OTTAWA — The Office of the GovernorGeneral of Canada announced on December28 that Governor General of Canada JuliePayette this past week made a number ofnew appointments to the Order of Canada,upon the recommendation of the AdvisoryCouncil of the Order, chaired by the RichardWagner, Chief Justice of Canada.Among these appointees are scientist

and Canadian community leader Dr.Arshavir Gundjian, a well-known senior

active member of the Canadian-Armeniancommunity and Armenian Diaspora,founder of the first Canadian Armenianschool and several community infrastruc-tures, and Greg Sarkissian, a businessman,and founding member and current presi-dent of the Zoryan Institute, which hasestablished the Toronto UniversityGenocide and Human Rights program. This honor is granted by the governor

general of Canada to individuals as a testa-

ment to their outstanding achievementsand service to the nation. According to theCanadian Encyclopedia “The Order ofCanada is the highest level of distinction inthe Canadian Honours System. It wasestablished on 1 July 1967, the 100thanniversary of Confederation.”Biannually, following a meticulous and

confidential review, the Advisory Council ofthe Order of Canada, based on establishedcriteria, makes a selected number of rec-ommendations to the governor general ofCanada, who makes the final decision ofappointments.

see GUNDJIAN, page 20

Sen. Dole ReceivesMedal from Armenian

GovernmentYerevan (Mediamax) — On December 17

Ambassador of Armenia to the US VaruzhanNersesyan presented the Order of Honor to Sen.Bob Dole, bestowed on the former senator forhis considerable contribution to the develop-ment the friendly relations between Armenianand the US.The Armenian Embassy in the U.S. said that

Nersesyan expressed profound gratitude to Dole forhis tireless efforts in 1980-90s for the recognitionof the Armenian Genocide, which in their turn con-tributed to the recent adoption of resolutions 296by the House of Representatives and 150 by theSenate.Dole noted that he was satisfied with such an

impressive outcome of the long fight for justice. Hereminisced about his friend, Dr. Hampar Kelikian,who saved his life during the World War II.

St. Minas Church inGeorgia on Verge of

DestructionTBILISI (Panorama.am) — The difficult state of

St. Minas Church Armenian Chruch in Georgiahas become even sadder, the Armenian Diocesein Georgia reported. On December 20, the fireservice received an emergency call from thechurch and firefighters it from being completelydestroyed. The church remains in a critical con-dition; the people living around are now usingthe church and its surrounding area into an aux-iliary building and leaving the unused spaces tohomeless peoples’ usage.As Susanna Khachatryan the coordinator of

media relations at the Armenian Diocese wrote onFacebook, following the fire, no actions have beentaken by Georgian state bodies to preserve theruins and prevent further destruction.Yerevantsots St. Minas Armenian church is locat-

ed in Avlabari district. In accordance with the pre-served data, the church was built in 1790. Initiallythe church was not large building and in 1870there was a necessity to enlarge the church build-ing. On January 2, 1883, St. Minas Church wasbuilt at the place of the old church. During theSoviet era, the church dome was eliminated and itwas used as a workshop. After the collapse of theUSSR, Yerevantsots St. Minas Church was deter-mined as one of the ‘’disputed’’ churches.The Armenian Diocese in Georgia and the

Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin had repeatedlyappealed to the Georgian Orthodox Church toreturn Armenian churches to the ArmenianDiocese to take care for them. Numerous letterswere sent to the Georgian authorities, relevantstate institutions, and the condition of thechurch was represented, but no changes.

INSIDE

NEWS IN BRIEF

COAF Gala Raises Funds

Pages 10-11

INDEXArts and Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Armenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,3Community News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Mirror- SpectatorMirror- SpectatorTHE ARMENIAN

Volume LXXXX, NO. 24, Issue 4617

JANUARY 4 , 2 020

$ 2.00

The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932

Armenian ArchitectureAnd Genocide

OSNABRÜCK, Germany — The aim of the Young Turk leaders in organizing thegenocide was to rid the country of the Armenians, as a population and a culture.They determined to “Turkify” the land, cleanse it ethnically of the Christian

minorities, and erase, to theextent possible, all traces oftheir existence. Among themyths created at the time of thefounding of the TurkishRepublic in 1923, was the tale

that the Armenians had not inhabited those lands; they had “always been Turkish.”In 2011, I had the opportunity to travel with my brother and my husband to

Turkey, as part of a group of Armenians from America. Our guide was the inde-fatigable Armen Aroyan of California, who has accompanied groups of “pilgrims”to the lands of historic Western Armenia for over a quarter century. We were hop-ing to rediscover the villages where our parents had lived, in the Arapkir province,and were fortunate enough to find them. But signs of Armenian life were nowhereto be found. In other cities and towns we visited, like Kars, we found the remainsof Armenian churches turned into mosques; in other localities they had becomemuseums, still others, stables where animals lived.

see ARCHITECTURE, page 16

Armenian workers in Urfa

(SOURCE: PAUL ROHRBACH, ARMENIA , STUTTGART, 1919; PHOTO COURTESY OF HOUSHAMADYAN)

By Muriel Mirak-WeissbachSpecial to the Mirror-Spectator

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Law-enforcementauthorities on Friday, December 27, broughtcriminal charges against the chairman ofArmenia’s Constitutional Court, HrayrTovmasyan, in what he denounced as a “polit-ical process” aimed at forcing him to resign.Prosecutor-General Artur Davtyan

charged Tovmasyan with two counts ofabuse of power immediately after the latterwas briefly questioned by the SpecialInvestigative Service (SIS) at his office.In a statement, Davtyan’s office claimed

that Tovmasyan used his position to priva-tize an office in Yerevan when he served as

justice minister from 2010-2014. It saidthat in 2012 he also forced state notariessubordinate to the Justice Ministry to rentother offices de facto belonging to him atinflated prices.Tovmasyan grinned and struck a defiant

note as he talked to journalists shortly afterthe interrogation.“I was warned six months ago that one

day I will be indicted for not taking X, Yand Z steps,” he said. “The X, Y and Z stepsare my resignation. So this accusation …has changed nothing in my life.”

see INDICTMENT, page 2

Armenia’s Constitutional Court Head Indicted

Prosecutors to Reopen Probe of 1999 ArmenianParliament KillingsYEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Law-enforcement

authorities have decided to resume a crimi-nal investigation into the 1999 armedattack on the Armenian parliament whichleft its speaker Karen Demirchyan, PrimeMinister Vazgen Sargsyan and six other offi-cials dead.They were killed by five gunmen who

burst into the National Assembly andsprayed it with bullets on October 27, 1999.The gunmen led by an obscure former jour-nalist, Nairi Hunanyan, accused the govern-ment of corruption and misrule anddemanded regime change.They surrendered to police after

overnight negotiations with then PresidentRobert Kocharyan. They were subsequentlytried and sentenced to life imprisonment.Some relatives and supporters of the

assassinated officials still suspectKocharyan and his successor PresidentSerzh Sarkisian (no relation to Vazgen),who was Armenia’s national security minis-ter in October 1999, of masterminding thekillings to eliminate powerful rivals. Bothmen repeatedly dismissed such suggestionsduring and after a serious political crisiscaused by the killings.Throughout his and his henchmen’s

marathon trial Hunanyan insisted that hehimself had decided to seize the parliamentwithout anybody’s orders.

see PROBE, page 3

Governor General Appoints Gundjian,Sarkissian Members of Order of Canada

Dr. Arshavir Gundjian

S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R2

ARMENIA

Armenian Ex-DeputyDetained on Bribery

ChargesYEREVAN (News.am) — Upon the decision of

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, GevorgLoretsyan was dismissed from the office of DeputyMinister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport,as reported the website of the Government ofArmenia.On December 5, Gevorg Loretsyan, his driver and

the president of a football club were arrested afterbeing suspected of receiving bribes.According to the preliminary information obtained

by the National Security Service, the minister waspromised a bribe in particularly large amounts, if aspecific economic entity won bids.

More than 3 MillionPassengers Arrive inArmenia in 2019

YEREVAN (Armenpress) — With the arrival of aMoscow-Yerevan flight, the Zvartnots InternationalAirport’s yearly passenger flow exceeded 3,000,000for the first time in its history, on December 30.On this occasion, the airport’s administration sur-

prised the passengers of the flight with holiday gifts.In 2018, the total number of passengers was

2,690,000.

Armenia PresidentApproves Visa-FreeRegime with China

YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — ArmenianPresident Armen Sarkissian ratified a visa waiveragreement with China on Tuesday, December 17.Sarkissian signed the agreement approved by the

National Assembly in early December.Currently, holders of Armenian passport enjoy

visa-free access to Hong Kong for 30 days and toMacau for 90 days. Both are Special AdministrativeRegions of China.

Armenia to Host CSTODrills in October 2020YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Armenia will

host military drills within the Collective SecurityTreaty Organization (CSTO) in October 2020, law-maker Andranik Kocharyan told reporters onThursday, December 26.Kocharyan is the chairman of the Standing

Committee on Defense and Security in parliament.A meeting of defense committees of the CSTO

member states took place in 2019, during which,Kocharyan said, the delegations agreed to hold thenext meeting in Yerevan in October and arrangeCSTO exercises in Armenia.

PM, Anna Hakobyan andCatholicos Visit Troops YEREVAN (Armenpress) — On the occasion of

New Year and Christmas holidays, Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan visiteda border protection base and a military position inthe country on December 30.Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Minister

of Defense Davit Tonoyan and Minister of TerritorialAdministration and Infrastructures Suren Papikyanwere accompanying the premier.The visit to the base began with a briefing on the

modernized command technical measures used inthe military, Pashinyan’s office said.Then, the premier met with on-duty soldiers and

commanders, toured the combat position and wasbriefed on the existing situation on the frontline andthe service conditions.Pashinyan awarded a group of officers and soldiers

for selflessness and bravery.He and his wife, Anna Hakobyan, gave the troops

presents and wished them a safe new year.Pashinyan congratulated all members of the

News From Armenia

INDICTMENT, from page 1Tovmasyan claimed that the indictment is part of

strong pressure exerted on him and other ConstitutionalCourt judges by the Armenian government.“It’s no secret to any of you that in the last six and

seven months the Constitutional Court has worked underunprecedented pressures,” he said. “Those pressures haveinvolved not only insults, threats and warnings about[what happened] today but also concrete calls for vio-lence.”In late October, Armenia’s Investigative Committee

claimed to have collected sufficient evidence thatTovmasyan abused his powers when he served as justiceminister. The committee sent the case to the SIS for fur-ther investigation.Tovmasyan’s lawyers categorically rejected the commit-

tee’s allegations at the time. One of them, AmramMakinian, on Friday described the accusations broughtagainst the Constitutional Court chairman as “politicalpersecution.”The SIS announced its decision to question Tovmasyan

on Thursday just hours after President Armen Sarkissiansigned into law a controversial government bill giving

Constitutional Court judges financial incentives to resignbefore the end of their mandate.The bill, passed by the parliament earlier this month,

applies to seven of the court’s nine judges who wereinstalled by Armenia’s former governments. It was draft-ed by the Armenian Justice Ministry in August shortlyafter Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan implicitly demand-ed the resignation of those judges and Tovmasyan in par-ticular.Pashinyan has repeatedly accused them of maintaining

links with Armenia’s former leadership and impedingreforms which he says are aimed at creating a “truly inde-pendent judiciary.” His critics claim that he is on the con-trary seeking to gain control over all courts.Tovmasyan expressed confidence that the six other

high court judges will spurn early retirement offered bythe authorities. He described them as “heroes” fightingfor judicial independence in the country.“Today’s struggle is not about their posts,” said

Tovmasyan. “Quite the opposite, today’s struggle is aboutwhat kind of a judicial authority we will have tomorrowand, more generally, what kind of a state we will havetomorrow.”

Armenia’s Constitutional Court Head Indicted

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Armeniademonstrated on Friday, December 27, forthe first time four Sukhoi Su-30SM fighterjets which it has purchased from Russia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan andother Armenian officials watched at anairbase in Gyumri their test flights car-ried out by Russian pilots. Pashinyanand Tonoyan then greeted the pilotsand sat in one of the jets’ cockpits.“Today is a very important day for us

because state-of-the-art multirole Su-30SM planes, considered our main[arms] acquisition of this year, are arriv-ing,” Pashinyan said in video remarksbroadcast live from the scene.“This acquisition marks a turning out

for the security of Armenia and ourpeople,” he added.A Russian-Armenian contract on the

delivery of the Su-30SM jets was signedearly this year. The financial terms ofthe deal are still not known.Tonoyan said in February that

Yerevan plans to buy eight more suchaircraft in the coming years. Pashinyannoted on Friday that the Armenian mil-itary has received their “first batch.”The Armenian Air Force had no fight-

er jets until now. It consisted of 15 orso low-flying Su-25 aircraft designed for

air-to-ground missions.Su-30SM can perform a much broad-

er range of military tasks with morelong-range and precision-guided

weapons. It is a modernized version ofa heavy fighter jet developed by theSukhoi company in the late 1980s. The

Russian military first commissionedsuch jets in 2012.The four warplanes arrived in Gyumri

just days after the Armenian militarydemonstrated new andsophisticated airdefense systems alsoacquired from Russia.With a firing range ofat least 15 kilometers,the Tor-M2MK systemsare designed to shootdown aircraft, cruisemissiles, other rocketsand drones. TheDefense Ministry inYerevan said onMonday that they will“ c o n s i d e r a b l y ”strengthen Armenia’sair defenses.Russia has always

been the principalsource of military hard-ware supplied to theArmenian army.Membership inRussian-led CollectiveSecurity TreatyOrganization (CSTO)allows Armenia to

acquire Russian weapons at knock-down prices and even for free.

Russian WarplanesDelivered to Armenia

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan greets the Russian pilots.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gets into the cockpit of one of the new Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jets.

YEREVAN — ATP’s Community TreePlanting (CTP) program incorporates variousinitiatives focusing on village and city greening,environmental stewardship, fruit harvesting,and the Backyard Nursery program. These pro-jects take place in 1,313 rural and urban sites,70 of which were new sites added in 2019.Seyran Hovhannisyan, a monitor for the CTP

program, remarks, “I was proud at the ForestSummit in October when experts such as Dr.Anthony Davis mentioned the need for commu-nity involvement. At ATP, we learned long agothat local community support and involvementis a key to our success.”A majority of the CTP initiatives take place in

the regions of Aragatsotn, Ararat, and VayotsDzor. In 2019, the CTP program planted 52,660trees and shrubs in Armenia and Artsakh. Thetotal number of trees planted by ATP reachedsix million this year, including the seedlingsplanted by ATP’s Forestry program.ATP has targeted the most vulnerable com-

munities in villages, cities, and towns with thegreatest need for greenery. The focus and atten-tion that is given to these areas help ATP’s treesto grow and flourish, and creates a strongerbond between people and the land they live on.Major greening sites are typically public parks,schools, cultural centers, churches, historicalmonuments, and other significant landmarkswhere both the people and environment bene-fit from the CTP program.ATP’s environmental education team also

works with students in these communities,ensuring that future generations will be respon-sible stewards of the environment.It is vital to have green areas in cities to pro-

tect people against pollutants and dust, and toprovide shade and lower temperatures causedby hot summers and the urban heat islandeffect. ATP has been planting trees throughoutthe City of Yerevan for the past 25 years, as wellas in other major cities and towns. These treesare not only saving lives by cleaning the air, butthey’re also a major part of the beauty ofYerevan and its monuments and parks.In terms of environmental stewardship, ATP

advocates for responsible, sustainable practices.One such practice is coppicing, a method ofwoodland management which entails cuttingtree stems which grow densely from one stumpto near ground level so that the trees can growto their full potential and thrive. ATP hires residents of local communities to

help with coppicing activities, and later, distrib-utes most of the coppiced wood to village resi-dents to use for cooking and heating. Theremainder of wood is turned to mulch and usedin ATP’s Mirak Family Reforestation Nurseryfor boosting plant growth, as well as in forestryplantings. ATP has partnered with Armenia’sState Forest Committee to help establish thecoppicing project.To raise awareness and promote a culture of

environmental responsibility, ATP also orga-nizes trash cleanups twice a year and is a majorpartner for World Cleanup Day in Armenia.In terms of food security, ATP provides fruit

and nut trees for families to plant in their back-yards and on shared community land. Thesetrees provide fresh fruit that families can con-sume, preserve, or sell as they see fit. Thesetrees boost the community’s health, economicindependence, and sustainability.Since ATP began its work in 1994, more than

9,300,000 pounds of fruit have been harvestedfrom these trees to improve food security atpublic institutions and in rural villages. Forexample, the fruit grown at the SardarabadMemorial is sold and the proceeds are given toemployees as Christmas bonuses. AtEchmiadzin Kindergarten No. 13, studentsenjoy the fruit at lunch and take more home totheir families. Entire communities benefit fromATP’s work.ATP’s Backyard Nursery program enables vil-

lage residents to earn income by planting trees intheir own backyard. ATP provides 1,200-1,500seeds to families who care for and grow themover a 2-3 year period. ATP trains the landown-ers, supervises the planting, and monitors thesite throughout the process. Once trees reachharvesting stage, ATP pays the BackyardNursery owner for the trees, which are thenreplanted in a community site. In 2019, about 40families harvested 33,490 tree seedlings for ATP,increasing their family income by 30 percent.Dr. Anthony S. Davis, interim dean of the

College of Forestry at Oregon State University,and many other speakers at “Forest Summit:Global Action and Armenia” echoed the impor-tance of community engagement in ensuringthe success of tree planting and forestry pro-grams. In short, it’s not just about plantingtrees.Speaker David Mathenge of Kenya’s Green

Belt Movement, an organization whose founderwas awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, emphasizedthe importance of addressing specific localneeds to best serve the community. The GreenBelt Movement empowers communities by edu-cating them about sustainable resource man-agement, conservation, tree planting, and treecare. By giving power to the people, they are

able to spread their positive impact on the envi-ronment. Dr. Maya Nehme, director of the Lebanon

Reforestation Initiative, spoke about monitoring,accurate mapping, and tracking forest fires. Shealso linked seedling survival rates to close coop-eration and coordination with the local commu-nity, policymakers, and government agencies.

