INSIDE

NEWS IN BRIEF

Bardakjian Looks Back

Page 6

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

Mirror- SpectatorMirror- SpectatorTHE ARMENIAN

Volume LXXXXI, NO. 3, Issue 4671

FEBRUARY 6 , 2 021

$ 2.00

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

Church Insists onPashinyan’s ResignationECHMIADZIN (Armenpress) — Catholicos of All

Armenians Karekin II has reiterated the church’sstance demanding the Prime Minister Pashinyan tostep down.

“There is no change in our convictions andstance,” the Armenian Church leader told reporterson January 28. “Never before has the country beenin such a difficult situation, we’ve never had such aloss of the homeland, the country has never facedsuch dangers. Uncertainty for tomorrow has neverbeen so alarming for our people,” Karekin II said.

He reiterated that the church is guided by nation-al and state interests.

He publicly asked the Prime Minister NikolPashinyan to resign in December 2020.

Aram I, the Catholicos of the Great House ofCilicia, joined Karekin II in the appeal.

Russian-ArmenianCosmonaut in TrainingMOSCOW (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Russian-

Armenian cosmonaut Harutyun Kiviryan has beenselected as a test candidate for RoscosmosCosmonaut Team and could fly into space, the aero-space research company revealed in a statement onFebruary 1.

The Interdepartmental Commission (IAC) for theselection of cosmonauts and their appointment tospacecraft and stations crews decided to recom-mend Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center appointfour people to the positions of test cosmonaut can-didates of Roscosmos Cosmonaut Team. The deci-sion came into force on January 27, 2021 followingan open contest started in 2019.

The candidates will train for the next two years. Kiviryan was born on August 23, 1993 in the

Republic of Adygea.

Armenia ‘Did Not AskCSTO to Help’

MOSCOW (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Armenia didnot request the Collective Security TreatyOrganization (CSTO) mechanisms to resolve theconflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, CSTO SecretaryGeneral Stanislav Zas said at a press conference onFebruary 2.

According to him, the organization has repeated-ly advocated for the cessation of hostilities and thesettlement of the conflict peacefully, and that posi-tion has not changed, TASS reports.

“Why didn’t the CSTO intervene? You can’t thinkthat our organization has limited itself to observingthe situation, expressing demands for a ceasefireand negotiations. No, we did a lot of work,” saidZas. “In that situation, there was no request fromArmenia for military or any other kind of assistancefrom the CSTO.”

SHUSHI (RFE/RL) — A joint Turkishand Russian observation center to monitorthe ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh startedoperations after an opening ceremony withsenior defense officials in attendance onSaturday, January 30.

Azerbaijani Defense Minister ZakirHasanov and deputy defense ministersfrom regional powers Turkey and Russiawere there to launch the center, in theAgdam region east of Karabakh, accordingto Azerbaijan’s state news agency Azertac.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akarannounced on January 29 that one Turkishgeneral and 38 personnel will be stationedat the center.

“Our activities will intensify with thework of this joint Turkish-Russian centerand we will fulfill our duty to defend therights of our Azerbaijani brothers,” Akarsaid in a statement posted on the DefenseMinistry’s website.

Turkey and Russia agreed to form a jointobservation center shortly after Moscow inNovember brokered a ceasefire agreementthat ended the Armenian-Azerbaijani war inand around Karabakh. Turkey was a majorbacker of Azerbaijan in the conflict.

Turkish Major General Abdullah Katirciand Russian Major General ViktorFyodorenko will reportedly command their

respective contingents at the center.Russian President Vladimir Putin and his

Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev wel-comed the opening of the Russian-Turkishcenter when they spoke by phone later onSaturday. According to the Kremlin, the

two leaders expressed hope it “will con-tribute to the further stabilization of thesituation” in the conflict zone and the con-flicting parties’ compliance with the cease-fire agreement.

see TRUCE, page 3

UN Human Rights ExpertsUrge Release of CaptivesFrom Karabakh Conflict

GENEVA (RFE/RL) — Human rightsexperts at the United Nations have called forthe “prompt” release of prisoners of war andother captives by Armenia and Azerbaijanfrom their recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The UN Human Rights Office of the HighCommissioner in Geneva said in a statementon Monday, February 1, that the two coun-tries should also move quickly to return thebodies of those killed to families for burial“with due respect for cultural customs.”

“Everyone deprived of their liberty forreasons related to the conflict should bereturned to their homes, and relatives ofthose killed must be able to receive the mor-tal remains of their loved ones, in line with

see CAPTIVES, page 5

Former President KocharyanTo Again Visit Moscow

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The judge presid-ing over the trial of Robert Kocharyan hasallowed the former Armenian president tovisit Moscow for the second time in lessthan two months, it emerged on Tuesday,February 2.

A trial prosecutor, Gevorg Baghdasaryan,revealed the permission and demanded anexplanation from the judge, AnnaDanibekyan, during the latest court hearingon coup charges leveled against Kocharyanand three other former officials.

“We don’t know the grounds on whichRobert Kocharyan is allowed to leaveArmenia,” complained Baghdasaryan. Hesaid Danibekyan should have consulted withthe prosecution before making the decisioncommunicated to the Armenian police.

see KOCHARYAN, page 5

Russian APC and soldiers of the peacekeeping force (L) patrol in front of an Azerbaijan's armycheckpoint near the demarcation line outside the town of Shushi (Susa), Nov. 26, 2020

Russian-Turkish Center BeginsMonitoring Karabakh Truce

Dr. Armen Hovhannisyan, at right with stethoscope, at Khndzoresk mobile hospital tent

‘We Were Defeated in Healthcare, Too’Dr. Hovhannisyan’s War Ended in Kapan

LOS ANGELES — Dr.Armen Hovhannisyan,an internal medicine

and intensive care specialist from Los Angeles, was in Miami, attending his friend’sbirthday party when he learned that war started in Artsakh. The party was can-celed. He returned to LA immediately, bought a ticket and left for Armenia onOctober 2. Upon arrival he was appointed by the Ministry of Health of the Republicof Armenia to Goris Medical Center, in Goris naturally, where he treated soldiersduring the most critical first days of the war. He continued his journey toKhndzoresk, Ishkhanadzor, Kashatagh, Shushi and finally Kapan, when the warwas over. “I was at the surgery room when I got the news that the cease fire wassigned. We stayed four more days in Kapan. Then I was back to Yerevan and con-tinued my work in the different hospitals there until December 2. Two months ofwar…”, remembers Dr. Hovhannisyan now in his private Los Angeles practice, shar-ing his story over lunch break.

see HEALTHCARE, page 3

By Ani Duzdabanyan-Manoukian Special to the Mirror-Spectator

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ARMENIA

Syrian MercenariesDetained in ArmeniaTreatment Meets

International StandardsYEREVAN (Panorama.am) — The detention condi-

tions of Syrian mercenaries held in Armenia are inline with international standards, a group of publicmonitors said in a statement on Tuesday, February 2.During the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan

against Artsakh, the Armenian side detained twoSyrian citizens, who were placed under arrest as ameasure of restraint. They are charged under a num-ber of articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code, includinginternational terrorism and gross violations of thenorms of international humanitarian law duringarmed conflicts.The group of public observers conducting public

monitoring in penitentiaries of the ArmenianMinistry of Justice checked the conditions of theirdetention during a visit to the penitentiary institu-tions.The group of public observers says that the per-

sons are kept in two different cells of the facility forsecurity considerations.

Yerevan to HostInternational Duduk

FestivalYEREVAN (Panorama.am) — Dudukman

Production company and Lecturer at Yerevan StateConservatory Emanuel Hovhannisyan have initiatedan international duduk festival-contest to take placein Yerevan from April 5 to May 5. As the organizers of the festival report, the event

is aimed at promoting the legacy of the Armenianunique instrument as well as reveal new talentsamong young musicians. The festival-contest is open to young duduk players

under 22 from over the world. The contest will take place in three stages. All per-

formances of the contest will be recorded and sharedon social media platforms of Dudukman Production.The best musicians will have an opportunity to coop-erate with well-known musicians as well as take mas-ter classes from best specialists of the sphere. The deadline for participation is March 15 with

submission to be sent to dudukman@mail.ru anddudukman@gmail.com email addresses.

Azeri Soldiers Detained,Freed in Armenia

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The Russian militaryannounced late on Monday, February 1, that it hadsecured the release of two Azerbaijani army soldiersdetained after crossing into Armenia at the weekend.The Defense Ministry in Moscow said they were

detained by officers of Armenia’s National SecurityService (NSS) near the village of Tegh in Armenia’sSyunik province. It gave no details of the incident.A ministry statement said the Azerbaijani service-

men were freed at the request of Russian peacekeep-ing troops stationed in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.The NSS and the Armenian Defense Ministry did

not comment on the incident on Tuesday. Tegh’smayor, Nerses Shadunts, confirmed the detentionsbut said he is not allowed to disclose their circum-stances.“The situation here is not tense right now,”

Shadunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Thereis no panic among local people. Everything is nor-mal.”“As for our border guards and army, you can con-

clude that everyone was on duty and vigilant andproperly did their job,” he said.Tegh is located close to the Lachin corridor that

connects Armenia to Karabakh and is controlled bythe Russian peacekeepers. During the six-week war Russia deployed soldiers

and border guards to Syunik to help the Armenianmilitary defend the region located southwest ofKarabakh against possible Azerbaijani attacks. Oneof the Russian border guard posts was set up nearTegh.

