Rebuilding Karabakh - April 1999

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Throughout nearly two decades of a flourishing practice, Ourfalian & Ourfalian have grown into a

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SEPTEMBER 22-24,1999 YEREVAN ARMENIA

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THe punposE oF THE coNFERENCE IS To IMpRovE AND sTRENGTHEN coopERArIoN BETWEEN ARUENTE AND THE DNSPONa.

Tgp coNTeRENCE wILL

FoCUS oN THE SALIENT

AND PRACTICAL ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE CURRENT ASPECTS oF THE

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DIESPORE RELATIONSHIBWITH THE PURPoSE oF DEVELoPING JoINT PRoJECTS AND ACTIVITIES TO UNITE THE CREATIVE EFFORTS OF EACH. TUg GOvBnNMENT oF ARMENIA BELIEVE THAI AN EFFECTIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARueNTa AND THE

DIespoRR wILL sTRENGTHEN THE BASIS FoR INDEpENDENCE roR ARIaBNIA AND

Anrsarri.

Glvnx Trm MPoRTANCE oF rsls CoxnrRENCE, rHn SrrBRtNc CouurrrEE woulD

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TO ENCOURAGE AN OPEN DISCUSSION ON PERTINENT ISSUES BY ALL INDIVIDUALS, .,,.,,,,,,

PROFESSIONALS, AnMENIAN AND DraspoRa oRGANIzATIoNS, eoLITICAL

rARTIEs, '. i.il

COMMUNITY AND RELIGIous LEADERS. WHAT sHoULD BE THE DESTRED ouTc-o1ffi,o*.f$:ii:ti.i

sucH A CONFERENCg? Wsar sHouLD BE oN THE AGENDA THAr rs AcREED'{rffiNat'$iiiii'*illl',1 CONCLUS ION OF THIS CONFERENCE FOR

WHer sHouLD

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BE THE MECHANTsMs FoR TMpLMENTAnoN

COOPER.AJTION?

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Pt g.asr sEND youR coMMENTS, vrEws AND pRop(NALs oN TIIE arove rIrEMEs, As aNr GENERAL coMMENTARy ro rHE $ranffi.lc Cq4WrrBr, ir,TIrE FoLLgwrNG

1\INI

APRIL 1999

vo1..10, No.

4

DEPARTMENTS

6 Editor's Note 7 Letters to the Editor 10 AIM View 12 Notebook 15 Bytes on File 16 Global Picture

18 20 53 65 65 68

Armenia Briefs Diaspora Briefs Cyberpages

Other People's Mail Underexposed Essay

NATION

22 What is independence without economic, social and civic infrastructure? Karabakhis face challenges for building their country and long-term planning.

Focus-The American Tour Karabakh President Arkady Chukasian visits Washington on a diplomatic mission and meets with the Armenian Community on both coasts of the United States

26

The Preelection Mood Armenia's citizens prepare for the parliamentary elections in May with mixed feelings and thoughts

28

Armenicum Does Armenia have a cure for AIDS? The world is watching

31

Cover Story-Rebuilding Karabakh After almost eight years of de facto independence, state authorities in Karabakh present a plan for rebuilding infrastructure and the lives

of their people

43

The Road to Statehood Armenia's Former Presidential Advisor speaks about political challenges facing Armenia and the region

48

Genocide Remembered The newest Cenocide monument is erected in Sydney

T.9IIIT19T The centuries-old Armenian community in Egypt adapts to the political, social and cultural changes in

52

Pharaohs, Pashas and Beys The Armenians in Egypt

the modern Middle East.

BOOKS

58

An Arab Historian's Cause Saleh Zahredeen on the Armenians and the Cenocide

SPORTS

60

Behind the Microphone Two top sports journalists hit big in print and broadcast media

COVER DESIGN BY RAFFI TARPINIAN; COVER PHOTO By ANTOTNE AGOUDJTAN

The Armenia-France football game in Paris brings of cheering Armenians to the field.

thousands

AIM (lSsN 1050_3471) is publbhed month y, $45 trr year, by The Fourth M llennlum Sciet, 207 $u6 Srand Boulevad, 5u re 2ol, cte.dale, CA 912&: Pho.er(818)246-7t79,Fax:(818)246.@88.Perodical5PostatepaidatCtendateCAandadditionrmaitingofiic.s CanadapoipubliQtonsMaitproduct Sales Agreement No Oa1A57 @ CoPytitillgqby The Foudh Mille.niuh keq All ithts reseNed. AtM may not be reprduced h any manner, either in wholc or in pad without witen pem6non iron the pubbher Ihe edito^ are not Gspniib e lor unsolic ted ma. uscipt or art ude$ a 5hmped se tadd/esed envelope senclosed. Opin@r5 expre$ed n siSn€d adicles do nol necessaniy represenl ihevlews ofThe FoLdh Milennium Socery Foradvedisint quei8 calt:

818.246.7979Subrnption.ate5lor12LruesUSl45.Foreign:S55Ponma*errSendaddrescha.gestoAtM,pOBorlOTg3,6endate,CAgl2@,U5A

No More

/\INI

Excuses

during the same week that AIM appeared, the possibility that NAIO intervene in Kosovo because of what President Clinton called the "continued brutality and repression of the Serb forces" was the subject of every news report. We congratulated ourselves on the timeliness of Edik Balaian's March cartoon: The Kosovo Example. Editorial discussions which led to the cartoon, had all revolved around the inevitable parallels which could be drawn between Kosovo and Karabakh. The one similarity which was particularly startling and frightening was that one could be a precedent for the other.

But once the shortsighted NAIO bombing campaign began, other parallels became much more obvious. A "tragedy of gargantuan proportions" said one British report. "Indescribable horrors" said an American. Driving to work in the morning, listening to usually-cool journalists suddenly so utterly moved by their own stories, I couldn't hetp but recall the ordeals and tribulations of genocide survivors. It all sounded so familiar.

T

ast month,

l-lwould

All this is an odd way to acknowledge the very valuable work being done by AIM's new Managing Editor Hratch Tchilingirian (left) and to welcome him to AIM, in its 10th year of publication. Any time at all, but especially now, Armenia and Armenians must see -- and make -- their place in the world, and not just in individual self-enclosed communities. Hratch, who has been with AIM since October, is perfectly suited to that task.

His professional and academic background is unusual among those with a persistent involvement in Armenian community institutions. Hratch is working on his doctor-

al dissertation at the prestigious London School of of a new political and

Economics on the construction

social order in Karabakh since the late 1980s. In addition to executive positions in Armenian organizations, Hratch was co-founder and coeditor of Window, a quarterly publication which broke new ground in its explo-

ration

of

topics related to the Armenian church and religion. During the

Catholicossal elections in 1995, Hratch's daily reports were the primary source for up-to-date information and interpretation on that historic event. On a recent trip to Lebanon, Egypt and the Emirates, Hratch conducted over 50 hours of interviews with more than two dozen figures who are individually and professionally involved in Armenian-related projects. AIM's involvement with Taner Akgam., Doroth6e Forma and the film, A Wall of Silence, began on Hratch's initiative. AIM and AIM readers will benefit from Hratch's combination of commitment and vision. s we prepared our pullout section on Building Karabakh, I remembered a few Areaders strong concern that our October 1998 issue, Karabakh Lives, focused on all that is not right in Karabakh. They stressed that some Diaspora communities and institutions have done a great deal of good in Karabakh's villages and cities.

And those accomplishments need to be highlighted so donors (already cautious and

I

sometimes downright cynical) don't find excuses to quit giving. We couldn't agree more.

We want to do away with those excuses, too, and the middle pages of this issue intend to do exactly that. No more excuses. Here are small, medium, large and extra large projects of all types throughout Karabakh's cities and villages. Each one will directly impact thousands of lives. What could be easier? Pick one. Figure out how to finance it. Oversee the project's implementation. Done. You've made a difference This is the best kind of joumalism--advocacy journalism. We believe that the people of Karabakh are entitled to decent lives. With your participation, this issue of AIM will play a part in extending that basic human right to more of Karabakh's

population.

#t.t#rq::*

Armenian lnternational Magazine

4@*7r2,AIM APRIL 1999

207 South Brand Blvd. Suite 2o3 cfendale, CA 91204, UsA Tel: 818 246 7979 Fax: 81 8 246 oo88 E-mail: aim4m@well.com EDITOR.PUBLISHER Salpi

Haroutinian Ghdarian

MANAGING EDITOR Hratch Tchilingirian ASSOCIATE EDITOR A. H. Alexandrian, Yerevan SENIOR EDITOR Tony Halpin, London DESIGN

Raffi Tarpinian PRODUCTION AND PHOTO MANAGER Parik Naarian

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Dania Ohanian SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER seta Khodanian ADVERTISING MANAGER Fimi Mekhitarian INTERNS

Karina Avedissian, Dina Hovsepian, Ani Shirinian Mesrop Simonyan

YEREVAN BUREAU 5 Nalbandian Room 24 Tel;

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E.mail: aimarm@arminco.com COORDINATOR

Anahit Martirossian ADVERTISINC DIRECTOR

cohar Sahakian DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Areg Asatrian, Vahan Stepanian

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Iohn Hughes, Ronald Gritor Suny, Taline Voskeritchian CONTRIBUTORS Emin, Yerevan; Susn Pattie, London; â‚Źdik Balaian, Ara Chouliian, Los Anteles; lanet Samuelian, Palm SprinSt; Mdk Malkdian, Rhode |tlandr cm8e 0oumoutid, Lola Koundakiian, New York; Mydam 6aume, Pdit; Matthew Karanian, Al@ad M@radian, wahington, DC; Vartan

Aiash6

Matio$ian, Buenor

Aires.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Yerevan; Antoine Atoudjian, Mkhitar khachatian, Zaven Xhachikian, Roubef, Terakopian, London; Kailne Amen, Xevoil Amineh Johanns, Aline Manoukian, Paris; tdmond^4angasarian, Dianteuian. Raffi Ekmekii, Ef,c Nedan, Ata Oshatan, Lor AnSeles; 6aro Lachiniaf,, Ma$achuseth; Ardem Aslanian, New Je6ey; Hafiy xoundaljian, New Yo*; 8er8e fua zobian, Rhode lsland.

EDITOR EMERITUS Naafian

Charles

EDITORIAL CONSUTTANT Minas Kojaian INTERNATIONAL

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WRITE TO AIM! We welcome all communication. Although we read all letteE and submissions, we are unable to acknowled8e everything we receive due to limited staffing and resources.

Letters to the Editor may be edited for publication.

true and genuine uncompromising servant

of

God and the vigilant protector of his sheep and flock, will do everything, by God's graces, to prevent the intrusion of these cults and wolves into the Armenian Church. It is strange that these wolves try to enter into the Armenian Christian life, and try to convert our people who have given millions of martyrs for the sake of remaining Christian and

true to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let them instead, go to far-offcountries where people have never heard the word Christ.

I wish the

Armenian Church had dozens

of

Fr.

I was shocked

upon reading the letter

by George Kooshian (whom I have known for many years) in your February 1999 issue.

He has taken the liberty of attacking one of our most dedicated, industrious, progressive and competent clergymen, Fr. Vazken Movsesian, who is empowered by the grace of God with exceptional intelligence and talent in adopting and interpreting the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of our forefathers, and the Armenian Church Tenets

in modern expression, while remaining exceptionally faithful to the teachings and the Canons of the Armenian Church.

I deplore Kooshian's

attempted charac-

ter assassination of Fr. Vazken, especially concerning his Armenian spirit. Indeed, Fr. Vazken is one of the few American-born

Armenians who attended Armenian parochial school, attended Claremont Theological Seminary, studied at the Seminary of Holy Ejmiatsin inArmenia, and graduated from the University of Southern Califomia with a M.A. in Social Ethics, along with two degrees in Psychology and Religion. Thereafter, on bended knees, he received the Holy Order of the Sacred Order of Priesthood.

He is the 'good shepherd of his flock.'

As a good shepherd, he has a brilliant mind and spirit, and is able to see the wolves

sneaking into the Armenian Church, and aggressively trying to proselytize our people and destroy the 1700-year faith of our forefathers. These wolves, as the Bible clearly indicates, have different shapes and garments. However, the good shepherd, as the

in

helping our

Along with Fr. Vazken's many responsibilities as a pastor, as a teacher at the St. Gregory Alfred and Marguerite Day School, as a leader in the Bible Study Groups, organizing and working with Sunday School and

Armenian School projects and other involvements, his top priority has been to focus on the youth, and bring ArmenianAmericans, who had drifted away from the Armenian church for various reasons, back to Church life. He has created groups and

for youth to

Vazkens.

support networks

You can be assured that during these days, as the world continuously progresses towards confusion and immorality, justify-

actively involved in parish life; in fact, some of the boys who were formerly disoriented

ing human foolishness by legal definition,

The Work of the Good Shepherd

and diligently are active young people.

we need spiritual leaders such as Fr. Vazken, to shake off and make bundles of these parasites and throw them out! For your readers' information, Fr. Vasken has brought new spiritual revival, new spirit, new mission and

a new life to the St. Gregory parish in Pasadena. In fact, the Armenian Church is experiencing a new renaissance in the

and delinquent are now serving

questioned.

We sometimes brag that the most cultirally and financially affluent Armenians reside in the Los Angeles Area. But do we know that we have scores of Armenian gang members killing each other? Do we know that we have drug addiction in the greater Los Angeles and Pasadena areas which are destroying our youth and our families? Do we know that immorality has gone beyond one's imagination? strongly recommend that the doubting Thomases talk to Fr. Shnork Demirjian who visits the greater Los Angeles area prisons regularly, or talk with Shahe Keuroghelian of the Glendale Police Department, and of course, to Fr. Vazken, who started this awareness movement as the good shepherd, and has been working with gangs and drug addiction cases as the true Father, and helping young people immensely. In fact, all of our priests conscientiously

I

AIM APRIL 1999

in

the

Armenian Church.

I usually do not respond to letters such as this; however, since this concerned one of the priests of my Diocese, I took a personal

interest---especially since Kooshian's criticism of Fr. Vazken was unjustly directed. I hope that Kooshian realizes that Fr. Vazken is endowed and motivated with infinite energy and Amenianism.

greate-.r Pasadena area, and as a result ofthe leadership ofFr. Vazken and lay leaders, St. Gregory is in the process of starting the construction of a new church for 650 people.

Indeed, many times, we as leaders are

timid in identifying the social ills of our community. Christ, in his sermons usually identified people as honest and dishonest, and the dishonest people were called hypocrites. Since Fr. Vazken excels in cotlmunication skills and is fearless enough to openly identify the existing calamities of the Armenian Community, he is sometimes

become

A rc hb i s hop Vat c he

H ov s ep ian Primate, Armenian Church of North America Westem Diocese

Burbanh Califurnia

I was appalled to see in your February 1999 issue that you had published a letter by George B. Kooshian of Altadena, California, about Fr. Vazken Movsesian, Pastor of St. Gregory Armenian Church in Pasadena.

in rebuttal to an article Up to this point,

I believed

that AIM

was an upper caliber magazine and wouldn't even consider publishing such a meritless

article, in which the writer doesn't focus on

his topic, the article "The Armenians of Pasadena," and obviously, just knocked the character and person of our wonderful priest, Fr. Vazken Movsesian, for reasons unknown

to me.

For the past 20 years, I stayed away from the Armenian Church because I wasn't receiving any spiritual nourishment. I had read about Fr. Movsesian's fine works during the time he was Pastor at St. Andrew Armenian Church in Cupertino, but I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing or hearing him personally. Since his arrival at St. Gregory Pasadena, I have gotten back on track again and attend church regularly. Kooshian states that people are dropping out of church since Fr. Vazken's arrival. On the contrary, before Fr. Vazken's arrival three-quarters of the

The Founh Millennium Smiety is an independently funded and adminis-

ch[ity

tered public

committed to the dissemination ofinformation tor the purpose

of developing an infonned public. Underpinning all our work is the firm conviction that the

church was empty. Now, every Sunday, all the seats are taken with standing room only.

Many of my friends, American-born, who had stayed away from church for years, are all going to St. Gregory now because of Fr. Vazken.

personally, am addicted to Fr. Movsesian's serrnons. from which I have learned more in two years, than in all my

I,

vitality ol an independent press is fundamental to

a

democratic soci

ety in Armenia and dcmocratic institutions in the Diaspora. The Fourth Millennium Society publishes Amenian International Magazine in its effon to contribute to the national dialogue. The directors are grateful

b

the Benefactors.

Trustees. Patrons and Friends of the Founh Millennium Society who are commil-

THE

ted to the

FOURTH MILLENNIUM

well-being. growth and development ofAmenians and Amenia through

the promotion

of open discussion and the free flow of infomation among indiwork of the

viduals and organizations. Their financial contributions support lhe Founh Millennium Society and ensure the independence of

AIM.

Michael Nahabet. Raffi Zinzalian. Directors.

SOCIETY,Inc.

life. How can Kooshian say, "Fr. Movsesian

exhibits an anti-Armenianness" when Fr. Vazken's dedicated religious leadership, nationalism and unselfish commitment to the Armenian Church and community have eamed him the admiration and appreciation of both Armenians and non-Armenians? Fr. Vazken has initiated so many activities at the church, for every age group, in which he is involved; he's even reaching out to the people who cannot attend church, by television

twice a week. Fr. Vazken demonstrates

a

genuine willingness to serve and lead others in the spirit of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I don't know what planet Kooshian has been living on for the past two years, but to portray one of our most dedicated and most intellectual priests in such fashion as he did in his letter, is a distortion of reality, and I'm

DIRECTORS'99 Shahen Hairapetian, Armen Hampar, Zaven Khanjian, Michael Nahabet,

Alex Sarkissian, Bob Shamlian, Raffi Zinzalian.

BENEFACTORS Sarkis Acopian, Albert

Louise Manoogian Simone

SENIOR TRUSTEES

AUSTRALIA: Heros & Kate Dilanchian; CALIFORNIA: Khachig Babayan, George & Flora Dunaians, George & Grace Kay, Joe & Joyce CANADA: Razmig Hakimian, Kourken Sarkissian HONG KONG:

Stein Jack Maxian

FOUNDING TRUSTEES AUSTRALIA: Varoojan Iskenderian CALIFORNIA: Garen Avedikian, Mardo Kaprielian, Edward Misserlian, Bob Moveli, Varoujan Nahabet, Norair Oskanian, Emmy Papazian, Zareh Sarkissian, Raffi Zinzalian FLORIDA: Hagop Koushakjian

PENNSYLVANIA: Zarouhi Mardikian ASSOCIATE TRUSTBES

sure everyone who knows Fr. Vazken will agree

& Tove Boyajian, Hirair Hovnanian, The Lincy Foundation,

Araxie M. Haroutinian, Ralph and Savey Tufenkian

with me.

Shake Meldonian Covina, California

More Hope While I found your coverage on "Hope and Despair: a Decade after the Earthquake" (Cover Story, January,1999) insightful, it is incredible to me that no mention was made of the recent intensive and comprehensive analysis of the Earthquake Zone by a team of international experts which was commissioned by the Government of Armenia and The World Bank, conducted from September

to December, 1998. Apparently, your reporters were not made aware of the study, although most of the people interviewed knew about it (perhaps, because the new strategy differs from the "conventional wisdom" which translates into the status quo: build, build, buildl). We are optimistic that

PATRONS

Amen and Gloriai Hampar Arpiar and Hemine Janoyan

CANADA

AUSTRALIA

Walter and Laurel Karabian

Migirdic and Ani Migirdicyan

Aman and Nairi Derderyan

Kevork and Satenig Kffaierjian

CONNECTICUT

George and Vanouhi Tavoukjian

Nishan+ and Sona Kazazian

Louis T. Hagopian

Artin Etmekjian

John and Rose Ketchoyan

CYPRUS

Anonymous

Gary and Sossi Kevorkian

CALIFORNIA

Zaven and Sona Khanjian

Gao Keheyan ITALY Krikor and Huoul lstanbulian LEBANON

Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian

Krikor Krikorian

Garabed Akpolat

Dora Seruiarian Kuhn

Armand and Nancy Arabian

Avik Mahdesian

Vankes and Jean Barsam

Stepan and Erdjanik Markarian

Harry and Alvan Barseghian

Harout and Rita Mesrobian

Aram and Terez Bassenian

Jasmine Mgrdichian

MICHIGAN

Berj and Hera Boyajian

Edward and Alice Navasargian

George Chamchikian

Hagop and Violet Dakessian

Kenneth and Cindy Norian

Alex Munu)giani

Ardash and Marian Derderian

Rafi Ourfalian

NEVADA

Michael and Hemine Piranian

Larry and Seda Bames

Dimitri

and Tamara

Dimilri

eliminating the "Disaster Zone" once and for all.

