National, International, Armenia, and Community News and Opinion

Ancient 

capitals are 

now open 

to visitors 

See story on 

page 16 m 

The ten 

classes of 

Armenian 

See story on page 10 m 

Two works by 

Aivazovsky 

may fetch over 

$1,650,000 

See story on page C6 m 

Eastern U.S. Edition 

Number 109 

April 11, 2009 

the armenian 

reporter 

President Obama meets with, from left, Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian, Swiss foreign minister (and mediator) Micheline Calmy-Rey, Turkish undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Ertugul 

Apakan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan at a reception in Istanbul on April 6. The president met with the foreign ministers to commend them on “recent progress” toward the normalization of Armenia-Turkey 

relations and urged them to complete a bilateral agreement. White House photo: Pete Souza. 

Obama, in Turkey, raises 

Armenian issues 

Avoiding the word genocide the president plays up 

Armenia-Turkey talks 

Visit us at reporter.am 

See story on page 1 m

The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009

Number 109 

April 11, 2009 

the armenian 

reporter 

The ten classes of Armenian 

Armenia 

The ancient capitals of Yervandashat and Bagaran 

The residents of Bagaran wake up every 

morning to the voices of the muezzin 

from the neighboring village of 

Halimjan. The call for prayers at the 

crack of dawn has been part of the 

lives of the residents of Bagaran for 

decades. The two villages are on two 

sides of the Akhuryan river, which 

separates Armenia and Turkey. 

Community 



The two ancient cities of Yervandashat 

and Bagaran, closed off for 

centuries because of their strategic 

position, are now open to visitors 

who can see ancient archaeological 

sites dispersed throughout the region, 

Tatul Hakobyan reports. 

See story on page 16m 

Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan completed 

At the annual fund-raising event 

of Sipan Armenian School, Louisa 

Janbazian, president of the school 

board, announced that the school 

received an Honorary Award from 

Spartak Seyranyan, the minister of 

science and education of Armenia, 


In five years, Armenia, Iran to be connected by rail 


High ranking officials from Armenia 

and Iran are giving assurances 

that in five years’ time there will 

be a railroad linking the two countries. 

According to preliminary calculations, 

the railroad will stretch 

for approximately 470 kilometers, 

with 410 of those on Armenian 

territory. The total cost of this undertaking 

is expected to run about 

$1.2 billion. 

An agreement will be signed by 

Armenia and Iran sometime this 

month when President Serge Sargsian 

is expected to be in Tehran for 

an official visit. 


On the evening of April 2, the Armenian 

Bone Marrow Donor Registry 

(ABMDR) held a cocktail reception 

in Glendale, California, to 

celebrate the upcoming opening 

of its Stem Cell Harvesting Center 

in Yerevan. The event served as 

an opportunity to announce formally 

the much-anticipated launch 

of the Stem Cell Harvesting Center, 

inform guests of current and 

future ABMDR projects, and thank 

supporters for helping save lives 

through the registry. 


Sustainable-forestry training program prepared 

Armenia Tree Project (ATP) recently 

completed a two-year project to 

develop sustainable forestry training 

models for Armenia. Through 

a collaborative effort with Yale 

University’s Global Institute of 

Sustainable Forestry, ATP worked 

with Chadwick Oliver and Zachary 

Parisa to conduct an analysis of the 

forests around the village of Margahovit. 


Not everyone is delighted to 

be there, and there are some you 

cannot keep away, Gregory Lima 

writes of the St. Gregory Armenian 

School in White Plains, N.Y. 

As they grow older some can rebel 

against their parents’ insistence 

they attend class. Asking one such 

very young lady what she would 

rather do, she answered, “Sleep,” 

which she seemed to manage exactly 

where she was. Until it was 

time to dance. Then the sleepy 

girl turned into a dynamo. There 

was also the boy who had finished 

all the grades and still came back. 

He was drawn by the pleasure of 

speaking Armenian, the cultural 

activities, and the friends he had 

made. 


Sipan Armenian School honored by Armenia’s 

Ministry of Education 

for its legacy of educating and nurturing 

the young Armenian generation 

with the Armenian spirit, 

and for the 30th anniversary of its 

founding. 


President Obama, in Turkey, 

raises Armenian issues 

Avoids the word 

genocide 

Asks Turkey to open 

Armenia border 

by Emil Sanamyan 

WASHINGTON – In a first for a U.S. 

president, Barack Obama used his 

visit to Ankara to publicly speak of 

the need for Turkey to address its 

past and improve its present relations 

with Armenia. 

But citing reports of an impending 

breakthrough in talks between 

Armenia and Turkey, Mr. Obama 

effectively sidestepped his pre-election 

promise to clearly recognize 

the destruction of Ottoman Armenians 

as genocide. Mr. Obama also 

encouraged Turkish and Armenian 

officials “to complete an agreement” 

in an expeditious manner. 

Armenian agenda 

without the G word 

In his April 6 speech at Turkey’s 

Grand National Assembly and in a 

joint press conference with Turkish 

president Abdullah Gül earlier 

the same day, Mr. Obama became 

the first U.S. president to publicly 

air some Armenian-American concerns 

on a visit to Turkey. (See 

transcripts below.) 

Addressing the parliament, Mr. 

Obama recalled America’s own 

treatment of Native Americans and 

Serge Sargsian hopes to go to Turkey 

in October through open borders 

by Tatul Hakobyan 

YEREVAN – Armenia’s President 

Serge Sargsian stated on April 11 

that in terms of Armenia-Turkey 

relations, the ball is now in Turkey’s 

court. He is also hopeful that 

Turkey will open the border with 

Armenia by October. 

On the occasion of the first anniversary 

of his presidency, Mr. 

Sargsian held a press conference 

on April 11. Asked by the Armenian 

Reporter about the “red lines” the 

Armenian side would not cross in 

Turkish-Armenian relations, Mr. 

Sargsian said that Yerevan considers 

unacceptable the imposition, by 

Turkey, of preconditions for the establishment 

of relations. 

“We have said, and I repeat, we are 

ready to establish relations without 

preconditions. Now, in my opinion, 

the ball is in Turkey’s court,” the 

president said. 

“If we are talking about soccer diplomacy,” 

the president continued, 

“then we must state that the ball 

cannot constantly be on one side of 

the field, and each soccer match has 

a predetermined time frame.” The 

current round of talks with Turkey 

are spoken of as soccer diplomacy 

because Mr. Sargsian invited his 

Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, 

President Obama meets with, from left, Armenian foreign minister Edward 

Nalbandian, Swiss foreign minister (and mediator) Micheline Calmy-Rey, Turkish 

undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Ertugul Apakan and Foreign Minister Ali 

Babacan at a reception in Istanbul on April 6. The president met with the foreign 

ministers to commend them on “recent progress” toward the normalization of 

Armenia-Turkey relations and urged them to complete a bilateral agreement. 

White House photo: Pete Souza. 

Blacks, and urged Turks to address 

the “terrible events of 1915” in a 

way that is “honest, open, and constructive.” 

Extolling the benefits of 

opening the border with Armenia – 

which was closed and is kept closed 

by Turkey – he said the United 

States “strongly supports normalization 

of relations between Turkey 

and Armenia.” He also invited Turkey 

to play a “constructive role” in 

the Karabakh peace process. 

At the press conference, the subject 

was formally prompted by Chicago 

Tribune and Los Angeles Times 

correspondent Christi Parsons, 

who referred to Mr. Obama’s comments 

on the Armenian Genocide 

as a senator and his pre-election 

pledges to recognize the Genocide 

as president. Ms. Parsons asked 

whether the president still held the 

same views and whether he asked 

Mr. Gül to recognize the Genocide. 

Mr. Obama responded that he 

had not changed his views, which 

are “on the record.” But he then 

turned to the subject of talks between 

Armenia and Turkey that 

could “bear fruit very quickly very 

soon” and which, he said, he did 

not want to “tilt” in favor of either 

side, presumably by speaking more 

candidly. 

Continued on page m 

President Serge 

Sargsian. Photo: 

Photolure. 

to Yerevan to watch the September 

2008 Armenia-Turkey World Cup 

qualifying soccer match. 

“Is it possible that we have perhaps 

miscalculated and the Turks 

have now adopted another position 

and are attempting to place 

a precondition on the table Of 

course, this is possible,” he said. 

“But I believe, even in that case, we 

will come out of the process much 

stronger. Through this process 

we were able to once again demonstrate, 

as was witnessed by the 

international community, that we 

are really prepared to establish relations 

without preconditions.” 

The next Armenia-Turkey World 

Cup qualifying match will be held in 

October in Kayseri, Mr. Gül’s birthplace. 

Mr. Sargsian has accepted an 

invitation from Mr. Gül to attend. 

“During the negotiation process, 

the question of Nagorno-Karabakh 

or the Genocide has never been 

brought up,” the president said, referring 

to two pre-conditions long 

set by Turkey for the normalization 

of relations. He predicted that 

at the next soccer match, “I will either 

cross through open borders or 

we will be at that threshold.” f

The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 

National 

Washington briefing 

by Emil Sanamyan 

Obama visits Turkey, 

calls Azerbaijan 

President Barack Obama visited 

Turkey on April 6–7 in an effort 

to rebuild a troubled alliance and 

reach out to the Muslim world. The 

White House reported that on April 

7, Mr. Obama also placed a call to 

the president of Azerbaijan. 

President Obama prepares to enter 

Istanbul's Blue Mosque on April 7. 

Addressing the Turkish parliament, 

the U.S. president said he was 

“committed to renewing the alliance” 

that has come under strain as U.S. 

and Turkish policies on Iraq, Iran, 

and the Middle East conflict drifted 

further apart in recent years. 

Mr. Obama said his visit was evidence 

of the importance he placed on 

U.S.-Turkish relations, although no 

formal agreements were announced 

during the trip. From the first days 

of his administration, Mr. Obama 

said he wanted to reach out to the 

Islamic world and was expected to 

visit a majority-Muslim country in 

the first months of his presidency. 

In January, Turkey invited Mr. 

Obama to attend a United Nations 

conference dubbed the Alliance of 

Civilizations, held in Istanbul. The 

invitation led to an official visit to 

Turkey at the end of Mr. Obama’s 

tour of Europe. 

Speaking in parliament, Mr. 

Obama praised Turkey’s founder 

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and 

the Turkish political system, while 

also noting that there are disagreements 

and outstanding issues such 

as the history of Armenian-Turkish 

relations. 

The latter subject also featured in 

a “good conversation” Mr. Obama 

had with Azerbaijani president Ilham 

Aliyev, in which the “U.S commitment 

to a strong relationship 

with Azerbaijan and to supporting 

progress toward a resolution of the 

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” were 

reiterated. 

According to Hurriyet newspaper, 

upset with reports of progress in 

Armenia-Turkey talks, Mr. Aliyev refused 

to attend the Alliance of Civilizations 

meeting even after being telephoned 

by Secretary of State Hillary 

Clinton, who reportedly promised a 

meeting with Mr. Obama. 

Instead, Mr. Aliyev dispatched 

his daughter Leyla Aliyeva. Ms. 

Aliyeva serves as the Moscow representative 

for the Heydar Aliyev 

Foundation headed by her mother 

Mehriban Aliyeva. 

State Department 

nominee held up over 

Armenian Genocide 

comments 

Left out of President Obama’s trip 

to Turkey was his pick for assistant 

secretary of state for Europe and 

Eurasia, Philip Gordon. According 

to Foreign Policy magazine, Mr. 

Gordon planned to depart after confirmation 

by the Senate on April 3, 

but his nomination was held up at 

the last moment. 

In a statement issued on the 

same day, the Armenian National 

Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed 

the “delay as a meaningful 

opportunity for senators to weigh 

the merits of approving a nominee 

with a record of arguing against 

[U.S.] recognition of the Armenian 

genocide.” (See this page in the 

March 14 Armenian Reporter for 

some of Mr. Gordon’s past comments 

on the subject.) 

During a March 27 Senate Foreign 

Relations Committee hearing 

on Mr. Gordon’s nomination, 

his views were scrutinized by Sen. 

Robert Menendez (D.-N.J.), who 

had previously blocked a Bush administration 

nominee for ambassador 

to Armenia over his comments 

on the Genocide. 

Silva Harotonian. 

But according to Foreign Policy, 

Mr. Menendez eventually decided 

not to block Mr. Gordon‘s candidacy 

and abstained in the committee 

vote. 

On April 8, the Armenian Assembly 

of America reported that it was 

Sen. John Ensign (R.-Nev.) who 

requested the postponement of Mr. 

Gordon’s confirmation. In 2007 Mr. 

Ensign was the main Republican cosponsor 

of a Senate resolution on 

Armenian Genocide. 

The Senate is expected to return 

to consideration of the nominee after 

its Easter recess. 

Georgian opposition posters. Photo: civil.ge. 

U.S. joins talks with 

Iran, requests release of 

detainees 

In a departure from Bush administration 

policy, the State Department 

said on April 8 that the United 

States will formally join other 

permanent members of the United 

Nations Security Council and Germany 

in their ongoing talks with 

Iran regarding its nuclear program. 

Barack Obama advocated direct 

talks with Iran during his presidential 

campaign. Under George W. 

Bush, the United States insisted 

that Iran first halt nuclear fuel 

enrichment as a condition for U.S. 

participation in the talks. 

Incidentally, on April 9 the New 

York Times reported that Iran had 

announced just days earlier making 

advances in its ability to enrich 

uranium. 

On March 31 U.S. and Iranian officials 

met briefly during a United 

Nations conference on Afghanistan 

held in the Netherlands. At 

that meeting, Iranian officials 

were handed a letter from Secretary 

of State Hillary Clinton 

requesting the release of four U.S. 

citizens held in Iran on what are 

believed to be politically motivated 

charges. 

On April 6, the State Department 

additionally urged Iran to 

release 34-year-old Silva Harotonian, 

an Iranian-Armenian employee 

of the U.S.-funded International 

Research and Exchanges 

Board (IREX) imprisoned in Iran 

since last June. 

The State Department’s acting 

President Obama, in Turkey, raises Armenian issues 

spokesperson Robert Wood said 

that charges against Ms. Harotonian 

– of plotting against the 

Iranian government on behalf of 

the United States – were “baseless” 

and that “she is reportedly in 

poor and deteriorating health as a 

direct consequence of her confinement.” 

Ms. Harotonian’s case, first made 

public last January, was covered by 

the Los Angeles Times on April 2 

and ABC News on April 7. (See also 

the Reporter’s Feb. 28 edition.) 

Georgian opposition 

launches campaign for 

president’s ouster 

Political opponents of Georgian 

leader Mikheil Saakashvili began 

on April 9 what they promise will 

be continuing protests aimed at 

toppling the president, whom they 

blame for authoritarianism and 

last year’s defeat in the war with 

Russia. 

The opposition includes a number 

of past allies of Mr. Saakashvili’s, 

including former parliament 

Speaker Nino Bourjanadze and 

former Ambassador to the United 

Nations Irakli Alasania, the two 

figures seen as frontrunners in a 

potential early election. 

In a manifesto released before 

the campaign’s launch, the opposition 

pledged to guarantee Mr. Saakashvili’s 

personal security should 

he resign voluntarily. Mr. Saakashvili 

in turn offered dialogue to the 

opposition, but insists he will stay 

in office until his second term of 

office expires in 2013. 

f 

n Continued from page 

In his follow-up, Mr. Gül outlined 

some of the points of the official 

Turkish position, denying the Armenian 

Genocide, and seeking to shift 

it from the realm of law and politics 

to the realm of academic history. 

The Turkish president did not 

sound as upbeat as Mr. Obama 

about the prospect of a breakthrough 

in talks with Armenia, 

noting only that he “would like to 

see a good resolution of these discussions,” 

and adding, “we have a 

lot of work” to do, including resolving 

“issues between Armenia and 

Azerbaijan.” 

Talks with Armenia: 

PR campaign or real 

progress 

Turkish officials and their supporters 

have offered contradictory opinions 

on the status of talks with Armenia 

and whether they might be nearing 

some kind of a turning point. 

On the eve of Mr. Obama’s visit, a 

media blitz sought to play up progress 

in talks. Leaks by anonymous, 

but presumably Turkish and some 

U.S. officials to the Wall Street Journal 

even suggested April 16 as a day 

when an Armenian-Turkish agreement 

could be signed. The story was 

picked up by the Washington Times, 

Financial Times, and others. 

Members of the congressional 

Turkey caucus spun the same story 

line, urging Mr. Obama to encourage 

Armenian and Turkish leaders 

to reach an agreement. 

But speaking in London on April 

3, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan said Turkey would not 

concede that the Ottoman treatment 

of Armenians was genocide 

and again linked the establishment 

of relations with Armenia to the 

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The 

next day Mr. Gül dismissed the 

Wall Street Journal report of the 

April 16 date as “false.” 

In a comment for the media late 

Sunday night, Armenia’s Foreign 

Minister Edward Nalbandian 

stressed that there is a “mutual 

understanding” between Armenia 

and Turkey that normalization 

can have no preconditions, that 

there would be no linkages to the 

Genocide or Karabakh, and that 

statements to the contrary “may 

be regarded as an attempt to impede 

the progress reached in the 

negotiations.” 

Mr. Nalbandian then postponed 

by 24 hours his departure for Istanbul, 

where he was to attend the 

Alliance of Civilizations meeting. 