News From Armenia

TAGHAVARD, Azerbaijan (Reuters) —Ethnic Armenian farmer LenserGabrielyan looks with sorrow at his landin the village of Taghavard, now cut offfrom him and his family under theterms of a peace deal which ended lastyear’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Within weeks of the conflict’s out-break in September, military forces fromAzerbaijan had entered Gabrielyan’s pic-turesque mountain settlement andmade big territorial gains.

A Russia-brokered ceasefire lastNovember cemented Azeri advances inand around Nagorno-Karabakh, whichis internationally recognized as a part ofAzerbaijan but had been controlled byethnic Armenians since the early 1990s,following the collapse of the SovietUnion.

The accord split Taghavard, whichstretches for three kilometers along anunpaved road towards a mountainrange and which had a pre-war popula-tion of over a thousand ethnicArmenians.

It also left Gabrielyan, who has livedthere since his birth, with his house onone side of a new border and his farm-land on the other.

“Now we have nothing to do,” lament-ed the 65-year-old, as he walked near abarn that used to house livestock, butwhose roof had since collapsed undershelling.

“I used to farm. But almost all theland was left under Azerbaijani con-trol... No tractor is left here, all theequipment is in the hands of the Azeriside.”

Azeri forces took control of the upperwestern end of the settlement. Thoseethnic Armenians who did not flee nowlive in the east, protected by ethnicArmenian military units.

Gabrielyan’s family, including his tengrandchildren, stayed. But like otherfamilies, they are now struggling to get

by as fields where livestock used tograze and a nearby forest, where theyused to chop firewood, are under Azericontrol.

Before the war, his family kept sheepand pigs. Most of them were lost whenthe village became a battlefield andGabrielyan says his family will run outof firewood in a month.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said.“Everything is in ruins.”

Before the war, residents also enjoyedrunning water to their homes fromwells located in the upper part of the vil-lage. That access has now been lost.

An alternative water source — a pipelocated several hundred meters awayfrom houses is now the only option. AReuters reporter watched recently asresidents brought several plastic bottlesand metal cans of water loaded ontotwo donkeys back home. The journeytook them around 30 minutes.

Gabrielyan’s daughter-in-law, Minara,cried as she showed pictures of her

brother, who was killed in combat onthe same night when the peace deal wasagreed.

She says she is scared to live in theirhouse, which is only hundreds metersaway from Azeri outposts, which are vis-ible on sunny days.

“We don’t know now what it is - waror peace? We can’t go out freely or sleepcalmly at night. We wake up from everynoise because we are afraid,” she said.

A Reuters reporter saw anAzerbaijani soldier on guard on a hill-side overlooking the village, just severaldozen meters away from ethnicArmenian military positions.

Lenser Gabrielyan picks up fragmentsof exploded shells when walking in anearby field, still criss-crossed withtrenches, and says it worries him thathis grandchildren have to live so closeto a hostile army.

“We’re staying here,” he said. “(But) Idon’t know what will happen. It is dan-gerous.”

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A visiting topRussian general met with DefenseMinister Vagharshak Harutyunyan onFriday, January 20, for the second timein five days to discuss Russia’s close mil-itary ties with Armenia.

Colonel-General Sergei Istrakov, thedeputy chief of the Russian military’sGeneral Staff, arrived in Yerevan onJanuary 25 for what the ArmenianDefense Ministry described as “staffnegotiations” between the armed forcesof the two allied states. Istrakov began

the trip with separate meetings withHarutyunyan and his Armenian counter-part, Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan.

A Defense Ministry statement releasedon Friday, said Istrakov met withHarutyunyan again to brief him on theresults of the talks that touched upon “alldirections of Russian-Armenian bilateralmilitary cooperation.” They discussed jointactivities planned by the two sides, thestatement said without elaborating.

The Russian ambassador in Yerevan,Sergei Kopyrkin, met with Harutyunyan

and Gasparyan on Thursday, January 28,to congratulate them on the 29thanniversary of the official creation of theArmenian army.

On Tuesday, Harutyunyan inspected themain command post of a joint Russian-Armenian system of air defense protectingArmenia’s airspace. He was accompaniedby a Russian Air Force general.

“Vagharshak Harutyunyan stressed theneed to deepen Russian-Armenian militarycooperation, including in the area of airdefense,” said the Defense Ministry.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian simi-larly announced plans to deepenRussian-Armenian relations in a televisedaddress to the nation aired on NewYear’s Eve He said his country needs“new security guarantees” after therecent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia already has close political,economic and military ties with Russia. Ithosts a Russian military base and haslong received Russian weapons at knock-down prices and even for free.

Moscow deployed 2,000 peacekeepingtroops to Karabakh as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement thatstopped the war on November 10. Inaddition, it dispatched Russian soldiersand border guards to Armenia’s Syunikregion southwest of Karabakh to helpthe Armenian military defend it againstpossible Azerbaijani attacks.

Top Russian General Visits Armenia

Local resident Nverd Avazenyan collects water in divided Taghavard village inNagorno-Karabakh region

In Nagorno-Karabakh, a Village Split InTwo by Ceasefire Struggles to Get by

By Artem Mikryukov and Nvard Hovhannisyan

Colonel-General Sergei Istrakov (second from left), the deputy chief of the Russianmilitary’s General Staff, meets with Armenian Defense Minister VagharshakHarutyunyan, Yerevan, January 29, 2021.

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ARMENIA

HEALTHCARE, from page 1During the entire time Dr. Hovhannisyan was

working in critical care at the hospitals and thefrontline. He says: “The critical care unit didn’thave any time to rest. Sometimes one patientneeded more than one doctor. Everything wasgoing through us: we were the ones who estab-lished whether the patient was going to surgeryright away or in an hour, or if he was going tobe operated on at all. Every doctor concentrat-ed on a patient. The differences of specializationsomehow disappeared.”

During the war, doctors rushed to Armeniaand Artsakh from all over the world. The workwas tremendous. Few had military medicineexperience. Even fewer could imagine the mag-nitude of injuries they were dealing with. Dr.Hovhannisyan says: “None of us was ready forthis reality. I don’t want any of my colleagues toget offended, but by my opinion, our enemydefeated us with his healthcare system too. I amnot talking about the individual professionalismof my colleagues from the diaspora or Armenia;we have amazing doctors. But overall, militarymedicine was unprepared.”

Dr. Hovhannisyan agrees that there are a lotof differences in possible approaches of treat-ment. But all medical professionals were unitedlike never before: “We were sleeping on thefloors next to each other for days not evenknowing [people’s] names. We were that busy.Days later, I even learned that one of the doc-tors is my neighbor in Los Angeles. We wereasking questions, trying to find better solutionsfor the patient. The goal was one: to do every-thing possible to save our soldiers.”

Back in the US, the doctor evaluated hisoverall experience. He finds some significantstructural aspects of foreign medicine absent inArmenia which made the situation worse dur-ing the war.

“We have brilliant surgeons in Armenia.However, young surgeons who are newly grad-uated from residency programs, having greattheoretical knowledge and being honest doc-tors, practically were not prepared to performcomplicated surgeries. Residency programs in

Armenia don’t adequately prepare for practicalaspects of surgery,” says Hovhannisyan.

Next, he finds unpreparedness in the systemof medical transportation. Transporting apatient from the frontline to the hospital or onecity to another created significant difficultiesbecause of the number and quality of the vehi-cles and roads. “Sometimes it would take fourto five hours to transport a patient. It wasimpossible to perform any procedure on apatient during the ride. We had to stop the car

even to check his temperature. Even when itwas driving only with the speed of 20 km/hour,my hand was shaking. It was much easier totransport a patient who was in a deep sleep,”the doctor recalls with noticeable irritation.“There were only two helicopters that supposedto transport injured soldiers. These helicopterswere working without navigation systems.Therefore, they couldn’t work during the night.And also, the capacity was so limited that onlya doctor and the pilot could fit in there withone patient,” he continues.

Another significant obstacle according to Dr.Hovhannisyan is the shortage of blood. Hestates that certain types of blood and bloodproducts were hard to obtain, continuing, “Insome cases, a patient’s outcome was very badbecause of that. We couldn’t get the amount ofblood we needed.”

The help from the diaspora was huge, as Dr.Hovhannisyan confirms. He was receivingboxes full of medication and medical suppliesaddressed to him from people he didn’t evenknow. But the issue was its organization andplacement. He said: “We were learning that cer-tain medication has arrived. And then, when weneeded to use it, it was still sitting in the box inthe hallway or someone’s room.”

He remains disappointed in the hospital nurs-es’ training in the far regions of Armenia,explaining: “We worked with very well-trainednurses from Yerevan. But unfortunately, themajority of nurses in the far regions are still inthe era of ‘Analgin-Dimedrol’ [painkiller med-ication largely used during the Soviet era]. If Iam asking the nurse to make me a heart stim-ulant, she shouldn’t ask me about the dosage.She must know that already. It’s a waste oftime, especially during wartime.” All trainingefforts are centralized in the capital city, accord-ing to the doctor.