Steven

Anlian

Washington, DC

Kevork Bouladian MASSACHUSETTS Richard Simonian

Steve and Lucille Estephanian

Hratch and Helga Sarkis

Manoushag Fernraoian

Alex Sarkissian

Gagik and Knar Galstian

Robert and Helen Shamlian

Vahan and Audrey Grcgor

Pelros and Garine Taglyan

UNITED KINGDOM

Pierre and Alice Haig

Ara and Avedis Tavitian

Diran and Suzi Chakelian

the Govemment and the International Donor Community will embrace the new elements

of our strategy and make real progress in

Gaidzag and Dzovig Zeitlian

ARMENIA Khachatur Soukiassian

NEW YORK

Hmy

and Vahe

Aida Koundakjian Nishaniani

FRIENDS OFAIM The Fourth Millennium Society is grateful to the following for contributing during the last month to ensure AIM's financial independence.

MA: Martha Demerjian, Minas Hagopian, Julie

Tomassian

NY: Mark

and Huri Sukissian.

Serge Tumayan. Gohar Silberg CA: James Karoghlanian.

AIM APRIL I999

Clearing Up the Signal

really enjoyed visiting with great interest

I would like to congratulate AIM for well balanced and professionally

a

presented

magazine to which I have been a proud subscriber from the start.

Responding to the article on Armenian radio in Sydney (Connections, January 1999) I wish to correct and expand the para-

many of the addresses and sources you had listed.

We are still in Korea, and current information on the various activities in the many

Armenian communities is not possible to get. With the list you had published, I know that I will now be able to get current news on a timely basis.

graph regarding Sydney's other Armenian

Z. Misserlian Seoul, Korea

language radio programs.

"The Voice of the Armenian Church" program was omitted from mention. The

Internet sites that provide news and information about Armenia. However, your list was

Fttrther research shows there are

not complete.

We represent the www.armscape.com

UITAMII{S & MIilERAtS

We are writing this letter in connection

with your "How to find news on Armenia and Armenians" on the lntemet (Cyberpages, January 1999). The article contained

quite an impressive and useful list of

dlmenian Internet site providing

Jbllowing programs as well:

The ARF has two radio hours in Sydney: the Voice of Sartarabad (FM) on Monday evenings and the Voice of Horizon on Fridays. Also they produce the Voice of Azadamard in Melboume (FM) once a week.

The AGBU broadcasts the Voice of Erebuni Saturdays in Sydney. The Hunchaks'Voice of Nor Serunt is broadcast weekly on Sundays, and is probably the first Atmenian radio

program to be regularly available on the World Wide Web. The Armenian Catholic Church or St. Gregory School which was featured in AIM, February 1999, also broad-

casts Voice of Dziadzan in Sydney (FM)four times a week.

-4n diverse information about Armenia. Among others, we have a section called "News from

Armenia"

(www.armscape.com/snark)

which is developed jointly with the Snark News Agency. At present, this page contains

"Headline News" from Armenia as well as the Daily Press Scanner. There is also an archive ofprevious Snark news and analytical articles. The information is updated on a

daily (sometimes hourly) basis and

subject

information on Internet addresses (Cyberpages, January 1999).

Today, Monday, the l5th of February, being the first day ofthe Lunar New Year, I

is

absolutely free of charge; it does not require any registration or passwords. In addition, we maintain the "Armscape Spotlight," a weekly electronic e-zine (letter) that currently has more than 600 subscribers in and outside Armenia. This Spotlight carries a brief digest of leading news from Armenia during

the previous week. Subscription to

To the Ends of the Earth

Thank you for the valuable

PTANTS

More Cyberpages

program is aired every Sunday evening and includes religious hymns, a sermon by the prelate, Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, popularArmenian songs, news, information, etc.

In November 1998, this program celebrated its third anniversary.

Jack Markarian Sydney, Australia the

MIRAGTE

this

Spotlight is free ofcharge too.

Also, the homepage of SNARK News Agency-http://www.snark.am-is very useful.

Aram and Avetis, Armscape Yerevan,

Armenia

Is the perfect guide to natural healing

and herbal medicines written in

of the herbs and plants used in the practice of homeopathic healing. It also includes a comprehensive guide with step by step advice on the use of herbal medicine. The bookt author is Dr. Roupen Kulkhanjian, registered pharmacist in Beirut Lebanon.

A wonderfrrl and thoughtful gift for your family and friends To order, please write to:

Aline Donabedian 24 Duff Street, Watertown

MA02472 Include a check or money order of $29.99. Price includes shipping and handeling.

AIM APRIL

1999

the

Armenian language. The book is beautifully illustrated wirh full color pictures

No lmposed $olutions ll Bombing is lhe answel, what is the queslion? one

A month ago, the US government helped Turkey capture of the leaders of the Kurdish movement, even as Turkey

continues to invest a good deal of its national resources-or US national resources since Turkey is a large recipient of US aidto decimate its Kurdish population. This month, the US government leads the NATO campaign to bomb the Serbs over their treatment (or mal-treatment) of Albanians living in Serbia's Kosovo province.

Before bombing Iraq, the US worked hard to secure appropriate UN measures to justify its actions. No such measures seemed to be necessary before Belgrade began to be targeted by the bombers of NATO--heretofore a defensive alliance.

When hundreds of thousands of Croats were killed and deported just a few years ago, in the same Yugoslavia, no one, certainly not the US or the NATO alliance, made much noise.

Suddenly, a few years later, the West is indignant at the gross violations of human rights taking place just a few hundred miles away. And the solution? Bomb them all!

"The assertion that human rights within the boundaries of a sovereign state are best defended by a sustained bombardment of its own civilian population is, to put it most kindly, Orwellian," said one British newspaper.

If the means are Orwellian, the end is at least, confused and

arbitrary. Kosovo is just one of nearly two dozen wars being fought not between states, but within them. But this is the one

the West has decided to label "genocide" and

jump in to resolve.

If

the West's "solution" to Kosovo is any indication, the West just doesn't get it. And, Armenians are in trouble. For 10 years now, we've known they don't understand, really understand, what is going on in Karabakh. They don't comprehend that this is not just a power struggle over land. Whatever the reason, the national and international institutions of the West have not seen--do not want to see?-that Karabakh is a struggle to preserve identity-to be able to secure the right to live on their land with the symbols and the words and the legends that define them.

Kosovo is no different. Chechnya is no different. And the Kurds, the target of state terrorism by NAIO member Turkey, are certainly no different. Who decides what is "genocide"?

Will the West take on the formidable task of creating the political means to deal with these enduring, complex, central disputes? Or, in the absence of such political means, will the West watch as these unsanctioned efforts to find political solutions degenerate into violence? And worse, will the West compound the scope of violence in the name of preventing it?

All those in a position to impose their will must be made to see that dictated, artificial, arbitrary solutions to deep-seated political and cultural problems are no solution at all. There can be no better evidence of that than the history of Yugoslavia in

this century.

what's lt AII Ahout Ihey tought so that lhey could liYe in l(arabafth. But how?

Every Karabakhi will tell you. This is our land. This is where we were born. This is where we shall die.

But in between, they must live. It is for that right that they fought, and for which they are fighting still. But how to live in towns without maternity hospitals, without city halls, without water distribution systems? How to make a living without jobs? How to eat without sufficient agricultural infrastructures? How to organize civic life or reconstruction without a town hall, a city center, a municipal headquarters? In short, how to live?

The elected government of Karabakh has put together a list of 102 very specific projects. By their estimates, all together, these pro-

l0

jects would cost just over $10 million to implement. A formidable figure. But each one, individually, is quite within reach and doable.

And, it goes without saying, essential. Karabakh's defense minister quite unabashedly said during a recent press conference, that Karabakh's young people haven't known a normal life for over a decade. They are no longer literate. Building an entire school building in the northern district of Martakert for $70,000 is part of the solution.

There are more solutions available. Water, that substance necessary for every home and business, is still not available in most towns and villages. In each of eight towns, water storage and distri-

AIM APRIL I999

bution systems can be constructed for anywhere from $10,000 to $26,000.

With no supermarkets and food distributors, who helps the farmer provide foodstuffs? Ten breeding pigs can be purchased and maintained for $7,627; 10 head of dairy cattle for $4,884.

Without such living necessities, how can those who won Karabakh keep it? Without a steady income, the soldier who returns home won't stay. After having insured his wife's or mother's safety, he now has to provide for their welfare. Ifhe can't do so by staying in Karabakh, then he will leave and take them with him.

Only Armenia and the Diaspora can provide the wherewithal for Karabakh to build. The Intemational Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development don't recognize Karabakh. They would have no where to send the check.

The Diaspora has no choice but to step in. Ladies guilds, professional organizations, extended families and business colleagues can take on these projects and see them to fruition.

Or, twenty years later, we can all ask what we could have done differently.

Endangened Wealth Who is accounlable lor the assets ol the Armenian 0iaspora?

While the personal assets of some three million Armenians living in the Diaspora might amount to several billion dollars, the collective assets--or the "national wealth"--of the Diaspora is no small amount, either: at least several hundred million dollars.

From the large real estate holdings of the Armenian Patriarchate

of Jerusalem, or the Mkhitarian congregations in Italy

and

Austria, to the scores of trusts, endowments and prime real estate holdings within individual communities around the world, the

problem

of

administration, distribution and protection of

Armenian "national wealth" is the least discussed--and sometimes the most shrouded--issue in the Diaspora.

Most of these "national" assets are administered by hundreds of conscientious boards and managers. However, in some communities, particularly those where the community has dwindled such as Calcutta, India, (see page 2l) the administration of

community assets is entrusted--by law or internal procedure--to a handful of individuals who are often ill qualified to administer such large assets. In recent decades, in several communities, officers or managers of community trusts have been accused of embezzling large sums of money either by outright fraud or under the guise of "grand projects" or through other deceptive means. As the saying goes, "when the knife reaches the bone," intervention and prevention by individuals or groups have come

either too late or have amounted to too little.

Decades-long calls for accountability, transparency and honesty have been, at best, ignored by the entities that control Armenian national assets. Very few committees or organizations have made their books public. Legally, they have no such obligation--other than to their respective government agencies.

But, ethically and morally, they ought to be accountable to their respective communities in particular and the Armenian nation in general.

The hard-earned millions donated by thousands of Armenians over the centuries for the well-being and edification of future generations of Armenians is the collective and perpetual wealth of the nation. Any individual or group that

mismanages, misappropriates or embezzles such wealth should be held accountable and brought to justice. "Out of sight, out of mind" should not be the guiding principle. The formation of an international organization made up of business investors and developers, attorneys, accountants and experts must be the first step toward monitoring, preservation and fair distribution of the Diaspora's wealth. A mechanism is essential to establish accountability and transparency. The Armenian state's diplomatic representations and infrastructure should become the catalyst for such a critical, systematic oversight.

AIM APRIL 1999

ffi# B{ffi

Might is Right AIM APRIL I999

"What are you doing to pressure the Turkish government to end its denial of [the Armenian] Genocide?

Congressman George Radanovich to Secretary of State -US Madeleine Albright, following her testimony on the Clinton Administration s Year 2000 foreign policy agenda. Albright said she would reply in writing.

"When faced with comparable demands for intervention in the region in 1895, Lord Salisbury lartly observed-'You cannot send warships to the mountains of Armenia.' In 1999, you can send cruise missiles to Anatolia; but you

will

need ground troops

to impose your will. Any volunteers?"

Pinter, The Guardian (London), commenting on the

-Harold Kurdish issue in Turkey

"For Armenia, the diaspora's problems with Armenia are

the

"Regrettably, we have lost our right to complain by default. Our duties with the Church begin and end with lighting candles.

Without meaningful participation in Church affairs, we have been reduced to applauding like idiots."

-Levon

"The Armenian Church in America needs American-born priests St.

Haigentz, Fort Lee, NJ

"We are more afraid of dying of hunger than we are of radiation."

plant will cut the single largest source of livelihood 12,000 residents of the town of Metsamor

"Self-criticism is a redundant thing in a democratic society."

Ter-PetrossiLn, former President of Armenia

-Father

of Commons.

--An unemployed S0-year-old former factory director, fearing that EU's plan to close the Metsamor Armenian nuclear

Beledian, French-Armenian scholar

in order to thrive."

Dajad Davidian,

Egoyan, Canadian filmmaker, expressing outrage over of Liberal MP Julian Reed in the Canadian House

-Atom the statement

-M.

diaspora's problem."

-Krikor

"Any ambiguity around the issue [of the Armenian Genocide] creates an obfuscation of what really happened and dilutes the serious nature of the crime. It terrifies me that something that had such a vast impact on my farnily and others is being presented in such a revisionist way."

James Church, Watertown, MA

for

the

"Ministerial cabinets are stuffed with the mistresses, wives, nephews, god-daughters, children of old pals, often doing jobs such as press attach6 with dazzling inefficiency."

Economist, on nepotism in the French Government

-The

"Armenia is a small landlocked country which, with its considerable problems, probably needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Armenia."

-Baki

llkin,

Turkeyb Ambassador

in Washington, DC.

"At this stage in history... Armenia needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Armenia."

Armenian Reporter International, New York

-Editorial,

"Turkey needs Armenia much more than the latter

needs

Turkey."

-Harut

Sassounian, Publisher Calfornia Courier

"If

Turkey and Azerbaijan were really concerned about Russian arms in Armenia they would need only look back less than a decade when Armenia's choice of military partnership with Russia was made under the circumstances of increased security threats from these countries. No other alternative for a security strucfure existed for Armenia."

Davidian, Director, Center

-David Belmont. MA

for

Regional Studies, Sowce: Intenrutiotrul Joumal of Midtlle East Studies

AIM APRIL I999

3t

(1999)

r3

NOTEBOOK Wean $unsoreen In 1987, Kurt Vonnegut, 77, iconoclastic writer of fiction, whose works integrate fantasy, tragicomedy, sardonic humor and a light, colloquial style, wrote a novel entitled Bluebeard.

Vonnegut, who is best known for Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions, said Bluebeard is about "Rabo Karabekian, whose parents survived the first attempted genocide of this century, the slaughter by Turkey of its Armenian citizens before the First

World War." Karabekian writes this "autobiography" in the mansion of his waterfront estate in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, which houses the largest collection of Abstract Expressionist paintings-by Pollock, Gorky, de Kooning and others-still in private hands. And the paintings are falling apart...

Vonnegut whose more than two dozen novels are still popular is suddenly back in the news, this time as a supposed lyricist. Baz Luhrmann performs the original song that's hit the charts.

The words (that Vonnegut didn't write according to the Chronicle

of

Higher

for a Commencement Speech he ostensibly presented at the revered Institute of Technology in 1997. But he didn't. Kofi Annan was the speak-

Education) were Massachusetts

er that year.

Still, the song's irreverent tone could easily be Vonnegut's.

It begins: "Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereof my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience." writer-he or she-dispensed the advice anyway. And it's good, earthy, down-home advice. So much so that what started an internet hoax now has teenagers who hear the song wondering who this guy Vonnegut is. as the rest

Yet, the

as

l$ikon lolrnat'$ llauuhten April 24 marks the anniversary of a genocidal process that of the end for the Ottoman Empire's

was the beginning

Armenians. On that day, it was the Istanbul community's intellectual and religious leaders who were rounded up and never heard from again.

But what happened to their families? Where did the wives and children go? Poet Daniel Varoujan, who was 3l years old when he was killed, had a son, Haig, who lived in Fresno and became known as a painter and sculptor.

Krikor Zohrab (right), member of the Ottoman Parliament and writer, had a daughter whose name is now remembered in her own right.

Dolores Zohrab (top left) left Turkey with her mother and settled in Switzerland. She married Henry Liebmann and lived in New York until her death a few years ago.

Her name remains alive on the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center (bottom left) which was founded in 1987 and started operation in 1989 by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, headquartered in New York.

At the beginning of the Democratic movement in Armenia in 1988, the Manhattan-based Center was particularly involved in documenting the events, and in producing a daily/weekly calendar of events during what was a tumultuous, ever-changing period of Armenian history.

r4

AIM APRIL

1999

s E

E

Ihe tinstlen Million Six banks in Armenia stand ready to loan from $100,000 to $1,000,000 to those Armenian residents who present viable business proposals. The funds, promised by US businessman-philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian (See AIM, Nov-Dec. 1997) to boost Armenia's economic development and help create jobs is now operating, according to Lincy Foundation Chairman Jim Aljian, "and we are already seeing some pretty good business plans."

The banks-Armagrobank, Armeconombank, Lend Bank, Anelik Bank, United Bank, Converse Bank-were chosen by the government after they demonstrated a minimum capitalization of the equivalent of US $800,000.

Per the Lincy Foundation's agreement with the Armenian government, a loan applicant presents a proposal to a bank, which either approves or rejects the proposal. Once a plan is approved for funding, the Lincy Foundation allocates the requested funds to Armenia's Central Bank (above), which in turn gives the money to the bank with which the applicant is dealing. The applicant repays the loan directly to the bank and those funds remain with the bank.

Thus, the financial risk is completely on the individual bank, but "Repayment rates are astronomically high in Armenia," says

Aljian, who explains that the Lincy Foundation continues to be involved by looking at the individual applications which the banks approve.

"We are not looking at the credit risk, so much as at who the applicants are. The loan agreement stipulates that the applying institution must be owned by more than a certain percentage of Armenian residents."

Although Armenia's banks-through other programs-do make available much smaller loans, the Lincy program looks only

at large projects. "Our primary concern is job creation," explains Aljian, "and the ones that can do the most in this are in that price range. We arbitrarily put the ceiling at $1 million, but larger amounts can still be reviewed."

As these funds are used, the rest of the promised $100 million will also be made available, explains Aljian, "always making sure that our agreement with the Armenian government coincides with the US Internal Revenue Service regulations."

AIM APRIL I999

CAilADA Levon Barkhoudarian, Armenia's Ambassador in Canada, met with James Wright, Head of the Canadian Foreign Ministry's Eastern, Central and Southern European Bureau. The meeting was held to expand on a letter in which Barkhoudarian outlined concerns regarding the discussions on the recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Canadian Parliament and Foreign Ministry secretary Julian Reed's erroneous statements on the Genocide. Wright promised to work toward broadening the lines of communication with the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian community in Canada.

EGYPT

CYPRUS Foreign

An Armenian business delegation, headed by Minister

Minister, Vartan Oskanian,

of Industry and Trade Haik Gevorkian (left), participated in

Armenia's

the 32nd Cairo International Fair. While in Cairo, Minister Gevorkian signed a trade agreement with Egyptian Minister of Trade and Supply Ahmed Gowaili.

Minister Gowaili said that there are opportunities for

paid a four-day official visit to

Cyprus. He met

with

President Glafcos Clerides,

Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides (left), Nicosia

Egyptian engineering, farming and consumer goods in Armenia , where these products are in great demand. The agreement is aimed at boosting Egyptian-Armenian trade volume which currently stands at $4 million a year.

Mayor Lellos Demetriades, and Parliamentary Deputy President Nicos Anastasiades, where expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation were discussed, as were the Karabakh and the Cyprus conflicts. Oskanian expressed the hope "for a much more efficient and productive relationship between Armenia and Cyprus." At the "green line" in Nicosia, looking across to the Turkish occupied part of the city from an outpost in the old part ofthe capital, Oskanian said: "I'm very touched. Seeing the situation is totally different fromjust hearing about it."

EL SALVADOR Armenia established diplomatic relations with the Republic of El Salvador. held at the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations in New York, Armenia's Ambassador Movses Abelian and his Salvadoran counterpart Ricardo Castaneda-Cornejo signed a Joint Communique establishing ambassadorial level relations between the two countries.

At

a ceremony

SOUTH KOREA Azat Martirosian, Armenia's Ambassador to

RUSISIA

The Armenian government has proposed to form a joint venture with the city of

China, has also been assigned as Ambassador to South Korea. Martirossian will continue to reside in Beijing.

Moscow to operate the Ararat winery in Moscow, which is controlled by the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture. The

BULGARIA

Moscow Ararat (on Meyasnitsgaya street) was established in

1922

by

A Bulgarian parliamentary delegaheaded by Parliament Chairman, Yordan Sokolov (left), held a series of meetings in Yerevan during an official twoday visit to Armenia. Sokolov, during a meeting with his counterpart Khosrov

tion,

the parent Ararat

Armenia in Yerevan. But since

the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations between Moscow and the parent com-

Harutiunian, pledged his country's support for Armenia's membership in the Council of Europe and concurred with Armenia that its membership should not be directly linked to the Karabakh conflict. The delegation also met with President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Armen

pany had deteriorated and had

led to a series of corruption charges against the senior managers of the Moscow factory. The 1.75-hectare plant consists of offices, production and warehouse facilities. The current projected capacity of the plant is 20 million liters of wine, eight million liters of cognac and two million liters of vodka.

It is estimated that it will cost about $10 million to complete construction work and to purchase the necessary equipment.

Last November, while in Yerevan, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (above) told Armenian Prime Minister Darbinian that "Moscow will help finish the Ararat division with a view to operating it on terms beneficial to both parties."

16

Darpinian, and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, where a number of EU-related projects were discussed, such as the TRACECA corridor project. The Bulgarian MPs also pledged to lobby for removing enffy visa requirements for Armenian citizens trav-

elling to Bulgaria.

