January 16

Turkish Court: ApologyCampaign Not a CrimeISTANBUL (Hetq) — The Court of Appeals’ 9thCriminal Office in Turkey has decided that theInternet signature campaign “I apologize to theArmenians” (Erminilerden Özür Diliyorum) doesnot constitute a crime.A group of Turkish intellectuals had initiated the

campaign in 2008 regarding the events of 1915.More than 30,000 people have already supportedthe campaign with their signatures.The campaign sent the following message to the

Armenian community: “I cannot reconcile my con-science to denial of and insensitivity about thegreat Ottoman disaster the Armenians wereimposed to in 1915. I reject this injustice and sharethe feelings and grief of my Armenian brothers andsisters. I apologize to them.”

Patriarchal Vicar inJerusalem Resigns

JERUSALEM — The Armenian Patriarchate ofJerusalem released a statement on January 7announcing the resignation of Patriarchal VicarArchbishop Nourhan Manougian from his post.Manougian was the deputy of the patriarch,Archbishop Torkom Manoogian.According to the brief statement, the Patriarch

had appointed Manougian to the second-in-command post, elevating him from the rank ofGrand Sacristan, in December 2008.Archbishop Nourhan Manougian had submitted

his resignation on November 5, 2009, and, accordingto the statement, “the members of the Holy Synodhave expressed their concerns about the PatriarchalVicar’s indifference towards his responsibilities.”

Two Candidates for Co-Patriarch in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (Today’s Zaman) — Turkey’s Armeniancitizens have two candidates for the position of co-patriarch, as the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbultries to appoint an assistant to Patriarch ofConstantinople Mesrob Mutafian, in light of hisdebilitating illness.Two clerics have announced their candidacy:

Sebouh Chuljyan, the primate of the GougarkDiocese in Armenia, and the leader of theArmenian Church in Germany, Archbishop KarekinBekdjian. Both meet the requirement for thePatriarchate, as both were born in Turkey.The Turkish-Armenian community recognizes

Mutafian as their spiritual leader until the end ofhis life. The Patriarchate’s statement noted thatuntil the emergence of health problems, Mutafianhad served for 11 years and that on December 24,2008, the Patriarchate voted that he would be thecommunity’s spiritual leader until his death.

INDEXArmenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,3Arts and Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Community News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,5

Mirror- SpectatorMirror- SpectatorTHE ARMENIAN

Volume LXXX, NOs. 27, Issue 4121

J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

$ 2.00

NoraArmani

Page 12

INSIDE

The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States

NEWS IN BRIEF

By Anush Martirosian,Ruzanna Stepanian

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — TheConstitutional Court upheld on Tuesdaythe legality of Armenia’s normalizationagreements with Turkey amid continuingprotests staged by nationalist groupsopposed to the deal.The widely anticipated verdict paved the

way for the agreements’ ratification by par-liament. The National Assembly is notexpected, however, to start debating thetwo “protocols” before their endorsementby Turkey’s parliament.The Constitutional Court handed down

the ruling several hours after it startedexamining their conformity with theArmenian constitution. The session wasopen to the media for only four minutes.The court decided that the examination

will follow a “written procedure” that doesnot involve public hearings and verbal ques-tioning of government officials and experts.The court chairman, Gagik Harutiunian,announced that the panel of nine judgeswill only consider written statements sub-mitted by the Armenian Foreign Ministryand other interested parties.“This is an issue which has an exception-

al significance,” he said. “All those writtendocuments that have been submitted to theConstitutional Court are available in thedeliberations room and the members of thecourt can take them into account.”Harutiunian added that they would also

look into a nine-page petition from the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation(Dashnaktsutyun) and other vocal oppo-nents of the Turkish-Armenian protocols. “Iam convinced that the members of thecourt will also familiarize themselves with itduring the examination to clarify their legalpositions,” he said.Dashnaktsutyun leaders handed the doc-

ument as more than a thousand of its sup-porters marched to the court building inYerevan on Monday. They demanded thatthe Constitutional Court declare the proto-cols at least “partly unconstitutional.”Several dozen demonstrators gathered

outside the court building on Tuesday tosee COURT, page 20

Court OKs Turkey Protocols

Opponents of the Turkish-Armenian Agreements Demonstrate outside the ConstitutionalCourt on January 12 (Photolure Photo)

CELEBRATING THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY AT ST. VARTANCATHEDRAL, SEE STORY AND PHOTOS ON PAGE 6

Turkey Envoy: ‘Israel’sShameful Display IsWorst I’ve Ever Seen’ANKARA (Ha’aretz) — The Turkish

Foreign Ministry last Tuesday summonedIsraeli Ambassador Gaby Levy for clarifica-tion, a day after the Foreign Ministry inJerusalem called in Ankara’s envoy to Israelfor what the latter described to Army Radioas the most shameful experience of his 35-year career.Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday

that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalondid not intend to humiliate AmbassadorAhmet Oguz Celikkol by seating him in alower chair without flag representation dur-ing their meeting.Celikkol was called in regarding a recent

Turkish television drama depicting actorsdressed as Shin Bet officers who kidnapbabies.The Foreign Ministry stressed that it had

summoned the envoy and ordered the seat-ing arrangement to make clear that itwould respond to any insult made by theTurkish leadership.Three months ago, a similar diplomatic

instance occurred between the two coun-tries after Turkey aired the controversialtelevision drama “Ayrilik” (“Separation”)which featured actors dressed as Israeli sol-diers killing Palestinian children.During the meeting, Turkey’s ambas-

sador was seated in a low sofa, and facinghim, in higher chairs, were Ayalon and twoother officials — an arrangement carriedout at Lieberman’s orders.

see ISRAEL, page 4

Meeting Scheduled as TurkeyContinues to Link Nagorno

KarabaghWASHINGTON — US Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton will meet with Armenian-American organizations next month to con-sult on the protocols between Armenia andTurkey announced the Armenian Assemblyof America. The Assembly requested ameeting with Secretary Clinton to discussissues of concern to the community.Invited to attend the meeting with

Clinton are: the Armenian Assembly of

America, the Armenian General BenevolentUnion, the Diocese of the ArmenianChurch of America (Eastern), the Dioceseof the Armenian Church (Western), theKnights of Vartan and the ArmenianNational Committee of America.“The Republic of Armenia through its

president, has taken bold steps, yet theRepublic of Turkey continues its counter-productive actions with respect to normal-izing relations with Armenia,” statedAssembly Executive Director BryanArdouny. “As such, this meeting offers an

see CLINTON, page 20

Secretary of State Clinton to Consult with Armenian-American Organizations Regarding Protocols

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 R2

ARMENIA

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News From ArmeniaYEREVAN (Armenpress) — About 80

US companies operate in Armenia. Theycover various sectors of economy, suchas IT, banking, tourism and hospitality,manufacturing, etc. Executive Directorof American Chamber of Commerce inArmenia (AmCham) Diana Gaziyan saidthat these, as well as heavy industry, arethe spheres which are of particularinterest for US companies.According to her assessment, even

though there are some obvious issueshindering the development of businessin Armenia, the country’s business leg-islation is rather liberal and foreigninvestment oriented. There is no need tocreate new laws; the fair application ofthe existing ones will be enough. Thecountry is quite attractive from doingbusiness perspective, which is proven bythe fact of the presence of some major

international players.According to the Armenian Statistical

Service, the US investments in the realsector of the economy during theJanuary-September were $15.7 million.This index, though, as compared withthe same span of the past year, had beenreduced by 27.9 percent. Gaziyan saysbecause of the depreciation of the dram,attractive sectors are those which exportor add value or manufacture here.The American Chamber of Commerce

in Armenia has been operating inArmenia since 2000. Currently,AmCham has around 80 member com-panies, which represent various sectorsor economy, such as financial services,insurance, banking, energy and mining,information technologies, consumergoods, manufacturing, tourism, market-ing and promotion, infrastructure devel-

opment, internationals organizations,etc. AmCham is a member of the USChamber of Commerce and EuropeanCouncil of American Chambers ofCommerce.The executive director assures that

one of the most important areas ofAmCham activities is lobbying for thebusiness interests of its members in itsstrive to create more competitive busi-ness environment in Armenia. AmChamcreates opportunities for its members tonetwork, enlarge the scope of their busi-ness contacts and find new partners.Gaziyan says another important direc-tion is increasing the business relationsbetween Armenia and Turkey, andAmCham realizes that the opening ofthe Armenian-Turkish border will have asignificant impact on the business envi-ronment development in Armenia.

Around 80 US Companies in Armenia

Fadey Sargisian DiesAt Age 86YEREVAN (armradio.am and

PanArmenian.net) — Dr. FadeySargisian, an adviser to Armenian PrimeMinister Tigran Sargisian, died onJanuary 10 at the age of 86.Sargisian was chairman of the

Council of Ministers of the ArmenianSSR (1977-1989), parliamentarian(1995-1999) and had the rank of majorgeneral.He graduated from the Leningrad

Budyonov Military Academy (1946).He researched in radio electronics,

computer engineering and automaticcontrol systems.Sargisian held different leading posi-

tions in the Scientific TechnicalCommittee of the Central Rocket ArtilleryAdministration of the USSR Ministry of

Defense (1946-1959), was director ofYerevan Scientific Research Institute ofMathematical Machines (1963-1977),chairman of the Council of Ministers ofthe Armenian SSR (1977-1989),Academician-secretary of the Division ofphysico-mathematical and technical sci-ences of the National Academy of Sciencesof Armenia (1989-1993) and President ofthe National Academy of Sciences ofArmenia (1993-2006).Sargisian was born September 18,

1923 in Yerevan. He was a foreign mem-ber of the Russian, Georgian andPortuguese Academies of Sciences,Honorary Member of the InternationalAcademy of Engineering Sciences, theArarat International Academy ofSciences, the Armenian PhilosophicalAcademy, the International Academy ofSciences, Education, Industry and Arts,among others. He was double laureateof state award of the USSR, laureate ofstate award of the Ukrainian SSR. Hehas been honored with orders of Lenin,October Revolution, Red Banner ofLabor (three times) and Saint MesropMashtots and served as adviser to theprime minister of the Republic ofArmenia since 2006.A governmental committee will be in

charge of funeral organization.

Fadey Sargisian

By Ruben Meloyan

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — PrimeMinister Tigran Sargisian pledged lastweek to crack down on wealthy andpresumably corrupt state officials, say-ing that will be a key element of hisdrive to strengthen the rule of law inArmenia.Sargisian stood by his ambitious

reform agenda that puts the emphasison tackling tax evasion by the rich,improving the country’s business envi-ronment and, in particular, breakingup “oligopolies” that have monopo-lized key sectors of the Armenianeconomy.The de facto monopolies are widely

believed to be controlled not onlywealthy businessmen but also high-ranking government and security offi-cials. Local anti-graft campaigners saythis is the root cause of governmentcorruption in Armenia.“I think we can conclude, together

with you, that officials engage in busi-ness nowadays,” Sargisian acknowl-edged during a year-end news confer-ence. “We can make such a politicalevaluation.”He complained Armenia’s existing

laws make it all but impossible for theauthorities to expose and punish offi-cials with extensive business interestsof dubious origin. “That’s what makesus refrain from publicizing names and

prompts us to create and introduce,together with you, [legal] mechanismsthat would address this problem,” hesaid.“We are going to fight against oli-

gopolies, rather than oligarchs,”stressed the prime minister. “Theseare different things.”The International Monetary Fund

and the World Bank also increasinglystress the importance of tackling theoligopolistic structures. Officials fromboth multilateral institutions havewarned in recent months thatArmenia cannot return to the path ofrobust growth without combating gov-ernment corruption and creating alevel playing field for all businesses.Sargisian argued that his govern-

ment has already obligated the coun-try’s 500 largest companies to issuemore detailed financial reports certi-fied by foreign auditors starting fromnext year. He described that as thefirst step towards breaking up the oli-gopolies.Sargisian again defended the gov-

ernment’s response to the global eco-nomic crisis that has plunged Armeniainto its worst recession since the1990s. He claimed that the country isemerging from the slump with “mini-mal losses.”The Armenian economy is on track

to contract by at least 15 percent thisyear. The government anticipates thateconomic growth will resume alreadyin 2010.

Armenian PM Vows toExpose Wealthy Officials

YEREVAN (Arka) — Earlier thismonth, Vache Gabrielyan, deputy chair-man of the Central Bank of Armenia,summarizing the results of 2009, said2010 would be a year of recovery forthe country.He said that 2009 was very difficult

for Armenia because of impacts of theglobal recession, but the country’sfinancial sector has managed to resistthese challenges.“But it doesn’t mean that everything

is O.K. in Armenia’s financial and bank-ing sectors, and they are free fromtroubles. The opposite - we have plentyto do.” However, he said, the course of the

system’s development shows that pre-cipitous decline in the first half of 2009

was followed by a rally.Gabrielyan said that new loans

extended to the economy and theincreased financial mediation amid thecrisis played an important part in heal-ing the situation. At the same time, he said that many

problems are still waiting for their solu-tions.Among these problems, he singled

out the lack of diversification and com-petition as well as shadow economythat directly affect the financial sector.“We enter 2010 with higher infla-

tion than in 2009. But recovery needscertain expenses, and we made them.We are convinced that these expenseswere necessary and will produceresults.”

Central Bank: 2010 to BeYear of Recovery for Armenia

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

By Tatevik Lazarian

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Narek Markarian is the first toadmit that physically, he isn’t a dead ringer for the King ofRock and Roll, despite his glossy pompadour and sleek blacksideburns. But Markarian, who has come to be known as the“Armenian Elvis,” says that preserving the musical memory ofthe 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 Elvishas left to us.”Now an entire room of his home in Yerevan is devoted to

the King, with hundreds of books, posters and recordings, andeven articles of clothing that once belonged to Presley, whodied 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 toknow these people [who produce these CDs], you begin tounderstand that what they’ve done is put serious research intoa 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 performssongs such as Suspicious Minds, Jailhouse Rock and otherElvis hits at clubs throughout Armenia. He has also performedin 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

audiences to a lesser-known side of Elvis, in addition to per-forming the classics: “Elvis has a large repertoire that includesmore than 700 songs. I perform 100 of them. I always try toinclude songs that, for whatever reason, aren’t known to wideraudiences but deserve to be. That way people aren’t listeningonly to things they’ve already hear a hundred times.”Markarian has also created an Armenian website dedicated

to Elvis (www.elvis.am). But the country has no fan club ded-icated to Elvis Presley. For that, Markarian has had to join a

club in neighboring Russia.This year, Markarian is hoping to record his first album,

filled mainly with songs from Elvis’s repertoire. He says healso hopes to write a book about the role of the King of Rockand Roll in the USSR, where he was revered on a level withthe Beatles as a symbol of the West.“My concept is to talk about Elvis in the context of the

Soviet Union. Because there’s no point in writing anotherbasic biography about him,” he says. “I don’t like it when aperson reads four or five serious books and then writes anoth-

er dull, 100-page biography based on that. A lot of things areeither incorrect or a repetition.”No special Elvis commemorations took place in Armenia on

January 8. Instead, celebrations have been pushed back toFebruary, when Elvis fans around the world are poised tomark the 50th anniversary of the end of Presley’s US Armyservice in 1960.Markarian, whose possessions include an army uniform

modeled after one worn by the King, is preparing for the eventwith a set of performances in a Yerevan club next month.

Narek Markarian with a poster of his hero, Elvis Presley

‘Armenian Elvis’ Keeps King’s Legend Alive

By Grisha Balasanyan

MARTUNI, Armenia (Hetq) — “We’ve had itup to here with our situation, of constantly fil-ing petitions and requests, of writing letters tothis and that official, telling them, someone, tohelp us in saving this library of ours.”These were the words of Lida Aleksanyan,

Director of the Martuni Library in theGegharkunik Province, when this reporter wentto cover the story of the library on the brink ofruin. The library building itself is in desperateneed of repair.Aleksanyan said that the building is beyond

repair however. “The site is dank and damp.Repairs won’t cut it. A new building is what’sneeded,” she argued. Library employees saythat the books on the shelves have doubled inweight due to the dampness and the texts arefading. The library has a collection of 75,000books and 3,000 members.The old and frayed books can be checked out

theoretically but they aren’t; the demand is toogreat. But a reader is hard pressed to getthrough a book in normal fashion because somany pages are missing or illegible. The adven-turous reader must borrow several copies of thesame text to make up for the missing pagesfound in each.No funds for renovations or for new books“The last time we received a new batch of

books was back in June; from the BookAssistance Fund. Otherwise, we haven’treceived any new literature for the past fewyears. We just don’t have the funds to buy any-thing,” Aleksanyan stated.The library is a branch of the Martuni

Municipality and it’s the mayor who is supposedto see to it that new books are acquired.

Khachik Khlghatyan, the mayor’s chief of staff,said that the library is slated to be renovated in2010.“If the financial crisis doesn’t come a’ knock-

ing at the door of the federal government andthe Martuni mayor’s office next year, we’ll havestate funds to renovate the building,”Khlghatyan stated. The town official said thatthey would rather not “inconvenience” the fed-eral government in a time of crisis but that thebooks are rotting away and they have no alter-native.

Gluing the Pages of Tattered Books

Roza Zhamkharyan has been working at thelibrary for many long years. Every day she’sbusy gluing pages together, making sure that atleast some of the books remain in circulation.The library serves the local community and sur-rounding area. Residents from the district’s sev-enteen villages even make the trip to the libraryto pick up a “good read”.Back in the day, there was a branch library

and a children’s library in Martuni, but they’reclosed now. All the books have been gatheredat the central library. Many of the books sit inpiles on the floor, tied up with twine. As a con-sequence, they aren’t available to the public.“Karineh Hayrapetyan, who heads the

library’s member services department, statedthat they had requested a bit more patiencefrom their readers to unpack all the books andget them on the shelves. But Aleksanyan con-fessed that they didn’t have adequate space inthe library to properly house all the books. Thelibrary has no reading room. People have tocheck out the books.“I’ve been the director here for five years.

We’ve requested help from all government bod-ies and the Ministry of Culture. We asked theregional governor and other officials to come

see the situation for themselves. They show up,say how terrible things are, and then shaketheir heads, saying they just don’t have theresources to help. They promised to allocatesome funds this year, but then the crisis cameand, nothing,” Aleksanyan added. Library work-ers told us that the only time officials show aninterest is around election time. During the

campaign, they say that the library will be atthe top of their list of priorities. After they’reelected it’s another matter.The dedicated staff holds out hope that a

benefactor will come forth to save the crum-bling library and the books. “It’s a real shame.We have many readers. Just look at all the well-thumbed books,” he said.

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

Jubilee Stamps Marking AGBU’s CentennialAre Put into Circulation in ArmeniaYEREVAN — During AGBU’s centennial in 2006, the Armenia’s Hai Post postal service,

by order of the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Armenia, printed stamps inArmenia dedicated to AGBU. Upon the initiative of the AGBU Armenia Representation andwith the cooperation of the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of Armenia, thesheet of three stampsdepicts the organiza-tion’s founder andfirst president, BoghosNubar, the minutes ofthe founding meetingof the organization,and a portrait of hon-orary life president ofAGBU AlexManoogian. To markAGBU’s centennial in2006, the Republic ofNagorno-Karabagh’spostal service alsoissued a stamp, whichdepicted the statue of Alex Manoogian located on his namesake street in the Karabagh cap-ital of Stepanakert.In celebration of Christmas and the New Year, the AGBU Armenia Representation sent

out cards this season using the AGBU stamp.