ATP’s 25 Years of Monitoring Data is‘Extraordinary’

During a panel at the Summit on the role oftechnology, Guy Hydrick, GIS Administrator atthe Metropolitan Area Planning Council ofBoston, emphasized the importance of collabo-ration with the local community and monitor-ing long term data. Hydrick is a PhD candidatein Geography at Clark University and has beenstudying ATP’s tree planting and monitoringdata. The database includes information aboutall of the trees planted by the CTP programsince 1994.

“The ATP dataset is an extraordinaryresource,” he explains, “which constitutes alarger sample of tree mortality than collectedby any previous study by several orders of mag-nitude. The data maintained by ATP presentsan excellent opportunity for research and col-laboration with an exceptional and well-estab-lished urban and community forestry program,and in a region not well represented in thisbody of literature.” Hydrick notes that the data shows that ATP’s

CTP program has a very good survival rate.“The positive results that we see today are dueto the fact that we have a clear understandingof the land, and of the people,” explainsOperations Manager Arthur Harutyunyan. “Wehave a team of dedicated experts that guide us

through the science of healthy tree propaga-tion, and we partner with local people wherev-er we work. Our high tree survival rates dependon local community involvement.”As Armenia renews its efforts to protect and

expand its forest cover, ATP will play a majorrole by continuing to plant healthy trees all overthe country, and by providing its expertiseabout working with people and meeting theneeds of the local community. Because it ismore than just planting trees.

S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 3

ARMENIA

PROBE, from page 1In 2004, investigators formally stopped look-

ing for other individuals possibly involved inthe attack, citing a lack of evidence. Lastweek, Anahit Bakhshyan, the wife of the slainparliament vice-speaker Yuri Bakhshyan, peti-tioned Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General to overturn that decision.Bakhshyan lawyer, Zaruhi Mejlumyan, told

RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Thursday,December 26, that the office has granted therequest, meaning that the SpecialInvestigative Service will have to reopen theinquiry. Mejlumyan said the prosecutors havealso given her and her client access to materi-

als of the suspended probe.“There are materials which can be sufficient

grounds for continuing the investigation,” shesaid without elaborating.Some observers expected a renewed probe

of the parliament shootings in the weeks lead-ing up to the prosecutors’ decision. In Octoberthis year, a parliament deputy extremely criti-cal of Kocharyan visited Hunanyan at aYerevan prison and talked to him for twohours. The lawmaker, Arman Babajanyan,claimed to have received important informa-tion from the jailed ringleader but did not pub-licize it.Babajanyan’s statements fueled specula-

tion that the current Armenian authoritiesmay implicate Kocharyan in the 1999killings. The former president is already injail, standing trial on charges mostly stem-ming from the 2008 post-election violence inYerevan. He denies the accusations as politi-cally motivated.Aram Sargsyan, Vazgen Sargsyan’s brother

and successor who has for years allegedKocharyan’s possible involvement in theattack, cautioned later in October thatHunanyan’s potential fresh testimony mustnot be taken at face value. He said Hunanyancould falsely incriminate the ex-president inhopes of being released from prison.

Sasna Tserer Party toSeek Fresh ElectionsYEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A political party

whose members stormed a police station inYerevan in 2016 said on December 27 that itwill no longer support Armenia’s current gov-ernment and will strive for snap elections.“It is already evident that the current author-

ities lack the will and capacity to carry out sys-temic changes,” the Sasna Tsrer party said in astatement. It said it will therefore be in “radicalopposition” to them starting next year.One of the party’s leaders, Varuzhan

Avetisyan, said the authorities are “on thewrong track” and “headed toward destruction.”“That is why we should also play the role ofputting the brakes on that destruction,”Avetisyan said at a news conference.According to their statement, the conduct of

the fresh elections must be preceded by the for-mation of a provisional government that willusher in a “period of tough rule.” Sasna Tsrer leaders already stated in the run-

up to the December 2018 parliamentary elec-tions that the new parliament will have to bedissolved within two years. Those statementsprovoked an angry response from PrimeMinister Nikol Pashinyan. He said Sasna Tsrermembers and supporters will “feel the taste ofasphalt” if they attempt to destabilize the polit-ical situation.Sasna Tsrer garnered 1.8 percent of the vote

in the 2018 elections.Avetisyan led a 31-member armed group, also

called Sasna Tsrer, which seized a Yerevanpolice base in July 2016 to demand that then-President Serzh Sargsyan free his close associ-ate Zhirayr Sefilian and step down. The gun-men laid down their weapons after a two-weekstandoff which left three police officers dead.All but two members of the armed group

were set free pending the outcome of their tri-als shortly after Sargsyan was toppled in the2018 “Velvet Revolution” led by Pashinyan.

Parakar village community members helping ATP transform a former sand mine.

Looking back at ATP Forest Summit in Armenia

Prosecutors to Reopen Probe of 1999 Armenian Parliament Killings

T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R4 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0

INTERNATIONAL

Turkey MullsEstablishing Naval Base

in CyprusISTANBUL (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Turkey may

establish a naval base in Northern Cyprus (TRNC) asa group of experts are surveying the area to deter-mine the location of such a base, reported theMilliyet daily Wednesday, December 25.The plans to establish a naval base follow the

TRNC’s approval of the use of Geçitkale Airport as abase for Turkey’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)operating in Eastern Mediterranean, over a requestby Ankara.The Turkish team of experts, which consists of

members of the Turkish Armed Forces, are survey-ing Gazimagusa (Famagusta), an area 35 to 40 kilo-meters away from Iskele Strait, the report said.The plans include the construction of new military

quarters and naval facilities, but it does not includean ammunition store, the Turkish military forces inNorthern Cyprus reportedly told the TRNC Office ofthe Prime Minister.

Red Cross Reps Meetwith Armenian

Prisoners in BakuYEREVAN (Armenpress) — Representatives of the

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)Baku office have visited Armenian captives held inAzerbaijan, including Karen Ghazaryan and ArayikGhazaryan, ICRC Armenia representative ZaraAmatuni said.“In December representatives of our organization

have again visited all persons who have been arrest-ed both in Nagorno Karabakh and in Azerbaijan.During the visit our representatives have inspectedthe treatment of the persons, the conditions of incar-ceration and assisted in maintaining communicationwith family members,” Amatuni said.Karen Ghazaryan is a mentally ill Armenian civil-

ian from the village of Berdavan who accidentallycrossed into Azerbaijani territory and was capturedon July 15, 2018. He was tried and convicted by akangaroo court on fabricated charges.The other man, Arayik Ghazaryan [no relation], is

a serviceman of the Artsakh military who crossedinto Azerbaijan August 12, 2019 in circumstancesyet to be determined. At one point authoritiesbelieved the soldier got lost while AWOL.

US Businessman BuysNew York-Based Russian-Language broadcaster

RTVIMOSCOW (Reuters) — US businessman Mikayel

Israyelyan has bought a majority stake in New York-based Russian-language television network RTVIfrom its Russian owner and plans to expand it in theUnited States, the channel said on December 17.The sale marks the first time the network, one of

the biggest Russian-language broadcasters outside ofRussia, will be majority owned by a foreign share-holder, a spokesman said.The network was owned by Ruslan Sokolov since

2012 and Israyelyan, an entertainment industryentrepreneur and chief executive of the MuseLifestyle Group, has bought Sokolov’s entire stake,the spokesman said.RTVI, which broadcasts in Russian in more than

50 countries including the United States, said itplans to open bureaus in Washington and California,focusing on programming for Russian diaspora com-munities.“There are nearly 7 million Russian-speaking peo-

ple living in the United States today, who are inter-ested in original high-quality content in their nativelanguage,” Israyelyan, who has Armenian heritage,said in a statement.“I see further business expansion opportunities on

the West Coast, in attracting a new generation ofviewers seeking to preserve its ties with the Russianculture and agenda,” he added.

International News

YEREVAN – The fourth annu-al Armenian PR AssociationDiaspora Mass Media Award wasgiven to the Baikar Weekly, anArmenian-language sister publi-cation of the Armenian Mirror-Spectator, on December 19 atthe Armenian GeneralBenevolent Union building in Yerevan.According to the organizers, the goal ofthe awards is to elevate the role of spe-cialists in public communications andencourage new technology and meth-ods of communications, as well as tonote omissions in the field.

This year there were 16 categories ofpublic relations awards. NounehSarkissian, wife of the current presidentof Armenia, received the award ofWoman of the Year. Singer, composer,actor and public figure Charles

Aznavour was recognized as anArmenian “brand.” The Golden ApricotFilm Festival won the cultural PRaward, while the Minecraft program of

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs won thedigital PR of the year award. The 2019 CONIFA European Soccer

Cup being hosted in Artsakh was giventhe image PR of the year award, whiletwo PR initiatives received awards: thefield dedicated to the 2,800th anniver-

sary of Yerevan donated by theVardanyan Family PhilanthropicFoundation and the “Bavakan E”[That’s Enough] campaign against gen-der-based abortions by the Dopingadvertisement agency (http://www.dop-

ing.am/). The Public Radioof Armenia was awarded theMass Media Award ofArmenia for its Komitas 150

Years/Minutes program.The World Congress onInformation Technology2019 won the PR event ofthe year award. President of the Artsakh

Republic Bako Sahakyanand Armenian National Assemblydeputy Naira Zohrapyan from theProsperous Armenia Party both

received political figures of theyear award, while Armenia’sHealth Ministry won the statestructure of the year award.Anna Naghdalyan of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs wonthe press secretary award, whilethe Ararat Challenge of the

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative won thePR technology of the year award.Japanese Ambassador Jun Yamada wonthe friend of Armenia award.Astghik Avetisyan, president of the

Armenian PR organization(https://www.armpr.org/) and directorof the PR and CommunicationsTechnology master’s degree program atYerevan State University’s Departmentof Journalism, explained to the assem-bled audience of journalists, intellectu-als and political figures that the selec-tion process for the awards had threestages. The award committee wasformed of local and international spe-cialists, with German-Armenian speech-writer Dr. Wazrik Basil serving as pres-ident. Its members include Hrachuhi-Mary Poghosyan (Professor, Universityof California, Los Angeles, Head of theCenter for the Promotion of Innovationand Research), Miro Khanzadyan(American-Armenian PR specialist andfounder of GlobalHye & Associates),Naira Nazaryan (head of PR for BeelineArmenia), Khachik Galstyan (Doctor ofPolitical Sciences and PR specialist),Ruzanna Ivanyan (Candidate ofPolitical Sciences and AssociateProfessor, Department of Journalismand Media Technologies, St. PetersburgState University of IndustrialTechnology and Design) and AstghikAvetisyan.Baikar’s award was accepted by

Baydzig Kalaydjian, the Lebanese-Armenian member of its editorial team.She spoke briefly about the 97-year his-

tory of the publication and its encour-agement of ties between Armenia andthe diaspora, whether in the Soviet peri-od or the present. The Hakimyan Band, a group of

adolescent musicians led by IrinaGasparyan, provided the musicalentertainment for the evening andperformed many of Aznavour’sfamous songs.

Baikar Weekly Wins Annual PRAssoc. Diaspora Mass Media Award

Astghik Avetisyan, president of the PR Association, presents the Japaneseambassador with his award

Baydzig Kalaydjian receives the Baikar PR award from Dr. Khachik Galstyan.

The plaque given to Baikar Weekly

MOSCOW (PanARMENIAN.Net) —Russian Ambassador to ArmeniaSergey Kopyrkin has said thatMoscow is planning to increase theefficiency of the 102nd Russian mili-tary base in Gyumri in coming years.“Steps have been taken to increase

the effectiveness of combat trainingof the 102nd Russian military base,”Aysor.am cited the diplomat as say-ing.Kopyrkin noted that there are

plans to improve the infrastructure,including the social infrastructure, of

the military base.The ambassador said at a press con-

ference on Tuesday, December 24that the year 2019 has been markedwith the intensive development ofbilateral relations between Yerevanand Moscow.

Russia to Revamp 102nd Military Base in Gyumri

5

NetCost MarketsBring ArmenianCuisine to Tri-State Armenians

By Lucine Kasbarian

NEW YORK — New Yorkers and NewJerseyans may patronize Carmel, Sevan,Olympia or Arenie groceries to buy staplessuch as Victor’s String Cheese, Ohanyan’sBasterma or Mediterranean Kitchen’sSoujouk, all produced by DiasporanArmenians. But where can Tri-StateArmenians go to purchase packaged finefoods from present-day Armenia?One answer is the NetCost supermar-

ket chain specializing in internationalfood products, particularly from Russia,Eastern Europe and the former SovietRepublics. With locations in New York,New Jersey and Pennsylvania, NetCostcarries hard-to-find Armenian productssuch as Noyan fruit compotes and juices;a wide assortment of fruit and vegetablepreserves by Apri, Araks, ArtFood, Nomiand Noyan; and Brinza, Chanakh, Chechiland Lori Armenian cheese varieties.They also carry Sevan, Masis, Sasoon,Shushan and Lav lavash brands fromCalifornia. Founded by Sam Shnayder and his son

Eduard, NetCost markets were estab-lished to serve immigrant communitiesfrom the former Soviet states. Later, part-ners Arthur Gavrilov and Alik Niyazovjoined, and today, the markets are flour-ishing in the New York City boroughs ofBrooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, aswell as northern and central New Jersey,and Philadelphia.Compared to American standards, the

NetCost environment has an EasternEuropean flavor. On the social side, shop-ping there gives one the opportunity toobserve interactions among customersthat one would not see elsewhere in theUS, as well as a little rudeness frompatrons and staff. NetCost markets carry practically

everything American supermarkets do.Some products cost less than traditionalmarkets charge while others cost thesame or more. NetCost also features enor-mous and tantalizing hot and cold buffetsections; specialty game, poultry and fish,including smoked, cured and pickled vari-eties; international cheeses and spreads,and a large pickle selection. The storealso has a bakery department and a widearray of European and gift chocolates.Some NetCost locations can also carryKotayk beer, Jermuk mineral water and avariety of Armenian wines if they receiveenough requests. There have been some complaints

about food quality control in the meatand cheese sections. Consumers shouldknow that many food products aremarked with a manufacturing date (notan expiration date). Those products areoften good for 12 - 18 months from thedate they were packaged. A special promotion was launched in

December 2019,”Explore the Cuisine andCulture of the Republic of Georgia.”Other promotions have been or will bedone for the cuisines of Ukraine andRussia. We encourage NetCost visitors toapproach the management to request asimilar promotion of Armenian cuisineand to assure them that if this occursShoppers can visit https://www.net-

costmarket.com/netcost-market-loca-tions/

Community NewsS A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

City of MiamiBeach OfficiallyRecognizes theArmenian GenocideMIAMI BEACH, Fla. — On December 11,

2019, the City of Miami Beach, Florida passeda resolution officially recognizing the ArmenianGenocide, reported FLArmenians.com.The resolution was introduced by Miami

Beach City Commissioner Mark Samuelian andpassed unanimously.“I am extremely proud of my Armenian her-

itage, and happy to have visited Armenia thissummer and seen the wonderful countrysideand its people. I commend the U.S. House ofRepresentatives for condemning and recogniz-ing the Armenian Genocide and proud of theCity of Miami Beach for adopting this resolu-tion,” Mark Samuelian said in a statement toFLArmenians.com. “In addition, I congratulatethe Armenian Genocide Committee, Inc. (AGC)for its efforts in commemorating the ArmenianGenocide here in South Florida. This is a sig-nificant step in honoring the history of theArmenian people and their contributions,”Samuelian said.In 2017, Samuelian became the first

Armenian American elected official in Miami-Dade County history.“The City of Miami Beach is the first city in

Miami-Dade County to officially recognize theArmenian Genocide, and I know I speak for thethousands of Armenian Americans in Miami-Dadewhen I say ‘Thank You’ to CommissionerSamuelian, Mayor Gelber, and the entire CityCommission on this historic occasion,” statedAGC Chairwoman Arsine Kaloustian. “As theArmenian American community in South Floridacontinues to grow, AGC will continue to build onour accomplishments and expand ArmenianGenocide awareness, education, and affirmationin the Sunshine State,” Kaloustian said.

