Your Namak for Friday, June 23
Azerbaijani soldiers attempt to plant flag in sovereign Armenian territory and Pashinyan says fall of Shushi compelled him to sign ceasefire agreement.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Azerbaijani Soldiers Attempt to Plant Flag in Sovereign Armenian Territory
On June 15, according to Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), Armenian border guards quashed an attempt by Azerbaijani soldiers to plant the Azerbaijani flag in sovereign Armenian territory. A video of the provocation spread widely on social media, showing Azerbaijani servicemen advancing from the Hakari Bridge in Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia’s southern Syunik region. The NSS reported that one Armenian soldier was injured in an exchange of gunfire between the parties. Following the incident, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Azerbaijan has blocked all humanitarian transport of persons and cargo through the Lachin Corridor, completely isolating the Armenian civilian population. The statement said that the planned transport this week of patients from Nagorno-Karabakh in urgent need of medical care was cancelled.
Pashinyan Says Fall of Shushi Compelled Him to Sign Ceasefire Agreement
On June 19, speaking before the parliamentary commission investigating the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the fall of Shushi played a key role in his decision to sign the ceasefire statement. He said the imminent threat to Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital of Stepanakert, including about 25,000 Armenian troops who would have been surrounded, compelled him to reach a resolution. Pashinyan told lawmakers the trilateral agreement eventually signed was “better than the others,” noting that prior drafts envisaged the establishment of an extraterritorial corridor through Armenia, the return of Azerbaijani exclaves to Baku and other concessions. The prime minister added that he refused the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Meghri, a town in southern Armenia, and the establishment of a land route connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan.
European Commission on Racism and Intolerance Publishes Reports on Armenia and Azerbaijan
In reports published on Armenia and Azerbaijan on June 21, the European Commission on Racism and Intolerance found mutual hatred and intolerance in both societies, but criticized Baku in particular for perpetuating anti-Armenian rhetoric “at the highest political level.” In Armenia, the report found that political opponents weaponized adversarial narratives against Azerbaijan to “exacerbate internal divisions and hinder any peace negotiations.” The commission offered recommendations to both countries on how to improve anti-discrimination legislation and monitoring mechanisms.
Armen Martirosyan: Meet an Armenian-American chef behind a celebrated kabob house in Los Angeles
“I want people to know us not just because it’s a business, but I want them to know that we’re Armenian, and that we’re hardworking people. And we will build and build and build and we won’t stop.”
Armen Martirosyan says no one can compete with his father’s kabob recipe. The 33-year-old chef and his parents are the team behind beloved Los Angeles institution Mini Kabob, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that dishes out some of the most sought-after grilled meats in the city.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, customers had made the trip from Las Vegas for a chance to try Armen’s signature ground beef lule, creamy hummus and basmati rice cooked to perfection.
“Whoever you could think of, all walks of life, different parts of the world, they all come here and it’s cool,” Armen says. “I love that about us and our food because that’s what it’s about –– empathizing and connecting with people on different levels.”
The menu at Mini Kabob reflects the migration patterns and varied cultural influences that have shaped the Armenian diaspora. During the Armenian Genocide, Armen’s paternal ancestors fled to Egypt and lived there for four decades before repatriating to Armenia, where Armen’s father was born.
Ovakim Martirosyan, the gregarious patriarch of Mini Kabob, has worked in hospitality all his life, including as a head chef in the Red Army. Despite Ovakim’s Soviet upbringing, many of the restaurant’s dishes pull from his family’s diasporic roots –– Middle Eastern staples like tabbouleh, falafel and fire-roasted eggplant spread.
“When it comes to kabob, I don’t think anybody can compete with him,” Armen says. “This isn’t me tooting my own dad’s horn. This is me, as a chef, acknowledging that he’s a better chef than I am even. I think I’m a good chef. But I think he’s on another level when it comes to our food.”
Armen’s parents moved to Los Angeles from Armenia in 1987, during the final years of the Soviet Union. Like many immigrant entrepreneurs, they arrived in the United States with the determination to create something of their own and the work ethic to be the best at their craft.