Dr. Hovhannisyan shared all his concernswith Armenia’s minister of health. The latterexplained that no new graduate desires to prac-tice outside of Yerevan. As a result, the popula-tion there suffers without a good healthcaresystem. But Dr. Hovhannisyan thinks that it’s

possible to fix this with the proper incentives. In total, Dr. Hovhannisyan’s team treated sev-

eral hundred patients, of whom only a handfulhad gunshot injuries. They encountered a lot of“inhuman” injuries, as doctor describes andexplains after a heavy silence, while recallinghis difficult early days in Armenia: “In my 22years in medicine I never said ‘I don’t know’ asan answer when it came to the treating thepatient. In Goris, when the first patientsarrived, I simply didn’t know what to do. I did-

n’t know where to start and where to finish. Ittook me several hours to understand how toact. That was the horror of this war.”

Dr. Hovhannisyan had to practice very closeto the battlefield, in the mobile hospitals. Thesewere huge tents inherited from the last centurywith metallic operation tables and huge gallonsof oxygen right next to the tent with their rub-ber tubes on the floor that “could blow up witha single fired drone.” Doctors established threezones in the mobile hospitals where patientswere being placed according their injuries.After every defeat the whole team moved thetent back.

In his work with several hundred patients, Dr.Hovhannisyan considers his biggest achieve-ment to be saving the lives of 27 soldiers whohad almost no chance of survival. “If I neededto go back to Armenia only for these 27 kids, I

would go again. They are not going to becomemathematicians, but they are going to live.That’s why I am proud of my team,”Hovhannisyan says with a tremble in his voice.

Months after the life-changing experience Dr.Hovhannisyan continues his practice with anew purpose. He signed up for classes to learnmore about military medicine. He assures thatthis should be done by every medical profes-sional in Armenia. He values his work even

more now and finds new meaning in it. “I lovemy profession very much but it should notserve for causes like war. It should serve tomake our parents live longer, our children to behealthy, our wives and sisters to become morebeautiful, our women to have easy labor anddelivery. After having that 44 days of experi-ence, I started to love medicine even more. Ibecame a better son, a better husband. I wantto have a boy very much... Those kids were thebest ones; they weren’t like us, they were betterthan our generation, they had unimaginablecourage,” the doctor says, referring to all thesoldiers he met in Armenia and Artsakh.

With over 200 doctors and nurses Dr.Hovhannisyan created a virtual group thatmeets regularly to discuss the possible ways tosupport the motherland. They named the groupGoris Forever, since everyone initially met in

the hospital in Goris. “All of us established one thing: from now on

none of us can go to Armenia as a tourist. Weonly want to go there to work, to share ourexperience and knowledge with our col-leagues,” Dr. Hovhannisyan says. He promisedthe same for the doctors in Armenia: wheneverthey come to the US, he will make everythingpossible for them to gain experience in hospi-tals or clinics here.

Russian-Turkish Center Begins Monitoring TruceTRUCE, from page 1

Under the agreement, around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers are also deployed alongKarabakh frontline areas and a land link connecting Karabakh with Armenia.

Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan praised the Russian peacekeepingoperation on Monday in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Harutyunyan said the peacekeepers havehelped to ensure the “almost full observance of the ceasefire.”

A ministry statement said Shoigu phoned Harutyunyan to discuss the results of “staffnegotiations” held by senior Russian and Armenian military officials in Yerevan last week.The two ministers also spoke about “the course of the resolution of Armenia’s securityissues in the post-war period,” it said without elaborating.

‘We Were Defeated in Healthcare Too’ Dr. Hovhannisyan’s War Ended in Kapan

Dr. Armen Hovhannisyan, fifth from left and with stethoscope, at the Goris Medical Center

Dr. Armen Hovhannisyan, second from right, at the Goris Medical Center

Dr. Armen Hovhannisyan, at left, in front of Khndzoresk mobile hospital

4 S A T U R D A Y F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

INTERNATIONAL

EPP Urges Azerbaijan toRelease POWs

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Panorama.am) — The mem-bers of the European People’s Party (EPP) PoliticalAssembly (PA) called on Azerbaijan to accelerate theexchange of prisoners of war (POWs), captives andbodies of the dead and demand their immediaterelease, the EPP said in a statement released after avideo-conference on Monday, February 1.The EPP urged the European Commission to pur-

sue this humanitarian question in the current andfuture relations with Azerbaijan and called on theEuropean Parliament to urgently discuss the processof exchange of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) prison-ers of war and captives.During the meeting via video conference, the EPP

PA members also discussed the ongoing coronavirussituation and Alexei Navalny’s arrest.

Georgia ResumesRegular Air Travel with

ArmeniaTBILISI (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Beginning from

February 1, Georgia has removed restrictions on reg-ular air traffic to 12 countries, including Armenia,the country’s civil aviation authority reports.Restrictions were imposed in early March 2020 to

prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country.Two flights a week will operate from the Georgian

capital to Yerevan, Armenia. In addition to Armenia, Georgian travelers can

now fly to Germany, the Netherlands, Poland,France, Austria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus, the CivilAviation Agency said.In Georgia, the process of the gradual recovery of

regular air traffic began in August 2020.

Geolocated Image ShowsTerrorist Commander inAzeri-Controlled Area

YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Armenian mil-itary expert Haik Khachikyan has identified theexact location of a photo featuring Hossam Deeb, acommander of the Sultan Murad terrorist group, whowas recruited by Azerbaijan during the six-week waragainst Nagorno-Karabakh in fall 2020.At the time of the photo, Deeb was in Jabrail (the

exact coordinates are: 39 ° 23’18.81 “N 47 °1’48.65” E).International journalists like Lindsey Snell have

published pictures of a number of terrorist merce-naries from Sultan Murad and other Syrian factions,who were transferred to Azerbaijan by Turkey to par-ticipate in hostilities against Karabakh.In the war against Artsakh (Karabakh), Turkey

supported Azerbaijan militarily, also by transferringterrorist mercenaries from the Middle East to fightagainst Karabakh. Armenia was the first to report onTurkey’s deployment of thousands of Syrian fightersto Azerbaijan. International media publications fol-lowed suit, as did reactions from France, Russia, Iranand Syria. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army hasalready unveiled footage from the interrogation oftwo such terrorists captured on the front.

Mount Ararat Reopened toClimbers

ISTANBUL (Nor Marmara) — Since 2015, theauthorities of the province of Agri have given Mt.Ararat the status of a “Special Safety Zone” and haveprohibited recreational climbing of the mountain, cit-ing the conflict between the Republic of Turkey andthe PKK.Despite the ban, for the last six years, numerous

mountaineers have continued to be able, by irregularand illegal means, to reach the peak - often with theassistance of local Kurds. Beginning in February the ban has officially been

lifted and mountaineers travelling from countriesaround the world will be able to legally climb themountain with permission from the authorities.

International News

By Katy Dartford

VIENNA (DPA) — Tensions are grow-ing in Austria over the deportation ofthree girls to Georgia and Armenia,including a 12-year-old girl who wasborn in the country.

The government is being criticized forexpelling the children, who are consid-ered to be "well-integrated" intoAustrian society, especially amid thecoronavirus crisis.

Tina, 12, who was born in Austria andhas lived there for 10 years in total said:"When we started, I saw many peopleand policemen who pushed these peo-ple away, who pushed them on theground."

After a seven-year process, her fami-ly's asylum applications were finallyrejected in December 2019.

Even without a legal base for asylum,the authorities examined the procedureof whether deportation would be com-patible with the human right to privateand family life.

In the case of Tina and her family, theauthorities decided that the state'sinterest in ensuring respect for its lawsprevailed.

Early Thursday morning, on January

28, ahead of the imminent deportations,there were massive protests fromfriends, classmates and human rightsactivists at the deportation center thegirls were staying at on the outskirts ofthe Austrian capital, Vienna.

“Even if she is not Austrian on paper,she is a perfectly integrated member ofour society, with many friends, a goodstudent, a family and her life here inAustria. That’s why it makes us sad thatshe is deported to a country she has norelation to,” said one boy at the protest.

“We are here to fight for Sona [theother girl] because it is not fair," saidanother girl at the protest.

"They took her from home in the mid-dle of the night with the whole family.She is a great friend, integrated, well-adapted, she is a good student, prepar-ing for her baccalaureate, preparing fora cooking exam. She writes a diplomathesis, that is not fair.”

The Greens, who are currently in thegoverning coalition with the conserva-tive ÖVP party, sharply criticized thedeportation.

“It cannot be that perfectly integratedyoung people, in this case, students, aretaken out of the classrooms, andbrought into a country of origin theydon’t even know, they don’t even speakthe language of," said Rudolf

Anschober, Austrian Minister of SocialAffairs.

"I think it would be a good thing if welooked for a human solution," he said.

Those in favor of the deportations,including the interior minister, KarlNehammer, argued that several courtdecisions found that the family had nolegal right to stay in Austria.

“I am concerned that the parents ofthese children brought them into thissituation. That the parents deliberatelyabused the right of asylum. There werenumerous negative asylum proceduresagainst them,” he said.

The deportations have garnerednational attention in Austria afterschoolmates of Tina, launched an onlinepetition that has gathered more than34,000 signatures.

All Austrian courts rejected the fami-ly's claims to stay, according to multiplemedia reports, and the FederalAdministrative Court ruled that part ofthe reason the family had been inAustria for so long had been because itignored the authorities' instructions.

According to the interior ministry,Tina's family had been in the countryillegally for four years.