AIM APRIL 1999

SOUTH CAUCASUS The parliament chairmen of the three South Caucasian republicsKhosrov Harutiunian (right) of Armenia, Murtuz Aleskerov of Azerbaiian and Zwab Zhvania of Georgia-met for the frst time at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg,

The meeting was chaired by Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President, Lord Russell

UI{ITED STATEIS . A group of soldiers from the US Air Force Academy visited President Robert Kocharian (above) in Yerevan as part of their Regional Studies Program. The purpose of their visit to Armenia and the Caucasus is to examine major geopolitical, military, political and economic developments in the region first hand and to gain closer perspective on the problems and peculiarities of the region. . At the request of the Armenian goverrlment, two FBI officials went to Armenia to assist in the ongoing murder investigation of Interior Ministry troops commander Artsrun Markarian.

KOSOVO

- ilATO

The Armenian government-like Georgia and Khazakhstanexpressed concern over NAIO air strikes in Yugoslavia, adding that Armenia hopes the Kosovo conllict could be resolved peacefully.

An Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, "Armenia has always advocated for the right of peoples to self-determination and considers the violation of this right not to be conducive to the establishment of peace and stability. Armenia is concerned with the use of force by NATO, as it believes that the opportunities for the

rosumption of negotiations by the parties to the Kosovo conflict might not have been exhausted. We are deeply concerned that the use of force has been possible without a proper mandate by the UN Security Council. Armenia is closely following the situation in and around Kosovo and hopes that the parties will seek ways to find a peaceful resolution and prevent further escalation of the military

Johnston, who voiced hope that such meetings will become basis for new relations among the three neighboring countries.

Harutiunian, on his part, proposed to Lord Johnston to develop an agenda to stimulate cooperation among the padiaments of the three countries and start this cooperation with conferences on issues of mutual interest. In a joint communiqu6 issued at the end of the meeting, the three chairmen said: "We believe that this parliamentary initiative will contribute to the reinforcement of our democratic institutions as well as to the solution of the conflicts in the region and help to fully integrate our countries in the structures of the Council of Europe, taking into account all relevant texts of the Parliamentary Assembly."

GREAT BRITAIII The British Embassy in Armenia donated $23,000 to the Abovian corrective penitentiary for minors (left) for repairs and installation of modern equipment. The govemment of Armenia con-

tributed some $4,000 for the pdect, which is implemented on the initiative of the Armenian National Center for Democracy and Human Rights. There are about 50 teenagers (ages 15-20) in the facility, the only penitentiary for minors in Armenia; 30 more teenagers are currently kept in pre-trial detention centers. In general, the number of minor offenders has decreased in Armenia. ln 1997 there were 200 juvenile offenders in the prison, while in 1998 there are only 70. Prison terns range from six months to l0 years.

conflict."

Meanwhile, Armenia's National Assembly ratified

the

Agreement on Security signed between the government of Armenia and NAIO in January 1995, in Brussels. The Agreement, signed by all countries involved with NAIO's Partnership for Peace program, provides exchange of information, regular consultations on political and security cooperation between Armenia and the NAIO Council and extends political and military cooperation in Europe.

GEOFG!A Defense Minister of Armenia, Yazgen Sargsian, held a series of meetings in Georgia with his counterpart, David Tevzadze (lefl), Parliament Chairman Zurab Zhvarrra, and Minister of State Vazha Lortkipanidze. The sides discussed defense cooperation between Armenia and Georgia and the creation of a legal framework for such cooperation. Sargsian assured the Georgian officials of his country's solid support for Georgia's territorial integrity.

AIM APRIL 1999

t7

ARtEiltAil

]{ATIO]{AL MOVEtEilT (Al{tU

TER PETROSSIAI{ IIiITETIEW

Despite

Levon Ter Petrossian's presence at the ANM's conference was a rare public

concerns voiced about his having gone abroad and criminal charges brought against him by the government,

appearance since his resignation in February 1998. Under pressure from journalists, he finally broke a yearlong

former interior minister

silence to answer questions.

Vano Siradeghian (far left) was re-elected president of

the Armenian National

Movement at the end of its llth Congress in March. The decision deepened the existing crisis within the former ruling party and threatens to provoke a breakaway by a group headed by Babken

.

Making clear he appreciated the freedom he has regained since quitting the presidency, he said he held regular meetings with colleagues and former

ministers, including Vano Siradeghian before his departure, Babken

and

Ararktsian (center), the former speaker of the parliament.

Ararktsian

Siradeghian remains outside Armenia, allegedly for health reasons, since the decision to remove his parliamentary immunity following the Prosecutor-General's attempt to file criminal charges against him.

Arzoumanian.

He insisted he has no regrets over his resignation: "I have explained the reasons in my .statement, of which all

Alexander

the terms are still valid."

Former President Levon Ter Petrossian (far righQ attended the conference, but he refused to stand for the ANM's ruling committee. The conference adopted a lengthy resolution declaring an intention to struggle for special elections to re-establish constitutional order by electing what it called a legal president. It confirmed the party's intention to contest the parliamentary elections and said the ANM would proceed to form a "shadow" government if necessary in coalition with other parties.

Finally, the conference elected the movement's Republican Council and a 4l-member committee which included most of the party's prominent leaders, including Siradeghian, Ararktsian, former foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian, Ararut Zurabian and Father Husig Lazaian.

Siradeghian garnered a remarkable 341 votes out of a possible 354 from delegates. In a run off against Ararktsian for the chairmanship, Siradeghian won on the second ballot, gaining 22 votes on the ruling committee, Party colleagues say, despite his absence from the republic, he intends to be a candidate in the legislative elections.

In response to the vote, Ararktsian and two senior colleagues,

He repeated that he was right to ban the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to prevent what he called terrorist acts, justifying the decision by saying that between 1994 and 1998 no such acts occurred in Armenia.

The ARF's Armenia leader Vahan Hovhannissian later declared that his party intended to sue the former president over his statement.

On Karabakh, the former president said the new regime had brought about no changes. There was still no solution to the problem, no power has recognized Karabakh, the latter is still not reunited to Armenia, while he, himself, had proposed a solution in 1997.He added: "With every delay, they will get less and less favorable conditions."

Regarding his political future, Ter Petrossian said he had no intention of making a political comeback, either as a candidate for the ANM or by founding a new party.

He condemned the Prosecutor-General's efforts to strip Siradeghian of his immunity as "buffoonery" and said it worked against "our country's reputation" because the allegations were not well founded. Ifthey were, "no one could have argued anything."

as well as some supporters decided to suspend their activities, underlining the tensions within the party.

til Kosouo, in

suPPoRT To THE SERBS

The Writers Union of Armenia issued a declaration in support of the Serbs

Kosovo. Well-known wd1s1s-4msng them Silva Kaputikian, Levon

Hakhverdian, Bagrat Ulubabian, Gevorg Abajian, Vartuhi Varderesian-pledged continued support to the Serbs. The message to the Serbs read: "Early this century when the Ottoman Empire committed a genocide against the Armenians, the West stood by watching the developments with utter composure and indifference. Be assured that at this crucial moment, when the problem of Kosovo [is] as topical as ever, the Armenian intelligentsia sympathizes with you; we believe that you will win and strongly condemn pressure and punitive measures the West is using against Yugoslavia."

Meanwhile, at a Communist Party-sponsored demonstration (left) in support of the Serbs in front of the US Embassy in Yerevan, a party leader Yuri Manukian declared that "A terrorist state has no right to have an embassy in Armenia." Addressing a crowd of several hundred, he said: "Let the US frst of all think about how to call to order its own perverted citizens and is president and take its hands off nations with deep-rooted traditions, national conscience and dignity."

Manukian said that the Communist Party was enlisting volunteers, including non-party members, who are willing to fight alongside the Serbs in Yugoslavia. Representatives of the Armenian Kurdish community also attended the demonstration.

I8

AIMAPRIL 1999

HEADS ROLL

ELECTRICITY TARIFF BATTLE The National Assembly voted down in electricity prices on March

increases

15

in a decision that infuriated the

Govemment and owed much to the imminence of parliamentary elections. By a majority of 96 votes, deputies backed a bill presented by the opposition Hairenik group annulling changes introduced by the independent Energy Commission and returning prices to 1998 levels. The decision was a double blow because many deputies of the hitherto pro-government Yerkrapah faction backed the opposition.

The commission (appointed by the government and approved by parliament) had introduced a single level tariff of 25 drams per kilowatt/hour in place of the former three tariffs (15 drams per kilowatt for the first 100 kilowatts per month, 22 drams for the next 150 kilowatts, and 25 drams for each additional kilowatt).

The government sees the new price as essential for reform of the energy sector and warned that the parliament's decision jeopardized more than $100 million in loans from the World Bank and Japan. Equally, however, the tariff increase had provoked genuine anger among low-income groups who form the majority of the population.

Iil

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BODIES

Within 20 days, the Armenian government dismissed three of the country's ten regional goYernors (Marzbets). Bavlig Asatrian, the governor of Tavush was the first to go in mid-February. The official explanation was that Asatrian had been sacked for "serious shortcomings" in the exercise of his functions. In fact, beyond the official terminology, it appeared that he was dismissed on comrption charges. Asatrian was replaced by Armen Ghularian, the mayor of Ijevan, and a member of the Union of Yerkrapahs.

Next to go was Gegharkunik's Marzbed, Rudig Ghukasian, apparently after asking to be relieved of his position. A successor has not yet been appointed. Finally, in mid-March, Shirak's

GovemorArarat Gomsian went, again, officially, at his own request, although rumors of comrption have swirled for a year. The fact that the dismissals are taking place in the run-up to the parliamentary elections is seen as significant. Governors and other heads of local administrations have important roles to play in the preparation of voting rolls and supervision of the election process.

Answering a call by the Hairenik group, a few thousand demonstrators blocked entrances to the parliament during the debate, thus preventing deputies from leaving before voting took place. In the current pre-electoral period, a vote by the majority Yerkrapah group against the bill would undoubtedly have been used by opposition MPs as evidence that it cared little for the interests of the people.

Prime Minister Armen Darbinian (above) denounced the vote as "immoral" and "detrimental to the interests of the population."

President Kocharian's spokesman said the parliament's "unacceptable" decision threatened to take the country back to the years when power shortages dominated each day.

For his part, the Yerkrapah leader Albert Bazeyan accused the government of failing to keep promises to curtail enonnous energy losses as a result of waste and fraud.

The bill must still go through second and third readings and is certain to face a presidential veto if passed. But whatever the final outcome, the issue revealed the first real clash between the government and its parliamentary support.

ADLA RECO]ICILIATIO}T

ELEGTIOI{ BOYCOTT

After a sharp split within the ranks which lasted a month, the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party of Armenia (ADLA) managed a reunion at its ninth congress in mid-March. The party will now be headed jointly by the chairmen of the two former factions, Harutiun Garabedian and Ruben Mirzakhanian. The split was healed following talks in Paris in February involving the US, Canadian and Lebanese factions of the Diasporan ADL. Although the party imposed a blackout on proceedings, it emerged that a com-

Two small rightist political parties-former head of national security David Shahnazarian's (above) 21st Century Party and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-announced that they would boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. "Our party believes

mon board has been formed with representatives of the two factions and headed by the leader of the North American group, Haigashen

during last year's elections and both did very poorly at the polls.

Shortly after, former foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian of the

Ouzounian.

Armenian National Movement also declared their non-participation.

it

makes no sense to participate in these elections," said Shahnazarian, because the "authorities will falsify the vote." And LDP's Vigen Khachatrian declared that "Boycotting means starting a new political struggle." Both leaders were presidential candidates

that

AIM APRIL 1999

r9

TURKEY CONCERT-Organized by the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, a concert was performed at Ataturk Cultural Center celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic (below). A I50-person chorus performed popular songs and marches under the baton of Professor Jirair Arslan. Other well-known Armenian

artists, including soprano Alice Manukian and pianist Levon Eroyan also performed. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's message to Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II was read at the hall.

EVICTION-Just days before the end of the winter school term, some 45 children and their teachers were evicted from the Bomonti Armenian Elementary School, an institution founded in f808 by the

state's long-standing procedure under which religious minorities in Turkey are not allowed to acquire new properties. Meanwhile, for almost two decades, efforts of the Armenian Catholic Foundation to contest the legality of the takeover of the school building were futile as their deed was thrown out in court, and in 1984 ownership reverted to the heirs of the original owner. Not only was the school not compensated, the board was forced to negotiate annual rent contracts with the "new" owners in order to save the school. The recent eviction came as a surprise to the school officials who had renewed the rent contract for the curent school year

with the Ayas municipality in

Ankara, which now owns 75 percent of the properfy. However, last year, the Miltas commercial company,

which owns the other 25

Armenian Catholic Church.

At issue was the legal ownership of the school building-operated by the Armenian Catholic School and Monastery Foundation since 1963-originally purchased by the Foundation.in 1958.

Turkish law does not forbid non-Muslim foundations from buying property. Yet, the government claims that a 1936 document listing minority-owned properties as the definitive limit to what real estate can be owned by minorities. Even the widely-circulated Hurriyet daily called this arbitrary adherence to a 63-year-old document as "deceitful implementation." Still, as early as 1979, the General Directorate of Foundations in Turkey had informed Armenian Catholic community officials that their deed to their property is no longer valid and that they are not the rightful owners of the property despite the fact they had paid for the property.

The case of the Armenian school-which was widely covered

by the Turkish print and broadcast media-reobviated the Turkish

percent,

submitted a legal claim to the court and requested the eviction of the Armenian school. The company won the case and its representatives emptied out the school's furniture, belongings and official equipment and changed all the locks in the building. The school was given 20 days to reclaim and remove the equipment which had been dumped in the schoolyard.

However, as a last ditch effort to at least allow the students to complete their school year, Istanbul Governor Erol Cakir intervened and a protocol was signed between the school officials and the Miltas company allowing the school to vacate the property by the end ofJune 1999.

This is not an isolated case. Luiz Bakar, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Armenian Patriachate of Turkey, stated that some 40 properties owned by Christian foundations in Istanbul have already been appropriated by the Turkish State on the basis of the 1936 document.

FBAl{GE The French govemment giving in to Turkish pressure dropped the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide from the French Senate's agenda for this year. French ambassador to Azerbaijan, Jean Pierre Guinhut stated that "Taking the bill on Armenian genocide off the Senate's agenda meets France's interests" and affirmed that

"This step will not damage Armenian-

AUSTRALIA The Armenian community officially launched the Armenian National Olympic Committee in Sydney. The Australian-Armenian committee was formed in response to the request of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia. Already a number of sub-committees have been set up to organize, administer and implement programs that would support the activities of Armenian athletes participating in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

20

French relations." Earlier, some 20,000 petitions signed by French Armenians requesting that the French Senate place the law rec-

ognizing the Armenian Genocide on its agenda was delivered to representatives of the 315-member Senate. Last year, the French National Assembly (righQ adopted a

resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and a majority of senators had indicated willingness to vote in favor of the measure. After the National Assembly vote, the Turkish government suspended all defense procurement talks with French companies and threatened to boycott French products-and together with Turkish businessmen and companies-applied pressure on the French government and the Senate to "kill the bill."

AIM APRIL I99S

U]IITED STATES SAN FRANCISCO-The San Francisco Opera announced that stage Dikran Tchukhadjian's Arshak II opera during the 2001-2002 season after the Armenian community successfully

it will

raised the needed $1 million.

BOSTON-Renowned orchestral and choral music corirposer

Ilampartzoum Berberian, 94, passed away on March 13, 1999.

The Adana-born Berberian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, studied music at the Athens Conservatory in Greece. In addition to his 200-plus operas, symphonies, chamber pieces, oratorios, cantatas and songs, Berberian served as a music teacher in Armenian

schools throughout the Middle East, Europe, North and South

t1{DtA A recent decree of the Calcutta High Court put an end to years

America and Armenia for more thari 70 years.

of controversy and dubious real estate dealings by some Calcutta Armenian community leaders. Through the efforts of the Londonbased Organization for the Preservation of Armenian Schools and Churches in India, the High Court on February 15, 1999 authorized the Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin to administer the affairs of the Armenian School in Calcutta "in such manner as he proposes to do."

The 2OO-strong Armenian community in Calcutta has been long striving to save the l78-year-old Armenian College (above) from the hands of individuals accused of the embezzlement of properties and funds belonging to the Armenian Church trust. The sprawling college on Free School Sreet, which includes a boarding school and big playgrounds. was once a busy center oflearning and the pride of the community. Over the years the activities of the

JERUSALEM The Armenian community and the St. James Brotherhood

of Jerusalem celebrated

the 80th birthday ofArchbishop Torkom

Manoogian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, with a series of events. They also

marked the 60th anniversary of the Patriarch's ordination to the priesthood and

his service to the church. Archbishop Manoogian-former Primate of

the Diocese

of the Armenian Church in

America-was elected Patriarch in

school had diminished, increasing suspicion that it will ultimately

North

1990.

be taken over by real estate developers.

.Calcutta-based The Asian Age newspaper reported that alert community members were able to foil what they describe as "a definite bid to transfer the property," when they discovered that the proposal for the development of the school was missing clause 28 of the blueprint framed by the Calcutta High Court regarding the affairs of the Armenian church. The clause states that accounts of the churches have to be strictly maintained, balance sheets have to be audited every six months and made available to members of thg community.

According to Arnold Andrews, an elderly member of the Armenian community, the scheme "for the school's development;' had been drawn up in such a way that its implementation'would have been virtually impossible on the current property.

"The college property is not big enough to accommodate the proposal and subsequent sale of the property under the pretext of acquiring a bigger in the suburbs [would have been inevitable]," Andrews said. "In this manner, prime real estate would have changed hands with the trust receiving a palbry sum."

The Armenian community's fears arose from the nature of past

plot

deals which had reportedly led to the sale properties belonging to the Armenian trust.

of a number of prime

U'euq"l*{*#

LEBAIIOl{ The political establishment and the

in Lebanon were shaken by the recent arrest of former oil

Armenian community

minister Shahe Barsoumian (left)-a lawyer and member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)-who has been charged with comrption. A former director-general of the oil ministry, an oil company executive and two other government officials have also been charged for misappropriating state funds, embezzlement, abuse of power, comrption and forging official documents.

Barsoumian is the first l,ebanese minister to be charged with corruption, and if convicted, could spend five to 15 years in prison. The charges resulted from a government investigation into oil imports worth some $ 800 million, alleging that Barsoumian conspired with an oil cornpany executive to resell oil products outside Lebanon by his company Eurogulf. Considered a close friend of former h'esident Elias Hrawi, Barsoumian served as oil minister twice, most recently between 1995 and 1998 in the government of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

CYPRUS

The Nicosia-based Artsagang monthly, published by the Azadamard Armenian Youth Center, celebrated its fourth birthday. Artsagang has been published regularly ..!' :g:?ll&lx.g, every month since its frst issue appeared in March 1995, thanks to a group of dedicated young intellectuals and community members who edit, report, write and produce the newspaper on a voluntary basis. Other publications in the tiny Cypriot-Armenian community have followed Arrsagang in recent years, among them Paros and Hayatsk.

AIM APRIL 1999

ffil -rq;

ffi E}IFHG}

I

d il

By MATTHEW KARANIAN

One couldn't have been blamed for

DC, he signed autographs-one woman asked him to inscribe a photography bookand he shook hands with all comers.

He tirelessly posed for photographs

thinking that the president of Karabakh was campaigning for reelection.

At a gathering in Bethesda, Maryland, he good-naturedly wore a youth's scouting necktie and he posed for several pho-

humor.

tographs with a group of Girl Scouts.

The following day, in Washington,

In Bethesda, he beamed as he accepted a $10,000 check from a supporter.

with dozens of admirers, and he mingled

with college students at a reception. He deflected tough questions with wit and

AIM APRIL I999

Appearances aside, Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian was not running for office last month during his visit to the US.

But he was campaigning.

He was in the US advocating what he called the "moral, economic and political" objectives of his country.

Ghukasian explained some of his reasons for visiting the US in response to ques-

n b EA

rc[u w

tO

;ri

li*

tions from AIM. "As an unrecognized country, we must use all avenues available to us to increase the legitimacy of NagornoKarabakh. This includes meetings, speeches, presentations."

He succeeded.

He met with representatives of US Senators, and with members of the US State Department.

Meetings such as these do not bestow

upon Karabakh official recognition. Indeed, Karabakh does not have official diplomatic

relations with any nation, including Armenia. But these meetings do increase the intemational legitimacy and prestige of the country.

Armenia's Ambassador

to the US,

Ruben Shugarian, accompanied Ghukasian at the president's public appearances in Washington, California and Maryland. He

AIM APRIL I999

said Ghukasian is "sophisticated," and that the Karabakh president is being accepted in Washington at higher levels than ever before.

The president's invitation to meet with members of the State Department suggest that the ambassador's comments are accurate.

Ghukasian denied that he was also in the US for the crass reason of raising money

FOCUS

"I'm

here seeking investment, not

fundraising," he said. "And also for specific humanitarian projects." The president's itinerary supporls his claim.

During a stop in Los Angeles, he met with several leaders of the business community in an effort to persuade them that Karabakh is a promising business market. he made the same pitch at a sold-out banquet, and at a Los Angeles World Affairs Council dinner.

