THE ARMENIAN Mirrorc SPECTATOR Since 1932

Volume LXXXXI, NO. 41, Issue 4683 MAY 1, 2021 $2.00 Thank You President Biden KEN MARTIN PHOTO

Statement by President Joe Biden on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day WASHINGTON — Each year on this day, we remem- ber the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Ar- menian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring. Beginning on April 24, 1915, with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman au- thorities, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of ex- termination. We honor the victims of the Meds Yeghern so that the horrors of what happened are never lost to history. And we remember so that we remain ever-vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms. Of those who survived, most were forced to find new homes and new lives around the world, including in the A large crowd turned out for the Boston April 24 commemoration. (See story inside) United States. With strength and resilience, the Armenian people survived and rebuilt their community. Over the decades Armenian immigrants have enriched the United States in countless ways, but they have never forgotten the tragic history that brought so many of their ancestors to our Armenia Delighted with US shores. We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated. Recognition of Genocide Today, as we mourn what was lost, let us also turn our eyes to the future — toward the world that we wish to build trauma of the 106 year-old Genocide. for our children. A world unstained by the daily evils of By Raffi Elliott bigotry and intolerance, where human rights are respect- Special to the Mirror-Spectator Still, for those concerned that the indigenous Ar- menian people’s presence in the South Caucasus may ed, and where all people are able to pursue their lives in YEREVAN–– The traditional Armenian Geno- yet again be under threat, a proclamation by US Presi- dignity and security. Let us renew our shared resolve to cide commemoration felt bitter-sweet for the dent Joe Biden has injected new hope that a newly-re- prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the hundreds of thousands of Armenians making the engaged United States on the World Stage would be world. And let us pursue healing and reconciliation for all pilgrimage to the Tsiternakarbert memorial on Sat- more willing to support Armenia as it faces renewed the people of the world. urday. In the wake of last autumn’s major military threats in the region. Still, as the political consultant The American people honor all those Armenians who setback against the Turkish-supported Azerbaijani Eric Hacopian noted in a recent interview with Civil- perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today. Army, the subsequent ethnic cleansings which have net, the Biden Administration’s recognition is largely effectively ended millennia of continuous Armenian about correcting a historical wrong and resulted from April 24, 2021 habitation in the Artsakh towns of Hadrut, Shushi decades of successful American-Armenian activism. and Talish have evoked memories and long-buried see RECOGNITION, page 7

After the Biden Statement, Will Turkey Move Closer Joseph Biden To Admission of Guilt? President of the United States of America By Alin K. Gregorian and Aram Arkun The White House Washington, D. C. Mirror-Spectator Staff BOSTON — Starting on the afternoon (ET) of April Mr. President: 24, 2021, members of the Armenian community could It is with deep appreciation and exhila- talk about little else other than President Biden’s state- ration that we express to you the gratitude ment unambiguously recognizing the Armenian Geno- of the more than one-million-strong Arme- cide. nian-American community on the occasion What was even more interesting was that the story of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian made headlines around the world. From the Washington Genocide, because you made history by Post to the BBC and the New York Times, there were few recognizing that great human tragedy in its outlets that did not showcase Biden’s Armenian Geno- true definition as genocide. cide statement. True to your lifelong pursuit of human But what does it mean going forward? Why now? rights and in line with the noble ideals of Several influential people in the Armenian world of- our founding fathers, you chose to be on fered their own ideas. the right side of history. see ADMISSION, page 10 see APPRECIATION, page 18 2 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