Upon arrival in the evening of April 

6, he had a brief conversation with 

Mr. Obama and then a four-way 

meeting that included the foreign 

ministers of Turkey and Switzerland, 

which has recently hosted 

talks between Armenian and Turkish 

officials. 

An unnamed but senior U.S. official 

told Reuters that Mr. Obama 

“urged [Armenian and Turkish ministers] 

to complete an agreement 

with dispatch.” 

In the meantime, the Azerbaijani 

leadership expressed public distress 

over Armenian-Turkish talks 

and President Ilham Aliyev refused 

to attend the Istanbul conference 

– even after being promised a 

meeting with Mr. Obama, Turkish 

media reported. 

On April 7, Turkish foreign minister 

Ali Babacan again spoke of 

progress made in talks, but a report 

carried by the Anatolia news 

agency referred to no timeline. In a 

comment that could be seen as directed 

to the United States, Mr. Babacan 

suggested that “third countries 

should act sensitively during 

this ongoing process.” 

Mixed community 

reaction 

Adding to the week’s confusion 

were the substantially different 

interpretations of Mr. Obama’s remarks 

offered by Armenian-American 

advocacy groups. 

Aram Hamparian of the Armenian 

National Committee of 

America (ANCA) said in a statement, 

“President Obama missed 

a valuable opportunity to honor 

his public pledge to recognize the 

Armenian Genocide.” At the same 

time, he welcomed as “a step in the 

right direction” Mr. Obama’s “willingness 

to raise his commitment to 

recognizing the Armenian Genocide, 

even indirectly.” 

In a comment for the Armenian 

Reporter, Ross Vartian of the U.S.- 

Armenia Public Affairs Committee 

(USAPAC) said, “President Obama 

made it clear that his well-known 

views on the Armenian Genocide 

have not changed and that Turkey 

needed to face its history. Yet he 

could have and should have said 

the words ‘Armenian Genocide’ at a 

time and place perfect for doing so.” 

“President Obama stands by his 

pledge regarding affirmation of the 

Armenian genocide,” ran the headline 

of the Armenian Assembly of 

America statement released to the 

media. Unlike the ANCA, the Assembly 

offered no criticism, pointing instead 

to Mr. Obama’s comment that 

he hasn’t changed his view. 

The Assembly’s Bryan Ardouny 

noted, “For the first time, a U.S. 

President has delivered a direct 

message to Turkish officials in their 

own country that he stands behind 

his steadfast support and strong 

record of affirmation of the Armenian 

Genocide.” 

The Assembly statement sidestepped 

the fact that Mr. Obama 

chose to sidestep the word genocide. 

Incidentally, on April 6 the Hawaii 

State House of Representatives 

passed a measure condemning the 

Armenian Genocide. Mr. Obama’s 

home state became the 42nd U.S. 

state to recognize the Genocide. f

The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 

International 

 

Telling the truth about the Armenian Genocide 

We must resist 

Turkish pressure to 

distort history. 

by Christopher Hitchens 

This article is reprinted with permission 

from Slate.com, where it was 

posted on April 6. 

Even before President Barack 

Obama set off on his visit to Turkey 

this week, there were the usual 

voices urging him to dilute the 

principled position that he has so 

far taken on the Armenian Genocide. 

April is the month in which 

the Armenian diaspora commemorates 

the bloody initiation, in 1915, 

of the Ottoman Empire’s campaign 

to erase its Armenian population. 

The marking of the occasion takes 

two forms: Armenian Remembrance 

Day, on April 24, and the annual 

attempt to persuade Congress 

to name that day as one that abandons 

weasel wording and officially 

calls the episode by its right name, 

which is the word I used above. 

Genocide had not been coined in 

1915, but the U.S. ambassador in 

Constantinople, Henry Morgenthau, 

employed a term that was 

Christopher Hitchens is a columnist for 

Vanity Fair and the Roger S. Mertz media 

fellow at the Hoover Institution in 

Stanford, Calif. 

in some ways more graphic. In his 

urgent reports to the State Department, 

conveying on-the-spot dispatches 

from his consuls, especially 

in the provinces of Van and Harput, 

he described the systematic slaughter 

of the Armenians as “race murder.” 

A vast archive of evidence exists 

to support this claim. But every 

year, the deniers and euphemists 

set to work again, and there are 

usually enough military-industrial 

votes to tip the scale in favor of our 

Turkish client. (Of late, Turkey’s 

opportunist military alliance with 

Israel has also been good for a few 

shame-faced Jewish votes as well.) 

Obama’s unambivalent 

record 

President Obama comes to this issue 

with an unusually clear and unambivalent 

record. In 2006, for example, 

the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, 

John Evans, was recalled 

for employing the word genocide. 

Then-Sen. Obama wrote a letter 

of complaint to then-Secretary of 

State Condoleezza Rice, deploring 

the State Department’s cowardice 

and roundly stating that the 

occurrence of the Armenian genocide 

in 1915 “is not an allegation, a 

personal opinion, or a point of view, 

but rather a widely documented 

fact supported by an overwhelming 

body of historical evidence.” 

On the campaign trail last year, he 

amplified this position, saying that 

“America deserves a leader who 

speaks truthfully about the Armenian 

genocide and responds forcefully 

to all genocides. I intend to be 

that president.” 

For any who might entertain 

doubt on this score, I would recommend 

two recent books of exceptional 

interest and scholarship 

that both add a good deal of depth 

and texture to this drama. The first 

is Armenian Golgotha: A Memoir of 

the Armenian Genocide, by Grigoris 

Balakian, and the second is Rebel 

Land: Travels Among Turkey’s Forgotten 

Peoples, a contemporary account 

by Christopher de Bellaigue. 

Shattering evidence 

In addition, we have just learned of 

shattering corroborative evidence 

from within the archives of the 

Turkish state. The Ottoman politician 

who began the campaign of deportation 

and extermination, Talat 

Pasha, left enormous documentation 

behind him. His family has 

now given the papers to a Turkish 

author named Murat Bardakci, 

who has published a book with the 

somewhat dry title, The Remaining 

Documents of Talat Pasha. One 

of these “remaining documents” 

is a cold estimate that during the 

years 1915 and 1916 alone, a total 

of 972,000 Armenians simply vanished 

from the officially kept records 

of population. (See Sabrina 

Tavernise’s report in the New York 

Times of March 8, 2009.) 

There are those who try to say that 

the Armenian catastrophe was a regrettable 

byproduct of the fog of war 

and of imperial collapse, and this 

might be partly true of the many 

more Armenians who were slaughtered 

at the war’s end and after the 

implosion of Ottomanism. But this 

is an archive maintained by the government 

of the day and its chief anti- 

Armenian politician, and it records 

in the very early days of World War I 

a population decline from 1,256,000 

to 284,157. It is very seldom that a 

regime in its private correspondence 

confirms almost to an exactitude the 

claims of its victims. 

Ankara’s unchecked 

arrogance 

So what will the deniers say now 

The usual routine has been to insinuate 

that if Congress votes to assert 

the historic truth, then Turkey will 

inconvenience the NATO alliance by 

making trouble on the Iraqi border, 

denying the use of bases to the U.S. 

Air Force, or in other unspecified 

ways. This same kind of unchecked 

arrogance was on view at the NATO 

summit last weekend, where the 

Ankara government had the nerve 

to try to hold up the appointment 

of a serious Danish politician, 

Anders Rasmussen, as the next 

secretary-general of the alliance, 

on the grounds that as Denmark’s 

prime minister he had refused 

to censor Danish newspapers to 

Muslim satisfaction! It is now being 

hinted that if either President 

Obama or the Congress goes ahead 

with the endorsement of the genocide 

resolution, Turkey will prove 

uncooperative on a range of issues, 

including the normalization of the 

frontier between Turkey and Armenia 

and the transit of oil and gas 

pipelines across the Caucasus. 

A matter of courage 

When the question is phrased in 

this thuggish way, it can be slyly 

suggested that Armenia’s own best 

interests are served by joining in the 

agreement to muddy and distort 

its own history. Yet how could any 

state, or any people, agree to abolish 

their pride and dignity in this 

way And the question is not only 

for Armenians, who are economically 

hard-pressed by the Turkish 

closure of the common border. It is 

for the Turks, whose bravest cultural 

spokesmen and writers take genuine 

risks to break the taboo on discussion 

of the Armenian question. 

And it is also for Americans, who, 

having elected a supposedly brave 

new president, are being told that 

he – and our Congress too – must 

agree to collude in a gigantic historical 

lie. A lie, furthermore, that 

courageous U.S. diplomacy helped 

to expose in the first place. 

This falsification has already 

gone on long enough and has been 

justified for reasons of state. It is, 

among other things, precisely “for 

reasons of state,” in other words for 

the clear and vital announcement 

that we can’t be bought or intimidated, 

that April 24, 2009, should 

become remembered as the date 

when we affirmed the truth and accepted, 

as truth-telling does, all the 

consequences. 

f 

Obama: Reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future 

In a speech to the Turkish parliament 

in Ankara on April 6, President 

Barack Obama addressed Turkey’s 

reckoning with the Armenian Genocide 

and its relations with Armenia. 

The following is an excerpt from the 

president’s remarks. 

Another issue that confronts all 

democracies as they move to the 

future is how we deal with the past. 

The United States is still working 

through some of our own darker 

periods in our history. Facing the 

Washington Monument that I 

spoke of is a memorial of Abraham 

Lincoln, the man who freed 

those who were enslaved even after 

Washington led our Revolution. 

Our country still struggles with 

the legacies of slavery and segregation, 

the past treatment of Native 

Americans. 

Human endeavor is by its nature 

imperfect. History is often 

tragic, but unresolved, it can be 

a heavy weight. Each country 

must work through its past. And 

reckoning with the past can help 

us seize a better future. I know 

there’s strong views in this chamber 

about the terrible events of 

1915. And while there’s been a 

good deal of commentary about 

my views, it’s really about how 

the Turkish and Armenian people 

deal with the past. And the 

best way forward for the Turkish 

and Armenian people is a process 

that works through the past in 

a way that is honest, open and 

constructive. 

We’ve already seen historic and 

courageous steps taken by Turkish 

and Armenian leaders. These 

contacts hold out the promise of 

a new day. An open border would 

return the Turkish and Armenian 

people to a peaceful and prosperous 

coexistence that would serve 

both of your nations. So I want 

you to know that the United States 

strongly supports the full normalization 

of relations between Turkey 

and Armenia. It is a cause worth 

working towards. 

It speaks to Turkey’s leadership 

that you are poised to be the only 

country in the region to have normal 

and peaceful relations with all 

the South Caucasus nations. And 

to advance that peace, you can 

play a constructive role in helping 

to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh 

conflict, which has continued for 

far too long. 

ttt 

Obama: I have not 

changed views 

During a joint press availability on 

April 6 at Cankaya Palace in Ankara, 

Turkey, President Barack Obama 

and his Turkish counterpart and 

host Abdullah Gül took two questions. 

The first question was posed 

by Christi Parsons. Mr. Obama’s 

exchange with Ms. Parsons is reproduced 

below. Mr. Gül also responded 

to the question, offering a full-throated 

denial of the Armenian Genocide. 

President Obama: Christi Parsons, 

Chicago Tribune – hometown 

– hometown newspaper. 

Christi Parsons: Thank you, 

Mr. President. As a U.S. senator 

you stood with the Armenian- 

American community in calling for 

Turkey’s acknowledgement of the 

Armenian Genocide and you also 

supported the passage of the Armenian 

Genocide resolution. You 

said, as president you would recognize 

the Genocide. And my question 

for you is, have you changed 

your view, and did you ask President 

Gül to recognize the Genocide 

by name 

President Obama: Well, my 

views are on the record and I 

have not changed views. What I 

have been very encouraged by is 

news that under President Gül’s 

leadership, you are seeing a series 

of negotiations, a process, 

in place between Armenia and 

Turkey to resolve a whole host 

of longstanding issues, including 

this one. 

I want to be as encouraging as 

possible around those negotiations 

which are moving forward 

and could bear fruit very quickly 

very soon. And so as a consequence, 

what I want to do is not 

focus on my views right now but 

focus on the views of the Turkish 

and the Armenian people. If they 

can move forward and deal with a 

difficult and tragic history, then I 

think the entire world should encourage 

them. 

And so what I told the president 

was I want to be as constructive 

as possible in moving these issues 

forward quickly. And my sense is, 

is that they are moving quickly. 

I don’t want to, as the president 

of the United States, preempt 

any possible arrangements or announcements 

that might be made 

in the near future. I just want 

to say that we are going to be a 

partner in working through these 

issues in such a way that the most 

important parties, the Turks and 

the Armenians, are finally coming 

to terms in a constructive way. 

Christi Parsons: So if I understand 

you correctly, your view 

hasn’t changed, but you’ll put in 

abeyance the issue of whether to 

use that word in the future 

President Obama: What I’d 

like to do is to encourage President 

Gül to move forward with 

what have been some very fruitful 

negotiations. And I’m not 

interested in the United States 

in any way tilting these negotiations 

one way or another while 

they are having useful discussions. 

Christi Parsons: Thank you. f

4 The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 


Jennifer Omartian to direct agbu Camp Nubar 

Reveals plans for 

summer 2009 

NEW YORK – agbu Camp Nubar 

has announced that Jennifer 

Omartian will serve as the 2009 

Camp Director. Jennifer first came 

to Camp Nubar, located in the 

Catskill Mountain Region of New 

York, in 1993 and she has returned 

yearly ever since. She began as a 

counselor for several years before 

going on to serve as Activities Director, 

Girls Head Counselor, and 

Assistant Director. No other director 

in the 46-year history of Camp 

Nubar has spent more time at the 

Catskill camp than Ms. Omartian, 

which is a clear indication of her 

passion for the facility by idyllic 

Lake Arax.The new Camp Director 

grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, 

where she attended 

St. Mark Church in neighboring 

agbu Camp Nubar Director Jennifer 

Omartian. 

Springfield, MA. She graduated 

from James Madison University 

where she received her master’s 

degree in Middle School Education. 

Ms. Omartian now resides in Virginia 

and attends St. Mary Church 

in Washington, D.C. 

agbu: What are your goals and 

hopes for the summer 

Jennifer Omartian: Preparation 

is crucial for a safe and fun season. 

I will ensure that counselors 

are prepared, qualified, and ready 

for another successful summer. 

I hope to see campers and counselors 

work alongside one another, 

to grow as individuals and into one 

family. Campers learn from their 

counselors, but counselors learn 

from their campers as well. Every 

session has a unique blend of people 

from different places. I look forward 

to seeing how each session will create 

its own set of memories using 

the same resources and facilities. 

agbu: What are your favorite aspects 

of camp and do you have any 

favorite memories 

JO: I love the anticipation that 

surrounds camp. Throughout the 

year, campers and counselors anticipate 

the following summer, the 

friends they will be reunited with, 

the bonds they will form and the 

memories they will make. When 

camp begins, the campers and 

counselors anxiously wait for their 

favorite camp event, whether it is 

an evening activity, a carnival, or 

Color War. Throughout their camp 

careers, campers count down the 

summers until they finally become 

a counselor. 

I also love seeing the camp family 

within the greater Armenian community. 

It is such a wonderful feeling 

to walk into church, a basketball 

game, or a picnic and see campers 

and counselors so eager to see each 

other and talk about camp. 

My favorite camp memory was 

watching my very first group of G1 

campers mature every summer and 

then serve as counselors. 

agbu: What is your current occupation 

and what do you enjoy 

about it 

JO: I teach sixth-grade social 

studies in Fairfax County, Virginia. 

I love the diversity at my school 

and the many challenges that it 

presents on a daily basis. I teach 

students from all over the world 

and it amazes me how they blend 

together and learn from each other 

while maintaining pride in their 

own identity. I see this same sense 

of pride in our campers. Camp Nubar 

excels at encouraging campers 

to build a sense of pride in their 

personal and community identities. 

I look forward to another amazing 

summer at Camp Nubar. 

Founded in 1963, agbu Camp 

Nubar is a first-rate modern facility 

that has been highly ranked by 

the American Camp Association, 

American Red Cross, and American 

Academy of Pediatrics. 

connect: 

campnubar.org 

1-212-319-6383 

atp works with Yale’s Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry 

on new training manual for Armenia 

WATERTOWN – Armenia Tree 

Project (atp) recently completed a 

two-year project to develop sustainable 

forestry training models for Armenia. 

Through a collaborative effort 

with Yale University’s Global Institute 

of Sustainable Forestry, atp 

worked with Chadwick Oliver and 

Zachary Parisa to conduct an analysis 

of the forests around the village 

of Margahovit.”The degradation of 

forested areas in Armenia necessitates 

a new and bold approach to 

forestry practices,” stated atp Executive 

Director Jeff Masarjian. “With 

Yale’s expertise, atp has been able 

to collaborate with forestry officials 

to bring cutting edge forestry training 

to Armenia. It is our hope that 

the project will literally reshape the 

nation’s landscape and ensure a sustainable 

future for its population.” 

Working with students from the 

Agricultural Academy of Armenia, 

local residents of Margahovit, and 

World Wildlife Fund, atp planted 

a 20 hectare model forest using indigenous 

tree species to be used for 

future sustainable forestry training. 

atp also presented a new Sustainable 

Forestry Manual to stakeholders 

in Armenia and developed 

a seminar training model to use as 

a guide. The manual is currently being 

published in Eastern Armenian, 

and an English-language version is 

available at the atp Web site. 

