Pop Star Sylvie VartanSays She Is Armenian

PARIS — French pop star Sylvie Vartan said for thefirst time on the show “Vivement dimanche” thatshe was of Armenian descent through her father,Georges Vartan, former press officer at Embassy ofFrance in Sofia; this was the singer’s first publicstatement on her Armenian heritage.

Asked a question by Michel Drucker, on“Vivement dimanche,” the singer replied, “Yes, I’mArmenian [on the] side of my father.”

Born in Bulgaria on August 15, 1944 (her moth-er is Bulgarian), she arrived in Paris on December1952 with her parents.

She started in show business at 16, and immedi-ately became successful with a song by CharlesAznavour and Georges Garvarentz, La plus bellepour aller danser (The most beautiful to go dancing).

Her son, David Hallyday, is also a pop star inFrance.

Youth Chess PlayerTakes World Title

CALDAS NOVAS, Brazil (Tert.am) — Armenianchess player Samvel Ter-Sahakyan won first prize atthe World Youth Chess Championship, in theunder 18 category.

Ter-Sahakyan earned a total of eight points.Robert Aghasaryan, in the same age category,

ended his game with Erik Rozen from the US at adraw at the last round and took 14th place with sixpoints.

In the championship for those under the age of16, Karen Grigoryan, who was considered thefavorite, lost to Iranian rival Idani Powai and took14th place with six points.

Of the 104 participants in this championshipGrigoryan had the highest rating.

Hovhannes Gabuzyan, playing at the same cate-gory, had a good performance, beating DenisKadric from Bosnia in the last round and takingthe fourth place with 6.5 points.

Armenia did not have representatives in otherage groups.

Armenia’s PoorIncreases by 270,000

YEREVAN (news.am) — The number of poor inArmenia increased by 270,000 in the past twoyears, as a result of the 2008-2009 economic down-turn. Currently there are 1.2 million living at thelevel of poverty, according to statistics provided bythe govnerment.

Of the country’s residents, 35.8 percent wereconsidered to be indigent last year, compared to27.6 percent in 2008. Those in extreme povertywere 3 percent of the population, compared to 1.6percetn in 2008.

People whose monthly salaries are below 33,500drams ($90), are considered to be at poverty level.

INDEXArts and Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Armenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Community News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,-

Mirror- SpectatorMirror- SpectatorTHE ARMENIAN

Volume LXXXII , NO. 21, Issue 4215

DECEMBER 3 , 2011

$ 2.00

BlackHistory

page 5

INSIDE

The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States

NEWS IN BRIEF

LOS ANGELES — In an annual telethonbroadcast from Los Angeles late onThanksgiving Day, the Yerevan-basedHayastan All-Armenian Fund (Himnadram)sponsored its annual telethon, duringwhich the organization received $12.3 mil-lion in pledges. This year, as in last, thefunds will be used primarily toward thereconstruction of Nagorno-Karabagh’swater distribution network.

Final figures may prove to be higher afterit completes the tabulation of donationpledges received from Armenians in theUnited States and elsewhere in the world.

“Right now we are ascertaining and pro-cessing the whole list of contributors,”Hayastan spokeswoman Hasmik Grigoriansaid. “I think this work will continue untilDecember.”

Irina Lazarian, the executive director ofArmenia Fund USA, said she was happywith the telethon. “It went pretty well.Compared to last year, we did better.”

She said there will be a dinner in Moscowon December 21, which is expected to raiselarge sums again, as it did last year. Lastyear, the telethon raised about $10.2 mil-lion, while the dinner raised about $10.6million.

The telethon, she said, benefits infra-structure development in rural villages inArmenia and Karabagh. The program, shesaid, will take place as long as Armenia andKarabagh need help. In particular, she said,Karabagh cannot get help from any inter-national organization, as “many organiza-

tions prefer not to support an unrecognizedterritory.”

“According to our estimates, about27,000 people have had running watersince then,” said Grigorian. “But there aretens of thousands of others who still haveproblems with access to drinking water.”

“If we take into account the fact that thesum raised at the latest telethon does notinclude the results of the [upcoming] gala,then we can conclude that it exceeds the

result of last year’s telethon by $2 million,”said Grigorian.

Hayastan raised a record-high $35 millionin 2008. Moscow-based businessmanSamvel Karapetian donated $15 million ofthat.

see TELETHON, page 20

Host Mark Geragos (secon from right) and Kev Orkian, joined by co-hosts, mark the end ofthe telethon.

All-Armenian Fund Raises BigBucks at Thanksgiving Telethon

Erdogan AdmissionOf Dersim MassacresViewed in YerevanAs Courting EU

By Naira Hayrumyan

YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) — Afterthe surprise announcement byTurkish Prime Minister Recep TayyipErdogan, who apologized for the mas-sacre of Kurds in Dersim in 1937 to39, when, according to official fig-ures, 13,000 were killed, a questionarose about the next step. First of all,will this be limited to an apology, orwill there be some reparations to theKurds for their material losses, andsecondly, will the Turkish prime min-ister also apologize to the Armeniansfor the 1915 Genocide?

Apparently, Turkey feels veryuncomfortable because of interna-tional pressure and by taking “pre-ventive” steps, is trying to shift theissue from the material-territorialplane into the moral dimension. Anyhope of an apology to Armenia hasalways been colored by whetherGenocide survivors would demand areturn of their lands.

Armenia has repeatedly stated thatit has no territorial claims againstTurkey. At the same time, the gov-ernment of Armenia does not recog-nize the current borders of Turkey.And, for decades, the ArmenianDiaspora has pushed for internation-al recognition of the ArmenianGenocide and the fact that the

see ERDOGAN, page 20

Armenian President Visits Georgia

President Serge Sargisian, left, stands with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashviliupon his arrival in Tbilisi. See story on page 3.

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The top religiousleaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russiahave called for a withdrawal of snipers fromKarabagh frontlines as a means to stopbloodshed amid more reported casualties inthe conflict zone.

Russia’s Patriarch Kirill read out thestatement that he made jointly withCatholicos Karekin II, the supreme head ofthe Armenian Apostolic Church, andAzerbaijan’s top Shia Muslim leader,Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, at

the end of a trilateral meeting in Yerevanheld as part of a summit of top clerics frompost-Soviet countries.

Armenia, as well as international media-tors, have repeatedly called for a bilateralwithdrawal of snipers in order to reducedeadly ceasefire violations reported alongthe Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact”on a regular basis. Each side blames theother.

The military authorities in Armenia andsee SNIPERS, page 20

Religious Leaders Call for SniperWithdrawal in Karabagh

By Sara Khojoyan

YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) —Armenian children’s writers and liter-

ary critics are concerned about the cur-rent state of literature targeting chil-dren. They appeal to media to raise theconcerns and make the public at largeaware of the dangers that the lack ofproper contemporary literature for kidsmay pose.

Armenian prose and verse writing forkids that flourished in the 20th centuryis going through hard times today as nosufficient state funding is provided forthe development of this literary genre,which is considered to be one of thehardest for writers. Besides, specialistssay there is no proper popularization oflocal writers who write prose andpoems for children. Private televisioncompanies do not provide sufficienttime or quality approach for propagan-dizing works by Armenian writers.Children’s literature is also getting“old” as young, commencing writers donot attempt to create in this genre asfor many it largely remains uncharteredwaters.

Writers’ Union Secretary EduardMilitonyan says very few young writersactually choose the genre for work,because it is very difficult to keep the“rhyme and size” that would fit chil-dren’s psychology and language men-tality.

“Feeling that this is a hugely complexgenre, our young writers often do not

even attempt to create in it,” saysMilitonyan, warning about the conse-quences of the lack of proper contem-porary works for children. “Our chil-dren’s language changes every day asslang and improper language entertheir lives from the street and throughtelevision.”

The Writers’ Union representativesays the absence of an alternative forkids in the form of some good modernliterature correspond-ing to their age mayaffect children’s socialbehavior later on whenthey grow to beteenagers and adults.

Children’s writerKoryun Arakelyan, amember of the NationalCommission onTelevision and Radio(NCTR), also complainsabout the quality andcontents of the televi-sion programs target-ing children or teenageaudiences.

He says that during the latest tendersfor television frequencies late last yearthe NCTR issued licenses to severalcompanies also based on their direc-tions. In particular, AR TV was given alicense as a channel prioritizing pro-grams for children and teenagers,Yerevan TV and ATV were licensed asmore youth-oriented channels.

Arakelyan, however, says that theNCTR cannot direct private televisioncompanies on what to broadcast,because these companies should beable to find financial resources for theirwork and very often they choose to runlow-quality soap operas as a means toattract larger audiences and subse-quently give more space to businesssustaining ads and commercials.

“During the Soviet years a special ide-ology was created for children andteenagers. Agencies would specialize indirecting this ideology. Now there is nosuch ideology. When something is elim-

inated and no new thing is put in place,there is a danger that this vacuum willbe filled with trash,” says Arakelyan.

The Ministry of Culture is trying togive some support to modern children’swriters by publishing their works. Butchildren’s writer Suren Muradyan stilldoes not consider these efforts to besufficient to revive the trend.

“The print runs of books for kids donot exceed 500 copies. Meanwhile, on a

daily basis, I get calls from Gumri,Vanadzor and other provinces, fromdozens of schools, and they all ask forbooks. If they [the Ministry of Culture]fund the publication of more copies ofbooks and distribute them amongschools, as an author I will be verymuch in favor of going and signing allthose books.”

The writer says that despite the dec-larations that children in Armenia are aprivileged class that needs special atten-tion, in reality organization of children’seducation and leisure involves difficul-ties and is quite costly. Children’s booksare not affordable for a majority of thepopulation and so are tickets to chil-dren’s theater plays, he explains.

Militonyan shares Muradyan’s view-point. He says: “The Ministry of Cultureand the educational sector shoulddevelop a joint policy by which at leaststate-funded institutions should beguided.”

AArrggeennttiinneeaann FFiillmmFFeessttiivvaall iinn YYeerreevvaann

YYEERREEVVAANN ((AArrmmiinnffoo)) —— TThhee AArrggeennttiinneeaann FFiillmmFFeessttiivvaall wwiillll bbee hheelldd DDeecceemmbbeerr 99--1111..

TThhee AArrggeennttiinnaa’’ss EEmmbbaassssyy iinn AArrmmeenniiaa rreeppoorrtteeddtthhaatt tthhee ffiirrsstt ssccrreeeenniinngg ooff tthhee OOssccaarr--wwiinnnniinngg ff iillmm““SSeeccrreett iinn TThheeiirr EEyyeess,,”” ddiirreecctteedd bbyy JJuuaann JJoosseeCCaammppaanneellllaa,, wwiillll bbee sshhoowwnn iinn tthhee ffeessttiivvaall..

AAllll ff iillmmss wwiillll bbee ssccrreeeenneedd wwiitthh EEnngglliisshh ssuubbttiittlleess..

EEcchhmmiiaaddzziinn aammoonnggUUNNEESSCCOO WWoorrlldd HHeerriittaaggee

CCiittiieess LLiissttEECCHHMMIIAADDZZIINN ((nneewwss..aamm)) —— TThhee 1111tthh WWoorrllddCCoonnffeerreennccee ooff UUNNEESSCCOO WWoorrlldd HHeerriittaaggee CCiittiieessOOrrggaanniizzaattiioonn wwaass hheelldd iinn SSiinnttrraa,, PPoorrttuuggaall.. AA ddeellee--ggaattiioonn ffrroomm EEcchhmmiiaaddzziinn,, lleedd bbyy MMaayyoorr KKaarreennGGrriiggoorryyaann,, aallssoo aatttteennddeedd tthhee eevveenntt..

IInn ccoonnjjuunnccttiioonn wwiitthh tthhee ccoonnffeerreennccee,, GGrriiggoorryyaannaallssoo mmeett wwiitthh tthhee oorrggaanniizzaatt iioonn’’ss lleeaaddeerrsshhiipp,,UUNNEESSCCOO rreepprreesseennttaattiivveess aanndd sseevveerraall cciittyy mmaayyoorrssffrroomm aa nnuummbbeerr ooff ccoouunnttrriieess.. DDuurriinngg tthhee mmeeeettiinnggss,,tthhee ppaarrttiieess ddiissccuusssseedd ffoorrmmss ooff ccooooppeerraattiioonn iinn uurrbbaanneeccoonnoommiiccss aanndd ootthheerr ddoommaaiinnss..

MMooooddyy’’ss DDoowwnnggrraaddeessAArrmmeenniiaann CCrreeddiitt RRaattiinngg

YYEERREEVVAANN ((RRFFEE//RRLL)) —— MMooooddyy’’ss IInnvveessttoorrss SSeerrvviicceehhaass ddoowwnnggrraaddeedd AArrmmeenniiaa’’ss ccrreeddiitt rraattiinngg aanndd llooww--eerreedd iittss bbrrooaaddeerr oouuttllooookk ffoorr tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann eeccoonnoo--mmyy,, cciittiinngg tthhee aannttiicciippaatteedd eeccoonnoommiicc ddoowwnnttuurrnn iinnEEuurrooppee aanndd RRuussssiiaa..

IInn aa ssttaatteemmeenntt tthhiiss wweeeekk,, MMooooddyy’’ss ccuutt tthhee ggoovv--eerrnnmmeenntt’’ss ffoorreeiiggnn aanndd llooccaall ccuurrrreennccyy iissssuueerr rraattiinnggssbbyy ttwwoo nnoottcchheess ttoo BBaa22.. IItt aallssoo rreevviisseedd ffrroomm ““ssttaabbllee””ttoo ““nneeggaattiivvee”” tthhee ccoouunnttrryy’’ss ssoovveerreeiiggnn ddeebbtt oouuttllooookk..

TThhee rriisskk aasssseessssmmeenntt ffiirrmm aattttrriibbuutteedd tthhee mmoovvee ttooAArrmmeenniiaa’’ss vvuullnneerraabbiilliittyy ttoo rreenneewweedd rreecceessssiioonn iinnEEuurrooppee aanndd RRuussssiiaa.. IInn ppaarrttiiccuullaarr,, iitt wwaarrnneedd ooff aappoossssiibbllee ffaallll iinn iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall pprriicceess ooff bbaassee mmeettaallss,,tthhee ccoouunnttrryy’’ss nnuummbbeerr--oonnee eexxppoorrtt iitteemm..

MMooooddyy’’ss aallssoo ssaaiidd tthhaatt aann eeccoonnoommiicc sslloowwddoowwnn iinnRRuussssiiaa ccoouulldd sseerriioouussllyy rreedduuccee vviittaall rreemmiittttaanncceess sseenntthhoommee bbyy hhuunnddrreeddss ooff tthhoouussaannddss ooff AArrmmeenniiaannmmiiggrraannttss wwoorrkkiinngg tthheerree..

FFiittcchh,, aannootthheerr rraattiinnggss aaggeennccyy,, kkeepptt AArrmmeenniiaa’’ssddeebbtt rraattiinngg uunncchhaannggeedd ““BBBB--”” iinn SSeepptteemmbbeerr.. IItt hhaaddlloowweerreedd tthhee lloonngg--tteerrmm rraattiinngg ffrroomm ““BBBB”” iinn AAuugguusstt22000099,, cciittiinngg tthhee sseevveerree iimmppaacctt ooff tthhee gglloobbaall rreecceess--ssiioonn oonn tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann eeccoonnoommyy..

WWiitthh tthhee bbuullkk ooff tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann ddeeffiicciitt ssttiillllffiinnaanncceedd bbyy nnoonn--ccoommmmeerrcciiaall llooaannss ffrroomm tthhee WWoorrllddBBaannkk,, tthhee IIMMFF aanndd ootthheerr iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall iinnssttiittuuttiioonnss,,tthhee rraattiinngg ddoowwnnggrraaddee aalloonnee wwiillll hhaarrddllyy ccoommpplliiccaatteetthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt’’ss ffiissccaall ppeerrffoorrmmaannccee iinn 22001122..

IItt iiss bbaasseedd oonn tthhee aassssuummppttiioonn tthhaatt tthhee ddoommeessttiicceeccoonnoommyy wwiillll ggrrooww bbyy 44..22 ppeerrcceenntt iinn 22001122.. FFiinnaanncceeMMiinniisstteerr VVaacchhee GGaabbrriieelliiaann aaddmmiitttteedd llaasstt wweeeekk tthhaattrreenneewweedd rreecceessssiioonn iinn EEuurrooppee ccoouulldd ccaallll tthhoossee pprroo--jjeeccttiioonnss iinnttoo qquueessttiioonn..

HHiillttoonn HHootteell MMaayy CCoommeeTToo YYeerreevvaann

YYEERREEVVAANN ((AArrkkaa)) —— YYeerreevvaann MMaayyoorr KKaarreennKKaarraappeettiiaann mmeett oonn OOccttoobbeerr 2244 wwiitthh RRoobbeerrttDDiilleevvsskkyy,, pprreessiiddeenntt ooff tthhee FFiillookksseennooss PPoollsskkaaSSppoollsskkyy CCoommppaannyy,, aauutthhoorriizzeedd ttoo rreepprreesseenntt tthheeHHiillttoonn HHootteellss ttoo ddiissccuussss hhootteell ccoonnssttrruuccttiioonn aannddddeevveellooppmmeenntt iissssuueess..

““RRoobbeerrtt DDiilleevvsskkyy aanndd mmeemmbbeerrss ooff hhiiss ddeelleeggaattiioonnpprreesseenntteedd ttoo tthhee mmaayyoorr aa ppaacckkaaggee ooff sseerrvviicceessooffffeerreedd bbyy HHiillttoonn HHootteellss cchhaaiinn aanndd eexxpprreesssseedd iinntteerr--eesstt iinn bbuuiillddiinngg aa hhootteell iinn YYeerreevvaann bbyy iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaallssttaannddaarrddss,,”” tthhee mmuunniicciippaalliittyy ssaaiidd..

IInn ttuurrnn,, KKaarraappeettiiaann,, hhiigghhlliigghhttiinngg tthhee iimmppoorrttaanncceeooff ttoouurriissmm iinn tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann ccaappiittaall,, wweellccoommeedd tthheeppoossssiibbllee eennttrryy ooff tthhee wweellll--kknnoowwnn hhootteell bbrraanndd iinnYYeerreevvaann..

““HHiigghh--lleevveell sseerrvviicceess pprroovviiddee aann aapppprroopprriiaatteeaattmmoosspphheerree ffoorr bboooossttiinngg ttoouurriissmm.. II aamm ssuurree tthhaatttthhee HHiillttoonn bbrraanndd wwiillll ccoommee ttoo YYeerreevvaann aanndd wwee aarreerreeaaddyy ttoo ddiissccuussss pprrooppoossaallss ffoorr mmuuttuuaallllyy bbeenneeffiicciiaallccooooppeerraattiioonn,,”” KKaarraappeettiiaann ssaaiidd..

News From Armenia

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

Correction Due to a typographical error, a

date in the editorial by EdmondAzadian last week was incorrect.The date for General Evran’scoup in Turkey was 1980.

Children’s books in Armenia

Scholars, Authors Sound Alarm over State ofContemporary Children’s Literature in Armenia

YEREVAN — Earlier this month, theArmenian Assembly of America’sYerevan office hosted a presentation onArmenia-Turkey relations featuringpolitical analyst and author Dr. ArtakShakaryan, who is a Yerevan-basedexpert in Turkish studies.

With an audience of journalists, vari-ous experts, political analysts and stu-dents alike, Shakaryan discussed aspectsof his book, Beyond Ararat, which isintended as a resource for a range ofusers, including journalists covering top-ics on Turkey, Oriental Studies experts,historians, international relations spe-cialists, as well as students wishing togain a wider perspective on Armenia’sneighbor to the west. The publicationcovers Turkey’s foreign policy principles,and discusses many trends in Turkey’scurrent external affairs.

Shakaryan places special emphasison Armenian-Turkish relations, the pro-tocols negotiation process and the influ-ence these had in the region. A transla-tion of the portions on Armenia fromTurkey’s Minister of Foreign AffairsAhmet Davutoglu’s book, StrategicDepth, is also included in the appendix.

“While the issue of Armenia-Turkeyrelations is complex, there is no doubtthat Turkey’s policy of ‘zero problems’

with its neighbors rings hollow in light ofTurkey’s ongoing actions againstArmenia,” stated the Assembly’sCountry Director Armina Darbinian.“Having accurate and complete informa-tion is important and Dr. Shakaryan’sbook provides unique insight and analy-sis of Turkish actions that journalistsmay not necessarily have at their finger-

tips,” added Darbinian.“Through the ongoing projects of the

Youth Club, the Armenian Assemblycontinues the important tasks ofinforming the public, educating theyouth, raising awareness of criticalissues and encouraging the next gener-ation of responsible citizens and futureleaders in Armenia,” she added.

