Day: February 13, 2024

San Miguel is president of the nongovernmental organization Control Ciudadano, which advocates for citizen oversight of Venezuela’s armed forces. She was arrested this week on charges of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.  

“We are watching this very, very closely,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, urging Maduro to meet commitments his government made in a deal with the political opposition to hold elections this year. 

“Mr. Maduro needs to meet the commitments that he made back in the fall about how they are going to treat civil society, political activists, as well as opposition parties,” Kirby said. 

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek Saab, said on Sunday that San Miguel had been arrested for alleged links to “the conspiracy plot and attempted assassination … aimed at attacking the life of Head of State Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials.” 

Saab’s office said late Monday that San Miguel had been charged with treason, conspiracy and terrorism and that he had requested she be held pending trial.  

One of her relatives was charged with revealing state and military secrets, as well as other crimes, and his detention has also been requested. Four other relatives should be kept under surveillance and have their movements limited while they are investigated, Saab said on X. 

San Miguel’s legal team said in a statement on her social media on Tuesday that it is trying to get information about her arraignment and that she had no trusted lawyers with her at the hearing.  

Her team has not been able to communicate with San Miguel or her family, it added, calling her a “forced disappearance.” 

Calling for her immediate release and right to legal defense, the United Nations’ human rights office also referred to San Miguel as a potential enforced disappearance. 

Maduro’s election deal with the opposition led the U.S. to temporarily ease oil sanctions, but Washington began reimposing sanctions last month after Venezuela’s top court upheld a ban blocking the candidacy of the leading opposition presidential hopeful. 

Fireflies

I was taught not to fight darkness

But to light a candle instead.

As this world collapses

One bullet at a time,

I carry a candlestick

Wherever I go.

As bullets

Land on my heart

Hitting shelters of memories and hopes,

I walk in a shield

Made of lilies and bliss,

Of faith, hopefulness and love.

As eruptions blast in places

Where flowers were meant to bloom,

I sow seeds of new beginnings,

Of lilies, daisies and peace –

One flower at a time.

My art as my candlelight

And my faith as my shield,

I try to catch the bullets

Of this half-fallen world,

Squeeze them with my hands

And reshape them into stars

So that they no longer spread darkness

But light our paths instead. 

***

The Warmest of Hugs

Dear Armenia,

I wish I could hug you

And take you away,

Far-far away

From what you’ve gone through

And are still going through today,

Far-far away,

From people who hurt you

And are still hurting you today.

I wish I could dry your tears

And draw a bright smile

Across your valleys,

I wish I could fill your summits

With victory songs and dances.

I wish I could eat թարմ հաց ու պանիր*

Peacefully on Sis and Masis,

And dance yarkhushta and kochari

On their picturesque hills.

I wish I could gift you

What was always meant to be yours,

I wish you could look at your lands

And no longer think of loss.

Dear Armenia,

I wish I could hug you,

But so far it’s been always you

Hugging us with so much love and tenderness

As if you have never ached.

Dear Armenia,

How come there is

So much resilience

In that soft woman-like shape of yours?

*Fresh bread and cheese

Author information

Milena Baghdasaryan

Milena Baghdasaryan is a graduate from UWC Changshu China. Since the age of 11, she has been writing articles for a local newspaper named Kanch (‘Call’). At the age of 18, she published her first novel on Granish.org and created her own blog, Taghandi Hetqerov (‘In the Pursuit of Talent’)—a portal devoted to interviewing young and talented Armenians all around the world. Baghdasaryan considers storytelling, traveling and learning new languages to be critical in helping one explore the world, connect with others, and discover oneself. Milena currently studies Film and New Media at New York University in Abu Dhabi.

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The Antranig and Alice Karjian Hairenik Media Center seeks a TriCaster Technical Director/Operator. The Media Center specializes in live-streaming video projects and is searching for a motivated individual with foundational video production and live-streaming skills.

Ideal Candidate:

• Experience or background in video production, live-streaming or media technology
• Knowledge of Newtek TriCaster TC1 or TC1 Pro systems and NDI technology
• Able to apply technical skills in a live production setting
• Basic proficiency in video and audio equipment handling
• Effective communication and teamwork abilities

Job Responsibilities:

• Assisting with live video production management, utilizing existing knowledge
• Operating and managing live video sources on an NDI network
• Setting up and configuring studio equipment, drawing on prior experience
• Applying skills in camcorder operation, including color and focus adjustments
• Assisting in audio mixing and microphone setups
• Contributing to studio setup, equipment maintenance and configuration

Job Requirements:

• Practical experience in a studio/live video environment, coursework or internships
• Current enrollment in or recent graduation from a media-related college program
• Basic computer skills, especially in Windows operating systems
• Organizational and communication proficiency
• Available for part-time work, including flexible scheduling for production needs

Interested candidates with relevant experience and a passion for video production are invited to apply. Please send your resume and a cover letter highlighting your applicable skills and interests to mediacenter@hairenik.com.