Finally, atp assisted the local 

community of Margahovit in identifying 

non-timber forest products, 

bringing environmental education 

into the local schools, and through 

stakeholder meetings that outlined 

the benefits and challenges of community 

forestry. atp is currently 

developing a plan to conduct sustainable 

forestry training seminars 

throughout Armenia. 

“The project was designed to evaluate 

the condition of the forests in 

Northern Armenia, paying particular 

attention to the factors that are 

limiting the ability for regeneration,” 

explained Masarjian. “An assessment 

was made of plants, herbs, 

and other non-timber products 

that may be harvested for generating 

alternative income for residents 

living in proximity to the forests. 

Additional trainings on rotational 

grazing will also be held with livestock 

owners to prevent soil erosion 

and further degradation of forests.” 

“The collaboration between atp 

and Yale has been a great success. 

We worked together to create an 

instructional manual designed 

specifically for conditions in Armenia 

that will be used to train local 

stakeholders in global best practices 

of forest management. We’re 

grateful for the vision and generosity 

of Sandra and Jim Leitner, who 

introduced us in the hope of creating 

a sustainable future for Armenia,” 

concluded Dr. Oliver, director 

of the Yale Global Institute of Sustainable 

Forestry. 

This project was funded by the 

Critical Ecosystem Partnership 

Fund, a joint program of l’Agence 

Francaise de Developpement, Conservation 

International, the Global 

Environment Facility, the Government 

of Japan, the MacArthur 

Foundation, and the World Bank. 

Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project 

has planted and restored more 

than 2,500,000 trees and created 

hundreds of jobs for impoverished 

Armenians in tree-regeneration 

programs. The organization’s three 

tiered initiatives are tree planting, 

community development to reduce 

poverty and promote self-sufficiency, 

and environmental education to 

protect Armenia’s precious natural 

resources. 

 

connect:armeniatree.org 

Zachary Parisa (right) from Yale 

University gathered data on the 

forests in the Lori region of Armenia 

with students from Yerevan’s 

Agricultural Academy. 

Let us know 

what’s on your mind. 

Write to us at 

letters@reporter.am 

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Sell your stuff with the Armenian Reporter 

classifieds@reporter.am 

818-955-8407

The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 5 


Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan completed 

Armenian Bone 

Marrow Donor 

Registry holds preopening 

celebration 

in Los Angeles 

LOS ANGELES – On the evening 

of April 2, the Armenian Bone 

Marrow Donor Registry (abmdr) 

held a cocktail reception in Glendale, 

California, to celebrate the 

upcoming opening of its Stem Cell 

Harvesting Center in Yerevan. 

The event, which was attended 

by supporters, abmdr staff, and 

various committee members – all 

of whom volunteer for the registry 

– served as an opportunity to announce 

formally the much-anticipated 

launch of the Stem Cell Harvesting 

Center, inform guests of 

current and future abmdr projects, 

and thank supporters for helping 

save lives through the registry. 

$850,000 raised 

In opening remarks, Dr. Frieda 

Jordan, president of the abmdr 

Board of Directors, expressed her 

gratitude to the numerous individual 

and corporate supporters who 

contributed to the registry’s firstever 

telethon, held on April 13, 2008. 

“Thanks to your timely assistance, 

the Stem Cell Harvesting Center at 

last became a reality,” Dr. Jordan 

said. “The project was realized despite 

being faced with so many challenges 

– including the Russo-Georgian 

war last year, because of which 

manufacturers could not deliver to 

Yerevan the machines we had purchased 

for the Stem Cell Harvesting 

Center.” She said this particular 

issue was eventually solved by 

the United Armenian Fund, which 

transported all the required equipment 

to Armenia. 

“With the opening of the Stem 

Cell Harvesting Center, we can now 

save Armenian and non-Armenian 

lives easily and cheaply,” Dr. Jordan 

continued. “This is why it’s so 

critical to continue supporting the 

work of the abmdr. In this respect, 

our next major project is the establishment 

of a transplant center.” 

Two years in the making, the 

Stem Cell Harvesting Center was 

made possible through lead gifts by 

abmdr Board member Dr. Carolann 

Najarian, an anonymous 

donor, and the Glendale Sunrise 

Rotary, followed by contributions 

from the Lincy Foundation, the 

Disney Foundation, VivaCell of Armenia, 

and various Armenian organizations, 

as well as hundreds of 

donors responding to the abmdr 

Telethon. With a total of $850,000 

raised, the registry was able to fully 

renovate the Stem Cell Harvesting 

Krikorian reelected 

to school board 

GLENDALE, Calif. – Incumbents 

Ara Najarian and Frank 

Quintero and challenger Laura 

Friedman were elected to Glendale 

City Council on Tuesday, ending 

Bob Yousefian’s eight-year 

service on the body. 

They will join Dave Weaver and 

John Drayman on the five-member 

City Council after a swearing-in 

ceremony on April 20. 

Each of the three winners garnered 

over 8,000 votes, while Mr. 

Yousefian and Bruce Philpott 

won around 6,500 votes. There 

were seven additional candidates, 

Fimi Mekhitarian. 

Center site, provide it with state- 

Razmik Moghadasian. 

of-the-art equipment, and train 

personnel. Slated to open on April 

28, the center is expected to receive 

full accreditation by the European 

Federation of Immunogenetics. 

A dynamic and healthy 

registry 

According to Dr. Vergine Madenlian, 

the abmdr’s outreach and 

development officer and a biochemistry 

lecturer at California State 

University, Northridge, the opening 

of the Stem Cell Harvesting 

Center is a medical milestone not 

only for Armenia and the Caucasus, 

but also for Armenians throughout 

the world. The center recruits bone 

marrow/stem cell donors from predominantly 

Armenian populations 

worldwide, analyzes and determines 

the HLA tissue type of donors, and 

maintains a database. Once it receives 

a request from a patient requiring 

stem cell transplantation, 

the abmdr finds matches in its own 

or other registries worldwide and 

facilitates the transplantation. 

Dr. Madenlian, who has volunteered 

for the abmdr since 2004, 

including five Armenian-Americans. 

An estimated 40 percent of 

Glendale’s population is Armenian- 

American. 

Ron Borucki was reelected as 

city treasurer, holding off a challenge 

from former Glendale mayor 

Rafi Manoukian. 

In the School Board race, voters 

reelected Greg Krikorian and 

Joylene Wagner. At the same 

time they elected Christine Walters. 

Unlike the incumbents, Ms. 

Walters and Eric Sahakian enjoyed 

the strong support of the 

teachers’ union and the Armenian 

National Committee of Glendale 

Political Action Committee. 

Incumbents Armine Hacopian 

and Anita Quinonez Gabrielian 

From left, Karineh Khudikian, Naz Atikian, Amalia Keoreghian, and Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of the abmdr Board of 

Directors. 

Dr. Evelyn Baghdasarian (left) and Lilit Aladadyan. 

were reelected as trustees of Glendale 

Community College. Ann Hazel 

Ransford was also elected. The other 

added that 50 percent of the registry’s 

over 14,000 donors are under 

28 years old, making the abmdr 

internationally recognized as one 

of the world’s most dynamic – and 

healthiest – registries. “It’s just one 

more reason that makes volunteering 

for the abmdr such a spiritually 

rewarding experience,” she said. 

Following Dr. Jordan’s address, 

Alicia Asmarian, Naz Atikian, 

and Ani Azar of the abmdr announced 

the registry’s annual gala, 

“Match for Life 2009,” which will be 

held on July 12 at the Glendale Hilton. 

The event will raise funds for 

advocacy, education, and the registry’s 

ongoing life-saving services. 

Next to take the podium were Dr. 

Evelyn Baghdasarian and Lilit 

Aladadyan of the abmdr, who 

informed the guests of the registry’s 

next walkathon, “Walk of Life 

2009,” slated to take place on October 

3 at Glendale’s Verdugo Park. 

The event, which will include entertainment, 

music, and dancing, is 

being organized to raise funds for 

the registry’s activities as well as to 

recruit stem cell donors. 

Helping a 21-year-old 

man 

For an inside look at the abmdr’s 

work, Fimi Mekhitarian, a longtime 

volunteer and West Coast recruitment 

officer, spoke of a recent 

FaceBook appeal for a 21-year-old 

Armenian man diagnosed with 

acute leukemia and requiring an urgent 

stem cell transplant. “There’s 

been an outpouring of grassroots 

support following the appeal,” Ms. 

Mekhitarian said. “Today the young 

man’s family and friends are organizing 

a stem-cell donor recruitment, 

and this is where we come 

in. In fact, we have recruitments 

lined up for San Francisco, Chicago, 

and Florida. We’re literally having a 

field day recruiting donors.” 

candidate was Vrej Agajanian. 

City clerk Ardy Kassakhian, 

running unopposed, was reelected. 

The evening’s speakers also included 

Dr. Stuart Siegal, an early abmdr 

supporter who has had an instrumental 

role in helping Dr. Jordan 

establish the registry. Commenting 

on the launch of the Stem Cell Harvesting 

Center, Dr. Siegal said, “One 

of the most wonderful outcomes of 

this project is that you see tangible 

results in terms of saving lives.” 

Among the evening’s guest were 

many who have been impacted by 

life-threatening, blood-related illnesses. 

One such individual was 

Razmik Moghadasian, whose 

nine-year-old son lost his battle 

with leukemia in 2007. Even 

though a stem cell donor was found 

through the abmdr at that time, a 

relapse in the child’s condition 

prevented a transplant. “I see the 

abmdr as an insurance policy for 

everyone,” said Mr. Moghadasian, 

who has since volunteered for the 

abmdr. “If everyone had a donor 

[through the registry], everyone 

would be safe.” 

Established in 1999, the abmdr, 

a nonprofit organization, helps 

Armenians worldwide survive lifethreatening 

blood-related illnesses 

by recruiting and matching donors 

to those requiring bone marrow 

stem cell transplants. To date, the 

registry has recruited over 14,000 

donors across three continents, 

identified 1,276 patients, found 821 

potential matches, and facilitated 

nine bone marrow transplants. 

connect: 

abmdr.am 

1-323-663-3609 

Glendale will have only one Armenian council member 

Ara Najarian. Greg Krikorian. Ardy Kassakhian. 

Polls were slow on Election Day 

in Glendale. 

 

connect: glendalevotes.org.



MY NAME IS 

ARMEN 

Auntie Rose’s Kurabia 

by Armen 

Bacon 

Easter is my holiday. I have a collection 

of whimsical bunnies, fancy 

placemats, a dining table that 

easily seats 17, and a traditional 

menu that includes shish kebab, 

pilaf, soubereg and all the trimmings. 

The family arrives after 

church and we graze on yalanchi 

and string cheese while everyone 

vows that from this year forward, 

we will omit all mezza (appetizers) 

and eat more sensibly. In the blink 

of an eye, second helpings are being 

dished out, everyone is again 

complaining that there is too much 

food, the women rise to go into 

the kitchen to wash dishes, and 

the men retire to the living room, 

eyes at half mast, ready for afternoon 

naps. Their youthful counterparts, 

the grandchildren, run wild 

through the house, energized from 

all the foil wrapped chocolate eggs 

they have ingested since the day 

began. It may all sound crazy, but 

the scene is a welcome tradition in 

our ethnic household. 

This year, however, Easter has 

moved to my sister-in-law’s house. 

We are in the middle of pouring 

concrete and landscaping our yard; 

I am busy tending to my mother’s 

broken shoulder and subsequent 

recovery. Easter dinner, for this 

year and this year only, will be 

cooked and eaten elsewhere. 

Today, on the day I would normally 

be making a major grocery 

shopping list, I am headed to the 

market to purchase five simple 

items: one pound of unsalted butter, 

one pound of regular butter, 

shortening, a box of superfine sugar, 

and flour. These are the ingredients 

for kurabia, a traditional part 

of our holiday ritual. Regardless of 

whose house we may be celebrating 

this year’s holiday – my kurabia will 

be part of the annual tradition. 

I first tasted kurabia, a delicate, 

melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie, 

at my Aunt Rose’s house. I couldn’t 

have been more than 6 or 7 years 

old at the time. She lived across 

the street and Saturdays were play 

days with our cousins. I happened 

to be there one day when a mystery 

package arrived from her relatives 

in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I 

watched her carefully unwrap the 

brown wrap that revealed an old, 

battered Sees candy box, you know, 

the shiny white box with black lettering 

embossed on top, including 

Mary Sees herself with that trademark 

grandmotherly smile. The 

box however, was not filled with 

candy. Instead – two layers of neatly 

placed cookies were inside, each 

perfectly shaped and precise in 

Armenian Reporter columnist Armen D. 

Bacon is senior director for communications 

and public relations for the Fresno 

County Office. Ms. Bacon lives in Fresno, 

California, and is a wife, mother, professional 

woman, and writer. Since 2004, 

her thoughts and reflections about life 

have been published in the “Valley Voices” 

section of The Fresno Bee as well as 

the Armenian Reporter. She also writes, 

produces, and hosts a radio series titled 

“Live, Laugh, Love” on Fresno’s K-jewel 

99.3 radio. She can be reached at armendbacon@aol.com. 

size. Aunt Rose informed me they 

were called kurabias or shakareeshee 

(shakar means sugar in Armenian). 

She innocently (and quite generously) 

offered me a taste. So began 

my love affair with these heavenly, 

mouth-watering delicacies. For the 

next 30 years, I would hunt down 

recipes to mimic this first memorable 

and delicious experience. 

Years passed. I tried recipe after 

recipe, all quite unsuccessfully. Consistency 

was off, the sweetness and 

texture was impossible to replicate, 

mine tended to have a crunchy and 

unacceptable bite to them, quite 

contrary to Auntie Rose’s rendition, 

a secret family recipe, she had once 

confided. Looking back, I understand 

now why she hid them on the 

top shelf of her kitchen cabinet. 

One day, quite by accident, I was 

at an Armenian function with my 

husband’s side of the family, when 

one of his aunties, Auntie Lorraine, 

confessed that she, too, had 

an obsession for these cookies. 

But unlike me, she had stumbled 

upon what she described as the 

perfect recipe. To my delight, she 

was happy to share it with me. I 

carefully wrote down the five ingredients 

and then quizzed her repeatedly 

about the proper texture 

of the dough, cooking temperature, 

which rack seemed best suited for a 

perfect outcome, and so on and so 

forth. I wanted no detail spared. I 

took incessant notes. 

The next day, I began the arduous 

task of baking the cookies. I 

clarified the butter, measured out 

ingredients and was ready to sift, 

beat and roll. I could already taste 

Aunt Rose’s kurabias, despite the 

decades that had passed since I had 

been in her kitchen. I whipped the 

butters until their appearance was 

likened to whipping cream. I slowly 

added the sugar, patiently waiting 

until the consistency was just 

as Auntie Lorraine had described. 

And then the final step – adding 

the flour – almost 2 cups but not 

so much that the dough might 

crumble. She had suggested I close 

my eyes and feel it with my soul 

– it would be slightly wet but not 

too sticky. I realize now that the 

sensory talents of our ancestors 

have somehow skipped my generation 

and at this point I was praying 

for a small miracle or divine 

intervention. I hoped that Auntie 

Rose might be gracing me with a 

smile from heaven, cheering me on 

in my desire to make her family’s 

treasured cookies. I rolled out the 

dough, cutting it at an angle, until 

finally the cookies were ready to be 

placed on the cookie sheet. As they 

baked, the aroma filled my kitchen. 

The moment of truth was about 

to arrive. After they were sufficiently 

cooled, I carefully lifted a 

slightly disfigured one from the 

tray, dusted it with powdered sugar 

and bit into it. Melt-in-your-mouth 

perfection. I had succeeded. Auntie 

Lorraine’s recipe worked. Word 

travels fast. I have since become 

the “Kurabia Queen” of the Valley, 

a title I wear proudly, after years 

of practice and hundreds of pounds 

of butter and sugar purchased 

in the process. I am called on to 

bake them for weddings, baptisms, 

birthdays and holidays. 

While this year’s Easter holiday 

is not being celebrated at my house, 

I am still baking my kurabias. If you 

happen to be in the neighborhood, 

drop by and let me offer you a cup 

of coffee and a kurabia. I promise, 

it will melt in your mouth. 

From left, Gerard Libaridian, Mary Johnson, Ann Meade, and Richard Norsigian. 

Metro Detroit committee promotes 

Armenian Genocide awareness 

CLINTON TOWNSHIP – Committed 

to promoting awareness 

of, and gaining U.S. recognition 

for, the first genocide of the 20th 

century, The Metro Detroit Armenian 

Genocide Committee, in collaboration 

with Facing History and 

Ourselves, organized on March 25 

the third educator’s workshop (in 

Michigan) on the Armenian Genocide. 

The Knights of Vartan, Detroit 

Lodge, sponsored the project 

initially conceived and sponsored 

by Edgar Hagopian, local businessperson, 

and his Hagopian Family 

Foundation. 

Richard Norsigian, a member of 

the committee as well as a principal 

in the South Lake School District, 

coordinated the event with the 

help of Kim Meade, Macomb Social 

Studies Consultant. Educators 

representing 13 school districts attended 

the March 25th workshop 

held at the Macomb Intermediate 

School District offices. 

Facilitor for the workshop Dr. 