However, advocates of the girls saidthat Austria was not legally obliged todeport people without stay permits.

Tension Grows in Austria over Deportation ofThree Young Girls to Georgia and Armenia

ISTANBUL (Nor Marmara) —Istanbul’s Armenian schools and insti-tutions have seen many difficulties in2020. Aside from the loss of commu-nal togetherness typically seen atevents, fundraising has become moredifficult because events have beenmade impossible by social distancing.

The Hrant Dink School is under theauspices of the Armenian EvangelicalChurch in Gedikpasa [Gedikpasha].Most of the students are children ofnatives of Armenia who have movedto Istanbul for work. The school’s vol-unteers work under the leadership ofHaroutiun and Talar Horozoglu. Theyare facing the same difficulties that allthe other Armenian schools inIstanbul have faced this year. Theschool’s daily schedule has been dis-rupted by the pandemic, and financialdifficulties have mounted, because theparents are not in a position to paytuition.

Horozoglu said in an interview thatbased on the decisions of theMinistries of Education and Health,the Hrant Dink School has continuedeither face-to-face or distance learn-ing. For the nursery school andkindergarten students, face to facelearning has always been preferable,because their parents work and thereis no one to take care of them in thehouse.

The elementary and middle schoolstudents are taught through distancelearning. Through the ArmenianPatriarchate of Istanbul, their 15 stu-dents received computers in order tofollow their classes.

Every year in March, the graduatingclass goes to Yerevan for an examina-tion certifying that they have passed9th grade, and to receive their diplo-mas. This year, due to the pandemicthe 10 graduates had a delayed depar-ture, but were able to successfullytake their exams and enroll in highschool there.

During the first wave of the pan-demic, 20 students left with their fam-ilies for Armenia. A few months ago,during the second wave of the pan-demic, 20-22 more students returnedto Armenia. Now the number of stu-

dents is around 80-82. On January 28, the divine liturgy

was celebrated in Galata’s St. Gregorythe Illuminator Church on behalf ofthe Hrant Dink School. In the absenceof a fundraising banquet, the school

Hrant Dink School images

Istanbul’s Hrant Dink School LooksTo Community for Assistance

By Artsvi Bakhchinyan Special to the Mirror-Spectator

YEREVAN / MOSCOW — My interlocutoris a 32-year-old professional athlete and fit-ness trainer Kirill Chakryan. He studied atthe Moscow Sports Academy, specializing intheory and methodology of combat sportsand weightlifting. Kirill is a bodybuildingchampion of the Moscow Oblast (region) andthe Moscow Championship in the weight cat-egory up to 85 kilogram (2015), ten-timechampion of the Cups and Championships ofMoscow in weightlifting, two-time championof All-Russian weightlifting competitions andof weightlifting competitions among the CIScountries, candidate for master of sports inbench press and powerlifting, candidate formaster of sports in bodybuilding, master ofsports in weightlifting.Dear Kirill, I am very glad to introduce

you to Armenian readers internationally.We are always glad to see Armenian sur-names in any field, in big sports and in sucha visual sport as bodybuilding is. It is saidabout bodybuilders that they think onlyabout their bodies for 24 hours - is that so?

Good afternoon, Artsvi, I also want to greetall the readers! Bodybuilding, in my opinion,is one of the most difficult sports, as itrequires dedication 24 hours a day. Toachieve ideal proportions, a bodybuilder as asculptor hones his body day after day. Thisrequires a lot of training (especially on lag-ging muscle groups) and also devoting a lotof time to sleep and diet. Exercises, sleep,food — all three of these components are nec-essary for the growth and changes in themuscles in our body. If something is missingfrom these three things, the result can hard-ly be expected. Answering your question: abodybuilder thinks about the body for 24hours, otherwise the result simply will not be.Your father, Arkady Chakryan, a

weightlifting coach, if I am not mistaken,was engaged in bodybuilding after 50. Soage doesn't matter in bodybuilding?

My father Arkady Borisovich Chakryan hasbeen fond of sports since childhood. In the1990s there was a cult of ArnoldSchwarzenegger, who led many to workoutand weightlift in basements. In the 1990sthere were few opportunities, therefore he,like many others, trained with weights athome. Once my father brought my brotherand me to the weightlifting section of CSKA(Central Sports Club of the Army), where webegan our path of professional athletes, hewatched our training, then he began to slow-ly study this sport himself, which led him tothe head coach position of CSKA weightlift-ing. Being self-taught, he mentored mastersof sports and candidates in masters of sports,

also helped international champsions ofsports in preparing for competitions. Onewas Ruslan Albegov, who over time becamean Olympic medalist in weightlifting. Notlong time ago, my father decided to performfor the first time and try out as a body-builder, winning the Moscow RegionChampionship in bodybuilding in the mastercategory. I think he thereby managed to set agood example to his peers and young people,that it is never too late to try yourself insomething new and that even at 50 you canlook good!I believe your brother and sister also had

a big influence on your development as anathlete.

My older brother Arthur is a champion inweightlifting, and prize-winner in bodybuild-ing and my sister Liubov is a master of sportsof international class in weightlifting. Wehave always been together, trained, and ofcourse, as the youngest one, I always lookedup to my siblings, since I considered thempromising athletes, especially my sister.Liuba, being a multiple champion of Russiain weightlifting and two-time Europeanchampion in weightlifting (and all this until16 years old!), had very great prospects inthis sport. At that time most of all I wantedher to participate in the Olympic Games, butunfortunately she did not manage to reachsuch a level because of a serious knee injury,which later ended her career.Having such a sculpted body, were there

any invitations to participate in show busi-ness projects?

Yes, I was invited to particpate in variousTV projects but you know, actually I do notlike all these things. Of course, now I under-stand that this is media and there is nowherewithout it, but I am more a supporter of theso-called old school, working silently and qui-etly towards goals and achieving them.Who is your idol in sports?Hmmm, there are no idols, there are many

great athletes of whom I am proud, whoinspired me with their examples, with whomI would like to meet, communicate, as eachgreat athlete deserves respect.My 17-year-old son goes to the gym and

like many of his peers dreams of gainingmuscles faster without chemicals. Whatadvice can you give him?

There is only one advice to your son — donot rush. Hurrying can lead to injuries; thegym and work on your body is a long-termroad and there is no need to rush. Let himread a lot about nutrition (this is 80-percentof the success in bodybuilding), and alsoabout the technique of performing exercises,because the better the technique is, the lessinjuries and better progress are. Also, in ourtime there are many sources where you cantake information, the main thing is to findthe right one. I want to wish your son only

success, and if he sets a goal for himself, hewill definitely achieve it.Do you know other Russian bodybuilders

of Armenian origin? Well, except for yourbrother Arthur.

Bodybuilders of Armenian descent?Hmmm, unfortunately not.Where are your Armenian ancestors

from? My ancestors on the Armenian side lived in

Turkey. When the Genocide began, my great-grandfather Ardash and great-grandmotherArpenik, while still children, moved to neigh-boring villages close to the border of Russia,on the territory of Abkhazia, so all our rela-tives are now in the Krasnodar Krai andAbkhazia. In Armenia itself, unfortunately, Ihave no one, and this is all the informationabout my ancestors that I managed to find.Have you ever been to Armenia?I have never been to Armenia, but I always

wanted to go and see. Last time I planned atrip to Armenia for the last summer, but quar-antine and Covid-19 introduced their ownchanges. When all this settles down, and thesituation in the world levels out, and the bor-ders are opened, I really hope that I will final-ly be able to visit Armenia.What do you wish for the Armenians all

over the world dreaming of having a beau-tiful body?

Love yourself first of all, watch your diet,

go in for sports, develop yourselves, study,and then you will definitely get a beautifulbody, because the main thing is to set up

S A T U R D A Y F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 5T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

INTERNATIONAL

UN Human Rights ExpertsUrge Release of CaptivesFrom Karabakh Conflict

CAPTIVES, from page 1the ceasefire agreement signed on November 9,2020,” the experts said.

“Failure to disclose information on the fateand whereabouts of missing persons andrefusal to hand over the remains of thedeceased may amount to enforced disappear-ance, which both Azerbaijan and Armenia havecommitted to preventing,” they added.

At least 6,000 people were killed in the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement on November 10. The agree-ment calls for the unconditional exchange ofall prisoners held by the conflicting parties.Dozens of them were swapped in December.

On Thursday, January 28, Azerbaijanreleased five more Armenian prisoners of war(POWs) in return for an Azerbaijani captivefreed by the Armenian side. The latestexchange raised to 59 the total number ofArmenian POWs and civilians repatriated todate.

More than 100 others are believed to remainin Azerbaijani captivity. Yerevan accuses Bakuof dragging its feet over their release.

The UN expert group also expressed concernat “allegations that prisoners of war and otherprotected persons have been subjected toextrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance,torture, and other ill-treatment.”

“No exceptional circumstances whatsoever —whether a state of war, internal political insta-bility, or any other public emergency — may beinvoked as a justification of torture andenforced disappearances,” they said. “Suchacts, when perpetrated in armed conflict, mayalso constitute war crimes.”

“We appeal to the authorities of Armeniaand Azerbaijan to carry out thorough, prompt,independent, and impartial investigations intoallegations of serious human rights violationscommitted during the conflict and its after-math in order to hold perpetrators to accountand provide redress to the victims. Theseactions will facilitate truth, reconciliation, andhealing,” the experts said.

