Your Namak for Friday, June 17
Anti-government protestors end street blockade, Armenia decriminalizes "grave insults" toward public officials, and Armenian Nobel Laureate visits Yerevan.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Anti-Government Protesters Remove Tents in Yerevan
On June 14, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, one of the leaders of the anti-government movement, announced that demonstrators would end their months-long blockade of France Square in central Yerevan. The opposition had been occupying the major intersection since April, as part of actions protesting the government's handling of the postwar situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Saghatelyan said the opposition would continue holding street rallies and work to institutionalize their movement.
Armenia Decriminalizes “Grave Insults” Toward Public Officials
Starting on July 1, criminal liability for insulting a person partaking in public activities will be reduced to a civil fine. In a statement, Armenian Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan said, “As a result of a series of professional discussions led by the prime minister, on our agenda of further democratization, the government has found that even a legitimate restriction on freedom of expression should be implemented as much as possible without the tools of criminal prosecution.” Introduced in July 2021, the controversial law was criticized by international organizations, including the Council of Europe and Freedom House, who repeatedly called for its repeal.
Nobel Laureate Ardem Patapoutian Visits Armenia
On June 16, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted Nobel Laureate Ardem Patapoutian in Yerevan. The Beirut-born and California-based scientist of Armenian descent was awarded the Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots for outstanding achievements in the field of biology and significant contributions to the development of medicine. He delivered the keynote address at the American University of Armenia commencement on June 11, and was elected honorary member of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences. Patapoutian won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021 with David Julius for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.
Krikor Avessian: Meet a Lebanese-Armenian artist capturing the soul of Beirut
“I realized how much I loved Beirut after the explosion. It has given so much to me, and I want to give back.”
You will either find Krikor Avessian getting inspired by the people in Beirut’s streets or sweating and creating in the underground studio where his father also works, located in the historically Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud.
The walls are full of paintings and the floors crowded with diverse sculptures in many different colors and materials. Krikor grew up in a family of artists and craftsmen, although he says his father made art to support the family more than to make art.
Whereas today many Lebanese-Armenians move to Armenia, to escape the economic and political crisis in their home country, Krikor’s parents moved from Yerevan to Beirut, where he was born. The 30-year-old has shining eyes, an infectious energy and boundless curiosity.
“I was not the best student in school. I did not have the best grades, but I was good at making stuff and I told my father I wanted to do art,” Krikor recalls. “He said okay, do whatever you want, but be very good, become the best at it.”
The young artist studied interior design before receiving a degree from the Hamazkayin Toros Roslin Academy of Fine Arts in 2013, a Bachelor of Arts from the Lebanese International University in 2015, followed by master classes with renowned artist Ara Azad.
It is difficult to define Krikor’s speciality as he uses many different techniques including painting, collage and sculpting. His choice of material and format depend on the story he tries to tell. And the themes he explores seem to choose him more than he chooses them.
“A previous project I worked on was about the earthquake in Spitak,” Krikor says of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. “I had no specific reason to work on it. I just had some materials, things I had been trying, and rejecting, and then one day I came across a poem about the earthquake and started working on it, without telling anyone.”
After working on the project for several months, he ended up sharing it with his father, and was stunned by what he learned.
“My father told me I was actually born because of Spitak, and I could not believe it, I had no idea,” the artist says. “In 1988, when the earthquake happened, my father was doing some professional videography. He traveled to Armenia to film it and he was very touched by what he saw, the devastation. Many people died. Some children. When he came back, he told my mother that even though they already had several children and did not want more, they should create one more life.”
Krikor finally had an answer as to why he worked so hard to create something inspired by the Spitak earthquake which killed tens of thousands of people. Around the time he finished working on that project and was looking for a new theme, the Beirut blast happened.
“Pkhhhhhh” Krikor gestures with his hands, imitating the sound of the explosion. He then pauses for a minute. “Everything was just… gone, in a minute. And I thought, what happened?” he says. “I realized how much I loved Beirut after the explosion. It has given so much to me, and I want to give back. I realize that growing up here we were very much socialized to love our ‘Hayrenik’ but not really to appreciate our surroundings. But I love it here, this is where I am from.”
Krikor started walking around in the city, and felt that it was filled with madmen. He was inspired by people, their eyes, their hands, their postures. “Everything was crazy, people were agitated, and I started capturing that, those emotions, this intensity and sculpting it,” he explains, showing the statue of a man with a grumpy face and tense hands and toes.
“I think a good artist must have suffered to do something good. And I think as Armenians, we have a heavy baggage already,” Krikor says. “Of course the thought of leaving Lebanon has crossed my mind. It’s not easy here. But I do not want to, I want to stay.”
Some sculptures made after the blast are already done, and others are still work in progress. Once again, the theme of his work chose Krikor before he could have a say. One thing is certain: these pieces capture the soul of Beirut at a very specific moment in time, while also possessing a universal emotional depth.
To explore: Carpet Jam, a website that allows you to enjoy Armenian music wherever you are in the world. You can choose your favorite genre and access videos of live jams recorded in a studio. And if you are a musician yourself, you may submit your work for the rest of the world to discover it.
To listen: Seven Who Made History: Shushanik Kurghinyan, an EVN Report podcast about the Armenian writer, one of the main representatives of proletarian and feminist poetry of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
To listen and watch: Noir, a new single by musicians Krista Marina and Bei Ru, who united to create the collaborative project Diaspora Dreams. Make sure you also watch the official video directed by Hovig Kazandjian. Curls, carpets and a glass of red wine… it’s a mood.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.