JUNE 18, 2016 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVI, NO. 48, Issue 4442 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF Michigan Governor Mirror-Spectator Turkish-German Relations: Signs Bill on Teaching Annual Summer Break Armenian Genocide The Armenian Mirror-Spectator will close for two Threats, Taboos and Truth weeks in July, for its annual summer vacation LANSING, Mich. – Michigan students break. The last issue before vacation will be that of July raised the stakes in a risky gamble with will now learn more about genocides such as the Holocaust and the 2, while the first issue after the break will be that By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach political counterparts in Europe, a game of July 23. that Ankara, contrary to its delusions of Armenian Genocide in social studies Special to the Mirror-Spectator classes under legislation signed on June The office will close on Friday, July 1, and reopen grandeur, has no chance of winning. on Monday, July 18. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert 14 by Gov. Rick Snyder. “Our next generation of leaders needs All press releases or calendars can be sent to edi- BERLIN — As the croupier at the (CDU) was not mincing words when he [email protected]. roulette table says, “les jeux sont fait.” The responded to Turkish President Recep to have the die is cast. In the wake of the German Tayyip Erdogan’s intimidating threats wherewithal to against members of the parlia- recognize and Armenia Named UN ment for its resolution on the help prevent Armenian Genocide. “That a widespread harm General Assembly Vice- democratically elected state pres- to their fellow President ident in the 21st century,” he men and said on June 9, “could link his women,” Snyder YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The United Nations criticism of democratically elect- said. “Teaching elected Armenia as a vice president of the General ed members of the German the students of Assembly through a secret ballot. Bundestag with doubts as to Michigan about In addition to Armenia, 20 other nation states their Turkish heritage, and des- genocide is impor- Gov. Rick Snyder have been named vice presidents. ignate their blood as impure, is tant because we Armenia was elected from amongst the Eastern something I would not have should remember European countries. Among the Western European deemed possible.” He categori- and learn about these terrible events in countries Belgium and Germany were elected. Five Bundestag President Norbert Lammert cally rejected Erdogan’s insinua- our past while continuing to work permanent members of the UN Security Council tion that parliamentarians of toward creating a more tolerant soci- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the Turkish background were ety.” US are included among the 21 Vice-Presidents. Bundestag’s resolution recognizing the “mouthpieces for terrorists” and under- House Bill 4493, sponsored by state Armenian Genocide, the hysterical reaction lined that “anyone who tries to exert Rep. Klint Kesto, requires that all social from Erdogan and his co-thinkers has see GERMANY, page 5 studies curriculum for grades 8-12 in Armenian Catholic school districts and public school acad- emies include instruction on genocide. Archbishop: Pope This includes, but is not limited to, the Travel to Armenia to Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. Bill Mandating Holocaust, Genocide It is now Public Act 170 of 2016. Promote Unity In his signing letter, Snyder also stressed: “There is a delicate balance we ROME (Public Radio of Armenia) — From June Instruction Advances in R.I. Senate need to be mindful of when we consider 24 to 26, Pope Francis will visit Armenia. requiring that certain subjects be The Pope spoke about the first genocide of the and Pennsylvania — have similar legislation. included in our statewide education sys- 20th century, which befell Armenian people. By Alisha A. Pina A current law in Rhode Island only encour- tem. The recommendations of local During his trip, he is expected to visit the Yerevan ages the awareness education. school boards, teachers, other profes- memorial dedicated to the 1.5 million victims who If approved, teaching is required to begin sional educators and parents need to be perished. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Providence Journal) in the 2017-18 school year. The House considered when developing a curricu- “The Armenian nation, the entire Armenian peo- — Two education bills — one teaching stu- passed a duplicate bill in early May. lum.” ple is preparing to welcome the Pope on this spe- dents about the Holocaust and other geno- A coalition made up of members of the The education bill was initiated by the cial occasion and show their gratitude for having cides and the other regarding suspensions Armenian community, Roman Catholic late Edgar Hagopian, who died in 2011. taken into account and commemorate, as he did and the collection of discipline data — are Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island State The Hagopian family continued the cam- the centennial of the Armenian genocide, ” on their way to the state House of Council of Churches, the Jewish Alliance of paign over the years, with the help of the Monsignor Boutros Marayati, Armenian Catholic Representatives. Greater Rhode Island and the Sandra Knights of Vartan and then through a com- Archbishop of Aleppo (Syria), said in an interview The bill on teaching about the Holocaust Bornstein Holocaust Education Center mittee comprising members of the with Rome Reports TV. and several genocides was approved unani- have been meeting since last fall to Armenian National Committee and the In April 2015, Pope Francis presided over a mass mously by the Senate, 36 to 0. It mandates research and draft the legislation. Armenian Democratic Liberal party. in St. Peter’s to honor the victims of the Genocide in middle school or high school the teach- The lead sponsor of the bill is Sen. Gayle In addition, John Jamian, the Michigan . His words infuriated Turkey and Turkish ing of the Holocaust and other genocides L. Goldin (D-Providence) who said: “When chair of the Armenian Assembly, was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, filed a complaint. in, but not limited to, Armenia, Cambodia, we look at what’s going on globally, the instrumental in pushing forward the mea- “The Holy Father will come to Armenia as a pil- Iraq, Rwanda and Darfur. impact of war and strife, it’s important to sure. grim, as a pastor, as a promoter of unity because he Seven states — California, Florida, place them in a larger historical context, so Its success was achieved through sus- will visit an ancient Apostolic Church. He will also Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Jersey see MANDATE, page 20 tained and coordinated community effort. come as an apostle of peace because he will pray for Armenia to be in a place of peace with its neigh- bors,” the archbishop said.

the carnage, no red flags were raised. President Obama’s Mule and Whether the trigger was Omar’s personal hatred toward gays because he could not come to terms with his homo- The Second Amendment sexual tendencies or his allegiance to ISIS is immaterial. The INSIDE By Edmond Y. Azadian heart of the problem is the availability and abundance of guns for anyone to lay their hands on and commit carnage. Special to the Mirror-Spectator And all this is protected by the Second Amendment of the DETROIT — A new day, a new mass murder, this time at a US Constitution. Musical gay nightclub in Orlando. A total of 49 killed and 53 wound- All laws evolve and change in time with the development ed, with the killer identified as a US cit- of society. But not the Second Amendment, which was OPINION izen of Afghani ancestry, Omar Mateen. adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the first 10 Inroads Before Orlando there was San amendments contained in the Bill of Rights. Bernardino and before that Newtown and … we have lost The Second Amendment was based partially on the right Page 12 track already of the count, because it has become so com- to keep and bear arms in English common law. mon that we have come to accept mass shootings as a fact In 1876, the Supreme Court ruled that “the right to bear of life in this civilized country. arms is not granted by the constitution; neither is it in any Investigations may eventually reveal the motives of the manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence.” INDEX killer and whether or not he was affiliated with any interna- In United States v. Miller (1939), the Supreme Court ruled Arts and Living ...... 12 tional terror group, which of course is no consolation to the that the federal government and the states could limit the own- Armenia ...... 2,3 victims’ families nor any assurance to the survivors. The ership of any weapon types not having “reasonable relationship Community News...... 6 killer was questioned twice by the FBI and released. to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.” Editorial ...... 17 However, when he acquired lethal weapons two days before see GUNS, page 20 International ...... 4,5 2 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia

Armenia Condemns ‘Horrific’ Shooting YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — President Serzh Sargsyan on Monday joined world leaders in strongly condemning the weekend shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida which left 50 people dead and dozens of others wounded. Sargsyan sent his condolences to U.S. President Barack Obama in connection with the worst mass shooting in US history, which he described as “hor- rific.” In a statement on the letter to Obama, Sargsyan’s press office said: “The president of the republic strongly condemned this outrageous instance of intolerance and stressed that this tragedy that befell the friendly American people once again proved that even in the 21st century all manifestations of hatred … remain an extremely serious challenge facing humankind.” It is “everyone’s collective duty and mission” to confront that challenge, Sargsyan wrote. YEREVAN — On the occasion of Andranik Margaryan’s birthday, President Serzh Sargsyan, along with President of NKR Bako Sahakyan and other top officials from Armenia, on June Yazidi Union Welcomes 12 visited Komitas Pantheon and paid tribute to the memory of Andranik Margaryan, a statesman and political figure. Above, Sargsyan and Sahakyan place flowers on his tomb. Draft Law Condemning Genocide YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Yazidi Union of Armenia said it welcomes the draft law condemning Russia Unhappy With Armenian Statue the genocide committed against the Yazidi people by ISIS in northern Iraq which is going to be discussed YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Russia criti- Nzhdeh was rehabilitated in Armenia Hundreds of thousands of in the National Assembly. cized Armenia on June 10 for erecting after the republic’s last Communist gov- Armenians were drafted to the Red “We welcome this initiative. It is an important a statue in Yerevan of an Armenian ernment was removed from power in Army and nearly half of them died dur- step. All facts exist of what had happened with nationalist statesman who fought 1990. The first post-Communist ing the war. The most famous of them, Yazidis of Iraq, what inhuman attitude was shown against the Bolsheviks and later collab- Armenian government named a square notably Marshal Ivan Bagramian and against them. It is a genocide, and the world must orated with Nazi Germany. and metro station in Yerevan after him Admiral Ivan Isakov, still have streets condemn it,” Chairman of the Yazidi Union of A Russian Foreign Ministry in the following years. in Armenia bearing their names and Armenia Aziz Tamoyan said during an interview. spokesperson said Garegin Nzhdeh’s Nzhdeh is widely credited with pre- are regularly honored by the He expressed the hope that other states also will statue is “not compatible with the mem- serving Armenian control over Armenian authorities. follow Armenia’s example. ory of heroes” of World War II, among Zangezur, a strategic region bordering Just five days before the erection of He said they expect the involvement of the Yazidi them many Armenians. The ruling Iran. He is also revered by many in the Nzhdeh’s statue, the authorities specialists, in particular, lawyer Hasan Tamoyan, Republican Party of Armenia dismissed country as the founder of a new brand unveiled a statue of another Soviet who is compiling data on the genocide. the criticism. of Armenian nationalism that emerged Armenian marshal, Hamazasp Aziz Tamoyan said this week that the inhumane Born in the Russian Empire in 1886, attitude towards Yazidis still continues. Recently, the Nzhdeh became an Armenian national- extremists burned 19 Yazidi women. ist militant at a young age and spent The leader of the Prosperous Armenia party Naira several years in Russian prisons as a Zahrabyan made a proposal to the Armenian result. He was pardoned by the Russian Parliament to condemn the genocide committed authorities before commanding one of against the Yazidi people by the ISIS terrorist group the Armenian volunteer units that in the Norther Iraq. fought the Ottoman Turkish army Heritage party’s Tevan Poghosyan also joined this alongside Russian troops during World initiative. War I. Nzhdeh went on to become one of the prominent military leaders of an Greek Ambassador Says independent Armenian republic formed Armenia Will Become in 1918 following the Bolshevik revolu- tion. In late 1920, he mounted armed Tourism Center resistance against the republic’s takeover by Bolshevik Russia in YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The event “Window to Zangezur, a mountainous region in Greece” was held in Yerevan this past week. The what is now southeastern Armenia. event was meant to introduce Greek culture and his- Nzhdeh and his supporters ended the tory to the Armenian people and foster Armenian- resistance and fled to neighboring Greek relations. Persia in July 1921 after receiving The new Garegin Nzhdeh statue in Yerevan The head of the Tourism Department of the assurances that the region will not be Ministry of Economy of Armenia Mekhak Apresyan incorporated into Soviet Azerbaijan. mentioned that the event aims at fostering coopera- Nzhdeh was one of several exiled in the 1930s. Babajanian, in the Armenian the capi- tion in the sphere of tourism between Armenia and Armenian leaders who pledged alle- His ideology put the emphasis on tal. Sargsyan attended that ceremony Greece. giance to Nazi Germany in 1942 with armed self-defense, military organiza- as well. “There are a lot of key factors for developing the stated aim of saving Soviet Armenia tion and self-reliance. The ruling While criticizing Nzhdeh’s statue, tourism between Armenia and Greece. This does not from a possible Turkish invasion after Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) Zakharova stressed that May 9, which pursue only economic goals,” Apresyan said, adding what they expected to be a Soviet has espoused it throughout its exis- marks the anniversary of the Soviet that in addition to boosting economies in both coun- defeat by the Third Reich. Their tence. defeat of Nazi Germany, remains a pub- tries, it will also reinforce friendship between the “Armenian national council” cobbled The HHK, which is headed by lic holiday in Armenia. This is “the main two peoples. together several battalions mainly com- President Serzh Sargsyan, was instru- indicator of official Yerevan’s position He added that there are positive tendencies regard- prising Armenian prisoners of war from mental in the Yerevan municipality’s on preserving the historical truth about ing visits to Armenia from Greece, but it is not so sig- the Red Army. The so-called Armenian decision to place Nzhdeh’s statue in the the Great Patriotic War,” she said. nificant considering absolute numbers. Legion never played a major role in the city center. The statue was unveiled on The Armenian ruling party was quick Ambassador of Greece to Armenia Ioannis Taghis Wehrmacht’s military operations, how- May 28 in the presence of Sargsyan and to reject the Russian criticism. “Garegin said at the event, “Greece is a very popular touristic ever. other senior officials. Nzhdeh is one of the greatest heroes of country and is accepts visitors from various coun- Nzhdeh surrendered to advancing “We cannot understand why that the Armenian nation,” HHK tries. I am glad that Armenians have started to visit Red Army divisions in Bulgaria in 1944 statue was placed,” Maria Zakharova, spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov told Greece quite often. Armenia and Greece are very after reportedly offering Josef Stalin to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokes- 168.am. He said Nzhdeh’s activities beautiful countries and I have no doubt that Armenia mobilize Armenians for a Soviet assault woman, told a news briefing in Moscow. were always aimed at “the liberation, will soon turn into a touristic state as well. I am con- on Turkey. In 1948, a Soviet court sen- Zakharova said that the Russian gov- salvation and independence of the vinced that Armenians will enjoy their visit to tenced him to 25 years in prison on ernment is strongly opposed to “any Armenian people.” Greece,” the ambassador said. charges that mainly stemmed from his revival, glorification or other manifesta- Sharmazanov also downplayed the Taghis said he thought Armenian monasteries “counterrevolutionary” activities in tions of Nazism, neo-Nazism and nationalist leader’s links with the would be of great interest for Greek tourists. 1920-1921, rather than collaboration extremism.” She also pointed to the Wehrmacht. He said the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany. He died in a Soviet “immortal feat of the Armenian people” itself signed a nonaggression pact with prison in 1955. during World War II. Nazi Germany in 1939. S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 3 ARMENIA Czech President Visits Armenia YEREVAN (Combined Sources) — On June 7, the Karabakh conflict will be resolved. The Czech Republic Miloš Zeman arrived in Czech President left his signature on the facto- Armenia for a state visit. ry’s memory book. One of the oldest brandies After a private meeting between the two pres- from the “Ararat” exclusive collection was given idents, the meeting continued in an expanded as a gift to the Czech President. format with the participation of the official del- A state reception was held at the Presidential egations of the two countries. At the conclu- Palace in honor of Zeman. sion of the negotiations, Presidents Serzh In accordance with the protocol, at state din- Sargsyan and Milos Zeman signed a Joint ner the presidents of the two countries raised Declaration on the Friendly Relations, toasts, in which they reflected on the results of Partnership, and Enhanced Cooperation. the Czech President’s state visit to Armenia, The two recapped the results of the meeting prospects of development of interstate rela- in the Declaration which they made at the joint tions, issues on the bilateral agenda, which press conference for the representatives of the encompasses different areas, historical ties of mass media. the two nations, as well as to the important role Within the framework of his state visit, of the Armenian community of the Czech Zeman also visited the Genocide Memorial Republic in the strengthening of friendship of where he laid a wreath and paid tribute to the the two countries and peoples. memory of the victims of the Armenian “It is well known that steady and lasting rela- Genocide. Zeman also planted a fir tree at the tions rest on mutual respect and traditions of Memory Park of the Tsitsernakaberd Complex, friendship of the nations which is acquired also President Serge Sargsyan and Czech President Milos Zeman and wrote in the Book of Guests of the through the development and strengthening of Genocide Museum-Institute. the humanitarian, cultural, and educational Zeman also met with the head of the Midia- ties. In this context, I am glad to note that the “Friendship is indispensable to man for the our destiny because had the Nazi Germany won Shangal Yazidi national union NGO Amo Armenian Studies at the Karlovy University proper function of his memory. Remembering in the World War, my nation would have been Sharoyan. Sharoyan said he expressed his grat- have been reinstated. I am confident it will our past, carrying it with us always, may be the condemned to genocide,” said Zeman and itude to the Czech President for the humani- allow Czech youth to learn about the Armenian necessary requirement for maintaining, as they underscored that those who deny the Genocide tarian aid rendered to Yazidis. “The meeting culture as well as to better familiarize with the say, the wholeness of the self.” The President of are the same people who deny the Holocaust. went on in a cordial atmosphere of mutual Armenian nation and our traditions. In the Armenia underscored that these great words He stressed that individuals who stick to trust”, Sharoyan said. In his words Zeman words of the famous Czech pedagogue and can be attributed also to the friendship and denial are cowards. “Mr. President, I have never promised to focus on the issues of Yazidi geno- humanist Jan Amos Comenius “The School is memories of the Armenian and Czech peoples been a nice politician. They are simply cowards. cide recognition, emancipation of captive Yazidi manufactory of the humanity.” The Armenian which make the strongest foundation for solid I am speaking about human rights: for some, women and children, and support the Yazidis of people are deeply cognizant of the wisdom of relations. the most important right is the right to protest Shingal in obtaining autonomy and ensuring these words because through the centuries of In response, the President of the Czech against the government. They have made security. Sharoyan asked the President when our existence our people risked their lives to Republic Miloš Zeman raised a toast for the demonstrations against me too, against other visiting Armenia once again after the recogni- save precious manuscripts, to teach and to happy future of Armenia and noted that he politicians – it is normal. However it is not the tion of the Armenian Genocide by the Czech advance our future generations. I hope that would like to ponder over the issue which most important of human rights. The most Parliament to meet again with the representa- Armenian students in their turn will have the bonds together Armenian and Czechs. important right is the right to live. And all those tives of the Yazidi community. Zeman accepted opportunity to learn Czech language. “Today, after lunch, a young Czech journalist, who deny that right have no right to speak the kind request. The desire to learn Czech language and cul- who doesn’t have sufficient life experience, about other human rights. I raise my toast for Zeman held top level meetings with President ture is conditioned by the fact that here, in asked me where the bottom line of genocides the right to live,” said Zeman at the state recep- of the National Assembly Galust Sahakyan and Armenia we know and love the great sons of must be drawn. I told him, “My young fellow, I tion at the Presidential Palace. Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. the Czech nation – Hašek, Kafka, Dvorák, will give you one example: In Europe, during A delegation led by Zeman visited Yerevan Smetana and others whose immortal creation the World War, in concentration camps, in gas Brandy Company during their visit to Armenia. continue to amaze and educate new genera- chambers and other place 6 million Jews had The delegation members were introduced the tions. Thus, not surprisingly for the Armenians, been killed but thousands, may be ten thou- Ophelya Hambardzumyan history and the manufacturing process of the the Czech Republic and especially Prague have sands had survived. Do you mean to say it was- Funeral Ceremony Takes Armenian “Ararat” brandy. Zeman was also always been one of the most admired tourist n’t genocide? Only because some thousands introduced the history of the “Barrel of Peace” destinations,” said President Serzh Sargsyan in survived? The same is true for the Armenian Place in Yerevan which was established in 2001 in honor of the his toast. Genocide. There are people who would say, visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. It is At the conclusion of his speech, President “Some had survived, so it was not genocide. It YEREVAN (Armenpress) — A funeral ceremo- called peace, since it will be opened only when Sargsyan quoted from Milan Kundera, is nonsense. I mean that we are united through ny for renowned singer Ophelya Hambardzumyan took place on June 15 at St. Hovhannes Church in the Kond neighborhood. Fans said their final farewells the next day at the Aram Khachatryan Concert Hall. Just Dilijan It! Summer Program Begins in Dilijan The special governmental commission appointed to organize Ofelya DILIJAN, Armenia — Just Dilijan It! summer founder of the Art Weekend children’s educa- Technology and Design, is devoted to graphic Hambardzumyan’s funeral, chaired by education programs today announced the tion project Galina Yuzefovich, art and design design and animation and will provide children Armenia’s Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, arrival of the first participants of the summer teacher Natalia Shevchenko, and founder and with advanced knowledge and skills in digital announced that final ceremonies were conduct- program which will be held in June and July on director of Yerevan’s “Small” Theatre Vahan technologies and the arts under the guidance ed on June 16 at Komitas Park and the the United World College (UWC) Dilijan inter- Badalyan, will give the children the opportuni- of leading professionals. The program includes Pantheon. national school campus in Dilijan, Armenia. ty to create a production based on all the tra- master classes with Alexey Kotenochkin, an ani- A prominent singer, Hambardzumyan passed This year’s participants are from Armenia, ditions of the ancient theatre. The final pro- mator best known for the famous Russian car- away at the age of 91 on June 13. Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, duction will be performed on a public stage for toon “Nu Pogodi!” (“Just You Wait!”). Hambardzumyan Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States. The the participants as well as the greater Dilijan All the teens aged 14 to 17 who will choose was born in summer programs are organized by the Scholae residents. the UWC Summer Academy program will Yerevan on January Mundi Foundation, whose founders also estab- “The City and its Citizens,” directed by Petr receive training in leadership and project man- 9, 1925. From a lished the UWC Dilijan international school. Mazaev head of the Moscow Laboratory of agement in social entrepreneurship. The pro- young age, she was Just Dilijan It! are innovative educational pro- Cultural Projects and author Linor Goralik, will gram is organized in cooperation with the Big recognized for her grams for children and adolescents between the encourage the children to explore Dilijan and Brothers Big Sisters organization and support- beautiful voice. She ages of 10 to 17 and based on pioneering tech- create projects for the development of the city, ed by the Initiative for the Development of underwent vocal niques of open dialogue between teachers and which at the end of the camp will be judged by Armenia (IDeA) foundation within its Program training at the participants, and full engagement in the cre- the local residents of Dilijan. of Development of the Regions of Armenia, Romanos Melikyan ative process,” said Just Dilijan It! Program Khodzhikyan hopes that by the conclusion of which provides 10 grants to talented students Musical College. In Director Oleg Dremov. the camp, the children can also offer creative from the Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Vayots 1944, she became a “Within our experimental multidisciplinary ideas to enhance the Dilijan Development Dzor, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Syunik, solo-singer for the programs, we bring back the lost culture of the Fund, which recently launched a project to Tavush and Shirak regions of Armenia, as well Ensemble of Folk Ophelya metaphorical ‘space’ where children from dif- modernize the Aghstev River embankment as as from the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic, to Instruments of the Hambarzumyan ferent social and political backgrounds are another Dilijan attraction. The development take part in the program. Radio of Armenia, encouraged to express and share their interests program hopes to create a public space on the Special master classes will be provided by Ilya where she dedicat- freely,” explains the project manager, banks of the picturesque river where residents Kolmanovsky, a biologist, journalist, science ed her efforts to the ensemble headed by Aram Andrey Khodzhikyan. and visitors can take strolls, enjoy bike rides evangelist and head of the biology lab at the Merangulyan. Her repertoire includes classical The innovative workshops and programs and recreational sports and where local artisans Polytechnic Museum in Moscow. Armenian music, ministrel, and folk songs. She include the following. “Sherlock Holmes and can offer street art. In addition to the workshops, Just Dilijan It! is especially recognized for her interpretations the Guardians of the Planet,” directed by Alina Additional workshops include the following. participants will also enjoy educational trips of Sayat-Nova’s songs, including Fahradn Mirats Kolovska, ecologist, chemist, biologist and head “Sports Academy” will culminate in a number and excursions to various historic sites in and Yis Kanchum em Lalanin. of the Center for Resource Conservation in of sporting contests, including competitions in Armenia. She also performed the music of Fahrad, Moscow, who will teach the children to explore football (soccer), swimming, circus arts, sports Summer educational programs in Dilijan Jivani, and Sheram. the ecosystem and find out what makes it work. dancing, frisbee and chess. Chess classes will be began in 2013. Now in their third year, the pro- In 1959, she was awarded the title People’s Children will also create animated cartoons directed by Sophia Repina, a leading coach ject has been renamed to Just Dilijan It!, offer- Artist of the USSR. In 2011 Hambardzumyan about ecology, develop environmental quests from the Moscow School of Olympic Reserve, ing new and more expanded offerings. was awarded the Mesrop Mashtots Medal. around Dilijan for tourists, and study the flora who has trained more than 10 world champions Workshops will be taught in the English and Hambardzumyan toured extensively through- and fauna of the region. in different age groups. Russian languages. For more information and out the world, performing in various countries “The Ancient Greek Theatre,” directed by his- The “I Design the World” workshop, jointly registration details such as Lebanon, Syria, France, the US, Egypt torian and cultural commentator, and co- organized with the TUMO Center for visit http://justdilijanit.com/ and many CIS countries. 4 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR INTERNATIONAL