In Bethesda, he told a partisan crowd "if you think that Artsakh [the Armenian name for this regionl presents a risky investment, consider that we're risking our

lives. You're only risking [money.]" As Ghukasian sees it, this financial risk to investors is small, and the business opportunities are almost limitless.

The following day, in Washington,

DC, he lobbied the US Chamber of Commerce.

Then, speaking at George Washington University, he told a mixed audience of college students and Armenian Americans that Karabakh is "interesting" for investors.

"The biggest problem in Artsakh is the lack of employment. A victorious people now can't find work. And if this continues, people may rightly ask 'what was all this

worth?"'

Ghukasian tailored his comments for of his audiences, and he displayed some of the sophistication for which the ambassador praised him.

He told a gathering of several hundred Armenian Americans that he was grateful for the assistance of the Diaspora. "During our darkest days, we felt your presence."

each

At another location, after explaining that it was captured Azeri armaments which were utilized against Azeris during the war in Karabakh, he continued, "During the military war, the Azeris helped us more than you did. In our current battle for peace

and prosperity, the Diaspora must help more." (See related story, page 31).

Speaking confidently and without notes. he told the listeners that this was the

"last historic window of opportunity" for Armenians.

"For centuries, we lost our land and lived as victims. We're now free of that complex. We are a strong nation. This is our last chance. We must not pass up this

opportunity." The sympathetic audience responded with sustained applause.

When speaking to the mixed universi-

ty 24

audience

in Washington, however, Ghukasian skipped the pep talk. He called the policies of Azerbaijan toward Karabakh

Armenians

for Karabakh.

of

Armenians and non-

"genocidal," and he criticized the Azeris for having "imperial ambitions."

nil Al

He also demonstrated an understanding of realpolitik. "We are Azerbaijan's neighbor and it's not our intention to

llor0 Bahayan ol

remain at war with them for decades."

$lemnakort Somes

Ghukasian was at his best, and his most charming, however, when providing answers to unscripted questions.

One guest complained that it was difficult or impossible for North Americans

to

adopt Karabakh orphans, and

he

demanded an explanation.

Orphans receive good care in Karabakh, Ghukasian said. And then, with a broad smile, he said "we need them. And we also need to adopt people like you, too."

The crowd laughed, and a sensitive subject was defused.

Ghukasian met with representatives of the Carnegie Endowment and the Heritage Foundation, in addition to his meetings with US government leaders.

Acting as a cheerleader for business opportunities in Karabakh, Ghukasian touted gold mining, silk processing, and grape farming. There are also large granite and marble resources, and an existing shoe factory and light bulb manufacturing plant that need investors, he said.

Tourism may also be a potential long' term business goal for the region. "Artsakh is one of the cleanest places on earth," he

said. Ghukasian did not talk about the region's lack of clean hotels, good restaurants and reliable transportation. Meeting part of this acute infrastructure need has become one of the goals of the Armenia Fund, which will focus its fundraising on building the very essential internal north-south highway within Karabakh.

He acknowledged that Armenia and Artsakh have been losing what he called the "media war" with Azerbaijan, but he credited the successes

of the Azeris to

Turkey.

"All ofTurkey's strength and expertise was put to use for Azerbaijan's sake."

"We were somewhat passive,"

he

admits.

"But today we're asking for advice from the Diaspora, and we're developing relations with the Diaspora," to turn things around.

These relations,

to Washington By

MAIIXHU lGRANltr{

Foi ryrypq.&10*rdrgi,l$Iix*,Baloyari lir"â‚Źd: cellr benesth her kitchen floor in Stepanake* whilâ‚Ź.r'ffi'.'c0lrited the falling in a root

artillery shells.

Thirty-five, thirg-six, thirry-seven, ...

When her count reached 38, she knew she would have just enough time to go above ground to gather some eggs before the enerny could reload its guns for the next round of terror.

This was also her brief chance to stand upright, to see the sunlight, to b,reathe fresh air, and to relieve some of the depression caused, in part, by living ina25 square foot hole in the earth.

Nora survived the siege.

After growing re-accustomed to living above ground, her thoughts tumed to restoring her home. She filled bullet holes with plaster. she repainted the battle-scarred front gate, she even removed an u*sxploded shell from beside a chicken coop, with the help of a friendly soldier.

.

Nora, a $ardmother, is 62 years old now.

She's the matriarch of her family and she's hel@ three generations of her clan struggle to survive in Stepanakert.

But she isn't worldly. She's traveled to Annenia twice.

In December, she made a third visit to Yerevan. She went to Yerevan because that's where the airport is.

Nora was going to America.

Nora was packed and ready to go a full week before her flight. She had filled a small vinyl suitcase, a suitcase smaller than the carry-on luggage that business travelers try tojam under their seats. Later, at the airport baggage carousels, this bag, the only one with the Aeroflot name and logo on its face, would be easy to find.

tulx out to be the most enduring accom-

The reason she packed her bag early was not an eagerness to gpt to tlre US, although she clearly was anxious. Instead,

plishment of the president's US

she

if they take root, may

AIM APRIL I999

visit. r

just wanted to make sure

she did every-

FOCUS

DtB L lffir$T have just seen the Texas

variant ofthe Russian word for aunt. bscause Russian is Nora's primary Ianguage. Nora had traveled to America as their guest.

This couple had made all the travel arrangements for Nora, and had helped her obtain a US visa. Nora got to seo the couple's

Ranger, or a man wear-

infant son, and to give him *re plartic toy

ing au eaning. Actually,

horse that she had brought from Stepanakert.

She got to see people paying four dol-

Armenia and Karabakh. after all, are two af the most ethnically homogenous places in the world.

She might as well

she

did

see men

wearing

earrings, and she appeared to be overwhekned by it all. northern In California, Nora was surprised by color again.

She was surprised tq see

thing right.

"Should

I brirg food?

the greenery.

What

"I didn't think there were any treec rin America" she said. Her favoril,E te1eviqi,g61,,

about

canned apricots?"

When she boarded :therplane, her luggage contained just afew changes of clotlcs, some spare eyeglassel, ltwtr Russian language rewspapers, and a small toy hor$B&at she had squeezed in despite instructions m

shows had been fiImed in Los Angeles. and this was the America she knew.

Food choice was more varied than she had imagined. Imagine, eggplant out of season, she said. But she di&t't like tbo rqsaur,

travel lightly and buy everything new iu America.

When the boarding gate opened at the Yerevan airyort, Nora ran to the front of ttre line as if she was at the state store trying to buy bread for her children. No one would guess she had been sitting quietly a moment oa:liet seemingly bored. Nora was from the: village. She was strong. She knew how to survive.

"Not enough , brpad,li she would

wasn't inhibited by my inability to under-

I nodded

a lot.

InArnstsrdam $he finally qtopped.:: ,. ..1.

She had been $rieken fust by the aeon : then by tlre plenitude, The lights were b-rQtrt, and they were eve4&riheiip,,rr,The stores'and boutiques were eplor&rl,,andl rbr!ruqing '.,wittl merchandise. Even the peOnle #ere ass6rted,, different colors. There were people with rosy white skin and yellow hair. These people she knew as the Durch. Everyone was wearing clean, new clothes, in vivid colors. And Nora saw a black man for the first time.

Nora hadn't known what a black person

say.

'lWhat kind o{ mealis,.&ii: wit}r one slice of hread?' And.Eo(iâ‚Źsql& potatoes, either. At I

home, Nora ate bread and potatoes every day. oRe weekend, . '::i.:.&1;fli.q$WF;@!:e-vent iV$S1.$.grv she was offended tol,ltle,rtxery.ane :etit,liheii'nreals and &en get up and leave. In Karabakh. a meal is a social

:..

:*hfqell:

e*e868fgq.trw,hen;farnilies end &iends talk, .i6@ieq,,:rm*e,t tse$t$i' and mpybe even

,li .

Throughout the flight, Nora talked and talked, with a thick Karabakh accent. She stand her.

nant$.

drink some vodka, too. ,., ,..,.,, Sundqy'rneals,

ar'

:tirrlos' whon fiiend:

sltips are strengthened; wh rnemori68,,rirell created, and when guests are entertained.

They're not just to eat andtlgavet,,-l{9Blypfii

n't merely offended. She *xditapffii$*l

too. She had been told that these were her people, but she felt no.kipship'wilh, llt|1 h the ttree months si$es.. Npr,,a: hEd; :lgf,t.: her cozy home in Stepanakert, she had gazed

lars for a cup of cofke, and rhe got to see people looking for and finding whatever it was they wanted to buy. No lines? No short. ages? She adjusted to this quickly.

Nora wanted a disposable camera. and she was able to buy one. She wanted some new clothes and some toiletries. She went out and bought them.

She wanted a hot bath, with clean water. r- , ,, She had one. As her visit crawled i,towardits end, Nora appeared to have every:.,tling she could want in America.

Except her home and her family. She ,:1,1. .., had grown homesick.

On the December evening before she

went by car from Yerevan

from Stepanakert-the first leg of her three day journey to the US*her graaddaughters had come by to say farewelt. They were sad, because their grandmother woul{ be gone all winter. They cried'rNow'lit,,ivas Noia who sometimes cried.

She frequently compared the US with Karabakh. A beautifirl tree lined road in hprof home, Virginia, forexanrple; Other things ia theUS fared,less favorably.

Last moath;'the president of KarabAkh spgke in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside '1f:a$hington, DC, to a large assernbly of :,: enian Americans. Nora altended the ev.ent, and she sat in the front row. l::r.r;r,;: Nom listened intently as the president, ,l$i*ady Ghukasian, spoke inArmenian about tr:,cguditions in Ansakh. Her eyes stayed red :fuo.ugfi most of the speech.

r'i'.' The question mildly annoyed her. Of

AII of this travel w.as made possible by youtg{S,eriCanArrne*an couple who had befriended and become close to Nora in

"Of course I know him, he lives next door to my sister," she said in response to my question.

She briskly walked up to the podium at the conclusion of the president's remarks.

She spoke to him. She shook his haad. She said she would stop by and E4y hello whsn she is back in Karabekh; She''wa$lmexpatri-

course she knew what a black person was, :slre said. She had just never seen one tiefore.

Iftra$$,111an*,1vh6 wanted to show her life outside the village. They called her Dsots, a

moment, she was b-dek,h6$fe,:,4gain.',

was?

at the beaches of SantaCruz, spr*:ehr.i$U!&s.i iU l"ns Angeles, gambled a,felv dollam,in l;os,,

\&gas, and gone shopping in'Washiiigton; DC.

i , a

AIM APQJL 1999

ate greeting her,ekctod,,,

dtr And for

'

a

t

NATION

l|ont l(now l|ont SanB Ihe Armenian public prior to parliamentary clcotions on voter confidence than a signifiin Armenian politics.

"In Armenia, the gap between government and ordinary people is very big," says Inna Kuznetsova, a

By JOHI,I HUGHES

cant new direction

alk of politics goes this way on

the streets of Yerevan and in outlying villages: Question: "What do you think about the current political mood in Armenia?"

Answer: "I don't care about pol-

of political science at Yerevan's Linguistics Institute. professor

"There are 60 or 70 political parties

itics."

and each has different values and they work for themselves, by them-

Then that answer is followed by

selves. There is no discourse between the government and the parties."

Eight years ago, voter turnout was 96 percent in the first free elections. In the years since, the distance between the people and their

a near endless monologue about all that is wrong with the present system, leading one to wonder how long the answer would be if these Armenians really did "care about politics."

There is plenty to care about.

In the year since Armenians last

voted, three major political figures have been assassinated, two contro-

government has grown, says the professor; part of the "pain of this transitional period."

versial business deals saw prominent

state properties sold to foreign investors, a hot-blooded dispute

It is a

opportunities

between communications providers to shut the republic off from outside links, a former party

become heads of state, and financial strongmen to sway public policy. A recent opinion poll found that 90 percent of Armenian businessmen have paid bribes to govemment officials at least once in their lives. (In a 7997 EBRD report,

threatened

leader fled to Paris to escape prosecu-

tion for alleged murders and the crisis

in Russia has sent many

Armenians

back to their homeland where no more work is available than when

Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan scored the highest ratings for corrupt public officials.)

And a time when the murders

they left.

And, significantly, the Karabakh issue, a matter that appeared to be the

to Levon Ter Petrossian's resignation and Robert flashpoint leading

of three significant government figures is seen more as political rivalry than an attack on representatives ofthe people. Business as usual for the type of work.

to the presidency, although the subject of much

Kocharian's rise

Armenian-Azerbaijani tussling, is not near a resolution.

It was also a year that brought

says:

judicial reform, reducing executive power over the court and giving greater authority to local govern-

ments. And a year in which the election code was changed to a system by

which 75 members of National Assembly

will be elected by majority vote and 56 by party slate. Further, under the new code, candidates for the National Assembly may be nominated after receiving 500 signatures

26

period that creates for war heroes to

Or, as a Yerevan taxi driver "They are killing each other."

"These murders are aggression

against the state," says Yerevan State University sociologist rather than 2,000 as previously required, reducing dependence on "clans". At least ideally.

Against that backdrop of problems and progress, some experts see the May 30 parliamentary elections as more a referendum

AIM APRIL 1999

Ludmilla Harutiunian. "[Public reactionl is a very important sign pointing to what is wrong."

They. Not "us". But "them" and "us."

"They are not killing each otherjust to

be killing each other," says French Canadian political scientist Emanuel

NATION

Martinez who teaches in Yerevan as part of the Civic Education Project. "It could mean that there is some instability at tho summit.

means for sure that there is power involved. It shows, too, that politics is a means to something else, to serve some other purpose. Those positions are power, and politicians want to get them for person-

It

al benefit."

Martinez was at an Armenian friend's house when news of Deputy Minister of

and distribute humanitarian aid," said the in a recent editorial. "For

are really in the dark."

example, nobody would care about a candidate's pledge to curtail the value-added tax by two percent or increase government expenditure by three percent. Voters are not interested as to what laws one or another candidate promises to have enacted."

ism-perhaps inconsequential, but easily defined-into political platform.

Which turns issues such as national-

daily, Aravot,

In Armenia, parties are the political equivalent

of

fratemity houses at major

Interior Artsrun Margarian's assassination

be

"For a democracy to work, there must

accountablity," Martinez

population. On the other hand, the population is not used to asking for accountability. People here don't expect much from politicians."

Without accountability, institutional

integrity, an essential element

was reported on television.

says. the

"Officials must feel accountable to

of

any

strong democracy, suffers.

"I

thought it was big news," Martinez says. "Then I asked my friend, and he was not disturbed at all. He just said 'I don't care.'And it was not disgust, it was more like 'Well, with the kind of business he.was

'

In Armenia; there is evidence of the effect: Police demand bribes on roadsides, army officers take payoffs to let boys avoid

conscription, examination boards

are

bought off by parents wanting to get their children into the best institutes.

Nor has the instution of voter rights escaped tarnish. So prevalent was the per-

in, he should have expected it."'

Experts point out that Armenia is not alone in the struggles to form a stable government. It is, perhaps, the most stable of the former Communist countries due in part

ception

of wrongdoing in previous elec-

tions that a joke was born in the villages: A father says to his son: "Your grand-

to being a homogeneous state and to a shadow economy financed by the Diaspora.

Still, public benefits taken for granted in countries with long histories of democ-

mother

is not a

good grandmother. She

rose from the dead to vote, but didn't come

ractic process are not. guarantees in

to visit."

Armenia, where the Smalltown America concept of "pothole politics" has not been

makes the May 30 vote significant beyond

Alleged fraud

its effect on lawmaking.

"The system can not be made just bY ruling parties, but by fair elections," says Aram Abrahamian, editor of Aravot. "It doesn't matter which party wins, as much

tested.

to

"Under a totalitarian state, we got used

receiving everything, almost from

nowhere, without considering what we can do to affect what we have," says sociologist Harutiunian. "This year we have the critical mass to make changes."

A chance to link the inconceivable

of

government with the painfully obvious needs of its people.

"Our citizens view the National Assembly elections in such a way as if they

power

will be electing local community chiefs who must repair roads, collect garbage on time

in previous elections

fair."

It is a sentiment echoed by the sociologist, by the political scientists and by as whether these elections are

universities; everybody belongs to one, but few know what they stand for.

"People are not used to looking at the options and saying 'Which party suits my

needs,"' Martinez says. "The parties have no real programs and the media doesn't ask questions.

As a voter,

AIM APRIL 1999

you

President Robert Kocharian.

Said the President at a March 13 meeting with journalists: "Authorities and

influential political forces must unite to convince people that Parliament is not a place for criminals, but for politicians."

I

NATION

1

;

ARMENICUM fi EUEE ruN AM.$?

By JOHN HUGHES

ith the exception of political or outright war, few

intrigue

news events have stired talk in Yerevan like the recent announcement that a group ofArmenian researchers have discovered a cure for AIDS. During a nationally televised appearance on February 19, Interior and National Security Minister Serge Sargsian made the

dramatic announcement using the word "cure," a term even the most aggressive 28

AIDS scientists around the world have cautiously avoided.

The announcement was front news throughout Armenia and was met

page

with

cynicism, perhaps partly because of its timing. Sargsian's dramatic statement came at a time when his office is under scrutiny following three assassinations of high level government officials in the past eight months, including the killing of his own deputy in February.

And the announcement itself came in response to a reporter's question of whether

AIM APRIL I999

Sargsian is a member of one of Armenia's most powerful economic clans. To illustrate his commitment to helping honest businessmen in Armenia, Sargsian said that a collaboration of researchers privately financed by

Armenian businessmen had found this "cure."

The Minister said that tests over a peri-

od of months had been conducted on

13

AIDS patients who volunteered for the experiment. (Officially, Armenia reports having only 20 cases of AIDS, with 75 HIVAll 13, Sargsian said,

infected patients.)

N

A

showed no signs of the disease or of the HIV virus at the conclusion of the treatment.

Sargsian concluded his comments by

saying that sales

of the new drug would

have a dramatic impact on Armenia's struggling economy.

Within three days of the announce-

ment, at least one Yerevan daily reported that a Russian business tycoon has off'ered

$10 billion for the formula to the drug, which is being called Armenicum.

At the same time, the Director of Armenia's Drugs Agency, Emil Gabrielian, told reporters that Armenicum would be worth "billions of dollars to Armenia."

"Thirteen patients were cured," Gabrielian said. "The conditions of three of them were quite severe. These people feel healthy now and thorough laboratory tests did not reveal the immunodeficiency virus in their blood.

"Of course, there have been many cases in the history of medicine when the results were excellent at the experimental stage, but became useless for a larger number of patients. The investigations should surely continue, but the results gained so far are absolutely clear," Gabrielian announced.

What is not clear as AIM goes to press, is how the tests were conducted, who the patients were, whether the drug is similar to the protean inhibitors (known as the "AIDS cocktail") which have shown dramatic success in AIDS cases in Europe and the US. Details remain unknown because of a virtual media blackout of specifics. Neither researchers nor patients have been made available to joumalists, and officials-from

the Minister of Health to the director of Yerevan's Institute of Hygiene-say they are not allowed to give interviews due to

29

o

T

N

"national security."

The Yerevan daily Azg quoting "semiofficial" sources said the drug was invented by an Armenian scientist who was doing AIDS research in Kazakhstan. When money ran out in Kazakhstan, the doctor and his research team found financial backing in Armenia.

The newspaper also reported that the principal element in Armenicum is a chemical that splits the protein in the AIDS virus.

Only after Russian physicians

and

patients arrived in Armenia, followed by a delegation of the World Health Organization, did cynicism begin to yield to

a healthy

skepticism

in the buzz about

Armenicum.

Prime Minister Armen Darbinian said

he believes the claim to be true

and announced that Russia and France have sent proposals suggesting joint clinical testing.

Stories circulated, and not just from a

Turkish newspaper, that Ervin "Magic" Johnson, who several years ago tested HIV

positive, has applied

for a visa to

visit

Armenia.

Until Johnson arrives, the most visible

trial of Armenicum is on a 20-year-old Russian soldier who has been HIV positive since last year.

Nikolay Kolesnikov arrived in Yerevan March 4 to begin a treatment that Gabrielian

and others say is effective after five to 10 injections in a two week period.

After treatment in Armenia,

Kolesnikov

will return to Moscow to be

examined by a group of Russian doctors and specialists.

Meanwhile, in Yerevan, the joke on the street is, "You have a cold? What a shame.

If it

were AIDS, at least you could be

T

cured."

AIM APRIL I999

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By SALPI HAROUTINIAN GHAZARIAN

n Armenian from Moscow has invested $2 rnillion in a poultry farm. It prornises work tbr 200-300 residents of Karabakh's eastern Martuni region. From San Francisco, Vartkes Anivian is putting $200,000 into a cheese factory in Stepanakert. The two rug f'actories-in Stepanakert and

Shushi-are in the process of being privatized because two Diasporans are interested in turning them into protitable enterprises.

There are other entrepreneurs in Karabakh, too. Some are smaller. There are those who have purchased a plot of land and are raising cattle. One man fiom New York is cultivating bees. The Arrnenian Jewelers Association Los Angeles chapter, having seen the success of Stepanakert's diarnond polishing operation (see AIM Septernber 1998) is planning a gold factory in Stepanakert.

