PDF edition - Armenian Reporter

Serj Tankian 

as symphony 

Armenian 

Talaat Pasha 

Kosovo 

turns two 

See story on page 11m 


See commentary on page 18m 

Number 146 

February 20, 2010 

the armenian 

reporter 

On Feb. 14 Eva Rivas celebrated her selection as Armenia’s representative to Eurovision. Photo: Hayk Badalyan/Photolure. 

Eva Rivas heads to Eurovision 

Russian-Armenian to represent Armenia 

in pan-European song contest 

Visit us at reporter.am 

See story and photos on page 15 m

The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010

Number 146 

February 20, 2010 

The unprecedented fundraiser initiated 

by former Armenian prime 

minister Armen Sarkissian and 

held recently at Britain’s royal 

Windsor Castle brought together 

Commentary 

Turkish Armenians again threatened by extremists 

Web site of the Turkish Armenian 

Agos newspaper was recently vandalized. 

The hackers placed a picture 

of Ogun Samast, the young 

man convicted of murdering of 

the newspaper’s editor Hrant 

Dink in 2007, on the web site. 

International 

Business leaders pitch in for Yerevan fundraiser 

Trndez (Candlemas 

Day in 

Armenian) is a 

feast of purification 

in the 

Armenian Church 

celebrated 40 

days after Jesus’s 

birth on the eve 

of February 14. 

The celebration 

of the Trndez is 

pagan in origin 

and had been 

connected with 

sun and fire worship 

in ancient 

pre-Christian 

Armenia, symbolizing 

the coming 

of spring and fertility. 

At center of 

the celebration 

are communal 

fires with young 

people jumping 

over the fire and 

dancing around 

it. Traditionally 

this was also 

the day when a 

groom could see 

his future bride 

for the first time. 

Photo: Tigran 

Tadevosyan/Photolure. 

With more than a foot of snow on the 

cathedral plaza after what was the 

heaviest snowstorm to hit New York 

City this winter, members of the New 

York metro Armenian community 

Former Bentley College President 

worked there. So did a Tufts University 

guru and the best known 

Armenian American artist. The 

Hood Rubber Company proved an 

ideal sanctuary for many Armenian 

Americans throughout the 

National 

Armenia 

Dink’s successor as Agos editor 

Etyen Mahçupyan contemplates 

the meaning of the attack and reaction 

to it in Turkish media and 

society. 

See commentary on page 19m 

an array of benefactors, including 

prominent business people from as 

far a field as Argentina, Italy, Georgia, 

Kazakhstan, Russia and the 

United States. 

Armenian American groups exchange terse messages 

Armenian American organizations 

last week made their disagreements 

public as they argued who 

should be included in the anticipated 

meeting with Secretary of State 

Community 

New York celebrates Vartanantz day 

Community 

Stories of Watertown Armenians 

Hillary Clinton, which was initially 

planned for earlier this month but 

has since been postponed. 


gathered at St. Vartan Cathedral to 

commemorate the cathedral’s patron 

saint on Thursday, February 11. 

See report on page 4m 

early 20th century, writes Tom 

Vartabedian in a review of a recent 

film that documents plant’s influence 

on the Armenian community 

of Watertown. 


the armenian 

reporter 

Armenians ski in Vancouver 

Four athletes 

compete in Winter 

Olympics 

by Emil Sanamyan 

WASHINGTON – At the Winter 

Olympics underway in Vancouver 

Armenia is represented by 

four skiers: 21-year-old Armenian 

American Ani-Matilda Serebrakian 

and three athletes from Armenia: 

17-year-old Sergei Mikaelian, 

20-year-old Kristine Khachatryan 

and 22-year-old Arsen 

Nersisyan. 

Since Armenia began taking part 

in Winter Olympics in 1994, the 

country dispatched similarly modest 

delegations and has yet to win 

any medals or even come close. 

Legacy of Armenian 

American participation 

A sophomore at the University of 

San Francisco, Ms. Serebrakian will 

compete in slalom and giant slalom 

on February 24 and 26. She is described 

by her former coach as a 

dedicated and talented skier who 

knows how to race. 

Ms. Serebrakian, whose parents 

came to U.S. from Iran in 

Supporters pledge 

to grow stem cell 

initiative 

Los Angeles7 – On the evening 

of February 9 the Armenian 

Bone Marrow Donor Registry 

(ABMDR) kicked off its tenth-anniversary 

celebrations in the United 

States with a reception held at the 

landmark Phoenicia Restaurant in 

Glendale, California. The event was 

attended by scores of supporters, 

volunteers, representatives of community 

organizations, and guest of 

honor Grigor Hovhanissian, consul 

general of the Republic of Armenia 

in Los Angeles. 

Prior to the event, an ABMDR delegation 

comprising Board members 

and volunteers visited Archbishop 

Moushegh Mardirossian and Archbishop 

Hovnan Derderian at the 

Western Prelacy and the Western 

Diocese, respectively. Both Archbishop 

Mardirossian and Archbishop 

Derderian conveyed their blessings 

to the ABMDR team, wishing it 

great success in all of its forthcoming 

endeavors, including tenth-anniversary 

events and donor recruitments. 

In addition, both archbishops 

stated their continuous support 

in facilitating the ABMDR’s outreach 

and recruitment efforts through 

Armenian churches across California 

and the West Coast. 

At the jubilant kickoff reception 

on February 9, speakers enumerated 

the ABMDR’s many achievements 

in the past decade and underscored 

the critical need for expanding the 

registry’s ranks of potential bone 

marrow stem cell donors. 

In her opening remarks, Nectar 

Kalajian, ABMDR Board member and 

Ani Serebrakian in her element. Courtesy photo. 

the late 1970s, says she is proud 

to represent Armenia, a country 

she visited two years ago for the 

first time. 

“We kind of fell in love with” Armenia, 

Ms. Serebrakian told San 

Francisco Chronicle. “That brought 

us to qualifying for the Olympics 

and here I am.’’ Ani’s brother Arman, 

a 22 year-old skier at University 

of Colorado, Boulder, also 

attempted to qualify but did not 

succeed. 

According to San Jose Mercury- 

News, Ms. Serebrakian is the second 

Bay Area Armenian to represent Armenia 

at the Olympic Games. Dan 

master of ceremonies, informed the 

attendees that the reception came 

on the heels of a major concert 

and donor-recruitment event held 

in Artsakh on January 8, marking 

both the actual birthday and tenth 

anniversary of the ABMDR. 

“I joined the ABMDR after a young 

friend of my son was diagnosed 

with leukemia and I became familiar 

with the registry’s life-saving 

mission,” Kalajian said. “Tonight, 

as we celebrate a wonderful milestone, 

our tenth anniversary, we 

also renew our commitment to significantly 

increasing the registry’s 

reach in the United States, Armenia, 

Artsakh, and elsewhere.” 

“As part of our continuing effort 

to serve Armenians throughout 

the globe, we need to increase 

awareness of the ABMDR’s work 

across all segments of Armenian 

communities, and particularly 

among the young generation,” Kalajian 

continued. “We need people 

to be aware of the fact that becoming 

a bone marrow donor is not 

Janjigian together with Yorgo Alexandrou 

made up Armenia’s bobsled 

team in Salt Lake City in 2002. They 

were preceded in 1994 Lillehammer 

games by the bobsled team of Joe 

Almasian and Ken Topalian from 

Boston. 

Seeking a foothold in 

Winter Olympics 

Skiing is taking off in Armenia with 

new and much improved facilities 

established at the mountain winter 

resort in Tsakhkadzor. 

Continued on page m 

Bone Marrow Registry marks decade 

of achievements 

From left: Deputy Consul General Movses Shaboyan, Consul General Grigor 

Hovhanissian, Armond Mehdikiani, Dr. Frieda Jordan, and Ramella Markarian. 

only extremely easy, painless, and 

noninvasive, but can also be a profoundly 

rewarding experience, as it 

may well save somebody’s life. The 

ABMDR is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical 

organization; our only agenda 

is to save lives.” 

Kalajian’s address was followed 

by the screening of a short documentary 

on the achievements and 

objectives of the ABMDR. Milestones 

highlighted in the film included 

the growth of the number 

of registered bone marrow stem 

cell donors (who recently passed 

the 15,000 mark), the presence of 

the ABMDR in 11 countries, and 

the opening of the registry’s Stem 

Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan 

last year. 

The only one of its kind in the 

Caucasus region, the center features 

a state-of-the-art tissue-typing 

laboratory, and can store and 

harvest stem cells provided by 

healthy bone marrow donors. The 

Continued on page m

The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010 

National 

by Emil Sanamyan 

Armenian peacekeepers 

arrive in Afghanistan 

A detachment of 40 peacekeepers 

from Armenia arrived in Afghanistan 

on February 14 where it will 

serve along with German forces 

that are part of U.S.-led occupation. 

Prior to deployment Armenian 

soldiers were in Germany for inter-operability 

training. Armenian 

peacekeepers’ primary duty will 

be as guards at Kunduz airfield in 

northern Afghanistan near the 

border with Tajikistan. The airfield 

is used as a logistics hub for German 

forces in Afghanistan. 

Talks over Armenia’s participation 

in the Afghanistan mission 

have been underway for years. Afghanistan 

is a third country where 

Armenia had dispatched peacekeepers. 

Between 2005 and 2008 Armenian 

peacekeepers served in Iraq 

and they also remain in Kosovo. 


peacekeepers 

pose with 

Armenia’s 

Ambassador to 

Germany Armen 

Martirosian 

(center) on Jan. 

28 prior to their 

deployment in 

Afghanistan. 

Washington briefing 

Secretary Clinton met with Turkish leader Erdogan on Feb. 14 

Armenian American 

groups exchange terse 

messages 

Armenian American organizations 

last week made their disagreements 

public as they argued who 

should be included in the anticipated 

meeting with Secretary of State 

Hillary Clinton, which was initially 

planned for earlier this month 

but has since been postponed. 

In a joint statement on February 

9, the Armenian Assembly of 

America (AAA) and the Armenian 

General Benevolent Union (AGBU) 

confirmed that they were unable to 

agree with the Armenian National 

Committee of America (ANCA) on 

which Armenian American groups 

should take part in the meeting. 

State Department initially invited 

AAA, AGBU, ANCA, the two 

Dioceses of the Armenian Church 

and Knights of Vartan, a list ANCA 

argued did not properly reflect the 

Armenian American community. 

AAA and AGBU said in their statement 

that while they “welcome 

the participation of additional independent 

voices in the meeting, 

[they] do not support the attempt 

by a political party to enhance its 

agenda to politicize the process and 

further polarize the community.” 

On February 11, the Armenian 

Relief Society (ARS) said in an open 

letter that it was “surprised to learn 

from the press that the AGBU leadership 

in the U.S. had expressed 

opposition” to ARS participation 

in the meeting and requested that 

AGBU and AAA “publicly clarify their 

position regarding the ARS.” 

And on February 12, ANCA issued 

an extensive statement outlining 

“significant distinctions between the 

ANCA and the Armenian Assembly.” 

ANCA described the Assembly 

as “small and increasingly isolated” 

in the Armenian community and 

charged it with “covet[ing] its access 

to the powerful by seeking to control 

and limit participation in [the] 

meeting” with Secretary Clinton. 

ANCA also charged “the Assembly 

and leaders of the AGBU” with 

“interfering and opposing” ANCA’s 

efforts to expand Armenian American 

representation in the meeting 

to “ensure that the Armenian 

American community’s views are 

accurately and assertively represented 

to Secretary Clinton and the 

entire U.S. government.” 

As of press time there was no 

follow-up from either Assembly or 

AGBU, and no new date for a meeting 

made public. 

Clinton consults with 

Turkish leaders on Iran, 

Armenian issues 

Secretary Hillary Clinton discussed 

Armenian issues Turkish 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 

during a U.S.-Islamic World 

Forum in Qatar on February 14, 

State Department reported the following 

day. U.S. has been encouraging 

Turkey to implement the protocols 

on normalization of relations 

with Armenia that the two countries 

signed last October. 

But the meeting was primarily 

focused on U.S. efforts to mobilize 

Armenians ski at Vancouver Olympics 

international support for fresh 

sanctions against Iran, a policy that 

Turkey has refused to support. Turkey 

has in turn offered to mediate 

between United States and Iran. 

On February 17, Undersecretary 

of State Bill Burns arrived in Ankara 

for additional talks on Iran 

with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu 

who had visited with leaders 

in Tehran days earlier. 

Additionally, Turkish deputy foreign 

minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu was in 

Washington on February 15-17. Turkish 

media suggested that the visit was 

primarily intended to raise Turkey’s 

concerns over upcoming consideration 

of an Armenian Genocide resolution 

by a congressional committee. 

250 members of the House of 

Commons have endorsed signed 

motions on recognizing the 1915 

Genocide of Armenians and Assyrians, 

the Armenia Solidarity/ 

Nor Serount Cultural Association 

reported in a statement on February 

15. 

The association noted that 250 

MPs represent a majority of 495 

members of House of Commons 

who are eligible to express their 

own views on the subject since 

they are not members of the government 

or have other roles precluding 

them taking a position. 

The effort to garner the parliamentarians’ 

support has been 

spearheaded by Dr. Bob Spink, 

until recently a senior member of 

the main opposition Conservative 

Party and now an independent 

MP. 

Spokesperson for Armenia Solidarity/Nor 

Serount Cultural Association 

Eilian Williams said in 

a statement that “the UK and the 

Also arriving in Washington this 

week was Turkey’s new Ambassador 

to U.S. Namik Tan. The recently-appointed 

envoy had been outspoken 

against Armenian Genocide 

recognition while serving as 

Turkish ambassador to Israel and 

as foreign ministry’s spokesperson. 

Mr. Tan worked at the Turkish 

embassy in U.S. twice in the past 

and has extensive experience of 

fighting congressional resolutions 

on Armenian Genocide. 

Amb. Namik Tan. 

Coming up: 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 

will testify before the Senate and 

House foreign relations committees 

on February 24 and 25, respectively, 

to outline her department’s priorities 

ahead of annual congressional 

consideration of Administration’s 

budget proposal. 

f 

Genocide recognition 

gains support in British 

Parliament 

MP Bob Spink. 

other countries of the European 

Union must now accept that Turkey’s 

present borders are based on 

its successful Genocide of its Armenian 

and Assyrian population.” 

And that “the issue of Armenian 

and Assyrian Churches and lands 

which were confiscated by the 

Turkish State in the 1923 “Law of 

Abandoned Properties” should be 

given a high priority, before any 

progress is made on Turkey’s accession 

to the E.U.” 

f 

n Continued from page 

According to a report in Golos Armenii, 

Sergei Mikaelian who trains 

in Ashotsk, one of Armenia’s coldest 

and most snowy districts, comes 

from a veritable skiing family. His father 

Artur Mikaelian now trains the 

Armenian national skiing team and 

his mother Alla Kapchigayeva was a 

six-time Soviet skiing champion. 

Last year, Mr. Mikaelian swept 

the Armenian cross-country skiing 

championship. But the young athlete’s 

first Olympic performance 

was not as impressive, when he finished 

70th of 95 participants in the 

15-kilometer free race. 

In the Ladies’ 10-kilometer 

free race Ms. Khachatrian came 

76th out of 78 athletes. Prior to 

the games she told ArmSport.am 

that she was aiming for a position 

in Top 50; she will have another 

chance in the Ladies’ 15-kilometer 

race. 

Meantime, Mr. Nersisyan is competing 

in slalom and giant slalom 

on February 23 and 27. Selected to 

carry Armenia’s flag at the games’ 

opening ceremony on February 12, 

Mr. Nersisyan had placed at top 

of recent competitions in Georgia 

and Turkey and appears to be 

Armenia’s best hope for a higher 

placement. 

f 

Armenian athletes and coaches during opening of the Winter Games in Vancouver on Feb. 12. Photo: Jude Freeman via Wikimedia


International 

 

Prince of Wales gives dinner to celebrate British 

and Armenian charities 

President Serge 

Sargsyan, Catholicos 

Garegin II among 

guests 

LONDON - A historic charity event 

in support of Armenian and British 

charities took place at the Windsor 

Castle on 10 February hosted by His 

Royal Highness The Prince of Wales 

and The Duchess of Cornwall. Project 

initiator and main benefactor Armen 

Sarkissian, former Prime Minister 

of Armenia and President of Eurasia 

House International, welcomed 

more than 200 guests from around 

the world with the Royal couple. 

“I think I can say with some certainty 

that it is the first time in Windsor 

Castle’s nearly one thousand year 

history that there has been an Anglo-Armenian 

celebration,” said the 

Prince of Wales in his remarks. 

“Yerevan-My-Love” is a heritageled 

regeneration project dedicated 

to preserving architecturally significant 

buildings in Yerevan and 

putting them to use to improve the 

life experience of disabled children, 

young people and disadvantaged 

families (see February 13, 2010 edition 

of the Armenian Reporter in 

pdf for details). 

Members of the royal family, dignitaries, 

world renowned political, 

cultural and civic leaders, and senior 

executives of global corporation, 

including Areva, HSBC, Barclay’s 

Bank, Merrill Lynch, Elettronica, 

attended this unique charity event. 

A high level delegation from Armenia 

was headed by President Serge 

Sargsyan and His Holiness Catholicos 

Karekin II of All Armenians, the 

Mayor of Yerevan and Armenia’s 

Foreign Minister. 

Turning to Armen and Nouneh 

Sarkissian, HRH The Prince of 

Wales said: “I could not be more 

grateful to you for your wonderful 

vision, energy and generosity”. The 

Prince of Wales underlined that “it 

is an occasion to strengthen further 

the strong ties between the 

United Kingdom and Armenia”. He 

expressed his admiration for Armenia 

as the oldest Christian nation 

in the world and “for its vast and 

unique architectural heritage”. 

He drew the attention of the 

guests to the fact that it is “a challenge 

to care for this ‘open air museum’, 

that is so much a part of the 

soul of the country, and to continue 

the tradition it has established. This 

is why I am so delighted to be giving 

this dinner to support the charity, 

‘Yerevan My Love’, which will help 

with the redevelopment and revitalization 

of some of the oldest parts 

of the city in a way that preserves 

and continues traditional Armenian 

architecture and craftsmanship. 

Perhaps this approach will also provide 

an example and model to be adopted 

elsewhere in Armenia”. 

In his address, Armen Sarkissian 

put the charities and the event itself 

in a broader context. “The world is 

becoming smaller and increasingly 

more burdened with human conflicts, 

economic challenges and environmental 

concerns,” he said and 

asked: “What kind of future do we 

want for our children In the end, I 

believe, this is the biggest question”. 

