Your Namak for Tuesday, April 4
Azerbaijan advances further into Nagorno-Karabakh and Syunik, Russia warns of consequences if Armenia joins ICC, and families of soldiers killed in barracks fire demand transparent investigation.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Azerbaijan Advances Further into Nagorno-Karabakh and Syunik
In a statement on March 30, Armenia’s National Security Service reported that Azerbaijani troops have established border posts 100 to 300 meters inside sovereign Armenia in the Syunik region. The announcement followed a ceasefire violation in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 25, in which Azerbaijani forces gained new territory after advancing on the Shushi-Lisagor road. This offensive came against the backdrop of the ongoing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, and weeks of bellicose rhetoric by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who has threatened a military escalation should Yerevan not submit to his demands.
Russia Warns of Consequences if Armenia Joins ICC
In a statement to Russia’s state-run news agency on March 27, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry described Armenia’s plans to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “absolutely unacceptable.” The unnamed source warned of “extremely negative” consequences should Armenia ratify the Rome Statute, which would obligate the Armenian authorities to comply with the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a decision on March 24, Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the treaty establishing the ICC complies with the Armenian constitution, paving the way for ratification.
Families of Soldiers Killed in Barracks Fire Demand Transparent Investigation
Following a meeting with Deputy Prosecutor General Grigor Elizbaryan on March 30, relatives of 15 soldiers killed in an Armenian military barracks fire in January expressed dissatisfaction with the official investigation of the incident. “We are very disappointed with the whole course of the case, both with the investigative work, with the work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and with everything,” Arman Barseghyan, father of one of the fallen soldiers, told Hetq. The lawyer representing the bereaved families said he would seek a second forensic examination, given that the first raised more questions than answers.
Rebecca Topakian: Meet a French-Armenian visual artist exploring the in-betweens of identity
“Working in Armenia allowed me to explore my own identity and relationship to the country, that is not really mine and was not the one of my grandfather who was from Istanbul.”
Whether she is joyfully remembering her first trip to Armenia or nervously discussing the current geopolitical situation, Rebecca Topakian’s love for the country is palpable. The 34-year-old photographer and visual artist came to Yerevan by way of the Paris suburbs, where she was born and raised.
“My father is half-Armenian. I did not really grow up in an ‘Armenian family.’ I did not know much about my identity,” she says. “The exception was my aunt who traveled to Armenia and would bring back some food, like lavash and jams.”
Rebecca also did not know precisely what she wanted to do, and stumbled into photography almost randomly. After graduating from La Sorbonne in 2010 where she studied geography and philosophy, she received a camera as a Christmas present and started taking pictures. In 2015, she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Photography from ENSP Arles and became a professional photographer.
The only thing she knew was that her grandfather Haig arrived in France in 1923, after fleeing Istanbul during the Armenian Genocide, and did not think about it much more. That was until 2017, when Rebecca visited Armenia for the first time.
“My aunt had promised to all her nephews and nieces that if one day we wanted to go to Armenia, she would pay for the trip. I am the only one who took the offer,” she recalls. In 2017, they went on a hiking trip together, and Rebecca fell in love with the country, which she started photographing.
Her first project related to Armenia, Dame Gulizar and Other Love Stories, was born. Starting from a photograph of her great-grandparents Garabad and Gulizar, a meat merchant who married a princess, she explored Armenia and other love stories.
“It was also the first time I was photographing people who looked like me, so it had a mirror effect,” Rebecca says. But her ancestors were not from what is today the Republic of Armenia –– they lived in parts of the Ottoman Empire that are now in modern Turkey. So, in 2020, Rebecca set off to explore that territory.
“Working in Armenia allowed me to explore my own identity and relationship to the country, that is not really mine and was not the one of my grandfather who was from Istanbul,” she says. “The only thing my family had told me was that my grandfather lived in Istanbul before the genocide and was the king of basturma,” Rebecca adds with a laugh.
She knew nothing about her family history so she mixed real documentary research with her other inspirations, including magic realism. But reality also slapped her in the face, working in Turkey during the 44-Day War between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Her best friend was on the frontline.
“I went to Turkey thinking I would reconcile with the country but it ended up not being the case at all. It was worse than what I imagined,” Rebecca says. “The fact that the history was built on denial and fiction, is still a reality today.” Her relationship to her Armenian identity changed again.
“I was scared and hiding my tattoos –– I have a lot of them and some in the Armenian alphabet,” Rebecca says. “I met great people but also it was a violent experience for me because even in some artistic circles I encountered people who denied the genocide or said they hated Armenians.”
After the 2020 war, Rebecca decided to learn Armenian — not to “follow a war through Google Translate” — apply for Armenian citizenship, and buy a flat in Yerevan. All in less than a year.
“You go buy groceries, clean your house, wonder when will the war start again, that’s the reality of being Armenian that many of my friends in France who do not have backgrounds from war-torn countries cannot understand,” she explains. Her family was surprised but supported her.
Now living between France and Armenia, Rebecca explored this new identity in a series for Aperture, The Double Life of a French Armenian Photographer, collecting traces of herself in virtual and physical geographies.
“I used to be scared to be cornered if as an Armenian artist I worked ‘too much’ about Armenia, that people might label me as an ‘ethnic’ or ‘only-Armenian’ or ‘communitarian’ artist but I stopped and I think we should not have to worry about that,” she says. “Other ethnicities have no problem with it, we also should not,”
Rebecca hopes for durable peace in Armenia, now her second home, and is working on finishing the project about her family history in Turkey, Il faut que les braises de Constantinople s’envolent jusqu’en Europe, in between other commissions and projects.
To read: New film focuses on love –– not war –– in Nagorno-Karabakh, an openDemocracy article about the film “A Dream of Karabakh,” which explores one widow’s attachment to her village through the lens of her memories.
To watch: Shakar, the video for this joyful new song about a broken heart. The French-Armenian band Ladaniva mix global influences to create their unique blend of Armenian folk, reggae and jazz sounds.
To read: Going Vegan for Lent, Armenian-Style, In LA, an LAist article by Liz Ohanesian about the wide array of traditional vegan Armenian dishes, and how to find them in Los Angeles or recreate them at home.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
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