Mary Johnson, Senior Historian 

for Facing History and Ourselves, 

used text and video to present a 

background on the “universe of 

obligation” and segued into the 

history of the Armenian Genocide. 

Educators using the provided 

resource materials were asked to 

participate by posing scenarios and 

voicing their ideas and opinions on 

the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians 

at the hands of the Ottoman 

Turks from 1915-1923, and the response 

at that time from the international 

community. Dr. Johnson 

then introduced guest speaker Dr. 

Gerard Libaridian, who holds the 

Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern 

Armenian History at the University 

of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. 

Libaridian also served as advisor 

to Armenian President Levon Ter 

Petrossian from 1991 to 1997. 

Participants were reminded 

of the Second Annual Armenian 

Genocide Essay Competition open 

to all Michigan Middle and High 

School Students, sponsored by the 

Hagopian Family Foundation with 

cash awards for both the winning 

student and the instructor. 

The Metro Detroit Armenian 

Genocide Committee members are 

Edgar Hagopian, Edward Bedikian, 

Ray Boujoulian, Corinne Khederian, 

Paul Kulhanjian, Richard Norsigian, 

David Terzibashian and Madeline 

Thomasian. 

“The Armenian Genocide - a genocide 

that is not reflected in our history 

books and that on April 24, 

2009, represents 94 years later, even 

though 42 states and numerous foreign 

governments have recognized 

it, remains unacknowledged by the 

U.S. Government and the successors 

to the Ottoman Turk perpetrators,” 

stated Mr. Hagopian. 

connect: 

armeniangenocideessay.com 

Let us know what’s on your mind. 

Write to us at 

letters@reporter.am



Sipan Armenian School honored by Armenia’s Ministry of Education 

PARAMUS – On March 15, at 

the annual fundraising event of Sipan 

Armenian School, Mrs. Louisa 

Janbazian, president of the school 

Board, announced that the school 

received an Honorary Award from 

Mr. Spartak Seyranyan, the Minister 

of Science and Education of the Republic 

of Armenia, for its legacy of 

educating and nurturing the young 

Armenian generation with the Armenian 

Spirit, and for the 30th Anniversary 

of its founding. Mrs. Janbazian 

added that the school has 

earned this award because of the 

hard work and the dedication of the 

teachers and especially the principal, 

Mrs. Arpi Kevorkian, who teach 

the Armenian children to learn and 

love the Armenian language and 

our rich cultural heritage. 

She also thanked the Board members, 

the guests and the donors for 

their continued support for the 

school, and praised the founding 

members (Armenian Evangelical 

College Students Association of 

Beirut, Lebanon) some of whom 

are still on the School Board. Thirty 

years ago, as new emigrants from 

Lebanon here in New Jersey, this 

group had the vision to create an 

environment, outside of the home, 

where Armenian children could 

come together to learn their Armenian 

language and history. 

Finally, she thanked James and 

Maral Sahagian, who graciously 

hosted this fundraising event at 

their home in Airmont, N.Y., where 

the guests spent a lovely afternoon 

and enjoyed a delicious Lenten 

luncheon. The proceeds from this 

event, as well as the generous donations 

from friends and supporters, 

will help the school to continue 

with its noble mission. 

The Sipan Armenian School, 

which meets on Friday evenings at 

the Armenian Presbyterian Church 

of Paramus, NJ, has Pre-Nursery to 

seventh grades. 

 

connect:1-201-497-5096 

Some of the teachers and Board members of the Sipan School. 

N. Lael Telfeyan, Ph.D., LCSW 

Counseling and Psychotherapy 

with Individuals, Families and Couples 

Adults and Adolescents 

College student 

needing cash 

for books 

Part-time 

sales positions 

available. Email 

jobs@reporter.com 

140 West 97th St. 

New York, NY 10025 

By appointment 917-975-3109 

24 Windsor Road 

Great Neck, NY 11021 

e-mail: nlael@aol.com



J. Michael Hagopian’s documentary The River Ran Red to be 

screened at Englewood Public Library April 23 

ENGLEWOOD – In observance 

of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian 

Genocide, the Cultural 

 

Committee of St. Thomas Armenian 

Apostolic Church in Tenafly 

will present an award-winning 2008, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

60-minute documentary, The River 

Ran Red, by award-winning filmmaker 

Dr. J. Michael Hagopian 

on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. 

in the Englewood Public Library’s 

Mackay Room. The program is free 

and open to the public. 

The River Ran Red is the epic 

search for survivors of the Armenian 

Genocide along the Euphrates 

River, which snakes from the Armenian 

Plateau in Turkey to Syria. 

From his archives of 400 testimonies 

of survivors and eyewitnesses, 

documentarian Dr. Hagopian 

weaves a compelling story of terrifying 

intensity and resounding 

warmth. The search concludes with 

the discovery and testimony of the 

last three survivors, among several 

thousand, who had been stuffed 

into a burning cave in the forbidden 

desert of Der Zor. 

“If I succeed in translating to the 

viewer the experience and the pathos 

of those Armenians who were 

deported from their homes and 

made it to the Euphrates River only 

to witness the worst kind of bloodshed, 

then I accomplished what I 

set out to do,” said Dr. Hagopian, 

who wrote and produced the film. 

A resident of Thousand Oaks, 

Calif., Dr. Hagopian’s hunt for 

survivors took him to 13 different 

countries on five continents over a 

PT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 

FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION 

Looking for bright, mature, multi-lingual (Armenian/French/English) 

individualwho is well organized and pays attention to detail. 

Must be computer savvy and have strong planning and problem 

solving skills. 

Potential for advancement to FT Administrative Assistant. 

Contact the Armenian American Health Professional Organization (AAHPO) 

at 201-546-6166 or info@aahpo.org. 

period of four decades. He recorded 

such compelling accounts as the 

priest who returns to his birthplace 

and meets the man who killed his 

father and other family members, 

and people who reported seeing 

hundreds of bodies floating down 

what they described as the bloody 

waters of the Euphrates River. 

The River Ran Red, the final film 

in Hagopian’s Witnesses Trilogy 

on the Armenian Genocide of 1915, 

had its premier at the Arpa International 

Film Festival last October 

24 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, 

Calif. – four days after Dr. 

Hagopian’s 95th birthday. 

“We are so pleased to have had 

this opportunity to show Dr. Hagopian’s 

documentary,” noted Sylvia 

Minassian, Arpa Film Festival 

Founder. “He is an amazing man.” 

Dr. Hagopian was honored with 

the Arpa Lifetime Achievement 

Award and the Armin T. Wegner 

Humanitarian Award in 2006. He 

also is the recipient of Jewish 

World Watch’s “I Witness” Award 

for dedicating his professional life 

to chronicling the history of the 

Armenian people and commemorating 

victims of the Armenian 

Genocide. 

Dr. Hagopian himself is a Genocide 

survivor. As a young boy, he 

was hidden in a well in a mulberry 

grove to escape Turkish marauders 

and later fled, with his family, to 

the United States, where he eventually 

earned a PhD from Harvard 

University in 1943.He started collecting 

film footage about Armenians 

early on in his 60-year career 

as a documentary filmmaker. He 

established the Armenian Film 

Foundation in Thousand Oaks in 

1979 with the help of several community 

leaders. He has made over 

70 educational films; 17 of those 

are about the Armenian people, 

including The River Ran Red, and 

the definitive film on the Turkish 

massacre of Armenians in 1915, The 

Forgotten Genocide. 

 

connect:englewoodlibrary.org 

You share the same 

community. Discover what 

happens when you share 

the same experience. 

For more information about 

Relay For Life or to join an 

event near you, visit 

www.cancer.org/RelayNYNJ 

or call 1.800.ACS.2345. 

Paint the Town Purple in 

celebration of Relay For Life on 

May 1, May Day For Relay. 

1.800.ACS.2345 

www.cancer.org/relayNYNJ



Armenian Relief Society centennial celebrated in New York 

by Florence Avakian 

NEW YORK – It is an organization 

that has served Armenians 

worldwide tirelessly for 100 years, 

with 18,000 members in 223 chapters 

in 26 countries. On Saturday, 

March 28, the Armenian Relief Society 

of the Eastern United States 

celebrated the hundredth anniversary 

of this remarkable organization 

at the Yale Club in New York 

City. 

Among the more than 200 people 

present from across the United 

States, were several guests of honor, 

including the Prelate of the Eastern 

Prelacy Archbishop Oshagan 

Choloyan, Armenia’s envoy to the 

United Nations Amb. Armen Martirossian, 

Rep. Anna G. Eshoo 

(D.-Calif.), and twelve Eastern region 

ars members who have given 

dedicated service for more than 50 

years. 

Warmly welcoming the attendees 

was the chairperson of the 

Centennial Banquet Committee, 

Sonia Bezdikian. Following 

the singing of the American, 

Armenian, and ars anthems by 

Hooshere Bezdikian Kaligian, 

Archbishop Choloyan gave the 

invocation, and remarks were 

shared by the chairperson of the 

ars Centennial Committee Angele 

Manoogian, chairperson of 

the ars Central Executive Vicky 

Marashlian, and ars Eastern Regional 

Executive Board treasurer 

Ani Attar. 

A video presentation was shown 

detailing the history of the organization, 

and the sacrifice of the 

thousands of Armenian women 

who have devoted their lives to 

the service of the Armenian people 

during the past 100 years. 

Twelve outstanding 

members 

A high point of the evening came 

when 12 of the 115 women who 

have been members of the ars for 

more than 50 years were honored 

with plaques. They include Arpine 

Brajcovich, Anahid Dadoyan, 

Elizabeth Hagopian, Marie 

Karagullian, Alice Karjian, Arshalouys 

Kazanjian, Helen Parnagian, 

Arax Sarajian, Lucine 

Der Ohanesian-Sarian, Arev 

Sarkissian, Anais Tcholakian, 

and Berjoohi Yessaian. 

“Destiny scattered our nation all 

over the world, and everywhere 

we went we established schools, 

churches, and national organizations 

such as this one,” Amb. Martirossian 

said in his remarks. “The 

wisdom, compassion, and foresight 

of the founders of the ars 

found a fertile soil in this great 

country. Relations of the Armenian-American 

organizations with 

the political institutions of the 

U.S. acquired a special meaning 

and importance after September 

21, 1991. The U.S. Congress has 

been steadfastly rendering political 

and financial assistance to Armenia 

since that very first day of 

our independence.” 

Wishing the organization future 

success, the ambassador said, “The 

centennial of the Armenian Relief 

Society is a great event not only 

here in the United States, but is 

also duly acknowledged in Armenia.” 

A congratulatory message 

from diaspora minister Hranush 

Hakobyan was also read. 

A congresswoman’s 

pride 

Delivering the keynote address, 

Ms. Eshoo poignantly paid tribute 

to her Armenian roots, saying 

they had instilled in her “devotion 

to family, belief in the value 

of hard work, charity, community, 

and faith.” She recounted that 100 

years ago, Edgar Agnouny founded 

the ars in New York “to provide 

educational and humanitarian 

aid to Armenians throughout the 

world.” 

Ms. Eshoo pointed out that ”in 

the subsequent century, the ars 

Soloist Hooshere 

Bezdikian 

(standing, second 

from left) and 

other guests at 

the centennial 

gala. 

has become an important and essential 

source of assistance to Armenians 

in need of a safe haven, 

a chance at an education and a 

better life, all the while preserving 

the identity of Armenians, often 

against those who would deny our 

very existence. 

“I am proud to be an Armenian. 

I am proud to be an Armenian 

woman,” she declared to thunderous 

applause. “Over the years, the 

ars has been one of the world’s 

leading women’s organizations, an 

extension of our capacity for love, 

cooperation, and good works. You 

are building a better world, and you 

are training future leaders.” 

A member of the congressional 

Armenian caucus, and an original 

co-sponsor of House Resolution 

252 affirming the U.S. record on the 

Armenian Genocide, Ms. Eshoo recalled 

that President Obama during 

his campaign had promised that as 

president he would recognize the 

Armenian Genocide. “The time is 

ripe for the government of Turkey 

and the United States to put an end 

to the lie and face the truth about 

the Armenian Genocide,” she concluded 

to a standing ovation. 

The unique evening of celebration 

concluded with the Prelate offering 

the benediction, and again 

voicing strong support and congratulations 

to an outstanding organization 

for its devoted 100-year 

service to Armenians around the 

globe.



Nectar Munro’s second-grade class at St. Gregory Armenian School. Photos: Gregory Lima. 

St. Gregory Armenian School principal Margrit Hamparsoumian. 


St. Gregory 

Armenian School 

in White Plains is a 

positive force 

by Gregory Lima 

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – In a 

large sense every church is a school, 

some more than others. The beautiful, 

expansive church of St. Gregory 

the Enlightener in White Plains, New 

York, started as a school even before 

it had its own altar as a church. 

It started when a group of Armenians 

who had moved to the 

northern suburbs of New York City 

sought a more local place to worship 

and to teach their children 

to speak Armenian. They found 

Fr. Karekin Kasparian, then the 

dean of the St. Nersess Seminary, 

recently arrived in the area, who 

happily obliged by setting up seminars 

and classes on the Armenian 

spiritual and cultural heritage 

along with Armenian-language 

classes for adults and for children. 

Soon the group became a parish 

and Fr. Karekin became its pastoral 

priest. Over time the means were 

found to raise a church that from 

the outset would make very ample 

provision for the school that was 

already in existence. Today, some 

10 years after the consecration of 

the Church of St. Gregory the Enlightener, 

the original number of 

classrooms has doubled. 

Lydia Ochoa. 

Jancikian 

Dikran Kochian. 

Ani Mekenian. 

Caroline Mardirossian. 

Christina Chevian. 

Armenian as a second 

language 

Over the many years when Armenian 

was widely spoken at home 

among the immigrant communities, 

it was regarded as the mother tongue 

and taught as a first language. With 

generational assimilation, however, 

Continued on page 11 

Ani Ozsolak. Second-grader Talia. Christopher Mardirossian.




Continued from page 10 

it became in fact a second language, 

and in many cases the forgotten 

language, although it was not easy 

to recognize it as such. The loss of 

language threatened the profound 

loss of cultural identity and with it 

Turkish genocidal triumph over the 

dispossessed survivors. 

The recourse was to tie language 

instruction to the institutional 

longevity and organizing power of 

the Armenian Apostolic Church in 

America; to teach Armenian as a 

second language, and to be serious 

about it. To be serious about it meant 

to separate it from Sunday school, 

giving it its own independent space 

and validated academic curriculum. 

It also meant replicating as closely as 

possible family instruction through 

direct, personal, one-on-one teacherstudent 

participation in small classes, 

and further, to locate and employ 

the best pedagogical, peer-reviewed 

teaching techniques. It also helped 

to call on the cultural resources of 

the community. 

The result as seen in the St. Gregory 

Armenian School is ten classes 

of Armenian every Saturday 

morning. Each class is tied to the 

equivalent location of the children 

in the public school system, the 

children placed in nursery, pre-kindergarten, 

kindergarten, then first 

through seventh grades. Moreover, 

the children stay comfortably together 

through the grades creating 

enduring, interactive friendships. 

They take a child at any age, place 

him or her in the grade appropriate 

to the age, the teacher making the 

accommodating adjustments. 

According to Margrit Hamparsoumian, 

the school principal, 

starting at the earliest age is 

preferable. That is why they include 

teaching Armenian at the nursery 

level. But at each age the children 

have personal strengths that can 

be called upon to make learning 

the language natural, stimulating, 

and fun. There have been some excellent 

results at all grades. 

A clustered archipelago 

Each of the classes has a distinctive 

character of its own. Going from 

one class to another is like visiting 

separate islands in a clustered archipelago, 

admiring the artwork in 

one, listening to the recitals in another, 

watching a group dancing, or 

nodding approval at the melodious 

harmonies of the choral voices in 

others. The children are kept busy. 

Much of the learning is through action 

and interactions that are akin 

to group play. 

Each grade level has its own teacher, 

and where necessary, two. The 

variation in teacher personalities 

creates different class atmospherics. 

In some classes the teacher has an 

overwhelming presence and one can 

get the impression here that spring 

has come and every seed must burst 

into bloom, and if force of will can 

make it happen, it will. Another 

might have an autumnal feeling, 

a time of plenty where we simply 

reach out and gather the already 

ripened fruits. Some of the teachers 

have their own children in their 

class. As 6th-grade teacher Mari 

Yapoujian explained, “If I ask my 

children to come here, I must do my 

part also. I may be the teacher, but I 

find I learn with them, not only by 

preparing the class but in the class. 

They have better memories than I 

have. They become my teachers too.” 

Not everyone is delighted to be 

there, and there are some you cannot 

keep away. As they grow older 

some can rebel against their parents’ 

insistence they attend class. Asking 

one such very young lady what 

she would rather do, she answered 

“Sleep,” which she seemed to manage 

exactly where she was. Until it 

was time to dance. Then the sleepy 

girl turned into a dynamo. There 

was also the boy who had finished 

all the grades and still came back. He 

was drawn by the pleasure of speaking 

Armenian, the cultural activities, 

and the friends he had made. 

Drawing on the 

community 

Language and culture create each 

other until there is a fusion that it 

may be impossible to separate. The 

children may be learning the language 

but it is successful only to the 

extent they are learning and directly 

participating in Armenian culture. 

