JANUARY 16, 2010

THE ARMENIAN

Mirror-Spectator
Vo l ume L X X X, NOs. 27, Issue 4121

The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States

$ 2.00
NEWS IN BRIEF
Turkish Court: Apology

Court OKs Turkey Protocols Campaign Not a Crime

ISTANBUL (Hetq) — The Court of Appeals’ 9th
Criminal Office in Turkey has decided that the
Internet signature campaign “I apologize to the
Armenians” (Erminilerden Özür Diliyorum) does
By Anush Martirosian, not constitute a crime.
Ruzanna Stepanian A group of Turkish intellectuals had initiated the
campaign in 2008 regarding the events of 1915.
More than 30,000 people have already supported
YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The
the campaign with their signatures.
Constitutional Court upheld on Tuesday
The campaign sent the following message to the
the legality of Armenia’s normalization
Armenian community: “I cannot reconcile my con-
agreements with Turkey amid continuing
science to denial of and insensitivity about the
protests staged by nationalist groups
great Ottoman disaster the Armenians were
opposed to the deal.
imposed to in 1915. I reject this injustice and share
The widely anticipated verdict paved the
the feelings and grief of my Armenian brothers and
way for the agreements’ ratification by par-
sisters. I apologize to them.”
liament. The National Assembly is not
expected, however, to start debating the
two “protocols” before their endorsement
by Turkey’s parliament.
Patriarchal Vicar in
The Constitutional Court handed down Jerusalem Resigns
the ruling several hours after it started
JERUSALEM — The Armenian Patriarchate of
examining their conformity with the
Jerusalem released a statement on January 7
Armenian constitution. The session was
Opponents of the Turkish-Armenian Agreements Demonstrate outside the Constitutional announcing the resignation of Patriarchal Vicar
open to the media for only four minutes.
Court on January 12 (Photolure Photo) Archbishop Nourhan Manougian from his post.
The court decided that the examination
Manougian was the deputy of the patriarch,
will follow a “written procedure” that does
Archbishop Torkom Manoogian.
not involve public hearings and verbal ques-
According to the brief statement, the Patriarch
tioning of government officials and experts. al significance,” he said. “All those written Armenian Revolutionary Federation
had appointed Manougian to the second-in-
The court chairman, Gagik Harutiunian, documents that have been submitted to the (Dashnaktsutyun) and other vocal oppo-
command post, elevating him from the rank of
announced that the panel of nine judges Constitutional Court are available in the nents of the Turkish-Armenian protocols. “I
Grand Sacristan, in December 2008.
will only consider written statements sub- deliberations room and the members of the am convinced that the members of the
Archbishop Nourhan Manougian had submitted
mitted by the Armenian Foreign Ministry court can take them into account.” court will also familiarize themselves with it
his resignation on November 5, 2009, and, according
and other interested parties. Harutiunian added that they would also during the examination to clarify their legal
to the statement, “the members of the Holy Synod
“This is an issue which has an exception- look into a nine-page petition from the positions,” he said.
have expressed their concerns about the Patriarchal
Dashnaktsutyun leaders handed the doc-
Vicar’s indifference towards his responsibilities.”
ument as more than a thousand of its sup-
porters marched to the court building in
Secretary of State Clinton to Consult with Armenian- Yerevan on Monday. They demanded that Two Candidates for Co-
American Organizations Regarding Protocols the Constitutional Court declare the proto-
cols at least “partly unconstitutional.” Patriarch in Istanbul
Meeting Scheduled as Turkey America, the Armenian General Benevolent Several dozen demonstrators gathered
ISTANBUL (Today’s Zaman) — Turkey’s Armenian
Continues to Link Nagorno Union, the Diocese of the Armenian outside the court building on Tuesday to
Church of America (Eastern), the Diocese citizens have two candidates for the position of co-
Karabagh see COURT, page 20
of the Armenian Church (Western), the patriarch, as the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Knights of Vartan and the Armenian tries to appoint an assistant to Patriarch of
Hillary Clinton will meet with Armenian- National Committee of America. Constantinople Mesrob Mutafian, in light of his
American organizations next month to con-
sult on the protocols between Armenia and
“The Republic of Armenia through its
president, has taken bold steps, yet the
Turkey Envoy: ‘Israel’s debilitating illness.
Two clerics have announced their candidacy:
Turkey announced the Armenian Assembly Republic of Turkey continues its counter- Shameful Display Is Sebouh Chuljyan, the primate of the Gougark
Diocese in Armenia, and the leader of the
of America. The Assembly requested a productive actions with respect to normal-
meeting with Secretary Clinton to discuss izing relations with Armenia,” stated Worst I’ve Ever Seen’ Armenian Church in Germany, Archbishop Karekin
Bekdjian. Both meet the requirement for the
issues of concern to the community. Assembly Executive Director Bryan
Invited to attend the meeting with Ardouny. “As such, this meeting offers an ANKARA (Ha’aretz) — The Turkish Patriarchate, as both were born in Turkey.
Clinton are: the Armenian Assembly of see CLINTON, page 20 Foreign Ministry last Tuesday summoned The Turkish-Armenian community recognizes
Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy for clarifica- Mutafian as their spiritual leader until the end of
tion, a day after the Foreign Ministry in his life. The Patriarchate’s statement noted that
Jerusalem called in Ankara’s envoy to Israel until the emergence of health problems, Mutafian
for what the latter described to Army Radio had served for 11 years and that on December 24,
as the most shameful experience of his 35- 2008, the Patriarchate voted that he would be the
year career. community’s spiritual leader until his death.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday
that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon
did not intend to humiliate Ambassador
Ahmet Oguz Celikkol by seating him in a
lower chair without flag representation dur-
INSIDE
ing their meeting.
Celikkol was called in regarding a recent
Turkish television drama depicting actors
dressed as Shin Bet officers who kidnap
babies.
Nora
The Foreign Ministry stressed that it had
summoned the envoy and ordered the seat-
ing arrangement to make clear that it
Armani
would respond to any insult made by the
Page 12
Turkish leadership.
Three months ago, a similar diplomatic
instance occurred between the two coun-
tries after Turkey aired the controversial INDEX
television drama “Ayrilik” (“Separation”) Armenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,3
which featured actors dressed as Israeli sol- Arts and Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
diers killing Palestinian children. Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
During the meeting, Turkey’s ambas- Community News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CELEBRATING THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY AT ST. VARTAN sador was seated in a low sofa, and facing Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CATHEDRAL, SEE STORY AND PHOTOS ON PAGE 6 him, in higher chairs, were Ayalon and two International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,5
other officials — an arrangement carried
out at Lieberman’s orders.
see ISRAEL, page 4
2 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

ARMENIA

News From Armenia Around 80 US Companies in Armenia

YEREVAN (Armenpress) — About 80 international players. opment, internationals organizations,
O ve r a l l 5 3 , 0 0 0 P e o p l e US companies operate in Armenia. They
cover various sectors of economy, such
According to the Armenian Statistical
Service, the US investments in the real
etc. AmCham is a member of the US
Chamber of Commerce and European
V i s i te d M a t en a da r a n as IT, banking, tourism and hospitality, sector of the economy during the Council of American Chambers of
manufacturing, etc. Executive Director January-September were $15.7 million. Commerce.
In 20 09 of American Chamber of Commerce in This index, though, as compared with The executive director assures that
Y ER EVA N ( A r me n p re ss ) — Ab o ut 3,632 g ro up s p aid Armenia (AmCham) Diana Gaziyan said the same span of the past year, had been one of the most important areas of
a v i s i t i n 2 0 09 t o t h e I n s t i t u t e o f A n c i en t that these, as well as heavy industry, are reduced by 27.9 percent. Gaziyan says AmCham activities is lobbying for the
M a n u s c r i pt s , t h e M a t e n a d a r a n , e n c o m p a s s i n g a the spheres which are of particular because of the depreciation of the dram, business interests of its members in its
t o t a l o f 5 3 , 0 0 0 v i s i t o r s , s a i d t h e h e a d o f t h e e xh i - interest for US companies. attractive sectors are those which export strive to create more competitive busi-
b i t i o n - h a l l o f M a t e n a d a r a n , A i da C h a r k h c h y a n . S h e According to her assessment, even or add value or manufacture here. ness environment in Armenia. AmCham
a d d e d t h a t t h e f i g u r e h a s d e c r e a s e d s l i g ht l y f r o m though there are some obvious issues The American Chamber of Commerce creates opportunities for its members to
t he p re vi o us ye ar. hindering the development of business in Armenia has been operating in network, enlarge the scope of their busi-
A b o u t 3 , 7 1 7 g r o u p s v i s i t e d t h e M a t e n a da r a n i n in Armenia, the country’s business leg- Armenia since 2000. Currently, ness contacts and find new partners.
2 0 0 8 , i n c l u d i n g 5 6 , 6 4 0 p e o p l e . Ac c o r d i n g t o islation is rather liberal and foreign AmCham has around 80 member com- Gaziyan says another important direc-
C h a r k h c h y a n , t h e d e c r e a s e i s c o n n ec t e d w i t h t h e investment oriented. There is no need to panies, which represent various sectors tion is increasing the business relations
g l o b a l f i na nc i a l c r i s i s , a s w e l l a s w i t h A H 1 N 1 i n f e c - create new laws; the fair application of or economy, such as financial services, between Armenia and Turkey, and
t io n . the existing ones will be enough. The insurance, banking, energy and mining, AmCham realizes that the opening of
“A g re at numb e r o f sc ho o l- c hil dre n vi si t t he country is quite attractive from doing information technologies, consumer the Armenian-Turkish border will have a
M a t e na d a r a n a n nu al l y ov er t h e m on t h s o f business perspective, which is proven by goods, manufacturing, tourism, market- significant impact on the business envi-
D e c em b e r a n d N ov e m b er , b u t s c h o o l s w er e c l o s e d the fact of the presence of some major ing and promotion, infrastructure devel- ronment development in Armenia.
t h i s y e a r b e c a u s e o f t h e i nf e c t i o n , ” C h a rk h c h y a n
s a id .
F r a n c e i s i n f i r s t pl a c e i n t e r m s o f t h e n u m b e r o f
Fadey Sargisian Dies
t ou r is t s w ho v is it e d M at e n adar an , fo ll owe d b y It al y,
G e r m a n y , R u s s i a a n d t h e U S . L a s t y e a r t h e n u m b er
o f t o u r i s t s G e r m a n y w a s e s p e c i a l l y g r e a t . T he n u m -
At Age 86 Armenian PM Vows to
b e r o f t ou r i s t s a r r i v e d f r o m J a pa n h a s d e c r e a s e d
t h i s y ea r c o m p a r e d t o 2 0 0 8 a s w e l l .
YEREVAN (armradio.am
PanArmenian.net) — Dr. Fadey
and

Sargisian, an adviser to Armenian Prime

Expose Wealthy Officials
Minister Tigran Sargisian, died on prompts us to create and introduce,
Bran dy P ro duc t ion i n January 10 at the age of 86.
Sargisian was chairman of the
By Ruben Meloyan together with you, [legal] mechanisms
that would address this problem,” he
A r m en ia for J an -Nov Council of Ministers of the Armenian
YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Prime
said.
“We are going to fight against oli-
SSR (1977-1989), parliamentarian
2 0 0 9 d ow n 4 3 . 1 % (1995-1999) and had the rank of major Minister Tigran Sargisian pledged last gopolies, rather than oligarchs,”
general. week to crack down on wealthy and stressed the prime minister. “These
Y E R EVA N ( A r mi n f o ) — B r a n dy p ro d u c t i o n i n
He graduated from the Leningrad presumably corrupt state officials, say- are different things.”
A r m e n i a fo r J a n - N o v 2 0 0 9 ve r s u s t h e s a m e p e r i o d
Budyonov Military Academy (1946). ing that will be a key element of his The International Monetary Fund
o f 2 0 0 8 w a s d ow n 4 3 . 1 p e r c e n t t o 8 , 4 6 9 t h ou s a n d
He researched in radio electronics, drive to strengthen the rule of law in and the World Bank also increasingly
l i t e r s , a c c o rd i n g t o t h e T h e N a t i o na l S t a t i s t i c a l
computer engineering and automatic Armenia. stress the importance of tackling the
S e r v i ce o f A r m e n i a .
control systems. Sargisian stood by his ambitious oligopolistic structures. Officials from
F r o m J a n u a r y t o N ov e m b e r 2 0 0 8 , b r a n d y p r o d u c -
Sargisian held different leading posi- reform agenda that puts the emphasis both multilateral institutions have
t i o n i n A r m e n i a a m o u n t e d t o 1 4 . 8 8 9 t h ou s a n d
tions in the Scientific Technical on tackling tax evasion by the rich, warned in recent months that
l it e r s. Vo dka an d li que ur p ro duc t io n in A r me n ia , in
Committee of the Central Rocket Artillery improving the country’s business envi- Armenia cannot return to the path of
J a n u a r y t o N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 9 w a s u p 9 pe r c e n t t o
Administration of the USSR Ministry of ronment and, in particular, breaking robust growth without combating gov-
1 1 , 5 0 9 . 4 t h ou s a n d l i t e r s . W i n e p r od u c t i o n g r ew
up “oligopolies” that have monopo- ernment corruption and creating a
3 0 . 8 p e rc e n t t o 3 5 1 3 t h o u s a n d l i t e rs . C h a m p a g ne
lized key sectors of the Armenian level playing field for all businesses.
w in e s p ro duc t i o n w as dow n 1 3.6 p e rc e n t t o 2 48.3
economy. Sargisian argued that his govern-
t h ou s a n d l i t e r s . B ee r p r o d u c t i o n w a s u p 2 . 4 p e r -
The de facto monopolies are widely ment has already obligated the coun-
c e nt t o 1 0 , 3 4 6 . 9 t h o u s a n d l i t e rs f o r t h e p e r i o d
believed to be controlled not only try’s 500 largest companies to issue
u n d e r r ev i ew . N on - a l c o h o l d r i n k s p r od u c t i o n m a d e
wealthy businessmen but also high- more detailed financial reports certi-
u p 3 2 . 2 m i l l i o n l i t e r s f a l l i n g 1 5 p er c e n t v er s u s J a n -
ranking government and security offi- fied by foreign auditors starting from
No v 2 0 0 8 .
cials. Local anti-graft campaigners say next year. He described that as the
this is the root cause of government first step towards breaking up the oli-
corruption in Armenia. gopolies.
P r e c i o u s M e t a l s G ro w i n g “I think we can conclude, together
with you, that officials engage in busi-
Sargisian again defended the gov-
ernment’s response to the global eco-
I n Pr ice i n A r m en ia ness nowadays,” Sargisian acknowl- nomic crisis that has plunged Armenia
edged during a year-end news confer- into its worst recession since the
Y ER EVA N ( A r mi n fo ) — T he o f f ic i al p r ic e o f go ld
Fadey Sargisian ence. “We can make such a political 1990s. He claimed that the country is
( go ld bu ll io n s) es t ab li s he d fo r t he c ur ren t we e k
evaluation.” emerging from the slump with “mini-
( J a n u a r y 1 1 - 1 7 ) i n A r m e n i a w er e u p 2 . 8 p er c e n t a s
He complained Armenia’s existing mal losses.”
c o mp are d t o t he p r i c es fo r t he last we ek ( 13.30 9.34 Defense (1946-1959), was director of laws make it all but impossible for the The Armenian economy is on track
d r a m s ) a n d t o t a l ed 1 3 , 6 7 6 . 0 7 d r a m s p e r g r a m , Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of authorities to expose and punish offi- to contract by at least 15 percent this
a c c o r d i n g t o t h e D e po s i t o r y of P r e c i o u s M e t a l s a n d Mathematical Machines (1963-1977), cials with extensive business interests year. The government anticipates that
S t o n e s of A r m e n i a . chairman of the Council of Ministers of of dubious origin. “That’s what makes economic growth will resume already
T h e ex - f a c t o r y s i l v e r p r i c e w a s u p 4 p er c e n t t o the Armenian SSR (1977-1989), us refrain from publicizing names and in 2010.
2 1 5 . 9 6 d r a m s / g ( 2 0 7 . 6 6 dr a m s l a s t w e e k ) , p l a t - Academician-secretary of the Division of
i n u m — 8 p e r c e n t t o 1 8 , 6 6 4 . 6 6 d r a m s /g ( 1 7 2 9 6 . 4 8 physico-mathematical and technical sci-
d r a m s l a s t w ee k ) , a n d p a l l a d i u m — 1 6 . 2 p e r c e n t t o ences of the National Academy of Sciences
5 1 5 1 . 2 2 d ra m s / g ( 4 4 3 2 . 6 7 d r a m s ) . of Armenia (1989-1993) and President of
the National Academy of Sciences of
Armenia (1993-2006).
Central Bank: 2010 to Be
Ch i ldre n i n A rm en ia Sargisian was born September 18,
1923 in Yerevan. He was a foreign mem- Year of Recovery for Armenia
B a ck to Sch oo l a f t er ber of the Russian, Georgian and
Portuguese Academies of Sciences, YEREVAN (Arka) — Earlier this was followed by a rally.
O n e - M o n t h Q u ar a n t i ne Honorary Member of the International month, Vache Gabrielyan, deputy chair- Gabrielyan said that new loans
Academy of Engineering Sciences, the man of the Central Bank of Armenia, extended to the economy and the
Y ER EVA N (Te r t .am) — Chi ldre n w en t b ac k to
Ararat International Academy of summarizing the results of 2009, said increased financial mediation amid the
s c ho o l i n A r m e n i a t h i s w e e k , a f t e r s c h o o l s a n d
Sciences, the Armenian Philosophical 2010 would be a year of recovery for crisis played an important part in heal-
k i n d e r g a r t e n s w e r e cl o s e d f o r a l i t t l e ov e r a m o n t h
Academy, the International Academy of the country. ing the situation.
i n a n e f f or t t o c u r b t h e s p r e a d o f r e s p i r a t o r y i l l -
Sciences, Education, Industry and Arts, He said that 2009 was very difficult At the same time, he said that many
n e s s e s i n t h e re p u b l i c .
among others. He was double laureate for Armenia because of impacts of the problems are still waiting for their solu-
T h e d e c i s i o n t o c l o s e s c h o o l s , m a d e o n D e c e m b er
of state award of the USSR, laureate of global recession, but the country’s tions.
8 , w a s m a de by t h e A r m en i a n M i n i st e r o f
state award of the Ukrainian SSR. He financial sector has managed to resist Among these problems, he singled
H ea l t hc a r e an d t h e A r m e ni an M i ni s t er o f
has been honored with orders of Lenin, these challenges. out the lack of diversification and com-
E d u c a t i o n a n d S c i e nc e .
October Revolution, Red Banner of “But it doesn’t mean that everything petition as well as shadow economy
T h o u g h ch i l d r e n g ot a n e a r l y s t a r t t o t h e h o l i -
Labor (three times) and Saint Mesrop is O.K. in Armenia’s financial and bank- that directly affect the financial sector.
d ay s , t h e d e c i s i o n t o c l o s e s c h o o l s r e s u l t e d i n w o r k -
Mashtots and served as adviser to the ing sectors, and they are free from “We enter 2010 with higher infla-
i n g p a re n t s s c ra m b l i n g t o s e c u re c h i l d c a re — a c o n -
prime minister of the Republic of troubles. The opposite - we have plenty tion than in 2009. But recovery needs
s eq ue nc e w hic h t he st at e didn ’t t ake i n to ac c o un t
Armenia since 2006. to do.” certain expenses, and we made them.
a p p a re n t l y .
A governmental committee will be in However, he said, the course of the We are convinced that these expenses
charge of funeral organization. system’s development shows that pre- were necessary and will produce
cipitous decline in the first half of 2009 results.”
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 3

ARMENIA

‘Armenian Elvis’ Keeps King’s Legend Alive

By Tatevik Lazarian

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Narek Markarian is the first to

admit that physically, he isn’t a dead ringer for the King of
Rock and Roll, despite his glossy pompadour and sleek black
sideburns. But Markarian, who has come to be known as the
“Armenian Elvis,” says that preserving the musical memory of
the King of Rock and Roll — born 75 years ago on January 8
— is what matters to him most.
The 26-year-old Markarian began to collect Presley’s record-
ings and memorabilia while he was still a schoolboy: “I main-
ly collect the records. Songs are the greatest riches that Elvis
has left to us.”
Now an entire room of his home in Yerevan is devoted to
the King, with hundreds of books, posters and recordings, and
even articles of clothing that once belonged to Presley, who
died in 1977 at the age of 42. “It may seem odd to have a thou-
sand CDs by the same artist,” he said. “But when you get to
know these people [who produce these CDs], you begin to
understand that what they’ve done is put serious research into
a cultural phenomenon.
“Elvis is a cultural phenomenon with a lasting influence.
And people continue to study that phenomenon and give lec-
tures it. It’s very interesting. And it’s very important that his-
tory should not be forgotten.”
Markarian is a teacher at Yerevan’s Bryusov Linguistic
University. But at night, he turns into “the Armenian Elvis.”
He dons shiny suit jackets, swivels his hips and performs
songs such as Suspicious Minds, Jailhouse Rock and other
Elvis hits at clubs throughout Armenia. He has also performed Narek Markarian with a poster of his hero, Elvis Presley
in the United States, and in 2007, performed as Elvis in a char-
ity concert in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.
Markarian says he uses his stage shows to introduce his club in neighboring Russia. er dull, 100-page biography based on that. A lot of things are
audiences to a lesser-known side of Elvis, in addition to per- This year, Markarian is hoping to record his first album, either incorrect or a repetition.”
forming the classics: “Elvis has a large repertoire that includes filled mainly with songs from Elvis’s repertoire. He says he No special Elvis commemorations took place in Armenia on
more than 700 songs. I perform 100 of them. I always try to also hopes to write a book about the role of the King of Rock January 8. Instead, celebrations have been pushed back to
include songs that, for whatever reason, aren’t known to wider and Roll in the USSR, where he was revered on a level with February, when Elvis fans around the world are poised to
audiences but deserve to be. That way people aren’t listening the Beatles as a symbol of the West. mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Presley’s US Army
only to things they’ve already hear a hundred times.” “My concept is to talk about Elvis in the context of the service in 1960.
Markarian has also created an Armenian website dedicated Soviet Union. Because there’s no point in writing another Markarian, whose possessions include an army uniform
to Elvis (www.elvis.am). But the country has no fan club ded- basic biography about him,” he says. “I don’t like it when a modeled after one worn by the King, is preparing for the event
icated to Elvis Presley. For that, Markarian has had to join a person reads four or five serious books and then writes anoth- with a set of performances in a Yerevan club next month.