ARMENIA NEWS from ARMENIA Pashinyan Resigns to Trigger Early Snap Elections Putin, Macron Express By Raffi Elliott his seat. These concerns were rebuked by parties. Pashinyan’s supporters have char- Readiness to Coordinate Special to the Mirror-Spectator parliamentary opposition leader Edmon acterized the trips as part of an ongoing Karabakh Settlement Marukyan, pointing to Article 158 of the series of visits he has undertaken as part YEREVAN — Prime Minister Nikol Constitution, which states that government of his duties as prime minister in the af- PARIS (Panorama.am) — The Pashinyan’s government officially submit- officials (including the prime minister) are termath of last year’s war with Azerbaijan. situation in Nagorno Karabakh was ted its resignation on April 25. The resig- allowed to remain in office in the interim. Electoral code reform has been another among the topics of a telephone nation, which was formally accepted by “Those who wrote the law are now com- point of contention among parties in the conversation between Russian President Armen Sarkissian is the first step plaining that the government does whatev- runup to the vote this summer. The reform, President Vladimir Putin and Presi- in triggering the process to hold snap par- er it wants.” Marukyan hit back, “Pashin- which has been on the books since at least dent Emmanuel Macron of France, liamentary elections by June 20, in accor- yan already set a precedent in 2018 when 2018, envisages a fully-proportional sys- the Kremlin press service said on dance with a deal struck between political he remained interim prime minister after tem among other changes. Despite help- April 26. “It was stated with sat- forces back in March. resigning; no-one complained back then.” ing to craft this reform package, Bright isfaction that the situation remains With Pashinyan’s resignation triggering According to most polls conducted since Armenia leader Edmon Marukyan stated calm and systematic work contin- Article 149 of the Armenian Constitution, January, Pashinyan remains the front-run- concern that with an election now loom- ues to implement the Statements by parliament is given two opportunities with- ner, despite being widely accused of los- ing, the Central Election Committee would the presidents of Russia and Azer- in a 14-day period to vote on a replacement ing last fall’s war. The prime minister’s not have time to properly implement the baijan and the Prime Minister of prime minister. As part of the deal, parlia- prospects are bolstered by a lack of a third reform packages’ provisions. Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh of mentary opposition parties Bright Armenia force between him and a widely discredit- Despite receiving approval by the Coun- November 9, 2020 and January 11, and Prosperous Armenia have both agreed ed opposition, as well as positive economic cil of Europe’s Venice Commission, the 2021. The parties expressed mutual to withhold nominating their own candi- figures in recent weeks. Former President electoral reform bill was not signed by the readiness for coordination on var- dates as part of the complex set of loops Robert Kocharyan, who accuses Pashinyan Armenian President, but not rejected ei- ious aspects of the Nagorno-Kara- that parliament must go through before a of mishandling the negotiation process ther. The bill was instead signed into law bakh settlement, including through general election could be called. This elec- with Azerbaijan, comes in at a distant sec- by the Speaker of the Armenian Parlia- the OSCE [Organization for Se- tion is expected to take place within 30 to ond––due in part to the widespread anger ment, Ararat Mirzoyan, in accordance with curity and Cooperation in Europe] 45 days. among society for his role in the March the Constitution. However––in light of the Minsk Group,” the release stated. The administration chose the date of his 1, 2008 massacre. He is widely expect- concerns highlighted by Manukyan — only government’s resignation — April 25 — to ed to announce an electoral alliance with part of the bill will be implemented before Azerbaijani Servicemen coincide with the third anniversary of for- the Armenian Revolutionary Federation the election, with other provisions, such as mer President Serzh Sargsyan’s resigna- (ARF) which has reversed its previous the lowering of the entry barrier, and elec- Stop Priest Ordination tion in the wake of peaceful mass protests position against the elections. Despite the toral fraud violations will come later. At Dadivank Monastery which first swept Pashinyan to power in challenge, Pashinyan is widely expected to One controversial provision which STEPANAKERT (Panorama. 2018. The event has since been commem- retain his seat, either with a reduced major- would have been entirely removed with am) — On April 25 Azerbaijani orated with a new holiday, “Citizens’ Day” ity or with support from a coalition partner, the reform –– the use of mobile ballot box- servicemen didn’t allow Armenian held on the closest Sunday. but voter apathy remains widespread. es — has instead found new life in light pilgrims to visit Dadivank Monas- “This is emblematic in a sense that in Still, the prime minister has sparked of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With tery in Artsakh, head of the Infor- this way we are returning to the citizens some concern among those hoping for a over ten thousand active cases in the coun- mation Department at the Mother the authority received from the citizens free and fair electoral atmosphere over try two months before the vote, public See of Holy Etchmiadzin Vahram of the Republic of Armenia, so that they the past several weeks. Pashinyan’s recent health officials and electoral officials are Melikyan said in an interview with could elect a government through free, fair visits to villages in Ararat Marz, and in scrambling to ensure that the constitutional Armenpress news agency. “On and competitive elections,” Pashinyan ex- Syunik have been criticized as examples of right to vote is not impeded by the ongo- April 25, the Azerbaijani service- plained the date chosen. stealth campaigning by opposition groups ing public health crisis. The government men banned Primate of the Artsakh Pashinyan is expected to remain interim and civil rights watchdogs alike. Prom- is struggling to ensure that basic hygiene Diocese, Bishop Vrtanes Abra- prime minister until the elections are held inent pro-democracy activist Daniel Io- rules are kept: such as requiring masks, so- hamyan and a group of pilgrims in June. This decision did not pass without annisyan, who heads the Union Informed cial distancing and more, however not all from entering the monastery, men- controversy, however. Opposition parties Citizens characterized the trips as “blatant designated locations are designed to meet tioning the pandemic as a reason. connected to the former regime criticized abuse of administrative resources.” He these requirements. However, an ordination of a priest the decision as being unconstitutional. Ar- explained that by virtue of his Office, the was scheduled in the Monastery on menia’s first President, Levon Ter-Petros- Prime Minister’s discussing future policies that day, which had been agreed ian also voiced concerns about the viabil- and elections with potential voters gives upon with the Russian peacekeep- ity of free elections if Pashinyan retained him a clear upper-hand against opposition Putin, Macron ing command. It was impossible to approach the Monastery despite Express Readiness the agreements. It’s obvious that the Azerbaijani side wished to stop To Coordinate the priest ordination, but the cere- Ombudsman Voices Concern after Attack Karabakh Settlement mony was held in the Gandzasar Monastery on the same day in the On Civilian by Azeri Servicemen PARIS (Panorama.am) — The evening,” Melikyan said. situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — An attack head of Aravus village about the incident among the topics of a telephone con- on a shepherd in the village of Aranus, in in mass media. versation between Russian President Baroness Cox, the province of Syunik, by Azerbaijani sol- The shepherd’s family members, as Vladimir Putin and President Em- Parliament Speaker diers, has caused Armenian Human Rights well as the villagers who rushed to help manuel Macron of France, the Krem- Mirzoyan Meet defender Arman Tatoyan on Tuesday, April the shepherd, informed the Human Rights lin press service said on Monday, 27, to raise the alarm. Defender’s Office that they had also heard April 26. The presidents discussed YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Ar- In his statement Taotyan sought a secu- Azerbaijani soldiers’ shouts, including that the developments in and around Na- menia’s Parliament Speaker Ararat rity zone around Syunik to prevent incur- the Azeris had moved from their position gorno-Karabakh, highlighting that Mirzoyan received on April 27 a sions. to the shepherd. the situation in the region remains member of the House of Lords of According to him, the shepherd on April The head of the Aravus village informed calm and expressing readiness to the Parliament of the United King- 18 was grazing his cattle near his house the Human Rights Defender’s Office that coordinate on various aspects of the dom of Great Britain and Northern when three armed Azerbaijani servicemen there are houses in the villagers even less Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, ac- Ireland, Baroness Caroline Cox, approached him. than 500 meters away from the Azerbaijani cording to the source. who was visiting Armenia to par- According to the shepherd, the service- positions (for example, 100 or 200 meters). “It was stated with satisfaction ticipate in the Armenian Genocide men first threatened him with their weap- This fact was also recorded by the Human that the situation remains calm and commemoration events, the Arme- ons, and then two of them pulled him and Rights Defender’s Office monitoring con- systematic work continues to im- nian Parliament reports. Mirzoyan tried to take him to move to the border by ducted at the site. plement the Statements by the pres- said it’s a great honor for him to force. During all this time, the soldiers con- The RA Human Rights Defender specifi- idents of Russia and Azerbaijan and host one of the best friends of the stantly cursed and threatened the pastor. cally states that the Azerbaijani servicemen the Prime Minister of Armenia on Armenian people in the National Then, when they saw that Armenian committed a criminal attack on the Arme- Nagorno-Karabakh of November 9, Assembly. Mirzoyan and Cox dis- Armed Forces servicemen began to rush to nian border resident. This confirms gross 2020 and January 11, 2021. The par- cussed issues relating to the inter- help the, the third Azerbaijani serviceman violations of the internationally recognized ties expressed mutual readiness for national recognition of the Arme- hit the shepherd in the eye, causing a bruise rights of the citizens of the Republic of coordination on various aspects of nian Genocide, the improvement of and immediately left for their position. Armenia, as well as rights enshrined in the the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, humanitarian situation in Artsakh, Tatoyan’s office said an investigation Constitution of Armenia. including through the OSCE [Orga- the return of Armenians prisoners had revealed that the soldiers kept shout- Armenia’s Human Rights Defender will nization for Security and Coopera- of war from Azerbaijan. An agree- ing insults while openly displaying their send the information about these incidents tion in Europe] Minsk Group,” the ment was reached to unite the ef- firearms on April 20. to relevant international organizations, as release added. forts in the works with the interna- The staff of the Human Rights Defender well as will include it in the security zone tional partners. also recorded an alarming interview of the concept, Tatoyan said. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 3 INTERNATIONAL Turkish-Armenian MP Paylan Threatened by INTERNATIONAL NEWS UK’s Labour Party Nationalist Lawmaker over Genocide Remarks Statement on Armenian ANKARA (Bianet) — Independent nian Genocide. “April 24, 1915 was the Genocide MP Ümit Özdağ has threatened Peoples’ starting day of the Great Calamity of the LONDON (Public Radio of Ar- Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Garo Pay- Armenian people,” Paylan said during a menia) — Catherine West MP has lan over his remarks about the Armenian statement at the parliament. issued a statement on behalf of Genocide. “The Armenian people were exiled en the Labour Party on the Armenian On April 24 Genocide Remembrance masse from their homeland, country, towns Genocide on April 24, the first time Day, Paylan criticized the fact that there and cities and a vast majority of them were that a major political party in the are still streets and schools named after Ta- massacred on the migration routes. UK has ever done so, reports the lat Pasha, who was the Ottoman Empire’s “Orphans like my grandmother survived Armenian National Committee of minister of interior during the Genocide. this massacre. Those orphans have been UK. “After an incredibly difficult “After 106 years, we walk on streets seeking justice for 106 years. My grand- year marked with loss and griev- named after Talat Pasha, the architect of mother passed from this world without be- ing the Armenian people are in my the Genocide. We educate our children at ing able to see justice done. thoughts today as they mark the schools named after Talat Pasha,” he wrote “My father, who was from the second horrendous events of 1915,” she on Twitter. He likened the situation to nam- generation, also lost his life without seeing said. “The atrocities committed ing schools and streets after Hitler in Ger- justice done. As a third-generation Arme- against the Armenian people in the many. nian of Turkey, I’m seeking justice in Tur- early part of the 20th century, are Quoting his tweet, Özdağ wrote, “Impu- key, at the Grand National Assembly of Ümit Özdağ (Photo: AA) amongst the most appalling acts dent provocateur man. If you are not con- Turkey.” against a group of people the world tent, go to hell. Talat Pasha didn’t expel pa- The law proposal Paylan submitted has seen,” the MP said, adding. triotic Armenians but those who stabbed us Özdağ then called Paylan a remnant and stipulates the recognition of the genocide, “Labour stands with the Armenian in the back like you. When the time comes, a supporter of the Tashnag [Tashnatsutiwn removal of the names of the perpetrators people in condemning the histor- you’ll also have a Talat Pasha experience or Armenian Revolutionary Federation], an of the genocide from public places and a ic and present acts against them,” and you should have it.” Armenian political party in the Ottoman change in the citizenship law. West added. Özdağ, a former member of the Nation- Empire, ASALA [Armenian Secret Army Paylan noted that while parliaments alist Movement Party (MHP), was elected for the Liberation of Armenia], a militant of many countries in the world have rec- as an MP in the 2018 elections from the İYİ group active in the 1970s and the 1980s ognized the expulsion of Armenians as a Vatican Cardinal: (Good) Party, a splinter movement of the and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party genocide, what really matters is the recog- Armenian Genocide MHP. (PKK). nition by Turkey’s parliament. Stain on Human History He resigned from the İYİ Party in early “You massacred hundreds of thousands “When Turkey confronts the Armenian March, accusing it of expelling nationalists of Turks. You stabbed our army in the back. Genocide, it won’t matter what other par- VATICAN (PanARMENIAN. from the party. Those who did it suffered the punishment liaments say. The Armenian Genocide has Net) — The Armenian Genocide is In response to Özdağ’s tweet, Paylan of it. No one touched patriotic Armenians,” been a subject of other parliaments, other a stain in the history of all humani- called him a “fascist” and wrote: “The Özdağ wrote, calling Paylan a “vicious en- presidents for 106 years because it’s been ty, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri of the remnant of the mentality that obliterated emy of the Turkish nation.” denied. Vatican said, Catholic News Agen- my people says, ‘We’ll do it again.’ You hit “We need to bring the pain of the Arme- cy reports. The fact of the Armenian us and didn’t we die? We died. But those Parliamentary Bill for Turkish nian people to the land where they belong, Genocide “forces us to confront left behind never give up the struggle for Recognition of Genocide to this land, to Turkey. We should confront both the great evils committed in justice. And they won’t give up after me as Paylan also submitted a legislative pro- the pain of the Armenian people and re- human history and the small evils well.” posal for Turkish recognition of the Arme- lieve this pain with justice.” we commit in our personal lives,” the cardinal said. The Genocide is a “stain in the history of the whole of humanity, not only of those who were the negative protagonists of Aliyev Threatens to Establish ‘Corridor’ those days or of those who have remained silent for indifference or complicity,” he added. Sandri, pre- In Southern Armenia by Force fect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, spoke in a homily during a Divine Liturgy By Ani Avetisyan and of stepping back from his agreements. communication.” “If Aliyev is speaking about the Zange- It also states that “the construction of of the Armenian Catholic Church BAKU (oc-media.org) — Azerbaijani zur corridor, then, with the same logic, we new infrastructure linking the Nakhiche- in Rome on April 24. The Divine President Ilham Aliyev has threatened to can talk about the corridor of Nakhichevan, van Autonomous Republic with regions of Liturgy, said at the Pontifical -Ar use force to establish a “corridor” through about the northern-Azerbaijani corridor,” Azerbaijan shall be carried out” only “sub- menian College, marked the 106th southern Armenia connecting western Pashinyan said, adding that, according to ject to agreement by the Parties [Russia, anniversary of the beginning of the Azerbaijan with the Autonomous Nakh- the November 9 agreement, both Armenia Armenia, Azerbaijan].” Armenian Genocide in 1915. ichevan Republic. The comments were met and Azerbaijan will get “corridors” with Armenia is currently in a military de- with outrage in Armenia. equivalent status for both countries. fence treaty with the Russian Federation EU Commissioner “The creation of the Zangezur corridor Armenian political analyst Eric Haco- and has one Russian military base based in fully meets our national, historical and pian told OC Media there are no credible the city of Gyumri. Prime Minister Nikol Slams Azerbaijan’s future interests. We will be implementing military threats to “back up his rheto- Pashinyan, in a recent meeting with Rus- ‘Disturbing, the Zangezur Corridor, whether Armenia ric,” which, he added, was reminiscent of sian President Vladimir Putin, proposed to Humiliating’ Trophy wants it or not,” Aliyev said during an “Saddam Hussein.” Hacopian also said have some of the troops stationed in Arme- interview with Azerbaijani Public TV on that he believes the remarks were not only nia’s southern Syunik province. Park April 19. “If Armenia wants to, we will meant for Armenia, but for a domestic au- The controversy has taken place at the STRASBOURG, France (PanAr- solve this issue more easily; if it does not, dience as well. same time as Pashinyan is conducting a menian.net) — Council of Europe we will solve it by force.” With respect to the possibility of un- two-day visit to Syunik. The trip has been Commissioner for Human Rights “The Azerbaijani people are returning to blocking the transport links between the met with protests by local residents who Dunja Mijatović slammed Azer- the occupied Zangezur,” he said. countries, Hacopian said that “as a matter attempted to prevent the Armenian Prime baijan’s “Trophy Park” as “highly Aliyev’s statements instantly sparked of policy, anything that opens up the rail- Minister from holding meetings or visiting disturbing and humiliating.” “I re- outrage in Armenia. Armenian Foreign way lines to Iran and Russia via Azerbai- local military cemeteries. gret to learn that you recently inau- Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan jani territory is good for Armenia.” But, he Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevor- gurated the ‘Trophy Park’ in Baku, condemned the comments, stating that they added, “there are limits, and this kind of gyan dismissed the protests as being “or- which has been open to the public “do serious harm to regional peace and sta- Saddamesque language could lead to those ganised” by ”well-known” anti-Pashinyan since April 14 and can be visited by bility” and “reveal the false nature of Azer- limits coming into play.” “circles” and that they had nothing to do everyone, including small children. baijan’s recent peace statements.” Point 9 of the Tripartite Peace Declara- with the residents of Syunik. The prime From the information and the im- ‘Armenia will take all necessary mea- tion stipulates that “the Republic of Arme- minister had to cut his previous visit to the ages which are publicly available, I sures to protect its sovereignty and territo- nia shall guarantee the safety of transport region short after also being met with pro- noticed that it shows dehumanizing rial integrity’, she concluded. The Human links between western regions of the Re- tests. scenes, including wax mannequins Rights Defender of Armenia also released public of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan At the time, a number of local mayors depicting dead and dying Arme- a statement, decrying the comments as re- Autonomous Republic with a view to or- in southern Armenia called for Pashin- nians soldiers. I consider such im- flective of “fascist policy” by Aliyev. ganising the unimpeded movement of citi- yan’s resignation, for what they considered ages highly disturbing and humili- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashin- zens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. failures in the border demarcation process ating,” she said. yan accused Aliyev of trying to “abort the The Border Service of the FSB of Russia with Azerbaijan. process” of the Tripartite peace declaration shall exercise control over the transport 4 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR Community News Turkish Political Lobbying Left Infiltrates State Of Michigan Behind: By Harry Kezelian UN. Conference Mirror-Spectator Staff Examines the Effect of LANSING, MI — The Arme- War on the Women of nian-American community of Mich- igan and Metro Detroit received a Artsakh shock this past week as the mayors By Christopher Atamian of three major cities in the region Special to the Mirror-Spectator signed proclamations declaring April 23, 2021 as “Turkish Sovereignty NEW YORK — It is unfortunately and Children’s Day.” The shock was all too obvious that in spite of First intensified by the fact that one of the and Second Wave feminism and some real progress in women’s rights, that three cities was Southfield, home Anahit Sargsyan taking the oath of office to two of the state’s four Armenian we still have a long way to go. Twen- churches and the state’s only Arme- ty years after the United Nation’s nian day school. ambitious Resolution 1325 called on As the local Armenian communi- governments to help achieve gender ty attempted to regroup and respond Senator Portantino equality and put an end to physical to the situation, a proclamation from and verbal violence against women, the governor of Michigan, Gretchen the latter remain the overlooked vic- Whitmer, was also released to the Administers Attorney Oath tims in times of war and humanitarian same effect, with a change of ver- emergencies. Women often have no biage to “Turkish Heritage and Chil- recourse against verbal and physical dren’s Day.” Of Office for First Karabian abuse and outright rape. Many must The offensiveness of the procla- also figure out how to support fami- mations is, of course, not due to their Fellow Anahit Sargsyan lies and raise children when the men celebration of Turkish heritage, but to in their families have been killed or their timing of the day before Arme- SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Canada-Flintridge) severely handicapped in combat. nian Genocide Remembrance Day on was proud to administer the oath for the State Bar of California for Anahit Sargsyan, the In order to address these issues in April 24. first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow and former Legislative Assistant in his Capitol light of the 44-Day War, the Arme- The proclamations also caused of- office. nian Mission to the United Nations fense by, rather than discussing the “Anahit was an outstanding choice to be the inaugural Karabian Fellow,” comment- recently organized a round table titled heritage of the Turkish culture in a ed Senator Portantino. “She served our Sacramento office and the 25th Senate District “Between War and Pandemic: Voices neutral way, actively promoting the extremely well. I also appreciated her dedication to and support of Artsakh. I had the from the Field.” The event was held supposed positive contributions of opportunity to meet her terrific family and the privilege of swearing her into the State remotely due to COVID-19 as part the Republic of Turkey in world af- Bar of California, where she will continue her stellar service as an attorney,” he added. of the UN Commission on the Status fairs with the following statement: Sargsyan was selected as the first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow in 2016 and Women’s 65th session, in coordina- “The Republic of Turkey, a secular placed in Senator Portantino’s 2016 State Senate campaign. Shortly after, she was hired tion with the work of the UN Wom- democratic state, has made signifi- as a legislative assistant in his capitol office. During her time at the State Senate, she had en’s Status Committee. The panelists cant contributions to United States an opportunity to assist the senator on a number of important projects, including secur- delivered thoughtful presentations foreign policy in the Balkans, the ing state funding for the Armenian American Museum and the formation of the Senate aimed at informing the public but also Middle East, Central Asia, and the Select Committee on California, Armenia, and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural finding solutions to existing issues. Caucasus and has played a crucial Exchange. Maria Victoria Cabrera-Balleza, the role in international efforts for peace, Sargsyan earned her B.A. with honors from the University of California, Davis, where founder and chief executive officer of prosperity, and stability.” (italics in she studied history, with an emphasis in Western Civilization. She received her J.D. from the Global Network of Woman Peace- the original) the University of California, Los builders (GNWP) spoke first and ex- Where It Happened Angeles School of Law in 2020 pounded on the importance of send- Southfield is home to St. John’s and is currently working as an ing relief packages that GNWP send Armenian Church of Greater De- associate at a California law to women in conflict areas around troit, one of the largest parishes of firm’s Los Angeles office, fo- the world that include reproduc- the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian cusing her practice on litigation, tive products as well as other forms Church of America, and the only Di- elections, state legislation, ethics of aid. She decried the exponential ocesan parish serving Michigan. and conflict of interest, and ed- increase during COVID-19 of gen- The only K-12 Armenian day ucation matters. While attending der-based domestic violence. Anoth- school in the US outside of Cali- law school, Sargsyan worked as er key element in her organization’s fornia is the AGBU Alex and Marie a judicial extern at the US Court work is simply information dissemi- Manoogian School which along with of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit nation so that people are made aware the museum, library, radio studio, and as a litigation fellow at a of the problems at hand and so that gym, Veterans’ Memorial Building firm in Los Angeles. She also spent a summer interning at Republic of Artsakh’s Human women know where to go for help. and other community institutions are Rights Defender’s Office in Shushi. The GNWP is notably implementing housed on the same grounds as St. Inspired by her experience of advising Senator Portantino on education policy matters, peace resolution efforts and aid to Ar- John’s. Sargsyan developed a passion for teaching and mentorship. She worked as a Graduate menia in Tavush and other parts of the In addition, Southfield is home Student Instructor for the Freedom of Communication course at UCLA and also served country. This type of action plan is to the Armenian Congregational as a mentor for the UCLA Law Fellows Program and as Vice-President of UCLA Arme- being made available regionally, na- Church of Greater Detroit with its nian Law Students Association. tionally and internationally thanks in sanctuary and hall only a few miles “Working in environments that invest in your growth early in your career is crucial,” part to a comprehensive database that away. Suffice it to say that Armenians said Sargsyan. “I am so thankful to Senator Portantino for his mentorship and to the is being put together by the organiza- have a presence in Southfield, even if Karabian Fellowship for the invaluable experiences they have provided me. We have tion. She also hinted that Armenians demographically they have increas- many opportunities to create pathways for Armenian students interested in politics and should stay tuned as the organization ingly moved out of the city into other public service. Being introduced to Senator Portantino through the Karabian Fellowship is planning new soon-to-made-public neighboring suburbs. was the beginning of that path for me. I encourage all young professionals to seek out relief activities in Armenia. Not only do Armenians have a ma- mentors and programs that inspire them,” she added. Cabrera-Balleza was followed by jor presence, but they have a great re- Sargsyan moved to California from Yerevan, Armenia in 2010, where she also studied Lucy Snell, a remarkable investiga- lationship with the city of Southfield. law at the Yerevan State University. She joined her family in Sacramento, relying on tive journalist and Edward R. Murrow Most Southfield mayors and other their support to overcome the challenges of being an immigrant and navigating the edu- Award recipient. Snell has been on the elected officials in recent history cational system in the US. Sargsyan maintains strong ties with the realities in Armenia. front lines of numerous war zones, have visited St. John’s and the AGBU She remains active in the Armenian American community, supporting various advocacy including in Syria. It was shocking School and have even spoken on efforts for the Armenian cause, including those programs that invest in extending access to hear her say that the shelling by see LOBBYING, page 6 to high quality education for Armenian students. see WOMEN, page 5 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 5

COMMUNITY NEWS UN Conference Examines the Effect of War on the Women of Artsakh WOMEN, from page 4 sis felt that any moment in time could be Did you want to see me broken? Azerbaijani and Turkish forces of Nagorno their last one alive. As a result COVID-19 Bowed head and lowered eyes? Karabakh was more intense and destructive was not even a factor in their consciousness Shoulders falling down like teardrops, than any she had seen because it happened as they all huddled together in bomb shel- Weakened by my soulful cries? so quickly after the outbreak of the war and ters. Many caught the illness but could not Does my haughtiness offend you? due as well to its sheer intensity. The fact give it a second thought amidst the imme- Don’t you take it awful hard that the Turkish-Azerbaijani forces also diacy of a greater threat to their lives — ’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines shelled civilian areas and hospitals meant drones and bombs exploding above. Diggin’ in my own backyard. that the women who were left behind to The panel was rounded out by Shant You may shoot me with your words, take care of their families while the hus- Shekherdimian, Professor of Surgery at You may cut me with your eyes, bands were on the battlefield had to risk UCLA and by political scientist Karena You may kill me with your hatefulness, their lives on a regular basis in order to get Avedissian. But still, like air, I’ll rise. food or household supplies. Like several Shekherdimian volunteered his services and had to literally piece together bodies on Dr. Shant Shekherdimian Just as African and Native Americans a daily basis. But even he emphasized that have been victimized in the US country, so the true heroes of the war were the women too have Armenians been victimized over of Artsakh. Left behind they helped him in them to be a bit ironic given the Repub- the centuries by their Turkic neighbors. surgery and themselves performed opera- lic of Armenia’s reportedly poor record in The underlying message of the round ta- tions 24/7. He also spoke about the bravery protecting its own women from domestic ble: like the descendants of African slaves of pregnant women who had to be evac- violence. who yesterday celebrated the verdict in the uated from the hospital which was being Lucy Varpetian, President of the Arme- Derek Chauvin case, so too will Armenians shelled and transported to Armenia itself. nian Bar Association, was a remarkably in- rise again. Finally, he emphasized the mental and formed and effective panel moderator. She Watch the roundtable discussion: physical consequences of the war on wom- began by reading a poem by the late Afri- http://webtv.un.org/.../beyond-war- en who still carry scars from the previous can-American poet Maya Angelou, “Still I and.../6241643402001/ war with Azerbaijan. This was a difficult Rise.” To my mind this is indeed a perfect Read resolution 1325 on the Rights segment to listen to, so raw were the facts commentary on the Armenian condition of Women: https://peacemaker.un.org/ that he related. and the Armenian will to survive: node/105 Finally Karena Avedissian had perhaps the most surprising presentation. She spoke of the daily abuse that Armenian women are receiving through social media and the internet from Azerbaijani hackers who send on-line messages of hate, thus making the women feel as if they were not safe in their own homes. Lika Zakaryan The mental anguish this causes them reminds one of cyber bullies in American schools who sometimes drive students to of the other speakers Snell emphasized the suicide from fear and shame. bravery of these women and the toll that In his opening remarks Mher Margary- the war has taken on them psychologically an, the Permanent Representative of Ar- and physically. menia to the UN, noted that within the UN Civilnet journalist Lika Zakaryan offered family, Armenia has consistently raised invaluable first-hand experience from the the issue of strengthening the protection front lines of the 44-Day War. She empha- mechanisms and rights of women affected sized that the shelling of Stepanakert was by conflict. While Margaryan’s comments so intense that she and her fellow Artsakht- were indeed welcome, this writer found

Tekeyan Cultural Association Raises $30,000 for Hrant Dink School As anticipated, the Tekeyan Cultural Association raised and transferred $30,000 to Hrant Dink Day School of Istanbul, Turkey, thanks to a handful indi- vidual donors who for a long time have assisted the educational programs of our community. Hrant Dink School’s student body comprises sons and daughters of immigrant workers from Armenia. Each graduate then returns to the homeland for higher education and hopefully live and work there.