International News Armenian Church Helps Restore Jesus’ Tomb in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (BBC) —A team of More Deaths in Syria experts has begun restoring the ALEPPO, Syria (Kantsasar) — On June 9, armed ancient tomb in Jerusalem where opposition groups in Bostan Pasha bombarded the Christians believe Jesus was buried, Suleymaniye, Seyrafi, and Nor Kiugh areas. Six were in the first such works for 200 years. killed and 20 wounded in the artisan center of The renovation in the Church of Suleymaniye. the Holy Sepulchre aims to reinforce In the late afternoon of June 8, the Suleymaniye and conserve the structure. district was bombarded by opposition groups. A rock- Rivalry between the three denomi- et fell on the roof of a building facing the Gulbenkian nations that run the church has School. Ninth grader Arakel Terzian was lightly delayed work. wounded and taken to the hospital. But clerics from the Greek Gandzasar weekly reported that Raffi Pchakchyan Orthodox, Roman Catholic and died on June 10 in the Aleppo mortar explosion. Armenian churches have put aside their differences, recognizing the need to begin repairs. Renovating Jesus’ Tomb in Jerusalem Azerbaijani, Armenian The work will focus on the Edicule, the ancient chamber housing Jesus’s Leaders to Meet In St. tomb which Christians say stands jointly after Israel’s antiquities protected from the risk of earth- above the spot where Jesus’s body authority last year said the church quake damage,” she said. Petersburg This Month was anointed, wrapped in cloth and was unsafe and Israeli police briefly Work is expected to take between MOSCHOW (RFE/RL) — Russia says President buried. closed it. eight and 12 months and during that Vladimir Putin is due to host talks in St. Petersburg The last restoration work to take “We equally decided the required time pilgrims will be able to continue on June 20 between the leaders of Azerbaijan and place there was in 1810 after a fire. renovation was necessary to be done, visiting the site, church officials said. Armenia about the conflict over the breakaway The Greek Orthodox, Roman so we agreed upon it,” said Samuel Each denomination is contributing region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Catholic and Armenian authorities Aghoyan, the top Armenian Church funds for the $3.3m (£2.3m) project. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on June 14 that by are responsible for running different official there. In addition, King Abdullah of Jordan organizing the meeting between Azerbaijani parts of the church but share respon- The scientific coordinator for the has made a personal donation. President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counter- sibility for the shrine. repairs, Antonia Moropoulou, said Jordan controlled Jerusalem’s Old part, Serzh Sargsyan, Russia was “continuing its mis- Relations between them can be the tomb was stable but warped and City, where the church is located, sion as a mediator” in the conflict. tense — in 2008, an argument needed attention after many years of until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and Sargsyan and Aliyev last met in Vienna in May, between Greek Orthodox and exposure to water, humidity and can- continues to play a role in safeguard- after a truce in early April halted four days of fierce Armenian monks escalated into a dle smoke. ing Muslim and Christian holy sites fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabagh. brawl — but they have decided to act “The structure also needed to be there. Brussels Flemish Parliament Hosts Amal Clooney to Represent ISIS Survivor Nadia Artsakh President YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Artsakh Republic Murad and Victims of Yazidi Genocide President Bako Sahakyan met with a group of parlia- mentarians of the Brussels Flemish Parliament led NEW YORK (Armenpress) — In a tri- a similar fate if the world does not act dock in The Hague, and I am honored by their speaker Jan Peumans on June 9. umphant win for the thousands of now. This is why I ask the world to act to have been asked to represent Nadia As the press service of the Artsakh president’s Yazidi women who have been enslaved and act fast. The longer IS stays in and the Yazidi community in their quest office reports, issues related to deepening ties by the Islamic State, Amal Clooney has power, the deeper our wound becomes.” for legal accountability.” between the Artsakh and Flemish parliaments were confirmed that she will represent vic- After months of traveling around the “Daesh took my family, my future, my on the agenda of the meeting. tims of the Yazidi genocide, including globe and imploring political leaders to life. But what I have in my heart, and Sahakyan noted that Artsakh pays special atten- ISIS survivor and Nobel Peace Prize help her cause, Murad told Women in what I’ve always had, is justice,” Murad tion to cooperation with entities of different states, nominee Nadia Murad, according to the the World that Clooney has given her told Women in the World in an inter- considering it a pivotal and efficient means of devel- New York Times. “The European confidence. “Amal and George received view earlier this year. “All of the women oping bilateral relationships. Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly me at their home and opened for me and girls who are in their hands have of the Council of Europe, the US gov- their hearts,” said Murad. “They lis- justice on their side.” And now, they ernment and the UK House of tened passionately to my story, and have one of the world’s most powerful Erdogan Takes Revenge Commons have all recognized that Amal gifted me by representing my case. lawyers on their side, too. On Bundestag for there is a genocide being perpetrated by Amal gave me renewed hope by being IS against the Yazidis in Iraq,” Clooney my voice.” Armenian Genocide Vote said in a statement to Women in the Murad also called Clooney “an incred- World. “How can it be that the most ible, passionate woman,” who embraced Erdogan Cuts US Trip ISTANBUL (Armenpress) — The leaders of the rul- serious crimes known to humanity are her story and her pain. “She did not talk ing Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), being carried out before our eyes but to me as a well-known world figure that Short without headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have are not being prosecuted by the people would love to take a photo with, Attending Ali Funeral started to take provocative measures as a response to International Criminal Court in The she talked to me as a sister and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Hague?” Clooney, a barrister at guardian. She has immense power that NEW YORK (Dogan) — Turkish German Bundestag. Since June 13, Koran readings Doughty Street Chambers specializing made me proud of being a woman.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cut are delivered at 2 p.m. every day at the Hagia Sophia in international law and human rights Murad views Clooney as a formidable short a trip on June 9 to the United museum. Hagia Sophia originally was a Greek law, will act as their counsel to achieve legal force. “It is important to establish States, where he had gone to attend the Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica. It was later accountability for the genocide, sexual justice, and Amal being a life-long funeral of Muhammad Ali. turned into an imperial mosque, after the Ottoman enslavement and trafficking of Yazidi defender of justice, it was a natural According to information from presi- conquest, but now is a museum (Ayasofya Müzesi) in girls and women by the Islamic State in bond between her and I to be estab- dential sources, however, Erdogan and Istanbul, Turkey. Iraq. They plan to seek an International lished. We are both defenders of justice, other government representatives, From the date of its construction in AD 537 until Criminal Court investigation and prose- and peace seekers through justice,” decided to depart for Turkey without 1453, it served as an Orthodox cathedral and seat of cution of the crimes committed against Murad said. “The final goal for us all is participating in the full funeral ceremo- the Patriarch of Constantinople except between Nadia Murad and the Yazidi community. accountability to perpetrators of geno- ny in Louisville, Kentucky. 1204 and 1261, when it was converted by the Fourth Women in the World recently inter- cide, and justice for victims like myself.” Erdogan reportedly attempted to a Crusaders to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the viewed 23-year-old activist Nadia Murad, Clooney also represents Yazda, a non- put a piece of cloth from the Kaaba on Latin Empire of Constantinople. The building was a who was one of the thousands of Yazidi profit organization that has been help- Ali’s coffin during the funeral prayers mosque from May 29, 1453 until 1931. It was then women abducted by ISIS. Murad was ing the Yazidi community since the but was refused permission to do so. secularized and opened as a museum on February 1, enslaved and raped by more than 12 genocide began during ISIS’s attacks in But according to another report, the 1935. ISIS fighters over a period of three August of 2014. The raids led to the president and Diyanet head Mehmet The Koran readings are broadcast by the Turkish months. Since her escape, Murad has deaths of an estimated 5,000 civilians, Görmez were rejected when they asked governmental TRT Diyanet TV channel. The largest been a courageous voice for women the enslavement of more than 2,000 to read a piece from the Quran, which Greek political party, “New Democracy,” has issued who have been impacted by ISIS’s con- women and girls, and the displacement led the president to cut his program a statement on the incident, as follows: “The decision trol, and she has been a tireless crusad- of 400,000 people from the Yazidi short. of the Turkish side to read the Koran at Hagia er to end the ongoing genocide. homelands in Sinjar, the Ninevah plain, Meanwhile, a short quarrel also erupt- Sophia turns it into a mosque again. It is a provoca- Recently, ISIS reportedly burned 19 and Syria. “We know that thousands of ed between U.S. secret service officials tive step that is a demonstration of disrespect Yazidi women to death for refusing to Yazidi civilians have been killed and that and Turkish presidential body guards, towards Orthodox Christians.” The Greek Foreign have sex with fighters. Murad told thousands of Yazidi women have been reportedly because a secret service offi- Ministry has also condemned the Turkish authorities Women in the World that she was “dev- enslaved by a terrorist organization, IS, cial wanted to stand in the same place for the incident, saying that the decision is Turkey’s astated” by the alleged event, but she that has publicly proclaimed its genoci- as presidential bodyguards as Erdogan revenge on the Bundestag for the Armenian was not surprised. “These tyrants have dal intent,” Clooney said. “We know was getting into his car. Genocide vote. shown us nothing but horror,” Murad that systematic rapes have taken place, Before arriving in the U.S., funeral said. “The fate of most of 3,500 Yazidi and that they are still taking place. And organizers had removed Erdogan from women and girls who remain in captivi- yet no one is being held to account. It is the list of speakers on the grounds that ty is known and probably most will face time that we see IS commanders in the there would not be sufficient time. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 5 Turkish-German Relations: Threats, Taboos and Truth