Along with a cleaner and sustainable 

environment, Dr Sarkissian 

underlined that the “preservation 

of cultural and spiritual heritage is 

vital for the survival of any nation 

and, indeed, for humanity.” 

Dr. Sarkissian thanked His Royal 

Highness for being a pioneer in 

finding innovative solutions to 

many of the critical problems related 

to the future of the planet and 

for his visionary leadership and 

foresight in many critical issues facing 

not only Britain but the entire 

globe. “Thank you, Sir, for your full 

support and cooperation in making 

this night a very special occasion in 

this magnificent historic home of 

Her Majesty the Queen. We pray 

for Her Majesty’s good health and 

many more years of reign, full of 

blessings for the United Kingdom 

and the Commonwealth,” said Dr. 

Sarkissian. 

He then expressed his deep appreciation 

to all the benefactors, 

patrons, sponsors and supporters 

for their generous contributions, 

“but most important, for their participation 

and faith in this charitable 

journey together.” f 

Donors of this fundraising event (in support of 

first project of “Yerevan My Love”): 

Main sponsor and benefactor Dr. 

& Mrs Armen Sarkissian and family; 

benefactors: Mr & Mrs Sergey 

Ambartsumyan (Russia), Mr & 

Mrs Enzo Benigni (Italy), Mr & 

Mrs Haig Didizian (UK), Mr & Mrs 

Samvel Karapetyan (Russia), Ms 

Louise Manoogian Simone (USA), 

Mr & Mrs Vatche Manoukian (UK), 

Mr & Mrs. Joseph Oughourlian 

(USA), Mr & Mrs Samir Traboulsi 

(UK), Mr & Mrs Ruben Vardanyan 

(Russia); Corporate benefactors: 

ArmRusGasprom (CEO Karen 

Karapetyan); Energoproekt (CEOs 

Gagik Zakharyan & Evgeny Bobylev); 

ENI (CEO Paolo Scaroni), 

HSBC (Chairman Stephen Green), 

L to R: Nouneh Sarkissian, Armen Sarkissian, HRH Duchess of Cornwall, HRH The Prince of Wales, President Serzh Sargsyan, 

HH Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians in the historic Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle. 

ITERA (CEO Igor V. Makarov); Patron: 

Areva (CEO Anne Lauvergeon); 

Mr Eduardo Eurnekian 

(Argentina), Wafic Said (UK); 

Sponsors: and VimpelCom (CEO 

Boris Nemsic); Mr & Mrs Carl 

Bazarian (USA), Mr & Mrs David 

Bezhuashvili (Georgia), Mr Pierre 

Fattouch (Lebanon), Mr & Mrs 

Ray Irani (Occidental Petroleum, 

USA), Mr & Mrs Berge Setrakian 

(AGBU), Mr & Mrs Igor Tsukanov 

(Russia), Mr & Mrs Davit Varagyan 

(Kazakhstan), and Mr Gagik 

Zakaryan (Russia); Supporters: 

Mr & Mrs Bedo Eghiayan (UK) 

and Mr & Mrs Assadour Guzelian 

(UK). 

f 

Bone Marrow Registry marks decade of achievements 

With artists 

and performers: 

(L to R) Jivan 

Gasparyan, 

HH Catholicos 

Karekin II, 

Sergey Smbatyan, 

Dariga 

Nazarbayeva, 

President 

Serge Sargsyan, 

Mikhail 

Simonyan, HRH 

The Prince of 

Wales, HRH 

the Duchess of 

Cornwall, Armen 

Sarkissian, 

Nouneh 

Sarkissian. 

L to R: Armen Sarkissian, HRH Prince Charles, Charles Aznavour, Leon Sayan. 

n Continued from page 

stem cells subsequently can be utilized 

in transplants for patients 

suffering from life-threatening 

blood-related diseases such as leukemia 

and other cancers. 

Next to take the podium was 

Consul General Grigor Hovhanissian, 

who congratulated the ABMDR 

on its tenth anniversary and reaffirmed 

the Armenian government’s 

support of the registry’s mission. 

“While there might be quite a few 

things that divide us as a nation, 

especially lately, the ABMDR is a 

cause that decidedly unites every 

one of us,” the consul general said. 

“I’ll be honored to be a soldier in 

that cause and help generate support 

to ensure its continued development.” 

Hovhanissian’s remarks about 

galvanizing the worldwide Armenian 

community were echoed by 

Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of the 

ABMDR Board of Directors. 

As she addressed the attendees, 

Dr. Jordan thanked the consul general 

for the solidarity of the Armenian 

government and announced 

that she and her colleagues have 

been invited to recruit the entire 

staff of the Armenian Consulate 

as potential bone marrow donors. 

“Given its life-saving mission, the 

ABMDR draws Armenians from all 

walks of life and convictions, inspiring 

them to work together toward 

a higher good,” she said. 

Dr. Jordan also spoke of the registry’s 

vigorous efforts to involve 

the Armenian grass roots in its 

donor-recruitment and awarenessraising 

activities. “We appeal to all 

Armenian schools, organizations, 

and churches to open their doors 

to the work of the ABMDR,” she said. 

“The more the registry grows, the 

greater our ability of saving lives 

will be. It’s as simple as that.” 

Dr. Jordan concluded her remarks 

by thanking Ara Kalfayan, 

owner of Phoenicia Restaurant, for 

hosting the reception and his continued 

support of the ABMDR. 

Throughout the reception, the 

ABMDR received commendations 

from individual and institutional 

supporters alike. Among them was 

Arpi Kestenian, director of Physician/Managed 

Care Engagement 

at Glendale Memorial Hospital. “It 

is so wonderful to celebrate the 

tenth anniversary of the ABMDR,” 

Kestenian said. “Glendale Memorial 

Hospital is extremely proud to 

have helped support the registry’s 

recruitment and major fundraising 

events in the past ten years. Today, 

as the ABMDR is very much 

poised to expand its donor ranks 

and community outreach, we look 

forward to helping it reach its 

goals through continued and even 

stronger and more productive collaboration.” 

The evening’s last speaker was 

Carlo Manjikian, a young Los Angeles 

leukemia patient who underwent 

a life-saving stem cell transplantation 

when his sister was 

identified as a bone marrow match. 

“I was extremely lucky,” Manjikian 

said. “But so many Armenian patients 

suffering from life-threatening 

blood-related diseases are out 

of luck because they don’t have 

donor matches. This is why it’s so 

vitally important to expand the 

ranks of the ABMDR. I’m a living 

example of the effectiveness of 

bone marrow transplants, which 

are vastly facilitated through the 

existence of registries such as the 

Armenian Bone Marrow Donor 

Registry.” 

f 

connect: 

(323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am


Community 

New York community marks Vartanantz Day at Diocesan Center 

New York 7 – With more than 

a foot of snow on the cathedral 

plaza after what was the heaviest 

snowstorm to hit New York City 

this winter, members of the New 

York metro Armenian community 

gathered at St. Vartan Cathedral 

to commemorate the cathedral’s 

patron saint on Thursday, February 

11. 

The evening began with the celebration 

of the Divine Liturgy by 

the Very Rev. Fr. Davit Karamyan 

(who is visiting the Eastern Diocese 

from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin). 

Assisting Fr. Karamyan 

were St. Nersess seminarians. 

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, 

Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian 

Church of America (Eastern), 

presided over the service. 

Encouraging young people to carry 

forth St. Vartan’s legacy, Archbishop 

Barsamian called on them 

to “serve their people, nation, and 

God.” 

The St. Vartan Cathedral Choir 

sang, under the direction of Maestro 

Khoren Mekanejian, with Florence 

Avakian accompanying on the 

organ. 

A program and dinner in the 

Diocese’s Haik and Alice Kavookjian 

auditorium followed services. 

Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian led 

the opening prayer, and Edward 

Boladian, who served as the master 

of ceremonies, gave opening 

remarks, welcoming guests to the 

annual commemoration. 

A presentation followed by students 

of the St. Gregory the Illuminator 

Armenian School of Brooklyn, 

N.Y., who sang songs, recited 

poems, and performed traditional 

Armenian dances. Donning colorful 

sequined costumes with silver 

and gold embroidery, the students 

exuded grace and elegance. 

The Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, 

who has been closely involved 

with the Brooklyn mission parish, 

thanked school principal Marina 

Bagdasarova and parish council 

chair Dr. Svetlana Amerkhanian 

for their dedication to sharing the 

Christian heritage with a new generation 

of Armenians. 

Fr. Chevian noted that most parishioners 

from the St. Gregory the 

Illuminator mission parish are relative 

newcomers to the U.S., having 

moved here from Armenia and other 

former Soviet republics. He said 

he was proud of the achievements 

of the Armenian school students 

Students of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian School of Brooklyn, N.Y., performed Armenian 

dances at the commemoration of Vartanantz Day. 

Diocesan Vicar the Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Najarian 

described the Battle of Avarayr as “the battle that gives 

Armenians hope.” 

there, and for their commitment to 

embracing and preserving Armenian 

culture. 

Diocesan Vicar the Very Rev. Fr. 

Haigazoun Najarian spoke about 

the history of the Battle of Avarayr, 

calling it “the battle that gives Armenians 

hope.” He stressed that 

even though Armenians lost the 

battle in A.D. 451, it was a moral 

victory that ultimately ensured the 

survival of Christianity in Armenia. 

“Whenever Armenians find 

themselves struggling, they draw 

inspiration from the events that 

transpired nearly 1,600 years ago,” 

he said, “and they make the impossible 

possible.” 

In his closing remarks, Archbishop 

Barsamian spoke about 

the importance of safeguarding 

St. Vartan’s legacy in the 21st century. 

In the context of this year’s 

Diocesan theme of “Vocations: 

The Call to Serve,” the Primate 

spoke about the importance of 

encouraging young men to pursue 

the priesthood in the Armenian 

Church. 

He reflected on his own personal 

journey to the priesthood and 

stressed the need to “pass on the 

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, 

Primate of the Diocese of the 

Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 

spoke about the importance of 

safeguarding St. Vartan’s legacy in the 

21st century. 

Armenian identity to future generations.” 

Archbishop Barsamian also 

spoke about ways women serve the 

Church, and emphasized that the 

community’s full commitment is 

needed for the continued development 

of the Armenian Church in 

America. 

The scheduled keynote speaker, 

Mr. Garen Nazarian, Armenia’s 

Ambassador to the United Nations, 

was unable to take part in the evening. 

The commemoration was organized 

under the auspices of the 

Diocese of the Armenian Church of 

AIWA scholarships applications are now available 

Justine Karabian, center, one of the first recipients of a Lucy Kasparian 

Aharonian scholarship, is shown with AIWA scholarship committee members 

Christine Aharonian, left, and Barbara Merguerian, at the 2008 annual meeting 

of the Society for Women Engineers. 

Special 

opportunities for 

students in the 

sciences 

BostoN7 – The Armenian International 

Women’s Association 

(AIWA) is now accepting applications 

for scholarship awards for the 

2010-2011 academic year. 

The scholarships are awarded 

annually to full-time female students 

of Armenian descent attending 

accredited colleges or universities. 

Students entering their 

junior or senior year in college, 

as well as graduate students, are 

eligible to apply for the awards, 

which are based on financial need 

and merit.Once again this year, 

generous scholarships are available 

to students in the sciences 

through the Lucy Kasparian Aharonian 

awards, granted by AIWA 

in conjunction with the Society 

for Women Engineers - Boston 

Chapter. 

Students in the fields of Science, 

Mathematics, Engineering, 

Technology, Computer Sciences, 

and Architecture are eligible for 

Lucy Kasparian Aharonian awards 

of $2,000 to $6,000 (Juniors and 

Seniors) or up to $10,000 (Ms and 

PhD students). 

Lucy Kasparian Aharonian, an 

active member of the Society 

of Women Engineers, enjoyed a 

long career in software engineering 

even while raising a family. 

With degrees in Mathematics 

and Business Administration, 

she worked for several major 

firms in the Boston area and also 

taught on various levels on a parttime 

basis. Later she successfully 

embarked on a second career as 

a basket artist. The scholarship 

program was established in 2007 

in her memory by the Aharonian 

family. 

Awards in other 

disciplines 

The Very Rev. Fr. Davit Karamyan celebrated the Divine 

Liturgy at St. Vartan Cathedral on Thursday, February 11, as 

the community gathered to mark Vartanantz Day. 

America (Eastern), with the participation 

of the Mid-Atlantic Region 

of the Knights and Daughters of 

Vartan. 

Thursday’s event organizers include: 

Leo Manuelian, Tanya Bukucuyan, 

Samuel Azadian, Mihran 

Akyemenician, Antranik Platyan, 

Ohannes Tercan, Arman Merinian, 

Arman Izmirliyan, Ruben Dagliyan, 

Dr. Jacques Gulekjian, Ani Minnetyan, 

Seta Izmirliyan, and Rose Torigian. 

Haig Deranian is the grand 

commanderandMeleneOuzounian 

is the grand matron of the Knights 

and Daughters of Vartan. f 

In addition, AIWA offers a number 

of scholarships for female students 

in all academic fields, ranging 

in value from $2,000 to $500. 

The program was initiated with 

the Agnes K. Missirian Scholarship, 

which was established 

in memory of the professor of 

management at Bentley College 

(Waltham, Mass.), a strong advocate 

for women’s rights. 

Also available are five Dr. Carolann 

S. Najarian scholarships as 

well as awards in memory of Rose 

A. Hovannesian and Zarouhi Y. 

Getsoyan. 

Applications for all AIWA scholarships 

for the 2010-2011 academic 

year are available on-line or can 

be requested by mail. The deadline 

for applications is April 6, 

2010. Winners will be announced 

at the association’s annual meeting 

in May. 

Further information about scholarships 

and other AIWA programs 

to advance the status of Armenian 

women is available from the AIWA 

website (www.aiwa-net.org), or by 

mail from 65 Main St., #3A, Watertown, 

MA, Tel: 617-926-0171; e- 

mail: AiwaInc@aol.com. f


Community 

 

Holy Trinity Church welcomes new pastor 

ChelteNham, Penn.7 – Archbishop 

Khajag Barsamian, Primate 

of the Diocese of the Armenian 

Church of America (Eastern), visited 

Holy Trinity Armenian Church 

of Cheltenham, Pa., on Sunday, 

January 17, where some 300 people 

gathered to officially welcome the 

parish’s new pastor, the Rev. Fr. 

Hakob Gevorgyan. 

Fr. Gevorgyan celebrated the 

Divine Liturgy, and Archbishop 

Barsamian delivered the day’s sermon, 

speaking at length about the 

importance of discovering God’s 

call and sharing the story of his 

personal journey to the priesthood. 

“Serving our church as a clergyman 

is what I love doing: what I want to 

do,” the Primate said. “That feeling 

of joy and love is what God calls 

each of us to discover, in our own 

lives.” 

“I am overjoyed to help you welcome 

Fr. Hakob Gevorgyan and 

Yeretzgin Anna to your parish,” 

he said. “I can say that, having 

watched this young priest in his 

training over the past year, he too 

is motivated by the conviction that 

pastorship is what he wants to do 

with his life.” 

A graduate of the Vaskenian and 

Gevorkyan theological seminaries 

in Armenia, Fr. Gevorgyan came 

to the Eastern Diocese in February 

2008, and completed a pastoral 

internship at St. Gregory the Enlightener 

Church in White Plains, 

NY, under the guidance of its pastor, 

the Rev. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, 

who also attended the welcoming 

event in Cheltenham. 

Fr. Gevorgyan began serving as 

the full-time pastor of Holy Trinity 

Church on January 2, 2010. Prior to 

assuming this position, he spent a 

year serving as the parish’s visiting 

pastor, an experience that helped 

him build a close relationship with 

the local Armenian community. 

“From my first day in this parish, 

I have been surrounded by the love 

Clergy and altar servers pose for a group photo following the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at Holy 

Trinity Armenian Church of Cheltenham, Pa., on Sunday, January 17. Photo: John B. Alexanian. 

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian blesses the Rev. Fr. Hakob 

Gevorgyan., the new pastor of Holy Trinity Armenian 

Church of Cheltenham, Pa. 

and welcoming attitude expressed 

by everyone I met,” Fr. Gevorgyan 

said. “Even though I was just a visiting 

priest and still new to the U.S., 

I never felt alone or insecure, because 

this community was always 

ready and willing to help.” 

Following services on January 17, 

a welcome luncheon was held featuring 

musical performances and 

a keynote address by Fr. Karekin 

Kasparian. Fr. Kasparian spoke of 

the warm relationship he shared 

with Fr. Gevorgyan while mentoring 

him at St. Gregory the Enlightener 

Church. 

“We worked as brothers, and he 

was excellent in all the work we 

undertook together,” Fr. Kasparian 

said. He highlighted Fr. Gevorgyan’s 

patience and humility; his 

dedication to completing the Clinical 

Pastoral Education program 

at Westchester Medical Center in 

Valhalla, NY; and his commitment 

to other projects at St. Gregory the 

Enlightener Church. 

“It has been said that great congregations 

make great ministers,” 

Fr. Kasparian said, “and the opposite 

is also true: that great pastors 

make great congregations.” 

He added that Fr. Gevorgyan now 

faces the challenge of re-energizing 

the Cheltenham parish, which has 

been without a permanent pastor 

for more than two years. Fr. Kasparian 

said he would continue to 

mentor the young priest as he takes 

up this leadership role. 

Already parishioners said they feel 

a new sense of optimism. “Everybody 

said it was a wonderful event,” 

said parish council chair Merle Santerian, 

who helped organize the luncheon. 

“They hadn’t been to one like 

that in a long time at our church.” 

Mrs. Santerian said Fr. Gevorgyan 

and his young family are a great 

fit for a parish with many young 

people, and a number of newcomers 

from Armenia. “We are looking 

forward to many years with him at 

the helm,” she said. 

Another parish council member, 

AntranigGaribian,andhisfather,Dr. 

Garo Garibian, surprised Fr. Gevorgyan 

with a video message from his 

mother in Armenia. The video was 

prepared for the occasion when the 

Garibian family visited Armenia 

ahead of last month’s celebration. 

The parish also presented Fr. 

Gevorgyan with a new desk for his 

work, and a Phillie Phanatic (the 

mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies 

Major League Baseball team) 

stuffed doll for his son, Narek. 

Other clergy attending the 

day’s program include Archbishop 

Vicken Aykazian, Diocesan Legate; 

the Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Najarian, 

Diocesan Vicar; the Very Rev. 

Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian, pastor of 

St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian 

Church of Wynnewood, Pa.; 

and other Philadelphia-area clergy. 

Archbishop Aykazian delivered the 

opening prayer; Fr. Najarian gave 

the benediction. 

“I know I have a big responsibility, 

and it is an honor to be a priest in 

this parish,” Fr. Gevorgyan told the 

Cheltenham community. “I hope 

that with God’s mercy and with 

your support and love, we can all 

flourish and enrich each other and 

this parish.” 

f 

Primate ordains acolytes and sub-deacons at St. Hagop church 

St. PeterBurg, Fla. 7 – On 

Sunday, January 10, Archbishop 

Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the 

Diocese of the Armenian Church 

of America (Eastern), visited St. 

Hagop Armenian Church of St. Petersburg, 

Fla., where he celebrated 

the Divine Liturgy and ordained 

acolytes and sub-deacons. 

Following services, the community 

gathered for a picnic in the 

church’s outdoor pavilion, for the 

culmination of a series of weekendlong 

fundraising events, which collected 

more than $24,000 for the 

parish. Billed as “Kef Time Tampa 

Bay,” the weekend featured a golftournament 

and two dances on Friday 

and Saturday evening, each of 

which drew more than 200 people. 

“This year’s weekend and visit of 

His Eminence was a milestone for 

the St. Hagop Armenian Church 

community,” said parish pastor the 

Rev. Fr. Hovnan Demerjian. “After 

many years of prayer and hard work, 

we have been blessed by God with a 

new sanctuary, a rejuvenated community, 

and a new sense of purpose. 

The ordination of six altar servers 

reflects this rejuvenation, as the 

Holy Spirit is at work in their hearts 

and minds.” 

On Sunday, following the celebration 

of the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop 

Barsamian officiated over 

the ordination ceremony. More 

than 200 people gathered in the 

sanctuary as Bobby Maslar, Michael 

Sarafian, and Vasken Serpekian 

were ordained as acolytes. Vasken 

Serpekian, along with Kegham Vizoyan, 

Allan Tossoonian, and Jack 

Dikranian, were then elevated to 

the rank of sub-deacon. 

The Primate presented the altar 

servers with certificates at the conclusion 

of the ceremony. “In this 

Diocesan Year of Vocations, seeing 

these young souls answer God’s call 

fills us with hope for our church’s future,” 

Archbishop Barsamian said. 

The altar servers, who range in 

age from their teens to their 80s, 

worked mostly with Fr. Demerjian 

to prepare for their new responsibilities. 

Some of them also attend 

training sessions at St. Nersess Armenian 

Seminary. 

“It was a really beautiful service,” 

said parish council member Alysia 

Ekizian, who was on the committee 

organizing Kef Time Tampa Bay. “It 

was a great representation of our 

community because it was our ACY- 

OA youth to our senior members.” 

At the picnic that followed services 

in the church’s Tanielian Pavilion, 

the community raffled off a gingerbread 

replica of St. Hagop Church, 

which was created by Bobby Maslar. 

Proceeds from that raffle will be 

sent to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, 

Fr. Demerjian said. 

Eventhoughtemperaturesdipped 

into the 30s during the picnic, the 

mood was warm as parishioners 

celebrated the day’s ordinations and 

reflected on the successful fundraisers 

held earlier that weekend. Greg 

Ekizian, Alysia Ekizian’s husband, 

chaired the picnic committee. 

The events began on Friday, 

January 8, with a golf tournament, 

followed on Friday and Saturday 

evening by two dances held at the 

local Clearwater Hilton resort. Saturday’s 

event was devoted to Armenian 

music, performed by the Kef 

Time Band with Richard Hagopian 

and Hachig Kazarian. A silent auction 

was held on Saturday, chaired 

by Debra Kamajian. 

Consecrated in October 2007 by 

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme 

Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, 

St. Hagop Armenian Church is 

the first church His Holiness consecrated 

in the Eastern Diocese and the 

first Armenian Church to be built on 

the west coast of Florida. 

The current fundraising aims at 

paying off the church’s mortgage. 

David Kazarian, a parish council 

member who led the efforts behind 

Friday and Saturday’s program, 

said the goal was to “reach 

out of our community to bring 

people in.” 

U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis 

of Florida’s ninth district was 

Archbishop 

Khajag 

Barsamian, 

assisted by the 

Rev. Fr. Hovnan 

Demerjian, 

ordains acolytes 

at St. Hagop 

Armenian Church 

of St. Petersburg, 

Fla. 

among the guests, a number of 

whom traveled from out of state 

to attend the festivities. Those who 

couldn’t come, Mr. Kazarian said, 

generously sent in donations. 

“I think it was successful...and it’s 

only the beginning,” he said, adding 

that he would like to co-host 

a similar weekend with other area 

churches in the future. 

“It got us started,” added Alysia 

Ekizian of the weekend’s program. 

“We want to make this an annual 

event.” 

f 

Visit us at reporter.am


Community 

Eulogy for Pierre Vahe Haig, an accomplished physician and 

gentleman’s gentleman 

by Rev. Dr. Vahan h. 

tootikian 

SouthFielD, Mich.7 – Dr. 

Pierre Vahe Haig, a highly respected 

Armenian American community 

leader, made his transition to his 

eternal home on January 12, 2010. 

His funeral services were held on 

Thursday, January 21, 2010, at the 

Church of the Recessional of Forest 

Lawn, Glendale, California. 

Dr. Haig is survived by his three 

children - Helen, Mari and Theodore 

(Carole) Haig; his three grandchildren 

- Simon, Costel and Michael; 

and his brother Robert Vartan 

Haig. 

Born on September 24, 1917, in Beirut, 

Lebanon, Dr. Haig was the son 

of Dr. and Mrs. Haig and Helen Bahadrian. 

The Bahadrians came to the 

United States in the early 1920s. The 

Haig Bahadrian’s name was changed 

at Ellis Island upon immigration to 

the U.S. to Bahadrian Haig. 

Pierre Vahe demonstrated unusual 

academic talents from the 

beginning of his schooling. He 

was awarded full scholarship during 

his college years and graduated 

with highest distinction from the 

University of Southern California 

School of Medicine in 1943. After 

serving three years in the Medical 

Corps of the U.S. Army, during 

World War II, with the rank of Major, 

he took residency in radiology 

and became a specialist in diagnostic 

radiology, radiation oncology 

and nuclear medicine. He became 

a professor of radiology at both the 

University of California and Loma 

Linda University. 

Dr. Haig was chief physician in 

radiation oncology at Los Angeles 

County - USC Medical Center, 

staff radiologist at Orange County 

Medical Center and Senior Attending 

Radiologist at White Memorial 

Hospital. In 1970, Dr. Haig founded 

the department of radiation oncology 

at St. Jude Medical Center in 

Fullerton, CA, and served as its 

director for 20 years. He was also 

appointed by Governor George 

Deukmejian to the Medical Quality 

Review Committee for the Orange 

County. He was chairman of this 

committee for 10 years upon which 

he retired from his professional 

carrier in 1990. 

Dr. Pierre Vahe Haig’s life was characterized 

by the following qualities: 

First, Dr. Haig was a good family 

man. He was a loving husband to 

his wife of 56 years, Mr. Alice Jernazian 

Haig. Pierre and Alice were a 

most compatible couple and always 

acted as a congenial team in the 

community activities. They shared 

common values and got involved 

with a passionate dedication in 

many worthy causes. God blessed 

them with three children - Helen, 

Mari and Theodore - whom they 

raised “in the ways of the Lord” and 

to whom they imparted Christian 

education as well as the cultural 

values of the Armenian heritage. 

Second, Dr. Haig was endowed 

with a brilliant mind. He had a photographic 

memory and an unusual 

ability for thinking and planning. 

His colleagues described him as a 

“great achiever.” As a professional he 

was a highly respected physician and 

educator. In public and social life, he 

constantly used his God-given talents 

for the well being of Armenian 

and non-Armenian community. He 

and his wife Alice made their mission 

to build an “infrastructure” for 

various communities worldwide. 

Third, Dr. Haig was a highly versatile 

person. In addition to his 

medical carrier, he was a talented 

and an accomplished violinist, an 

avid fan in sports and a talented 

writer. He authored books and articles 

on various subjects, including 

medical, legal issues, Armenian 

history, politics, international relations, 

sports and Armenian coins. 

He frequently wrote brief articles 

and letters to Armenian/English 

newspapers. 

Fourth, Dr. Haig was an Armenian 

American community activist. 

He played an important role in 

church and civic matters. He was a 

council member and the chairman 

of the building committee of the 

United Armenian Congregational 

Church. A lifelong member of the 

Armenian Missionary Association 

of America, he supported his wife’s, 

Alice Haig’s work, as the first female 

Vice-President of the Board. He also 

was a member of the AGBU and Armenian 

Numismatic Society and 

contributed to the Armenian Genocide 

recognition activities of ANCA. 

Dr. Haig was a charter member of 

the Armenian Professional Society 

of Los Angeles. He was a Founding 

Member and Chairman of Southern 

California Chapter of the National 

Association for Armenian Studies 

and research, continuing his 

membership over 40 years. He also 

served on the committees and took 

his turn as chairman of, Armenian 

Studies Chair at Harvard and the 

UCLA Naregatsi Chair in Armenian 

Studies. He continued to support 

those two Chairs until his demise. 

In the early 1970s, his wife Alice 

Haig served as Founding Chair of 

the Merdinian Armenian Evangelical 

School, to which Dr. Haig gave 

his full support. 

Fifth, Dr. Haig was a man of 

great integrity and sterling character. 

He was what many called a 

“gentlemen’s gentleman.” He was 

honest and straightforward in all 

his relationships. He lived life fully 

and extended a helping hand whenever 

and wherever needed. He was 

a great investor in good causes and 

in people. The reason and the moving 

power behind all of this was his 

commitment to God. Dr. Haig was a 

true and a practical Christian, a man 

who lived his Christian faith; his 

was a religion of heart and affection 

rather than of for and lip service. 

Thus, we bid farewell to an Armenian 

community activist who lived 

a long and useful life, dedicated to 

God and humankind; a life which enriched 

numerous lives and became a 

source of blessing to many. f 

Tom Mooradian recounts his repatriation to Soviet Armenia 

by David luhrssen 

Milwaukee, wis.7 – Tom 

Mooradian was a familiar name for 

many years to readers of Detroit 

newspapers as a reporter on the 

crime beat. Now retired, Mooradian 

has had time to write a memoir 

of his 13 years in the Soviet Union, 

lured along with 150 other Armenian 

Americans by Stalin’s “repatriation” 

program in the late 1940s. 

Mooradian spoke for nearly an 

hour at the annual Vartanantz dinner 

sponsored by the Knights of 

Vartan Giligia Lodge No. 24, held 

at St. John the Baptist Armenian 

Church in Milwaukee, WI, on Sunday, 

February 7th following Divine 

Liturgy. 

Drawing from his recently published 

book, “The Repatriate: Love, 

Basketball, and the KGB,” Mooradian 

recounted his journey aboard 

a Russian passenger ship with Armenian 

Americans who imagined a 

new and better society being constructed 

in the motherland. He was 

Vartanantz Day lecture at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church in Milwaukee. 

only 19, born in Detroit and seeking 

“adventure.” The trip was comfortable, 

leaving him unprepared 

for the extreme poverty of a Soviet 

Union devastated by the Nazi invasion 

and poor economic planning. 

Worse than the paucity of material 

goods was the lack of freedom. 

Under Stalin, Soviet citizens were 

“afraid to laugh, afraid to smile,” according 

to Mooradian. 

A star basketball player, Mooradian 

played with the Armenian team 

in tournaments across the USSR. “I 

felt safe any time I was on that court,” 

he said. “The moment I stepped off 

that court, I was in trouble.” 

With Stalin’s death came an 

easing of anxiety. “He opened the 

doors, Tom Mooradian said of the 

dictator’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev. 

“He let us laugh.” 

For the first time in eight years, 

Mooradian was allowed to place 

a long distance call to his parents 

in Detroit. In 1960 he was finally 

granted an exit visa and allowed to 

return to the US. The KGB in the 

Soviet Union and the FBI upon his 

homecoming questioned Mooradian. 

Both agencies suspected he was 

a spy. His name even turned up in 

a report by one of the commissions 

investigating John F. Kennedy’s 

assassination, drawing parallels 

between Mooradian and another 

American expatriate in the USSR, 

Lee Harvey Oswald. 

Self-determination day 

In his address during the Vartanantz 

dinner, Rev. Fr. Nareg 

Keutelian, St. John’s parish priest, 

reflected on the canonization of 

Vartan by the Armenian Church 

for his struggle for the freedom of 

conscience and self-determination 

of the Armenian people and the example 

he set for all people. 

“Self-determination means we 

have the right to choose which 

road we take,” he said. “St. Vartan 

stood up for our right to 

write our own future. The battle 

he fought at Avarayr was a call to 

action to take responsibility for 

our future. The battle is not over. 

The outcome will be determined 

by us.” 

f


Community 

Calendar of Events 

 

New York/New 

JerseY 

FeBruarY 24, MarCh 3, 10, 

17 aND 24 —Prelacy Lenten 

Service and Lecture series at 

St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 

E. 27th Street, New York City. 

7:30 pm under the auspices of 

Archbishop Oshagan. For information 

click here. 

FeBruarY 26. AAHPO Membership 

Meeting at Sevan Restaurant 

in New York- New York. 

For details go to www.aahpo. 

org. AAHPO, P.O. Box 645, Far 

Hills, NJ 07931 201-546-6166 

MarCh 7. Annual Membership 

Meeting, Sts. Vartanantz 

Church, 461 Bergen Blvd., 

Ridgefield, New Jersey. 

MarCh 13, 5:00 PM. Armenian 

Relief Society (ARS) on 

the occasion of its 100th anniversary, 

will be hosting an 

International Food Festival 

and Auction at the Hovnanian 

School in New Milford, NJ. For 

details contact Lucy Keomurjian 

(201) 567-3318 or at lucine. 

keomurjian@walterkarl.com. 

More information at www.arseastusa.org. 

MarCh 20. Registration deadline 

for the 2010 Armenia Service 

Program (ASP). This year 

ACYOA is partnering with the 

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) 

to focus on FAR projects in Gyumri, 

Armenia, including renovations 

at Ounjian School and 

the FAR Soup Kitchen, which 

serves the city’s senior citizens. 

The trip is scheduled for June 29 

to July 20. For more information, 

visit www.acyoa.org. 

MarCh 21. Musical Armenia, 

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie 

Hall, New York City. Featured 

artists: Tanya Gabrielian, pianist; 

Natalie Aroyan, soprano. 

Tickets $30. Carnegie box office 

212-247-7800 or Prelacy office 

212-689-7810. 

MarCh 26. AAHPO Membership 

Meeting - New Jersey. For 

more details got to www.aahpo. 

org. AAHPO, P.O. Box 645, Far 

Hills, NJ 07931 201-546-6166 

MarCh 31. High School and 

College students are invited 

to participate in an essay contest 

ahead of the Armenian 

Genocide Commemoration 

in Times Square on April 25, 

2010 (see details below). First 

place winner will receive $300, 

second place runner-up - $200 

and third place runner-up - 

$100. The winners will also be 

recognized at the Times Sq. 

event. 800-word essays are due 

March 31. For details contact 

Taleen Babayan at April24TimesSquare@gmail.com. 

aPril 11. ARS Mayr Chapter 

presents ZULAL, a cappela trio, 

at the Armenian Society, 39- 

03 Little Neck Parkway, Little 

Neck, NY, 3 pm. Donation: $50, 

$30; $15 for children under 12. 

Contact Sonia, 917-679-6992; 

Hasmik, 516-330-5290. 

aPril 18. ARS Mayr and 

Erebouni Chapters sponsor 

“Walk-Armenia” to benefit 

Camp Haiastan. Registration 

at St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 

234th Street, Douglaston, 

New York, starts at 12 noon, 

$25 fee. Walk begins 1 pm. 

For information 516-330- 

5290 (Hasmik); 516-739-0805 

(Nayda). 

aPril 25, 2-4 PM. 25th annual 

Armenian Genocide commemoration 

in Times Square organized 

by the Knights & Daughters 

of Vartan and co-sponsored 

by the Armenian General Benevolent 

Union, Armenian Assembly 

of America, Armenian 

National Committee of America, 

Armenian Democratic Liberal 

Party, and the Armenian Council 

of America. Participating organizations 

include: Diocese of 

the Armenian Church, Prelacy 

of the Armenian Church, Armenian 

Missionary Association of 

America, Armenian Evangelical 

Union and Armenian Catholic 

Eparchy. For media queries 

contact Linda Millman Guller, 

Knights & Daughters of Vartan 

Ph: (203) 454-9800 or mgmarcom@aol.com. 

aPril 29 – MaY 2. The 2010 

Diocesan Assembly (Eastern 

U.S.) will be hosted by St. 

James Armenian Church of 

Evanston, Ill. Assembly events 

will be held at the Chicago Marriott 

O’Hare, where a block of 

rooms has been set aside at a 

special rate for attendees. The 

deadline for both Assembly 

registration and hotel reservations 

is Monday, April 5. 

New eNglaND 

FeBruarY 20, Lowell. Armenian 

Relief Society (ARS) Community 

Center, 142 Liberty St., 

Lowell, Mass. will host a program 

“Armenia Revisited” by 

Joe Dagdigian and Tom Vartabedian. 

The program is sponsored 

by the Lowell “Aharonian” 

ARF Committee. The program 

will include a photo presentation 

from a 3-week trip to Armenia 

in Spring 2009, and will 

focus on life in more remote 

parts of the country, including 

Artsakh. A dinner will precede 

program. Tickets are $20 for 

adults and $10 for students and 

may be purchased at the door. 

FeBruarY 28 and MarCh 7. 

General Membership meetings 

of Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, 

Whitinsville, Massachusetts. 

MarCh 1, 6:15 PM. Roger 

Hagopian will present his documentary 

“Destination Watertown 

– The Armenians of Hood 

Rubber” at St. James Armenian 

Men’s Club in Watertown, 

Mass. In 2009 Hagopian received 

the Watertown Historical 

Commission’s Community 

Spirit Award. The social hour 

starts at 6:15 PM followed by a 

Lenten Dinner at 7:00 PM. Ladies 

are welcome to attend. 