KOCHARYAN, from page 1“If you think that the court’s decision must

be appealed you are not deprived of that possi-bility,” countered the judge.

Kocharyan was allowed to be absent from thecountry from February 3-8. His spokesmanVictor Soghomonian told the Hraparak news-paper that Kocharyan was to fly to Moscow totake part in a meeting of the board of directorsof a major Russian corporation, AFK Sistema.

Kocharyan has been a board member since2009. He reportedly attended a board meetingduring his previous trip to the Russian capitalin mid-December.

The 66-year-old, who governed Armenia from1998-2008, had not been able to attend anySistema meetings since being first arrested inJuly 2018. He was most recently released fromjail on bail in May 2020.

Sistema’s main shareholder, Vladimir

Yevtushenkov, was reportedly one of fourwealthy Russian businessmen who paid thebulk of the $4.1 million bail set by Armenia’sCourt of Appeals.

Russia has criticized the criminal proceed-ings launched against Kocharyan. RussianPresident Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made apoint of congratulating him on his birthdayanniversaries and praising his legacy.

Some Kocharyan loyalists claimed that Putinspoke with his former Armenian counterpart byphone during the latter’s December trip toMoscow. Kocharyan’s office did not confirmthat.

The ex-president, his former chief of staffArmen Gevorgian and Armenia’s two formertop generals, Seyran Ohanian and YuriKhachaturov, stand accused of overthrowingthe “constitutional order” after a disputed pres-idential election held during the final weeks of

Kocharyan’s decade-long rule. The chargesstem from a deadly post-election unrest inYerevan. All four defendants reject them aspolitically motivated.

Speaking during Tuesday’s court hearing,Kocharyan insisted that he is tried for his han-dling of a “political process.”

Kocharyan has been at loggerheads withPrime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s govern-ment ever since it took office following the“Velvet Revolution” of April-May 2018. Hehas joined opposition groups in blamingPashinyan for Armenia’s defeat in the recentwar in Nagorno-Karabakh and demanding hisresignation.

Kocharyan said last week that that he and hispolitical allies will participate in snap parlia-mentary elections even if they are held byArmenia’s current government. “We will partic-ipate and win,” he declared.

Former President Kocharyan to Again Visit Moscow

Kirill Chakryan Bodybuilder as a Sculptor

6

Community NewsS A T U R D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

St. John’s ‘Seerov Jash’ ProgramContinues to Serve Metro

Detroit CommunityDETROIT — Though everyone in the country and the world has been mas-

sively impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, one of the most affected popu-lations has been the elderly and thosewho are otherwise incapacitated.Individuals who live alone and haverelied on family members or lovedones to assist with their shopping orpreparing meals were suddenly told

that they should not take visitors, in order to protect themselves from thethreat of infection, which at their age could be lethal.As soon as the pandemic struck in March, Metro Detroit’s Fr. Aren Jebejian

and the leadership and parishioners of St. John’s Armenian Church knew theyhad to do something. Thus, a special program titled “Seerov Jash” — MealsWith Love — was born. “On average, we send out from 250-300 meals a week,” says Lisa Mardigian,

Youth Coordinator at St. John’s and an integral part of the Seerov Jash team.“We’ve been doing it since March and recently we passed the 10,000 mark.”The meals have been served twice weekly since the inception of the program.St. John’s onsite caterer, Paul Yousoufian, prepares the meals with his team.St. John’s building administrator Paul Andonian creates an e-blast to informcommunity members of the ongoing program. They are instructed to call oremail Mardigian, who takes reservations for meals and lines up the team of

drivers. The volunteers are

composed of parish-ioners of all ages,including young adults,a fact of whichMardigian is veryproud. “I’ve got youngguys driving thesemeals out to the seniorsof our community. Andthey can visit with thema little bit, even thoughit’s socially distanced ofcourse. They love it —it’s an emotional sup-port for them,”Mardigian says.Annette Mamassian,

lifelong parishioner andchoir member, has aspecial job — passingout meals to the lineupof cars that have cometo pick up their meal in

person — observing all safety protocols of course. “I really want to give Annettecredit, because she’s someone who has been doing this religiously,” saysMardigian (no pun intended).Most of the recipients are the elderly, and many live in various senior living

centers in the area. “Some of these people are 97-98 years old, we’re helpingout people that are too old to leave their homes by themselves, and they relyon the camaraderie of our delivery volunteers and look forward to the visits,”Mardigian says.In conclusion, states Mardigian, “It’s been an honor for me to be a part of

an outreach program that not only fulfills the Christian mission of feeding ourparishioners with meals but also feeds them spiritually, personally, and emo-tionally.”

Armenologist KevorkBardakjian ReviewsAccomplishments,Looks to the Future

By Aram Arkun Mirror-Spectator Staff

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Dr. Kevork Bardakjianretired and became an emeritus professor ofArmenian languages and literatures in May2020 after holding the Marie Manoogian Chairof Armenian Language and Literature at theUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor for some 33years. This is an opportune time to look backat some aspects of his career and his plans forthe future.In a 2011 interview in the Mirror-Spectator,

he discussed his childhood. Born in Beirut andraised in Aleppo and Damascus, he was greatlyinfluenced by his father, an Armenian priest, toenter Armenian studies. His studies atDamascus State University, Yerevan State

University and Oxford University provided himwith formal training, and he received his doc-torate from Oxford in 1979. While studying atOxford he worked as the Armenian specialist atthe British Museum. He began teaching atHarvard University as an instructor in 1974and became a senior lecturer. He also workedas a bibliographer for the university library.He left Harvard to become the first holder in

September 1987 of the Marie ManoogianChair, which Bardakjian said was establishedwith him in mind. Ronald G. Suny was alreadythe holder of the Alex Manoogian Chair inModern Armenian History at the university andhad started a program in Armenian studies. Forseven years the two worked together in build-ing up that program, organizing lectures, sym-posia, film festivals and musical events. However, Suny left for the University of

Chicago in 1994. Bardakjian said, “When heleft, I took over as director of the program. Onmy request, the role of a director, to be appoint-ed for three years by the director of theInternational Institute at the university, wasdefined and formalized, with various responsi-bilities and an executive committee to help.”Bardakjian organized many lectures and con-ferences through the Armenian StudiesProgram. One major task was to fill Suny’s vacant

chair at the university. Four scholars were invit-ed as visitors to teach short courses (this jour-nalist was one of them), and then there was aone-year appointment. After this StephaniePlatz was hired in 1997. She was followed byJirair Libaridian, who in 2001 initially came toteach one semester a year for several years, andeventually was given a visiting professorappointment.Meanwhile, Suny returned to the university

and was an initiator of the Workshop onTurkish-Armenian Studies. He soonapproached Bardakjian to participate, and the

see ACCOMPLISHMENTS, page 9

Dr. Cliff MegerianNamed CEO ofUniversity Hospitals

By Lydia Coutré

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Crain’s ClevelandBusiness) — Dr. Cliff Megerian, a respectedresearcher and clinician, has been tapped asthe next CEO of University Hospitals.Megerian, currently president of UH

Physician Network and UH System Institutes,will succeed Thomas Zenty III, whoannounced this fall that he will retire inJanuary 2021 after nearly 18 years leadingthe health system. Zenty is the longest-serv-ing leader of Cleveland’s health systems,which comprise UH, Cleveland Clinic andMetroHealth. Under Zenty’s leadership, UHgrew from three hospitals to 18.During the interim period, Megerian will

serve as president of the health system,according to a UH news release.“Cliff has the clinical, academic and opera-

tional experience that this role requires,along with a deep appreciation for the char-acter of UH, our mission and vision,” saidArthur Anton, chair of the UH board of direc-tors, in a prepared statement. “He is anaccomplished physician and scientist, withimpeccable patient-care, research and teach-ing credentials based on decades of experi-ence. These characteristics, in addition to hiskeen insight into healthcare strategy andtrends, will serve our health system wellgoing forward.”For the past year, a succession planning

committee of the UH board engaged in a“thoughtful and deliberate succession plan-ning process,” Anton said in the release. Thecommittee “analyzed the future needs of thehealth system and established a profile of thequalities and characteristics desired in anideal candidate for the CEO position,”according to the release.As president of UH Physician Network,

Megerian currently reports to the CEO andhas been a member of the executive commit-tee. Previously, Megerian served as chair ofthe Department of Otolaryngology–Head andNeck Surgery, from 2012 until 2018, afterholding the vice chairman role for five years,according to the release, which notes he wasalso director of the UH Ear, Nose & ThroatInstitute for seven years.Additionally, he held the inaugural Richard

and Patricia Pogue Endowed Chair inAuditory Surgery and Hearing Sciences andwas director of otology, neurotology and lat-eral skull base surgery at UH. He is currentlyprofessor of otolaryngology — head and necksurgery at the Case Western ReserveUniversity School of Medicine.“I am truly grateful and humbled to have

received the support of the UH board ofdirectors to lead UH as we embark on a newchapter in our history,” Megerian said in aprepared statement. “I will work closely withthe board, Tom Zenty, fellow leaders andcaregivers throughout the health system toassure a seamless leadership transition. Wewill collaboratively create the strategies forUH to continue advancing the science of

see MEGERIAN, page 11

“Seerov Jash” volunteers at St. John

Dr. Cliff A. Megerian

Volunteers working in St. John’s kitchen

By Harry Kezelian Mirror-Spectator Staff

Kevork Bardakjian

NEW YORK — Bronchial asthma, the mostcommon chronic childhood disease, is a majorhealth problem for many children in Armenia.According to recent statistics, 10 percent of chil-dren, ages 5 and under, are those who sufferfrom asthma, and 15-20 percent of these chil-dren may develop disabilities if their symptomsare not controlled with medication. This prob-lem has become critical due to COVID-19 andthe recent Artsakh War, which has made it dif-ficult for parents to purchase medications.Fund for Armenian Relief, which has prioritizedchildren’s health and care for years nowthrough its comprehensive programs, recentlyforged bonds with the Norman K. MillerCharitable Trust established by the lateArmenian-American entrepreneur, inventor, andphilanthropist Norair K. Deirmengian. FAR’spartnership with the trust will support pro-curement of hard-to-find yet essential medica-tions needed to treat acute asthma. Throughthe initiative, 100 children from vulnerable fam-ilies in Artsakh and Armenia will receive thesemedications in 2021.“This generous support came in time. The