In the village of Vank, Levon Hairapetian of Moscow is setting 32

up a

furniture factory. The equipment has been brought in tiom Italy

and

in April,

trainers

will

come

in to

teach the new staff.

Hairapetian, whose name is already known in Karabakh as one of the benefactors ol the Holy Savior Cathedral (Ghazanchetsots) in Shushi will now be hailed as a new kincl of patron-someone who has created jobs and a livelihood for Karabakh's residents.

These days. without an overt war raging at its bolders, the task is to find the investors and the funds, which will drive projects. which will create jobs. That's the word that everyone in Nagorno

Karabakh's three public aff'airs offices

in

Moscow, Paris

and

Washington, DC is busy spreading.

This was Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian's main message as he toured the eastern and western US in March (see related story, page 22). Of course, the economic goals are not independent ol the political goals, and fbr that reason, Ghukasian also met with rnembers of the US Senate and House of Representatives, with Donald Kaiser. the chief US mediator for the Karabakh conflict. ancl

AIM APItII, I999

was received by officials in the State Department-the first president of an unrecognized country to be so honored.

Still, the economic objectives were the overriding ones. Karabakh needs economic aid iffor no other reason than because, it too, is transitioning from the sovi-

et economic system. But there are other

reasons.

Karabakh's factories, fields, equipment and roads have been severely damaged by the war and they need support to rebuild them. And, Karabakh, unlike the rest of the former USSR, can't receive help from international institutions because it is an unrecognized republic.

For all these reasons, Karabakh and its leadership must find independent sources of funding. There is of course Armenia, from which it has always received

help. But everyone knows Armenia's resources are themselves limited. And, although Armenia can provide loans and credits to Karabakh. still, Armenia is

very closely controlled and monitored by

"Thgy

$Gg

that it is not so dansBrou$ and nislry

to inuest in Kanaha[h," AIM APRIL I999

the

international donors watching to see how Yerevan uses its own loans and credits.

What's left? "The Diaspora must be our World Bank and our IMF and help provide investments," the president said countless times before he left.

"We are convinced that we have attained the Diaspora's confidence," announced Ghukasian after he returned to Stepanakert. "They see that it is not so dangerous and risky to invest in Karabakh."

But invest in what? How does a businessman or a church group sitting thousands of miles away decide where to give?

The government of Karabakh has come up with a solution that donors and charitable organi-

3)

COVER STORY

FRIIM AGTIUISM TO DF l(ara[akh linds a plaoe in the gsost]ategic architeGture 0l thc Gaucasus

By HRATCH

l0HltlllclRlAil

n the last decade, the Karabakh leadership has effectively transitioned from the political activism of the late 1980s and armed conflict in the early 1990s to serious diplomacy-with a combat-ready, disciplined army to back its political and

geostrategic interests. Today, having acquired the constituent elements of statehood, Karabakh functions as a de-facto independent state.

"Today we can say that thanks to a well-balanced and realistic foreign policy, Karabakh has become a serious political factor in the region and cannot be ignored

by the international

community," said Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian.

However, several key issues still dominate Karabakh's foreign and domestic affairs.

While de facto independent, the non-

recognition

of

Karabakh's "statehood" or

independence by other countries remains a major foreign affairs challenge because the problem of recognition is even more contentious an issue in the negotiations process, with Azerbaijan still refusing that most fundamental first step for a peaceful solution: recognizing Karabakh as a side to the conflict. This has, for obvious reasons, become an obstacle to negotiations.

Technicalities over the issue of recognition could get very confusing. In 1995,

Azeri Presidential Senior Foreign Policy Advisor Vafa Guluzade stated, "In the military and technical treaties we recognize the Armenians

of Karabakh as a

'warring

party.'

"But at the level of international organizations," he continued, Azerbaijan does not recognize Karabakh "as a side" but as an "interested party. We are not going to step a single inch away from this formula."

Despite the obvious implications of non-recognition-for example lack of foreign aid, including United Nations assistance, and normal inter-state relations-

Karabakh officials have progressively enjoyed unofficial and semi-official recognition, especially in the last two years, even 34

The cabinet ol the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in session as major

diplomatic (and possibly military)

difficulties continue to unfold. Howeveq Karabakh's recent foreign policy has evolved around two main tracks.

In the short term, it has involved efforts toward full recognition as a side to the con-

flict and toward direct talks with Baku.

Already, as implied by the latest OSCE Minsk Group proposal in November 1998 and the European Parliament's resolution in

March, Karabakh is clearly recognized as a side and a legitimate entity for negotiations.

In the long term, it involves efforts toward recognition of statehood or a "spe-

cial status" by other states-similar, for example, to Liechtenstein, Andorra, and as recently suggested by Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, the Niue islands near New Zealand-and based on a special agreement with Azerbaijan and with international guarantees. Toward this end, the Karabakh leadership has developed close contacts with "sympathetic states" who

Moscow, Washington, and Paris.

Military strength and security are also leading intemal and external concerns. As characterized by Karabakh's defense minis-

ter, the current post-war situation in

the

region is. "a cold war between Azerbaijan and Karabakh." Karabakh's military and

political leadership has consistently stated that the current balance of military power in the region has been a significant factor in the maintenance of the fragile cease-fire since May 1994. Meanwhile, the cease-fire regime, while providing respite to the warring parties, has also been a period of rearming and vigorous military training for all the sides.

The Karabakh leadership believes that Azerbaijan will eventually resolve the conflict militarily. This "threat", whether perceived or real, has made military strength

and combat readiness top priorities in Karabakh. The defense establishment in

might possibly provide limited or. full

Karabakh argues that the high combat readiness of the Karabakh army is an important

recognition. The establishment of such contacts have been possible with the support

safeguard against renewed fighting with Azerbaijan. The Karabakh leadership has

and lobbying efforts

repeatedly stated that the ultimate guarantor of the security of Karabakh Armenians is Karabakh's strong army. However, the maintenance of a large armed forces comes at a very high price for a territory with lim-

of the Armenian in the Middle East, Europe, South and North America.

Diaspora, especially

Currently, Karabakh has unofficial repre-

sentation-Public Affairs Offices-in AIM APRIL 1999

zations have been wanting

[lMAGY ited natural and economic resources.

In addition to the hardships caused by

the economic transition that all former Soviet repubtics experience, the Armenian-

Azerbaijani conflict has created its own dynamics and difficulties for Karabakh's economy. Coupled with the Azerbaijani blockade, the military sinration continues to take a major toll on Karabakh's economic development. For example, since all male citizens between the ages of 17 and 45 are drafted for three years of military service,

males are virtually non-existent in Karabakh's labor force. Currently, agriculture remains the primary economic activity while other sectors are either underutilized or underdeveloped.

In April

1995, the government in

Stepanakert estimated that the war has caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damage

to its

economy and infrastructure.

Karabakh's economy remains meager, and it relies heavily on Yerevan for financial assistance.

As opposed to involvement at

the

microeconomic level, the Diaspora's assistance has been primarily in Karabakh's infrastructure, such as building ofroads and water supply systems. In this regard, one of the most notable projects is the construction of the Goris-Lachin-Stepanakert highway,

as well as the water distribution system around the capital city.

In addition to the economY, a number of social problems-the needs of orphans, widows, the elderly and the disabled-in Karabakh require short and long-term solutions. While the government has instituted some social welfare programs, without a rEsolution of the conflict normalcy will not come to Karabakh.

In the meantime, the Karabakhis believe-having, as they say, .learned the "lessons of their history"-that ultimately they, not the intemational community, are the guarantors of their independence and security. while this presents an enormous

political and military challenge to the Karabakh leadership, they have come a lorg

way since 1998: they have been.fairly successful in finding a place for themselves in

the evolving and complex geostra{egic architecture ofthe

region.

I

for years-a

shopping list of sorts (see next page).

"The government asked each minister a list of projects that are compile to absolutely necessary in Karabakh. That list was reviewed by the entire government, the final projects were turned over to local officials and to those with some business experience. Business plans and proposals were developed for each.

"Today we have a 500-page dossier that provides the background information nec-

for each of these 102 projects," explains an officer at Karabakh's

essary

Washington, DC Public Affairs office. "The business proposals aren't fine-tuned the way they are in the West. We even have problems bringing a representative from the

Armenian DeveloPment AgencY

to Stepanakert, because we don't have the funds. Even in business plan development, we need help.

"The projects and proposals were designed with local resources in mind," the Karabakh representative continues. "We have chosen and developed these projects

so that outside transportation costs and major imports won't be necessary."

There are already some takers: Sarkis Kitsinian of Los Angeles and Tsolag Momjian of Jersualem have entered into a joint venture with the Yerevan Jewelry Plant. The new enterprise, Armengold, has already set up four gold chain production

centers-three

in

Armenia, and one in

Shushi. The Shushi plant is currently oper-

ating with about 50 employees, but will grow to take on another 100. Stepanakert, too, will become a production center, soon.

Not all the proposals are for business ventures. Matemity hospitals and schools are intended for public use when completed. Still, each construction and reriovation project will create dozens, sometimes hundreds of jobs. Ralph and Savey Tufenkian of Los Angeles have agreed to take on the reconstruction of a youth center in Shushi.

The Cafesjian Family Foundation of Florida is looking at several business and civic institutions in need of support, but after they visit Karabakh and see the possibilities

for themselves.

One experienced project manager says they may even allocate more than the figure that is being asked for, in order to make

their giving really effective.

Of course, beyond these projects, every kind of agricultural and service industry application is possible. Karabakh is where enterprising and patriotic spirits meet. I AIM APRIL I999

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AIM: It was rumored, at the time of your resignation, that your leaving was either

a

concession

to the Russians, or

to

Armenia's domestic opposition. Was it?

LIBARIDIAN: Of course not. I went to Armenia for six months, ended up staying seven years. I had no political ambitions and disliked officialdom. Seven years was more than I could take. I resigned to be with my family again. The problem is that the truth, to be credible, must also be truth-like. ln an environment, which believes in intrigues and power, I understand that my reason sounded too simple.

Without fully developed academic or intellectual institutions, Armenia has no way to utilize the experiences of its for-

IHE GHAIIENGE OF

SIAIEH[l[|D Former Presidential Advisor Jirair Libaridian on the evolution of Armenian politics Jirair Libaridian, a historian, was invited toArmenia in l99l to serve in President Levon Ter ! Petrossian's administration. The co-founder and director of the Zoryan lnstitute for

tI

Contemporary Armenian Research and Documentation, he had also been a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation until his resignation from that party in 1988.

Libaridian was the longest-serving Diasporan in the Ter Petrossian administration. During his seven years in office-first as Advisor, then as SeniorAdvisor to the President-he was criticized often. At the same time, he is credited with having a determining role in the development of Armenia's foreign policy. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the New York based EastWest Institute, Senior Consultant to IREX, and is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Grant to research and write a new book, Anatomy of ConJlict, for which he has recently traveled to Yerevan, Baku, and other cities.

His frst book was The Karabagh File, (Cambidge,theZoryan Institute, 1988) which he edited at the beginning of the Democratic Movement in Armenia. His subsequent Armenia at the Crossroads (Cambridge, Blue Crane Books, 1991) was the first analysis of the pre-independence period, and the movement's leadership. In May, Blue Crane Books will issue The Chnllenge of Statehood, a look at the political thinking of Armenia and Armenians in the years following independence.

This is his hrst public interview since his resignation in September 1997.

AIM APRIL

1999

mer public servants. What have you been doing since your resignation?

I returned to Boston and for the first few months did nothing. I watched old movies and listened to music. I bought books that had been published during the past seven

years but could not read much. I gave at conferences at Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Berkeley, as well as Tbilisi, papers

Tehran and Istanbul.

I also went to Yerevan, twice. The first time was just about a year ago, to turn in my resignation as Ambassador-at-Large, a position President Ter-Petrossian had asked me to retain when I resigned as Senior Adviser.

That position had been given to me by a President; I returned it to the new President,

Robert Kocharian in April 1998. Every President has the right to appoint his or her own Ambassadors, especially those expected to perform special missions. The new President and I discussed a number of issues. I told him that I was ready to assist if he needed me.

Between September and December of 1998 I wrote The Challenge of Statehood, which will be released soon.

Your second trip to Yerevan was just a few weeks ago?

Yes, in March. I participated in a workshop on sub-regionalism organized by the EastWest Institute. But

I

have also started

work on my next book, Anatomy of Conflict, which will be completed by the

43

NATION

. . . lon the linst Ieuu months did nothing. I uuatched old mouies and listened to musie. I hought hoolts that had been ruHished dunins the pa$t $GUGn years, ! . by

tion of my forthcoming trip to Baku, including its purpose, and expressed my readiness to meet with them while in Yerevan, before going to Baku. Had they seen a'problem with my trip to Baku I am sure they would have raised it to me, as I have maintained cordial relations with the new administra-

temporary cease-fire mediated

matic aspects of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. I want to present the position of

tion.

ful, I believe. But they require a fuller dis-

mediating countries and parties to the conflict as seen by them. My March 1999 trip was the first of many that will take me to all the capitals where policy was made, to speak to as many. of the players as possible.

Baku was just one of the capitals I went to or will be going to. I was also in Paris, Geneva, Vienna, and Bonn. Subsequently I

am not the first former official to visit capi-

of

1999 and published, I hope, in 2000.

That requires research in a number of cities,

end

including Yerevan.

That was followed by a trip to Baku.

Anatomy of Conflict, the book

I

started

to work on now, will deal with the diplo-

will be going to Rome,

Helsinki,

Stockholm, Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara.

My good friend Ambassador Kazimirov of the Russian Federation is now Ambassador in Costa Rica. I hope to see him as well.

Can you put the trip in the context of your earlier private meetings with Vafa Guluzade, who was then your

Azerbaijani counterpart in President Aliev's administration? You were criticized for those private meetings then, and some are criticizing you now for making

this trip.

I have heard some notes of discontent but have nol seen specific arguments as to what was wrong with my visit to Baku, except that Azerbaijan has used it for propaganda purposes. For me this reflects a con-

tinuing obsession with propaganda

as

opposed to substance and a much-cherished confusion between public relations and clearly defined goals and positions. I have rarely paid attention to actions and state-

ments made

in Baku or

elsewhere for

domestic propaganda purposes. I understand fully that it has made some people uncomfortable. Discomfort is a necessary

but not sufficient reason to criticize.

The important point is that as a matter of courtesy and out of respect for the position I had in the previous government, I had formally informed the Kocharian administra-

44

You may also want to remember that I tals involved in the conflict. Whether

it

is

our first Foreign Minister or the first Senior Adviser, many have visited such capitals and discussed the conflict with other governments, without representing the administration, often disagreeing with the then administration's position. Representatives

of political parties, from Armenia or the Diaspora, have done the same for years, expressing their often passionate opposition to Yerevan's policies.

The difference is that I went to Baku as well. But for me, now or before, it is more

important that Baku understand

the

Armenian position and concerns more than the others do. At the end, the Armenian side will have to convince Baku and live with Azerbaijan as a neighbor. Mediators come and go, propose solutions, and change proposals. The vital interests and perceptions of the parties to the conflict remain the critical aspects to a solution.

My visit was, as I stated, for the purpose of recording for my research the Azerbaijani policies as stated by its leaders. We discussed the conflict, of course. That discussion had nothing to do with the proposal of the mediators that is on hand. It could not have, since I did not know its contents. And I have enough experience not to makejudgments on the basis of press statements.

As for my meetings with Guluzade during my tenure of office, it is possible that some disagreed with our methodology of achieving results in the negotiations.

Whether the criticisms are justified or not will become clear when the full picture of the diplomatic process is presented. I, for

one, continue

to believe that they

were

extremely useful. The transformation of the

AIM APRIL 1999

the

Russian Federation in May 1994 into a permanent cease-fire in July and August of the

same year was achieved because of my direct negotiations with Mr. Guluzade. Was that a bad thing?

Subsequent meetings were equally use-

cussion and must wait a while longer.

Your role in particular, and

the

Karabakh negotiations in general, have been personalized, both by those who supported the process you were involved in and especially by those who did not.

That is largely correct.

Given the seriousness

of the matter

being negotiated-war and peace-it was important for me to understand fully the position of other parties, the meaning behind their diplomatically couched statements, their real interests as opposed to their public posturing. I have developed personal relations with most of the negotiators and mediators. I have tried to understand their culture and politics. I have discussed with them their taste in music and literature, talked about their families, sometimes even met their families. That has produced a different kind of discourse, leading to more trust and credibility than conventional

diplomacy permits. Getting

to the core

problem and eventually resolving them becomes easier. This is more true even of our main antagonists. None of this diminished the ability to present and defend the

interests

of

the Armenian side. And, of

course, none of this means that I am responsible for Mr. Guluzade's public statements, often made for domestic consumption, just

as he is not to be held responsible for my statements or my unwillingness to respond to every one of his statements or every criticism that is leveled against me.

Secondly, it is easier for some people to personalize their opposition to policies, create dislike and distrust in the public toward

those with whose policies they disagree.

Some are better at dehumanizing the opponent than discussing alternative solutions to

NATION the problem. Much of the criticism is based on ignorance of real processes and actual documents. It comes from a reflexive reaction to our policy of dealing with our antagonists, Turkey and Azerbaijan, directly---of seeing them as neighbors and future partners.

I

have discussed this phenomenon in

detail in my upcoming book, The Challenge of Statehood. The biggest casualty in recent events in Armenia, I argued, is the absence of a serious debate on the alternative solutions to the problem of Karabakh. Such a debate should have taken place particularly during the presidential campaign following President Ter-Petrossian's resignation. That debate did not take place; only a handful were privy to the details of the September 1997 proposal which engendered TerPetrossian's resignation, but just about everyone is sure it was bad. Right or wrong, the people, in whose name everyone speaks, were not part of that process.

is a

Personalizing policies cheap, though possibly effective, method to avoid a rational debate.

solve problems, at least not the problems our people are facing in Armenia and Karabakh. The big battle, as I explain in my the search for normalcy for our people and the ideologized view of the world in the minds of some leaders who would like to see the Armenian people serve some "ideal," some higher vision, of course their own.

book, is between politics based on

The personalization of politics, mutual dislikes and antagonisms between leaders, power struggles, constitute also problems.

Finally, the profession ofjournalism has not yet matured in Armenia. Checking allegations, double checking facts, separating fact from opinion are not yet the standard.

You

will

remember that

at some point

Armenian newspapers, suddenly and conve-

niently reversing a long held tradition of considering Turkish newspapers unreliable, reprinted an item from a Turkish newspaper alleging that I had declared in Ankara that the genocide should be forgotten. Not a sin-

gle reporter

in

Armenia

or from

the

Diaspora called me to ask, "Jirair, did you really make such a statement in Turkey?"

But many printed it.

1992,have not themselves done so or even raised the question when their leaders are now part of the new administration? How is it that in the fall of 1988 the three political

parties

of the Diaspora

condemned the

Karabakh Committee for advocating strikes

in support of the rights of

Karabakh-

it would harm Armenia's economy and relations with Moscow-yet at least

because

two of them have now adopted a maximal-

ist position and risk losing everything for that maximalist position? The list of such questions is very long.

The book covers a set of underlying beliefs and mental attitudes that attempt to explain such contradictions. It is also these attitudes that will distinguish between, on the one hand, leaders who are ready to take historical responsibility for the solution of the Karabakh problem based on a mutually acceptable compromise and, on the other hand, those who want everything and want to risk everything, with the certainty that they can blame someone else for any losses. I think we have had enough heroes and martyrs. The idea of politics is to avoid a situation where we can only

The biggest Gasualty in necgnt GUGnt$ in finmenia is $e ab$cnce 0l a seriou$ de[ale 0n tne aEennatiue $olution$ to the Fnoblem ol llana[akn.

How do you explain the absence of any serious political or intellectual debate about these issues? A president gives a

press conference about a major Armenian policy issue, Karabakh; he writes a lengthy article on this same sub-

ject, yet there is very little of substance said about the issues he raises.

Political discourse in Armenia, but much more so in the Diaspora, has been ideologized. Extremist positions are accepted as the norm, debate consists of paying constant tribute to the altar of a simplistic ideology which consists of dividing the world into friends and enemies, and then of dehumanizing the enemy.

Especially in the Diaspora, there is an intellectual fear of approaching issues dif-

ferently

or offering alternative analyses.

One is immediately branded as a villain or

if one gives up the hatred of the "Turk' as a basis of ideology and policy.

Ideologies, national or otherwise, do not traitor,

Jirair, did you in Tirrkey say we want to

claim moral victories.

forget the Genocide?

Of course not. But I am glad you asked

I

the question.

context

Do you drscuss Armenia's political culture or Ter Petrossian's changing fortunes in your book?