INTERNATIONAL

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International News

ISRAEL, from page 1A photo-op was held at the start of

the meeting, during which Ayalon toldthe photographers in Hebrew: “Payattention that he is sitting in a lowerchair and we are in the higher ones,that there is only an Israeli flag on thetable and that we are not smiling.”Celikkol’s associates told Army Radio

on Tuesday, that the meeting withAyalon was “the most shameful display”he had seen in 35 years as a diplomat.According to the associates, Celikkol

had no idea what the topic of conversa-tion was to be when first seated. Whenthe cameras left the room, the sourcessaid, the meeting was normal and pro-fessional.“Had the ambassador understood

Ayalon’s intentions, which were onlyexpressed in Hebrew, he would have

responded in kind,” the source toldArmy Radio.Meanwhile, ministry sources said

Monday that Foreign Minister AvigdorLieberman was trying to stop DefenseMinister Ehud Barak from visiting toTurkey next week, in order to keep upthe recent tensions between the twoallied countries.Barak was scheduled to leave for

Turkey on Sunday to meet with hiscounterpart and the foreign ministerthere, in an attempt to improve deterio-rating relations.Tensions were renewed on Monday,

after Turkish Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan declared that Israel wasendangering world peace by using exag-gerated force against the Palestinians,breaching Lebanon’s air space andwaters and for not revealing the details

of its nuclear program.According to Foreign Ministry sources,

Lieberman is now looking to “heatthings up” before Barak’s trip, so as totorpedo attempts to mend the tensions.“We get the sense that Lieberman

wants to heat things up before Barak’svisit,” a senior Foreign Ministry sourcesaid. “All of the recent activities werepart of Lieberman’s political agenda.”The Turkish government was expect-

ed to give a warm welcome to Barak,who alongside Labor MinisterBenjamin Ben-Eliezer was looking tobring the allies’ relations back to stabil-ity.The Foreign Ministry sources sur-

mised that Lieberman’s efforts wereaimed at preventing Turkey fromresuming its role as mediator in Israel’speace talks with Syria.

Turkey Envoy: ‘Israel’s Shameful Display Is Worst I’ve Ever Seen’

SHEIBENIK, Croatia — OnSeptember 4-18, 2009 a delegationfrom the Yerevan Physics Institute(YerPhI) consisting of Prof. AshotChilingarian, YerPhi’s director andhead of its Cosmic Ray Division(CRD), with CRD scientists and engi-neers participated in the Internationalconference on the HeliophysicalPhenomena and the EarthEnvironment in Shibenik, Croatia. Theregional meeting of Balkan, Black Seaand Caspian Sea participants was heldfor the third time within the frame-work of the InternationalHeliophysical Year, now being contin-ued as the International SpaceWeather Initiative (ISWI). This initia-tive is supported by NASA and theUnited Nations’ Outer Space Office inVienna, Austria.Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division has

deployed Armenian designed cosmicray particle detectors in Croatia andBulgaria, with other countries to fol-low in the near future. The new net-worked arrays of particle detectors arepart of the Space EnvironmentViewing and Analysis Network(SEVAN) which was developed largelyby young CRD scientists under thedirection of Chilingarian and CRD’ssenior staff with international fund-ing. The result of CRD’s research was

presented in a number of papers byProf. Ashot Chilingarian, BagratMalyan, Armen Hovhannisyan, A.Daryan, Karen Arakelyan and ArturReymers.Chilingarian was one of four scien-

tists especially invited to report to theconference on particle detectors forspace weather and solar physicsresearch. The other invited speakerswere from research institutes in theUS and Russia. Armenian doctoral

students participated in the presenta-tion of two reports at a training ses-sion on cosmic rays and neutron mon-itors.President of Armenia Serge

Sargisian, Minister of Economy NersesYeritsyan, and minister of ForeignAffairs Edward Nalbandian who werevisiting Croatia on September 8 metwith the Croatian and Armenianphysicists at the Zagreb observatoryand congratulated them on the suc-cessful collaboration and the launchof the SEVAN equipment in Croatia.The SEVAN system of networked

cosmic ray monitors received supportat the meeting in Croatia, and isscheduled to receive a boost in 2010.For more information on this topic

and on the Cosmic Ray Division visithttp://crdlx5.yerphi.am/press_releas-es/ and http://www.crdfriends.org.

Prof Chilingarian explaining SEVANCosmic Ray Monitor designed by CRDscientists and students, and beingdeployed internationally

ISTANBUL (News.am) — “Our family‘owed their lives’ to French-Armeniansafter their exile from Turkey. We werepenniless. Our Armenian friends helpedus. There was an Armenian lady whowelcomed us to her chateau and welived there for a long time. I cannotdeny the good deeds Armenians havedone for my family,” Beyzade BalentOsman, grandson of Ottoman SultanAbdul Hamid II stated in the interviewwith Turkish Hurriyet daily.After Young Turks suppressed

counter-revolution on April 27, 1909Abdul Hamid was dethroned and arrest-

ed. He was conveyed into captivity inSalonika till 1912, then returned toConstantinople, where he died in theprison. The members of Ottomandynasty were deported from the coun-try.“I am on the side of the truth, but

we need to look to the future now.The French and the Germans had alsoslaughtered each other, came intoconflict but still managed to establishdialogue,” the daily quotes Osman’swords.“I witnessed his grandmother crying

many times when he was a child.

They thought Mustafa Kemal Ataturk(the founder of First Republic ofTurkey-NEWS.am’s note) would beunsuccessful in his cause and that wewould return to the old days. My grand-mother and mother wanted us to learnTurkish. My father, however, was arepublican by all means and was sup-portive of Ataturk’s principles,” thesource cites Osman.In 1894-1896 massacres of Christian

population, firstly Armenians were per-petrated in Eastern Anatolia and otherplaces of Ottoman Empire by directorder of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Armenians Saved Abdul Hamid’s Grandson and His Family: Hurriyet

Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division atInternational Space Weather Initiative

Prof Chilingarian at ISWI Conference, third person from right, talking to a reporter tohis left, with Armenian President Sargisian looking on

By Mark Hudson

LONDON (The Sunday Times) — TheArmenian-born artist, best known for his tragiclife, has his pioneering work showcased at theTate Modern next month.In February 1948, the American magazine

Life ran a photo spread on the Glass House, amodernist farmhouse conversion in ruralConnecticut. Sitting hunched by one of the widewindows is a male figure, his dark hair ratherlong for the period, face averted — referred to inthe caption simply as the house’s tenant, ArshileGorky, an artist. To anyone even slightlyacquainted with American art, that figure will beof infinitely greater interest than the house.Yet the evasive posture is significant. A vivid

presence on the New York art scene for nearlythree decades, Gorky has remained elusive indeath as he was in life. The question of whetherhe was the progenitor of the great age ofAmerican painting — which gave the worldPollock and Rothko — or simply an imitativequasi-surrealist or even a misplaced Eurasianfolk artist remains open. What isn’t in dispute ishis status as one of the most tragic artists of the20th century. Five months after this photographwas taken, he hanged himself in a nearby shed.“Gorky saw things differently from other peo-

ple,” says his widow, Mougouch, pointing to avigorous semi-abstract drawing on her sittingroom wall. “For him, clouds and trees were fullof threatening forces. As you walked aroundwith him, you realized what you were seeing wascompletely different to what he was seeing.” Inanother drawing, hanging in a corner of theroom, is the pale, almost ghostly image of theother great female presence in Gorky’s life, herplacid, wide-eyed features framed by a headscarf— his mother.The image is one of many Gorky produced

from a photograph he kept close to him at alltimes. It shows the artist’s 12-year-old self look-ing gravely out at us from his mother’s side. Insome of these images, the mother appearsserene; in others, there’s a sense of barely con-cealed anxiety. The greatest of them, large paint-ings hanging in the Whitney Museum, NewYork, and the National Gallery of Art,Washington DC, are considered American mas-terpieces, icons of the immigrant experience. YetGorky never talked about the circumstances sur-rounding them.On arriving in New York in the early 1920s,

Gorky let it be understood that he was Russian,a cousin of the writer Maxim Gorky. In fact, hewas born Vostanig Manuk Adoian in anArmenian village in eastern Turkey, circa 1900.The stories Gorky told of an idyllic village child-hood — of bread baking in village ovens, brilliantred poppies, incandescent moons — weren’tentirely fabricated, but they referred only to hisearliest years, before he and his mother and sis-ters moved to the local capital, Van.He never discussed the fact that he was pre-

sent during the siege of Van in the early stagesof the Armenian Genocide of 1915; that, at theage of 15, he walked, along with the rest of thecity’s Armenian population, to Yerevan, inRussian Armenia, with many dying on the eight-day march; or that his mother subsequently diedof malnutrition during a famine that killed athird of the city’s population.Gorky and his sister Vartush made their

way to America, where Gorky set about turn-ing himself into an artist, educating himselfpiecemeal at various institutions in New Yorkand Boston while taking menial jobs. He usedthe pseudonym Arshile Gorky for the firsttime in 1924.His early work was painfully derivative of

other artists: first, Cézanne, then Picasso, Légerand Miro. By the 1930s, however, Gorky had hadsome commercial success in an art scene thatstill looked to Europe for leadership, where theartists who would make New York the global artcapital two decades later — the Pollocks andRothkos — were footling around with provincialvariants on surrealism and social realism. “DeKooning was just an inarticulate guy whocleaned Arshile Gorky’s brushes,” one observerclaimed.Yet Gorky evaded every attempt to pin down

his ideas and intentions, even discouraging hisstudents from taking notes in class. “He mayhave felt that clarifications and explanationswould lead back to the truth about his past,”says his son-in-law and biographer, MatthewSpender. “And since he felt nobody else couldunderstand what he’d been through, that wassomething he could never discuss.”Gorky’s brief first marriage and subsequent

relationships foundered on his simultaneousobsession with work and morbid fear of betray-al. Then, in 1941, he met a striking 19-year-oldart student, Agnes Magruder, an admiral’sdaughter and former debutante, who was tobecome his wife and partner for the rest of hislife. He named her Mougouch, an Armenianterm of endearment.“We met at a party,” she recalls. “I’d been

warned that he’d sing and dance and take thewhole place over. But this tall, dark man cameand sat beside me, and said absolutely nothing.Then, at the end of the evening, he asked me ifI’d have coffee with him.”A slight but well-preserved 86-year-old, she

pulls ruminatively on a roll-up as she looks backnearly 70 years. “I’d been trying to paint myself,and he encouraged me to continue. But I real-ized I had nothing to say. What he was doingseemed infinitely more interesting than any-thing I could ever do.”The couple’s meeting coincided with a new

unleashing of energy in Gorky’s work. At last, hehad found his own path, in passionate respons-es to the New England woods and fields, seenon his in-laws’ farm, which echoed in some waythe Armenian landscapes in his mind — capturedin luscious, lyrical and apparently completelyabstract paintings. This sense of liberation wasthe result, at least in part, of the influence of the

Chilean artist Roberto Matta. A charismatic self-publicist, one of a wave of European modernistswho had arrived in New York on the outbreak ofwar, Matta became a close friend of Gorky, intro-ducing him to the surrealist technique of “auto-matic” or completely spontaneous painting. “Hetold Gorky not to try so hard,” Mougouch says.“He told him, just do it. Let yourself go.”Yet things were never easy. There was con-

stant worrying about money, a continual movingbetween the houses of wealthier friends andGorky’s New York studio, which wasn’t bigenough to contain the couple and the twodaughters who arrived in quick succession.It was in early 1946, however, that the sense

of disaster began to escalate. First, Gorky’s stu-dio burnt down, with the loss of about 20 impor-tant paintings; then he was diagnosed with can-cer, and underwent an immediate colostomy.Physically weakened, he went on painting furi-ously, though he feared he was being left behindby a changing art world.“American art was coming into its own,”

Spender says. “America had won the war, and itwanted to show something completely new tothe world. The New York artists were stakingout their territories in this new dispensation.Gorky couldn’t do that. He was incapable of pol-iticking and intrigue.”His mood swings became more severe. “He

got irritated with me,” Mougouch says. “Headored the children, but he got irritated with thenoise they made. He was growing weaker, andhe was frightened.” Unable to discuss hisArmenian background, even when his fatherdied, inhibited in discussing his ideas by what hesaw as his lack of formal education, but with afree-spirited wife, 20 years his junior, and twoboisterous children dependent on him, Gorkyfelt frustrated and humiliated at every turn.On June 17, 1948, while Gorky was working

in New York, Mougouch left the children with achildminder and spent several days with Matta,who lived only 40 miles from the Glass House.When Gorky learnt of their fling, he summonedMatta to a meeting in Central Park and threat-ened him physically. Matta managed to calmGorky, but his artistic standing was permanent-ly harmed by the disclosure of the affair.A week later, Gorky broke his neck in a car

accident. The driver, his dealer, Julian Levy, wasapparently drunk. Forced to wear a cumbersomeneck brace, which restricted his painting arm,Gorky was now suicidal.In mid-July 1948, Mougouch departed with

the children for her parents’ house in Virginia,writing to a friend that “the situation is unten-able, and I can no longer hold on.” Gorky’s bodywas found a week later, hanging in a shed nearthe house. What one critic referred to disparagingly as

the “canonization” of Gorky by the New Yorkart world began almost immediately. The sus-tained invention of his final years, maintainedthrough every adversity, can be seen as one ofthe transcendent achievements of 20th-centuryart. Yet his status and significance have

remained uncertain, particularly in Britain,which has never, Spender claims, quite taken toGorky. This situation will be rectified by theTate’s spectacular show, in which Mougouchhas been closely involved. “When I think ofGorky, I think about my life beginning,” shesays. “I rarely think of my life before then. Forme, it all began with Gorky.”The exhibition of Arshile Gorky’s works will

be at the Tate Modern, SE1, from February 10-May 3.

(Mark Hudson is the author of Titian, theLast Days).


INTERNATIONAL

France to Set upGenocide Court PARIS (BBC) — The French govern-

ment has announced that it will set up anew panel to try cases of genocide andwar crimes committed in France orabroad.The new court would speed up the way

genocide cases are tried where the sus-pect is on French territory but theprocess involves several jurisdictions.The unit is to include linguists and spe-

cialists with historical knowledge.French authorities are currently hear-

ing several cases against Rwandan geno-cide suspects living in France.Those being investigated include

Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of thelate president Juvenal Habyarimana,whose plane was shot down in 1994, trig-gering the violence and killing insideRwanda.In a joint statement to the newspaper

Le Monde, the French foreign minister,Bernard Kouchner, and the justice minis-ter, Michelle Alliot-Marie, said legislationto create a new unit within the Paris HighCourt would be presented in the comingsix months.“As the homeland of human rights,

France will never be a sanctuary for theauthors of genocide, war crimes or crimesagainst humanity,” the statement said. The move, part of broader legal reform

in France, will not change French warcrimes law. However, it will enable courts to move

more rapidly through the complicatedinternational procedures involved ininvestigating crimes committed outsideFrance. The announcement comes as Kouchner

is in Rwanda at the start of an Africantour, which will also take him to IvoryCoast, the Democratic Republic of Congoand Burkina Faso. Kouchner is due to hold talks in Kigali

with the Rwandan president PaulKagame, in his first visit following theresumption of diplomatic ties betweenFrance and Rwanda last November.

Arshile Gorky Exhibition at the Tate Modern

SAO PAOLO, Brazil — On Sunday, October25, 2009, AGBU Brazil celebrated its 45thanniversary at Buffet Maison du France here.Close to 500 guests of all ages came out tocelebrate the milestone event, which wasnotable for the large presence from theemerging generation of Brazilian Armenians.The event was attended by numerous guests,

including Valery Mkrtumian, consul general ofthe Republic of Armenia; Anatoly Kapko, consulgeneral of Russia; Rev. Yesnig Guzelian, repre-senting Archbishop Datev Karibian; Rev.Boghos Baronian and Rev. Roy Abrahamian ofthe Armenian Protestant Church. Also in atten-dance were Ruben Kechichian, chairman ofAGBU Buenos Aires and member of AGBUCentral Board of Directors, and his wife, Elsa. The event honored three AGBU Brazil mem-

bers for their commitment to the organizationand its work: former AGBU Brazil chairmanCarlos Matheus Der Haroutiounian, former

AGBU Brazil Board Member HampartsumMoumdjian, and Manuel Kherlakian Neto, anAGBU member and supporter of AGBU Brazil’smany programs. Der Haroutiounian andMoumdjian received AGBU Honor Memberdiplomas, granted by AGBU Central Board ofDirectors, while Neto was given the chapter’sannual Personality of the Year award.AGBU Brazil Chairman Krikor Manukian

congratulated the honorees during his speechand thanked everyone for the success of theevent. He also enthusiastically mentioned theyouth who participated in the South AmericanOlympic Games, organized by Córdoba. RubenKechichian passed along a message of congrat-ulations from AGBU President Berge Setrakian,and expressed his happiness and pride in par-ticipating in the 45th-anniversary celebration.The evening’s guests were treated to a livemusic performance by the band Yerevan 50 ofMontevideo, Uruguay.

Chairman of AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter and member of the AGBU Central Board of DirectorsRuben Kechichian expresses his thoughts on the 45th-anniversary celebration in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

AGBU Brazil Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

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

Community News

Celebrating the Feastof the Nativity at

St. Vartan CathedralNEW YORK — Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the

Armenian Church of America (Eastern), reminded the faithful gathered forChristmas services at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on Wednesday, January 6,that “Christ’s purpose in life was to exemplify God’s love — and to call everyone tomake that love a reality in our hearts.”“God, our Heavenly Father, from His infinite love gave the most precious gift to

us: He sent His Only Begotten Son in order to save us,” Archbishop Barsamiansaid. “Christ came to this earth, walked among us, preached, performed miracles,carried the heavy burden of the cross, and was crucified because…He loves eachone of us.”“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 mustbe attentive to hear his call, andaccept our God-given roles in life. Tosome, that role is to take up ourLord’s pastoral staff: to serve him,and serve his people, as priests ofthe church. In the coming year,throughout our Diocese, we willexplore and encourage this mostprecious calling in our ‘Year ofVocations: The Call to Serve.’”Sharing his personal story of

becoming a priest in the ArmenianChurch, the Primate said that it waslove that “first motivated me toanswer God’s call. Love is whatstrengthens me every day as I liveout my vocation as a priest.”Barsamian celebrated the Divine

Liturgy and performed the Blessingof Water ceremony. Randy Sapah-Gulian, chair of the board of direc-tors of the Fund for ArmenianRelief (FAR), served as the godfa-ther for the Blessing of Water cere-mony.During the ceremony, which sym-

bolizes Christ’s baptism by John theBaptist in the River Jordan, Sapah-Gulian took up the ornate hand-cross after itwas immersed in water by Barsamian. At the conclusion of the service, Sapah-Gulian held up the cross for the faithful to kiss as they walked up to receive thewater blessed with the Holy Muron (Holy Oil). Corinne Sapah-Gulian, his wife,also attended the service.“It was very moving,” Randy Sapah-Gulian said of the Blessing of Water cere-

mony. “I am very happy and honored to have been asked by Srpazan Hayr to bethe godfather, and it’s something I shall remember forever.”Reflecting on his role as the chair of the board of directors of the Fund for

see NATIVITY, page 8

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian during the Blessing of Water ceremony at St. VartanCathedral with Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian

Las Vegas ShootingVictim Once FoughtTo Stay in theUnited StatesLAS VEGAS (KLAS-TV) — One of two Las

Vegas women who were shot and killed overthe weekend was once embroiled in a highlypublicized immigration case.Channel 8 first met Miriam Sarkisian and her

sister in 2005. The federal government threat-ened to deport the girls to Armenia, despite thefact they lived in the United States nearly theirentire lives. Their story gained the attention ofUS Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who pleaded their case to theDepartment of Homeland Security.In the end, the girls were temporarily allowed

to stay in the country. “We cried. We huggedeach other and gave each other kisses. I saw mydog again,” Sarkisian told Channel 8 in 2005after reuniting with her family.But, Sarkisian’s story had a tragic ending

Sunday night. Police say 23-year-old GreggThomas went to her home unannounced.Family friends say he broke in and opened fire.They say Thomas and Sarkisian had recentlysplit and were arguing over their 1-year-olddaughter.“They feared something,” family friend

Yelena Flangas said. “But, I don’t think any-body suspected it would go to this level...(Thomas) broke the door wide open. Miriamwas standing. He shot her. (Miriam’s mother)was on the couch. He shot her (too).” Flangassaid Miriam’s youngest sister screamed toThomas as he was leaving. “She asked, ‘Whydid you do this?’ He turned around and shothimself,” Flangas said.Friends say the family’s long immigration

fight was difficult enough. Now, they are left tostruggle with this tragedy. “It’s going to makethem (a) stronger and tighter family. But it’sgoing to be very tough,” Flangas said.The family has set up an account at Wells

Fargo for those who would like to help withfuneral expenses.