Country Director Armina Darbinian with Dr. Artak Shakaryan and his family

AAA Yerevan Hosts Presentation onArmenia-Turkey Relations

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

INTERNATIONAL

FFrreenncchh PPoolliiccee BBuussttGGeeoorrggiiaann CCrriimmee RRiinngg

PPAARRIISS ((UUPPII)) —— FFrreenncchh ppoolliiccee ssaayy tthheeyy ccrruusshheedd aannaalllleeggeedd ggaanngg ooff GGeeoorrggiiaann ccrriimmiinnaallss ccoolllluuddiinngg wwiitthhaann AArrmmeenniiaann oouuttffiitt ttoo sseellll pprrooppeerrttyy ssttoolleenn ffrroommPPaarriiss aanndd ssoouutthhwweesstt FFrraannccee..

AAbboouutt 330000 ggeennddaarrmmeess FFrriiddaayy rroouunnddeedd uupp 2233GGeeoorrggiiaannss aanndd AArrmmeenniiaannss ffrroomm tthheeiirr ddwweelllliinnggss iinntthhee PPyyrreenneeeess ffooootthhiillllss,, RRaaddiioo FFrraannccee IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaalleerreeppoorrtteedd..

TThheeyy wweerree ddeettaaiinneedd,, aaccccuusseedd ooff tthheefftt,, rreecceeiivviinnggssttoolleenn ggooooddss aanndd mmoonneeyy llaauunnddeerriinngg aanndd wwiillll bbee ffoorr--mmaallllyy qquueessttiioonneedd aanndd cchhaarrggeedd iinn BBoorrddeeaauuxx..

PPoolliiccee aalllleeggee tthhee ggaanngg wwaass wweellll oorrggaanniizzeedd..FFrreenncchh ppoolliiccee bbeeccaammee aawwaarree ooff tthheeiirr aalllleeggeedd

aaccttiivviittiieess aafftteerr nnoottiinngg aa wwaavvee ooff rroobbbbeerriieess ttaarrggeettiinnggmmoossttllyy ddiiggiittaall pprroodduuccttss aanndd jjeewweellrryy ffrroomm bbuussiinneessss--eess aanndd hhoommeess aaccrroossss ssoouutthhwweesstt FFrraannccee..

BBiiddeenn VViissiittss GGrreeeeccee,,TTuurrkkeeyy aatt KKeeyy MMoommeenntt

WWAASSHHIINNGGTTOONN ((RReeuutteerrss)) —— VViiccee PPrreessiiddeenntt JJooeeBBiiddeenn ttrraavveellss ttoo TTuurrkkeeyy tthhiiss wweeeekk aammiidd ddeeeeppeenniinnggccoonncceerrnn oovveerr SSyyrriiaa,, bbeeffoorree vviissiittiinngg aa nneeww GGrreeeekklleeaaddeerr bbaattttlliinngg aa ddeebbtt ccrriissiiss tthhaatt ccoouulldd uunnrraavveell tthheeeeuurroo zzoonnee aanndd ssiinnkk tthhee UUSS rreeccoovveerryy..

BBiiddeenn fflleeww iinnttoo AAnnkkaarraa oonn TThhuurrssddaayy wwiitthh aa rraannggeeooff hhoott--bbuuttttoonn ttooppiiccss ttoo ddiissccuussss iinncclluuddiinngg tthhee eeiigghhtt--mmoonntthh ccrraacckkddoowwnn oonn pprroo--ddeemmooccrraaccyy pprrootteessttss iinnnneeiigghhbboorriinngg SSyyrriiaa aanndd tthhee ffuuttuurree ooff IIrraaqq aafftteerr UUSSttrrooooppss lleeaavvee bbyy tthhee yyeeaarr’’ss eenndd..

TToonnyy BBlliinnkkeenn,, BBiiddeenn’’ss ttoopp ffoorreeiiggnn ppoolliiccyy aaddvviisseerr,,ssaaiidd iinn aaddddiittiioonn ttoo ddiissccuussssiinngg tthhee ttuurrmmooiill iinn SSyyrriiaaaanndd TTuurrkkeeyy’’ss ssttrraaiinneedd rreellaattiioonnss wwiitthh IIssrraaeell,, tthhee vviicceepprreessiiddeenntt iiss eexxppeecctteedd ttoo ttaallkk aabboouutt tthhee ff iigghhtt aaggaaiinnssttKKuurrddiisshh PPKKKK rreebbeellss,, wwhhoo hhee ccaalllleedd aa ““ccoommmmoonneenneemmyy”” ooff TTuurrkkeeyy aanndd tthhee UUnniitteedd SSttaatteess..

BBiiddeenn wwiillll mmeeeett iinn TTuurrkkeeyy wwiitthh PPrriimmee MMiinniisstteerrTTaayyyyiipp EErrddooggaann aanndd PPrreessiiddeenntt AAbbdduullllaahh GGuull.. AAssiiddeeffrroomm tthhoossee ttaallkkss tthhee mmaaiinn ppuubblliicc eevveenntt ooff hhiiss ttrriippiiss aa GGlloobbaall EEnnttrreepprreenneeuurrsshhiipp ssuummmmiitt iinn IIssttaannbbuull oonnSSaattuurrddaayy,, wwhhiicchh tthhee UUnniitteedd SSttaatteess hhooppeess wwiillll pprroo--mmoottee aa mmeerrcchhaanntt ccllaassss tthhaatt ccaann hheellpp ddeelliivveerr eeccoo--nnoommiicc aanndd ppoolliittiiccaall cchhaannggee iinn tthhee AArraabb wwoorrlldd..

TThhee OObbaammaa aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn hhaass ppllaacceedd aa pprreemmiiuummoonn cclloossee ttiieess wwiitthh TTuurrkkeeyy —— aa NNAATTOO mmeemmbbeerr oonn aavviittaall ffrroonnttiieerr bbeettwweeeenn EEuurrooppee,, AAssiiaa aanndd tthhee MMiiddddlleeEEaasstt —— aanndd BBiiddeenn’’ss ttrriipp ccoommeess aatt aa ttiimmee ooff ttuummuullttiinn tthhee rreeggiioonn aafftteerr tthhee AArraabb SSpprriinngg..

TTuurrkkeeyy,, aa ffoorrmmeerr ffrriieenndd bbuutt nnooww aa sshhaarrpp ccrriittiicc ooffSSyyrriiaann PPrreessiiddeenntt BBaasshhaarr aall--AAssssaadd,, ssaaiidd llaasstt wweeeekk iittwwaass rreeaaddyy ttoo ttaakkee aaccttiioonn wwiitthh AArraabb ppoowweerrss iiff hheeffaaiillss ttoo ttaakkee sstteeppss ttoo eenndd aa bbllooooddyy ccrraacckkddoowwnn oonnpprroo--ddeemmooccrraaccyy ddeemmoonnssttrraattoorrss..

BBiiddeenn wwiillll ttrraavveell oonn SSuunnddaayy ttoo AAtthheennss,, wwhheerree hheewwiillll ddeelliivveerr ssyymmbboolliiccaallllyy iimmppoorrttaanntt ssuuppppoorrtt ttooGGrreeeeccee’’ss nneeww PPrriimmee MMiinniisstteerr LLuuccaass PPaappaaddeemmooss..

PPaattrriiaarrcchh ooff MMoossccoowwRReecceeiivveess MMaasshhttoottss MMeeddaallYYEERREEVVAANN ((AArrmmeennpprreessss)) —— PPrreessiiddeenntt SSeerrggeeSSaarrggiissiiaann hhoosstteedd tthhiiss wweeeekk PPaattrriiaarrcchh ooff MMoossccoowwaanndd AAllll RRuussssiiaa KKiirriillll aanndd CCaatthhoolliiccooss ooff AAllllAArrmmeenniiaannss KKaarreekkiinn IIII..

TThhee pprreessiiddeennttiiaall pprreessss sseerrvviiccee ssaaiidd tthhaatt tthhee pprreess--iiddeenntt wweellccoommeedd tthhee vviissiitt ooff tthhee ddeelleeggaattiioonn ooff tthheeRRuussssiiaann OOrrtthhooddooxx CChhuurrcchh ttoo AArrmmeenniiaa aannddeexxpprreesssseedd hhooppee tthhaatt iitt wwiillll sseerrvvee ffoorr ssttrreennggtthheenniinnggffrriieennddllyy rreellaattiioonnss bbeettwweeeenn tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann AAppoossttoolliiccaanndd RRuussssiiaann OOrrtthhooddooxx CChhuurrcchheess..

TThhee hheeaadd ooff tthhee rreeppuubblliicc pprraaiisseedd tthhee eeffffoorrttss ooffKKiirriillll ddiirreecctteedd ttoowwaarrdd ssttrreennggtthheenniinngg ppeeooppllee mmoorraall--llyy aanndd ssppiirriittuuaallllyy.. AAccccoorrddiinngg ttoo SSaarrggiissiiaann,, KKiirriillll iiss aaffiinnee eexxaammppllee ooff sseerrvviinngg tthhee hhoommeellaanndd aanndd tthheeRRuussssiiaann OOrrtthhooddooxx CChhuurrcchh..

OOnn aa ddeeccrreeee ffrroomm SSaarrggiissiiaann,, KKiirriillll wwaass aawwaarrddeeddtthhee MMeessrroopp MMaasshhttoottss MMeeddaall ffoorr oouuttssttaannddiinngg ccoonnttrrii--bbuuttiioonn ttoo eexxppaannddiinngg ffrriieennddllyy rreellaattiioonnss bbeettwweeeennAArrmmeenniiaann aanndd RRuussssiiaann ppeeoopplleess aanndd ssttrreennggtthheenniinnggttiieess bbeettwweeeenn tthhee AArrmmeenniiaann AAppoossttoolliicc aanndd RRuussssiiaannOOrrtthhooddooxx CChhuurrcchheess..

KKiirriillll eexxpprreesssseedd ggrraattiittuuddee ttoo SSaarrggiissiiaann aanndd tthheeCCaatthhoolliiccooss ooff AAllll AArrmmeenniiaannss ffoorr aassssiissttiinngg iinn tthheeoorrggaanniizzaattiioonn ooff tthhee bbooaarrdd ooff ttrruusstteeeess ooff CCIISS IInntteerr--rreelliiggiioouuss CCoouunncciill aanndd wwiisshheedd GGoodd’’ss bblleessssiinngg ffoorr tthheeAArrmmeenniiaann ppeeooppllee aanndd pprroossppeerriittyy ttoo AArrmmeenniiaa..

International News

TBILISI (RFE/RL) — President SergeSargisian on Tuesday began a two-dayofficial visit to Georgia amid calls fromat least one local ethnic Armeniangroup to address their identity issues atmeetings in Tbilisi.

Sargisian was received by GeorgianPresident Mikheil Saakashvili at hispalace, after which the two sides report-edly signed a raft of agreements, includ-ing those concerning cooperation onborder issues, standardization andmetrology, cooperation between someministries.

At a joint press conference withSaakashvili following the meeting,Sargisian spoke about “dynamicallydeveloping” relations between the twoneighboring nations.

“We spoke about all issues. Those areenergy, transportation, relationsbetween our parliaments, defense, secu-rity at the borders, and these discus-sions will be continued,” the Armenianleader said, according to the Georgiannews website Georgia Online.

Both Sargisian and Saakashvili spokeabout regional conflicts, with theArmenian president stressing that solu-tions to these conflicts are possible onlythrough negotiations.

The Georgian president, for his part,stressed that all conflicts in theCaucasus have been “instigated” fromoutside and again presented his “UnitedCaucasus” concept as a way to settle alldisputes.

Sargisian is scheduled to meet withrepresentatives of the Georgian-Armenian community and take part in aGeorgian-Armenian business forum slat-ed for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, an organization of localArmenians called the Community ofArmenians of Georgia disseminated anopen letter on the eve of Sargisian’svisit to Georgia urging the leaders of thetwo countries to consider also issues

that “will promote improved good-neigh-borly relations between the two peo-ples.” According to the authors of theletter, among these issues are “availabil-ity of education in the native[Armenian] languages” for members ofthe sizable Armenian community, “thereturn of the property seized from theArmenian Apostolic Church during theSoviet years, the conservation ofchurches and other buildings and mon-uments and their transfer to lawful own-ers.”

The organization, according to itspress service head Armen Aghajanov,was not on the guest list of the meetingwith Sargisian and chose to publish anopen letter instead.

“The most important question is theopportunity to receive education in ournative language. The number ofArmenian schools in Tbilisi has beendecreasing in recent years,” Aghajanovsaid in an interview.

In general, Sargisian’s current visit toGeorgia comes amid lingering specula-tions about the Armenian leader’s earli-er reluctance to travel to the neighbor-ing state.

It was not until November 22 thatSargisian’s office announced the date ofthe visit that is said to have beendelayed earlier. Tbilisi had reportedlybeen expecting Sargisian to pay an offi-cial visit at the beginning of November,but official Yerevan denied it haddelayed the visit, saying that theArmenian leader had not scheduled anytrips abroad for the period in question.

The conflicting information sparkedspeculation that by ostensibly cancelingor rescheduling his visit Sargisianmeant to expressed his displeasure withSaakashvili’s reported remark thatGeorgian authorities would haveresponded faster and more effectively toa massive landslide in northernArmenia that killed five people in early

October. Armenia’s Minister ofEmergency Situations Armen Yeritsianafterwards questioned the veracity ofthe statement attributed to theGeorgian president.

Visiting Yerevan on November 7,Georgian Foreign Minister GrigolVashadze insisted that Sargisian’s visitwas not cancelled. He said the two sidessimply failed to prepare for it on time.

Later, on November 19, the Armenianand Georgian prime ministers chaired aregular session of an inter-governmentalcommission on economic cooperationin the Georgian city of Batumi. Theysaid their governments were pressingahead with plans for joint managementof the Georgian-Armenian border cross-ings and will continue to expand bilat-eral commercial ties.

Speaking on Tuesday, Yerevan-basedpolitical analyst Stepan Grigorian saidthat meetings between the two coun-tries’ leaders are necessary particularlyfor smoothing out possible differences.

“Let’s face it. Georgia is orientedtoward Europe and NATO; we workmore closely with Russia. Reforms inthe state system of Georgia have clearlymade headway, and it is obvious that weare starkly different from them. That’swhy these meetings are necessary as ameans to iron out the differences thatmay arise.”

Grigorian also stresses the impor-tance of Sargisian-Saakashvili meetingsas an opportunity for political discus-sions to find a solution to the issue ofArmenian churches.

Despite amendments approved byGeorgian lawmakers in July to grantGeorgia’s minority religious groups,including the Armenian Church, the sta-tus of “legal entities of public law,” anumber of issues, including those relat-ing to property, still remain between theArmenia Apostolic and GeorgianOrthodox churches.

Armenian President Starts Visit to Georgia

By Philip Boroff

ISTANBUL (Bloomberg News) —Prison has not silenced Ragip Zarakolu,a Turkish publisher and journalist whohas been challenging his country’staboos for four decades.

Earlier this month, after he and otheractivists were arrested under Turkey’santi-terror laws, Zarakolu published anopen letter, undaunted.

“I believe that it is time to show a col-lective opposition to this wave of arrests,which has become a campaign of masslynching,” Zarakolu wrote from prison.The letter was posted November 3 on thewebsite of the PEN American Center,which monitors the mistreatment of writ-ers, editors and publishers around theworld. He demanded an end to “allmoves by the authorities that go againstthe law and principles of due legalprocess.”

Zarakolu was charged with being affil-iated with the Kurdish CommunitiesUnion, the political wing of theKurdistan Workers’ Party, which theTurkish government lists as a terroristorganization. About 12,000 Turkish cit-izens have been arrested under terrorstatutes since 2001.

Free speech and assembly are underassault worldwide, Larry Siems, directorof the Freedom to Write program atPEN, said in an interview. Curtailing lib-

erties has increased since September 11in the name of antiterrorism, he said.

“That’s something we’ve obviouslystruggled with in this country as well,which hasn’t helped in holding the lineon this internationally,” Siems said.

Sinan Zarakolu, a 36-year-old archi-tect, called his father’s arrest “crazy.”

“Ragip is a person who never declareshimself a member of a group,” he said ina telephone interview from his Istanbulapartment. “He tries to cover variouspoints of views. His point is freedom ofspeech.”

In his open letter, Zarakolu said hewasn’t questioned about the organiza-tion he was accused of joining.

“I have only been pressed on worksthat I have written or edited, speeches Ihave given, and free and public meet-ings I have attended,” he wrote.

Since a military junta assumed powerin Turkey in 1971, he’s been imprisonedwith regularity. Zarakolu spent fivemonths in prison and was tried oncharges of having secret relations withAmnesty International, according to abiography provided by PEN. Thecharges were dropped.

In 1972, he was imprisoned for twoyears for an article he wrote about HoChi Minh, the president of NorthVietnam until 1969. In 1977, Zarakoluand his wife, Aysenur, founded theBelge Publishing House, which led tomore prison and fines. Zarakolu co-founded a newspaper, Demokrat, and

was imprisoned in 1982 in connectionwith his work there.

After a 1980 military coup, Belgebegan publishing books by political pris-oners and about the genocide ofArmenians in Turkey in the early 20thcentury. In 1995, its offices were fire-bombed and in the 2000s he and hiswife were charged with such infractionsas disseminating propaganda and insult-ing Turkish institutions. (Aysenur diedin 2002, at 56, of cancer.)

In March 2011, Zarakolu was finedfor spreading propaganda to supportthe PKK. His son Deniz, an editor at hisfather’s publishing house, was arrestedon October 7. The father was taken intocustody on October 28 and sent to ahigh-security prison in northwestTurkey, according to a report in theEnglish-language Hurriyet Daily News.

His lawyer, Ozcan Kilic, was quoted inthe paper saying he was concernedabout his client’s health in prison.

Siems described Zarakolu as modest,with a buoyant sense of humor. He saidhe isn’t surprised by Zarakolu’s defiantopen letter, which calls the arrest partof a campaign to intimidate intellectualsand democrats. Siems said AysenurZarakolu kept a packed suitcase athome to prepare for the arrests thatwere sparked by the couple’s publishingand activism.

“This is what he and his late wife dedi-cated themselves to doing,” Siems said.“He’s that committed to Turkey’s future.”

Jailed Publisher Decries ‘MassLynching’ in Turkish Crackdown

Australian MPs Call toRecognizeGenocide

CANBERRA, Australia (Armradio) — In anunprecedented development, seven federalmembers rose in the House of Representativesof Australia on November 21, 22 and 23 toaffirm the historical reality of the Armenian,Greek and Assyrian Genocides and call forAustralian recognition of these crimes againsthumanity, reported the Armenian NationalCommittee of Australia (ANC Australia).

Members of Parliament (MP) Craig Kelly,Malcolm Turnbull, Michael Danby and JoelFitzgibbon — new supporters of this fundamen-tal issue of humanity — added their voices tolong-time friends of the Armenian, Greek andAssyrian communities in MPs John Alexander,Joe Hockey and Paul Fletcher and paid tributeto the victims of the first genocide of the 20thcentury.

In his first parliamentary speech on thisissue, Kelly, spoke in detail about the genocidalpolicies of the Ottoman Empire against itsArmenian, Greek and Assyrian populations.

“The Armenian Genocide and the relatedAssyrian and Greek Genocides were the resultof a deliberate and systematic campaign againstthe Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empirebetween 1914 and 1923,” Kelly said.

“Aside from the deaths, Christian minoritiesof the Ottoman Empire had their wealth andproperty confiscated without compensation.Businesses and farms were lost, and schools,churches, hospitals and monasteries becamethe property of the Ottoman Empire.”

The member for Hughes underlined theimportance for Australia to recognize this crimeagainst humanity.

“It is now time for our parliament to joinother parliaments around the world and recog-nize these genocides for what they were,” Kellystated.

Turnbull, also delivering his first parliamen-tary speech on this issue, said, “They are assem-bled here, as we are, to lament what was one ofthe great crimes against humanity, not simply acrime against the Greeks, the Assyrians and theArmenians but a crime against humanity — theelimination, the execution, the murder of hun-dreds of thousands of millions of people for noreason other than that they were different. Thistype of crime, this sort of genocidal crime, issomething that sadly is not unique in our expe-rience.”

The member for Wentworth reflected on theOttoman Empire’s record of multiculturalism ofwhich these genocidal crimes constituted anaberration.

“We lament today great crimes but also theloss of diversity and the loss of tolerance,”Turnbull said.

The member for Melbourne Ports and chair-man of the Joint Standing Committee onForeign Affairs, Defence and Trade, MichaelDanby, affirmed the historical reality of theArmenian Genocide during a debate in theHouse of Representatives on a motion relatedto the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.

“... Adolf Hitler, said on August 22, 1939, onthe eve of perpetrating another genocide, ‘Whoremembers the Armenians?,’ referring to thefailure of anyone to react to Turkey’s genocideof two million Armenians. It is because he wasable to say that in Europe in the 1930s that fur-ther tragedies engulfed Europe,” said the mem-ber for Melbourne Ports.