The Challenge of Statehood is, essen-

tially,

a personal perspective on the

culture

political

of Armenia, as well as of the It covers questions which have

Diaspora.

interested me for a long time, long before I worked in Armenia, and some that have arisen since independence. In fact, it examines the paradoxes and apparent contradictions in the positions of parties and leaders when faced with the Karab.akh problem and independence. I ask, for example, how is it that political parties, which demanded TerPetrossian's resignation because he refused to recognize Karabakh's unilateral declara-

tion of independence in the summer of

AIM APRIL I999

As for the second part of your question, discuss in the book Ter-Petrossian in the

of his policies, not his personal career, except for the circumstances of his resignation. My reading of the latter varies from the conventional wisdom on that subject.

It would have been unrealistic for anyone to expect that a leader of a popular movement who becomes president of an independent country remain popular for very long. Remember, the country he was leading had just seceded from an empire whose economy had collapsed; it is a landlocked country that had to be part of a war to defend the rights of Karabakh Armenians and must live under a "no war, no peace" environment. Ter-Petrossian led the country practically for a decade. But a decade in Armenia under the circumstances was more like many decades worth of history.

Remember how many volumes the historian

45

NATION

, r , histarians haue acted mone like iounnalists and R0liticians, uuhile political leadGn$ haue imp0sed thcir own uiew ol histony.

Richard Hovannisian had to write to cover

the two and a half years of the First Republic. Ter-Petrossian governed that same nation for ten years. I think it will be easier to assess his legacy as time goes on.

My book covers some of the issues and

policies, but does not attempt to do that assessment.

Which is considered legitimate in Armenia-political parties or the intelligentsia?

I could not speak of an intellectual class in Armenia. There are many bright thinkers and journalists, but no class has yet emerged from under the shadow of the former intel-

In

The absolute majority has little to do with parties, and the parties themselves have done little to dispel the mistrust people have developed toward the idea of "party" over the years as a result of Communist Party

political culture of Armenia both present

rule.

have been a great blessing.

I might also add that while the Diaspora has a number of individuals who are intellectuals in the Western sense of the word, there is no Diasporan intelligentsia that raises and discusses, collectively, fundamental questions relating to the experience, the past, present and future of the Armenian people. Occasionally there are attempts to do so, but none has yet succeeded in maintaining a dialogue for long.

Armenia, the word intelli-

Unfortunately, also, historians have

associated with an elite group from the past that has lost the privileged position it had under the Soviets without losing its sense of entitlement. While some have accepted independence and reforms and have tried to adjust to the new realities, others have spent their energies and visibility trying to regain their former privileges, all the while speaking in the name of the

acted more like journalists and politicians, while political leaders have imposed their own view of history.

ligentsia. gentsia

is

people.

Intellectuals are supposed to ask questions, others-politicians included--do not have the time or inclination to ask; to provide new perspectives on the past and the future, new insights on the present. Should there not have been, for example, a good look at the past 70 years and the impact of the system on the economy, the social structures and values, on the political culture and

institutions that constitute the basis of today's society? Did Armenia and the Armenian people just appear on the map, out of nowhere? Is it feasible that comrption originated the morning after independence and with the Karabakh Committee, or even

because of them? Are there competing visions of Armenia's identity and future?

The old intelligentsia has not taken on that task. The new one has yet to emerge, although, as I said, there are bright and courageous minds both from the old as well new generation.

As for political parties, I do not think the people of Armenia have any faith in them. as the

46

Are there still possible permutations? Is it a musical chairs game? We had the Yerkrapahs split off from the ANM. Is it completely arbitrary?

There have been constant permutations since the Movement began in 1988. I was surprised to see the Karabakh Committee and the ANM stay united for as long as they did under very difficult circumstances.

When some problems are resolved and others emerge, leaders develop their thinking further and disagree, particularly when they come to power. This is quite normal, even healthy. Alternative views and solutions are essential to a society and a state. It becomes dangerous when differences and decisions on choices are inspired by personal likes and dislikes, ambitions and vendettas.

Electoral coalitions are also not to be feared, as long as they are based on proximity of views and the ability of leaders to work together. I can see, for example, the Yerkrapahs working with Karen

Demirjian's People's Party; I think they both oppose the privatization of major industries. I am not sure they would share

views on the Karabakh conflict.

Many of the political parties lack recognizable leaders, while others only have leaders and no followers. In the personalized

AIM APRIL

1999

problems and distort process and perception.

Armenia has too many born presidents; under different circumstances, that wotrld

Was Le Monde right? Was what hap-

pened

in February

1998

a

coup for

nothing?

Possibly. I don't know yet. ThenPrime Minister Robert Kocharian believed

that by doing certain things better or different than President Ter Petrossian he could generate economic growth significant enough to raise the standard of living of the citizens, without a peace treaty, or with a peace treaty that gave the Armenian side more than what was offered in September 1997.

The writer in Le Monde visited Yerevan after the new presidential elections and looked for signs of changes in domestic and foreign policy and could not find many.

The answer to your question will be given in time. Can President Kocharian prove his point? I happen to disagree with his assumptions and analysis. It is possible

that he

is right, but that

certain

of one thing: if

needs

to

be

proven. I do not believe that has been proven yet. I also do not believe one can wait forever to make a determination. I am President

Kocharian is to prove that he is right and Le Monde is wrong, he must get all the support he can get, particularly from those

who supported his action against

Ter

Petrossian and his election as president.

Having advisers who sign petitions for his impeachment or demonstrate against him in the streets are not moves in the right direction. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the president, but to do so

publicly while sitting

in his office is a

bizane way to show support and a strange exercise in unity.

Your book on Armenian potitical thinking will be released soon. What can you tell us about the next book?

NATION The Challenge of Statehood

will

be

released in English soon. It is also being translated into other languages, including Armenian and French.

I am now deeply involved in the research for my next book, for which I

traveled recently to Yerevan, Baku and I said earlier, it is called Anatomy of Conflict: Nagorno Karabakh and the New World Order I want to place the conflict in its international context. In this book I will first trace the transformation of the conflict over the past ten years from a local issue into an internationally elsewhere. As

disconnected from teaching for so long. I do not mind teaching a course or two, just as a way to compel myself to think on subjects in an organized setting.

It is time for younger scholars to take their place. I am gratified that a young

University of Michigan's Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History. I think

scholar

Tufts

happened and what is happening today than

University's newly-established Armenian

traditional history, particularly non-critical and politicized history as is often the case.

The focus on history was understandable

got the position at

Is

it Ieasible

that GoFnuption oriuinated the morning alter

significant problem. The second part will cover the various venues for negotiations, different methodologies used during mediations, and the role of countries and international organizations.

independence?

What are your plans for the long term?

Do you want a teaching position in

Studies Chair.

Armenian studies?

that.

I

I

A fully

deserving one at

believe Ina Baghdiantz McCabe

I would like to return to a university position involving full time

will make a great contribution to the study of Armenian history from a new angle. I

teaching. That may be unfair not only to me but also to the students. I have been

was also quite happy to see another young scholar, Stephanie Platz, appointed to the

am not sure

A(rAI{

anthropology, social psychology, economics, and political science can bring new perspectives to Armenian studies, perspectives which might explain far better what has

when we were facing the problems of

legir

imation of Armenian identity.

We do not have that problem today.

Armenian history has been legitimized and Armenia is an independent state. With all of

its problems and challenges, in fact in its reality, it is a better source of identity than abstracted, ideologized, and idealized history. The problem now is to legitimize and rejuvenate Armenian studies in general, so that it can start addressing contemporary issues as well and do so in a manner that is relevant to the social sciences.

As for me, in 1999 I will finish my new book and work closely with IREX and the EastWest Institute on regional projects. The rest I will see.

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1999

4/

PERPEIUIL REMINDE RS ileurest Genocide Memorial dedicated in Austtalia imously in NSW Parliament on April 17, 1991 .That motion was reinforced last year at which time plans were announced to create

By KRISTEN KIDD

ach year new memorials dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide are added to the hundreds of existing monuments around the world. One of the newest memorials was recently erected in Australia.

This April, Armenians in Sydney have a special new site where they can honor the memory of Genocide victims. An Armenian

the memorial.

A barrage of Turkish protest swamped the NSW Parliament. Turkish Ambassador to Australia Umut Arik complained to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and wamed of a very strong reaction

from the Turkish community. Meanwhile, some 700,000 e-mail protests by Turks

Genocide Memorial, dedicated on March 5 at the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament, will

now serve as a permanent

around the world jammed the parliament's computer system. The protests did not deter the plans to erect the monument.

"The memorial does provide for all those

Australian

acknowledgement of the genocide, as well as

a

special gathering place for Australian-

Armenians.

The engraved brass plaque mounted on a khachkar imported from Armenia and set in Sydney sandstone is displayed in a garden area on the ninth floor of the Parliament. It is the culmination of a two-year process that began with a motion to corffnemorate the Armenian Genocide in the state of New South Wales each Apnl24. The plaque contains the full text of that Armenian Genocide Commemorative motion which passed unan-

48

that visit the Parliament House a reminder of what happened in 1915. I'd like to think that this State, this Parliament, has taken the lead

in this acknowledgement," The Honorable Bob Carr, Premier of NSW declared. The pre-

mier and several members of

NSW

Parliament were present at last month's dedication ceremony, which included representa-

tives Sydney,

Awbalia

AIM APRIL I999

of the Armenian

Genocide Joint

Commemorative Committee of Australia, and two survivors who live in Sydney.

In his remarks on behalf of the Armenian

Arx-srFPra,gg,Fae

ilagado&ry{ia

San Francisco, Galllornia

Ellis lsland, ilew Yod(

St ttsart, Germary

Arueeali,

AIM APRIL I999

edgirtr

ffie,ffanoe

49

community at the dedication ceremony, Tro Kortian applauded the gesture saying, "I feel, as I am sure all ofus do here this evening, an immense sense of pride in the moral leadership shown by our state parliament." Kortian considers this the frst step toward nationwide recognition of the genocide, "I eagerly

look forward to that day when

the Commonwealth Govemment of Australia follows the lead taken by the NSW Parliament in declaring its official condemnation of the genocide committed against the Armeniansand all attempts to deny and distort the historical truth surrounding such heinous crimes against humanity."

Parliament member Peter Collins noted the unique nature of this commemoration in comments during the April 29, 1998 Irgislative Assembly: "In my 16 years no resolution of the Parliament has been remembered, enshrined if you like, in this way. We are reminding ourselves, each other and the community that our collective memory of the Armenian Genocide will not dim with the passage of time." His colleague John Watkins also commented on the appropriateness of this special memorial, saying "it will be a public statement to all visitors to Parliament House of the reality of the genocide and the importance with which the New South Wales Parliament holds the commemoration."

In late March, after the monument was placed, several hundred members of the Turkish community in Sydney demonstrated

in front of the

llonteDolh,

Callhtth

Blktaya, Lebanon

parliament bulding, waving

Turkish flags and banners protesting tl1 actions of the NSW govemment.

llontrrl,

Canada

E

II a

a

OarZr,

50

W

DcrZor,

AIM APRIL I999

Sa

FEBNUMY

lg$

The Executive Board of Armenia Fund, Inc. (AFl) is pleased to make available for the community's review AFI's audited financial statements for the I996 and,1997 calendar years piepared by the accounting firm of Parks, Palmer, Turner & Yemenidjian, LLP. The release of this data is in keeping with our strong belief that AFI's operations should bâ‚Ź transparent and subject to the review ofthe community it serves and from whom it derives its support.

The AFI board has consistently conducted its activities with the understanding that fundraising.and administrative costs should be kept to a minimum and that all available funds be disbursed to the "Hayastan" All Armenian Fund (Himnatram) offices in Yerevan to support designated humanitarian projects in Armenia and Karabagh.

During 1996, AFI undertook its first major community wide activity, a Memorial Day Telethon, to fund the construction of the Goris-Stepanakert Highway that generated $5.5 million in pledges. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Kirk Kerkorian's Lincy Foundation, each and every dollar collected by December 31, 1996 was matched.

During 1997, AFI undertook a Thanksgiving Day telethon to fund infrastructure reconstruction in Karabagh.

This second telethon resulted in $2.7 million in pledges including a $l million contribution from the Lincy Foundation.

The audited financial statements reveal that AFI has disbursed a total of $8,368,129 to HAAF (Himnatram) during 1996 and 1997. An additional $1,650,000 was disbursed to HAAF by AFI during rhe first quarter of 1998 as a result of collections from 1997 Thanksgiving Day Telethon, bringing rhe total of disbursements to HAAF (Himnatram) to $10,018,129.

The Board of AFI has always worked without any compensation or reimbursement of expenses in tandem with an executive director and no more than two full time staff members. The small staff was augmented only on a temporary basis to produce the telethons.

The Executive Board wishes to acknowledge the tremendous support of over 15,000 donors, hundreds of volunteers, dozens of community organizations and leaders who made our work possible. As a result of our collective efforts, we have made a total of $I0,018,129 available to the .,Hayastan', All-Armenian Fund to support humanitarian projects in Armenia and Karabagh, and make the Goris-Stepanakert Lifeline a realiry.

nffi;E**-* Robert Barsam, President

ASSETS

December

$

Cash and cash equivalent

Furniture and fixtures, net Other asset Total assets

$

31

December

3

1

$ 1,rs8,799 51,622 27 ,536 1,300 410,738 $ 1,186,335 3s7,816

REVENUES Direct Public

December

support

$

Interest income

Total revenue

3l

December

-31

3,497,3r3 $

6,167,061

2,74t 3,500,0s4

6,t70,679

2,950,000

5,668,129

3,618

EXPENSES

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Accounts payable Note payable Due to All Armenia Fund

$

Program services -

AII Armenia Fund Administrative

$

28.617

Total liabilities Net assets - unrestricted Net assets - restricted Total net assets Total liabilities and net assets

s8,310

$

250,000 336,927

1,100,000 1,100,000

72,302 I ,509 73,811 410,738 $

84,7@ t,57 t 86,33s 1,186,335

14,319 s48,259 3,5t2,578

Fund-raising Total expenses Increase (decrease) in net assets

Net assets - beginning Net assets - ending

$

(12.s24) 86,335 73,811 $

11,2t9 467,384 6,146,732

23,947 62,388 86,33s

Armenia Fund, Inc's financial statements are audited by Parks, Palmer, Tumer & Yemenidjian, LLP. Copies are available upon request.

Armenia Fund, Inc.300 West Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 302. Glendale, C,A9L2O2. Phone: (818) 243-6222 This space is provided free of chrge as a seruice of the Fourth Millennium Smiety

ence in Egypt to early medieval times, when

"entire army battalions from the Kingdom

of Cilicia captured by Egyptian Mamaluk armies were brought over to Egypt. These Armenians settled, adapted to local circumstances and assumed high positions in the Egyptian State, such as the Queen Shagara Al Dor," says Archbishop Zaven

Chinchinian, Primate

of the Armenian

Apostolic Church in Egypt.

In time,

these immigrants were

absorbed by an Egyptian society well known throughout the ages for its capacity to integrate migrant communities into its socio-cultural fabric.

The history of the present Egyptian Armenian community is widely acknowledged to date back to the formation of the modern Egyptian state, when Mohammed Ali, an Ottoman officer of Albanian

descent, managed to wrangle the Governorship of the Ottoman province of Egypt from the Sublime Port in 1805.

Ilt tfte Ealtil et

FHAnfil}ff$

The centuries-old Armenian community in Egypt

ous communities of the Diaspora, the Armenian community in Egypt, like Egypt itself, has gone through major changes and transformations in the last five decades. If several wars, political upheavals and economic transitions--especially after the 1950s-forced Armenians to emigrate, today the community lives a relatively stable and prosperous life thanks, on the one

52

attractive profit-making opportunities to commercial intermediaries who took up residence in the port cities of Alexandria and Port Said.

True to the dictum ur hats, hon gats is opportunity) Armenian merchants and peddlers flocked to Egypt to dominate a whole range of

(lodge where there

trades, notably textile and tobacco.

However, Egypt offered more than just the opportunity to make an easy buck for a

By RAIY I((!UR||UIAII

ne of the oldest and most prosper-

In an attempt to emulate the technical advances attained by Western powers, of which Mohamed Ali caught a glimpse in the brief French occupation of Egypt (1798l80l), the young Vali, governor, employed the services of Ottoman minorities well versed in Western ways.

One such man was Boghos Yousoufian, a Rashid-based Armenian merchant from Izmir. to whom Mohammed Ali farmed out tax collection for the prosperous port city of Alexandria in 1810.

In the following decades, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 to service the booming Euro-Asian trade route presented

hand, to the community institutions built by

a host of 18th to early 20th

century

Armenian Pashas and Beys, and the entrepreneural spirit of Egyptian Armenians on the other.

Although some mythological texts of relations between

reflect the existence

ancient Egyptians and Armenians, especial-

ly in the myths of David of

Sassun, other

scholarly sources trace the Armenian pres-

AIM APRIL I999

growing Armenian community.

"From 1Sth century onwards, persecutions of minorities perpetrated by Ottoman rulers...provided an impetus for waves upon waves of Armenian migrants from the port cities of Izmir and Constantinopole came to

Alexandria, where they settled and prospered in the peace and tranquillity offered by a semi-autonomous Egypt," explains Archbishop Chinchinian, an avid scholar of Armenian literature and history.

CONNECTIONS

Ihe Anmnian Patiarchab (Diome) in Cairo (left); St Among many other notable figures, the

illustrious career of Nubar Pasha towers

over the achievements of the Egyptian Armenian community of the 18th century.

After studying law and literature in Switzerland and Paris, young Nubar traveled to Egypt to serve as personal secretary to his uncle Boghos Bey Youssoufian in 1842, who had by then assumed the double

posts

of Minister of Foreign Affairs

and

Commerce.

Following his uncle's death, successive Egyptian rulers found Nubar's administrative and diplomatic skills indispensable in formulating their relations with European powers. Climbing the ladder of the Egyptian state, Nubar Pasha rose from the position of director general of Egyptian Railways during Viceroy Said Pasha's rule to assume the post of prime minister under KhediveAbbas

II in

f:ltro

llluminabr,@al tcenlcf),dltt$&qp

Union (AGBU) in Cairo to tend to the needs refugees from Eastern Anatolia washing onto Egypt's hospitable shores.

As the community swelled in numbers after the Genocide, a host of social and cultural organizations with partisan and nonpartisan affiliations sprung up side-by-side

of a growing number of

with the already existing Housaper

and

Kegharvestasirats cultural associations.

At its peak, a community of around 40,000 in the 1940s boasted nine social and

sports clubs, three Armenian Apostolic churches (Cairo, Alexandria ard Zagazig), two Armenian Catholic churches (Cairo and Alexandria), and three schools offering secondary education.

Open social and political discourse,

constitutionally safeguarded

by a

parlia-

mentary democracy, briefly turned Cairo into a mecca for revolutionary Armenian political figures.

"In Cairo we still have four cultural associations and four sports clubs, registered with the Egyptian government," proudly explains Hratch Simonian, chairman of the Executive Committee of the community. In addition, there are two cul-

tural and two sports organizations

in

Alexandria.

In the past, the three remaining schools served as the breeding ground for a vibrant literary nomenclatura. They were supplemented by a dynamic press and numerous printing houses churning out a plethora of

books by classical and contemporary Armenian authors turning Cairo into an intellectual powerhouse of Diaspora cul-

1894.

ture.

Nubar's accomplishments as power

All three newspapers, Housaper and, Arev, the organs of ARF and ADL respectively, and the Hunchak-leaning Chahagir;

broker par excellence between the palace, Western powers and Egyptian society during the reign of successive rulers in l9th

century Egypt

is only rivaled with

remain ghosts of their glorious past. In their heyday, they served as the ideological battleground for writers of all stripes. ln 1947, King Farouk validated a version of the Ottoman bylaws, which gave the Armenian community a degree of adminis-

the

enduring legacy of his son Boghos Nubar Pasha in building the institutional foundation for several Diasporan communities.

The latter's financial contributions

trative autonomy to manage its social affairs. Although adapted to suit the

made the dream of several Diasporan acad-

emic projects a reality. In 1920, the Armenian Students' Home was built in Paris. A few years later, the Nubarian School in Cairo opened its doors. Around the same time, an Armenian history and literature chair was created at Oxford

Egyptian legal system, the bylaws granted the Armenian community a Community

Council (Majlis Melli) fashioned after the one given by the Sublime Port to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire

in

University.

1854.

Once every eight years, the community-under the vigilant eyes of the Egyptian authorities---clects 24 members to the com-

However, the unforgettable contribution of Boghos Nubar Pasha to Diasporan

life will always remain the establishment in 1907 of the Armenian General Benevolent

munity council. In turn, the 24 legislators

AIM APRIL 1999

53

CONNECTIONS adjustment from a socially segregated society to a more socially, ethnically and economically egalitarian society voted with their feet in search of a more hospitable environment for themselves as well as their capital.

Starting with the early 1950s, the community saw a sharp downturn in its numbers as thousands of Armenians left Egypt.

Historic Reunion

In September 1997, on the heels of a major reunion, some 400 former Egyptian Armenians from around the world congregated in Cairo to celebrate the fourth annual alumni gathering of the three Armenian schools in Egypt, known as KALNOBO, an

All $6in& Cfispsl ln ths Amodan oomebry (Hellopolis, Cairo) wherc poot Vahan lokoyan (fritrl bust frcm lelt] and other Annenian notables are bu*od elect an executive body of seven for a twoyear period to run the institutions of the

Armenian Patriarchate--as the Diocese in Egypt is officially known-including the schools, churches, cemeteries and endowments.