St. Sahag and MesrobArmenian ChurchOfficially WelcomesNew PastorWYNNEWOOD, Penn. — On Sunday, January

3, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate ofthe Diocese of the Armenian Church ofAmerica (Eastern), visited St. Sahag and St.Mesrob Armenian Church of Wynnewood,where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy andjoined the community in officially welcoming itsnew pastor, the Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian.“Fr. Oshagan has been a loyal shepherd of

the Armenian Church, who has faithfully servedGod and our national heritage,” the Primatesaid. “His energetic presence has benefited ourown Diocese and the Mother See of HolyEchmiadzin, as well as the Armenian communi-ty of India, where he served with distinction,and drew world attention to the country’s ven-erable but little-known Armenian presence.”A welcome banquet was held in Gulgulian’s

honor following services, with almost 200 peo-ple in attendance. The Very Rev. HaigazounNajarian, Diocesan Vicar and a former pastor ofSt. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church, delivered theinvocation.The program featured remarks and musical

performances by violinist Angela Kodokian andvocalist Karine Hovnanian. The parish also pre-sented Gulgulian with a cross during the ban-quet.Fr. Armenag Bedrossian, pastor of St. Mark’s

Armenian Catholic Church, offered congratula-tions to Gulgulian on behalf of the Philadelphia-region Armenian clergy.Diocesan delegate George Kodokian offered a

welcoming toast in honor of Gulgulian. “Someof you in the audience may know the followingpassage from the Bible: ‘A new friend is as newwine; when it is old, thou shall drink it withpleasure.’ (Ecclesiastes 9:10),” he said. “HayrSourp, we believe that through your spiritualleadership you will flourish and nurture thefriendships in our community so that one daywe will all say together: our friendships are nowold and let’s drink it with pleasure.”

see PASTOR, page 8

Lecture Focuses onArmenian GenocideThrough Prism ofAdana MassacresTORONTO — Bedross Der Matossian, a

professor in the Department of History atthe Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT), in Cambridge, Mass.,will give a lecture on Friday, January 29,at the Toronto French School, sponsoredby the Zoryan Institute.Matossian will discuss the different lev-

els of reactions to the Adana massacresand the extent to which this new analysiscan add to the understanding of the larg-er scope of violence that was inflicted onthe indigenous Armenian population dur-ing World War I. The Adana massacreshave also been described by historians tobe a turning point for the Armenians liv-ing in the Ottoman Empire. Unlike theexisting historiographies on the subject,this lecture will provide a new analysis ofthe massacres by examining the erosionof social and political stability in Anatoliaand changes in the dynamics of power asa result of the revolution.The lecture will take place at 7 p.m., at

the Toronto French School MultipurposeRoom, 318 Lawrence Ave. East (west ofBayview), Toronto.Admission is free; free parking is also

available.This event is presented by The Zoryan

Institute of Canada.

Lincy Foundation Donates$150,000 to TCA ArshagDickranian ArmenianSchoolLOS ANGELES — In a letter dated December

22, 2009, the Lincy Foundation approved a con-tribution in the amount of $150,000 to theTekeyan Cultural Association ArshagDickranian Armenian School, enclosing a checkin full payment“We are overjoyed and very grateful to the

Board Members of The Lincy Foundation forresponding to our grant applications in such atimely and generous manner,” said George K.Mandossian, chairman of the School Board ofTrustees.Arshag Dickranian School has long been list-

ed as a beneficiary of The Lincy Foundation, itslatest gift constituting the 11th such contribu-tion. In June 2008, the foundation’s president,Jay Rakow, and senior vice president, HarutSassounian, visited the school. The two guestsspent more than an hour meeting with theschool trustees, gathering first-hand informa-tion about the school’s daily activities and tour-ing the campus.The Lincy Foundation has long earned world-

wide acclaim for its diverse and exemplarybenevolence throughout the United States andArmenia.Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los

Angeles, the TCA Arshag Dickranian ArmenianSchool is a federally tax exempt, pre-K to 12th-grade private educational institution. For moreinformation, visit www.dickranianschool.org.

Ambassador Garen Nazarian delivers atoast at the Christmas luncheon.

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Archbishop KhajagBarsamian, Primate of the Diocese of theArmenian Church of America (Eastern), visitedSt. James Armenian Church, on Sunday,December 13, as the parish honored two for-mer pastors, Rev. Arsen Barsamian and Rev.Dajad Davidian, to mark the 50th anniversaryof their ordinations into the holy priesthood.The day also marked the 78th anniversary ofSt. James Church.Barsamian celebrated the Divine Liturgy,

and Davidian delivered the day’s sermon. Inthe sanctuary, the Primate presented both cler-gymen with Pontifical Encyclicals on behalf ofKarekin II, the Supreme Patriarch andCatholicos of All Armenians.Archbishop Barsamian expressed his appre-

ciation to Rev. Barsamian and Davidian fortheir dedication to the Armenian Church, andsaid he was glad that Karekin II, too, was hon-oring their years of service.“Today is a day of celebration and a day of

recommitment,” the Primate said. “We are hereto say thank you to Father Arsen and FatherDajad. It is also an opportunity for us to com-mit ourselves to the task of ensuring that therewill be other priests like them to continue themission of the Armenian Church.”In this “Year of Vocations,” the Primate

encouraged parishioners to guide young peo-ple, especially young men, who are servingtheir church. “It is so instructive to hold upthese two worthy examples of dedication toGod,” Archbishop Barsamian said of the day’shonorees, “two distinct paths of service, unitedin their response to our Lord’s calling, leadingthem to the common destination of holiness.”

‘A Good Shepherd’

A native of South Milwaukee, Wis., Fr.Arsen Barsamian was preparing for a careerin music when he felt the calling to become a

priest. After three years of studying music the-ory and composition at the University ofWisconsin, he traveled to Lebanon to studytheology at the seminary of the Great Houseof Cilicia in 1953. Later he continued hiswork at the Armenian Patriarchate ofJerusalem, and completed coursework at sev-eral seminaries in the US.On March 13, 1960, he was ordained into the

holy priesthood by then-Primate ArchbishopSion Manoogian at St. Mesrob ArmenianChurch of Racine, Wis., and appointed pastorof St. George Armenian Church of Waukegan,Ill., where he would serve for the next fouryears. During this time, Arsen Barsamian alsovisited parishes in Illinois and Wisconsin, serv-ing communities without a permanent pastor.In 1967, he became pastor of St. James

Armenian Church of Richmond, Va. He alsohas served at St. Mary Armenian Church ofWashington, DC., Holy Trinity ArmenianChurch of Cheltenham, Penn., St. Gregory ofNarek Armenian Church of Cleveland, Ohioand St. John the Baptist Armenian Church ofMilwaukee.In 1989, Fr. Barsamian became the associate

pastor of St. James Armenian Church ofWatertown, where he served until his retire-ment in 2002. He continues to assist theparish’s current pastor, Rev. Arakel Aljalian.“For over 50 years, as a good shepherd, you

have nurtured the spiritual needs of our faith-ful in the Eastern Diocese of the UnitedStates,” Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin IIwrote to Fr. Arsen Barsamian in the encyclical.“We are very pleased to know that even afteryour retirement, you continue to contribute tothe spiritual growth of our faithful, and to helprealize our church’s Christ-given mission.”Fr. Arsen Barsamian and Yn. Varteni

Barsamian have three children: LoosaperAnjel, Steven Asadour and Raphael Shnork.

From Watertown to Armenia

Fr. Dajad Davidian was born in Worcester,Mass. Like Fr. Barsamian, he began his theo-logical studies at the seminary of the GreatHouse of Cilicia, in 1952. Returning to the USthree years later, he enrolled at GeneralTheological Seminary of the Episcopal Churchin New York City, graduating in 1958.Davidian was ordained into the priesthood

on July 17, 1960, by Archbishop SionManoogian. Following ordination, he servedat the Armenian Church of Bergen County, inNew Jersey, was the executive secretary ofthe Armenian Church Youth Organization ofAmerica (ACYOA) and held the position ofeditor of The Armenian Guardian.In 1962, he joined the staff of St. Nersess

Armenian Seminary and later became pastor ofSt. Mesrob Church of Racine, Wis. In 1969, hewas appointed pastor of St. James Church ofWatertown, where he served until his retire-ment in 1999.After his retirement, Davidian traveled to

Armenia, where he has spent time preaching,organizing new parishes, and directing youthcenters. He also works with Radio Vem, a radiostation based in Armenia which features reli-gious programming.

“It gives us great joy that you are realizing thisvery important task of reaching our youth inArmenia, providing spiritual education, and helpingthem create ties with their heritage,” Karekin IIwrote to Davidian in the encyclical. “We pray thatour Heavenly Father keeps you under His care andprotection so that you may continue your fruitfulchurch-building mission in Armenia.”Davidian was married to the late Yeretzgin

Rosemarie, with whom he had three children:Ari, Susan and Raymond.

‘Role Models for a Younger Generation’

Following services on December 13, the com-munity gathered for the 78th anniversary nameday banquet at St. James Church. During thebanquet, the Primate presented SpiritualLeadership Awards to Barsamian and Davidianon behalf of the Eastern Diocese.“For a generation, the people of this parish

were fortunate to enjoy the pastoral leadershipof Der Dajad and Der Arsen,” ArchbishopBarsamian said.“Through his deep learning, his inexhaustible

energy, and his warm, open-hearted personality,Dajad has been a worthy servant to our Dioceseand our people in general. He is a true soldierof the Armenian Church: indomitable in spirit,protective of our traditions, and passionateabout exerting the church’s influence in thesurrounding world.”“While a quieter soul by nature, Father Arsen

has been no less of a forceful presence in thelife of our church. He has embraced the role ofteacher and author, pouring his learning intoresources meant to awaken our people to thetreasures of our heritage — and to waken, also,a deeper awareness of God’s presence amongus. Numerous souls have found both consola-tion and inspiration in Der Arsen’s dignified,

peaceful spirituality.”More than 400 people attended the event,

which was organized by the Rev. Arakel Aljalianand the parishioners of St. James Church.Aljalian said many in the parish have beentouched by the work of Arsen Barsamian andDavidian.“They are very devoted pastors of St. James

Church,” he said. “They have contributedtremendously to the well-being of this church,and they have become role models for ayounger generation.”

7S 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

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

Fr. Dajad Davidian and Fr. Arsen Barsamian Honored atSt. James Church on 50th Anniversary of Ordination

PASTOR, from page 6The banquet was co-chaired by Diocesan del-

egate Lisa Manookian and Parish Council vicechair John Torcomian. It was sponsored by theUnited Armenian Charities.

‘A Fresh Start’

Gulgulian began serving at St. Sahag and St.Mesrob Armenian Church last summer, movingto the Philadelphia area from India, where heserved most recently as the manager of theArmenian Philanthropic Academy and pastor ofthe Armenian churches of India.A native of Beirut, Lebanon, he studied at the

Theological Seminary of the Great House ofCilicia and at the Gevorgian TheologicalSeminary at the Mother See of HolyEchmiadzin. He was ordained into the holypriesthood in February 1987, and continued hiseducation in Geneva, Switzerland and atColumbia University in New York City. In April2003, he received a Master of Divinity Degree inpastoral ministry and a religious teaching cer-tificate from Trinity Theological Seminary inIndiana.Gulgulian has served in the Diocese of the

Armenian Church of Canada as well as in theEastern Diocese, including the communities ofRichmond, Va., Miami, Fla. and Chelmsford, Mass.He said he was familiar with the community

at St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church from timespent in the Eastern Diocese. “It’s a veryunique parish,” he said. “They embraced meand they welcomed me.”Currently, the parish is preparing to co-host

the 2010 ACYOA Juniors Fall Sports Weekendover Columbus Day Weekend with Holy TrinityArmenian Church of Cheltenham. The commu-nity also would like to build an athletic complex— a project Gulgulian hopes to help the parishrealize in the coming years.He said the community was glad to welcome

the Primate last week, on the first Sunday ofthe new year. “It was a fresh start for all of us,”

Gulgulian said.“I know that Hayr Soorp takes his vocation

most seriously, and is determined to share thespiritual riches of our church with all of hisparishioners,” Barsamian said. “His enthusiasm,

his human kindness and his warm sense ofhumor will not fail to inspire his new flock. AndI have faith that the people of Wynnewood willdo everything they can to aid and strengthenhis ministry.”


COMMUNITY NEWS

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The Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian, the new pastor of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Church ofWynnewood, Penn., was officially welcomed by the parish on January 3.

BEDFORD, Mass. — A non-credit eveningclass on Armenian history, culture and theAmerican-Armenian community will be offeredagain at the Bedford campus of MiddlesexCommunity College starting on Monday,February 1. The class will be conducted on fivesuccessive Mondays, from 7 to 9 p.m. This is thesame course that was offered in the fall of 2009,with the exception that it has been expandedfrom four to five weeks.Topics range from the pre-history of the

Armenian plateau to the present times, withaspects of Armenian culture. Also discussed willbe early Armenian immigration to the UnitedStates. The course is an introductory, but non-trivial, survey of Armenian history. There is notext book for the course but a number of up-to-date books will be recommended. The lectures

will be accompanied by photographs.This is the second time Joseph Dagdigian, of

Harvard, Mass., will be teaching this course.The course will be tailored to the interests ofthe attendees. It is intended for both Armeniansand non-Armenians of all ages.Dagdigian is an activemember of theMerrimack

Valley Armenian community and has visitedArmenia numerous times. He has been workingactively to support scientists and students at theCosmic Ray Division of the Yerevan PhysicsInstitute and has traveled extensively in Armenia.For more information and to enroll, visit the

website of Middlesex Community College atmiddlesex.mass.edu/. Look under “non-credit”courses for “personal enrichment” courses andthen for “Introduction to Armenian HistoryPER 680.”

Armenian History Class OfferedAt Middlesex Community College

Author/Songwriter toSpeak at St. JamesMen’s Club MeetingWATERTOWN, Mass. — Vahan

(Hovhannissian) Hovey, an author andsongwriter, will speak at the St. JamesMen’s Club dinner meeting on Monday,February 1. The topic will be “The Handof God — His experiences in the SecondWorld War.”Hovey came from Armenia to this

country at the age of 3 with his parentsin 1928. At the age 5, he performed hisfirst concert. After graduating from highschool, Hovey volunteered for the armyin 1942, serving in Europe. He was shotin combat, taken prisoner by theGermans and was a POW/MIA until thewar’s end in 1945. His experiences dur-ing these years shaped his faith and guid-ed his life.Following his graduation from Cornell

University, he opened an office in theheart of the music industry known as TinPan Alley, where he wrote and publishedand recorded many songs, and was asso-ciated with the likes of Benny Goodman,Connie Francis, the Andrew Sisters andRoy Rogers. He also collaborated withMitch Miller in song writing, including anumber recorded by Rosemary Clooney.Hovey continues to write music and

speak about his experiences during thewar, of which he has written about in hisbook titled The Hand of God.The dinner meeting will be held at the

St. James Armenian Church CulturalCenter, 465 Mt. Auburn St.The social hour will start at 6:15 p.m.,

followed by a traditional Armenian din-ner at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

St. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church Officially Welcomes New Pastor

NATIVITY, from page 6Armenian Relief, he stressed the importance ofthe organization and its array ofprograms for families in Armenia. This year theFund for Armenian Relief is marking its 20thanniversary.“Corinne and I are very involved,” he said,

“and everything that the Diocese does[through FAR] — whether it’s FAR’s child pro-tection programs or the senior citizen pro-grams — is an integral part of helping ourbrothers and sisters in Armenia.”More than 900 people took part in services

at the cathedral. In the sanctuary, the energywas palpable throughout the morning assome rose to light candles. The St. VartanCathedral Choir sang the sacred music underthe direction of conductor KhorenMekanejian, with Florence Avakian on theorgan.

After the January 6 services, a home bless-ing service and Christmas luncheon wereheld in Haik and Alice KavookjianAuditorium.The event featured remarks by the Primate;

toasts by St. Vartan Cathedral dean the Rev.Mardiros Chevian, Randy Sapah-Gulian andArmenia’s Ambassador to the United NationsGaren Nazarian; and performances by theAntranig Dance Ensemble and members ofthe St. Vartan Cathedral Choir. Dr. RaffyHovanessian, vice chair of the DiocesanCouncil, served as the master of ceremonies.Nazarian made the first toast of the after-

noon, thanking the Eastern Diocese for awonderful year and close cooperation on newprojects. “May 2010 bring newly-found pros-perity to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh,”Nazarian said.Mardiros Chevian made a toast to Sapah-

Gulian and thanked him for his dedication tothe Armenian Church and to the people ofArmenia, many of whom benefit from the pro-grams offered by FAR.Mekanejian led performances of Armenian

songs by Hasmik Mekanejian and 10-year-oldDzovinar Aghavian. Anahid Zakarian wasaccompanied by Vagharshag Ohanian on thepiano.Eight members of the AGBU’s Antranig

Dance Ensemble performed two dances.Barsamian presented the dancers with smallgifts in appreciation of their hard work. Healso mentioned that Sapah-Gulian, once amember of the ensemble, is one of itsfounders.Sapah-Gulian offered the last toast of the

program, thanking Barsamian for the oppor-tunity to serve as godfather for the Blessingof Water ceremony.

Barsamian said, “This is the season whenwe have to remember that love has to be atthe center of who we are and what we do.When there is love, there is peace. Whenthere is love, there is understanding. Whenthere is love, there is unity.”The day’s meal was prepared by the

Knights and Daughters of Vartan.

Nativity Eve Festivities

On Tuesday, January 5, the Eve of theFeast of the Nativity and Theophany of JesusChrist, Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian cele-brated the Divine Liturgy at St. VartanCathedral.Students from the Diocesan Khrimian

Lyceum read scriptures in Armenian andassisted the Cathedral Choir. The KhrimianLyceum is an Armenian language and cultureschool for students ages 12 to 17.

