Day: December 12, 2023

Turkish lawmaker has a heart attack after saying Israel ‘will suffer the wrath of Allah’ https://t.co/iJLNp0L9QA pic.twitter.com/hfjSURWykD

— New York Post (@nypost) December 12, 2023

DEC 11 update from CTP and @TheStudyofWar:

Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian fighters nine times in the West Bank.

Lebanese Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militias attacked nine Israeli towns and military positions.

Read the full article: https://t.co/x0uc4Jwf7j https://t.co/Gi60ToywZz pic.twitter.com/ZSSEI8r8XG

— Critical Threats (@criticalthreats) December 12, 2023

Few snippets coming out from Oval office. President Zelensky thanked America and other allies for supporting #Ukraine. Said “Ukraine can win” against Russia, and specifically mentioned defeating Russian forces in the Black Sea. Biden told Zelensky that it would be a “Christmas… pic.twitter.com/RiTIq3fNqp

— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) December 12, 2023

Strong & determined, President Zelenskyy makes a case for U.S. aid that should move all my colleagues. If Ukraine loses, America loses, the world loses. pic.twitter.com/GaVtPx7cNE

— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 12, 2023

Reacting to the news that another independent Azerbaijani journalist, Teymur Karimov, was arrested on Monday in Baku and now faces criminal charges, Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty International’s South Caucasus Researcher, said:

“The arrest of Teymur Karimov follows a disturbing pattern of spurious charges being brought against journalists and other critical voices…

YEREVAN—The American University of Armenia (AUA), in partnership with Washington State University (WSU), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a Center for Excellence in Journalism and create a new master’s program in journalism education. The $1.3 million, four-year university partnership initiative is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan to support Armenia’s media sector.

Through the U.S. Embassy’s support, 90-percent tuition scholarship will be provided to approximately nine graduate students per year to study in the Master’s in Journalism degree program, with a select number of students also having the opportunity to compete for a summer internship in the United States, where they will acquire hands-on reporting skills in a U.S. media outlet.

“We are proud and grateful to be the recipient of this important grant from the U.S. Embassy,” said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian. “Since the University’s inception, the U.S. government and USAID/ASHA have supported the American University of Armenia in various ways, and this marks another milestone in our longstanding relationship. We look forward to working alongside our colleagues at WSU to implement this project and eventually launch a Master’s in Journalism degree program. We are convinced that this new program will be of great benefit to Armenia and the region at large.” 

The Center for Excellence in Journalism will serve as a hub for journalism education and leadership in research, training, best practices and collaboration with leading experts and policymakers that advances knowledge of how quality journalism can serve as a bulwark against misinformation and improve networking within Armenia’s journalism ecosystem. The Center will also offer professional development programs serving the wider media community.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Rafik Mansour traveled to Armenia to inaugurate the new university partnership. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien, as well as Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, also attended the launch event.

Click to view slideshow.

“This U.S.-Armenia relationship is based on shared values, including press freedom and the critical role of education in building a strong, democratic society that is resilient to disinformation,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Mansour at the inauguration event. “The United States is proud to invest in this university partnership initiative, which will support Armenia’s democratic development and invest in the next generation of journalists.” 

“This project aims to support current and future journalists with the knowledge and skills to have a positive impact on the journalism sector in Armenia and beyond,” says Dr. Hagop Yacoubian, dean of the AUA College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). “The project will contribute to further diversifying the academic portfolio of CHSS and thus providing new possibilities for us as we prepare students to become civic and professional leaders.”

“We are delighted to formally establish this flagship partnership in journalism education between AUA and WSU,” said Dr. Lawrence Pintak, professor of communications at Washington State University. “This program represents a new milestone in the development of Armenia’s media sector and will support the professional development of Armenia’s journalism community for years to come.”

In addition to this program, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan also announced an award to AUA to implement a two-year English program for journalists aimed at equipping the participants with English-language skills through courses tailored to their professional needs.

The event was live-streamed through the AUA Media Lab.

Author information

American University of Armenia

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.

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LOS ANGELES—The USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Variance Films, on December 5 hosted a sold-out theatrical screening and panel discussion of “Amerikatsi,” Armenia’s official Oscar submission for Best International Film. 