Join our team and advance your career in live video production!

The post Employment Opportunity with Antranig and Alice Karjian Hairenik Media Center appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.

There is a dispute among those who want to struggle for the recovery of Artsakh and those who say that Artsakh is lost forever and that we should forget about it. The latter, shameful position is promoted by the current regime in Armenia, which is responsible for losing Artsakh and is now doing everything possible to bury its memory.

I would like to share with the readers my decades-long view on the recovery of Western Armenia and its parallels to actions we need to take for Artsakh.

After every lecture I have given around the world on the Armenian Genocide and Western Armenia, some of the attendees immediately ask: what is the point of pursuing such a lost cause, particularly since the powerful Turkish military is occupying our historic lands?

I respond by saying that the worst thing Armenians can do now is to forget about Western Armenia. That is the surest way of losing our Armenian territories forever.

In addition to doing everything possible now, Armenians need to transmit to the next generation our demands for Artsakh and Western Armenia in order to keep the dream alive. If we don’t, our future generations, not knowing anything about our historic lands, will have no idea that they belong to us. Consequently, even if someday the geostrategic situation on the ground changes and an opportunity arises to recover our lost lands, our future generations will not show any interest in them.

April 24 protest at the Turkish Consulate of Boston (Photo: Knar Bedian)

Remember that for over 2,000 years, the Jewish people had lost their homeland and were dispersed throughout the world. The succeeding Jewish generations passed on the knowledge of their homeland to their offspring. For more than 2,000 years, parents transmitted the memory of Jerusalem and Israel to their children, they in turn passed it on to their children, and so on. They did not forget their roots and history while living in exile in Russia, Europe and elsewhere. They repeatedly told their children and grandchildren, ‘next year in Jerusalem!’ Two thousand years later, when the opportunity arose to recover their lands, they took advantage of it and realized their long-held dream. Palestinians, who were and still are forcefully displaced from their lands, are in a similar situation. They too are struggling to keep their dream alive and are proclaiming the right of return to their ancestral homes.

If Jewish people can keep their dream of returning to their homeland for 2,000 years, why can’t Armenians keep their dream of returning to Artsakh and Western Armenia someday? Armenians should tell their children and grandchildren: ‘next year in Shushi’ and ‘next year in Van’.

The question is: how can Armenians return to their lands someday if powerful enemies are occupying Artsakh and Western Armenia? We should not forget that nothing remains constant. There is not a single country in the world that has had the same boundaries since the beginning of history. Over the years, some countries have enlarged their borders, while others lost their territories. Some have become large empires, while others have disappeared from the face of the earth. But one thing is clear: No one can claim that today’s boundaries of Azerbaijan and Turkey will remain the same forever. Just 100 years ago, the vast and powerful Ottoman Empire was reduced to the much smaller territory of the Republic of Turkey. Even though it is not possible to predict the exact date when the boundaries of Azerbaijan and Turkey will change, they will certainly not remain the same. How will such changes come about? There are several scenarios, such as regional wars, world war, civil war and nuclear or other types of disasters. Such events have happened in the past and will surely happen again in the future.

When changes on the ground do take place, will future generations of Armenians know and have the memory that Artsakh and Western Armenia are part of their historic homeland, or will they be clueless, having never heard of Shushi and Van? If they are deprived of that knowledge, when opportunities arise in the future, even if an unlikely benevolent Azeri or Turkish leader returns those lands to our grandchildren, they will not be interested in them, since they had never heard of them.

In conclusion, my advice is to keep the dream alive. While we are deprived of our lands due to the actions of our enemies, it is up to us not to lose the memory and dream of someday returning to our lands. Let’s pass on our demands to future generations. The enemy took away our lands, but did not and cannot take away our memory. By forgetting about our historic lands, we ourselves will be helping our enemies put the final stone on the grave of our cause!

Author information

Harut Sassounian

California Courier Editor

Harut Sassounian is the publisher of The California Courier, a weekly newspaper based in Glendale, Calif. He is the president of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization that has donated to Armenia and Artsakh one billion dollars of humanitarian aid, mostly medicines, since 1989 (including its predecessor, the United Armenian Fund). He has been decorated by the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh and the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

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