The Tsaghkashen school children

Knights and DaughtersOf Vartan Prioritizing

EducationYEREVAN — “If your plan for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for 10 years,

plant trees. If your plan is for 100 years, educate children.” Confucius.The saying is what exemplifies the work of the Knights of Vartan since its

founding 103 years ago. The very first scholarships were for the American-Armenian communities in the MiddleEast (Vahan Tekeyan School in Beirut,the Haigazian National School inAleppo and others) as well as in the USto encourage Armenian youth to

return to school after the memories of the horrible genocide of our people.Since 1982 a new fund has been established to give scholarships each year

to 5 or 6 deserving students throughout the US. This has enabled more than160 Armenian students to have a better opportunity to attain an education.After the 1988 earthquake, the Knights of Vartan moved their support to

Armenia as well and education was put on the top of the list. Various programswere created and supported. Since 1997 the Knights of Vartan have been giv-ing scholarships to 12 students in two major universities in Armenia, YerevanState University and the National Polytechnic University of Armenia.From 2018 another major university American University of Armenia (AUA)

was added to the list of universities supported by the Knights of Vartan and forthe past two years have been fully sponsoring students from the AUA. As LilitAvetisyan, Knights and Daughters of Vartan 2019 Scholarship recipient men-tioned, she aims to create a transparent legal system.“I am very grateful to the Knights and Daughters of Vartan for making my

education possible at AUA. By choosing to study at AUA, I wanted to be partof the great AUA community and take advantage of the opportunities and net-work that the university offers. I am very proud that in my country there areinstitutions like AUA. This university has become a real hub for not only edu-cation, but also connecting enthusiastic students to a larger community, which

see EDUCATION, page 6

By Gohar Palyan

The Tsaghkashen school building

Head of Armenia’s NationalScience Laboratory to SpeakAt Ararat-Eskijian MuseumMISSION HILLS, Calif. — Dr. Ani

Aprahamian, director of the AlikhanyanNational Science Laboratory in Yerevan,Armenia, and Freimann Professor ExperimentalNuclear Physics at the University of Notre Damewill give a talk on Sunday, January 12, at 4 p.m.titled “Science, Technology, and Education inArmenia” in the Sheen Chapel at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, 15105 Mission Hills Road. This special program is presented by the

National Association for Armenian Studies andResearch (NAASR) / Calouste GulbenkianFoundation Series on Contemporary ArmenianIssues and the Ararat-Eskijian Museum.Aprahamian was appointed director of A.I.

Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory(Yerevan Physics Institute) in April 2018. She isthe first woman and the first diasporanArmenian to hold this important position.Aprahamian was born in Lebanon, and is a

descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors.She holds a BA and PhD from Clark University,in Worcester, Mass. Aprahamian has given morethan 200 invited talks at various national andinternational conferences and published morethan 200 articles in refereed journals, bookchapters, etc. She is active in numerous inter-national and national advisory committees innuclear science. Among the many honors rec-ognizing her achievements, she is an elected fel-low of Science Academy of Republic of Armenia,the American Association for the Advancementof Science, and the American Physical Society.This event is open to the public and will be fol-

lowed by a reception. For more informationcontact the Ararat-Eskijian Museum atEskijian@ararat-eskijian-museum.com, orNAASR at hq@naasr.org.

YEREVAN/BOSTON — Dr. Myron AllukianJr., an internationally-recognized public healthexpert and a past president of the AmericanPublic Health Association, was hosted by theYerevan office of the Howard KaragheusianCommemorative Corporation (HKCC) fromSeptember 8-16, 2019.During the week-long stay in Armenia,

Allukian visited clinics in Yerevan, Gyumri,Vanadzor, and another charitable program hehad supported recently. Allukian also gave lec-tures to the graduate students of the AmericanUniversity in Armenia and Yerevan StateMedical University. The audience was greatlyinterested in learning more about current pub-lic health challenges, the role of the socialdeterminants of health in our changing soci-eties as well as the impact on the population’swell-being by the health care system, new tech-nologies, tobacco control, the internet, socialmedia and big business. He stressed the impor-tance of prevention for a younger, healthierArmenia.During his meeting with the staff of the

HKCC headquarters in Armenia — ChildrenDental Clinic in Nork district of Yerevan,Allukian shared his expertise and experience inthe delivery of care to children and the impor-tance of effective community prevention pro-

grams. “During his visit to the Nork clinic,Allukian took the time to examine and speak tocurrent patients. With his delicate approachand kind personality, he won the trust of ouryoung patients and their parents. Even now,months after his visit, those children still lookfor him when they stop by at our clinic,” men-tioned the country director of the HowardKaragheusian Medical Benevolent SocialOrganization, Dr. Alisa Badalyan. The Karagheusian dental program provides

free dental care to children 12 and under in 5different Armenian communities – Yerevan,Gyumri, Vanadzor, Goris and Stepanakert withover 80,000 patient visits a year. The organiza-tion is now working with Allukian in developingand organizing a Children’s Prevention DentalProgram in Armenia. Within the scope of thisnew prevention program, schools in the studentage group from 6 to 9 years old will first be cho-sen, and be the beneficiaries of a screening, pre-ventive services and treatment as needed. Theprogram aims at integrating all the possiblesocial groups, professional institutions andstate agencies, strengthening the cooperationbetween teachers, parents, and students over asingle goal — improving the oral health of chil-dren thus contributing to the overall well-beingof the younger generation in our community.

“The uniqueness ofthis project lies with-in its mission.Previously the assis-tance offered by theNork clinic, was inthe form of interven-tion of the existinghealth problems. Todate, the HKCC re-trained highly quali-fied dentists, andprovided state of theart treatment. Thename of the HKCCis still associatedwith quality dentalcare launched nearly25 years ago.By launching this

long-term preven-tion program, theHKCC, along withits partner organiza-tions and the sup-port of theGovernment ofArmenia, startsimplementing aproactive approach.Beginning in 2020,we will detect therisks and preventthe potential oral

diseases among the chil-dren. And within a fewyears, all of us will wit-

ness a considerable decrease in dental problemsamong our younger generation so they willhave healthier and happier lives,” statedAllukian. “Our nation has a precious resource in the

form of a talented Diaspora spread all over theGlobe. We shall recognize and make the bestof it to develop our tiny land and the commu-nities we have around the world. After theindependence of the Republic of Armenia, theHoward Karagheusian CommemorativeCorporation founded a local entity, theHoward Karagheusian Medical BenevolentOrganization in the capital of Armenia, whereit started operations by offering quality pedi-atric dental care. The Professional AdvisoryCommittee then consisted of three outstand-ing dental experts of Armenian decent – Dr.Myron Allukian Jr., Dr. Vartan Ghugasian andDr. Raffi Baghdassarian. We are happy that Dr.Allukian is rejoining us in launching this newproject contributing to the development ofhealth care in Armenia. Within the scope ofour cooperation, doctors with Armenian her-itage like Dr. Allukian will be visiting Armeniaand sharing their expertise and knowledgewith our local specialists. The HowardKaragheusian Commemorative Corporation,has existed for almost a century servingArmenian children and their family worldwideand is recognized for its high-quality health-care and social assistance. We will continueour mission, and now with a growing numberof supporters,” stated Irina Lazarian, theManaging Director of the HowardKaragheusian Commemorative Corporation inthe City of New York. Founded in 1921 in New York, the Howard

Karagheusian Commemorative Corporationhas a proud mission to assist socially and eco-nomically vulnerable Armenian children andtheir families around the globe, and it does sothrough providing health, education and eco-nomic assistance programs. Dr. Myron Allukian Jr. is on the faculty of

the Schools of Dental Medicine of Harvard,Boston University and Tufts and was electedin 1991 to the National Academy of Medicine,National Academy of Sciences. A Vietnam vet-eran and former dental director for the Cityof Boston, he is board certified in dental pub-lic health and an Honorary Fellow in theRoyal Society of Health of Great Britain.Allukian was also an associate editor of theJournal of Public Health Dentistry and a cur-rent trustee of the New England College ofOptometry. Allukian was also on the Board ofDirectors of the Harvard Alumni Association(HAA) and was the dental clinical director ofthe New England AIDS Education andTraining Center. He has over 150 publica-tions/abstracts and received over 50 awardsincluding both the Distinguished Faculty andDistinguished Alumni Awards from Harvard ,the Alumni Merit Award from the Universityof Pennsylvania, the Sedgwick MemorialMedal for Distinguished Service to PublicHealth from the American Public HealthAssociation (He is the first dentist to receivethis, APHA’s highest award), recognitionfrom the American Dental Association, U.S.Department of Labor and U.S. Public HealthService. He received his BS in Psychologyfrom Tufts College, his dental degree fromthe University of Pennsylvania and his MPHfrom the Harvard School of Public Health.

6 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMUNITY NEWS

Ararat Lodge Scholarship recipients- 2019

EDUCATION, from page 5in turn will be the new generation of Armenianprofessionals and leaders – the backbone of ourArmenia!”The KofV leadership constantly is looking for

new educational opportunities and funds.Hopefully more exciting scholarship opportuni-ty will emerge in 2020.Grand Commander Steven Adams, himself an

educator, stated, “Education is the foundationon which the future of Armenia will be built”.To provide fellowships and support scholarly

research and publication in the field ofArmenian studies the Knights of Vartan estab-lished the Fund for Armenian Studies (FAS) in1986. Since 2007 Knights of Vartan partnerswith the National Association for ArmenianStudies and Research (NAASR) to select, evalu-ate and monitor these grants and/or fellow-ships to qualified scholars in Armenian studies. The Center for Armenian Research and

Publication (Armenian Research Center) was

initiated by then Knight, now Past GrandCommander Dr. Dennis Papazian in 1986 at theUniversity of Michigan, Dearborn, and it quick-ly became one of the largest Knights of Vartanprojects. Since then it has published books,research materials and reports; hosted speak-ers, organized database, produced radio and TVprograms and maintains the most comprehen-sive collection of Armenian genocide resourcematerials available for researchers. Not only has the Knights of Vartan support-

ed education but since 1995 has also enabledstudents to have a better environment in whichto study by renovating and building over 250schools and kindergartens in Armenia. This wasimplemented through various projects such asthe Adopt-A-School and Armenian SchoolsSupport Project via World Bank ArmenianSocial Investment Fund (ASIF) and ArmenianTerritorial Development Fund (ATDF).For more information about the Knights and

Daughters of Vartan, visit http://kofv.org.

Knights and Daughters of VartanPrioritizing Education

Karagheusian Corp. Volunteer Visits Clinics in Armenia

Dr. Myron Allukian and the HKCC country director Dr. Alisa Badalyan (third from left, top) at apatient visit in Gyumri with Gyumri chef dentist Dr. Amalia Daghmajyan (second from L. top) andstaff.

Dr. Myron Allukian, Dr. Alisa Badalyan (L. from Dr. Allukian) and Dr.Amalia Daghmajyan (R. from Dr. Allukian) with Gyumri clinic staff.

By Seda Melkoni

LOS ANGELES — I am on a quest to helpmake improvements to School #8 in the City ofAbovyan. More than 530 children attend thisschool. The entire school needs to be renovatedand I have decided to partner with the ParosFoundation on this project. Here is my story.In 2014, I traveled to Armenia for the first

time to work on an American television mini-series production that would be filming in vari-ous parts of Armenia. One of the productiondays took place at the historic Garni Templeduring the very early morning hours before thegates had opened to the public. When wewrapped production and the public was allowedentrance, I noticed several small school fieldtrip groups arriving and one group in particu-lar came all the way to the gates and after someconversation I noticed them preparing to leave,only to find out that they were not aware thatthere was now an entrance fee to the site andsince none of the students or teachers couldafford to pay, they had to leave. I offered to payfor the class, they graciously accepted and thestudents were able to have their field trip. Theteachers requested a photo with me and theclass to put up at their school in appreciation ofwhat I thought was a very, very small gesturefor such gratitude. I kept a copy of that photoand that experience stayed with me for several

years as constantly thought about what I coulddo to actually make an impact to schools, par-ticularly on the grade school level, in the areasof need outside the capital city of Yerevan.By 2017, I had my second daughter and was

further motivated to create a way for them tobe inspired and connected to their Armenianculture as well as understand the value of help-ing others. This was also the time I joined theproduction planning team at Universal PicturesHome Entertainment, where I met TatevikTorossian. As we began to work together, Ishared my experience in Armenia and learnedthat for years, Tatevik had been sending dona-tions of school supplies to her childhood friendwho was now a teacher at a school in greatneed of help in the city of Abovyan. Tatevik hadalso attended that same school as a child. Thisbecame the foundation of the project I hadbeen thinking about for years. My husband andI established the ELSO Foundation, namedafter our daughters Elena and Sofia and beganthe process in seeking partners for our projects,beginning with me asking Tatevik to providethe introduction to her friend the teacher.In the fall of 2018, I met with the staff of the

Paros Foundation to discuss the AbovyanSchool project. Their team visited the school,assessed the leaking roofs, broken windows,struggling furnace and agreed to tackle thisproject. Paros listed the project on their websiteand we began raising the necessary funds torenovate the roofs over six of the school’s build-ings. By spring of this year, we had enoughfunds raised to change the roof on one of thebuildings. The Paros team efficiently and effec-tively replaced the entire roof of this first build-ing. Moving forward, I plan to continue my appeal

to my family and friends to help with the otherfive roofs needing repair. The students and staffare anxiously awaiting the repairs to solve theschool’s many leaks. I feel fortunate that I con-nected that morning with students at Garni andthrough this effort, I hope to connect others tostudents and the staff at School #8 in Abovyan.The Paros Foundation was launched in 2006

and has implemented more than $6.7 millionworth of projects in Armenia through itsunique model of philanthropy and communitypartnership. These projects are locatedthroughout the country-with the majority ofwork focused in Gyumri and in the TavushRegion, along the border with Azerbaijan.Thanks to the generous support of ParosFounder and Chairman, Roger Strauch, alladministrative expenses are underwritten,allowing 100 percent of donor contributions tobe allocated in their entirety to the projects. Tohelp support this project, visit www.parosfoun-dation.org and search for the Abovyan School.

7S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMUNITY NEWS

SPONSOR A TEACHER IN ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH

Since its inception in 2001, the TCA Sponsor A Teacher Program has raised $709,500 and reached out to 6,427 teachers and school staff

in Armenia and Artsakh.

$200 $400 $600 $Other______

91TH

From Garni to Universal to Abovyan: My Connection to the Homeland

Seda Melkoni and students from the school field trip to Garni Temple.

By Wendy Ruderman

PHILADELPHIA (Philadelphia Inquirer) —Sirvart “Silva” Kaloustian, a Paris-trained fash-ion designer who bedazzled her Main Lineclientele with custom-made creations, lived onher own terms. And that’s exactly how she diedon Christmas Eve — at age 89 of pneumonia —breathing on her own, unaided by a ventilatorat her insistence, with a harpist performing inher room at Bryn Mawr Hospital.By her side were her three children, five

grandchildren, and one of her two great-grand-children.“It was heavenly,” her 60-year-old daughter

Maral said. “With the harp music playing sobeautifully, it felt like the angels came and tookher away.”Kaloustian, of Wayne, was indefatigable. Until

the previous week, when she became ill, she gotup at 5 a.m. each day to walk four or five milesbefore heading to her Main Line gym to liftweights and then to her clothing design shop,Couture Silva, on County Line Road in BrynMawr. She drove herself.Mrs. Kaloustian was born in 1930 in Aleppo,

Syria, where her parents had settled after beingforced to leave their village in Armenia duringthe genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by theOttoman Empire.As a child, she made clothes for her dolls

from fabric scraps, and her mother recognizedher talent and urged her to nurture it. As ayoung teen, she traveled alone to Paris to studyfashion design.In Syria, her family lived among Armenians

displaced from their village, Malatya. She mether future husband, Krikor Kaloustian, at acommunity picnic in 1947 when she was 16.“My father saw my mother and he knew rightaway,” Maral Kaloustian said.

She married at 19 and moved to Beirut,Lebanon, where her new husband had openeda leather shop. Mrs. Kaloustian supplementedthe family’s income by making dresses forfriends.When her husband died of pancreatic cancer

in 1967, Mrs. Kaloustian was 37 with three chil-dren, ages 7, 14, and 17. Her then-17-year-oldson, Vatche, wanted to attend college in theUnited States. “My mother said, ‘OK, we’ll all gotogether,’” her daughter said. Mrs. Kaloustianhad made a dress for the wife of the US ambas-sador to Lebanon, and that woman helpedguide the family through the immigrationprocess.The family arrived in the Philadelphia area in

May 1970, and Kaloustian took a job with a tai-lor in Ardmore. She saved enough money tobuy a home in Drexel Hill. She learned Englishby watching soap operas on TV while doingalterations from home. She spoke four otherlanguages: Armenian, Arabic, Turkish, andFrench.She opened her own design shop in Bryn

Mawr in 1972. She catered to Main Line busi-nesswomen, socialites, and entertainers, includ-ing an opera singer, although she was careful

not to disclose her client list.“Many accomplished women would wear her

clothing,” said longtime friend Karen Barton,76, of Bryn Mawr. “I didn’t push her for names,even though I was always curious. She was dis-creet.”She displayed a photograph in her shop of

one of her clients, a local lawyer, posing withPresident Bill Clinton. She’s wearing an outfitKaloustian had made for her to meet the presi-

dent, Barton said.Kaloustian ordered fine fabrics such as silk

and lace from France that cost up to $1,000 ayard. She made one-of-a-kind ball gowns andwedding dresses, creating her own patterns.She loved seeing photos of her clients wearingher creations in the society pages of theInquirer, according to Barton, who befriendedKaloustian nearly 40 years ago at the Main LineNautilus in Haverford, where both were mem-bers.Upon visiting her shop, Barton said, she

would often find Kaloustian blaring Armenianmusic from the iPhone that her daughter hadbought her. When home, she whizzed aroundthe kitchen, whipping up Armenian dishes.Mrs. Kaloustian visited Armenia for the first

time in 2002. She longed to return and shortlyafter Maral retired as a vice president at BrynMawr Trust, they traveled there in September.Kaloustian was active in St. Gregory’s

Armenian Apostolic Church in Roxborough,where she sang in the choir every Sunday.In addition to daughter Maral and son

Vatche, she is survived by another daughter,Roubina Yeremian; five grandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren.

