested that Azerbaijan might start treating prisoners more humanely as a result, and also allowed for increased international support for the prisoners.

Former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo called the upcoming COP29 an unprecedented opportunity for the release of Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners. Before the event, Armenians from all over the world should launch a large-scale information campaign in support of their compatriots illegally held by Azerbaijan, he said.

The charitable initiatives launched by Vardanyan continue to help ordinary people. For example, in Armenia the project on inclusive tourism “Accessible Dilijan” was launched – an application with a virtual guide with a sign language interpreter will make it easier for deaf and hearing impaired tourists to get acquainted with the sights of the region. The initiative was implemented within the framework of the Dilijan Development Program, which had been launched in 2012 by spouses Ruben Vardanyan and Veronica Zonabend.

Social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan has already been in Baku pre-trial detention facility for ten months. Azerbaijan illegally detained the philanthropist on September 27, 2023 when he was trying to leave Artsakh for Armenia.

In May, a court in Azerbaijan extended the philanthropist’s arrest for another five months, which his team found unreasonable. In early June, in connection with preparations for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Bonn, members of the Free Armenian Prisoners team demanded that Baku release Vardanyan and other illegally imprisoned Armenians. They called on the participants of the event and the international community to pay attention to the fact that the next session of the conference will be held in Azerbaijan that grossly violates human rights.

In June, Moscow hosted the premiere of the movie “Being Human. Ruben Vardanyan’s Manifesto”. A documentary by the famous entrepreneur Artyom Agabekov was presented in the Noodome club space. The director of the movie explained that he had set himself the task of highlighting Vardanyan’s way of thinking through the people with whom he was in close contact. The movie featured friends and business partners of the philanthropist, who told about his educational and humanitarian projects, as well as explained why he decided to move to Artsakh in the midst of the war.

In early July, Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights, stated the need to ensure foreign presence at court hearings in the case of Vardanyan and other former leaders of Artsakh. She believes that this would create a counterbalance to the pressure from official Baku and allow to record inevitable violations.

The British magazine Express published an article by former UN Global Compact Deputy Prime Minister Paul Polman on the international community’s reaction to the illegal arrest of Vardanyan and other former Artsakh officials. The UN, he says, must demand that Azerbaijan release all Armenian prisoners before the COP29 summit, as well as reconsider the selection of host countries in the future.

In mid-July, the Territorial Development Agency “We Are Our Mountains” signed a cooperation agreement with the French union “In Support of Artsakh”. According to the general director of the agency, Grigory Martirosyan, the joint work promises to be fruitful, as the common mission of both structures is to help the residents of the region.

On July 17, American lawyer Garnik Kerkonyan spoke about the importance of the appeal that lawyers of Vardanyan filed with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. It is possible that thanks to this document Baku will treat the prisoners more humanely. Another possible outcome, the lawyer says, is an increase in international support that can speed up the return of the prisoners to their homeland. The expert also said that the release of Vardanyan and other prisoners must be a preliminary condition for any peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On July 23, former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said that the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in November is an unprecedented opportunity to free Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners. Before the event, Armenians from all over the world should launch a large-scale information campaign in support of their compatriots illegally held by Baku, said Ocampo.

While Vardanyan remains in pre-trial detention facility, his charitable initiatives are still helping regular people. Thus, the “Accessible Dilijan” inclusive tourism project was launched in Armenia at the beginning of the year. The app with a virtual guide and sign language interpreter will make it easier for deaf and hard-of-hearing tourists to explore the region’s attractions. The initiative was implemented within the framework of the Dilijan Development Program, which had been launched in 2012 by spouses Ruben Vardanyan and Veronica Zonabend.

Former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said that the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in November is an unprecedented opportunity to free social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners. According to Ocampo, before the event, Armenians from all over the world should launch a large-scale information campaign in support of their compatriots illegally held by Baku.

“This coordinated effort will force journalists, delegates and non-governmental organizations attending the summit to ask questions and get answers from Azerbaijan regarding Armenian hostages and political prisoners,” says Luis Moreno Ocampo.

Details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08elLMak2Rc

American lawyer Garnik Kerkonyan spoke about the importance of the appeal that lawyers for social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan filed with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. According to Kerkonyan, it is possible that thanks to this document Baku will treat the prisoners properly. Another possible outcome, the lawyer says, is an increase in international support that can speed up the return of the Armenian prisoners to their homeland.

The expert also said that the release of Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners must be a preliminary condition for any peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Insisting on the release of all Armenian prisoners must be perceived not only as a humanitarian necessity but also as a critically important, moreover, an absolutely necessary step towards ensuring any genuine, decent and lasting peace”, said Garnik Kerkonyan.

Details: https://news.am/rus/news/834388.html

The Territorial Development Agency “We Are Our Mountains” signed a cooperation agreement with the French union “In Support of Artsakh”. According to the general director of “We Are Our Mountains” Grigory Martirosyan, the joint work promises to be fruitful, as the common mission of both structures is to help the residents of Artsakh.

“Our organization was founded by philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan and has implemented a number of vital programs in Artsakh during its blockade. We are happy to continue his work,” said Grigory Martirosyan.

Details: https://armeniangc.com/2024/07/we-are-our-mountains-and-the-union-in-support-of-artsakh/

The British magazine Express published an article by former UN Global Compact Deputy Prime Minister Paul Polman on the international community’s reaction to the illegal arrest of Ruben Vardanyan and other former Artsakh officials. The correspondent reminded that in November Baku is going to host the largest world climate talks – COP29 summit. This is a chance for politicians and the public from different countries to secure the release of the prisoners.

“The UN must demand that Azerbaijan release all Armenian prisoners before the COP29 summit, as well as reconsider the selection of host countries in the future,” says Paul Polman.

Details: https://news.am/rus/news/834219.html