One of the strengths of this Armenian 

school is its ability to call upon 

Armenian cultural resources in the 

New York metropolitan area. A good 

example of this is Rita Kahvejian 

of New Jersey’s Shushi Dance 

Group and Khoren Mekanejian, 

composer and choirmaster. 

There is a special pleasure in seeing 

children in full costumes rehearsing 

their parts in an Armenian play. Or 

others in rigorous dance lessons, 

where only perfect posture in all 

body parts is acceptable, along with 

precisely choreographed steps. Or 

seeing the children rise to and meet 

the challenge as Armenian music 

fills the auditorium. Nor is the satisfaction 

less when visiting Shant 

Mardirossian’s history class and 

seeing the students in the physical 

act of handling coins of the realm 

and imagining how they were used 

in the different historical periods. 

In one of the classes there is a 

poster-sized photograph of Ervand 

Kochar’s great statue of the 

epic hero David of Sassoon. The 

mighty stallion’s rear hooves 

stand on a small pedestal that 

represents current Armenia in the 

mind of the sculptor. The horse as 

it prances forward covers a much 

larger area beyond Armenia. Kochar 

saw the horse as representing 

the whole of the Armenian 

people, most beyond current 

national borders. David’s sword 

is not pointed at a single enemy. 

It is behind him, ready to swing 

in every direction. He is poised 

against a surrounding multitude. 

This is a brilliant statue that says 

Armenia, its culture and spiritual 

values, and what it means in the 

lifeblood of its people will stand 

and fight for its place in the world. 

St. Gregory’s Armenian School is 

a positive force in that continuing 

struggle.



Looking to the next generation in Armenia: agbu focus 2009 

honors Hye Geen Pregnant Women’s Centers 

Some of the hundreds of mothers and children in Armenia who have benefited 

from the agbu Hye Geen Pregnant Women’s Centers. 

CHICAGO – Since 2001, each 

agbu focus weekend has paid 

tribute to a specific agbu program 

that has touched the lives of 

young Armenians. Looking to the 

next generation in Armenia, agbu 

focus proudly honors agbu Hye 

Geen by dedicating its 2009 fundraising 

campaign to benefit the new 

Pregnant Women’s Center in Talin, 

Armenia. The Talin Center will be 

the third of its kind in Armenia and 

the first in that city. agbu focus is 

a biennial weekend event designed 

for young Armenian professionals 

from all over the world to congregate 

and share their international 

perspectives, as well as provide a 

venue to showcase notable contributions 

and achievements made by 

agbu’s diverse youth-oriented programs. 

Building on the impressive 

achievements experienced during 

the premiere weekend in New York 

in 2001, agbu focus has since united 

more than 1,500 young Armenians 

from cities around the globe, 

with weekends hosted in New York 

(2001, 2007), Montreal (2003), Miami 

(2005), and now heading west 

to Chicago. Additionally, well over 

$125,000 has been raised for many 

agbu programs, including Generation 

Next, the Scholarship Program 

and the New York Summer Intern 

Program. 

From July 16-19, 2009, focus will 

welcome hundreds of Armenians 

to Chicago for this unique celebration. 

Rooms have been reserved at 

the Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel 

and a special discounted rate 

is available for reservations made 

only through agbu beginning in 

mid-April. Plans have also been 

set to host the Gala Evening, the 

highlight of the focus weekend, at 

the Art Institute of Chicago’s new 

modern wing, which is set to open 

this summer. 

Established by the agbu Hye 

Geen Committee of Los Angeles 

in response to the country’s high 

infant mortality, lack of nutrition 

and the shortage of resources for 

potential mothers, the first Hye 

Geen Pregnant Women’s Center 

opened its doors in Gyumri in 

2002 with the encouragement of 

the Republic of Armenia’s Minister 

for the Protection of Women and 

Children. 

Two years later, a second center 

in Vanadzor was opened. This year, 

the Hye Geen Committee plans 

to open its third center in Talin, 

which is in desperate need of help, 

as many villages in the region are 

poor and practically abandoned. 

These community-based health 

resource centers provide critical 

pre-natal care to pregnant women 

who often suffer from malnutrition, 

lack the funds for proper medical 

care, and have little access to accurate 

health information. Expectant 

mothers who gather daily at the 

centers benefit from vital medical 

exams, a congenial social atmosphere, 

individual meetings with 

counselors, nutritious meals, and 

vitamins provided by Hye Geen. 

Center participants are recommended 

by local clinics and spend 

4-5 hours a day at the facilities. 

Meals are prepared and served by 

the women themselves in order to 

encourage good nutrition habits 

which are taught by the trained 

center staff. Each center has three 

local employees on staff, including 

a social worker, who work with the 

women to ensure that their babies 

are born healthy. 

Various medical personnel are 

invited to the centers periodically, 

or as required, to monitor each 

woman’s progress and needs. The 

superintendent of the centers, 

Nara Sahakian, who is a lecturer in 

psychology at Yerevan State University, 

travels from Yerevan for 

weekly visits to each center and ensures 

that each facility is operating 

at its utmost. 

To date, hundreds of healthy babies 

have been born to the mothers 

who have participated in the programs 

at the agbu Hye Geen Pregnant 

Women’s Centers. 

agbu focus believes that every 

child born in Armenia deserves a 

chance at a healthy life unfettered 

by preventable medical issues. 

Honoring agbu Hye Geen’s latest 

project, focus has launched a largescale 

pre-event fundraising effort 

to ensure that the Talin Center will 

open with all the resources it needs 

to carry out its mission of serving 

the pregnant women of Armenia. 

Since 1994, agbu Hye Geen in 

Southern California has worked to 

preserve and honor achievements 

of Armenian women, provide a 

forum for them throughout the 

world, promote their role in family 

and society through research, education, 

and advocacy, and provide 

overall support to empower Armenian 

women as carriers of the Armenian 

cultural heritage. 

Established in 1906, agbu is the 

world’s largest non-profit Armenian 

organization. Headquartered 

in New York City, agbu preserves 

and promotes the Armenian identity 

and heritage through educational, 

cultural and humanitarian 

programs, annually serving some 

400,000 Armenians on five continents. 

 

connect: 

agbu.org/focus 1-212-319-6383 x128. 

Visit us at the new 

reporter.am



Calendar of Events 

Edward D. Jamie, Jr. Funeral Chapel, LLC 

208-17 Northern Blvd. Bayside, NY 11361 

Tel. 718-224-2390 

Website: www.jamiejrfuneral.com. 

Serving the Armenian Community Since 1969 

Edward D. Jamie, Jr.-NY&NJ Licensed Funeral Director 

NEW YORK 

APRIL 16 - QUARTERLY FO- 

RUM SERIES - Remembering 

the Forgotten: The Untold Story 

of Clergymen Lost to the Genocide. 

The second forum features 

Yeretzgeen Joanna Baghsarian’s 

remarkable story of how 

a group of her students took a 

proactive role in remembering 

these forgotten martyrs. There 

is no charge for the evening, but 

RSVP is requested by email to 

events@armenia nprelacy.org or 

by telephone at 212-689-7810. 

APRIL 16 - SYMPOSIUM ON 

PREVENTING GENOCIDE 

THROUGH DIALOGUE Thursday, 

7:00 P.M. Fordham Law 

School, Amphitheater, 140 W. 

62nd St, NYC. Admission: $12. 

AASSSG 2009 Honoree, Andrew 

H. Tarsy, Awards given to Krieger 

Essay Contest winners. visit 

www.meaningfulworld.com, e- 

mail kalayjiana@aol.comor call 

201 941-2266. 

APRIL 18 - WALK ARMENIA 

organized by the ARS NY Erebouni 

& Mayr Chapters Walk to 

raise funds for Holy Martyrs & 

St. Illuminator’s Day Schools/St. 

Sarkis Saturday School. Regisration 

1:00pm @ St. Sarkis Armenian 

Apostolic Church Douglaston, 

Queens/Walk begins 

2:00pm for approx. 4 miles. Participation 

Fee $25. Further info: 

Hasmik Israelian — 516-330- 

5290 or Nayda Voskeritchian 

516-739-0805 

APRIL 18 - “HELLO ELLIS 

ISLAND” MUSICAL ENTER- 

TAINMENT BY “THE WAY 

WE WERE” about Armenians 

coming to USA in 1920. 8PM 

in the Auditorium of Armenian 

Church of the Holy Martyrs 209- 

15 Horace Harding Expwy in 

Bayside. Adults $20 – Children 

$10 under age 12. Refreshments 

following the performance. For 

tickets call the church office at 

718-225-0235 or Lolita Babikian 

at 347-742-4015. 

APRIL 30 - THE ZOHRAB 

CENTER FILM SERIES will 

view the comedy/drama “Big 

Story in a Small City,” on Thursday, 

at 7:00 pm. Wine and cheese 

will be served following the film. 

Suggested donation is $5. For 

more information, please email 

ZCFilmSeries@gmail.com or call 

212.686.0710. The Krikor and 

Clara Zohrab Information Center 

is located at 630 Second Avenue 

(at 34th street) New York, 

New York. 

MAY 3 - 32ND ANNUAL GALA 

DINNER-DANCE. St. Illuminator’s 

Armenian Day School, Friday, 

7:30 p.m. at the Armenian 

Center 69-23 47th Ave. Woodside, 

NY. For information call 

718-478-4073. 

MAY 15 - 1ST ANNUAL COCK- 

TAIL RECEPTION AT THE 

PRATT HOUSE, NYC. Hosted 

by the Armenian Medical Fund. 

$125. For information call Nancy 

Zoraian, 908-233-7279. 

MAY 16 - 60TH ANNIVER- 

SARY DINNER/ DANCE of the 

New York Armenian Home 

(Flushing, NY) to be held at 

Harbor Links Golf Course, Port 

Washington, NY, starting at 

7:30 pm. Featuring Varoujan 

Vartanian and Band and Antranig 

Armenian Dance Ensemble. 

Donation: $150.00 per person. 

Black Tie Optional. For more 

details, please call NYAH: (718) 

461-1504. 

MAY 16- HMADS GALA DIN- 

NER DANCE hosted by the 

“Friends” at Russo’s on the Bay, 

featuring Addis Harmandian 

and his Band. Cocktails 7:30 

pm. Dinner 9:00 pm. Donation: 

$ 150. For Reservations please 

call, school office: (718) 225 4826, 

Negdar Arukian: (718) 423 4813. 

MAY 16 - SAVE THE DATE! 

60TH ANNIVERSARY DIN- 

NER DANCE OF THE NEW 

YORK ARMENIAN HOME, 

Flushing, NY. Celebration to 

be held at Harbor Links Golf 

Course, Port Washington, NY. 

Featuring Varoujan Vartanian 

and Antranig Armenian Dance 

Ensemble. Details to follow or 

call NYAH, (718) 461-1504 

NEW JERSEY 

MAY 3 - 50TH ANNIVER- 

SARY CELEBRATION BAN- 

QUET.Sts.Vartanantz Church, 

Ridgefield, NJ. Donation: $50 pp 

- for info/reservations call 201 

943-2950. 

NOVEMBER 15 SAVE THIS 

DATE: “ONE NATION, ONE 

CULTURE” A Cultural Festival 

Under the Auspices of Dr. Hranush 

Hakobyan, Republic of Armenia 

Minister of Diaspora, Organized 

by Hamazkayin Eastern 

USA Regional Executive, Featuring 

Alla Levonian from Armenia 

and Babin Boghosian & Ensemble 

from Los Angeles, With the 

participation of Antranig Dance 

Ensemble of AGBU, Akh’tamar 

Dance Ensemble of St. Thomas 

Armenian Church, Yeraz Dance 

Ensemble of St. Sarkis Church, 

NJ Hamazkayin Nayiri Dance 

Group & Arekag Children’s 

Choir & Dhol Group. SUNDAY, 

NOVEMBER 15, 2009. 4pm. Felician 

College, 262 S. Main St., 

Lodi, NJ. Donation: $75, $50, $35, 

$25. For more information or 

tickets please contact: Hamazkayin 

@ 201-945-8992 or Paradon2009@gmail.com 

MASSACHUSETTS 

APRIL 26 - ARMENIAN MAR- 

TYRS’ DAY OBSERVANCE BY 

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COM- 

MEMORATIVE COMMITTEE 

OF MERRIMACK VALLEY. 

3PM, North Andover High School, 

Route 125, North Andover, MA. 

Concert by Arlina Ensemble of 

Armenia. Complimentary admission. 

Reception to follow. 

ACAA ARMENIAN HERITAGE 

CRUISE XIII - 2010 

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL - Join 

Armenians worldwide on 

the ARMENIAN HERITAGE 

CRUISE XIII 2010. Sailing on 

Saturday, January 16-23, 2010. 

To San Juan, PR, St. Thomas 

and Grand Caicos Islands on 

Subscription Coupon 

the Costa Atlantica. Prices start 

at $679.00 per person. Contact 

TravelGroup International 

1-866-447-0750,ext 102 or 108. 

Westcoast: Mary Papazian 818- 

407-140; Eastcoast: Antranik 

Boudakian 718-575-0142 

the armenian 

reporter 

annual rates 

U.S.A.: First Class Mail, $125; Periodicals Mail, $75 

Canada: $125 (u.s.); Overseas: $250 (u.s.) 

name 

street 

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Liver transplant spurs national Knights of Vartan commander 

by Tom Vartabedian 

WATERTOWN, Mass. – Haig 

Deranian is truly a knight in shining 

armor. 

Ten years ago, he was at death’s 

door before a liver transplant saved 

his life. A donor stepped forward 

when the situation became critical 

and gave him a new lease. 

Today, he’s the national commander 

of the Knights of Vartan, 

an organization that dates itself 

back to 451 c.e. when Vartan Mamigonian 

led the surge that preserved 

Christianity for Armenians. 

Deranian doesn’t carry a sword. 

He has no shield. His only weapon 

is the Armenian spirit and he wears 

it proudly. 

“It was not my time and I was 

blessed by God,” he says of the 

transplant. “God decided whether 

I would live or die. I have a great 

deal of faith which was part of my 

upbringing.” 

Little is revealed about his life-ordeath 

struggle back a decade ago, 

just the way Deranian would prefer. 

He’s not an individualist and wants 

no purple heart for his survival. He 

puts his organization before himself. 

“I don’t know who the donor was,” 

he says. “There’s no question organ 

transplantation is a miracle in 

medicine.” 

But talk Knights of Vartan and 

Deranian is all action. If he did have 

a sword, it would be Excalibur. And 

if this Knight ever came alive, well, 

it’s as close to a Robin Hood scenario 

as you can get. 

His Sherwood Forest is the diaspora. 

The mission is equality among 

all Armenians everywhere. 

“Armenians need to unite with 

one voice,” he points out. “I believe 

Haig Deranian. Photo: Knightsofvartan.org. 

the Knights of Vartan is the perfect 

organization that can cross all lines 

to get things done. My involvement 

and ultimate success are more of a 

team effort. I might be in the right 

place at the right time and was always 

trying to make a difference 

with my life.” 

My late pastor, Rev. Vartan 

Kassabian, was a Knight as well 

as an arf member, the leader of 

a church as well as an entertainer. 

He was the consummate Armenian 

who would rob Peter to pay Paul. 

The former chairperson of our 

Armenian National Committee of 

Merrimack Valley is another Knight. 

When Joe Dagdigian isn’t attending 

meetings, he’s involved with the 

arf Lowell Gomideh as well as the 

Cosmic Ray Division in Armenia. In 

fact, he joined the Knights to gain 

added clout for the crd. 

Deranian is also trying to make a 

difference. With a membership that 

has 23 lodges throughout the United 

States and Canada, along with a 

body of more than 3,000 Knights 

and Daughters, it’s Deranian who 

remains the catalyst. 

The 67-year-old has been a Watertown 

resident for the past 55 

years. He attended local schools before 

graduating from Northeastern 

University. He has a wife (Donna 

Pino) and three children (Gregory, 

Jason, and Jennifer) and is 

president and ceo of a company 

called Jad Imports, an importer of 

lighting products, and Deran Lamp 

& Shade Company, manufacturer 

and distributor of portable lighting 

products. 

He has taught Sunday School at 

St. James Church in Watertown 

since 1997 and has a list of credentials 

the length of your arm with 

the Knights of Vartan. No need to 

A community regroups after its pastor’s death 

repeat everything, Suffice it to say, 

he’s made the Armenian community 

his priority. 

Two years ago, Deranian chaired 

the New England Pontifical visit of 

His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos 

of all Armenians. 

He has helped deliver school supplies 

to destitute schoolchildren in 

Armenia, promoted hygiene and 

sanitation in Armenia, sponsored 

and renovated schools, and distributed 

scholarships. Two of my ayf 

children were K of V recipients. 

According to one report, $19 

million has gone to school projects 

in Armenia. For every dollar 

the brotherhood raises, the World 

Bank matches $9. 

This July, the City of Boston will 

be converted into a metropolis for 

Knights from every corner of the 

country. More than 400 members 

are expected to converge at the 

Westin Copley from July 1 to 5. 

Had he been alive, Der Vartan 

would have played a key role as 

commander of the Arakadz Lodge 

of Merrimack Valley. In the entire 

history of this organization, 

no cleric has ever assumed such 

a leading role and the reason why 

he joined runs parallel with others 

who’ve taken an initiative. 

They wanted to make a difference. 