Celebrating the Feast of the Nativity at St. Vartan Cathedral


Seeking Reporter/Assistant EditorThe 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 languageskills are preferred but not necessary. Familiarity with Word and Quark programs is preferred.Send resumes and writing samples to [email protected].

NewYorkMM EE TT RR OO

RobertMorgenthauFeted inNew YorkNEW YORK — On the evening of Wednesday,

December 2, Robert M. Morgenthau, districtattorney of the County of New York for nearly35 years and a living legend among prosecu-tors, needed to be in three places at the sametime. He was late for a dinner being thrown bythe Institute for Jewish Humanities, which washonoring him for a lifetime of achievement ofpublic service. At the same time, he was sched-uled to act as master of ceremonies for a lectureby Peter Balakian introducing his latest bookabout the Armenian Genocide. But meanwhile,a controversy had erupted with City Hall, andfor the moment, duty required Morgenthau toanswer the questions of a pack of reporterswho had descended upon his office. Finally, thehour grew late, and Morgenthau apologized tothe newspeople, explaining that he had to be onhis way. But just before he(Mr. Morgenthau)left, he turned to the reporters and said, “any ofyou guys interested in the ArmenianGenocide?”To anyone who knows Robert Morgenthau,

the question should not have come as a sur-prise. Morgenthau is fiercely and unapologeti-cally loyal to the Armenian community on ahost of humanitarian concerns, but never morepassionately so than when the cause is the onemost closely associated with his grandfather,Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr.: theArmenian Genocide. As demonstrated in anexhibit about the Morgenthau family currentlyon display at the Museum of Jewish Heritage inNew York City, it was AmbassadorMorgenthau’s witness of the Genocide of theArmenians, which, more than any other experi-ence, galvanized him in his commitment to pub-lic service and ethical principle. And when,despite truly heroic efforts, AmbassadorMorgenthau was unable to save so many

Armenians from annihilation, he channeled hisdespair into vast projects, such as the Near EastRelief Committee, as well as into countless indi-vidual acts of compassion and sacrifice, to helpthe dispersed Armenians. As a result, nearlyevery Armenian family that survived has a storyto tell about how Ambassador Morgenthautouched their lives. Accompanying District Attorney Morgenthau

throughout that hectic evening, as he acceptedhis award and introduced the Genocide lecture,was his longest-serving Armenian-AmericanAssistant District Attorney Peter Kougasian.Kougasian has served under Morgenthau eversince his graduation from Yale Law School in1979. Morgenthau likes to note that when hishiring panel interviewed Peter for the job backin the 1970s, they recommended rejecting him

because he was “too intellectual.” Morgenthauoverrode their recommendation. “I took onelook into Peter’s eyes,” DA Morgenthau jokes,“and I realized: Peter is no intellectual!”Kougasian has held the positions of director ofLegal Staff Training, senior trial counsel, andcurrently is a bureau chief in the Office of theSpecial Narcotics Prosecutor. He is a vice presi-dent and Board Member of the ArmenianMissionary Association of America, and a mem-ber of the Armenian Evangelical Church of NewYork. He has also served as a vice president of the

New York City Bar Association and chaired thatAssociation’s Executive Committee. “The bestand the brightest from all over America come towork for Robert Morgenthau,” Kougasian says.And it’s not hard to substantiate that claim: oneof Kougasian’s Yale classmates who joined him

in the District Attorney’s Office in 1979 wasUnited States Supreme Court Justice SoniaSotomayor. “Justice Sotomayor and I were col-lege classmates and law school classmates. Westudied for the bar together, and started in theDistrict Attorney’s Office, in the same trialbureau, on the same day in 1979. Even backthen, to anyone who knew her work well, itwould have come as no surprise that she wouldone day be chosen for the Supreme Court. Sheis an astonishing lawyer.” “Most lawyers have many jobs in the course

of their career; in a real sense, I have had onlyone,” Kougasian says. “There’s an easy expla-nation for that: when you work for RobertMorgenthau, you begin every day with a deepsense of gratitude: It is the greatest of blessingsto have shared so much with so great a man.”

— Harry Koundakjian

The Museum where the Harry Morgenthau poster and photos of Armenian refugees give full details of the Genocide.

District Attorney of the County of New York for nearly 35 years Robert Morgenthau addressing themeeting of Lawyers, jurists and businessmen at the Jewish Museum

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

HARRY L. KOUNDAKJIAN PHOTO



NEW YORK — Throughout his two decades ofworking in alliance with the Armenian people, Dr.Edgar Housepian’s faith in their strength andresilience has grown. A retired ColumbiaUniversity neurosurgeon, Housepian is a co-founder of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR),vice chairman of the organization’s Board ofDirectors, and chair of its Medical Committee. On January 15, FAR will honor this great

man with a gala at Cipriani Wall Street. Andwhile the evening will indeed pay homage to

Housepian’s incredible life achievements, it willalso focus on his vision of the nation ofArmenia one day being an international centerfor medicine, medical education, and research.Through FAR’s Dr. Edgar Housepian MedicalEducation Fund, it is indeed possible to makethis hope a reality. Each of FAR’s medical education projects —

many of which Housepian pioneered — specifi-cally target areas that are essential to not onlyArmenia’s success as an international center formedical care, but also to the success of the

nation as a whole. Housepian was an inspiration behind the

founding of the FAR Fellowship AlumniAssociation, a non-governmental organizationof medical professionals who are aimed atimproving the healthcare system of the com-munity and advancing medical sciences inArmenia. This group has not only helped todevelop a culture of volunteerism and philan-thropy in Armenia, but it also established theContinuing Medical Education (CME) program.Through CME, doctors from all over Armenia

have an opportunity to advance their medicaltraining under the mentorship of leading medicalexperts in Yerevan, and establish partnershipsand networks that can guide them into thefuture. Since many of Armenia’s doctors work inrural and isolated settings and have not had achance to advance their skills since medicalschool, learn the latest discoveries in the field, orwork with the latest equipment, this program isoften the only opportunity these physicians haveto make changes and save more lives.Housepian advocates the expansion of the CME

program, as it helps to elevate the level of medicalpractice in Armenia to international standards.Housepian and FAR have also greatly improved

Armenia’s National Medical Library. It now servesas a medical center with course offerings, com-

puter training opportunities, research programs,and partnerships with other medical institutionsaround the world. With further support, thelibrary will become a regional showcase for med-ical education, research, and training.He has been actively supporting Dr. Aram

Chobanian and his colleagues from around theWorld in the International Board of Advisors ofthe Yerevan State Medical University, to reformthe entire medical education system ofArmenia.Housepian was instrumental in creating the

Armenian National Science and EducationFund (ANSEF), which provides research grantsto Armenia’s top scientists, engineers and schol-ars, giving them the opportunity to pursuemajor steps of their groundbreaking researchwithin their own borders.

Each of these programs has the potential tomake groundbreaking change in the Armenianhealthcare system and the overall health of theArmenian people. Together, these initiativescan change the nation as a whole, and make itleader on the international stage.Since its founding in response to the 1988

earthquake, FAR has served hundreds of thou-sands of people through more than 220 reliefand development programs in Armenia andKarabagh. It has channeled more than $265million in humanitarian assistance by imple-menting a wide range of projects includingemergency relief, construction, education, med-ical aid, and economic development.For more information on FAR, write to FAR,

630 Second Ave., New York, NY 10016 [email protected].

NEW YORK — The following interview wasconducted by Hagop Vartivarian, chair of theADL Press Committee, recently in New York,with Dr. Edgar Housepian, who is being hon-ored by the Fund for Armenian Relief onFriday, January 15.HHaaggoopp VVaarrttiivvaarriiaann:: Dear Dr. Housepian. Let

me begin by telling you that this interview iswith our Ramgavar newspapers. We are allaware that your father was in fact a father to allthe immigrants of the Big New York. How didhe dedicate his time and soul to his people? DDrr.. EEddggaarr HHoouusseeppiiaann:: It’s very hard to say

why he was very generous and very patriotic,but I think there’s only one reason of why hewas able to accomplish his role in the Armeniancommunity and that was by believing that whenhe is helping the Armenian community, he is infact helping humanity. In additional to that, hehad a great sense of humor, which indirectlyhelped increase the morals of the immigratedArmenians. He had brought back a lot of his childhood

memories from Kessab, which was one of themain reasons of why he offered his willingnessto the Armenian community and the society tobecome helpful when he was a young scholar:he believed that serving humanity was his mis-sion.My father was born in Kessab and he was a

witness of the slaughters in 1895. With hisfriends he tried to struggle against the unjustand inhumane attitude, but because of veryhard situations, they could not return to theirhomes. Instead my father and his friends endedup in Egypt, with the stream of deportations.For a short period of time, he participated in anArmenian theatre, just to be able to save

enough money for his daily necessitates. Aftersome time, he wished to attend pharmaceuticalstudies, but then realized that it was not his aimin life.He moved to America in 1900 and started

studying at a medical school, at the Long IslandMedical College. He gained most of his experi-ence by working on dead bodies. He graduatedas a physician in 1905, after which he started towork in this field officially. His younger brotherwas not educated, so he used his paycheck forhis brothers’ education. He continued to collectmore medical practice from 1905 till 1909[serving as a physician on a British ship]. In 1916, he joined the Red Cross and went to

Russia, then passing on to Armenia. He stayedthere from till March 1918, because of the veryhard political situation there. In 1920, when the medical field improved, he

started practicing being a family doctor. In1951 he suffered from leukemia. He passedaway at the age of 76 in 1952.HHVV:: Do you remember anything about his

friendship with Archbishop Tourian?EEHH:: I was in the first grade when I heard

about the assassination of the archbishop. Itwas a very sad operation, a tragic end especial-ly since it was acted on an archbishop — a cler-gyman. HHVV:: What can you remember about the coop-

eration with yourself and other national leadersand Ramgavar collaborators, as for Dr.Dzovigian, Hratch Yervant etc…?EEHH:: Our house was always full of national

personalities. I was very young and I don’texactly recall the names of the individuals andevery occurrence, however I recollect his inti-mate friendship with Dr. Dzovigian.

HHVV:: And how about your mother’s (MakrouhiHousepian) contribution to the AGBU?EEHH:: My mother was an ideal figure of a real

Armenian activist woman. She was a long-term,veteran member of the AGBU, and has dedicat-ed unlimited assistance. In the meantime shewas also an active member in other Armenianorganizations and all her hard work led to newfruitful ideas, and her successful experienceshave been a key model for the coming genera-tions. Being in assistance to the Armenian com-munity is an impressive quality within our fam-ily, you would think it is a family heir that keepson living within the generations, and of whichwe cannot be detached as it is a big part of ourlives.HHVV:: Dr. Housepian, you followed your

father’s path as a mission for your life. Yourfather sought to aid the survivors of theGenocide in 1915, and you as well sought to aidthe victims of the last earthquake in Armenia,in order to provide medical and humane ser-vices. What can you tell us about the feelingsthat you felt at the time? EEHH:: During those tragic days, I was suffering

from indecisive actions, as there were horriblelosses and distressing aspects. By going toYerevan I was able to share the sufferings of myfellow Armenians. Although this was a depress-ing circumstance, but at the same times it wasa nice experience. It was painful to see the tor-tures that my brothers were facing, and it waspleasant to be able to reach their needs as adoctor. I organized a group of volunteers thatreached up to 200 and within a couple of daysmore than 30 professional doctors and I wereready to take off to Armenia, to be able to helpthe victims of the earthquake.

By doing so, I was convinced that the bestway to help humanity is to diversify the medicalknowledge. HHVV:: Other than medical field, what else inter-

ests you? EEHH:: Almost all types of fields interest me, but

I love collecting postal stamps. I always travel tobe able to see and experience new places and cul-tures. At the moment, I have three children andthat is why I enjoy the coziness of my family.HHVV:: Have you ever been to Lebanon? EEHH:: I have not had the pleasure to visit the

Middle Eastern countries that often. I have onlybeen to Syria once, but I did not have theopportunity to see Lebanon and to experiencethe warm Armenian-Lebanese community. Thefact that in the name of my father there is aclub branch within the Tekeyan center bringsme great pleasure. (Dr. Edgar M. Housepian, a professor emeri-

tus of clinical neurological surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, earned his bache-lor’s degree in 1949 and graduated cum laudefrom Columbia College. He acquired his Doctorof Medicine degree from Columbia UniversityCollege of Physicians and Surgeons in 1953,and received certification from the AmericanBoard of Neurological Surgery in November1961. He is a member of more than 40 profes-sional societies and has held positions onnumerous university, hospital and departmen-tal committees. Housepian has participated invarious study groups, and received researchgrants and prestigious honors for his outstand-ing work in his field. He has authored numer-ous articles and books on medical research andmethods in neurological studies. He is alsochairman of FAR’s Medical Committee.)



Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents’ Footsteps

Edgar Housepian (right) with Dr. AramChobanian (left), president of Boston UniversityMedical School

Armenia Can Be a Champion of Medical Care

Graduates of FAR’s Continuing Medical Education Program providing lifesaving medical care forpatients in Armenia

Graduates of FAR’s Continuing MedicalEducation Program, like Dr. Hrant Kalenteryan,providing lifesaving medical care for patients inArmenia. (Credit: Felix Aroustamyan)

NEW YORK — The Armenian Relief SocietyEastern Region recently revamped its YouthConnect Program (YCP), an educational sem-inar for college-age students. In an attempt toput Armenian students together from all geo-graphic areas and various academic disci-plines, ARS wants to provide an arena tohave students come together to share ideasand information and learn about opportuni-ties within the entire community to enhance

the Armenian experience. From internships,both in the US and Armenia, to humanitari-an assistance, to cultural and educationalopportunities, students will learn about pro-grams available to them through differentArmenian organizations.The program will take place on Saturday,

February 6, at New York University’s KimmelCenter for Student Life, 60 WashingtonSquare South. Opening introductions will

begin at 9:30 a.m. and will continue until4:30 p.m. The program is designed and imple-mented by Dr. Asbed Kotchikian fromBentley University who, in the past, has hadextensive experience in developing anddirecting youth related programs in the US,Armenia and Middle East. The program willinclude workshops and lectures to coverissues such as: the challenges that Armenianyouth face today; the changing nature ofArmenian world; internships and job oppor-tunities in Armenia and in the US.

There are no applications fees and the pro-gram will cover lodging, food and local trans-portation for all participants in NYC. YCP is open to any college-aged Armenian

student from any location who would beinterested in learning more about history andculture and its relevance in today’s society.To learn more about the YCP and how toapply, contact the ARS Eastern USA office [email protected]. Application deadline isJanuary 25. Space is limited.



Yahoo, Verizon: Our Spy CapabilitiesWould ‘Shock,’ ‘Confuse’ ConsumersNEW YORK (Wired) — Want to know how much phone companies and internet service

providers charge to funnel your private communications or records to US law enforcementand spy agencies?That’s the question muckraker and Indiana University graduate student Christopher

Soghoian asked all agencies within the Department of Justice, under a Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) request filed a few months ago. But before the agencies could pro-

vide the data, Verizon and Yahoo intervened and filedan objection on grounds that, among other things,they would be ridiculed and publicly shamed weretheir surveillance price sheets made public.Yahoo writes in its 12-page objection letter, that if

its pricing information were disclosed to Soghoian, he would use it “to ‘shame’ Yahoo! andother companies — and to ‘shock’ their customers.”“Therefore, release of Yahoo!’s information is reasonably likely to lead to impairment of

its reputation for protection of user privacy and security, which is a competitive disad-vantage for technology companies,” the company writes.Verizon took a different stance. It objected to the release of its Law Enforcement Legal

Compliance Guide because it might “confuse” customers and lead them to think thatrecords and surveillance capabilities available only to law enforcement would be availableto them as well — resulting in a flood of customer calls to the company asking for trapand trace orders.“Customers may see a listing of records, information or assistance that is available only

to law enforcement,” Verizon writes in its letter, “but call in to Verizon and seek thosesame services. Such calls would stretch limited resources, especially those that arereserved only for law enforcement emergencies.”Other customers, upon seeing the types of surveillance law enforcement can do, might

“become unnecessarily afraid that their lines have been tapped or call Verizon to ask iftheir lines are tapped (a question we cannot answer).”Verizon does disclose a little tidbit in its letter, saying that the company receives “tens

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 theaim of trying to deduce from this how often such requests are being made. Soghoianexplained 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 thegovernment. I theorized that if I could obtain the price lists of each ISP, detailing the pricefor 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 obtainthese documents, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with every part of theDepartment 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, Yahooand 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 oftheir 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 $3,500for the first 30 days of a wiretap, and $2,500 for each additional 30 days. Thirty days worthof 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 SecretsAct.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 company claims its pricing is derived from labor rates for employees and overheadand, therefore, disclosing the information would provide clues to its operating costs —regardless of whether these same clues are already available in public records, such asthose the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company alsoclaims that since Soghoian is trying to determine the actual amounts the Marshals Servicepaid Yahoo for responding to requests, the price lists are irrelevant, since “there are nostandard prices for these transactions.”But equally important to Yahoo’s objections was the potential for “criticism” and

ridicule. Yahoo quoted Soghoian on his blog writing that his aim was to “use this blog toshame the corporations that continue to do harm to user online privacy.”Yahoo also objected to the disclosure of its letter objecting to the disclosure of pricing

information saying that “release of this letter would likely cause substantial competitiveharm” to the company. The company added, in a veiled threat, that if the Marshals Servicewere to show anyone its letter objecting to the disclosure of pricing information, it could“impair the government’s ability to obtain information necessary for making appropriatedecisions with regard to future FOIA requests.”

By Kim Zetter

ARS Announces its Youth Connect Program

BAYSIDE, N.Y. — It is the tradition at theHoly Martyrs Armenian Day School (HMADS)to spread Christmas cheer and share students’artistic talents with the community. HMADSstudents’ first visit was on Wednesday,December 9, 2009, as they took the trip to theArmenian Home of Flushing, where the elder-ly in the community are cared for with loveand respect.Students showered the residents of the

Armenian Home with special handcraftedChristmas ornaments and artifacts to ornateand bring cheers to their rooms. A bouquet ofChristmas carols in Armenian and Englishalong with recitations filled the hearts of theelderly with joy bringing back the fond mem-ories of their youth. Kurisdos dsunav yevHaydnetsav – Tsezi Mezi Meds Avedis wasthe conclusive message as the students, teach-ers and parents departed from the ArmenianHome promising to visit again. The next event was to bring cheer to the

Holy Martyrs Seniors’ at their Christmasparty on December 15 with a special program.HMADS students were praised by the audi-ence for their proficiency in both languagesas they presented poems and songs.On December 18, the HMADS community

gathered for their annual Christmas hantess.The show began with the national anthemsand the school song. The program featured apotpourri of English and Armenian songs,Armenian recitations, and bilingual skits from

the children of nursery through sixth grades. Principal Zarminé Boghosian offered wel-

coming remarks to all of those gathered inthe auditorium, which was filled to capacity.Boghosian thanked all the parents, grandpar-ents and guests who have shown their loyalsupport to this school. She acknowledged thepresence of special guests. Among the guestswere: Barbara Peters, Mr. and Mrs. NubarMahdessian, Dr. Haroutun Mekhjian, GrigorGregorian and representatives of communityorganizations and schools.The nursery students began their portion

of the program with songs such as SilentNight and Dzenoontee Dzar. Their compo-sure and sophistication warmed the audiencewho looks forward to witnessing their first

time on stage each year. The Kindergartenerswere next to take the stage with feature recita-tion Snorhavor Nor Daree and songs, Up onthe Housetop and Santa Claus Is Coming toTown. The first and second grades joined together

to deliver the poem “Dear Santa.” The remain-der of the students presented short skits andjoined the stage as one for the Armenian por-tion of the show. The skits included “The Little Drummer

Boy” and “Santa Claus for President,”“Amanoree Kisher” and “Gaghantee Seghan.”They also sang several Armenian Christmassongs.Boghosian extended her appreciation to the

School Board, members of the Friends ofHMADS members and the hard-workingHMADS fFaculty. At the conclusion of theprogram, all in attendance were invited to areception. The evening was a salute to the mission of

HMADS; to honor Armenian culture and rec-ognize the value of a bilingual education inthe context of an English speaking society. On Monday, December 21, all the students

were escorted to the church to receive HolyCommunion. Following the short service thegraduating class of 2010 read theKhosdovanank. Very Rev. VahanHovhannesian praised the HMADS studentsand offered his prayers and blessings to all.The entire student body and faculty were

treated to a breakfast and surprised with thepresence of a Gaghant Baba waiting for themin the Kalustyan Hall.On the eve of the Armenian Christmas,

(January 5) more than 20 HMADS studentstook part in reading the Holy Scriptures inArmenian and sang the Badarak along withthe Holy Martyrs Youth Choir.A fellowship hour sponsored by the

HMADS followed the Christmas Eve Badarak.Hovhannesian was invited to cut the cakewishing him well in his new appointment inEngland. The HMADS family wishes him all the best

in his new parish.For more information about the school,

write to [email protected].