Danby emphasized the need to acknowledgeand remember past genocides in Armenia,Rwanda, Darfur and Srebrenica to prevent suchhorrible crimes from recurring.

The member for Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon,voiced similar sentiments in his first publicstatement on this issue.

“We should collectively spend more time rec-ognizing that between 1915 and 1923 hun-dreds of thousands of Armenians had their lives

cut short for no other reason than for their eth-nicity,” said Fitzgibbon.

“The best and most effective way to heal thewounds carried still by Armenians today is torecognize and acknowledge both the events ofthe past and the motivations behind them. Onlythen will the global community collectively beable to offer the Armenian people and otherssufficient empathy. And only then will the inter-national community be able to genuinely claiman unqualified determination to identify anderadicate genocide in any and every corner ofthe globe.”

The member for Bennelong, John Alexander,reaffirmed his support for the recognition ofthe Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocidesduring an adjournment speech on November21.

Recalling the 1948 United Nations’Convention on the Prevention and Punishmentof the Crime of Genocide, Alexander said:“From the eyewitness accounts of ANZAC sol-

diers and survivors there is little doubt that themassacre of an estimated 1.5 millionArmenians, one million Greeks and 750,000Assyrians fits this definition.”

Alexander called upon the Australian govern-ment to join the wave of international recogni-tion of the Armenian, Greek and AssyrianGenocide.

“I urge the government to follow in the foot-steps of so many nations in formally recogniz-ing these genocides. The actions of members ofthis parliament will help to solidify the globalmovement to identify these atrocities for whatthey are.”

The member for North Sydney, Joe Hockey,emphasized the strong connections betweenAustralian history and the genocide that beganin 1915 during an adjournment speech onNovember 21.

Hockey called for an official Australian recog-nition of this crime against humanity.

“We as a nation should no longer fail to rec-

ognize the truth of history-truth that wasrecorded even by the Australian media as it wasoccurring, at the beginning of the 20th centu-ry-and so I officially call on our parliamentagain to recognize the genocide of theArmenians, Greeks and Assyrians that occurredin Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1923.”

The member for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher,once again affirmed the historical reality of theArmenian Genocide and called for its officialrecognition by the Australian government dur-ing a constituency speech on November 22.

“Consistent with the definition of genocide,these deaths took place with the clear intent ofdestroying Armenians as an ethnic group.

“Some 20 countries around the world havedeclared these events as genocide. These coun-tries include Canada, France and Germany. Itis time that the Australian government alsorecognized what happened in the earlydecades of the last century as genocide,” stat-ed Fletcher.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R4

INTERNATIONAL

By Arthur Hagopian

JERUSALEM — Queen Keran has regained her royal train and herglory.

The first time I saw her, I could not even bring myself to touch herwith my own hands. She looked so ineffably fragile and sacred, I wasterrified I would be committing a sacrilege. I could only gaze at herin wonder — an 800-year-old masterpiece I had been one of the priv-ileged few to have seen or examined close up.

The Queen Keran Gospel, a 1272 manuscript, illustrated by themost celebrated medieval Armenian artist, Toros Roslin.

(I had returned to Jerusalem as consultant on a movie projectplanning a 3D IMAX film on the city, and the first port of call wasthe Armenian Patriarchate of St.James).

Ensconced within the confines ofthe patriarchate, its location undis-closed, the incomparable work of artbears vivid testimony to the greatnessof the art of Armenian manuscriptillustration during what experts callits golden age.

But for over a century, the queenhad lain forlorn, ravished by rapacioushands that had ripped off two of itsilluminated pages, representing a por-trait of the evangelist St. Mark and theAscension.

The loss had been incalculable,degrading what is considered one ofthe most valuable holy objects in theart treasures of the Armenian patriar-chate.

Not any more.The two “prodigal sons” are back

where they belong, a magnanimousboon granted the Armenians by Greekshipping magnate, ThanassisMartinos, who had acquired themfrom Dutch antiquities collectorMichel Van Rijn, from the latter’s iconsand east Christian works of art.

In a statement issued here, the patri-archate revealed that the train of events leading to the repatriationof the missing pages began in May this year when Timothy Bolton,Medieval manuscript expert at Sotheby’s London, contacted Dr. VrejNersessian, curator in charge of the Christian Middle East section inthe British Library for expert opinion on the provenance of the twominiatures.

Having investigated the matter and provided the required docu-mentation of proof of the unlawful removal of the leaves from theQueen Keran Gospel, Martinos graciously agreed to return theminiatures as gift to the Armenian patriarchate of Jerusalem, thehandover facilitated by Nersessian.

For years, the Patriarchate’s Grand Sacristan, ArchbishopNourhan Manoogian, has cherished a dream of reproducing thegospel in facsimile, he confided to me. He realizes that an exact fac-simile will be an expensive exercise, but he is comforted by the expec-tation of intense demand from particularly from discerning collec-tors, including museums and libraries.

And now that the Queen Keran Gospel is whole again, interest inthe acquisition of a facsimile will undoubtedly increase.

Experts note that the technology is certainly available in such ahighly advanced IT location as Israel, but believe costs might belower abroad.

The 1272 manuscript is considered the most elegant produced

work during the Medieval ages. It contains, in addition to canontables and richly-decorated headpieces, 13 full-page miniatures illus-trating the main events in the life of Christ and 103 marginal minia-tures.

Scholars note that the most remarkable aspect of the manuscriptis the inclusion of portraits of members of the royal family. Thegospel was commissioned by Queen Keran for her husband andfuture king, Levon of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. It was copiedby the scribe Avetis in the capital city of Sis in 1272 and illustratedby Roslin. The manuscript was bound in Jerusalem in gold repoussework by the monks of the St. James Brotherhood. The front coverrepresents the Crucifixion and the back the Virgin and Child; on theclaps are the four Evangelists.

The integral part of ancient Armenian manuscripts is thecolophon, and these can be exhilaratingly inspiring or revealing.

“I have saved from captivity this preciousgarden, this fragrant orchard, this pure andshining book in memory of myself and ofmy parents, my wife and my children,”reads one such entry.

In the dedicatory picture the Queen isrepresented on one of the final leaves,together with her husband King Levon IIIand their five children kneeling in front ofpicture of Christ enthroned, flanked byVirgin Mary and John the Baptist.

In the long colophon where all the mem-bers of the royal family are mentioned, thescribe Avetis writes that when he had com-pleted the copy of the manuscript; theQueen “gave it to a man skilled and hon-ored in the art of the scribes, in order toadorn it.”

That man has been identified as TorosRoslin.

Nersessian notes that manuscripts wereregarded with a deep sense of veneration inthe Medieval Ages which accounts for “theabundance of various kinds of warningwith respect to the proper handling of man-uscripts, as well as anathemas againstthose who violated these injunctions.”

“The scribes beseech the owners of themanuscripts, whether individuals or ecclesi-astical institutions, not to regard manuscripts

as sellable merchandize or an object that can be mortgaged,” he pointsout.

“They placed a moral obligation on future generations to recovermanuscripts carried off as booty, by ransom or other means.Captured manuscripts were never referred to as booty, but rather,like human beings, they were either carried off into captivity or theywere rescued or purchased from captivity.”

Nersessian quotes an example of this kind of injunction in agospel manuscript copied by a scribe, Kostandin Vahkatsi, in 1413:

“Let no one remove it from this place, let no one hand it over toan infidel... Let them put it in safekeeping in a fort, or take it to theisland of Cyprus, and when the danger has passed, bring it back tothis place and receive their fitting reward.”

Another scribe, Avag, showers curses in a 1337 colophon on any-one who would “dare to steal this holy Gospel, or tear off pages fromit, or remove it from the great church . . . may he share the fate ofCain, Judas and the crucifiers and inherit the doleful maledictions.”

While another colophon dated 1410 threatens that whoever“approaches this holy book with a sword or a knife and cuts off foliosfrom this book, may the flaming sword cut off his loins.”

But whoever ripped off those two pages from the Queen KeranGospel some 100 years ago, apparently had not heard of the cursesof the manuscripts.

Queen Keran Gets Back her Royal Train

Roslin’s depiction of the evangelist St. Mark

5S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

From Armenian History toBlack-American History:

Elizabeth Cann KambourianRICHMOND, Va. — Elizabeth Cann Kambourian was a student at Virginia

Commonwealth University in Richmond, majoring in history when she decided towrite her honors thesis on the first Republic of Armenia. Many years later she

became an expert in an important Americanslave rebellion in Richmond. In both cases,curiosity about people and things around herstimulated her research.

Kambourian was 28 when she went to col-lege, having already gotten married and

formed a family. She was working in a jewelry store run by her husband’s family,the Kambourians, and would walk to classes from work. Kambourian explainedthat her husband’s family history was interesting. The Kambourians were a pros-perous family in Erzerum. As a result of a quarrel there, one young son, Manuel,was sent abroad in the early1880s, initially to France. He thencame to New York and became ajeweler like his father. After somebusiness disagreements, he immi-grated to Richmond and started arug business. He had three sons,two of whom took over the rugbusiness — which still is flourish-ing today in the hands of a fourth-generation Kambourian, and theyoungest of whom went into thejewelry field.

One relative, Dikran Najarian,married to a Kambourian, was aTashnag, or member of theArmenian RevolutionaryFederation. He went back to theOttoman Empire in the beginningof the 20th century and gotarrested and was executed. Hisfinal writing from jail is preservedby the family.

As Kambourian took an interestin the family’s history, one of herhusband’s uncles gave her variousfamily documents, including pho-tographs, Ottoman travel papersand a work permit for the aforementioned Najarian.

Kambourian wrote her undergraduate thesis on the first Republic of Armeniabut gave background dating back to 1870. Her professor was able to give her goodguidance and she used contemporary French and English newspapers among hersources.

Ironically, as Kambourian pointed out, while in college “I skipped American his-tory altogether, but ended up getting involved in it in the end.” It turned out thatthe house that she and her family bought in 1974 played a key role in this. The

see KAMBOURIAN , page 8

Arakelian FamilyRenovates GetapiVillage School inHonor of JackArakelian

GLENDALE, Calif. — The Arakelian family,led by Ron Arakelian Jr., has sponsored therenovation of the Getapi village school in theShirak region of Armenia. This renovationwas done in memory of Jack Arakelian, whowas born in the village on March 3, 1913 andlater emigrated to the United States. The ren-ovationwas completed through the guidanceand the management of the ArmenianEducational Foundation (AEF). TheArakelians donated $75,000 to underwritethe renovation as part of the AEF’s 60thanniversary celebration, which took place inNovember 2010.

Jack Arakelian was a long-time memberof the AEF, serving as president from1968 to 1979.

The village of Getapi (originally namedGhasmal) lies in the foothills of the Aragatsmountain range. Getapi was founded in1827-1828 by immigrants from Kars,Alashkert, Manazkert and Moush, forming40 households. In the mid-20th century itspopulation reached 1,100 and the currentcount is 830. Getapi is 18.6miles fromGumriand 62.2 miles from Yerevan.

The Getapi school building was origi-nally built in 1950 and in 1994 it becamea high school, producing its first gradu-ates in 1996. The school currently has 95students, yet in the past that number hasreached 160. It has 21 teachers and fivestaff members.

Prior to the renovation, the school wasin a deplorable condition. During the ren-ovation the windows were replaced, thefloors were replaced and painted, thewalls were all repaired and painted, thedoors were replaced, new gutters wereinstalled outside the building and newconcrete walkways were installed along allsides of the building. The Arakelians’donation also helped furnish the schoolwith desks, tables for the teachers, filingcabinets, chairs and blackboards.

The administrator of the village, Mr.Sanosyan, stated that the school renova-tion has had an enormous impact for thevillage. “The school was very humid andthe overall sanitary conditions were verypoor which potentially could have causeddisease and other health hazards.However, after the renovations all theseissues have been resolved.” Sanosyanadded, “This program has been veryimportant and has become a source ofinspiration for the villagers. They feel thattheir compatriots in America are withthem and if necessary can help financial-ly and morally. Our deepest gratitude toyou. The people of the village are appre-ciative and grateful to the AEF and theArakelian family for their generosity.”

The villages of Armenia have great sig-nificance for Armenia and the diaspora.These villages hold the key to Armeniantraditions and customs; hence, theirpreservation is imperative. Today’s globalcircumstances put more pressure onArmenian villages by threatening theirmere existence. Therefore, it is importantto keep Armenians strongly connectedwith their land. Recognizing the impor-tance of the village, AEF focused its ren-ovation program to village schools inArmenia, Artsakh and Javakhk.

For 60 years AEF has been providingfinancial assistance to students and edu-cational institutions.

St. Stephen’s ArmenianElementary SchoolReceives Grant fromGelfand Family CharitableTrust for Science Program

WATERTOWN — St. Stephen’s ArmenianElementary School (SSAES) announced recent-ly that the school is going to be part of aScience, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) Initiative funded by the Gelfand FamilyCharitable Trust.

The school has received a $10,000 planninggrant from the STEM fund for the 2011-2012academic year, to create a four-year strategicplan geared toward infusing STEM into the cur-ricula and school culture.

“Our mission will be to increase the focus andemphasis on science, technology, engineeringand math (STEM) throughout our school, inorder to create and support a deep and sus-tainable culture of inquiry-based teaching andlearning that excites and inspires our students,”said SSAES Principal Houry Boyamian.

At the end of the planning year, granteeschools that submit a strategic plan that isapproved will then be eligible to receive up to$10,000 annually for four years, subject toannual review and evaluation of plan imple-mentation.

“We have already formed the STEM Teamthat will convene at least four times during theplanning phase,” added Boyamian. The team ismade up of three elementary teachers, the tech-nology teacher, the preschool director, a parentwith a strong science background, a collegeinstructor and the principal.

To learn more about St. Stephen’s ArmenianElementary School, visit www.ssaes.org.

Painting of Gabriel, by Ana Edwards

By Aram ArkunMirror-Spectator Staff

Aram Kambourian, father of Manuel and ajeweler in Erzerum

St. David’s PastorCelebrates 20thYear of Ordination

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — On Sunday,November 6, a committee which has cometogether to mark the 20th anniversary of theordination to the priesthood of Rev. NaregBerberian, pastor of St. David’s ArmenianChurch, met. The meeting was chaired by CarolNorigian. The members of the committee are:Armen Melkonian, Rose Kazanjian, RoseTatarian, Nadia Isguzar, George Stapan, Nina

Stapan, Claudette Sarian, Maral Kazandjianand Beatrice Babgouni.

The committee decided to hold this functionon Saturday, January 21, 2012 at the MardigianChurch Hall. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,Primate of the Diocese of the ArmenianChurch, will preside over this function. Alsoparticipating will be Archbishop VickenAikazian.

Rev. Nareg Berberian

LOS ANGELES — A requiem service will beheld on Sunday, December 11, at 4 p.m. for doc-umentary filmmaker Dr. J. Michael Hagopianon the one-year anniversary of his passing.Immediately after the service at St. PeterArmenian Church in Van Nuys, which will beofficiated by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,there will be a one-hour program in the churchhall celebrating Hagopian’s legacy, followed bya light reception. The memorial program willtouch on Hagopian’s numerous activities andhis legacy as a filmmaker, humanist and vision-ary.

Hagopian made 70 educational films and doc-umentaries exploring the diverse cultures andgeography of the world during his long career,

an accomplishment which earned him an invi-tation to be a member of the Explorer’s Club ofNew York and Adventurer’s Club of LosAngeles. He spent 40 years filming the testi-monies of Armenian Genocide survivors andeyewitnesses. He also was instrumental inestablishing the Narekatsi Armenian Chair atUCLA in 1969 and was one of the communityleaders who founded the City of ThousandOaks in 1964. With four other Armenianactivists, he created the Armenian FilmFoundation in 1979.

Hagopian’s last major public act was in April2010, when he signed an historic agreementwith the University of Southern California(USC) Shoah Foundation Institute to digitize,

index and disseminate the 400 interviews hehad filmed in 10 countries.

He died on December 10 of that year, at theage of 97, his legacy secure.

A four-minute mini-documentary aboutHagopian made by Council Member PaulKrekorian’s director of special projects, HragYedalian, will be screened during the memorialprogram, and composer Alan Roubik will per-form two piano pieces: Spirit of Armenia andThe March, which he composed for Hagopian’s2003 documentary, “Germany and the SecretGenocide.”

The memorial program is organized by theArmenian Film Foundation and the Hagopianfamily. The public is invited. There is no charge.

6 S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

558 MOUNT AUBURN STREETWATERTOWN, MA 02472

Telephone (617) 924-7400

Aram BedrosianFuneral Home, Inc.

Continuous Service By The Bedrosian Family Since 1945MARION BEDROSIAN

PAUL BEDROSIANLARRY BEDROSIAN

GiragosianF U N E R A L H O M E

James “Jack” Giragosian, CPCFuneral Counselor

576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, TEL: 617-924—0606www.giragosianfuneralhome.com

Edward D. Jamakordzian, Jr. d/b/a

Edward D. Jamie, Jr.Funeral Chapel

Licensed in New York and New Jersey208-17 Northern Blvd.,Bayside, NY 11361Service any Hourany Distance (718) 224-2390 or toll

free (888) 224-6088

Nardolillo Funeral HomeEst. 1906

John K. Najarian, Jr.Rhode Island’s Only Licensed Armenian Funeral Director

1278 Park Ave. Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 942-12201111 Boston Neck Rd. Narragansett, RI 02882 (401) 789-6300

www.nardolillo.com

By Ben Ratliff

NEW YORK (New York Times) — PaulMotian, a drummer, bandleader, composer andone of the most influential jazz musicians of thelast 50 years, died on Tuesday, November 22, inManhattan. He was 80.

The cause was complications of myelodys-plastic syndrome, a blood and bone-marrow dis-order, said his niece, Cindy McGuirl.

Motian was a link to groups of the past thatinformed what jazz sounds like today. He hadbeen in the pianist Bill Evans’s great trio of thelate 1950s and early 1960s and in Keith Jarrett’sso-called American quartet during the 1970s.But it was in the second half of his life that

Motian found himself as a composer and band-leader, with work that could be counterintuitiveor straightforward, runic or crowd-pleasing.

Stylish and alert — he wore sunglasses in thedark and laughed often and loudly — he workedsteadily for decades, for the last six years or soalmost entirely in Manhattan. He had the sup-port of the record producers Stefan Winter andManfred Eicher, who released his music on thelabels Winter & Winter and ECM, and ofLorraine Gordon, the proprietor and presidingspirit of the Village Vanguard, who booked himmany times a year, either in his own groups orthose of others. (In his 1970s he grew tired oftraveling, and anyway, he said, he preferred thesound of his drum kit at the Vanguard.)

The many musicians he played with regularlyincluded the saxophonist Joe Lovano and theguitarist Bill Frisell, with whom he had a work-ing trio; the pianist Masabumi Kikuchi; the sax-ophonists Greg Osby, Chris Potter and MarkTurner, with whom he played in trios and quar-tets; the members of the Electric Bebop Band,with multiple electric guitars, which in 2006became the Paul Motian Band and dozens ofothers, from developing players to old masters.

For nearly all of his bands, his repertory wasa combination of terse and mysterious originalshe composed at the piano, American-songbookstandards and music from the bebop traditionof his youth by the likes of Bud Powell,Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and CharlesMingus.

Stephen Paul Motian was born in

Philadelphia on March 25, 1931, and reared inProvidence, RI. In 1950 he entered the Navy.After briefly attending its music school inWashington, he sailed around theMediterranean until 1953, when he was sta-tioned in Brooklyn. He was discharged a yearlater.

He met Evans in 1955 and by the end of thedecade he was working in a trio with him andthe bassist Scott LaFaro. That group, in whichthe bass and drums interacted with the pianoas equals, continues to serve as an importantsource of modern piano-trio jazz.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Motianplayed with many other bandleaders, includingLee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Mose Allison, TonyScott, Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin and, for a week,Monk. After leaving his partnership with Evans,

he worked steadily withthe pianist Paul Bley,whom he often creditedwith opening him up togreater possibilities.

“All of a sudden therewas no restrictions, noteven any form,” he toldthe writer and drummerChuck Braman in 1996.“It was completely free,almost chaotic.”

In an interview onTuesday, November 22,Bley recalled: “Weshared the same philoso-phy, musically. He knewthat what he was doingin the past was not his

answer. What he lived for was growth andchange.”

Then, and even more with Jarrett’s quartet inthe 1970s, Motian moved away from swing-based rhythm; he improvised freely, or playedoff melodic form. Eager to grow beyond per-cussion, he studied and composed on a pianohe had bought from Jarrett, and in 1973 hemade a record of his own compositions forECM, “Conception Vessel,” with Jarrett and oth-ers. One of the last records he made withJarrett’s quartet, “Byablue” (1977), consistedmostly of Motian originals.