WATERTOWN — Olga Proudian, formerly ofWatertown and Westbrook, Maine, died onDecember 22 at the Meadow Green Nursingand Rehabilitation Center in Waltham,Massachusetts. She was 92.Olga was born in Bucharest, Romania on

September 28, 1927 to Gayane and ParuirLevonian. Her father died when she was veryyoung. Shortly afterward her mother marriedGeneral Dro Kanayan, a well-known figure inArmenian political and military circles who hadbeen exiled by the Soviets following their occu-pation of the Armenian Republic in 1923. Gen.Dro raised Olga as his own daughter, but in1943 their family life, which now included herbrother, Martin, was shattered as Soviet forcesadvanced on Bucharest. The family fled toGermany, then a Romanian ally, where theylived out the war.In 1946, the Kanayans moved to Beirut,

Lebanon, where Gen. Dro worked tirelessly tore-build Armenian national identity. In 1947,Olga married Dr. Paul O. Proudian, and theentire family emigrated to America, eventuallysettling in Westbrook, Maine, where Dr.Proudian ’s medical skills and fluent Frenchserved a large Franco-American community.When not tending to the many needs of her

growing children, Olga immersed herself in thePortland area’s cultural and intellectual worlds,including the Portland Symphony, VictoriaSociety, World Affairs Council, and AllianceFrancaise. She was regarded as a consummatehost, fundraiser, and raconteuse, and her inter-national past and fluency in seven languagesmade her something of a social and culturalicon. Beautiful, stylish, and bubbly, she wasequally at home among European diplomats orher beloved Westbrook neighbors, whose chil-dren were regular guests at her dinner table. Anoutstanding cook, abundant food was always acentral feature of any event Olga planned.In 1984, she moved back to Watertown. The

Armenian Church became a central part of herlife. In 1990, she co-founded the ArmenianInternational Women’s Association (AIWA). In

2008, AIWA created a scholarship in her nameto fund the education of Armenian womenstudying international relations.In 2000, at the invitation of the Republic of

Armenia, she and her family accompanied thetransfer of General Dro’s remains fromWatertown back to his homeland, where he wasre-buried with high honors on a hilltop over-looking his most famous battle victory. Therecognition and respect bestowed by theArmenian government on the man she knew asher father was one of the most cherished mem-ories of her life.Olga Proudian is survived by her son John

and his partner Sis Oliver, of Nahant, Mass.; herson Paul and his wife Julie, of Gray, Maine; adaughter Nina and her husband Vartkes, ofWestford, Mass., and her beloved grandchildrenSonya, Nairi, and Armen. A third son, Dro,passed away in 1995.Funeral services was held at St. Stephen’s

Armenian Apostolic Church, 38 Elton Ave.

Watertown on Friday, December 27. Intermentfollowed at Mount Auburn Cemetery inCambridge.

8 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

OBITUARY

GiragosianF U N E R A L H O M E

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Funeral Counselors576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, TEL: 617-924—0606

www.giragosianfuneralhome.com

558 MOUNT AUBURN STREETWATERTOWN, MA 02472

Telephone (617) 924-7400

Aram BedrosianFuneral Home, Inc.

Continuous Service By The Bedrosian Family Since 1945MARION BEDROSIAN

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DENNIS M.DEVENEY & SONSCemetery Monuments

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701 Moody St. Waltham, MA 02543(781) 891-9876 www.NEMonuments.com

Harry TerzianDevoted to Church, FamilyDETROIT — Harry Terzian, age 86, passed

away on December 19, 2019.Born in Detroit on August 14, 1933 to Alexan

and Gadarinee (Baliozian) Terzian, he leavesbehind his wife, Alice (Hovnanian) Terzian, his“brother,” Archbishop Paren Avedikian, his chil-dren, Alex, Kim and David Najarian, and Kathy

and Tom Steck,and his grandchil-dren, Alexana andLance Frahm,Cecile Steck, andMara, and MylesNajarian. He was pre-

deceased by hissister, Emily JulietTerzian. He was a highly

revered andrespected mem-

ber of the community who worked tirelessly forhis church and family.Services were held on December 22 at St.

John Armenian Church. Interment followed atWoodlawn Cemetery.Arrangements were made by the Edward

Korkoian Funeral Home.

MariamZakarian

WATERTOWN — Mariam Zakarian ofWatertown died on December 19, 2019. She was the daughter of the late John and

Sarah Zakarian, sister of the late George,Richard and Elizabeth Zakarian, and aunt ofRichard and Charlotte Zakarian. She is also sur-vived by many loving friends and neighbors. Funeral services were held at the Aram

Bedrosian Funeral Home, 558 Mount AuburnStreet, Watertown on Monday, December 23.Burial followed at Ridgelawn Cemetery,Watertown.

Olga Proudian, AIWA Co-Founder

Sirvart Kaloustian

Sirvart Kaloustian: Custom Dressmaker to Philadelphia Elite(PHOTO COURTESY OF MARAL KALOUSTIAN)

9S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

The Vartkess and Rita Balian Family Foundation, Inc., Arlington, VA $500Anonymous, $500

Yervant Chekijian, Watertown, MA $500Kathleen Krueger Goshgarian and Gary Goshgarian, Arlington, MA $300

Edward Avedisian, Lexington, MA $300Nancy R. Kolligian, Watertown, MA $300

Dr. Lawrence V. Najarian, Bedminster Eye and Laser Center, Bedminster, NJ $100Harry N. and Janice Mazadoorian, Kensington, CT $100

Bazarbashian Family, Paoli, PA $100Berdj and Margaret Kiladjian, Winchester, MA $100

Theodore T. Touloukian, Boston, MA $100Stephen Philibosian Foundation, Indian Wells, CA $100

Armenian GenocideEducation at MajorSocial StudiesConferenceAUSTIN, Texas — At this year’s National

Council for the Social Studies Conference(NCSS), November 21 to 23, the GenocideEducation Project (GenEd) provided highschool history teachers from around the coun-try two training workshops related to theArmenian Genocide.Led by GenEd’s education director, Sara

Cohan, the half-day workshop, “TheFundamentals of Genocide and the ArmenianCase,” guided teachers through the history ofthe Armenian Genocide and how it became thearchitype for modern-era genocides that fol-lowed. Using the 10 stages of genocide, a formu-la for how genocide is prepared, carried out andleaves long-lasting repercussions, Cohan demon-strated the parallels with other genocides.“I was gratified by the strong turnout the

teachers’ genuine interest in incorporatingthese lessons into their world history, genocide

and human rights curriculum,” Cohan said.GenEd’s geography-themed workshop,

“Mapping Genocide: Historical GeographicalInformation Systems and the Armenian Case,”showed history and geography teachers a novelway of teaching about genocide, using anonline platform, ArcGIS StoryMaps, to allowstudents to engage more deeply with historicaltopics by creating their own multi-media maps.Cohan demonstrated how students can plot keylocations, events, images and videos related tothe Armenian Genocide or other historicalevents into their own “StoryMap.”This year, the NCSS conference, the largest

and oldest social studies conference in thenation, was combined with the regional TexasCouncil for the Social Studies conference.“After speaking with Texas teachers over thepast several years, we learned that many areintroducing the topic of the ArmenianGenocide in their geography classes during acurriculum unit on human migration,” Cohansaid. “So demonstrating StoryMaps seemed likea natural fit.”Throughout the three-day conference week-

end, GenEd also provided one-on-one consulta-tions about teaching materials and methods inthe classroom to scores of high school historyteachers at GenEd’s exhibit booth.

Sara Cohan’s workshop

The Genocide Education Project both in Austin,Texas

The Bazarbashian Family wishesyou a very Merry Christmas and a

joyous New Year.

Paoli, PA

Merry Christmas to the Spectator, thefirst Armenian weekly.

Joe and Jill SteinIndian Wells, CA

Best Christmas wishes

Harry and Janice MazadoorianKensington CT

All best wishes

Edward and Pamela AvedisianLexington, MA

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COMMUNITY NEWS

NEW YORK — More than 400 guests fromaround the world gathered at Cipriani 25Broadway in support of the 16th AnnualChildren of Armenia Fund (COAF) Holiday Galaon December 14. This year’s benefit surpassedprevious fundraising numbers with more than$6 million raised in support of COAF’s pro-grams in 51 villages, as well as the cutting-edgeSMART Center built in the Lori region ofArmenia. The evening was hosted by Emmy Award-win-

ning anchor Araksya Karapetyan from FOX11’s “Good Day LA” in Los Angeles. ActressAndrea Martin, known for emceeing most ofCOAF’s galas, was unable to join this year due

to a special performance. A personal video mes-sage from Martin welcoming Karapetyan andguests was shown just before Karapetyan tookthe stage. In her opening remarks, Karapetyanspoke of being born in Gyumri during theearthquake of 1988 and emigrating to the USshortly after. In his address, COAF Founder and Chairman

Garo Armen touched on today’s Armenia whoseleadership is setting a high bar. He spoke of thenewfound hope and energy in Armenia, markedby respect and love among the people for theircountry. Armen emphasized that there is ashort window to build on this momentum, mak-ing it critical that we invest in the current gen-eration so that they build on the foundationsthat are rapidly forming. This year’s Humanitarian Award was present-

ed to Jack and Zarig Youredjian of Los Angelesin recognition of their generous support for var-ious COAF initiatives throughout ruralArmenia. Both come from families committedto community life and helping those less fortu-nate. In addition to supporting Armenia, theirphilanthropic efforts also help the impover-ished in Africa and Southeast Asia, as well asthe homeless in Los Angeles. In his remarks,Jack Youredjian recalled how his late motherwould visit and live with families who wereforced to live in containers in the aftermath ofthe Spitak Earthquake and how helping thosein need is ingrained in hiss upbringing. Speakers included Donna Kalajian Lagani,

former senior vice president and publishingdirector overseeing Cosmo, Women’s Health,17 and Global Brand Licensing, who current-ly oversees the Hearst Foundation. She spokeabout her Armenian parents teaching her theimportance of family, education and givingback to those less fortunate. Her parentswanted her to live her full potential and thatis what COAF is doing for the children of

Armenia as well.Celebrity makeup artist Hrush Achemyan of

Los Angeles also spoke on how grateful she isfor all that she has accomplished in her careerdue to the endless opportunities offered in theUS. She stressed how COAF’s mission is so vitalin providing youth with opportunities foradvancement and allowing the new generationof Armenia to reach its full potential.The evening featured four special guests from

Armenia. Seventeen-year-old violinist PolinaSharafyan kicked off the program with a pow-

erful performance, with sixteen-year-old vocalistKristina Zakaryan performing a heartwarmingmedley of Komitas songs. Guests also learnedfirsthand about the impact COAF has made onthe lives of two young women from ruralArmenia. The first was from eighteen-year-oldSateny Petrosyan from the village of Debetwhere the COAF SMART Center is located. Theteenager, currently participating in a studyabroad program in Texas, spoke on how COAFchanged her life by teaching her English. Sherecalled how she would visit the construction

Annual COAF Gala Raises Over

COAF Founder & Chairman Garo Armen

2019 Humanitarian Award Recipients, Zarig & Jack Youredjian

Daniel and Ludmila Sahakians, COAF Supporters with Founder and Chairman, Garo Armen

Mark Semerjian, Hasmik Dombalagian, Ani Semerjian, COAF Boardmember Michael Aram andAret Tikiryan

Peter Sarkessian and Family

Musicians and COAF youth from Armenia Polina Sharafyan, Manushak Avagyan, Sateny Petrosyan,Kristina Zakaryan

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COMMUNITY NEWS

$6 Million for Rural Armenia

Cipriani 25 Broadway

site of the COAF SMART Center daily afterclass and dream of the day it would open andchange their lives forever. The last speaker fromArmenia was Manushak Avagyan from the vil-lage of Lernagog, which was one of the first

communities where COAFlaunched initiatives. Manushakspoke on how she found inspi-ration in the two female COAFdoctors who would visitLernagog while she was grow-ing up, along with discoveringGaro Armen’s work inimmunotherapy. This is whatled her to become a doctorspecializing in pediatric hema-tology and oncology. World-famous pianist Tigran

Hamasyan and cellist ArtyomManukyan delivered the grandfinale of the evening with aspecial performance, present-ing original compositionsinfluenced by Armenian folkmusic and jazz traditions. Famous auctioneer Gabriel

Butu conducted both a liveart auction as well as a livepledge auction. Every dollar

raised at the Gala will go directly towardsCOAF’s infrastructure, education, health,social and economic programs in villages, aswell as the COAF SMART Center.

COAF youth from Armenia Manushak Avagyan with COAF Founder & Chairman Garo Armen

Emmy Award-winning anchor Araksya Karapetyan, Host of 16thAnnual COAF Holiday Gala

Vahe and Hasmik Dombalagians and FriendsViolinist Polina Sharafyan Hrush Achemyan of StyledbyHrush

12

Soul of GomidasShines Through aGlorious ChristmasConcert at SaintVartan Cathedral

By Florence Avakian

NEW YORK — “The voice of Gomidas is theundisguised heartbeat of the Armenian peo-ple.”Those are the words of one of the most

ardent students of the beloved priest-musician,who preserved, shaped, and defined ourancient musical history.New York’s St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral

was aglow on Friday, December 6, with festivespiritual and folk music by the revered master,during a concert by the Gomidas Choir.The evening went forward under the aus-

pices of Bishop Daniel Findikyan, Primate ofthe Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church ofAmerica.The Gomidas Choir celebrated its 61st

anniversary with a memorable concert dedicat-ed to the 150th anniversary of Gomidas’ birth.Before a packed audience, artistic director KrisKalfayan [who has conducted the choir for 38years] led the current roster of dedicated vol-

unteer choir singers in a program of master-pieces.Following the Hayr Mer, the concert of

Gomidas compositions began with theyoungest member of the choir, Andrew VarujanYenicag, singing the Hymn of the “Washing ofthe Feet” service [Aysor Ganknetzav]. Yenicagis the grandson of longtime Gomidas Choirmember Varoujan Arslanian.Several meditative Christmas hymns fol-

lowed, including the heart-breaking LamentOver Judas [Sird Im Sasani], the soulful OAmazing Mystery [Ov Zarmanali], and themajestic Sanctus [Sourp Sourp].In a contrasting mood, the program shifted

to songs of joy and celebration, including Kingof Goodness [Takavor Parov], and En Teezan.The New Docta Ensemble took the crowd

into the vibrant atmosphere of the Armenianvillages with such standards as Song of thePartridge [Gakavi Yerkuh], the soulful TheCrane [Groong] dedicated to the national birdof Armenia, and It’s Spring [Karoun Eh].The ensemble, co-founded in 2013 by singer

Solange Merdinian, violinist Sami Merdinian,and cellist Yves Dharamraj, features a group ofclassical musicians who perform in live con-certs to “inspire children of all backgrounds tonurture the next generation of musical talent,and to build cultural bridges.” Past membersSuliman Tekalli [on violin] and Angela Pickett[on viola] joined in this performance.The song of farm labor and its accomplish-

ments Song of Threshing [Gali Yerk] was sung

see CONCERT, page 14

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Arts & Living

PhotographerKhatcherian Brings

Cilicia, Armenia to LifeENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. — The symbolic and mystic lands of Cilicia were

brought to life for the Greater New York metro area by international photographerHrair Hawk Khatcherian on Thursday, December 19, in an event sponsored by the

Tekeyan Cultural Association. An artist whose photographs vividly

capture the Armenian history and her-itage, Khatcherian has embarked onfruitful yet risky adventures over the lastthree decades to reach the heights ofArmenia, Artsakh, Jerusalem and most

currently Cilicia, in order to convey these rare images to the rest of the world. While his Armenian culture connects him to the region, it was a book by Robert

W. Edwards, The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia, that inspired him to ventureinto Cilicia and commit himself to his latest publication of the once ancientArmenian Kingdom that is now in present-day Turkey. Within its pages, Edwardsfocuses on the analysis, topography and history of the forts in this significantArmenian settlement, whereas Khatcherian captures his audience through bold andcolorful images, inviting a new audience to learn about Cilicia. “This book is unique in the sense that it spans 22 years of constant travels,

research and photography in Cilicia to access fortresses that are very difficult toreceive permission to photograph,” said Khatcherian. His upcoming publicationdedicated to Cilicia will be his 16th and will also include photos of Armenian coinsminted by Armenian kings as well as maps and manuscripts of Cilicia printedthroughout the centuries. Sharing highlights from his photo collection of Cilicia during his video presen-

tation, Khatcherian provided commentary on the challenges of photographing inthe region, including the difficulties of reaching the fortresses and churches thatare located atop mountains and in areas covered with forests and woods. “In order to get the best shots, I take risks,” said Khatcherian, who hikes for

hours to reach the fortresses, weighed down by two cameras while dodging snakesin slippery and wet weather. He has even endured rocks being pelted at him bylocals due to his activity in the region. Nevertheless, he remains focused on histimely mission to photograph the fortresses before the Armenian inscriptions onthe edifices are erased.Khatcherian said he finds that art is a powerful way to connect with his

Armenian ancestry and he hopes he will inspire the upcoming generations to learnmore about their shared history.