GERMANY, from page 1 they had received, from hate mail, insults shout- might reap will be seen when and if the project Erdogan, with this policy that Turkey is cur- pressure on single parliamentarians must know: ed on the street or from cars driving by. ever takes off. Whether the proponents know it rently pursuing, there can be no membership.” He is attacking the entire parliament.” He added, Through “social” media some women MPs were or not, a significantly large proportion of One need little fantasy to imagine that in the “We will correspondingly react with all lawful told to seek employment in a whorehouse, oth- Germans of Turkish descent have taken this cit- 1000–room palace of the Turkish president, possibilities that are available to us.” Lammert ers suggested prominent MPs should take a izenship after having fled here from political there was little understanding, not to mention said the leaders of all parliamentary parties had vacation in Buchenwald concentration camp, persecution, received political asylum and then applause, for Özdemir’s pointing to a time asked him to speak out, “to voice our collective and similar rot. Some MPs had avoided return- a German passport. It would be wildly arrogant “after Erdogan.” But, he said what had to be position once again, unequivocally.” ing to their election districts over the weekend and just plain wrong to assume that most eth- said. And there are few, in Berlin, or Brussels, This time, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who to keep a low profile. Women MPs had received nic Turks or other Muslims in Germany would or elsewhere in Europe who would disagree. had been absent during the genocide vote, was warnings from neighbors to watch out for their line up with Erdogan. In the last three weeks Turkey’s would-be on hand, and applauded demonstratively along children, some avoided playgrounds or favorite Far more relevant is the question, where does president-for-life has made more political mis- with government and parliament members to ice cream parlors; family members, whether in Turkey end up as a member of the European takes — too enormous to be dismissed as diplo- signal her endorsement. Germany or relatives in Turkey, were also bom- club? In short: nowhere. The greatest collateral matic faux pas — than his carefully-orchestrated In tandem, European Parliament President barded with abusive attack. Cem Özdemir, damage that Erdogan’s hysterical outbursts personality cult can afford. For reasons to be Martin Schulz, who is a member of Merkel’s Green Party leader and initiator of the recent have wrought will be tallied in Brussels. Martin examined in a psychological profile of the man, coalition partner party the SPD, issued his genocide vote, was ostracized by a Turkish Schulz spoke as president of the European he is incapable of assessing the impact in the rebuke with comparable forcefulness. In a letter homeland club of his father’s, according to Parliament. He had also said that, when MPs real world of the utterings of his narcissistic, addressed to Erdogan that same day, he repu- Spiegel online. Özdemir reported getting mes- have to witness how “the highest organs of paranoid personality disorder. To wit: among diated the Turkish leader for having accused sages saying “At some point your German another state” question the guarantees for his ravings against Germany after the Armenian freely elected parliamentarians of terrorist sym- friends may forget it, but we won’t.” Or, more them as well as journalists and others to act Genocide recognition, he accused Germany of pathies for having expressed their views. “Such bluntly, “We can find you wherever you are.” free from repression, “that will not in the long hypocrisy: who were they to accuse others of an act constitutes a complete breach of taboo, Citing the judgments of friends of Hrant Dink run be without consequence for international genocide, he raved, when they killed 6 million which I condemn in the strongest possible in Turkey, Özdemir said, “One has to take this relations.” The German Foreign Ministry, in dis- Jews, murdered Hereros, etc.? terms.” He went on: “As the president of a damn seriously. So – take it seriously, but don’t cussion with a diplomat summoned from the This crossed a line, and one with existential multi-national, multi-ethnic and multi-faith par- let yourself be intimidated.” Turkish embassy, had made clear that the affair implications for the identity of the German liament, allow me to make the following point: was “not compatible” with close German- Federal Republic. Chancellor Merkel was quick the freedom of MPs to carry out their mandate And Turkish Groups in Germany? Turkish relations. to respond. She rejected out of hand the insin- as they see fit is a fundamental pillar of our If official Ankara responded to the Armenian Without recourse to such diplomatic niceties, uation that Germany had failed to come to European democracies.” The issue was not only resolution with threats, slander and prepara- it can be said without hesitation, that the terms with its past. In the resolution on the institutional but also personal. Schulz wrote, “A tions for a “plan of action,” Turkish social and Mafioso-style theatrics played out by Erdogan Armenian Genocide, she pointed out, it was string of the German Bundestag MPs you have political groups in Germany had to take a stand. have taken Turkey’s bid for European Union explicitly stated that Germany recognized the personally attacked, but also Turkish parlia- Lammert noted that the Turkish Society in membership from the back burner to the Holocaust as a singularity in history. Germany mentarians affected by measures which you Germany and the Berlin-Brandenburg Turkish garbage can. In recent discussion about lifting had officially recognized that there had been no support, are among longstanding colleagues of Federation had criticized the attacks on MPs as visa restrictions for Turkish citizens – a comparable crime in history, and acknowledged mine; some of them are very close to me per- unacceptable. “I would hope,” he said, “that demand Erdogan made in the context of the its guilt. Not only, she said, had Germany dealt sonally. I feel obliged to protect these col- also other Turkish organizations in Germany, refugee deal with the EU – it was specified that with this past, but it continues and will contin- leagues wherever I can.” some of them very big, would also take a stand to receive this, Turkey had to accommodate EU ue to do so in the future. for the MPs and for our democracy — with sim- conditions on terrorism legislation, among As for Erdogan’s ravings about German guilt Protection from Threats ilarly clear and unambiguous declarations as other things. In the wake of the recent horren- in the Herero massacres, Lammert made clear The reference to protection was not they have issued often very quickly and very dous terror attacks in Turkey, it is unlikely that that it had been addressed and would be on the metaphorical. Quite aware of the causal link loudly, in other instances.” the government will acquiesce. agenda of the Bundestag again. that may obtain between threatening words and Cem Özdemir appealed to these organiza- But, that notwithstanding, European eager- Erdogan again had shot himself in the foot. It deeds of violence, the Bundestag members tar- tions to go on the record. “One does not have ness to welcome Turkey in the club has notice- is not Germany which has declined to face up to geted by Erdogan’s ire have taken threats seri- to find the [genocide] resolution good: I am ably waned in the wake of the Ankara-Berlin its historical past. On the contrary: its years- ously. And the government and security agen- ready to answer questions from people. But rift. Again, Cem Özdemir was the one to set the long critical engagement with the Nazi past, its cies have responded with concrete measures. As Turkish organizations have to denounce death record straight. Complaining that there had historical research, its education programs Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière told the threats unambiguously. Here there is no room been a lack of honesty on both sides, he through genocide studies in the curricula, its Frankfurter Sonntags Zeitung on June 12, “The for two opinions.” Addressing these groups’ explained that Turkey had been dishonest, in encouragement of civil society activities, its threats against parliamentarians of Turkish desires for social integration, he said: “Those that it had not introduced the required reforms. ongoing process of reconciliation, and so many background are unacceptable,” adding that \ who want to be taken seriously here, those who “It does the opposite: Turkey distances itself other aspects, make the German experience Lammert had “found the right words for it.” De want to have religion classes in our schools, daily from the European Union.” But also in exemplary for others. In the specific instance: Maizière said security measures would be they cannot stand on the ground of our Germany, he said, the debate is not really hon- for Turkey. When will Turkey find the courage adjusted correspondingly. “Most of the 3.5 mil- Constitution only on their tiptoes.” est. “Honesty would mean saying: With to follow suit? lion people of Turkish background in Germany DITIB, the biggest umbrella group of – I want to stress – are good neighbors and an Muslims in Germany, expressed its “loss of important part of our society,” he said. “The trust” in those MPs with Turkish roots. criminals and extremists are individual cases.” Representative Zekeriya Altug was quoted by To take it seriously means to adopt enhanced Zeit online saying that if its members formerly Oganesson: New Element in Periodic Table to security measures, like police protection at had felt represented by these MPs, that was no home and the office, and, if necessary, personal longer that the case. But at the same time, Be Named for Russian Armenian Physicist bodyguards. The German Foreign Ministry, DITIB General Secretary Bekir Alboga according to a Spiegel report, advised against denounced the slanders and threats of violence MOSCOW (AP) — Soon there will be four new Hamilton, who played a role in the discoveries, travel to Turkey, due to the heated atmosphere, as “illegitimate means to deal with differences names on the periodic table of the elements, proposed naming an element for Tennessee. He which might have security implications for of opinion and conflicts in a democratic soci- including three that honor Moscow, Japan and had hoped to use the symbol Tn, but it had them. For those Bundestag members who have ety.” DITIB had cancelled an invitation to Tennessee. dual citizenship, the danger is very real; if they Lammert and two MPs to a Ramadan Iftar (fast The names are among four recommended last do go to Turkey, they may be arrested at the air- breaking) during Ramadan, after having week by an international scientific group. The port and charged with “insulting the Turkish received threats. fourth is named for a Russian scientist. nation,” according to the infamous Article 301 Then there are those of Turkish background The International Union of Pure and Applied of the penal code. Conviction could lead to a in Germany who have another idea. Turkish- Chemistry, which rules on chemical element sentence of six months to two years. The mayor German businessman Remzi Aru launched an names, presented its proposal for public review. of Ankara, who had sent out photos on the initiative days after the Genocide resolution, for The names had been submitted by the element internet of the 11 German parliamentarians of the creation of a new Turkish party here. discoverers. Turkish descent, had also stated, “The traitors Qualifying the resolution as a massive discrimi- The four elements, known now by their num- should be deprived of citizenship.” nation against those of Turkish heritage, and bers, completed the seventh row of the period- The decision to upgrade security for those warning that all should “beware the begin- ic table when the chemistry organization veri- threatened came after a meeting of some nings!” he announced that “As of today, there is fied their discoveries last December. Bundestag members from all parties with rep- no German party that a person with Turkish Tennessee is the second U.S. state to be rec- Yuri Oganessian resentatives of the BKA (Federal Criminal roots can vote for. We are forced to found our ognized with an element; California was the Police Office), Berlin police and Bundestag own party,” as a result. This, he said, would “not first. Element names can come from places, police. They described harassment and threats be for Turks, not for Muslims, but for all people mythology, names of scientists or traits of the been used in the past and couldn’t be reas- in Germany in whom this Germany awakens element. Other examples: americium, einsteini- signed to the new element. worst memories.” The party program draft um and titanium. – nihonium, symbol Nh, for element 113. The which is circulating says it stands for a “self-con- Joining more familiar element names such as element was discovered in Japan, and Nihon is Clarification scious, traditional, but also open, multi-racial, hydrogen, carbon and lead are: one way to say the country’s name in Japanese. multi-national Germany, which nurtures a – oganesson, symbol Og, for element 118. It’s the first element to be discovered in an A brief in the June 4, 2016 issue, with the healthy patriotism and national pride, instead The name honors Russian Armenian physicist Asian country. headline “At Least 4 Killed in Aleppo Rocket of falling from one extreme into the other.” It Yuri Oganessian. An official at a Japanese institute involved in Attack,” misidentified the building. calls on Germany to play an equilibrating role in – moscovium, symbol Mc, for element 115, the discovery said the name was chosen to rec- The building reported as the world, instead of “playing schoolmarm to and tennessine, symbol Ts, for element 117. The ognize government funding for the project. “We the “Armenian nursing home” is actually other countries.” Aru has presented himself discovery team is from the Joint Institute for wanted to show our research has been sup- the Verjine Gulbenkian Maternity officially in German talk shows as a supporter Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Oak ported by the Japanese people,” said Kosuke Hospital, managed and owned by the and representative of Erdogan’s policies. Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt Morita, a research group director at the RIKEN Gullabi Gulbenkian Foundation of New What European Membership? University in Tennessee, and the Lawrence Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science. York. What meager success a self-styled party for Livermore National Laboratory in California. The public comment period will end the Turkish (or Muslim) minority in Germany Vanderbilt physics professor Joseph November 8. 6 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR Community News

Son of Canadian FAR and AESA KARINA DEMURCHYAN PHOTO Create Innovative Tycoon Charged Internship Program With Torturing With Armenia Girlfriend to Death

By Florence Avakian By Feliks Garcia

NEW YORK — Venture Armenia initi- LOS ANGELES (Times) — A screenwriter ated and organized by the Armenian and artist — and son of a prominent Canadian Engineers and Scientists of America real estate tycoon — was charged with torturing (AESA), and the Fund for Armenian and killing his girlfriend before draining her Relief (FAR), will take place July 16 to blood in West Hollywood. 27, and will provide a professional expe- Blake Leibel, 35, pleaded not guilty to the rience limited to a group of eight to allegations of murder, mayhem, aggravated twelve young Armenian-Americans. mayhem, and torture, the Los Angeles County The focus of this project will be net- District Attorney’s office said in a statement. working and forging professional con- Leibel faces the death penalty if found guilty. nections in Armenia, for the betterment Prosecutors accuse Leibel of killing his girl- and further development of the moth- Dr. Vardan Urutyan giving his presentation to the crowd at KGB friend Iana Kasian, 30, between May 23 and erland. In additional to the professional May 26 in their West Hollywood apartment. advancement, interns will visit some of The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Armenia’s most important cultural and Department said Kasian’s mother had contact- historic places, thus experiencing ed authorities on May 26 to conduct a welfare Armenia in a unique manner. check. When officers arrived to the apartment, “The collaboration between AESA Armenian Wines they found Leibel barricaded in the apartment and FAR is a very specific function with Kasian’s body — reportedly mangled. together, involving the objectives, and “Kasian was tortured and mutilated before purpose,” said Aram Setian, president she was killed and all of her blood was drained emeritus of AESA, New York, New Win over KGB from her body,” Deputy District Attorney Jersey. The functions include looking at Tannaz Mokayef said. mentoring in the fields of engineering, The Los Angeles Times says that Leibel, who science, medicine, business, law, educa- Crowd at ABN Event is being held without bail, is will undergo a tion, and other specialty fields. mental competency evaluation A number of applicants are currently “This is a serious matter,” defense attorney being interviewed who will be of bene- BOSTON — The Armenian Business Network Alaleh Kamran told the Times in a statement fit to themselves, to Armenia, and to By Aram Arkun (ABN) sponsored a networking event with a the program itself, Setian said, adding presentation by Dr. Vardan Urutyan on wine- that eligible applicants range from the Mirror-Spectator Staff making and agribusiness education in Armenia high school level to graduate students. on June 9 at the Kingston Grille and Bar (KGB) The function of FAR will be finding in downtown Boston. The event also included presentations from two organiza- the right contacts in Armenia. Each tions fundraising for aid to Armenia and Artsakh – the Tekeyan Cultural selected intern will receive the exclu- Association of the US and Canada (TCA), and the Memory Dignity Justice sive attention of the chosen mentor. All Association. As many as 120 people were present. arrangements in Armenia will be under- Karina Demurchyan, a member of the ABN executive council, served as master taken by FAR. of ceremonies in the lively, crowded environment. After briefly speaking about AESA will be responsible for finding ABN, she introduced this writer, Aram Arkun, TCA executive director, who point- and selecting the applicants, explained ed out that Tekeyan’s new pro- ARAM ARKUN PHOTO Setian, who is currently on the AESA gram is small and transparent. It Board of Directors, and proudly related sends aid directly to victims of the that “AESA’s strength is mentoring and recent fighting in Artsakh and education. We would like to select Armenia, including wounded sol- applicants who will make the most diers and the families of soldiers Iana Kasian impact. Once the network is estab- killed during the fighting, lished, it will be a great benefit for through its representative in themselves, for Armenia and for the Yerevan, and it obtains receipts. It issued by publicist Howard Bragman. “Mr. future,” he stressed. will report on the distributions, Leibel’s defense team request that the public There are a number of ways that the which are now beginning. It does and the media respect his right to a fair hear- results of this unique program can be not charge any administrative ing in court.” implemented. This professional rela- costs, which the organization Before Kasian’s death, Leibel was arrested tionship may result in a job connection itself absorbs (see the TCA- under suspicion of sexual assault, but posted a in Armenia for six or seven months, Boston Facebook site or call 617 $100,000 bail. Prosecutors have not charged with the opening of a business, or in 924-4455). him in that case. the US. Selected interns may choose to Manoog Kaprielian then spoke An attorney who represented Leibel in past find work in Armenia for six or seven about the Memory Dignity Justice divorce proceedings expressed shock to the months, and even open a business Association (MDJA), which strives Times about his client. there, or work in their related fields in to achieve the three goals embed- “Him being violent is so uncharacteristic of the US. ded in its name concerning the the person I’ve known for many years,” Ronald “This initiative has a broader and violence against Armenians in Dr. Vardan Urutyan giving his presentation Richards, a defense attorney who is represent- possibly more ambitious goal than sim- Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1990. ing Leibel in his divorce, said. “It’s hard to tell ply providing networking and business One of its members, Eduard which [stressors have] contributed to any men- opportunities for young professionals, Fandunyan, recently donated an ambulance and a bus for people with physical dis- tal health issues.” stated FAR Executive Director Garnik abilities, to Artaskh. The Association is raising funds as well as collecting certain Leibel was the director of an animated ver- Nanagoulian. “We hope and will strive items necessary there such as medical supplies or clothing as donations. He said sion of the 1987 Mel Brooks Star Wars parody, to open up unique possibilities to all that MDJA will post details for donation drop-off arrangements and financial con- “Spaceballs.” He also directed the straight-to- young Diasporan Armenians who are tributions on its Facebook page. Interested parties can also contact Garen DVD film “Bald,” released in 2008. looking to develop sustainable links Bagdasarian ([email protected], tel. 401 569-7305). The shipment is expect- Leibel’s father, Lorne Leibel, is prominent with their peers in Armenia, and with ed to be ready at the end of this June. real estate developer in Toronto who also com- the homeland itself.” Representatives of the government of the Republic of Mountainous Karabagh peted in the 1976 Olympic sailing team. He Venture Armenia, he stressed, “is for as well as the association’s local contacts will make the final delivery of the ship- stayed an avid racer of both boats and cars, and those who would like to discover much ment. Donations and delivery will be fully transparent and reported. referred to himself as the “Ferrari Man,” accord- more possibilities for themselves in the Urutyan then made his presentation, accompanied by slides. He is the general ing to the Toronto Star. homeland as professionals, as individu- director of the International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education Prosecutors have yet to announce whether als, and as Armenian Americans.” (ICARE) in Yerevan, established by Texas A&M University in 2005 to run the they will actively seek the death penalty for All interest individuals can contact see ABN, page 8 Leibel. If not, he will face life in prison without www.venturearmenia.com. the possibility of parole. The trial was set to start on June 14. S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 7 COMMUNITY NEWS Armenia IT Forum in Silicon Valley Identifies Opportunities For Armenian Technology Companies

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Leading mem- Peter Righi, CEED Global Director. “Armenia bers of the Armenian diaspora and those inter- is no longer just an outsourcing market. It’s ested in technology companies and startups in a growing hub of innovation with world-class Armenia convened on June 10 at the Armenia IT talent and it’s critical to show what the IT Forum at Synopsys in Mountain View. Armenian government and private sector has The daylong gathering provided an opportu- done to grow the sector and prepare compa- nity to network, share ideas and identify invest- nies to plug in to the global marketplace. ment opportunities in Armenia with CEOs, Today gives us the venue to showcase some venture capitalists, academics, and entrepre- of the talented people at the forefront of this neurs. The Forum was organized within the trend.” framework of the ArmTech Congress and held More information on the Armenia IT Forum under the high patronage of the prime minis- including a full program and list of speakers ter of Armenia. can be found at http://itforum.eif.am/ Between 2008 and 2013 Armenia saw a 22- The Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) percent growth in its technology sector year- is one of the largest technology business over-year, and continues to foster startups incubators and consulting companies in the and talent through education initiatives as region, operating in Yerevan, Armenia. well as recently adopted legislation designed Established in 2002 within the framework of to make launching and growing a startup, the World Bank’s “Enterprise Incubator” pro- incubator, accelerator, or research organiza- ject, the EIF is called to support the develop- tion much easier. ment of information and communication Sponsors of the event include Microsoft, technology sector in Armenia through creat- Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, the Union ing a productive environment for innovation, of Information and Technology Enterprises, technological advancement and company the Union of Employers of Information and growth. Communication Technologies, and PicsArt, a CEED Global was founded under SEAF Members of Armenia’s IT team visiting the US photo app company with 65 million active (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds) to provide users founded by two Armenian entrepre- the tools and knowledge to small and medium neurs. Organizers include the Government of enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. Using the Republic of Armenia, ArmTech Congress, The IT Industry in Armenia: Recent progress and successes of our organizations a peer-to-peer model where entrepreneurs CEED, World Bank Group, Synopsys, and the Developments and Success Stories and and startups, especially in the US market,” said share their experiences and help others over- Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF). Building an Ecosystem for Global Startups and Bagrat Yengibaryan PhD, director of the EIF. come challenges, CEED facilitates the connec- The four panel discussions at the Forum will Connecting to Global Markets. “The goal of the Forum is to let the world tions needed to gain access to capital and grow address critical issues including: “This year the forum will focus on the know Armenia is open for business,” said business in countries around the world.

Ethics Probe Halts Congressional Travel to Turkey; Free Trips Overall Have Slowed

junket to Baku, Azerbaijan in 2013; the trip involved of wrongdoing. While the panel sent increased from that year through 2015. By Will Tucker took 10 members of Congress to the small some documents relating to the sponsoring The slowdown comes after a coalition of Eurasian city with money from Azerbaijan’s organizations over to the Justice Department ethics watchdog groups in Washington, spurred state oil company, where they attended a con- for possible further action, Justice has been by the OCE’s report, called for House Speaker WASHINGTON (OpenSecrets.org) — House ference put on by the company to tout its nat- silent about whether it is pursuing an inves- Paul Ryan to place a moratorium on the prac- lawmakers and their staffers used to make ural gas interests. The lawmakers said they had tigation. tice. about 150 stops there a year on their privately no idea their trip to the ostentatious energy The chairman of the Ethics Committee, Rep. “These trips have become a tool for special sponsored jaunts around the world. Then came conference was paid for by a foreign govern- Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), had traveled on the Turkic interests, foreign governments, and foreign a massive ethics investigation, and they all ment that employed lobbyists in Washington, groups’ dime himself, as had another member business interests to try to gain access and stopped taking those free trips to Turkey — D.C. of the panel, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.). influence to our elected leaders while obfuscat- cold. After investigating the Turkic non-profits fur- Before OCE’s investigation into the case of ing the source of funding for the trips,” a letter Not a single House member or staffer has dis- ther, the OCE called into question the true the Turkic non-profits, lawmakers were taking closed a privately sponsored trip to Turkey source of funding not just for the Azerbaijan more and more trips paid for not by the U.S. or since the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) junket but for more than 109 trips to Turkey in foreign governments, but by private organiza- in October 2015 released documents connected previous years. It appeared the groups, in some tions and nonprofits. Many of these trips were to the largest ethics investigation since the days instances, simply didn’t have the money neces- domestic — policy conferences are often cited as of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. sary to pay for the expensive trips they orga- reasons for the travel — but many were interna- OpenSecrets Blog collected the data from the nized for members and staffers. tional voyages during which members and staff Clerk of the House, which keeps records on pri- But when the probe was kicked over to the stayed in luxurious hotels, saw famous sites and vately sponsored trips filed to the House Ethics Ethics Committee — the panel of lawmakers got cozy with nonprofits funded by special Committee. who investigate their peers, and sometimes interests. Last year, the OCE found that a network of takes referrals from the OCE, which is a This year, privately sponsored travel for mem- Turkic-American nonprofit groups based in the quasi-independent outfit — the committee bers of Congress has slowed down slightly over- US lied about the true source of funding for a dropped the matter, clearing the members all, dropping almost to 2011 levels after having

Mirror Spectator Seeks Summer Intern Ethics probe halts congressional travel to Turkey; The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is seeking an intern for free trips overall have slowed a six-week program this summer (mid-July through August). The intern will receive a $150 weekly stipend to Ryan signed by four groups in November reads. provided through the Armenian Students’ Association of Ryan didn’t respond, but some lawmakers and sponsors may have gotten the message. America’s Internship Program. “These trips to Turkey got terrible press and deservedly so,” said Meredith McGehee, The intern should be in college or graduate school. If policy director at the Campaign Legal Center, one of the groups that signed the letter. interested, please contact Aram Arkun at “Because the press coverage of the Turkey trips and the legitimate questions raised tcadirector.com or call 617 924-4420. about the way they were funded, members are appropriately gun shy.” 8 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR COMMUNITY NEWS Armenian Wines Win over KGB Crowd at ABN Event