Santa treating Kindergartners

Christmas Celebrations HMADS Style

12 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O RS A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

Arts & LivingArmenian DudukPresentation andLive Performance atALMA February 4WATERTOWN, Mass.— On Thursday,

February 4, the Armenian Library and Museumof America (ALMA) will feature “The ArmenianDuduk and the Impact of Cultural Policy fromSoviet Times to Present Day,” by ALMAResearch Fellow Dr. Jonathan McCollum. Theevent will begin at 7 p.m. in the museum’sContemporary Art Gallery on the third floor.McCollum will examine the impact of folk

music both during and after Soviet rule inArmenia by concentrating specifically on theduduk as mediator and marker of cultural her-itage. Musician Martin Haroutunian will alsogive a live traditional duduk performance aspart of the evening program.McCollum’s experiences and interests as an

ALMA Research Fellow have spanned severalfields such as ethnomusicology, historical musi-cology, archeomusicology, museum studies andart history. He is the co-author of ArmenianMusic: A Comprehensive Bibliography andDiscography (Scarecrow Press, 2004), and is acontributor to Identity, Pluralism, and SovietMusic (Scarecrow Press, in press), DefiningMusic: An Ethnomusicological andPhilosophical Approach (Edwin Mellen Press,2007) and wrote the chapter on “Music ofCentral Asia and the Caucasus” in OnMusic

World Music Online textbook (2008).Haroutunian, a highly regarded musician and

a student of Armenian folk music, performs andteaches traditional Armenian wind and percus-sion instruments, including dap, dhol (kopal),duduk, parkapzuk, pku, shvi, sring (blul) andzurna. He has studied at the Komitas StateConservatory of Yerevan, Folk InstrumentsDepartment, under Khachatur Avetisian in theWind Instruments Division under JivanGasparian and the University of Massachusetts,Boston. He has also received private instructionfrom Professors Ohannes Salibian, GeorgiMinasov, Ararat Petrosian, Gevorg Dabaghianand Norayr Kartashian. His critiques andreviews have been published in the ArmenianForum, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator andthe Armenian Weekly.He has performed in Armenia, Canada,

Cyprus, Holland, Italy, Lebanon, Syria andTurkey. He was a guest artist with the NavasartArmenian Folk Ensemble of Paris, France dur-ing their United States tour with performancesin Boston, New York, Fresno, San Francisco

see ALMA, page 13

ReconciliationThrough The Arts:

Armenia and TurkeyLOS ANGELES (News Blaze) — The following is a conversation between

Barney Yates, an American journalist, and Nora Armani, an international actor,playwright and festival producer, aboutprospects for healing old wounds betweenArmenia and Turkey through the “soft diplo-macy” of cultural exchange.QQ:: There are ongoing negotiations toward

protocols for opening the borders between Turkey and Armenia for the first time ina long time. Why has this peaceful development been so difficult to achieve? AA:: Well, there are many unresolved issues between Armenians and Turks, the

most important of which is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Opening bor-ders is a wonderful thing, as it is important for all nations under the sun to livepeacefully with their neighbors and have normal exchanges on the economic, socialand human levels. However, opening up the borders under the conditions Turkey ispushing for would not create the sort of peaceful atmosphere that is so desirablebetween neighboring countries. It would result in resentment and further mistrust.By pressuring Armenia to accept the protocols with conditions attached, and by

sliding over the important issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide,Turkey is not engaging in a peaceful act but an act of denial. It is much like deny-ing the Jewish Holocaust during World War II.Let’s ask ourselves why these centuries-old neighbors have not been on “talking terms.”

If the issue that caused the conflict is not resolved at its root, and amends are not madeby Turkey as the perpetrator to its victims of the Genocide and their offspring, you canopen as many borders as you want, but that will not create peaceful coexistence.This is why the Armenian majority in the diaspora (yes, there are more Armenians

in the diaspora than in Armenia today) is totally opposed to the protocols. They arenot opposed to dialog with Turkey as such, but they are opposed to the way Turkeyis approaching the round table of talks. This is not an egalitarian relationship andthe gain is totally for Turkey here as Armenia presents a market for Turkish goods,excellent craftsmen/women for Turkish factories, a source of skilled artisans (as ithas been in the past, throughout centuries) and more.There may be individual gains for some Armenians engaged in this commerce, but

as a nation the protocols do not do anything but harm to the Armenian nation andsee RECONCILIATION, page 16

Nora Armani

Concert Tribute toChomsky at MITFeatures ArmenianComposerCAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Noted linguist and

political activist Noam Chomsky is scheduled toattend a special concert in his honor, along withdozens of family, friends and colleagues, atMIT’s Kresge Auditorium, on January 22.There will be performances of music dedicat-

ed to Chomsky and speeches by noted scien-tists and speakers from MIT and Harvard.Chomsky, considered today to be one of theworld’s leading intellectuals, became prominent

half a centuryago for his theoryof generativegrammar, whichtransformed thestudy of linguis-tics and pro-foundly influ-enced otherfields, such aspsychology, com-puter science andphilosophy. He isalso knownworldwide as aleading politicaldissident and

peace activist. Chomsky’s honorary concert willfeature music dedicated to Chomsky and songswritten on Chomsky’s words by composerEdward Manukyan. Prominent linguists David Pesetsky of MIT

and Gennaro Chierchia, the head of theLinguistics Department at Harvard, will takethe 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 Weinbergand others. The performers include SaritaUranovsky (violin), Molly Walker (clarinet),Lyndi Williams (soprano) and Hisako Hiratsuka(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

Student Council and MIT Lecture Series. Edward Manukyan is an Armenian-born com-

poser from Southern California. Hailed by con-ductor Loris Tjeknavorian as “the most brilliantArmenian composer of his generation,”Manukyan has dedicated a considerable num-ber of his works to eminent scientists. Recently,he has been promoting wider appreciation forsciences through his original Musical Tribute toScientists project, which includes dedications tosome of the greatest minds of our time.Manukyan is the author of a number of orches-tral and chamber works, many of which havebeen performed on the international scene. Foradditional information about Manukyan andthe Noam Chomsky Honorary Concert, visitwww.EdwardManukyan.com.

By Barney Yates

PHOTO BY LEVON PARIAN.

Edward Manukyan

Noam Chomsky

Dr. Jonathan McCollum

13

Entertainment Fridaysand Saturdays

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

By Florence Avakian

NEW YORK — On the cold, snowy, starlitevening of December 12, more than 110 enthu-siastic friends gathered at the spacious and ele-gant home of Andreas Roubian to support oneof the most important and respected nonprofitorganizations, the Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI).Appropriately, the event was held in a settingthat houses one of the most extensive collec-tions of art, including numerous pricelessworks 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), isabout “nourishing the soul of a nation —through the arts,” said Hartounian who wasdescribed as a “romantic idealist and strongvisionary” by the event’s Master of CeremoniesMossik Makhoulian. “He knows how to makedecisions and bring them to practical reality.”A video with happy and smiling children,

demonstrated the Naregatsi Art Institute’sdaily events, all open to the public withoutcharge. This center, a first for Armenia,encourages handicapped artists, offers freemusic lessons and is a virtual ongoing artexhibit. Seminars, forums and conferencestake place almost daily. One of the most moving moments of the

video showed a choir of children who had losttheir fathers in the Karabagh conflict. Duringthe evening, a silent art auction with artworkand handmade Christmas cards donated by theNaregatsi art students took place. The proceedswould enable the children in Shushi’s NAI cen-ter to enroll in art classes of their choice andprovide them with a safe haven. “One man can start something but can’t fin-

ish it,” said Nareg Hartounian. “This fundraiser,our first, is a means to an end. It will make ahuge difference in creating hope and inspira-tion. The institute has been created to serve ourculture, and create opportunities for the youth— especially in Shushi where it helps the chil-dren to express their artistic talents. It’s a placewhere children feel safe, warm, loved, and caredfor,” he said and introduced two individualswho have been invaluable and dedicated sup-porters for the preservation of NAI, his father,Garabed Haroutunian, and brother, Saro.The Shushi center provides classes in music,

theatre, dance, sculpture, painting, needlework,languages, etc. All classes are free of charge. Itaspires to have a dormitory that could accom-modate up to 40 to 50 volunteers who wouldcome from around the world. They would haveaccommodations for free in their new home andin return would share their knowledge with thechildren. There are also plans to build an artist’s

retreat with workshops, and daily exhibitions.Currently, the Shushi center is still not com-pleted. “We have to join our hands together andmake this a reality,” declared Hartounian.

UNTIL MY LAST BREATH“Why have we called it the Naregatsi Art

Institute,” asked Hartounian. “It has to do withprovidence, with destiny. Krikor Naregatsi sig-nifies blessings, and the responsibility to dedi-cate ourselves to this sacred mission and workwith honor, integrity and trust. That’s why I’vededicated my life to it until my last breath,” hestated with emotion.Composer Konstantin Petrosian, who two

months ago introduced his new works at theNaregatsi Art Institute in Armenia to packedaudiences, urged all to “go, see and participate”in the institute’s activities in both Yerevan andShushi. “In just a few years, one person alonehas established this center, receiving very littlesupport from the Armenian government. We allhave to work together to continue this valuableeffort.” It was announced that both Hartounianand Petrosian would go to Los Angeles the nextmorning. Their CD, “Oberton,” produced byNAI, has been nominated in the ArmenianMusic Awards in the best classical music cate-gory. A message from Armenia’s Ambassador to

the United Nations Garen Nazarian, who wasunable to be present, expressed appreciation tothe Naregatsi Art Institute “for supportingyoung people who take pride in their Armenianheritage. Their artistic contribution is particu-larly important because they carry traditions ofour nation and create new ones.”Congratulating the institute on its achievement,Nazarian expressed his hope “to see manyevents which will inspire young people, not only

in Armenia, but also in the Armenian commu-nities abroad.”Entertainment was provided by pianist

Karina Azatian, the YY Sisters with selectionsfrom Komitas, and 11-year-old pianist DavidAntablian, who played compositions from

Babajanian and Gurdjiev that he had learned inNAI Yerevan.During the evening, the guests enjoyed a

richly decorated Christmas tree, red lighted, tas-seled balloons floating from the ceiling, and

tables with lighted lanterns hung from fern treebranches. Hosted by Andreas Roubian, atten-dees were treated to a lavish buffet. Roubianhas been instrumental in helping Artzagh formany years, and funding the renovation of theGhazanchetsots Church of Shushi.

Departing guests received Christmas artworkmade by the Naregatzi Art Institute students ofShushi. For more information about the Naregatsi

Art Institute visit www.naregatsi.org.

ALMA, from page 12and Los Angeles. He has also toured with theErebouni and Garni Armenian Folk Ensemblesas principal soloist performing at various pres-tigious international festivals including theFestival of Nations in Albany, New York and theWolf Trap International Children’s Festival inVienna, Va. He has also has toured withKurdish folk singer Jivan Perwer. Haroutunianarranged and performed the music for NewRepertory Theater’s 1998 production ofRichard Kalinoski’s “Beast on The Moon” aswell as acted as a consultant and recorded forthe play’s 2005 Off-Broadway production.In 1989, Haroutunian founded and has since

directed the Arev Armenian Folk Ensemble,performing extensively in the United Statesand Canada, including with the 2002Christmas Revels. The ensemble’s first record-ing in 2003 received two nominations at theArmenian Music Awards. He is featured on var-

ious recordings including “An Anthology ofArmenian Patriotic Songs,” “Portable Planet,”“Lullabies From The Cradle Of Civilization”and various film and television soundtracks,including the “Everything is Illuminated” orig-inal motion picture soundtrack. In 2007 hewas invited to be recorded by Academy Awardwinning composer Gustavo Santaolalla for afilm soundtrack. He is also featured on record-ings by Raffi Adourian, Janette Khalarian, TheVardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble and TheKomitas Project and Musaner, both directedby Ara Sarkissian. In 2006 Haroutunian found-ed the Lusin Armenian ExperimentalImprovisation Group. He developed andtaught a music appreciation program at St.Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School. Mostrecently he was invited by the ChicagoSymphony Orchestra to play at a concert thatwill take place in April. He is currentlyinvolved in the production of Arev’s second

CD, “The Return,” and serves on theExecutive Committee of the HamazkayinArmenian Educational and Cultural Society ofGreater Boston.The event is free and open to the public.

Guests will also be granted free museum admis-sion before the program from 6 to 7 p.m. Currently on display in the museum’s

Simourian Family Gallery is “The ArmenianMusical Traditions,” an exhibit curated byMcCollum. Visitors will learn about the variousgenres of traditional music in Armenia and theinstruments that developed there. The exhibitexamines a range of musical styles, includingreligious, folk, troubadour, contemporary andthe American-Armenian style played at picnicsin the United States. The museum is located at 65 Main St. For

directions and more information about the pro-gram and current exhibits on display, visitwww.almainc.org.

Armenian Duduk Presentation and Live Performance at ALMA

Naregatsi Art Institute Winter Soiree Warms the Hearts

Guests at the Naregatsi Arts Institute

Naregatsi Arts Institute founder Nareg Haroutunian


ARTS & LIVING

By Victoria Kim

LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles Times) — The boy broughthome a dull-colored half-pound stone he found on the hillside,and his father, Harry Spencer, thought of the perfect place forit. They would use it as a doorstop.The year was 1938, and their home was a modest shack in

a sparsely populated, dusty stretch of gem-mining territory incentral Queensland, Australia. The stone sat at the backdoorfor 10 years, until a jeweler recognized its potential andbrought it across the Pacific. In Los Angeles, it was polishedto reveal a six-pronged, mesmerizingly beautiful star — or sogoes the story that is passed down about the largest-known star sapphire in the world.The Black Star of Queensland would make its way

around the world, weaving in and out of spotlight andobscurity, with stops in the Smithsonian in the ’60s,on Cher’s neck in the ’70s, and at the Royal OntarioMuseum in Toronto in 2007. It would capture the fan-tasy of a young boy, who would dream of one dayowning it. It would be mounted on white gold and 35diamonds added around its rim.Some profess the stone has a certain magic, bring-

ing luck to the fortunate few who have touched it.One owner said it brought on the darkest period ofher life, leaving memories she never wanted to revis-it.Eventually, as many prized things do, it landed in

LA County Superior Court, at the center of allega-tions of deception, unkept promises and a lover’sbetrayal.Harry Kazanjian learned to polish stones because

of an eye infection. About 1908, his family fled fromTurkey to France to escape the persecutions that pre-ceded the Armenian genocide. When they tried toboard a ship bound for the United States, guardswouldn’t let young Harry on because of his eye. As hisfamily sailed across the Atlantic, Kazanjian stayed behind inParis and apprenticed for his stonecutter uncle.Kazanjian discovered he had a knack for envisioning a gem-

stone in the rough, the way sculptors see a finished work in aslab of marble. When he reunited with his family, he persuad-ed his brother James to go into the gem business with him.The brothers traveled the world buying rare and valuable

stones. The Spencer family had sold them many blue and yel-low sapphires. One day in 1947, Harry Kazanjian saw a pile ofblack stones at the Spencers’ home that they had thoughtworthless. He asked to inspect them, thinking they might bestar sapphires. Spencer told his son to go get the doorstop.In the fist-sized stone, Kazanjian spotted a copper-colored

glimmer, a hint of the impurity that sometimes grows along asapphire’s crystals to create the star, an optical effect knownas an asterism. He bought it, reportedly for $18,000, andbrought it to the shop he ran with his brother in downtownLA.Amid the whirring of grinding wheels and hissing of polish-

ing machines, Kazanjian studied the stone for weeks beforecutting into it. Over months, he worked, bent over a copperwheel impregnated with diamond dust, gently carving away tocreate a dome.“I could have ruined it a hundred times during the cutting,”

Kazanjian told a Times reporter at the time.In 1948, the Black Star of Queensland debuted in New York.

Actress Linda Darnell cradled the egg-sized stone in her fin-gers and held it up for the cameras. At 733 carats, it was farlarger than the Star of India, a 563-carat blue star sapphire pre-viously known to be the largest.It was valued at $300,000, but the Kazanjians “declared

emphatically” that it wasn’t for sale.Michael Kazanjian, Harry’s nephew, spent his summers and

weekends as a child at the shop, trying to emulate his uncle’scraft on less-valuable gems. He had watched in awe as hisuncle polished the Black Star.To him, the stone was like a member of the family. He would

occasionally visit it at the family vault and talk to it, and itwould talk back, he said.“The stone had a lovely personality,” said Michael, who took

over the family business in the 1970s. “Very dramatic, verypowerful.”One day, in 1971, he saw an opportunity to show it off when

a Hollywood manager called him with an odd request: “Canyou put a few million dollars of jewelry on Cher?” By then,

Sonny and Cher had seen their fame ebb. After a failed filmventure and lackluster album sales, they were taking a stab atsomething new: a television variety show. In the premiere, theyplanned a sketch where Cher would be decked out in valuablegems, and security guards would keep Sonny away as he sang“Close to You.”Cher’s first stop had been Tiffany’s. But when the show’s

producers learned insurance would cost $8,000, they lookedfor another option.Instead of insurance, Michael hired half a dozen police offi-

cers to escort him and the Black Star to the studio. The stonewas tied on by hand with a flimsy wire to a necklace withabout 100 carats of diamonds.A few hours into the taping, he panicked. Cher was dancing.