MarCh 14. Ladies Guild annual 

Lenten Luncheon following 

church services, Soorp Asdvadzadzin 

Church, Whitinsville, 

Massachusetts. 

aPril 17, Watertown. St. Stephen 

‘s Ladies Guild, Watertown, 

Massachusetts, presents 

jazzy evening featuring Sandi 

Bedrosian jazz ensemble, 6 pm, 

church hall. $35 per person. 

Contact hyejazzeve@gmail. 

com or Yeretzgin Baljian, 781- 

209-1915. Reservations only. 

MiD-atlaNtiC 

FeBruarY 20, 21. Films by 

Artavazd Peleshian, Armenia’s 

distinguished cinematic poet, 

will be shown at the National 

Gallery of Arts, East Building 

Concourse Auditorium. The 

February 20 2:00 PM show include 

The Beginning followed 

by We, The Inhabitants, and 

Life; and on February 21 at 4:00 

PM - The Seasons followed by 

Our Century and The End. For 

more information visit http:// 

www.nga.gov/programs/film/. 

FeBruarY 21, 7:30 PM. Cellist 

Narek Hakhnazaryan will 

perform at the Jewish Community 

Center (JCC) of Greater 

Washington (located at 6125 

Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 

20852 Rockville, MD). For information 

contact mrosenberg@jccgw.org, 

to purchase 

tickets call 301-348-3872 or 

visit www.jccgw.org. $40 members, 

$45 students/seniors, $50 

general public. 

FeBruarY 28 – MarCh 2. 

To provide an opportunity for 

policy practitioners, academics, 

and the public to discuss Armenia-Diaspora 

relations—perspectives 

on and approaches 

to the present-day challenges 

facing the Armenian nation— 

Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) 

will hold its 2nd Annual Forum 

in Washington, DC. For details 

see www.pf-armenia.org. 

aPril 10, 8:00PM-Midnight. 

The Armenian Network of 

America, Washington Region 

is hosting its First Grand Armenian 

Party, featuring a night 

of Armenian music mixed with 

American/International Flare. 

Location: Golden Bull Grand 

Ballroom, 7 Dalamar Street, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Semiformal 

dress (no jeans). $45 per 

person, including light hors 

d’oevres/dinner buffer/desert 

in one sitting; full cash bar. 

RSVP by March 22 to Albert 

Sayadian @ 240-643-0932 OR 

Meganoosh Avakian @ 703-969- 

8536. Send payments to 20504 

Dubois Ct., Montgomery Village, 

MD 20886 with checks 

payable to Albert Sayadian. 

Limited Space-Reserve Early. 

FloriDa 

MarCh 6, 7:30 PM. Vahe Berberian 

stand-up comedy (SA- 

GAYN) at St. David Armenian 

Church, 2300 Yamato Rd, Boca 

Raton, FL. Parts of the Proceeds 

of this event will benefit 

the Knights of Vartan Armenia 

School project. $45 in advance. 

Phone: 561-704-1164 

MiDwest 

FeBruarY 26, Evanston, Ill. 

“Who Is My Neighbor” Lenten 

lecture series is hosted by St 

James Armenian Church. Representatives 

of a spectrum of 

religious beliefs have been invited 

to shed light on how the 

concept of charity is characterized 

within their faith. Friday 

evening programs begin with 

worship at 6:30 PM, following 

by potluck supper at 7:00 

PM and presentation at 7:30 

PM. Series began with African-American 

Protestant presentation 

on February 19 and 

will continue with Judaism 

on February 26, Buddhism on 

March 5, Religious Society of 

Friends (Quaker) on March 12, 

Unitarian church on March 19 

and interfaith event on March 

26. All programs will take place 

at St James Armenian Church 

at 816 Clark Street in Evanston, 

Illinois 60201. For more 

information on the series visit: 

www.stjamesevanston.org 

MarCh 7. Annual Membership 

Meeting, St. Paul Church, 

645 S. Lewis Ave., Waukegan, 

Illinois. 

aPril 18, 2:00 PM, Detroit. 

Annual Holocaust and Armenian 

Genocide Commemoration, 

“The Challenges of and 

Opportunities of Oral Testimonies,” 

lectures by professors 

Gerard Libaridian and Sidney 

Bolkosky. Bernath Auditorirum 

of the David W. Adamany 

Undergraduate Library at 

Wayne State University. 

CeNtral 

CaliForNia 

FeBruarY 26, 8:00 PM. Concert 

by Vahan Maridrossian, 

piano, and Alexander Chaushian, 

cello. The Concert Hall at 

California State University, 

Fresno State. For information 

call 559-278-3337. 

MarCh 5, 7, 10:00PM. 11th 

Annual Armenian Film Festival. 

IT 101, Fresno State. Free 

admission. Full schedule to be 

released next week; see http:// 

armenianstudies.csufresno. 

edu/. 

MarCh 11, 7:30PM. Dr. Abraham 

Terian, Lecture II “The 

Loud Cry: Early Responses to 

the Armenian Genocide” UBC, 

Rm. 191 at California State 

University, Fresno State. 

MarCh 21, 5:00PM. Armenian 

Studies Program 22nd 

Annual Banquet. Special film 

premiere of “William Saroyan’s 

Will” More information 

to come soon. For information 

call 559-278-2669. 

southerN 

CaliForNia 

FeBruarY 21, Mission Hills. 

Documentary by French director 

Serge Avedikian “We 

Drank the Same Water” (2007, 

72 min., subtitled in English) 

to be featured at Ararat-Eskijian 

Museum at 15105 Mission 

Hills Rd. in Mission Hills, CA 

91345. The film centers on Avedikian’s 

return to his grandfather’s 

hometown in Turkey. 

For more information contact 

the museum at 818-838-4862 

or by e-mailing ararat-eskijianmuseum@netzero.net. 

FeBruarY 21, 4:00 PM, 

Burbank. A fundraising event 

to help burn the mortgage of 

more than $2.5 million building 

recently purchased by the Burbank 

Chapter of the Armenian 

Cultural Foundation to serve 

as the new location for offices 

Edward D. Jamie, Jr. 

Funeral Chapel 

208-17 Northern Blvd. Bayside, NY 11361 

Licensed in New York and New Jersey 

Services Available in All Churches & 

Locations 

(718) 224-2390 

(888) 224-6088 

and activities of the Homenetmen 

“Sipan” Chapter, the AYF 

“Varak” chapter, the “Gaidzag” 

Badanegan chapter, the ARS 

“Araz” chapter and the Burbank 

chapter of the ANC. The fundraiser 

takes place at the new facility 

on 75 E. Santa Anita Ave. 

(corner of First St. and Santa 

Anita Ave.). For more information 

call 818.562.1918. 

FeBruarY 25, 7:30 PM, Sherman 

Oaks. A lecture “Armenian 

Musical Culture in Retrospect” 

will outline the scope 

of creative contributions to 

the Armenian culture through 

music. Merdinian Armenian 

Evangelical School, 13330 Riverside 

Dr. Sherman Oaks. Free. 

Phone: (818)881-0010 

MarCh 13, Beverly Hills. Armenian 

Missionary Association 

of America (AMAA) Orphan 

and Child Care Luncheon 

and Fashion Show at the Beverly 

Hills Hotel. For details 

contact Arsine Phillips at (213) 

509-4337. 

MarCh 13, 10 AM – 1 PM, 

Northridge. Armenian General 

Benevolent Union (AGBU) 

Hye Geen and AGBU Forum 

for Armenian Cultural and 

Social Studes together with 

California State University, 

Northridge (CSUN) will organize 

the 5th annual interdisciplinary 

conference on “The 

Status of Armenian Communities 

Living in the United 

States: The Power of Broadcast 

Media.” The event will 

take place at CSUN University 

Student Union’s Grand Salon. 

Registration, $30.00: Student 

Registration, $15.00. Program 

and registration will be available 

in late February at http:// 

www.agbuhyegeen.com. Send 

inquiries to agbuhyegeen. 

youngcircle@gmail.com. 

MarCh 20, 9:30-5:30 PM, Los 

Angeles. An international conference 

“The Armenian Communities 

of Asia Minor (Adabazar, 

Bardizag, Ismid, Bursa, 

Armash, Kutahia, and others 

near the Sea of Marmara)” will 

take place at UCLA, 1200 Rolfe 

Hall. No admission fee. Parking 

# 5 (with fee), entrance: 

Sunset Blvd and Royce Drive. 

UCLA map, www.map.ucla.edu 

Sponsored by the AEF Chair 

in Modern Armenian History, 

with support from the Organization 

of Istanbul Armenians. 

For information, e-mail Prof. 

Richard Hovannisian at Hovannis@history.ucla.edu. 

aPril 17. The Western Diocese’s 

Summer Camp Committee 

will be having the annual 

Family Day at HyeCamp. The 

camp dates are: Week 1: July 

18 - July 24; Week 2: July 25 

- July 31; Week 3: August 1 - 

August 7; Week 4: August 8 

- August 14. Register online at 

www.hyecamp.com.


Community 

Clinical Research 

Organization 

is looking to hire 

two Lead Data Managers (LDM) 

with 10+ years 

large pharmaceutical or CRO experience, 

to manage client contact, 

projects and study teams. 

Armenian, 

European 

Union and U.S. 

flags waive atop 

cruise liner. 

Applicants must be willing and 

able to travel abroad as needed. 

Resumes to: 

review2020@yahoo.com 

Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston performing 

View of St. Thomas beach. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANCA’s Ken Hachikian (left) answers questions following a 

presentation. 

Armenia Fund’s Irina Lazarian making a presentation. 

Aravod Band playing on Armenian Festival Day. 

Heritage cruise: Armenian issues in 

tropical setting 

miami, Fla.7 – The annual Armenian Heritage 

Cruise organized by Armenian Cultural Association 

of America sailed between January 21 and 28 from 

Miami for Nassau, Bahamas; Tortola, British Virgin 

Islands; Catalina Island, Dominican Republic; and 

Grand Caicos Islands on the Costa Atlantica. 

Hundreds of Armenians from almost every state 

in the U.S. with Armenians from Armenia, Argentina, 

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, England, 

Greece, Lebanon, France, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden 

and more were on board. 

First organized in 1998, the cruise sails during second 

and third weeks every January and includes Armenian 

cultural and information programs. f


Community 

 

History of Hood Rubber plant tells story of Armenians in 

Boston suburb 

by tom Vartabedian 

watertowN, Mass. 7 – Former 

Bentley College President 

Gregory Adamian worked there. 

So did Tufts University guru John 

Baronian and prominent artist Arshile 

Gorky until he overstepped 

his boundaries and got dismissed. 

The Hood Rubber Company 

proved an ideal sanctuary for many 

an Armenian immigrant who 

survived the genocide as well as 

prominent Armenian-Americans 

throughout the early 20th century. 

“Where else could we go” reflected 

Areka (Janikian) Der Kazarian, 

who recalls earning $18 a week 

doing piecework as a cementer. “I 

would turn the money over to my 

parents and get a quarter back for 

spending purposes. Hood Rubber 

opened its doors to immigrants 

from many foreign lands who had 

no language or working skills. We 

learned it on the job.” 

Eyewitness accounts of their 

heyday inside the sweat shop is the 

subject of an hour-long film documented 

by noted videographer 

Roger Hagopian called “Destination 

Watertown: The Armenians of 

Hood Rubber.” 

The project, which began in 2003 

as a short highlight film, reached 

fruition after six years of research 

and interviews, delving into the 

lives of Armenian refugees looking 

to establish a decent lifestyle in 

America, in this case Watertown. 

The film contains stories and reflections 

of former Armenian employees 

and East Watertown residents, 

interspersed with historical 

photographs, maps, documents, 

artifacts and images of the old factory, 

once the largest of its kind in 

the world. 

It represents a story that had to be 

told, considering it was very much 

the fabric of Armenian life at the 

time. Workers recount life on the 

conveyer belt and exposure to toxic 

chemicals, yet considered themselves 

fortunate to have a job. Hood 

Rubber was their neighborhood. 

“More importantly, this factory 

was the reason for the establishment 

of the Armenian community 

in Watertown,” Hagopian brought 

out. “It intrigues me that so many 

Armenians were connected to this 

massive complex of 65 buildings 

once located in East Watertown. 

For those who may never know a 

genocide survivor, it is essential 

their stories be told and their history 

shared.” 

The emotions he shared with immigrants 

ran the gamut from sadness 

and outrage to pride and joy. 

The more Hagopian researched, the 

more he discovered. Armenians arrived 

here following the genocide 

of 1896 during the Sultan Abdul 

Hamid II regime. 

“For many, the work was hazardous,” 

he discovered. “Employees 

were coated with rubber after a 

long shift in which they were paid 

to do piecework. When they were 

eventually able to turn out products 

in less than a full day, their pay 

was reduced. That was the reward 

they got for being so efficient.” 

Despite the hardships, Hagopian 

realizes that without Hood Rubber, 

there would be no Armenian community 

in Watertown such as we 

have today. 

He dedicated the work to his 

grandmother, Hranoush Hagopian, 

and Baronian, a prominent Tufts 

graduate, both of whom worked 

there. Baronian passed on before the 

film was completed. He was a foreman 

in charge of six conveyer belts 

and 65 employees in his heyday. 

1924 view of Hood Rubber plant. Photo: Harvard college 

“As a result of my conversations 

with Baronian, I was able to conduct 

a series of interviews with former 

Armenian employees of the plant,” 

said the 60-year-old filmmaker, 

whose father Hurire, a genocide 

survivor, also worked there. “No 

doubt, this turned into a most gratifying 

piece of historical preservation, 

considering nothing had been 

done about this subject relative to 

the establishment of the Armenian 

community in Watertown.” 

Hagopian, who debuted his film 

at Watertown Free Library Dec. 19, 

found Armenians and non-Armenians 

who grew up in East Watertown, 

adjacent to Hood Rubber, 

and recorded their impressions. 

One resident, George Mooza, provided 

30 photographs of the neighborhood 

and factory around Bigelow 

Avenue. They met through a 

mutual friend, the late Mary Balyosian, 

aunt of jazz guitarist John 

Baboian. 

A stabilizing image of the plant 

with its domineering smoke stack 

serves as an icon in the production. 

By the turn of the 19th century, 

Armenians had found gainful employment 

there, helping to manufacture 

3,000 shoes a day to supply 

an international market. 

Chain migration was a stabilizing 

factor in the plant’s success. 

By 1920, one-fifth of America’s 

footwear came from Hood Rubber. 

The company was absorbed by BF 

Goodwich in 1929 and added tires 

to his footgear before closing in 

1969, drawing an end to the Armenian 

workforce there. 

“Armenians represented 5-7% of 

the workforce,” indicated historian-author 

Dr. Robert Mirak, who 

supplied the narration. “If it wasn’t 

for Hood, Armenians would have 

migrated to the outlying regions. 

They were overachievers. Many sacrificed 

their school and family life 

for the factory.” 

Mirak is the author of “Torn Between 

Two Lands” and provided 

knowledge of the early migration 

period. Other narrators are Marc 

Mamigonian of NAASR and Hagopian’s 

wife Lynda. 

Work proved debilitating and exhausting 

at times. Many fell prey to 

the fumes and became ill. Women 

were becoming the breadwinners 

for their families and outnumbered 

men on the assembly line, especially 

during World War 2. It was not 

uncommon to hear Armenian folk 

music emanating from the loud 

speaker in an effort to get workers 

further motivated. 

Gorky’s artwork wound up costing 

him a job, according to documentation. 

Seems he was fired for 

drawing on the soles of shoes and 

painting on the roof of the building. 

At the time, he was living in his dad’s 

home at 86 Dexter Ave. and had yet 

to establish a niche as an artist. No 

doubt, it was Hood that provided 

him the rudiments of fame. 

Der Kazarian, a 97-year-old, is 

the aunt of noted musician and 

assistant professor Leon Janikian, 

who also appears in the film and 

details the woman’s history. 

Other testimonies are rendered 

by Bob Sanasarian, Steve Tashjian, 

John Airasian and Kevin Magharian, 

another musician, whose mother 

Rose worked there, as did Betty 

Gulezian, mother to Rev. Joanne 

Hartunian. 

Hovannes Shamgochian worked 

there through the 1920s and gathered 

with other Armenians to eat 

at the town diner. Another Armenian 

recalls the smell of rubber in 

the air whenever the wind blew in a 

certain direction. Being Depression 

years, there was a need for footwear, 

drawing Armenians such as these 

to the production line Wednesday 

afternoons for a “test day.” 

Through the Watertown library, 

Hagopian was contacted by Hood 

descendents who provided valuable 

insight for the film. What started 

out as a curiosity turned into a labor 

of love for the videographer. 

“Like a giant puzzle, the film was 

edited over the four months prior 

to completion, taking up every moment 

of my time at home, including 

meals being eaten at the computer,” 

said Hagopian, a rug and 

upholstery cleaner by trade. “For 

me, video is a way of telling history 

that is educational, multidimensional 

and compelling.” 

A history lover since his youth, 

Hagopian is a 1972 graduate of the 

University of Massachusetts (Boston) 

where he received a music degree. 

He has a background in piano 

and trumpet, teaching music in his 

spare time as a form of therapy. 

His first film on an Armenian 

subject, “The Journey of an Armenian 

Family,” is about his family’s 

survival in Van during the 1915 

genocide. Hagopian has had film 

presentations in high schools, universities, 

libraries, community centers 

and private homes. 

The Lexington resident was 

among the recipients of the Watertown 

Historical Commission’s 2009 

Community Service Award for his 

work. 

f 

Films in Progress 

The Quabbin Reservoir and the 

Lost Villages of the Swift 

River Valley 

The Canal That Bisected Boston 

Sequel to “Our Boys” 

Roger Hagopian films 

1996 - Journey Along the Middlesex 

Canal, the first canal in 

America, which received the 

AT&T Broadband Regional 

Award for Best Documentary 

1999 - Journey of an Armenian 

Family 

2002 - Memories of Marash: Legacy 

of a Lost Armenian Community, 

which received the 

Comcast Regional Award 

for Best Documentary Film 

2005 - Armenians of Hood Rubber 

Company (short highlight 

film) 

Filmmaker Roger Hagopian. 

1927 advertisement for Hood Rubber 

products. Elsmerecanyon.com 

2006 - Victory at Van 

2006 - Our Boys: Armenian- 

American World War 2 Veterans, 

co-produced with 

Tom Spera 

2007 - Memory Fragments of the 

Armenian Genocide 

2009 - Destination Watertown: 

The Armenians of Hood 

Rubber 

(DVD copies available for $15, plus 

shipping & handling. Details, 781- 

861-7868 or e-mail, rogerhagop@aol. 

com)

Val Avery remembered as actor personified 


American’s film 

career spanned half 

a century 

by Tom Vartabedian 

New York – Whether he 

played a cop, thug, Mafia kingpin, 

a traveling corset salesman 

or a loveable Italian grandfather, 

rest assured. Val Avery, born Sebouh 

Der Abrahamian, always 

put his best acting foot forward. 