Hovsep Fund 15,100 James and Marta Batmasian, Boca Raton, FL 5,000 Nishan and Margrit Atinizian, Winchester, MA 2,500 Constantinople Arm. Society, New York, NY 2,000 Avedisian 575 Foundation Inc. Lexington, MA 2,000 Aram Adourian, Concord, MA 1,000 Herman and Arek Hintiryan, Oak Park, MI 500 Sonia Doumanian, Chicago, IL 300 Berc and Armine Araz, Wanaque, NJ 250 Nurhan and Victoria Becidyan, Paramus, NJ 250 Noyemi and Hagop Isnar, Haworth, NJ 200 Sonia Iskandarian, Watertown, MA 200 Krikor and Silva Karachorlu, Chicago, IL 150 Arto and Zabel Khrimian, Long Island City, NY 100 Antranig Karaguezian, Northridge, CA 100 Crown Findings Co, Inc., New York, NY 100 Dorothy S Piranian, Boston, MA 100 Antranig and Hasmig Cingoz, El Cerrito, CA 50 Arda Mirek, Leonia, NJ 50 Alen Bardizbanyan 50 6 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

COMMUNITY NEWS Turkish Political Lobbying Infiltrates State of Michigan LOBBYING, from page 4 to spearheading some of the pro-Arme- through the passage of a resolution that I of proclamations might have raised red various occasions, strengthening the ties nian actions of the state legislature. In fact, introduced, and we will continue to uplift flags which would cause Michigan mayors between the Armenian community and the Manoogian was responsible for the mu- the stories of Michigan’s Armenian Ameri- and the Michigan governor, in most cases municipality. Moreover, Nancy Malkasian nicipality of Birmingham, MI, which she can community.” Armenian allies, to consult their Armenian Banks served for years as the Southfield represents, issuing a proclamation com- Digging Deeper friends and colleagues on the matter. Rec- City Clerk and currently serves as a mem- memorating the Armenian Genocide on Although not all the mayors’ offices could ognizing “children’s day” did not seem to ber of the City Council. In fact, the City April 24 this year, as well as the unanimous be contacted in time for this article, South- fit the bill. Yet, Armenians who deal with of Southfield also released a proclamation adoption of a statewide proclamation from field City Council member Nancy Malka- the politics of April 24 can read between recognizing April 24 of this year as a day of the legislature in Lansing. sian Banks elucidated what may be a com- the lines. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. So, how could this all happen? mon storyline to the situation in all three For one thing, it is apparently true that The other two cities were Warren and A Ripple Through the Community municipalities. Banks shared that the office Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared April 23 Ann Arbor. Though Warren’s Armenian Most community members found out of the mayor of Southfield is largely cere- as National Sovereignty and Children’s population is unknown and probably rel- about the proclamations through emails monial. One of the duties which the mayor Day in Turkey and that this was because atively small, Ann Arbor, the home of the that were sent by various watchful eyes has is to issue rote proclamations upon the the Grand National Assembly of Turkey University of Michigan has a small active from the community itself. As the news of request of private individuals, organiza- was first convened on April 23, 1920. Why Armenian community and boasts a very the mayoral proclamations spread, commu- tions or communities. These proclamations Kemal chose that date to convene the first active Armenian Studies Department at the nity activists sent emails in protest to the could range from recognizing Earth Day to assembly seems highly questionable, but University with two endowed professor- three mayors and spread the word about honoring a veteran, from a signed letter to a leaving that aside, the April 23 date is not ships in Armenian Studies, one for Arme- the concern. Of the more professionally couple on their 50th anniversary to a procla- even the most important Turkish national nian Language and Literature and one for worded missives was sent by Alice Nigog- mation honoring a great-grandmother upon holiday. For example, Turkish Indepen- Armenian History. Even some of the ethnic hosian. Nigoghosian, a book publishing turning 100. Anniversaries for churches dence Day, also known as Republic Day, Turkish professors at the University are consultant, member of the school board for and synagogues are common, and every is celebrated on October 29. Yet we did not staunch Armenian allies. Ann Arbor is also AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian, was year the Armenian community requests and hear of any municipalities issuing procla- known as one of the most liberal towns in evidently one of the first to find out about receives a proclamation for April 24 — this mations for that day. the United States. year included. Secondly, by perusing TACAM’s news- It was also notable that the three cities Importantly, letters, many of which are accessible in were spread across the Detroit Metro area: these requests PDF form online, it is clear that while with Warren in Macomb County, South- go directly to much of their activity is heritage-based field in Oakland County, and Ann Arbor the mayor’s and involves cultural activities for Turk- in Washtenaw County, all three of the sub- office, who ish-American children, they also have a urban counties surrounding Detroit were generally signs political component which has consistently covered. all of them, advocated against recognition of the Arme- It is not known at this time if any munic- and does not nian Genocide. Moreover, their umbrella ipality in Wayne County, home of the City have to inform organization is ATAA (Assembly of Turk- of Detroit, made a similar proclamation. the city coun- ish American Associations) notorious for The strategic placement of the munici- cil. For that its denialist lobbying. palities including Warren, the largest mu- reason, Banks In addition, TACAM has purchased acre- nicipality in Macomb County; Southfield, did not know age of property in the municipality of Wix- the home of so many Armenian institu- of the proc- om, which in 2019 was dedicated as Atat- tions; and Ann Arbor, the largest city in lamation un- urk Park. Some parts of Ataturk Park are, Washtenaw county and a seat of culture til the emails indeed, innocuous — like the children’s with the University of Michigan; seemed started to be play structure and the forested path. But in calculated, rather than, for example, repre- exchanged in the heart of the park stands a proud bust senting cities with a large Turkish-Ameri- the community of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — the national- can population. and her phone ist strongman under whose administration Finally, the proclamation from the gov- The opening of Ataturk Park in Wixom, Michigan, in 2019 began to ring. the denial of the Armenian Genocide was ernor was also a major surprise. Armenians A Turk- initiated as one of the building blocks of have always had an outsized presence in ish-American modern Turkey, and whose agenda Turk- the State of Michigan as a whole, with the the proclamations, and sent an “open letter” organization known as TACAM (Turkish ish-Americans are still carrying out, possi- well-known Manoogian and Mardigian email to the mayors of the three cities, on American Cultural Association of Mich- bly from the offices in the small building families championing the Detroit Institute which she CC’ed a number of community igan) was responsible for requesting the on the premises. of the Arts, one of the premier art muse- activists. She politely but sternly criticized proclamation, Banks revealed from public Aftermath ums in the country. But it is not the super the mayors for their actions and attempted documents at her disposal. The documents On Sunday, April 25, Siver, along with wealthy but average donors who have in- to explain why this was offensive for the also showed that TACAM sent a “model the Oakland County Executive David vigorated the State of Michigan since the Armenian community. proclamation” to the city for them to edit Coulter, Representative Mari Manoogian Armenian community, now numbering The response was underwhelming. The at their discretion. Evidently, Whitmer’s and Southfield City Council member Nan- around 40,000, began to form in Detroit mayors did not seem to understand what office thought that recognizing “Turkish cy Malkasian Banks, attended requiem ser- around 1909 and grew with the rise of the was going on. Solidarity with the Arme- sovereignty” was too strong for an Amer- vice at St. John’s Armenian Church which automobile industry. nian cause was expressed, but there was a ican state government, and they changed it was followed by a short service of interces- Armenians started out as factory work- palpable disconnect. to “Turkish heritage” but the “sovereignty” sory prayer in honor of the martyred saints ers, cobblers, and fruit peddlers, and rose Then the governor issued her proclama- language was left in by the municipalities. of the Armenian Genocide, outside the to success as small business owners. (A tion, which was widely shared on social Southfield mayor Kenson Siver ex- church in front of a khachkar memorial. Fr. Detroit Armenian is credited with opening media, and the local Armenian community pressed to Banks that he felt he had been Aren Jebejian invited the political figures the first automatic car wash in the United was in an outrage. With controversy swirl- used and taken advantage of because this to speak, and Siver read aloud a proclama- States.) Later immigrant waves have had ing, Rep. Mari Manoogian, went ahead as proclamation had been turned into some- tion commemorating the Armenian Geno- great success in the jewelry business. To- planned, introducing the annual resolution thing political, which he did not realize cide on behalf of the City of Southfield, day, the community boasts doctors, law- to commemorate the Armenian Genocide when he signed it. Like so many other handing the document to Jebejian. yers, engineers, and other professionals, in the State of Michigan in a speech in the proclamations that he signs, he thought it In a conversation Siver again expressed in addition to musicians and artists. The legislature on Friday, April 23, after which was a simple courtesy for recognizing the his frustration that he had been taken ad- Armenian community as a whole is well the resolution passed unanimously. Then Turkish people’s contribution in the world. vantage of, noted that he originally signed known in the state, with a stellar reputa- she released a “proclamation” of her own The fact that Siver is a longtime friend of the Turkish proclamation because the title tion and has consistently participated in in regard to the governor’s proclamation of the Armenians and ally of Armenian caus- and most of the language referred to “Chil- inter-ethnic events, inter-faith dialogue “Turkish Heritage and Children’s Day”: es seemed irrelevant — a publicly elected dren’s Day,” and staunchly stated that this (including a robust, close relationship with “The timing of this proclamation — official has to treat all people and groups “would not happen again.” the Jewish community going back to the which was issued on the eve of Armenian equally, and to Siver’s eyes the proclama- In their speeches, County Executive 1960s), the upbuilding of municipalities, Genocide Remembrance Day — is unfor- tion didn’t raise any red flags. Above all, Coulter praised the Armenian commu- universities, and other public institutions, tunate because it aids Turkey’s continued since the title describes it as a recognition nity for their contribution to the region, and even getting the Michigan legislature effort to deny the genocide of more than of “children’s day,” and Siver has been a while Representative Manoogian thanked to recognize Artsakh and mandate Arme- 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks teacher and advocate for children his entire the Armenian community for “having my nian Genocide education in the schools. and others, and diminishes the mourning life, it would seem prejudiced not to sign back” so that she can continue to advocate In addition to all the above, the Arme- of Armenian Americans on an incredibly such an “innocuous” proclamation. for Armenian issues at the state level and nian community’s own Rep. Mari Manoo- solemn day. Let me be clear: Michigan not It seems that “innocuous” is just what so the community can work together to gian (no relationship to the late industrialist only recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TACAM was going for. They didn’t send watch out for insidious lobbying like what Alex Manoogian), a rising star in the Dem- but also mandates the teaching of the Ar- out “model proclamations” asking Mich- took place in Michigan this year. Mean- ocratic party, is an active member of the menian Genocide in our public schools. igan mayors to deny the Armenian Geno- while, all present came together in a cele- Michigan state legislature in Lansing and Our state reaffirmed our commitment to cide, or even to accuse the Armenians bratory mood thanks to President Biden’s has been in the past an advisor to Michi- Armenian Genocide recognition yesterday of atrocities against the Turks in 1915 or recognition of the Armenian Genocide the gan governor Whitmer herself, in addition in the Michigan House of Representatives against the Azeris at Khojaly. Those types previous day. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 7 Commemorating the Armenian Genocide Around the Globe Armenia Delighted with US Recognition of Genocide RECOGNITION, from page 1 was also met with a barrage of criticism It doesn’t directly signal renewed American from Ankara and Baku. interest in the modern Caucasus however. Pashinyan hailed Biden’s statement as a “Each year on this day, we remember “a powerful step on the way to acknowledg- the lives of all those who died in the Ot- ing the truth,” and bring justice to the vic- toman-era Armenian genocide and recom- tims of the Genocide and their descendants. mit ourselves to preventing such an atroci- He also thanked the American president for ty from ever again occurring” read Biden’s setting an “inspiring example” for those proclamation, which reached Yerevan at hoping to see a just and tolerant world. 8:00 p.m. local time. Audible outbursts of Pashinyan also spoke with Russian Pres- cheers were set off across the Armenian ident Vladimir Putin who offered his con- capital as the news continued to spread, dolences for the Genocide victims. The and more Armenian television channels in- two leaders reiterated their commitment terrupted regular programming to break the to fulfilling the clauses of the November historic story. 2020 ceasefire agreement, in particular “For the first time ever, I’m going to Clause 8, which calls on the unconditional pop open a beer on April 24,” one cheerful return of all prisoners of war. Azerbaijan passerby told the Mirror-Spectator. “This is accused of holding up to 180 Armenian is no longer a commemoration of our loss- captives, both military personnel and civil- es, but a celebration of our ultimate victo- ians. Azerbaijan acknowledges only about ry: survival.” 60 such cases, but denies that they qualify The leadership in Armenia at Tsitsernakaberd The statement was also welcomed by as POWs since they were captured after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashin- the ceasefire agreement was signed. This who lead a French diplomatic delegation to where I can possibly see Turkish recogni- argument violates Ar- Yerevan as part of the Genocide commem- tion of the Armenian Genocide within my ticle 4 of the Geneva oration. Referring to a recent bill passed lifetime.” Convention; as con- by the French Senate recognizing the In- Eight hundred miles west, in Ankara, her firmed by the Moni- dependence of Artsakh, Larcher said added cousin Garo Paylan is preparing to lay the toring Committee of that the motion was more than symbolic, first stones of that foundation. On Monday, the Parliamentary As- “the document provides a leverage through April 26, Turkey’s only ethnic-Armenian sembly of the Council which the negotiations may lead to a last- MP for the Kurdish-backed HDP party sub- of Europe (PACE) last ing peace.” mitted a bill recognizing of the Armenian week. According to Larcher was later awarded the Order Genocide to the Turkish Parliament. “When the statement, “Un- of Honour by Armenian President Armen Turkey confronts the Armenian Genocide, derscoring the con- Sarkissian. it won’t matter what other parliaments say. cerns expressed by Back near Tsitsernakaberd, Montre- The Armenian Genocide has been a subject the European Court al-born Human Rights lawyer Sheila Paylan of other parliaments, other presidents for The commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at Tsit- of Human Rights with — now residing in Yerevan — explained 106 years because it’s been denied,” Paylan sernakaberd respect to 188 Arme- the significance of Biden’s statement as stated on the occasion. (See related story nians allegedly cap- adding to incontrovertible outside pressure on Page 3.) yan. The prime minister, who had been tured by Azerbaijan the Committee calls for Turkey to engage in retrospection sur- For Turkey however, the road to recogni- attending a final concert of the Trilogy of upon Azerbaijan to ensure that all Arme- rounding the legacy of the Armenian Geno- tion might still be a long one. Responding Remembrance, dedicated to the 106th an- nian detainees are released without delay cide in their own identity. “I’ve always felt to Paylan on Twitter, Turkish ultranational- niversary of the Armenian Genocide with into the care of the Armenian authorities.” that the most important recognition should ist MP Ümit Özdağ threatened: “When the his wife, reportedly sent President Biden This point was underscored even further be coming from Turkey,” Paylan said, “but time comes, you will have a Talat Pasha a letter expressing gratitude for his act. It by French Senate President Gérard Larcher Biden’s recognition brought us to a point experience and you must live it.”