ABN, from page 6 They also brought the first wine made by three ARAM ARKUN PHOTO Agribusiness Teaching Center (ATC) previously students from EVN, who happened to all be created in 2000 as part of the Armenian National women. It took the students approximately 8 Agrarian University (ANAU). ATC offers under- months to make the wine and about 6 months to graduate and graduate programs, including the do the necessary paperwork so that the wine Master of Agribusiness program from ANAU, would be ready by their June 1 graduation. and a graduate certificate from Texas A&M In the old days, Soviet winemakers did not use University. In 2015, it had 127 students. advanced technology. Back then, Armenia Urutyan’s focus, however, was about wine as focused on cognac. ICARE created the EVN part of agribusiness in Armenia. It is one of the Wine Academy two years ago in cooperation most important exports of the Republic of with Semina Consulting. It offers an 18-month Armenia along with the rest of agribusiness. enology program taught in English with instruc- About one-third of the population of Armenia tors from the German Geisenheim university. is involved in agriculture and it produces 26 per- The first graduation took place this June, and cent of the gross domestic product, according to the 14 graduates all already have been placed in Urutyan. Agriculture is important for national jobs. One is Mariam Saghatelyan, the founder security as well as the economy, as it provides a and manager of the first specialized wine shop livelihood for people in the villages near the bor- and bar in Yerevan, In Vino. ders of Armenia. EVN has a Wine Laboratory which is the only The wine sector has recently been growing educational wine laboratory in the Caucasus well, especially exports. The discovery of the old- region. Contributions from the German est winery of the world, 6,100 years old, in the Development Corporation (GIZ) and the Boston Areni caves has stimulated world interest in area couple Judith Saryan and Victor Zarougian Armenian wines. The number of wineries has made it possible. increased so that today there are 35 in Armenia. Urutyan said that ICARE and ANAU could It is not only wine exportation that has draw upon 15 years of general experience to Armenian Business Network’s Karina Demurchyan introduces Dr. Vardan Urutyan. increased. Wine consumption per capita has make EVN Wine Academy successful. It all began been rising in Armenia with the creation of new in 2000 with ATC. The United States After the event, Zarougian said that he was so wine seems to be replacing vodka drinking to a wine bars and restaurants serving wine. Department of Agriclture and Texas AM helped impressed by the work done by Urutyan and certain extent. Consumption in Armenia per capita per year make the organization more mature and in 2014 ATC that even without meeting the latter in per- Ralph Yirikian and Viva Cell helped establish a today is 8.8 liters, up from 1.4 in 2010, while USAID and Virginia Tech began assisting it. son, after doing some research, he decided to video conference facility for ICARE so that exec- imported wines are decreasing in quantity. Virginia Tech, Penn State and the University of help in the creation of the solar panel system. He utives in the US and elsewhere can teach stu- There are some 400 native varieties of grapes Florida are helping add more educational pro- was amazed that up until that time, 2011 or dents in Armenia. Internally there is fundraising in Armenia but only 70 have been preserved, and grams. In 2015, Geisenheim University in 2012, there was no such system in all of Armenia in Armenia to get a modernized computer lab. Germany decided to support the wine academy. SAMUEL VARTAN PHOTO despite the advantage of having great sunlight to Among its other projects, ICARE runs the It is the top European wine research and educa- power it. Now, the technology has begun to pro- Agribusiness Research Center, which gets fund- tion institute. EVN offers short courses and a liferate. ing from various private and governmental professional certificate program in enology and Zarougian and his wife supported the EVN lab- American and European agencies and organiza- wine business jointly with Geisenheim. oratory a year ago because they felt it would be tions to conduct research and rural development Many ICARE ATC graduates have become pro- a useful spur to the Armenian economy. projects. fessors in US and other Western universities or Zarougian said, “This is one of the sectors that To ensure its long-term success and viability, have jobs in corporations. One, Armen has a very, very bright future. It is a sustainable ICARE is building an endowment fund and solic- Harutyunyan, is the deputy minister of agricul- and self-dependent field.” The soil and climate iting support from the Armenian diaspora for ture today in Armenia. It has approximately 92 are favorable for growing grapes, and now better this and a fund to sponsor student tuition (for percent job placement of the 455 graduates of quality wines are being created, Zarougian said. more information, see www.icare.am). the ATC undergraduate and master’s programs. He added that in addition to the direct bene- Institutional Sustainability Campaign @ It continues to collaborate with Texas A&M fits for the Armenian economy through job cre- https://www.ICARE.am/donate/index.php University, which gives certificates to its gradu- ation, the creation of wine bars and other outlets Dimitri Petrosian and Shahrokh Reza of ates. Their salaries are two to three times higher for wine consumption might lead to a more Kingston Grille and Bar sponsored the ABN than the industry sector average. attractive environment for tourism. Interestingly, event, with the support of their staff, while Ara With a student-centered environment, Urutyan there may also be domestic health and societal Sarkissian procured the Armenian wine provided stated that the curriculum is in the Western benefits. The increased domestic consumption of for the tasting. style, with highly qualified instructors and extracurricular activities, while the programs are Tekeyan Cultural Association of the US and Canada Executive Director Aram Arkun speak- industry-driven. Urutyan said, “We are very close- ing on the new Tekeyan program of aid to ly tied with the industry.” Aside from economics Artsakh soldiers wounded in the recent fighting and finance, leadership and other “soft” skills are and the families of slain soldiers stressed to build emotional intelligence. Students are given opportunities to meet with CEOs. Boston area Armenians Judith Saryan and F UNERAL H OME Victor Zarougian were present in the audience. Giragosian of these, 12 are being cultivated. Urutyan James “Jack” Giragosian, CPC brought several types of Armenian wines, both Urutyan pointed them out and explained that in Mark J. Giragosian red and white, and offered them for tasting to the addition to the aforementioned wine laboratory, Funeral Counselors guests. They included Zorah, Karas, ArmAs, they supported the establishment of the largest 576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, TEL: 617-924—0606 Vanardi and Zara. Urutyan was assisted by solar panel system in Armenia at ICARE. This www.giragosianfuneralhome.com Arthur Grigoryan, the development director of saved much money as well as helped the envi- ICARE. ronment.

Telephone (617) 924-7400 AAF delivered $5 Million of Aid to Aram Bedrosian Armenia and Artsakh in April, May Funeral Home, Inc. GLENDALE — The Armenia Artsakh Fund in the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s attack in early (AAF) sent $5 million of humanitarian assis- April. Continuous Service By The Bedrosian Family Since 1945 tance to Armenia and Artsakh on board nine air The AAF shipments in April and May includ- MARION BEDROSIAN shipments and five sea containers during April ed much needed medicines for treatment of 558 MOUNT AUBURN STREET PAUL BEDROSIAN and May 2016. oncology, cardio vascular, gastrointestinal men- WATERTOWN, MA 02472 The AAF acquired $4 million of medicines tal disorders cases as well as medicines and LARRY BEDROSIAN and other humanitarian materials from Direct medical supplies to treat war injuries. Relief International ($2.8 Since December 1, 2015, AAF delivered to million), AmeriCares ($697,000) and Catholic Armenia and Artsakh a total of $14.1 million Medical Mission Board ($540,000). worth of humanitarian aid on board 14 air ship- Other organizations which contributed valu- ments and 23 sea containers. Nardolillo Funeral Home able goods during this period were: Armenian “The Armenia Artsakh Fund is regularly Est. 1906 American Medical Association of Boston/KCI offered millions of dollars worth of life-saving USA Inc. ($717,000); MAP International medicines and medical supplies. We would wel- John K. Najarian, Jr. ($152,000); and Tufenkian Foundation come your generous donations to be able to Rhode Island’s Only Licensed Armenian Funeral Director ($5,000). continue delivering this valuable assistance to Harut Sassounian, president of Armenia all medical centers in Armenia and Artsakh,” 1278 Park Ave. Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 942-1220 Artsakh Fund, expressed his appreciation to Sassounian stated. 1111 Boston Neck Rd. Narragansett, RI 02882 (401) 789-6300 Ara Abrahamian, president of the World For more information, contact the AAF office www.nardolillo.com Armenian Congress, for contributing $22,000 at 1101 North Pacific Ave., Suite 204, Glendale, to airlift urgently-needed medicines to Artsakh CA 91202 or email: [email protected]. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 9 COMMUNITY NEWS Armenian Assembly St. James Armenian Church Celebrates Sunday School Graduation Condemns Orlando WATERTOWN — Last Sunday, 16 young adults graduated from Sunday Mass Murder School at St. James Church in Watertown, MA. At the conclusion of WASHINGTON — The Armenian Assembly of the Divine Liturgy, the students America (Assembly) released the following state- renewed their baptismal vows and ment in response to the mass shooting by an received diplomas. ISIS supporter on Sunday, June 12 in Orlando: Rev. Arakel Aljalian, parish pastor, “The Armenian Assembly of America and all directed his sermon to the graduates, Armenian Americans mourn the victims of the congratulating them on their accom- Orlando massacre, the deadliest in United States plishments and encouraging them to history. We pray for the victims, their families, continue their involvement in the and friends. The Assembly condemns the bar- Armenian Church. baric acts that occurred and the pervasive intol- A reception followed the ceremony, erance, hatred, and inhumanity represented by with remarks by Sunday School the perpetrator and those who think like him. superintendent Marsha Alabachian “A few months ago, Secretary of State John and student remarks from valedictori- Kerry declared that ISIS is ‘responsible for geno- an Nareg Kalaydjian and salutatorians cide’ in Syria and Iraq, including Armenians as one Alec Maserejian and Lydia Thompson. of the groups under attack. As Armenians, we know The teachers of the graduating the fear of being targeted and killed, as we were by class this year were Emily Diloyan, the Ottoman Turks during the Armenian Genocide Melissa Giragosian and Matthew The Sunday School graduates with Fr. Arakel Aljalian in 1915, Azerbaijan starting in the late 1980s, and Reppucci. again by ISIS today. As we face these depraved acts of terror, the imperative of rising above and achiev- ing victory over the perpetrators and their enablers is clear. While our heads are bowed in respect for the painful human loss, we will always stand in sol- idarity with Orlando.”

AGBU Expands Education Innovation Platform to ༻སྃསཤའཱུ ཆྲྀའ཮ཷཱྀཨའུཪཱུ ཆཪཷཱྀཨཪཱཱྀུ Improve English Tekeyan Cultural Association Proficiency in Armenia NEW YORK — The Armenian General Benevolent Association (AGBU) announces the of the United States and Canada addition of ANI to its AGBU Education Innovation platform. The program — founded in September 2015 by Australian Armenian sib- lings Ray and Meline Nazloomian — joins English-speakers in the diaspora with English- learners in Armenia to help improve English proficiency in the country. Seeing their pro- ddd&hEZ/^/E'd&hEZ/^/E'd&hEZ/^/E'd&hEZ/^/E'Zd&hEZ/^/E'Z/d&hEZ/^/E'Z/sddd&hEZ/^d&hEZ/^/d&hEZ/^/Ed&d&hd&hEd&hEd&hEZd&hEZ/d&hEZ&hEZ/^/E'Z/s gram grow exponentially in its first year, the Nazloomians chose to partner with AGBU to help further grow and develop ANI. This partnership is the latest initiative to &KZd,&D/>&KZd,&D/>/&KZd,&D/>/&KZd,&D/>/^&KZd,&D/>/^&KZd,&D/>/^K&KZd,&D/>/^K&&KZd,&D/>/^K&&KZd,&KZd,&KZd,&&KZd,&D/&KZd,&&K&KZ&KZd&KZd,&&KZd,&D&KZKZd,&D/>/^K& reach the program’s goal of connecting stu- dents in Armenia with native English speakers across the globe. ANI connects coaches and students for a free, ttKtKhtKhEtKhEtKhEtKhEtKhEtKhEtKhEEtKhEEtKhEEKhEE once-a-week, 30-minute to 45-minute, one-on- one Skype session, during which students have the opportunity to practice and improve their English outside the classroom. The curriculum DZdzZDZdzZDZdzZDZdzZ^DZdzZ^K>DDZDZdDZdzDDZdzZDZdzZ^KDZdzZ^K>DZdzZ^K>/DZdzZ^K>/DZdzZ^K>/ZDZdzZ^K>/Z^ZdzZ^K>/Z^ is broken into 12-week blocks and students and coaches can continue their work together for as many blocks as they choose. “We were startled by the fact that only 4 percent of Armenians in Armenia could speak English fluently. Knowing how important speaking English is in an increasingly globalized world, we were interest- ed in leveraging modern technology to mobilize OF the over nine million Armenians in the diaspo- ra to improve English proficiency in Armenia. Our vision is that by 2020, 100 percent of Armenian students can speak English fluently,” said Ray Nazloomian. and By April 2016, the program included 60 stu-  dents from across Armenia and 60 coaches from Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle Artsakh Armenia East and the United States. ANI also has a rich DONATIONS DIRECTLY DELIVERED TO connection with the AGBU New York Summer Internship Program (NYSIP), with co-founder THE FAMILIES RECEIPTS OBTAINED Meline and many of the current coaches being NYSIP alumni. Now with the support of AGBU, the program is in the process of increasing its number of coaches and students. AGBU Armenian Virtual College (AVC) has already All Donations Should Be Made Out To: begun work in Armenia to encourage more stu- dents to participate in the program. Tekeyan Cultural Association, Inc. Memo: Artsakh Fund Donations ŵ 755 Mount Auburn Street Nayiri Berberian of Watertown donated $10 to the Armenian Mirror-Spectator in ForWatertown, more information, MA contact: 02472 617 924-4455 or [email protected] memory of Mary Takessian and another $10 in memory of Robert Markarian, the late editor of Hairenik newspaper. 10 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR COMMUNITY NEWS Innovative New Gevorkian Seminary Dean Visits US

little Latin. He speaks English fluently, and knows to know them. Now it is good, and even others want By Aram Arkun a smattering of French. them. I am happy that they have succeeded and are The topic of Hambardzumyan’s doctoral study loved in their new communities.” He said that the Mirror-Spectator Staff was the Old Testament Wisdom of Sirach (the Book seminary was always ready to send more clergymen of Sirak) in the Armenian Biblical tradition. He said, if arrangements are made through the Catholicos WATERTOWN — Very Rev. Fr. Garegin “It contains the most profound spiritual feelings of All Armenians. Furthermore, he said, “I am Hambardzumyan, dean of the Gevorkian and experiences, but is also a very practical book.” happy that in recent years we have enjoyed closer Seminary of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, He said that it talks of the three qualities, love, wis- relations with St. Nersess Seminary in New York. visited the United States last month to attend the dom and awe of God, which can lead man to per- There are only a few students there but they have annual Diocesan Assembly and Clergy Conference fect happiness, and summarizes the relations of the opportunity to serve or study at the Gevorkian in Cleveland as a representative of Echmiadzin. man to man and man to God. Seminary too. This is good for US natives.” While in the Boston area, he served as a guest cel- Hambardzumyan said it was paradoxical that At the Diocesan Clergy Conference, the visiting ebrant and homilist on May 15 at Holy Trinity when he went abroad, to Great Britain, he began to dean spoke to the American clergy about his semi- Armenian Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. better appreciate Armenian culture and theology. nary, and at the Diocesan Assembly he read the The educated and well-spoken young priest spoke He said, “I began to find the values and profundity blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians. He said with the Mirror about his background and plans for of Armenian theology, and how much it has to be that being at these meetings “gave me great hope the seminary. worshipped. It is like Echmiadzin a luminous altar.” that it is not just clergy but the people who are He was born in 1986 in the city of Kapan, He added that the Armenian school of theology greatly involved. Few churches are like the Armenia, but he and his family left to Russia, where had much yet to give to the world though it may Armenian Church where laymen play such a great he began his schooling. They returned eventually at not have developed that much in the most recent role in church life. Of course there may be disputes the end of the 1990s, and he continued his educa- era. and issues, but all this is to make the Diocese tion in Armenia. At that time, he said, “my family He liked the connection to scholarship and stronger and to serve the dissemination of the was not very church-going, but was very pious, in Christianity that he could have while in Great Word of God.” the Soviet way.” He learned journalism in one of the Britain, and in particular the punctuality and disci- Hambardzumyan realized about the clergymen afterschool children’s centers run by the Armenian pline that the English showed in connection with Dean of the Gevorkian Seminary Fr. Garegin serving in the US that “The Armenian remains General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the work, which Armenians may not always evince. He Hambardzumyan Armenian. The kahana represents simple human Armenian Church, and was in the youth group. hoped that Armenians can combine their good values — modesty, wisdom, the ability to listen, and There was a soup kitchen run by the two orga- souls and good work with this discipline. most important of all, his faith — so that he can nizations, and when the Divine Liturgy was cele- Another important value he saw in the West is the seminary must meet. He said, “I know what I inspire. The clergyman must be charismatic, show- brated for the mostly elderly clients, he participated that clergymen must not be afraid to talk with the need to prepare students for if they are going to ing others how he loves God and inspiring them to as an acolyte. He said, “I found that this service people and show that they are ready to help. He serve in Armenia, but I did not know about condi- behave in the same Christian way in their lives.” brought me the greatest happiness, for I obtained liked how ordinary people could find ways of help- tions here. One month of course was not enough, Hambardzumyan explained the workings of the experience in two things, in prayer life and in the ing philanthropic institutions in the West. but I still was able to get an idea of what prepara- Gevorkian Seminary. It is the main seminary for the service that grew out of prayer life. Some weeks the While he studied, he also served as a visiting pas- tions students will need to succeed in America.” Church of Armenia. There is also a pre-seminary elderly could not come to the soup kitchen so I tor at St. Yeghishe Armenian Church of London The seminary already provides, he said, prepara- high school in Harich and a four-year seminary in would bring them food to their homes … I learned and the Holy Trinity Armenian Church of tion for being a priest in a variety of environments, Sevan which sends its graduates to the Gevorkian. what prayer is, and the service that arises from Manchester, and established a mission parish at and information is taught about the Armenian dias- The Gevorkian Seminary consists of two sec- prayer, which is the embodiment or crystallization Oxford University. In November 2014, he was pora and the histories of various dioceses. Most tions. The first, the primary section, contains 92 stu- of prayer in our daily life.” appointed as Assistant Director of the Department importantly, he said, “We teach that you must be dents for those 21 years old and younger. A second As he learned more, one day a cleric came and of Christian Education in the Mother See, and in ready to listen, to easily adjust to new environments section prepares people who have decided to enter asked whether he might want to attend seminary. September 2015, appointed Dean of the Gevorkian and not be narrow-minded. You must be ready for the priesthood later in life. They often are already He was about to graduate high school and initially Seminary. Two months later, in November, he suc- new possibilities, have meetings, and then make married and have gotten an education. They get was planning to study journalism at Yerevan State cessfully defended his thesis and was granted the decisions in a flexible way.” three years of training and then may be ordained. University, but he felt his calling was through the rank of vartabed by Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian. Languages are important for adjusting to new This year 26 people graduated from the two sec- church. Six years of study, from 2002 to 2008, at Last month was Fr. Hambardzumyan’s first visit environments. Russian, English, Old Greek, and tions: 20 from the seminary, as deacons and six the Gevorkian Seminary, where he was ordained a to the United States. He said, “I was very impressed. Hebrew are required languages for students, as well from the priestly ministry program. Annually 40-50 deacon at the end of 2006. I know that the Eastern Diocese is a great example as Classical Armenian. A one-year class in Western people are admitted to both the Gevorkian and the On July 17, 2009, he was ordained a celibate from the point of view of organization. It is very Armenian is mandatory for all students. This was Sevan institutions. priest by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of organized. This is something to be studied for us, decided two or three years ago, prior to At present, the dean explained, graduates from the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America especially for us young clerics.” As Archbishop Hambardzumyan’s assumption of office. German Gevorkian work in a department in Echmiadzin as (Eastern), and he went to Great Britain to continue Khajag Barsamian, the Primate of the Diocese, is or French (beginning this September) are optional. a deacon. Some marry and then apply for priest- his studies from 2010 to 2015 at Sheffield his spiritual father, Hambardzumyan declared, “I At present, there are 12 or 13 graduates of the hood, and others decide to be a celibate priest. University. He also studied and occasionally lec- am happy now to be in his diocese and to benefit Gevorkian Seminary working in the US. Examinations must be taken and if a committee tured at Oxford University. He earned a Doctor of from his hospitality and grace.” He thought that his Hambardzumyan said, “I learned from the kahanas decides that the candidate is ready, he can be Theology degree. In addition to Armenian and time in the US would help him in understanding [married priests] from Armenia that people are ordained from six months after graduation up to Russian, he knows Classical Greek, Hebrew and a the local needs that clergy who will be prepared in skeptical about priests from Armenia until they get ten years later. Then the individual may be sent to a diocese to serve as a deacon or a university for fur- ther study of theology and related topics. Many are sent abroad to universities in Russia, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Hambardzumyan has great ambitions for the seminary. He is planning to establish a PhD pro- gram at the seminary. Right now it can only give bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Biblical Studies, Dogmatics, Church History and Pastoral Theology are the four fields of advanced training. The new program will add two to three years more study. A nine-person committee with the Catholicos of All Armenians as its president, will create this, and the specialists already exist. Hambardzumyan thinks that as early as 2017 or 2018, the first doctoral stu- dent will be accepted into Gevorkian. Of course, Hambardzumyan pointed out, there will always be students who decide not to go into the priesthood after graduation, but hopefully they will bring something positive that they have learned at the seminary into other realms of life. Two examples The Armenian Museum of America board members and raffle volunteers, including veteran sportscaster Bob Lobel, second from right are Aksel Bakunts and Avetik Isahakian, who stud- ied there and went on to become famous authors. The new seminary dean has already introduced several other innovations. He established a digital Final Inning Party at Armenian Museum or electronic magazine published every two weeks and sent to various organizations and clergymen WATERTOWN — The Armenian Museum of America will hold a This year, every participant who purchases five tickets will also be throughout the world. It is also on the Facebook Final Inning Party on Tuesday, July 19, to celebrate the completion entered into a special drawing to win an NFL football signed by page of the seminary. Among other things, it serves of its 11th Sports Raffle Fundraiser. Patriot greats Tom Brady and Randy Moss. as a tool to help seminarians learn how to express This year’s raffle participants have a chance to win the Grand The annual fundraiser allows the Armenian Museum to continue its their thoughts. Prize of a 22-seat luxury box at Fenway to see the Red Sox take on mission of both preserving Armenian culture and promote an awareness He also began to organize pilgrimages through- the Royals for the August 28th afternoon game. Other prizes and appreciation for the Armenian heritage by educating the public out the year for students. Each individual class goes include a number of other Red Sox ticket packages, as well as tick- through free concerts, lectures, events, exhibitions and programs. to a remote village in Armenia to do Bible studies. ets for Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics games. To purchase your tickets today or for more information about the Often a famous person is invited, perhaps an author Individual tickets are $100 apiece and $300 for five tickets. Sports Raffle, call the museum. or an artist, to speak on various themes ranging from bioethics to art. Issues concerning modern society and priests are discussed. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 11 COMMUNITY NEWS How Two Determined Scientists Built a World-Class Lab out of Radio Shack Parts