“Visual images like maps, photographs and film are easily absorbed by thehuman brain,” he said. “As a kid it was almost impossible for me to learn Armenianhistory because of the lack of images in our textbooks and that the majority, if notall the teachers, had never set foot in the areas they were trying to teach us.” In order to fully encompass the scope of the ancient Armenian lands,

Khatcherian has traveled to Armenia over 150 times to photograph a multitude ofsee PHOTOGRAPHY, page 13

PosthumousFestschrift in HonorOf AcademicianBarkhudaryan

A Wide Glance to ArmenianWorldwide Presence – from

Javakhk to Oceania

By Artsvi Bakhchinyan Special to the Mirror-Spectator

YEREVAN — A new anthology of academicpapers, Collection of the Conference PapersDedicated to the 90th Anniversary ofAcademician Vladimir Barkhudaryan, was pub-lished recently by the Institute of History,National Academy of Sciences of Republic ofArmenia (NASRA). The conference was held atthe same Institute on September 27, 2017. Theeditor of the volume is Academician AshotMelkonyan, it is designed by Gevorg Stepanyan,Artsvi Bakhchinyan and Elizabeth Tajiryan.Academician Vladimir Barkhudaryan (1927-

2017), historian, doctor of historical sciences,professor, Honored Scientist of the Republic ofArmenia, organizer of academic life, was a well-known and esteemed figure among the academ-ic circles ofArmenia andDiaspora. Hestarted work atthe Institute ofHistory of theAcademy ofSciences of theArmenian SSRin 1958: as a sci-entific secretary( 1959 - 1963 ) ,senior scientificfellow (1963-1967), anddeputy director(1967-1990). At the same time, starting in 1975,he taught at Yerevan State University. From1990 to 2016, he was the head of the depart-ment of Armenian communities and Diaspora ofthe Institute. Barkhudaryan occupied high posi-tion at NASRA: member of the Presidium, aca-demic secretary of the NASRA, vice presidentand academic secretary, vice president and aca-demic secretary of the Department ofArmenology, Humanities and Social Sciences.The main areas of his research were the historyof Armenian communities, Armenian-Russianrelations, Armenian historiography andArmenian culture in Middle Ages.Barkhudaryan was the author of more than 100scientific works, including school textbooks onthe history of the Armenian people, as well asmonographs on various Armenian communitiesof Russia.Eighteen articles in the volume are in

Armenian, but there are also three articles inFrench and one in Italian. The majority of thecontributors are researchers of the departmentof Armenian communities and Diaspora ofNASRA. They all have English summaries; someare with illustrations.The volume opens by the words of apprecia-

tion of armenologist, philosopher, ArchbishopLevon Zekiyan, entitled “A bouquet of Flowerson your Grave, Dear Valodia,” an appreciation ofthe academic and personal qualities of the latehistorian. Archbishop Zekiyan, a lifelong closefriend of Barkhudaryan, shares his personalmemories about his “older brother.” The first article, “Pages from the History of

Aghkyorpi Village, the Birthplace of theAcademician Vladimir Barkhudaryan” by ArmenAsatryan, covers the partial history of theAghkyorpi village in Marneuli in Georgia, on thenorthern side of Lalvar Mountain. The village isan ancient Armenian settlement which used to

see ANTHOLOGY, page 15

Hrair Hawk Khatcherian

By Taleen Babayan Special to the Mirror-SpectatorSamuel White, left, with Kris Kalfayan

Prof. Vladimir Barkhudaryan

PHOTOGRAPHY, from page 12regions, during all four seasons, from the pic-turesque mountains of Artsakh to the biblicalMount Ararat to the honey and fruits through-out the Lori region. Dormant volcanoes, lakes,and significant sites, such as the Arax River,and all its accompanying natural beauty, havepropelled his work. Khatcherian’s title of “Captain,” that he

earned as a pilot has come in handy during histravels, particularly to Cilicia, since he had tojourney through Georgia down into Kars tostep foot on the soil. He also used his skillfulnavigation skills to access hidden and out ofreach sites. “I love adventure and discovery,” he said. His

long-term goal is to upload his entire photolibrary, estimated at one million, so the publiccan conduct research online in order to access

this “treasure trove” of fortresses, monasteries,churches, villages, coins, needlework andmanuscripts, among many other objects. In addition to his photographs, Khatcherian

presents in exhibitions and gives lecturesaround the globe. Other acclaimed books fromhis collection include, Artsakh: A PhotographicJourney, Karabakh:100 Pictures, Yergir, 100(1915-2015); Khatchkar, and Armenia: Heavenon Earth. Born in Beirut, Lebanon from descendants

who hailed from Zeitoun, Khatcherian moved toCanada in 1984 where he was an active partic-ipant in Diasporan activities, particularly in rela-tion to the Artsakh liberation movements in thelate 1980s. A turning point in his life occurred30 years ago when he was diagnosed with ter-minal cancer. As a way to ease his pain duringhis illness and subsequent treatment, he plas-

tered the walls of his hospital room with photosof Armenia and Artsakh. Since his full recovery,Khatcherian has dedicated his life to snappingphotos he could share with the world.

“I want people from Japan to Antarctica tounderstand what kind of a nation we are,” he said. “Hrair’s unwavering commit-

ment to documenting a widerange of Armenian treasures is atestament to our heritage’s richhistory,” said Hilda Hartounian,chair of the TCA Greater NewYork Executive Board. “Thisevent marked Tekeyan GreaterNew York’s fifth collaborationwith him, and we look forwardto building on our legacy of sup-porting similar cultural endeav-ors in the future.”TCA Greater New York

Executive Secretary ShoghigMedzadourian said she was“impressed by Hrair’s courageand perseverance to visit Ciliciaand take photos of ourArmenian landmarks.”“I was mesmerized by the quality and clarity

of the photographs projecting the beauty ofCilicia,” said Medzadourian, who was moved bythe images and wondered how life was once ledbehind those fortresses. “These photos serve asproof and document our powerful ArmenianKingdom that existed in Cilicia, reflecting ourrich culture and history.” Upcoming events on the cultural calendar for

TCA Greater New York include a Children’s

Song & Dance Show starring Joelle fromMontreal, Canada in her debut show in NewJersey on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at theHovnanian School in New Milford, NJ. Ticketsare $25 in advance and $30 at the door (chil-dren ages 2 and under are free). Light reception

to follow. For tickets, please text or email: Talia917.238.3970 (rsvptaliab@gmail.com), Salpie516.413.4178 (salpimegerian@gmail.com). OnFebruary 8, the TCA Greater New York will co-host a Valentine’s Dinner Dance with theHovnanian School PTO featuring entertain-ment by VOMAS. Mezze & dinner included witha cash bar Tickets are $60 adult, $30 childrenunder 13 in advance ($75 at the door). RSVP toNanor at mrsnanor@gmail.com.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Photographic Exhibition andBook PresentationFor Samvel Sevada

Organized byTCA, Pasadena-Glendale Chapter

Thursday, January 9, 20197:30 p.m.

At TCA, Beshgeturian Center(1901 N. Allen Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001)

The Exhibition will be open on Friday, January 10, from 5-10 p.m.

And on Saturday, January 11, from 10:00-12:00 a.m.

Everyone is invited Reception will follow

Photographer Khatcherian Brings Cilicia, Armenia to Life

TCA Greater New York Executive Board members with Hrair Hawk Khatcherian (l-r) Vartan Ilanjian,Hrair Hawk Khatcherian, Hilda Hartounian, Barkev Kalayjian and Shoghig Medzadourian

Hrair Hawk Khatcherian addresses the crowd.

Battle of Marash Is Topic of Book byAuthor Ellen Chesnut

ALAMEDA, CALIF. — Now residing in Alameda, author EllenSarkisian Chesnut’s second non-fiction book, We ArmeniansSurvived! Battle of Marash 1920, is available for purchase at theAmazon Kindle Store. The book consists of eye-witness accounts ofcivilians caught between the opposing forces of Turkish combatantsagainst the French army.“I knew my mother’s people, the Shamlians, Topalians and

Berberians of Marash, Turkey lost relatives to heartless torture beforebeing summarily killed but luckily they survived as did an adolescent,Lydia Bagdikian, not a family member, whose memoir is featured inthe book.”Chesnut first learned of her family’s experiences during the

Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 when she was an adolescent. Shealways wanted to let readers of history know the truth of what hap-pened. Chesnut succeeded in this with the publication, to over-whelmingly positive reviews, of her first book about her father pub-lished in 2014.Coincidentally, the United States House of Representatives on

Tuesday, October 29, overwhelmingly passed legislation (RES 296)by a 405-to-11 vote officially designating the 1915 mass killings of an

estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide.Her previous book was Deli Sarkis: The Scars He Carried, A Daughter Confronts The Armenian Genocide and

Tells Her Father’s Story.Readers can purchase Chesnut’s book at the Amazon Kindle Store and learn more about Chesnut on her web-

site: http://ellensarkisianchesnut.com/.

Ellen Sarkisian Chesnut

CONCERT, from page 12with joyous understanding by Samuel White.Solange Merdinian offered a lilting Oror: a ten-der song to lull an infant to sleep.Zevart Balikjian, with heartfelt passion,

shared Baruyr Sevag’s “Unsilenceable Belfry,” apowerful poetic tribute to Gomidas which shehad translated. She brought many in the audi-ence to tears as she recited the verse:“You are the sacred pool that purified our

souls, a priest of our lyrical poems, magus of ourArmenian notes: Our constantly and permanent-ly awake belfry that will never cease to ring.”

A ‘Jazzical’ RevelationTwo of the most renowned Armenian com-

posers, Aram Khachaturian and AlanHovhaness, stated that the “foundation ofArmenian music rests with Gomidas.” Indeed,no one has evoked the raw beauty of Armenianvillage life like Gomidas, whose legacy will liveon for the ages.His adaptability to all styles of music was

exemplified in an amazing segment of the con-cert featuring acclaimed pianist, producer, andarranger Joel A. Martin.Martin, who has collaborated with such lumi-

naries as Broadway’s Alan Menken and theMetropolitan Opera’s Kathleen Battle, present-ed a pianistic evocation of Gomidas’ folk music,titled “Jazzical Gomidas: Fire of Passion.” The

December 6 concert marked its world premiere.In a nuanced performance which garnered a

standing ovation, Martin seamlessly connectedseveral Gomidas folk melodies with superbartistry and understanding. His innovativeblending of traditional and jazz styles is certainto attract a wider audience to the incomparablegenius of Gomidas.

One of Gomidas most soul-searing and uni-versal songs, Homeless [Andouni], was sung byAlvard Mayilyan with raw powerful emotion.Ruthann Turekian softly sang Come Breeze[Hov Arek] — with both singers accompanied byMartin.

Awesome Power of MusicAmong the concert soloists were Alyne

Corrigan, Milagros Albrecht, AnoushGivelekian, Berdj Feredjian, Garabed Korogluand Talar Minoyan.A joyous Hoy Nazanim, accompanied by Joel

Martin and the New Docta Ensemble, concluded

the inspirational Christmas concert, compellingthe listeners to rise in a sustained ovation for theGomidas Choir, its talented and hard-workingdirector Kris Kalfayan, and all the participants.In his message, Findikyan called the concert

“exuberant,” expressing his appreciation to all thewho took part in the special event.“Tonight,” he stated enthusiastically, “we

have experienced an awesome power of music,stirring us at the deepest level, just as thechurch lifts us to our highest level. Gomidas,the unsurpassed priest, has given us the possi-bility to be agents of that power.”The concert was also a time to recall the

devoted founders of the choir, including IsahagAprahamian, Dr. Ara Bohcalian, and OnnigHepshen, all of whom were members of theGomidas Choir in its birthplace of Istanbul.During a splendid post-concert reception in

the Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium, 99-year-old Dikran Cherchian — who has sung withthe Gomidas Choir for 64 years — declared thatSamuel White’s rendition of Gali Yerk was“heavenly.” Cherchian noted that “it is a very

difficult piece, and one that I have alwaysloved.”Jazz impresario Joel Martin — who is plan-

ning a world tour for his “Jazzical Gomidas”project — revealed that “the pain and joy ofGomidas’ earthiness” spoke powerfully to himas an African-American. “It tethered me to theground, calming me, and giving me joy and thesimplicity of life,” he said.

“The music of Gomidas is for everybody,” headded. “If it touched me so deeply, then it will touchsomeone else. It’s not just a music thing: it’s a lifething. And it’s a joy to bring it to the world.”

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ARTS & LIVING

Soul of Gomidas Shines Through a Glorious Christmas Concert at Saint Vartan Cathedral

Conductor Kris Kalfayan

Members of the Gomidas Choir

Solange Merdinian

Suliman Tekalli on the violin

Cellist Yves Dharamraj

ANTHOLOGY, from page 12be part of Armenian Gugark province. In theearly Soviet times the village was part ofArmenia, but at the beginning of the 1930s,according to the decision of the Georgian-Azerbaijani minor authority of theTranscaucasian SFSR, along with the neigh-boring Armenian village of Chanakhchi, it wasgiven to the Republic of Georgia. TheseArmenian villages have been severely sufferingbecause of Stalin’s illegal redrawing of that partof the border. Barkhudaryan was born in thisvillage, and nowadays there are representativesof the Barkhudaryan family living in Aghkyorpi.Gevorg S. Stepanyan’s “Cultural

Contribution of the Artsakh Armenians to theDevelopment of Shirvan and Apsheron (A ShortReview)” shows how the Armenians beingancient inhabitants of the left bank of the KuraRiver, contributed to the social, political, eco-nomic, educational and cultural life of theregion. Historical sources testify that Armenianinfluence on the cultural developments ofShirvan and Apsheron was mostly spread fromGreat Armenia’s north-eastern provincesArtsakh and Utik.“Tumanian’s Understanding of the Literature

of Diaspora” by Susanna Hovhannisyan(Institute of Literature of NAS of RA) touchesthe insights of poet Hovhannes Tumanyan’sabout Armenian literature in Armenia andDiaspora. Before Tumanyan no one spoke clear-ly about the peculiarities of the literature ofArmenian communities and the motherland;the poet was convinced that it was necessary tounderstand the literature of communities in thecontext of the same national culture.Ani Fishenkjian’s “The Armenian Red Cross

of Aleppo (Historical Review)” sheds light onthe history of the Armenian National Red Crossof Aleppo, founded in 1919 due to the efforts ofseveral national figures of Aleppo, the maingoal of which was to support all needy people(in the fields of education and health), alongwith other humanitarian organizations. Thearticle is based on archive materials preservedat the Armenian Prelacy of Peria.“Three Armenian-Latin Funeral Inscriptions

of the 18th Century From Three Churches inRome” (in Italian) by Anna Sirinian (Universityof Bologna, Italy) presents three Armenian-Latin funerary inscriptions that were composedduring the 18th century and have been pre-served in three different churches in the heartof Rome. In addition to the transcription andtranslation of their texts, an attempt is made todiscern the reasons why the three individualsnamed in these inscriptions were buried inthese places rather than in the church of St.Mary the Egyptian, which was the center of theArmenian nation at Rome in that period.“The Armenian Presence in Oceania”

by Artsvi Bakhchinyan presents random factsabout temporary and permanent presence ofArmenians in Oceania. The first Armenian whoappeared in the region was musician YervantHagopian, who lived in Papua New Guinea thebeginning of the 20th century and recorded 26Guinean songs. The Hawaiian Islands are theonly place in Oceania where there is anArmenian community. In the 1920s, Hawaii’sArmenian Committee collected over $200,000for the Near East Relief. Honolulu-based artistArman Manookian (1904-1931) was called the“Hawaiian Gauguin.” There were also severalArmenian inhabitants in French Polynesia, like,Rouben Mirimanoff, whose three half-Tahitiandaughters live in Polynesia until today.Gerard Dedeyan (University of Montpellier,

France) in his French-language paper“Armenians and Crete (912-1669). A Review”points the early Armenian presence on thatGreek island: their role was great during theconquest of Crete by the Armenian emperor ofByzantium Nikepor Pokas and during theByzantine and Venetian rule. For the final studyof the issue, the academic examination of theArmenian manuscripts related to the relevantperiod may play an important role.Another paper in French, “Armenian-French