“We believe that the preservation 

of our racial, religious, and cultural 

heritage is our sacred obligation,” 

Deranian points out. “However we 

achieve that means is up to us.” 

Haig Deranian is alive today because 

he had God on his side. He’ll 

never dispute that. Nor will he ever 

contradict the work of his organization, 

much less the interaction of 

Armenians everywhere, regardless 

of political or fraternal affiliation. 

For that, he is to be admired. 

by Tom Vartabedian 

Weeks after his death, a community 

continues to mourn the loss of 

its beloved pastor. 

The passing of Der Vartan Kassabian 

March 12 has sent the Merrimack 

Valley reeling with aftershock 

and cast parishioners from 

St. Gregory Church into a bereaved 

state. 

It’s not something anyone can 

forget overnight – or after an eternity. 

But like he would have wished, 

grief must be replaced by healing 

and the congregation must persevere. 

If anything, this pastor always 

preached vitality and encouraged 

his flock to settle for nothing 

less. 

As Sunday School students come 

to grips with reality, several are 

looking to the church for strength. 

The priest who once humored them 

with a casual Sunday sermon is no 

longer there. 

He taught them well. Hopefully, 

the lessons will guide them toward 

greater maturity. 

Local genocide-commemoration 

committees will miss his sturdy 

presence at events where prayers 

will mourn his loss. If anything, 

they will remember the man for his 

oratorical brilliance and the knack 

for always finding the right words 

in a dire situation. 

Two years ago, when vandals destroyed 

some genocide billboards 

around Greater Boston, Armenians 

everywhere were aghast. 

Could this be another vile Turkish 

prank Such vandalism made 

the Boston papers with pity. 

As the Armenian public criticized 

the act, Der Vartan found a positive 

side. In an invocation he delivered, 

he told the audience that such acts 

were “a blessing in disguise.” 

“The publicity we received from 

this caught the eye of every sympathetic 

reader and underscored 

nine decades of intolerance by our 

people toward Turkey,” he pointed 

out. “You can’t buy this kind of 

press. They did us a favor.” 

With his pearls of wisdom, Der 

Vartan was like a firefly on a moonless 

night, casting certain radiance 

where there was none. 

The elderly continue to grieve. 

Each Sunday he would regale them 

with words of inspiration, whether 

it was from the altar or during a 

coffee hour. Shortly after his father’s 

death, Mgo walked into an 

Armenian School class and sat with 

the younger students. 

His place, he felt, was with them 

as words of encouragement flowed 

from his mouth. A year ago this 

time, his essay on genocide recognition 

took first prize. As another 

contest took effect, he urged the 

students to enter, get involved, 

make a difference in their church, 

much the same way his father had 

intended. 

As another phase of a renovation 

project takes place inside the 

church, there seems to be greater 

initiative than ever to get the work 

accomplished in his memory. A better 

tribute couldn’t be possible. 

The Easter season took on greater 

significance this year as in the past 

with the death of Christ resurrecting 

an entire Christian nation. In 

some ways, the same could be said 

for Der Vartan’s demise. 

Life after death. 

Visiting clergy continue to do 

their part until a replacement is 

named. Every promise has been 

made by the hierarchy to find a 

suitable pastor. To walk in his 

shoes would be a daunting task for 

any cleric. 

Meanwhile, a congregation has 

been enamored to carry on the 

work he so delegated to others. 

Jesus Christ died two centuries 

ago. Presidents like Abe Lincoln 

and John F. Kennedy are gone. Our 

rich, classical composers, Bach, 

Beethoven, Mozart set their own 

standard. 

Are they really dead Are not 

their words and music still heard 

Der Vartan had no illusions of 

grandeur, yet he was grand in his 

own humble, charismatic way. The 

man some predicted would never 

make a good priest was fit to be a 

prince of his church. 

It isn’t the quantity of life – the 

number of years – that matters, but 

rather the quality, how that life was 

lived. Der Vartan lived his 51 years 

exceptionally well. 

In an age of takers, he was a giver. 

Like the coin of life, his life was 

dedicated to two sides, his family 

and his work. For that, he leaves 

Der Vartan 

Kassabian. 

behind a rich legacy we have all 

grown to appreciate. 

He took the time to love and 

laugh – to serve and enjoy countless 

friendships. He took the time 

to dream, play and reflect a little 

more than we ordinarily would. 

Der Vartan didn’t need a clock 

in his timeless journey, or a schedule 

to maintain. He killed time by 

working it to death. 

What you do for yourself unfortunately 

dies with you. But what 

you do for others lives on after 

you. A man such as Der Vartan will 

never die in the eyes of a grateful 

community.

The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 15

E 



Dilit 

Khojabek 

+ 

Lake Khanchal 

Patara Khanchal 1997 

+ Satkha 

NINOTZMINDA 

Spasovka 

M. Karakhach 

2689 

J A V A K 

3054 

M. Aghrikar 

¸Didi Khanchal 

Katnatu 

Orlovka 

Bughdashen 

Bughdashen (Gorelovka) 

M. Madatapa 

2718 

H K R 

M. Dali 

M 

Swamp of Byurakn 

3196 

Saragyugh 

M. Achkasar 

The mosque at the center of this photograph is across the river and the border in Halimjan, whereas the buildings in the foreground are in Armenia. Photos: Tatul Hakobyan for the Armenian Reporter. 

M. Lorasar 

3008 2889 

M. Parakh 

2546 

Darik 

2956 

Lorasar 

M. Yerakatar 

Bavra 

M. Ashotskar 

Sizavet 

M. Gaylakar 

Tzaghkut 

2774 

M. Tsurtav 

2446 

3122 

2950 

Yeghnajur 

Zorakert 

2025 

Tavshut 

Garnaritch 

Aghvorik 

M. Karanik 

2843 

Ghazanchi 

10 

Ardenis 

2965 

3038 

M. Tchokhak 

Paghakn 

+ 

M. Sevsar 

Res. of 

Arpi Lake 

Aravet 

Shaghik 

Berdashen 

Metz Sepasar 

Alvar 

Ashotsk 

2208 

Pokr Sepasar + 

M. Ashotsk 

M. Kaputkogh 

Zuygaghbyur 

3047 

+ 

+ Hartashen 

Krasar 

+ 

Swamp of Zarishat 

Zarishat 

2272 

Karmravan 

Musayelian 

Yerizak 

M. Sepasar 

2448 

P L A T E A U o f A S H O T S K 

Vardaghbyur 

Hovtun 

Moks (Ibish) 

M. Amasia 

Amasia 

Salut 

Swamp of Sghnakh 

Bandivan 

2312 

Tsoghamarg 

Bazargan 

+ 

Bashgyugh 

Aregnadem 

Gog'hovit 

Lernagyugh 

Torosgyugh 

Pokr Sariar 

Gtashen 

Jradzor 

Hoghmik 

Arpeni 

M. Tsulasar 

2555 

M. Kaghamakhut 

Kamkhut 

2106 

Metz Sariar 

Pokrashen 

Hovuni 

+ Krashen 

Gyulibulagh 

Keti 

Karmrakar 

+ + 

+ 

Kaps 

1987 

JA JUR 

Ajabaj 

Vahramaberd 

MAYI SIAN 

Jajur Pass. 

Lernut 

Dilaver Meghrashat 

+ 

Shirak 

Mayisian + 

Jajur 

Marmashen Mon. + 

Khnkoyan 

Voghju 

Marmashen 

Hatsik 

+ 

Kamo 

Haykavan 

Duran 

2312 

+ 

GYUMRI 

M. Kapanak 

Kumayri Fort. + 

Arapi 

Karnut 

Moks 

+ 

+ 

Hovit 

Voskehask 

+ 

Akhurian Karnut Res. 

After years of isolation, the ancient capitals of 

Yervandashat and Bagaran are now open to visitors 

There are many 

historical sites 

in Yeraskhadzor, 

where the Arax and 

Akhurian rivers 

meet 


YERVANDASHAT and BAGARAN, 

Armavir province, Armenia – The 

residents of Bagaran wake up at 

the crack of dawn every morning to 

the voices of the muezzin from the 

neighboring village of Halimjan. 

The two villages are separated by 

the Akhuryan river, which serves 

as the Armenian-Turkish boundary. 

“Of course it disturbs us,” said 

Gevorg Margaryan, the head of 

Bagaran village. 

Bagaran is one of the oldest settlements 

in Armenia. It was founded 

by King Yervand, the last of the Yervandunis, 

in the 3rd century B.C.E. 

It was here that King Yervand, or 

Orontes, transported pagan idols 

from Armavir, constructed pagan 

temples, and appointed his brother 

as high priest. 

For centuries – actually until 

1920 – Bagaran was spread along 

the right and left banks of the 

Akhuryan and also on the left bank 

of the Araks River. 

“Our forefathers crossed the 

Akhuryan twice, once in 1917 and 

for the last time in 1920, never to 

return,” said Mr. Margaryan. 

At the beginning of the 20th century, 

Bagaran had about 800 residents. 

To escape from the Turkish 

massacres, the residents of Bagaran 

crossed the left bank of the 

Akhuryan River. When the first 

Armenian republic was created in 

1918 and the territories expanded, 

the Bagarantsis returned to the 

right bank. At that time, Bagaran 

was part of the district of Surmalu. 

After the loss of the republic, 

the Western Armenian regions of 

Surmalu and the region of Kars, 

along with the rest of the territories 

of Western Armenia, became 

part of Turkey. 

The apricots are 

delicious 

“Today the village has 610 resident. 

Apricots grow very well here. We 

are primarily employed in agriculture 

and dairy farming,” the village 

head explained. 

After the fall of the Yervanduni 

Kingdom, Bagaran lost its shine 

and splendor and for almost a 

thousand years is not mentioned. 

In the 9th century, Bagaran is once 

again mentioned and the first king 

of the Bagratunis, Ashot I, proclaimed 

Bagaran the capital of the 

kingdom. 

It was only a few years ago that 

one had to get special permission 

from Armenia’s national security 

and border forces to travel to the 

oldest capitals of Armenia, Bagaran 

and Yervandashat. But today, 

that checkpoint has been removed 

and all those who wish to go and 

visit these glorious sites, including 

diaspora Armenians and tourists, 

can now do so. 

Before traveling down to Bagaran 

and Yervandashat, it is necessary 

to stop at a certain distance and 

look at the breathtaking scenery 

from above. This is the Yeraskhadzor 

Valley, where the Araks and 

Akhuryan rivers mix together. 

Yervandashat is only one kilometer 

away from Bagaran. It was 

the last capital of the Yervanduni 

Kingdom, taking over from Armavir. 

The city, which is spread over 

the two banks of the Araks River, 

used to have a vibrant population. 

Yervandashat was destroyed in the 

4th century C.E. by the forces of the 

Persian King Shabuh. 

Today, Yervandashat is a village 

of 825 residents. Since the collapse 

of the Soviet Union, the village 

has only ever had one village head, 

Hovan Avetisian. 

“I have been the village head since 

1991 and I don’t belong to any political 

party. Those who live in Yervandashat 

are natives to this village, 

but we also have residents from 

Verin Sasnashen and Sarnaghpyur 

of the region of Talin. The people 

here grow fruit trees and keep cattle 

– cows and sheep. The village is 

about 4,000 hectares but only 10 

percent of it is used in agriculture,” 

Mr. Avetisian said. 

The village head recalled how in 

Soviet times, Yervandashat was a 

very closed-off place. To come here 

one needed to go through several 

government departments to get 

the necessary permission. After 

Armenia’s independence, diaspora 

Armenians expressed great interest 

in visiting Bagaran and Yervadashad. 

However, these villages continued 

to remain difficult places to 

visit, once again tied off because of 

the different papers one needed to 

get. 

“In 2001, during the ceremonies 

commemorating the 1700th anniversary 

of the adoption of Christianity, 

initially there was an intention 

of including these two villages 

in the formal program of activities 

because there are many historic 

sites in the two historic capitals 

at the point where the Araks and 

Akhuryan rivers meet. There is the 

fortress of Queen Parantsem, the 

grave of Gevorg Marzpetuni, which 

is right on the banks of the Araks 

River, but on the Turkish side,” Mr. 

Avetisian explained. 

For two years, a group of archaeologists 

have been working in Yer- 

+ 

Kochkran 

Sosker t 

vandashat and they have already 

discovered remains from the palace 

of King Yervand, right on the + 

Dilan 

Seydijan 

banks of the Araks. 

K arakhan 

Kechut + 

“There is a program + being + developed 

with the U.N., so that some of 

+ 

Lake Kechut 

the homes in the villages will 

Shahniler 

+ have 

Poldr van 

the ability to accept Korek guests, tourists 

and diaspora Armenians M. Argina and to 

Inja 

welcome them with freshly baked 

1816 

lavash from the tonir,” Mr. Oghuz Avetisian 

said. 

Gyulveran + Bashgetikler 

Khamsagarak 

+ + 

+ 

The village head is convinced + + 

Bayraktarthat 

Mavrak 

Bagaran and Yervandashat represent 

a great historical value. There- 

1701 

M. Yerablur 

fore today, when there is no longer 

Jala 

Araz 

any restriction or difficulty + in visiting 

this region, which is only 

Ani 

100 

kilometers from Yerevan, it will A N no 

I 

Ani Cathedral 

Kharkov 

doubt be a place of great Maghasberd interest 

for tourists. 

f 

K alus 

GEORGIA 

TURKEY 

Where the Araks 

and Akhuryan 

– and Armenia 

and presentday 

Turkey 

– meet. Armenian 

Reporter map © 

2009 Armenian 

Reporter LLC. 

Y E G H N A S A R 

R A N G E 

2886 

RUSSIA 

Yeghnajur 

Akhurian 

T U R K E Y 

Kars 

Maghasberd 

Fort. 

Bajal 

Yengi 

M R E N 

+ 

Ar tagers 

B A G A R A N 

Artagers Mon. Halimjan 

+ Bagaran 

Y E R V A N D A K E R T 

2502 

Geghiart Canyon 

Yefremovka 

Zhdanov 

Y E R V A N D A S H A T 

Kalinino 

Â³íßáõï Tavshut 

Gharibjanian 

+ Shorag yal 

Akhurik 

"SHIRAK" 

Musayelian 

Arevik 

+ Hak 

Demirkend 

Azatan 

Hin Argina 

+ 

Getk 

T ikhnis Yerazgavors + 

+ 

Aygabats 

Argina Mon. 

G 

Shatin 

Beniamin 

+ 

+ 

S H I R A K A V A N 

Par val 

Bayandur 

Saratak 

Meghrashen 

Lusakert 

Hovtashen 

Panik 

Shirakavan + 

+ 

+ 

Gusanagyugh 

Getapi 

Karmirvank Mon. 

Horom 

Anushavan 

K armir vank 

Nor Kyank 

Ma 

Lusaghbyur 

Hayreniats ARTIK 

Akhurian 

Isahakian 

+ + 

+ 

Res. 

Tazashen 

Haykasar 

Haritch N 

+ 

Tufashen 

Aghin 

+ 

+ 

Bardzrashen 

Hari M 

MARALIK 

+ 

+ 

Pemzashen Mon. 

AGHIN 

Dzorashen 

+ 

N.Jrapi 

+ 

Dzorakap 

+ St. Arakelahimn Mon 

+ Jrapi 

Sarakap 

Lernakert 

Horomos Mon. 

Karaberd 

Haykadzor + 

Sarnaghbyur 

+ 

B AGR AVAN 

Khoshavank 

Dzit'hankov + 

Mon. 

Lanjik 

Hogevank Mon. 

Garnhovit 

An ancient khatchkar or cross stone + 

Bagravan 

Zarnja 

Tzaghkasar 

the side Nor of Artik the road. + 

Zovasar 

+ + 

Tsamakasar 

Dprevank 

²ÜÆ 

+ 

Anipemza 

ANI 

Suser 

Dzoragyugh 

1560 

Vosketas 

M. Sevsirt 

+ + 

Mastara 

Karmrashen 

Yereruyk Mon. 

Hatsashen 

+ 

+ 

Sorik 

Akunk 

+ Shgharshik 

Tlik 

+ 

Areg + 

Yeghnik 

Hakko 

+ Irind 

Getap 

M. Metz Arteni 

+ 

Gyalto 2047 

TALIN + 

+ Verin Sasnashen 

Katnaghbyur 

Barozh 

Davtashen + 

Nerkin Sasnash 

Satanidar Settl. 

Dashtadem 

Aragatz 

Ghabaghtapa + 

+ 

+ Ashnak 

Nerkin 

Lusakn 

Shatakh 

Ar tavut 

Jrik 

M. Tek 

Akhurian 

AZERBAIJAN 

IRAN 

K APUY T R ANGE 

Araks 

2425 

M. Yeghnasar 

Karakhan 

Kechut 

Gharabagh 

Moks 

KOGHB (TUZLUJA) 

Lake Bughdashen 

Kaghin 

Chinchavat 

Akhurian 

Arteni 

Argina 

Turabi 

Shenik 

Koghbavan 

Yervandashat M. Karmirblur 

+ 

1132 

+ + 

Kmlaget 

Tikhnis 

T A L 

I N 

Akhurian 

Voghjaget 

Selav Mastara 

P L A T 

E A U 

Surb Mari (Surmalu) 

Pirli 

Talin 

2107 

Lake Madatapa 

Shirak Ch. 