But the old sense of swing never left and itlater became abundantly clear again, whetherhe was playing an original sketch built onuneven phrasing with gaps of silence or a roottext of jazz like Body and Soul. Sometimes hewould strip a beat to absolute basics, the soundof brushes on a dark-toned ride cymbal and theabrupt thump of his low-tuned kick drum.Generally, a listener could locate the form, evenwhen Motian didn’t state it explicitly.

“With Paul, there was always that groundrhythm, that ancient jazz beat lurking in thebackground,” said the pianist Ethan Iverson,one of the younger bandleaders who playedwith and learned from him toward the end.

Motian’s final week at the Vanguard was withOsby and Kikuchi, in September. “He was aneconomist: every note and phrase and utter-ance counted,” Osby said on Tuesday,November 22. “There was nothing disposable.”

He is survived by his sister, Sarah McGuirl.

Drummer Paul Motian

Paul MotianJazz Drummer

Archbishop to Preside over Requiem Service for Filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian

OBITUARY

Dr. J. Michael Hagopian

LOS ANGELES — On November 18, thecommunity of TCA Arshag Dickranian Schoolenjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner-Dance held each year by the Parent-TeacherOrganization (PTO) at the Walter and LaurelKarabian Hall.

Friends, parents, teachers and studentsgathered in the hall to celebrate the occasiontogether as one large family. As in previousyears, the menu comprised an assortment ofArmenian appetizers and the Thanksgivingturkey.

Prior to serving dinner, 2010–2011 StudentCouncil Chairperson Morris Sarafian and cur-rent Student Council Chairperson LucyBambalyan delivered the opening remarks,

welcoming guests and interac-tively explaining the purpose ofthe day. They also used the occa-sion to thank parents and facultyfor the opportunity given tothem for the quality educationthey receive at ArshagDickranian School.

Following the opening speech,students from Pre-kindergarten,fourth and fifth grades took thestage respectively and recitedpoems and riddles aboutThanksgiving. Sixth-graderDiana Gasparyan recited a poemabout the importance of sharing,

which was followed by apoem about luck per-formed by eighth-graders LilitShishikyan and Liana Sultanyan.Continuing with the program per-formed by an all-student cast, the first,second and third graders delighted theaudience with short plays revolvingaround the origin of Thanksgiving,ending their performance by singingThis Land is Your Land. Next, ninth-grader Armine Gulyan sang Komitas,followed by a gymnastics performanceby seventh-grader Elizabeth Petrosyan,which left the audience in awe of hertalent. She has been a gymnast sincethe age of 4 and is a member of theJunior Olympic Team. The school choir

then gathered on stage and sang varioussongs about Thanksgiving.

On the high school level, the guests wereentertained by a live set of short improvisa-tional performances directed by their Englishand drama teacher, Ricardo Rocha. The stu-dents were given a time frame of 30 secondsto two minutes to come up with creative waysto act on various scenes given by Rocha andimprovise them, which brought much laughterand joy. At the end, the panel of three judgesgave the first-place award to the 10th-gradeperformers. The program ended with a medleyof Armenian folk songs performed by 2011school alumna Ani Nercessian and operasinger Ruben Telunts.

PTO Chairperson Houri Taglyan-Kourouyanexpressed her thanks and appreciation to herPTO colleagues for organizing the event,Armenian teacher Emma Umroyan,Kindergarten teacher Anahid Avanessian, pre-K teacher Madlena Marikyan, dance teacherRobert Arakelian and music teacher KomitasKeshishian for putting together the successfulprogram, and Principal Vartkes Kourouyan,administrative secretary Arpi Mazloumian andpublic relations coordinator Salpi Asayan forextending their services to ensure the successof the evening.

The event continued into the late hours ofthe night, with attendees dancing to the musicof disc jockey Shahen. Due to the large num-ber of students taking part in the program, theevening turned more into a family-type gath-ering.

Over the years, the PTO has supported theschool by organizing functions, serving stu-dents’ daily lunches and promoting goodwill.

Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., LosAngeles, the TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian

School is a federally-tax exempt, Pre-K to 12thgrade private educational institution. For moreinformation, visit www.dickranianschool.org.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 7

COMMUNITY NEWS

Entertainment Fridaysand Saturdays

Gymnastic performance by seventh-graderElizabeth Petrosyan

TCA Arshag Dickranian School’s Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

Students recite a Thanksgiving poem.

Alumna Ani Nercessian and opera singer Ruben Teluntssing Armenian folk songs.

8 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, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1

COMMUNITY NEWS

KAMBOURIAN, from page 5old lady who sold the house gave her a titlesearch done in 1918, which traced the plot ofland back to 1745, when it was part of a muchlarger tract. Eventually, in the late 1980s, out ofcuriosity Kambourian went to the HenricoCounty records and found a plan of a planta-tion, Quincy Plantation, which included herown plot.

She said, “I knew already that a slave rebel-lion had taken place in this neighborhood. Ithought that surely my house would have hadparticipants since it was adjacent to two otherplantations where slaves participated. And I didfind a slave, George Smith, who was involved.He was a conjurer. It was fascinating.”

The slave rebellion, called the Gabriel rebel-lion after its leader, a blacksmith, was plannedfor the summer of 1800. Kambourian said, “Therebels were well educated and belonged to laxowners — that is, they were allowed to roamabout. They did not have it that bad [comparedto other slaves]. They could, however, see dur-ing their trips for business into Richmond howdeprived they really were. Death or liberty wastheir banner.” They had wide-ranging contactswith other slaves and hoped their act wouldspark a broader rebellion.

The rebellion failed, due to betrayal by fellowslaves, as well as torrential rains. Virginia’s gov-

ernor was then James Monroe, the future fifthpresident of the United States. After he sup-pressed the rebellion by force, he attempted tocover it up, fearing it could cause political trou-ble. It was a presidential election year withanother Virginian, ThomasJefferson, vying for thehighest position in theAmerican government.However, Monroe wasunsuccessful and newspa-pers in the North did writeabout the event. Thelongterm consequencesincluded the strengtheningof restrictions on therights and activities ofslaves.

Kambourian’s researchled her to locate the gal-lows where Gabriel washung, along with his fellowconspirators. They wereimmediately buried nearbyin a site which had beenturned into a parking loton Broad Street. This isthe African-American orNegro Burial Ground.Kambourian tried to getpeople to listen to theresults of her research inthe 1990s, but she foundthat nobody was interesteduntil around 2000. Shegave a key presentationthen in the Black HistoryMuseum and CulturalCenter of Virginia inRichmond, and an organi-zation called the Defendersfor Freedom, Justice andEquality soon began to cite her discoveries. Astruggle was waged to memorialize the burialground, and it no longer is used as a parkingsite.

In 2002, Gabriel’s death was commemoratedby a resolution of the City of Richmond, and in2006 Gov. Tim Kaine informally pardonedGabriel and his collaborators in recognition ofhis struggle to end slavery and promote equali-ty for all people.

While Kambourian was reading in the StateLibrary in the 1980s and 1990s, she noticedthat African-Americans were always coming into ask about how to start work on their familygenealogies, and the librarians would tell them

to look at the Freedmen’s Bureau records. Sheeventually decided to write a book making thisraw information more accessible, and in 1997published The Freedmen’s Bureau in Virginia.This volume provides a list of former slaves and

freedmen who received food and medical aidfrom the Virginia Freedmen’s Bureau, withmaps and whatever personal information wasavailable in the records

At present Kambourian is preparing a bookon the Gabriel rebellion. She has found inter-esting personal motivations for Gabriel and anumber of the chief conspirators which mayhave led them to rebel despite the relativelygood circumstances of their lives as slaves. Forexample, Gabriel, a handsome young man, mayhave had his front teeth knocked out and havebeen humiliated and disfigured by his master,though they were of the same age and friendsof sorts.

From Armenian History to Black-American History: Elizabeth Cann Kambourian

Dikran Najarian in the front with the Panama hatand walking stick; Annie Najarian is the younggirl in the back who married ManuelKambourian; the seated older woman is LucyNajarian.

Flag rug woven by Manuel Kambourian and displayed at the 1907Jamestown Exposition (courtesy of Mark Kambourian)

Burial Ground for Negroes, looking south

ASA Searches forScholarship Recipients

WARWICK, R.I. — The ArmenianStudents Association of America, Inc.(ASA) invites students to apply for its avail-able scholarships for the 2012-2013 acad-emic year. Established in 1910, the ASA isthe oldest major Armenian organizationfounded in the United States and to thisday is still highly regarded for the financialassistance it gives to deserving Armenianstudents in the form of scholarships. Inorder to qualify for an ASA Scholarship,potential applicants need to meet the fol-lowing three requirements: must be ofArmenian descent, must be enrolled as afull-time student and have completed onefull year of academics at a four-year accred-ited US college by June 2012 or must beenrolled in a two-year college and aretransferring to a four-year college or uni-versity as a full-time student in the fall2012, and must be a US citizen or possessthe appropriate visa status in order tostudy in the US.

Students who meet these criteria areencouraged to download an online appli-cation, by going towww.asainc.org/national/scholarships.html. Completed applications must bereceived at the ASA national office nolater than March 15, 2012. For additionalquestions, write to headasa@aol.com.

WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Boston Orphanand Child Care Committee of the ArmenianMissionary Association of America (AMAA)held its 16th annual Children Helping ChildrenLuncheon on Thursday, October 27, at theWellesley Country Club.

The luncheon featured both live and silentauctions. Auction items included tickets andmemorabilia from all the major Boston sportsteams, diamond jewelry, framed art, orientalrugs, dinners and much more. AMAA Boardof Directors members Edward Avedisian andJeanmarie Papelian, Esq. acted as auction-

eers for the event, and kept the bidding com-petitive and lively. More than 150 guestsattended the fundraising event; proceeds

from the luncheon were donated to theAMAA’s Orphan and Child Care Fund to ben-efit needy children in Armenia.

Carolyn Eurdolian and Stephanie Goldstein withlive auction artwork

Children Helping Children in Boston

Students from St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School sang at the program.

CHELTENHAM, Penn. — Archbishop KhajagBarsamian, Primate of the Diocese of theArmenian Church of America (Eastern), visitedHoly Trinity Church of Cheltenham on Sunday,November 20, as the community commemorat-ed the 45th anniversary of its current house ofworship.

During the celebration of the Divine Liturgy,Barsamian ordained five acolytes (DanielAslanian, Shawn Carnavale, Frederick Jordan,Andrew Movsesian and Brian Peckjian) and fivesub-deacons (Michael Alexanian, JamesKeshgegian, Harout Nalbandian, Brian Peckjianand Chris Torcomian).

In a sermon on lay ministry — this year’sDiocesan theme — Barsamian spoke aboutChrist’s call, reminding parishioners that “weare called to be like Christ, to recognize ourtrue identity in and through him and to sharewho we are with others.”

Following services, close to 300 people gath-ered for the celebratory banquet. The Rev.Hakob Gevorgyan, parish pastor, welcomedBarsamian and expressed his gratitude to thebanquet committee and the attendees.

“Today we thank our Almighty Lord becausehe gave us the opportunity to have this beauti-ful church and this beautiful property,”Gevorgyan said. “I know your parents and youworked very hard for this church and now youare enjoying the fruit of your labor.”

The afternoon program included musical per-formances by local artists Dr. Andre Garabedianand Greg and Karinne Andonian. A photoslideshow featured images of the churchthrough its four-and-a-half decade history.

Six individuals who have been faithful ser-vants were recognized as “pillars” of HolyTrinity Church: Robert and LorraineDamerjian, Larry and Jeanette DerHagopian,John Kash and Merle Santerian. The honoreeswere presented with the St. Vartan Award byBarsamian.

“This was a wonderful way of bringing ourcommunity together,” said Merle Santerian,who has chaired the Parish Council and con-tinues to be involved in parish organizations. “I

am grateful and blessed to have the opportuni-ty to contribute to this parish and I am honoredto have received this beautiful award.”

Barsamian spoke about the importance ofcarrying forward the mission of the ArmenianChurch and emphasized each parishioner’s rolein helping to realize that mission. Hesaid the day’s celebration was “anopportunity to express that we are aliving Armenian Church and that inour togetherness we can answer God’scall.”

Holy Trinity Church was originallylocated elsewhere within Philadelphiabut when a fire destroyed the churchbuilding in 1964, parishioners decidedto rebuild outside the city and pur-chased property in the Cheltenhamsuburb. The present church was con-secrated in September 1966.

The 45th anniversary celebrationwas the result of the collaborativeefforts and service of the entire parish.On this occasion the community alsowelcomed a number of special guests:the Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian, pas-tor of St. Sahag and St. MesrobChurch of Wynnewood; Rev. KarekinKasparian, pastor of St. Gregory theEnlightener Church of White Plains, NY; Rev.Vertanes Kalayjian, former pastor of St. MaryChurch of Washington, DC and Sister Arousiag

and Sister Emma from the Armenian SistersAcademy.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see all the peo-ple, especially the representation by our friendsfrom all of the other Philadelphia-areaArmenian churches,” said parishioner Tanya

Paretchan. “Events like this bring everyonetogether as a community and ignite energyamong us. We couldn’t ask for anything better.”

9S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

ONDECEMBER 13Vote ForJon Hecht

RepresentativeHecht

LaunchesCampaignfor Senate

SeatRep. Jonathan Hecht, a friendof the Armenian community ofMassachusetts and a sponsorof the Armenian GenocideCommemorations in the StateHouse, has announced hiscandidacy for the Senate seatof Sen. Steven Tolman, whohas resigned.

The 2nd Suffolk and MiddlesexSenate district in Massachusettsincludes Watertown, Belmont andparts of Cambridge, Allston-Brighton, the Fenway and theBack Bay.

For more information contact StateRepresentative Jon Hecht at

electhecht@gmail.com617.320.8905

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian ordained acolytes and sub-deacons during a recent visit to Holy Trinity Church ofCheltenham, Penn.

Holy Trinity Church of Cheltenham Marks 45 Years

Seated, from left, Rev. Hakob Gevorgyan, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian and Rev. Karekin Kasparian, with altar servers and choir members at HolyTrinity Church

Rev. Hakob Gevorgyan and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian with the St. Vartan Award recipients atHoly Trinity Church

STONY POINT, N.Y. — ACYOA membersattending a leadership conference last weekendlearned that love and service are at the heart ofstrong leadership.

The conference, held November 4-6, broughttogether 70 young people representing 23 parish-es to examine how Christ calls his followers toserve. Under the guidance of clergy and lay lead-ers of the Eastern Diocese, the ACYOA partici-pants discussed their roles in answering that callas leaders in the ACYOA and the church.

The conference was planned by the ACYOACentral Council, and held at the Don BoscoRetreat Center. Also joining the ACYOA memberswere young representatives from sister Coptic

and Indian Orthodox Churches.Titled “Let Love In,” the conference opened on

Friday evening with a vespers service and intro-ductory remarks by conference chaplain, the Rev.Krikor Sabounjian. ACYOA Central CouncilProgram Coordinator Olivia Derderian and ViceChair Karen Dardarian, who helped put togetherthe sessions, welcomed participants and outlinedthe goals of the weekend gathering.

On Saturday morning, Sabounjian spoke aboutdivine love and human love. He stressed thatdivine love is unconditional while human love isoften tinged with expectations. He encouraged

the young people to think about the way in whichthey love others, and how they might work tostrengthen their relationships.

Deacon Ryan Tellalian spoke about HolyMatrimony and Holy Orders, explaining the simi-lar emphasis on love and service found in bothsacraments. He also underlined the importanceof sacrifice as it applies to both marriage and thepriesthood.

Deacon Benjamin Rith-Najarian led a Biblestudy on 1 Corinthians 13 (“Love is patient, loveis kind, love envies not.”) Participants reflectedon the adjectives used to describe love in the well-known passage, and shared which of those char-acteristics they saw in themselves.

Greg Torosian of Holy Trinity Church ofCambridge, Mass., said he found this session par-ticularly helpful. “Applying St. Paul’s letter to theCorinthians on love to today’s world allowed us tofocus on how to better live in the world today,” hesaid.

Yn. Arpi Kouzouian, youth director of HolyTrinity Church of Cambridge, Mass., and MariaDerderian, youth minister at St. James Church ofWatertown, Mass., gave a presentation titled“Service and Witness.” They spoke about theimportance of sharing one’s gifts with others andgave practical tips on identifying and addressing

areas of need in one’s community.“This weekend really started from scratch by

teaching us to lead by the example of loving all.This is the first step in being a leader,” saidMelissa Mardoian of Sts. Joachim and AnneChurch of Palos Heights, Ill. “We can now go andshow our love by starting good service projects inour parishes.”

The evening concluded with a special work-shop titled “Let’s Get Creative: Self ExpressionThrough Art” — which asked participants to sum-marize what they learned by presenting a skit ora song or making a collage based on the day’slessons.

“The leadership skills they worked on were notdesigned to teach them how to run a meeting orcreate a program,” said Sabounjian. “They weredesigned to teach them how to be true servantleaders through the way they live their lives andmake their decisions based on Christian love.”

On Sunday, Sabounjian celebrated the DivineLiturgy in the retreat center chapel, with youngpeople assisting on the altar and singing in thechoir.

“I thank God that I was given the opportunityto serve as the chaplain for this year’s ACYOALeadership Conference,” Sabounjian said afterthe conference. “I was, once again, extremelyimpressed with the quality and seriousness ofpurpose exhibited by these young adults of ourDiocese. Their thirst for spirituality and a deeperrelationship with our Lord is truly refreshing andinspiring.”

Following services, the young people had anopportunity to participate in an open forum withthe ACYOA Central Council in which they sharedtheir concerns and hopes for the future of theorganization.

“I learned a lot during this gathering and I am

definitely taking a good chunk back home withme,” said Alina Grigorian of St. Mesrob Church ofRacine, Wis. “I would encourage every young per-son to try and attend an ACYOA LeadershipConference in the future.”

ACYOA Central Council Chair Danny Mantisadded that he was pleased with the turnout.

“Since the year 2000, the ACYOA LeadershipConference has been one of the most successfulprograms sponsored by our organization,” hesaid. “I was especially inspired to see so many newpeople attending this year’s conference.”

10 S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

MM EE TT RR OONewYork

NEW YORK — On November 18, ArmenianAmbassador to the United Nations GarenNazarian hosted a reception at the ArmenianMission in honor of Artsakh President BakoSahakian and his delegation. During the recep-tion, Sahakian bestowed upon AndreasRoubian the Vachagan Parebashd Medal for hisunwavering support for the people of Artsakh.Roubian was the chairman of the KarabaghCommittee of East Coast, which was formed

during the 1990s to help the Artsakh liberationstruggle.

Upon receiving the medal, Roubian said, “Iaccept this medal on behalf of the many bravesoldiers of Karabagh who died in the fight forthe liberation of Karabagh. Today we are strongand we are able to depend on ourselves anddefend our country.” He added that he hopedthis independence and strength would be a hall-mark of the future of Armenia.

From left, Andreas Roubian, Karabagh Primate Archbishop Pargev Martirossian, Karabagh PresidentBako Sahakian and Ambassador to the UN Garen Nazarian

Reception for ArtsakhDelegation at UN Mission

ACYOA Leadership Conference participants take part in Bible study sessions.

ACYOA Leadership Conference Discusses Cardinal Christian Virtues

The Rev. Krikor Sabounjian, conference chap-lain, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the retreatchapel.

11S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

MM EE TT RR OONewYork

By Florence Avakian

NEW YORK and YEREVAN — “We want toshow the local people in Armenia our warmthand our caring for them. And we hope that ourcountry Armenia will rise up and advance so thatthe people will not leave Armenia which today isa very critical problem,” said benefactor Hratch(Harry) Toufayan, America’s “Pita King,” in hislarge office complex in New Jersey, recently. “AndI am very happy to be helping Armenia throughthe Fund for Armenian Relief.”

A month later, Hratch Toufayan and his wife,Suzanne, were in Armenia ready to make a his-toric trip to the picturesque village ofZangakatoun, where they have completely refur-bished a new section of the school, includingclassrooms, kitchen, playroom and resting areaand are also constructing a 200-ton refrigerationand cold storage unit.

As we traveled by bus with several Fund forArmenian Relief (FAR) employees, through thelush Ararat valley in November, the beauty ofArmenia’s mountainous landscape was alive withfall foliage and sheep grazing on sparse grass-lands. The village of Zangakatoun, nestled insnow-covered mountains near the Azeriborder, was founded in 1828, and is thebirthplace of the poet Paruyr Sevak.

On arrival, we were greeted warmly bythe village governor and a large group ofthe 1,300 villagers and school children.Welcoming remarks were offered byArmenia’s FAR director, BagradSargsyan, and the village governor whoexpressed deep appreciation to theToufayans. He noted that their gift is“most valuable because it is for ourfuture, our children. No matter where welive, we are all Armenians,” he stated.