Tekeyan Cultural Association Participates in Genocide Commemoration in Montebello MONTEBELLO, Calif. — Representa- tebello, CA on Saturday, April 24, 2021. tives of the Tekeyan Cultural Association The annual commemoration was organized (TCA) participated in the 106th Armenian by the United Armenian Council of Los Genocide Commemoration at the Arme- Angeles, which represents over forty re- nian Genocide Martyrs Monument in Mon- ligious, political, cultural, benevolent and

Members of the TCA Metro Los Angeles committee with their families

compatriotic organizations. ed States and Canada in paying homage The service for the canonized saints of by laying flowers at the 75-foot-tall mon- the genocide was conducted by the clergy, ument were Hilda Hartounian, Kevork which included the singing of the solemn Keushkerian and Carl Bardakian and TCA “Hrashatsan” sharagan, which was mas- West Coast Executive Secretary, Mayda terfully composed by the late Archbishop Kuredjian. Also participating were Sevan Zareh Aznavourian of the Great House of Deirbadrossian, Shahnour Hovsepian and Cilicia. Hasmig Karayan, TCA Metro Los Angeles Representing the Central Board of the chapter committee members. Montebello Armenian Genocide mon- Tekeyan Cultural Association of the Unit- ument 8 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE April 24 in Germany: Against Genocide, Then and Now By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach she recalled, 200 prominent Greeks had been arrested and A particularly relevant point in her presentation was Special to the Mirror-Spectator a list prepared for the Armenian elite; “Scarcely any of the that it does not suffice to remember the genocide once a arrested survived the year 1915.” year. Rather “in cultural and political education, it has to BERLIN — The Working Group for Recognition: Hofmann described how the proceedings in the capital be dealt with as a fundamental theme.” In German schools, Against Genocide, for Understanding among Peoples that day were the blueprint for actions against members of however, the fact of the Ottoman genocide is virtually ig- (AGA) issued a call for a vigil on April 24 opposite the the Armenian intelligentsia throughout the Ottoman Em- nored, due to fear of the response on the part of parents Turkish Embassy in Berlin. Among the 250 persons who pire, who would be arrested, tortured, driven out and mur- with Turkish roots. joined were participants in a demonstration organized by dered. The rest of the population then followed, sent on A related problem in Germany exists in the justice sys- an Armenian association, HayStab. As became clear from death marches to destinations in Mesopotamia, “where the tem. “How can it be allowed,” she asked, “that perpetrators the posters, leaflets and statements, the focus was not only survivors would be thrust into concentration camps, and of organized mass murder are present in numerous public on the demand for Turkey to assume historical responsibil- starved or died of epidemic diseases.” places and even honored as folk heroes, as patriotic mar- ity for the genocide, but also on Germany’s involvement, “In only 19 months,” she reported,” 1.5 million of a tyrs?” Here she was referring to the scandalous fact that Azerbaijan’s military aggression against Nagorno-Kara- total 2.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire died,” Mehmet Cemal Azmi Bey, who was responsible for de- bakh and its continuing refusal to release prisoners. specifying that these figures come from an estimate reck- portations of Greeks, not only has a school in Trabzon-Ar- The main message was: “Never Again!” The lesson oned by the German Embassy in Constantinople. sin named after him, but his grave — memorial — lies must be learned from the genocide against the Armenians Nor was the criminal enterprise of the Young Turks lim- in a cemetery in Berlin-Neukölln. “The hero worship of and other Christian minorities during and after World War ited to the Armenians, she added; Greeks as well as As- genocide planners, organizers and executors, who were I, against European Jews and Roma during World War II, convicted in their own country’s courts after the first world and again later, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Myan- war, remains unchallenged here in current-day Berlin.” mar. Even the person most responsible for the genocide, Meh- Dr. Gerayer Koutcharian, co-founder and long-term met Talaat, a cult figure in Turkey, has devotees who honor member of AGA, traced the long line of continuity from him annually in Berlin. 1915 to the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Spiritual Dimension For Koutcharian, Turkey started the 44-day war in 2020, The final speaker was Paul Roth, a deacon and social “apparently to conclude what it had begun in 1915, name- education worker who is active in an ecumenical initia- ly, to establish a Greater Turkish Empire, from the Adriatic tive, “Armenienhilfe” (Armenian Aid). Roth began by to the Chinese border, in which all Turkic peoples are unit- commemorating the thousands of dead in Nagorno-Kara- ed under one flag.” The speaker expressed dismay at the bakh, a war that is “at least indirectly” a consequence of Russian and Iranian non-response to such “pan-Turkish the genocide, and Stalin’s “fateful decision” to annex the aggression,” not to mention that of Christian Europe and Armenian-populated region to Azerbaijan. Roth introduced himself as someone born “long after the Setrak Davityan and Ambassador Ashot Smbatyan end of World War II and engaged for the last 40 years con- (with flowers), Archbishop Yegishe Avetisyan (right) tinuously with studying Nazism, the Shoah and all forms of anti-Semitism.” Although he bears no personal guilt for the crimes of German Nazism, he feels “a great respon- syrians (Aramaer) were targeted and, following the war, the Kemalist regime in its so-called liberation struggle “continued the massacres and deportations of its Young Turk predecessors against Ottoman Christians, including a second elitocide against the Greeks in the Pontus region.” Then, with the Lausanne Treaty, the Turkification of Tur- key proceeded. In sum, between 1912 and 1922, she said, “about three million people died, merely because they belonged to Christian populations in Ottoman territory.” Ani Serobjan (middle) In the morning of April 24, Armenian Ambassador Ashot Sambatyan took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at a khachkar near the Catholic Saint Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin-Mitte. In Frankfurt, the Society of Genocide Op- ponents (VV) organized a vigil, in Wiesbaden the Mesopo- tamian Assyrian Society held a commemorative event, and similar gatherings took place in Bremen and Jena. The Personal Dimension of Trauma On Sunday, April 25, an ecumenical commemoration sibility” to come to terms with these past crimes, in the took place at the Evangelical Luisenkirchhof in Ber- interest of preserving democracy and human rights. lin-Charlottenburg. The cemetery is the site of the Altars Through his curiosity about Armenia and its history, he of Remembrance, dedicated to the memory of the Arme- began working with Armenienhilfe, which provides spon- nians, Pontic Greeks and Aramaeans who perished in the sors for Armenian children with only one parent. Since genocide. The Promotional Society for the Ecumenical 2015, he has traveled to Yerevan yearly, and visited Tsit- Monuments for Genocide Victims of the Ottoman Em- sernakaberd. If pire (FÖGG), which erected the altars, and the Armenian The German Empire was Ottoman Turkey’s wartime Church and Culture Community in Berlin hosted the event. ally and did everything to preserve the alliance, even if Smbatyan and counsellor Setrak Davityan represented the that meant the demise of the Armenians, as then-Impe- Armenian embassy and Archbishop Yeghishe Avetisyan rial Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg had put it. Since the offered requiem prayers. Attending the ceremony were Germans knew and tolerated the crimes against humani- about a hundred Berliners, among them members of the ty perpetrated by the Young Turks, Roth considers them Paul Roth Armenian, Greek and Syrian-Orthodox communities. complicit. “Johannes Lepsius, Armin T. Wegner and Franz Ani Serobjan, a member of AGA and doctoral candidate Werfel and a few others are our little fig leaf,” he said, America, then and now. at the Humboldt University, in her address, explained the “behind which however we cannot hide. And unfortunate- Koutcharian went further, to assert that in point of fact, meaning of the Armenian word “aghet” as describing “the ly,” he continued, “even the official representatives of the whether passively or actively, the world had been party to traumatic experience of the survivors, an experience of de- German churches kept quiet at the time.” Their “miscon- the aggression: there were weapons from NATO or Israel, struction suffering, helplessness and loss. Hunger march- strued patriotism” produced anger in him as a Protestant, volunteer fighters from Pakistan and Afghanistan, Islamist es, nocturnal raids, murder, forced labor, rape and years of and shame in relation to Armenians. terrorists, political support through British Petroleum, as wandering left people with incredibly deep wounds.” For Roth, it is not “why?” but, “what for? To what end?” well as lawmakers in the German and European parlia- Public attention to the genocide in the immediately Here, a bridge is built to the future, one looks forward even ments and the press. From the 1915 genocide to the pres- aftermath was lacking in Germany due to wartime press though the relevant event lies in the past. This condition of ent, he went on, most of “our historic homeland — West censorship, she said. The importance of remembering, she being in a “continuity of witnessing” spans generations, Armenia — has been destroyed,” and few people know stressed, lies in the need and power to prevent repeating despite the fact that hardly any survivors are alive today. where it — renamed East Anatolia —even is. “Now East such atrocities. Serobjan reiterated the significance of Ra- This “transgenerational remembrance” goes beyond, oc- Anatolia, that is, the Armenians living there, is slated for phael Lemkin’s work to conceptualize “genocide” and its curring in the present and binding past with the future. disappearance.” subsequent codification as a crime against humanity in the To ensure that humanity learn from the past to shape the Prof. Tessa Hofmann, AGA co-founder and genocide 1948 United Nations convention. future, Roth said such gatherings as these in Berlin were researcher, addressed the reasons for the vigil. April 24, So long as 1915 is denied, the more the need for active “like mustard seeds, which must grow, to bear fruit. They a “day of mourning,” she explained, marks the 106th an- remembering, and what Adorno called coming to terms are just as important as our prayers and exertions in our niversary of the beginning of the genocide. It started with with the past. “That means,” Serobjan said, “the motives houses of worship and communities, our collaboration and elitocide, “the deliberate extinction of the intellectual and and mechanisms that led to genocide must be processed, engagement for a democratic, social and peaceful cooper- political leadership of the Armenians.” A month earlier, worked through and made conscious.” ation among persons, peoples and religions.” SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 9

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE France Honors 1,500,000 Armenians Exterminated in 1915

By Jean Eckian scribed on the republican calendar by Em- Special to the Mirror-Spectator manuel Macron. Let us be in thought with those and those who maintain the memory PARIS — On Saturday April 24, 2021, and fight against denial. around 4,000 French Armenians came “As the war has once again marred the to listen to leading public figures of the Caucasian soil, we know how fragile the French Republic, such as the mayor of Par- situation is. France’s position is invariable, is Anne Hidalgo, the president of the Ile inflexible: it is and will remain alongside de France region Valérie Pécresse and the the Armenians in their desire for peace. We spokesperson of the French government will be there to help and ensure it. Gabriel Attal. “Some believed they could silence the Each of these dignitaries brought strong Armenian Genocide, stifle the cry of the support to the Armenian cause and against innocent. denial. In the morning French President “They failed. France, for 20 years, has Emmanuel Macron came in front of the recognized it in its texts, and Emmanuel Armenian Genocide Memorial, in front Macron has kept his commitment to in- of the statue of Reverend Komitas, where clude the commemoration of April 24 in he gathered alongside the Mayor of Paris the Republican calendar. Anne Hidalgo, the Ambassador of Armenia “Education today is the mother of bat-

From left, Mourad Papazian, Emmanuel Macron and Ara Toranian (photo Jean Eckian)

Gabriel Attal (photo Jean Eckian) Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris (photo Jean Eckian)

Hasmik Tolmajian, as well as the co-chairs tles. We must lead it, firmly, resolutely, of the Coordination Council of Armenian without making the slightest concession Organizations in France, Ara Toranian and to those who, for political reasons, try to Mourad Papazian. manipulate the minds of the younger gen- President Macron said: “On April 24, the erations to lessen or deny the scope of this Armenian Genocide commemoration day, genocide. we are not forgetting. We will fight togeth- “We will be there to help the Armenian er against negationism, hatred, violence. people to support their heritage. We will be The French people and the Armenian peo- there to help the Armenians find theirs.” ple are forever linked. Hidalgo stated: “On April 24, in front Government spokesperson Attal de- of the statue of Father Komitas, we honor clared: “On April 24, we commemorate the memory of the victims of the Armenian the Armenian Genocide, a national day in- genocide perpetrated 106 years ago. Never Gabriel Attal (photo Jean Eckian)

forget.” She continued, “This commemora- dination Council of Armenian Organiza- tion is very special since it follows a war. tions in France, said: “100 years after the The goal of this war: the eradication of genocide of 1915, the ideological model any Armenian presence in Nagorno-Kara- which led to the worst is still there, with bakh, even an invasion of Armenia itself.” its cocktail of pan-Turkism and jihadism She denounced this and announced that a which constitutes the political matrix of square in Paris will bear the name Armenia. the AKP [Justice and Development Party] Pécresse exclaimed: “This April 24, of Mr. Erdogan and his epigones in power 2021 is not an anniversary like any other: in Baku.” the United States recognizes the Armenian Mourad Papazian, fellow co-president genocide, 20 years after France, thanks to of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Jacques Chirac. It is up to us to continue to Organizations in France, said he was sad: protect Armenia from the attacks of its en- “because the hardships we experienced be- emies, because an unbreakable bond binds tween September 27 and November 9 have us!” shown that in 2020, we can leave a people Ara Toranian, co-president of the Coor- behind, to be massacred.”