Armenian government and the Department ofRespiratory Medicine and Allergy at ArabkirMedical Center were facing a serious problemcovering the need of this life-saving medication.The regular intake of this medication is essen-tial for children with bronchial asthma to pre-vent frequent strokes and further, more severe

consequences, which may result in disabilities,”said FAR Health Program Director Dr.Hambardzum Simonyan. Norair K.Deirmengian was a survivor of the 1915Genocide who was born near Kasken Maden,Turkey in September 1914 at the onset ofWorld War I. His mother, Serpouhee, gave birthto him in the back of a hay cart as she and hertwo other sons, Arsen and Kourkin, were flee-ing for their lives. His father, Karekin, was mur-dered before he was born.Norair spent his childhood in refugee camps

and orphanages in Romania, France, and Italy,often questioning when or where his next mealwould be coming from or whether or not hewould have a bed to sleep in that night. Hismeager beginnings deeply influenced his life-long desire to provide safety and security forothers. From a young age Norair excelled acad-emically. His intelligence brought recognitionand earned him an invitation to attend MooratRaphael College Preparatory School in Venice,Italy. With graduation just weeks away, hereceived a letter from a distant uncle, invitingNorman to come to the United States, which hedid in 1935. After two years at West CatholicHigh School, Norair was accepted at theUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Businesswhere he majored in accounting. He paid histuition and continued to improve his English bytutoring other students in Italian, Spanish,German, and French.After the WWII, where he was assigned for a

time to regimental intelligence due to his abili-ty to speak English, Turkish, Armenian,Romanian, Italian, French, and Yugoslavian,Norair K. Deirmengian returned to civilian life

and began manufacturing novelty coin pursesalong with his two brothers in the basement oftheir Philadelphia row home. Starting in 1956, Norair K. Deirmengian

began developing safety products for the over-head door industry, including edge sensors forindustrial and commercial doors and motorizedgates. In 2004, thanks to his donations, Nor

Getashen (Arstakh) community members wereprovided with clean, safe running water. Hebelieved that if the people could see a way outof devastation, they would be able to help them-selves recover and regain productive lives. His daughter, Flossie Miller, who has made

this donation to FAR possible, said, “I thankGod for my Dad who, all the way from Heaven,continues to help children in need. May Godbless Armenia and especially the children whohave had their childhoods taken away fromthem."

7

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

COMMUNITY NEWS

FAR and Norman K. Miller Charitable Trust to Help Children with Bronchial Asthma

Norman Miller

From left, Bearge Miller, Norman Miller andFlossie Miller

NEW YORK — George Dermksian was bornin New York City on November 10, 1927, toYervant and Mariam Dermksian. He had onesister, Seerarpey. He grew up in New York City and went to

Stuyvesant High School. After finishing highschool he went to Columbia University andreceived a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. Hethen earned a Master of Arts at TeachersCollege, Columbia University, in 1950, followingwhich he completed his Doctorate of Medicinein 1954 at Cornell University Medical College.In 1954, he became an Intern in Medicine at

St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City in 1954.He did a second year of Residency at St. Luke’sHospital before becoming a Captain in theUnited States Air Force, School of AviationMedicine, at Randolph Air Force Base in SanAntonio, Texas, in 1956-1958.Following his return to New York City, he

went on to finish his third year as a Resident inMedicine in 1958. Dr. Dermksian served asChief Resident in Medicine at St. Luke’sHospital in 1959-1960. He then went into pri-vate practice for himself from 1960 to 2001. Hisnumerous academic appointments included

Clinical Professor of Medicine at the College ofPhysicians & Surgeons of Columbia University.He served on and led numerous medical soci-eties and committees during his medical career.Dermksian officially retired in 2001, but con-tinued to be actively involved in medicine rightuntil the time of his death.He was actively involved in every aspect of

the Armenian community throughout his entirelife from the Armenian Youth Federation to theArmenian Prelacy to the Armenian Assembly.He devoted his life to St. Illuminator’sArmenian Cathedral, of which he was a dele-gate to the National Representative Assemblythrough different periods from the 1960s to the1980s. Nothing was more important to himthan being Armenian and making sure that thetradition and legacy of the Armenia peoplewould live on forever.Dr. Dermksian married Tamara Manookian in

1954. They had two children, Gregory andJeffrey. He would always spend his spare timewith his family. Tamara died in 2019 after 64years of marriage.Dr. George Dermksian passed away suddenly

on January 14, 2021, and is survived by his twochildren (Gregory and Jeffrey), their wives(Suzanne and Roubina) and his four grandchil-dren (Matthew, Michael, Nicole and Jenna) whoall adored their “Papa.”

8 S A T U R D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

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SAUGUS, Mass. — Grace(Boyajian) Surabian, 95, diedat the High Pointe HospiceHouse in Haverhill onThursday, January 7 after abrief illness. She was the wifeof Harry Surabian with whomshe shared 52 years of mar-riage as well as the widow ofthe late John Mirijanian.Born in Philadelphia,

Surabian was the daughter ofthe late Vartan and Elizabeth(Fink) Boyajian. Her primarygoal in life was to be the bestdaughter, sister, aunt, wife,mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.She was all about faith, family and friends. Grace enjoyed the company of her friends

and family during the 25 years they summeredat Old Silver Beach in Falmouth.She was a member of the St. James Armenian

Church for more than 50 years. In that time,Harry and Grace were active members of the

Mr. and Mrs. Group. From thisgroup spawned a closer-knitgroup of 14 women betterknown as “Club 14” that gottogether once a month faith-fully for more than 50 years toplay cards and have fun.Grace was also proud of her

work making lifelike porcelaindolls, china painting andsewing.In addition to her husband,

she is survived by her twochildren, Jan Mirijanian of N.J.and Patricia Egavian and herhusband Gregory of Boxford;

three grandchildren, Lauren, Eric, andKimberly; two great-grandchildren, Gabriellaand Sage; her sister, Mary Boornazian of PA.She was predeceased by her brother, VahanBoyajian. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Florence Boyajian and Giselle Surabian.Due to the present pandemic, the family will be

delaying the funeral service until a later date.

Harry SalibianBURLINGTON, Mass. — Harry Salibian, of

Burlington, died on January 28,2021. He was the husband of the late Zaro (Apelian)

Salibian. He leaves his son, Dr. David Salibianand his wife Nayiri; grandchildren Christian andCatalina and brother Vatche (Van) Salibian;brother-in-law Mike Apelian and sister-in-lawShoghig Basmajian. He is also survived bymany loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Hewas predeceased by his brothers George,Abraham and Albert Salibian. Funeral and cemetery services are private.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, currentpublic health and safety measures will be fol-lowed. Social distancing and facemasks will berequired for everyone’s safety.

Grace (Boyajian) SurabianDedicated to Family, St. James Church

George Dermksian, MD (1927-2021)

WASHINGTON — In resuming his role as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus onArmenian Issues (Armenian Caucus),Representative David G. Valadao (R-CA) toldthe Armenian Assembly of America(Assembly) this week that the safety and secu-rity of the Armenian people is a top priority.“In the aftermath of the six-week war

launched by Azerbaijan against the Armenianpeople, addressing the humanitarian needs aswell as ensuring the safety and security of theArmenian people is an issue on the minds ofmany of my Armenian American con-stituents,” said Valadao, in an exclusive state-ment to the Assembly. “I look forward to con-tinuing my role as co-chair and working withthe Armenian American community on thesecritically important issues.”Over the past decade, Valadao has advocated

for stronger ties between the US and Armeniaand the US and Artsakh. Born and raised in

California’s Central Valley, Representative Valadaolearned about the Armenian people early on, asmany of his neighbors and friends were ofArmenian descent.“Representing his constituents in the San

Joaquin Valley, Representative Valadao has

been a steadfast proponent of strengtheningUS-Armenia and US-Artsakh relations,” statedAssembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.“During his tenure in Congress, he led effortsin the House to ensure continued US assis-tance for de-mining in Artsakh, strongly sup-ported affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,and repeatedly spoke out against Azerbaijaniaggression, including the four-day war in 2016as well as last year’s six-week war backed byTurkey. We appreciate Congressman Valadao’sdedication and leadership as a co-chair of theCongressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,where he re-joins his fellow Caucus leadersCongressman Pallone, Congresswoman JackieSpeier, Congressman Adam Schiff andCongressman Gus Bilirakis.”Valadao, who represents California’s 21st

Congressional district, has served in govern-ment since 2010, where he has taken a specialinterest in Armenian American issues. He trav-

eled to Armenia and Artsakh, alongside fellowArmenian Caucus members, in September2017 and reflected positively on the “unfor-gettable experience.” While there,Congressman Valadao observed first-hand thechallenges facing both Armenia and Artsakhand advocated for change upon his return tothe US, including through the introduction ofan amendment to increase funding for TheHALO Trust’s de-mining efforts.The Congressional Caucus on Armenian

Issues was established in 1995 to bringtogether a bipartisan group of legislators ded-icated to advancing US-Armenia relations.Over the decades, the Armenian Caucus hasworked to ensure US affirmation of theArmenian Genocide, robust funding forArmenia and humanitarian assistance, includ-ing de-mining to help the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, among other key issues. TheArmenian Caucus currently has 108 members.