Library in the Lurch: Martuni’s 75,000 Books Wasting Away

Khachik Khlghatyan, the mayor’s chief of staff, see the situation for themselves. They show up, campaign, they say that the library will be at
By Grisha Balasanyan said that the library is slated to be renovated in say how terrible things are, and then shake the top of their list of priorities. After they’re
2010. their heads, saying they just don’t have the elected it’s another matter.
“If the financial crisis doesn’t come a’ knock- resources to help. They promised to allocate The dedicated staff holds out hope that a
MARTUNI, Armenia (Hetq) — “We’ve had it ing at the door of the federal government and some funds this year, but then the crisis came benefactor will come forth to save the crum-
up to here with our situation, of constantly fil- the Martuni mayor’s office next year, we’ll have and, nothing,” Aleksanyan added. Library work- bling library and the books. “It’s a real shame.
ing petitions and requests, of writing letters to state funds to renovate the building,” ers told us that the only time officials show an We have many readers. Just look at all the well-
this and that official, telling them, someone, to Khlghatyan stated. The town official said that interest is around election time. During the thumbed books,” he said.
help us in saving this library of ours.” they would rather not “inconvenience” the fed-
These were the words of Lida Aleksanyan, eral government in a time of crisis but that the
Director of the Martuni Library in the books are rotting away and they have no alter-
Gegharkunik Province, when this reporter went
to cover the story of the library on the brink of
native. Jubilee Stamps Marking AGBU’s Centennial
ruin. The library building itself is in desperate
need of repair.
Gluing the Pages of Tattered Books
Roza Zhamkharyan has been working at the
Are Put into Circulation in Armenia
Aleksanyan said that the building is beyond library for many long years. Every day she’s YEREVAN — During AGBU’s centennial in 2006, the Armenia’s Hai Post postal service,
repair however. “The site is dank and damp. busy gluing pages together, making sure that at by order of the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Armenia, printed stamps in
Repairs won’t cut it. A new building is what’s least some of the books remain in circulation. Armenia dedicated to AGBU. Upon the initiative of the AGBU Armenia Representation and
needed,” she argued. Library employees say The library serves the local community and sur- with the cooperation of the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Armenia, the
that the books on the shelves have doubled in rounding area. Residents from the district’s sev- sheet of three stamps
weight due to the dampness and the texts are enteen villages even make the trip to the library depicts the organiza-
fading. The library has a collection of 75,000 to pick up a “good read”. tion’s founder and
books and 3,000 members. Back in the day, there was a branch library first president, Boghos
The old and frayed books can be checked out and a children’s library in Martuni, but they’re Nubar, the minutes of
theoretically but they aren’t; the demand is too closed now. All the books have been gathered the founding meeting
great. But a reader is hard pressed to get at the central library. Many of the books sit in of the organization,
through a book in normal fashion because so piles on the floor, tied up with twine. As a con- and a portrait of hon-
many pages are missing or illegible. The adven- sequence, they aren’t available to the public. orary life president of
turous reader must borrow several copies of the “Karineh Hayrapetyan, who heads the AGBU Alex
same text to make up for the missing pages library’s member services department, stated Manoogian. To mark
found in each. that they had requested a bit more patience AGBU’s centennial in
No funds for renovations or for new books from their readers to unpack all the books and 2006, the Republic of
“The last time we received a new batch of get them on the shelves. But Aleksanyan con- Nagorno-Karabagh’s
books was back in June; from the Book fessed that they didn’t have adequate space in postal service also
Assistance Fund. Otherwise, we haven’t the library to properly house all the books. The issued a stamp, which
received any new literature for the past few library has no reading room. People have to depicted the statue of Alex Manoogian located on his namesake street in the Karabagh cap-
years. We just don’t have the funds to buy any- check out the books. ital of Stepanakert.
thing,” Aleksanyan stated. “I’ve been the director here for five years. In celebration of Christmas and the New Year, the AGBU Armenia Representation sent
The library is a branch of the Martuni We’ve requested help from all government bod- out cards this season using the AGBU stamp.
Municipality and it’s the mayor who is supposed ies and the Ministry of Culture. We asked the
to see to it that new books are acquired. regional governor and other officials to come
4 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

INTERNATIONAL

International News Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division at

T urkey and C h i n a S ign International Space Weather Initiative
$ 1. 05B i n C on t r act s SHEIBENIK, Croatia — On
September 4-18, 2009 a delegation
I S TA N B U L ( P a nAr m en i a n. N e t) — Ch i na a n d
from the Yerevan Physics Institute
Tu rke y have s ig n ed s o me 38 c o n t r ac t s fo r a t ot al o f
(YerPhI) consisting of Prof. Ashot
$1.0 5 bi ll io n up o n c l os in g t he fo r um in Is t an b ul,
Chilingarian, YerPhi’s director and
a i m ed t o e c o n o m i c c oo p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o
head of its Cosmic Ray Division
s t a t e s , T u r t s i a . r u r ep o r t ed .
(CRD), with CRD scientists and engi-
C on t r a c t s a r e r el a t e d t o i m p or t s o f m i n e r a l s , m a r -
neers participated in the International
b l e a n d o t he r p r o d u c t s f r o m T u r k e y t o C h i n a , a s
conference on the Heliophysical
w e l l a s j o i n t p r o j ec t s t o b u i l d p ow er p l a n t s .
Phenomena and the Earth
D i re c t C h i n e s e i n ve s t m e n t s i n t h e T u rk i s h e c o n-
Environment in Shibenik, Croatia. The
o my b y l at e S ep t e mbe r 2 009 re ac he d $313 mil li o n,
regional meeting of Balkan, Black Sea
T u r k i s h e x p or t s t o C h i n a i n 2 0 0 8 t o t a l ed $ 1 . 9 8 b i l -
and Caspian Sea participants was held
l i o n s i n ce 2 0 0 0 . I n 2 0 0 8 t r a d e b e t w ee n t h e c ou n -
for the third time within the frame-
t r i e s r os e f r o m $ 1 b i l l i o n t o $ 1 2 . 6 b i l l i o n .
work of the International
Heliophysical Year, now being contin-
Ar m en ian Str iker Il ia ued as the International Space
Weather Initiative (ISWI). This initia-
J avor ijan to Tr y fo r tive is supported by NASA and the
United Nations’ Outer Space Office in
Toron to FC Vienna, Austria.
Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division has Prof Chilingarian at ISWI Conference, third person from right, talking to a reporter to
T ORONT O ( IM Sc o ut i n g) — The ML S si de To ron t o his left, with Armenian President Sargisian looking on
F C w i l l h av e a 1 0 - d a y t r i a l p e r i o d w i t h A r m e n i a n deployed Armenian designed cosmic
st r i ke r Il ia Javo r ij an , st ar t i n g f ro m Feb r u ar y 8. ray particle detectors in Croatia and
T h e 2 8 - y e a r - o l d t a r g et m a n h a s b ee n p l y i n g h i s Bulgaria, with other countries to fol-
low in the near future. The new net- students participated in the presenta-
t r a d e i n I s r a e l s i n c e 2 0 0 4 , a n d t hi s s e a s o n h e h a s tion of two reports at a training ses-
b e en a maj o r di sap p o in t me nt fo r Mac c ab i Tel Av iv worked arrays of particle detectors are
part of the Space Environment sion on cosmic rays and neutron mon-
d e s p i t e s c o r i ng f o u r g o a l s i n 1 0 l e a g u e a p p e a r- itors.
a nc e s . Viewing and Analysis Network
(SEVAN) which was developed largely President of Armenia Serge
Ac c o rdin g t o re p o r t s in Isr ae l , M ac c ab i Tel Av iv Sargisian, Minister of Economy Nerses
are t r yi n g t o get r id o f t he st r i ke r, w ho do e s n’ t w is h by young CRD scientists under the
direction of Chilingarian and CRD’s Yeritsyan, and minister of Foreign
t o p l ay f o r o t h e r s i d e s i n t h e c o u n t r y a n d p r e f e r s a Affairs Edward Nalbandian who were
m ov e a b r o a d . senior staff with international fund-
ing. visiting Croatia on September 8 met
J a vo r i j a n h a s b e e n p l a yi n g fo r I s r a e l i si d e s with the Croatian and Armenian
H ap o e l Pe t ac h Tik va, H ap o el Te l Avi v, Iro ny Kir iat The result of CRD’s research was
presented in a number of papers by physicists at the Zagreb observatory
S h m o n a a n d B n e i S a c h n in b e fo r e m o v i n g t o and congratulated them on the suc-
M ac cab i Te l Avi v i n t he s umme r o f 2008 fo r Prof. Ashot Chilingarian, Bagrat
Malyan, Armen Hovhannisyan, A. cessful collaboration and the launch
$ 5 1 5 , 0 0 0 . H i s c o n t r a c t r u n s o u t i n t h e c om i n g s u m - of the SEVAN equipment in Croatia.
me r. Daryan, Karen Arakelyan and Artur
Reymers. The SEVAN system of networked
S c o u t s i n I s r a e l d e s c r i b e t h e A r m en i a n i n t er n a - cosmic ray monitors received support
t io n al ( t hre e c ap s ) as a “ve r y s t ron g s t r ike r, w it h Chilingarian was one of four scien-
tists especially invited to report to the at the meeting in Croatia, and is
p e r c ei v e d p r e s e n c e i n t h e b ox . M o s t l y u s e f u l i n s i d e scheduled to receive a boost in 2010.
t h e b o x , a s h e i s h e av y a n d l i m i t e d i n h i s m o v e - conference on particle detectors for Prof Chilingarian explaining SEVAN
space weather and solar physics For more information on this topic Cosmic Ray Monitor designed by CRD
m e n t . H e i s a b i t c l u m s y bu t a f a i r l y g o o d f i n i s h e r and on the Cosmic Ray Division visit
i n f r o n t o f g o a l . H e s t i l l h a s n ’ t p r o v ed t h a t h e c a n research. The other invited speakers scientists and students, and being
were from research institutes in the http://crdlx5.yerphi.am/press_releas- deployed internationally
h a n d l e t h e p r e s s u r e o f p l ay i n g f o r a b i g s i d e . ” es/ and http://www.crdfriends.org.
US and Russia. Armenian doctoral

V ladi m i r Zhi r i n ov sk i:
R u s s i a M u s t Re c o g n i z e Armenians Saved Abdul Hamid’s Grandson and His Family: Hurriyet
N a g o r n o K a r a ba g h ISTANBUL (News.am) — “Our family ed. He was conveyed into captivity in They thought Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
‘owed their lives’ to French-Armenians Salonika till 1912, then returned to (the founder of First Republic of
R IGA , La tv ia (A r min fo ) — “R uss i a mu st rec o g n iz e after their exile from Turkey. We were Constantinople, where he died in the Turkey-NEWS.am’s note) would be
N a g o r n o K a r a b a g h i f i t d e c l a r es i n d e p e n d e n c e , ” penniless. Our Armenian friends helped prison. The members of Ottoman unsuccessful in his cause and that we
s ay s V l a d i m i r Z h i r i n o v s k i , L e a d e r o f t h e L i b e r a l us. There was an Armenian lady who dynasty were deported from the coun- would return to the old days. My grand-
D e mo c rat i c P ar t y o f Ru ss ia, V ic e -Sp e ake r o f t he welcomed us to her chateau and we try. mother and mother wanted us to learn
R u s si a n S t a t e D u m a , i n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h L a t vi a n lived there for a long time. I cannot “I am on the side of the truth, but Turkish. My father, however, was a
“N e atkar ig as R it a Av iz e .” deny the good deeds Armenians have we need to look to the future now. republican by all means and was sup-
“ I a m n o t a g a i n s t e i t h er A r m e ni an s o r done for my family,” Beyzade Balent The French and the Germans had also portive of Ataturk’s principles,” the
A z e r b a i j a n i s , b u t t h ey w i l l n e v er a g r e e o n N a g o r n o Osman, grandson of Ottoman Sultan slaughtered each other, came into source cites Osman.
K a r a b a g h l i k e G eo r g i a n w i l l n e v e r a g r ee w i t h Abdul Hamid II stated in the interview conflict but still managed to establish In 1894-1896 massacres of Christian
A b k h a z i a . A r a b s w i l l n e v er a g r e e w i t h t h e J e w s . with Turkish Hurriyet daily. dialogue,” the daily quotes Osman’s population, firstly Armenians were per-
K u r d s a n d T u r k s w i l l n e v e r r e a c h a n a g r e em e n t After Young Turks suppressed words. petrated in Eastern Anatolia and other
e it he r,” he says . Zhir in ov s ki me n t i o ns t ha t R us si a counter-revolution on April 27, 1909 “I witnessed his grandmother crying places of Ottoman Empire by direct
h a s c a l l e d re c o g n i zi n g a l l t h e t e r r i t o r i e s t h a t d i d Abdul Hamid was dethroned and arrest- many times when he was a child. order of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
n o t w a n t t o b e p a r t o f t h e i r f o r m e r S o vi e t re p u b l i c s .
“ R u s s i a h a s b e e n c a l l i n g fo r r e c o g n i t i o n o f
A b k ha z i a , S o u t h O s se t i a , T ra n sd ni est r i a a n d
N a g o r n o K a r a b a g h f o r a l r e a d y 1 6 y e a r s , ” h e s ay s .
Turkey Envoy: ‘Israel’s Shameful Display Is Worst I’ve Ever Seen’
Az er baijan ’s For eig n ISRAEL, from page 1
A photo-op was held at the start of
responded in kind,” the source told
Army Radio.
of its nuclear program.
According to Foreign Ministry sources,
M i n i s tr y C on s i der s the meeting, during which Ayalon told Meanwhile, ministry sources said Lieberman is now looking to “heat
the photographers in Hebrew: “Pay Monday that Foreign Minister Avigdor things up” before Barak’s trip, so as to
Dro ppi ng Visa attention that he is sitting in a lower Lieberman was trying to stop Defense torpedo attempts to mend the tensions.
Req ui r em en t fo r T urkey chair and we are in the higher ones,
that there is only an Israeli flag on the
Minister Ehud Barak from visiting to
Turkey next week, in order to keep up
“We get the sense that Lieberman
wants to heat things up before Barak’s
B A K U ( A r m i n f o) — T h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t h e e l i m i n a - table and that we are not smiling.” the recent tensions between the two visit,” a senior Foreign Ministry source
t i o n o f v i s a r e qu i r e m e n t b e t w e e n T u r k e y a n d Celikkol’s associates told Army Radio allied countries. said. “All of the recent activities were
A z e r b a i j a n i s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g c o n s i d e r ed b y t h e on Tuesday, that the meeting with Barak was scheduled to leave for part of Lieberman’s political agenda.”
Az e r i Fo re ig n M in is t r y. Ayalon was “the most shameful display” Turkey on Sunday to meet with his The Turkish government was expect-
“A f t e r de t ai le d c o n si der at io n , a re le van t de ci s io n he had seen in 35 years as a diplomat. counterpart and the foreign minister ed to give a warm welcome to Barak,
w il l b e ado pt e d, ” s ai d Az e r bai jan ’s D e p ut y Fo re ig n According to the associates, Celikkol there, in an attempt to improve deterio- who alongside Labor Minister
M in is t e r Vag i f Sadi khov. had no idea what the topic of conversa- rating relations. Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was looking to
I r a n h a s e l i m i n a t ed t h e v i s a r e qu i r em en t f o r tion was to be when first seated. When Tensions were renewed on Monday, bring the allies’ relations back to stabil-
Az e r b aij an, whi c h wi ll go in to e f fe c t o n Fe b r uar y 1. the cameras left the room, the sources after Turkish Prime Minister Recep ity.
T u r k e y e l i m i n a t e d t h e v i s a r e q u i re m e n t f o r said, the meeting was normal and pro- Tayyip Erdogan declared that Israel was The Foreign Ministry sources sur-
Az e r b aij ani c it iz e ns las t ye ar. fessional. endangering world peace by using exag- mised that Lieberman’s efforts were
“Had the ambassador understood gerated force against the Palestinians, aimed at preventing Turkey from
Ayalon’s intentions, which were only breaching Lebanon’s air space and resuming its role as mediator in Israel’s
expressed in Hebrew, he would have waters and for not revealing the details peace talks with Syria.
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 5

INTERNATIONAL

AGBU Brazil Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

SAO PAOLO, Brazil — On Sunday, October AGBU Brazil Board Member Hampartsum
25, 2009, AGBU Brazil celebrated its 45th Moumdjian, and Manuel Kherlakian Neto, an
anniversary at Buffet Maison du France here. AGBU member and supporter of AGBU Brazil’s
Close to 500 guests of all ages came out to many programs. Der Haroutiounian and
celebrate the milestone event, which was Moumdjian received AGBU Honor Member
notable for the large presence from the diplomas, granted by AGBU Central Board of
emerging generation of Brazilian Armenians. Directors, while Neto was given the chapter’s
The event was attended by numerous guests, annual Personality of the Year award.
including Valery Mkrtumian, consul general of AGBU Brazil Chairman Krikor Manukian
the Republic of Armenia; Anatoly Kapko, consul congratulated the honorees during his speech
general of Russia; Rev. Yesnig Guzelian, repre- and thanked everyone for the success of the
senting Archbishop Datev Karibian; Rev. event. He also enthusiastically mentioned the
Boghos Baronian and Rev. Roy Abrahamian of youth who participated in the South American
the Armenian Protestant Church. Also in atten- Olympic Games, organized by Córdoba. Ruben
dance were Ruben Kechichian, chairman of Kechichian passed along a message of congrat-
AGBU Buenos Aires and member of AGBU ulations from AGBU President Berge Setrakian,
Central Board of Directors, and his wife, Elsa. and expressed his happiness and pride in par-
The event honored three AGBU Brazil mem- ticipating in the 45th-anniversary celebration.
bers for their commitment to the organization The evening’s guests were treated to a live Chairman of AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter and member of the AGBU Central Board of Directors
and its work: former AGBU Brazil chairman music performance by the band Yerevan 50 of Ruben Kechichian expresses his thoughts on the 45th-anniversary celebration in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Carlos Matheus Der Haroutiounian, former Montevideo, Uruguay.