Dignitaries listening to the speeches (photo Jean Eckian)

Mourad Papazian (photo Jean Eckian) Some of the demonstrators (photo Jean Eckian)

Demonstrators with placards (photo Paris demonstrators (photo Jean Eckian) Jean Eckian) Ara Toranian (photo Jean Eckian) 10 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE After the Biden Statement, Will Turkey Move Closer To Admission of Guilt? ADMISSION, from page 1 Armenian Genocide. He is also Chief of that this all could happen again. Yet it nev- action.” For example, he said, what is hap- Prof. Richard Hovannisian, the longtime the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division er deterred us. Every April, for 106 years, pening with all the Armenian monuments in holder of the Modern Armenian History of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen we gathered in commemorations around Turkey? Chair at the University of California, Los School of Medicine at UCLA. the world – the living embodiments of Wil- “We should teach them to face history and Angeles, for whom the chair was renamed Turkish Reaction liam Saroyan’s words. We remembered our to put the record straight and take palliative after his retirement, as well as the author of Hovannisian pondered the possible reac- dead. We prayed and read aloud the names steps,” Hovannisian continued. several books on Armenian history, offered tion of Turkish leader, Prime Minister Re- of family members who were separated, Of course, now it is hard to think about a long view of the Genocide as well as its cep Tayyip Erdogan. “Mr. Erdogan is appar- tortured and brutally murdered. We spoke any Armenian issue without noting the im- denial. As probably the foremost senior liv- ently considering this [a response]. It is not about the survivors who scattered across the mense damage done to Armenia and espe- ing Armenian historian of the modern peri- terribly surprising,” he said. globe and built incredible communities with cially Artsakh from September to October od, he was interested in what might happen “Congress for its own reasons recognized thriving civic, cultural, commercial, and 2020 by the combined forces of Turkey and next. the Genocide” in 2019, Hovannisian noted. spiritual life. Brave souls like my grandpar- Azerbaijan. “It’s been a very long struggle and many “There was a groundswell of vocal support ents who fled Marash during the Genocide. Hovannisian recalled that at the beginning of us for years have been advocating in dif- at least for recognition.” They spent years apart in Syria and France of the war, some suggested that this was a Hovannisian said he expected the reac- before reuniting in Massachusetts with the continuation of the Armenian Genocide but tion of Turkey to be milder than the one to help of the American Red Cross. They had he thought, instead, it was more akin to the the resolutions in Congress. the indomitable souls of Armenians and events of Kosovo, which had suffered from Hovannisian cautioned against treating the patriotic pride of new Americans. Like ethnic cleansing, meaning that the primary either Presidents Ronald Reagan or Biden many of you, I have spent decades advocat- goal was taking the land, and the murders as the first ones to remark on the Arme- ing for this cause because of them. I wanted were secondary. nian Genocide. In fact, he said, “go back to their pain, their struggle, and their success Now, he said, he has changed his mind. Woodrow Wilson. The word wasn’t there,” to be validated through formal recognition “The violence that went on and the celebra- he explained, when Wilson referred “to the of the Genocide. Sometimes it was hard not tion of the killings and the monument with murder of a nation.” Even President Calvin to get disheartened. Yet in the past year – the helmets of all the killed Armenian sol- Coolidge referred to the mass murder of the difficult in so many of its own ways – I saw diers” shows a “bloodthirst” that harkens Armenians and for his efforts received a rug hope in our cause.” back to the Genocide. from Armenian orphans. Hovannisian differentiated the statement “They [the Azerbaijani leaders] are boast- Prof. Bedross Der Matossian, the pres- by Biden from that of Reagan in 1981, ing that we are going to come after you. ident of the Society for Armenian Studies, noting that the latter referred to the Arme- They have done it with the approval and in a statement said, “The Society for Ar- nian Genocide in passing and that “it was support of Turkey, Mr. Erdogan and his Prof. Richard Hovannisian menian Studies (SAS) hails President Jo- not a focal point” of the statement. Ronald team,” he added. seph Biden for recognizing the Armenian Reagan referred the Armenian genocide in “The threat of genocide is alive all over ferent ways. We have suffered a tremendous Genocide in his April 24 address. Despite passing in a statement on the Holocaust in again,” he noted. “You think the worst has loss that is probably irreparable. The denial taking place far from the United States, the 1981, but it was not followed by a formal come and gone and it’s time for repairs. Af- of the crime has only left the wounds open Armenian Genocide is part of United States recognition. ter World War I, we believe so many prom- and exposed,” he said in an interview on history. The US archival record is testimo- Barack Obama promised Armenian ises and pledges.” Sadly, he said, Armenia April 25. “It is important that the leader of ny to that fact, as many US diplomats and Americans he would take that step but re- has little to give others. the largest and most powerful country ac- missionaries who witnessed the process of neged once in office, unwilling to upset Legal Edge knowledge it.” the Genocide have intensively reported the an ally. In 2019, both chambers of Con- There is another bright spot for Biden A professional historian who has written events and raised their voice condemning gress declared their own recognition, despite recognizing the Genocide and that is with or edited numerous books, including the the acts of atrocities. The most prominent Donald Trump’s efforts to stop them. regard to its legal applications in the US. four-volume The Republic of Armenia, and of these figures was Henry Morgenthau, Hovannisian gave a lot of credit to Biden “One of the good points about it is that participated in innumerable conferences, US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire for standing up to the pressures of the office. when we are going into legal battles in Cal- Hovannisian parsed the words used by (1913-1916), who wrote and lobbied his “Barack Obama buckled under the econom- ifornia, the opposition has argued that this Biden. government to intervene on behalf of the ic and political and international pressure,” goes against US policy,” Hovannisian said. “The statement itself was very carefully Armenians. Amb. Morgenthau had access Hovannisian said. The “Cold War kind of Now, he added, that argument that Califor- crafted, very diplomatic, trying to satisfy to detailed accounts of the condition of the atmosphere” stopped him from keeping his nia courts can’t recognize the Genocide be- the president’s pledges and his conscience Armenians in the provinces and the atroc- promise to use the word genocide. cause the US doesn’t recognize it is one that while trying to minimize the affront to the ities that were perpetrated against them Perhaps that giving in was another mo- may become moot. denier state.” during the War. He commented on the Ar- tive for Biden, Hovannisian conjectured. “It is one immediate positive side effect,” He noted that Biden referred to the Ot- menian deportations and their destruction “Joseph Biden didn’t want to be an Obama he added. toman era and not Turkey in the statement. saying: ‘When the Turkish authorities gave man. He would strike out on his own, be- Los Angeles attorney Brian Kabateck, “No blame is being cast on the current Turk- the orders for these deportations, they were sides following his conscience” and perhaps who has represented several descendants of ish state and leadership,” he explained. merely giving the death warrant to a whole regretting that “he was vice president for Armenian Genocide survivors in US courts, Hovannisian said he was not sure about race; they understood this well, and, in their eight years and could not bring his execu- agreed. the long-term effect of the statement, but he conversations with me, they made no partic- tive to use the world.” “President Biden recognizing the Geno- was happy it happened. “I didn’t expect that. ular attempt to conceal the fact’.” “It is a kind of repentance,” Hovannisian cide is not just important to me as a grandson I am pleased that at my age, when I’ve been Rouben Adalian, director of the Arme- said. of survivors, but because it may mean that speaking about it for 50 years,” the words nian National Institute, in Washington not- He put Samantha Power into the same we can renew our quest for civil justice. Our came out of the president’s mouth. ed, “President Biden’s Armenian Remem- category, noting that the former Obama for- team of lawyers brought lawsuits starting in “So this is somewhat of a vindication brance Day not only positively affirms the eign policy advisor and later United Nations 1999 to recover unpaid life insurance ben- of that. I’ve received a number of emails Armenian Genocide, it also clearly contex- ambassador, regretted that the administra- efits, stolen bank accounts and seized land thanking me for this achievement,” he said, tualizes the need for remembrance and affir- tion did not recognize the Genocide. all resulting from the Genocide. Some of adding that it was not through his efforts mation within the framework of US foreign Of course helping the Armenian cause these lawsuits were against insurance com- alone. “We are all little drops. If there are policy that holds human rights as one of its are the fraying Turkish-American relations. panies and banks and some against Turkey enough drops and enough resistance, that central pillars. Armenian Americans who “Turkey is a frequent critic of the US and Is- directly and indirectly. After recovering al- turns into a stream,” he noted. have aspired to see their government clarify rael,” Hovannisian said. “It has a leader that most $40M, the Ninth Circuit invalidated And still, he will not give up on the sub- its position on the Armenian Genocide have has not endeared himself to most of the rest the law based on the then President’s refusal ject. also been doing so as advocates of genocide of the world.” to acknowledge the Genocide. Because the “What happened 106 years ago makes me prevention. President Biden’s statement reg- He also pondered whether it is strictly statute that paved the way to those suits in- shudder,” he said. isters a major advance in that direction. It necessary to pursue gathering evidence and cluded a direct, unabashed reference to the Fellow Californian Dr. Eric Esrailian, also follows upon the resolutions adopted seeking recognition from other countries at Genocide, the statue was ruled unconstitu- added, “After 106 years, we were finally by the House and Senate in 2019 that also this point in our history. tional solely because the president had nev- able to cross this solemn threshold to honor affirmed the Armenian Genocide and at the “[Prof.] Henry Theriault started to act on er recognized the Genocide and the statute our ancestors. I am grateful to Kirk Kerko- same time called for the encouragement of the assumption that the Armenian Genocide invaded his providence to do so. That ruling rian for his dedication and support. We out- human rights education. Armenian Ameri- has already been recognized and we now was later upheld but the United States Su- lined an organized plan years ago with our cans should follow through on the legisla- should be working on restitution,” he noted. preme Court when it denied review but only films and social impact campaigns to specif- tion and take up the responsibility of pro- For Turkey, he said, it was restitution — after the Obama Administration weighed in ically secure U.S. government recognition. moting human rights education and do their the “what are you to going to do about it” asking that it be ruled unconstitutional. In a I am also grateful to all of the hard-working part in raising awareness of the importance — that comes after the global recognition batch of emails authored by Hillary Clinton people who contributed to our effort - both of genocide prevention.” of genocide. As examples Hovannisian re- and disclosed during the 2016 election, we publicly and privately. They know who they For Middlesex County Sheriff Peter called the issue of the ethnic Japanese-Amer- found emails between her and the Turkish are, and they know the incredible magnitude Koutoujian in Massachusetts, the statement ican citizens that were put in concentration foreign minister specifically discussing our of what has just happened.” was personal. “The historic failure to rec- camps in the US during World War II, as lawsuits and addressing a Turkish govern- Esrailian heads the Promise Institute for ognize the Armenian Genocide stood as a well as the issue of African-Americans who ment request to stop them. Shame on all Human Rights at the UCLA School of Law, blemish on America’s moral leadership and suffered as a result of generations of slavery. the Presidents who came before, Repub- created through a $20-million gift from the a painful erasure of what our families suf- The Biden statement might be important lican and Democrat, liberal and conserva- estate of the late Kirk Kerkorian, and is the fered. The violence perpetrated in Artsakh because “you get a major power to persuade tive. They all bowed to Turkish pressure – producer of the film “The Promise” on the just months ago was a chilling reminder Turkey that it should take some reparative until now,” said Kabateck. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 11

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Huge Turnout for Boston April 24 March for Justice By Kenneth Martin during the Genocide. The march route pro- Special to the Mirror-Spectator ceeded down historic Beacon Hill to City Hall Plaza and from there past Faneuil Hall BOSTON — On April 24, 2021, as and Quincy Marketplace to the Armenian Armenians everywhere were preparing to commemorate with marches, prayers and protests the 106th anniversary of the beginning of the 1915 calamities in Tur- key that led to the attempt to slaughter a nation, President of the United States Jo- seph Biden officially recognized the dark chapter in human history and the reality as a genocide. Armenians across the globe were stunned and elated, especially those living in the United States, where efforts took Anais Astarjian more than 100 years to gain recognition for the extermination of their ancestors as Heritage Park on the Rose Kennedy Gre- more than just an ancient feud between Ar- enway. menian and Turks. The crowd flooded the circular maze en- In Boston, “Demonstrate & Commemo- closure of the park and surrounded the im- rate: A March for Justice,” organized by the Armenian flags and homemade signs pre- migrant monument dedicated to the Geno- Massachusetts Committee to Commemo- pared to march all the way over Beacon cide as State Representative and Master of rate the Armenian Genocide that seeks to Hill to the Armenian Heritage Park for the Ceremonies David Muradian Jr. led off the educate on all genocides, especially the Ar- planned program. Many attended because program. Prayers by the Armenian clergy menian Genocide of 1915, and to advocate for recognition and prevention of such trag- edies worldwide, had announced plans for the day. Organizers fearing fewer attendees for the start of the program were elated to see large numbers of Armenian-Americans from Greater Boston and beyond crossing Homenetmen Scouts Boston Common carrying American and

106th Genocide Anniversary Event in Montreal Organized by Youth United Committee MONTREAL — On Saturday April 24, Genocide had just been circulating. an impressive and emotional, open air Ar- Following the singing of the Canadian menian Genocide 106th anniversary event and Armenian national anthems, respec- was held, attended by some thousand Mon- tively by a star of the 2021 Star Acade- treal community members, in spite of high- mie, Zara Sargsyan, and popular Armenian ly windy conditions, around the Armenian singer Martin Yorgantz, and well-targeted Memorial monument in the Marcelin Wil- introductory remarks in French and En- Massachusetts State Rep. David Muradian Jr. son Park. glish by Marie-Laure Cimetier, Noushig It was noteworthy that the event was Kadian and Maral Elliott, successively, they had heard the news that President entirely organized by a community Youth Canadian Members of Parliament Alex- Joe Biden had finally done what so many United Committee with members from andre Boulerice, Mario Beaulieu, Quebec American Presidents and administrations the Tekeyan Cultural Association and Ar- Deputy, Christine St. Pierre, and municipal had failed to do. menian Democratic Liberal Party, the Ar- politicians Mayor Emilie Thulier, Mary The announcement by President Biden menian General Benevolent Union and Deros and Denis Coderre expressed their also activated local media organizations YP, Nor Serount (Social Democratic Hn- solidarity with the Arminian Cause, recall- to shake off the warm and fuzzy afternoon and pay more attention than usual to Ar- menians and the event and send television news crews, still photographers, and print journalists to provide coverage. After a brief greeting and presentation by AGCC leaders Anais Astarjian and Her- man Purutyan the Armenian Scouts carry- ing flags and banners led the demonstration up to the State House on Beacon Hill where they laid a wreath in memorial of those lost