Throughout a film career that 

spanned 50 years, Avery was 

not only your personified journeyman’s 

player but treated 

every role with Oscar-like tendencies. 

For that reason alone, he 

landed some of the best parts 

by the best people in the business 

-- guys like John Cassavetes, 

Ben Gazzara and Peter 

Falk with whom he socialized 

at the Lion’s Head, a popular 

Greenwich Village tavern close 

to his home. 

Avery died Dec. 12 at age 85, 

leaving behind a legacy that 

stands alone by any other Armenian-American 

in the industry. 

In all, he made more than 

100 films and appeared on television 

over 300 times in series 

and dramas. Retirement was 

not in his persona. 

“In the early years, there were 

times when it was rough, times 

when I thought of packing it in, 

and then a job would open up,” he 

said in an interview shortly before 

his death. “And it would lead 

to another role and yet another 

until I had a career and a life.” 

Playing Talaat Pasha 

and many others 

Of all the roles, none matched 

his portrayal of the despicable 

Talaat Pasha in the 1982 Haig 

Toukhanian film, “Assignment 

Berlin.” 

An Armenian playing the 

part of a maligned Turkish assassin 

who instigated the 1915 

genocide 

“He had no misgivings about 

that, none that I know about,” 

said his daughter Margot Avery, 

herself an actress. “I believe 

he was very pleased that the 

project was being done and to 

be playing the bad guy. My father 

had that special Armenian 

hatred for the man and what 

better way to show the world 

his infamy. One of the pictures 

up on the wall in his personal 

gallery was of him in that role 

of Talaat Pasha. My father told 

me once that he sometimes 

dreamed in Armenian.” 

Avery never separated his 

Armenian life from Hollywood, 

not on purpose anyway. He 

Val Avery with Sophia Loren. Photo: Margo Avery. 

changed his name as nearly every 

actor did prior to the 1970s. 

But most who knew him recognized 

his deep-rooted Armenian 

heritage. 

They even wrote him an Armenian 

detective character 

once (Aram Zacharian) that was 

supposed to spin off into his 

own TV series “Quincy M.E.” It 

never got off the ground, something 

to do with a management 

change at the network. 

With Mike Connors, Avery 

performed a number of “Mannix” 

roles, was close friend to 

director Dick Sarafian and Peter 

Palian, a documentary filmmaker 

associated with the Shah 

of Iran at one time. 

Arlene Francis and husband 

Martin Gable were longtime 

friends through the Players’ 

Club, as was William Saroyan. 

The Pulitzer Prize-winning 

writer wrote Avery a short play 

called “Havoc” back in 1975 to 

be a possible companion piece 

when Ben Gazzara was about to 

do “Huey” on Broadway, only to 

be rejected. Word had it there 

wasn’t enough in it for Gazzara. 

But all was not lost. Avery 

performed it years later at The 

Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, 

NY, during its inaugural 

season. 

Avery also told the story of 

attending the opener of “The 

Music Man” with Saroyan and 

taking him backstage to meet 

star Robert Preston. 

“He said it was amazing to 

see two men so impressed with 

one another,” the daughter recalled. 

Among the famous actors he 

appeared with were: Rod Steiger, 

Humphrey Bogart, Paul 

Newman, Steve McQueen, 

Peter Falk, Jack Klugman, Al 

Pachino, Jackie Gleason, Rodney 

Dangerfield, Sylvester Stallone, 

John Belushi, Robert Redford, 

Teri Garr, Henry Winkler, 

Sally Fields, Burt Reynolds, 

Burt Young, Sidney Poitier, Yul 

Brynner, Charles Bronson, Art 

Carney, Anthony Quinn, and 

Mickey Rooney. 

Avery would slip out of his 

usual “tough-guy “groove. Sidney 

Poitier, with whom he had 

worked in “Edge of the City” 

(1957), cast him as a bumbling 

police lieutenant in “Let’s Do It 

Again” (1975). In another episode 

of “The Odd Couple,” he 

played a dentist who invents a 

superglue. In the Cheech and 

Chong film “Up in Smoke,” he 

had the role of a boss inside an 

upholstery factory. 

One of his last, and more 

favorite parts, was that of a 

beloved Italian grandfather in 

“Over the River and Through 

the Woods,” which appeared 

Off-Broadway in 1998. 

Fortified with a drink, he enjoyed 

fixing innocent bystanders 

with a look and then delivering 

his classic line, “I’ll eat 

your liver.” In truth, the man 

never stopped acting, even in 

real life. 

Philly boy with old 

country roots 

Avery grew up in West Philadelphia, 

PA, in the old neighborhood 

around 63rd and Locust 

Streets, which was then comprised 

of Armenian, Jewish and 

Italian immigrants. He acted in 

productions of the Armenian 

Youth Theater. After serving as 

an Army flight instructor during 

World War 2, he enrolled in the 

Bessie V. Hicks School of Drama 

in Philadelphia. 

He was a member of the 

Philadelphia AYF during its 

inception years. Together with 

his brother Peter “Stucey” Der 

Abrahamian, they were familiar 

fixtures at Armenian dances 

and other socials. 

Avery’s dad Megerdich immigrated 

from Sebastia in 

1907 and was able to bring his 

brothers to the United States. 

Megerdich’s father, Bedros Der 

Abrahamian, a Der Hayr at the 

Church of the Holy Mother of 

God in Sivas, was martyred 

during the genocide. 

Avery’s mother Arousiag survived 

the massacre as a young 

wife and mother after being 

saved by an Arab in the Syrian 

Desert. She brought her sisters 

to America and started a new 

family life in Philadelphia. 

Her life was portrayed in the 

factitious story “Mamigon,” 

penned by writer Jack Hashian, 

Avery’s cousin, who also wrote 

the classic spy thriller “The Eiger 

Sanction,” under the pen 

name Trevanian. 

Avery was married to Margot 

Stevenson for 56 years, a stage 

actress mostly known for her 

role as Margot Lane in the radio 

show “The Shadow.” Best man 

at their wedding was actor Rod 

Steiger. 

Their life of caring for one another 

drew no boundaries. 

Val Avery as Talaat Pasha in 

“Assignment Berlin”. 

“Attracted at a young age by 

his swarthy looks, wavy black 

hair and piercing blue eyes, 

their differences in background 

and demeanor made for a great 

complement to a loving relationship,” 

said his nephew, Dro 

Abrahamian. “Their daughter 

(Margot) cared for them both 

over the last few years when 

they were bedridden.” 

Avery was seen by the Philadelphia 

Armenian community 

as “the local boy who made 

good.” During the 1960s and 

1970s especially, you could hear 

at church halls from Philly to 

Boston to Detroit how someone 

caught a rerun of “Columbo” or 

a movie featuring Avery. 

“When he was not on a set, 

he made appearances at Armenian 

functions like the AYF 

Olympics or the old Philadelphia 

ARF-sponsored Armenian 

Week festivities in Atlantic 

City, NJ, or an April 24th rally 

in New York,” said his nephew. 

There’s a story about how he 

attended the 1959 AYF Olympics 

in Philly and there was an 

evening at the theater where 

funny skits were performed. 

Avery and his buddy George 

Dombalagian were reigning 

champs, though improvisation 

was not exactly a forte. 

Avery was versed in both Armenian 

and Turkish. Among his 

many travels, he visited Turkey 

and Sivas during a time when 

it was uncommon and perilous. 

He also visited with the 

Mekhitarists in Venice (where 

his father studied) and for years 

supported Camp Hayastan in 

Franklin, MA. 

He was an avid chef and wine 

connoisseur, often concocting 

Armenian dishes remembered 

from his youth when doing a 

show or entertaining his peers. 

“He wasn’t a Hollywood star 

by any means but one of the 

hardest-working, familiar, sustainable 

and longest-lasting actors 

you would find,” said his 

nephew. “Val would constantly 

view his work as just that and 

didn’t like talking about the entertainment 

business in a glamorous 

fashion. 

f 

Top Val Avery films 

• 1. “Hud” (1963) - ranch 

hand Jose 

• 2. “Hombre” (1967) - stationmaster 

Delgato 

• 3. “The Laughing Policeman” 

(1973) - police inspector 

• 4. “Donnie Brasco” (1997) 

- gangster Trafficante 

Others 

• 

5. “Johnny Straccato” - 

TV series with John Cassavetes 

6. “The Harder They Fall” 

(1956) - Humphrey Bogart’s 

last film 

7. “The Magnificent Seven” 

(1960) --- John Sturges’ 

classic western 

8. “The Anderson Tapes” 

(1971) - Mafia psychopath 

Socks Parelli 

9. “The Pope of Greenwich 

Village” (1984) - 

Mafia godfather 

10. “Too Late Blues” 

(1961) -- Frielobe 

11. “Faces” (1968) 

12. “Minnie and Moskowitz” 

(1971) 

13. “The Killing of a Chinese 

Bookie” (1976) 

14. “Gloria” (1980) 

15. “Up in Smoke” (1978) 

16. “Assignment Berlin” 

(1982) 

17. “Requiem for a Heavyweight” 

(1962) 

18. “Easy Money” (1983) 

• 

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• 

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• 

• 

• 

Frequent TV 

appearances 

“The Fugitive” 

“Gunsmoke” 

“Columbo” 

“The Twilight Zone” 

“The Odd Couple” 

“The Munsters” 

“Law and Order” 

Off-Broadway Stage 

“Over the River and Through 

the Woods” (1998) 

10 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | February 20, 2010

Tankian’s “Elect the Dead” gets classical re-mix 

BurBaNk – Reprise Records 

and Serj Tankian have teamed 

up with theatrical distributor 

Cinema Purgatorio to present 

a series of nationwide 

screenings of Tankian’s Elect 

the Dead Symphony - a very 

special orchestral interpretation 

of Tankian’s critically acclaimed 

solo debut Elect the 

Dead. The dynamic one-off 

performance was recorded 

and filmed in HD by six cameras 

at the majestic Auckland 

Town Hall in New Zealand 

with the Auckland Philharmonia 

Orchestra. 

The dramatic result has 

been captured in the Elect 

the Dead Symphony - a CD/ 

DVD that will be released by 

Serjical Strike/Reprise Records 

on March 9th, 2010. 

Confirmed screening dates 

are below with more in the 

works. Many of the shows 

have been suggested by fans 

and are being organized in 

conjunction with the Armenian-American 

community, 

including the Armenian National 

Committee of America 

(anca.org). 

A pre-order for Elect the 

Dead Symphony has begun exclusively 

on iTunes. Fans who 

pre-order the audio album 

now will receive access to 

their download on February 

23rd - two full 

weeks before the album 

is available in 

stores and from 

all digital service 

providers. 

With the Auckland 

Philharmonia 

Orchestra 

at his side, 

Tankian’s epic 

songs and operatic 

vocals on 

Elect the Dead 

Symphony take 

on a whole new 

sense of grandeur 

when performed 

by a full 70-piece 

orchestra, while the 

DVD’s sweeping edits 

Confirmed screening dates for Elect the Dead 

Symphony are as follows: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

2/19 Portland, OR The Hollywood 

2/19 Indianapolis, IN Republic Theatres 

2/19-20 Bloomington, IN The Ryder at the Fine Arts 

2/19-21 New Concord, OH Muskingum University 

2/20 Providence, RI The Cable Car (9 pm) 

2/20 Seattle, WA Northwest Film Forum 

2/21 San Antonio, TX Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes 

2/21 New York, NY The Leonard Nimoy Theatre @ 

Symphony Space 

2/22 Somerville, MA The Coolidge Corner 

2/26-27 Salt Lake City, UT The Tower 

2/27 New Haven, CT Criterion Cinemas (8 pm) 

3/04 Syracuse, NY The Palace Theatre 

3/06 Shreveport, LA Robinson Film Center 

3/07 Chicago, IL CIMM Festival at Lincoln Hall 

www.serjtankian.com 

s h o w - 

case the drama 

of the concert. This 

unique meshing of two very 

different musical worlds was a 

vision Tankian has long wanted 

to make a reality. What sets 

Elect The Dead Symphony apart 

from other successful pairings 

between rock artists and orchestras 

is that Tankian specifically 

rearranged his songs 

to be performed with only orc 

h e s - 

tral instruments. 

“I was elated to have the opportunity 

to arrange my songs 

from Elect the Dead for a full 

orchestra with the APO,” Tankian 

says. “The arrangements 

are quite different than those 

on the record, including bonus 

tracks never played live.” 

Both bonus tracks, “Gate 21” 

and “The Charade,” have never 

been released and are included 

on the CD, CD/DVD, 

and vinyl formats of Elect the 

Dead Symphony. The DVD 

also features rare and intimate 

backstage footage, as well 

as one-on-one interviews 

with Tankian and various 

members of the 

Auckland Philharmonia 

Orchestra. 

The album contains 

elements of 

rock morphed 

into classical, 

and skewed time 

signatures that 

Tankian has 

made his own, 

all of which 

were scored by 

Tankian himself 

and orchestrated 

for the 

full ensemble by 

respected New 

Zealand composer 

John Psathas. 

The album has been 

mixed by Dutch musician 

Junkie XL, known 

for his remixes for such 

artists as Britney Spears, 

Beastie Boys, Coldplay, Michael 

Bublé, Madonna, Scissor 

Sisters, Sarah McLachlan, and 

many more. 

Elect the Dead was released 

by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records 

on October 12th, 2007 

and received glowing reviews 

from various media, including 

the Los Angeles Times, 

which called it “brutally engaging 

guitar-rock” with 

“steely lyricism and throttling 

textures,” while Rolling 

Stone noted that it “delivers 

amped, intricate, and political 

hard rock.” 

f 

Filmmaker Mikhail Vartanov subject of Spanish exhibit 

BeVerlY Hills – Government 

of Navarra, Spain, on February 

5, 2010, opened a photography 

exhibition in the memory 

of the influential Armenian film 

director, cinematographer and 

essayist Mikhail Vartanov (1937- 

2009) at the 16th century Condestable 

Palace in the framework 

of Punto de Vista International 

Documentary Film Festival of 

Navarra. 

I Will Wear Your Beret Papa 

is the title of the exhibition of 

black and white photographs 

by award-winning filmmaker 

and photographer Martiros 

Vartanov, and feature Mikhail 

Vartanov in his famous beret 

on the streets of Spain and 

his meetings there with Andrei 

Tarkovsky’s sister, Marina 

Tarkovskaya, Jean Vigo’s 

daughter, the film critic Luce 

Vigo, and the Russian filmmakers 

Aleksandr Gordon and 

Herz Frank during the Spanish 

premiere of Vartanov’s 

Armenian masterpiece ‘Parajanov: 

The Last Spring’ which 

for the past 18 years holds the 

record and the distinction for 

winning the first and the only 

Russian Academy of Cinema 

Arts Award for a film made in 

Armenia. Russian Academy 

Award is the most coveted 

professional cinema honor in 

the region of the former Soviet 

countries. 

f 

connect: Parajanov.com 

POB 17257 Beverly Hills, California 

90209 USA 

info@parajanov.com 

http://www.parajanov.com 

Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | February 20, 2010 11

Program Grid 

22 – 28 February 

eST PST 

09:00 PM 12:00 AM 

09:30 PM 12:30 AM 

10:00 PM 1:00 AM 

10:30 PM 1:30 AM 

11:00 PM 2:00 AM 

11:30 PM 2:30 AM 

12:00 AM 3:00 AM 

12:30 AM 3:30 AM 

1:00 AM 4:00 AM 

1:30 AM 4:30 AM 

2:00 AM 5:00 AM 

2:30 AM 5:30 AM 

3:00 AM 6:00 AM 

3:30 AM 6:30 AM 

4:00 AM 7:00 AM 

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5:00 AM 8:00 AM 

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22 February 23 February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 February 

Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday 

Monday 

Dimakahandes 

Immigrants 

88-92 

Yere1 

Americayi Dzayn 

Sahum en astghere 

Sassounian Commentary 

Mi Katil Meghr 

Mer Lezun, Mer Xosqe 

Hayreniq - Spyurq 


Kargin haghordum 

Yere1 


HayFilm 

Blef 

3 Pat 

Immigrants 

87 

Bari Luys 

Mer Lezu, Mer Xosqe 

Khohanotz 

YO YO 

News 

2 Yeres 

1 original 

YERGENQ MIASIN 

Hayreniq-Spyurq 

AAMC 

Unlucky Happiness 

Original 1 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

6 

Immigrants 

88 

News 

Tuesday 

Bari Gisher Hayer 

Dimakahandes 

6 

Immigrants 

88 


Repeat 

News 

Khohanotz 

Yere1 


News 

Bari Gishr Hayer 

32 Atam 

2 Yeres 

1 Repeat 

Blef 

News 

Unlucky Happinessrepeat 

1 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

6 

Immigrants 

88 

Bari Luys 

Sahum en… 

Khohanotz 

YO YO 

News 

2 Yeres 

2 original 

MARIKA 


DRIVE HO BE…. 


2 Original 

32 Atam 

Dimakahandes 

7 

Immigrants 

89 

News 

Wednesday 

Bari Ghisher, hayer 

Dimakahandes 

7 

Immigrants 

84 


Repeat 

News 

Khohanotz 

32 Atam 

News 


Sahum en… 

2 Yeres 

2 Repeat 

Yere1 

News 

Unlucky Happiness- 

Repeat 2 

32 Atam 

Dimakahandes 

7 

Immigrants 

89 

Bari Luys 

Sahum en… 

Khohanotz 

YO YO 

News 

2 Yeres 

3 original 

TITUS 


INSURANCE 


3 Original 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

8 

Immigrants 

90 

News 

Thursday 

Bari Gisher, Hayer 

Dimakahandes 

8 

Immigrants 

85 


Repeat 

News 

Khohanotz 

Yere1 


News 


Sahum en … 

2 Yeres 

2 Repeat 


News 

Unlucky Happinnes 

3 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

8 

Immigrants 

90 

Bari Luys 

Sahum en … 

MARIKA 

Aybenaran 

News 

2 Yeres 

4 original 

KIA 

DRIVE TO BE… 


BRAND SURQICAL 

Unlucky Happinnes 

4 Original 

Kargin Haghordum 

Dimakahandes 

9 

Immigrants 

91 

News 

Friday 

3 pat 

Bari Gisher, hayer 

Dimakahandes 

9 

Immigrants 

86 

Unlucky Happiness-Rep. 