Arshile Gorky Exhibition at the Tate Modern France to Set up

By Mark Hudson
sent during the siege of Van in the early stages
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915; that, at the
Chilean artist Roberto Matta. A charismatic self-
publicist, one of a wave of European modernists Genocide Court
age of 15, he walked, along with the rest of the who had arrived in New York on the outbreak of
PARIS (BBC) — The French govern-
city’s Armenian population, to Yerevan, in war, Matta became a close friend of Gorky, intro-
ment has announced that it will set up a
LONDON (The Sunday Times) — The Russian Armenia, with many dying on the eight- ducing him to the surrealist technique of “auto-
new panel to try cases of genocide and
Armenian-born artist, best known for his tragic day march; or that his mother subsequently died matic” or completely spontaneous painting. “He
war crimes committed in France or
life, has his pioneering work showcased at the of malnutrition during a famine that killed a told Gorky not to try so hard,” Mougouch says.
abroad.
Tate Modern next month. third of the city’s population. “He told him, just do it. Let yourself go.”
The new court would speed up the way
In February 1948, the American magazine Gorky and his sister Vartush made their Yet things were never easy. There was con-
genocide cases are tried where the sus-
Life ran a photo spread on the Glass House, a way to America, where Gorky set about turn- stant worrying about money, a continual moving
pect is on French territory but the
modernist farmhouse conversion in rural ing himself into an artist, educating himself between the houses of wealthier friends and
process involves several jurisdictions.
Connecticut. Sitting hunched by one of the wide piecemeal at various institutions in New York Gorky’s New York studio, which wasn’t big
The unit is to include linguists and spe-
windows is a male figure, his dark hair rather and Boston while taking menial jobs. He used enough to contain the couple and the two
cialists with historical knowledge.
long for the period, face averted — referred to in the pseudonym Arshile Gorky for the first daughters who arrived in quick succession.
French authorities are currently hear-
the caption simply as the house’s tenant, Arshile time in 1924. It was in early 1946, however, that the sense
ing several cases against Rwandan geno-
Gorky, an artist. To anyone even slightly His early work was painfully derivative of of disaster began to escalate. First, Gorky’s stu-
cide suspects living in France.
acquainted with American art, that figure will be other artists: first, Cézanne, then Picasso, Léger dio burnt down, with the loss of about 20 impor-
Those being investigated include
of infinitely greater interest than the house. and Miro. By the 1930s, however, Gorky had had tant paintings; then he was diagnosed with can-
Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of the
Yet the evasive posture is significant. A vivid some commercial success in an art scene that cer, and underwent an immediate colostomy.
late president Juvenal Habyarimana,
presence on the New York art scene for nearly still looked to Europe for leadership, where the Physically weakened, he went on painting furi-
whose plane was shot down in 1994, trig-
three decades, Gorky has remained elusive in artists who would make New York the global art ously, though he feared he was being left behind
gering the violence and killing inside
death as he was in life. The question of whether capital two decades later — the Pollocks and by a changing art world.
Rwanda.
he was the progenitor of the great age of Rothkos — were footling around with provincial “American art was coming into its own,”
In a joint statement to the newspaper
American painting — which gave the world variants on surrealism and social realism. “De Spender says. “America had won the war, and it
Le Monde, the French foreign minister,
Pollock and Rothko — or simply an imitative Kooning was just an inarticulate guy who wanted to show something completely new to
Bernard Kouchner, and the justice minis-
quasi-surrealist or even a misplaced Eurasian cleaned Arshile Gorky’s brushes,” one observer the world. The New York artists were staking
ter, Michelle Alliot-Marie, said legislation
folk artist remains open. What isn’t in dispute is claimed. out their territories in this new dispensation.
to create a new unit within the Paris High
his status as one of the most tragic artists of the Yet Gorky evaded every attempt to pin down Gorky couldn’t do that. He was incapable of pol-
Court would be presented in the coming
20th century. Five months after this photograph his ideas and intentions, even discouraging his iticking and intrigue.”
six months.
was taken, he hanged himself in a nearby shed. students from taking notes in class. “He may His mood swings became more severe. “He
“As the homeland of human rights,
“Gorky saw things differently from other peo- have felt that clarifications and explanations got irritated with me,” Mougouch says. “He
France will never be a sanctuary for the
ple,” says his widow, Mougouch, pointing to a would lead back to the truth about his past,” adored the children, but he got irritated with the
authors of genocide, war crimes or crimes
vigorous semi-abstract drawing on her sitting says his son-in-law and biographer, Matthew noise they made. He was growing weaker, and
against humanity,” the statement said.
room wall. “For him, clouds and trees were full Spender. “And since he felt nobody else could he was frightened.” Unable to discuss his
The move, part of broader legal reform
of threatening forces. As you walked around understand what he’d been through, that was Armenian background, even when his father
in France, will not change French war
with him, you realized what you were seeing was something he could never discuss.” died, inhibited in discussing his ideas by what he
crimes law.
completely different to what he was seeing.” In Gorky’s brief first marriage and subsequent saw as his lack of formal education, but with a
However, it will enable courts to move
another drawing, hanging in a corner of the relationships foundered on his simultaneous free-spirited wife, 20 years his junior, and two
more rapidly through the complicated
room, is the pale, almost ghostly image of the obsession with work and morbid fear of betray- boisterous children dependent on him, Gorky
international procedures involved in
other great female presence in Gorky’s life, her al. Then, in 1941, he met a striking 19-year-old felt frustrated and humiliated at every turn.
investigating crimes committed outside
placid, wide-eyed features framed by a headscarf art student, Agnes Magruder, an admiral’s On June 17, 1948, while Gorky was working
France.
— his mother. daughter and former debutante, who was to in New York, Mougouch left the children with a
The announcement comes as Kouchner
The image is one of many Gorky produced become his wife and partner for the rest of his childminder and spent several days with Matta,
is in Rwanda at the start of an African
from a photograph he kept close to him at all life. He named her Mougouch, an Armenian who lived only 40 miles from the Glass House.
tour, which will also take him to Ivory
times. It shows the artist’s 12-year-old self look- term of endearment. When Gorky learnt of their fling, he summoned
Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo
ing gravely out at us from his mother’s side. In “We met at a party,” she recalls. “I’d been Matta to a meeting in Central Park and threat-
and Burkina Faso.
some of these images, the mother appears warned that he’d sing and dance and take the ened him physically. Matta managed to calm
Kouchner is due to hold talks in Kigali
serene; in others, there’s a sense of barely con- whole place over. But this tall, dark man came Gorky, but his artistic standing was permanent-
with the Rwandan president Paul
cealed anxiety. The greatest of them, large paint- and sat beside me, and said absolutely nothing. ly harmed by the disclosure of the affair.
Kagame, in his first visit following the
ings hanging in the Whitney Museum, New Then, at the end of the evening, he asked me if A week later, Gorky broke his neck in a car
resumption of diplomatic ties between
York, and the National Gallery of Art, I’d have coffee with him.” accident. The driver, his dealer, Julian Levy, was
France and Rwanda last November.
Washington DC, are considered American mas- A slight but well-preserved 86-year-old, she apparently drunk. Forced to wear a cumbersome
terpieces, icons of the immigrant experience. Yet pulls ruminatively on a roll-up as she looks back neck brace, which restricted his painting arm,
Gorky never talked about the circumstances sur- nearly 70 years. “I’d been trying to paint myself, Gorky was now suicidal.
rounding them. and he encouraged me to continue. But I real- In mid-July 1948, Mougouch departed with remained uncertain, particularly in Britain,
On arriving in New York in the early 1920s, ized I had nothing to say. What he was doing the children for her parents’ house in Virginia, which has never, Spender claims, quite taken to
Gorky let it be understood that he was Russian, seemed infinitely more interesting than any- writing to a friend that “the situation is unten- Gorky. This situation will be rectified by the
a cousin of the writer Maxim Gorky. In fact, he thing I could ever do.” able, and I can no longer hold on.” Gorky’s body Tate’s spectacular show, in which Mougouch
was born Vostanig Manuk Adoian in an The couple’s meeting coincided with a new was found a week later, hanging in a shed near has been closely involved. “When I think of
Armenian village in eastern Turkey, circa 1900. unleashing of energy in Gorky’s work. At last, he the house. Gorky, I think about my life beginning,” she
The stories Gorky told of an idyllic village child- had found his own path, in passionate respons- What one critic referred to disparagingly as says. “I rarely think of my life before then. For
hood — of bread baking in village ovens, brilliant es to the New England woods and fields, seen the “canonization” of Gorky by the New York me, it all began with Gorky.”
red poppies, incandescent moons — weren’t on his in-laws’ farm, which echoed in some way art world began almost immediately. The sus- The exhibition of Arshile Gorky’s works will
entirely fabricated, but they referred only to his the Armenian landscapes in his mind — captured tained invention of his final years, maintained be at the Tate Modern, SE1, from February 10-
earliest years, before he and his mother and sis- in luscious, lyrical and apparently completely through every adversity, can be seen as one of May 3.
ters moved to the local capital, Van. abstract paintings. This sense of liberation was the transcendent achievements of 20th-century (Mark Hudson is the author of Titian, the
He never discussed the fact that he was pre- the result, at least in part, of the influence of the art. Yet his status and significance have Last Days).
6 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

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Las Vegas Shooting St. Sahag and Mesrob
Victim Once Fought Armenian Church
To Stay in the Officially Welcomes
United States New Pastor
WYNNEWOOD, Penn. — On Sunday, January
LAS VEGAS (KLAS-TV) — One of two Las
3, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of
Vegas women who were shot and killed over
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
the weekend was once embroiled in a highly
America (Eastern), visited St. Sahag and St.
publicized immigration case.
Mesrob Armenian Church of Wynnewood,
Channel 8 first met Miriam Sarkisian and her
where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy and
sister in 2005. The federal government threat-
joined the community in officially welcoming its
ened to deport the girls to Armenia, despite the
new pastor, the Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian.
fact they lived in the United States nearly their
“Fr. Oshagan has been a loyal shepherd of
entire lives. Their story gained the attention of
the Armenian Church, who has faithfully served
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-
God and our national heritage,” the Primate
Nev.), who pleaded their case to the
said. “His energetic presence has benefited our
Department of Homeland Security.
own Diocese and the Mother See of Holy
In the end, the girls were temporarily allowed
Echmiadzin, as well as the Armenian communi-
to stay in the country. “We cried. We hugged
ty of India, where he served with distinction,
each other and gave each other kisses. I saw my
and drew world attention to the country’s ven-
dog again,” Sarkisian told Channel 8 in 2005
erable but little-known Armenian presence.”
after reuniting with her family.
A welcome banquet was held in Gulgulian’s
But, Sarkisian’s story had a tragic ending
honor following services, with almost 200 peo-
Sunday night. Police say 23-year-old Gregg
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian during the Blessing of Water ceremony at St. Vartan ple in attendance. The Very Rev. Haigazoun
Thomas went to her home unannounced. Cathedral with Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian Najarian, Diocesan Vicar and a former pastor of
Family friends say he broke in and opened fire.
St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church, delivered the
They say Thomas and Sarkisian had recently
invocation.
split and were arguing over their 1-year-old
The program featured remarks and musical
daughter.
“They feared something,” family friend
Yelena Flangas said. “But, I don’t think any-
Celebrating the Feast performances by violinist Angela Kodokian and
vocalist Karine Hovnanian. The parish also pre-
sented Gulgulian with a cross during the ban-
body suspected it would go to this level...
(Thomas) broke the door wide open. Miriam
was standing. He shot her. (Miriam’s mother)
was on the couch. He shot her (too).” Flangas
of the Nativity at quet.
Fr. Armenag Bedrossian, pastor of St. Mark’s
Armenian Catholic Church, offered congratula-
said Miriam’s youngest sister screamed to
Thomas as he was leaving. “She asked, ‘Why
did you do this?’ He turned around and shot
St. Vartan Cathedral tions to Gulgulian on behalf of the Philadelphia-
region Armenian clergy.
Diocesan delegate George Kodokian offered a
welcoming toast in honor of Gulgulian. “Some
himself,” Flangas said. NEW YORK — Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the
of you in the audience may know the following
Friends say the family’s long immigration Armenian Church of America (Eastern), reminded the faithful gathered for
passage from the Bible: ‘A new friend is as new
fight was difficult enough. Now, they are left to Christmas services at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on Wednesday, January 6,
wine; when it is old, thou shall drink it with
struggle with this tragedy. “It’s going to make that “Christ’s purpose in life was to exemplify God’s love — and to call everyone to
pleasure.’ (Ecclesiastes 9:10),” he said. “Hayr
them (a) stronger and tighter family. But it’s make that love a reality in our hearts.”
Sourp, we believe that through your spiritual
going to be very tough,” Flangas said. “God, our Heavenly Father, from His infinite love gave the most precious gift to
leadership you will flourish and nurture the
The family has set up an account at Wells us: He sent His Only Begotten Son in order to save us,” Archbishop Barsamian
friendships in our community so that one day
Fargo for those who would like to help with said. “Christ came to this earth, walked among us, preached, performed miracles,
we will all say together: our friendships are now
funeral expenses. carried the heavy burden of the cross, and was crucified because…He loves each
old and let’s drink it with pleasure.”
one of us.”
see PASTOR, page 8
“This feeling of joy and love is what God calls each of us to discover, in our own
lives,” the Primate said. “Our Lord calls to each and every one of us — and we must
Lecture Focuses on be attentive to hear his call, and
Armenian Genocide accept our God-given roles in life. To
some, that role is to take up our
Lincy Foundation Donates
Through Prism of Lord’s pastoral staff: to serve him,
and serve his people, as priests of
$150,000 to TCA Arshag
Adana Massacres the church. In the coming year, Dickranian Armenian
throughout our Diocese, we will
TORONTO — Bedross Der Matossian, a
professor in the Department of History at
explore and encourage this most School
precious calling in our ‘Year of
the Massachusetts Institute of LOS ANGELES — In a letter dated December
Vocations: The Call to Serve.’”
Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, Mass., 22, 2009, the Lincy Foundation approved a con-
Sharing his personal story of
will give a lecture on Friday, January 29, tribution in the amount of $150,000 to the
becoming a priest in the Armenian
at the Toronto French School, sponsored Tekeyan Cultural Association Arshag
Church, the Primate said that it was
by the Zoryan Institute. Dickranian Armenian School, enclosing a check
love that “first motivated me to
Matossian will discuss the different lev- in full payment
answer God’s call. Love is what
els of reactions to the Adana massacres “We are overjoyed and very grateful to the
strengthens me every day as I live
and the extent to which this new analysis Board Members of The Lincy Foundation for
out my vocation as a priest.”
can add to the understanding of the larg- responding to our grant applications in such a
Barsamian celebrated the Divine
er scope of violence that was inflicted on timely and generous manner,” said George K.
Liturgy and performed the Blessing
the indigenous Armenian population dur- Mandossian, chairman of the School Board of
of Water ceremony. Randy Sapah-
ing World War I. The Adana massacres Trustees.
Gulian, chair of the board of direc-
have also been described by historians to Arshag Dickranian School has long been list-
tors of the Fund for Armenian
be a turning point for the Armenians liv- ed as a beneficiary of The Lincy Foundation, its
Relief (FAR), served as the godfa-
ing in the Ottoman Empire. Unlike the latest gift constituting the 11th such contribu-
Ambassador Garen Nazarian delivers a ther for the Blessing of Water cere-
existing historiographies on the subject, tion. In June 2008, the foundation’s president,
toast at the Christmas luncheon. mony.
this lecture will provide a new analysis of Jay Rakow, and senior vice president, Harut
During the ceremony, which sym-
the massacres by examining the erosion Sassounian, visited the school. The two guests
bolizes Christ’s baptism by John the
of social and political stability in Anatolia spent more than an hour meeting with the
Baptist in the River Jordan, Sapah-Gulian took up the ornate hand-cross after it
and changes in the dynamics of power as school trustees, gathering first-hand informa-
was immersed in water by Barsamian. At the conclusion of the service, Sapah-
a result of the revolution. tion about the school’s daily activities and tour-
Gulian held up the cross for the faithful to kiss as they walked up to receive the
The lecture will take place at 7 p.m., at ing the campus.
water blessed with the Holy Muron (Holy Oil). Corinne Sapah-Gulian, his wife,
the Toronto French School Multipurpose The Lincy Foundation has long earned world-
also attended the service.
Room, 318 Lawrence Ave. East (west of wide acclaim for its diverse and exemplary
“It was very moving,” Randy Sapah-Gulian said of the Blessing of Water cere-
Bayview), Toronto. benevolence throughout the United States and
mony. “I am very happy and honored to have been asked by Srpazan Hayr to be
Admission is free; free parking is also Armenia.
the godfather, and it’s something I shall remember forever.”
available. Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los
Reflecting on his role as the chair of the board of directors of the Fund for
This event is presented by The Zoryan Angeles, the TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian
see NATIVITY, page 8
Institute of Canada. School is a federally tax exempt, pre-K to 12th-
grade private educational institution. For more
information, visit www.dickranianschool.org.
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 7

COMMUNITY NEWS

Fr. Dajad Davidian and Fr. Arsen Barsamian Honored at

St. James Church on 50th Anniversary of Ordination
WATERTOWN, Mass. — Archbishop Khajag priest. After three years of studying music the- From Watertown to Armenia ‘Role Models for a Younger Generation’
Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the ory and composition at the University of Fr. Dajad Davidian was born in Worcester, Following services on December 13, the com-
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), visited Wisconsin, he traveled to Lebanon to study Mass. Like Fr. Barsamian, he began his theo- munity gathered for the 78th anniversary name
St. James Armenian Church, on Sunday, theology at the seminary of the Great House logical studies at the seminary of the Great day banquet at St. James Church. During the
December 13, as the parish honored two for- of Cilicia in 1953. Later he continued his House of Cilicia, in 1952. Returning to the US banquet, the Primate presented Spiritual
mer pastors, Rev. Arsen Barsamian and Rev. work at the Armenian Patriarchate of three years later, he enrolled at General Leadership Awards to Barsamian and Davidian
Dajad Davidian, to mark the 50th anniversary Jerusalem, and completed coursework at sev- Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church on behalf of the Eastern Diocese.
of their ordinations into the holy priesthood. eral seminaries in the US. in New York City, graduating in 1958. “For a generation, the people of this parish
The day also marked the 78th anniversary of On March 13, 1960, he was ordained into the Davidian was ordained into the priesthood were fortunate to enjoy the pastoral leadership
St. James Church. holy priesthood by then-Primate Archbishop on July 17, 1960, by Archbishop Sion of Der Dajad and Der Arsen,” Archbishop
Barsamian celebrated the Divine Liturgy, Sion Manoogian at St. Mesrob Armenian Manoogian. Following ordination, he served Barsamian said.
and Davidian delivered the day’s sermon. In Church of Racine, Wis., and appointed pastor at the Armenian Church of Bergen County, in “Through his deep learning, his inexhaustible
the sanctuary, the Primate presented both cler- of St. George Armenian Church of Waukegan, New Jersey, was the executive secretary of energy, and his warm, open-hearted personality,
gymen with Pontifical Encyclicals on behalf of Ill., where he would serve for the next four the Armenian Church Youth Organization of Dajad has been a worthy servant to our Diocese
Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and years. During this time, Arsen Barsamian also America (ACYOA) and held the position of and our people in general. He is a true soldier
Catholicos of All Armenians. visited parishes in Illinois and Wisconsin, serv- editor of The Armenian Guardian . of the Armenian Church: indomitable in spirit,
Archbishop Barsamian expressed his appre- ing communities without a permanent pastor. In 1962, he joined the staff of St. Nersess protective of our traditions, and passionate
ciation to Rev. Barsamian and Davidian for In 1967, he became pastor of St. James Armenian Seminary and later became pastor of about exerting the church’s influence in the
their dedication to the Armenian Church, and Armenian Church of Richmond, Va. He also St. Mesrob Church of Racine, Wis. In 1969, he surrounding world.”
said he was glad that Karekin II, too, was hon- has served at St. Mary Armenian Church of was appointed pastor of St. James Church of “While a quieter soul by nature, Father Arsen
oring their years of service. Washington, DC., Holy Trinity Armenian Watertown, where he served until his retire- has been no less of a forceful presence in the
“Today is a day of celebration and a day of Church of Cheltenham, Penn., St. Gregory of ment in 1999. life of our church. He has embraced the role of
recommitment,” the Primate said. “We are here Narek Armenian Church of Cleveland, Ohio After his retirement, Davidian traveled to teacher and author, pouring his learning into
to say thank you to Father Arsen and Father and St. John the Baptist Armenian Church of Armenia, where he has spent time preaching, resources meant to awaken our people to the
Dajad. It is also an opportunity for us to com- Milwaukee. organizing new parishes, and directing youth treasures of our heritage — and to waken, also,
mit ourselves to the task of ensuring that there In 1989, Fr. Barsamian became the associate centers. He also works with Radio Vem, a radio a deeper awareness of God’s presence among
will be other priests like them to continue the pastor of St. James Armenian Church of station based in Armenia which features reli- us. Numerous souls have found both consola-
mission of the Armenian Church.” Watertown, where he served until his retire- gious programming. tion and inspiration in Der Arsen’s dignified,
In this “Year of Vocations,” the Primate ment in 2002. He continues to assist the
encouraged parishioners to guide young peo- parish’s current pastor, Rev. Arakel Aljalian.
ple, especially young men, who are serving “For over 50 years, as a good shepherd, you
their church. “It is so instructive to hold up have nurtured the spiritual needs of our faith-
these two worthy examples of dedication to ful in the Eastern Diocese of the United
God,” Archbishop Barsamian said of the day’s States,” Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II
honorees, “two distinct paths of service, united wrote to Fr. Arsen Barsamian in the encyclical.
in their response to our Lord’s calling, leading “We are very pleased to know that even after
them to the common destination of holiness.” your retirement, you continue to contribute to
the spiritual growth of our faithful, and to help
‘A Good Shepherd’ realize our church’s Christ-given mission.”
A native of South Milwaukee, Wis., Fr. Fr. Arsen Barsamian and Yn. Varteni
Arsen Barsamian was preparing for a career Barsamian have three children: Loosaper
in music when he felt the calling to become a Anjel, Steven Asadour and Raphael Shnork.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian presented Spiritual Leadership Awards to Rev. Arsen Barsamian and
Rev. Dajad Davidian on behalf of the Eastern Diocese.

