The Armenian Report

A ruling party lawmaker called for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s ideology to be “uprooted” from Armenian political thought during a heated debate in Armenia’s parliament, prompting opposition lawmakers to accuse him of using fascist rhetoric. “Dashnak ideology must be uprooted from Armenian political thought. Kristine Vardanyan must be the last Dashnak,” Civil Contract MP Arman Yeghoyan said from the parliament floor, referring to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, commonly...

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Monday condemned Azerbaijan’s portrayal of Gandzasar Monastery as non-Armenian, accusing Baku of rewriting the history of one of Nagorno-Karabakh’s most prominent Christian sites and criticizing foreign diplomats for taking part in a government-organized visit there. In a Sept. 15 statement, the Patriarchate also delivered a rare public rebuke of Armenia’s government, saying Yerevan has failed to respond forcefully to what it called the systematic...

Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist who became one of Turkey’s most prominent voices for democracy, minority rights and honest dialogue about the Armenian Genocide, would have turned 72 on Sept. 15. He was assassinated in Istanbul in 2007. Dink was born September 15, 1954, in Malatya, eastern Turkey. After his parents separated, he and his brothers spent part of their childhood at an Armenian orphanage in Istanbul. Those early experiences shaped a life closely tied to Turkey’s...

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Monday that the Matenadaran, Armenia’s leading center for ancient manuscripts, was the appropriate institution to respond to Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev’s claims about Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh. Mirzoyan said the Foreign Ministry was satisfied with the Matenadaran’s response. Hajiyev drew criticism in Armenia after accompanying foreign diplomats on a Sept. 11-12 visit to occupied Artsakh, where he...

Armenian swimmer Hovhannes Gabrielyan has completed a 74-kilometer nonstop swim along the length of Lake Sevan, spending about 34 hours in the water in one of the most ambitious endurance swims ever attempted on Armenia’s largest lake. Gabrielyan finished at Piruze Beach in Tsovagyugh, where friends and supporters were waiting for him. He was presented with a symbolic medal before being placed under medical supervision to recover from the prolonged physical effort. His relatives said he was...