Armenian POWs were not forgotten from various parishes, the American and Bishop Abgar Hovagimian and the clergy presiding over the ceremony Armenian national anthems performed by Ani Zargarian, recorded greetings by na- chagian Party), St. Gregory the Illumina- ing that Canada had recognized the Ar- tional, state and local officials were pre- tor Cathedral, Sourp Khatch Church, St. menian Genocide some 18 years ago. An sented on a billboard sized video panel. Nareg Armenian Catholic Church and the appropriate recitation and songs program A surprise appearance by former Mayor First Armenian Evangelical Church. was presented by Martin Yorgantz, Miri- of the City of Boston and United States The event was presided by the Primate am Baghdassarian (Quebec Voice finalist), Sheriff Peter Koutoujian Ambassador the Vatican Raymond Flynn, of Canada Bishop Abgar Hovagimian and and Silva Bekarian. A multitude of posters statements by Middlesex County of Mas- it was held under the auspices of Ambas- were held up by young people in the large sachusetts Peter Koutoujian and State Rep- sador of Armenia in Ottawa Anahit Haru- crowd filling the beautiful park, where one resentative Steven Owens representing the tunyan, who could not be present because could read next to statements condemning 29th Middlesex (parts of Watertown and of the current interprovincial Covid travel Turkey for its continued denial, statements Cambridge). ban. Several Canadian federal, provincial condemning the Canadian arms sale to the Performances by duduk performers and and municipal political representatives Turkish-Azerbaijani perpetrators of the re- a soulful performance by vocalist Lucia participated in the event. cent criminal war against Artsakh. Papikian, a Waltham High School student, An exhilarated resolution to prevail could This highly emotional successful event of Dle Aman and Groong by Komitas left be seen on the faces of the young and old was concluded by a religious program, the audience spellbound. Canadian-Armenian community members, readings from the Bible by the clergy, and Muradian ended the evening just past 8 as the news of US President Joe Biden’s closing recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, pre- Lucia Papikian of Waltham High School p.m., by reading a proclamation from Gov- historic proclamation and recognition of the sided over by Bishop Hovagimyan. sings ernor of Massachusetts, Charles Baker. 12 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR Arts & Culture Armenians Review of Misak Meeting in Medzarents: The Complete Lyric The Most Poems by James Unexpected R. Russell Places By Jesse S. Arlen Special to the Mirror-Spectator By Artsvi Bakhchinyan Special to the Mirror-Spectator «Ի՜նչ երջանկութիւն, տերեւի It is a fact that despite being rela- մը խարշափին մէջէն տեսնել tively few in number, we Armenians տիեզերական զօրութեան are everywhere. Even in the most un- գաղտնիքը, ու այդ փոքռիկ believable places, in the least popu- մասնաւորէն մեկնիլ դէպի lated regions of the world, we learn անհունը։» about the distant presence of an Ar- menian or some Armenian traces. “What joy, to behold in the rustle of Once writer Vahram Mavian record- a leaf the secret power of the cosmos, ed similar meetings in his two books, and to depart from that particular There are Armenians Everywhere and thing for the infinite (li).” * The Remnants of Armenians. For years I have heard from dif- So writes twenty-one-year-old Mi- ferent people, in William Saroyan’s sak Medzarents, while describing his terms, “small Armenian stories” poetic vision in response to a critical about meetings with Armenians or letter received from Fr. Vartan Arsla- Armenian-related people in the most nian after the publication of Dziadzan unexpected places, each one - a com- (Ծիածան / Rainbow), the poet’s first plete short story or a short film, which book of verse, in 1907. hereby I present to the readers. Medzarents is the kind of poet that teaches us to stop, to look and attend Himalayan Guru and the Arme- to what is always around us, and to nian Woman see it as if for the first time. Read- From the stories of Hayk Isakha- ing his poems, we are led to wonder nyan from Yerevan, who has visited anew at the miracle of day-to-day ex- India for couple of times: istence, as for example in one of his “I am in the Himalayas, North In- first poems, M 18: Arevakal (“The dia, in Uttarakhand province, city of Sunrise Liturgy”). In this poem, a Uttarkashi, practicing yoga with a lo- Hitting the paean to the rising sun, we behold cal guru. Once I injured my shoulder with pure wonder the giving way of and asked my teacher what exercise I darkness to light at dawn, as “nature could use to get my shoulder in order. wakens, fire-born (13),” illuminating And I was surprised when he said:“A the shapes and colors of the fields good way to relieve shoulder pain High Notes and flowers and rivers and mountains was taught me by a woman from Ar- surrounding the poet’s home village menia, who came to me years ago.” Cello Artist Arpenik Hakobyan’s Star Zhingyalov Hats in the Tantric Temple Shines Bright in Cirque Du Soleil Hayk continues: “I was in India again, again in the By Ani Duzdabanyan-Manoukian ATLANTA — “Anything is possible: I might Himalayas. I was looking for a Ti- Special to the Mirror-Spectator end up in Broadway! I never limit myself,” betan teacher to master their various laughs Arpenik Hakobyan while having her big techniques. I was sent to a Tantric cup of decaf (it’s late afternoon in Atlanta, GA). That makes me feel relieved to drink temple not far from Dalai Lama’s my tea without any awkwardness on the other side of the screen (it’s gloomy in Los city, which is one of two most im- Angeles and I still feel sore after my Covid-19 vaccine). portant Tantric temples. I arrived at Very recently NPR broadcasted Arpenik’s own song, Together with Me, for a whole that very interesting, beautiful place week in its World Music segment. Right before the pandemic started, Arpenik signed to attend a ceremony. A large number her contract with Cirque Du Soleil for a new show. In 2019 she released her first CD. of Tibetans came, as well as many And as if this wasn’t enough on her list of accomplishments to discuss, just days ago tourists. I was about to enter the tem- she became a US citizen, gaining freedom of movement as an artist. “I have a nice ca- ple, but suddenly I heard from behind reer that a lot of musicians would look forward to, but if it wasn’t possible for me to be in Armenian: able to live in the US, I couldn’t pursue my career as a musician,” Arpenik exclaimed ‘Baryev, akhpierr, vontsyes? [Hel- frankly. lo, brother, how are you?] Arpenik started auditioning for Cirque Du Soleil in 2016: it was a dream job, but I could not believe my ears. The it wasn’t her time yet. Someone else was accepted at that time. Then in 2018 Cirque Himalayas, Tantric temple, and sud- Du Soleil approached Arpenik with a proposal for another show. But this time she was (Armenian Series no. 12. The Press denly… Armenian words, but with busy with her own concerts. Finally, in 2019 she was able to join the world-famous at California State University, Russian pronunciation. I turned back. crew and perform in front of audiences of many thousands. Fresno, 2020) A strong man with a shaved head, 45- “They reached out to me saying that I was the perfect candidate for the new show. 50 years old, approached me and ex- It all happened in five days,” Arpenik remembers. She even created a brand-new song tended his hand. specifically for the audition — Sweet Dreams. In 2020, Arpenik auditioned for a new of Pingyan (Բինկեան). From awe ‘Is it written on my forehead that I show called Under the Same Sky, which didn’t premiere because of the pandemic. and wonder at the local and particu- am Armenian?’ I asked him. Cello, precaution and singing: Arpenik has the entire skillset for the job. She said, lar — the rustling of a leaf driven by “Akhpierr (brother),” he said and “In Cirque Du Soleil you have to be a multi-instrumentalist. Also, there is acting; there the wind, the buzzing of a bee about continued in Russian, “our group is could be a dance… You have to be a flexible person to work there. That’s the profile of a blossom, the silkworm’s nibbling of from Ukraine, but I am from Hadrut!’ the job, and I perfectly fit that profile. I love it. I always wanted to be that way.” a mulberry leaf, the shepherd’s crook I hugged the Ukrainian from Art- Despite her choice to pursue a non-traditional career as a cello musician, Arpenik’s and song at the head of his bleating sakh very tightly. professional background lies in classical music. She started her musical education in flock — Medzarents finds the way to ‘Are you from Yerevan?’ he asked. Armenia first in the Sargis Aslamazyan Music School No. 1 and then with the famous the universal, to the infinite, to God ‘I am, but my grandfather was also professor Medea Abrahamyan. She continued her higher education in the Yerevan State who “is in every place,” as he says in from Artsakh.’ University of Theatre and Cinematography and later on studied in Belgium and the US. the same letter quoted above. see P LACES, page 13 see HAKOBYAN, page 13 see REVIEW, page 14 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 13

ARTS & CULTURE Arpenik Hakobyan’s Star Shines Bright

HAKOBYAN, from page 12 profession in general. She elaborated: “I adore classical music, She said: “I had different teachers and but I was always the person who would each one of them promoted different play [something] a little different. This is schools. During the years that I studied in why I choose jazz. In Cirque Du Soleil I Belgium, I learned everything about the am a jazz musician,” even though it’s not a sound of the cello and techniques. In the “main stream choice for a cello.” Arpenik US, I was introduced to jazz music: how is convinced that in this way she has her to express myself, how to let go and all the own place in the music industry that truly things that I didn’t learn in Belgium. In Ar- belongs to her. menia I had a rough Soviet structured ed- The choice to play cello came by acci- ucation; I studied piano, solfeggio, harmo- dent – or maybe not, as she likes to think, ny, theory and cello. It was very good for she explained accompanied by a deep a beginning, because when I continued to smile. She was seven and a half, when study in the conservatory, I was one of the her mother (did I mention that she is Lida few who knew a lot about music already. Hakobyan, an actress and director!) decid- All these were incorporated into me.” ed that she needed to take violin classes. Between constant travel between Arme- When Arpenik arrived to the music school nia and the US, Arpenik is waiting for life for the admission exams, she was very to get back to normal after the pandemic, much impressed upon hearing the word when she expects to continue her career cello in Armenian. “When they asked me with the Cirque Du Soleil tour of 2022 in if I wanted to play a violin or a cello, the North America, through both Canada and word cello [in Armenian] sounded so fas- the United States. She continues provid- cinating and beautiful, that I said ‘I want to ing music classes (now online) to various play cello’ without even knowing what that students, children and adults, who want instrument was,” remembers Arpenik with to learn how to play cello or to ameliorate an innocent laugh. their skills. Arpenik inherited her artistic back- In Armenia, she is continuing her hu- ground from her mother. She was on the manitarian initiative, creating job training stage with her from a very young age per- programs for women. She started it last forming in different plays. Her personali- year. It will primarily help women who ei- to find employment after graduating. to show that they can [do it] and they don’t ty started to take shape right there in the ther lost their husbands, fathers or brothers “They [these women] now need to find have to be afraid to step up and make a theater, where she was always encouraged during the war in Artsakh, or are obliged to their way, because there is absolutely no decision. And if they are lacking any tool, to enjoy freedom of expression. But this take care of those who became disabled in other choice. I would like to be able to help they can reach out for help.” Arpenik con- entire precious framework needed to be re- their family, and are now the main bread- these women to not only be empowered by siders herself a “bridge” between investors fined abroad, which Arpenik finds the only winner. This program is teaching women to the sense of security coming from an edu- and educational training programs that can way to be successful in art and in any other become culinary experts and helping them cation or a career, but also mentality-wise: provide long-term support. Armenians Meeting in the Most Unexpected Places

PLACES, from page 12 ory, but also told the young people around French-speaking colleague who was stay- Mikhail Berkovich, a mariner from Vladi- At this word we hugged each other again him about it, passing it on from generation ing in the same hotel and said: vostok, traveled to Fiji island in the 1960s and entered the temple. to generation, so that now, when these ‘Come and see what this whore wants with the Soviet delegation and met with The service started, we were all sitting young people meet Armenians for the first from me!’ the mayor of the capital Suva. The lat- folded, but we did not see or hear what was time, they consider it necessary to take Suddenly the black woman said in Ar- ter was interested in the guests’ families. happening - my new acquaintance and I them to that old man. menian: ‘Baron, yes poz chem! (Sir, I am Hearing that Berkovich is married to an were talking non-stop. At the hottest mo- not a whore!)’ Armenian woman, after the meeting he ment of the service, when the bells were The Grateful Vietnamese I almost died of shame! I began to apolo- approached him and said: “So your wife ringing, the Ukrainian asked me: An Armenian named Artashes traveled gize endlessly, until she explained in fluent is Armenian… you know, I am Armenian ‘Brother, do you like zhingyalov hats?’ with a friend in Vietnam. In one of the big Western Armenian that by making my bed too.” Berkovich later told his wife that he Zhingyalov hats is the traditional Art- cities they accidentally deviated from the in a wrong way, I doubled her job. When I would expect anything except meeting his sakh dish — a very delicious flatbread main street. Suddenly a group of motorcy- could bring myself to look into her eyes, I wife’s compatriot on the island of Fiji. stuffed with herbs. We started to laugh clists appeared and surrounded them. The dared to ask where she has learned Arme- I tried to find out the name of that may- loudly. The Tibetan clergy, who were very guys understood that they would definite- nian. The woman, who forgave me gener- or, but so far did not succeed. Probably forgiving and tolerant, were already look- ly be robbed, but the question is whether ously, said that she worked for many years that can refer to one of the members of ing back and scolding us. they will stay alive. Artash said his friend in the house of Armenians, who taught her the Suva city council, among whom there in Russian: “Oops, we are lost!” At that to speak the language.” were six Europeans in the 1960s. “The Armenian Lions” word, one of Vietnamese, pointing his fin- Another story from Thailand, told to ger at the guys asked in Russian: “Are you “Barev, Rubik!” An Iceland-ahay - Hayk Isakhanyan by Hrant, an Armenian Russians?” “Armenians,” they answered. The late film director Ruben Gevorg- My eldest son traveled to Iceland in businessman from there, now deceased. At that word, the strong-built Vietnamese yants from Yerevan told that during the So- 2018 with his girlfriend. They were stand- When he had just gone to Thailand, once ordered something to his fellow guys, put viet years they left for India with a group ing in line at the Reykjavik airport and the Armenians living in that region decid- the Armenians on motorcycles and drove of tourists. In one province they were told talking, when a young girl in a uniform, ed to start a joint business in Taiwan. Once them somewhere. Our guys thought that that the next day they would go to a moun- an airport employee, approached them and in Taiwan, they met a group of young if they were going to kill them, where are tain village and meet a local guru. asked in Armenian: businessmen. When the latter found out they taking them now? The next day, when they reached that “Are you speaking Armenian?” that they were Armenians, they put them And they were taken to a luxurious village, this guru came and seeing Gevor- She looked just astonished. in the van and drove through the jungle restaurant, they were honored and after a gyants, exclaimed in Armenian: “May I see your passports?” without saying where they were taking while, when they already gained courage “Barev (hello), Rubik!” She started examining the Republic of them. The men could have escaped, but they asked what all this tribute means. Gevorgyants answered him: Armenia passports thoroughly. there was nowhere to run. Finally, they At that time, the strong-built Vietnamese “Barev, Rubik!” and they hugged. “This is the first time I see Armenian reached a village and were invited to a told that he had studied in Moscow and The KGB employee (they always ac- passports,” said the girl and told that she hut, in front of which a very old man sat. that once he had been attacked by Russian company Soviet tourists) immediately was born in Iceland and her parents had The Taiwanese people said something to skinheads. And only a few Armenian stu- approached and asked what language he moved to Iceland from Vanadzor. She also the old man, helped him to his feet, and dents arrived and rescued him. spoke to the guru and what they said to offered her assistance to her compatriots… the old man bowed before the Armenians. each other. Laughing, Gevorgyants said Thus, from Fiji to Iceland, over the Everyone was amazed at why this respect- “Sir, I am not a whore!” that this guru actually is his old acquain- Himalayan mountains, there are traces able old man over 100 bows before these From the stories of my dear professor P. H.: tance Ruben Filyan, a writer from Yere- of Armenians, close and distant memo- 30-40-year-old foreigners. And the old “I was in France for a conference. In the van, who had moved to India a few years ries about the Armenians, which in these Chinese man explained that when he was hotel I was making my bed every morn- ago. cases, as we have seen, are positive. young and participating in Chinese revo- ing. One day the cleaner, a black woman, Nevertheless, blessed is the nation lution, there were some “Armenian lions” entered the room and began to speak with A Fijian Armenian? that does not have to emigrate and stays fighting side by side with the Chinese. me. I became very nervous, as I did not My neighbor Armen Babayan told us in its ancestral country, making it devel- The old man not only carried that mem- understand a word and telephoned my how once his aunt Shoghakat’s husband, op and flourish in every way. 14 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