Relations For Centuries (Historical Overview)”by Claude Mutafian (France) outlines the cen-turies-long relations between two cultures,dividing them into four periods: a) before theCrusades (4-12th centuries), b) during theCrusades (12-14th centuries), c) from theCrusades to the Armenian Genocide (15-20thcenturies), d) post-Genocide period (end of 20th

century - beginning of 21st century). Theauthor briefly touches upon the relativelyimportant political, historical and culturalevents from the chronological point of view ofthe Armenian-French relations.The same author’s “Armenian vojvodes from

Moldova” (in French) presents the 16th-centuryMoldovan state figure Ion Voda, who accordingto the 17th-century Moldovan chroniclerUrechi, was of Armenian descent. He held thepost of Vojvod for a short time, from 1572 to1574, however, the period of his rule wasknown for its extreme cruelty to the local boars,the clergy and the Turkish-Tatar invaders.The “hero” of Elizabeth Tajiryan’s paper,

“Marquise Gregorio D’Agdollo (1707-1789)” isGregorio Agdollo, a merchant from New Julfa,owner of art galleries in Venice and Florence,who had a special role among the Armeniantraders of Venice of the first half of the 18thcentury. The written heritage of the era revealsthe close ties of Agdollo’s family with theMekhitarist Congregation of Venice and itsAbbot Mkhitar Sebastatsi.Hovhannes Aleksanyan’s “Armenians in

Poland and Baltic States in Modern Stage”informs how after the collapse of the USSRtens of thousands of Armenians arrived inPoland and Baltic states, where they wereactively engaged especially in trade. There arealso many renowned public, arts, cultural fig-ures who have established themselves in the

societies of these countries. Seta Ohanian’s “National Schools of

Christian Communities of Baghdad in theSecond Half of the 19th Century” pays atten-tion on education history of the IraqiArmenians: native Christian communities inBaghdad had their own national schools, two ofwhich belonged to the followers of theArmenian Apostolic Church. After the libera-tion of Iraq from the Ottoman yoke at thehands of Allied forces, these two schools wereunited into one co-educational institution.Vahe Sarkisyan’s “Javakhk Armenians’

Position on a Referendum on the Future of theSoviet Union on 17 March, 1991 (A DocumentStory)” discusses a matter from the newest peri-od of the history of Javakhk, the Armenian-pop-ulated region in Georgia, specifically how itspopulation decided do not participate in anationwide referendum on the preservation ofthe USSR on March 17, 1991. The call of“Javakhk” and “Parvana” public movements toinhabitants of Javakhk says that “the USSR isthe empire whose existence in itself is antidemo-cratic and it conducts policy of absolute power.”Vahram Gharakhanyan’s “On the Issue of

Armenian-Jewish Relations (A HistoricalOverview)” is a brief report on early contactsbetween the two ancient peoples, which some-times had military and political manifestations,yet were mainly of cultural, commercial and eco-nomic character. It is noteworthy also that

Jewish communities have been formed inArmenia since ancient times. Vartan Matiossian (USA) presents “The

Immigration Policy of the United States andthe Formation of the Armenian Communitiesin Latin America.” It is a well-known fact thatthe USA has passed a series of immigrationlaws by the Congress between 1882 and1924. This legislation accomplished the maingoal pursued by immigration groups: thealmost complete ban of so-called undesirableforeign immigration to the US, which wasessentially enforced until 1965. Knarik Avakian’s “The Armenians of USA

in the Context of the 20-21st CenturyArmenian-Russian Political Relations” notes,that if in the past positive Armenian-Russianrelations were directly proportional to thepositive Diaspora-Armenia relations, then inthe 21st century world arena the sweepingpolitical and social-economic processes tak-ing place in Russia and Armenia have createda political barrier between the relations ofArmenia (consequently also of Russia) andsome Diasporan (particularly Armenian-American) organizations. The current Festschrift has been published in

a very limited number, yet it is an importantcontribution in the field of Armenian commu-nities and Diaspora studies, enriching ourinsights from geographical and historical to cul-tural, geopolitical and other aspects,

15T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O RS A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0

ARTS & LIVING

This quince recipe was contributed by Robyn Kalajian at thearmeni-ankitchen.com. Like olives, quince is not edible when first picked.Cooked quince, however, has been savored throughout Asia and theMediterranean region for more than 4,000 years. Quince is native torocky slopes and woodland margins in Western Asia, Azerbaijan,Armenia, Turkey, Georgia, northern Iran to Afghanistan, although itthrives in a variety of climates and can be grown successfully at lati-tudes as far north as Scotland. California grown quince are harvestedin the fall and winter. Armenians have a particular fondness for quincethat's candied, jellied or cooked in stew to lend its sweetness to meat.

As quince cooks, it turns from gold to dusty rose; and eventually glowa vivid, sunset red. “Because of the high pectin in the pulp, the fruit israrely eaten out-of-hand,” says Barbara Ghazarian, author of the highlypraised cookbook Simply Quince, which won the North AmericanBooksellers Best Cookbook award as well as two other national awards.“Slow cooking releases the pectin strands from the cell walls. Oncereleased, the cooked fruit becomes supple and good eating,” Ghazarianadds.

INGREDIENTS:2 large ripe quinceJuice of 1/2 lemon1 1/2 cups water1 cup granulated sugar1 small cinnamon stickDash of salt

PREPARATIONPeel skin and core and cut into 1/4 inch slices. It is a hard fruit and requires strength to dice, so use caution. Take care not to cut your

hands when slicing quince. Place slices in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover with water and lemon juice to prevent quince from turning brown, and stir.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes and drain. Return quince to pot, add the sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, stick of cinnamonand salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until syrupy, and quince turns a slightly pinkish color.Remove pot from heat and discard cinnamon stick. Store, refrigerated, in a container with tight-fitting lid. This recipe should keep for up to 2 months. Serve topped with plain, unsweet-

ened, thick yogurt, clotted cream or crème fraiche, as a topping for ice cream and granola, or as a spread on toast, baked breads, or oncake slices. It can also be used as a condiment for chicken, turkey, lamb, beef or pork.*Pairings: Quince matches perfectly with marbled cheeses with a strong and aromatic taste such as Roquefort: a classic pairing for a

cheese board to share with family and friends.

Recipe Corner

Candied Quinceby Christine Vartanian Datian

Guest Recipe

A Wide Glance to Armenian Worldwide Presence – from Javakhk to Oceania

T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O RS A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 016

FEBRUARY 2 — Banquet Celebration welcoming ournewly consecrated Primate Bishop Daniel Findikyanfor his first pastoral visit, in conjunction with the 32ndAnniversary of consecration of St. David ArmenianApostolic Church on Sunday following the Holy Badarakat the Mardigian Hall – 12:30pm. For further informa-tion, please call St. David Church office – Christine 561-994-2335 Or Sonig Kradjian 607-727-8786“

JANUARY 12 — Sunday Cultural Series, 2-4 p.m.,Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main Street,Watertown, Adele & Haig Der Manuelian galleries, 3rdfloor. On the second Sunday of every month, join expertsGary and Susan Lind-Sinanian for a workshop onArmenian dance! Gary and Susan have collected morethan 100 village dances and shared these with the com-munity for the last 42 years. Learn Armenian dances per-formed at American picnics and traditional dances fromthe old country. Members FREE. Non-members$12. NOTE: The Museum’s elevator is in the process ofbeing upgraded and is currently out of service. Registeronline (https://www.armenianmuseum.org/classes) orcall Education Coordinator, Garin Habeshian at617.926.2562 ext. 103.

FEBRUARY 9 — A cappella concert by Boston JazzVoices to Benefit the Armenia Tree Project. 5 pm atthe Jenks Center, 109 Skillings Road, Winchester, MA.The venue has plenty of free parking. Event will featurean a cappella performance, refreshments, raffle, andsilent auction. Tickets are $30 each and a family four-pack of tickets is available for $100. Tickets available viaEventbrite at www.armeniatree.org/acappella

JANUARY 11 — Tekeyan Cultural Association ofGreater New York presents “A Children’s Song andDance Show,” starring Joelle. 2-4 p.m., Saturday, theHovnanian School, 817 River Road, New Milford. Tickets$25 in advance, $30 at the door. Children 2 and underfree. Joelle of Montreal will perform her first children’sshow in New Jersey. Light reception to follow. For ticketstext or email Talia, 917-238-3970, rsvptaliab@gmail.comor Salpie 516-413-4178, Salpimegerian @gmail.com.

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

MASSACHUSETTS

FLORIDA

NEW JERSEY

Calendar items are free. Entries should not belonger than 5 lines. Listings should include

contact information. Items will be edited to fitthe space, if need be. A photo may be sent

On January 11, the Tekeyan CulturalAssociation of Greater New York will pre-sent a children’s concert, “A Children’sSong and Dance Show,” featuringCanadian-Armenian singer Joelle. The pro-gram will be at the Hovnanian School, 817River Road, Milford, NJ, 2-4 p.m. A lightreception will follow. For tickets see calen-dar entry at right.

ARTS & LIVING

ARCHITECTURE, from page 1Yet, the evidence of Armenian life and culture

could not be totally eradicated; the very stones,albeit in ruins, could bear testimony to the storyof the people who once lived there, with theirhomes, their shops and factories, their schoolsand churches—above all, churches, chapels andmonasteries. Ani, the ancient capital of anArmenian kingdom, with its legendary 1001churches, is the most eloquent example. Whatwas most painful, as I wrote in a report on ourvisit, was to witness the attempt to eradicatememory itself. (Seehttps://mirrorspectator.com/2011/07/29/opinion-the-stones-will-cry-out/)

A Story of Cultural Genocide

Now Germans have the opportunity to makea similar journey through parts of historicArmenia, albeit not in person, but throughimages and words. On December 5, an exhibi-tion opened in Osnabrück, which documentsprecisely this history. “1915-2015. ArmenischeArchitektur und Genozid” is the title of theexhibition organized by the Erich MariaRemarque-Friedenszentrum (Peace Center) incooperation with the German-Armenian Society(DAG). The venue of the show is particularlysignificant. The Erich Maria Remarque PeaceCenter, founded in 1996 by the city and univer-sity of Osnabrück, is dedicated to the life andworks of the author best known for his “AllQuiet on the Western Front.” The center has anarchive open to researchers, and organizes reg-ular activities including exhibitions, lectures,film showings and symposia. Among them havebeen two events on Armin T. Wegner. For Dr.Raffi Kantian, president of the DAG, it is espe-cially appropriate to hold the exhibition at thiscenter; he stressed that whereas Remarque inhis world famous book, “described the horrorsof World War I on the Western front,” the exhi-bition presents the “consequences of the exter-mination of the Armenians on the Easternfront.” After greetings by Dr. Thomas F. Schneider,

from the Osnabrück University and an openingaddress by Mayor Birgit Strangmann, Dr.Kantian introduced the large audience to theevents of 1915 and the theme of the exhibition,which will run until January 19.

The question that the display poses and seeksto illustrate, is: “What impact has the genocidehad on the cultural legacy of the Armenians inTurkey?” Twenty-two huge panels (six-feet high)present in text and photographs the main sta-tions in the drama: first, Armenian life before1915 is depicted, in its multifaceted forms,through family photos, as well as scenes of

towns and cities where Armenians lived andworked, studied and prayed. Accompanying thepictures are texts providing background infor-mation for visitors who may be unfamiliar withthe subject.The deportations and massacres are illustrat-

ed, with explanatory texts based on accounts byAmerican Ambassador Henry Morgenthau andsurvivor Pailadzo Captanian. The next sectiondepicts the “Destruction of ArmenianLebensraum,” literally, the elimination of thephysical basis for continued existence. Here, aswe saw on our travels through eastern Turkeyin 2011, entire communities were wiped out,and with them, all the physical structures,whether homes or workplaces, buildings formanufacture or commerce, and, of course, theschools and places of worship. “Before” and

“After” photos of the same location, for examplein Sivas, show the complete replacement ofArmenian architecture by modern shoppingcenters.The fate of the cloisters and churches

deserves special treatment. Here the panelsshow historic photographs of the majesticchurches before and after the destruction, Surp

Garabed in Mush, for example.The image that symbolizes thetragedy and stands as emblematicfor the entire exhibition, is a 1900photograph of the magnificentKhtzkonk monastery, a complexof five edifices in Tekor, whichwas blown up in 1964, leavingone lonely church standing inruins against a devastated land-scape. Other monasteries, a hand-out for the exhibition explains,“were razed (KarmravorMonastery Surp Asdvadsadsin),destroyed and used as buildingmaterial for houses and mosques(Surp Garabed in Mush).” Worsestill, some churches were degrad-ed to function as barns, stalls,storage rooms or even prisons.The exhibition highlights the

Mush-Sasun-Van region for theimportant role it plays inArmenian history. As early as thefifth century, monasteries werevibrant centers of cultural activity,

which produced valuable manuscripts andminiatures; literary and spiritual life flourishedin the region which boasted up to 250 church-es, cloisters (as on the island of Lim) andfortresses among other architectural monu-ments. One exception to the rule of destructionis the Surp Khach on the island of Achtamar, ajewel of Armenian church architecture whichhas escaped ruin and even been renovated.Though reclassified as a museum and allowedonly one church service a year, this majesticstructure, with its unique bas relief sculptures,is a treasure to behold.Although many cities through the genocide

were deprived of their Armenian character,some, like Sivas, managed to maintain traces ofcommunity life. Here, the exhibition presents

the example of the Shahinyan family as testi-mony to the city’s history. The respected familyhails from a member of the first Ottoman par-liament in 1877, Agop Shahinyan; many pho-tographs record images of his family and theirhome (built in 1877), officially recognized as anoutstanding example of Ottoman architecture –without mention of its Armenian origins.

What’s In a Name?

It was a deliberate policy, pursued by theTurkish authorities since the genocide, to erad-icate the Armenian identity of the land, its his-tory and its culture, as embodied in its archi-tecture. Thus, the very name “Armenian” waserased from written records, whether they betexts for school children or place names in geo-graphical locations or maps. In Kars or Ani, ifreference is made to the Bagratids, there is nohint that the name might refer to Armenians. Urfa is yet another example of a city deprived

of its people and identity. Once it was home to38,000 Armenians before the genocide; skilledcraftsmen who worked as goldsmiths and car-pet weavers, they lived in a community withfunctioning schools and an active Protestantparish. During the Hamidian massacres, 3,000Armenians who had sought refuge in theirchurch, were burned to death in the SurpAsdvadsadsin. This was the city where theGerman humanitarian and pastor JohannesLepsius set up his rug factory, to provide refugeand employment to Armenian orphans. Today,one learns at the exhibition, the location hostsa hotel.This important and timely exhibition was

made possible through the efforts of many per-sons and institutions, among them, theArmenische Unternehmerverband e.V., HasmikHagopian, the two sponsoring associations, anda long list of individuals and organizations,which made the photographic material avail-able.(Material for this article has been taken from

an article by Giorgio Bavaj and AlfrantBedrosian, “1915-2015. ArmenischeArchitektur und Genozid. Eine Ausstellung.”The article, which is a handout for the exhibi-tion, has been published on the websitew w w . r e m a r q u e . u n i -osnabrueck.de/aktuell.html).

Johannes Lepsius (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Armenian Architecture and Genocide

17S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

The Caucasian Triangle StranglingArmenia

COMMENTARY

By Edmond Y. Azadian

In his heyday, Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili,made a hostile statement impacting Armenia during an official visitto Baku, the Azeri capital. He said, “Azerbaijan’s enemy is Georgia’senemy.”

No official retraction has ever been issued by any Georgian repre-sentative, at least, none publicly. And yet, that antagonism continuestowards Armenia, if not in word, certainly in deed.

Rocky relations between Armenia and Georgia have continuedthroughout the independence years, mainly because of latent jealousyof Georgians towards Armenians, but also because of Georgian hos-tility towards Moscow, Armenia’s primary strategic ally.

After Armenia’s Velvet Revolution, Yerevan’s overtures towardsTbilisi yielded nothing but some cosmetic changes. In 2018, the min-isters of defense of three countries — Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia— signed a military pact as a prelude for Georgia’s ambitions to joinNATO. That pact has placed Georgia squarely in the enemy camp.Thus far, that military pact has been kept on the back burner.However, economic cooperation and treaties between the three coun-tries in the Caucasus are equally threatening towards Armenia, asAnkara and Baku intend to isolate Armenia in the region.

Turkey has not abandoned yet its pan-Turanic ambitions, extend-ing from Ankara to Central Asia. There are two Christian nations inthat virtual empire’s path: Armenia and Georgia. The latter has will-ingly given up its historic mission in the region, leaving Armenia tobear the brunt of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s and TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fury. Aliyev’s recent outburstagainst Garegin Nzhdeh’s memory stems from the fact that theArmenian hero fought tooth and nail in 1921 to keep Zangezur as anintegral part of Armenian territory, blocking the Turkic drive towardsCentral Asia. The same resentment was expressed by PresidentErdogan at a recent conference of Turkish-speaking nations in Baku.