Michael jumped up on stage and stopped the take, fearing thestone would drop and shatter.After its brief television fame, the stone sat out of public

view for the most part, making only occasional appearances atprivate charity functions. It has never been worn since.Jack Armstrong says he was a 5-year-old living in Blair, Neb.,

when he first laid eyes on the Black Star. That summer, hisfather, an auditor, took him on a trip to Washington, where theKazanjians had lent the stone to the Smithsonian for a displaywith the Hope Diamond. Armstrong said he breezed past thediamond but became fixated on the sapphire.“It took my breath away,” he said. “It’s like you see your

future in front of your eyes.”In 2002, he was introduced to the Kazanjians and was invit-

ed to see their collection. When he saw the Black Star, hecouldn’t believe he was looking at the stone from his child-hood and immediately wanted to buy it.Armstrong, a former model now in his 50s with no shortage

of flamboyance, says he is an artist and a dealer of art andantiques. Attorneys have described him in court papers as aman with no discernible source of income who lived off awealthy older girlfriend, a divorcee living in Switzerland.“I’ve never met a personality like him,” said Doug Kazanjian,

Michael’s son, who met with Armstrong about the sale. “Hehad this overwhelming passion to buy it.”After the sapphire had been in the family for more than 50

years, the Kazanjians decided to sell it to fund a scholarship atthe Gemological Institute of America.Armstrong arranged to buy the stone with his girlfriend. He

was so in love with it, he said, that he slept with it under hispillow and drove around with it in his jacket.But love or no love, he was quick to slap on a price tag and

offer it for sale. A month after he bought it for an undisclosedamount, he issued a press release saying the sapphire wasavailable — for $50 million.“The sale of the Black Star sapphire is a huge event in the

gem stone market,” Armstrong said in the press release inDecember 2002. “To have a stone like this come on the mar-ket is tantamount to having a Raphael painting suddenlyemerge for sale; it happens maybe once, maybe twice in a life-time.”Gabrielle Grohe had never heard of the Black Star, and in

hindsight, she might wish it stayed that way.In her 60s and wealthy from an earlier marriage to an indus-

trialist, she was introduced to Armstrong in 2002.

Her version of the tale, as told in court papers by her attor-ney, is filled with scathing accusations against Armstrong, heronetime lover. (Armstrong, whose attorneys never respondedto the allegations, declined to discuss the court case.)Within days of their meeting, Armstrong told her about the

stone and pressured her to buy it. She paid the bill, and hepromised to pay part of it, Grohe contended.The next year, Armstrong moved to Switzerland to live with

Grohe. Armstrong said in an interview that he went to Europeto pursue his art; Grohe contended he refused to get a job andrelied on her for his extravagant living expenses.Soon, their relationship soured. He drank heavily, became

physically abusive and got angry when she brought up hispromise to pay for the stone, she alleged. In September 2007,

Grohe called the police, bought him a plane ticket backto the US and kicked him out.That marked the beginning of an international tussle

for control of the stone.The next month, Grohe met with a potential buyer in

Canada, where the sapphire was on display at the RoyalOntario Museum, with its value then estimated at $4.1million. Armstrong foiled her efforts at a sale, “desper-ate at the thought that his gravy train would end,” shealleged.When the loan to the museum came to an end in

2008, Armstrong, who was listed as a co-owner in themuseum’s records, went behind Grohe’s back and askedthat it be shipped to him in Los Angeles, in care of theHarry Winston jewelry shop in Beverly Hills, accordingto court documents.A few weeks later, Armstrong showed up at the shop

with a woman he said was a buyer and asked for thestone. The salon director, Goli Parstabar, had learned ofthe dispute and refused.Furious, Armstrong returned with police officers, but

was rebuffed. Then he had an attorney send a demandletter. When that didn’t work, he sued Harry Winstonfor $25 million and issued press releases saying hisstone was being held hostage.

In court, the allegations escalated. Armstrong alleged thatParstabar had cost him a lucrative deal and ruined his reputa-tion by refusing to show the stone to his client. Grohe accusedArmstrong of fraud and unlawfully trying to take control ofthe stone, for which she contended he never paid a dime.Doug Kazanjian wears his grandfather’s ring with a stone

just like the Black Star — only 700 carats smaller.“It’s almost as if you’re looking into space,” he said of the

stone. “It’s like having the universe on your finger.”Last year, he was asked by an attorney in the case to identi-

fy his family heirloom.He was ushered into a private room at a Beverly Hills bank,

where attorneys, Parstabar, and Armstrong huddled aroundhim. Before him was a tightly wrapped cardboard shipping boxthat had sat untouched since it arrived from Toronto. All eyesfocused on him opening the box.He sifted through bubble wrap and tissue paper until he

found the velvet case holding the stone.“It was like getting to see an old friend,” he recalled.He inspected the diamonds, and the mounting. He scanned

the graining at the top of the stone. He shined a flashlight tocreate the six-point star.This is the Black Star of Queensland, he wrote on a piece of

paper, and signed it.The legal dispute quietly settled out of court in a confiden-

tial agreement. According to a court document, Armstrongagreed to pay $500,000 within three months to buy out Grohe.At 5 p.m., on the last day that he could claim ownership, a

personal check from Armstrong arrived at Grohe’s attorney’soffice. The check bounced.A few months later, a judge entered a final ruling: the stone

was all hers.The Black Star of Queensland once again sits in obscurity,

with its owner in Switzerland. Grohe wants to put that periodof her life behind her and would rather not talk about it, herattorney said. She hasn’t decided what to do with the stone.Armstrong, meanwhile, says it’s enough for him that he once

held the sapphire he fantasized about as a child. Though helost the court battle, the gem brought him good fortune in hiswork and life, he said.He wants to make a film about the stone, he says, for “every

little kid who dreams.” He says he is on the brink of a deal witha studio. He imagines it will be a tale of a princess trapped inan enchanted stone, and a boy who finds it by chance.“It’s a magical story,” he said. “It should be told.”

The Black Star of Queensland

Quite the Gem DandyONCE OVERLOOKED, NOW BREATHTAKING IN ITS BEAUTY, 733-CARAT SAPPHIRE HAS HISTORY WORTH ITS WEIGHT


ARTS & LIVING

PASADENA, Calif. — The Pasadena CentralLibrary, which is host to the exhibit “LégionArménienne: The Armenian Legion and ItsHeroism in the Middle East,” put together bythe Armenian Library and Museum ofAmerica (ALMA), hosted a reception onJanuary 3 in honor of the exhibit, which willend on January 17.“Légion Arménienne” offers a glimpse into

the formation, training, military action andpostwar activities of the Armenian Legionthrough photographs and narratives.The standing-room-only January 3 program

was co-sponsored by the Western Region ofArmenian Rights Council of America and thePasadena Chapter of the Armenian NationalCommittee and supported by the PasadenaArmenian Youth Federation “Nigol Touman”Chapter. Former Pasadena Mayor Bill Paparian

presided over the afternoon program honor-ing the brave and selfless young legionnaireswho, during World War I, went from the US,the Middle East and Europe to help theAllies, and later risked all in defense ofArmenian human rights. Keynote speaker EdAghjayan, former Pasadena deputy city man-ager, shared stories about his father who was

an Armenian Legionnaire. The program also featured Carl Bardakian

speaking about his grandfather JimChankalian, whose life as an ArmenianLegionnaire is highlighted in the exhibit. Dr.Zaven Arslanian spoke about his grandfatherCaspar Menag’s contributions to theArmenian Legion. Other guest speakersincluded Armenian Rights Council ofAmerica representative Dr. Raffi Balian andArmenian National Committee ChairmanRaffi Hamparian speaking on behalf of hisPasadena chapter. Hamparian also presentedawards to the Pasadena Central Library andthe Armenian Library and Museum ofAmerica for bringing the exhibit to Pasadena. In attendance was Grigor Hovhanissian,

consul general of the Republic of Armenia inLos Angeles, who expressed great interest inbringing the exhibit to Armenia. Also in atten-dance were Armenian Library and MuseumTrustees Laurel Karabian, Joan AgajanianQuinn and Caroline Tufenkian. The traveling exhibit was made possible by

a grant from K. George and Carolann S.Najarian, MD Foundation, with additionalsupport provided by the Armenian-AmericanVeterans of Milford, Mass., Inc. The exhibit’s

Pasadena appearance is sponsored by EdAghjayan and Bill Paparian. Following the Pasadena display, “Légion

Arménienne” will travel to the University of

Michgian-Dearborne in February.For scheduling information or to learn

about the exhibit, contact ALMA [email protected].

Reception Held for ALMA’s Armenian Legionnaire Traveling Exhibit

Armenian Library and Museum of America Trustees Laurel Karabian, Joan Agajanian Quinn andCaroline Tufenkian with Pasadena AYF “Nigol Touman” chapter members, former PasadenaMayor Bill Paparian and Pasadena ANC activist Raffi Hamparian

By Chad Selweski

DETROIT (Macomb Daily) — A former news-paper editor who spent many late nights work-ing a second shift pecking away at a manualtypewriter in his basement has finally seen allthose pages come to life.Mitch Kehetian, a longtime Macomb Daily

editor, is releasing his first book, Giants of theEarth, which tells of the struggles and perse-cution of the Armenian people. Kehetian saidthe project began more than three decadesago.“Actually, the 13 chapters were written in

the 1970s and early ’80s. And then I just let itsit. I figured I’d present it some day to mygrandchildren as a memoir,” Kehetian said.One of the book’s highlights is a description

of the first of Kehetian’s five trips to his home-land, an eight-day journey in 1969 that endedwith a prayer at his aunt’s mountaintopgravesite overlooking the Euphrates River.Family members had long encouraged

Kehetian to complete the book. The finishedproduct is dedicated to a cousin, Rev. VartanKassabian, a priest in the Armenian Church,who died suddenly 18 months ago and neversaw the publication he had longed to read.Giants of the Earth recounts Kehetian’s dis-

covery of his heritage in historical Turkish-heldArmenia and his search for his father’s sister,Parancim, who hadn’t been seen since 1947.On this literary journey, the author sharesantique snapshots of Armenia and explores thecountry’s history from its early existence 2,000years ago to the death and devastation it suf-fered during the genocide of 1915-23 at thehands of the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire.“I want people to know there has been a race

of people there for 2,000 years and the geno-cide was not based on religion. This was not ajihad by Muslims. This was a systematic plan toeradicate the Armenians and move them out ofthe interior area,” said Kehetian, 79.On Capitol Hill, efforts to recognize the

genocide victims, estimated at more than 1 mil-lion, have been the subject of contention innumerous resolutions proposed by the Houseand Senate. Each time, the Armenian-American community was overpowered bypolitical pressures from Turkey, which has con-sistently disputed the genocide label, and con-cerns expressed by the State Department,which views Islamic Turkey as a key, strategi-cally located US ally.In Washington, the tensions were so high

between the Armenian and Turkish communi-

ties that Kehetian in 1969 stood little chance ofgaining a passport and approval to travel deepinto the interior of the barren, depopulatedhomeland of his ancestors in Turkish-heldArmenia. The trip was made possible by thebehind-the-scenes efforts of a powerful Polish-American congressman from Detroit’s EastSide, Lucien Nedzi, and Secretary of StateWilliam Rogers. A copy of an airgram fromRogers’ office to the American Embassy inAnkara enlisting its assistance in helpingKehetian in his mission is included in the mem-oir. The “limited official use” airgram refers to“various cities in Eastern Turkey once heavilypopulated by Armenians” — and a FYI alert thatKehetian has discovered that “a relative sur-vived Turkish massacres several decades ago.”The author said the Armenian-American

community, consisting of 1.5 million people,was dismayed after they supported BarackObama in 2008. On the observance ofArmenian Memorial Day last April. Obama’spresidential proclamation referred to the 1915-23 slaughter as a “great calamity,” not geno-cide.While campaigning for president Obama said

he would be a president who recognizes themassacre of the Armenians as a genocide.After his retirement in November 2005 after

spending more than 50 years in journalism,Kehetian eventually returned to his transcriptand added a prologue and epilogue.Kehetian wrote the book newspaper style,

not in scholarly prose. Giants of the Earth isnot targeted at first-generation Armenian-Americans who know the homeland’s historywell, or the second generation who earnedtheir heritage through word of mouth. Theauthor’s audience, he hopes, will be the thirdgeneration.“I want that third generation to know what

really happened,” he said, “and I want them tounderstand why the Armenians still seek jus-tice.”Kehetian, a native Detroiter, was president of

the Detroit Press Club and Society ofProfessional Journalists. He served for 13 yearsas a governing board trustee at CentralMichigan University. In 2006 Wayne StateUniversity’s Journalism Department honoredthe former Macomb Daily editor with its cov-eted Lifetime Achievement Award for champi-oning the public’s right to know for more than50 years.Giants of the Earth is published by Publish

America.For information to order, log on to:

http://www.publishamerica.net/product88361.html.

SAN FRANCISCO — Armen DerKiureghian, professor of engineering at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, has pub-lished a book about the life and work of hisfather, Sumbat Der Kiureghian, a renownedIranian-Armenian watercolorist known simplyby his first name.The Life and Art of Sumbat includes 120

pages of color reproductions of Sumbat’spaintings, drawings and sketches, as well asSumbat’s biography, written by his son andfull of personal anecdotes and letters.Der Kiureghian compiled the material over

a period of nine years, drawing on archivalresources in Iran, Armenia and the UnitedStates, as well as interviews with Sumbat’sfriends and relatives across the globe. Hedescribes his father’s lifethrough a series of inti-mate stories and quota-tions from other writers.The foreword is writtenby Armenian culturalanthropologist LevonAbrahamian. HaroutiunSamuelian, also ofArmenia, designed thegraphics and layout ofthe book. The book waspublished by ADK &Associates Publishers inSan Francisco and print-ed by Printinfo JS LLC inYerevan, Armenia.Sumbat (1913-1999)

was a highly-regarded Iranian-Armenianartist, who is particularly admired for hiswatercolor and gouache renditions of Iranianand Armenian village scenes and of land-scapes. A descendant of 17th-centuryArmenian settlers in the New Julfa district ofIsfahan, he embodied the artistic traditions ofhis people and his hometown. Through hisart, he played the role of a mediator betweenEast and West: he brought a European artis-tic style (lucid watercolor applied in loosebrushwork) to Iran and he introduced Iranian

lifestyle, folk traditions and landscapes toWestern audiences.Aside from their artistic value, the signifi-

cance of Sumbat’s paintings lies in theirpreservation of a way oflife that has since beenlost to modernization. Ofparticular note are his“Sumbastisms,” createdby turning his newspaper-palettes into abstractdepictions of busy streetscenes. These works cap-ture the energy and diver-sity of Iranian societywhile also straddling theline between figurativeand abstract painting. Thecommon threads thatunite all of Sumbat’sworks are his stunning,gentle colors, an

inescapable sense of joy and tranquility in hissubjects and a strong appreciation for the lifeof ordinary people.The Life and Art of Sumbat, 176 pages in

hardcover, is available for purchase atwww.Sumbat.com and www.Amazon.comand in Abril Bookstore, Berj Bookstore,Borders and Sardarabad Bookstore inGlendale, Calif.; at Ketab Corp., in LosAngeles; the Armenian Prelacy Bookstore inNew York and at the ALMA Bookstore,Watertown, Mass.

Book Tells of Armenian StruggleNew BookOn PainterSumbatReleased

Sumbat Der Kiureghian (known simply asSumbat) as a young man


ARTS & LIVING

RECONCILIATION. from page 12the offspring of the survivors of the Genocideas well as to the memory of its victims.Armenians cannot be blamed for being suspi-

cious about Turkey’s dealings coming fromtheir experience of centuries of duplicity andintrigue in the way Turkey has treatedArmenians.QQ:: Do you think that the barriers to Turkish

acceptance of the Armenian Genocide are morebased on ethnic prejudice, or are they morebased on financial concerns like reparations,payment of old insurance claims etc?AA:: I sincerely believe that the issue here is

much more based on economic concerns andthe “can of worms” Turkey is afraid to open byaccepting responsibility for the deeds of itsancestral government for the harm done toArmenians. It is true that Armenians and Turks are racial-

ly different, but through habits, traditions andeven cuisine, their daily lives have much in com-mon. I am not talking about Armenians livingin Switzerland compared to Anatolian Turks,but about Armenians living across the borderfrom Turkey and Turks living on ancestralArmenian lands that are currently occupied byTurks. These peoples are more similar thanthey think. Like Arabs and Jews in Israel andPalestine, Armenians and Turks have sharedthe same part of the world, the same moun-tains, they have trod the same earth and havedrunk from the same water for centuries. Theconflict here is not on the personal human levelI think, but on the larger political level.QQ:: I know the memory of the 1915 massacre

is most alive in Armenia. Is there a correspond-ing memory in Turkey, is there a myth? AA:: Modern Turkey is the creation of Mustafa

Kemal Ataturk in 1923. Ataturk was one of theYoung Turks at the end of the First World War,when Ottoman Turkey was defeated and break-ing up into its respective countries, much like ithappened later in the century with the SovietUnion. Ataturk came to power and revolution-ized Turkey by trying to modernize it and evenwent to the extent of changing the Turkishalphabet (Ottoman Turkish used Arabic script)to the Latin alphabet. This is really a hugechange. His maxim was (and still is in Turkeytoday), “How lucky is the one who says I amTurkish.” It is this nationalistic and elitist atti-tude that gave the defeated Turks a new identi-ty to forge ahead with. Of course accepting theresponsibility of the Armenian Genocide andthe ethnic cleansing done to the Armenians(who were Ottoman citizens) would havemarred this idealistic take on Turkish identity.In the more recent years, as a form of self-

defense, against the increasing acceptance andrecognition of the Armenian Genocide by manygovernments of the world, Turkey began toreact by spreading the rumor that Turks toowere killed during the 1914-1918 war and thatit was the Armenians who massacred the Turksand not the other way round. But how couldthis happen when it was a known fact thatArmenians living under Ottoman rule were notallowed to bear arms, and at the onset of WWI, they were stripped of all ammunition andweapons and were left completely helpless andeasy to prey on?QQ:: Is the animosity between Turks and

Armenians ancient or modern?AA:: The animosity itself goes very far back

with constant marauding crowds and raids onArmenian villages and farmers by Turkish andKurdish tribes. However, it was not on the orga-nized Government level until later in the 19thcentury going back to Sultan Hamid II, the RedSultan, who in the late 1880s and ’90s, startedsanctioning the freedoms that Armenians hadas citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Armeniansup to that point were highly respected membersof the community and had contributed in manypositive ways to the development of Turkey. Infact, it is mentioned even in Turkish encyclope-dias, that Armenians lay the foundations ofModern Turkish theatre, that Armenian actress-es were the first to start an acting tradition forwomen (as Moslem women were not allowed onstage), in other areas, the famous Balian familyof architects built many of the beautifulmosques and palaces of the Ottoman Sultans.