ARTS & CULTURE Review of Misak Medzarents: The Complete Lyric Poems REVIEW, from page 12 from an overlooked corner of the globe, conjunction with Dr. Russell’s translations linguistic traditions treated a similar theme Thus in the young poet’s more mature po- the late singer of an ancient and now all but and commentary. or topic. In so doing, this volume actual- ems, such as the “I would be… (Ĕllayi…)” forgotten civilization, not only transcended Each of the over one hundred poems ly places Medzarents’ poems side-by-side cycle and M 131: Inchʿ arpetsʿutʿeamp… personal despair over his impending indi- is accompanied by a commentary. These with the great works of world literature. (“With what intoxication…”), which con- vidual death through identification with the range in length from a short paragraph Prof. Russell also pays attention to clude his second and final book of verse life that unites all beings but also created highlighting various aspects of a po- Medzarents’ reception in the subsequent published during his brief lifetime, Nor Ta- works of beauty which endured and sur- em’s theme or content, e.g. M 21: Hivan- Eastern Armenian literary tradition (no gher (Նոր Տաղեր / New Lyrics), Medza- vived the genocidal will that in the years rents’ panentheistic nature mysticism after his death destroyed all but scattered achieves its finest expression. remnants of his culture. (Panentheism, as differentiated from Now for the first time, thanks to this pantheism — where God and the universe complete translation of his lyric poems are identical — describes the belief that the into English by James R. Russell, Mashtots Being of God encompasses and permeates Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard the whole universe, such that all things University (Emeritus), Medzarents’ poet- ry may be read alongside the great poetic works of world literature, in whose compa- ny Medzarents rightfully belongs. The vol- ume under consideration here is the fruit of over fifteen years of attention Prof. Russell has paid to translating and commenting on the works of this great Western Armenian lyric poet, and the scholar’s many years of labor are evident in the high quality of the final product. Fifty pages of introduction orient the reader to the context and historical set- ting of Misak Medzarents’ life and works. Assuming an uninitiated reader, Dr. Rus- sell gives a brief tour of the physical and cultural geography of Western Armenia Map of Pingyan in Sivas Province, Ottoman Empire from Robert Hewsen, Arme- in general and Medzarents’ home village nia: A Historical Atlas, University of Chicago Press, 2001 of Pingyan in particular, which formed the inspiration and setting for many of his poems. He also walks the reader through ti hevkʿer tsʿaykerk (“The Groans of the attention is paid to post-genocide Western the major events, elements, and diverse Sick (Night Song)),” M 24: Teghin varter Armenian literature), focusing in particular Misak Medzarents religious and cultural currents that con- (“Yellow Roses”), to very dense and de- on Yeghishē Charentsʿ, who played a piv- tributed to the over 2500-year history of tailed commentaries spanning many pages otal role in the publication and diffusion of Armenian life in the region. Due and de- (the longest treatment is given over to M Medzarents’ poetry in Soviet Armenia, as exist in God and God exists in all things, tailed attention is also paid to the literary, 32: Gaydzer (“Sparks),” and is over fifteen well as Russian/Soviet writers like Vlad- while at the same time the Divine Being epic, folk, oral, and imaginative cultural pages long). imir Mayakovsky. At times, attention to remains transcendent and greater than the inheritance on which Medzarents drew In the commentaries, one enters as if into Soviet authors borders on the idiosyncrat- universe.) for the writing of his lyric poems. Thus, the classroom with Prof. Russell. At times ic, as for example in the brief commentary In these poems, the poet transcends the by the time readers reach the first poems, he is the erudite linguist and philologist, to M 59: Vayrgyanner, “Moments,” where limits of his bounded and circumscribed they are well equipped with the necessary unpacking the intricate sound devices and space is given to mentioning a poem by ego-self — through the mantric chanting background information to approach and patterns of Medzarents’ original Arme- Mayakovsky but omits discussion of Ray- of ĕllayi, ĕllayi…, ‘I would be, I would appreciate them in all their local flavor and nian verse (e.g. M 13: Kisherin yerazankʿĕ mond Bouyer, despite that poem beginning be…’ — to achieve union with “all shapes specificity. Readers of Armenian may turn (“What the Night Dreams”)) or expound- with an epigraph containing a quote from and forms, all colors gleaming / all essenc- to the back half of the volume, where they ing the resonances of words or phrases Bouyer, or in M31: Sirerk (“Love Song”), es and all elements (253).” Thereby the will find a facsimile reproduction of Albert in the classical form of the language that when mention is made of how Charents young poet, whose body was consumed by Sharurian’s critical edition from 1981 so as Medzarents knew well (e.g. M 17: Ast- mocked the poem in question. Elsewhere, tuberculosis at age twenty-two, who hailed to be able to read the Armenian original in gherĕ (“The Stars”)). At other times, he the engagement with Charents is illuminat- is the classical Armenologist, drawing on ing, as for example in M 56: Hovin antsʿkʿĕ Medzarents’ pre-modern Armenian precur- (“The Wind Passes”), where that poem of sors, such as Nersēs Shnorhali, Grigor of Medzarents is read alongside Charents’ Narek, or Pʿawstos Buzand, to illuminate 1922 poem Kʿamin, “The Wind.” the intertextuality at work in Medzarents’ Prof. Russell’s commentaries do not fol- poems (e.g. M 18: Arevakal (“The Sun- low a predictable or formulaic structure. rise Liturgy),” M 82: Arrdvan arevin mēch This is to be highly commended, as adher- CALENDAR (“In the morning Sun”), M 127: Irigunĕs, ence to a rigid format would not only have ON-LINE EVENTS & PROGRAMS (“This Evening”)). Elsewhere, he is the been artificial but would have made for te- comparative literary scholar, interpret- dious reading. Instead, due to the commen- MASSACHUSETTS ing Medzarents’ poems alongside those taries’ variance in length, unpredictable of more familiar poets from the British content, and diverse topics of focus, the JUNE 16 — SAVE THE DATE: BUILDING FOR ETERNITY~ NAASR’s Virtual Gala. and American literary traditions, such as reader remains curious and engaged, and Join us as we honor Edward Avedisian, NAASR Board member and philan- William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, eagerly turns the pages to discover what thropist, during NAASR’s Building for Eternity Virtual Gala, on Wednesday, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Dylan fascinating new insights or connections June 16, 2021, at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Pacific. Avedisian is the principal Thomas, Hart Crane, and Allen Ginsberg. may come next. benefactor of NAASR’s new Vartan Gregorian Building and will be recog- Several of these poets Medzarents himself It is unfortunate that the book suffers nized for his outstanding dedication and distinguished service in advancing knew and read, likely in French transla- from conflicting aims orraisons d’être. On education in the United States and Armenia. He is Director of NAASR, a tion. Medzarents was also an avid reader the one hand, the scholar-translator hopes Trustee of the American University of Armenia, and a Director of the Ar- of French poetry, although French poets to present the poems of Medzarents to a menian Missionary Association of America. Special guest, New York Times receive perhaps less attention than they global audience. However, they have been bestselling author Chris Bohjalian in a unique conversation with Dr. Khatchig deserve in Dr. Russell’s commentaries. issued in a publication series that, while Mouradian, Armenian and Georgian Specialist at the Library of Congress. He makes up for this lacuna by providing respectable in Armenian circles, does not RHODE ISLAND comparisons (and original translations) of have a following outside of the Armenian the works of poets from other literary tradi- or Armenological community. Further- MAY 7-28 — Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of Providence continues program- tions, such as Yehuda ha-Levi (Hebrew) in more, due to the lengthy commentaries ming the Armenian Cultural Hour programs, every Friday at 7:30 p.m. The the commentary to M 17: Astgherĕ (“The and inclusion of a facsimile of the Arme- program can be livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page by everyone at Stars”) or Constantine Cavafy (Greek) in nian critical edition, one ends up with a https://www.facebook.com/armenianchurchprovidence the commentary to M 45: Khonch irigunn hefty tome of 600+ pages. These features, May 7 - ARMENIA The Land of Noah, Documentary in English arakōrēn… (“The Evening, Fatigued, which although they make the book a great May 14 - Armenian music and songs (Concert from Montreal, Canada) Swiftly).” Indeed, one of the striking fea- contribution to Armenian studies and Ar- May 21 - Our Youth Talents, issue two tures of the book is the inclusion of whole menian literature, when taken together, un- May 28 - Celebration concert, dedicated to 100th Anniversary of the First Re- poems or lengthy excerpts from the poetry fortunately all but ensure that this volume public of Armenia of all the writers mentioned above, such will not bring Medzarents’ lyric poems to that readers may encounter and compare the attention of a global (non-Armenian) how two poets from different literary and continued on next page SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 15

ARTS & CULTURE

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup dried green lentils, rinsed 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil Recipe 1 large onion, diced q 1 medium stalk celery, diced by Christine 2 medium carrots, diced Vartanian 2 garlic cloves, minced Corner 7 cups vegetable broth, more if needed 3 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, to taste 1/8 teaspoon allspice 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, more to taste

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editions of the poems at digilib, Google On a road in the plain Fervent and heart-stopping, Review of The Complete Books, wikisource, or elsewhere). Or at the foot of the mountain Of my guest of that evening. Lyric Poems Despite these drawbacks in terms of I would be the hut and wait And as I looked out at the sunrise manifesting and negotiating the conflicting For the wayfarer to come. And all the next day I would think from previous page elements of the book’s vision, the volume Of my evening guest’s journey. readership. On the other hand, from the as a whole is to be greatly applauded and And I would call to my embrace perspective of Armenian studies, despite is deserving of the highest accolades. Not The unbidden traveler And all the winters long the great erudition of the commentary and only will readers without knowledge of On his lonely road, With joyous invitation the almost overwhelming number of fas- Armenian now be able to read one of the On the winding road of gold; I would stand by the side of the road cinating lexical and linguistic insights and greatest of Armenian poets, but they may To greet my guests I’d be And to the poor man caked with snow broader literary connections, there is little do so with a guide to illumine for them the The rising cloud of the chimney’s smoke. Like a father I would spread engagement with previous scholarship on literary references, resonances, and poetic Both arms wide. the poetry of Medzarents or references devices in Medzarents’ poetry. Readers of And I would call to my caress The sweet incarnate made to Armenological scholarship apart Armenian too will find that their under- The wayfarers in their weariness; Summoning would I ever be. from the author’s own previous work. Fi- standing of Medzarents is greatly enriched And instead of a word of greeting nally, while the book admirably aims to by encountering the lyric poet in Prof. I would give a thousand things good. Ah, I would be, I would be! bring attention to Western Armenian liter- Russell’s English translations and with A thousand things good I’d give to them: On a road in the plain ature and the endangered Western Arme- his commentaries, which are expansive, The warmth of a crackling hearth, Or at the foot of the mountain nian language — the author specifically ever opening up onto new interpretative The grapes of the fertile plains, I would be the hut and wait mentions this as one of the principal rea- vistas as connections are made with poets All autumn’s fruits, For the wayfarer to come. sons he turned to Medzarents in the first of various literary traditions, even as they And wine, and milk and honey… place (xxxvi n. 20; as well as the poetry remain grounded in the poetry of the Ar- – M 115: Hiwghĕ (“The Hut”) of Medzarents’ precursor, Bedros Tourian, menian text itself and the historical context And in the night I’d listen which Dr. Russell previously translated in which the poems were written. To the song of the eventide guest * Page numbers/numerals in parentheses and commented on) — most Western Ar- And now, the reviewer has space for Before the crackling fireplace; refer to the pagination of the volume under menian readers will be disappointed to be nothing more to say but tolle, lege — ‘pick And at night I would supply review. The “M + a number” are used to presented with Medzarents’ poems in So- up the book and read’ — and listen to A slumber replete with dream identify titles of poems in the volume un- viet orthography. Many, like the present Medzarents sing in English and summon To the guest of the evening. der review, which also correlate to the page reader, will choose rather to read from the us, we wandering wayfarers of the far- At dawn I would listen to the song of numbers of the critical edition of Medzar- 1986 Antelias edition (or search for online flung Diaspora: praise, ents’ poems. 16 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

THE ARMENIAN Mirror Editorial SPECTATOR Since 1932 Biden Snatches Victory for Truth from Jaws of History An ADL Publication The suspense is over. Since President Then Vice President Biden confided at that time that he would Ronald Reagan referred to the Armenian have recognized the Genocide had he been in the position to do Genocide indirectly in 1981, the Armenian so. Today Ms. Power is back in power as the USAID chief, and The First English Language community in the US has been going on a she may have absolved herself in crafting President Biden’s Armenian Weekly in the rollercoaster, raising its hopes with each historic statement. United States presidential election and being disappointed Now that the magical word is finally out, many parties and every April 24. groups and official quarters are claiming their share of glory. EDITOR By Edmond Y. For the Armenian people, the issue of For example, in Armenia, the blame for the recent defeat has Azadian Alin K. Gregorian genocide is the blood of its 1.5 million hu- been thrown like a football from one leader to another, while man beings; it is the loss of an ancestral homeland and dese- all lay claim to the credit for Biden’s statement. MANAGING EDITOR cration of cultural heritage. Yet, for the politicians, it is nothing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is pushing the narrative that Aram Arkun more than a political football. That is why they can forget or the US finally recognized the Armenian Genocide during his ART DIRECTOR renege on their promises so easily, so conveniently, talking administration. We wish there was a connection and it were Mark (Mgrditchian) McKertich about the overarching issues. true. To the contrary, we had been very critical of the Armenian Donald Trump, perhaps, was the only presidential candidate government for its apathy toward taking a stand and making an SENIOR EDITORIAL COLUMNIST who did not pledge recognition and nor did he deliver any- official appeal to the US president to finally use the “G” word, Edmond Y. Azadian thing. But his White House responded diligently to the actions in the face of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government which of the US House of Representatives and the Senate, which had mobilized its full resources to force President Biden to STAFF WRITER passed overwhelming resolutions recognizing the Armenian change his intention. Harry Kezelian III Genocide. Indeed, the White House spokesperson, after the Indeed, the very same week, before the proclamation, Pres- CONTRIBUTORS 2019 adoption of the Congress resolution, announced that the ident Erdogan held a tumultuous forum inviting many schol- Christopher Atamian, Florence Avakian, president had not changed his opinion on the issue. ars from different countries to disqualify the massacres as a Taleen Babayan, Artsvi Bakhchinyan, The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the interna- genocide. Following that forum, President Erdogan chaired a Raffi Bedrosyan, Christine Vartanian tional community has been a tremendous challenge, while it government session with the same goal. Datian, Dr. Arshavir Gundjian, Philippe has travelled a tortuous course in the power corridors of the Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu and Presiden- Raffi Kalfayan, Ken Martin, Gerald United States. Although the US government had recognized tial Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, as well as Erdogan himself, Papasian, Harut Sassounian, Hagop made threatening remarks Vartivarian that Biden’s statement would create problems in Turk- REGIONAL ish-American relations and CORRESPONDENTS also deteriorate relations be- LOS ANGELES: Ani Duzdabanyan- tween Turkey and Armenia, Manoukian, Kevork Keushkerian, where, in fact, none exist. Michelle Mkhlian After the proclamation, YEREVAN: Raffi Elliott the same sources stated that BERLIN: Muriel Mirak-Weissbach Biden’s act does not make PARIS: Jean Eckian any difference for Turkey. A SAN FRANCISCO: Kim Bardakian simple common-sense ques- CAIRO: Maydaa Nadar tion would be: if it does not PHOTOGRAPHERS make a difference, why all Jirair Hovsepian, Ken Martin the commotion? As far as the Armenian VIDEO CORRESPONDENT government is concerned, Haykaram Nahapetyan there were no commensurate initiatives to counter Turkey. The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is On the contrary, many gov- published weekly, except two weeks in ernment officials refuse to July and the first week of the year, by: publicly qualify Turkey as Baikar Association, Inc. the enemy while others un- 755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA derplay its significance for 02472-1509 Armenia and the Armenian Telephone: 617-924-4420 case, except for the delayed FAX: 617-924-2887 reactions by Foreign Minister www.mirrorspectator.com Ara Ayvazyan and Ambassa- E-Mail: [email protected] dor to US Varuzhan Ners- For advertising: [email protected] esyan. the Armenian Genocide in 1948 when it signed the UN Geno- The reason the 46th president of the US defined the events cide Convention (though it took another 40 years before it rat- that had happened to our people as a genocide, rather than a SUBSCRIPTION RATES ified it), in recent years, it had become a taboo word in the massacre, was because all the stars were properly aligned. U.S.A. $80 one year American political lexicon, always held back not to offend In the first place, deteriorating Turkish-American relations Canada $125 one year NATO ally Turkey. proved to be one of the determining factors. Since the found- Other Countries $200 one year The latter has managed to become such a powerful country ing of NATO, US-Turkey relations have experienced ebbs and that it can survive with impunity and gag the world’s greatest flows. Now, they are at crisis-level as Turkey has taken the US powers, forcing them to remain silent when the issue comes to and NATO for granted one too many times. It has used the cov- © 2014 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator the Armenian Genocide. er of NATO to pursue its own nationalistic and Turanic agenda, Periodical Class Postage Paid at Boston, Armenians were most hopeful for the Obama presidency, always believing that invoking the NATO charter’s Article 5 MA and additional mailing offices. because his pledge was delivered to the Armenian community will scare away any serious pushback if it gets into deep waters ISSN 0004-234X through Samantha Power, the most forceful advocate of uni- and is attacked while pursuing its agenda. Erdogan’s Middle versal human rights and most knowledgeable on the issue of Eastern antics have been too transparent to be ignored forever the Genocide, particularly as enunciated in her book, A Prob- by a US administration. Postmaster: Send address lem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide. Second, President Biden meant what he said, that human changes to The Armenian In all fairness, President Obama’s memorial statement was rights matter for him and for America. As a candidate, he had Mirror-Spectator, 755 Mount the most descriptive of US presidents, while he showed ex- openly advocated courting Turkey’s opposition, yet President Auburn St., ceptional courage by admonishing the current Turkish govern- Erdogan took that as political rhetoric and continued his hu- Watertown, MA 02472 ment to reckon with its past, delivered in a speech right in the man rights abuses in Turkey. Biden’s proclamation sends more Turkish Parliament in Ankara. than one message to Turkey. In addition to looking back to Other than the Editorial, views Samantha Power later apologized to the furious Armenian the dark pages of history, he is holding Turkey responsible to and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily community and recently issued a statement circulated in the live up to NATO and European Union standards. We believe reflect the policies of the media, revealing a conversation at the ceremony in the Nation- firmly that it also draws a red line against Turkey’s threatening publisher. al Cathedral during the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. continued on next page SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 17