Channel 

+ 

S H 

S H I R A K 

I R 

A K 

Karakert 

Karkatchun 

R A N G E 

Baghramian 

Vanand 

P L A 

Dalarik 

Artamet 

Koghaghbyur 

Shirak 

U 

T E A 

Ch. 

Lernagog 

Myasnikian 

Khonarkhach 

Arevadasht 

Talvorik 

Ashotsk 

Hushakert 

Vardakar 

Hatsik 

2914 

Kakavajur 

Sardarapat 

Araks 

Khanjian 

Nairi 

Dzerzhinski 

Amasia 

M. Kechut 

3156 

Karakhach Pass. 

Lmbatavank 

Armavir Great Channel 

Lenughi 

Nor Armavir 

Sheram 

Sp 

K 

L 

H 

P 

Lukas 

Norava 

Hoktember 

Karan 

Bambakashat 

+ 

A R M A V I R 

Jrashen 

Nor Kesaria Shenavan 

Nor Art 

Nalbandian 

Berkashat + 

Janfida 

Getashen 

Nerkin Arabkir 

+ 

C havush 

Baraktut 

+ 

Hak 

Zakir 

+ 

A N G 

Ar 

A R A G A T Z O 

M



In five years, Armenia, Iran to be connected by rail 

If this ambitious 

initiative 

materializes, 

Armenia could have 

a passage through 

the ports of the 

Persian Gulf 


YEREVAN – High-ranking officials 

from Armenia and Iran are giving 

assurances that in five years’ time 

there will be a railroad linking the 

two countries. According to preliminary 

calculations, the railroad 

will stretch for approximately 470 

kilometers, with 410 of those on 

Armenian territory. The total cost 

of this undertaking is expected to 

run about $1.2 billion. 

An agreement will be signed by 

Armenia and Iran sometime this 

month when President Serge 

Sargsian is expected to be in Tehran 

for an official visit. On April 3 

Armenia’s minister of transportation, 

Gurgen Sargsian, and Iran’s 

transport and communications 

minister, Hamid Behbahani, 

signed a memorandum of understanding 

in this regard. 

Armenia, which is currently 

under blockade from the west by 

Turkey and from the east by Azerbaijan, 

had a rail link with Iran during 

the Soviet era. The line began 

in Yerevan and continued along the 

banks of the Araks River, through 

Nakhichevan in the Azerbaijani 

republic, stretching all the way to 

Julfa. From there the railroad cut 

across the Araks River by bridge to 

Jolfa station in Iran. From there 

was connected to the Iranian railroad 

grid. This was the flattest and 

shortest route: 200 km from Yerevan 

to the Iranian border. 

Mountainous terrain 

With passage through Nakhichevan 

blocked, the new rail link will have 

to be built across high mountain 

ranges – through the provinces of 

Vayots Dzor and Syunik. The exact 

route through Armenian territory 

has not yet been mapped out. At a 

press conference with his Iranian 

counterpart, Mr. Gurgen Sargsian 

said it would be preferable to have 

the railroad run from the basin of 

Sevan toward Jermuk. Built during 

the Soviet era, there is today a 

working railroad from Yerevan all 

the way to the western basin of Sevan, 

the city of Vardenis. The portion 

of the railroad to be built on 

Iranian territory must run to the 

city of Marand. 

Ministers Sargsian and Behbahani 

said that the railroad will be 

built in three stages. In the first 

stage, technical and financial studies 

will be carried out. This stage will 

require three months. The second 

stage will be determining the route 

of the railroad and the drafting of 

maps. The third stage will involve 

the actual construction. The ministers 

foresee that this project will 

take up to five years to complete. 

The sides expect to secure financing 

for this project through large 

banks. “Negotiations for financing 

have already begun with the World 

Bank and the Asian Development 

Bank,” Minister Sargsian said. 

If the construction of this ambitious 

railroad becomes a reality, 

then Armenia will not only be connected 

to its neighbor Iran through 

a rail link, but will be able to have 

transportation routes all the way to 

the Persian Gulf and through this 

Argina Mon. 

Horomos Mon. 

Khoshavank Mon. 

ANI 

Araks 

NINOTZMINDA 

Akhurian 

Kaputkogh fort. 

Yereruyk Mon. 

Amasia 

Vahramaberd fort. 

Marmashen Mon. 

Kumayri fort. GYUMRI 

ARTENI mnt 

Akhurian 

MARALIK 

2047 

Satanidar - paleolithic 

settlement 

TURKEY 

Haritchavank Mon. 

Hogevank Mon. 

ARAGATZ mnt 

Amberd fort. 

Tegher Mon. 

have routes to neighboring regions 

and states in Central Asia, the Middle 

East, India, and China. 

Armenia’s railroads belong to a 

Russian company. The full management 

of Armenia’s railroad, lately 

renamed the South Caucasian Railway, 

was given to Russian Railways 

for a period of 30 years. Since 2001 

the Armenian railroad has been 

a profitable operation, primarily 

transporting cargo from Armenia 

to Georgia all the way to the Black 

Sea ports of Batumi and Poti and 

back. 

Russian Railways promised to 

invest $570 million in Armenia’s 

railways. It has already stated, however, 

that it will not finance the Armenia-Iran 

initiative. The Russians 

will use Azerbaijan’s territory for 

their railway communication with 

Iran. 

A geopolitically 

significant project 

 

TALIN 

Sardarapat 

Monument complex 

GEORGIA 

Ashotsk 

H 

ACHKASAR mnt 

3196 

Lmbatavank Mon. 

Arutch 

karavansaray 

H 

ARMAVIR 

TSOLAKERT (IGDIR) 

Metzamor - metallurgical 

and observatorian complex 

(4-3 th. B.C.) 

APARAN 

H 

4092 

Saghmosavank Mon. 

Ohanavank Mon. 

H 

VAGHARSHAPAT 

Ejmiatzin 

Cathedral 

MASIS (GREAT ARARAT) mountain 

5165 

3925 

SIS (SMALL ARARAT) mountain 

Abel Aghabegians, a well-known 

economist and academician said 

last October that the fundamental 

issue surrounding the construction 

of the Armenia-Iran railroad would 

be whether the sides would be able 

to guarantee the required amount 

of cargo transport to justify the 

cost. He suggested that perhaps it 

would have preferable to renovate 

and shorten the distance of the Armenia-Iran 

automobile highway by 

building a few tunnels at a fraction 

of the cost. Mr. Aghabegians said 

that the cost of building this railroad 

could skyrocket to $2 billion because 

it would have to be built across 

treacherous territory. He hinted 

that perhaps the geopolitical significance 

of the Armenia-Iran railroad 

outweighs its economic benefits. 

During the Soviet era, Armenia 

had several rail links with Azerbaijn. 

Cargo and passenger trains operated 

between Yerevan and Baku 

(this route passed along the banks 

of the Araks River all the way to 

ARTIK 

Dzoraget 

H 

SPITAK 

STEPANAVAN 

Pambak 

H 

H 

Byurakan 

ASHTARAK 

TASHIR 

Oshakan 

MASIS 

LORI 

Khuchap 

Mon. 

VANADZOR 

Kasakh 

H 

Hankavan 

ARAILER mnt 

2575 

YEGHVARD 

 

 

Khorakert 

Mon. 

Khor Virap 

Monastery 

Dzernak 

fort. 

LALVAR mnt 

2543 

AKHTALA 

H 

LALVAR 

Odzun 

Kecharis Mon. 

TZAGHKADZOR 

Hrazdan 

Debed 

H 

H 

ARTASHAT 

Garni 

Sanahin Mon. 

TUMANIAN 

H 

HRAZDAN 

Haghpat Mon. 

CHARENTSAVAN 

BYUREGHAVAN 

ABOVIAN 

KHOSROV 

reservation 

DILIJAN 

H 

YEREVAN 

VEDI 

H 

ARARAT 

AYRUM 

AZHDAHAK mnt 

Kirants Mon. 

Makaravank Mon. 

DILIJAN 

national park 

Haghartzin 

Mon. 

Geghard Mon. 

(Ayrivank) 

Havuts Tar Mon. 

St.Stepanos Mon. 

Hovhannes-Karapet 

Mon. 

Yeraskhavan 

SEVAN 

lake Parz 

Araks 

IRAN 

NOYEMBERIAN 

Lastiver rock 

Goshavank Mon. 

3598 

Sevan Mon. 

SEVAN 

national park 

Geghi fort. 

l a k e 

Hayravank 

Mon. 

Sulem karavansaray 

Nor 

Varagavank Mon. 

Noratus 

khachkar-field 

Noravank Mon. 

S E V A 

SEVAN national park 

VARDENIS mnt 

3521 

Julfa, then back through Armenian 

territory at Meghri, and back once 

again into Azerbaijan) and Ijevan 

to Baku. The Yerevan-Kapan line 

also passed through the territories 

of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. 

The Yerevan-Baku and the Ichevan- 

Baku lines carried 80 percent of 

Armenia’s cargo. 

H 

Aghstev 

H 

GAVAR 

SHARUR 

IJEVAN 

Argitchi 

Areni 

TCHAMBARAK 

Znaberd 

BERD 

H 

MARTUNI 

GAZAKH 

N 

Tsakhats Kar Mon. 

Hermon Mon. 

Arpa 

AGHSTEV 

YEGHEGNADZOR 

Khoranashat 

Mon. 

Yergevanits 

fort. 

VAYK 

Nakhichevan 

Kura 

St.Gevorg Mon. 

Vanevank Mon. 

Karmirvank Mon. 

Darashamb Surb 

Stepanos Mon. 

H 

Gndevank Mon. 

Hazarabyurats Mon. 

Nakhichevan 

(Az.) 

NAKHICHEVAN 

TOVUZ 

Artzvashen 

JERMUK 

JOLFA 

Makeniats Mon. 

Surb Khach Mon. 

St.Karapet 

Mon. 

H 

Hreshtakapetats Mon. 

GETABAK 

VARDENIS 

Amenaprkich Mon. 

Amenayn Srbots Mon. 

Yernjak fort. 

Áàðñóì 

Tzaghkotsavank Mon. 

JUGHA (JULFA) 

Charekavank Mon. 

KARHAT (DASHKESAN) 

Tanahat Mon. 

Surb Nshan 

Mon. 

Trtu 

Tzara Astvatzatzin Mon. 

H 

Áàðóì 

Astvatzatzin Mon. 

KARVATCHAR 

St.Tovma Mon. 

VORDUAR (ORDUBAD) 

Levonaberd fort. 

Shoghavank Mon. 

ISHKHANASAR mnt 

3548 

Karahunj 

observatory 

(4 th. B.C.) 

SISIAN 

Vorotnavank Mon. 

Tatev Mon. 

ARAMAZD mnt 

Dadivank Mon. 

Halidzor fort. 

Vahanavank 

KAPUTJUGH mnt 

Mon. 

3906 

KAJARAN 

3201 

KHUSTUP mnt 

SHIKAHOGH 

reservation 

Baghatskar Mon. 

Arakelots Mon. 

Tztiternavank Mon. 

Goris and 

Khndzoresk 

cave-settlements 

Bgheno Noravank Mon. 

Kajkert Mon. 

Khatravank Mon. 

Gandzasar Mon. 

Astvatzatzin Mon. 

Yeritsvank Mon. 

During that period, Armenia 

also had rail links with Turkey at 

the Gyumri-Kars line, which like 

the other rail links to Azerbaijan, 

are no longer in operation because 

of the 20-year-old blockade. The 

Yerevan-Tabriz rail line has also 

been under blockade because a 

portion of that line passes through 

Vorotan 

3392 

H 

MEGHRI 

AGARAK 

H 

GORIS 

SHAKASHEN (KHANLAR) 

Getashen 

H 

KAPAN 

Horekavank Mon. 

Yeghishe Arakyal 

Gyulistan fort. 

Mon. 

MRAV mnt 

3348 

Sarsang res. 

Voghji 

Nrnadzor 

Araks 

SHAHUMIAN 

Kachaghakaberd fort. 

Ghazanchetsots 

church 

Hagari 

H 

Khachen 

H 

STEPANAKERT 

BERDZOR 

Krvaberd fort. 

Dzoravank Mon. 

KOVSAKAN 

MIJNAVAN 

Trtu 

Vankasar Mon. 

Amutegh Mon. 

MARGUSHEVAN 

H 

MARTAKERT 

Shushi fort. 

SHUSHI 

ASKERAN 

Mayraberd fort. 

"We and our Mountains" 

Katarovank Mon. 

Tovmasaberd fort. 

Gtchavank Mon. 

Aghjkaberd fort. 

Azokh cave 

HADRUT 

Karkar 

JRAKAN 

Khudaperin bridges 

AZERBAIJAN 

Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s railways. The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. The only operating international rail link is with Georgia. Armenian 

Reporter map © 2009 Armenian Reporter LLC. 

MARTUNI 

Amaras Mon. 

VARANDA 

HORATIS 

Nakhichevan. For the past 17 years, 

Armenia also hasn’t had rail connection 

with Russia because a portion 

of that rail line passes through 

separatist Abkhazia in Georgia. 

That rail line, which is known as 

the Abkhazian railroad, has been 

under blockade by the Georgians 

since 1992. 

f


Editorial 

Commentary 

the armenian 

reporter 

A test of Turkey’s professed goodwill 

The extra-large and extra-bold headline could have been, “Obama, in Turkey, affirms the 

Armenian Genocide.” The subheads would have noted the Turkish and Armenian reaction. 

During his visit to Turkey, President Obama did not speak explicitly of the Armenian 

Genocide, although he did confirm that his views on the subject, which are “on the record,” 

have not changed. It is unfortunate that he did not take the opportunity to share his views 

with his Turkish hosts, as “close friends” – just as he shared his views on difficult topics like 

Turkey’s accession to the European Union with his hosts in the European Union earlier in 

the week, “as close friends of both Turkey and Europe.” 

What Mr. Obama did say, however, was significant. 

First, he expressed hope that the Turkish and Armenian people “can move forward 

and deal with a difficult and tragic history.” This can only be taken to mean that the 

Turkish people must come to terms with the facts of the Armenian Genocide. These 

facts include the state’s organized effort to annihilate the Armenian people, as well as 

heroic tales of Turks, Kurds, Americans, and others helping save lives. Unfortunately, 

President Abdullah Gul, with Mr. Obama at his side, did little to take that process forward. 

He put forth the classic – and patently dishonest – version of history espoused by 

Turkish state historians. 

Second, Mr. Obama told the Turkish parliament, “the United States strongly supports 

the full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.” He said “an open border 

would return the Turkish and Armenian people to a peaceful and prosperous coexistence 

that would serve both of your nations.” 

This message differs from ritual calls for reconciliation. It is an explicit call for Turkey to 

open the border with Armenia, which it closed unilaterally 16 years ago. By calling for “full 

normalization,” Mr. Obama is also asking Turkey to finally agree to establish diplomatic relations 

with Armenia – which Armenia has all along been willing to do. 

It now remains to be seen how Turkey will respond to Mr. Obama’s clear – and entirely 

reasonable – call for action. It will be a test of the goodwill professed by the Turkish authorities. 

The soccer ball 

Responding to a question posed by the Armenian Reporter’s Tatul Hakobyan, President Serge 

Sargsian of Armenia on April 10 insisted that the ball is now in Turkey’s court, “and if we are 

talking about soccer diplomacy, then we must state that the ball cannot constantly be on one 

side of the field and each soccer match has a predetermined time frame.” 

The current round of Armenian-Turkish talks started with an invitation to a September 

2008 soccer match in Yerevan. Mr. Sargsian has agreed to a reciprocal invitation from Mr. 

Gül for the Armenia-Turkey match in Kayseri in October 2009. The question is whether he’ll 

go over an open border, with the new Armenian ambassador to Turkey in tow. f 

Easter greeting from Archbishop Hovnan Derderian 

Burbank, Calif. – “Christ is Risen from the 

dead, Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ” 

The Resurrection of Christ our Lord, which 

provides spiritual strength in our lives as 

Christians, is the ultimate expression of 

Divine Love for humanity. This glorious triumph 

of Christ over death graces us continually 

with a renewed understanding of our 

Christian faith. This biggest miracle of all enables 

us to transform our God-given life into 

a renewed, deeper spiritual life. The Resurrection 

is the powerful presence of Almighty 

God in our lives. 

The glorious Resurrection of Christ our 

Lord is the reawakening of the Church. Indeed, 

the ineffable divine power of Christ’s 

Resurrection is difficult to understand in 

mere words or logic, but could be experienced 

in the spiritual life of each and every faithful 

and the life of the Church. The Resurrection 

empowers us to live the Word of God in our 

daily lives and come closer to God. 

“Christ is Risen from the dead, Blessed is the Resurrection 

of Christ” 

By proclaiming that Christ is Risen from 

the dead we reject the deeds of darkness in 

our lives and turn our lives toward the empowering 

Light of God. Our forefathers have 

lived with this Faith and have taught us to 

live a life pleasing to God; a life that upholds 

the Christian faith, protects the sanctity of 

family, builds houses of worship and schools. 

This faith is complemented with our dedication 

to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin 

and Armenia, and above all, our country the 

United States of America. 

The mystery of the blessed Resurrection of 

Christ our Lord ought to be reflected in the 

life of society. Inspired by the victorious Resurrection 

we are called to become the good 

hands of Almighty God with a strong vision. 