though the Jahren Lab in Honolulu is funded what they do have. What is it? The fact that Working-class science By Annalee Newitz at a much more comfortable level. Jahren told we’re so enamored of that question is telling. By the end of Lab Girl, we understand how Ars that they still buy a lot of their equipment At the heart of that is this age-old dilemma of important Jahren and Hagopian’s work has from Radio Shack and Home Depot and that how do you co-exist with something and been to biogeoscience—but we also follow the HONOLULU (Ars Technica) — Hope Jahren’s they learn a lot about how to build their green- exploit it at the same time. You do it by de-ani- progress of their unusual friendship. At one memoir about becoming a biogeoscientist — houses from YouTube videos aimed at pot mating it; you say it’s a thing. But it’s not a point, Jahren wonders whether they are soul- someone who studies the deep geological his- growers. “Our growth chambers are plexiglass thing. It’s alive. That ambiguity is never going mates or siblings. Their nonsexual but inti- tory of plant life on Earth — is the year’s boxes about as big as a bookshelf, and we can to go away, even if I break all the rules and say mate friendship defies categorization, and it biggest surprise bestseller. Humbly titled Lab control the greenhouse gas levels, light, and things like plants “remember,” “know,” and provides a template for the kinds of relation- Girl, it’s the story of how Jahren escaped ships that men and women will ideally start a working class town to become a young sci- forming more often as gender balance in the entist in the high-tech labs of UC Berkeley and sciences evens out. But it isn’t just their cross- Georgia Tech. It’s also a fascinating introduc- gender friendship that Jahren wants to cele- tion to the ways plants survive, even though brate. Hagopian, she says, is like a lot of peo- they can never flee from danger. But most of ple who work in the sciences, “geniuses with all, it’s a crazy adventure about two broke instrumentation in tech, [but who] don’t want geeks, Jahren and her lab technician Bill to be professors and give talks.” She hopes Hagopian, who somehow scrape together that these “true heroes” can be celebrated in enough cash and spare parts to build lab a more public way and their contributions rec- instruments unlike anything the scientific ognized as being key to scientific progress. “I world had ever seen. You won’t be able to put needed a whole book to explain the heroism of this book down, and that’s a quality one rarely someone unusual,” she said. finds in a nonfiction book about science. Jahren also worries that we’re “starving sci- Radio Shack lab ence to a breaking point.” As she reveals in her Jahren and Hagopian met when she was a book, there are many talented scientists who graduate student helping to run a class where never get the opportunity to do science full he was an undergrad learning about field time. Her hope is that we can use institutions work. Out of all the students in the class, like the National Science Foundation (NSF) to Hagopian’s work was the most meticulous— fund more basic research and that her book but he also sprinkled his lab notes with weird can show people what it’s really like to try jokes that only Jahren found amusing. They doing science when there is almost no funding became fast friends, and when she got her first available. “You could double the funding of job as an assistant professor at Georgia Tech, the NSF and still not be anywhere near wast- she offered him a job as lab technician. Paying ing a nickel,” she said. “Their funding requests Hagopian a near-poverty-level salary took up Hope Jahren and Bill Hagopian in their lab, where they created many one-of-a-kind instruments to are not lavish.” most of her grant money from the National study plants and the deep geological history of Earth’s atmosphere. After reading Lab Girl, you’re likely to look Science Foundation. So the two spent several at the world of science in a whole new way. years living on cheap pizza, Ensure, and candy But it’s also a job, and a tough one, because bars, saving all their money to build up the humidity on the order of moment-to-moment “choose”. All those are words that we reserve there’s less and less money to go around. Jahren Lab. Their goal is to simulate atmos- fluctuations,” she said. “It’s not easy when for animated entities toward which we Jahren may have escaped her working-class pheres from Earth’s past and then grow plants you’ve got a living organism in there that’s acknowledge an ethical responsibility. That’s town, but as a scientist she’ll never fully inside those atmospheres to understand how actively making feedback. They’re in there at why that question is so sticky. escape from the anxiety of poverty. She and life forms survive dramatic changes in the mol- positive pressure, and the atmosphere turns Jahren suggests we always remember this Hagopian have built their lab and lives with ecular composition of the air they breathe. over about every ten minutes or so.” She “sticky” question, especially because we the assumption that they are only one pay- This is obviously relevant to the current car- laughed about going to grow shops where depend on plants for everything from building check away from having to go back to that van bon loading in our atmosphere, but it also “we’re the most innocent thing they’ve seen in materials to fuel. She urges her readers to full of cheap lunch meat. Their discoveries may helps scientists understand what our planet days.” But “they have good advice on making plant a tree and consider what balance we be changing how we understand the world, was like hundreds of millions of years ago, things grow inside,” using everything from lit- want to strike between “co-existing” and but the world will have to change to keep when carbon and oxygen levels were quite dif- tle pieces of tupperware to vaporizers. And the “exploiting” plants. those discoveries coming. ferent from those today. results are excellent. “We can put in the green- In Lab Girl, Jahren describes her early years house gases or scrub them out,” Jahren said perfecting a technique to blow glass bub- proudly. “And we’re the only lab that can do bles full of alien atmospheres, while Hagopian that to this degree.” lives out of his van and designs sophisticated One of the ways that Jahren interweaves her growth chambers. Without much money, the scientific story with her personal one is by two are left scrounging up parts to use in their including chapters about plant life cycles that lab from the recycling bins of other labs—and provide a counterpoint to her own. When from Radio Shack, of course. she’s growing up, we learn how seeds func- Jahren said, “When we can’t get a controller tion; when she has a baby, we learn about how from a catalogue, we go to Radio Shack. We plants reproduce. As a result, we’re forced to love Radio Shack. Being able to jerry-rig see how dramatically different plants are from things is super satisfying.” Getting to scientif- us—as well as the unexpected ways they exhib- ic conferences to present their work was even it signs of consciousness that’s a distant echo more challenging. In one memorable scene, to our own. Though scientists fear anthropo- Jahren and Hagopian “borrow” the lab van morphizing plants, making them seem inaccu- from Georgia Tech and drive across the coun- rately human-like, Jahren says she decided to try to San Francisco for the annual meeting of break that rule “unapologetically.” Without the American Geophysical Union. They had so some anthropomorphizing, “you revert to sci- little money that all their meals for several entific language and you’re just talking to days came from an icebox full of lunch meat. It other scientists.” Plus, she asked, “Where is all backfired when one of their graduate stu- the word that describes a plant doing some- dents crashed the van and the slightly rancid thing like remembering? A plant does call up contents of the icebox flew everywhere. Still, data acquired in the past and invoke it in the Jahren managed to clean up and make it to present. Where is the word for that? There’s San Francisco in time—only to be yelled at by this infuriating gap between human language one of her colleagues that her hypotheses are and scientific language.” just plain wrong. She added that plants may have some form Two Fullbrights and several other presti- of consciousness: There is scientific evidence gious awards later, Jahren is sanguine about that they take in information about the world the memory. But we can still feel her anger and that their biologic activities are contin- UC Irvine Dean Meets Primate and how these setbacks only made her more gent upon that information in real time. NEW YORK — Georges Van Den Abbeele, the humanities dean at University of California committed, pushing her to prove that we can Now isn’t that what our consciousness breaks Irvine, visited the Diocesan Center in New York on Friday, June 3. Dr. Van Den Abbeele use carbon isotope analysis on plant fossils to down into really? So I think if you look up the spoke with Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian about the university’s reverse engineer previous atmospheres on words in the dictionary and you compare it to Armenian Studies program and its recently launched research exchange with the Earth. There’s a strong emotional, personal scientific evidence, by strict definition yes they American University of Armenia. element to Lab Girl that reminds us how sci- do have consciousness. Do they do it the same Barsamian noted the rich opportunities such programs provide for the exchange of entists feel just as passionately about their way we do it? No. Do they have a brain, spinal ideas. He thanked Van Den Abbeele for visiting the Diocesan Center. research as artists do about their creations. cord, and sensory nerve endings? No, no, no. Today, Jahren and Hagopian are just as Science is in the baby stages of figuring out DiY with their instrumentation as ever, 12 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR Arts & Living

Jordan Reportedly The Magic Bans Band with Gay Frontman Of Music From Performing By Kim Kashkashian By Anastasia Tsioulcas “Without music there can’t be any BEIRUT (NPR) — A popular and ground- dreams, and without breaking alt-rock band from Lebanon dreams there can’t be called Mashrou’ Leila was scheduled to play a any fairy tales, and big show in Amman, Jordan Friday, June 10. without fairy tales Instead, their show was cancelled by the gov- there can’t be any courage, and without ernment — and the band says they have been courage no one would be able to bear any told they can never perform again in the coun- sorrows.” - Fredrick Bachman, from ‘My try, because of the group’s politics, religious Grandmother asked Me’ beliefs and “endorsement of gender equality Musicians grow into their full potential and sexual freedom.” by working towards technical and physi- Mashrou’ Leila had been slated to play at the cal mastery of their instrument or voice. famous Roman amphitheater in Amman, Once we spend countless hours alone in a where they have previously performed three practice room, we may then have the free- times, as well as elsewhere across the country. dom and means to express our imagina- In a lengthy note posted on Facebook in tive, artistic vision. An entire life can be both Arabic and English, the band alleges that spent refining these skills and honing our the actual reason for the permission to be with- fantasy. But when our efforts revolve only drawn is different: in this circle of practice, practice, prac- “We have been unofficially informed that the tice, we are missing a most important reason behind this sudden change of heart, component - the audience! Only our lis- few days before the concert day, is the inter- teners complete the circle and give our vention of some authorities. Our understand- work its ultimate meaning and potency. ing is that said authorities have pressured cer- To embrace the world around us; to be tain political figures and triggered a chain of exquisitely aware of the context in which events that ultimately ended with our autho- we live and work - this is vital to our well- rization being withdrawn. being and to the integrity of our artistic “We also have been unofficially informed choices as well. No artists can work in a that we will never be allowed to play again any- vacuum, but must be part of the larger where in Jordan due to our political and reli- community surrounding us. We are citi- gious beliefs and endorsement of gender equal- Viken Arman zens. This is our context. This is our audi- ity and sexual freedom.” ence, these are the people we meet and The lead singer of Mashrou’ Leila, Hamed touch through our music. Sinno, is openly gay, and the band has We see increasingly that in the U.S. that addressed gay rights as well as politics and cor- broader context includes many people Armenian DJs Are Bringing ruption in both its songs and many of itsinter- our society has failed. Often, the basic views. In an interview last year with the CBC needs of shelter and nutrition are not show “Q,” Sinno said that a show they did in a met, and the pursuit of happiness, educa- Traditional Sounds into predominantly Christian town in Lebanon tion and culture only can be approached called Zouk Mikael was protested by people after these basic needs are ensured. The who believed that “homosexuals shouldn’t be ways in which music moves us, regardless Underground Dance Music allowed to set foot on Christian soil.” Sinno of musical genre, shows just how impor- attributed that attitude to “broader fundamen- tant it is. LOS ANGELES (LA Weekly) — Sometime after 2 a.m., there is a guy getting down talisms in the region.” As musicians, then, each of us must in the middle of the crowd inside a downtown loft. He’s moving as wildly as one can According to a report on the Jordanian news search for a way to make a positive con- without losing the beat. A brief flash of light site jo24.net published June 7, at least one pub- tribution. We know the power of artistic against his bare arm reveals a large portrait lic supporter of the ban is a member of parlia- expression, and we know that music is By Liz Ohanesian tattoo of Saint Vartan, the fifth-century war- ment named Bassam al-Batoush, who has essential to life, growth and our well- rior whose image remains a powerful symbol called for the group to be banned due to their being, but do we really know how to share of the Armenian people. Others in the room “controversial” material that references sex, this gift of music? The major concert halls wave their hands in circular motions, a nod to traditional Armenian dance, even as homosexuality, “calls for revolution” and pro- provide one such model, yet developing their feet move to a modern beat. motes “Satanic” ideas. alternate models is vital. They’re dancing to Viken Arman, a French producer making his L.A. debut. He The governor of Amman district, Khalid Abu Young artists take music to shelters occasionally plays a melodica to mimic the sound of a duduk, the ancient wind Zeid, told the Associated Press that the band’s and prisons, hospitals and farmer’s mar- instrument native to Armenia but best known to modern audiences for its use in songs ”contradict” Judaism, Christianity and kets. We are working to re-integrate film and TV scores such as those for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Islam. Initially, the AP reports, officials from music into the lives of everyday people. “It’s my first love, traditional Armenian music,” Arman says prior to the gig. “I Jordan’s Antiquities Department rescinded per- We hear “classical music is dead” repeat- grew up with this music. It’s a big source of inspiration.” mission because such a show would “contra- edly, but if you look around you will see it Hours before his set, Arman is hanging out at the party space with members of dict the ‘authenticity’ of the ancient venue.” is alive and well, integral to the lives of the promotion team SBCLTR (pronounced “subculture”), which put together the Mashrou’ Leila violinist Haig Papazian has more and more people, and popping up event. Everyone present, myself included, is part of the Armenian diaspora, heirs of posted pictures of one of their previous three everywhere! an ancient culture that endured even when, for much of the 20th century, there was shows at the amphitheater on Twitter. Music for Food, of which I am artistic no nation tying its people together. Arman is from Paris. SBCLTR co-founders As the band also noted on Facebook, coordinator, is such a new model for shar- Patrik Khachatourian and Roni Mehrabian were born in Iran and raised in L.A. Sanno’s mother is from Jordan, and the mem- ing music. We began in Boston seven Fellow SBCLTR member Michael Batmanian was born in Virginia to parents from bers say that the country is “a formative part years ago, and now have chapters in New Lebanon but raised in California. of his identity and writing, and a place we have York City, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago Despite the fact that Arman had only met the promoters that day, the cama- always considered our second home.” and LA! Our goal is to turn the ineffable raderie between them is apparent. “I feel like it’s home,” Arman says. The Facebook note concludes, “We urge the beauty of music into the concrete nour- Their words bounce off each other as they swap feelings on music, culture and Kingdom to choose fighting alongside us, not ishment of food needed by one in seven clubs. Khachatourian paraphrases a quote from author William Saroyan, himself of against us, during this ongoing battle for a cul- Americans. Armenian descent: “For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they ture of freedom against the regressive powers Our musicians volunteer their talents will not create a New Armenia.” of thought control and cultural coercion.” and energy, our audiences respond by Saroyan’s “New Armenia” is alive in this room, and it’s brewing internationally in The U.S. State Department’s 2015 human donating food to local pantries serving dance music. rights report on Jordan includes this assess- the community, and paths are woven Arman’s set wasn’t part of some highbrow cultural event, nor was it attended just ment: “While consensual same-sex sexual con- together in new ways. by people from L.A.’s sizable Armenian community. It was a hip, downtown dance duct is not illegal, societal discrimination Music for Food is inclusive: musicians night, with a lineup filled out by DJs who pull crowds from the underground party against LGBTI persons was prevalent, and anywhere can create MFF events and LGBTI persons were targets of abuse. Activists help build trust and communication see DJ, page 14 reported discrimination in housing, see MUSIC, page 16 see BAN, page 13 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 13 ARTS & LIVING ‘Digging Into The Future: Armenia Wins Telly Awards’ Highest Cultural Honor

NEW YORK — “Travelscope’s” archaeology special, “Digging Into The Future: Silver Telly for Digging in the Cultural category confirms our belief that no matter the Armenia,” won a Silver Telly Award in the Cultural Programing category. The show also subject featuring people and their culture touches the hearts and minds of our viewers.” received a 2016 Emmy nomination for directing. He also announced that, “In order to expand the show’s initial reach, the one-hour spe- Directed and Hosted and by Joseph Rosendo, “Digging Into The Future” was produced by the cial will air as two half-hour episodes in Season 9 of “Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope” Emmy-winning team behind scheduled for release this the PBS series, “Joseph November on PBS through- Rosendo’s Travelscope.” out the United States and Rosendo joined archaeolo- Canada. gists from UCLA’s Cotsen The Travelscope Team Institute of Archaeology on thanked the Armenian a journey through Armenia. General Benevolent Union During this adventure he (AGBU) and the Kazanjian crisscrossed Armenia to Foundation for their support ancient sites where some of of the initial national broad- the world’s oldest artifacts cast of “Digging Into the have been discovered. In Future: Armenia.” keeping with the show’s The Telly Awards honor the focus on cultural connec- finest film and video produc- tions, Rosendo talked to the tions, groundbreaking web com- locals in roadside fruit mercials, videos and films, and stands, riverside wine stalls outstanding local, regional, and and bustling markets. He cable TV commercials and pro- was welcomed into their grams – receiving nearly 12,000 homes to witness traditional entries from all 50 states and artisans at work and join in numerous countries. Since religious and communal cel- 1979, their mission has been to ebrations that inspire, strengthen the visual arts com- enlighten and reveal the munity by inspiring, promoting Armenian heart and soul. and supporting creativity. “After producing nine In addition to three 2016 seasons of ‘Joseph Telly Awards, “Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope,’ it’s Rosendo’s Travelscope” has particularly gratifying been previously honored with that ‘Digging Into the 34 Tellys. “Travelscope” has Future’ has received this also won four National recognition,” states Joseph Rosendo in Armenia Emmys and received 14 Rosendo. “Winning the Emmy nominations.