Before cutting the ribbon for thenewly-reconstructed school that will ben-efit 80 kindergarteners, an emotionalHratch Toufayan, in a choked voice,replied, “You don’t need to thank us. Youare our brothers and sisters, and we cannever forget you. Our children are ourmiracles.”

Suzanne Toufayan concurred, “We arevery proud and happy to accomplishthis. The children are our future.”

Many were seen wiping away tears. Tothe delight of all, the children recited andsang during the beautifully-preparedreception, after which a handmade crossin a decorated wooden case was presented to theToufayans.

The group then toured the stone shell of thehuge Toufayan-sponsored Business SupportDevelopment Center, which will house the refrig-eration and cold storage unit that is soon to becompleted. This cooling facility is being builtwith new technology introduced by theMegerian-Shin company.

The Zangakatoun community is famousthroughout Armenia for the high quality andlarge production of apples, as well as other fruits.However, its economic sustainability has beenhampered due to lack of a facility to store thiscrop and other harvested fruits and vegetables.

“It’s a good model of the Fund for ArmenianRelief engaging a local community into produc-tive, mutually beneficial and honest businesscooperation,” said Toufayan. “When many peo-ple are speaking of corruption and ‘oligarchiza-tion’ of Armenia’s business environment, this isan alternative approach — an open, transparentaccountable business cooperation with highintegrity of relations between clients. Agricultureis the major economic source of the AraratValley, and the Toufayan Business and SupportCenter, through FAR, will provide technical aswell as marketing support to farmers ofZangekatoun and neighboring villages.”

The Toufayans also visited the Children’sCenter in Yerevan, sponsored by FAR. It is theonly establishment in all of Armenia andKarabagh that takes in and cares for abandoned,abused, exploited, neglected, maltreated, addict-ed or homeless children. During the visit, HratchToufayan knelt down and was able to coax froman abandoned and visibly depressed and fright-

ened 3-year-old boy a kiss on his cheek.In the center, Gregory Toufayan, the

Toufayans’ son, has established through FAR adigital media lab with several state-of-the art com-puters and modern media equipment. As theToufayans walked into the lab, the teenagerswho were busily working, stood and gave them astanding ovation and even conducted a recordedinterview. Through this program, the ArmenianChurch Youth Organization of America (ACYOA)has been able to establish a Big Brother, BigSister-type linkage with the youngsters in thecenter. It will also be used as an occupationaltherapy facility for these children who have littleor no social skills, so that they can return to anormal childhood.

The Toufayans also participated in the three-day 60th birthday celebration of the Catholicosof All Armenians Karekin II. As part of the fes-tivities, they visited the Armenian Church YouthCenter in Echmiadzin, sponsored and funded bythem. It is a large, modern structure used by thestudents of Echmiadzin before and after theirschool day, housing daily classes in sports (gym-nastics, wrestling), music, drumming, dance, dec-orative arts and crafts, chess, rug-making, weav-ing, needlepoint and religious education.

While the students (ranging in age from 4 to

18) attend the various classes, their mothers takeadvantage of the computers in another area. Inaddition to these classes, there is a soup kitchenin the building established this year, where 200seniors eat a nutritious lunch every day.

Throughout the building, the art and craft tal-ents of the youngsters were on display, creatinga warm and inspirational atmosphere. We visitedeach and every classroom where the childrenrespectfully stood and clapped as we entered. Toeveryone’s delight, Suzanne Toufayan joined thestudents in the dance class and perfectly followedthe steps with the group.

A few days later, the Toufayans again went tothe Armenian Church Youth Center where thestudents presented a recitation, music and danceperformance, after which the school principalpresented handmade gifts made by the studentsto the Toufayans and expressed appreciation fortheir generosity. Hratch Toufayan said, “It isalways sad to leave our Armenia, but we willreturn again and again.”

A Model Family

The Toufayans — Hratch (Harry) and Suzanne,son Gregory and daughters, Kristine and Karen,— are an unusually close-knit family, workingtogether in the family business and spendingtime together outside of work, preserving the oldfamily values. Harry Toufayan, owner ofToufayan Bakeries, is one of the premier breadmakers in America, and is popularly known asthe Pita King. He attributes his success to theinspiration he received from his parents whomhe cared for in his home.

Born in Heliopolis, Egypt, on Easter Eve, hewas appropriately named Haroutiune, one of

four children, including a brother Krikor, and sis-ters, Armine and Maro, and educated in FrenchCatholic schools. His mother, Siranoush, wasborn in Izmir and his father, Haroutiune, hailedfrom Yozgat, losing members of his family in theGenocide.

“After classes, I loved watching my father whoestablished the bread making business in Egyptin 1926. I used to love playing and creating withdough,” he recalls. “Until now, I still play withdough to create new things,” he recalled.

His company in America started in 1968, firstin West New York, then in North Bergen. He stillhas the original brick oven. On a tour of theToufayan Bakery in New Jersey beneath his com-pany headquarters, workers were busy manningthe whirring assembly lines making the variouskinds of Toufayan breads and pita that are bestsellers throughout the United States, theCaribbean and Central America.

Two other large Toufayan bread-baking plantsare located in Orlando Plant City, both inFlorida. The Toufayan Bakeries employ 800workers, and service tens of thousands of out-lets, including retail, wholesale, food service, cafe-terias and restaurants. They also produce count-less products for the Arnold and Thomas com-panies. He attributes the secret of his company’s

success to the “quality and variety of the prod-uct, to the ingredients and to automation.”

Harry Toufayan reveals that he “loves” thebusiness because “bread is like a saint, like com-munion. It is the bread of life.” He relates thatwhen he first visited Armenia in 1983 with hiswhole family, he “saw poor people getting up at4 a.m. to get a loaf of bread. So if I drop anybread, I always pick it up.”

‘In My Blood to Help Armenia’

In 1989, following the earthquake, hereturned to Armenia with his father, met withCatholicos of All Armenians Vasken I and offeredto donate some bread making machinery toArmenia. “It did not happen because the circum-stances were not right. However, it was in myblood to help Armenia,” he declares.

When he again asked the catholicos how hecould help his homeland, it was suggested thathe renovate an abandoned youth center inEchmiadzin which took five years, and opened togreat fanfare in 2007 with the catholicos in atten-dance, as well as 134 of his family and friendsfrom all over the world.

This was followed by his funding of the reno-vation of the kindergarten and building of therefrigeration and cold storage plant inZangakatoun through FAR.

“We want to show our warmth, caring andlove to the people of Armenia. We don’t want thepeople to leave Armenia. We want our homelandto rise up and advance so the non-Armenians willknow there is an Armenia, a country we are allproud of.” Besides his great contributions toArmenia, he is also the benefactor of the St.Haroutiune Armenian Church that is being built

in Orlando, and is responsible for having the hallexpanded in the St. Mary Armenian Church inLivingston, NJ.

Toufayan considers his greatest joy to be hisfamily and his good health. Though he impress-es one with his obvious warmth, modesty andsincerity, he regards the secret of his success tohis “hard work, intelligence, aggressiveness andconfidence.”

Suzanne Toufayan is the dynamic and buoyanthalf of this remarkable union. The daughter of abaker who worked with Wonder Bread, the com-pany that Harry Toufayan is now deeply con-nected with, it seemed almost natural that theywould share life together. A graduate of QueensHospital Center, she worked as a registerednurse at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital inchild psychiatry for four years. “I am a bread doc-tor,” Harry Toufayan said to her when they firstmet.

“It was Harry’s sincerity, honesty and forth-rightness that attracted me immediately,” sherecalls. “He told me what his dream was, andwhen you love someone, you want to do ittogether. We looked forward all the time, nevergiving up, even when times were hard. When wemade a decision, we stuck with it.”

Of French-Canadian and German heritage, shegrew up in a mixed neighborhood, andquickly became part of the Armenian-American community. “Most people werevery welcoming. I felt comfortable.”

After 43 years of marriage, “I wouldn’tchange anything,” she declares withouthesitation. Her greatest passion is herfamily, she says, adding, “and exercise.”She ran and completed the New Yorkmarathon at age 51. Now her two daugh-ters are following in her footsteps and inNovember completed the same marathon.Suzanne Toufayan, who was in Armeniaat the time, stayed up late to hear thegood news.

And it has been through her influencethat the three children went to SaturdayArmenian school, Sunday school, attend-ed the Armenian church and joined theACYOA. Now all seven grandchildrenattend the Hovnanian school and liketheir parents, speak Armenian.

The Toufayan family, including the twodaughters and son, all work in theToufayan enterprise. Kristine ToufayanCasali, the controller in the company,worked behind the counters, packing anddelivering bread from her childhood days.“I’ve done everything,” she says proudly.

Now, a wife and mother with a daughter and ason, she still considers it “a joy” to come to workevery day. “We each have our niche, and we allget along. It stems from the ideals instilled in usby our grandfather and father who took care ofhis parents throughout their lives in his home.”

Karen Toufayan Nargizian, head of sales andmarketing, wife and mother of three sons, againaccentuates the great family bond due to theirparents and grandparents. “We did, and still doeverything together. On weekends, other peo-ple’s kids were going to other houses to play. Inour house, other kids came to our home. Weeven do family trips together.” Just recently, theToufayans — 16 parents, children and grandchil-dren — took an Alaskan cruise together.

Gregory Artin Toufayan, vice president ofToufayan Bakeries, who oversees the three fac-tories in New Jersey and Florida, again spoke ofthe strong family bond. He recalls growing upwith his grandparents, eating Toufayan bread-sticks dipped in tea and milk and watching“Loveboat” with his grandparents. “It wasunthinkable to act differently.” Married with adaughter and two sons, he says, “Nothing hasappealed to me more than what I’m doing.Baking bread has a special lure. It is almostholy.”

All three Toufayan children have been toArmenia several times and it is the hope andwish of Harry and Suzanne Toufayan that theywill continue the Toufayan generosity toArmenia. “There are many examples in the dias-pora where the children do not follow their par-ents’ contributions. I have great faith that ourchildren will follow our example,” states HarryToufayan.

The Toufayans Bring Miracles to the Village of Zangakatoun

The Toufayans at FAR’s Children Center (photo taken by children of the center using cameras and computers in theToufayan Media Lab)

12 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 & LivingS A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1

KoundakjianRekindles Friendship

with Queen NoorNEW YORK — I had been shooting pictures for more than 20 years. One day,

while based in Beirut for the Associated Press, I received a call from King Husseinof Jordan. He said to me, “I know you like to take pictures of happy events, and Iwill give you that event.”Of course I was curious. He said, “Come to Amman tomorrow. It is very impor-

tant for me.” Early the next morning I flew to Amman, Jordan. A Royal Jordanianlimousine was waiting. I was drivendirectly to the palace, where the chiefof protocol told me, “They are in thegarden.”King Hussein and Lisa Najeeb

Halaby were chatting. Minutes later, he said, “I wish to announce that I have decid-ed to ask Ms. Halaby to marry me.” That was it.I took several shots of them talking together, smiling at each other. I was happy

myself. Not many photographers get the occasion to take pictures of kings and theirfiancées. We had a couple of glasses of juice together, and I had to leave to send mypictures to New York to the Associated Press, for whom I was working at the time.The wedding date was set and, of course, I was on top of the list of press repre-

sentatives. Some colleagues were careless and they nearly toppled the weddingcake. They cut the wedding cake with a sword, with members of the royal familypresent, and all the guests cheering. Again the protocol chief, motioning me overto him, said “Go down to the basement.” I answered him, “I don’t like basements.They keep you away for a long time as if you are in a prison.” His reply was amaz-ing. He said, “The king wants you to be there.”I ended up in the Royal Diwan, where King Hussein, Lisa Halaby, her father

Najeeb, the king’s brother Prince Hassan, the Mufti of the kingdom, along with theprime minister, were all laughing. The moment was important. They all signed thewedding contract and that was it. I was the only photographer to record this event.Not even the royal photographer was allowed in. That was in 1978.I met with the former Lisa Halaby, now Queen Noor, again on November 2 of this

year at a luncheon for journalists that took place at the Dag Hammarskjold Fundof the United Nations. She and actress Mia Farrow received UNICEF’s GoodwillAmbassador Inspiration Awards for their humanitarian work.I thought presenting Queen Noor with some of my pictures taken in 1978, which

I was sure she did not have, would be a nice gesture. She was very touched and wetalked for a few minutes, in Arabic, and then we left.

Harry Koundakjian shows some of his photos to Queen Noor of Jordan.

Prof. Russell toExplore theSymbolism ofBells from PoeTo SardarabadWATERTOWN, Mass. — Dr. James Russell,

Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies atHarvard University, will present a programtitled “The Bells: From Poe to Sardarabad,” onThursday, December 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m.,at the Armenian Library and Museum ofAmerica (ALMA).“Church bells are deeply symbolic and of all

musical instruments may come closest to lan-guage,” Russell explains. “Edgar Allan Poe’sgreat final poem, ‘The Bells,’ is language thatcomes closest to music, and the Russian poetKonstantin Balmont, coming to Poe throughthe French poet Charles Baudelaire, producedthe translation Sergey Rachmaninov used in hissymphony, The Bells.”Russell goes on to note that the Armenian

poet Rupen Sevag, in Lausanne, wrote a poem,“Bells, Bells!” in reaction to the 1909 Adanamassacre, and it echoes in the hidden, unpub-lished poems of Yeghishe Charents, who wasfascinated by Poe. Poe, in turn, inspired theAmerican protest singer Phil Ochs as well.Finally Paruyr Sevak, taking the nom de

plume of the earlier poet as his own, rings thebells again in his epic poem, “Anlreli zan-gakatun” (“The Unsilenced Bell Tower”) andhymn, Sardarapat, changing the tone of theirchiming from the clangor of disaster to the ring-ing of survival, defiance and victory.“We take a philological journey across the

Armenian and world cultures and history of twocenturies, guided by men whose lives endeduniformly in tragedy, but whose creative workhas conquered death,” Russell explained.Russell has been the Mesrob Mashtots

Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard

University since 1992. He is the author of sev-eral books, and his most recent articles includean analysis of the Armenian fragment in theCairo Geniza and studies of several Armenianmagical manuscripts. He is at present writing astudy of Armenian secret languages, based on amanuscript at the Oriental Institute of theRussian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg.Aside from his academic work, Russell this

year is spearheading the preparation of anexhibit at Harvard next spring, commemoratingthe 500th anniversary of the first Armenianprinted book, in Venice in 1512. Publicationsfrom the extensive Armenian collections at the

see RUSSELL, page ?

Amaras Art AllianceTo Sponsor HolidayConcert to BenefitJuvenile DiabetesResearch FoundationNEWTON, Mass. — The Amaras Art Alliance

of Watertown will sponsor a Holiday Concert atthe Union Church, 14 Collins Road in theWaban section of Newton, to benefit theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)on Saturday, December 10 at 7 p.m.This concert will be filled with Broadway

tunes, classical melodies, the latest pop musicand of course holiday favorites.The concert will feature 17-year-old tenor

Alexander Carroll, son of Paul Carroll andDiane Nahabedian, a person with Type I dia-betes, who will host and perform along withpop singer Danielle Starz; baritone, CarlWrubel; pianist, William Merrill and the KranialKandy Band. “I want to be part of a world thatlives without diabetes,” says Carroll. “I hopethat through my efforts as a singer and actor Ican bring attention to the need for moreresearch for diabetes. I am so pleased that alongwith the other performers we can help JDRFcontinue their amazing work.”Carroll and Starz appeared in Amaras’ produc-

tion ofHeaven’sMusic in February, andCarroll wasfeatured as a Young Star in 2011 in the Amaras ArtAlliance Young Stars Concert in May.The aim of Amaras Art Alliance is to promote

the rich cultures of people all over the world aswell as to facilitate the exchange of ideas andexpressions between cultures through perfor-mances, exhibits, lectures, publications, chil-dren’s art camp, youth cultural travel tours andfunding of special programs.Amaras creates opportunities for people to

observe, get involved and enjoy the traditions ofall cultures — from folk to the fine arts.Since its founding in 1970 by parents of chil-

dren with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has fundedmore than $1.5 billion in research. In FY2010alone, JDRF provided more than $107 millionfor type 1 diabetes research.More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures

directly support research and education.For tickets and information go to amarason-

line.com. For directions to the Union Church,visit ucw.org.

By Harry Koundakjian

Erevan Choral SocietyHoliday ChristmasConcert on December 11CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Holy Trinity

Armenian Apostolic Church of Cambridge, Fr.Vasken A. Kouzouian and the Erevan ChoralSociety and Orchestra will host their annualChristmas Holiday Concert, celebrating the20th anniversary of the independence of theRepublic of Armenia, to be held on Sunday,December 11, at 3 p.m.This season’s concert continues the tradition

of Armenian choral singing begun by the VeryRev. Oshagan Minassian in 1965, and carriedon since Minassian’s lamented passing in 2008,by composer and conductor KonstantinPetrossian. The program, as in years past, com-bines traditional Armenian, classical andWestern Christmas music, and, continuinganother Erevan Choral tradition, will feature aworld premiere, Siro Khosk Hayastanin (Wordsof Love to Our Armenia) by composer MartinVardazarian. Featured soloists in this year’s con-cert will be mezzo-soprano Victoria Avetisian,tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan and a new soloist,soprano Noune Karapetian. The balance of theprogram will comprise a selection of seasonalfavorites, including both Christmas carols and aseries of powerful settings of Armenian liturgi-cal pieces associated with the season.The concert will take place at Holy Trinity

Armenian Apostolic Church, 145 Brattle St.Admission is complimentary.

Prof. James Russell in St. Petersburg, Russia

By Daphne AbeelSpecial to the Mirror-Spectator

OOvveerrccoommiinngg EEvviill:: GGeennoocciiddee,, VV iioolleennttCCoonnfflliicctt aanndd TTeerrrroorriissmm by Ervin Staub.Oxford University Press. 2011. 581pp. $50. ISBN 978-0-19-538204-4

The founding director of the Psychology ofPeace and Violence program at the Universityof Massachusetts, Ervin Staub has pursued alifelong study of violence, its origins and themethods and strategies by which it may beovercome. While his career has been primarily in

academia, he has taken on the role of activistand field worker in his efforts to promote rec-onciliation in several situations, most notablyin Rwanda, but also through the creation andadministration of training programs withpolice in cities such as Los Angeles andBoston.This book, a sequel to a previous title, The

Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and

Other Group Violence (1989) is based on 32years of research, work in real life settingsand publications on violence between groupsand its prevention. He notes in the introduc-tion, “I wrote this book to advance scholar-ship but also very much to promote practicalefforts in prevention and reconciliation.” Born in Hungary where he lived until the

age of 18, Staub experienced both the NaziHolocaust and then the effects of theCommunist regime, and it is these experi-ences, he says, that motivated him to work onthe prevention of genocide and the develop-ment of humane and caring behaviors in soci-eties that have undergone violence and masskilling.The book is divided into two parts — the

first explores the conditions that lead to massviolence, while the second is devoted to theprinciples and practices that can promote theprevention of violence and group reconcilia-tion.Staub sets forth several conditions that can

lead to active group violence: a persistent con-flict between groups, based on materialand/or psychological factors; difficult societalconditions such as economic deterioration;political disorganization or greatsocial/cultural change that can often createconfusion and chaos; difficult life conditions,which can cause individuals to turn to agroup that will give them a sense of security,identity, a feeling of effectiveness and controland a meaningful understanding of what isgoing on around them; harmful actions per-formed by individuals or groups that enable areversal in morality whereby killing membersof the targeted group becomes “right and

moral”; a situation in which one group hasbecome devalued and is targeted for scape-goating; passivity in the face of violence onthe part of both internal and externalbystanders; support in a community for asmall group devoted to a terrorist ideologythat can contribute to the evolution of terror-ist violence; and group violence, where theperpetrators refuse to accept responsibilityand blame the victim, thereby leading to freshviolence.Staub identifies several situations that can

become the catalysts for violence. He groupsthese under the description “difficult life con-ditions.” They include economic deteriora-tion, political disorganization, a situationwhere two factions are competing for politicalpower and rapid social/cultural change.Frustrated needs for security, control, a lackof positive identity, a lack of connection toothers, a lack of comprehension of reality(knowing how the world operates), lack of jus-tice and the lack of transcendence of self, thatis the ability to work for the welfare of others,can all create the groundwork for mass vio-lence.