“It gives us great joy that you are realizing this peaceful spirituality.”
very important task of reaching our youth in More than 400 people attended the event,
Armenia, providing spiritual education, and helping which was organized by the Rev. Arakel Aljalian
them create ties with their heritage,” Karekin II and the parishioners of St. James Church.
wrote to Davidian in the encyclical. “We pray that Aljalian said many in the parish have been
our Heavenly Father keeps you under His care and touched by the work of Arsen Barsamian and
protection so that you may continue your fruitful Davidian.
church-building mission in Armenia.” “They are very devoted pastors of St. James
Davidian was married to the late Yeretzgin Church,” he said. “They have contributed
Rosemarie, with whom he had three children: tremendously to the well-being of this church,
Ari, Susan and Raymond. and they have become role models for a
younger generation.”
8 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMUNITY NEWS

Celebrating the Feast of the Nativity at St. Vartan Cathedral

NATIVITY, from page 6 After the January 6 services, a home bless- Gulian and thanked him for his dedication to Barsamian said, “This is the season when
Armenian Relief, he stressed the importance of ing service and Christmas luncheon were the Armenian Church and to the people of we have to remember that love has to be at
the organization and its array of held in Haik and Alice Kavookjian Armenia, many of whom benefit from the pro- the center of who we are and what we do.
programs for families in Armenia. This year the Auditorium. grams offered by FAR. When there is love, there is peace. When
Fund for Armenian Relief is marking its 20th The event featured remarks by the Primate; Mekanejian led performances of Armenian there is love, there is understanding. When
anniversary. toasts by St. Vartan Cathedral dean the Rev. songs by Hasmik Mekanejian and 10-year-old there is love, there is unity.”
“Corinne and I are very involved,” he said, Mardiros Chevian, Randy Sapah-Gulian and Dzovinar Aghavian. Anahid Zakarian was The day’s meal was prepared by the
“and everything that the Diocese does Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Nations accompanied by Vagharshag Ohanian on the Knights and Daughters of Vartan.
[through FAR] — whether it’s FAR’s child pro- Garen Nazarian; and performances by the piano.
tection programs or the senior citizen pro- Antranig Dance Ensemble and members of Eight members of the AGBU’s Antranig Nativity Eve Festivities
grams — is an integral part of helping our the St. Vartan Cathedral Choir. Dr. Raffy Dance Ensemble performed two dances. On Tuesday, January 5, the Eve of the
brothers and sisters in Armenia.” Hovanessian, vice chair of the Diocesan Barsamian presented the dancers with small Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Jesus
More than 900 people took part in services Council, served as the master of ceremonies. gifts in appreciation of their hard work. He Christ, Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian cele-
at the cathedral. In the sanctuary, the energy Nazarian made the first toast of the after- also mentioned that Sapah-Gulian, once a brated the Divine Liturgy at St. Vartan
was palpable throughout the morning as noon, thanking the Eastern Diocese for a member of the ensemble, is one of its Cathedral.
some rose to light candles. The St. Vartan wonderful year and close cooperation on new founders. Students from the Diocesan Khrimian
Cathedral Choir sang the sacred music under projects. “May 2010 bring newly-found pros- Sapah-Gulian offered the last toast of the Lyceum read scriptures in Armenian and
the direction of conductor Khoren perity to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh,” program, thanking Barsamian for the oppor- assisted the Cathedral Choir. The Khrimian
Mekanejian, with Florence Avakian on the Nazarian said. tunity to serve as godfather for the Blessing Lyceum is an Armenian language and culture
organ. Mardiros Chevian made a toast to Sapah- of Water ceremony. school for students ages 12 to 17.

Author/Songwriter to St. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church Officially Welcomes New Pastor
PASTOR, from page 6
Speak at St. James The banquet was co-chaired by Diocesan del-
egate Lisa Manookian and Parish Council vice
Men’s Club Meeting chair John Torcomian. It was sponsored by the
United Armenian Charities.
WATERTOWN, Mass. — Vahan
(Hovhannissian) Hovey, an author and ‘A Fresh Start’
songwriter, will speak at the St. James
Gulgulian began serving at St. Sahag and St.
Men’s Club dinner meeting on Monday,
Mesrob Armenian Church last summer, moving
February 1. The topic will be “The Hand
to the Philadelphia area from India, where he
of God — His experiences in the Second
served most recently as the manager of the
World War.”
Armenian Philanthropic Academy and pastor of
Hovey came from Armenia to this
the Armenian churches of India.
country at the age of 3 with his parents
A native of Beirut, Lebanon, he studied at the
in 1928. At the age 5, he performed his
Theological Seminary of the Great House of
first concert. After graduating from high
Cilicia and at the Gevorgian Theological
school, Hovey volunteered for the army
Seminary at the Mother See of Holy
in 1942, serving in Europe. He was shot
Echmiadzin. He was ordained into the holy
in combat, taken prisoner by the
priesthood in February 1987, and continued his The Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian, the new pastor of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Church of
Germans and was a POW/MIA until the
education in Geneva, Switzerland and at Wynnewood, Penn., was officially welcomed by the parish on January 3.
war’s end in 1945. His experiences dur-
Columbia University in New York City. In April
ing these years shaped his faith and guid-
2003, he received a Master of Divinity Degree in
ed his life.
pastoral ministry and a religious teaching cer- Gulgulian said. his human kindness and his warm sense of
Following his graduation from Cornell
tificate from Trinity Theological Seminary in “I know that Hayr Soorp takes his vocation humor will not fail to inspire his new flock. And
University, he opened an office in the
Indiana. most seriously, and is determined to share the I have faith that the people of Wynnewood will
heart of the music industry known as Tin
Gulgulian has served in the Diocese of the spiritual riches of our church with all of his do everything they can to aid and strengthen
Pan Alley, where he wrote and published
Armenian Church of Canada as well as in the parishioners,” Barsamian said. “His enthusiasm, his ministry.”
and recorded many songs, and was asso-
Eastern Diocese, including the communities of
ciated with the likes of Benny Goodman,
Richmond, Va., Miami, Fla. and Chelmsford, Mass.
Connie Francis, the Andrew Sisters and
He said he was familiar with the community
Roy Rogers. He also collaborated with
Mitch Miller in song writing, including a
number recorded by Rosemary Clooney.
at St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church from time
spent in the Eastern Diocese. “It’s a very
unique parish,” he said. “They embraced me
Nardolillo Est.Funeral
1906
Home
Hovey continues to write music and
and they welcomed me.”
speak about his experiences during the John K. Najarian, Jr.
Currently, the parish is preparing to co-host
war, of which he has written about in his
the 2010 ACYOA Juniors Fall Sports Weekend Rhode Island’s Only Licensed Armenian Funeral Director
book titled The Hand of God.
over Columbus Day Weekend with Holy Trinity
The dinner meeting will be held at the 1278 Park Ave. Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 942-1220
Armenian Church of Cheltenham. The commu-
St. James Armenian Church Cultural 1111 Boston Neck Rd. Narragansett, RI 02882 (401) 789-6300
nity also would like to build an athletic complex
Center, 465 Mt. Auburn St.

Giragosian
— a project Gulgulian hopes to help the parish www.nardolillo.com
The social hour will start at 6:15 p.m.,
realize in the coming years.
followed by a traditional Armenian din-
He said the community was glad to welcome
ner at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
the Primate last week, on the first Sunday of
the new year. “It was a fresh start for all of us,”

Armenian History Class Offered F U N E R A L H O M E

At Middlesex Community College James “Jack” Giragosian, CPC

Funeral Counselor
BEDFORD, Mass. — A non-credit evening will be accompanied by photographs. 576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, TEL: 617-924—0606
class on Armenian history, culture and the This is the second time Joseph Dagdigian, of w w w.giragosianfuneralhome.com
American-Armenian community will be offered Harvard, Mass., will be teaching this course.
again at the Bedford campus of Middlesex The course will be tailored to the interests of
Community College starting on Monday, the attendees. It is intended for both Armenians
February 1. The class will be conducted on five and non-Armenians of all ages.
successive Mondays, from 7 to 9 p.m. This is the Dagdigian is an active member of the Merrimack Telephone (617) 924-7400
same course that was offered in the fall of 2009, Valley Armenian community and has visited
with the exception that it has been expanded
from four to five weeks.
Armenia numerous times. He has been working
actively to support scientists and students at the
Aram Bedrosian
Topics range from the pre-history of the
Armenian plateau to the present times, with
aspects of Armenian culture. Also discussed will
Cosmic Ray Division of the Yerevan Physics
Institute and has traveled extensively in Armenia.
For more information and to enroll, visit the
Funeral Home, Inc.
be early Armenian immigration to the United website of Middlesex Community College at
Continuous Service By The Bedrosian Family Since 1945
States. The course is an introductory, but non- middlesex.mass.edu/. Look under “non-credit” MARION BEDROSIAN
trivial, survey of Armenian history. There is no courses for “personal enrichment” courses and 558 MOUNT AUBURN STREET PAUL BEDROSIAN
text book for the course but a number of up-to- then for “Introduction to Armenian History WATERTOWN, MA 02472 LARRY BEDROSIAN
date books will be recommended. The lectures PER 680.”
 New York
S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 9

M E T R O

HARRY L. KOUNDAKJIAN PHOTO

Robert
Morgenthau
Feted in
New York
NEW YORK — On the evening of Wednesday,
December 2, Robert M. Morgenthau, district
attorney of the County of New York for nearly
35 years and a living legend among prosecu-
tors, needed to be in three places at the same
time. He was late for a dinner being thrown by
the Institute for Jewish Humanities, which was
honoring him for a lifetime of achievement of
public service. At the same time, he was sched-
uled to act as master of ceremonies for a lecture
by Peter Balakian introducing his latest book
about the Armenian Genocide. But meanwhile,
a controversy had erupted with City Hall, and
for the moment, duty required Morgenthau to
answer the questions of a pack of reporters
who had descended upon his office. Finally, the
hour grew late, and Morgenthau apologized to
the newspeople, explaining that he had to be on
his way. But just before he(Mr. Morgenthau)
left, he turned to the reporters and said, “any of The Museum where the Harry Morgenthau poster and photos of Armenian refugees give full details of the Genocide.
you guys interested in the Armenian
Genocide?” HARRY L. KOUNDAKJIAN PHOTO

To anyone who knows Robert Morgenthau, Armenians from annihilation, he channeled his
the question should not have come as a sur- despair into vast projects, such as the Near East
prise. Morgenthau is fiercely and unapologeti- Relief Committee, as well as into countless indi-
cally loyal to the Armenian community on a vidual acts of compassion and sacrifice, to help
host of humanitarian concerns, but never more the dispersed Armenians. As a result, nearly
passionately so than when the cause is the one every Armenian family that survived has a story
most closely associated with his grandfather, to tell about how Ambassador Morgenthau
Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr.: the touched their lives.
Armenian Genocide. As demonstrated in an Accompanying District Attorney Morgenthau
exhibit about the Morgenthau family currently throughout that hectic evening, as he accepted
on display at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in his award and introduced the Genocide lecture,
New York City, it was Ambassador was his longest-serving Armenian-American
Morgenthau’s witness of the Genocide of the Assistant District Attorney Peter Kougasian.
Armenians, which, more than any other experi- Kougasian has served under Morgenthau ever
ence, galvanized him in his commitment to pub- since his graduation from Yale Law School in
lic service and ethical principle. And when, 1979. Morgenthau likes to note that when his
despite truly heroic efforts, Ambassador hiring panel interviewed Peter for the job back
Morgenthau was unable to save so many in the 1970s, they recommended rejecting him
HARRY L. KOUNDAKJIAN PHOTO

The only and longest serving Armenian-American Assistant District Attorney, Peter Kougasian seen
with Robert Morgenthau

because he was “too intellectual.” Morgenthau in the District Attorney’s Office in 1979 was
overrode their recommendation. “I took one United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia
look into Peter’s eyes,” DA Morgenthau jokes, Sotomayor. “Justice Sotomayor and I were col-
“and I realized: Peter is no intellectual!” lege classmates and law school classmates. We
Kougasian has held the positions of director of studied for the bar together, and started in the
Legal Staff Training, senior trial counsel, and District Attorney’s Office, in the same trial
currently is a bureau chief in the Office of the bureau, on the same day in 1979. Even back
Special Narcotics Prosecutor. He is a vice presi- then, to anyone who knew her work well, it
dent and Board Member of the Armenian would have come as no surprise that she would
Missionary Association of America, and a mem- one day be chosen for the Supreme Court. She
ber of the Armenian Evangelical Church of New is an astonishing lawyer.”
York. “Most lawyers have many jobs in the course
He has also served as a vice president of the of their career; in a real sense, I have had only
New York City Bar Association and chaired that one,” Kougasian says. “There’s an easy expla-
Association’s Executive Committee. “The best nation for that: when you work for Robert
and the brightest from all over America come to Morgenthau, you begin every day with a deep
District Attorney of the County of New York for nearly 35 years Robert Morgenthau addressing the work for Robert Morgenthau,” Kougasian says. sense of gratitude: It is the greatest of blessings
meeting of Lawyers, jurists and businessmen at the Jewish Museum And it’s not hard to substantiate that claim: one to have shared so much with so great a man.”
of Kougasian’s Yale classmates who joined him — Harry Koundakjian

Seeking Reporter/Assistant Editor

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is seeking an assistant editor to help with reporting, copy edit-
ing and proof reading. The position will be available at the start of the New Year.
The job entails 20 hours a week. Salary is commensurate with experience. Armenian language
skills are preferred but not necessary. Familiarity with Word and Quark programs is preferred.
Send resumes and writing samples to [email protected].
 New York
10 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

M E T R O

Armenia Can Be a Champion of Medical Care

NEW YORK — Throughout his two decades of nation as a whole.
working in alliance with the Armenian people, Dr. Housepian was an inspiration behind the
Edgar Housepian’s faith in their strength and founding of the FAR Fellowship Alumni
resilience has grown. A retired Columbia Association, a non-governmental organization
University neurosurgeon, Housepian is a co- of medical professionals who are aimed at
founder of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), improving the healthcare system of the com-
vice chairman of the organization’s Board of munity and advancing medical sciences in
Directors, and chair of its Medical Committee. Armenia. This group has not only helped to
On January 15, FAR will honor this great develop a culture of volunteerism and philan-
man with a gala at Cipriani Wall Street. And thropy in Armenia, but it also established the
while the evening will indeed pay homage to Continuing Medical Education (CME) program.
Through CME, doctors from all over Armenia
have an opportunity to advance their medical
training under the mentorship of leading medical
experts in Yerevan, and establish partnerships
and networks that can guide them into the
future. Since many of Armenia’s doctors work in
rural and isolated settings and have not had a
chance to advance their skills since medical
school, learn the latest discoveries in the field, or
work with the latest equipment, this program is
often the only opportunity these physicians have
to make changes and save more lives.
Housepian advocates the expansion of the CME
program, as it helps to elevate the level of medical
practice in Armenia to international standards.
Housepian and FAR have also greatly improved Graduates of FAR’s Continuing Medical Education Program providing lifesaving medical care for
Armenia’s National Medical Library. It now serves patients in Armenia
as a medical center with course offerings, com-

puter training opportunities, research programs, Each of these programs has the potential to
Graduates of FAR’s Continuing Medical and partnerships with other medical institutions make groundbreaking change in the Armenian
Education Program, like Dr. Hrant Kalenteryan, around the world. With further support, the healthcare system and the overall health of the
providing lifesaving medical care for patients in
Armenia. (Credit: Felix Aroustamyan)
library will become a regional showcase for med- Armenian people. Together, these initiatives
ical education, research, and training. can change the nation as a whole, and make it
He has been actively supporting Dr. Aram leader on the international stage.
Housepian’s incredible life achievements, it will Chobanian and his colleagues from around the Since its founding in response to the 1988
also focus on his vision of the nation of World in the International Board of Advisors of earthquake, FAR has served hundreds of thou-
Armenia one day being an international center the Yerevan State Medical University, to reform sands of people through more than 220 relief
for medicine, medical education, and research. the entire medical education system of and development programs in Armenia and
Through FAR’s Dr. Edgar Housepian Medical Armenia. Karabagh. It has channeled more than $265
Education Fund, it is indeed possible to make Housepian was instrumental in creating the million in humanitarian assistance by imple-
this hope a reality. Armenian National Science and Education menting a wide range of projects including
Each of FAR’s medical education projects — Fund (ANSEF), which provides research grants emergency relief, construction, education, med-
many of which Housepian pioneered — specifi- Edgar Housepian (right) with Dr. Aram to Armenia’s top scientists, engineers and schol- ical aid, and economic development.
cally target areas that are essential to not only Chobanian (left), president of Boston University ars, giving them the opportunity to pursue For more information on FAR, write to FAR,
Armenia’s success as an international center for Medical School major steps of their groundbreaking research 630 Second Ave., New York, NY 10016 or
medical care, but also to the success of the within their own borders. [email protected].

Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents’ Footsteps

NEW YORK — The following interview was enough money for his daily necessitates. After HV: And how about your mother’s (Makrouhi By doing so, I was convinced that the best
conducted by Hagop Vartivarian, chair of the some time, he wished to attend pharmaceutical Housepian) contribution to the AGBU? way to help humanity is to diversify the medical
ADL Press Committee, recently in New York, studies, but then realized that it was not his aim EH : My mother was an ideal figure of a real knowledge.
with Dr. Edgar Housepian, who is being hon- in life. Armenian activist woman. She was a long-term, HV: Other than medical field, what else inter-
ored by the Fund for Armenian Relief on He moved to America in 1900 and started veteran member of the AGBU, and has dedicat- ests you?
Friday, January 15. studying at a medical school, at the Long Island ed unlimited assistance. In the meantime she EH: Almost all types of fields interest me, but
Hagop Var tivar ian: Dear Dr. Housepian. Let Medical College. He gained most of his experi- was also an active member in other Armenian I love collecting postal stamps. I always travel to
me begin by telling you that this interview is ence by working on dead bodies. He graduated organizations and all her hard work led to new be able to see and experience new places and cul-
with our Ramgavar newspapers. We are all as a physician in 1905, after which he started to fruitful ideas, and her successful experiences tures. At the moment, I have three children and
aware that your father was in fact a father to all work in this field officially. His younger brother have been a key model for the coming genera- that is why I enjoy the coziness of my family.
the immigrants of the Big New York. How did was not educated, so he used his paycheck for tions. Being in assistance to the Armenian com- HV: Have you ever been to Lebanon?
he dedicate his time and soul to his people? his brothers’ education. He continued to collect munity is an impressive quality within our fam- EH : I have not had the pleasure to visit the
D r. Edgar Housepian: It’s very hard to say more medical practice from 1905 till 1909 ily, you would think it is a family heir that keeps Middle Eastern countries that often. I have only
why he was very generous and very patriotic, [serving as a physician on a British ship]. on living within the generations, and of which been to Syria once, but I did not have the
but I think there’s only one reason of why he In 1916, he joined the Red Cross and went to we cannot be detached as it is a big part of our opportunity to see Lebanon and to experience
was able to accomplish his role in the Armenian Russia, then passing on to Armenia. He stayed lives. the warm Armenian-Lebanese community. The
community and that was by believing that when there from till March 1918, because of the very H V: Dr. Housepian, you followed your fact that in the name of my father there is a
he is helping the Armenian community, he is in hard political situation there. father’s path as a mission for your life. Your club branch within the Tekeyan center brings
fact helping humanity. In additional to that, he In 1920, when the medical field improved, he father sought to aid the survivors of the me great pleasure.
had a great sense of humor, which indirectly started practicing being a family doctor. In Genocide in 1915, and you as well sought to aid (Dr. Edgar M. Housepian, a professor emeri-
helped increase the morals of the immigrated 1951 he suffered from leukemia. He passed the victims of the last earthquake in Armenia, tus of clinical neurological surgery at Columbia-
Armenians. away at the age of 76 in 1952. in order to provide medical and humane ser- Presbyterian Medical Center, earned his bache-
He had brought back a lot of his childhood HV: Do you remember anything about his vices. What can you tell us about the feelings lor’s degree in 1949 and graduated cum laude
memories from Kessab, which was one of the friendship with Archbishop Tourian? that you felt at the time? from Columbia College. He acquired his Doctor
main reasons of why he offered his willingness EH : I was in the first grade when I heard EH : During those tragic days, I was suffering of Medicine degree from Columbia University
to the Armenian community and the society to about the assassination of the archbishop. It from indecisive actions, as there were horrible College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1953,
become helpful when he was a young scholar: was a very sad operation, a tragic end especial- losses and distressing aspects. By going to and received certification from the American
he believed that serving humanity was his mis- ly since it was acted on an archbishop — a cler- Yerevan I was able to share the sufferings of my Board of Neurological Surgery in November
sion. gyman. fellow Armenians. Although this was a depress- 1961. He is a member of more than 40 profes-
My father was born in Kessab and he was a HV: What can you remember about the coop- ing circumstance, but at the same times it was sional societies and has held positions on
witness of the slaughters in 1895. With his eration with yourself and other national leaders a nice experience. It was painful to see the tor- numerous university, hospital and departmen-
friends he tried to struggle against the unjust and Ramgavar collaborators, as for Dr. tures that my brothers were facing, and it was tal committees. Housepian has participated in
and inhumane attitude, but because of very Dzovigian, Hratch Yervant etc…? pleasant to be able to reach their needs as a various study groups, and received research
hard situations, they could not return to their EH : Our house was always full of national doctor. I organized a group of volunteers that grants and prestigious honors for his outstand-
homes. Instead my father and his friends ended personalities. I was very young and I don’t reached up to 200 and within a couple of days ing work in his field. He has authored numer-
up in Egypt, with the stream of deportations. exactly recall the names of the individuals and more than 30 professional doctors and I were ous articles and books on medical research and
For a short period of time, he participated in an every occurrence, however I recollect his inti- ready to take off to Armenia, to be able to help methods in neurological studies. He is also
Armenian theatre, just to be able to save mate friendship with Dr. Dzovigian. the victims of the earthquake. chairman of FAR’s Medical Committee.)
 New York
S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 11