One of the principle tasks of the executive body is to tend to the legal and commercial affairs of vast endowments of agri-

With nationalization of almost exclusively foreign owned banking, insurance, industrial and retail concerns, coupled with the

Egyptianization

of their labor force,

the

western-educated Armenian professional class lost its raison d'etre as middlemen

between foreign property owners, local

of Hurghada. In addition, a business launch-on for KALNOBO attendants hosted by the investors association of the

resort town

generated from agricultural land and buildings entrusted to the church goes to the maintenance of the Armenian schools," says

lOth-of-Ramadan City industrialists was

Antranik Mesrobian, executive member of the Armenian community in Cairo.

works in the Diaspora can play a role in Egypt's development again--this time in the era of economic globalization.

Some

of the KALNOBO

attendants

who had not returned to their birthplace for 50 years were stunned by the modernization efforts made by an Egypt they could hardly

the schools.

Today, the schools are mini-versions of their glorious past partly due to the hemor-

recognize. Others noting Cairo's wellknown problems of over-population and noise pollution lamented how little remains of a Cairo they so fondly remembered. But, "the emotional moment, for most," said

rhage that started with the first round of migration to Soviet Armenia in 1948.

left for Soviet Armenia

came mostly from the working and smalltrader classes; the next batch of emigres were professionals, merchants and industrialists for whom the advent of state capitalism-introduced by Gamal Abdel Nasser in

laborers and consumers. Meanwhile, Armenian industrialists along with other

the late l950s-signaled the end of their role as intermediary between local and international business interests. But this second group headed to capitalist North

politely asked by Nasser's economic planners to stay in their factories as salaried managers of concerns they previously

America not Soviet Armenia.

owned.

,4

a

subtle acknowledgment by corporate Egypt that Armenians through their trading net-

Although the Armenian schools' educational plan follows the guidelines set by the Ministry of Education, the Egyptian government has granted permission to teach Armenian language, history and culture in

Almost overnight, tables were turned.

ond migration for Egyptian Armenians. Of the 400 participants, fully 25 percent came from Canada, about 50 persons came from Los Angeles and a similar number from the rest of the US. The ten-day long fiesta organized along a strict schedule took the alumni and

their families to historic sights along the Nile Valley, as well as the Red Sea beach

cultural land in the lush Egyptian Delta and Upper Egypt. "Most of the rental income

Those who

acronym which combines the names of the three school names.

A random poll of KALNOBO attendants reflected the favorite countries of sec-

Genocide Memorial in fite Diocesan Ca$sdral

minorities such

as Greeks and

Italians were

Those who were unable to make the

AIM APRIL I999

Lucy Sulahian, who first migrated to Armenia in 1948 and has been living in Los Angeles since 1978, was seeing their old homes and hearing the familiar church bell they grew up listening to.

For Cairo's Armenians, KALNOBO represented an opportunity to meet up with

old classmates and friendships. When Khachig Kassabian met seven of his old classmates, he wondered how a single

CONNECTIONS evening could suffice to pack a personal

Commercially as much as socially, individual community members had to come to terms with ever narrowing win-

diary of some 30 years.

While few KALNOBO participants expressed regret for leaving Egypt, those who stayed behind are equally happy.

"Egypt allows us to live according to our national heritage, [it provides] a good climate and an opportunity to make a decent living. Why should we leave?" asks com-

to see inflation

eroding their incomes.

Some traders and merchants even tried their hand in barter trade with Eastern Europe. While a new brand of industrial-

ists-taking advantage of other favorable trade opportunities-ventured into light

munity leader Simonian.

Coping with Change Certainly those who decided to stay in Egypt, mostly skilled artisans and some visionary industrialists, developed survival techniques, especially after Nasser's 1952 revolution.

:Hors{roktun llubar club's

dows of opportunity for private enterprise.

Landlords had to accept rent control only

bd(&a

&H,

First, the community had to reshape its

worldview. The Egyptian Armenian community realized that it has to shed its selfperception as a migratory alien minority which will one day return to its homeland.

Consequently, the community, in order to gain greater acceptance by Egyptian society, tried to recast its image as one thoroughly

adapted to Egyptian society, albeit, with Armenian roots.

In education as elsewhere, the community was more receptive to accepting the bitter pill of Nasserite ideology. New

government regulations made the Arabic language mandatory in Armenian schools.

In an attempt to do away with the trademark Khawaga accent, the new generation was encouraged to learn Arabic-unheard of untill the sixties. They were allowed to

selectively socialize with fellow

Egyptians, however, community-wide blessing for intermarriages was not in the cards for a long while to come.

businessmen

with knowledge of local

market conditions were well placed to serve the growing needs of an Egyptian middle class driving its income from private enterprise.

Social Changes

As

elsewhere, economic liberaliza-

tion did not come to Egyptian

society

industry in line with Nasserite import substitution industrialization policies.

Indeed, those who were able to go

without social side effects. Material affluence eroded social barriers among mem-

with the flow saw the fruits of their patience under a free-market oriented

bers of the Armenian community and westernizing elements of the Egyptian elite, thus, giving further impetus to inte-

President Anwar Sadat (1970-1981). The evolution of the business interests of the Alexanian family is a notable example of

grationist tendencies.

Lax social attitudes towards divorce as presented by Hollywood movies rein-

Eql!6 MSar Pa$ra's villa in the background (left) ; lbusapsr c{mplfl (ce@; trade-in which Armenians have histori-

cally been involved-surviving

&ganian tldl (rlght}

forced the ease with which Islamic Sharia

nationalization in the early 1960s, their textile dying operation in Alexandria has served as the springboard to the fashion

Law allows Muslims to scuttle households. Taking their cues from both Western media and their Muslim compatriots, Egyptian Armenian couples are doing away with marriages with greater ease resulting in a noticeable rise in

industry.

divorce rate over the past 20 years.

state

interventionism.

After narrowly escaping

Nasserite

With family patriarch Vahan "Willy" Alexanian firmly at the helm, elder son, Dikran, has entered into a partnership with Benetton, Italy, to manufacture and franchise Benetton fashion wear throughout Egypt. Meanwhile, younger son, Libarid,

is in charge of family operations supplying specific blends of Greek tobacco to Egypt's monopoly cigarette manufacturer.

The economic liberalization that accompanied President Sadat's rule and continues to this day with President Hosni Mubarak created a new class of affluent

Egyptians who could afford to pay for modern lifestyle. Once again, Armenian

AIM APRIL I999

Most third generation Egyptian Armenian youth continue to choose their life partners within the Armenian community, sometimes going to great length of searching for suitable mates from Armenian communities in neighboring Lebanon and Syria or even as far afield as Armenia.

However, increasingly, the

gration stream

full

inte-

of Armenian youth into mainEgyptian culture on university

campuses.has tested the taboo of marrying from outside the community. Those courageous enough to listen to their hearts may gravitate towards marrying from Egypt's

55

CONNECTIONS

THE ARI

Kaloustian Schoo! in Cairo

other Christian minorities, such as the Copts or Levantines. So far, few have been bold enough to cross religious lines and marry from the majority Muslim population at the risk of being ostracized.

Social integration has been accompanied with some cultural integration as well. Perhaps the music of popular singer Anoushka is a reflection of the Egyptian Armenian soul in mainstream Egyptian culture. Her musical style mixing Arabic lyrics with traditional Armenian tunes and a western beat earned her the hearts of Egyptian pop listeners.

Alternatively, Cairo's artists, intellectuals and expatriate community members continue to be drawn by the musical inspiration of instrumentalist George Kazazian.

Starting off as a classical oriental instrumentalist, his music has evolved to weave oriental and Indian musical concepts using traditional instruments such as mizmar, a flute; oud and Indian tabla.

Community members, on the other hand, get their daily dose of Armenian culture through the one-hour long Armenian Radio broadcast. Wholly financed by the Egyptian state to serve as a cultural bridge between the community and its ethnic heritage. "At the beginning of every year, we secure approval from the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (the state media regulatory body) for program content that would suit the diverse taste of our listen-

ers," says program coordinator Aida Devletian. Working along with a team of five dedicated colleagues, "we present programs on Egyptian social issues, comparative literature, Armenian culture and music to name a few," she explains. "The elderly

56

prefer the classical tunes of Gomidas, in contrast to the younger generation which finds mainstream popular singers, such as Paul Baghdadlian, closer to their hearts," continues Devletian.

After almost five decades of

and transformation, the

change the

life of

Armenian community of Egypt now focuses on the Armenian Embassy in Cairo, which has become a "home" for every Egyptian Armenian.

This new spirit and vigor in the community is best described by Archbishop Chinchinian when he declared: "Seventy years after the Genocide, our national

group has performed in Ewert Memorial Hall of the American University in Cairo located at the heart of the Middle East... we, descendants of the Armenian Genocide, can no longer be an audience.

We have to take an active role in the reconstruction of Armenia." He was speaking to an auditorium full of Egyptian Armenians

hauled-up to catch a glimpse of his Holiness Catholicos Karekin I of A11 Armenians on the eve of his first ever visit to the Egyptian capital in January 1998.

The first pontifical visit,

the

KALNOBO reunion, and several visits by high-ranking Armenian government offi-

cials signal

a revival of the

Egyptian

Armenian community's historic role in nurturing ties between Egypt and their secondary country of migration-be it the US, Europe or Australia-as well as between Egypt and the Republic of

Armenia. I

Rafy Kourouian is business editor of the Middle East Times.

AIM APRIL I999

Ambassador Edward Nalbandian goes to Paris with acclamation

By HBATCH

TcllltlllGlRlAil

nlike countries with decades-old (even centuries-old) stale apparatus

and exporience in diplomatic rela-

tions, the "first gene,ration" diplomats of virtually all newly independent countries carry enonnous responsibilities and challenges. tn addition to representing political and economic interests of their respective countries, diplomats of new states bear the responsibility

of creating new diplomatic

infrastructures in their host countries with virtually no (or at best very lilfle) state bud. gets. From finding, acquiring and maintaining decent embassy buildings to obtaining cars, computers, faxes and staff, the first few years for a "new diplomat" are most challenging.

One of the 30 plus ambassadors repre-

senting Armenia around the world,

Ambassador Edward Nalbandian, 43, of Egypt has created an "ideal" Armenian mission in Cairo. After six years as head of Armenia's mission in Cairo, he recently became Armenia's Ambassador to France.

After obtaining a doctorate degree in

CONNECTIONS

EHIRil MISSIIIN IilI ESYPT yisits by foreign officials to Armenia after independence was by an Egyptian delegation, in January 1992, headed by then

Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri.

"Armenia places great political and economic importance on the development of cooperation with Egypt," says Nalbandian.

In tum. Egypl considers Armenia an

important crossroads lending access to the neighboring regions. "They also very much value the political, economie. cultural and other bilateral ties with Armenia. The exis-

of well-organized and well-to-do Armenian Idiaspora] communities in these

tence

countries

is an additional

impetus for

enhancing more dynamic relations with Armenia. Many high ranking governmental

officials in Arab countries

consider

Armenia as an excellent transit route and business environment for developing links

with other CIS countries,"

explains

Nalbandian.

political science from the prestigious Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Nalbandian was sent first to Lebanon in 1978 as a diplomat and then, in 1986, appointed First Secretary of

the USSR Embassy in Egypt.

In

1982,

Nalbandian was the youngest diplomat in the Soviet Union who was rewarded the highest diplomatic medal for his service-

the People's Friendship Medal-

the

affirms Nalbandian.

Among the three countries with Armenian embassies in the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon are ths other two), Egypt is considered the most powerful Arab

state and

a leader in the Arab

world.

Nalbandian points out that Egypt "enjoys an undeniable influence and authority on the intornatisnal scene, in the United Nations,

independent,

Cairo---.one

of

renewal because Armenian-Egyptian ties

and traditional friendship date back to anoient times. We have shared much during

the long course of history. In the difficult times of our history we felt the unpreju-

diced support of the Egyptian people,"

in a dozen other countries also, including Algeria, Morocco, Tuni*ia, Oman,

AGBU-is a ;monument" to the collective work of Ambassador Nalbandian and the owned by the

Egyptian Armenian community. "The

whole community-all sides withoirt exception-was involved, hand in hand, in building this beautifirl edi-

Armenian-Egyptian relations," says am saying

Multilingual Nalba4dian, who is fluent in Arabic, repressnted Armenials interests

the banks of the Nile and originally

the first

Egypt was also the first Middle Eastem country to bo visited by the first President of Armen.ia, Levon Ter Petrossian, in May 1992, and one of his first foreign trips. This visit, "created a solid basis for the renewal of

"I

African Unity.

exclusive Zamalek district of Cairo on

embassies Armenia opened.

Ambassador Nalbandian.

based Arab League, the Islamic Conference, and the Organization of

The attractive embassy mansion-located in the prestigious and

mid-1992. By October 1992, Nalbandian had established an

in

regional organizations as well, such as the Cairo-

and Pakistan.

Nalbandian was invited to become Annenia's representative in Egypt in

embassy

a number of multinational and

United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Israel, South Africa

USSR's third highest honor. When

Armenia became

The diplomatic mission and work of Armenian Embassy in Egypt spreads to

the Organization of African Unity, the Arab League, the Islamic Conference, the nonaligned movement, and other multinational organizations. That is why Egypt was one of the first countries where Armenia opened an embassy."

Indeed, one

of the first high-ranking

AIM APRIL

1999

fice," says Nalbandian. "This is the home of every Armenian," he continues, "We are not here to serve the local community, but we are here, together with the local Armenian community, to address the issues facing Armenia and we are here to pursue the interests of Amenia and the Armenian nation."

57

B

o o

K

S

AN ARAB HISIllRIAN

AND HIS

GAUSE Saleh Zahreileen lakes on the Armenian Genocide

By HRATGH TCHILINGIRIAN

he truth shall be told even while hanging on the gallows," confidently affirms Saleh Zahreedin, 48, Lebanese Druze historian and author of a dozen books and pamphlets in Arabic on the Armenians and the Genocide.

Bom in the Lebanese Shouf mountains and a member of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Zahreedin holds two doctorate degrees, the first from University of Paris VII, in history and civilization, and the second from Yerevan State University, where, in 1995, he successfully defended a thesis-the first by an Arab national since

'taWi#tis,s

establishment of the Armenian Academy of Sciences-on "Ottoman Policies in Western Armenia and the

the

Position of the Intemational Community."

"In the beginning, my knowledge of Armenian issues was very limited," says Zahredeen, that is, until 1985, when Walid Joumblatt, PSP leader, the flamboyant former minister of refugee affairs and the son of the late distinguished Lebanese politician Kamal Joumblatt, asked him to prepare a program on Armenians on the "Voice of the Mountain," the radio station of the Lebanese Druze.

"There was an information blockade concerning the Armenian genocide" in the Arab world, explains Zahredeen, a former history lecturer at the Lebanese University.

"Since Armenians and Arabs have lived in

iiirffi$W for decades, we thought the Arabs should know about the Armenian Genocide and the Armenian Question."

Joumblatt's suggestion for the radio program had a larger context. "Human rights are the fundamental tenets of PSP, these countries

therefore,

we wanted to present

the

Armenian Question as a case study of human rights violations. Such a genocide, AIM APRIL I999

on such a scale, was unprecedented," says Zahredeen. "The Armenian Question does not only belong to the Armenians," he continues, "both because it is related to all of humanity, and because several nations were involved in the processes of genocide."

The l3-hour, twice-weekly radio program preparedby Zafuedeen aired in 1985

BOOKS reaching as

far as Syria, Jordan and

(

I

the popular interest

man $tams seem to De mone willlng to accept the hlstonical lact ol the lrmenian scnociilB , r

Armenian issues, Joumblatt suggested that

Joumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party and

Cyprus.

After the success of the broadcast and it created toward

Zahredeen should caffy

out

further

research on the Armenian Question.

"When I started my research," explains

multilingual Zahredeen, "there was great difficulty in finding publications in Arabic were mostly in French, English and Existing Arabic sources from the 1940s and 1950s discussed the Armenian genocide in passing or were dispersed in larger works. "There is a gap in Arabic literature between 1960s and 1980s on the Armenian Genocide."

Arabic sources on the Armenians were rare-other than Osman al'Turk's Pages from the Armenian Nation's History (Aleppo, 1960);

-they Armenian."

the Turkish goyernment. "Because the price of truth is very high, we were aware that there will be reactions and pressure, but the truth is more important," affirms Zahredeen. The Turkish-PSP "dispute" reached a point where the PSP sent a delegation to Turkey to study the Ottoman archives. but they were not given permission to even see them.

Since the publication of his first book on the Armenian Question, Zahredeen has

of the geostrategic and

security

implications of Turkish-Israeli relations in the region."

Zafuedeen recalls that when in the early 1990s he was giving lectures about Tirrkey's security threats to the Middle East, people used to tell him, "you're exaggerating." "Now we are seeing that Turkey is posing a threat to the region. Throughout the years, Turkey's presence in the Middle

East and the Arab countries has bloody," he says with a sense

of

been

vindica-

tion. "Indeed, what happened to

the

Armenians at the beginning of the century

is continuing in the Middle East todaywith the Kurds, the Arabs, the Armenians.

At the beginning of the century many Arabs were massacred too," affirms Zahredeen,

Adib al'Sayid's History of Armenians (Aleppo,

,a, t, tt lt&lr xarlt

1971); Marwan M'dawar's Armenian History @eirut,

1982); Hassan

because

la

Hafiz's

"Turkey used to fool the Arabs through Islam, but now it is clear where it stands," he continues.

"Arab states seem to be more willing to accept the historical fact of the

Armenian

History of Armenians: from

genocide."

the Beginning until Now

However, he emphasizes

(Cairo 1986).

that this entails

and scholars in the region to enhance the process of recognition.

"The Armenians are not doing enough to teach or present their case to the

research culminated in a 1988 publication, which

bore the same title as the successful radio program-Armenia: People and Cause. The first 5000copy edition is currently out of print. The 335-page Armenia: People and Cause is the first book in Arabic on the Armenian genocide "which cites extensive sources, provides footnotes and uses academically acceptable methodology," explains

published several monographs on various aspects of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the Karabakh conflict. His most recent book is entitled lews in Turkey and their role in Turkish-Israeli Treaties (Beirut

people could eliminate one person very easily," said Zahredeen.

The publication of the book even in the relations between

caused friction

Arab world," complains Zahredeen.

There are variations in the politics, culture and administrative apparatus of Arab states. They are not all the same. "There is a great difference between the ruler and the

r998).

ruled in the Arab world,"

Genocide Recognition and theArab World

"I believe, the people - the Arabs - are willing to accept the genocide; however, in reality, the rulers determine

asserts

Zahredeen. But,

Zahredeen.

Turkish reaction to the book was consistent and severe. In addition to threats to his life by anonymous callers, "The Turkish military attach6 in Beirut told me, 'you are persona non grata in Turkey'. I was expecting such reaction but thought it would be worse: A government that kills 1.5 million

greater

efforts by the Armenians

Zahredeen's original

Because of the increasing political and military affinity between Turkey and Israel in recent years, Zahredeen believes that, "Currently the situation is different," regarding the issue of formal recognition of theArmenian Genocide by theArab world.

"The Arabs are more inclined to accept the historical fact of the Genocide, especially AIM APRIL 1999

political policies. Our trust is in the people which ultimately preserves the truth," says Zabredeen with a grain of hope.

In the meantime, Zaluedeen continues his research and publishing. "As an Arab

historian, I work for a particular cause, that's the Armenian Cause, because this cause is greater than any party, institution or individual. This is my principle." a 59

SPORTS

-tellftffiffiEtffffi xff YffHxfi ffiffiffiH Amen l(eteyian and lim Kurkiian are in the maior leagues

By I(RISTEI'I KIDD

\.

I\

T.*

Year's Eve was an especially

il:,ffif i;,:;:"l"il,':;, I

ff I

As the award-winning sports journalist celebrated the start of 1999, he also

marked his one year anniversary with CBS Sports.

Keteyian is probably the best known

Armenian-American sports journalist in the US. He has shined in his profession over the past two decades, writing for two newspapers in San Diego, California, contributing investigative stories to Sports Illustrated, reporting on all aspects of sports for ESPN, NBC, ABC and now

60

CBS, authoring eight books including the New York firues bestseller Raw Recruits, and winning two Emmys along the way.

Somehow he has also found time to be a husband to his wife of 20 years, Dede, and a father to their two daughters, 17year-old Kristen and l0-year-old Kelly.

"Armen Keteyian's versatility has him one of the top reporters in sports television today," said Sean made

McManus, President of CBS Sports when announcement about Keteyian's hiring. Keteyian's duties not only involve reporting for CBS Sports, he also contributes to the HBO cable net-

he made the

AIM APRIL 1999

work programs Real Sports with Bryant Gumble and Inside the NFL, which has been called the best sports journalism show in the business. "And in my spare time I pack my suitcase!" joked Keteyian who conducted this interview from a telephone inside the San Francisco airport.