Staub draws on the work of manyscholars and researchers and usingthese conceptual tools, surveys manysituations in which mass violence hasoccurred, including the Holocaust inGermany, the Genocide of theArmenians in Turkey, the Hutu-Tutsigenocide in Rwanda, the massacresin the Congo, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to show, in eachcase, what led up to violence andmass killings.One of Staub’s key concepts is

that of the bystander —the internalbystander, who actually witnesseswhat is happening, and the exter-nal, bystander, often in anothercountry who observes from afar..Passivity on the part of either ofthese groups encourages perpetra-tors of mass violence. He gives asexamples the Allies who ignoredthe Nazi death camps duringWorld War 11 and the reluctanceof the UN Security Council tointervene in Rwanda as it arguedover the definition of genocide.Staub, as noted previously, has

intervened personally in a num-ber of situations to promote thestrategies of reconciliation and

his involvement in Rwanda provides a portraitof his idealism and willingness to involve him-self in a complex effort to heal a community.With his colleague, Laura A. Pearlman, he setup a multi-faceted program of workshops anddialogues between the Hutus and Tutsis thateventually led to an atmosphere of reconcilia-tion. One product of the program was a series or

radio broadcasts that created scenarios withwhich the population could identify, portray-ing both victims and perpetrators. Thisfocused and intense effort in a particular sit-uation bore results, but it’s unclear that theintricacies of these structures could be trans-ferred to other venues.Staub has a positive and idealistic vision

that can be so sweeping as to appear unreal-istic. He says, “Dialogue is essential to thisprocess [the creation of shared goals]. In thecase of group conflict, mediation, dialogueand other conflict resolution processes can beused to develop a shared vision of society andshared goals, which then can provide a frame-work for peace building.” This prescription isadmirable, but the practical obstacles can,clearly, be immense.In Rory Stewart’s observations of Iraqi soci-

ety in his book The Prince of Marshes, hequotes more than once a mantra that differentsects and tribes share: “In revenge, there islife.” How does a society that espouses thatthought make the leap to dialogue and con-flict resolution?The key to bringing about a world where

people care for others, identify with others,sympathize and empathize with others, Staubsuggests, is education. He says, “There aretwo outcomes of child rearing that can affect

group violence: the kind of persons childrenbecome and the kind of group members theywill be. Raising children so that they becomeadults who care about the welfare of otherpeople, who feel empathy and responsibilityfor others’ welfare and whose caring extendsto people outside the boundaries of their owngroup makes group violence less likely.” Yes,of course, but the challenge is immense, par-ticularly in societies where families are tornapart by war and poverty, where there mayfew or no resources to establish this sort ofeducation system.In sum, this is a book to admire for its

broad based scholarship and analysis of of theorigins of hated and mass violence. And just

as admirable is Staub’s vision that reconcilia-tion, even between the most intractable ene-mies, is not only desirable, but possible. Hisexample of personal involvement should go along way towards inspiring others to partici-pate in the process of healing and caring.Staub has included an interactive feature in

his book, asking readers to post theirthoughts and suggestions concerning the pre-vention of violence and reconciliation on ablog. Interested readers should post theirthoughts and comments tohttp://overcomingevil.wordpress.com wherethey may be incorporated into essays byresearchers and students to further scholar-ship in the field.

13T 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, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1

ARTS & LIVING

Staub’s Boots-on-the-GroundWork Based on ResearchHOLYOKE, Mass. — In addition to writing many books, Ervin Staub has worked in a

number of situations on the problem of violence prevention.“My work in various field settings has been guided by my academic work,” said Staub

in an interview from his home. “In my formal research, I study mass killings and vio-lence in the context of the history of the country, theplace and the relationships between people. I applymy understanding to different situations, always ask-ing how can we prevent violence.”One of the situations where his help was request-

ed was in Los Angeles after the widely-publicizedbeating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles police.“I got a call from the LA Times asking me to analyze what happened. And then I was

invited to an event organized around the Rodney King incident. I was invited to developa training program for the police officers which involved the concept of the bystander.Police officers work in pairs. If one of them gets emotional or threatening towards a cit-izen, the other officer is apt to get involved to support his fellow officer.”Staub added, “It’s a difficult learning process on the part of the police. What does

it mean to support another officer? It can mean intervening to stop an action.”Because of his extensive work in Rwanda to promote reconciliation between the

Hutus and the Tutsis, Staub was asked to come to Amsterdam after filmmaker Theovan Gogh was killed by a Muslim jihadist for having criticized the treatment ofwomen by Muslims. Following van Gogh’s death, there were 800 instances of vio-lence against mosques.“People were very upset. The mayor of Amsterdam invited me to study the situa-

tion and to create proposals that would make violence less likely between the Dutchand Muslim populations. I interviewed many people, and discovered there was agreat deal of segregation in the schools due to where people lived. There were veryfew schools where the two populations mixed. I developed a set of proposals towhich the city administrator responded and there were some mitigations.”Staub also traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.“There was a need to promote racial reconciliation,” said Staub. “After Katrina,

there were certain attempts to make thecity more white, to keep black people out.The challenge was how to develop morepositive relations between blacks andwhites, how to make it possible for peoplein one group to see the humanity of peo-ple in the other group.”As noted in his new book, Overcoming

Evil, Staub has been deeply interested inthe education of children.“I have always worked with groups of

teachers and parents on the issue of howyou raise non-violent children. I’ve workedwith Facing History and Ourselves on cur-riculum. They use the Holocaust and theArmenian Genocide to teach people abouthistory and also about the passivity of indi-viduals. Why do bystanders remain unin-volved? We teach that there is the poten-tial of a witness to become active, tobecome involved and oppose violence.”Warmth and affection are necessary to

raise children, said Staub, but they are notenough. “You have to teach principles andshow children that there are consequences totheir actions. We place a lot of emphasis on learning by doing, getting children to helpother people, getting them to engage with people outside their own group.”This program, Quabbin Mediation, has been in place for five years and can be

applied to other settings such as the workplace, said Staub. “Its goal is to trainactive bystanders.”Staub feels that the Occupy Wall Street movement is a reaction to the myth of

equality in America. “This myth cannot be maintained when the normal democraticprocess is subverted by people with money and the lobbyists. I think they are rightabout a lot of things except they lack a constructive plan. But I think the movementdoes support a vision of community that includes everyone — even the rich — noteveryone who is rich wants to maintain the current system. I think they are work-ing to create a genuine community where everyone deserves respect and considera-tion.”

Ervin Staub

By Daphne Abeel Special to the Mirror-Spectator

Academic, Activist Proposes Vision for Elimination of Mass Violence

‘Grandma’sTattoos’ atWatertownMiddle School

Screening of SuzanneKhardalian Film

WATERTOWN, Mass. — The Armenian Club ofWatertown High School, the ARF BostonSardarabad Gomideh, the ArmenianInternational Women’s Association (AIWA) andthe National Association for Armenian Studiesand Research (NAASR) will present SuzanneKhardalian’s documentary, “Grandma’s Tattoos,”on Wednesday, December 14, at 7 p.m., atWatertown Middle School Auditorium, 68Waverley Ave.Khardalian will be present the evening of the

screening and will speak and engage in a ques-tion-and-answer session following the film.“Grandma’s Tattoos” runs for 56 minutes. It

contains adult themes and may not be appropri-ate for children under age 13.In 1919, just after the end of World War I,

Allied forces reclaimed 90,819 Armenian younggirls and children who, during the war years, wereforced to become prostitutes to survive, or hadgiven birth to children after forced or arrangedmarriages or rape. Many of these women were tat-tooed as a sign that they belonged to an abduc-tor. European and American missionaries savedthousands of refugees who were later scatteredall over the world to places like Beirut, Marseillesand Fresno.“Grandma’s Tattoos” is a personal film about

what happened to many Armenian women duringand after the Genocide. It is a ghost story — withthe ghosts of the tattooed women haunting us —and a mystery film, where many taboos are bro-ken. As no one wants to tell the real and wholestory and in order to bring the pieces of the puz-

zle together, the director makes the audiencemove between different times and space, fromtoday’s Sweden to Khardalian’s childhood inBeirut.“As a child I thought these were devilish signs

that came from a dark world. They stirred fear inme. What were these tattoos? Who had donethem, and why? But the tattoos on grandma’shands and face were a taboo. They never spokeabout it,” explains Khardalian.“Grandma’s Tattoos” is a journey into the

secrets of the family. Eventually, the secret behindGrandma Khanoum’s blue marks are revealed.Khardalian is an independent filmmaker and

writer. She studied journalism in Beirut and Parisand worked as a journalist in Paris until 1985,when she started to work on films. She also holdsa master’s degree in international law and diplo-macy from the Fletcher School at TuftsUniversity and contributes articles to differentjournals. She has directed more than 20 filmsthat have been shown both in Europe and theUS. They include, among others, “Back to Ararat”(1988), “Unsafe Ground” (1993), “The Lion fromGaza” (1996), “Her Armenian Prince” (1997),“From Opium to Chrysanthemums” (2000),“Where Lies My Victory” (2002), “I Hate Dogs”(2005) and “Young Freud in Gaza” (2009).Admission to the event is free (donations appre-

ciated). The film will begin at 7 p.m.

14 S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 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

Since its inception in 2001, TCA’s ‘Sponsor a Teacher’ program has raised over $477,750and reached out to 3,700 teachers and school workers in Armenia and Karabagh.

� Yes, I want to sponsor teachers in Armenia and Karabagh to continuehelping them to educate the children, our future leaders. I would like to havethe teacher’s name and address.

� $160 � $ 320 � $ 480 � other $—————————

NameAddressCity State Zip codeTel:

Make check payable to: Tekeyan Cultural Association – Memo: Sponsor a Teacher 2010Mail your check with this form to:

TCA Sponsor a Teacher5326 Valverde, Houston, TX 77056

Sponsor a Teacher in Armenia and Karabagh 2011

Your donation is Tax Deductible.

�

Suzanne Khardalian, sit ting on right, with a Bedouin family

?????

?????

DETROIT — Kef Time Detroit on November13 was a musical evening to honor the past andto celebrate the future. The evening was filledwith Armenian food and music — a combinationthat made for a great evening.Clarinetist Hachig Kazarian and oud player

Richard Hagopian were featured in a musicalcelebration of the 80th anniversary of the estab-lishment of St. John Armenian Church ofGreater Detroit.Kazarian, a native Detroiter, now lives in Las

Vegas. He has been associated with Armenianmusic most of his life and has performed onmore than 17 recordings. His musical excel-lence has made him one of the foremostArmenian musicians.Hagopian has become one of the most

renowned Armenian musicians, preservingboth folk and classical repertoire ofArmenians from the Ottoman Empire. In hisyouth in Fresno, he learned more than 1,500folk songs. The New York Times referred toHagopian as “one of America’s most accom-plished folk musicians.Uniting these two outstanding musicians,

Kazarian and Hagopian, with Harold Hagopian,Bruce Gigarjian and Michael Kazarian made fora musical evening that will long be remem-bered. Harold and Michael are the sons ofRichard Hagopian and Hachig Kazarian and arecontinuing the Armenian musical traditions oftheir fathers.The event was sponsored by St. John

Armenian Church Women’s Guild and theMen’s Society. The co-chairs, Anna Baylerian,Yvonne Korkoian, Greg Baise and DanielCristiano and their committee members worked

tirelessly for months to organize the 80thanniversary celebration.The evening opened with a brief program.

Edward Korkoian, master of ceremonies, wel-comed everyone and then introduced BrendaLawrence, mayor of Southfield, who read aproclamation. Greg Jamian relayed greetingsfrom Michigan Gov. John Snyder. St. John’s pas-tor, Fr. Garabed Kochakian, offered words ofcongratulations and launched the evening withblessing. The warmth and spirit that filled theroom was electrifying. The 575 attendees ate,danced and mingled until 1 a.m.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 15

ARTS & LIVING

Russell to Explore theSymbolism of BellsRUSSELL, from page ?Harvard libraries will be on display, as well asloaned items from local Armenian organiza-tions including the Armenian CulturalFoundation, ALMA and the NationalAssociation for Armenian Studies & Research(NAASR). Also participating are area universi-ties with Armenian Studies programs, Tufts andBoston Universities.The public is invited to attend the lecture,

which is free of charge, and will be followed bya reception and refreshments. Further informa-tion about the Russell program or about activi-ties at ALMA’s recently renovated building at 65Main St. in Watertown Square is available bycontacting ALMA at info@almainc.org.

Hachig Kazarian and Richard Hagopian Headline St. John Church 80th Anniversary Celebration

Advertise in the Mirror-Spectator

Hovannisian’s Family of Shadows Released In Paperback, Translated into ArmenianNEW YORK — Publishing

house HarperCollins isoffering the paperbackrelease of Garin K.Hovannisian’s Family ofShadows: A Century ofMurder, Memory, and theArmenian American Dream,the history of theHovannisian family: Kaspar— the survivor of Genocideand soldier of GeneralAntranig; Richard — the his-torian and pioneer ofArmenian Studies and Raffi— the repatriate citizen andfirst foreign minister ofindependent Armenia. The new edition is avail-

able on Amazon and atbookstores nationwide.The book, which has

accompanied its author on ayearlong tour across theUnited States and Canada,has received strong criticalpraise. “Hovannisian brings a historian’s rigor, a poet’s lyri-cism and a native son’s passion to this remarkable book,”wrote Samuel G. Freedman, columnist for the New YorkTimes. David Ignatius of the Washington Post called it “oneof modern history’s great unexamined stories.” Family of Shadows has also been translated into the

Armenian language by Samvel Mkrtchyan — the editor andtranslator most recently of James Joyce’s Ulysses. The trans-lation, titled Gerdastan Stverats, was unveiled on September6, at the Yeghishe Charents House Museum in Yerevan. “It

draws you from page to page with a magnetic force,”remarked Levon Ananyan, president of the Writers’ Union ofArmenia, on the occasion of the release.The Armenian edition is now available at major book-

stores in Yerevan and at Abril, Berj and Sardarabad book-stores based in Los Angeles. All proceeds will be donated toOrran, a non-profit benevolent organization founded byRaffi and Armine Hovannisian, which supports needy chil-dren and the elderly in Armenia.For more information, visit the website

www.familyofshadows.com.

From left, Garin, Raffi and Richard Hovannisian

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R16

ARTS & LIVING

DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 1111 —— CChhrriissttmmaass HHoolliiddaayy CCoonncceerr tt:: EErreevvaannCChhoorraall SSoocciieettyy aanndd OOrrcchheessttrraa,, 3 p.m., church sanctuary,Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston, 145 BrattleSt., Cambridge. Conductor Konstantin Petrossian. For furtherinfo, contact the church office at office@htaac.org or (617)354-0632.

DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 3311 —— SStt.. GGrreeggoorryy AArrmmeenniiaann AAppoossttoolliicc CChhuurrcchhooff MMeerrrriimmaacckk pprreesseennttss iittss aannnnuuaall NNeeww YYeeaarr’’ss GGaallaa,,Saturday, at 8:30 p.m. $75 pp, Wyndham Hotel, Andover.Includes mezza and the midnight soujouk and eggs fullbreakfast, buffet and desserts. Music with RichardBerberian, Mal Barsamian, Bruce Gigarjian and RonTutunjian. For tickets, contact Christine Kourkounian at (508)878-4199, Greg Minasian at (978) 470-3075 or the churchoffice at (978) 685-5038.

JJAANNUUAARRYY 2211 —— TThhee AArrmmeenniiaann MMiissssiioonnaarryy AAssssoocciiaattiioonnpprreesseennttss jjaazzzz sseennssaattiioonn GGrraaccee KKeellllyy iinn ccoonncceerr tt.. Proceedsto benefit the Avedisian School. National Heritage Museum,Lexington. Tickets: $35, $20 with student ID. Cocktails, 6:30p.m.; concert, 8 p.m. For more information, visitwww.gracekellymusic.com or www.amaa.org.

DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 33--44 —— SStt.. PPeetteerr AArrmmeenniiaann CChhuurrcchh WWoommeennGGuuiilldd present their Holiday Bazaar. Gourmet Pantry andBakery. St. Peter Armenian Church, 100 Troy SchenectadyRoad, Watervliet. For info, (518) 274-3673.

DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 1111 —— AArrmmeenniiaann CChhuurrcchh ooff tthhee HHoollyy MMaarr ttyyrrsspresents Shnorhali Choir. Celebrating the 20th anniversary ofArmenia’s independence at 4 p.m., Madison Theater ofMolloy College, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. Forinfo, (516) 678-5000, ext. 7715.

MMAAYY 1199,, 22001122 —— HHMMAADDSS GGaallaa DDiinnnneerr DDaannccee.. Details to fol-low, June 25. HMADS 30th Commencement Exercise at 8p.m., Kalustyan Hall.

DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 1100--1111 —— TTeekkeeyyaann CCuullttuurraall AAssssoocciiaattiioonn,, MMhheerrMMeeggeerrddiicchhiiaann TThheeaattrriiccaall ggrroouupp pprreesseennttss AAllddoo NNiiggoollsskkii’’ss““TToo KKiillll ffoorr LLoovvee,,”” a comedy directed by Gagik Karapetian.Oradell Elementary School, 350 Prospect Ave., Oradell, NJ.Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m. Call Marie Zokian (201)745-8850 or Maro Hajakian (201) 934-3427.

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

On Saturday, December 31, St. GregoryArmenian Apostolic Church of Merrimackwill hold its annual New Year’s Galaat theWyndham Hotel, Andover, Mass. Festivitiesinclude the midnight soujouk and eggs (pic-tured here) full breakfast, as well as livemusic. Tickets are $75 each. ContactChristine Kourkounian (508) 878-4199,Greg Minasian (978) 470-3075 or the churchoffice at (978) 685-5038.

NEW YORKMASSACHUSETTS

NEW JERSEY

Trials in Their Historicaland Legal Context

TORONTO — In the aftermath of its disas-trous defeat in WWI, Ottoman Turkey had toface the wartime crime of the destruction of itsArmenian population. An inquiry commis-sioned by the Ottoman government in 1919 pre-sented enough preliminary evidence to orga-nize a series of trials involving the perpetratorsof these crimes. It is the record of these trialsand the unparalleled details they provide on theplanning and implementation of these heinouscrimes that has brought together the two mostrenowned scholars of the Armenian Genocide,

Professors Vahakn Dadrian and Taner Akçam,in their first joint publication. The ZoryanInstitute announces that after years of researchand analysis, the authors have compiled for thefirst time in English the complete documenta-tion of the trial proceedings and have set thesefindings in their historical and legal context. The book is titled Judgment at Istanbul: The

Armenian Genocide Trials and is published byBerghahn Books of New York and Oxford.In describing the book, Dadrian commented,

“This is a most important work, for two reasons.First, it is based on authentic Turkish docu-

mentation, which the Ottoman government wasforced to release during the trials. Second,unlike most books on the Armenian Genocide,which are historical interpretations, this study,for the first time is based also on the testimonyof high-ranking Ottoman officials, given underoath, on the magnitude of the crimes againstthe Armenians, and in this sense, serves as alegal case study of the Armenian Genocide.” During his more than 50 years of research on

the subject, Dadrian discovered that the Takvim-iVekâyi, the official Ottoman government’sgazette, was not the only major source of infor-mation on these military tribunals. In fact,Renaissance, a French-language Armenian news-paper in Constantinople at the time, reported

summaries of many of the trial proceedings takenfrom the reports of the Ottoman language news-papers of the day, which were otherwise notaccounted for in official government records.Akçam, the book’s co-author, noted that

“While the official government record lists only12 trials, newspapers provide us details on 63.For the first time, information from theOttoman newspapers of the era has been uti-lized to reconstruct the trials. A great deal ofeffort was required to track down all issues pos-sible of 14 different Ottoman newspapers,which meant visiting many libraries in different

cities. Often, the articleswe were looking for hadbeen cut out of the paperin one location, but wewere able to find a copy inanother location.” TheZoryan Institute spon-sored the collection ofthese newspapers, theirtranslation and transliter-ation, as part of the long-term project known as“Creating a CommonBody of Knowledge,” andretains copies in itsarchives.According to the insti-

tute’s president, K. M.Greg Sarkissian, “Theobjective is to provideknowledge that will beshared by Turkish andArmenian civil societiesand western scholarship.The aim is to locate, col-lect, analyze, transliterate,translate, edit and publishauthoritative, universally-recognized originalarchival documents onthe history of the eventssurrounding 1915, inboth Turkish and English.Elaborating on the impor-tance not only of the pri-mary source material in this book, but also theanalysis provided by the book’s authors,” hecontinued, “the more such documents aremade available to Turkish society, the more itwill be empowered with knowledge to questionnarratives imposed by the state. Restoring accu-rate historical memory will benefit not onlyTurkish, but also Armenian society. Both will beemancipated from the straightjacket of the past.Such a common body of knowledge will hope-fully lead to an understanding of each other, actas a catalyst for dialogue and aid in the nor-malization of relations between the two soci-eties. Judgment at Istanbul is the most recentexample of the Zoryan Institute’s strong beliefin the importance of a common body of knowl-edge as a key factor in helping the future of anyrelationship between Turkey and Armenia.”The trials described in Judgment at Istanbul

had a far-reaching bearing in the internationalcommunity. As the first national tribunal to

prosecute cases of mass atrocity, the principlesof “crimes against humanity,” which were intro-duced then, had their echo subsequently in theNuremberg Charter, the Tokyo Charter and theUN Genocide Convention. This book is anessential source for historians, legal scholars,political scientists, sociologists, policy makersand those interested in Genocide Studies,Turkish Studies and Armenian Studies. It alsoholds current relevance, with recent interestinternationally regarding the ArmenianGenocide and its denial.To order a copy, contact the Zoryan office at

zoryan@zoryaninstitute.org.