M E T R O

Christmas Celebrations HMADS Style

BAYSIDE, N.Y. — It is the tradition at the time on stage each year. The Kindergarteners
Yahoo, Verizon: Our Spy Capabilities
Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School (HMADS)
to spread Christmas cheer and share students’
were next to take the stage with feature recita-
tion Snorhavor Nor Daree and songs, Up on
Would ‘Shock,’ ‘Confuse’ Consumers
artistic talents with the community. HMADS the Housetop and Santa Claus Is Coming to NEW YORK (Wired) — Want to know how much phone companies and internet service
students’ first visit was on Wednesday, Town . providers charge to funnel your private communications or records to US law enforcement
December 9, 2009, as they took the trip to the The first and second grades joined together and spy agencies?
Armenian Home of Flushing, where the elder- to deliver the poem “Dear Santa.” The remain- That’s the question muckraker and Indiana University graduate student Christopher
ly in the community are cared for with love der of the students presented short skits and Soghoian asked all agencies within the Department of Justice, under a Freedom of
and respect. joined the stage as one for the Armenian por- Information Act (FOIA) request filed a few months ago. But before the agencies could pro-
Students showered the residents of the tion of the show. vide the data, Verizon and Yahoo intervened and filed
Armenian Home with special handcrafted The skits included “The Little Drummer an objection on grounds that, among other things,
Christmas ornaments and artifacts to ornate Boy” and “Santa Claus for President,” By Kim Zetter they would be ridiculed and publicly shamed were
and bring cheers to their rooms. A bouquet of “Amanoree Kisher” and “Gaghantee Seghan.” their surveillance price sheets made public.
Christmas carols in Armenian and English They also sang several Armenian Christmas Yahoo writes in its 12-page objection letter, that if
along with recitations filled the hearts of the songs. its pricing information were disclosed to Soghoian, he would use it “to ‘shame’ Yahoo! and
elderly with joy bringing back the fond mem- Boghosian extended her appreciation to the other companies — and to ‘shock’ their customers.”
ories of their youth. Kurisdos dsunav yev School Board, members of the Friends of “Therefore, release of Yahoo!’s information is reasonably likely to lead to impairment of
Haydnetsav – Tsezi Mezi Meds Avedis was HMADS members and the hard-working its reputation for protection of user privacy and security, which is a competitive disad-
the conclusive message as the students, teach- HMADS fFaculty. At the conclusion of the vantage for technology companies,” the company writes.
ers and parents departed from the Armenian program, all in attendance were invited to a Verizon took a different stance. It objected to the release of its Law Enforcement Legal
Home promising to visit again. reception. Compliance Guide because it might “confuse” customers and lead them to think that
The next event was to bring cheer to the The evening was a salute to the mission of records and surveillance capabilities available only to law enforcement would be available
Holy Martyrs Seniors’ at their Christmas HMADS; to honor Armenian culture and rec- to them as well — resulting in a flood of customer calls to the company asking for trap
party on December 15 with a special program. ognize the value of a bilingual education in and trace orders.
HMADS students were praised by the audi- the context of an English speaking society. “Customers may see a listing of records, information or assistance that is available only
ence for their proficiency in both languages On Monday, December 21, all the students to law enforcement,” Verizon writes in its letter, “but call in to Verizon and seek those
as they presented poems and songs. were escorted to the church to receive Holy same services. Such calls would stretch limited resources, especially those that are
On December 18, the HMADS community Communion. Following the short service the reserved only for law enforcement emergencies.”
gathered for their annual Christmas hantess. graduating class of 2010 read the Other customers, upon seeing the types of surveillance law enforcement can do, might
The show began with the national anthems Khosdovanank. Very Rev. Vahan “become unnecessarily afraid that their lines have been tapped or call Verizon to ask if
and the school song. The program featured a Hovhannesian praised the HMADS students their lines are tapped (a question we cannot answer).”
potpourri of English and Armenian songs, and offered his prayers and blessings to all. Verizon does disclose a little tidbit in its letter, saying that the company receives “tens
Armenian recitations, and bilingual skits from The entire student body and faculty were of thousands” of requests annually for customer records and information from law enforce-
ment agencies.
Soghoian filed his records request to discover how much law enforcement agencies —
and thus US taxpayers — are paying for spy documents and surveillance services with the
aim of trying to deduce from this how often such requests are being made. Soghoian
explained his theory on his blog, Slight Paranoia:
In the summer of 2009, I decided to try and follow the money trail in order to deter-
mine how often Internet firms were disclosing their customers’ private information to the
government. I theorized that if I could obtain the price lists of each ISP, detailing the price
for each kind of service, and invoices paid by the various parts of the federal government,
then I might be able to reverse engineer some approximate statistics. In order to obtain
these documents, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with every part of the
Department of Justice that I could think of.
The first DoJ agency to respond to his request was the US Marshals Service (USMS),
which indicated that it had price lists available for Cox Communications, Comcast, Yahoo
and Verizon. But because the companies voluntarily provided the price lists to the gov-
ernment, the FOIA allows the companies an opportunity to object to the disclosure of
their data under various exemptions. Comcast and Cox were fine with the disclosure,
Soghoian reported.
He found that Cox Communications charges $2,500 to fulfill a pen register/trap-and-
trace order for 60 days, and $2,000 for each additional 60-day-interval. It charges $3,500
for the first 30 days of a wiretap, and $2,500 for each additional 30 days. Thirty days worth
of a customer’s call detail records costs $40.
Comcast’s pricing list, which was already leaked to the Internet in 2007, indicated that
it charges at least $1,000 for the first month of a wiretap, and $750 per month thereafter.
But Verizon and Yahoo took offense at the request.
Yahoo objected on grounds that its pricing constituted “confidential commercial infor-
mation” and cited Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act and the Trade Secrets
Santa treating Kindergartners Act.
Exemption 4 of the FOIA refers to the disclosure of commercial or financial information
that could result in a competitive disadvantage to the company if it were publicly disclosed.
the children of nursery through sixth grades. treated to a breakfast and surprised with the The company claims its pricing is derived from labor rates for employees and overhead
Principal Zarminé Boghosian offered wel- presence of a Gaghant Baba waiting for them and, therefore, disclosing the information would provide clues to its operating costs —
coming remarks to all of those gathered in in the Kalustyan Hall. regardless of whether these same clues are already available in public records, such as
the auditorium, which was filled to capacity. On the eve of the Armenian Christmas, those the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also
Boghosian thanked all the parents, grandpar- (January 5) more than 20 HMADS students claims that since Soghoian is trying to determine the actual amounts the Marshals Service
ents and guests who have shown their loyal took part in reading the Holy Scriptures in paid Yahoo for responding to requests, the price lists are irrelevant, since “there are no
support to this school. She acknowledged the Armenian and sang the Badarak along with standard prices for these transactions.”
presence of special guests. Among the guests the Holy Martyrs Youth Choir. But equally important to Yahoo’s objections was the potential for “criticism” and
were: Barbara Peters, Mr. and Mrs. Nubar A fellowship hour sponsored by the ridicule. Yahoo quoted Soghoian on his blog writing that his aim was to “use this blog to
Mahdessian, Dr. Haroutun Mekhjian, Grigor HMADS followed the Christmas Eve Badarak. shame the corporations that continue to do harm to user online privacy.”
Gregorian and representatives of community Hovhannesian was invited to cut the cake Yahoo also objected to the disclosure of its letter objecting to the disclosure of pricing
organizations and schools. wishing him well in his new appointment in information saying that “release of this letter would likely cause substantial competitive
The nursery students began their portion England. harm” to the company. The company added, in a veiled threat, that if the Marshals Service
of the program with songs such as Silent The HMADS family wishes him all the best were to show anyone its letter objecting to the disclosure of pricing information, it could
Night and Dzenoontee Dzar. Their compo- in his new parish. “impair the government’s ability to obtain information necessary for making appropriate
sure and sophistication warmed the audience For more information about the school, decisions with regard to future FOIA requests.”
who looks forward to witnessing their first write to [email protected].

ARS Announces its Youth Connect Program begin at 9:30 a.m. and will continue until
4:30 p.m. The program is designed and imple-
There are no applications fees and the pro-
gram will cover lodging, food and local trans-
NEW YORK — The Armenian Relief Society the Armenian experience. From internships, mented by Dr. Asbed Kotchikian from portation for all participants in NYC.
Eastern Region recently revamped its Youth both in the US and Armenia, to humanitari- Bentley University who, in the past, has had YCP is open to any college-aged Armenian
Connect Program (YCP), an educational sem- an assistance, to cultural and educational extensive experience in developing and student from any location who would be
inar for college-age students. In an attempt to opportunities, students will learn about pro- directing youth related programs in the US, interested in learning more about history and
put Armenian students together from all geo- grams available to them through different Armenia and Middle East. The program will culture and its relevance in today’s society.
graphic areas and various academic disci- Armenian organizations. include workshops and lectures to cover To learn more about the YCP and how to
plines, ARS wants to provide an arena to The program will take place on Saturday, issues such as: the challenges that Armenian apply, contact the ARS Eastern USA office at
have students come together to share ideas February 6, at New York University’s Kimmel youth face today; the changing nature of [email protected]. Application deadline is
and information and learn about opportuni- Center for Student Life, 60 Washington Armenian world; internships and job oppor- January 25. Space is limited.
ties within the entire community to enhance Square South. Opening introductions will tunities in Armenia and in the US.
12 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

Arts & Living

Concert Tribute to PHOTO BY LEVON PARIAN.
Armenian Duduk
Chomsky at MIT Presentation and
Features Armenian Live Performance at
Composer ALMA February 4
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Noted linguist and WATERTOWN, Mass.— On Thursday,
political activist Noam Chomsky is scheduled to February 4, the Armenian Library and Museum
attend a special concert in his honor, along with of America (ALMA) will feature “The Armenian
dozens of family, friends and colleagues, at Duduk and the Impact of Cultural Policy from
MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, on January 22. Soviet Times to Present Day,” by ALMA
There will be performances of music dedicat- Research Fellow Dr. Jonathan McCollum. The
ed to Chomsky and speeches by noted scien- event will begin at 7 p.m. in the museum’s
tists and speakers from MIT and Harvard. Contemporary Art Gallery on the third floor.
Chomsky, considered today to be one of the McCollum will examine the impact of folk
world’s leading intellectuals, became prominent music both during and after Soviet rule in
half a century Armenia by concentrating specifically on the
ago for his theory duduk as mediator and marker of cultural her-
of generative itage. Musician Martin Haroutunian will also
grammar, which give a live traditional duduk performance as
transformed the part of the evening program.
study of linguis- McCollum’s experiences and interests as an
tics and pro- ALMA Research Fellow have spanned several
foundly influ- fields such as ethnomusicology, historical musi-
enced other cology, archeomusicology, museum studies and
fields, such as art history. He is the co-author of Armenian
psychology, com- Music: A Comprehensive Bibliography and
puter science and Discography (Scarecrow Press, 2004), and is a
philosophy. He is contributor to Identity, Pluralism, and Soviet
also known Music (Scarecrow Press, in press), Defining
Noam Chomsky worldwide as a Music: An Ethnomusicological and
leading political Philosophical Approach (Edwin Mellen Press,
dissident and 2007) and wrote the chapter on “Music of
peace activist. Chomsky’s honorary concert will Central Asia and the Caucasus” in OnMusic
feature music dedicated to Chomsky and songs
written on Chomsky’s words by composer
Edward Manukyan.
Prominent linguists David Pesetsky of MIT
and Gennaro Chierchia, the head of the
Linguistics Department at Harvard, will take Nora Armani
the stage with speeches about Chomsky’s con-
tribution to linguistics and world ideas. The pro-
gram will also include music dedicated to Nobel-
laureates James D. Watson, Steven Weinberg
and others. The performers include Sarita
Uranovsky (violin), Molly Walker (clarinet),
Lyndi Williams (soprano) and Hisako Hiratsuka
Reconciliation
(piano).
The concert will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are
available from: http://gsc.mit.edu/chomsky.
The event is co-sponsored by MIT Graduate
Through The Arts:
Student Council and MIT Lecture Series.
Edward Manukyan is an Armenian-born com-
poser from Southern California. Hailed by con-
Armenia and Turkey
ductor Loris Tjeknavorian as “the most brilliant
LOS ANGELES (News Blaze) — The following is a conversation between
Armenian composer of his generation,”
Barney Yates, an American journalist, and Nora Armani, an international actor,
Manukyan has dedicated a considerable num-
playwright and festival producer, about
ber of his works to eminent scientists. Recently,
prospects for healing old wounds between
he has been promoting wider appreciation for
sciences through his original Musical Tribute to By Barney Yates Armenia and Turkey through the “soft diplo-
macy” of cultural exchange.
Scientists project, which includes dedications to
Q: There are ongoing negotiations toward
some of the greatest minds of our time.
protocols for opening the borders between Turkey and Armenia for the first time in Dr. Jonathan McCollum
Manukyan is the author of a number of orches-
a long time. Why has this peaceful development been so difficult to achieve?
tral and chamber works, many of which have
A : Well, there are many unresolved issues between Armenians and Turks, the
been performed on the international scene. For
most important of which is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Opening bor-
additional information about Manukyan and World Music Online textbook (2008).
ders is a wonderful thing, as it is important for all nations under the sun to live
the Noam Chomsky Honorary Concert, visit Haroutunian, a highly regarded musician and
peacefully with their neighbors and have normal exchanges on the economic, social
www.EdwardManukyan.com. a student of Armenian folk music, performs and
and human levels. However, opening up the borders under the conditions Turkey is
pushing for would not create the sort of peaceful atmosphere that is so desirable teaches traditional Armenian wind and percus-
between neighboring countries. It would result in resentment and further mistrust. sion instruments, including dap, dhol (kopal),
By pressuring Armenia to accept the protocols with conditions attached, and by duduk, parkapzuk, pku, shvi, sring (blul) and
sliding over the important issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, zurna. He has studied at the Komitas State
Turkey is not engaging in a peaceful act but an act of denial. It is much like deny- Conservatory of Yerevan, Folk Instruments
ing the Jewish Holocaust during World War II. Department, under Khachatur Avetisian in the
Let’s ask ourselves why these centuries-old neighbors have not been on “talking terms.” Wind Instruments Division under Jivan
If the issue that caused the conflict is not resolved at its root, and amends are not made Gasparian and the University of Massachusetts,
by Turkey as the perpetrator to its victims of the Genocide and their offspring, you can Boston. He has also received private instruction
open as many borders as you want, but that will not create peaceful coexistence. from Professors Ohannes Salibian, Georgi
This is why the Armenian majority in the diaspora (yes, there are more Armenians Minasov, Ararat Petrosian, Gevorg Dabaghian
in the diaspora than in Armenia today) is totally opposed to the protocols. They are and Norayr Kartashian. His critiques and
not opposed to dialog with Turkey as such, but they are opposed to the way Turkey reviews have been published in the Armenian
is approaching the round table of talks. This is not an egalitarian relationship and Forum, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator and
the gain is totally for Turkey here as Armenia presents a market for Turkish goods, the Armenian Weekly.
excellent craftsmen/women for Turkish factories, a source of skilled artisans (as it He has performed in Armenia, Canada,
has been in the past, throughout centuries) and more. Cyprus, Holland, Italy, Lebanon, Syria and
There may be individual gains for some Armenians engaged in this commerce, but Turkey. He was a guest artist with the Navasart
as a nation the protocols do not do anything but harm to the Armenian nation and Armenian Folk Ensemble of Paris, France dur-
see RECONCILIATION, page 16 ing their United States tour with performances
Edward Manukyan in Boston, New York, Fresno, San Francisco
see ALMA, page 13
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 13

ARTS & LIVING

Naregatsi Art Institute Winter Soiree Warms the Hearts

By Florence Avakian

NEW YORK — On the cold, snowy, starlit

evening of December 12, more than 110 enthu-
siastic friends gathered at the spacious and ele-
gant home of Andreas Roubian to support one
of the most important and respected nonprofit
organizations, the Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI).
Appropriately, the event was held in a setting
that houses one of the most extensive collec-
tions of art, including numerous priceless
works by two legendary Armenian masters —
Pushman and Aivazovsky.
The Naregatsi Art Institute, founded by
Nareg Hartounian five years ago in Yerevan,
and two years later in Karabagh (Artsakh), is
about “nourishing the soul of a nation —
through the arts,” said Hartounian who was
described as a “romantic idealist and strong
visionary” by the event’s Master of Ceremonies
Mossik Makhoulian. “He knows how to make
decisions and bring them to practical reality.”
A video with happy and smiling children,
demonstrated the Naregatsi Art Institute’s
daily events, all open to the public without
charge. This center, a first for Armenia,
encourages handicapped artists, offers free
music lessons and is a virtual ongoing art
exhibit. Seminars, forums and conferences
take place almost daily. Guests at the Naregatsi Arts Institute
One of the most moving moments of the
video showed a choir of children who had lost
their fathers in the Karabagh conflict. During UNTIL MY LAST BREATH in Armenia, but also in the Armenian commu- tables with lighted lanterns hung from fern tree
the evening, a silent art auction with artwork “Why have we called it the Naregatsi Art nities abroad.” branches. Hosted by Andreas Roubian, atten-
and handmade Christmas cards donated by the Institute,” asked Hartounian. “It has to do with Entertainment was provided by pianist dees were treated to a lavish buffet. Roubian
Naregatsi art students took place. The proceeds providence, with destiny. Krikor Naregatsi sig- Karina Azatian, the YY Sisters with selections has been instrumental in helping Artzagh for
would enable the children in Shushi’s NAI cen- nifies blessings, and the responsibility to dedi- from Komitas, and 11-year-old pianist David many years, and funding the renovation of the
ter to enroll in art classes of their choice and cate ourselves to this sacred mission and work Antablian, who played compositions from Ghazanchetsots Church of Shushi.
provide them with a safe haven. with honor, integrity and trust. That’s why I’ve
“One man can start something but can’t fin- dedicated my life to it until my last breath,” he
ish it,” said Nareg Hartounian. “This fundraiser, stated with emotion.
our first, is a means to an end. It will make a Composer Konstantin Petrosian, who two
huge difference in creating hope and inspira- months ago introduced his new works at the
tion. The institute has been created to serve our Naregatsi Art Institute in Armenia to packed
culture, and create opportunities for the youth audiences, urged all to “go, see and participate”
— especially in Shushi where it helps the chil- in the institute’s activities in both Yerevan and
dren to express their artistic talents. It’s a place Shushi. “In just a few years, one person alone
where children feel safe, warm, loved, and cared has established this center, receiving very little
for,” he said and introduced two individuals support from the Armenian government. We all
who have been invaluable and dedicated sup- have to work together to continue this valuable
porters for the preservation of NAI, his father, effort.” It was announced that both Hartounian
Garabed Haroutunian, and brother, Saro. and Petrosian would go to Los Angeles the next
The Shushi center provides classes in music, morning. Their CD, “Oberton,” produced by
theatre, dance, sculpture, painting, needlework, NAI, has been nominated in the Armenian
languages, etc. All classes are free of charge. It Music Awards in the best classical music cate-
aspires to have a dormitory that could accom- gory.
modate up to 40 to 50 volunteers who would A message from Armenia’s Ambassador to
come from around the world. They would have the United Nations Garen Nazarian, who was
accommodations for free in their new home and unable to be present, expressed appreciation to
in return would share their knowledge with the the Naregatsi Art Institute “for supporting Naregatsi Arts Institute founder Nareg Haroutunian
children. young people who take pride in their Armenian
There are also plans to build an artist’s heritage. Their artistic contribution is particu-
retreat with workshops, and daily exhibitions. larly important because they carry traditions of Babajanian and Gurdjiev that he had learned in Departing guests received Christmas artwork
Currently, the Shushi center is still not com- our nation and create new ones.” NAI Yerevan. made by the Naregatzi Art Institute students of
pleted. “We have to join our hands together and Congratulating the institute on its achievement, During the evening, the guests enjoyed a Shushi.
make this a reality,” declared Hartounian. Nazarian expressed his hope “to see many richly decorated Christmas tree, red lighted, tas- For more information about the Naregatsi
events which will inspire young people, not only seled balloons floating from the ceiling, and Art Institute visit www.naregatsi.org.