Due to an overwhelmingly large turnout, the USC School of Cinematic Arts held an additional screening in another room to accommodate the overflow. 

The screening was followed by a discussion with Michael A. Goorjian, the film’s writer, director, and lead actor, and Patrick Malkassian, producer, in conversation with Luis Moreno Ocampo, Founding Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Ted Braun, USC Joseph Campbell Endowed Chair in Cinematic Ethics, and Steve Swerdlow, Esq., USC Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights. Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, introduced and moderated the discussion. 

In her opening remarks, Dr. Karapetian highlighted the “rare and beautiful opportunity of being witness to dialogue between such invested and powerful voices, who may never have appeared in the same environment together otherwise.” 

USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies Director Dr. Shushan Karapetian introducing the film

The panelists provided an insightful analysis of the film’s universal themes of hope and belonging and the importance of giving voice to Armenian narratives for a global audience. 

“Amerikatsi” tells the story of Charlie, an Armenian-American who moves to Soviet Armenia in 1948 in hopes of finding a connection to his roots but instead finds a country crushed under Stalin’s rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window – the home of a prison guard, Tigran. As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the guard’s, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its people. 

For Michael Goorjian, making this film was an exploration of his identity as a filmmaker and an Armenian-American who had a desire to create something not limited by the experience of Genocide. Goorjian said that this “film did not have to be about an Armenian at all.” He first heard the story that inspired the film from a Ukrainian friend who knew a man that could see into an apartment building from his prison cell. 

From left: Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Patrick Malkassian, Michael A. Goorjian, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ted Braun, Steve Swerdlow

“Whether you are Greek or Italian, the exploration of your identity is a shared experience,” said producer Patrick Malkassian. In response to Dr. Karapetian’s inquiry about narrative scarcity, Malkassian described the difficulty of making a film about a group of people whose stories and narratives are historically overlooked. 

Commenting on Goorjian’s nuanced portrayal of the moral dilemmas faced by all the characters, Professor Braun said, “By allowing us to empathize not just with Charlie, but also with Tigran the prison guard who is equally a captive, you help us understand how impossible the conflicting moral imperatives are, and you do it in a way that allows us to feel the humanity within all of the people trapped in this system…The film humanizes the perpetrator; that is the only way out. Because if you demonize the perpetrator, you repeat the cycle.” 

Steve Swerdlow drew parallels to Charlie’s experience in a Stalin-era prison with that of prisoners currently held in Azerbaijan, including Armenians abducted from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and outspoken Azerbaijani journalists who are being tried for trumped-up charges in kangaroo courts. 

Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was the first to blow the whistle about Aliyev’s authoritarian regime committing genocide in Artsakh, emphasized the need to engage a wider audience in the fight for prisoners in Azerbaijan, stating: “We need to talk about Armenia, if we talk about genocide our audience is small, but if we talk about this movie and the Oscar, the audience will be much bigger, and then we can talk about rescuing the 55 prisoners in Azerbaijan. You cannot go to Azerbaijan to rescue them, but you can support this film’s Oscar nomination. Your movie, Michael, is giving us an opportunity, because as I’ve learned, the more massive the demand, the easier it is to solve the problem.” 

“Responding as an artist, in a time like this with something that can reach people, is in many ways the most profound and important thing that you can do,” Braun said about the exodus from Artsakh and artistic response. 

The overflowing theater and engaged audience are proof of the film’s unique ability to reach across borders and boundaries, surpass language barriers, and deliver a human story of resilience and capacity for hope. 

“Film has the power to transform how we look at people, things, events, places, and historical narratives we have taken for granted. It has the power to shape global perceptions and actions. The Institute is committed to bringing essential and pressing conversations to audiences in Los Angeles and beyond,” said Dr. Karapetian. 

Established in 2005, the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience – from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The Institute encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among the global academic and Armenian communities.

Image 1: USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies Director Dr. Shushan Karapetian introducing the film.

Image 2: Ray Stark Family Theatre at USC

Image 3: L to R Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Patrick Malkassian, Michael A. Goorjian, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ted Braun, Steve Swerdlow