Another milestone was marked in the economic cooperationbetween the three nations, when the foreign ministers of the threecountries met in Tbilisi on December 23 to sign agreements on tradeand transportation. The agreements have also a political componentwhich concerns the settlement of outstanding disputes in the region.

The main thrust of the agreements is economics, particularly in theintegration of their respective power grids, as Azerbaijan plans toexport more electricity to Europe. Transportation is also on the agen-da, as initiatives have been taken to increase the use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars highways and to integrate them into China’s transporta-tion routes extending the country’s land reach to Europe.

The foreign ministers’ agreement calls for the recognition ofAbkhazia and South Ossetia on Georgian terms. Conversely, the set-tlement of the Karabakh conflict is proposed to be on Azerbaijani’sterms of territorial integrity. No reference is made to the right of self-determination of Karabakh.

Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkiani signed the agreementwithout a second’s hesitation.

Therefore, it behooves Armenia to respond in kind by recognizingthe independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But that move willnot be deemed politically correct, because Georgia remains the lastroute for Armenia in relation with the outside world, as Iran, theother transit route, is suffering under US sanctions.

There are many flies in the ointment when it comes to this trio’scooperation. In the first place, the Turkification of the Georgian econ-omy is viewed as a trap for many in Tbilisi. Specifically the region ofAjaria is integrated more with Turkey’s economy than Georgia’s.Another irony is that Georgia has been running away from Russia,while Ankara is getting close to Kremlin, creating an odd situation for

political planners in Tbilisi.On a different dimension, Azerbaijan is a thorn in Georgia’s side,

because of an intractable territorial dispute between them regardingthe David Gareja Monastic Compound, 80 percent of whose territorylies in Georgia, with the rest in Azerbaijan. Except, the latter fullyclaims the compound as part of its national heritage. Indeed,Azerbaijan has manufactured a fake history for all the Christianchurches and monasteries built by Caucasian Albanians on its lands.That claim also affects Armenians, whereas historians know thatCaucasian Albanians had no ethnic relations with Central AsianTartars who settled in the Caucasus in the 10th century.

Georgian hatred of Russian may rise to unreasonable levels, caus-ing some self-inflicted wounds.

Armenia’s relations with Georgia remain at arm’s length; Yerevanhas to navigate these treacherous waters prudently and mind its ownsurvival every minute of every day.

Established 1932

An ADL Publication

EDITOR

Alin K. Gregorian

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Aram ArkunART DIRECTOR

Marc Mgrditchian

SENIOR EDITORIAL COLUMNIST:Edmond Y. Azadian

CONTRIBUTORS:Florence Avakian, Dr. HaroutiunArzoumanian, Philippe Raffi Kalfayan,Philip Ketchian, Kevork Keushkerian,Harut Sassounian, Hagop Vartivarian,Naomi Zeytoonian

CORRESPONDENTS:

Armenia - Hagop AvedikianBoston - Nancy KalajianLos Angeles - Taleen BabayanBerlin - Muriel Mirak-Weissbach

Contributing Photographers:Jirair Hovsepian

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1509

Complicated History of Garegin NzhdehTo the Editor:

I read your editorial today on Garegin Nzhdeh (“A Deadly Dilemma,” December 7 issue). I find it brilliant! I am hoping that contribu-tions such as your editorial will help to desacralize Nzhdeh’s personality and to treat him neither as eternal hero nor as eternal traitorand Nazi collaborator. Right to the point! I loved the parallels with [Philippe] Petain and [Andrey] Vlasov.

Vahe SahakyanDetroit, Mich.

LETTERS

18 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

The Last BastionOf Rule of LawUnder Siege

By Philippe Raffi KalfayanSpecial to the Mirror-Spectator

On the eve of 2020, Armenia is facingpolitical chaos: the executive power is elim-inating all institutional components of aneffective system of checks and balances; thefight against corruption is selective andretroactive while new corruption schemes

and actors are not all yet apparent. One political group, oncesupportive of current prime minister, is declaring it will start aradical opposition next year. The diplomatic situation overNagorno-Karabakh is deadlocked while regional powers arerestructuring their alliances in a direction which may forceArmenia to make substantial concessions over Artsakh’s inde-pendence and controlled territories. The diaspora is totally leftout of the management of Armenia’s affairs and just invited tomake more donations, while the fundraising in the diaspora isobviously decreasing.

It must be noted meanwhile that the economy is experienc-ing a dynamic shift in sectors like agro-food, tourism, miningand IT, thanks to the strategy and measures decided and imple-mented by former Serzh Sargsyan’s team. Indeed, the visibleoutcome today is the result of past initiatives and cannot berooted in the measures adopted in the last 18months, since such achievements rely uponlonger cycles.

Therefore, one must wonder why there issuch obstinacy by the current leadership toconsecrate a one-party rule over all institutions,without safeguards to check their activities; wehave witnessed already some forced resigna-tions of young “post-revolution” officialsbecause of their temptation to make advantageof their functions to generate quick and illegit-imate revenues.

Reasons of State and NationalInterests

More perilous for the country’s security isthe insistence of some people to reopen thejudicial case of the assault on the ArmenianParliament in 1999. People familiar with statemanagement, in whatever country, includingthe most liberal and free ones, know perfectlythe doctrine of the “raison d’etat” (reasons of state). It must beused judiciously and very rarely and for that reason it has somesafeguards in place such as the principles of proportionality,strict necessity, non-discrimination and the protection of fun-damental rights. In other words, to reopen the case of October1999, the pros and cons of such a move must be weighed verythoroughly and the key question must be whether the conse-quences may be more serious than the concealment of thetruth. I personally don’t know the truth, but such are the rulesfor a sensitive case, and a real statesman must be aware of them.

National interests are thus rarely reasons of state. In the con-text of the incredible pressure put on the judges of theConstitutional Court (CC) to accept the early retirement schemeadopted by the Parliament on December 11, 2019, PresidentArmen Sarkissian, who has the authority to apply to theConstitutional Court for an assessment of the constitutionalityof the law proposing such a scheme, made a very ambiguousstatement to justify his decision to not take that action. Hedeclared that he made his decision to protect “national inter-est.” What does it mean? Does it mean that he knows about theconstitutional weaknesses of the law but prefers to avoid con-flict with the executive branch or does it mean that he is nottotally free and independent to make his decision?

Law as Political Coup

The circumstances and the clearly-stated objectives of thedraft law by both the government and the Parliament make thislaw an exclusively politically-grounded one. It aims at the sur-render of the last bastion of resistance to a monolithic politicalpower. Indeed, 7 out of 9 judges are presumed opponents to thecurrent executive, due to their appointment by former rulersand parliaments. But, there is no serious shred of evidence tosustain the allegations that their performance has been com-promised. The executive and the parliament political majoritybase their presumption on the alleged perception of CC judgesby the public. When talking with the Council of Europe VeniceCommission, the executive, short of argument, justifies the lawby the necessity to achieve institutional revolution in the con-text of 2018 post-revolution.

The presumption of guilt is against the general principles oflaw, which impose on the contrary a presumption of innocence.In the present case, it amounts to a crime of opinion, which is

a strictly prohibited. Freedom of opinion is a universal funda-mental right.

Basing a presumption on “public perception” is nonsense. Itis quite difficult, even somewhat impossible, to seriously mea-sure public opinion. Indeed, public opinion considers all offi-cials in general as suspects, especially if hired or appointed byformer rulers. Then, should all of them be forced to retire early?

There is confusion between the anti-corruption policy and thenecessity to control all levers of power, while they areautonomous processes, and the assaults against the rule of laware prohibited by the Constitution.

The anti-corruption policy is the best guarantee for the nor-mal functioning of the judiciary, including that of the CC. Thereis no necessity to remove the judges, especially because there isno guarantee that the new ones, surely less experienced andchosen by the current parliament, will be independent.

Controlling all segments of power is a violation of the funda-mentals of a democratic country. Rule of law necessitates theseparation of powers. Now, we are back to sovietisation.

In Armenia, as well as in all post-Soviet countries, the systemof checks and balances has to be real and operating for the sakeof democracy and freedoms.

In a healthy democracy, political space has to be given to theopposition, and the Constitution is made for that purpose: tosecure political alteration without restructuring the whole andwithout removing the members of the CC each time there is anew occupant leading the executive branch. The most extremeexample is that of the US Supreme Court, where judges areappointed for life. If a Democrat president was to be elected in4 or 8 years from now, he/she might face a conservativeSupreme Court. In France, similarly, the nominations of mem-bers of the Constitutional Council don’t reflect the politicalparty in power.

Promulgating this law, while there are similar attempts inPoland, where everyone may witness the negative reaction ofEuropean Union, means more problems with EU institutions as

far as Armenia’s standing and future aid programs, although, Imust admit, the European Commission has never understoodthe realities of post-Soviet countries. They actually prefer tospend their budgets than understand those realities.

The CC turbulence is happening because of the ambition ofone person. Although elected to the CC, Vahe Grigoryan is notparticipating in the CC sessions and instead orchestratesmanoeuvres outside the court in order to topple the sevenjudges and become, if successful, the president of the court.

The law was unnecessary and a constitutional amendmentwas preferable.

The law passed by the RA Parliament respects one aspect ofthe opinion provided by the Venice Commission, which saysthat voluntary early retirement must be clearly true.

In fact, considering the law adopted and the publicly admit-ted political objectives by the Parliament and the Executive(Ministry of Justice), as well as all the judicial and politicalharassments made on CC Chair Hrayr Tovmasyan and his fam-ily, the law and its aims are manifestly contravening the criteriaimposed by the Venice Commission. They exclude: any undue(political or personal) pressure on the judges concerned by theoffer and any on-purpose design of the law to influence the out-come of pending cases (i.e. Robert Kocharyan’s case). Moreover,they warn about the potential risks of simultaneous retirementof several judges and even as many as seven out of nine justicesthat might hamper the effective functioning of the Court.

As a conclusion to this question, considering the threat overthe separation and independence of powers, ignoring the rec-ommendations of the Venice Commission, this law is an assaulton the rule of law. It would have been preferable to suggest themodification of the Constitution through a public referendum.

Foreign observers, including those on the VeniceCommission, as well as many domestic analysts and journalists,explained the obvious: we cannot change the judges of the CCeach time there is a new political leadership in the country. TheVenice Commission says: “Immovability is designed to shield theconstitutional court judges from influence from the politicalmajority of the day. It would be unacceptable if each new gov-ernment could replace sitting judges with newly elected ones oftheir choice” (para 58 of their opinion). It is common sense!

Does it mean that the current political majority exclude anyidea of political alternation in the future?

The Law Is UnconstitutionalA review of the Constitution and the Law on Constitutional

Court shows quite clearly that this law violates the Constitutionand its law on the Constitutional Court.

The separation of powers is secured in the Constitution: thereis no provision for special circumstances or context to violatethe balance of powers.

We may consider also the violation of the constitutional arti-cle which provides that: “any influence on a judge of the CCwith respect to her/his functions shall be impermissible andshall be prosecuted by law.” Due to the clear objective of theExecutive and Legislative, which is to get rid of the judges whomay presumably oppose them, the law violates this article.

Popular comments talk about “bribing”: we are not far fromreality. We shifted from the reign of hidden bribing to trans-parent bribing. We may indeed consider this advantageousretirement scheme as a “gift” in violation of the constitution.The scheme may be considered a favor or a benefit.

More clearly, this law is a violation of the principle of equali-ty of citizens before the law. What other public officials areoffered by law the same benefit for early retiring? None, noteven judges from other courts. It may be counter-argued thatthey are the only Armenian officials to benefit from a lifetenure. But this is not true anymore in the New Constitution.Even, if this argument were valid, the Constitution must speci-fy this exception and the remedy against it in the transitionalprovisions. This is not the case.

In respect to the claim by the Executive and Legislativebranches that judges on the Constitutional Court hold opinionsin opposition to the current political leadership, we may alsoconsider that this is a violation of article 29 of the Constitution,which prohibits any discrimination against citizens based onpolitical views. Judges of the CC are citizens like others. Theyshould enjoy the same rights and freedoms. They are onlybound to respect strict rules of confidentiality and not expresspublicly personal opinions on subjects and topics which are

related to cases reviewed by them.

Conf lict of Interest

The CC is supposed to verify the con-stitutionality of any single law, withoutany restriction as to the content of thelaw submitted to it. There is nothing inthe Constitution which may have pre-vented the CC judges to analyse and todeliberate on this law, which concernsthemselves. It means that nothing in theConstitution or in the Law on the CC pre-vents them from being consulted on thatlaw.

The matter is then not legal, but ismore of a perception by the public. This isprobably what the promoters of this laware betting on. This was a trap not onlyfor the CC judges but also for the presi-dent of the republic, if he were to apply tothe CC.

One way for the CC to establish credibility regarding theirdecision could have been to submit their opinion, once formed,to the Venice Commission before releasing it in Armenia.

This did not happen as the president decided to not apply theCC for an opinion about constitutionality.

President Sarkissian revealed himself to be a wise moderatorin the political landscape and a good representative in the pro-motion of Armenia to attract foreign investors. He has beendoing a very good job since his coming into power. However, hishands are tied as it relates to domestic politics stakes.

I had anticipated in March 2018(https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/03/15/new-constitution-the-promised-democracy-is-yet-another-defeat/) that the doubtsover the compliance of Armen Sarkissian’s eligibility for thepost of president, precisely regarding the citizenship conditions,may hamper his ability to manoeuvre.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, former Minister of JusticeArtak Zeynalyan and his shadow advisor Vahe Grigoryan, havesince gotten proof that his citizenship conditions, as required bythe Constitution for being a candidate for president, were notfully compliant.

Did this fact influence the president’s decision? It is difficultto say, but he was eventually backed into a trap. If he were toapply to the CC, he would have been in open conflict with thePrime Minister. If he decided, like he did, to not apply, he wouldbenefit from the good will of future CC members, if VaheGrigoryan succeeds in getting the post of court president. Inboth options, there is no margin to manoeuvre when someoneis at the mercy of others’ good will or blackmail. The “nationalinterests” in this case, may have a personal element.

Therefore, the seven judges of the CC targeted by all thoseshameful and dirty manoeuvres are left alone in their defenceof the last bastion of the rule of law in the Republic of Armenia.They must be supported by the political forces and society inorder to reject the offer and prevent this Machiavellian scenariofrom succeeding.

[Philippe Raffi Kalfayan, based in Paris, is a Lawyer, Lecturerin International Law and a former Secretary General of FIDH(International Federation of Human Rights). He is a regularcolumnist for the Mirror-Spectator.]

There is confusion between theanti-corruption policy and the

necessity to control all levers ofpower, while they are autonomousprocesses, and the assaults againstthe rule of law are prohibited by

the Constitution.

S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

19

My TurnBy Harut Sassounian

President Trump is not Worthy ofRecognizing the ArmenianGenocide

After both Houses of Congress, one overwhelmingly andthe other unanimously, adopted two Resolutions in recentweeks recognizing the Armenian Genocide, many were hop-ing that this would lead President Trump to also recognize itin his upcoming April 24, 2020 statement, even though he isnot obligated to do. After all, a total of 505 members of bothHouses of Congress had supported both Resolutions withonly 11 opposing them, which placed over 94 percent of theUS Congress in favor.

However, President Trump disappointed the vast majorityof the world, except for Turkish and Azerbaijani denialists, byhaving the State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagusannounce last week that “the position of the administrationhas not changed. Our views are reflected in the president’sdefinitive statement on this issue from last April.”

The State Department’s announcement snubbing the twoResolutions was made after Turkish President Recep TayyipErdogan threatened to expel US troops from two airbases inTurkey and to ask the Turkish Parliament to adopt a Resolutionrecognizing the killings of Native Americans as genocide.

In the last three years, President Trump has not used theterm “Armenian Genocide” to refer to the intentional masskillings of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.President Trump has thus followed the precedent ofPresidents Obama, Bush Junior, Bill Clinton, and BushSenior, all of whom had refrained from describing theArmenian mass killings as genocide. The only exception wasPresident Ronald Reagan who had issued a PresidentialProclamation on April 22, 1981, referring to the Armenianmurders by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

In his April 24, 2019 statement, President Trump used var-ious euphemisms to refer to the “Armenian Genocide” with-

out using that term: “Beginning in 1915, one and a half mil-lion Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched totheir deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.”President Trump added, “We welcome the efforts ofArmenians and Turks to acknowledge and reckon with theirpainful history.” Furthermore, President Trump used theArmenian term “Meds Yeghern” (Great Crime) to avoid usingthe words “Armenian Genocide.” President Trump simplycopied the same term used by President Obama. Regrettably,President Trump, who regularly rejects most of PresidentObama’s policies, has decided to follow his predecessor’srejection of using the term “Armenian Genocide.”

Some of President Trump’s supporters were irritated thata few newspapers had referred to President Trump by nameas rejecting the term “Armenian Genocide.” Even thoughPresident Trump had not made a personal announcement onthis issue, the State Department, as part of the Trump admin-istration, would not have made such a statement without theapproval of its “Big Boss!” Besides, the State Department’sspokeswoman herself referred to President Trump’s state-ment of last April. The only point in favor of President Trumpis that he had not made a campaign promise to recognize theArmenian Genocide, as opposed to his four predecessors.While he does not have the obligation to keep a campaignpromise he had not made, he should not have been gaggedby the dictator of Ankara and pursue his personal financialinterests as John Bolton, the former National SecurityAdvisor, has indicated.