Armenian Duduk Presentation and Live Performance at ALMA

ALMA, from page 12 ious recordings including “An Anthology of CD, “The Return,” and serves on the
and Los Angeles. He has also toured with the Armenian Patriotic Songs,” “Portable Planet,” Executive Committee of the Hamazkayin
Erebouni and Garni Armenian Folk Ensembles “Lullabies From The Cradle Of Civilization” Armenian Educational and Cultural Society of
as principal soloist performing at various pres- and various film and television soundtracks, Greater Boston.
tigious international festivals including the including the “Everything is Illuminated” orig- The event is free and open to the public.
Festival of Nations in Albany, New York and the inal motion picture soundtrack. In 2007 he Guests will also be granted free museum admis-
Wolf Trap International Children’s Festival in was invited to be recorded by Academy Award sion before the program from 6 to 7 p.m.
Vienna, Va. He has also has toured with winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla for a Currently on display in the museum’s
Kurdish folk singer Jivan Perwer. Haroutunian film soundtrack. He is also featured on record- Simourian Family Gallery is “The Armenian
arranged and performed the music for New ings by Raffi Adourian, Janette Khalarian, The Musical Traditions,” an exhibit curated by
Repertory Theater’s 1998 production of Vardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble and The McCollum. Visitors will learn about the various
Richard Kalinoski’s “Beast on The Moon” as Komitas Project and Musaner, both directed genres of traditional music in Armenia and the
well as acted as a consultant and recorded for by Ara Sarkissian. In 2006 Haroutunian found- instruments that developed there. The exhibit
the play’s 2005 Off-Broadway production. ed the Lusin Armenian Experimental examines a range of musical styles, including
In 1989, Haroutunian founded and has since Improvisation Group. He developed and religious, folk, troubadour, contemporary and
directed the Arev Armenian Folk Ensemble, taught a music appreciation program at St. the American-Armenian style played at picnics
performing extensively in the United States Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School. Most in the United States. Entertainment Fridays
and Canada, including with the 2002 recently he was invited by the Chicago The museum is located at 65 Main St. For and Saturdays
Christmas Revels. The ensemble’s first record- Symphony Orchestra to play at a concert that directions and more information about the pro-
ing in 2003 received two nominations at the will take place in April. He is currently gram and current exhibits on display, visit
Armenian Music Awards. He is featured on var- involved in the production of Arev’s second www.almainc.org.
14 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

ARTS & LIVING

Quite the Gem Dandy

ONCE OVERLOOKED, NOW BREATHTAKING IN ITS BEAUTY,
733-CARAT SAPPHIRE HAS HISTORY WORTH ITS WEIGHT
Sonny and Cher had seen their fame ebb. After a failed film Her version of the tale, as told in court papers by her attor-
By Victoria Kim venture and lackluster album sales, they were taking a stab at ney, is filled with scathing accusations against Armstrong, her
something new: a television variety show. In the premiere, they onetime lover. (Armstrong, whose attorneys never responded
planned a sketch where Cher would be decked out in valuable to the allegations, declined to discuss the court case.)
LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles Times) — The boy brought gems, and security guards would keep Sonny away as he sang Within days of their meeting, Armstrong told her about the
home a dull-colored half-pound stone he found on the hillside, “Close to You.” stone and pressured her to buy it. She paid the bill, and he
and his father, Harry Spencer, thought of the perfect place for Cher’s first stop had been Tiffany’s. But when the show’s promised to pay part of it, Grohe contended.
it. They would use it as a doorstop. producers learned insurance would cost $8,000, they looked The next year, Armstrong moved to Switzerland to live with
The year was 1938, and their home was a modest shack in for another option. Grohe. Armstrong said in an interview that he went to Europe
a sparsely populated, dusty stretch of gem-mining territory in Instead of insurance, Michael hired half a dozen police offi- to pursue his art; Grohe contended he refused to get a job and
central Queensland, Australia. The stone sat at the backdoor cers to escort him and the Black Star to the studio. The stone relied on her for his extravagant living expenses.
for 10 years, until a jeweler recognized its potential and was tied on by hand with a flimsy wire to a necklace with Soon, their relationship soured. He drank heavily, became
brought it across the Pacific. In Los Angeles, it was polished about 100 carats of diamonds. physically abusive and got angry when she brought up his
to reveal a six-pronged, mesmerizingly beautiful star — or so A few hours into the taping, he panicked. Cher was dancing. promise to pay for the stone, she alleged. In September 2007,
goes the story that is passed down about the largest- Grohe called the police, bought him a plane ticket back
known star sapphire in the world. to the US and kicked him out.
The Black Star of Queensland would make its way That marked the beginning of an international tussle
around the world, weaving in and out of spotlight and for control of the stone.
obscurity, with stops in the Smithsonian in the ’60s, The next month, Grohe met with a potential buyer in
on Cher’s neck in the ’70s, and at the Royal Ontario Canada, where the sapphire was on display at the Royal
Museum in Toronto in 2007. It would capture the fan- Ontario Museum, with its value then estimated at $4.1
tasy of a young boy, who would dream of one day million. Armstrong foiled her efforts at a sale, “desper-
owning it. It would be mounted on white gold and 35 ate at the thought that his gravy train would end,” she
diamonds added around its rim. alleged.
Some profess the stone has a certain magic, bring- When the loan to the museum came to an end in
ing luck to the fortunate few who have touched it. 2008, Armstrong, who was listed as a co-owner in the
One owner said it brought on the darkest period of museum’s records, went behind Grohe’s back and asked
her life, leaving memories she never wanted to revis- that it be shipped to him in Los Angeles, in care of the
it. Harry Winston jewelry shop in Beverly Hills, according
Eventually, as many prized things do, it landed in to court documents.
LA County Superior Court, at the center of allega- A few weeks later, Armstrong showed up at the shop
tions of deception, unkept promises and a lover’s with a woman he said was a buyer and asked for the
betrayal. stone. The salon director, Goli Parstabar, had learned of
Harry Kazanjian learned to polish stones because the dispute and refused.
of an eye infection. About 1908, his family fled from Furious, Armstrong returned with police officers, but
Turkey to France to escape the persecutions that pre- was rebuffed. Then he had an attorney send a demand
ceded the Armenian genocide. When they tried to The Black Star of Queensland letter. When that didn’t work, he sued Harry Winston
board a ship bound for the United States, guards for $25 million and issued press releases saying his
wouldn’t let young Harry on because of his eye. As his stone was being held hostage.
family sailed across the Atlantic, Kazanjian stayed behind in Michael jumped up on stage and stopped the take, fearing the In court, the allegations escalated. Armstrong alleged that
Paris and apprenticed for his stonecutter uncle. stone would drop and shatter. Parstabar had cost him a lucrative deal and ruined his reputa-
Kazanjian discovered he had a knack for envisioning a gem- After its brief television fame, the stone sat out of public tion by refusing to show the stone to his client. Grohe accused
stone in the rough, the way sculptors see a finished work in a view for the most part, making only occasional appearances at Armstrong of fraud and unlawfully trying to take control of
slab of marble. When he reunited with his family, he persuad- private charity functions. It has never been worn since. the stone, for which she contended he never paid a dime.
ed his brother James to go into the gem business with him. Jack Armstrong says he was a 5-year-old living in Blair, Neb., Doug Kazanjian wears his grandfather’s ring with a stone
The brothers traveled the world buying rare and valuable when he first laid eyes on the Black Star. That summer, his just like the Black Star — only 700 carats smaller.
stones. The Spencer family had sold them many blue and yel- father, an auditor, took him on a trip to Washington, where the “It’s almost as if you’re looking into space,” he said of the
low sapphires. One day in 1947, Harry Kazanjian saw a pile of Kazanjians had lent the stone to the Smithsonian for a display stone. “It’s like having the universe on your finger.”
black stones at the Spencers’ home that they had thought with the Hope Diamond. Armstrong said he breezed past the Last year, he was asked by an attorney in the case to identi-
worthless. He asked to inspect them, thinking they might be diamond but became fixated on the sapphire. fy his family heirloom.
star sapphires. Spencer told his son to go get the doorstop. “It took my breath away,” he said. “It’s like you see your He was ushered into a private room at a Beverly Hills bank,
In the fist-sized stone, Kazanjian spotted a copper-colored future in front of your eyes.” where attorneys, Parstabar, and Armstrong huddled around
glimmer, a hint of the impurity that sometimes grows along a In 2002, he was introduced to the Kazanjians and was invit- him. Before him was a tightly wrapped cardboard shipping box
sapphire’s crystals to create the star, an optical effect known ed to see their collection. When he saw the Black Star, he that had sat untouched since it arrived from Toronto. All eyes
as an asterism. He bought it, reportedly for $18,000, and couldn’t believe he was looking at the stone from his child- focused on him opening the box.
brought it to the shop he ran with his brother in downtown hood and immediately wanted to buy it. He sifted through bubble wrap and tissue paper until he
LA. Armstrong, a former model now in his 50s with no shortage found the velvet case holding the stone.
Amid the whirring of grinding wheels and hissing of polish- of flamboyance, says he is an artist and a dealer of art and “It was like getting to see an old friend,” he recalled.
ing machines, Kazanjian studied the stone for weeks before antiques. Attorneys have described him in court papers as a He inspected the diamonds, and the mounting. He scanned
cutting into it. Over months, he worked, bent over a copper man with no discernible source of income who lived off a the graining at the top of the stone. He shined a flashlight to
wheel impregnated with diamond dust, gently carving away to wealthy older girlfriend, a divorcee living in Switzerland. create the six-point star.
create a dome. “I’ve never met a personality like him,” said Doug Kazanjian, This is the Black Star of Queensland, he wrote on a piece of
“I could have ruined it a hundred times during the cutting,” Michael’s son, who met with Armstrong about the sale. “He paper, and signed it.
Kazanjian told a Times reporter at the time. had this overwhelming passion to buy it.” The legal dispute quietly settled out of court in a confiden-
In 1948, the Black Star of Queensland debuted in New York. After the sapphire had been in the family for more than 50 tial agreement. According to a court document, Armstrong
Actress Linda Darnell cradled the egg-sized stone in her fin- years, the Kazanjians decided to sell it to fund a scholarship at agreed to pay $500,000 within three months to buy out Grohe.
gers and held it up for the cameras. At 733 carats, it was far the Gemological Institute of America. At 5 p.m., on the last day that he could claim ownership, a
larger than the Star of India, a 563-carat blue star sapphire pre- Armstrong arranged to buy the stone with his girlfriend. He personal check from Armstrong arrived at Grohe’s attorney’s
viously known to be the largest. was so in love with it, he said, that he slept with it under his office. The check bounced.
It was valued at $300,000, but the Kazanjians “declared pillow and drove around with it in his jacket. A few months later, a judge entered a final ruling: the stone
emphatically” that it wasn’t for sale. But love or no love, he was quick to slap on a price tag and was all hers.
Michael Kazanjian, Harry’s nephew, spent his summers and offer it for sale. A month after he bought it for an undisclosed The Black Star of Queensland once again sits in obscurity,
weekends as a child at the shop, trying to emulate his uncle’s amount, he issued a press release saying the sapphire was with its owner in Switzerland. Grohe wants to put that period
craft on less-valuable gems. He had watched in awe as his available — for $50 million. of her life behind her and would rather not talk about it, her
uncle polished the Black Star. “The sale of the Black Star sapphire is a huge event in the attorney said. She hasn’t decided what to do with the stone.
To him, the stone was like a member of the family. He would gem stone market,” Armstrong said in the press release in Armstrong, meanwhile, says it’s enough for him that he once
occasionally visit it at the family vault and talk to it, and it December 2002. “To have a stone like this come on the mar- held the sapphire he fantasized about as a child. Though he
would talk back, he said. ket is tantamount to having a Raphael painting suddenly lost the court battle, the gem brought him good fortune in his
“The stone had a lovely personality,” said Michael, who took emerge for sale; it happens maybe once, maybe twice in a life- work and life, he said.
over the family business in the 1970s. “Very dramatic, very time.” He wants to make a film about the stone, he says, for “every
powerful.” Gabrielle Grohe had never heard of the Black Star, and in little kid who dreams.” He says he is on the brink of a deal with
One day, in 1971, he saw an opportunity to show it off when hindsight, she might wish it stayed that way. a studio. He imagines it will be a tale of a princess trapped in
a Hollywood manager called him with an odd request: “Can In her 60s and wealthy from an earlier marriage to an indus- an enchanted stone, and a boy who finds it by chance.
you put a few million dollars of jewelry on Cher?” By then, trialist, she was introduced to Armstrong in 2002. “It’s a magical story,” he said. “It should be told.”
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 15

ARTS & LIVING

New Book Book Tells of Armenian Struggle

ties that Kehetian in 1969 stood little chance of

On Painter By Chad Selweski gaining a passport and approval to travel deep

into the interior of the barren, depopulated
homeland of his ancestors in Turkish-held

Sumbat
DETROIT (Macomb Daily) — A former news- Armenia. The trip was made possible by the
paper editor who spent many late nights work- behind-the-scenes efforts of a powerful Polish-
ing a second shift pecking away at a manual American congressman from Detroit’s East
typewriter in his basement has finally seen all Side, Lucien Nedzi, and Secretary of State

Released those pages come to life.

Mitch Kehetian, a longtime Macomb Daily
editor, is releasing his first book, Giants of the
Earth, which tells of the struggles and perse-
William Rogers. A copy of an airgram from
Rogers’ office to the American Embassy in
Ankara enlisting its assistance in helping
Kehetian in his mission is included in the mem-
SAN FRANCISCO — Armen Der cution of the Armenian people. Kehetian said oir. The “limited official use” airgram refers to
Kiureghian, professor of engineering at the the project began more than three decades “various cities in Eastern Turkey once heavily
University of California, Berkeley, has pub- ago. populated by Armenians” — and a FYI alert that
lished a book about the life and work of his “Actually, the 13 chapters were written in Kehetian has discovered that “a relative sur-
father, Sumbat Der Kiureghian, a renowned the 1970s and early ’80s. And then I just let it vived Turkish massacres several decades ago.”
Iranian-Armenian watercolorist known simply sit. I figured I’d present it some day to my The author said the Armenian-American
by his first name. grandchildren as a memoir,” Kehetian said. community, consisting of 1.5 million people,
The Life and Art of Sumbat includes 120 One of the book’s highlights is a description was dismayed after they supported Barack
pages of color reproductions of Sumbat’s of the first of Kehetian’s five trips to his home- Obama in 2008. On the observance of
paintings, drawings and sketches, as well as Sumbat Der Kiureghian (known simply as land, an eight-day journey in 1969 that ended Armenian Memorial Day last April. Obama’s
Sumbat’s biography, written by his son and Sumbat) as a young man with a prayer at his aunt’s mountaintop presidential proclamation referred to the 1915-
full of personal anecdotes and letters. gravesite overlooking the Euphrates River. 23 slaughter as a “great calamity,” not geno-
Der Kiureghian compiled the material over Family members had long encouraged cide.
a period of nine years, drawing on archival lifestyle, folk traditions and landscapes to Kehetian to complete the book. The finished While campaigning for president Obama said
resources in Iran, Armenia and the United Western audiences. product is dedicated to a cousin, Rev. Vartan he would be a president who recognizes the
States, as well as interviews with Sumbat’s Aside from their artistic value, the signifi- Kassabian, a priest in the Armenian Church, massacre of the Armenians as a genocide.
friends and relatives across the globe. He cance of Sumbat’s paintings lies in their who died suddenly 18 months ago and never After his retirement in November 2005 after
describes his father’s life preservation of a way of saw the publication he had longed to read. spending more than 50 years in journalism,
through a series of inti- life that has since been Giants of the Earth recounts Kehetian’s dis- Kehetian eventually returned to his transcript
mate stories and quota- lost to modernization. Of covery of his heritage in historical Turkish-held and added a prologue and epilogue.
tions from other writers. particular note are his Armenia and his search for his father’s sister, Kehetian wrote the book newspaper style,
The foreword is written “Sumbastisms,” created Parancim, who hadn’t been seen since 1947. not in scholarly prose. Giants of the Earth is
by Armenian cultural by turning his newspaper- On this literary journey, the author shares not targeted at first-generation Armenian-
anthropologist Levon palettes into abstract antique snapshots of Armenia and explores the Americans who know the homeland’s history
Abrahamian. Haroutiun depictions of busy street country’s history from its early existence 2,000 well, or the second generation who earned
Samuelian, also of scenes. These works cap- years ago to the death and devastation it suf- their heritage through word of mouth. The
Armenia, designed the ture the energy and diver- fered during the genocide of 1915-23 at the author’s audience, he hopes, will be the third
graphics and layout of sity of Iranian society hands of the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire. generation.
the book. The book was while also straddling the “I want people to know there has been a race “I want that third generation to know what
published by ADK & line between figurative of people there for 2,000 years and the geno- really happened,” he said, “and I want them to
Associates Publishers in and abstract painting. The cide was not based on religion. This was not a understand why the Armenians still seek jus-
San Francisco and print- common threads that jihad by Muslims. This was a systematic plan to tice.”
ed by Printinfo JS LLC in unite all of Sumbat’s eradicate the Armenians and move them out of Kehetian, a native Detroiter, was president of
Yerevan, Armenia. works are his stunning, the interior area,” said Kehetian, 79. the Detroit Press Club and Society of
Sumbat (1913-1999) gentle colors, an On Capitol Hill, efforts to recognize the Professional Journalists. He served for 13 years
was a highly-regarded Iranian-Armenian inescapable sense of joy and tranquility in his genocide victims, estimated at more than 1 mil- as a governing board trustee at Central
artist, who is particularly admired for his subjects and a strong appreciation for the life lion, have been the subject of contention in Michigan University. In 2006 Wayne State
watercolor and gouache renditions of Iranian of ordinary people. numerous resolutions proposed by the House University’s Journalism Department honored
and Armenian village scenes and of land- The Life and Art of Sumbat, 176 pages in and Senate. Each time, the Armenian- the former Macomb Daily editor with its cov-
scapes. A descendant of 17th-century hardcover, is available for purchase at American community was overpowered by eted Lifetime Achievement Award for champi-
Armenian settlers in the New Julfa district of www.Sumbat.com and www.Amazon.com political pressures from Turkey, which has con- oning the public’s right to know for more than
Isfahan, he embodied the artistic traditions of and in Abril Bookstore, Berj Bookstore, sistently disputed the genocide label, and con- 50 years.
his people and his hometown. Through his Borders and Sardarabad Bookstore in cerns expressed by the State Department, Giants of the Earth is published by Publish
art, he played the role of a mediator between Glendale, Calif.; at Ketab Corp., in Los which views Islamic Turkey as a key, strategi- America.
East and West: he brought a European artis- Angeles; the Armenian Prelacy Bookstore in cally located US ally. For information to order, log on to:
tic style (lucid watercolor applied in loose New York and at the ALMA Bookstore, In Washington, the tensions were so high http://www.publishamerica.net/product8836
brushwork) to Iran and he introduced Iranian Watertown, Mass. between the Armenian and Turkish communi- 1.html.

Reception Held for ALMA’s Armenian Legionnaire Traveling Exhibit

PASADENA, Calif. — The Pasadena Central an Armenian Legionnaire.
Library, which is host to the exhibit “Légion The program also featured Carl Bardakian
Arménienne: The Armenian Legion and Its speaking about his grandfather Jim
Heroism in the Middle East,” put together by Chankalian, whose life as an Armenian
the Armenian Library and Museum of Legionnaire is highlighted in the exhibit. Dr.
America (ALMA), hosted a reception on Zaven Arslanian spoke about his grandfather
January 3 in honor of the exhibit, which will Caspar Menag’s contributions to the
end on January 17. Armenian Legion. Other guest speakers
“Légion Arménienne” offers a glimpse into included Armenian Rights Council of
the formation, training, military action and America representative Dr. Raffi Balian and
postwar activities of the Armenian Legion Armenian National Committee Chairman
through photographs and narratives. Raffi Hamparian speaking on behalf of his
The standing-room-only January 3 program Pasadena chapter. Hamparian also presented
was co-sponsored by the Western Region of awards to the Pasadena Central Library and
Armenian Rights Council of America and the the Armenian Library and Museum of
Pasadena Chapter of the Armenian National America for bringing the exhibit to Pasadena.
Committee and supported by the Pasadena In attendance was Grigor Hovhanissian,
Armenian Youth Federation “Nigol Touman” consul general of the Republic of Armenia in
Chapter. Los Angeles, who expressed great interest in
Former Pasadena Mayor Bill Paparian bringing the exhibit to Armenia. Also in atten- Armenian Library and Museum of America Trustees Laurel Karabian, Joan Agajanian Quinn and
presided over the afternoon program honor- dance were Armenian Library and Museum Caroline Tufenkian with Pasadena AYF “Nigol Touman” chapter members, former Pasadena
ing the brave and selfless young legionnaires Trustees Laurel Karabian, Joan Agajanian Mayor Bill Paparian and Pasadena ANC activist Raffi Hamparian
who, during World War I, went from the US, Quinn and Caroline Tufenkian.
the Middle East and Europe to help the The traveling exhibit was made possible by
Allies, and later risked all in defense of a grant from K. George and Carolann S. Pasadena appearance is sponsored by Ed Michgian-Dearborne in February.
Armenian human rights. Keynote speaker Ed Najarian, MD Foundation, with additional Aghjayan and Bill Paparian. For scheduling information or to learn
Aghjayan, former Pasadena deputy city man- support provided by the Armenian-American Following the Pasadena display, “Légion about the exhibit, contact ALMA at
ager, shared stories about his father who was Veterans of Milford, Mass., Inc. The exhibit’s Arménienne” will travel to the University of [email protected].
16 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