News 

Khohanotz 

Yere1 


News 


Sahum en… 

2 Yeres 

4 Repeat 

Yere1 

News 

Unlucki Happiness- 

Repeat 4 


Dimakahandes 

9 

Immigrants 

91 

Bari Luys 

Mer lezun, Mer Xosqe 

Khohanotz 

Aybenaran 

News 

2 Yeres 

5 original 

STEPAN 

RUBINA 


5 Original 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

10 

Immigrants 

92 

News 

Saturday 

32 Atam 


Dimakahandes 

10 

Immigrants 

87 

Unlicky Happiness-Rep. 

News 

HAYTNUTYUN 


News 

Yere1 

Blef 

Mer lezun, mer xosqe 

2 Yeres 

5 Repeat 


News 

Unlucky Happiness- 

Repeat 5 

Yere1 

Dimakahandes 

10 

Immigrants 

92 

32 Atam 

Naxord 


Arajnordaran 


TITUS 

2 Yeres 

6 original 


Yere1 

Blef 



32 Atam 

Sahum en astghere 


28 February 

Sunday 

Sunday 




2 Yeres 

Repeat 


32 Atam 

Ancac shabatva 


Yere1 


Blef 

2 Yeres 

6 Repeat 

Blef 


Kargin haghordum 

32 Atam 

Sahum en 

Astghere 


Arajnordaran 

Armenian Teletime 



RAFI 


Blef 

3 Pat 

Dimakahandes 

Mitch Kehetian’s book tells of Armenian struggle 

Sparked by author’s 

travel to Western 

Armenia in 1969 

by Chad Selweski 

DeTroiT – A former newspaper 

editor who spent many 

late nights working a second 

shift pecking away at a manual 

typewriter in his basement has 

finally seen all those pages come 

to life. 

Mitch Kehetian, a longtime 

Macomb Daily editor, is releasing 

his first book, “Giants of 

the Earth,” which tells of the 

struggles and persecution of 

the Armenian people. Kehetian, 

known equally as a proud 

Armenian and sage journalist, 

said the book project began 

more than three decades ago. 

“Actually, the 13 chapters 

were written in the 1970s and 

early ‘80s. And then I just let it 

sit. I figured I’d present it someday 

to my grandchildren as a 

memoir,” Kehetian said. 

One of the book’s highlights 

is a description of the first of 

Kehetian’s five trips to his 

homeland, an eight-day journey 

in 1969 that ended with a 

prayer at his aunt’s mountaintop 

gravesite overlooking the 

Euphrates River. 

Family members had long encouraged 

Kehetian to complete 

the book. The finished product 

is dedicated to a cousin, Rev. 

Vartan Kassabian, a priest in 

the Armenian Church, who 

died suddenly in March 2009 

and never saw the publication 

he had longed to read. 

“Giants of the Earth” recounts 

Kehetian’s discovery of his 

heritage in historical “Turkishheld” 

Armenia and his search 

for his father’s sister, Parancim, 

who hadn’t been seen since 

1947. On this literary journey, 

the author shares antique snapshots 

of Armenia and explores 

the country’s history from its 

early existence 2,000 years ago 

to the death and devastation it 

suffered during the genocide 

of 1915-23 at the hands of the 

Turkish-led Ottoman Empire. 

“I want people to know there 

has been a race of people there 

for 2,000 years and the genocide 

was not based on religion. 

This was not a jihad by Muslims. 

This was a systematic plan 

to eradicate the Armenians and 

move them out of the interior 

area,” said Kehetian, 79. 

On Capitol Hill, efforts to 

recognize the genocide victims, 

estimated at more than 1 million, 

have been the subject of 

contention in numerous resolutions 

proposed by the House 

and Senate. Each time, the Armenian-American 

community 

was overpowered by political 

pressures from Turkey, which 

has consistently disputed the 

genocide label, and concerns 

expressed by the State Department, 

which views Islamic Turkey 

as a key, strategically located 

U.S. ally. 

In Washington, the tensions 

were so high between the Armenian 

and Turkish communities 

that Kehetian in 1969 

stood little chance of gaining a 

passport and approval to travel 

deep into the interior of the 

barren, depopulated homeland 

of his ancestors in Turkish-held 

Armenia. 

The trip was made possible by 

the behind-the-scenes efforts 

of a powerful Polish-American 

congressman from Detroit’s 

East Side, Lucien Nedzi, and 

Secretary of State William Rogers. 

A copy of an airgram from 

Rogers’ office to the American 

Embassy in Ankara enlisting its 

assistance in helping Kehetian 

in his mission is included in the 

memoir. The “limited official 

use” airgram refers to “various 

cities in Eastern Turkey 

once heavily populated by Armenians” 

- and a FYI alert that 

Kehetian has discovered that “a 

relative survived Turkish massacres 

several decades ago.” 

The author said the Armenian-American 

community, 

consisting of 1.5 million people, 

was dismayed after they supported 

Barack Obama in 2008. 

On the observance of Armenian 

Memorial Day last April. 

Obama’s presidential proclamation 

referred to the 1915-23 

slaughter as a “great calamity,” 

not genocide. While campaigning 

for president Obama said 

he would be a president who 

recognizes the massacre of the 

Armenians as a genocide. 

After his retirement in November 

2005 after spending 

more than 50 years in journalism, 

Kehetian eventually 

returned to his transcript and 

added a prologue and epilogue. 

Kehetian wrote the book 

“newspaper style,” not in scholarly 

prose. “Giants of the Earth” 

is not targeted at first generation 

Armenian-Americans who 

know the homeland’s history 

well, or the second generation 

who earned their heritage 

through word of mouth. The 

author’s audience, he hopes, 

will be the third generation. 

“I want that third generation 

to know what really happened,” 

he said, “and I want them to 

understand why the Armenians 

still seek justice.” 

Kehetian, a native Detroiter, 

was president of the Detroit 

Press Club and Society of 

Professional Journalists. He 

served for 13 years as a governing 

board trustee at Central 

Michigan University. 

In 2006 Wayne State University’s 

Journalism Department honored 

the former Macomb Daily 

editor with its coveted “Lifetime 

Achievement Award” for “championing 

the public’s right to 

know” for more than 50 years. f 

Editor’s note: “Giants of the Earth,” 160 

pages, is published by Publish America. 

For information to order, log on to: www. 

publishamerica.net/product88361.html 

This article by Chad Selweski first appeared 

on January 4, 2010 in Macomb Daily. 

12 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | February 20, 2010

Watch Armenia TV on Dish Network. To get a dish and subscribe, call 1-888-284-7116 toll free. 

Satellite Broadcast Program Grid 

22 – 28 February 

22 February 23 February 24 February 

Monday TueSday WedneSday 

eST PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 “Unhappy 

Happiness”-Serial 

6:30 9:30 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

7:20 10:20 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

8:10 11:10 Good 

Night,Armenians 

10:00 13:00 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

10:40 13:40 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

11:20 14:20 “Unhappy 


12:00 15:00 Telekitchen 

12:30 15:30 Blef 

13:00 16:00 News in 


14:00 17:00 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

14:40 17:40 Our 

Language,Our Speech 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 Yere1 

16:00 19:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

16:20 19:20 “Unhappy 


17:00 20:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 

18:20 21:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

19:00 22:00 News in 


19:30 22:30 Good 

Morning,Armenians 

21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


23:00 2:00 “Unhappy 


23:50 2:50 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

1:30 4:30 News in 


2:00 5:00 When tha stars 

skaiting 

2:30 5:30 Yere1 

3:00 6:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

3:30 6:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

eST PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 “Unhappy 


6:00 9:00 32 Tooth 


Film 

8:10 11:10 Good 


10:00 13:00 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

10:40 13:40 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

11:20 14:20 “Unhappy 



12:30 15:30 A Drop of 

Honey 

13:00 16:00 News in 


13:30 16:30 Yere1 

14:00 17:00 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 32 Tooth 

16:00 19:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

16:20 19:20 “Unhappy 


17:00 20:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

18:20 21:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

19:00 22:00 News in 


19:30 22:30 Good 


21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


23:00 2:00 “Unhappy 


23:50 2:50 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

1:30 4:30 News in 



skaiting 

3:00 6:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

3:30 6:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

eST PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 “Unhappy 


6:00 9:00 Yere1 

6:30 9:30 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

8:10 11:10 Good 


10:00 13:00 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

10:40 13:40 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

11:20 14:20 “Unhappy 



12:30 15:30 A Drop of 

Honey 

13:00 16:00 News in 


13:30 16:30 A Drop of 

Honey 

14:00 17:00 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 Yere1 

16:20 19:20 A Drop of 

Honey 

17:00 20:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

18:20 21:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

19:00 22:00 News in 


19:30 22:30 Good 


21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

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23:00 2:00 “Unhappy 


23:50 2:50 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

1:30 4:30 News in 



skaiting 

2:30 5:30 Yere1 

3:00 6:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

3:30 6:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

eST PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 “Unhappy 


6:00 9:00 3 Wall 

6:30 9:30 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

8:30 11:30 Good 


10:20 13:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

11:00 14:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

11:40 14:40 “Unhappy 



13:00 16:00 News in 


13:30 16:30 Yere1 

14:00 17:00 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 Nostalgy 

16:00 19:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

16:20 19:20 “Unhappy 


17:00 20:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

18:20 21:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

19:30 22:30 Good 


21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


23:00 2:00 “Unhappy 


23:50 2:50 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

1:30 4:30 News in 


1:50 4:50 3 Wall 

2:40 5:40 A Drop of 

Honey 

3:30 6:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

Art fundraiser to benefit Armenia schools 

25 February 26 February 27 February 28 February 

ThurSday Friday SaTurday Sunday 

eST PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 “Unhappy 


6:00 9:00 Yere1 

6:30 9:30 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 


Film 

8:30 11:30 32 Tooth 

9:45 12:45 Good 


10:20 13:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

11:00 14:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

11:40 14:40 “Unhappy 



13:00 16:00 News in 


13:30 16:30 32 Tooth 

14:00 17:00 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

14:40 17:40 A Drop of 

Honey 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 Yere1 

16:00 19:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

16:20 19:20 “Unhappy 


17:00 20:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 


skaiting 

18:20 21:20 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

19:00 22:00 News in 


19:20 22:20 Blef 

21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

22:15 1:15 32 Tooth 

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1:30 4:30 News in 


2:00 5:00 A Drop of 

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2:40 5:40 “Favorite”- 

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3:20 6:20 Blef 

3:50 6:50 Yere1 

eST 

PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 


5:00 8:00 Nostalgy 

6:00 9:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

6:30 9:30 32 Tooth 


skaiting-Concert 

9:00 12:00 “Unhappy 


11:00 14:00 News in 


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skaiting 

15:00 18:00 News in 


15:30 18:30 Yere1 

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16:40 19:40 A Drop of 

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17:30 20:30 “Celebrity”- 

Serial 

19:00 22:00 Our 


19:30 22:30 Armenian- 

Diaspora 


skaiting-Concert 

22:00 1:00 Yere1 

23:30 2:30 Blef 

0:00 3:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

2:00 5:00 VOA(The Voice 

of America) 

2:45 5:45 Armenian- 

Diaspora 

3:15 6:15 A Drop of 

Honey 

eST 

PST 

4:30 7:30 News in 



6:00 9:00 Blef 

6:30 9:30 3 Wall 

7:30 10:30 “Mascarad’- 

Serial 

11:00 14:00 “Immigrants”- 

Film 

12:00 15:00 3 Wall 

13:00 16:00 VOA(The Voice 

of America) 

13:30 16:30 A Drop of 

Honey 

14:00 17:00 “Unhappy 


19:00 22:00 News in 


19:30 22:30 Good 


21:00 0:00 News in 


21:30 0:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 


23:00 2:00 32 Tooth 

0:00 3:00 3 Wall 


1:30 4:30 News in 


2:00 5:00 Our 


2:30 5:30 Blef 

3:00 6:00 A Drop of 

Honey 

3:30 6:30 “Favorite”- 

Serial 

SaN Diego – Local chapters of 

the Knights and Daughters of 

Vartan held their First Annual 

Armenian Art Night on January 

23, 2010 at St. John Garabed 

Armenian Church. Attendees 

came from Los Angeles, Orange 

County and the local San Diego 

communities. 

The event featured the sale 

over 90 works of art - paintings, 

sculptures, photography, 

crafts - by Armenian artists 

from around the world. Proceeds 

went to the Armenian 

School Support Project (ASSP), 

which rebuilds schools in Armenia 

with a 9-to-1 match from 

the World Bank. The Knights 

and Daughters of Vartan nationwide 

have worked with the 

World Bank to raise more than 

$20 million dollars for Armenia’s 

schools, which have long 

been in need of repair. 

Through the sale of artworks 

and other donations, the event 

netted $10,000 for the ASSP. 

With the 9 to 1 match from the 

World Bank ($90,000), the total 

amount raised is $100,000 to 

rebuild schools in Armenia. 

The event was sponsored by 

Mr. and Mrs. Armen Gostanian 

and Mr. and Mrs. Gary 

Takessian. The Committee for 

Armenian Art Night included: 

Serop Karoglanian, Co-Chair; 

Tanya Yerevanian, Co-Chair; 

Susanna Abrahamyan, Anahit 

Avanesyan, Greg Babikian, Pam 

Esserian, Armen Gostanian, 

Jack Hachigian, Lisa Kradjian, 

Steven Kradjian, Susan Lapping, 

Elizabeth Missakian, Renata 

Sahagian, Naira Serobyan, 

Sonia Serpekian, and Sergey 

Simavoryan. Key Knights and 

Daughters of Vartan volunteers 

included Rev. Fr. A.K. Datev 

Tatoulian and Yeretzgin Araxy 

Tatoulian, Nishan and Anie 

Chadergian, Hunan Arshakian 

and Rose and Serop Babayan. 

Many other volunteers and donors 

from the community assisted 

as well. 

For more information about 

the Knights and Daughters of 

Vartan and the Armenia School 

Support Project, visit www. 

knightsofvartan.org or contact 

Commander Steve Kradjian (skradjian@san.rr.com) 

or Matron 

Sonia Serpekian (sserpekian@ 

aol.com). 

f 

Artist Samvel Marutyan (second from 

right) and his family. 

Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | February 20, 2010 13

14 The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010

The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010 15 

Armenia 

Armenia picks Eva Rivas for Eurovision song contest 

YEREVAN – Choosing among nine 

finalists Armenians picked 22-yearold 

Eva Rivas, a tall Angelina Jolie 

look-alike, as Armenia’s next representative 

at the Eurovision, a popular 

pan-European music contest. 

During February 14 final, Ms. Rivas 

performed a soulful pop-folk 

song Apricot Stone composed by 

Armen Martirosian and with lyrics 

by Karen Kavalerian on a theme of 

Diasporan’s longing for Armenia. 

The Russian-Armenian trounced 

the Los Angeles-based duo Mihran 

and Emmy with their dance number 

Hey (let me hear you say)! The 

latter protested the outcome and 

speculated that public voting conducted 

via SMS was skewed in Ms. 

Rivas’ favor. 

But most music fans appeared to 

have dismissed the protests, with 

Ms. Rivas emerging as a favorite 

well before the vote. As of this week, 

Apricot Stone video clocked more 

than 150,000 YouTube hits (with 

Ms. Rivas’ earlier performance 

of Sayat Nova’s Tamam Ashkhar 

– more than 135,000), compared to 

Emmy and Mihran’s at less than 

70,000 hits. 

As in years past, the contest 

was organized by Armenia’s Public 

television (H1) and vote count 

was monitored by Grant Thornton 

Amyot auditors. 

A Rostov Armenian 

Ms. Rivas was born Valeria Reshetnikova 

in a Russian-Armenian family 

in Rostov-on-Don, city with a large 

and historic Armenian presence. 

“I am 75 percent Armenian and I 

feel Armenian,” Ms. Reshetnikova 

told www.Panorama.am in a recent 

interview. 

According to her web site www. 

evarivas.com and reporting by 

Gazeta Dona, a Rostov newspaper, 

Lera (short for Valeria) began singing 

with a local Armenian ensemble 

Arevik that performed classical, 

church and pop music while only 

eight years old. Appearing in youth 

festivals in Russia, Lera and Arevik 

won numerous awards and commendations. 

In addition to singing, the young 

Ms. Reshetnikova modeled and 

participated in a number of beauty 

pageants. In 2005 she was selected 

as runner up in the Ms. Caucasus 

competition held in Yerevan. 

At the same time, Ms. Reshetnikova 

launched her solo music 

career, performing one of Sayat 

Rivas performing at Five Stars in Sochi, Russia in 2007. 

Photo: Eurovision.org.ru 

Nova’s Armenian classics at a Moscow 

music festival and recording 

several Russian-language songs. 

Since leaving Rostov in 2006, Ms. 

Reshetnikova adopted her ethnic 

Greek grandmother’s name, Eva 

Rivas, as her stage name. 

After winning a third spot at 

Armenia’s last year’s Eurovision reps 

Inga and Anush Arshakian announced 

the 2010 contender. Photo: Photolure. 

the Russian “Five stars” competition 

in 2007, Ms. Rivas said her 

goal was to sing at Eurovision. “I 

always achieve what I set out to do,” 

AFA extends leadership program to Artsakh youth 

Rivas reacts to 

her nomination 

on Feb. 14. 

Photo: Photolure. 

Rivas singing following her nomination. Photo: Photolure. 

she reportedly said at the time. 

And now Ms. Rivas has taken aim 

at the top spot of the Eurovision 

competion in Norway next May. f 

Yerevan – Following a series of 

successful government training 

programs, Americans for Artsakh 

has just completed the first in what 

will be an annual series of youth 

leadership programs in Artsakh. 

AFA brought an outstanding 

team of experienced trainers to 

Stepanakert and Shushi to provide 

valuable leadership skills to the 

most gifted and motivated university 

students in the area. Students 

were selected from a range of local 

tertiary-level institutions, and 

training space was generously provided 

by Artsakh State University 

and the Naregatsi Art Institute in 

Shushi. 

The course provided leadership, 

negotiation, and cognitive effectiveness 

(or “lateral thinking”) 

training, based on methodology 

developed by the Harvard University/Mercy 

Corps Conflict Management 

Group. 