Obituary

Valadao: Security of Armenia Top Priority for Armenian Caucus ! !

David G. Valadao

9S A T U R D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

ACCOMPLISHMENTS, from page 6latter was encouraging. Bardakjian said, “Myidea was to help impartial and openmindedTurkish scholars and help Turkish denialismimplode as a first step. In other words, withoutcompromising on the Armenian Genocide, tobring in Turkish scholars.” However, he said thata disagreement in approach with the other orga-nizers became evident, and specified: “My under-standing was that their idea was of rapproche-ment.” He feared a watering down of the signifi-cance of the Armenian Genocide. Bardakjian par-ticipated in the inaugural workshop in Chicagoin 2000, but soon left the group. Bardakjian, who reads Ottoman Turkish

among other languages, had previously alsobeen drawn into genocide studies on severaloccasions. He was consulted on including theArmenian Genocide in the US HolocaustMuseum, and this led him to write Hitler andthe Armenian Genocide (1986).

Teaching and Creating NecessaryResources

Bardakjian said that one of his most impor-tant focuses from day one at Ann Arbor wasteaching, declaring: “What I did was teachingliterature, culture and language. I taught bothEastern and Western Armenian. I also startedtaking on graduate students.” He also taughtClassical Armenian, and had some history stu-dents. Bardakjian instituted a major and a minor in

Armenian Studies. While his chair initially wasin the Department of Slavic Languages andLiteratures, he moved it to the Department ofMiddle East Studies after a decade, where hefelt it was a better fit due to geographic and his-torical reasons. He taught some joint courses in this depart-

ment, and collaborated with faculty, chairingdissertations, helping with recruiting and teach-ing, and promoted scholars in Ottoman andmodern Turkish, Persian and Arabic. He said,“The idea was to integrate Armenian into thatand to find its distinct place in that entireregion and picture, as well as to collaboratewith specialists in Early Christian Studies in thedepartment.”He quickly began the Armenian Language

Summer Institute, providing annual two-monthintensive summer classes in Yerevan from 1988until 2010, with a few interruptions. He said,“This was, I think, a good enterprise. It reallyput us on the map. We got students from allover the world, from America, Europe, NorthAfrica and Russia. It was conducted under theSoviets, and after the Armenian earthquake, sopeople were very anxious to go.” AfterArmenian independence, travel to Armeniabecame easier and competition emerged in theform of other programs, but it continued suc-cessfully, Bardakjian said. Apart from this program, Bardakjian said he

worked hard to try to establish academic tieswith Armenia. An exchange program for facultyand students was signed between Ann Arborand Yerevan State University, but, Bardakjiansaid, “It didn’t really fly. It didn’t fly becauseMichigan didn’t give the money. Yerevan saidthey would receive our students and we weresupposed to receive their students, but it wasexpensive. We were talking about at least 60 to70 thousand dollars a student, so it was con-fined to one or two visits.”Meanwhile, in 2011, Bardakjian was elected

to the Armenian National Academy of Sciencesin in recognition of his contributions toArmenology.In order to promote research on Armenian

studies and provide easily accessible resourcesat Ann Arbor, Bardakjian worked on developingthe university’s library collection on Armeniantopics, just as he had while at HarvardUniversity. He said, “We had some 1,500 titleswhen I first came, and it was up to 20,000 bythe mid or late 1990s. I literally carried booksfrom Yerevan. We also established exchangeswith libraries, such as the Armenian NationalLibrary, library of the Academy of Sciences, andthe Matenadaran [the Mesrop MashtotsInstitute of Ancient Manuscripts]. I would gowith big suitcases, with gifts, and come backwith books.” In the end, he said, Michigan ended up as one

of the four largest Armenian collections in theUS, with some books that no other library here

has. Among the extensive personal libraries heobtained for Ann Arbor were those of Vahe-Vahian [Sarkis Abdalian], Kersam Aharonianand Kevork Abajian from Istanbul. Bardakjian not only expanded the library

resources for scholars and students but also cre-ated teaching tools. When he first came toHarvard in 1974, he said, “Robert [W.Thomson, Mashtots Professor of ArmenianStudies] and I felt there was a need for text-books. That is why, though I am not a linguistby training, together we prepared the WesternArmenian textbook [A Textbook of ModernWestern Armenian, 1977], which was a best-seller until the early 2000s.” Thomson thenwrote a parallel volume for Classical Armenian,after which the two planned a reference guidefor the entire period of Armenian literature. However, both scholars ended up leaving

Harvard, so they agreed to split the guidebookinto two separate volumes. Bardakjian took onthe modern period and published A ReferenceGuide to Modern Armenian Literature, 1500-1920 in 2000. He explained, “Our idea was notto work just ourselves but to make the materi-

al available and accessible to other scholars,Armenian and non-Armenian.” Unfortunately,he said, he could not find money or support tocontinue and expand this work chronologicallypast 1920. Bardakjian also published a textbook of

Eastern Armenian in 1999 with Bert Vaux.

Preparing Graduate Students

Bardakjian served as a graduate adviser to anumber of master’s program students, as wellas to doctoral students. Among the latter, heserved as the main advisor to Kari Neely, whoworked on Armenian, Arabic and Circassian lit-erature in the first half of the 20th century;Michael Pifer (Armenian lyric poetry), who wonthe ProQuest Distinguished DissertationAward; Vahe Sahakyan, on the post-GenocideArmenian diaspora; and Etienne Charrière, onArmenian and Greek novels in the late 19thcentury. He was joint advisor for Allison Vacca(on Armenian relations with Islam during thecaliphate). He was on the doctoral committeesfor Stephen Rapp, Jr. (on Persia, Byzantium,and the Architects of the Written GeorgianPast), Pamela Young (Ottoman-Armenian edu-cation), Ali Bolcakan (on language reform inArmenian, Turkish and Greek), who was defend-ing his thesis the first week of February 2021;and Jeremy Johnson (not completed).

Future Projects

Bardakjian has a number of long-term pro-jects he plans to realize. First is the translationof the 17th century chronicle of GrigorDaranaghtsi (Kamakhetsi). He said, “This is avery important work that is a cross between atravelogue and diary. He tells about the rela-tions between Armenians and non-Armeniansin the Ottoman Empire. It is not about kingsand patriarchs but about ordinary people. Hetravels from Crimea to Rodosto to Echmiadzinand finally to Jerusalem.” The text is about 700pages long, and the style is convoluted, soBardakjian is on his third revision and com-pleting the footnotes. He hopes it will be ready

this year. After Daranaghtsi is finished, Bardakjian said

he will focus on a handbook on Armenian liter-ature to be published by Brill and sponsored bythe Association Internationale des EtudesArméniennes. It discusses the status of thefield, with 10-15 scholars involved. Bardakjianis working on the 1640-1920 period. Third is a history of the Armenian

Patriarchate of Constantinople. He has beensearching for evidence to explain its obscureorigins. He is also interested in the modern part of

the Armenian apocalyptic tradition, post-Cilician period, and intends to put together abibliography and a study of writings coveringthe 14th to 18th centuries. He had previouslyedited a volume with Sergio La Porta on thiscalled The Armenian Apocalyptic Tradition: AComparative Perspective (2014).

Focus and Approach

When asked, in light of his varied interestsand fields, what his main academic focus mightbe, he replied, “It would be the history of

Armenian thought, the relation between wordand picture, and the period after the fall ofCilicia to the 18th century. That would be themost interesting to me.” He gave an example of the relationship

between word and picture. He suggested tosomeone from the Matenadaran who was look-ing for a topic to look for texts from the 17thand 18th centuries and paintings done by theHovnatanians and others, to see how these twodifferent mediums reflect Armenian realities ofthe time. He said, “I try to bring in paintings,music, texts, etc.; that is how I try to revive thesilent past.”He continued: “I am an organized eclectic. I

am a universalist. I like to look at what is calledTurkey today, the Armenians today, but I like tosee them in the larger picture as neighbors toSyria, Iran and Russia now. When I am study-ing something, I would like to bring in otherdisciplines and go to the roots of the phenome-non.” Bardakjian is interested not only in

Daranaghtsi but several other key texts of thesame period. He said, “It is still some kind ofmystery to me how the Armenians were able tosurvive the post-14th century to the 18th, andhow some kind of informal structure, thoughtsand actions, formed some kind of a unity — veryloose, but something was there. That is what Iwill try to capture. That is what I will try to doby studying these texts.” He explained further: “There are people who

write on every single thing they discover. Idon’t write on everything I discover. That is notmy character. I want a fuller picture of things.So I also like to resolve obscure points andproblems. I like them. But that serves a pur-pose. It’s not just that. It brings out something.I have written this booklet on Baronian’s writ-ings [The Historical Figures and Events inSome of Hagop Baronian’s Allegorical Works,in Armenian, 1980], allegorical writings whoseheroes are animals or Greek mythological fig-ures, prepared under Ottoman censorship.Once you decipher it you have his political

views, for instance. That is fascinating to me.”Bardakjian characterized his scholarly

approach: “I am in some ways a Marxist. Inother words, I look at things in their appropri-ate milieu, in their place, and I don’t trust his-torians … so I go to texts. What is important tome is to see what people said at the time, fullyrealizing they may be propagandists of that era,but you have no choice. If you are going toreconstruct a period, you have to go to thetexts. I don’t have much faith in generalizingtheories.” He made clear that he is definitelynot a post-Modernist, exclaiming, “I don’tbelieve in these things.”