ARTS & LIVING

Reconciliation Through The Arts: Armenia and Turkey

RECONCILIATION. from page 12 Another name that comes to mind is Sinan, who was the daughter of a priest in Kaiseri, was these situations it is often “legitimized”
the offspring of the survivors of the Genocide whose Armenian identity is documented exten- deported together with her three sisters and through orders by the powers that be. Suffice it
as well as to the memory of its victims. sively, in the music department we have Dikran mother, after my great-grandfather was hanged. for the threatened ruling elite to “give the
Armenians cannot be blamed for being suspi- Tchouhadjian whose operettas were huge hits Up until the point when Sultan Abdul Hamid order” legitimizing the act, that you have the
cious about Turkey’s dealings coming from spark needed to start a major Genocide. The
their experience of centuries of duplicity and examples are abundant in the ethnic cleansing
intrigue in the way Turkey has treated that characterized Eastern Europe in more
Armenians. recent decades. The parallels here can be
Q: Do you think that the barriers to Turkish stretched further to cover the situation in
acceptance of the Armenian Genocide are more Rwanda as well, where one group is victimized
based on ethnic prejudice, or are they more by the other and such victimization was some-
based on financial concerns like reparations, how legitimized through orders coming from
payment of old insurance claims etc? “above.”
A: I sincerely believe that the issue here is We have to remember that the Ottoman
much more based on economic concerns and Empire was already deteriorating during the
the “can of worms” Turkey is afraid to open by Hamidian Massacres, during the 1906 Adana
accepting responsibility for the deeds of its Massacres and during the 1915-18 Genocide,
ancestral government for the harm done to and the only way the Turks could see a redemp-
Armenians. tion for themselves and a preservation of their
It is true that Armenians and Turks are racial- power, was the substitution of their multi-ethnic
ly different, but through habits, traditions and and culturally diverse Empire with one based
even cuisine, their daily lives have much in com- on relative ethnic and cultural unity, therefore
mon. I am not talking about Armenians living their Pan-Turanistic Ideals of a Turkic Empire
in Switzerland compared to Anatolian Turks, Extending from the Bosphorus all the way to
but about Armenians living across the border the Central Asian Turkic Republics was nour-
from Turkey and Turks living on ancestral ished.
Armenian lands that are currently occupied by Of course, there were many obstacles to such
Turks. These peoples are more similar than a plan, one such “minor” obstacle being the
they think. Like Arabs and Jews in Israel and Armenians who were in the middle of it, and
Palestine, Armenians and Turks have shared who in turn had begin to entertain ideas of
the same part of the world, the same moun- independence.
tains, they have trod the same earth and have Armenian ideals of independence did not exit
drunk from the same water for centuries. The during the Hamidian era. They were a much
conflict here is not on the personal human level Nora Armani and Gerald Papasian more recent culminating of reactions to the
I think, but on the larger political level. unbearable conditions of the Armenian peas-
Q: I know the memory of the 1915 massacre ants in the Eastern Turkish provinces and an
is most alive in Armenia. Is there a correspond- inevitable necessity to securing better living
ing memory in Turkey, is there a myth? and are in the cultural tradition of Turkey even II (the Red Sultan) started sanctioning their conditions. But Turkey had a war to fight, a
A: Modern Turkey is the creation of Mustafa to this day. The most important interpreters freedoms, Armenians were highly respected deteriorating Empire to patch up, and a new
Kemal Ataturk in 1923. Ataturk was one of the and high officials in the Porte were Armenians Ottoman subjects. They were the best crafts- Pan-Turanistic dream to chase. In all respects
Young Turks at the end of the First World War, for long centuries. men, architects, intellectuals, merchants, politi- Armenians were in the way.
when Ottoman Turkey was defeated and break- The beginning of the 20th century, and the cians and interpreters for the Sultans and the And since fear breeds aggression as is widely
ing up into its respective countries, much like it deterioration of the Ottoman Empire and the Sublime Porte (The Ottoman Empire). postulated in the body of sociopsychological
happened later in the century with the Soviet loss of its power in the world through ethnic The inherent conflict was always present, theories, the fear of defeat and loss caused the
Union. Ataturk came to power and revolution- resurgences (Balkans, Egypt, etc.) and the sepa- resulting from jealousies, economic and social escalation of the inherent levels of conflict
ized Turkey by trying to modernize it and even ration of its many Vilayets (the Governorates), inequalities, marauding Turkish and Kurdish attaining the levels of violence characteristic of
went to the extent of changing the Turkish coincided with its changing politics towards the tribes in the Eastern Provinces where the life of any Genocide.
alphabet (Ottoman Turkish used Arabic script) Armenians who were also at that time con- the local Armenian population had become Q: How can cultural exchange between
to the Latin alphabet. This is really a huge more and more unbearable Turkey and Armenia be facilitated?
change. His maxim was (and still is in Turkey over the centuries. A: Over the last few years, more than ever
today), “How lucky is the one who says I am Conflicting theories of before, it has become common to see Armenian
Turkish.” It is this nationalistic and elitist atti- sociology postulate that any films, film makers and prizes at Turkish film fes-
tude that gave the defeated Turks a new identi- society has an inherent tivals, and vice versa. The same is also happen-
ty to forge ahead with. Of course accepting the degree of conflict even in ing in the fields of music and theatre. This is a
responsibility of the Armenian Genocide and the most peaceful of times. natural process because, as I explained above,
the ethnic cleansing done to the Armenians In fact, such conflict is even there is more in common between these peo-
(who were Ottoman citizens) would have a healthy ingredient for the ples than not. One of the most well known fig-
marred this idealistic take on Turkish identity. well being and functionality ures of Turkish Operettas is Dikran
In the more recent years, as a form of self- of any society. Tchouhadjian Armenian composer (c. 1860)
defense, against the increasing acceptance and In my master’s thesis, whose first opera, “Arsace II,” had a world pre-
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by many using the conflict model of miere 130 years after its composition, at the
governments of the world, Turkey began to social theory that postu- San Francisco Opera in 2001, to a great extent
react by spreading the rumor that Turks too lates that conflict is an thanks to Gerald Papasian’s efforts.
were killed during the 1914-1918 war and that inherent and even a neces- Tchouhadjian’s other operetta, “Leblebidji Hor
it was the Armenians who massacred the Turks sary ingredient to any Hor” (Hor Hor the chick pea vendor) was so
and not the other way round. But how could healthy social structure, I successful that it has infiltrated the Turkish
this happen when it was a known fact that argue that there are certain repertory and even today, you find older actors
Armenians living under Ottoman rule were not conditions under which or artists who remember some of these tunes.
allowed to bear arms, and at the onset of WW otherwise harmless conflict Currently, Gerald is working on a French ver-
I, they were stripped of all ammunition and levels can escalate to poten- sion of this operetta and collaboration with
weapons and were left completely helpless and tially violent levels giving Turkish theatres around this project is not
easy to prey on? way to Genocide, civil war impossible.
Q: Is the animosity between Turks and and other extreme forms of I would love to take the theater piece I devel-
Armenians ancient or modern? expression of conflict. oped with Gerald Papasian, “Sojourn at
A: The animosity itself goes very far back Some of these conditions Ararat,” or my one-woman show, “On the
with constant marauding crowds and raids on are economic inequality, Couch with Nora Armani,” to Turkey in the
Armenian villages and farmers by Turkish and some are political instabili- near future. An Armenian colleague from
Kurdish tribes. However, it was not on the orga- ty, and in the case of France has already taken his one-man show to
nized Government level until later in the 19th Mihran Damadian, the “one day” president of Armenia, in Cilica. Ottoman Turkey and the Diarbekir (predominantly Kurdish populated
century going back to Sultan Hamid II, the Red Photo by Photo London, Cairo, Egypt. Armenian Genocide, there town in Turkey). Now this is possible even more
Sultan, who in the late 1880s and ’90s, started is a certain degree of both. than before.
sanctioning the freedoms that Armenians had In my thesis I draw the I think the two countries should make an
as citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians cerned about gaining independence as a nation parallels between the Armenian Genocide and effort to facilitate this type of exchange before
up to that point were highly respected members and liberating the occupied Armenian lands in the Jewish Holocaust in the light of the conflict even thinking of the border issues or the pro-
of the community and had contributed in many Eastern Turkey. theories. In both cases the minority that was tocols. It is only through mutual acquaintance
positive ways to the development of Turkey. In My paternal great-grandmother, feeling victimized was one of high visibility, success, a that conflict issues may be resolved.
fact, it is mentioned even in Turkish encyclope- unsafe for her four daughters and herself fol- certain economic stability, even in the villages In another historical incident, Gerald
dias, that Armenians lay the foundations of lowing the death of my great-grandfather (from as in the case of the Armenians. This type of sit- Papasian’s maternal great-grandfather was
Modern Turkish theatre, that Armenian actress- an infection to his tailbone as a result of travel- uation triggers jealousy, envy and frustration, Mihran Damadian, who was the “one-day presi-
es were the first to start an acting tradition for ing on horseback for days on end from Egypt to which when released turns into anger and dent” of the French Mandated Armenia in
women (as Moslem women were not allowed on Kaisri — Ceasaria — in central Turkey) sold aggression. Add to that the wonderful opportu- Cilicia (Southern Turkey) right after the First
stage), in other areas, the famous Balian family everything and following her husband’s foot- nity of the backdrop of a war, and you have the World War. The French had promised
of architects built many of the beautiful steps moved to Egypt. She was spared the 1915 perfect ingredients for conflict to escalate and Armenians a homeland (much like the British
mosques and palaces of the Ottoman Sultans. Genocide. However, my maternal grandmother, turn into Genocidal violence, specially that in continued on next page
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 17

ARTS & LIVING

Q: Wallace Shawn writes “Artists who create A: Yes, the credibili-

Reconciliation works of art that inspire sympathy and good ty is very easy to
values do not change the life of the poor.” Will establish once the
Through The Arts political art be polarizing, neutral or healing in
this context?
two sides hear about
their respective litera-
from previous page A: I do not know much about radical and mil- tures because deep
did for Israel) so in 1919, many Armenians itant political art, because that is not what I do. inside they are so
picked up and went to Adana to establish the Militancy usually preaches to the converted and similar! In another
new home rule under the French mandate. is marginalized by the mainstream. I am not show called “Nannto
Gerald’s grandmother was 17 at the time and interested in preaching to converts. Otherwise, Nannto” (the last
accompanied her father. In her eyewitness I would perform in Armenian for Armenians. I line from a Japanese
account, she used to tell us how overnight the am quite well known in Armenia, having done Haiku), I have used
Turkish local merchants had learned Armenian may films and plays there as well as TV appear- works from Nazim
sentences to cater for the newly returning ances. It is so easy for me to spread a message Hikmet, one of the
Armenian population. there, but who would I be telling these things (if not the) greatest
Q: When the soft diplomacy of cultural to? To people who already know it and are in Turkish poet of the
engagement is carried on in foreign capitals, agreement with me. The trick is to reach unini- 20th century, and
tiated people and juxtaposed it with
change the way they Gevork Emin’s
think. work. He is a poet
I think what from Soviet
Wallace Shawn is say- Armenia who died
ing, if I am not mis- recently. The par-
taken (and taken out ticular poems
of context this sen- were called
tence can be interpret- “ M e m l e ke t i m ”
ed in many ways), is (My country in
that the change the case of
comes not from sym- Hikmet) and “Yes
pathy but from actual Hay Em” (I am
knowledge and want- Armenian). In
ing to do something the case of Emin,
about a situation. and when you
Although, I must con- hear his descrip-
Nora Armani and Gerald Papasian visit Armenian poet Gevorg Emin at fess that sympathy tive passages,
his home in Yerevan 1987. and good values are a you would think
beginning. Because if either it is the The Basmadjians re-starts a family in Cairo, Egypt after WW I Armenian
we are not sympathet- continuation of Genocide. The little girl is Nora Armani’s mother. Photo by: London Photo
Studio, Cairo, Egypt.
does it have any effect on the home countries ic to a cause we are not even inclined to listen a Hikmet poem,
of Armenia and Turkey? to it, let alone do anything about it. or at best that
A: Of course. In today’s world, heavily gov- Q: Your show “Sojourn At Ararat” seems to both poets were
erned by communications, it is inevitable that make great works of literature speak for them- inspired and wrote about the same thing, negationists in Turkey and its allies (even here),
the effects of one rub off on the other. So the selves, but that raises another issue. Why would place... their homeland! It was eerie! those who would deny the very fact of the
more there are efforts of rapprochement on the we expect Armenian literature to have credibili- Q: Don’t events of today sort of “call the Armenian Genocide, just as there are those who
cultural and artistic levels, the more the effects ty in Turkey or vise versa. Would you expect question” of this play? would deny the World War II Holocaust against
of this are felt both in the two homelands and Turkish literature to have credibility in A: Of course, now more than ever it is time to the Jews.
in the respective diasporas. Armenia? hear this play out. The play is an answer to the But the sad truth is that Armenians have
not yet had their Nuremburg. Turkey owes
Armenians an apology, in order for normal
relations to be established and survive.
Turkey needs to apologize for its own peace
of mind and for the well being of the future

C A L E N D A R generations. There are lots of young progres-

sive Turks and slightly older progressive
intellectuals in Turkey as I mentioned earlier
who favor rapprochement on the human and
intellectual level. These people are all severe-
ly persecuted in Turkey and even killed, as
was the case with the Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink a couple of years ago. He was
FLORIDA gunned down in mid-day in front of his office.
There is a whole generation in Turkey that is
JA N U A R Y 16 — S hu s h i A r m e n i a n D a n ce E n s e mb l e , of St. Vartan conscious of the burden of the Genocide and
Cathedral New York, will have its Florida debut with an afternoon wants to get rid of it by coming out and
performance at Olympia High School. For tickets and information, accepting responsibility for it, by making
call St. Garabed Armenian Church at (407) 876-2616, John at (407) amends and proceeding to a peaceful exis-
539-1845, or Aram at (407) 679-7231. In the evening, the ensemble tence. It is the powers that be, and the dirty
will have the thrilling opportunity of performing in Disneyworld. For political considerations that are in the way of
more information, visit www.shushidance.org. all this. Also, it is not easy to reverse decades
M A R CH 20, 2010 — “ T h e R o y a l A r m e n i a n D i v o r ce ,” by I d a of denial and suddenly say, “OK, OK we did
B o o d a k i a n promises to be even more hilarious than the “The Royal it!” Although when you owe a person an apol-
Armenian Wedding.” Sponsored by the Women’s Guild of St. David ogy, sometimes the simplest thing to do is
Armenian Apostolic Church of Boca Raton, at St. David’s. Further just to say, “I am sorry.”
info., including ticket prices, will be forthcoming closer to the event. Just as “Schindler’s List” speaks eloquently
against denial of the Jewish Holocaust, we hope
NEW YORK that plays like ours can deflect denial of the
Armenian Genocide now, at this crucial time,
FEBRUARY 4 — Musician, writer and poet Alan Semerdjian will present when normalization of relations between Turks
his new collection of poems, In the Architecture of Bone, on and Armenians seems a real possibility. The
Thursday, at 7 p.m. in G-Hall of the Armenian Diocese, 630 Second more the world is educated, the more it is diffi-
Ave. Question-and-answer session and wine-and-cheese reception to cult to feed it lies and at some point or another
follow. This event is hosted by the Zohrab Center and the Armenian the truth has to emerge.
Students’ Association. For more information, call (212) 686-0710 or
e-mail Taleen Babayan at [email protected]. (Nora Armani is an actor and playwright
who has represented the Ministry of Culture
of Armenia in Cinema (from 1991-93). She
Calendar Fees Star ting J anuar y 9 Musician, writer and poet Alan Semerdjian, and Gerald Papasian are the authors and
T he A r m en i a n Mi r r or -Sp ecta tor is going to st ar t c har gi ng pictured above, will present his new collec- performers of “Sojourn to Ararat.” In addi-
for c ale ndar e nt r ie s, star t in g wit h t he f ir st issue of t he New tion of poems, In the Architecture of Bone, on tional to previously-announced dates in New
Year, t hat of Satur day, J anuar y 9 . T he fee will be $ 5 pe r line, Thursday, February 4, at 7 p.m. in G-Hall of York, “Sojurn” will be performed in New
wit h the following di scounts for mult i ple in ser t ions : four the Armenian Diocese, 630 Second Ave., in York on January 21 at 8 p.m. at The Studio
t ime s wi ll re cei ve a 1 0 -perc ent disc ount ; f i ve t i mes or mor e, New York, NY. For more information, call theater/Lehman Stages (lehmanstages.org),
a 2 0 -perc en t di scount and 1 0 or more, a 4 0 -per cen t di scount. (212) 686-0710 or e-mail Taleen Babayan at at Lehman College, City University New
Ent r ies c an be e-mai led to mi r r or ads@ aol. c om or to edi- [email protected]. York, for students, faculty (and friends), 250
tor @ mi r r or spec tator. com. Bedford Park Blvd. West Bronx, NY and
January 28, University of Michigan - Ann
Arbor, Department of Armenian Studies. For
further information, email: [email protected])
18 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

THE ARMENIAN
COMMENTARY
Mirror- Turkish Diplomacy’s Gordian Knots
Spectator By Edmond Y. Azadian

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been trying to

comments were heard in support of religious freedom, whereas
Ankara’s action is a flagrant breach of international law. Indeed,
the Turkish daily Taraf has interviewed the director of religious
affairs administration, Mourad Bardakoglu, and his deputy,
Mehmet Gormez. They have both maintained that it is unac-
give a positive spin to his country’s foreign policy with his aca- ceptable to shut the seminary, when Turkey insists on the law
demic semantics, but thus far, he has been only successful in that religious leaders must be Turkish citizens. They also make
Established 1932 providing a very transparent veneer to all the intractable prob- their point within the context of freedom of worship, which is
An ADL Publication lems that Turkey has created over the years, both domestically advocated by the European Union.
and internationally. Even his professorial tone has been sober But these voices have been countered by the harsh reaction
and somber as he advocated an Ottoman-style hegemony in the of the Prime Minister Erdogan, who has set some Byzantine
EDITOR
Balkans, extolling the “harmony” which the Ottoman sultans conditions in order to be able to open the seminary. In short, all
Alin K. Gregorian had created over centuries. hopes that the seminary may open its doors in the foreseeable
It seems that Davutoglu’s “zero-problem-with-the-neighbors” future are dashed.
ART DIRECTOR
policy intends to solve all those problems in Turkey’s favor and It is interesting to quote the prime minister’s ludicrous argu-
Marc Mgrditchian claim stability and harmony in the region. In promoting its ments: “The opening of the seminary is a process involving mul-
brazen foreign policy, Ankara is counting on international sup- tiple dimensions. This issue has to be studied well in its length
PRODUCTION port, which it has been garnering through a barter system. and width within the context of our laws and within the appli-
Prime Minister Erdogan’s arrogance and cynicism, after visit- cation of our educational programs. Our ministers and institu-
Dilani Yogaratnam ing the White House last December, says a lot about Turkish for- tions are continuing to study the issue, but on the other hand
eign policy’s headway. Among other issues, Erdogan seems to the Greek authorities have to address the religious problems of
have wrested from the Obama administration the blocking of the Turkish minority in Greece.” (It seems they have been
the passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the “studying” the issue since 1971!)
CONTRIBUTORS:
Congress, in return for a pledge to normalize Ankara’s relations As we see, Turkish leaders have counter proposals for cor-
Elizabeth Aprahamian, Dr. Haroutiune
Arzoumanian, Edmond Azadian, Prof. with Israel. recting any problem, which is their own doing, very much like
Vahakn N. Dadrian, Diana Der Presently, Mr. Erdogan is visiting Moscow, while Russia’s for- imposing on Armenia a third-party problem, namely the
Hovanessian, Philip Ketchian, Kevork eign minister, Sergei Lavrov, heads to Yerevan to bring back a Karabagh issue, in order to lift the blockade against Armenia.
Keushkerian, Arsen Noubar Mamourian, gift to Turkey’s Azeri brothers, in the shape of a nod from Repeated pleas of the patriarch have fallen on deaf ears, but
Moorad Mooradian, Sonia Kailian- Moscow to pressure Armenia to relinquish strategic regions cap- at least for once Erdogan has given blunt answers, stating that
Placido, Harut Sassounian, Mary Terzian, tured by Armenians during the war with that country. there is not a single mosque in Greece. The moral of the story
Hagop Vartivarian, Naomi Zeytoonian Although Turkey faces some stiff conditions in order to be is that the Greek Patriarch has to wait until such time that the
admitted to the European Union, it has not met any of these Greek government builds a mosque (to Mr. Erdogan’s liking) in
CORRESPONDENTS: conditions and continues to challenge the international com- order to see a positive action with regard to the fate of the sem-
Armenia - Hagop Avedikian munity with impunity. Penal Code 301 is still on the books, 38 inary in Turkey.
Boston - Nancy Kalajian percent of Cypriot territory still remains under Turkish occupa- Armenians have been in the same situation in Turkey. The
Philadelphia - Lisa Manookian tion, the Kurdish problem has been compounded by banning a Holy Cross seminary was closed down by the authorities.
Contributing Photographers: Sarkis Bahar,
pro-Kurdish political party and relations with Armenia and Although there is a mosque in Yerevan, that did not help the sit-
George Bogosian, Jacob Demirdjian, Harry Greece are not in any better shape. All these problems have uation. There are only 4,000 Greeks left in Turkey, whereas only
Koundakjian. been created by Turkey, in direct violation of international law, in Istanbul the Armenian community is 70,000-strong. However,
to win concessions from respective parties. neither the Armenian patriarch (when he was able to fulfill the
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is published The Protocols for establishing relations and opening the bor- duties of his position) nor any other leader in the community
weekly, except two weeks in July, by: ders between Armenia and Turkey were signed last October in was able to voice the problem courageously like the Greek patri-
Baikar Association, Inc. Zurich without any preconditions, yet, all the major figures in arch. Instead, Patriarch Mutafian was used and abused for
755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472-1509 the Turkish government have been setting conditions in order Ankara’s political ends and was ignored when the Armenian
Telephone: 617-924-4420 to open the border. Opening the border is not worth the con- community’s problems were raised.
FAX: 617-924-2887 cessions, Turkey has been demanding from Armenia. Not only was the Holy Cross seminary not opened (nor dis-
w w w. m i r r o r s p e c t a t o r . c o m A recent public embarrassment for Turkey demonstrated cussed), stifling regulations were imposed on the community
E-Mail: [email protected]
to what extent the Turkish leaders have been sticking to schools to lead them to their demise. Armenian parents have to
their guns. A case in point was the statement made by the go through many regulations to enroll their children in
For advertising: [email protected]
Greek Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who said that he Armenian schools, which desperately need those students. A
New York/New J er sey O ff ice feels “crucified” in Turkey with all the repression exerted on new phenomenon has also been compounded on this educa-
560 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 his church and his activities, especially with the closure of tional problem: the migrant workers from Armenia are barred
(201) 800-1164 the Greek Orthodox Seminary in Heybelianda, in violation of from sending their children to Armenian schools nor can they
the Lausanne Treaty of 1923. That has been an internation- enroll them in Turkish schools.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: al issue for decades, yet the Turkish leaders blamed the patri- All the problems, which Turkey has created for its neighbors
arch for his courageous statement, rather than taking a pos- and for itself, have become Gordian Knots, never to be solved.
U.S.A.
2nd Class $75 a year itive action. The forthcoming meeting between US Secretary of State
1st Class $120 a year Bob Simon of CBS presented the interview with the patriarch Hillary Clinton and the Armenian community representatives
Canada on the program, “60 Minutes,” not because anyone at CBS cares
Air Mail $125 a year
should address these topical issues.
about the fate of the Greek Church in Turkey, but just to con- She needs to be told that just as she twisted Eduard
All Other Countries vey a message that denying support to Israel has a price. Nalbandian’s arm to sign the protocols, she has to twist the
Air Mail $190 a year Following the airing of the patriarch’s interview, some mild arms of the Turkish leadership to live up to their commitments.
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© 2009 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Periodical Class Postage Paid at Boston, MA
and additional mailing offices.
ISSN 0004-234X
How Khoja Nazar Saved the Cathedral of
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The
Armenian Mirror-Spectator, P.O. Box 302,
Watertown, MA 02471-0302
Echmiadzin and Restored
Other than the editorial, views and opinions
expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily The Relics of St. Gregory the New Julfa, Isfahan, prospered and accumulated was told that the Armenians were attached to
great wealth. They became known as khojas. their religious center and the relics of their
reflect the policies of the publisher. Illuminator and St. Hripsime in The most important khoja of the time was saints. According to Arakel of Tabriz, a con-
Armenia Khoja Nazar, who was greatly trusted by Shah temporary Armenian historian, the shah then
Abbas and who was appointed the chief of the ordered Tahmasp-qoli Beg, the son of Amir
Armenians by that monarch. Khoja Nazar was Guna Khan, the then-governor of Erevan, to
a close adviser to the shah, would accompany move the cathedral of Echmiadzin, stone by
By George Bournoutian him on various royal trips and had free access stone, and dispatch the stones to Isfahan. In
to the royal court. The shah would often dine the year 1613 Tahmasp-qoli began to remove
Copying for other than personal use or internal Starting in 1604 and continuing for several at Nazar’s mansion and would spend the night the stones of Echmiadzin. Fifteen large stones
reference is prohibited without express permis-
sion of the copyright owner. Address requests for years after, the great Persian king, Shah there. The fact that the shah would eat at the were removed from the main altar and trans-
reprints or back issues to: Abbas, ordered his commanders to forcibly home of a Christian, and remain for the night, ported to Isfahan. They arrived in the year
B aik ar A ss o ci at io n , In c. remove some 200,000 Armenians from the alone, without royal guards, is an indication of 1614 and still lie today in the Church of
7 5 5 Mt. Aubur n St. , Wa t er t o w n, M A 0 2 4 7 2 -1 5 0 9 regions of Van, Kars, Bayazid, Erevan and the trust that the shah placed in Nazar. Khojents in New Julfa. Shah Abbas then told
Nakhichevan and transport them to Iran. The When the shah was informed that some Khoja Nazar, “For your sake I shall build
immigrants formed the nucleus of the Persian- Armenians, despite what the shah perceived as Echmiadzin here, so that your heart will not
Armenian community for the next 400 years. A his benevolence, were returning to their home- ache from yearning for the other Echmiadzin.
number of Armenian merchants, especially in land, he demanded to know the reason. He see RELICS, page 20
 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 19