Another name that comes to mind is Sinan,whose Armenian identity is documented exten-sively, in the music department we have DikranTchouhadjian whose operettas were huge hits

and are in the cultural tradition of Turkey evento this day. The most important interpretersand high officials in the Porte were Armeniansfor long centuries. The beginning of the 20th century, and the

deterioration of the Ottoman Empire and theloss of its power in the world through ethnicresurgences (Balkans, Egypt, etc.) and the sepa-ration of its many Vilayets (the Governorates),coincided with its changing politics towards theArmenians who were also at that time con-

cerned about gaining independence as a nationand liberating the occupied Armenian lands inEastern Turkey.My paternal great-grandmother, feeling

unsafe for her four daughters and herself fol-lowing the death of my great-grandfather (froman infection to his tailbone as a result of travel-ing on horseback for days on end from Egypt toKaisri — Ceasaria — in central Turkey) soldeverything and following her husband’s foot-steps moved to Egypt. She was spared the 1915Genocide. However, my maternal grandmother,

who was the daughter of a priest in Kaiseri, wasdeported together with her three sisters andmother, after my great-grandfather was hanged.Up until the point when Sultan Abdul Hamid

II (the Red Sultan) started sanctioning theirfreedoms, Armenians were highly respectedOttoman subjects. They were the best crafts-men, architects, intellectuals, merchants, politi-cians and interpreters for the Sultans and theSublime Porte (The Ottoman Empire).The inherent conflict was always present,

resulting from jealousies, economic and socialinequalities, marauding Turkish and Kurdishtribes in the Eastern Provinces where the life ofthe local Armenian population had become

more and more unbearableover the centuries.Conflicting theories of

sociology postulate that anysociety has an inherentdegree of conflict even inthe most peaceful of times.In fact, such conflict is evena healthy ingredient for thewell being and functionalityof any society.In my master’s thesis,

using the conflict model ofsocial theory that postu-lates that conflict is aninherent and even a neces-sary ingredient to anyhealthy social structure, Iargue that there are certainconditions under whichotherwise harmless conflictlevels can escalate to poten-tially violent levels givingway to Genocide, civil warand other extreme forms ofexpression of conflict.Some of these conditionsare economic inequality,some are political instabili-ty, and in the case ofOttoman Turkey and theArmenian Genocide, thereis a certain degree of both.In my thesis I draw the

parallels between the Armenian Genocide andthe Jewish Holocaust in the light of the conflicttheories. In both cases the minority that wasvictimized was one of high visibility, success, acertain economic stability, even in the villagesas in the case of the Armenians. This type of sit-uation triggers jealousy, envy and frustration,which when released turns into anger andaggression. Add to that the wonderful opportu-nity of the backdrop of a war, and you have theperfect ingredients for conflict to escalate andturn into Genocidal violence, specially that in

these situations it is often “legitimized”through orders by the powers that be. Suffice itfor the threatened ruling elite to “give theorder” legitimizing the act, that you have thespark needed to start a major Genocide. Theexamples are abundant in the ethnic cleansingthat characterized Eastern Europe in morerecent decades. The parallels here can bestretched further to cover the situation inRwanda as well, where one group is victimizedby the other and such victimization was some-how legitimized through orders coming from“above.” We have to remember that the Ottoman

Empire was already deteriorating during theHamidian Massacres, during the 1906 AdanaMassacres and during the 1915-18 Genocide,and the only way the Turks could see a redemp-tion for themselves and a preservation of theirpower, was the substitution of their multi-ethnicand culturally diverse Empire with one basedon relative ethnic and cultural unity, thereforetheir Pan-Turanistic Ideals of a Turkic EmpireExtending from the Bosphorus all the way tothe Central Asian Turkic Republics was nour-ished.Of course, there were many obstacles to such

a plan, one such “minor” obstacle being theArmenians who were in the middle of it, andwho in turn had begin to entertain ideas ofindependence.Armenian ideals of independence did not exit

during the Hamidian era. They were a muchmore recent culminating of reactions to theunbearable conditions of the Armenian peas-ants in the Eastern Turkish provinces and aninevitable necessity to securing better livingconditions. But Turkey had a war to fight, adeteriorating Empire to patch up, and a newPan-Turanistic dream to chase. In all respectsArmenians were in the way.And since fear breeds aggression as is widely

postulated in the body of sociopsychologicaltheories, the fear of defeat and loss caused theescalation of the inherent levels of conflictattaining the levels of violence characteristic ofany Genocide.QQ:: How can cultural exchange between

Turkey and Armenia be facilitated? AA:: Over the last few years, more than ever

before, it has become common to see Armenianfilms, film makers and prizes at Turkish film fes-tivals, and vice versa. The same is also happen-ing in the fields of music and theatre. This is anatural process because, as I explained above,there is more in common between these peo-ples than not. One of the most well known fig-ures of Turkish Operettas is DikranTchouhadjian Armenian composer (c. 1860)whose first opera, “Arsace II,” had a world pre-miere 130 years after its composition, at theSan Francisco Opera in 2001, to a great extentthanks to Gerald Papasian’s efforts.Tchouhadjian’s other operetta, “Leblebidji HorHor” (Hor Hor the chick pea vendor) was sosuccessful that it has infiltrated the Turkishrepertory and even today, you find older actorsor artists who remember some of these tunes.Currently, Gerald is working on a French ver-sion of this operetta and collaboration withTurkish theatres around this project is notimpossible.I would love to take the theater piece I devel-

oped with Gerald Papasian, “Sojourn atArarat,” or my one-woman show, “On theCouch with Nora Armani,” to Turkey in thenear future. An Armenian colleague fromFrance has already taken his one-man show toDiarbekir (predominantly Kurdish populatedtown in Turkey). Now this is possible even morethan before. I think the two countries should make an

effort to facilitate this type of exchange beforeeven thinking of the border issues or the pro-tocols. It is only through mutual acquaintancethat conflict issues may be resolved.In another historical incident, Gerald

Papasian’s maternal great-grandfather wasMihran Damadian, who was the “one-day presi-dent” of the French Mandated Armenia inCilicia (Southern Turkey) right after the FirstWorld War. The French had promisedArmenians a homeland (much like the British

continued on next page

Reconciliation Through The Arts: Armenia and Turkey

Nora Armani and Gerald Papasian

Mihran Damadian, the “one day” president of Armenia, in Cilica.Photo by Photo London, Cairo, Egypt.

ReconciliationThrough The Artsfrom previous pagedid for Israel) so in 1919, many Armenians

picked up and went to Adana to establish thenew home rule under the French mandate.Gerald’s grandmother was 17 at the time andaccompanied her father. In her eyewitnessaccount, she used to tell us how overnight theTurkish local merchants had learned Armeniansentences to cater for the newly returningArmenian population. QQ:: When the soft diplomacy of cultural

engagement is carried on in foreign capitals,

does it have any effect on the home countriesof Armenia and Turkey?AA:: Of course. In today’s world, heavily gov-

erned by communications, it is inevitable thatthe effects of one rub off on the other. So themore there are efforts of rapprochement on thecultural and artistic levels, the more the effectsof this are felt both in the two homelands andin the respective diasporas.

QQ:: Wallace Shawn writes “Artists who createworks of art that inspire sympathy and goodvalues do not change the life of the poor.” Willpolitical art be polarizing, neutral or healing inthis context?AA:: I do not know much about radical and mil-

itant political art, because that is not what I do.Militancy usually preaches to the converted andis marginalized by the mainstream. I am notinterested in preaching to converts. Otherwise,I would perform in Armenian for Armenians. Iam quite well known in Armenia, having donemay films and plays there as well as TV appear-ances. It is so easy for me to spread a messagethere, but who would I be telling these thingsto? To people who already know it and are inagreement with me. The trick is to reach unini-

tiated people andchange the way theythink. I think what

Wallace Shawn is say-ing, if I am not mis-taken (and taken outof context this sen-tence can be interpret-ed in many ways), isthat the changecomes not from sym-pathy but from actualknowledge and want-ing to do somethingabout a situation.Although, I must con-fess that sympathyand good values are abeginning. Because ifwe are not sympathet-

ic to a cause we are not even inclined to listento it, let alone do anything about it.QQ:: Your show “Sojourn At Ararat” seems to

make great works of literature speak for them-selves, but that raises another issue. Why wouldwe expect Armenian literature to have credibili-ty in Turkey or vise versa. Would you expectTurkish literature to have credibility inArmenia?

AA:: Yes, the credibili-ty is very easy toestablish once thetwo sides hear abouttheir respective litera-tures because deepinside they are sosimilar! In anothershow called “NanntoNannto” (the lastline from a JapaneseHaiku), I have usedworks from NazimHikmet, one of the(if not the) greatestTurkish poet of the20th century, andjuxtaposed it withGevork Emin’swork. He is a poetfrom SovietArmenia who diedrecently. The par-ticular poemswere called“Memleket im”(My country inthe case ofHikmet) and “YesHay Em” (I amArmenian). Inthe case of Emin,and when youhear his descrip-tive passages,you would thinkeither it is thecontinuation ofa Hikmet poem,or at best thatboth poets wereinspired and wrote about the same thing,place... their homeland! It was eerie! QQ:: Don’t events of today sort of “call the

question” of this play?AA:: Of course, now more than ever it is time to

hear this play out. The play is an answer to the

negationists in Turkey and its allies (even here),those who would deny the very fact of theArmenian Genocide, just as there are those whowould deny the World War II Holocaust againstthe Jews. But the sad truth is that Armenians have

not yet had their Nuremburg. Turkey owesArmenians an apology, in order for normalrelations to be established and survive.Turkey needs to apologize for its own peaceof mind and for the well being of the futuregenerations. There are lots of young progres-sive Turks and slightly older progressiveintellectuals in Turkey as I mentioned earlierwho favor rapprochement on the human andintellectual level. These people are all severe-ly persecuted in Turkey and even killed, aswas the case with the Armenian journalistHrant Dink a couple of years ago. He wasgunned down in mid-day in front of his office.There is a whole generation in Turkey that isconscious of the burden of the Genocide andwants to get rid of it by coming out andaccepting responsibility for it, by makingamends and proceeding to a peaceful exis-tence. It is the powers that be, and the dirtypolitical considerations that are in the way ofall this. Also, it is not easy to reverse decadesof denial and suddenly say, “OK, OK we didit!” Although when you owe a person an apol-ogy, sometimes the simplest thing to do isjust to say, “I am sorry.”Just as “Schindler’s List” speaks eloquently

against denial of the Jewish Holocaust, we hopethat plays like ours can deflect denial of theArmenian Genocide now, at this crucial time,when normalization of relations between Turksand Armenians seems a real possibility. Themore the world is educated, the more it is diffi-cult to feed it lies and at some point or anotherthe truth has to emerge.

(Nora Armani is an actor and playwrightwho has represented the Ministry of Cultureof Armenia in Cinema (from 1991-93). Sheand Gerald Papasian are the authors and

performers of “Sojourn to Ararat.” In addi-tional to previously-announced dates in New

York, “Sojurn” will be performed in NewYork on January 21 at 8 p.m. at The Studiotheater/Lehman Stages (lehmanstages.org),

at Lehman College, City University NewYork, for students, faculty (and friends), 250

Bedford Park Blvd. West Bronx, NY andJanuary 28, University of Michigan - Ann

Arbor, Department of Armenian Studies. Forfurther information, email: [email protected])


ARTS & LIVING

JJAANNUUAARRYY 1166 —— SShhuusshhii AArrmmeenniiaann DDaannccee EEnnsseemmbbllee,, of St. VartanCathedral New York, will have its Florida debut with an afternoonperformance at Olympia High School. For tickets and information,call St. Garabed Armenian Church at (407) 876-2616, John at (407)539-1845, or Aram at (407) 679-7231. In the evening, the ensemblewill have the thrilling opportunity of performing in Disneyworld. Formore information, visit www.shushidance.org.

MMAARRCCHH 2200,, 22001100 —— ““TThhee RRooyyaall AArrmmeenniiaann DDiivvoorrccee,,”” bbyy IIddaaBBooooddaakkiiaann promises to be even more hilarious than the “The RoyalArmenian Wedding.” Sponsored by the Women’s Guild of St. DavidArmenian Apostolic Church of Boca Raton, at St. David’s. Furtherinfo., including ticket prices, will be forthcoming closer to the event.

FEBRUARY 4 — Musician, writer and poet Alan Semerdjian will presenthis new collection of poems, In the Architecture of Bone, onThursday, at 7 p.m. in G-Hall of the Armenian Diocese, 630 SecondAve. Question-and-answer session and wine-and-cheese reception tofollow. This event is hosted by the Zohrab Center and the ArmenianStudents’ Association. For more information, call (212) 686-0710 ore-mail Taleen Babayan at [email protected].

CC AA L E N D A RL E N D A RFLORIDA

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TThhee AArrmmeenniiaann MMiirrrroorr--SSppeeccttaattoorr iiss ggooiinngg ttoo ssttaarrtt cchhaarrggiinnggffoorr ccaalleennddaarr eennttrriieess,, ssttaarrttiinngg wwiitthh tthhee ffiirrsstt iissssuuee ooff tthhee NNeewwYYeeaarr,, tthhaatt ooff SSaattuurrddaayy,, JJ aannuuaarryy 99.. TThhee ffeeee wwiillll bbee $$55 ppeerr lliinnee,,wwiitthh tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg ddiissccoouunnttss ffoorr mmuullttiippllee iinnsseerrttiioonnss:: ffoouurrttiimmeess wwiillll rreecceeiivvee aa 1100--ppeerrcceenntt ddiissccoouunntt;; ffiivvee ttiimmeess oorr mmoorree,,aa 2200--ppeerrcceenntt ddiissccoouunntt aanndd 1100 oorr mmoorree,, aa 4400--ppeerrcceenntt ddiissccoouunntt..EEnnttrriieess ccaann bbee ee--mmaaiilleedd ttoo mmiirrrroorraaddss@@aaooll..ccoomm oorr ttoo eeddii--ttoorr@@mmiirrrroorrssppeeccttaattoorr..ccoomm..

Musician, writer and poet Alan Semerdjian,pictured above, will present his new collec-tion of poems, In the Architecture of Bone, onThursday, February 4, at 7 p.m. in G-Hall ofthe Armenian Diocese, 630 Second Ave., inNew York, NY. For more information, call(212) 686-0710 or e-mail Taleen Babayan [email protected].

Nora Armani and Gerald Papasian visit Armenian poet Gevorg Emin athis home in Yerevan 1987. The Basmadjians re-starts a family in Cairo, Egypt after WW I Armenian

Genocide. The lit tle girl is Nora Armani’s mother. Photo by: London PhotoStudio, Cairo, Egypt.

NEW YORK


COMMENTARY

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By Edmond Y. Azadian

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been trying togive a positive spin to his country’s foreign policy with his aca-demic semantics, but thus far, he has been only successful inproviding a very transparent veneer to all the intractable prob-lems that Turkey has created over the years, both domesticallyand internationally. Even his professorial tone has been soberand somber as he advocated an Ottoman-style hegemony in theBalkans, extolling the “harmony” which the Ottoman sultanshad created over centuries.It seems that Davutoglu’s “zero-problem-with-the-neighbors”

policy intends to solve all those problems in Turkey’s favor andclaim stability and harmony in the region. In promoting itsbrazen foreign policy, Ankara is counting on international sup-port, which it has been garnering through a barter system.Prime Minister Erdogan’s arrogance and cynicism, after visit-

ing the White House last December, says a lot about Turkish for-eign policy’s headway. Among other issues, Erdogan seems tohave wrested from the Obama administration the blocking ofthe passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in theCongress, in return for a pledge to normalize Ankara’s relationswith Israel.Presently, Mr. Erdogan is visiting Moscow, while Russia’s for-

eign minister, Sergei Lavrov, heads to Yerevan to bring back agift to Turkey’s Azeri brothers, in the shape of a nod fromMoscow to pressure Armenia to relinquish strategic regions cap-tured by Armenians during the war with that country.Although Turkey faces some stiff conditions in order to be

admitted to the European Union, it has not met any of theseconditions and continues to challenge the international com-munity with impunity. Penal Code 301 is still on the books, 38percent of Cypriot territory still remains under Turkish occupa-tion, the Kurdish problem has been compounded by banning apro-Kurdish political party and relations with Armenia andGreece are not in any better shape. All these problems havebeen created by Turkey, in direct violation of international law,to win concessions from respective parties.The Protocols for establishing relations and opening the bor-

ders between Armenia and Turkey were signed last October inZurich without any preconditions, yet, all the major figures inthe Turkish government have been setting conditions in orderto open the border. Opening the border is not worth the con-cessions, Turkey has been demanding from Armenia.A recent public embarrassment for Turkey demonstrated

to what extent the Turkish leaders have been sticking totheir guns. A case in point was the statement made by theGreek Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who said that hefeels “crucified” in Turkey with all the repression exerted onhis church and his activities, especially with the closure ofthe Greek Orthodox Seminary in Heybelianda, in violation ofthe Lausanne Treaty of 1923. That has been an internation-al issue for decades, yet the Turkish leaders blamed the patri-arch for his courageous statement, rather than taking a pos-itive action.Bob Simon of CBS presented the interview with the patriarch

on the program, “60 Minutes,” not because anyone at CBS caresabout the fate of the Greek Church in Turkey, but just to con-vey a message that denying support to Israel has a price.Following the airing of the patriarch’s interview, some mild

comments were heard in support of religious freedom, whereasAnkara’s action is a flagrant breach of international law. Indeed,the Turkish daily Taraf has interviewed the director of religiousaffairs administration, Mourad Bardakoglu, and his deputy,Mehmet Gormez. They have both maintained that it is unac-ceptable to shut the seminary, when Turkey insists on the lawthat religious leaders must be Turkish citizens. They also maketheir point within the context of freedom of worship, which isadvocated by the European Union.But these voices have been countered by the harsh reaction

of the Prime Minister Erdogan, who has set some Byzantineconditions in order to be able to open the seminary. In short, allhopes that the seminary may open its doors in the foreseeablefuture are dashed.It is interesting to quote the prime minister’s ludicrous argu-

ments: “The opening of the seminary is a process involving mul-tiple dimensions. This issue has to be studied well in its lengthand width within the context of our laws and within the appli-cation of our educational programs. Our ministers and institu-tions are continuing to study the issue, but on the other handthe Greek authorities have to address the religious problems ofthe Turkish minority in Greece.” (It seems they have been“studying” the issue since 1971!)As we see, Turkish leaders have counter proposals for cor-

recting any problem, which is their own doing, very much likeimposing on Armenia a third-party problem, namely theKarabagh issue, in order to lift the blockade against Armenia.Repeated pleas of the patriarch have fallen on deaf ears, but

at least for once Erdogan has given blunt answers, stating thatthere is not a single mosque in Greece. The moral of the storyis that the Greek Patriarch has to wait until such time that theGreek government builds a mosque (to Mr. Erdogan’s liking) inorder to see a positive action with regard to the fate of the sem-inary in Turkey.Armenians have been in the same situation in Turkey. The

Holy Cross seminary was closed down by the authorities.Although there is a mosque in Yerevan, that did not help the sit-uation. There are only 4,000 Greeks left in Turkey, whereas onlyin Istanbul the Armenian community is 70,000-strong. However,neither the Armenian patriarch (when he was able to fulfill theduties of his position) nor any other leader in the communitywas able to voice the problem courageously like the Greek patri-arch. Instead, Patriarch Mutafian was used and abused forAnkara’s political ends and was ignored when the Armeniancommunity’s problems were raised.Not only was the Holy Cross seminary not opened (nor dis-

cussed), stifling regulations were imposed on the communityschools to lead them to their demise. Armenian parents have togo through many regulations to enroll their children inArmenian schools, which desperately need those students. Anew phenomenon has also been compounded on this educa-tional problem: the migrant workers from Armenia are barredfrom sending their children to Armenian schools nor can theyenroll them in Turkish schools.All the problems, which Turkey has created for its neighbors

and for itself, have become Gordian Knots, never to be solved.The forthcoming meeting between US Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton and the Armenian community representativesshould address these topical issues.She needs to be told that just as she twisted Eduard

Nalbandian’s arm to sign the protocols, she has to twist thearms of the Turkish leadership to live up to their commitments.