Jordan Reportedly Bans Band With Gay Frontman

BAN, from page 12 both Leila Project and Night Project; Leila is a employment, education, and access to public Juliet-like figure in Arabic literature. A rapturous services. Some LGBTI individuals reported review from London’s Guardian last November reluctance to engage the legal system due to said that they “charge the stage with electricity, fear their sexual orientation or gender identity sensuality and a dazzling aura of resistance.” Varter’s Oriental Rugs would either provoke hostile reactions from Mashrou’ Leila’s latest video, for the song police or disadvantage them in court. Activists AOEDE, which was released earlier this month, reported that most LGBTI individuals were clos- opens with a young woman recounting a story SIDEWALK SALE eted and fearful of their sexual identity being of police brutality. One Day Only disclosed.” The band is heading to the US and Canada The five-member band was founded at the on tour, with dates scheduled in Brooklyn, June 18th 2016 10 am-7 pm American University of Beirut in 2008 and has Manhattan, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver. released three albums. Their name translates as Visit http://www.mashrouleila.com/ We are having our first ever liquidation sidewalk sale. We have thousands of rugs GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES to choose from. These rugs range from new to old, antique to semi antique. Prices are 60% to 80% off. Some of these rugs are well below cost. We have something for everyone’s needs in style, color and size including hard to find rare color and sizes. This is a one-day sale so if you were ever thinking about buying a rug this is the perfect time. Besides having a huge selection of hand- made oriental rugs, we are experts of antique rug repair and hand hashing of all types of oriental rugs including hand- made, machine made, tufted, braided, hooked rugs, rag rugs and flat weaves of all kinds. Varter’s Oriental Rugs 327 Pleasant St., Belmont, MA 617-489-3700 www.vartersrugs.com

Hamed Sinno (R) and Haig Papazian of the Lebanese alternative rock band Mashrou’ Leila perform- ing in Bourges, France in 2015. 14 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARTS & LIVING Tekeyan of New York and New Jersey Organizes Social Gathering

PIERMONT, N.Y. — The executive of the Armenia. Tekeyan’s benefactors were also duced Hovhannisyan, who spoke briefly Armenians abroad. Tekeyan Cultural Association chapter of present. They continue to encourage about conditions in Artsakh after the four The newly elected chair of the TCA chap- Greater New York together with the TCA Tekeyan’s extensive activities in New York days of battles in April of this year. ter, Hilda Hartounian, and the chairman of Mher Megerdchian Theatrical Group commit- and New Jersey. Hovhannisyan spoke highly of the fighting the theatrical committee, Harout Chatmajian, tee organized a spring family gathering at Lernik Hovhannisyan, a deputy of the par- spirit of the Artaskh armed forces, and welcomed the guests and spoke of the activi- Cornetta’s Seafood Restaurant on the after- liament of the Republic of Mountainous praised the moral and financial assistance of ties of their respective executives. noon of Sunday, June 12. It was an opportu- Karabagh (Artsakh) visiting the United nity for people to get to know the actors and States, joined the group. He was accompa- support staff of the Megerdchian Theatrical nied by the Armenian-American activist Group after their recent performances in Antranig Kasparian. Hagop Vartivarian intro-

At Cornetta’s Seafood Restaurant, from the left, Hagop Vartivarian, Hilda Adil, Dr. Hagop J. Gulekjian, Vicki Shoghag Hovanessian, Artemis Nazarian, Nazar Nazarian, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian, Ani Hovanessian, Henri Dimidjian and Nora Markarian

From left, Harout Chatmajian, Artsakh MP Lernik Hovhannisyan, Hagop Vartivarian, Hilda Kuredjian Some of the actors of the Mher Megerdchian Theatrical Group at Cornetta’s Seafood Restaurant Hartounian, and Antranig Kasparian

Armenian DJs Are Bringing Traditional Sounds into Underground Dance Music

DJ, from page 12 stuff.” The influence has peppered such Davi Miran has been a resident DJ at Pattern Bar and murders that marked the Armenian circuit. As dance music becomes more global- tracks as “Gates of Babylon” and “Metanoia,” for about four months and has lived in the Genocide. It’s a sound of loss and survival. ly minded, more DJs are mixing traditional the latter of which samples Armenian vocals. United States for only a year. Born and raised “That instrument holds a lot of pain and a lot sounds with modern beats — and interest in Khanjian credits Burning Man, where he in Tehran, he spent some time in Yerevan, of suffering,” Sahakian says. the traditional sounds of Armenia, in particu- has played, with helping to popularize this where he studied music theory at Komitas, Sahakian’s parents, who immigrated to the lar, is growing. new Armenian dance-music wave. Berge before joining his family in the United States. United States from Iraq, settled in the San “I didn’t realize that it was blowing up until “Goldcap“ Sahakian, another L.A.-based pro- When we meet at his studio in La Crescenta, Fernando Valley and raised their son on tra- I was on tour a couple months ago,” says ponent of the fusion style, agrees. “Burning he speaks in a mix of English and Armenian, ditional Armenian music and Arabic pop Glendale-based David “Davi” Khanjian, a Man is a great place for experimentation and with a friend on hand to interpret when nec- music. By his preteens, he’d rebelled and grav- DJ/producer who has released tracks acceptance,” he says. “It’s kind of the mecca essary. itated toward classic rock. “But it all comes through labels including Rebellion, a sub- for experimenting with new sounds, trying His influences run the gamut from Pink back full circle because, after that point of sidiary of Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, things out, seeing what works.” Floyd to Depeche Mode to Armenian folk rebellion and exploring my own tastes, I came and Anjunadeep. “I went to Toronto a month Away from Black Rock City, the free-spirit- music. All that collides in his track “Marta back and heard Armenian and Arabic music ago; the opening DJ, who is not even ed influence of the annual festival has affect- (Duduk Mix).” It’s melancholy and energetic with new ears,” he says. Armenian, was playing Dle Yaman, a tradi- ed a larger party scene. Sahakian, who will be with slightly psychedelic flourishes, and fea- Now, in addition to playing at Pattern Bar, tional Armenian song with a heartbreaking playing the Lightning in a Bottle festival later tures a duduk, whose plaintive sound peppers Sahakian tours and plays festivals. “I like peo- melody. “It’s very exciting. I’m very happy to this month, says “Burning Man–style crowd” both his DJ sets and productions. He appreci- ple to walk away with something stirred up hear it.” has become shorthand for saying, “Play what- ates the emotions that it conveys and the way inside them, some sort of emotion, a moment Khanjian is from Yerevan, although he ever you want.” it symbolizes Armenian culture. where they’re taken back, a moment where it spent some of his youth in Beirut as well. A It’s not just underground parties and In 2008, UNESCO added the duduk to the can be real for a second,” he says. decade ago, after finishing his studies at Burner events. Armenian-influenced dance “Representative List of the Intangible In the music of a distant past, Sahakian and Yerevan’s Komitas State Conservatory, he music also is infiltrating the club scene. On Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” The organi- others have been able to foster a sense of moved to the United States and embarked on a recent night at downtown’s Pattern Bar, zation dates the roots of the instrument back understanding in the present day. “There’s his electronic-music career. But learning another L.A.-based Armenian DJ, Armen to the first century BCE rule of Tigran the this familiarity [to] it, but people don’t under- Armenian folk music was a mandatory part of Miran, weaves the mournful sounds of Great. Sahakian, also a resident at Pattern stand why,” Sahakian says. “It’s because his conservatory education, and it stuck with Armenia into a set that somehow manages Bar, describes the duduk as “the lifeblood of everything is rooted from this music. If you him. to be uplifting. That juxtaposition is popu- our people.” trace it all the way back, you can always trace “The reason I think it’s in my music today lar in this small, chic watering hole; there’s So closely is the instrument tied to it back to Middle Eastern styles of music. is because it’s in me,” Khanjian says. “Not a crowd surrounding the 28-year-old Armenia that it can be nearly impossible to Middle Eastern and African styles of music. only is it in my blood, but I remember study- DJ/producer as he plays near the bar, and separate it from a now century-old trauma. In That’s why I think people can relate to it, even ing all of those songs. Sometimes I randomly the room quickly fills as the clock ticks its deep, forlorn cry is the memory of the though it’s not their background. It’s just uni- remember them in my head, melodies and closer to midnight. death march into the Syrian desert, the rapes versal.” S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 15

Amid Chaos and Conflict, Yo-Yo Ma Makes Music His Peace Offering Recipe NEW YORK (Take Part) — “So this is my “Can a piece of music stop a bullet? Can it cello. Have you ever seen one before?” Yo-Yo feed somebody who is hungry?” Azmeh asks in Ma asks in the opening of the documen- the film, adding that the war forced him to Corner tary “The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the question the importance of art altogether. Silk Road Ensemble.” But as the film follows Azmeh to the Zaatari At first, his question appears playfully sarcas- refugee camp in Jordan, which is home to by Christine Vartanian Datian tic. Ma is one of the most celebrated living clas- roughly 80,000 Syrian refugees, the power of sical musicians, and he and his cello are identi- music becomes clear. We see it as he improvis- fiable to many. But the film opens up to show- es silly songs with a group of giggling girls, Baked Swiss Mushroom Chicken with case a diverse crowd of musicians and their less organizes a drum circle, and distributes instru- recognizable instruments — from ments to refugee children—any one of whom Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes a kamancheh to a pipa — demonstrating just could become the next rising flutist of his or how diverse instruments from around the globe her generation. can be. “The things the arts give us are the things we INGREDIENTS “The Music of Strangers,” which arrived in actually want,” Neville said. “The idea to be cre- 1 pint red or yellow cherry tomatoes (or half and half) theaters June 10, explores the Silk Road ative, collaborative, and inventive—these are all 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts Ensemble, Ma’s global collective of musical vir- skills we want for our modern society.” 2 cups fresh mushrooms, halved tuosos working to bridge cultures and foster The Music of Strangers was recently dubbed 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (more to taste) peace. 1/2 cup white onions, diced 8 garlic cloves, cut in half “We want to be the light TOM WILLIAMS/GETTY IMAGES that dispels fear from soci- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ety,” Ma told TakePart of 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice the group. 1 teaspoon ground thyme or sage “[The ensemble] works 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely chopped together in a way that Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper makes for unified voices Dash of paprika or smoked paprika that are led by different lead- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil ers within the group at dif- 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional) ferent times,” Ma said. Chopped flat-leaf parsley, spring onions, or cilantro as garnish Including players from vari- ous backgrounds has given PREPARATION the Silk Road Ensemble Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 X 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Wash flexibility to work in far- the cherry tomatoes and assemble all ingredients. flung communities and Arrange the chicken breasts in the baking dish. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and garlic share its work with a broad- around the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with the chopped onions, basil, lemon juice, thyme or er audience. Since Ma estab- sage, lemon zest, salt and pepper (to taste), and top with the shredded cheese. Drizzle with olive oil, add a dash of paprika, and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes to one lished the group in 2000, Cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays in the National Gallery of Art’s East Building the Silk Road Ensemble has after participating in a panel discussion on the role of art in diplo- hour or until the chicken is tender and the tomatoes burst. Check occasionally and baste recorded six albums and macy on April 20, 2015. the chicken with pan juices. About 20 minutes before removing from the oven, scatter the played in 33 countries. mushrooms on top and around the chicken and baste again. “We tend to take culture Serve the chicken, garlic, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes over hot rice pilaf or choice for granted,” director Morgan Neville (“20 Feet in Arabic and is being shown in refugee camps of pasta, and top with juices from the pan. Garnish with chopped parsley, spring onions, From Stardom,” “Best of Enemies”) told in Jordan. Just this week, Wu Man, the pipa or cilantro, and serve with spicy or Dijon mustard on the side. TakePart. “Seeing other cultures where people player, along with Kevork Mourad, a Syrian- Note: If desired, add the white wine to the pan 10 minutes before taking the chicken out who are artists pay a great price…reminds us Armenian visual artist also featured in the film, of the oven to serve. that culture is in fact just as essential to who we visited a camp to teach creative arts workshops Serves 6. are as our politics or religion or economics.” and share the film. The film profiles four ensemble members. More than just an educational tool, Ma hopes Christine's recipes have been published in the Fresno Bee, Sunset and Cooking Light Pipa player Wu Man wrestles to belong in both the film will encourage viewers to see migrants Magazines, and athttp://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/ China and America as she works to preserve not as “the enemy or the ones taking over jobs For Christine's recipes that have been published in Sunset and Cooking Light Magazines, Chinese folk music; Galician bagpipe player but actually people who could be highly edu- go to: http://www.myrecipes.com/search/site/Datian Cristina Pato faces criticism from her commu- cated and could contribute to society.” nity for her progressive style; the political cli- “What we hope to encourage through the mate in Iran has driven out Kayhan Kalhor, an film, by creating an empathetic environment, [is expert at the kamancheh (also known as the that] people will think, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Persian spiked fiddle); and Syrian clarinetist These are not foreigners.’ ” Ma said. “It’s not Kinan Azmeh struggles to compose music as the ‘music of strangers.’ This is actually our civil war ravages his home country. music. This is our home.”

AMAA Centennial Kick-Off to Honor Child and Orphan Care Committee

third-floor ballroom of the historic downtown By Phillis Hamo club has been reserved for the event which will honor the creative and hard-working West Coast Child and Orphan Care Committee, an GLENDALE — The Armenian Missionary organization celebrating its 25th anniversary. Association of America (AMAA) has announced Paul Kalemkiarian has accepted the role of that its Centennial Kick-Off Celebration will pay master of ceremonies. tribute to a major supporting group, the AMAA In the aftermath of the devastating Armenia Child and Orphan Care Committee, at a earthquake of 1988, the AMAA rushed in to Banquet planned for October 8, at the Jonathan help. Many children were killed or injured, Club in Los Angeles. According to Banquet Co- many were left orphans, and some were taken Chairs Jack Muncherian and Gary Phillips, the abroad for treatment. In 1991, the same year that Armenian Independence was declared, the Orphan and Care Committee was established. This Committee has concentrated on changing children’s lives and giving them hope for a bet- ter future “one child at a time.” With poverty an issue, families in Armenia cannot always care for their own, resulting in children who live in extreme poverty (even WATERTOWN — Humanics Scholars from California State University, though one or both parents may still be alive). Fresno were in Boston attending a conference on non-profit organi- That is when AMAA Child and Orphan Care zation management (including fundraising, volunteer management, Support steps in. and programming.) They visited Project SAVE Archives to learn more The AMAA, founded in 1918 in Worcester, about the organization, and to share some of their expertise. Above, The banquet co-chairs, Jack Muncherian and has been headquartered in Paramus, NJ since some of the visitors can be seen with Ruth Thomasian, Project SAVE Gary Phillips, flank the master of ceremonies, 1972 and has extended its spiritual, education- founder and executive director. Paul Kalemkiarian al, social services, and child care ministries to 24 countries around the world. 16 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARTS & LIVING CC AA LENDARLENDAR

SEPTEMBER 18 — Sunday Afternoon at the Park. For MASSACHUSETTS families and friends. Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway. Boston. 2-4 p.m. All are invited. JUNE 18 — Talk by Robert Mirak: “Genocide Survivors, SEPTEMBER 30 — OCTOBER 2 — 25th Anniversary Community Builders: The family of John and Artemis Celebration. Armenian International Women’s Mirak,” Date: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Old Schwamb Mill,17 Association. Charles Hotel, Cambridge. Mill Lane, Arlington. Information: info@oldschwamb- OCTOBER 22 — Armenian Friends of America presents mill.org, 781-643-0554. This is the story of two Armenian Hye Kef 5, a 5-hour dance, 7 p.m. to midnight with buf- orphans uprooted from their homes in the Ottoman fet; Andover Windham, 123 Old River Road, featuring Empire during the Armenian Genocide and their lives in musicians Onnik and Ara Dinkjian, Johnny Berberian, Mal the new world, where they became an example of Barsamian, Jason Naroian and Paul Mooradian, with pro- courage and achievement in both their Armenian and ceeds benefiting area churches. Advance tickets before non-Armenian communities. Sept. 1 @ $55, call either John Arzigian, (603) 560-3826; JUNE 19 — “Armenian Beauty” Concert. The Armenian Sharke Der Apkarian, (978) 808-0598; Lucy Sirmaian, Museum of America (ALMA) and the Composer’s (978) 683-9121, or Peter Gulezian, (978) 375-1616. Union of Armenia will host a concert titled “Armenian OCTOBER 23 — Save the Date. YerazArt will celebrate its Beauty” in the Adele & Haig Der Manuelian Galleries at 2 10th anniversary. Concert followed by reception, On Saturday, June 18, businessman p.m. The concert will feature composer/pianist Hayk Cambridge. Arsenyan in his premier Boston performance. A reception and author Robert Mirak will give a NOVEMBER 3 — K. George and Carolann S. Najarian, will follow the program and this event is free and open talk titled “Genocide Survivors, M.D. Lecture on Human Rights at Faneuil Hall, 7:30 to the public. For more information, call 617-926-2562 Community Builders: The Family of p.m. Doors open at 6:45 p.m., “Justice & Equality: ext. 4 or email [email protected]. John and Artemis Mirak.” The pro- My Life as an Activist.” Speaker: Harry Belafonte, JUNE 20 — The Gregory Hintlian Memorial Golf gram will take place at 1.30 p.m. at Activist & Entertainer. Reception follows at Bostonian Tournament sponsored by Holy Trinity Armenian Church the Old Schwamb Mill, 17 Mill Lane, Hotel. All are invited; free and open to the public. Further at the Marlborough Country Club, Marlborough; 9:30 Arlington, Mass. Mirak will speak information: ArmenianHeritagePark.org a.m., registration; 11 a.m., “Shot Gun.” Join us for a day about his parents, both orphaned dur- NOVEMBER 15 — Thank You Reception for All of golf - player’s fee: $175 (includes hospitality, lunch, ing the Armenian Genocide, who even- Supporters of Armenian Heritage Park. Armenian dinner, green & cart fees, prizes and gifts) – or just din- tually found their way to the US and Cultural and Educational Center. Watertown. 7:30 p.m. ner and a social evening ($50 per person). Limited to During the evening, supporters will receive the Armenian became pillars of the community. 128 players. Tournament and tee sponsorships avail- Heritage Park Commemorative Book, which will acknowl- able. RSVP deadline, June 13. To register or for further edge all supporters in the category of giving that com- information, log bines all their contributions since the campaign’s incep- onto http://www.htaac.org/calendar/event/203/, con- tion. Deadline for first time supporters and for support- tact the Holy Trinity Church Office, 617.354.0632, or dren under 12. For reservations and additional informa- ers to increase their contribution is September 22. email [email protected]. tion, call 508-320-1232 or 508-835-9277. No Tickets will Contributors are tax-deductible as allowed by law. All JUNE 21 – Zumba Dance Party! 7 to 9 p.m., Holy be sold at the door. supporters are invited. Trinity Armenian Church, Charles and Nevart Talanian JUNE 27 — Knights of Vartan Arshavir Lodge No. NOVEMBER 19 — Armenian Women’s Welfare Cultural Hall, 145 Brattle St., Cambridge. All ages and 2 invites everyone to the 36th annual Armenian- Association will hold its 40th annual luncheon/auc- ability levels are invited to attend an exciting and fun American High School Graduates Night, Monday, 7 p.m. tion. Oakley Country Club, 410 Belmont St., Watertown. evening with Zumba Dance Leader, Armine Armenian Church of Our Saviour Church Hall, 87 Details to follow. Hovannissian. Zumba is Latin inspired fitness dance Salisbury St., Worcester. A City Proclamation By Mayor DECEMBER 18 — Candlelit Labyrinth Peace Walk, incorporated with international rhythms. A portion of Joseph Petty, Recognition Of Graduates And Gifts Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway, Boston. 5-6:30 the evening’s proceeds will go towards aid for Artsakh. Presentation with Guest Speaker: Anthony Barsamian, p.m. All are invited. Donation is $15 per person; refreshments will be served. Attorney and Massachusetts Council Of Churches DECEMBER 2 and DECEMBER 3 – Trinity Christmas RSVP to Cathy Minassian, [email protected] or President. Admission is free. Buffet. Limited seating. Bazaar, Friday, 12 noon-9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 call 617.947.1795. Sponsored by The Women of Holy Reservaitons required. Contact Charles Sharigian at 774- p.m.; Holy Trinity Armenian Church, 145 Brattle Street, Trinity. 261- 0108 OR [email protected]. Call 508-752- Cambridge. Save the date; details to follow. JUNE 25 — Armenian Food fair, sponsored by St. 5892 or 1-508- 962-1031 with information on an Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of Merrimack Armenian-Armenian High School 2016 graduate for an RHODE ISLAND Valley, 158 Main St., North Andover, MA, 11 am.-7pm; invitation to be honored at Recognition Night. losh and chicken kebab; kheyma; vegetarian plate; pas- JULY 19 — ALMA’s Final Inning Sports Raffle Party And JULY 16 — 6 p.m. – 12 a.m. – A HYE SUMMER NIGHT tries; dine in or take out. Further information, Sossy Drawing. The concluding celebration and raffle drawing # 10 sponsored by the Ladies’ Guild, Sts. Vartanantz Jeknavorian, (978) 256-2538 or Ann Apovian, (978) 521- for the Armenian Museum’s 11th Annual Sports Raffle Armenian Church and the Providence ARS “Ani” Chapter. 2245. Fundraiser will be held in the Adele & Haig Der The dinner dance will be held at the Alpine Country Club, JUNE 25 — The Armenian Church Of Our Saviour is pre- Manuelian Galleries at 6:00 PM. The Grand Prize for this 251 Pippin Orchard Road, Cranston, RI featuring Hachig senting a new edition of ARMENIANS GOT TALENT! year’s Raffle is a Fenway Park Luxury Box for the winner Kazarian, John Berberian, Ken Kalajian, Jason Naroian Saturday, 6 pm, in its Cultural Center at 34 Boynton and 21 guests. To purchase tickets, call 617-926-2562 x4. and vocals, Khatchig Jingirian from CA. The dinner-dance Street, Worcester. The talent show features parishioners JULY 31 — Sunday, St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic is $55. Dance only after 8:00pm is $35. Students dance of all ages performing various musical and dance num- Church, Annual Church Picnic, 12 pm to 5 p.m., Camp only $30. ID required. Buy your tickets early. R.S.V.P. by bers with fun for the whole family. Following the pro- Haiastan, 722 Summer St., Franklin. June 30, 2016. Call Joyce Yeremian at 401- 354-8770, gram there is a buffet with a variety of Armenian foods. SEPTEMBER 10 — Sayat Nova Dance Company of [email protected] or Joyce Bagdasarian at 401- 434- Tickets are $10.00 for adults and teens and $5.00 forchil- Boston 30th anniversary gala. 4467.