The material focused on using 

the ideas of prominent authors to 

bring these concepts, vital to success 

in the modern world, to the 

area. A total of 30 students received 

an intensive (eight hours a day), 

eight-day training session that was 

broken up into four components 

based on which author was being 

presented at a given time. 

Each of the trainers - Arshak Balayan, 

Tigran Bertizyan, Hamazasp 

Danielyan, and Gayane Vardanyan 

- taught one section of the course. 

Class activities included games, role 

plays, and various types of teambuilding 

exercises that helped reinforce 

the ideas and foster a sense of 

camaraderie among the group. In addition 

to the course itself, the team 

was featured on a national television 

show based in Shushi. 

Another component of the program 

involved the provision of special 

grants to select students who 

will conduct their own community 

service projects using the methods 

they learned in the course. The 

grants will be given on a competitive 

basis, based on which students 

write the best proposals. 

Although the training team has 

conducted similar projects in other 

parts of the Armenian world, they 

had a unique experience in Artsakh. 

Upon completion of the course, 

team leader Balayan commented, 

“People in Artsakh need us. They really 

need what we teach and I feel 

that I am doing more than I have 

done teaching two years in Yerevan.” 

Participant Alexander Badalov 

concurred. “This is the first longterm 

youth training ever organized 

in Artsakh...I am impressed. I hope 

[the trainers] will be back for more.” 

Since AFA began organizing 

training courses in 2008, most of 

the trainers have taken note of the 

great need in the area and deep appreciation 

that they receive from 

the beneficiaries in Artsakh. 

Because of its unrecognized political 

status and comparative lack 

of foreign aid programs, Artsakh’s 

particular disadvantage affects 

its ability to implement programs 

such as these. As a result, the enthusiasm 

of the participants, penetration 

into the local population 

AFA youth seminar participants. Courtesy photo. 

and overall impact are far greater 

than in many other places. 

AFA plans to continue its training 

courses at both the government 

and university level, and also 

offer more subject-specific courses 

to students and professionals in 

Artsakh. 

f 

connect: 

www.americansforartsakh.org, 

info@americansforartsakh.org

16 The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010 

Armenia 

Cab drivers, gold traders in Armenia protest ‘tax pressures’ 

by Tatevik Lazarian, 

Satenik Vantsian 

(18.02.2010) Taxi drivers and gold 

trade workers held separate protests 

in Armenia on Thursday condemning 

what they see as unfair 

tax pressures threatening their further 

business operations. 

About 500 taxi drivers working 

as individual entrepreneurs in the 

northern provinces of Shirak and 

Lori converged in the country’s second 

largest city of Gyumri to call 

for “more acceptable offers” over 

the tax legislation regulating their 

sphere of activity. Earlier, the government 

had already responded 

to the taxi drivers’ demands by 

moderating their position on the 

amount of taxes they are due to pay 

annually. 

But the drivers who gathered at a 

rally in Gyumri were mostly unimpressed 

by the government offer. 

“The government has made some 

concessions and we appreciate it. 

But we also make some concessions 

on our part,” one taxi driver 

told RFE/RL. “Earlier, we offered 

to pay 2,500-3,000 drams ($6.5-8) 

a month to do our work. Now we 

have decided to make an effort 

and pay around 3,500-4,000 drams 

a month, which will amount to 

48,000 drams (about $125) a year.” 

“We just wanted to earn our daily 

bread,” said another disgruntled 

taxi driver. 

Last month private taxi drivers 

in Gyumri addressed a complaint 

to the government and parliament 

as well as their city authorities 

demanding that the legislation 

regulating their sphere should be 

reviewed, otherwise threatening to 

“seek asylum in other countries”, including 

in neighboring Turkey. 

The chief of the presidential 

surveillance service has met taxi 

drivers twice during this month 

to present an eight-point plan of 

mutual concessions under which 

taxi drivers will have to pay about 

170,000 drams (about $450) a year. 

At the rally in Gyumri on Thursday, 

the taxi drivers prepared a reply 

to this offer, finding that only 

three of all proposals are acceptable 

for them. They said they were ready 

to pay taxes only on a monthly basis 

and in the amount that is about 

three times as less as the one proposed 

by the government. 

Meanwhile, workers of a gold 

trade market in capital Yerevan 

gathered near the government 

building demanding to see Prime 

Minister Tigran Sargsian and urging 

the government to put an end 

to what they described as “tax terror” 

being used against them. 

“Every day you expect a taxman 

to come and cite an [inflated] figure. 

They’ve gone beyond all boundaries 

and indeed are depriving us of 

oxygen,” complained one trader approached 

by RFE/RL. 

The workers of the Vagharshyan 

& Sons gold trade market alleged 

unreasonably high taxes being 

imposed on them by taxmen and 

fines for doing trade in foreign currency, 

which they claim is provoked 

by the taxmen themselves. Besides, 

they protested an additional tax of 

50,000 drams (about $130) a year 

set by the city authorities. They 

said they ran out of patience the 

previous day when tax service employees 

showed up at the market 

and started to make an inventory 

of their goods. 

But the gold market traders are 

mainly concerned over a change 

order in which they pay taxes. In 

Jailed military official refutes his lawyers’ statements 

Gold traders 

protest in 

Yerevan’s main 

square on Feb. 18. 

Photolure 

the past they used to pay a fixed 

tax. Beginning this year they are required 

to pay taxes in the amount 

of 2 percent of their business if 

they have invoices, otherwise they 

are required to pay an 11-percent 

tax. The traders selling mostly expensive 

items say their incomes are 

not high despite a high amount of 

trade in absolute terms. 

“We cannot pay even 0.2 percent, let 

alone 2 percent,” said one woman. 

Representatives of the government 

promised to look into the 

matter and provide an answer on 

Friday. The protesters, many of 

whom do not expect the matter to 

be resolved in their favor, meanwhile, 

said they would gather again 

at the same venue the next day. f 

© 2010 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with 

the permission of Radio Free Europe / 

Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., 

N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl. 

org 

by Karine Kalantarian 

(15.02.2010) A former senior Defense 

Ministry official arrested 

recently on suspicion of disclosing 

a secret government order that 

paved the way for the Armenian 

military’s involvement in the suppression 

of the 2008 opposition 

protests in Yerevan has refused the 

statements made by his two lawyers 

in an RFE/RL interview last 

week and refused to further avail 

himself of their services. 

Hovik Arsenian, who now represents 

Armen Sargsian’s legal interests, 

told RFE/RL on Monday that 

the statements made by Tigran 

Atanesian and Artur Grigorian and 

the opinions expressed by them 

“had never been agreed with my client.” 

Sargsian, the former head of 

the ministry’s construction department, 

was arrested in late December 

about two weeks after the 

pro-opposition daily “Haykakan 

Zhamanak” published a photocopy 

of the order signed on February 

23, 2008 by then Defense Minister 

Mikael Harutiunian. The written 

Soldiers during emergency rule in Yerevan following March 1-2, 2008 clashes. 

Photo: Photolure 

directive was issued immediately 

after the outgoing President Robert 

Kocharian ordered Armenia’s 

Armenia reports record heroin seizure 

top security and military officials 

to thwart what he called attempts 

by his predecessor and opposition 

leader Levon Ter-Petrosian to 

“seize power by illegal means.” He 

referred to non-stop demonstrations 

staged by Ter-Petrosian following 

the hotly disputed February 

19 presidential election. 

Colonel Seyran Shahsuvarian, 

the Defense Ministry spokesman, 

told RFE/RL late last week that 

Sargsian was charged with disclosing 

“state secrets.” He confirmed 

that the accusation stemmed from 

the revelation of the controversial 

order. Shahsuvarian declined to 

give further details, saying that the 

investigation is being conducted 

by the National Security Service 

(NSS). 

In an interview with RFE/RL late 

last week, Atanesian and Grigorian, 

still speaking as Sargsian’s lawyers, 

said that their client had nothing 

to do with what they described as 

a “fabricated” charge. “The case 

will become a matter of a judicial 

inquest and he [Armen Sargsian] 

will give detailed testimony as to 

who was interested in opening this 

criminal case and taking him into 

custody. He has authorized us to 

give concrete names. One of them 

is Seyran Ohanian and the other, 

the current chief of the General 

Staff, [Yuri] Khachaturov.” 

“I met with my client today and he 

was very angry, because both Defense 

Minister Seyran Ohanian and 

Chief of the General Staff Yuri Khachaturov 

are his comrades-in-arms, 

and he has never had grounds, and 

could not have, to have doubts 

about them on any issue or about 

their dedication. In particular, he 

stated that for about 13 years he 

worked in the Defense Ministry 

and his work was only aimed at 

strengthening our army,” Sargsian’s 

new lawyer Arsenian told RFE/RL 

this week, quoting his client. 

Arsenian said no such “discrediting 

or libelous subject” as raised 

by Sargsian’s former lawyers was 

discussed during his meeting with 

the client. 

“It is very unclear for me why 

statements or opinions of this 

kind were made and expressed,” he 

said. 

f 





org 

by Emil Danielyan 

(11.02.2010) Armenian law-enforcement 

authorities reported on 

Thursday their biggest-ever seizure 

of heroin which they said was 

smuggled to Armenia by Iranian 

drug dealers through neighboring 

Turkey. 

The Armenian police and the Office 

of the Prosecutor-General said 

about 7 kilograms of the Class A 

drug were discovered late on Monday 

in a car that was driven by a 

Russian citizen of Armenian descent 

and carried an Iranian national 

identified as Mostafa Advai. 

A police statement said the heroin 

consignment was thrown by an 

unknown drug trafficker in Turkey 

over barbed wire stretching along 

the Turkish-Armenian border and 

picked up by Advai moments later. 

It said both Advai and the Russian- 

Armenian, identified as Hovannes 

Davtian, were arrested on the spot, 

near an undisclosed section of the 

closed frontier guarded by Russian 

troops. 

Another Iranian citizen, identified 

as Hosein Tazeh Kand, was arrested 

in the same area earlier on 

Monday. The police and the prosecutors 

said law-enforcement authorities 

found about 5 kilograms 

of opium in his car. According to 

the police statement, the drug load 

was likewise tossed from the Turkish 

side of the border. 

The prosecutors estimated the 

total black-market value of the confiscated 

drugs at around $2 million. 

“The investigation is continuing, 

and we will additionally report on 

its results,” read their statement. 

The statement said a total of 

“about a dozen persons,” among 

them suspected drug dealers and 

users, have been arrested in an 

investigation jointly conducted by 

anti-narcotics units of the Office 

of the Prosecutor-General and the 

police. The latter reported only four 

arrests. Three of the detainees identified 

by the police are Iranians. 

A number of Iranian nationals are 

already serving prison sentences in 

Armenia handed down on drug-related 

charges. Iran is believed to be 

the main source of drugs smuggled 

into the country from abroad. 

Drug trafficking and addiction 

in Armenia, although still low by 

international standards, has increased 

since independence. According 

to the Armenian police, 

the number of officially registered 

drug-related crimes committed in 

the country nearly doubled to 539 

last year. The police also recorded 

690 instances of illegal drug possession, 

compared with 372 such 

cases registered in 2008. f 





org


Armenia 

Market update 

by the Cascade 

Investments Group 

FX outlook 

USD/AMD 

Pair rate had a negative performance 

in January and was near 

AMD 378.14-377.7/ USD 1. The volume 

of dollars traded on the NAS- 

DAQ OMX Armenia increased by 

87% to USD 148 million with an 

average price AMD 377.37/ USD 1. 

During first two weeks of February 

trading session on the NAS- 

DAQ OMX Armenia the volume of 

traded dollars reached to USD 29.3 

million with an average price of 

AMD 380.14/ USD 1. In general, 

the demand for the dollar on the 

Armenian FX market increasingly 

grows, suggesting investors expecting 

the repetition of March 

events. Currently the CBA is selling 

enough dollars on the NAS- 

DAQ OMX Armenia to maintain 

the USD/AMD pair rate within the 

targeted range. During January 

and February trading sessions 

the CB sold USD 150.5 million and 

bought USD 8.5 million. However, 

we are of a view the dram will depreciate 

as soon as the CB will not 

be able continue selling out its 

reserves. 

EUR/USD 

The dollar started the year’s trading 

session with a negative tendency. 

Optimism regarding economic 

recovery along with rising 

oil prices set the dollar on the 

bearish path against the commodity 

exporting countries. Another 

important factor influencing 

negatively on the dollar’s outlook 

was Fed’s meeting, as policy 

makers considered the option for 

extending stimulus programs, 

while the dollar’s main strengths 

was based on expectations the 

key interest rate will be set on 

a hike in the near future. However, 

the dollar went towards the 

end of January’s trading session 

with a positive performance 

versus all major counterparts, 

after the published GDP report 

brought figures beyond what 

analysts suggested, adding confidence 

for the U.S. economy and 

currency outlook. In February 

the USD gained a notable advance 

touching a record high rate for 

2010. One of the reasons favoring 

the USD was better than expected 

unemployment data published 

on February’05. Another reason 

was budget deficit among some 

EU countries resulting in recovered 

risk aversion on the world’s 

equity markets. Meanwhile, the 

budget deficit in Greece is getting 

extended outside its boarder to 

Portugal, Spain and Italy worsening 

the EUR’s position. We believe, 

the currency’s long term trend 

will mainly depend on sentiment 

as well as macroeconomic data. 

Probably the most important 

among them are the 4Q GDP data 

for USA and Euro zone. 

104 

103 

102 

101 

100 

99 

98 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

500 

450 

400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Key macroeconomic 

indicators 

CPI 

J-09 M-09 M-09 J-09 S-09 N-09 

Corporate Securities 

GDP 

GDP 

For January-December Armenia’s 

GDP contracted by 14.4 compared 

to the same period in 2008. The 

decline reflects 36.4% and 7.8% decline 

in construction and industry 

sectors. The export and import 

indicators fell by 34 and 25.3 percentage 

points respectively. The 

volume of produced electricity 

has decreased by 7.2%. However, 

against the previous month most 

of the data posted notable increase. 

Thus, retail indicator rose by 70.9%, 

service sector by 50%. Volume of 

industrial production and contraction 

went up by 8.7 and 14.8 percentage 

points respectively. 

Gradually improving data suggests 

our economy is on a right recovery 

path. According to the forecasts 

of the CBA, in 2010 the GDP 

will post about 1 % growth versus 

2009. The volume of construction 

expected to rise by 1-4% mainly 

due to transport and telecommunication 

sectors. Export data will 

post 11-15% nominal and 2-4% real 

growth by the end of 2010. The volume 

of import valuated in dollars 

will have about 2% real growth. The 

volume of transfers also expected 

to rise by 5-10% due to economic 

recovery in Russia. 

Inflation Overview 

On January 20th the CBA Board increased 

the refinancing rate to 5.5%. 

In December inflation rate was 2% 

compared to November and YOY 

inflation increased to 6.5% exceeding 

the target level by 1 %. 

Accelerated rate of global economic 

recovery resulted in increased 

external pressure on domestic inflation. 

In this situation increased 

level of refinancing rate will help to 

mitigate the inflation rate and keep 

it close to the target level. 

Cascade Business 

Sentiment Index (CBSI) 

In January the CBCI posted a slight 

increase to 3.9. The positive tendency 

reflects increased optimism 

in world markets. 

Cascade Commodity 

Index (CCI) 

In January the Cascade Commodity 

Index posted a slight increase by 

0.88 % to 20388, mainly reflecting a 

slight price movement of fuel price. 

Corporate securities 

In 2009 the volume of traded corporate 

bonds compared to 2008 increased 

by 370% suggesting Armenian 

equity market is on a right developing 

path in spite of global financial 

crises. In the second part of 2009 

trading session government bonds 

market also posted notable improvement 

due to lower spread and more 

attractive conditions for investors. 

A new trading session on the 

NASDAQ OMX Armenia started 

quite passive. In January the volume 

of corporate bonds traded 

on the NASDAQ OMX Armenia decreased 

by 75% to AMD 96 million 

compared to December 2009. The 

average yield decreased to 10.74%. 

1781 securities were traded. In 

January the most actively traded 

bonds were Inecobank. 

In the corresponding period 

the volume of traded government 

bonds on the NASDAQ OMX Armenia 

increased four times to AMD 400 

million with 13% average yield. f 

Armenian PM, Turkish economist consider “cross-border regionalism” 

Yield (%) 

GDP (in bln.AMD) (%) 

13 

12,5 

12 

11,5 

11 

10,5 

10 

15 

10 

5 

0 

-5 

-10 

-15 

-20 

6 2 0 

5 7 0 

5 2 0 

4 7 0 

4 2 0 

3 7 0 

4 0 0 

3 9 0 

3 8 0 

3 7 0 

3 6 0 

3 5 0 

3 4 0 

3 3 0 

3 2 0 

3 1 0 

3 0 0 

150 

130 

110 

90 

70 

50 

30 

EUR/AMD 

N -0 8 D -0 8 F -0 9 A -0 9 M-0 9 J-0 9 S -0 9 O -0 9 J-1 0 

EUR/AMD EUR/AMD Index (Jan'08- 100%) 

USD/AMD 

N-0 8 D -0 8 F-0 9 A -0 9 M-0 9 J-0 9 S -0 9 O-0 9 J-1 0 

USD/AMD USD/AMD Index (Jan'08- 100%) 

Construction 

10 

08-08 10-08 12-08 02-09 04-09 06-09 08-09 10-09 12-09 

Construction volume (in bln. AMD) YOY change (%) 

Construction as % of GDP 

% 

1 3 0 

1 2 5 

1 2 0 

1 1 5 

1 1 0 

1 0 5 

1 0 0 

9 5 

9 0 

8 5 

8 0 

% 

1 3 0 

1 2 5 

1 2 0 

1 1 5 

1 1 0 

1 0 5 

1 0 0 

9 5 

9 0 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

-10 

-20 

-30 

-40 

-50 

-60 

Yerevan – The American Chamber 

of Commerce in Armenia (Am- 

Cham) and The Economic Policy Research 

Foundation of Turkey (TE- 

PAV), with the support of the U.S. 

Embassy Yerevan, hosted a panel 

discussion on “Turkish-Armenian 

Relations and Cross-Border Regionalism” 

on Friday, February 12. 

Panelists for this event included 

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran 

Sargsyan, U.S. Ambassador Marie 

L. Yovanovitch and TEPAV’s President, 

Professor Güven Sak (TEPAV). 

The roundtable discussion 

brought together representatives of 

the corporate sector on both sides 

of the border to better understand 

the role of business in developing 

relations between the neighboring 

countries, as well as economic and 

business opportunities that may 

arise with an open border between 

Turkey and Armenia. 