If humanity has lost the vision of peace, the 

main reason is human greed and disrespect 

to our fellow human beings. The global financial 

crisis that societies all over the world 

are experience is but one dimension of this. 

As expressed by the newly elected head of 

the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness 

Patriarch Kyril: “Today, decisions have been 

affected by attributes such as greed, loss of 

control over consumption, a bid to enrich 

oneself by all means and have as much as 

possible… The crisis began when people forgot 

true value.” 

The blessed Resurrection of Christ our Lord 

impels us to live a miraculous life, to create 

and to illuminate the souls of humanity. 

I believe in the resurrection of the body 

“Christ is Risen from the dead, Blessed is the Resurrection 

of Christ” 

May the miracle of the Resurrection of 

Christ enrich our personal and communal 

life, so that we may put on the new person in 

Christ and walk with God, becoming co-helpers 

of God’s creation and to bring up our children 

with the mystery of the sanctified life. 

May the miracle of the Resurrection of 

Christ grant us the vision to become the 

living Church through the preaching of the 

Word of God, and working hard for the revitalization 

of the Church. 

Our faith in the Resurrection of Christ implies 

that we all are the living stones of the 

Church, thus we are challenged to begin a 

new life in making God the destiny of our life 

and above all to see the new life beyond the 

horizon, in the hand of God. 

f 

Bishop Manuel Batakian 

New York – “Since we have become one with 

him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall 

be one with him by being raised to life as he was” 

(Rom 6,5). 

Our Christian faith commands that we believe 

not only in the Resurrection of Christ 

but in our own resurrection as well. At first 

glance we sense that it is not so easy to profess 

such a faith. Indeed it is different - and 

natural - to believe in the Resurrection of 

Christ, given that He is God, the Lord of life 

and death, whose power has no limit, and it 

is yet another thing to believe in the resurrection 

of a human being, who by definition 

is mortal, therefore subject to annihilation, if 

not spiritually, then at least bodily. 

And yet, every time that we profess the 

Creed, we proclaim publicly that our resurrection, 

soul and body, is an essential part of our 

faith. But to what extent we are convinced 

of it, in practical terms, when we are making 

that profession, that is another question. 

We cannot doubt God’s ability to keep 

eternally immortal the souls He himself 

created as immortal. But is it required for 

Him give the same privilege to the body, 

whuxh came from dust and will return to 

dust, as we read in the Scriptures 

It is normal and logical that from time to 

time the issue of the resurrection of the body 

comes into our minds, especially when we, 

as Christians, are preparing to celebrate the 

Resurrection of Christ, because these two realities 

are indissolubly linked to one another. 

If we believe that Christ has risen, we cannot 

ignore or deny that we too will rise . 

And the reason is evident, and founded on 

the word of Christ himself. Either we accept 

the words of Christ completely, or we do not. 

Now, we hear him saying : “I am telling you 

the truth... Do not be surprised, the time will 

come when all the dead will hear the voice 

of the Son of God and will come out of their 

graves; those who have done good will rise 

and live, and those who have done evil will 

rise and be condemned (John 5, 25-28). 

Yet there is a great temptation in taking 

these words of Christ, and thus the meaning 

of our Resurrection, in a metaphoric or 

symbolic sense, as if to say: yes, there is a 

resurrection of mankind, there is also a second 

life, but in spirit, not in body. The spirit is 

holy, the body is sinful. The first deserves to 

survive, not the latter. 

This doubt, or distrust, arises in the minds 

of some for these reasons: 

First, can we reasonably expect that God 

gives life back to us mortals So doing. in 

some way, we are even doubting God‘s power. 

We see in the Holy Bible the manifestation 

of Almighty God from the first moment 

of creation: Scripture is a uninterrupted 

succession of miracles. These miracles take 

on a pivotal role in the earthly mission of 

Jesus. The healing of the sick, the multiplication 

of bread, the calming of storms, the 

raising from the dead... what signs or proofs 

of divine power can there be stronger than 

these He who created the world from nothing, 

who raised from death not only others 

by also Himself, should He not be able to 

create all his creatures again 

The second argument is that it is difficult 

to imagine what form or shape our body will 

take in coming to life again.: will it have the 

same physical characteristics, the same intellectual 

and spiritual qualities as it has in the 

present life 

The theologians describe in different ways 

what our bodies will be like in a second life, 

confessing nevertheless that no one can fully 

know the exact reality, because the only 

source of our knowledge, the Holy Scriptures, 

does not give us any information about it. 

God certainly wants to keep the mystery 

alive until our encounter with him. 

Following their logic, biblical scholars 

imagine the raised bodies as being endowed 

with the highest qualities, even corporeally, 

because the souls will join these ‘glorified’ 

bodies and become one with them. This conviction 

is shared by St. Augustine who says 

that we will be in heaven ‘as we are’, we will 

keep our identity, but in sublime, perfect proportions. 

We will find ourselves in a universe 

where we will see God face to face, without 

any intermediary or interpreter. 

It is impossible to separate the Resurrection 

of Christ from our own. Christ did not 

triumph over death for Himself but in order 

to save us from the clutches of death. St. 

Paul is categorical on this point: if Christ 

did not rise from the dead, our entire faith 

would be disrupted and reduced to nothing. 

And our earthly life would turn to an existence 

without goal and meaning. 

The resurrection of Christ is neither a legend 

nor an illusion. It is an irrefutable reality 

sealed by the blood of myriads of witnesses. 

It is at the same time the foundation of our 

hope that we will share his glory thanks to 

our own resurrection. 

f 

Armenian Reporter (ISSN 0004-2358), an independent newspaper, 

is published weekly by Armenian Reporter llc. 

Copyright © 2009 by Armenian 

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Commentary 

You are witnesses of these things 

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian 

New York – He said to them, “These are my 

words which I spoke to you, while I was still with 

you, that everything written about me in the 

law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms 

must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds 

to understand the scriptures, and said to them, 

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer 

and on the third day rise from the dead, and 

that repentance and forgiveness of sins should 

be preached in his name to all nations, beginning 

from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these 

things.” (St. Luke 24:44-48) 

The new life 

After the bitterness of winter, after the 

self-restraint of Lent, after the intense emotions 

of Holy Week, one encounters Easter 

with a sense of relief. Resurrection Sunday 

is, after all, the soaring finale to a harrowing 

story - the happy ending we’ve been waiting 

for. Ahead of us, we might feel, lies a bright 

horizon, free of troubles, where everything 

will be set right. 

This is not just a matter of our own perception: 

the gospels affirm that something 

profound and final occurred in the drama of 

Christ’s death and return to life. “The earth 

did quake, the rocks rent, the graves were 

opened,” we read; “the saints which slept 

arose, and coming out of their graves after 

his resurrection, went into the holy city, and 

appeared to many” (Mt 27:51-53). Even the 

righteous dead arise, to testify to the magnitude 

of what has occurred. One can hardly 

imagine a more “final” statement. Where 

could the story possibly go from there 

Yet, as we know, the story did go on - and 

not just as a continuation of Scripture. The 

story continued in history. We inhabit its latest 

page, and from our vantage we can see 

that the resurrection of Jesus Christ - assuredly 

the most important and wondrous turning 

point in history - was not history’s end. In 

a scene of piercing sadness, Jesus warned his 

followers not to make the mistake of thinking 

that his sufferings would spell an end 

to troubles for mankind. Staggering to the 

cross, trailed by a company of wailing women, 

Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters 

of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep 

for yourselves, and for your children.... For 

if they do these things to a green tree, what 

shall be done to the dry” (Lk 23:29-31). 

In such words, one sees that Christ’s life 

and passion, while serving redemptive purposes 

all their own, were at the same time 

encapsulations, concentrations, of the human 

condition overall. What was once the 

lonely burden of mortal man - the misery 

of every person who has suffered injustice, 

who has seen his friends desert him, his 

loved ones endangered on his account, his 

world reduced to ashes - all of these troubles, 

were shared, embraced even, by our 

Lord in his journey to the cross. In Jesus, 

the blessings of life surely take on greater 

meaning for us, as glimpses of a kingdom 

yet to come; but his words leave no doubt 

that the sorrows of human living will never 

cease to be ours, as well. 

As Armenians, we instinctively know this 

- and we have certainly lived it. We saw the 

blessed evangelization of Armenia; but also 

a costly defense of the first Christian nation 

at Avarayr. We saw the flowering of a distinctive 

Armenian culture and identity; but also 

knew exile and subjection to alien powers. 

We welcomed a new political reality which 

would allow us to advance in society; but we 

also endured the Genocide. 

Yet if our experience and theology comprehend 

this aspect of Christ’s sacrifice, they 

comprehend a larger meaning, as well. To 

be sure, the resurrection does not promise 

us an easy life, free of troubles. But it does 

promise that the monotonous cycles of security 

and suffering, of prosperity and poverty, 

are not in the end meaningless. The world 

will remain a mix of blessings and afflictions, 

as it always has; but in Christ, there really 

will be a final state of peace, where “God will 

wipe away every tear,” and all things will be 

made new again (Rev 21:4-5). 

Even for the disciples who lived alongside 

Jesus, these things were difficult to understand. 

We are told that Christ had to “open 

their minds” to help them grasp what they 

had seen. But having done so he also charged 

them with the duty of remembering, and of 

acting on that memory. “You are witnesses of 

these things,” he told them. 

He tells it to us, too. Every year, in our Easter 

celebration, we see the miracle of Christ’s 

Catholicos 

Karekin II 

performs 

the ritual 

washing of 

the feet in 

Etchmiadzin 

on Great 

and Holy 

Thursday. 

Photo: 

Photolure. 

resurrection re-enacted, re-lived, before 

our eyes. We see life emerge from the grave, 

hope emerge from despair. We are reminded 

of that final, peaceable kingdom, where our 

hearts will find rest; and of the painful sacrifice 

that purchased it for us. 

We are reminded, too, that a foretaste of 

God’s kingdom exists here on earth, in the 

Church our Lord established. Especially in an 

anxious, uncertain time, the church needs to 

be The Church: it needs to nourish its mission 

as a witness - it needs to act as a witness to 

Christ’s resurrection. We will have a chance to 

do so again, when we sing our Easter greeting: 

Krisdos haryav ee merelotz! Orhnyal eh harootiunun 

Krisdosee! Christ is risen from the 

dead! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ! 

This year, let us sing these words with 

the conviction of those who first saw our 

risen Lord, who touched his wounds, and 

responded to the miracle of his resurrection. 

For in the deepest sense, we, too, are 

witnesses of these things. 

f 

Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan 

New York – ...we have been buried with him 

by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ 

was raised from the dead by the glory of the 

Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 

-Romans 6:4-5 

Christ’s eternal presence in the world and 

in our hearts became humankind’s possession 

because of His Resurrection. The first 

witnesses to that Resurrection were His disciples 

and followers. They transmitted to us 

what they saw to which they gave witness 

with dedication and faith, and for which they 

paid with torture and martyrdom. 

The miracle that we try to understand 

on Easter is considerably above the human 

mind and logic. When we believe and live 

accordingly, then a new person is born within 

us, who enters into a new life and a new 

way of life with Christ. The most convincing 

statement is made by the Apostle Paul when 

he says, “If we have been united with him in 

a death like his, we will certainly be united 

with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 

6:5). Our defeat of sin mysteriously occurs 

with our baptism, after which as a new creature-this 

time as a faithful Christian-we live 

enjoying the grace that one day will take 

us to our resurrected life. Our life is the 

grace given to us by God and our salvation 

is God’s expressed love. Salvation is not our 

own doing; it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8) 

Therefore, this new life has a message 

for us. First, it is our prime duty to be 

cleansed internally. This takes place when 

we kill sin in us, for which our Lord sacrificed 

His life. As long as we remain in sin, 

we remain slaves of sin through out desire, 

our greed, our ego which repels us from all 

humankind created in our image. On the 

contrary, we must go to all, have compassion 

and love, serve and help them, so that 

the sinner in us will not rule, but rather 

Christ Himself. “For we are what he has 

made us, created in Christ Jesus for good 

works, which God prepared beforehand to 

be our way of life” (Eph 2:10). 

Second, after destroying the sinner in us, 

it is our duty to gain new life. In order to 

gain that life, we must sacrifice our life, if 

necessary, just as Christ sacrificed His life 

to give us new life. There is no greater proclamation 

than that of the Apostle Paul, “For 

to me, living is Christ and dying is gain (Phil 

1:21). Blessed are those who can gain that life, 

a life filled with love, enlightened by sacrifice 

and enriched by service. 

May Christ’s miraculous Resurrection be a 

message and reminder to us all that in order 

to live with Him we must completely cleanse 

ourselves, destroy sin, in order to be worthy 

of salvation, His grace, new life, and our 

unity with Him. 

Christ is risen from the dead. Blessed is the 

resurrection of Christ. 

f 

The resurrection of our Lord brings renewal to our lives 

Archbishop Moushegh 

Mardirossian 

La Crescenta, Calif. – 

“Christ is risen from the dead! 

He trampled down death by death, 

and by His resurrection He granted life to us. 

Glory to Him for all ages. Amen.” (Hymn) 

The enlivening spirit of rebirth and renewal 

resonates throughout the world once again 

as we Christians prepare to celebrate Christendom’s 

greatest and most important feast, 

the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Savior 

Jesus Christ, and join together to exclaim 

“Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia. 

Come ye peoples, sing unto the Lord! Alleluia.” 

(Hymn) 

The Resurrection of our Lord brings to us a 

profound message of rebirth and renewal. It 

starts with death, the crucifixion and entombment 

of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, and ends 

with life, the Glorious Resurrection on Easter 

Sunday. It is the conquering of death and the 

dawn of a new life, a reassurance that good 

will always triumph and hope will abound. 

It is very fitting that Easter comes in 

springtime, a season marked by the blossoming 

of life when the dark, harsh winter ends 

and the sun shines bright again. We witness 

the workings of nature with the death of the 

old and the birth of the new. As we too undergo 

this natural cycle of life, we will not 

be facing an end, but beginning a new life, a 

rebirth into a new state, for the Resurrection 

gives us this promise, “He saves us through 

the washing of rebirth and renewal by the 

Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously 

through Jesus Christ our Savior, so 

that, having been justified by His grace, we 

might become heirs having the hope of eternal 

life” (Titus 3:5-7). 

One need not die physically to experience 

resurrection. The broader message of the 

Resurrection is that after pain and suffering 

comes redemption and hope. Many times 

in life we are overcome with obstacles, but 

these obstacles are just steps, passages to 

achieving enlightenment. Jesus Christ had 

to die on the cross to be resurrected, as St. 

Peter proclaims, “Blessed be the God and Father 

of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according 

to His abundant mercy has begotten us again 

to a living hope through the resurrection of 

Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3-4). 

The promise of the Resurrection raises us 

from the depths of our darkest hours by giving 

us freedom from our burdens, granting 

us strength, and hope for a renewed heart, a 

renewed soul, and a renewed life. 

Dear faithful, 

Easter is an awakening; a time of revitalization 

and rejuvenation. 

It is a spiritual rebirth, a journey towards a 

higher purpose that starts internally within 

ourselves when we accept Jesus Christ as our 

Savior with an open and pure heart, a journey 

whose significance cannot be overstated for 

in the words of our Savior, “Most assuredly, I 

say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot 

see the kingdom of God” (John 3:1-3). 

The Easter message is for all mankind. It is 

a transformative message that is needed now 

more than ever in a world that has become 

more despondent. The Resurrection of our 

Lord is a miraculous gift that restores faith to 

the faithless and gives hope to the hopeless; 

it allows us to pass from death to a life, from 

despair to optimism, and invites us to be reborn 

to be worthy of His abundant blessings 

and promises. 

Two thousand years ago Jesus brought 

His Light to the world. That light still shines 

brightly as a call to faith, love, and hope and 

it is just as, if not more, inspiring and meaningful 

today. 

For centuries, our ancestors not only comprehended 

the mystery and awe of the Resurrection 

they lived it through their faith 

and deeds, thus renewing the life and spirit 

of the Armenian people and nation. 

As His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the 

Great House of Cilicia, has proclaimed 2009 

the “Year of the Youth”, let us heed this call 

to pay special attention to the needs of our 

youth. Let us impart to them the uplifting 

and life-giving message of the Resurrection 

and commit ourselves to their spiritual 

nourishment and development not just during 

this time but throughout the year. Let 

us bridge our youth to our religious and national 

heritage and through them, and for 

them, renew and reinvigorate our mission for 

the survival and prosperity of our Church 

and nation. 

Let us reflect on the Easter tidings of love, 

hope, faith, and renewal, reaffirm our faith, 

and undergo spiritual rebirth and revival to 

live a richer and deeper quality of life. 

Emboldened by the message of the Resurrection, 

let us “put on the new man who is 

renewed in knowledge according to the image 

of Him who created him” (Col. 3:10), and 

allow the good tidings of this glorious Feast 

to lift us to new life and new heights. 

With these sentiments, let us pray for 

the Lord to “Create in me a clean heart, O 

God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” 

(Psalms 51:10). 

We extend our best wishes to our Clergy, 

Executive Council, Delegates, parish representatives, 

educators, sister organizations, 

our faithful parishioners, and to all those 

who labor for the splendor of our Church and 

nation, and join you in proclaiming, 

“Christ is risen from the dead. 

Blessed be the Resurrection of Christ.” f

20 The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009

National, International, Armenia, and Community News and Opinion

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