clients, and sharing in the joy of music. It Mansurian. She has ongoing duo partnerships well as the Bach viola da gamba sonatas, The Magic of empowers musicians to see the immediate with pianist Robert Levin, percussionist Robyn recorded with Keith Jarrett. Kashkashian is a impact music can have on people’s lives, and Schulkowsky, and the trio Tre Voce. founding member of Music for Food, an ini- Music it brings some of the artistic and cultural As soloist, Kashkashian has appeared with tiative by musicians to fight hunger in their nourishment we all need to those our society the orchestras of Berlin, London, Vienna, home communities. To learn more, MUSIC, from page 12 has failed. Music gives power to life! And Milan, New York and Cleveland in collabora- visit musicforfoodboston.org. between an actively responding audience and Music for Food is one way to return dreams tion with Eschenbach, Mehta, Welser-Moest, Winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for the community. We come together as musi- and courage to the lives of those who have Kocsis, Dennis Russel Davies Blomstedt Best Classical Instrumental Solo Album cians and as concerned citizens and use the lost it. Robertson and Holliger. Recital appearances for her recording “Kurtág/Ligeti Music for technical mastery we have to address a large include the great halls of New York, Boston, Viola,” Kim Kashkashian is recognized inter- problem in our community. We address our About Kim Kashkashian Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, nationally as a unique voice on the viola. In whole context and use what we know to A staunch proponent of contemporary music, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Athens and Tokyo. 2014, Kashkashian was awarded the George make the world a better place. Kashkashian has developed creative relation- Her association with the prestigious ECM Peabody Medal for outstanding contributions At New England Conservatory, our stu- ships with György Kurtág, Krzysztof label since 1985 has resulted in a rich discog- to music in America, as well as the presti- dents carry on the artistic and service-orient- Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Giya Kancheli and raphy which includes the complete sonatas of gious Golden Bow award of Switzerland. She ed principles embodied in Music for Food by Arvo Pärt and premiered commissioned works Hindemith and Brahms, an album of lives in Boston, where she coaches chamber visiting food pantry sites with their instru- by Peter Eötvös, Betty Olivero, Ken Ueno, Argentinian songs, the concertos of music and viola at New England ments, talking with and playing for the Thomas Larcher, Lera Auerbach and Tigran Schnittke, Bartók, Penderecki and Kurtág, as Conservatory. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 17 COMMENTARY

COMMENTARY Mirror Archbishop Atesian Serving the Spectator Wrong Master

Turkish- Armenian community as well as around the world. By Edmond Y. Azadian There were even voices raised in Armenia’s parliament. Prosperous Armenia Party leader Naira Zohrabyan stated: “This EstablishedEstablished 1932 1932 is state and national treason by a high-ranking priest with no On June 2, the German Bundestag passed the Armenian precedent in the history of Armenia.” And then she called to urge An ADLAn Publication ADL Publication Genocide resolution, which was long in the making. The passage the Catholicos of All Armenians in Echmiadzin to defrock of the bill was very dramatic, given the tense relations between Atesian. Germany and Turkey. The German parliament not only came to But it takes more courage to raise a voice against such state- recognize a historic truth, but also acknowledged Germany’s role ments in Turkey itself. One voice was loud — that of Agos week- EDITOR in perpetrating the Genocide. ly. In a column, they responded to Atesian’s letter. Included in Alin K. Gregorian Additionally, it sent a powerful message to President Recep the comment was: “The Armenian Genocide, as a crime against Tayyip Erdogan that he cannot bully Europe with impunity. humanity, is a concern for all humanity. … Indeed, the oppression ASSISTANT EDITOR Thus, one of the major forces in Europe acknowledged the that led you to write this letter causes sorrow and pain. Also, the Aram Arkun truth about the Armenian Genocide, paving the way for others sub- and supra-identities of the Armenian community in Turkey ART DIRECTOR to follow. are not harmed by this resolution, but by your words. … “God Marc Mgrditchian Given the political intensity of the moment, the Bundestag bestow upon you common sense, intelligence and comprehen- vote received extensive coverage around the world. It received a sion.” lot of ink in the New York Times editorial columns and in many At the conclusion of the Agos statement, it said, “We also pray major news sources, which seldom give proper attention to the to God to give you a dignified attitude, which you obviously lack, murder of one and a half million Armenians. since you said that ‘you pray to God to make the state dignitaries SENIOR EDITORIAL COLUMNIST: Understandably, Armenians around the world were jubilant as who work for the good of the people, succeed in their services at Edmond Y. Azadian official Turkey was gnashing its teeth. Since Erdogan’s options a time when tens of people are being killed every day in a civil are limited, Turkey’s response has been measured thus far. war.” CONTRIBUTORS: Indeed, the reference is to the slaughter that the Erdogan gov- Florence Avakian, Dr. Haroutiun Instead of escalating the confrontation with a powerful country Arzoumanian, Taleen Babayan, Diana like Germany, Erdogan has turned his rancor toward the ernment has been carrying out in Kurdish regions, for which the Der Hovanessian, Philip Ketchian, Armenian citizens who work in Turkey to support their families Armenian cleric is wishing him “success.” Kevork Keushkerian, Harut Sassounian, back home. He has been threatening to deport them, like before To add insult to injury, opposition leader Devlet Bahceli has Hagop Vartivarian, Naomi Zeytoonian him threatened another Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller. Those pitched in the conversation. The head of the National Movement migrant workers have been living in Turkey as political pawns. Party (MHP), which was founded by Ataturk, stated during a dis- CORRESPONDENTS: As Armenians were celebrating the German vote and political cussion among a group of parliamentarians: “The deportation Armenia - Hagop Avedikian courage with the rest of the civilized world, one dissenting and decision in 1915 was absolutely correct. It should be done again Boston - Nancy Kalajian jarring voice was heard from Istanbul, that of Archbishop Aram if the circumstances were the same.” Philadelphia - Lisa Manookian Berlin - Muriel Mirak-Weissbach Atesian, who has hijacked the patriarchal throne through chi- Before Bahceli, a former defense minister, had asked in canery and who has been acting as his “master’s voice” in the Brussels: “Would we have the same territory of present-day Contributing Photographers: Armenian community. Turkey had we not deported Greeks and Armenians?” Jacob Demirdjian and Jirair Hovsepian Atesian is not the patriarch. He is the vicar general, since the Official Turkey remains unrepentant as well as bent on com- elected patriarch, Archbishop Mutafian, is incapacitated as a mitting genocide again, should the opportunity arise. Europe has result of an incurable been and should be vig- ilant to keep the lead- The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is published disease. weekly, except two weeks in July and the first Atesian has manipu- ership of the country week of the year, by: lated the Council of out of Europe, as the Baikar Association, Inc. Clergy, whose members leaders continue to depend on him for their consider genocide a 755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472-1509 living, and has appoint- “A Good Massage” viable option in dealing Telephone: 617-924-4420 ed himself vicar general, with problems. Today’s FAX: 617-924-2887 a position which is serv- war against the www.mirrorspectator.com ing the political agenda Kurdish people illus- E-Mail: [email protected] of the Turkish state, trates that mindset. For advertising: [email protected] while providing hand- When Turkish lead- some dividends to ers do not hide their Atesian. Any scoundrel hostile intentions in that position would toward a minority, they sell his soul and his need people like community to extend Atesian to perform SUBSCRIPTION RATES : his tenure in that illegal their dirty work in the office. Armenian community. Thus Atesian sent a He has been placed on U.S.A. $80 a year letter to President the patriarchal throne Canada $125 a year Erdogan stating that “the decision that the Bundestag took to damage the Armenian community interests, while enhancing about the events happening during the tragic times of World his own bank account. Other Countries $190 a year War I caused regret in our nation [or community]. As the Turkish Through an international outcry, the Aghtamar Church in Van Armenian community, we submit our regret to your dignified was restored as a museum and once a year, was the site of an office as an expression of our heartfelt and sincere feelings.” Armenian liturgy. No longer. The churches in Diyarbakir and © 2014 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator Never mind that the Armenian community in Turkey was elat- other area that were opened, enticing hidden Armenians to Periodical Class Postage Paid at Boston, MA ed by the German vote, Atesian continues in his ill-begotten mis- return to their roots, have been either taken back again or and additional mailing offices. sive: “As we stated on a number of occasions, using this tragedy remain unused. Atesian refuses to send clergy to those churches that traumatized the Armenian nation in international politics to baptize children and to marry couples. He has ignored appeals ISSN 0004-234X causes sorrow and pain. This resolution and similar resolutions from those who want to reclaim their Armenian heritage and has hit us hard. Unfortunately, the historical pain of the Armenian forced them to join the Assyrian churches. He has disbanded the POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The nation is considered a tool for accusing and punishing the committee at the patriarchate tasked with the pursuit of confis- Armenian Mirror-Spectator, 755 Mount Auburn Turkish state and nation.” cated community properties. Quite the contrary, he announced St., Watertown, MA 02472 Only a slave-minded person would stoop so low as to write this not too long ago that the patriarchate cannot manage any more Other than the editorial, views and opinions humiliating letter, when even courageous Turks abroad have properties if the government were to release them. That is just expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily stood up to applaud the Bundestag resolution. what Erdogan wants to hear. reflect the policies of the publisher. Eleven members of the German parliament who are of Turkish Recently, there was an uproar in the Istanbul Armenian com- descent voted for the resolution, which had been spearheaded by munity, when it was learned that Atesian has acquired a luxuri- Green Party leader Cem Ozdemir, putting their lives in harm’s ous home worth $550,000 in the Sisli section of the city. He has way for their beliefs. found that very normal “compared to the size of the estates of Incidentally, when the residents of Turkey are well and truly free other clergy.” Copying for other than personal use or and have access to real history, as opposed to the self-aggrandizing There is also a valuable community property in Baikoz, whose internal reference is prohibited without ownership and status is known only to Atesian. The community express permission of the copyright ersatz stories manufactured by the states, they will stand for recog- owner. Address requests for reprints or nition of the truth as these eleven emancipated Turks have demon- has been asking questions about it, to no avail. back issues to: strated. That was exactly what Hrant Dink was betting on: Turkey’s When Armenian families return to Turkey to claim their inher- democratization to promote the recognition of the Genocide. But ited properties, Atesian charges a commission to complete the Baikar Association, Inc. with Erdogan leading his nation back to the dark ages, that possi- paperwork at the patriarchate and he finds that also to be par for bility seems further than it has for a long time. the course as well. 755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472- There was an instant uproar against Atesian’s letter in the see ATESIAN, page 18 1509 18 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR COMMENTARY If a US Court Acknowledges the Armenian Genocide, the Government Must Follow Suit

Armenian Christians who lived in the nearby The base is also home to Turkish fighter For, in March 2013, the district court deter- By Robert Fisk city of Adana and grew fig tree plantations at squadrons in their ferocious bombing campaign mined that the banks could be held to answer Incirlik, whose very name in Turkish means the against Kurdish rebels. It provides housing for for the expropriation of property of Ottoman place of figs. at least 2,000 Turkish and US service family and Turkish nationals when this action was Incirlik is America’s forward air base in Almost all these Armenians were exterminat- members. Thus the American hospital, dental associated with human rights abuses, including Turkey, take-off point for the US air battle ed in the Genocide by the Ottoman Turkish clinic, chapel and Starbucks and Pizza Hut out- genocide. against Isis. But in less than two months, a Government, not long after the Allied landings lets on the base have been erected — unknown, “Following long-established rules of immuni- group of Armenians, all descendants of the at Gallipoli, victims of the first industrial holo- no doubt, to almost all the Americans who work ty recognized by all nations, US law abrogates 1915 genocide of one-and-a-half-million caust of the 20th century. They were slaugh- there — on the wreckage of one of the 20th the immunity from legal action in US courts Christians massacred by Ottoman Turkey, will tered with knives and thrown into mass graves, century’s most terrible war crimes, land for traditionally afforded to foreign states in a few claim in a US court that the land on which shot down by militia firing squads, tied togeth- which the US Government has paid millions of limited and specific situations,” Yeghiayan says. America’s jets take off to bomb Syrian and Iraqi er and hurled into rivers, their women gang- dollars in rent since the 1950s. “The district court found that the Foreign targets belongs to them, and must be returned raped and their children burned alive, hundreds The original lawsuit, referred to in court as Service Immunities Act denies immunity to the to their families. of thousands dying on death marches into what Bakalian versus the Republic of Turkey, was Turkish banks in this case because the banks As an increasing number of European is now northern Syria. filed in December 2010 in the Central District are doing business in the United States and nations acknowledge the most appalling crime Their suffering is now acknowledged as a Court of California by the three named descen- therefore the lawsuit falls within one of the against humanity of the First World War as a genocide by more than 20 nations, including dants of Armenian victims who claimed that the sovereign immunity exceptions. But the district genocide, which the US Government still refus- Russia, France and now Germany. The US, fear- defendants confiscated and then profited from court ruled that the case must still be dismissed es to accept for fear of upsetting Turkey, the ful of losing the Incirlik air base and other mil- land at Incirlik illegally seized during the geno- because it involves a political question.” ghosts of the dead, it seems, are returning to itary facilities by angering Turkey, is one of the cide. Bakalian, Haroutounian and Mahdessian, haunt even America’s latest Middle East war. few advanced Western nations that still refuses The case was officially brought against the however, appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of This is no arcane historical legal argument to acknowledge the Genocide — itself accepted Turkish Government-owned Central Bank of California and the case was transferred from but a potentially deeply embarrassing political as a historical fact by hundreds of international Turkey and TC Ziraat Bankasi, a state-owned the district court; the next hearing is scheduled case, in which three named Armenians who are and even Turkish historians, but sadly not by agricultural bank. The Turkish state never for August this year. full US citizens will, in a California court, assert the Turkish Government, which provided the appeared before the court, although the Lawyers for the three Armenians have seized their rights to land under and around Incirlik, Nazis with the inspiration for the Armenians’ lawyers say they were “validly on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent seven miles from Adana, where around 1,500 Jewish Holocaust of the Second World War. served with the complaint.” remarks – that the acts committed by members of the 39th US Air Base Wing are The August hearing at the 9th Circuit Court At first, the two banks asserted “sovereign Isis against Christians, Yazidis and Shi’ite based in Nato’s southern command. of California will involve three named Armenian immunity” and asked the court to dismiss the groups constituted genocide, which “must [still] The Pentagon’s own war-speak propaganda descendants of genocide victims and survivors lawsuit. In the First World War, the Ottomans be brought to light by an independent investi- describes how Incirlik is “a strategic location… —Alex Bakalian, Anais Haroutounian and Rita appointed their national banks as holders of gation and through formal legal determination close to many of the world’s trouble spots”, Mahdessian — who are formally asking for the abandoned Armenian property — holders, of made by a competent court or tribunal”. They where US personnel help “protect US and Nato return of 122 acres of land in and around the course, who for the most part had already been say their three clients have always believed their interests in the southern region by providing a Incirlik air base. murdered. case should be judged on its legal, not political, responsive [sic] staging and operation air base, Another 13 Armenians may also be added to But according to independent Armenian- merits. ready to project integrated, forward-based air the complaint, which would then cover the American researcher Missak Kelechian, who There can be little doubt, however, that this power” with “excellent facilities.” entire territory of the air base whose “sparsely has investigated the history of the Armenian- far distant and historically based case contains Unfortunately for the Americans, in that populated terrain and uncongested airspace,” owned land and is helping Vartkes Yeghiayan an explosive political message: if the Armenian other war a century ago, the very lands below to use the Pentagon’s words, is now home to and Kathryn Boyd, lawyers representing the genocide is acknowledged by a US law court, it these “excellent facilities” — and their two run- the 728th US Air Mobility Squadron. three plaintiffs — he has already researched the can only be a matter of time before the govern- ways and aircraft shelters — belonged to the Their transport aircraft carry 70 per cent of deaths of Armenian orphans in Turkish hands ment in Washington is forced to use the very doomed Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. all cargo entering Afghanistan, where American in Beirut during the First World War — the case same word for the mass killings of 1915. They included farms, houses and a village troops continue training missions in their war could force American courts to acknowledge (Robert Fisk is the Middle East correspon- church and school, summer homes to the against the Taliban. the Armenian Genocide in law. dent for the Independent newspaper in the UK.)