Turkish Diplomacy’s Gordian KnotsCOMMENTARY

The Relics of St. Gregory theIlluminator and St. Hripsime in

Armenia

By George Bournoutian

Starting in 1604 and continuing for severalyears after, the great Persian king, ShahAbbas, ordered his commanders to forciblyremove some 200,000 Armenians from theregions of Van, Kars, Bayazid, Erevan andNakhichevan and transport them to Iran. Theimmigrants formed the nucleus of the Persian-Armenian community for the next 400 years. Anumber of Armenian merchants, especially in

New Julfa, Isfahan, prospered and accumulatedgreat wealth. They became known as khojas.The most important khoja of the time wasKhoja Nazar, who was greatly trusted by ShahAbbas and who was appointed the chief of theArmenians by that monarch. Khoja Nazar wasa close adviser to the shah, would accompanyhim on various royal trips and had free accessto the royal court. The shah would often dineat Nazar’s mansion and would spend the nightthere. The fact that the shah would eat at thehome of a Christian, and remain for the night,alone, without royal guards, is an indication ofthe trust that the shah placed in Nazar.When the shah was informed that some

Armenians, despite what the shah perceived ashis benevolence, were returning to their home-land, he demanded to know the reason. He

was told that the Armenians were attached totheir religious center and the relics of theirsaints. According to Arakel of Tabriz, a con-temporary Armenian historian, the shah thenordered Tahmasp-qoli Beg, the son of AmirGuna Khan, the then-governor of Erevan, tomove the cathedral of Echmiadzin, stone bystone, and dispatch the stones to Isfahan. Inthe year 1613 Tahmasp-qoli began to removethe stones of Echmiadzin. Fifteen large stoneswere removed from the main altar and trans-ported to Isfahan. They arrived in the year1614 and still lie today in the Church ofKhojents in New Julfa. Shah Abbas then toldKhoja Nazar, “For your sake I shall buildEchmiadzin here, so that your heart will notache from yearning for the other Echmiadzin.

see RELICS, page 20

How Khoja Nazar Saved the Cathedral ofEchmiadzin and Restored

By Robert Fisk

He was 10 stories up an industrial crane,right on the seafront, leaning over the side withjust one hand, no rope, no tin hat, quite unpro-tected, swaying and shouting and screaming,and at first the crowds on the Beirut Cornicheignored him. Far to the north, Turkey lay across the pale

blue sea, Israel 60 miles to the south, behindthe Beirut peninsula upon which this youngman had decided to demonstrate his fearless-ness of death – or his anger – or his despair or,maybe, just his alcoholic illusions. There was an unfinished 16-floor apartment

block behind the crane, all concrete platformsand wire and Asian workers, some of whomyelled at the young man from above. It was just7am, the beginning of the Beirut rush hour. Iwas walking from my home to the Nasser stat-ue in Ain Mreisseh — oh heady memory ofEgyptian socialism from the civil war — to buya cheese manouche for breakfast and at first Ithought the guy was joking, making fun of fel-low workers. But they didn’t know him. Somekept shaking their heads, unable to understandhis words. He was a Palestinian, they said. Itwas political. Then he yelled down to us. “I’m going to

jump.” Several Lebanese looked upwards,laughing. A woman turned up with a cup of cof-fee in her hand and leaned against the Cornicherailings, back to the sea, shading her eyes asshe looked to the top of the yellow crane.“What does he want?” she asked her friends. Itwas a strange question. People who climbcranes and say they are going to jump must“want” something. There were now 30 or moregathered on the pavement and the road. Afterall, it wasn’t every day that your morning couldbe brightened up with a harmless suicide. One guy was gabbling into his mobile. Then

he bawled up at the man on the crane. “Comeon! Jump! I haven’t got all day!” Then a grin-ning youth joined in. “We’ve got to get to work!Don’t waste time! Jump now if you’re going tojump!” Of course, we were all complicit in thisobscenity. I was also now standing beside apalm tree, unwilling to leave, anxious to watchthe end of this little seaside drama. It was cine-ma, wide-screen, free of charge, reality TV.

Indeed, two camera crews had already turnedup. Only then did the cops arrive. Three of them,

grey uniformed, grey berets, lighting cigarettes,staring up at the man on the crane, jokingamong themselves, joshing with the crowd,laughing, briefly the centre of attention. Driverswere now slowing to take pictures with theirmobiles, the traffic backing up along theCorniche. A few foreign tourists were watchingthe police. Some hope. The cops worked theirmobiles, laughed again — and drove off. Morepeople were screaming, “Jump!” I pulled out my own phone and called a rela-

tive of a police colonel. I explained briefly whatwas happening, the location, and added that itwas a pretty shameless scene, the Lebanesejeering at this lost soul up the crane, the policelosing interest, the foreigners appalled at theLebanese behavior (there being no calls to“jump” when suicides pop up on London roofs,of course). The colonel took the call as he wasdriving up to the Chouf mountains for theweekend. Seven minutes later – the crane-mannow dangling his legs off his perch and holding

his hands in the air – two brand new Volvo firetrucks arrived with a civil defense crew (blackberets, camouflage uniform), hooting their waythrough the traffic, shouting at some newlyarrived paramilitary police (camouflage clothes,but red berets this time) to clear the people offthe road. One young fire officer ordered the fire engine

ladder extended against the crane — it was fourstories short — but shinned up the rungs thenclimbed the outside of the crane. The crowd fellsilent. After demanding that the young mancommit suicide as quickly as possible, they werenow enthralled in a Hollywood drama. Wouldthe brave fireman rescue the youth in distress?Far from willing the crazed man to die, theynow wanted to see him rescued. Or did theywant to watch the fireman slip and fall?Waitresses from a nearby coffee shop turned upwith mugs of coffee and sandwiches for the firecrews and police. Then the plainclothes guysbegan their infiltration. They chatted to the crowd, to me. Know this

man? What did he shout? Anything political?Two cops in jeans walked on to the building site

and I could see them questioning the workersin the unfinished apartments. They didn’t careabout the man. If he was demanding higherwages, so what? If he was drunk — and this wasthe line now being peddled on the Corniche —then he was of no interest to the securityauthorities. “Pi**ed out of his mind,” one of theplainclothes men confided to me in flawlessEnglish — a good cop who’s often given meinformation at the scene of bomb explosions —and the word went through the crowd, that thecrane-man was drunk because Palestiniansdon’t drink and are always political and theLebanese like to enjoy themselves. I didn’t think the crane-man was enjoying

himself and he fought viciously when his res-cuer clambered on to his platform, kicking himon the legs and trying to break free and jumpas we all held our breath; until the firemanthrew a rope around crane-man and tied him upand called over to the driver of another crane towinch him up to safety on the roof of the apart-ments. And that was the last we saw of crane-man.

The fire crews packed up. An ambulancearrived. Yes, a hospital doctor told me later, theguy was “over the limit” (three daiquiris, anunknown number of Bloody Marys and far toomany beers in a well-known Gemaizeh club)and, yes, he was Lebanese. And when theLebanese fireman-hero eventually emergedfrom the gate below the crane, we all clappedand applauded our hero. Ghouls all, we madedo with a happy ending.

(This column by Robert Fisk originallyappeared in the Independent on January 6.)


COMMENTARY

Armenians, Just as Bulgarians,Should Demand CompensationFrom TurkeyBojidar Dimitrov, Bulgaria’s minister in charge of the

Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, stirred a hornet’s nest at thestart of the new year by threatening to block Turkey’saccession to the European Union (EU), unless it paid bil-lions of dollars in compensation for Bulgarians who wereforcefully displaced during the Ottoman era.Dimitrov said Turkey owed Bulgaria $20 billion for

expelling hundreds of thousands of ethnic Bulgarians in1913. The Republic of Turkey, which was founded in 1923,had assumed the obligations of the Ottoman Empire andagreed to make reparations in a 1925 treaty. However, thusfar, Bulgaria has received no compensation from theTurkish government.“Turkey is surely able to pay this sum, after all, it’s the

16th largest economic power in the world,” Dimitrov said,capitalizing on a statement that Turkish officials oftenmake, bragging about their country’s economic strength.Dimitrov disclosed that the payment of compensation as

required by the 1925 treaty is one of Bulgaria’s three pre-conditions in order not to veto Turkey’s admission to theEU. The other two pre-conditions involve energy and water

management issues.Veselin Ninov, a Bulgarian government spokesman, con-

firmed to the EUobserver on January 4, that Dimitrov’sannouncement represented official state policy. Herevealed that the dispute was being handled by a“Bulgarian-Turkish intergovernmental working group” andthat Prime Minister Boyko Borissov would raise the com-pensation issue during his upcoming visit to Turkey.Turkish officials reacted quickly and harshly. Foreign

Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, repeating the same baselessaccusations that Turkish leaders often make regarding theArmenian Genocide, alleged that the Turks suffered as muchas the Bulgarians during that period. According to Zamannewspaper, Davutoglu warned that Bulgaria’s demands forcompensation might harm bilateral relations, although, heconfirmed that the two countries have been discussing“issues relevant to the mass transfers of Turks andBulgarians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.”Bulgarian officials immediately backed down realizing

that an open confrontation with Turkey on this issue maynot be as beneficial to them as quiet, behind closed doorsnegotiations. Bulgaria’s Deputy Foreign Minister MarinRaykov sought to downplay Dimitrov’s demands by statingthat his country did not make Turkey’s EU bid conditionalon the resolution of the compensation issue for displacedpersons. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Borissov rebukedDimitrov, threatening to fire him should he make a similarstatement in the future without first consulting him.Minister Dimitrov quickly apologized in order to retain

his job. Press official Veselin Ninov, however, was not as for-tunate. He was fired for endorsing Dimitrov’s earlier state-ment.For the time being, Bulgaria’s leaders may find it pre-

mature to openly link their demands for compensationfrom Turkey to its bid for EU membership, even thoughmany Bulgarians have persistently demanded such repara-

tions for decades. Consequently, this issue is bound toremain on the agenda of the two countries, underminingTurkey’s oft-stated claim that it has zero-problems or dis-putes with its neighbors.Despite Prime Minister Borissov’s disclaimer, Bulgaria

has now added yet another wrinkle to Turkey’s bid for EUmembership, which is becoming increasingly elusive.Already several European countries such as France,Germany, Holland and Austria strongly oppose Turkey’sEU membership bid. Greece and Cyprus would not allowTurkey to join the EU, unless its troops withdraw fromNorthern Cyprus. Furthermore, it would be impossible forTurkey to join the EU without fulfilling one of its keyrequirements — open borders with all neighboring states.Turkey, thus, cannot become an EU member, unless itopens its border with Armenia, independently of the fate ofthe Armenia-Turkey Protocols.Beyond the obstacles in joining the EU, Turkey is

swamped with a large number of lawsuits filed against it inthe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Should itrefuse to compensate Bulgaria for the 1913 refugees, it islikely to face more legal troubles.However, Turkey’s record on winning lawsuits in the

ECHR is not very good. It has already lost several majorcourt cases for its occupation of Northern Cyprus. Also,Greek and Armenian minority foundations in Turkey havesuccessfully recovered through the ECHR some of theirreal estate assets that were confiscated decades ago.Encouraged by these successful lawsuits, Armenians liv-

ing in Turkey and throughout Europe should seek legalredress through the ECHR for their countless losses suf-fered during the Genocide. Claims could be filed for theloss of personal property, bank accounts, real estate, mon-uments and churches.No peace without justice.No reconciliation without restitution.

My TurnBy Harut Sassounian

Notice to ContributorsThe Armenian Mirror-Spectatorwelcomes

articles, commentaries and communitynews from our readers. In order to assurethe accurate and timely publication of arti-cles submitted, please note the followingpolicies:— All articles submitted should be typed, dou-ble (or triple) spaced and printed in a typesize large enough to be clearly legible (10

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Photos will be returned only if a self-addressed and stamped envelope is includ-ed.— The M-S will publish only one articleabout an upcoming organizational event.For major special events, exceptions maybe made only by special arrangementwith the editors.— Telephone numbers, ticket prices and otherdetails (at the discretion of the editors) will notbe included in press releases, but should bereserved for calendar listings and advertise-ments.

Suicide as Spectator Sport: What Does That Say about Us?One guy bawled at the man onthe crane. ‘Come on! Jump! I

haven’t got all day!’


RELICS, from page 18I have ordered a convoy of many camels, mulesand carts to go demolish the other Echmiadzin,bring the stones and dirt here, and build anEchmiadzin here from the same stones and dirt,so that your hears will be attached, withoutquestion, to the new church.” Khoja Nazar wise-ly deterred the shah’s plan by replying, “MayGod grante you long life! If you wish to buildsa durable Echmiadzin, there is no need toexpend so much labor for the sake of stonesand dirt and such expense in transportingstones and dirt from afar. We have plenty ofstones and dirt here. Build it here and we willhelp you do it.” The shah, who trust KhojaNazar’s judgment and who needed his coopera-tion as leader of the Armenian community,ordered Tahmasp-qoli to stop the demolition ofEchmiadzin.In addition, the shah had also ordered that

the relic of the right arm of St. Gregory theIlluminator, used to bless the meron, togetherwith other holy items (such as an ancient bibleand a venerated cross), be taken to Isfahan aswell. Tahmasp-qoli entrusted an Armenianpriest from Echmiadzin named Ter-Hovhannes,with the transport of the relics of the right armand other sacred itmes to Isfahan. The itemswere taken to the mansion of Khoja Safar, thebrother of Khoja Nazar, in New Julfa, wherethey remained under guard for some twodecades, until 1638, when the son of KhojaNazar, Khoja Safraz, gave them to CatholicosPilippos who, in turn, took them back toEchmiadzin.This was not the first time that Khoja Nazar

had played a primary role in the preservation ofArmenian holy relics. A few years earlier,Catholic missionaries had stolen the relics of St.Hripsime from the Church of St. Hripsime andhad transported them, first to the ArmenianCatholic community in Nakhichevan, and thento Isfahan, en route to taking them to their mis-sion in Goa, India. Khoja Nazar and his brotherwere informed of the theft and asked SahAbbas to punish the perpetrators and to returnthe relics to them. The shah fulfilled his friend’srequest right away. The relics were recoveredand placed in the mansion of Khoja Safar forsafekeeping, from whence they were laterreturned to Armenia as well.Khoja Nazar’s influence remained strong dur-

ing the reign of the next shah, Safi. ThroughNazar’s intercession, the huge tax levied onEchmiadzin by Shah Abbas was abolished andthe funds used by the Catholicos to restore thecathedral of Echmiadzin and the churches ofGayane and Hripsime. He also influenced theelection of Catholicos Movses of Tat’ew, whoended the disasterouls practice of having co-Cathlicoi, which had created problems for theChurch. Nazar’s grandsons continued to leadthe Armenians of Iran and, after their move torussia, the family, now known as the Lazarevs,gained a great deal of influence in the Russiancourt and became leaders of the Armenian com-munity in Russia.

— George Bournoutian

(The above is abridged from the soon-to-bepublished Book of History by Arakel of Tabrizby George Bournoutian.)

How Khoja Nazar Saved the Cathedral ofEchmiadzin and Restored

Court OKsTurkeyProtocolsCOURT, from page 1keep up the pressure on Armenia’s high-est judicial body. Some of them were eth-nic Armenians from the United Statesand other countries with sizableArmenian communities.Vardges Hagopian, an elderly resident

of New York, was particularly unhappywith a protocol clause that commitsArmenia’s to recognizing its existing bor-der with Turkey and presumably pre-cludes future Armenian territorial claimsto its big neighbor, which are favored byDashnaktsutyun. “I can’t forget WesternArmenia,” he said, referring to parts ofeastern Turkey that were populated bymany Armenians until 1915.“We would lose our lands,” said Hagopian.

“We just couldn’t have bigger losses.Shouldn’t our grandchildren grow up in theirancestral lands?”

CLINTON, from page 1important opportunity to discuss theAdministration’s efforts to hold Turkeyaccountable.” The Armenian General Benevolent Union, the

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America(Eastern), the Diocese of the Armenian Churchof America (Western), the Knights of Vartan,along with the Assembly issued a joint state-ment in support of President Serge Sargisian’sinitiative “in taking a positive approach to theprocess of normalizing relations....” The joint statement also made it clear that

those organizations will continue “to standfirmly with the Nagorno Karabagh Republic toensure its freedom and security” and will alsocontinue to lead the charge with respect to “allthose working for universal affirmation of the

Armenian Genocide.” While Armenia has taken a constructive

approach, in direct contradiction to the proto-cols signed in October of 2009, Turkish PrimeMinister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues tolink progress on the protocols to a resolution ofthe Nagorno Karabagh conflict. In addition,while in Washington, DC last month, Erdogan,when asked about the Armenian Genocide onthe Charlie Rose television program, statedthat, “I can say very clearly that we do notaccept genocide. This is completely a lie.”“In the face of Turkey’s ongoing campaign of

denial, we must redouble our efforts to secureUS reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocideand urge swift passage of the ArmenianGenocide resolution in Congress,” statedArdouny.

Secretary of State Clinton to Consult with Armenian-American Organizations Regarding Protocols

LONDON (The Straits Times) — After agreat start in the English Premier League,Iran’s Teymourian has become a forgottenman at Fulham Terrence Voon.On a warm spring afternoon in Wigan three

years ago, Andranik Teymourian thought hecould do no wrong.The Iranian midfielder, a new signing for

Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers, had justwritten himself into the club’s folklore, scor-ing two goals as they beat their derby rivals 3-1 in a Premiership tie at the then-JJBStadium.Images of his goal celebrations, while being

mobbed by ecstatic fans, were played over andover again on Iranian television.From Teheran to the Reebok Stadium,

Teymourian was hailed as a hero. Now, he is aforgotten name on the wage bill at Fulham, abit-part player with his Premiership dream intatters.Last Wednesday, the 26-year-old orchestrat-

ed Iran’s destruction of the Lions in theirAsian Cup qualifier at Kallang.He returns to Craven Cottage later this

month, not knowing if he will ever put on hisboots for the first team again.“Most of the time I watch the games from

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 ofhim in the pecking order, Teymourian knowshis days in London are numbered.A move to another club, possibly outside

the Premiership, is certain in the summer.“I’m 26 now, and I don’t want to spend my

time on the bench and watch other peopleplay,” he said.The Teheran native’s English adventure

began in 2006, when he caught the eye ofAllardyce with his all-action performances atthe World Cup in Germany.The skilful midfielder with an eye for goal

was snapped up for 255,000 pounds($570,000) from the Iranian club FCAboomoslem on a two-year contract.In his two seasons at the Trotters,

Teymourian made just 20 appearances, withhis brace at Wigan the only goals to his name.After Allardyce’s departure for Newcastle

in 2007, he fell out of favor with his replace-ment Sammy Lee, and subsequently, GaryMegson.Teymourian was picked up on a free trans-

fer by Fulham in 2008.

The introduction to English football, herecalled, was fast and furious.“In the Premier League, you have to be

stronger and faster,” he said. “That’s whatthey work on at every single training session.”Despite his lack of playing time,

Teymourian enjoys the camaraderie he shareswith the foreign legion at Fulham.“The good point of Fulham is that all the

players are foreigners,” he said. “We have acouple of English players, people from Africa,Norway, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.All of them love to smile and laugh.”The ethnic Armenian’s command of English

has also improved in the time he has spent inEngland. Sadly, his chances in the first teamdo not look like improving.His day in the sun three years ago, when he

was voted Man of the Match, is now a distantmemory.But Teymourian — who is planning to marry

his girlfriend Narineh Davitian at the end ofthis season — insists he does not regret histime in England.“For me, it has been really amazing,

because I was young when I arrived,” he said.“I’ve learnt a lot and I’ve had a chance playagainst a lot of good players.”

Watching and Waiting for Teymourian

January 16

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