JJuuddggmmeenntt aatt IIssttaannbbuull:: TThhee AArrmmeenniiaannGGeennoocciiddee TTrriiaallss... By Vahakn N. Dadrian andTaner Akçam. New York and Oxford: BerghahnBooks, 2011. 363p. ISBN 978-0-85745-251-1(hardback), ISBN 978-0-85745-286-3 (ebook).$110.00 ($75.00 to Zoryan Friends).

Zoryan Announces New Book that Sets Post-WWI Ottoman

Taner Akçam and Vahakn N. Dadrian

17S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

By Edmond Y. Azadian

By all estimates, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep TayyipErdogan is a smart politician and much of the credit ofTurkey’s rise on the international stage goes to him per-sonally and, to some extent, to his party. But his country’shistory does not cooperate with him, since Turkey has toomany skeletons (figuratively and literally) in its closet andthey may jump out at any moment to embarrass the coun-try and its leaders.That is exactly what happened when the prime minister

made a calculated move to apologize for the mass murdersof Dersim during 1937-38 operations, when more than100,00 Alevis and Kurds were massacred in the name ofsuppressing a so-called revolt.Erdogan’s calculated political risk triggered incalculable

reactions, which are still piling up. He is a master ofhypocrisy and demagoguery; he can use anything andeverything to pursue his political agenda.But, it seems, this time, there is a boomerang effect that

may cost Turkey dearly as compared to the anticipated polit-ical dividends.Currently there is a cutthroat competition between

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK) and themain opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and bothare trying not to leave any stone unturned when it comesto embarrassing and bringing down the other.The ruling AK Party successfully eliminated a powerful

opponent, Deniz Baykal, who was the head of theRepublican Party, by leaking a sex tape involving him anda former staffer. The seemingly mild-mannered and moder-ate Kemal Kilicdaroglu replaced him, though now he, too,is spewing fire against Erdogan, his party and his adminis-tration.At this time, accusations and counter accusations are fly-

ing from one party to the other. Mr. Erdogan had multipletargets in mind when he touched upon the Dersim issue,when he stated: “Dersim is among the most tragic events inrecent history. It is a disaster that should now be ques-tioned with courage. The party that should confront thisincident is not the ruling Justice and Development Party; itis the Republican People’s Party which is behind thisbloody disaster, who should face this incident and its chair-man from Tunceli (current name of Dersim).”In a dramatic move, Mr. Erdogan went further by stating:

“Is it me who should apologize or you [Kemal Kilicdaroglu]?If there is the need for an apology on behalf of the state andif there is such an opportunity, I can do it and I am apolo-gizing. But if there is someone who should apologize onbehalf of CHP it is you, as you are from Dersim. You weresaying you felt honored to be from Dersim. Now, save yourhonor.”Erdogan, who is fond of asking for apologies from Israel,

Germany and Armenia, himself was engaged in this apologygame.One of the multiple targets of Erdogan’s apology policy is

to get at the opposition Republican People’s party, foundedby Ataturk himself. The hot target was Kilicdaroglu, head ofthat party. The cold and discrete target, however, is Ataturkhimself, whose legacy is being dismantled, brick by brick, bythe ruling Islamist party.The Ergenekon investigations, the arrest of the army

brass and the campaign against the military establishmentare all part and parcel of that persistent policy.Another target, of course, was the Alevi population in

Dersim, whose votes the prime minister was wooing.All these are on the domestic front. But Erdogan also was

targeting his international audience by indicating thatTurkey is gradually coming to terms with its bloody histo-ry. Thus, he was expecting to win brownie points to beapplied towards Turkey’s admission to the European Union.Some quarters in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora

raised premature hopes that the floodgates of apologieswere being thrown wide open and that the next apologycould come regarding the Armenian Genocide. But Erdoganmanipulated his debate with the opposition party in such away that he shut the door on that possibility. To begin with,his statement about Dersim case was exclusionary as hebegan his statement with the following sentence:“Dersim is among the most tragic events in recent histo-

ry,” which means there is no event more tragic, thus theArmenian Genocide is not even being considered. ButErdogan further developed on that exclusionary theme

when Kilicdaroglu suggested Erdogan’s policy may alsoforce upon Turkey an apology for the Armenian Genocide,much in line with the Diaspora-Armenian thinking. Erdoganretorted: “You are putting me in the same basket with theArmenian Diaspora! Shame on you! How dare you put meand the Armenian Diaspora in the same basket!”Kilicdaroglu said that it is not enough to apologize for

the Dersim massacres and that the state has to open thearchives on that incident. Opening the archives will becomeanother can of worms, where the military leaders who hadconcocted the incident there, where the Alevi populationhad managed to continue in a semi-autonomous systemdespite Ataturk’s policy of population engineering tohomogenize Turkey, will be implicated. One of the demandsof the military, at that time, was for Alevi leaders to handover 25,000 Armenians who had survived the Genocide byfinding a safe haven in Dersim. Another case was the crimescommitted by Sabiha Gokçen, Ataturk’s adopted daughterand Turkey first military pilot. Armenians in Dersim weredoubly hurt that their “sister” had joined the Turkish mili-tary to shower bombs on them. Hrant Dink had discoveredand publicized the fact that Sabiha Gokcen was anArmenian orphan, much to the chagrin of Turkish racists.Of course, the Turkish military conducted carpet-bomb-

ing and exiled the Dersim survivors to other regions of therepublic to assimilate them, after confiscating their proper-ties.Despite Erdogan’s careful delineation of his apology, vir-

tually avoiding and excluding the Armenian Genocide, anavalanche of press commentaries are demanding apologiesfor the Armenian Genocide.It was impossible for Armenians to explode and explore

the Genocide issue in the Turkish media in current dimen-sions. But one statement by Erdogan didn’t.He may live to regret it, or if we give too much credit to

his political acumen, his move may have been a deliberateone.Eren Keskin, a contributor to Radikal newspaper, says

that before anyone else, Turkey should apologize for the1915 genocide of the Armenians. He has further conducteda survey among many academics who have come up with aseries of cases which need apologies. Thus Dr. MouradPaker brings the case of 5,000 inmates in Diyarbakir prisonwho were tortured. Another professor reminds people of themassacre of Marash and Chorum. Rifaat Bali brings up thecases of Jews in Thrace being bankrupted through confis-cations in 1934 and the wealth tax on non-Muslims in 1941,which sent many to die in labor camps. Regarding theArmenians, Keskin insists that an apology is not enough.They also have to be compensated for their losses.The Human Rights Committee of Turkey has released a

communiqué requesting the formation of Truth Committeeto investigate the issues of the Armenian Genocide and theforced assimilation of the Kurdish population.But the most succinct and sharp questions were asked in

the newspaper Sabah by columnist Engin Ardic, informingthat lawyers have already taken up the issue of Dersim andthey are planning to sue the Turkish state. Coming to theArmenian case he states that there is a conspiracy ofsilence, especially by the wealthy class. “If you dig downtheir past, you will find out that they murdered Armeniansand they usurped their properties. Should the case beraised, there will be an issue of money. They think howcould a government compensate Armenians after spending$200 billion to suppress Kurdish rebellion? But there is abasic question: is there a principle of continuity in the gov-ernment? If no, why apologize for Dersim? If yes, why leaveout 1915?”These questions lead to the very fact that Mustafa Kemal

Ataturk, under the guise of Europeanizing his country, con-ducted the racist policy of the Nazis, as characterized bythe above writer. In carrying that state policy, he has usedand collaborated by all the government officials who hadexecuted the Ittihadist plan of the Armenian Genocide.From Sultan Abdul Hamid to Talaat, the genocidal policy

has worked inexorably. Ataturk continued it, under the noseof the Great Powers, who even now claim Turkey as our“trusted ally,” no matter how much blood has stained that“ally’s” hands.The Genocide issue has become a hot topic for Turkish

society, more than Armenians could anticipate. ShouldTurkey take the road to self-cleansing, maybe the turn willcome to apologize for the Armenian Genocide.Erdogan has opened Pandora’s Box inadvertently. Let us

see what may come out of it.

Established 1932

An ADL Publication

EDITOR

Alin K. Gregorian

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Aram ArkunART DIRECTOR

Marc Mgrditchian

PRODUCTION

Dilani Yogaratnam

CONTRIBUTORS:Elizabeth Aprahamian, Daphne Abeel, Dr.Haroutiune Arzoumanian, EdmondAzadian, Prof. Vahakn N. Dadrian, DianaDer Hovanessian, Philip Ketchian,Kevork Keushkerian, Sonia Kailian-Placido, Harut Sassounian, Mary Terzian,Hagop Vartivarian, Naomi Zeytoonian,Taleen Babayan

CORRESPONDENTS:

Armenia - Hagop AvedikianBoston - Nancy KalajianPhiladelphia - Lisa Manookian

Contributing Photographers:Jacob Demirdjian, Harry Koundakjian, JirairHovsepian

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is publishedweekly, except two weeks in July, by:

Baikar Association, Inc.755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472-1509

Telephone: 617-924-4420

FAX: 617-924-2887

wwwwww..mmiirr rroorrssppeecc ttaattoorr.. ccoomm

E-Mail: editor@mirrorspectator.com

For advertising: mirrorads@aol.com

SUBSCRIPTION RATES:U.S.A.

2nd Class $75 a year1st Class $120 a year

Canada Air Mail $125 a year

All Other Countries Air Mail $190 a year

Display advertising rate: $7 per column inch

© 2010 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Periodical Class Postage Paid at Boston, MA

and additional mailing offices.

ISSN 0004-234X

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TheArmenian Mirror-Spectator, P.O. Box 302,Watertown, MA 02471-0302

Other than the editorial, views and opinionsexpressed in this newspaper do not necessarilyreflect the policies of the publisher.

THE ARMENIAN

Mirror-Spectator

Erdogan’s Apology Opens a Pandora’s Box For Turkey

COMMENTARY

Copying for other than personal use orinternal reference is prohibited withoutexpress permission of the copyrightowner. Address requests for reprints orback issues to:

BBaaiikkaarr AAssssoocciiaattiioonn,, IInncc..775555 MMtt.. AAuubbuurrnn SStt..,, WWaatteerrttoowwnn,, MMAA 0022447722--11550099

Check us out at mirrorspectator.com

By Susanne Güsten

ISTANBUL (New York Times) — A young girlin braids and a bridal veil lifts a tear-stained faceto the camera. “My name is Hayat, and I am 15years old,” she tells the audience. “My husband is70 years old.” A stout, white-bearded man steps into the

frame to join her and she dissolves into tears.“This dress is not my bridal gown,” she sobs. “Itis my shroud.”The music swells and the camera cuts to black.“One out of two women in Turkey is married

off as a teenager,” a speaker announces from off-screen. “More than 2 million of our girls havebeen sold for a bride price.” The two-minute film clip, which has already

racked up tens of thousands of clicks on theInternet, is the trailer for a much-anticipated soapopera by Mahsun Kirmizigul, a popular singerturned screenwriter and director, was scheduledto debut last Friday on Turkish television. The series, called “Life Goes On,” will follow the

life and times of Hayat’s extended family as theyflee poverty in central Anatolia and attempt tofind their feet in Istanbul. The focus in the initialepisodes will be on the fate of the young girl, asshe is married off to the old man — a fate that isall too common in Anatolia. In fact, as the television critic Sina Kologlu

pointed out in an interview in Istanbul lastweek, the trailer bears a striking resemblance tothe real-life testimonies of child brides aroundthe country interviewed for a documentary filmby women’s rights activists being released thisweek. The film, titled “Child Brides,” is the result of

an 18-month information and awareness cam-paign conducted by the Flying Broom women’srights group, which included seminars, confer-ences and meetings with local officials and fami-lies around the country, as well as a book and anacademic research project. “I was 13 years old when I was married off to

a 30-year-old man I had never seen,” a woman,now 37, told campaigners at one of these meet-ings in the southeastern province of Van. “Ialways remained afraid of him.” “I was married at 16,” another recounted at a

meeting in Izmir, while other women spoke of vio-lence, abuse and misery in testimonies collectedin the campaign’s book. “We have spent 20 yearsin silence. We are still strangers to each other.” A national average of 28 percent of Turkish

women are married before the age of 18, YildizEcevit, a sociology professor at Middle EasternTechnical University, told a parliamentary com-mittee hearing on child brides in Ankara lastmonth. But regional differences mean that as many as

40 or 50 percent of girls are married off as minorsin some parts of the country, particularly in east-ern and central Anatolia, she added. Reliable figures on child brides are hard to

come by, a parliamentary commission said in areport last year, because official statistics do notregister the unofficial religious marriages stillprevalent in much of Anatolia. Childhood mar-riages are “widely accepted” by Turkish society,the report by the Commission on Equality ofOpportunity for Women and Men found. Girls are married off early to minimize the eco-

nomic burden on their family as well as the riskof any sexual contact before marriage, with thebride price that is still paid in many regions as anadditional incentive, the commission reportrevealed. As further causes, the report pointed to deeply-

rooted customs like the exchange of bridesbetween two families, the betrothal of babies atbirth, the giving of girls as brides to settle bloodfeuds and the continued practice of polygamy insome regions. In addition, girls who have been raped or

molested are quickly married off to the rapistor any other man to preserve family honor,

the report noted. The commission slammed child marriages as

“violations of children’s rights, women’s rightsand human rights,” pinpointing the practice as aprime cause of domestic violence, infant mortali-ty and gender inequality. “State institutions do not yet address this prob-

lem sufficiently,” the report found. Selen Dogan, project coordinator of the Flying

Broom campaign, agrees. “Almost all local officials we spoke to at our

conferences around the country agreed that thispractice is a bad thing, but no one had ever doneanything about it,” Dogan said in an interview. The campaign had made some inroads, she

said, reaching 20,000 people directly and manyothers via media reports and a hearing in par-liament last month, the culmination of the pro-ject. “This cannot continue. We must do something

about this immediately,” Fatma Sahin, the gov-ernment minister in charge of family affairs, saidat the hearing, pointing out that Turkish laws donot even agree on the definition of a child: Thecivil code defines a person as a child until the ageof 17, the criminal code until 15 and the childprotection law until 18. Sahin announced that her ministry had recent-

ly signed an agreement with the Religious AffairsDepartment, under which the 60,000 imamsemployed by the department around the countrywould endeavor to teach their flocks that childmarriages have no place in Islam. Dogan, the activist, hopes the television

soap opera “Life Goes On” will spread a sim-ilarly enlightened message. “It could have apositive effect, but it all depends on the

screenplay,” she said. “Will the girl manage to get out of the mar-

riage, is she strong, can she liberate herself? Thatwould be a good thing. But if it turns out to bejust another depiction of a destiny to be borne,then it will be a setback.” The production company had contacted the

Flying Broom as a courtesy, but not sought theiradvice for the screenplay, Dogan added. Kirmizigul, a former crooner from the Kurdish

southeast of the country, has directed severalmovies, including the 2009 film “I Saw the Sun”about the plight of a Kurdish family racked by thearmed conflict in southeastern Turkey, whichbrought the suffering of the region’s populationhome to a wider Turkish audience. “Life Goes On” is his first attempt at a televi-

sion series. Kirmizigul, who has not spoken to the press in

three years, according to his publicist, declined tobe interviewed for this article. Women’s issues like rape and domestic vio-

lence have become an increasingly popular sub-ject of Turkish soap operas over the past two tothree years. While some series initially adopted a chauvin-

istic point of view, pressure from women’s rightsgroups had caused a shift in perspective, in somecases even within an ongoing series, Kologlu said,citing the rape-themed series “What Is FatmagulGuilty Of?” as an example. As for “Life Goes On,” expectations are high,

Kologlu said. “From what I have seen, it will bean ambitious work, technically striking, a verylavish production,” he said. “The question iswhether it will fulfill expectations when it comesto the content, the message.”

By Victor Davis Hanson

Recently, an open microphone caught FrenchPresident Nicolas Sarkozy and AmericanPresident Barack Obama jointly trashing IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sarkozyscoffed, “I cannot stand him. He’s a liar.”Obama trumped that with, “You’re fed up withhim, but I have to deal with him every day.”In one of the most bizarre op-eds published

by The New York Times in recent memory, PaulKane suggested that the United States could lit-erally sell out its support for democratic Taiwanfor about $1 trillion. He argued that theChinese might be so thankful to us for lettingthem get their hands on the island that theymight forgive much of what we owe them.So why does the United States take risks in

guaranteeing the security of countries such asIsrael and Taiwan? Surely the smart money —and most of the world — bets on their richerenemies. The Arab Middle East has oil, hun-dreds of millions of people and lots of danger-ous radical Islamic terrorists. China is morethan 1 billion strong, with the fastest-growingeconomy in the world.But President Obama should remember that

America does not think solely in terms ofnational advantage. In fact, only the UnitedStates seems to have an affinity for protectingtiny, vulnerable countries. In two wars, andmore than 12 years of no-fly zones in Iraq,America saved the Kurds from a genocidalSaddam Hussein.Greece today has few friends. Its northern

European creditors are furious with its profli-gacy and duplicity. Nearby, an ascendantTurkey is flexing its muscles over occupiedCyprus and new finds of gas and oil in theAegean and eastern Mediterranean. In short, abankrupt Greece of only 11 million people,residing in one of history’s most dangerousneighborhoods, has few strong friends otherthan the United States. The same is true ofChristian Armenia, which likewise is relativelysmall and near to historical enemies in Turkeyand Russia.

All of these people — Israelis, anti-communistChinese, Kurds, Greeks and Armenians — have afew things in common. They have relatively small— and often shrinking — populations, aggressiveneighbors, few strong allies, many expatriates andrefugees in the United States and a tragic historyof persecution and genocide. Half the world’sJews were lost to the Holocaust. Had Mao Zedong— the most prolific mass murderer in history —gotten his way, the entire anti-communist Chinesepopulation who fled in terror to Taiwan wouldhave been wiped out. In the early 1920s, nearly amillion Greeks perished in Asia Minor — ethnical-ly cleansed by a Turkey that had at one time con-quered and occupied Greece for more than 350years. A million Armenians perished during thebreakup of the Ottoman Empire during WorldWar I. The stateless Kurds have often been per-secuted by Arabs, Iranians and Turks.We should remember that Greece and Taiwan

would have disappeared in the late 1940s asfree, independent countries without Americanmilitary support and guarantees. Armenia didnot exist as a free nation until America helpedto force the collapse of the Soviet Union.Kurdistan emerged as an autonomous provinceonly when America deposed Saddam Hussein.Israel might have vanished during the 1973Yom Kippur War without massive American mil-itary aid.Of course, these historically-persecuted peo-

ples can at times be testy allies and even soundanti-American. Their national characters —

reflecting centuries of oppression — understand-ably can seem prone to collective paranoia andconspiracy theories. Yet Israel, Taiwan,Kurdistan, Greece and Armenia are democratic,with rich histories that survived against all odds.In the next few years, as never before, our

small friends will be tested. Iran has promisedto wipe out Israel and may soon get the bombto do it. We are withdrawing all troops at theend of the year from Iraq, and Kurdistan willthen be entirely on its own. Russia often talksabout reconstituting its former Soviet clientstates into some sort of new imperial federa-tion. China thinks it is only a matter of timebefore Taiwan can be absorbed. The newTurkey is beginning to look a lot like the oldimperial Ottoman Sultanate.Yet if protecting these small states is risky,

our concern also reflects positively upon thesingular values of the United States. The UnitedNations has neither the will nor the capabilityto ensure the security of these countries. Theeroding European Union talks grandly of inter-national values but rarely risks its blood or trea-sure to defend them.Only America is strong enough to protect the

world’s historically-vulnerable but culturallyunique peoples. It would be a shame if we for-got that — either out of desire for profit orbecause we became fed up with the bother.(This commentary originally appeared in theNovember 20 issue of the Richmond Times

Dispatch.)

18

Charkoudian ThanksMom for Support inOral History ProjectTo The Editor:On the 20th anniversary of my moth-

er’s death, I was reading the letter tothe editor by Haig Der Manuelian(“Hovnanian Deserves Accolades, OtherAssembly Founders Need to BeRemembered”), in the November 26 edi-tion of the Armenian Mirror Spectator).In that letter, Der Manuelian mentionsme as the administrator of the ALMA[Armenian Library and Museum ofAmerica] Oral History Project in the1970’s but what he does not mention,nor does he know, is the part that mymother played a part in that project. Ifit wasn’t for the support that my moth-er gave me at the time, caring for mychildren, cooking, providing names andintroductions to her friends, survivorswho she knew would be willing to talkwith me, there is no way that I couldhave administered ALMA’s Oral HistoryProject. So here’s to you, Mummy,Lucille Mae (Jennie) VartanianBilezikian, who allowed the project tohappen, and here’s to all the survivorswho were willing to relive the horror oftheir experiences in order that their sto-ries be known to all in the future.