Turkish Human Rights Group Deplores Attacks by Turkey Against German People

On June 8, 2016, The Committee Against Parliamentary decision that recognizes the Opposed to this exemplary stance is the atti- try. We believe that these discourses and Racism and Discrimination of the Human Armenian Genocide. tude in Turkey, which condones the crime. The actions are attacks on the will of elected repre- Rights Association (HRA) (Istanbul Branch) As human rights defenders and activists insults and discourses of racial hatred directed sentatives, democracy, human rights, and uni- released a formal letter to the German Federal against racism, we appreciate the fact that the toward Germany, German MPs, and the German versal law, not only in Germany but in all coun- Republic apologizing for the written and verbal German state has condemned the Holocaust by people, as well as the actions in which such dis- tries who have taken or will take a stance attacks by Turkish authorities after the German all means, created places for Holocaust memo- courses were used, constitute crimes in the against the official view in Turkey. Parliamentary decision that recognized the rialization in all areas of life, variously memori- countries that enforce the standards of interna- We thus salute the German Parliament on Armenian Genocide on June 2, 2016. alized the crimes of the Nazi regime, estab- tional law. Even more extreme racist insults and the occasion of its decision and announce to The Human Rights Association (HRA) is a lished an educational system that insists on his- threats against German MPs of Turkish origin the public opinion in your country that we non-governmental and independent voluntary torical truth rather than denialist history, and lay bare the dire situation in Turkey in terms of deem the hatred and hostility against Germany organization. Founded by 98 human rights made these permanent as state policy. On democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. and the German people to be hostility toward activists in 1986, the Association today has 28 December 7, 1970, German Chancellor Willi As human rights defenders in Turkey, we see democracy and human rights. branches, 4 representation offices, and 10,938 Brandt kneeled before the Warsaw Ghetto these attacks by state authorities, the media, Yours sincerely, members. The oldest and largest human rights Memorial and apologized to the Jewish people, and nationalists as evidence that these crimes Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch association in Turkey, the HRA’s sole and thereby vividly demonstrating to the world against humanity can always recur in this coun- Committee Against Racism and Discrimination explicit objective is to work for human rights what states must do with regard to crimes and freedoms. against humanity. Without a doubt, Germany The Zoryan Institute would like to thank the was able to arrive at this point as a result of the HRA of Istanbul for taking this courageous endless efforts of human rights defenders, Archbishop Atesian Serving the Wrong Master stance against racism and human rights abuses, thinkers and writers, politicians, and all influ- and for their support of the German resolution ential individuals of the public sphere. For we ATESIAN, from page 17 to recognize the Armenian tragedy of 1915 as see every single day how difficult it is both for Ever since Patriarch Mutafian was incapacitated, the community has been appealing to “genocide”. the state and for society to rid themselves of all the government to allow the election of either a co-adjutor patriarch or a new patriarch. Please see below the letter that was kinds of racism. It is moreover impossible for a Atesian, very cognizant of his unpopularity, has been blocking all such moves. And for the addressed to the Consulate General of the crime against humanity such as genocide to be Turkish government, it is quite handy to have a docile agent in place as long as possible. German Federal Republic: atoned for, restituted, or redressed; neverthe- A few high-ranking members of clergy in Armenia have been asked to comment on less, all steps in this direction are conditions of Atesian’s letter to Erdgoan and they have been very lenient, by stating that he is wearing 8 June 2016 being a society, and being human. a “burning straightjacket” and that he may have been forced to commit such treachery. A natural, if belated, consequence of this This is the time for all high-ranking members of the clergy to rise and make their voic- Dear Dr. Georg Birgelen, Consul General of state policy, the German Parliamentary decision es heard. Additionally, Atesian should not be accorded any courtesy entitled to a patriarch Germany, of 2 June 2016 is exemplary in showing the when he visits other Armenian communities, because he is not patriarch and has hijacked approach that the world must take with regard that position to serve the Turkish state at the expense of his people. Silence in view of this As the Human Rights Association, Istanbul to crimes against humanity committed by man’s catastrophic actions can be viewed only as complicity. Branch, Committee Against Racism and states, in that in its decision to “remember and The voice of Turkish Armenians is understandably muted, although courageous voice Discrimination, we are address you this letter to commemorate the genocide against Armenians like those of Agos express the genuine sentiments of the community. denounce and express shame for the extremely and other Christians in the period 1915- 16,” it If there is no unanimity in condemning such reckless statements, he will continue abus- racist verbal and written attacks by the Turkish has not only recognized the premeditated, sys- ing the patriarchal throne, to the pleasure of Erdogan and his ilk, on whose behalf, he authorities, the media, and various nationalist tematic genocide perpetrated in Anatolia and serves himself and harms his constituency. elements of society, against Germany and the Asia Minor, but also clearly stated that Germany German people, following the German was also responsible. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 19 COMMENTARY

the media, which was published by several Turkish newspa- raged by Archbishop Ateshyan’s letter. They wrote dozens of pers. messages on his Facebook page, expressing their disagree- Regrettably, this is not the first time that the acting patri- ment. arch has displayed such a bootlicking attitude vis-à-vis the The harshest criticism of the acting patriarch came from Turkish authorities, intending to secure the support of the the editor of Agos, an Armenian newspaper published in My Turn government for his hoped for election as patriarch. During a Istanbul: “We read your letter … with sorrow, anger and public meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in shame…. Your presentation of the systematic annihilation, by By Harut Sassounian Istanbul last year, Archbishop Ateshyan dared to insult her state decision, of its own citizens living on its own lands, for criticizing President Erdogan’s violations of human using the government’s description as ‘events that happened rights! during the tragic times of World War I,’ is an affront to the Acting Armenian Patriarch of Describing the Armenian Genocide merely as “events that ancestors, victims, and survivors in the eyes of the society to Turkey: Shameful Tool of Turkish happened during the tragic times of World War I,” which you also belong.” Archbishop Ateshyan stated in his letter that the Armenian Contrary to the acting patriarch’s claim that Armenians Propaganda community of Turkey shared the Turkish nation’s regret for are treated as equals with Turks, Agos asserted that the German Bundestag’s decision. The acting patriarch, “Armenians have been subjected to discrimination, fascism Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, vicar-general of the Armenian speaking on behalf of the Armenian community of Turkey, and public threats.” The newspaper also countered Patriarchate of Turkey, sent a highly controversial letter last claimed that the German parliament “has no right” to pro- Archbishop Ateshyan’s statement that the German parlia- week to President Recep Erdogan, criticizing the German nounce judgment “on behalf of the entire German nation.” ment’s decision had caused “sorrow and pain,” by affirming: Parliament’s decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide. He further added: “it is also questionable to what extent this “The pressure that forced you to pen this letter is a source of The acting patriarch’s letter created a major controversy decision expresses the feelings of German citizens.” It is non- pain and sorrow for us…. The Armenian community’s identi- among Armenians worldwide, including the Armenian com- sensical for Archbishop Ateshyan to insist that the parliament ty is harmed by your words, not as you say, by the munity of Turkey. Some called for his resignation; others, does not speak for the German people, since it adopted the Bundestag’s decision.” including a member of the Armenian Parliament, demanded resolution on the Armenian Genocide with a near unanimous Agos also told the acting patriarch that his letter repre- that he be defrocked! vote! sented “a specific statement of denialism against your own While successive Turkish governments have attempted to Also, the acting patriarch blamed the German parliament people. We will shortly see who will ‘enthusiastically wel- pressure Archbishop Ateshyan’s predecessors to serve as pro- for “sidestepping the negative role of the Third Reich in a few come’ your words…. We pray that God bestows upon you paganda tool for Ankara, no previous patriarch has written sentences and pointing to the Ottoman Empire as the sole good sense, sound judgment and thoughtfulness.” such an offensive letter regarding the Armenian Genocide. perpetrator.” It is shocking that Archbishop Ateshyan is cov- In order not to cause further damage to his people and It is not clear whether the acting patriarch wrote last ering up Turkish denials of the Armenian Genocide and belit- their sacred cause, I humbly advise Archbishop Ateshyan to week’s letter on his own initiative or it was drafted for him tling Germany’s honest admission of complicity! refrain from any future political and propagandistic state- by Turkish officials. Those who personally know Archbishop Those who try to justify the acting patriarch’s anti- ments. Otherwise, he should seriously consider resigning Ateshyan insist that the letter could not have been written by Armenian statements, by claiming that one has to live in from his post, since the Armenians of Turkey will never him because he is not too proficient in the Turkish language. Turkey to fully appreciate the oppressive nature of Erdogan’s accept him as their chosen patriarch, even if Erdogan sup- Whatever the case, he did sign and disseminate the letter to regime, should know that many Armenians in Turkey are out- ports his election!

Azeri War Crimes against Nagorno-Karabagh Armenians But Who Really Cares?

been badly mutilated and tortured and issued any human rights violations.” took an axe and hacked up an Armenian officer By Joachim Hagopian the following statement: Meanwhile every day since the Russian-bro- who was asleep while both were participating in Those acts, being a flagrant manifestation of kered ceasefire on April 5 repeated violations a NATO “Partners for Peace” program in inhumanity, run counter to the laws and cus- by Azeri forces are tallied, inflicting more injury Hungary. After a short prison spell in Hungary, Compelling evidence is mounting daily of toms of war and are in grave violation of the and death. As a typical example, on the Aliyev welcomed the axe murderer home as a egregious war crimes committed by international humanitarian law, in particular, overnight of April 11-12, both rifle and heavy war hero with a promotion and back pay. Azerbaijan’s military in the Republic of the Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the artillery fire from the Azeri army contact line As its closest CSTO ally in the South Nagorno-Karabagh (NK). Azerbaijani President Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed was observed. Caucasus, and the Russian Federation’s weak- Ilham Aliyev launched an unprovoked large Forces in the Field (1949), Geneva Convention In the meantime as the facts emerge pointing est link in the southern part of the nation, scale military offensive during the early morn- (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of to a premeditated Azeri military offensive with Solovyov maintains that Russia is ill advised to ing hours of April 2nd attempting to break War (1949) and the Additional Protocol to the US Empire approval, a diversionary game is lose Armenia as its most loyal friend in the through the Nagorno-Karabagh Defense Army’s Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relat- devised that desperate, among the world’s most region. contact line in attacks coming from three sepa- ing to the Protection of Victims of International corrupt dictators Ilham Aliyev uses to his Interestingly enough, we don’t discuss the rate directions using mortars, rocket launchers, Armed Conflicts (Protocol I). advantage to diffuse his mounting troubles and question of who started it. Why don’t we want tanks, armored personnel carriers, surveillance The NKR Prosecutor General’s Office has unrest at home. A typical wag the dog politician to see the broadcasts about beheaded and kamikaze drones and helicopters. Heavy charged Azerbaijan with seven criminal cases in trick to take pressure off by playing the jingois- Armenian soldiers, about capture and torture of Azeri shelling of Armenian residential areas violation of international law: “using prohibited tic game of targeting a foreign enemy for war to people? I realize that we must consider the destroyed civilian homes in several villages in methods and means of warfare, targeting of manipulatively unite and distract Azeris from interests of both sides, but does it mean that both the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh as well civilians, shelling of populated areas motivated their slumping oil economy driving high domes- we’re no longer interested in the truth? Turkey as the Republic of Armenia. In NK’s Martuni by national, racial or religious hatred or reli- tic unemployment. publicly declared it would support Azerbaijan; region a 12-year old boy was killed attending gious fanaticism.” Part of this devious strategy involves Turkish did we issue a similar statement with regard to school and two other children were seriously The Yezidi Armenian soldier apparently was- and Azeri public displays calling for unity our ally? Let us remember that Azerbaijan fired injured. Soon after the volleys of mortar fire, n’t the only Armenian in uniform who was amongst all Islamic groups and nations in sup- at Tavush Province of Armenia. That is the ter- the Azerbaijani military overran Armenian vil- decapitated. Chairman of the Foundation port of Azerbaijan’s “holy war” against NK ritory of Armenia and the CSTO kept silent lages in the Martakert area and broke into Against Violation of the Law Michael Aramyan Armenians “till the end of time,” thus foment- about that fact. homes in the village of Talish where many disclosed that at least two other Armenian sol- ing an anti-Armenian crusade spilling over into Putin apparently became incensed upon homes were damaged or destroyed. Azeri sol- diers, one from Yerevan and another from public protests by Muslims in Paris and learning that a wave of Armenians were react- diers murdered at point blank gunshot range Artsakh, “have been subjected to torture and Stockholm. Turkish and Azeri nationals chant- ing to Azerbaijan’s attacking Nagorno- an elderly husband and wife including their 92- then beheaded.” Murder, ill-treatment, torture, ed “death to Armenians” inspired by a hate Karabagh by blaming Russia for arming 85 per- year old family relative, ultimately cutting the humiliation all constitute violations of the filled speech delivered by a prominent Turkish cent of the enemy’s arsenal used to kill married couple’s ears off that strongly sug- Criminal Code. leader in Sweden. Of course there’s nothing Armenians. The Zhoghovurd daily made the gest the presence of Islamic State terrorists. On April 11 the Armenian Ministry of new in hatred of Armenians but its public claim that wealthy Armenians in the Moscow 3000 known Azeris joined ISIS and a number Defense (MoD) confirmed the Red Cross medi- expression currently being acted out to fuel the community were warned against rushing to of them are believed to have rushed from the ated bodies to be exchanged and that authori- thinly veiled hints from Turkish leadership pro- financially aid their fellow Armenians in Syrian battlefields returning home to fight on ties in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh moting a religious war against Christian Nagorno-Karabagh and as a result have the fresh Nagorno-Karabagh warfront. are collecting and compiling overwhelming evi- Armenians neatly timed with the Armenian remained passively silent. This underscores An Armenian Yezidi soldier was also behead- dence of Azerbaijan’s humanitarian crimes of genocide’s 101st anniversary underscores a Solovyov’s criticism above of his own govern- ed, the all too familiar brutality that’s become international law. Earlier this week the UN surging information propaganda war. ment all the more bold and relevant. an Islamic State trademark in its ethnic cleans- Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Savarsh One final development after the Armenians ing of thousands of Yezidi Christians in Iraq. met in Yerevan with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Kocharyan astutely sees what Turkey et al’s up this last week have staked their claims based on The Yezidi soldier’s parents said that when Edward Nalbandian who also met on to: “Foreign Minister of Turkey in his speech at undisputable evidence of war crime atrocities their son’s body was returned, they buried him Wednesday with OSCE ambassadors stating: the Organization of Islamic Cooperation specu- committed by the Azerbaijani military, the not knowing he had been beheaded. They only With its aggressive actions Azerbaijan actual- lated on the Islamic solidarity and made a dan- Baku government is predictably countering learned of his cruel fate after the International ly tried to refuse from its international commit- gerous attempt to artificially present the such charges with their own accusations that Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arranged a ments of solving the issue in a peaceful way, Azerbaijani military operations against self- the NKR troops have also tortured fallen Azeri plan for each side to exchange corpses of dead thus grossly violating the basic principles of determined Nagorno-Karabagh as a religious soldiers. soldiers that returned their son’s severed head. international law, the decisions and declara- conflict.” Similar to whitewashed Western Empire lies The coffin had to be dug up to bury their tions of a number of OSCE summits and Luxemburg EU member Frank Engel also used to repeatedly justify its reprehensible son’s head with his body on April 9. Ministerial Councils, obviously ignoring the recognizes Azerbaijan as the chief villain in the aggressions around the globe, the Azeris are Moreover, the retrieved corpses of 18 statements on the heads of OSCE Minsk Group Azeri-Armenian conflict: The only solution is learning from their master how to pretend they Armenian soldiers showed signs that they had co-chairing countries on the settlement of the the recognition of the independence of the are the real “good guys” while perpetrating been mutilated and tortured. After the major Karabagh issue. Nagorno-Karabagh, because today Azerbaijan is their own crimes against humanity. fighting broke out from April 2-7, the ICRC James Warlick, the US co-chair of the OSCE the aggressor, and it was the aggressor 24 years (Joachim Hagopian is a West Point graduate acted as mediator for deceased soldiers to be Minsk Group had this to say at an April 9 press ago, and continued to violate the ceasefire on a and former US Army officer. He is a regular recovered. Officials from the Nagorno-Karabagh conference: “We are deeply distressed by our smaller scale, and Baku glorifies a convicted contributor to Global Republic’s State Commission on Prisoners of reports of human rights violations. We have killer, Ramil Safarov and believes that all Research,Sott.net and LewRockwell.com. War, Hostages and Missing Persons observed seen the photos, we have heard the reports… Armenians in the region must disappear. This column has been shortened for space that all 18 bodies of the Armenian soldiers had we are deeply troubled, deeply concerned by Safarov was the Azeri soldier who in 2004 purposes.) 20 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR President Obama’s Mule and The Second Amendment

GUNS, from page 1 It is also a sacred cow for the gun lobby Republicans are also vulnerable to assault by or she can use any kind of weapon. That may The Second Amendment was adopted when and the National Rifle Association (NRA), arms. The Brady Bill was named for James be true but still, the presence of a gun the US was still a frontier country and the which spend millions to protect the amend- Brady, an aide to President Ronald Reagan, increases the odds for committing a crime. Westward Expansion was in full swing. ment, making it a lucrative entitlement for who was seriously injured during an assassi- The rights to gun ownership and freedom Newcomers to the land were urged to move arms merchants. nation attempt on the president in 1981. of speech have their limitations. The French West to claim land and found townships, cost- Politicians deal with the issue with kid Every times a mass murder takes place in philosopher Voltaire said, “I will defend your ing the lives of many Native Americans in the gloves in order not to upset the powerful gun the US, gun prices soar sky high. Why? right to free speech to death, but your free- process. Even 85 years after the adoption of lobby. Because the gun lobby uses scare tactics sug- dom stops where my nose begins.” The free- the Second Amendment, US Cavalry When the Brady Bill was brought to the US gesting that the government can adopt bills dom to own guns causes nose bleeds for the Commander John Armstrong Custer was Congress in 1993, the gun lobby fought it to restrict gun sales, or President Obama may great majority, yet its defenders persist in fighting Sioux tribes at Little Bighorn where tooth and nail. The bill got nowhere near pro- issue an executive order to limit gun use and their zeal to defend their dangerous game. he was killed in 1876. hibiting guns; instead it only mandated fed- confiscate existing guns. The film “Bowling for Columbine” by During the presidential debates in 2012, eral background checks on firearms pur- Like any professional salesman, the NRA Michael Moore is an outstanding indictment when Republican candidate Mitt Romney crit- chasers in the US, and imposed a five-day has catchy slogans to promote its business. of the gun lobby. Many statistical data are icized Democrats for eliminating certain waiting period on gun purchases until the One of the slogan is: “Only a good person provided in the documentary and the US is types of weaponry from the US forces, National Instant Criminal Background Check with a gun can stop a bad person with a compared to many other countries such as President Barack Obama retorted, “We no System (NICS) was implemented in 1998. gun.” Canada, where gun control is strict, and longer use any mules in the armed forces.” Incidentally, Sen. Bernie Sanders voted The adage is false, because there is the ele- fewer people fall victim to gun crimes. The Second Amendment is the mule of US against the bill, betraying an inconsistency in ment of surprise. Any criminal with a gun has The ordinary citizen has the right to argue laws. It has been reinterpreted, refined and his socialist credentials. the added element of surprise going for him that if the government has allowed loopholes debated intensely. But it is still alive in the What, in fact, the gun lobby meant, was or her. in the law for me to buy a gun for self- 21st century. that any person out of a mental asylum must To disprove the slogan, it is worth finding defense, then that government, which taxes Here it would be too presumptuous to be able to acquire guns. This means that my statistics on how many “good persons” have my income to the last penny, has abandoned bring a legal argument in favor of its abroga- life and my safety are dependent on the sani- been successful in self-defense, in that kind of its obligation to protect me. Either I should tion. But as citizens whose lives are affected ty of my armed neighbors. I have no other tense situation. Most probably, very few. be entitled to a refund or the government has by it, we can argue with our common sense. protection. Our entire society is hostage to The other slogan which is equally false is: to allow loopholes in other services, such as It is well said that the law is the last refuge of the dark motives of lunatics. “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” in foreign policy. Like the issue of self- the scoundrel. The defense of the Second Amendment and But the availability and abundance of guns defense, the citizen must conduct his or her To many gun lovers, the Second consequently the right to own arms should empower potential murderers to dominate own foreign policy individually or ask the Amendment is more a religious stance than a not be politicized as the life of ordinary citi- their victims quickly. government not to send taxpayer money and law — a sacred right enshrined in our tenets zens is affected by it. Nor should it be Of course, there is also the argument that arms to Turkey, to be used for killing Kurds. of liberty. enshrined in Republican dogma, since if someone is determined to kill a person, he All these arguments may look absurd but they are not as absurd as the implication of the Second Amendment. Gun lobby activists ignore the latter part of the amendment. The thrust of the Second Amendment entitles the individual to bear arms “in a well-regulated militia.” The requirement thus intends the citizen to be armed to defend the republic, something they do not have to do anymore since the country already has an army. The gift of life is pre- cious and irreplaceable; guns are replaceable and disposable. To bring the US up to the standards of Canada or Scandinavian countries, the entire population of the country needs to be dis- armed. That is a challenge not only to a mili- tia but also to the entire US armed forces. Otherwise, we have to wait for the next Orlando, San Bernardino or Columbine. The gun laws are obsolete as is the use of mules in the US army.

Bill mandating Holocaust, Genocide instruction Advances in R.I. Senate

MANDATE, from page 1 our children understand the long-term impact of genocides and the Holocaust, so we don’t repeat that history.” Sen. Donna M. Nesselbush (D-Pawtucket, North Providence) said her district was recently hit by anti-Semitism: a spray-painted swastika was found outside an Orthodox syn- agogue in Pawtucket. “There is no room for that kind of hatred in our communities,” Nesselbush said before the vote, “and we will do everything, in addi- tion to this bill, to root it out of our commu- nities.” In addition, the full Senate last week approved a bill that directs school superin- tendents to annually review data on disci- pline to determine if a disproportionate num- ber of students, based on their color, ethnici- ty or disability, are being punished. The bill states: “Each student, staff mem- ber, teacher, and administrator has a right to attend and/or work at a school which is safe and secure, and which is conducive to learn- ing, and which is free from the threat, actual or implied, of physical harm by a disruptive student.” Administrators are to report the findings, if there are any to share, and correct the unequal actions if any are found. The bills require approval from both cham- bers and then action by Governor Gina Raimondo before they become law.