On the Armenian Chairs in the US

Aside from his direct involvement at Harvardand University of Michigan, Bardakjian over theyears has been consulted on the establishmentof various other Armenology chairs in the US.He also has been involved in the Society forArmenian Studies (SAS) from its inception andhas served as its president and in other high-level positions over the years. When asked how successful the project of

introducing Armenian studies in the USthrough university chairs has been, Bardakjianreplied, “It was an excellent idea, but the faultwas in the way they established these chairsand the terms they laid down. I know some ofthese institutions were arrogant: they toldArmenians give us your money and then go. Itwas not the same in Michigan.” An endowedchair like that at Columbia University, he saidby way of example, has not had a permanentchairholder for nearly three decades. He added that ideally the agreement to fund

a chair should specify the purpose of the chair(some field of Armenian studies), state that theendowment cannot be used for other purposeswhen the chair is vacant, but ensure that themoney accumulates instead, and any candidatesfor chairholder must have excellent commandof Armenian in order to be able to useArmenian-language primary sources. Beyondthis, of course the university can choose anysuitable scholar. Bardakjian suggested that SAS should con-

tinue to keep an eye on the variousArmenological chairs and programs which hadbeen created through Armenian-donatedmoney to make sure that they serve theirintended functions. Although SAS would haveno legal standing per se, it could still have someinfluence.He also felt creating new Armenological insti-

tutes which could look after graduate students,encourage research and do publications wouldbe useful.

Scholarship in Armenia

Bardakjian noted that in Armenia, Armenianstudies has continued as it was in the past. Thecurrent government tried to introduce educa-tional reforms. He said that however it is notthe right approach, declaring, “For example,they have confused Armenian literature forglobal or comparative literature.” Instead, theyshould do both separately. What should bechanged, he said, is the critical approach, prin-ciples and valuation of relevant authors. As times change, some writers will be rele-

gated to the rear and interest in others revived,but the emphasis, Bardakjian stated, should beon authors of contemporary relevance. Hedeclared, “We need to teach the important writ-ers who illuminate our minds about the pastand present.” Furthermore, the critical toolsthe modern world uses must be introduced toArmenia, he said. The Matenadaran has a new generation of

young scholars, linguistically well prepared,which has joined the ranks of the establishedscholars there, Bardakjian said, while theOriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences,led by Ruben Safrastyan, has a few young peo-ple, is publishing, and is open to change.Yerevan State University, on the other hand,Bardakjian declared, “has taken a very tradi-tionalist and conservative stand. There is amore urgent and wider need for the use of con-temporary methodological and critical tools.”It general, it is the old guard, the old

approaches and the old traditions that still pre-vail. Armenian arts and literature must, he said,see the world through Armenian perspectives,but such perspectives should be very wide.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Armenologist Kevork Bardakjian Reviews Accomplishments, Looks to the Future

Kevork Bardakjian, keynote speaker at the Massachusetts State House Commemoration of theArmenian Genocide, April 2002

10 S A T U R D A Y, F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 2 1 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

NEW YORK — On Saturday, January 23, the Eastern Dioceseof the Armenian Church of America held its 118th annualDiocesan Assembly as an online gathering, convened over theZoom video conference platform. Some 150 attendees—clergy,delegates, parish council chairs, and observers, representinglocal parishes throughout the Diocese—too part in the meeting. Diocesan Primate Bishop Daniel Findikyan, who presided over

the gathering, acknowledged the novelty of holding a DiocesanAssembly remotely. In his welcoming remarks he noted that thiswas not only a first in the history of the Diocese, but possibly amilestone in the history of the Armenian Church, consideringthat other diocesan jurisdictions had decided to forego their rep-resentative assemblies for the duration of the pandemic crisis. Findikyan said that delegates throughout the Eastern Diocese

felt that even under such circumstances it was important to holdan assembly, and communications technology made the gather-ing feasible. The Primate emphasized that whether meeting face-to-face or over the Internet, “the church and the actions of itsleaders always aim to serve God’s will, first and foremost.” Worldwide concerns over the pandemic had caused the can-

cellation of the scheduled 118th Diocesan Assembly, which wasto have taken place in May of 2020, in Dallas, TX. Furthermore,an earlier online gathering of Diocesan delegates and leaders onSeptember 12, 2020, was conducted as an “informa¬tionalassembly,” with a limited scope and timeframe. In the same infor-mational vein, throughout the fall several online “breakout ses-sions” were held, during which leaders of Diocesan departmentsand organizations reported on their activities and upcomingplans, and fielded questions from delegates.

Voting Takes Center Stage

An important function of the January 23 Diocesan Assemblyinvolved voting for elected officers, proposals, and matters suchas the approval of the Diocesan budget. In preparation for themeeting, the Diocesan Council along with representatives fromthe Board of Trustees, Nominating, Auditing and ProposalsCommittees, and officers of the 117th Diocesan Assembly, test-ed a virtual voting platform and deemed it to be both secure anduser friendly. At the outset of voting, Nominating Committee chair Dr. Lynn

Cetin (Holy Martyrs Church, Bayside, NY) thanked AlexTopakbashian (St. Sahag and St. Mesrob, Wynnewood, PA) forhis technical help in adapting the secure voting platform“Election Buddy” to the needs of the Diocesan Assembly. (Thesame platform is being recommended to local parishes for use intheir respective parish assemblies this year.) With the voting system in place, the first order of business was

to elect officers of the 118th Diocesan Assembly. Having led theearly portion of the meeting (as well as the September 12 “infor-mational assembly”), 117th Diocesan Assembly chair LisaEsayian turned over the virtual gavel to the incoming officers:chairman Gregory Saraydarian (Holy Martyrs, Bayside, NY), vicechair Zaven Tachdjian (St. Gregory the Enlightener, WhitePlains, NY), and secretary Laurie Bejoian (Holy Translators,Framingham, MA). Elections were also held to fill seats on the Diocesan Board of

Trustees, as well as the Nominating, Proposals, and Auditingcommittees. (Results of all the elections appear below.) A report from the assembly’s Standing Committee on the

National-Ecclesiastical Assembly, Ecclesiastical RepresentativeAssembly, Bylaws and Church Governance was presented by AraAraz (St. Leon, Fair Lawn, NJ).

Financial Report and Proposals

Roseann Manoogian Attar (St. John, Southfield, MI) deliveredthe Financial and Budget Report on behalf of the DiocesanCouncil, which she serves as its longtime Treasurer. She dis-cussed the sometimes difficult measures the Diocesan Counciland administration took in the wake of the pandemic, notingthat Diocesan financial concerns during the unpredictable pan-demic year were greatly relieved by the federal Payroll ProtectionProgram (PPP), which loaned $500,000 to the Diocese. TheDiocese is applying for the second round of PPP funding, whilealso applying for forgiveness of the first-round loan. She noted that the Diocese raised over a million dollars for

Artsakh during the year. She also congratulated DiocesanDevelopment director Laurie Onanian’s efforts for the 2020Annual Appeal, which raised in excess of one million dollars tofund the Diocese’s ministries for the coming year. Diocesan Council Chair Fr. Krikor Sabounjian (Holy

Translators, Framingham, MA) made special mention of a half-million-dollar endowment established in memory of the lateEdward Onanian, which will for the first time ensure an annualretirement benefit for lay members of the Diocesan staff. Proposed Diocesan budgets for 2021 (of around $3.7 million) and

2022 (around $4.4 million) were both approved by the delegates. The final area of deliberation by the delegates involved a series

of proposals, several of which sought to amend the DiocesanBylaws. Three such Bylaws amendments were passed by theassembly; these involved amendments that (a) clarify the natureof the majorities on the Diocesan Council and Board of Trustees

required to authorize the dispensation of real properties, (b)establish a limit of three consecutive 4-year terms for service onthe Diocesan Council, and (c) permit the Diocesan Board ofTrustees to hold meetings telephonically. All three of these amendments were passed for the second

consecutive year, and pending approval by the Catholicos of AllArmenians will be adopted into the Bylaws. Voting on several other proposals was deferred to a later date,

in consideration of the lateness of the hour. The report of theAuditing Committee was also deferred to that time—which is stillto be determined but will be scheduled for the near future. With a benediction from Bishop Daniel, the January 23 virtu-

al session of the 118th Diocesan Assembly was adjourned