COMMENTARY

management issues. tions for decades. Consequently, this issue is bound to

Veselin Ninov, a Bulgarian government spokesman, con- remain on the agenda of the two countries, undermining
firmed to the EUobserver on January 4, that Dimitrov’s Turkey’s oft-stated claim that it has zero-problems or dis-
announcement represented official state policy. He putes with its neighbors.
revealed that the dispute was being handled by a Despite Prime Minister Borissov’s disclaimer, Bulgaria
My Turn “Bulgarian-Turkish intergovernmental working group” and
that Prime Minister Boyko Borissov would raise the com-
has now added yet another wrinkle to Turkey’s bid for EU
membership, which is becoming increasingly elusive.
By Harut Sassounian pensation issue during his upcoming visit to Turkey. Already several European countries such as France,
Turkish officials reacted quickly and harshly. Foreign Germany, Holland and Austria strongly oppose Turkey’s
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, repeating the same baseless EU membership bid. Greece and Cyprus would not allow
Armenians, Just as Bulgarians, accusations that Turkish leaders often make regarding the Turkey to join the EU, unless its troops withdraw from
Armenian Genocide, alleged that the Turks suffered as much Northern Cyprus. Furthermore, it would be impossible for
Should Demand Compensation as the Bulgarians during that period. According to Zaman Turkey to join the EU without fulfilling one of its key
From Turkey newspaper, Davutoglu warned that Bulgaria’s demands for
compensation might harm bilateral relations, although, he
requirements — open borders with all neighboring states.
Turkey, thus, cannot become an EU member, unless it
Bojidar Dimitrov, Bulgaria’s minister in charge of the confirmed that the two countries have been discussing opens its border with Armenia, independently of the fate of
Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, stirred a hornet’s nest at the “issues relevant to the mass transfers of Turks and the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.
start of the new year by threatening to block Turkey’s Bulgarians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.” Beyond the obstacles in joining the EU, Turkey is
accession to the European Union (EU), unless it paid bil- Bulgarian officials immediately backed down realizing swamped with a large number of lawsuits filed against it in
lions of dollars in compensation for Bulgarians who were that an open confrontation with Turkey on this issue may the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Should it
forcefully displaced during the Ottoman era. not be as beneficial to them as quiet, behind closed doors refuse to compensate Bulgaria for the 1913 refugees, it is
Dimitrov said Turkey owed Bulgaria $20 billion for negotiations. Bulgaria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marin likely to face more legal troubles.
expelling hundreds of thousands of ethnic Bulgarians in Raykov sought to downplay Dimitrov’s demands by stating However, Turkey’s record on winning lawsuits in the
1913. The Republic of Turkey, which was founded in 1923, that his country did not make Turkey’s EU bid conditional ECHR is not very good. It has already lost several major
had assumed the obligations of the Ottoman Empire and on the resolution of the compensation issue for displaced court cases for its occupation of Northern Cyprus. Also,
agreed to make reparations in a 1925 treaty. However, thus persons. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Borissov rebuked Greek and Armenian minority foundations in Turkey have
far, Bulgaria has received no compensation from the Dimitrov, threatening to fire him should he make a similar successfully recovered through the ECHR some of their
Turkish government. statement in the future without first consulting him. real estate assets that were confiscated decades ago.
“Turkey is surely able to pay this sum, after all, it’s the Minister Dimitrov quickly apologized in order to retain Encouraged by these successful lawsuits, Armenians liv-
16th largest economic power in the world,” Dimitrov said, his job. Press official Veselin Ninov, however, was not as for- ing in Turkey and throughout Europe should seek legal
capitalizing on a statement that Turkish officials often tunate. He was fired for endorsing Dimitrov’s earlier state- redress through the ECHR for their countless losses suf-
make, bragging about their country’s economic strength. ment. fered during the Genocide. Claims could be filed for the
Dimitrov disclosed that the payment of compensation as For the time being, Bulgaria’s leaders may find it pre- loss of personal property, bank accounts, real estate, mon-
required by the 1925 treaty is one of Bulgaria’s three pre- mature to openly link their demands for compensation uments and churches.
conditions in order not to veto Turkey’s admission to the from Turkey to its bid for EU membership, even though No peace without justice.
EU. The other two pre-conditions involve energy and water many Bulgarians have persistently demanded such repara- No reconciliation without restitution.

Suicide as Spectator Sport: What Does That Say about Us?

One guy bawled at the man on
the crane. ‘Come on! Jump! I
and I could see them questioning the workers
By Robert Fisk in the unfinished apartments. They didn’t care
about the man. If he was demanding higher
wages, so what? If he was drunk — and this was

haven’t got all day!’

He was 10 stories up an industrial crane, the line now being peddled on the Corniche —
right on the seafront, leaning over the side with then he was of no interest to the security
just one hand, no rope, no tin hat, quite unpro- authorities. “Pi**ed out of his mind,” one of the
tected, swaying and shouting and screaming, plainclothes men confided to me in flawless
and at first the crowds on the Beirut Corniche English — a good cop who’s often given me
ignored him. information at the scene of bomb explosions —
Far to the north, Turkey lay across the pale and the word went through the crowd, that the
blue sea, Israel 60 miles to the south, behind crane-man was drunk because Palestinians
the Beirut peninsula upon which this young Indeed, two camera crews had already turned his hands in the air – two brand new Volvo fire don’t drink and are always political and the
man had decided to demonstrate his fearless- up. trucks arrived with a civil defense crew (black Lebanese like to enjoy themselves.
ness of death – or his anger – or his despair or, Only then did the cops arrive. Three of them, berets, camouflage uniform), hooting their way I didn’t think the crane-man was enjoying
maybe, just his alcoholic illusions. grey uniformed, grey berets, lighting cigarettes, through the traffic, shouting at some newly himself and he fought viciously when his res-
There was an unfinished 16-floor apartment staring up at the man on the crane, joking arrived paramilitary police (camouflage clothes, cuer clambered on to his platform, kicking him
block behind the crane, all concrete platforms among themselves, joshing with the crowd, but red berets this time) to clear the people off on the legs and trying to break free and jump
and wire and Asian workers, some of whom laughing, briefly the centre of attention. Drivers the road. as we all held our breath; until the fireman
yelled at the young man from above. It was just were now slowing to take pictures with their One young fire officer ordered the fire engine threw a rope around crane-man and tied him up
7am, the beginning of the Beirut rush hour. I mobiles, the traffic backing up along the ladder extended against the crane — it was four and called over to the driver of another crane to
was walking from my home to the Nasser stat- Corniche. A few foreign tourists were watching stories short — but shinned up the rungs then winch him up to safety on the roof of the apart-
ue in Ain Mreisseh — oh heady memory of the police. Some hope. The cops worked their climbed the outside of the crane. The crowd fell ments.
Egyptian socialism from the civil war — to buy mobiles, laughed again — and drove off. More silent. After demanding that the young man And that was the last we saw of crane-man.
a cheese manouche for breakfast and at first I people were screaming, “Jump!” commit suicide as quickly as possible, they were The fire crews packed up. An ambulance
thought the guy was joking, making fun of fel- I pulled out my own phone and called a rela- now enthralled in a Hollywood drama. Would arrived. Yes, a hospital doctor told me later, the
low workers. But they didn’t know him. Some tive of a police colonel. I explained briefly what the brave fireman rescue the youth in distress? guy was “over the limit” (three daiquiris, an
kept shaking their heads, unable to understand was happening, the location, and added that it Far from willing the crazed man to die, they unknown number of Bloody Marys and far too
his words. He was a Palestinian, they said. It was a pretty shameless scene, the Lebanese now wanted to see him rescued. Or did they many beers in a well-known Gemaizeh club)
was political. jeering at this lost soul up the crane, the police want to watch the fireman slip and fall? and, yes, he was Lebanese. And when the
Then he yelled down to us. “I’m going to losing interest, the foreigners appalled at the Waitresses from a nearby coffee shop turned up Lebanese fireman-hero eventually emerged
jump.” Several Lebanese looked upwards, Lebanese behavior (there being no calls to with mugs of coffee and sandwiches for the fire from the gate below the crane, we all clapped
laughing. A woman turned up with a cup of cof- “jump” when suicides pop up on London roofs, crews and police. Then the plainclothes guys and applauded our hero. Ghouls all, we made
fee in her hand and leaned against the Corniche of course). The colonel took the call as he was began their infiltration. do with a happy ending.
railings, back to the sea, shading her eyes as driving up to the Chouf mountains for the They chatted to the crowd, to me. Know this
she looked to the top of the yellow crane. weekend. Seven minutes later – the crane-man man? What did he shout? Anything political? (This column by Robert Fisk originally
“What does he want?” she asked her friends. It now dangling his legs off his perch and holding Two cops in jeans walked on to the building site appeared in the Independent on January 6.)
was a strange question. People who climb
cranes and say they are going to jump must
“want” something. There were now 30 or more
point or larger). Submissions that do not con- Photos will be returned only if a self-
gathered on the pavement and the road. After
all, it wasn’t every day that your morning could Notice to Contributors form to these specifications will be assigned addressed and stamped envelope is includ-

— The M-S will publish only one article

be brightened up with a harmless suicide. lowest priority. ed.

The Armenian Mirror-Spectatorwelcomes

One guy was gabbling into his mobile. Then — Articles sent by fax are acceptable, and e-mail
he bawled up at the man on the crane. “Come
submissions are encouraged. about an upcoming organizational event.
articles, commentaries and community — All submissions should include the name For major special events, exceptions may
on! Jump! I haven’t got all day!” Then a grin- news from our readers. In order to assure of a contact person and a daytime tele- be made only by special arrangement
ning youth joined in. “We’ve got to get to work! the accurate and timely publication of arti- phone number. with the editors.
Don’t waste time! Jump now if you’re going to cles submitted, please note the following — Deadline for submission of all articles and — Telephone numbers, ticket prices and other
jump!” Of course, we were all complicit in this policies: advertising is noon on the Monday of the details (at the discretion of the editors) will not
obscenity. I was also now standing beside a — All articles submitted should be typed, dou- week of publication. be included in press releases, but should be
palm tree, unwilling to leave, anxious to watch ble (or triple) spaced and printed in a type — Photos will be published without charge at reserved for calendar listings and advertise-
the end of this little seaside drama. It was cine- size large enough to be clearly legible (10 the discretion of the editors and art director. ments.
ma, wide-screen, free of charge, reality TV.
20 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 9 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

Watching and Waiting for Teymourian Court OKs

LONDON (The Straits Times) — After a
great start in the English Premier League,
Iran’s Teymourian has become a forgotten
man at Fulham Terrence Voon.
the stands,” he said last week.
Fulham is currently ninth in the league,
and with midfielders like Danny Murphy,
Jonathan Greening and Chris Baird ahead of
The introduction to English football, he
recalled, was fast and furious.
“In the Premier League, you have to be
stronger and faster,” he said. “That’s what
Turkey
On a warm spring afternoon in Wigan three
years ago, Andranik Teymourian thought he
could do no wrong.
him in the pecking order, Teymourian knows
his days in London are numbered.
A move to another club, possibly outside
they work on at every single training session.”
Despite his lack of playing time,
Teymourian enjoys the camaraderie he shares
Protocols
COURT, from page 1
The Iranian midfielder, a new signing for the Premiership, is certain in the summer. with the foreign legion at Fulham. keep up the pressure on Armenia’s high-
Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers, had just “I’m 26 now, and I don’t want to spend my “The good point of Fulham is that all the est judicial body. Some of them were eth-
written himself into the club’s folklore, scor- time on the bench and watch other people players are foreigners,” he said. “We have a nic Armenians from the United States
ing two goals as they beat their derby rivals 3- play,” he said. couple of English players, people from Africa, and other countries with sizable
1 in a Premiership tie at the then-JJB The Teheran native’s English adventure Norway, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Armenian communities.
Stadium. began in 2006, when he caught the eye of All of them love to smile and laugh.” Vardges Hagopian, an elderly resident
Images of his goal celebrations, while being Allardyce with his all-action performances at The ethnic Armenian’s command of English of New York, was particularly unhappy
mobbed by ecstatic fans, were played over and the World Cup in Germany. has also improved in the time he has spent in with a protocol clause that commits
over again on Iranian television. The skilful midfielder with an eye for goal England. Sadly, his chances in the first team Armenia’s to recognizing its existing bor-
From Teheran to the Reebok Stadium, was snapped up for 255,000 pounds do not look like improving. der with Turkey and presumably pre-
Teymourian was hailed as a hero. Now, he is a ($570,000) from the Iranian club FC His day in the sun three years ago, when he cludes future Armenian territorial claims
forgotten name on the wage bill at Fulham, a Aboomoslem on a two-year contract. was voted Man of the Match, is now a distant to its big neighbor, which are favored by
bit-part player with his Premiership dream in In his two seasons at the Trotters, memory. Dashnaktsutyun. “I can’t forget Western
tatters. Teymourian made just 20 appearances, with But Teymourian — who is planning to marry Armenia,” he said, referring to parts of
Last Wednesday, the 26-year-old orchestrat- his brace at Wigan the only goals to his name. his girlfriend Narineh Davitian at the end of eastern Turkey that were populated by
ed Iran’s destruction of the Lions in their After Allardyce’s departure for Newcastle this season — insists he does not regret his many Armenians until 1915.
Asian Cup qualifier at Kallang. in 2007, he fell out of favor with his replace- time in England. “We would lose our lands,” said Hagopian.
He returns to Craven Cottage later this ment Sammy Lee, and subsequently, Gary “For me, it has been really amazing, “We just couldn’t have bigger losses.
month, not knowing if he will ever put on his Megson. because I was young when I arrived,” he said. Shouldn’t our grandchildren grow up in their
boots for the first team again. Teymourian was picked up on a free trans- “I’ve learnt a lot and I’ve had a chance play ancestral lands?”
“Most of the time I watch the games from fer by Fulham in 2008. against a lot of good players.”

Secretary of State Clinton to Consult with Armenian-

American Organizations Regarding Protocols
CLINTON, from page 1 Armenian Genocide.”
important opportunity to discuss the While Armenia has taken a constructive
Administration’s efforts to hold Turkey approach, in direct contradiction to the proto-
accountable.” cols signed in October of 2009, Turkish Prime
The Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America link progress on the protocols to a resolution of
(Eastern), the Diocese of the Armenian Church the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. In addition,
of America (Western), the Knights of Vartan, while in Washington, DC last month, Erdogan,
along with the Assembly issued a joint state- when asked about the Armenian Genocide on
ment in support of President Serge Sargisian’s the Charlie Rose television program, stated
initiative “in taking a positive approach to the that, “I can say very clearly that we do not
process of normalizing relations....” accept genocide. This is completely a lie.”
The joint statement also made it clear that “In the face of Turkey’s ongoing campaign of
those organizations will continue “to stand denial, we must redouble our efforts to secure
firmly with the Nagorno Karabagh Republic to US reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide
ensure its freedom and security” and will also and urge swift passage of the Armenian
continue to lead the charge with respect to “all Genocide resolution in Congress,” stated
those working for universal affirmation of the Ardouny.

How Khoja Nazar Saved the Cathedral of

Echmiadzin and Restored
RELICS, from page 18 had played a primary role in the preservation of
I have ordered a convoy of many camels, mules Armenian holy relics. A few years earlier,
and carts to go demolish the other Echmiadzin, Catholic missionaries had stolen the relics of St.
bring the stones and dirt here, and build an Hripsime from the Church of St. Hripsime and
Echmiadzin here from the same stones and dirt, had transported them, first to the Armenian
so that your hears will be attached, without Catholic community in Nakhichevan, and then
question, to the new church.” Khoja Nazar wise- to Isfahan, en route to taking them to their mis-
ly deterred the shah’s plan by replying, “May sion in Goa, India. Khoja Nazar and his brother
God grante you long life! If you wish to builds were informed of the theft and asked Sah
a durable Echmiadzin, there is no need to Abbas to punish the perpetrators and to return
expend so much labor for the sake of stones the relics to them. The shah fulfilled his friend’s
and dirt and such expense in transporting request right away. The relics were recovered
stones and dirt from afar. We have plenty of and placed in the mansion of Khoja Safar for
stones and dirt here. Build it here and we will safekeeping, from whence they were later
help you do it.” The shah, who trust Khoja returned to Armenia as well.
Nazar’s judgment and who needed his coopera- Khoja Nazar’s influence remained strong dur-
tion as leader of the Armenian community, ing the reign of the next shah, Safi. Through
ordered Tahmasp-qoli to stop the demolition of Nazar’s intercession, the huge tax levied on
Echmiadzin. Echmiadzin by Shah Abbas was abolished and
In addition, the shah had also ordered that the funds used by the Catholicos to restore the
the relic of the right arm of St. Gregory the cathedral of Echmiadzin and the churches of
Illuminator, used to bless the meron, together Gayane and Hripsime. He also influenced the
with other holy items (such as an ancient bible election of Catholicos Movses of Tat’ew, who
and a venerated cross), be taken to Isfahan as ended the disasterouls practice of having co-
well. Tahmasp-qoli entrusted an Armenian Cathlicoi, which had created problems for the
priest from Echmiadzin named Ter-Hovhannes, Church. Nazar’s grandsons continued to lead
with the transport of the relics of the right arm the Armenians of Iran and, after their move to
and other sacred itmes to Isfahan. The items russia, the family, now known as the Lazarevs,
were taken to the mansion of Khoja Safar, the gained a great deal of influence in the Russian
brother of Khoja Nazar, in New Julfa, where court and became leaders of the Armenian com-
they remained under guard for some two munity in Russia.
decades, until 1638, when the son of Khoja — George Bournoutian
Nazar, Khoja Safraz, gave them to Catholicos
Pilippos who, in turn, took them back to (The above is abridged from the soon-to-be
Echmiadzin. published Book of History by Arakel of Tabriz
This was not the first time that Khoja Nazar by George Bournoutian.)