In 1995, his parents purchased Mini Kabob from the original owners, taking over the converted 250 square foot house on a residential street off Glendale’s Central Avenue. The restaurant is virtually always buzzing, with Armen and his mother Alvard working the kitchen while his father entertains guests with his clever jokes. On a busy day, Armen says their four-person team fulfills as many as 200 orders –– an impressive feat for a tiny spot open only seven hours.
“This is what L.A. needs and misses. Everybody’s opening up these beautiful, elegant restaurants,” Armen says. “We’re not lacking the mom-and-pop shop businesses, but they’re definitely going away, because, you know, mom-and-pops. They don’t have the marketing. They don’t know how to take it to another level. They’re just kind of falling behind in a sense.”
What Mini Kabob lacks in ambience –– the restaurant’s seating area consists of a single picnic table on the sidewalk –– Armen makes up for with five-star service and a family atmosphere. Despite working at a feverish pace over a piping hot grill, Armen holds conversations with ease, remembering his customers’ names and often throwing in extra items on the house.
“I have such humility in what we do, and I believe in humility,” Armen says. “The money that you earned that you’re going to spend here, I want you to believe that the 30 bucks you’re about to spend here was the best 30 bucks you’ve ever spent.”
It is clear that Mini Kabob is not simply a job for Armen, but the nucleus around which he has built his entire life. He even met his wife Katya at the restaurant, whom he describes as his best friend and “the brain” behind Mini Kabob’s financial operations.
Although the chef grew up inside his parents’ restaurant, he didn’t always intend to take over the family business. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena in 2009, he had various gigs before landing at Tatsu Ramen, where he started as a line cook and worked his way up to management.
“I remember one day at midnight I was cooking, and everything slowed down, and I was like ‘What the hell am I doing here?’. It was like an epiphany,” Armen says. “It wasn’t mine. I couldn’t claim it.”
Since Armen joined the Mini Kabob team in 2014, both the Los Angeles Times and New York Times have named the humble establishment among the best restaurants in the city and country. While the young entrepreneur is determined to continue building on his parents’ legacy, he has also felt the itch to create something of his own.
In 2017, Armen founded Mid East Tacos, a Mexican-Armenian street food pop-up that pays homage to the diverse cultures and cuisines he grew up with.
Fusion cooking has long been integral to the culinary identity of Los Angeles, and Armen’s concept pulls from that history, with menu items like falafel burritos wrapped in lavash and charcoal-grilled steak tacos topped with chipotle sauce. He is preparing to open a brick-and-mortar location in the hip Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles later this year.
But he is not content with that. Armen’s long-term goal is to expand the Mini Kabob brand internationally and create an Armenian fine dining restaurant with a modern flair.
“Think of the Armenian Carbone, but even better,” he says with a wry smile, referencing the New York City hotspot that has become a favorite of celebrities and the city’s tastemakers.
While some might see Mini Kabob as just a restaurant, Armen views all his plans through the larger lens of fostering Armenian excellence and global representation.
“I want people to recognize us as a successful Armenian business and I want it to be worldwide,” Armen says. “I want people to know us not just because it’s a business, but I want them to know that we’re Armenian, and that we’re hardworking people. And we will build and build and build and we won’t stop.”
To read: Yildirim: A Turkish Name For An Armenian Soul, a moving personal essay in CivilNet by Tenny Yildirim, who writes about the Turkification of her family name, which became representative of her ancestors’ struggle between survival and remaining Armenian in post-genocide Turkey.
To attend: Sunrise Stepanakert, a multimedia arts and culture festival held between Yerevan and Stepanakert, starting on June 30. Namak is pleased to be an official media partner of the festival, bringing you exclusive profiles on the participating artists.
To read: Controversial land sale puts Jerusalem Armenians on edge, a BBC feature on the uncertainty that has gripped the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, amid a mysterious land deal that threatens to sell off 25 percent of the historic neighborhood. “It is historical land that we have had for 700 years. Losing it with one signature will affect our cultural daily life, but it will also change the picture of Jerusalem,” one resident said.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
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