Professor Sak delivered the keynote 

presentation: “Turkey’s Experience 

of Economic Liberalization 

and Cross-Border Regionalism 

and the Role of the Private Sector 

in the Development of Relations 

with its Neighbors.” The event was 

attended by representatives of major 

business associations, international 

organizations, diplomatic 

missions, and the Government of 

Armenia. 

The Economic Policy Research 

Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV - 

www.tepav.org.tr), based in Ankara, 

is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit 

think tank devoted to independent 

research in the areas of 

economic policy, governance and 

foreign policy and is financially 

supported by the Union of Chambers 

and Commodity Exchange of 

Turkey (TOBB). TEPAV, as a major 

Turkish policy oriented research 

institute, has been enriching 

content of the public policy debates 

and has contributed to the 

establishment of platforms and 

dialogue mechanisms.Representatives 

of TEPAV are visiting Yerevan 

February 10-12 for meetings 

with business and government officials, 

non-government organizations 

and others involved in the 

promotion of cross-border cooperation. 

f

18 The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010 

Commentary 

Editorial 

the armenian 

reporter 

Take advantage of internship opportunities 

What are you doing this summer Armenian 

organizations offer wonderful opportunities to 

Armenians of all ages and descriptions to develop 

professionally and personally. Consider 

taking advantage of these opportunities. (And 

many of them are not limited to the summer.) 

The AGBU offers internships in New York, 

Paris, Yerevan, and now in Moscow. The Armenian 

National Committee of America offers 

internships in Washington; in Glendale, 

California, it offers internships and externships 

as well. The Armenian Assembly of 

America also offers intern placements in 

Washington and Yerevan. And the Armenian 

Reporter offers internships in its offices 

in Washington and Yerevan. 

There are several programs that make 

it possible for Armenians to spend time 

working in Armenia. Among them, Birthright 

Armenia and the Armenian Volunteer 

Corps are making an unparalleled contribution 

to strengthening the bonds of diaspora 

Armenians with the homeland. 

The choice of location has a lot to do with 

where you are in your education and career, 

and the direction you hope to take. But 

wherever you go, you will find 

• an opportunity to grow professionally. 

It may be work experience at a 

major New York firm; it may be a stint 

at a Washington think tank, advocacy 

group, or congressional office; it may 

be experience living and working 

abroad. Whichever you choose, your 

résumé will be enhanced and you will 

have made new, mutually beneficial 

connections. 

• a chance to strengthen your Armenian 

identity. Internship programs 

typically provide participants with 

multiple opportunities to learn more 

about their heritage through lectures 

and programs held after work hours. 

The programs in Armenia, of course, 

are a full-immersion experience. 

• new friends and a wider community. 

Armenian internships have been 

around for decades now. Alumni report 

that friendships they made during their 

internships have lasted a lifetime. 

Organizers understand that by hosting 

successful internship programs – for 

which hey must make a significant investment 

of resources and energy each year 

– they make an enormous contribution to 

the community. The good news is that interns 

tend to remember their experiences 

fondly and become lifetime contributors 

– be it as donors or activist – to the organizations 

that made their internships 

possible. 

This is one of the secrets to a community 

that renews itself and grows from generation 

to generation. Be a part of it. f 

Kosovo at 2: Europe’s youngest state marks birthday with PR campaign 

by Yelena Osipova 

WASHINGTON – February 17 marked the 

second year from the day Kosovo declared 

independence: a fact that 65 countries have 

recognized so far. 

The issue behind this declaration and the 

far from unanimous recognition is of course 

a convoluted Balkan story, rooted in multilayered 

historical claims, confused identities, 

artificial boundaries, and oh, so many passions. 

Serbia views Kosovo as its historic patrimony 

and has vowed it will never recognize 

its independence. Russia is still trying to 

maintain at least a semblance of influence 

in the region and thus, is siding with Serbia 

despite its own recognition of Abkhazia and 

South Ossetia in 2008. 

Kosovars are seeking to gain recognition 

by more countries. The goal is, perhaps, is 

to achieve majority acceptance within the 

United Nations’ General Assembly, where 

192 countries are represented, and on whose 

recommendation the International Court of 

Justice is currently studying the legitimacy 

of Kosovo’s independence. 

As part of its public affairs efforts Kosovo 

recently launched a nation-branding campaign 

(see http://www.kosovo-young.com 

for details). Many international affairs experts 

have noted the importance of public 

Yelena Osipova is a graduate student at American 

University in Washington. She was an 

intern at the Armenian Reporter during the 

summer of 2008. 

Armenian peacekeepers on patrol duty in Kosovo. Photolure archive. 

diplomacy in circumstances where conducting 

traditional diplomacy is difficult. 

In the absence of strong institutions, public 

diplomacy can play the role of a substitute 

and perhaps even provide Kosovo with 

a comparative advantage in the new online 

media, particularly on Facebook, YouTube, 

and Twitter. 

For a nation that made the latest alteration 

to Europe’s political map, where the people 

are still struggling to recover and rebuild, 

and where the average age is 26, a brand motto 

“Young Europeans” used in the campaign 

seems to be more than just appropriate. The 

promotional video seeks to present Kosovars 

as down-to-earth yet forward-looking and 

positive. 

The problem, however, is that in the long 

run a positive image is hard to build on weak 

foundations. A Gallup opinion poll dated 

February 16 found that that as many as 43% 

of Kosovar Albanians think that “in general 

things are going in a bad direction,” while 

86% of Kosovar Serbs are of the same opinion. 

The West too seems to be getting increasingly 

wary of unconditional economic aid to 

Kosovo, which has been effectively a Western 

protectorate since the 1999 war with Serbia. 

In addition to the global financial crisis, corruption 

and Kosovo government’s inability 

to deliver sufficiently rapid reforms have 

added to Western skepticism about Kosovo. 

Many in Kosovo and abroad blame the 

government for the underlying problems 

that the country faces. The economy is stagnant; 

unemployment is high; ethnic tensions 

persist; the government doesn’t exercises authority 

over the northern Serbian-populated 

third of Kosovo. 

The UN Interim Administration Mission 

still maintains its presence, with international 

peacekeepers helping secure the peace 

and in some cases performing administrative 

and judicial roles, since Albanian officials 

are considered illegitimate by the majority 

Serbs in those areas. 

The other most visible problem, of course, 

is the high dependence on foreign aid – the 

major donor being the United States. 

Universal recognition, although a major issue, 

cannot be the only priority for Kosovo at 

the moment, as it has to secure its livelihood, 

first and foremost. 

Recognition will take time. And the most 

important challenge will be convincing the 

countries and people in Kosovo’s neighborhood 

to get used to the new political geography. 

This has happened in the past, largely 

through force and oppression. The big question 

now is whether it can happen again, but 

this time without any further bloodshed. 

Happy Birthday, Kosovo! 

f 

Tell us what you think. Write to letters@reporter.am 

Letters 

I have a dream too 

I am an 83 year old American Armenian 

first generation born of survivors of the 

Armenian genocide. While reflecting on the 

meaning of Dr. Martin Luther King day, I 

too have a dream. My dream is that one 

day the United States with the rest of the 

world will recognize the Armenian Genocide 

perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish 

government in 1915. I have lived and 

witnessed many ethnic prejudices in the 

United states. Early in the 20the century 

store front signs advertised “help wanted, 

Irish Catholics need not apply.” So what 

did the Irish do they organized and became 

a political force by establishing themselves 

in the Foundation of communities. 

The Irish became policeman, fireman, city 

council members,mayors, governors and 

congressmen. In 1960 John F. Kennedy, an 

Irish catholic, was elected President of the 

United States. 

Dr. Martin Luther King realized his dream 

when he organized one million African Americans, 

men, women and children, to march to 

Washington D.C. to show unity in purpose, 

and solidarity in cause. “We shall overcome” 

was their cry for equality and today we have 

an African American president of the United 

States. 

Jews have been persecuted for centuries 

but their intellect and strong will to prevail is 

evident. They hold public office at every level 

of Government from local communities to 

the chambers of Congress to the whit House. 

Jews are United and their cry is what can we 

do for Israel 

What lesson can we learn from this Armenians 

wake up! We have a cry! 95 years 

have passed and we are still waiting for our 

country that accepted our parents with open 

arms, to recognize the tragedy that brought 

that here. Who will make this dream real 

Will it come from our Armenian political 

leaders, the artistic/academic community 

or our religious leaders Who will be our Dr. 

martin Luther King 

Kacheg Topalian 

Providence, R.I 

Armenian Reporter (ISSN 0004-2358), an independent news publication, 

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Commentary 

Living in 

diaspora 

If only more Armenians were good Armenians 

by Tom Vartabedian 

Haverhill, Mass. – In our never-ending 

quest to create a better, more active Armenian 

lifestyle, a student in our Sunday School 

program came up with this logical solution. 

With as much fortitude as this 12-year-old 

could muster, he said, “If only the Armenians 

who aren’t Armenians become Armenians.” 

The youngster made a valid point. His answer 

bordered on apathy, indifference, lethargy. 

It struck a nerve with his Armenian 

School instructor. 

“If only more people took an interest in their 

heritage, the community would be far better 

off,” he continued. “You wanna know what’s 

wrong with Armenians Look in the mirror.” 

This comes from an adolescent who seldom 

has much to say in class, rarely speaks his 

mind, and has an obvious bone to pick. His 

ancestry is important to him. He’s dropped 

off at church every Sunday and off goes his 

dad to the donut shop near-by where he 

spends the interim over a cup of coffee and 

the Sunday paper. 

A better alternative in this student’s mind 

would be attending the Sunday service, taking 

a more avid interest in the church, perhaps 

grow involved in the welfare of his community. 

His comment snowballed into an avalanche. 

If only more Armenians practiced their 

language, it might not be cast into oblivion. 

A call came from an Armenian church, looking 

for a language instructor to work with 

teenagers in that congregation. 

No one in that parish seemed qualified or 

was willing to give the time. So an outside 

appeal was being made. 

The thought occurred to me. How could an 

entire Armenian Church population be unresponsive 

toward the Mother Tongue Was 

this a sign of the times 

The caller probably didn’t like my response. 

“If you can’t get someone in your church 

to teach Armenian, how would you expect 

someone from another church to give up 

their Sunday and come to yours 

“It wouldn’t be fair to that individual --- or 

the church they attend.” 

If only the people who could sing a decent 

note turn out for the choir or those with a 

spiritual outlook perhaps join the clergy and 

bolster our churches. 

If only they turned out for our genocide 

recognitions, patronized our many charities, 

traveled to Armenia and pitched an earnest 

hand at any one of the infinite projects in 

that land. 

If only more 

Armenians 

were like 

Cher. Photo: 

Photolure. 

If only the teachers taught, the students 

learned and the parents cooperated. Partnerships 

are important. As Armenians, we’re 

enamored by it. 

If only we could adopt a genocide curriculum 

in our public schools, bolster our 

Armenian day schools with more qualified 

teachers and students, establish more Armenian 

Chairs in institutions of higher 

learning. Education is still the Armenian 

lifeblood. 

If only the politicians hopped on our bandwagon 

in the best interest of human rights. 

Attack on Agos web site reflects persistent sickness 

Better still, Armenians running for public office 

who might make a difference. 

If only Hollywood would tell our story and 

more of us joined the ranks of the rich and 

famous, only to give back. I look at someone 

like Cher and see the good she’s done both 

here and abroad. 

If only more writers would write and 

photographers take their pictures. Spread 

the news about our wonderful country 

among non-Armenians in an effort to 

promote tourism and thereby bolster the 

economy. We have much to share with the 

outside world. 

If only we worshipped out of one church, 

answered to one religious hierarchy, and belonged 

to one political front instead of being 

fragmented. 

If only we pooled our resources, took an 

active stand on internal matters, became 

the activist we’re capable of becoming, and 

turned ourselves into role models for our 

children. 

If only we joined the past with the present 

to create a positive future for generations to 

follow. If only more Armenians were attracted 

to one another to create a wholesome ethnic 

household. Should you happen to come 

from a mixed marriage, the challenge lies before 

you. Give the Armenian side a chance. 

If only more of us would attend the many 

Armenian lectures and cultural offerings, the 

dances and socials, arts and humanities, and 

keep the vigil strong. 

If only we could all work toward the common 

cause, uninhibited and without compromise, 

keep our insatiable spirit alive, spread 

the wealth, and ease the poverty. 

If only we put our words into action instead 

of hot air. 

“What can I do” the young student wondered. 

“If only more students like you offer school 

reports on Armenia, rally around our flag 

when the time comes, become the young ambassador 

we truly need, and bring a friend or 

relative to our midst.” 

“If only ...” 

f 

by Etyen Mahçupyan 

Ogun Samast posing with Turkish security 

officials shortly after his detention on suspicion 

of murdering Hrant Dink. Picture was leaked to 

Turkish media. 

Istanbul – The hacking of the Agos newspaper 

web sites of the International Hrant Dink 

Foundation and the Art Initiative for Peace 

was taken seriously by the media, showing 

that an important step in sensitivity towards 

this issue has finally been achieved. 

Behind this new development lie the Ergenekon 

trial and the facts that have recently 

come to light. Now we know that the attacks 

that had appeared simple, ignorant and unorganized 

were in fact the calculated work of 

a murder syndicate. 

The truth is two-fold: the semi-literate language 

of the attackers downplays the event 

aiding the perpetrators to escape justice; it 

also increases the distance between those 

who perform the deed and those who “think” 

it by obscuring their connection. 

However, April 24 is just ahead of us and in 

the present climate in Turkey the attraction 

of some sick minds to such plots is likely. 

The picture used in the web attack [of the 

imprisoned perpetrator of Hrant Dink’s murder 

Ogun Samast getting married behind 

bars] was chosen carefully. 

The ‘proper’ photograph of Samast was the 

one taken after the murder, showing him 

holding the Turkish flag under a picture of 

Ataturk and surrounded by the members of 

the smiling security forces. 

Because in that picture the message of the 

‘meaning’ of the murder is made very clear: 

“Act like this, if you are a Turk.” Intertwined 

with ideology, symbolism and defense mechanisms, 

murder stops being a ‘sin’ or something 

that demeans humanity; it becomes 

instead an event describing self fulfillment 

and ‘existence’. 

The text accompanying the picture ends 

with the warning: “If you are not what we 

want you to be, there will be new Ogun Samasts 

and new Hrant Dinks”. 

The ‘we’ in the text is either ‘Turks’ or 

‘Turkish Nationalists.’ I don’t believe the perpetrators 

distinguish between the two. What 

is intended by ‘What we want’ is nothing 

other than proclaiming the state policy 

In fact, the state from the founding of the 

Republic strove to make non-Moslems to become 

‘what we want’, coupled with threats 

and hostile incidents. 

That being the case, how can one fault those 

orchestrating the web attacks Certainly not 

for carrying out the state policy for ‘Turkish 

identity.’ As long as the state sanctions it, is 

it a surprise that the desire for new murders 

will go on unabated 

However, the number of people who see 

the situation as a sick condition is increasing, 

and the sensitivity of the media to the most 

recent event is a reflection of that. 

Everyone quickly called Agos and asked 

for their assessment of the web attack... But 

what can an Armenian say about this event 

Isn’t it clear that it is meaningless to condemn 

yet another event which is a natural 

extension of the blatant injustices piled on 

each other year after year 

In fact, the correct respondents to such a 

query should be those who see themselves 

as ‘Turks’. Because the act is committed in 

the name of the ‘Turks’, and if you are also 

calling yourselves ‘Turks’ then you have a 

moral responsibility. You cannot evade that 

responsibility by claiming that you are not a 

nationalist, because your silence then would 

imply a difference between non-nationalists 

and ‘Turks’. 

The text placed on the web sites warned 

that there may be new Samasts and Dinks. 

Here the message is clear: on one side there 

will be ‘Turks’ to commit murder and on the 

other side ‘others’ who will be murder victims: 

a concept of ‘Turkishness’ which considers 

killing people outside of its identity as 

natural and fitting... 

Don’t Turks have anything to say about 

that Raising people to commit murder is 

not restricted to the nationalist Turks. At 

times, the same inclination is shown by the 

nationalist Armenians. 

However, raised in a more universal culture, 

they use a refined language and the possibility 

of putting their thoughts into action 

is remote...yet the conception they have of 

the relationship between their identity and 

that of the other allows them to speak of the 

lives of the others with surprising coldness. 

At one time nationalism was an ideology. 

Unfortunately, in many societies it became 

a ‘constitutional’ ideology, transforming it 

to a state policy and a mental disease, not 

only did it create a climate that made murder 

natural but also made it a condition for social 

acceptance. 

The tendency for collective murder needs 

the support of the state. In Turkey, those acting 

in the name of the state have managed 

to establish laws to treat the murder of the 

‘other’ with compassionate understanding. 

Everybody remembers the path pursued to 

bring Hrant to his death. 

A similar court decision was reached recently. 

In a 2006 TV interview program Mustafa 

Balbay said that Baskin Oran, a writer 

of Agos, had received payments from foreign 

countries ‘to help partition Turkey.’ 

The civil suit that followed was won by 

Baskin. However, a higher court unanimously 

reversed the lower court decision. The recently 

obtained decision says the following: 

“According to the case file it is understood 

that the plaintiff has written articles in Agos 

newspaper on the Armenian question and 

has pursued academic research abroad...reaction 

to the published articles in Agos conforms 

with the interview program...it is concluded 

that the plaintiffs individual rights 

have not been violated.” 

The specific defense, whatever its nature, 

is unimportant. What matters is: to write in 

Agos and to express an opinion related to the 

Armenian question makes one a fair game for 

slander and insults. 

It is conceivable from that level to move up 

to the ‘fair to attack’ category. It may never 

cross the minds of our upright court justices, 

but for some others escalation next to the 

‘OK to kill’ category is quite natural. 

All that needs to be done is to drum up an 

unfounded charge, ratify it legally and then 

expel that person from ‘Turkishness’, making 

him a prey. 

The question remains: when these people 

calling themselves ‘Turks’ are setting themselves 

up as a criterion for ‘Turkishness.’ 

Shouldn’t something be said about that f 

Editor’s note: Etyen Mahçupyan succeeded Hrant 

Dink as Agos editor-in-chief in 2007. This article 

originally appeared in Turkish in Taraf newspaper 

on February 14, 2010. It was translated into English 

by Arutun Maranci and re-published here with kind 

permission of the translator. 

Tell us what you think. Write to letters@reporter.am

20 The Armenian Reporter | February 20, 2010

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