— Bethel Bilezikian CharkoudianNewton Corner, Mass.

LETTERS

Notice to ContributorsThe Armenian Mirror-Spectator welcomes articles,

commentaries and community news from our readers. Inorder to assure the accurate and timely publication of arti-cles submitted, please note the following policies:— All articles submitted should be typed, double (or triple)spaced and printed in a type size large enough to be clear-ly legible (10 point or larger). Submissions that do not con-form to these specifications will be assigned lowest priority.— Articles sent by fax are acceptable, and e-mail submis-sions are encouraged.— All submissions should include the name of a con-

tact person and a daytime telephone number.— Deadline for submission of all articles and advertising is12 noon on Monday of the week of publication.— Photos will be published without charge at the discretionof the editors and art director. Photos will be returned onlyif a self-addressed and stamped envelope is included.— The M-S will publish only one article about an upcom-ing organizational event. For major special events, excep-tions may be made only by special arrangement with theeditors.— Telephone numbers, ticket prices and other details (atthe discretion of the editors) will not be included in pressreleases, but should be reserved for calendar listings andadvertisements.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

America Defends the Weak and Small

Turkish Television Takes on Topic of Child Brides

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 19

COMMENTARY

No one should be Fooled byErdogan’s Empty Apology forKurdish MassacresTurkish society was thrown into turmoil last week when

Prime Minister Erdogan issued an unexpected apology forthe hitherto taboo topic of the Kurdish massacres in south-eastern Turkey in the 1930s.There are many striking similarities between the Kurdish

massacres and the Armenian Genocide. Under the guise ofquelling a rebellion, the Turkish government, led by KemalAtaturk, ordered the killing and deportation of tens ofthousands of Alevi Kurds from Dersim, now known asTunceli. Turkish warplanes dropped bombs and sprayedpoisonous gases on Kurds hiding in mountain caves.Ironically, taking part in the bombing raids was Sabiha

Gokcen, Turkey’s first female pilot, who was an Armenianorphan adopted by Ataturk. Gokcen was unwittingly par-ticipating in the killing of not only Kurds, but also fellowArmenians who had sought refuge in the remote region ofDersim, after having survived the 1915 Genocide.Erdogan’s surprise admission of the “Dersim killings”

was prompted not by an honest desire to lift the veil ofsecrecy from a long concealed state crime, but by the intent

to discredit his main political opponent, KemalKilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party(CHP) which was in power during the Kurdish atrocities.Erdogan shrewdly scored a major public relations coup

when Kilicdaroglu, a native of Dersim who had lost manymembers of his family, refused to reverse the CHP’s long-standing cover up of these massacres.Seeing an opportunity to deliver a bigger blow to his ret-

icent rival, Prime Minister Erdogan went on national TV,revealing a series of documents from the state archives thatprovided chilling details of the brutal torture of Kurdishmen, rape of women and mutilation of children. In a dra-matic gesture, he tore up the government’s falsified reporton the Dersim carnage.To counter Erdogan’s attacks, Kilicdaroglu came up with

a surprise announcement of his own. Despite his failure toacknowledge the Dersim massacres, Kilicdaroglu claimedthat an apology was not enough! He challenged Erdoganto release all archival documents on this subject and returnthe properties confiscated from the Kurdish victims.The prime minister’s surprise apology generated a major

national debate in Turkey. Some media commentatorsviewed Erdogan’s acknowledgment of the Dersim mas-sacres not only as an effort to undermine Kilicdaroglu’ssupport with millions of Alevi voters, but also to tarnishAtaturk’s legacy. Others saw hopeful signs that Erdoganwas preparing to face other dark chapters of Turkey’s his-tory, including the Armenian Genocide.Kilicdaroglu, in turn, tried to damage Erdogan’s reputa-

tion by accusing him of planning to acknowledge theArmenian Genocide and likened his mentality to that ofDiaspora Armenians. Erdogan promptly distanced himselffrom what he considered to be an insulting comparison andsharply rebuked and warned his political opponent fordrawing such a parallel!

Erdogan’s racist reaction did not bode well for those whoclaimed that “the genie is out of the bottle,” hoping thatthe Prime Minister’s apology to the Kurds would set aprecedent for Turkey’s eventual acknowledgment of theArmenian Genocide. When one carefully examines thePrime Minister’s distorted statements on the Dersim mas-sacres, one cannot help but note the eerie similarities withTurkey’s denialist views on the Armenian Genocide:1) Minimizing the Kurdish death toll from tens of thou-

sands to 13,800;2) Describing the Kurdish massacres merely as “killings”

or “events”;3) Placing the blame for the “killings” on a rival political

party rather than the Turkish state; and4) Offering no compensation and no restitution to heirs

of the Kurdish victims.All those hoping that Erdogan would issue a similar

apology for the Armenian Genocide probably do not realizethe futility of their expectation. In reality, a Turkish apolo-gy would do more harm than good to the Armenian Cause,as it would discourage some Armenians from pursuingrestitution from Turkey, mislead the international commu-nity into thinking that Armenian demands are now com-pletely fulfilled and deprive Armenians from attracting fur-ther political support for their national cause.Furthermore, should Erdogan apologize for the

Armenian Genocide, the international community wouldshower him with praise, nominate him for the Nobel PeacePrize and support Turkey’s candidacy to the EuropeanUnion.The international community should rather demand that

Erdogan fully acknowledge the genocides of Armenians,Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds, issue a genuine apology,offer compensation, and return the confiscated propertiesto the heirs of millions of innocent victims.

My TurnBy Harut Sassounian

By Aris Ghazinyan

In light of recent aggravated contradictionsbetween Moscow and Washington, “New ColdWar” is the most commonly used phrase charac-terizing the current state affairs between the twosuperpowers. Armenia, Russia’s military ally,may also feel the chill.On November 23 Russian President Dmitry

Medvedev made a special statement in referenceto the situation with NATO countries’ MissileDefense System in Europe.Stressing that “regrettably, the USA and other

NATO partners have not showed enough willing-ness” to cooperate with Russia in developing ajoint sector-based rather than in-stages missiledefense system, Medvedev presented his fivedecisions, among them “protective cover ofRussia’s strategic nuclear weapons; putting themissile attack early warning radar station inKaliningrad on combat alert” and others.In the fifth point Medvedev stressed that “if

the above measures prove insufficient, theRussian Federation will deploy modern offensiveweapon systems in the west and south of thecountry, ensuring our ability to take out any partof the US missile defense system in Europe. Onestep in this process will be to deploy Iskandermissiles in the Kaliningrad Region.”The phrase “Cold War” was first introduced by

Winston Churchill in his famous speech in March1946, in the American town of Fulton, Missouri.Churchill called for an overthrow of commu-

nist regimes in the countries of Central andEastern Europe and used a number of new for-mulations (such as “Iron Curtain”), that laterbecame part of a universal political lexicon.The Cold War is commonly considered to have

finished with the fall of the “iron curtain” andcollapse of communist regimes and the USSR.However, the Russian president’s speech seemsto have become a fresh reminder.Today’s environment does not rival the early

1960s “Cuban Missile Crisis” (when Moscow putmissiles in Cuba, 90 miles from the US, after theUS put missiles in Turkey). The closest “cold waror words” is Medvedev’s decision to deploy mod-ern offensive weapon systems in the west andsouth of Russia.However, where Kaliningrad was named in ref-

erence with the west of Russia, nothing definitewas said about the southern borders.On the south the main constituent of the

Russian missile attack early warning system isGabala radar station (RS). Its detection range isaround 8,000 km in radius, capable of detectingmissile launch from the shores of the IndianOcean, and keep a watchful eye on Turkey, Iraq,Iran, India and all the Eastern European coun-tries.The catch is that Gabala RS is in Azerbaijan,

and Russia has been renting it for $7 million peryear for the past decade. The contract, however,is expiring next year, but envisages a possible

extension.Azeri-Russian negotiations on the extension of

the rental contract were held the day beforeMedvedev’s speech; Deputy Foreign Minister ofAzerbaijan Araz Azimov had said that “Russia’sannual rent of $7 million for the Gabala stationis inadequate.” Hence, Russia might have to paydouble.The day after Medvedev’s speech, Collective

Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) SecretaryGeneral Nikolay Bordyuzha made a statement

saying that: “Gabala RS is utilized for the goodof Russia, and if there is a need to further usethat segment in the Russian missile defense sys-tem, Russia will go for extension of the contract.”Theoretically, there is also a possibility that

Russia might consider deploying a new radar sys-tem on the territory of Armenia, where Russianmilitary base No102 is deployed until 2044.

(This commentary originally appeared in theNovember 25 issue of ArmeniaNow.)

A Chill in the Air Up North: ‘New Cold War’ Could Have Implications for Armenia

By Robert Fisk

The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé washere “to talk about Syria.” Turkey’s prime minis-ter, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pontificated that“perhaps because Syria has not enough petrole-um, there has been less interest in the West inthe killing of Syrian civilians” — probably true —while every Turkish newspaper has been specu-lating about the Turks’ future plans for action inSyria. A Turkish military cordon sanitaire insidethe border with Syria seems to be the favorite.Listening in the old capital of the Ottoman

Empire to the mice-turned-to-lions of the Gulf,you could almost believe these were the LastDays of Assad. Personally, I doubt it. When TheWall Street Journal announces his forthcomingdemise I reckon he’s safe for a good while yet.The Syrian National Council in Istanbul is itselfa pretty argumentative mouse, recognized onlyby the pipsqueak power of the new Libya.Yet the very final ultimatum from the Arab

League — it expires tomorrow – is an extremelyserious matter for the Baathist powers inDamascus. Does Syria allow a 500-strong teamof observers from the League to go prowlingaround Homs and Hama and Deraa? Isn’t thatin itself a real boxer’s punch to Syria’s sover-eignty? The Moroccan ambassador has leftDamascus after the attack on his embassy. TheQataris and Saudis left a long time ago. TheGerman ambassador is flaunting what is sup-posed to be a new draft UN Security Councilresolution condemning Syria. Presumably hehas discovered some crumbs to throw to the

Russians and Chinese to bring them on board.In Turkey, however, there is real anger at

Syria’s response to Turkish initiatives. Andwhen President Abdullah Gul says that Turkey’sreaction to another attack on its embassy inDamascus will be “entirely different” if it hap-pens again, he probably means what he says. Asthe Israelis found out after their killing of nineTurks on the Mavi Marmara last year, you don’tmess with Turkey, certainly not the newly self-confident Turkey which is championing theArab awakening and whose flag flies once morein honor across the Arab world.Mr. Erdogan was almost cruelly to the point

when he addressed Syria and its President, say-ing: “You, Assad, have been holding thousands ofpolitical prisoners in jails; you have to find thosewho attacked the Turkish flag and hold themaccountable.” The Turks want far more than thepersonal apology they received from SyrianForeign Minister Walid Moallem at the weekend.They want a full and official apology from Syria —just as they are still waiting for a full and officialIsraeli apology for the Mavi Marmara killings.There is much talk in Istanbul of cutting all

oil links with Syria, of cutting back on electric-ity supplies to Syria — much good will that do,of course, because it is Syria’s poor who willsuffer. The Syrian government has generators,does it not? Interestingly, the Turks evacuated60 of their diplomats and families from Syria atthe weekend — but all their embassies and con-sulates remain fully operational.Opposition parties in Turkey have been

claiming that Erdogan and his chums in Ankarahave taken a sectarian dislike to the Assad fam-ily because they are Alawites, a branch of

Shiism. And the Turkish Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoglu felt he had to respond. “Assadhas been a Nusayri [Alawite] all along,” he said.“Wasn’t he one when we were friends? We donot view Syria through a sectarian lens.” Wellmaybe, but this explanation probably belongs tothe ho-hum department. Turkey, of course, islargely Sunni Muslim.What Mr. Juppé and his Turkish opposite

number have to chat about is perfectly clear:they want to unite the Syrian opposition andthus prevent any of the catastrophic divisions —like, for example, the burning alive of theLibyan rebel army commander before Gaddafihad fallen — which befell the opposition inLibya. Wisely, the Turks are taking claims bySyrian insurgents that they have attacked anintelligence headquarters outside Damascuswith a very large pinch of salt. As for the gun-fire reportedly heard around the city, no doubtthe French ambassador in Damascus willenlighten the world about this when he makeshis own exit in the near future.Since the official Syrian news agency Sana

itself announced that the Arab League wantedto send observers to Syria, one can assume thatMr. Moallem — which in this case meansPresident Assad — has approved their arrival.But 500 of them? And how much freedom willthey be given? And will they try to visit opposi-tion figures inside Syria and — more to thepoint — find out exactly who these mysteriousbut real and armed insurgents are?(Robert Fisk is a Middle East correspondentfor The Independent newspaper. This com-

mentary originally appeared in the November18 issue of the paper.)

The Arab Spring Has Given Turkey a Voice. Don’t Mess with it

SNIPERS, from page 1Karabagh reiterated their readiness to with-draw snipers from the frontline positions alsofollowing the reported deaths of two Armeniansoldiers near Karabagh on November 19 and 20by what Stepanakert described as sniper firefrom Azerbaijani army positions. They stressed,however, that they cannot do so unilaterally.At the same time, the military in Armenia

vowed to retaliate to discourage further sniperactivity in the conflict zone. Karabagh’s ethnicArmenian army reported seven killed or wound-ed in the Azeri army in the past week, describ-ing the casualties as resulting from their troop-s’ “punitive actions.” Azerbaijan has confirmedonly one death.Talking to media at the weekend President

Serge Sargisian underscored that the responsi-bility for future losses in the Azerbaijani armylies entirely with Azerbaijan’s authorities.Sargisian also attended the Monday proceed-

ings of the religious summit in Yerevan, callingfor a Karabagh conflict settlement to beachieved “through contacts, negotiations andcooperation, rather than through the escalationof tensions and threats.”“We were ready to stretch our hand of friend-

ship first even at the time when we weren’t surethat we would get an adequate answer,” said

Sargisian, reaffirming Armenia’s commitmentto solve the conflict peacefully, through negoti-ations being mediated by the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)Minsk Group.Sargisian also warned against giving the con-

flict an ethnic dimension and pitting the differ-ent predominant religions in the two states,

that is Christianity and Islam, against eachother.In this context, the Armenian leader also

called inadmissible destroying historical, cultur-al and spiritual monuments under the guise ofreligious differences.“In front of this prominent audience, on

behalf of the Republic of Armenia, I reaffirmour commitment to conserve and, if necessary,restore all such values,” Sargisian said.The Armenian leader had left the premises

before the floor was given to Azerbaijan’s topShia cleric, who also addressed the Karabaghissue in his speech. Russia’s Patriarch Kirillexplained that the Armenian president hadother scheduled meetings and could not staytill the end of the meeting.(Later, the president’s press office reported

that Sargisian received Pashazade and Karekinat his office and welcomed the assistance of the

two in the matter of finding a solution throughdialogue.)In his remarks at the summit referring to con-

flicts, Pashazade said that “millions of peoplehave to live as refugees” in the former Sovietspace, including in the Caucasus.“We fully support the efforts of the OSCE

Minsk Group and the presidents of our states.At the same time, we have to say that, unfortu-nately, until today the United Nations SecurityCouncil resolutions [on the Nagorno-Karabaghconflict] have not been fulfilled and the long-standing efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairshave not yielded tangible results,” saidPashazade.Armenia-backed ethnic Armenians in

Nagorno-Karabagh broke free of Baku’s controlfollowing the disintegration of the Soviet Unionin 1991. Baku’s military response against themostly Armenian-populated region triggeredthree-year-long hostilities that were halted dueto a Russia-brokered ceasefire.The war and earlier ethnic tensions in

Azerbaijan and Armenia displaced hundreds ofthousands of people. The military phase of theconflict also resulted in ethnic Armeniansremaining in control of most of the enclave aswell as some surrounding territories.Negotiations since then mediated by theAmerican, Russian and French co-chairmanshipof the OSCE Minsk Group have resulted in lit-tle progress in resolving the dispute.The religious leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan

and Russia already issued a joint declaration inApril 2010 when the Armenian pontiff paid alandmark visit to Baku to attend a summit ofreligious leaders from around the world. Then,they, too, voiced support for the long-runningefforts to resolve the Karabagh conflict andcondemned “acts of vandalism” committed inthe conflict zone.

ERDOGAN, from page 1Turkish Republic was built through the exter-mination of the indigenous population. Andthis could call into question the legal basis ofTurkey’s territorial integrity.Presumably, the Turkish government is

preparing some kind of gesture timed to the100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of1915, although it is hard to predict anythingnow. This opinion was expressed by Turkish his-torian, professor of the Clark University in theUnited States, prominent scholar Taner Akçam.“I do not know what it might be, but will not besurprised if something happens,’ said Akçam.Armenian experts generally comment on this

statement in light of Turkey’s intentions to jointhe European Union. Giro Manoyan, Director of

the International Secretariat of the ArmenianRevolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)Bureau in Yerevan, said Erdogan’s apology was-n’t really an apology and that such stepstowards Armenians were unlikely.Earlier, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, visit-

ing from London, stated that problems thatexist in the relations between Armenia andTurkey will not be solved by a single step.According to him, the normalization process isso frozen that whole raft of initiatives is neededfor a thaw. In its turn, Turkey’s influential Today’s

Zaman newspaper raises deep psychologicalissues, trying to figure out why Ankara doesnot recognize the tragedies of the early 20thcentury. The reason, according to the newspa-per, lies in the foundations of the modernTurkish identity. “There are even more painful factors, some of

which have been pointed out by Taner Akçamand other writers. Some of those who playedactive roles in the massacres of the Armenianswere also part of the founding cadres of theTurkish Republic. Thus, facing up to the pastalso means that we may lose our founding‘heroes’ and have them turned into a series of‘murderers’ to be embarrassed about instead. Itis now clear that we in Turkey have construct-ed an identity on top of this whole denial mech-anism,” writes the Turkish publication.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R20

YES, I would like a 1–year subscription to The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

� THE SUBSCRIPTION IS FOR MENAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

� THE SUBSCRIPTION IS A GIFT FOR:

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

Please make check payable to: The Armenian Mirror-Spectator and mail to: 755 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472-1509

All payments must be drawn on US banks

CANADA /Air Mail $125.00 USA/Second Class Mail $75.00USA/First Class Mail $120.00

Mirror-SpectatorThe Armenian

SUBSCRIBE

TODAY!

Religious Leaders Call for Sniper Withdrawal in Karabagh

From left, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Russia’s Patriarch Kirill, President Serge Sargisianand Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II

Erdogan Admission of Dersim MassacresViewed in Yerevan as Courting EU

More Funds Raised forKarabagh DuringThanksgiving Telethon TELETHON, from page 1Karabagh has been the main beneficiary of

almost $216 million worth of development pro-jects financed by Hayastan since 1992. Thatincluded the construction of about 500 kilome-ters of roads, hundreds of apartments and hous-es and dozens of schools, kindergartens andhealthcare centers. The Himnadram was created in March 1992,

with the support of the government, in order tobring aid to the desperately poor new republicsoon after its independence. Armenia FundUSA is the organization’s first affiliate. Today ithas 22 affiliates around the world.To send a donation, write to Armenia Fund

USA Inc., 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 301, NewYork, NY 10038 or info@armeniafundusa.org.(Material from Radio Free Europe was used

in this story. Additional reporting was done byAlin K. Gregorian.)

Armenian Ruling Party toName Candidate forParliament SpeakerYEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The parliament is set

to elect its new speaker next week after nearlya month of having no permanent chairperson.The majority Republican Party of Armenia

(HHK) confirmed through a spokesman onTuesday that the party will name its candidatefor the position before the legislative body isdue to convene next Monday for a four-day ses-sion with the election of a new speaker on itsagenda.The post became vacant after Hovik

Abrahamian stepped down on November 14.About two weeks before that Abrahamian hadannounced his intention to resign, saying thatPresident Serge Sargisian, who is also theleader of the ruling party, offered him the postof managing the HHK campaign for the nextparliamentary elections due in May.The HHK, which controls the majority of

seats in the 131-member body, is in a positionto name the new speaker and one of his or herdeputies under a power-sharing deal with itstwo junior coalition partners, the ProsperousArmenia Party and Orinats Yerkir (Rule of LawParty).HHK spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov said

the party has not yet discussed possible candi-dates for the positions. But the HHK’s deputyleader Galust Sahakian said last week thatSamvel Nikoyan, one of the two deputy speak-ers who took over as acting speaker last week,was likely to be the choice if they were to electa permanent speaker before the end of the cur-rent parliament’s term next May.