Kidding aside, Keteyian knows how lucky he is, "I am a very fortunate individual," he commented. There are literally thousands who would do anything to be in his shoes, getting paid well to report on the biggest events in American sports.

His colleagues at CBS include the well-known sportscasters Greg Gumble,

SPORTS "The powen ol teleuision is somethins that l'ue neally Gome to undenstand hGrG" Phil Simms, George Seifert and Marcus Allen. During football season Keteyian reports from the sidelines during live broadcasts on Sunday nights, and in his taped feature stories shown at various times before and during the games.

The 46-year-old sports reporter is

er, has passed on, but his father Albert still lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, working part time as vice president of finance for a hand-held computer company at the age of 75. Keteyian's sister Margaret is a music teacher at Southfield Elementary school in Detroit; his younger brother Stephen is director of the cardiac

enjoying his dual-role with HBO and CBS, "the beauty of it is I get to experience the adrenaline of live sports with

Hospital.

CBS and work on the really thought-provoking pieces for HBO at the same time."

has many career goals to chase after.

reaping the rewards of a career marked by hard work and high standards. He has earned his way to the top and shows no signs of slowing down.

Keteyian grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended Armenian

Keteyian

is

rehabilitation center

at Henry Ford

At the top of his game, Keteyian still

"I'm

fascinated with the movie business and I'm slowly moving in that direction," Keteyian explained. "I formed a company

called Lights Out Productions and we

school and was an altar boy at St. Sarkis Armenian Church until the age 12, when

produce original programming for television." Keteyian's company is working on the story of a forgotten civil rights martyr from the 1950s. Other projects not related

his family moved to the suburbs. After the move Keteyian became less involved in

to sports are also in the works, "that's kind of the next phase of my life,"

the Armenian community, but last year he

Keteyian predicted.

this sports reporter's style. His unpretentious manner on camera is a break from the growing number of sportscasters who

try to inject their personalities into

the

stories they present. Kurkjian delivers the information in a straightforward unobtrusive fashion; just one baseball enthusiast

to another.

The 42-year-old journalist is a big fan

of all sports but his first

love is baseball,

thanks to his father's influence, "my dad grew up in Watertown a great baseball fan, and every summer we would spend a couple weeks with relatives and see games at Fenway Park. That's where I got my real start in baseball," Kurkjian said. He played the sport growing up, as did his two older brothers, "but when I graduated from high school and was still only about 5'3" I realized I wasn't going to ever play professionally!" Instead Kurkjian went to the

University of Maryland and majored in journalism. He began his career as a news writer and soon moved into sports. In 1982 Kurkjian got his first opportunity to cover Major League baseball for the Dallas Morning News and he's been on the beat ever since.

"Anmen Kcteyian'$ uer$atility has made him one 0f

thc top neportens in sp0rt$ teleuisisn today," experienced a reunion of sorts. Keteyian was chosen to be Master of Ceremonies at the 100th anniversary celebration of the

Armenian Church

in America, by

the

Armenian Church Diocese in New York.

"It was the most-enjoyable doesn't do it justice-it was an emotionally fulfilling evening for me," Keteyian remarked.

With all his good fortune, Keteyian does not forget where he came from. He carries his grandmother's laminated obituary with him wherever he goes, and reads the familiar words often, "Rose Keteyian died at the age of 87... born in Turkish-Armenia in 1902... survived the 1915 massacre... walked through the Syrian desert... witnessed her mother Myriam's beating death by Turkish soldiers..." Keteyian's children have been told the stories as well, "they are wellschooled in the sacrifices and commitments that their great-grandparents made.

They're not immersed in it but they are prideful of their heritage," said Keteyian.

Virginia Keledjian, Keteyian's moth-

im Kurkjian is fast becoming a familiar face to sports fanatics across the US. Many already know the name Kurkjian from his work with the

popular magazine Sports Illustrated.

Kurkjian was a senior writer there for eight years before making a career change

last year that is now putting a face with the name. Kurkjian joined the broadcast team of ESPN to work on the late night TV show Baseball Tonight, and to write for the network's popular new publication ESPN The Magazine.

"It was not easy to leave Sporls

Illustrated but it's turned out great," said Kurkjian who is amused by the notoriety he has already received from the TV

exposure. "The power of television is something that I've really come to understand here, you make a few appearances on TV and people know you better than

from anything you've ever written," noted Kurkjian. But it's obvious a thirst for fame is not the driving force behind

AIM APRIL 1999

The career does demand a lot of time and travel, but family continues to be the top priority in Kurkjian's life. His oldest brotherAndy lives in Houston, Texas and Kurkjian visits him whenever he covers the Astros' home games.

His other brother Matt lives just three blocks away in Darnestown, Maryland. Kurkjian is married to Kathy, who is a corporate lawyer for Electronic Data Systems. They have two children, Kelly 8 and Jeffrey 6.

Kurkjian's parents, Jeff and Joy, live right next door. "We have a little Kurkjian compound there! Some people laugh at us

but it's really a nice set up,"

he

admitted.

Kurkjian credits his father with his love of the game and respect for the

people who play it, "I pride myself on having a good relationship with virtually every player I know," Kurkjian said, "the advice Dad always gave me is that you've got to be fair and you've got to love what you

do."

I

61

SPORTS

NENATI,T RHN,q

[nance us. Anmenla 2-0 15,000 Armenians

lill the stadium

Photos by ABMINEH JOHAI{NES

rmenians are accustomed to moral victories. And, as moral victories go, this was a grand one. Team Armenia played France, the World Cup soccer champions, in a Euro

technique. It did not matter. The stadium in Saint-Denis was packed on March 3l with Charles Aznavour and

2000, Group Four qualifying game.

tricolors.

Armenia lost-but only by two goals.

The Armenian squad played a game widely admired by French and international observers. Strong on defense, as the score showed, but strong on offense, too, Armenia played a wide field against an obviously rusty French

collective, which still includes two Armenians-Yuri Djorkaeff and Alain Boghossian. Neither of them scored France's two goals, however. Still, Boghossian tried.

of France's Armenian community waving two sets of flags-both the rest

All of France

was represented, not

just Paris. Charter flights from Lyons and Marseilles were organized weeks prior to the match.

In November, France had beaten

But Armenia's goalkeeper, Ukrainian-Polish Roman

the Berezovski,

who has lived in Armenia since age three, foiled Boghossian's and others attempts.

Armenia played a "valorous" game said one French reporter, but they lacked AIM APRIL I999

Andorra 2-0, and just days before Armenia came, Ukraine had tied France 0-0. Armenia had tied Andorra when they met months ago: 0-0. At the hands (or feet) of Russia, however, Armenia had seen a 3-0 defeat just a few days before the France

game.

I

C

Y

B

E

R

P

A

G

E

S

How t0 Find Anmenian PaintinUs and Artist$

Roslin http ://www.roslin.com Over 30 painters are featured at this site named after the

renowned medieval Armenian illuminator Toros Roslin. Attractively designed, Roslin Art Gallery is "a dynamic meeting point

of centuries-old Armenian

art

and contemporary fine art. A crossroad of art from the Diaspora and Armenia" which "aspires to promote and introduce Armenian art, and to satisfy the palettes of art lovers and collectors." Within the clearly laid out menu, the Art Books section provides an excellent and long list with brief descriptions of books on Armenian art, artists and art history.

Painters http ://www.armscape.com/painters/index.html Armscape provides a beautiful electronic gallery with

of famous Armenian painters, among them Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Martiros Saryan, Minas Avetisian, Gevorg Bashinjagyan and others. The site is well designed and easy to browse. There is also an attractive presentation of Armenian rugs http ://www. armscape. com./rugs/index.html. over 700 paintings

Artists of 19th-20th Centuries http ://www.armeniaemb.org/artists/gallery.htm Presented by the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC, some 50 painters from Armenia and the Diaspora are featured here with short biographies and samples of paintings. The layout is clear and pleasing to the eye.

There are also a host of other pages for individual artists which could be located by search engines. Here are a few samples from Geocities:

.

Karine Matsakian

http ://wwrv.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery . Jasmine Sarabian http ://www. geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery

185 421

/I6l6lhome.html

.

Varoujan

http ://wwrv. geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse lT6T4laptions.html

.

And others at

http :l/www'.narek.com/artgallery.htm

AIM APRIL I999

b1

OTHER

PEOPLE'S

MAIL

THESE ARE REAL LETTERS TO REAL PEOPLE. SEND US YOURS. I also envy you for all the plays and concerts. Enjoy them.

Dear

Y

I'm glad you ,re doing well,

and seem

pretty well established already.

I envy you for your guts and courage.

Also I wonder how much of your satisfaction is the freedom, the hope and the excitement of a new beginning and a new meaning in life, and how much of it is the fact that you live in the homeland? It seems to me that just the first part offers a great opportunity not to be missed and add to that living in your own country, the fact that life is still so cheap, you don't need a work permit, and the fact that oppoffunities are endless, and you have an incredible package!

About the cafes-how delightful. I think I have come to the conclusion that cafes are one of the most important things in my Iife, and that's probably a big part of why Europe attracts me and pulls me so much. The chance to take a short break at different times during the day, to be able to choose a different street or neighborhood or even a different comer in the same cafe, based on your mood----once near your home, just before you leave for work, or just before you are ready to go home after a long day at work; once near your ofhce, another time below a friend's apartment, before the theatre, after dinner-This is something I miss very much in my current life. How happy it would make me if they really called Yerevan '"The City of 1000 Cafes". Maybe we can start it ourselves! Next time I read an interview with you, I will look for it!

The prices you wrote about were not only boring but very amazing. Ifa pack ofimported cigarettes were half of our condo fee, they would cost $412, or if our condo fee was twice the price of a pack of cigarette, if would be about $3.

I'm

glad O is doing better. Say Hi from me. It would be interesting for me to talk to your kids and see how they see the differences between LA and Yerevan.

I hope the weather is still moderate. l,et me know if you need any "Deegs" (remember the hot water bottles from Tehran?) for the winter! Maybe I could come and open a Deeg Boutique in Yerevan! I have seen some in cold cities in Europe.

Until later,

M

a ferry to the island of Kinaliade in the-took Sea of Marmara. It's supposed to be 70 percent Armenian-populated, but we only found a handful of Armenian speakers. Old folks again. on the night bus to Cappadoccia -Sat and then fine, fine hiking. We hiked the amazing Ihlara gorge and it was a serene, lovely place. Many rock-cut churches. C, lacking any fear of heights, willingly and repeatedly hoisted himself up into vertical shafts and out of sight, to appear on a rock ledge or to stick his head out of a window 50 feet up.

I have slides! We could see -Ani! on the other side of the border Armenians Iooking up across the river gorge. haye tan in Turkey; it's the same -They yogurt drink, but they caLI it ayran. przzaslll

-Turkish baths: The

spine-cracking

-Turkish massage that satisfies every time!

-Then

l:.;;:j' Dear D,

It begins-the

search

for

meaningful

work. I hate it, I hate it. Perhaps I should just do sombthing with no meaning? And you?

Often I long for the simplicity of good ole Armenia. At least I knew what to do with my days-get water, light the heater, play cards, drink tea, yell at the refugees, sit.

My big exciting news is now several months old. I got a good deal on a plane ticket and met C in Istanbul back in October. We spent two weeks in scenic Tirrkey, and it was good. I drank much sour cherry juice, nectar of the gods.

The highlights:

-found

a hidden Armenian church on a

Sunday moming and attended the

service-in

Istanbul. Everybody was elderly. Found more Armenian churches here and there throughout the city, many of them walled offin courtyards to encourage invisibilify.

I

came back to America and

learned a lot about Christmas by working an 800 number dupng the festive season at an upand-coming internet retailer. And I had always thought that Christmas was about snowflakes, singing songs and family. No. It's about UPS shipping deadlines, someone's Hannukah gift aniving in Red Santa gift wrap, and Christmases salvaged because packages were re-routed in time to save the day.

Armenia. I got a Ietter from my replacement Peace Corps volunteer in Vanadsor. She said things are pretty bad. The Russian economy got worse, worse enough that the uncles and fathers who had gone there to work came home penniless. There's no work for them in Armenia, of course. She said people are running out ofthe hope that's been keeping them going these past few years. I don't know what to write in reply.

And that is my report in brief. Now send me some good how y'all are.

news! Let me know

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Ihe illaralhon *Ian Haik Abgarian, 21, rode the famous New York Marathon last fall, and came in l0th among the 200 wheelchair participants. ln March-, he participated in the Los Angeles marathon, too, together with nearly 100 disabled riders and 20,000 runners. The red, blue, orange flag flew on the front wheel of his three pound bike which has now traveled the world. Haik, too, has traveled the globe- He's an Olympian athlete who has participated in skiing and sailing competitions in Paralympic Games in Atlanta and Nagano. Haik and his dozen friends participate in international games through the support and training provided by Armenia's PYUNIC Association for the Disabted.

66

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ln Recognition ol llleritorious $eruiffi Reverend Robert Sarkissiaa, 70, (righ1), w .rl recently honored by France with &e Nafid!,al,' Order of Merit, for his 30-year service:to::therrl needy in Lebanon. As field director in Lebanon for the lloward Karagheusian Founclation and'a

pastor serving in the Armenian Evangelical Union of the Near East, Sarkissian has,helped,

tens of thousands of needy Lebanese citizens' regardless of religious affiliation-especially during the civil war from the mid-1970s to the Iate 1980s. Born in Marseilles, France, Sarkissian was also honored by the Armenian Evangelical Union in Frauce and the Protestant Collego in Lebanon.

The Karagheusian Foundation was establishetl

in New York in

1921 by textile manufactursr

Mihran Karagheusian in memory of his son Howard, who died at the age of 14. For decades

the foundation has helped Armenians iu Turkey, Greece. Syria and Lebanon. through medical clinics, social services aod assistance and commrmily, development projects.

AIM APRIL I999

67

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The Angel by ilancy Kricorian

My grandmother is in heaven. This heaven has no Ttrrks, no women in skimpy bathing zuits, no squirrels in the pear trees. Her mamion is very clean and thene are plastic covers on the furniture.

In the morning she combs out her long hair and puts on a blueflowered drcss. Jesus stops by for coffee and cheoregs. She claps her hands when she sees the firchsia he has bmught her. Grandma and Jesus sit in the kitchen and talk about plans for the new Armenian Cultural Center. They look at old photo albums and the day passes quickly. VYhen it is zuppertime, Jesus goes back to his place rext door. Knowing it will soon be dark in Watertown, my grandmother rings the bell for the angel. She gives the angel a Three Musketeers bar for &e hip. Just before I fall asleep, I hear the rus0e ofthe candy wrapper behind my headboard. n our church, Hollywood movies were the spawn of the devil, but somehow for my grandmother, Shirley Temple movies shown on television were exempt from ttris taint. We often

before supper, slipped me quarters at every opportunity, and taught me how to use her sewing machine. I sat on the back porch with her for

hours, spitting cherry pits over ilre railing. Grandma made constant efforts to teach me Armenian or enroll me in Armenian Saturday School, which I rebuffed. While I loved her, I had no interest in being anything but an American girl who spoke perfect English and someday would marry a man with a Mayflower pedigree. Despite my determination not to leam Armenian, a few homely phrases such as "shut the door," "shame on you," '1'm going to die" and "give me a spoon of sugar" entered me without effort on anyone's pafi.

As a teenager, my ambition was to leave working class, ethnic Watertown with its various waves and generations of immigrants, and go someplace upper middle class and elegant among people who had sailboats and tennis courts. The ticket out was my academic success, so I applied to various New England schools and ended up at Dartmouth College surrounded by tall guys who rowed crew.

As part of a women's studies class on mothers and daughters, I

watchedthesemoviestogettreronSundaydecidedtointerviewmygrandmotherforan afternoon-theywereasharedpassion.Inoralhistoryproject,andwenthometo oneofthemoreambitiousofthesefilms,watertown.Insteadofthehappyanecdotes Shirley(aswecalledher)playedthedaughfromchi1dhoodIremembered,mygrandterofapoorwoodcutterwhowithhermothertoldmeaboutherexperiencesduryoungerbrothertravelledtothepast,theingtheArmenianGenocideof1915.Itwas futureandthelandofluxuryinsearchofthe "{ d, re fe fi1s1 time I or anyone in my family had " blue bird of happiness, which they eventu- I bluebirdofhappiness,whichtheyeventu-l":reheardthesestories.Iknewvaguelyabout ally found in their own back yard. Their allyfoundintheirownbackyard.TheirIf,{)ffitheGenocidethroughcrypticreferenceS \

tr questtookthemtoheavenwheretheirIt1fircfrommygrandmother,andanextraordinary recently deceased grandparents sat rocking f t recentlydeceasedgrandpaIentSsatrockingft.trcandwrenchingGenocidecommemoration ontheporchofawoodencottage.The.t-tt.rcservicethathappenedatourArmenian grandparents explained that most of the 1tffiancy,s mother, sister, trerselt, gr;;dmoilr Brethren Church one year and was never time they slept, but when anyone in the repeated. It was impossible to grow up in an

world of the living remembered them, the old people would come alive.

This thought was the impulse behind my poem "The Anget."

Although I was no longer a believer in the religion of my childhood, after my grandmother died I wanted to create for her the best possible heaven, an idealized place where she would still feel completely at ]

Armenian community and not know about the Genocide. But listening to my grandmother describe the death march in a surreal and almost poetic way-"my mother fell by the road and we left her there," "my father died of a broken heart," "my twin sisters were blond and there was nothing for them to eat so they died"-marked a tuming point in home. And I wanted her to be able to communicate with me. because I I my life hated the idea that she was gone from my life in a material way.

Over the next few years, I wrote a series of poems in the voice of I Igrewupinatwo-familyhouseinWatertown,Massachusefts,one I my grandmother telling these stories. I also wrote a poem called block from Mount Auburn Street, which was known as Little Armenia. | "Ghost Children" about a woman in our church of whom my grandMy Armenian patemal grandmother and uncle lived in the upstairs mother had said, '"That's her second family you know. Her first chilapartment, and my parents, my sister and I lived downstairs. There was dren died in the desert." What could it possibly feel like ro see your ] a great deal of tension between my grandmother and my mother-in I children starve to death and then go on to America and have more chilthe first place my mother wasn'tArmenian, which would keep her for- dren? Those lost children would haunt you forever, I thought. The | ever an outsider in the tight-knit Armenian community, and in the sec- | image of my grandmother as a raggbd orphan starving in the desert ond place my widowed grandmother felt she was the ruling presence I haunted me as well. over her children and grandchildren, and resented my mother's I after my grandmother died-after I wrote "The Angel"-I startattempts at influencing her family's life. My grandmother would pound ed taking Armenian language and history classes at Columbia while on the floor with a broom handle when my sister and I were making too completing my graduate work in the Writing Division. I felt the fragmuch noise. She shouted into her broom closet for my father. assuming ments of Armenian I had unwillingly and unwittingly acquired as a ] we could hear her, which we usually could. I have memories of being I child slide into a vast net of meaning. Bidi memim was the future first in the back yard playing while my grandmother yelled from the second p"rro, singular of the verb "to die" and I could conjugate it. Bidi memI floor porch that I should put on my sweater as my mother called from I im said my grandmother, so often that it became an index of her-and the first floor porch telling me to take it off.

I Armenia's--extraordinary survival. Zabelle,my first novel, conjugates MaryKricorianmighthavebeenadifficultmother-in-law,butshe its Armenian-American subjects into a fiction whose sounds I hope was a great grandmother. Grandma hemmed my skirts, gave me candy from time to time awaken my grandmother from her heavenly sleep.

68

AIM APRIL 1999

AcpNDA FoR THE MmmnrruM -

MoNTHLy BruprrNGS oN CrurrcAL Issups

1

Expanding on our popular AIM Publisher's Forums, we invite you to our monthly dinners. Dinner will be followed by a short briefing by AIM editors on the news events and developments of the month. A featured speaker will make a presentation n a critical topic of concern as we approach the millennium.

Presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.

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\

Uaha[n l(anakachian "Realitie$ and challenge$ lacing lliaspona Anmenianlanguage new$papon$" Mr

Vahalcn Karakachian is the editor of the Boston-based Hairenik Weekly. The

Diasporab oldest newspaper Hairenik is celebrating ils l00th anniversary this year

Monday, May 10, 1999 Uano Hanitunians

"Buildin0 Gnand Pnoiects" Mr

Vano Haritunians is the architect-engineer who put Frank Gehry s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Disney Concert Hall on the map.

Monday, June 7, 1999

John Hughes "Liuing in Tnansition" Mr John Hughes, an experienced American journalist, has lived in Armenia for one year and written for AIM. His insights and observations as a non-judgmental but curious outsider have struck a nerve with readers around the world.

Monday, July 12, 1999 AT BRANDVIEW COLLECTION 109 East Harvard Street, Glendale, California Dinner 7:30 p.m. Briefing 8:00 p.m. Speaker 8:30 p.m.

Donation: $25 for AIM subscribers; $27.50 for non-subscribers

FOR RESERVATIONS & INFORMATION CALL (818) 246-7979

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