Even though April 24, 2020 is still ahead of us, and giventhe unpredictable nature of President Trump, one cannot besure if he would use the term “Armenian Genocide” at thattime, I for one have no expectation of him facing the truthand abandoning his private interests.

Last week, there was a major development that may weighheavily on the prospects of President Trump’s reelection. OnDecember 19, 2019, Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of ChristianityToday, an influential evangelical magazine, wrote an editorialtitled: “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.” ChristianityToday was founded by Rev. Billy Graham. This is an impor-tant editorial given the fact that the overwhelming majorityof white evangelicals support President Trump.

Here is how the editorial justifies the removal of PresidentTrump from office:

1) President Trump’s attempt to coerce the Ukrainian lead-er to investigate his political opponent (Joe Biden) is “notonly a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it isprofoundly immoral.”

2) “This president has dumbed down the idea of moralityin his administration. He has hired and fired a number of peo-ple who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admit-ted to immoral actions in business and his relationship withwomen, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feedalone — with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies,and slanders — is a near perfect example of a human beingwho is morally lost and confused.”

3) “We believe the impeachment hearings have made itabsolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not,that President Trump has abused his authority for personalgain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachmenthearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficienciesfor all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency,damages the reputation of our country, and damages boththe spirit and the future of our people. None of the presi-dent’s positives can balance the moral and political danger weface under a leader of such grossly immoral character.”

4) “Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office bythe Senate or by popular vote next election — that is a mat-ter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, webelieve, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to theCreator of the Ten Commandments.”

5) “To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade,to say that no matter how many hands we win in this politi-cal poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of grossimmorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we thinkit’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’swhen the whole game will come crashing down. It will crashdown on the reputation of evangelical religion and on theworld’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crash-ing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare isalso our concern.”

Armenian Americans and their supporters should continueto shame anyone who does not recognize the ArmenianGenocide, starting from President Trump, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo, and the 11 Republican members of the Houseof Representatives who voted against the Armenian GenocideResolution on October 29, 2019. They are: Greg Pence, LarryBucshon, James Baird, and Susan Brooks of Indiana, MikeRogers of Alabama, Andy Harris of Maryland, Virginia Foxand Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Tom Cole ofOklahoma, and Mac Thornberry and Kevin Brady of Texas.

No Armenian-American should vote for President Trump innext year’s Presidential election nor for the 11 Republicanmembers of Congress who voted against the ArmenianGenocide Resolution!

What the US House’sImpeachment InquiryWouldn’t Ask AmbassadorMarie Yovanovitch By David Boyajian

URKEY, the increasingly wayward NATO member,has been making more national and internationalheadlines than usual.

On October 29, for instance, the US House ofRepresentatives overwhelmingly passed (405-11)Resolution 296. It recognized the Armenian,Assyrian, Greek, and other Christian genocidescommitted by Turkey.

A contentious, widely criticized White Housemeeting involving President Trump, Turkey’s autocraticPresident Erdogan, and Republican senators then took placeon November 13.

Two days later, Marie L. Yovanovitch, dismissed by PresidentTrump in May of 2019 as US Ambassador to Ukraine, testifiedon national TV before the House Select Committee onIntelligence’s impeachment inquiry. Her dismissal, she alleged,occurred because Trump attorney and confidant RudyGiuliani, Donald Trump Jr., Fox News hosts, and others hadbeen slandering her as disloyal to the president.

There are intriguing links among the House’s Genocide res-olution, the Trump-Erdogan-Senators meeting, andYovanovitch who was President George W. Bush’s (“Bush II”)Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia.

What no Democratic or Republican committee memberdared ask Yovanovitch — and what she didn’t wish to discuss— was her apparent 13-year-long failure to criticize the scan-dalous dismissal and forced early retirement of a fine Americandiplomat, John Marshall Evans.

Evans was Bush II’s ambassador to Armenia (June 2004 toSeptember 2006). Yovanovitch followed him in that post(September 2008 to June 2011).

Due to senators’ revulsion at Evans’ dismissal, the ambas-sadorship stood empty for two years.

Armenian American communities always host US ambas-sadors to Armenia. In February of 2005, Ambassasdor Evans

told them, “I will today call it the Armenian Genocide” because“it is unbecoming of us as Americans to play word games.”

It was an honest admission of America’s 90-year-long recog-nition of Turkey’s extermination (1915-23) of 1.5 millionArmenian Christians. But the State Dept. disliked Evans’ useof the word “genocide.” Turkey cried foul too.

At Turkey’s insistence, the State Dept. tells American diplo-mats and presidents to avoid the G word (genocide) regardingthe Armenian extermination. Such spinelessness, while typicalof the State Dept.’s traditional obsequiousness towardsTurkey, is a disgrace.

Yet Ambassasdor Evans was simply echoing, as but oneexample, President Reagan’s Proclamation 4838 in 1981which cited “the genocide of Armenians.”

Regrettably, post-Reagan presidential statements commemo-rating the Genocide have avoided the G word. They employeuphemisms such as “annihilation,” “forced exile and murder,”“infamous killings,” “terrible massacres,” and “marched totheir death.”

However, House resolutions in 1996 (Res.3540), 1984 (Res.247),and 1975 (Res.148) affirmed the Armenian “genocide.”

Perhaps more significantly, a US filing in 1951 with theInternational Court of Justice (“World Court”) cited “theTurkish massacre of the Armenians” as “genocide.”

Use of the G word remains important for legal reasonsbecause it is defined in the UN Genocide Convention/Treatyof 1948 which most countries have signed.

Ambassasdor Evans Punished

Ambassasdor Evans was nevertheless forced to issue a clar-ification in late February of 2005 for uttering the G word. Butthe State Dept. didn’t like its wording. So it wrote a clarifica-tion of the clarification and ordered Evans to sign it. ThoughEvans bravely toiled on, his 33-year career was in jeopardy.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) has over16,000 current and retired Foreign Service members. In 2005,after Ambassasdor Evans had uttered the G word, AFSAannounced he would receive its prestigious “ConstructiveDissent Award.”

The award recognizes “initiative, integrity, intellectualcourage and constructive dissent” and diplomats who “ques-tion the status quo and take a stand no matter the sensitivityof the issue or the consequences” and “stick his/her neckout.” Perfect descriptions of Ambassasdor Evans.

But Turkish anger and Bush II’s State Dept. bullied AFSAinto withdrawing the award. AFSA’s excuse: Evans’ “genocide”dissent hadn’t gone through official channels. Had Evans done

so, though, his entreaty would surely have wound up in ashredder.

Cong. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) blasted the AFSA for setting “aterrible example.” The award “was taken from [Evans] becauseof politics and denial.”

Compare Evans’ courage with Yovanovitch’s publiclybemoaning her recall from Ukraine. Still a State Dept. employ-ee, she’s now a Senior State Dept. Fellow at GeorgetownUniversity’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.

Her predecessor Ambassasdor Evans, in contrast, was driv-en into early retirement in 2006 by the White House. “Born-again Christian” Bush II kowtowed to Turkish pressure overthe genocide of a Christian nation.

In 2008, Bush II nominated Yovanovitch as Ambassador toArmenia. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee conductedher confirmation hearing.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and others were upset thatneither Yovanovitch nor Bush II would acknowledge the anni-hilation of Armenians as “genocide.” She also incorrectly tes-tified that no president had cited the killings of Armenians as“genocide.” As we know, Pres. Reagan did so in 1981.

After a brutal battle, the Senate nevertheless confirmed herin August of 2008.

As ambassador to Armenia, Yovanovitch was reportedlyasked whether she’d acknowledge the Armenian Genocide ifthe president were to do so. One would assume she’d simplysay yes. Instead, she dodged the question.

An “ambassador serves his president and may be recalled atany time and for any reason [emphasis added],” she replied. “Itfully depends on the president.”

If Yovanovitch really believed that, why is she grumblingabout being recalled from Ukraine?

Indeed, newly-elected presidents including Obama andTrump usually require current ambassadors to submit theirresignations. Perhaps Obama-appointee (Aug. 2016)Yovanovitch should be grateful that Trump kept her on for 28months.

Yovanovitch visited Armenian American communities in2009. She again frustrated them with evasive answers aboutthe Genocide and the conflict between Armenians andAzerbaijan over Armenian-majority Karabagh/Artsakh. Iattended one such visit in Arlington, Mass.

And, apparently, Yovanovitch has never commented onAmbassasdor Evans’ dismissal.

The largely unheralded John Evans stands head and shoul-ders above Yovanovitch, a media darling.

see INQUIRY, page 20

T

INQUIRY, from page 19

Obama and Other Flip-Floppers

As a presidential candidate in 2008, SenatorObama and his soon-to-be National SecurityCouncil member and UN Ambassador SamanthaPower promised Armenian Americans to acknowl-edge the Armenian Genocide if he became presi-dent. Power’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Problemfrom Hell (2002) devoted chapter 1 to theArmenian Genocide.

Yet President Obama and Power later avoid-ed the G word.

When Hillary Clinton became Obama’sSecretary of State (2009-13), she flip-floppedtoo. She avoided the G word that she’d used asa New York senator and 2008 presidential can-didate.

In 2010, Sec. Clinton laid flowers atArmenia’s Genocide Memorial. She stressed,however, that her stealthy visit was merely “pri-vate,” not official.

Yet she and Presidents Clinton, Bush II, andObama have officially paid their respects at theKemal Ataturk mausoleum/memorial inAnkara, Turkey. Ataturk was the Turkish leaderwho continued the Genocide againstArmenians and Christian Greeks and Assyriansfrom 1919 onwards.

While they avoid the G word for theArmenian Genocide, these top American lead-ers are comfortable honoring a Turkish geno-cidist.

The Armenian Genocide is nearly universallyaccepted by expert historians, despite Turkey’sabsurd denials. Indeed, for one hundred years,historians have possessed Turkish telegramsthat explicitly ordered mass murder. These havebeen proven, yet again, to be absolutely gen-uine.

Like his immediate predecessors, Pres.Trump has avoided the G word. But he hascalled the Armenian Genocide “mass atrocities”and (as did Obama) “Medz Yeghern” (Armenianfor Great Crime).

Some impeachment inquiry members knewall about Yovanovitch’s failure to acknowledgethe Armenian Genocide and Evans’ dismissaland coerced retirement. Had they brought it up,however, they would have been walkingthrough political minefields.

Political Minefields

Republican committee members could easilyhave damaged Yovanovitch’s credibility. Theycould have revealed her evasions regarding theArmenian Genocide in her 2008 confirmationhearing and her apparent ongoing failure toexpress dismay at Evans’ dismissal from thepost she inherited. Yet they failed to bring anyof this up.

After all, it was Bush II, a Republican, whodismissed Ambassasdor Evans, appointedYovanovitch, failed (as has Trump) to recognizethe Armenian Genocide, and pressured AFSAto rescind its award to Evans. Plus, RepublicanSpeaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois withdrew anArmenian Genocide resolution in 2000, partlyat the behest of former Israeli Foreign MinisterShimon Peres.

As for Democrats, committee ChairmanAdam Schiff (D-CA) represents a sizeableArmenian constituency in Los Angeles. Heknows Yovanovitch’s record very well. ButDemocratic presidents Clinton and Obamathemselves avoided the G word. So Schiff saidnothing. Moreover, in 2007 DemocraticSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) withdrew anArmenian Genocide resolution.

Hence, the impeachment inquiry committeedidn’t broach the Yovanovitch/Evans issueeven though Turkish and Armenian issues weresimultaneously swirling around Washington.

And, of course, had questions about Evansled to the hypocritical roles of the Jewish lobbyand Israel in denying/diminishing, and defeat-ing resolutions on, the Armenian Genocide,Congress would have been highly embarrassed.

US Senate Resolution

The Senate has a pending Genocide resolu-tion (Res.150) identical to that the House justpassed.

But GOP Senators Lindsay Graham of SouthCarolina, David Perdue of Georgia, James Rischof Idaho, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnellof Kentucky have blocked a vote on it.

President Erdogan is undoubtedly threaten-ing the White House over the resolution andother issues. It doesn’t help that PresidentTrump’s investments in Turkey constitute, inhis own words, “a little conflict of interest.”

On May 11, 1920 the Republican majoritySenate passed Resolution 359 on the “mas-sacres and other atrocities from which theArmenian people have suffered.” The resolutioncouldn’t use the G word because it was coinedonly in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin. He recog-nized Turkey’s extermination of Armenians as aseminal genocide and drafted the UN GenocideConvention/Treaty.

Few Americans know that PresidentsCleveland, Harrison, McKinley, TeddyRoosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, and Hooveralso condemned the atrocities Turkey perpe-trated against Armenians and others overdecades.

Why It Matters

Does any of this matter? Aside from moral and humanitarian consid-

erations, yes.

The Caucasus — Armenia, Azerbaijan, andGeorgia — remains a geopolitical hotspot and amajor flash point between the US and Russia.Much is at stake.

Turkey has threatened Armenia, sometimeswith genocidal memes, since the latter’s inde-pendence in 1991.

Armenia’s 2 million or so Christians aretrapped between hostile Turkey and Azerbaijanwith their combined 90 million populations.Turkey and Azerbaijan are allies. Moreover,Israel and the powerful Jewish lobby are alliesof Azerbaijan and unfriendly to Armenia.

Armenia’s existence, therefore, is continuallyin peril. It’s a major reason why Armenia alliesitself with Russia, the nearest major Christianpower.

Armenia has also excellent relations with theUS and Europe.

But when American presidents and the StateDept. play word games with the ArmenianGenocide, this does not reassure Armenia,which must draw negative conclusions aboutAmerica’s trustworthiness and intentions.

That, in turn, is not in America’s interests.In 2008, Cong. Jim Costa (D-CA) wrote the

following to Yovanovitch:“Denying a traumatic event such as genocide,

one cannot create, nor implement, honest andeffective diplomacy.”

Those words ring truer than ever.(Many of the author’s articles can be found at

http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/David_Boyajian.)

20 S A T U R D A Y, J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 2 0 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

What the US House’s Impeachment Inquiry Wouldn’t Ask Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

Governor General Appoints Gundjian, Sarkissian Members of Order of CanadaGUNDJIAN, from page 1

In the past, from 1967 to 2015, only 6,530people from all walks of life have beenappointed to the Order. The official pressrelease that appeared in the Canadian presson December 28 names 120 distinguishedrecipients who have been appointed or pro-moted to the different ranks of the Order onthis date for their respective exceptional life-time accomplishments.

Governor General Payette will invest thenew recipients at Rideau Hall in Ottawa soonat an official investiture ceremony, whereindividual official citations will be made foreach recipient.

Since the establishment of the Order ofCanada Honours System in 1967, there havebeen only a handful of recipients of this highhonor of Armenian descent. These includeCompanions of the Order, the late photogra-pher Youssouf Karsh, C.C. (1990) and filmdirector Atom Egoyan, C.C. (2015), andOfficer of the Order, the late CharlesAznavour, O.C. (2008).

Dr. Gundjian provided his reflections uponreceiving this distinction:

“The news of this high honor award wasconveyed to me first a few weeks back, by

a telephone call. I saw on the screen thatthe call was coming from the office ofthe gg.ca, the office of the GovernorGeneral of Canada. That certainly does nothappen often…it looked unusual. As Ianswered, the person identified herself andadded, ‘Dr. Gundjian, I am happy to informyou that you have been recommended tobe appointed by the governor general ofCanada a Member of the Order of Canada.Do you accept the appointment?’ I wasstunned, obviously surprised, and some-what emotional. I instantly felt profoundlyhonored and vindicated. This was thecountry’s highest level of recognition…Iimmediately replied, ‘Yes, thank youMa’am very much, I accept!’

“Indeed, the process of selection beinghighly confidential, I was not ready for suchnews.

“I was then detailed the consideration ofthe different components of my five decadesactivities, professional, but most particularlythose related to the Armenian communitywithin Canada and the diaspora which hadled the prestigious Advisory Council to makeits recommendation.

“The whole 50-year story often runs,

indeed, before my eyes. Our Canadian com-munity has started from a large crowd ofmany talented newcomers in a state of a veryflimsy communityinfrastructure and itgrew very quickly tobecome one of the bestorganized vibrant com-munities in the world.It would be false mod-esty to deny that myshare in that processwas truly crucial, oftenat the expense of myown personal interests.

“With many dedicat-ed members of thecommunity, I indeedhad ended up leadingthe first successfulefforts for the realization of Church, school,Diocese, publications and other structures.But then, all of that had to be further devel-oped and maintained over the years.Simultaneously, our community had tobecome a meaningful component of theentire Armenian world and a useful con-tributing part of the Diaspora-Armenia net-

work. There are So many issues, so manylines of thoughts, different and competingapproaches. All of that has to be dealt with.

It is a never-ending process.“Well, that telephone call from Canada’s

Governor General Secretariat was gratifying.I felt indeed vindicated and gratified. I washappy. The meaning of all of the above was,after all, receiving the seal of approval at thehighest level of my beautiful country,Canada.”

Greg Sarkissian