COMMENTARY

The Turkish government’s export of its denial of the truth has been virulent and pro- tracted. Its behavior has continued to abuse people of Armenian descent around the To Armenians, Biden’s world by preventing the process of healing for survivors and their communities. It is an assault on the rituals of commemoration necessary for burial of the dead, who, because Recognition of the Genocide of their violent deaths, never had their last rites. Ankara’s denial has robbed generations of Armenians of a chance at restoring moral order. And beyond the tragedy for the Arme- nian community, this denial paves the way for future genocides by sending the message Means the World that governments won’t be held accountable for atrocities. In recent years, however, Turkey’s campaign has been rebuffed and eroded by the By Peter Balakian dedication of activists around the world and the work of scholars of many nationalities. In his Saturday statement commemorating the slaughter of the Armenian people on And the record is overwhelming: As the International Association of Genocide Schol- their indigenous lands by the Ottoman Empire, President Biden said the word “geno- ars wrote to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2005: “We want to underscore cide,” marking a moment for which Armenian communities across the globe have been that it is not just Armenians who are affirming the Armenian Genocide but it is the over- clamoring for decades. whelming opinion of scholars who study genocide.” Countries in Europe, the Middle Until Biden, no American president has had the courage to use that term for fear of East, North America and South America have passed Armenian Genocide resolutions, angering modern-day Turkish leaders and damaging relations with a powerful ally, even among them, Germany, France, Russia, Syria, Argentina and Canada. In doing so, they one with an abominable human rights record. But when Biden said “We remember the have made a statement about the importance of accountability in the wake of human lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit our- rights crimes. The United States joined this group with Congress’s passage of Armenian selves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,” his words affirmed Genocide resolutions at the end of 2019, though President Donald Trump rejected the historical fact and embodied moral truth. nonbinding measures. Beginning in 1915, more than a million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turks. Germany’s acts of apology and reparation to the Jewish people and Israel are bench- Over a period of several years, property was confiscated, land stolen, women and chil- marks. The message is powerful and simple: Genocide demands acknowledgment, ac- dren were abducted and raped, and many Armenians were forced to convert to Islam. countability, and acts of repair and reparation. Armenian cultural institutions, including more than 2,000 irreplaceable, architecturally Decades of service to China’s government didn’t save my Uyghur dad from prison unique churches were destroyed. Armenians have sought justice for these atrocities for The Turkish government has stalked the Armenian people for over a century to prevent over a century. their healing and to rob them of their dignity. It has stooped low to try to stop other nations For decades, successive Turkish governments have denied the reality of the Armenian from acknowledging and representing the truth of the Armenian Genocide in their various Genocide, pressuring other nations to deny this history: Ankara has tried to stop movies educational and cultural arenas. The denial has been poisonous, holding Armenians hos- about it from being made, tried to stop the words “Armenian Genocide” from being tage in a wilderness of grief and shutting them out of their place in history. included in museum exhibits and tried to prevent the history of this tragedy from being Because Armenians are not politically powerful, and because Armenia has struggled taught in schools. This assault on the truth has been, as international lawyer and scholar against continued Turkish and Azerbaijani assaults on its very foundations, Armenia Richard Falk has said, a “major, proactive, deliberate government effort to use every needs the support of powerful leaders, and Biden is such a leader. Armenian Americans possible instrument of persuasion at its disposal to keep the truth about the Armenian are passionate, hard-working, patriotic citizens, and it means a great deal to the Arme- genocide from general acknowledgment, especially by elites in the United States and nian community to finally see our president affirming the truth. Western Europe.” By naming the Armenian Genocide, Biden is affirming that America stands for moral These efforts represent the final stage of genocide, in which a perpetrator attempts to order and historical truth; he is confirming the human dignity of the survivor culture; rehabilitate itself — a double killing, as Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wi- and his acknowledgment is a major step toward real justice — which is as necessary as esel explained — because if we allow victims of genocide to be forgotten, “the dead will air for those who have been violated, harmed and wronged. His words acknowledge that be killed a second time.” And the long battle against Turkey’s denial has been psycho- not only is genocide a scourge, but that failure to reckon with past wrongs endangers us logically damaging to Armenians, myself included, in incalculable ways. With empathy, all by emboldening would-be genocidaires. Indeed, just before invading Poland in 1939, my Jewish friends often say: We can’t imagine how we would feel if Germany did to Hitler said, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Jews what Turkey is doing to Armenians today. In his landmark April 24 statement, Biden has confirmed the Armenian people’s tragic In “Trauma and Recovery: The aftermath of violence — from domestic abuse to po- past, and has spoken to the necessity of human rights and justice for all people. His mor- litical terror,” Judith Herman notes that “After every atrocity, one can expect to hear the al leadership reverberates around the world. same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies, the victim exaggerates … and in any case, it is time to forget the past and move on.” In the case of mass violence, (Peter Balakian is a professor at Colgate University and the author of several books, culpable regimes often quickly manufacture narratives to falsify their human rights including Ozone Journal, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry and The Burning abuses, defend their actions and blame their victims and, in doing so, strive to create a Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response, winner of the 2005 Raphael false reality in which to entrap the survivor culture and smash it into silence. Lemkin Award.)

swers an Armenian youth in a gathering: “The Turks have To confuse the issue and to sound fair, the issue of joint Biden Snatches Victory for to come to the realization of what the reality is. And what panel of scholars will be brought forth again and again. we got to do is, you know, this. The compromise that is Fortunately, it was not formed during Serge Sargsyan’s Truth from Jaws of History going on, we have worked at for a while. The Armenian administration. president [Reference is to Serzh Sargsyan] called me and Every time the issue resurfaces, the Armenian side has from previous page said, ‘look, do not force this issue now while we are in to remind the participants of the Turkish Armenian Rec- posture along Armenia’s borders. negotiations. That is the past right now, so anyway, it’s onciliation Commission (TARC) experience, which was Last but not least, it expresses the US discontent about a … [unclear].’ The reality has a way of intruding, OK?” formed in 2001 and continued its work until 2004, com- hasty political arrangements between Russia and Turkey, Even if that video clip turns out to be fake, its content prising Turkish and Armenian representatives. In Febru- bypassing the Organization for Security and Cooperation is in line with Sargsyan’s actions and policies while in ary 2002, an independent legal opinion commissioned by in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, especially as they did office. the International center for Transitional Justice, at the re- during the Armenian-Azerbaijan war. Biden declared, in In 2005, secret negotiations were being conducted be- quest of TARC concluded that the Ottoman Genocide of essence, “America is back.” tween Armenia and Turkey. That eventually led to the Zu- Armenians in 1915-1918 “include[d] all of the elements The tremendous campaign that the Armenian-American rich Protocols in 2009 which also included the formation of the crime of genocide as defined by the [Genocide] community mounted through its news outlets, lobbying of a joint panel of scholars to reach to a conclusion about Convention and legal scholars as well as historians, poli- groups, political parties and prominent leaders and celeb- the events. President Sargsyan took the Turkish bait. ticians, journalists and other people would be justified in rities certainly helped with this point. Ter-Petrosian adamantly opposed the formation of that continuing to do so describe them.” Unfortunately, the least credit should be assigned to the panel because it would intrinsically imply that Armenians After learning of this verdict, the Turkish members of government of Armenia, despite the excuse of COVID are placing the veracity of the Genocide in doubt. TARC walked away as it was not the acceptable answer. and the devastating war. In response to Biden’s proclamation, the Turkish lead- Any other panel that Mr. Erdogan would like to form Tatoul Hagopian, a prominent journalist and scholar, ers have expressed themselves with fire and fury. Ibrahim will be no different than TARC. He wishes to reinvent the has published a timeline of Armenian-Turkish relations, Kalin has stated that Turkey will respond at a time of its wheel and force the participating scholars to spin their outlining the trials and tribulations around the issue of choosing, in a way it sees as appropriate. Interestingly, own wheels in place to come up with a pre-ordained con- Genocide recognition during the last 30 years. Turkey has not recalled its ambassador from the US, clusion absolving Turkey rather than studying history. The documents presented there do not confine the which indicates that at this time Turkey needs America Turkey will certainly retaliate against Mr. Biden’s proc- blame of inaction only on the current administration in rather than the other way. Instead, it has just summoned lamation, which in reality is less damaging than the F-35 Armenia; we can see that Turkey’s skillful diplomacy has the US ambassador to Turkey for a stern talking-to. program it lost out on. fooled Armenian leaders many times. In addition to those fiery statements, President Erdo- Indeed, the US had temporarily frozen the F-35 combat The Turks governed an empire for more than six centu- gan has sent a message to His Grace Archbishop Sahag aircraft program. Recently, the Biden administration can- ries, conducting diplomacy with European, Russian and Mashalyan, Patriarch of Istanbul, but his audience is Ar- celled it completely, ironically to a muted reaction from Persian empires. That experience has filtered down to the menia and the US. Erdogan states in his message that Tur- Ankara. Under that program, Turkey would have acquired current era. key has always offered to improve relations with Armenia 100 stealth war planes, in addition to the right to manu- We find out in those documents that President Levon and that it is repeating that offer again. Mr. Erdogan be- facture parts, injecting much-needed cash into Turkey’s Ter-Petrosian resisted incorporating the Genocide issue lieves evidently that Mr. Biden or the world community moribund economy. in the first constitution, then he gave in to strong pres- have very short memories. Yet how can he reconcile his President Erdogan is smart enough to consider Turkey’s sure to include it. President Robert Kocharyan has always offer to improve relations with Armenia with his state- tenuous situation in many parts of the world and its crum- been ready to trade the Genocide issue with the lifting of ment in Baku on December 10, 2020, where he evoked the bling economy. Erdogan’s cautious actions and smart blockades of Armenia. Most damning is the video clip cir- memory of Enver Pasha, a genocide perpetrator, adding: moves may serve Turkey’s interests while containing his culating now in social media where President Biden an- “We are here to realize our forefathers’ unfinished plans.” threatening shadow on Armenia’s borders. 18 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

COMMENTARY Armenian Democratic Liberal Party Global Media Consortium Expresses ‘Of Course it’s Genocide’: How Gratitude to President Biden Armenian-Americans, over one million in number, along with Biden Fulfilled a Promise To millions of Armenians in Armenia, Artsakh and other countries throughout the world, have waited decades for a US president to take back the mantle of international champion of human rights Armenians that ObamaWouldn’t and morality for the victims and survivors of the Armenian Geno- cide which the United States bore when this tragedy took place. By Natasha Korecki itself in quotes. Now, President Biden, you have taken the decisive step of using But they also grew savvy after decades of Wash- the word genocide formally to describe those events, which is It was the first year of Donald Trump’s presiden- ington inaction, realizing that if an incoming presi- an important reinforcement to the already predominant scholarly cy when Aram Hamparian was headed out for lunch dent didn’t come through in the first year of his ten- and international diplomatic and legal understanding. near Embassy Row and recognized a member of ure, it was almost certain not to happen. The United States defended Armenian human rights from the former President Barack Obama’s national security For the last several months, this meant a major times of the 19th century Ottoman Turkish massacres. During team. push in Congress and frequent contact with their the World War I period it attempted to assist as much as feasible The Armenian American who serves as executive legislative champion, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). and served as an important source of reliable information on the director of an Armenian advocacy group braced for Menendez had carried a 2019 resolution recogniz- genocide. US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau worked personally an awkward encounter. ing the Armenian genocide, which was viewed as a on the scene in the Ottoman Empire, while President Woodrow It was Obama, after all, who left the Armenian watershed moment after Congress overwhelmingly Wilson later pursued a US mandate for Armenia and drew the community crestfallen when he reneged on a cam- approved it. borders of an Armenia which never could be realized as the polit- paign promise that the United States would formally Menendez hammered away at the issue in the con- ical situation changed. The Near East Relief organization raised recognize as genocide the slaughter of up to 1.5 firmation hearings of Blinken and U.S. Agency for aid for Armenians throughout the United States and no doubt million Armenian civilians nearly a century earlier. International Development nominee Samantha Pow- saved many lives both during and after the genocide. But as the two chatted, Hamparian didn’t get an- er — an Obama alumnus who has publicly expressed President Biden, we are grateful and proud that America once other excuse. What he heard from the former nation- regret over not recognizing the Armenian geno- again is a defender of truth and human rights, especially today al security official was remorse. cide during that tenure. While Menendez upped the when Armenians in Artsakh and Armenia are facing a threat to “We were on the wrong side of that issue,” the for- public pressure, the senator was convinced Blinken their very existence. You kept your word as a presidential candi- mer official said. “We should have gotten that right.” and his team wouldn’t back out of the designation date and did not bow to expediency and political pressure. That former official was Antony Blinken. — even if they wanted to. On the campaign trail, This is the final capstone to the affirmative action taken by the Now, Blinken serves as secretary of state and he the president and his top aides had signaled that US House of Representatives and Senate in 2019, and will be a has helped right a wrong that Obama alums — from the official designation was a priority, making a shield against the continuing efforts of deniers of truth in history President Joe Biden on down — have long regretted. promise a year ago today to recognize the genocide. to benefit from past crimes. It will also serve as a mighty lesson Today, on the anniversary of the Armenian Geno- Menendez felt the administration was boxed in, to future planners of genocide, who will see that there is a price cide, Biden has done what no other U.S. president according to a source familiar with the senator’s to pay for such crimes. had done, largely out of fear of alienating Turkey — thinking. Armenians not just in the United States but throughout the formally designate the now century-old massacre as An already frosty U.S. relationship with Turkey world thank you and will not forget your historic statement. a genocide. The slaughter began in 1915 during the may have also given the administration a bit more Armenian Democratic Liberal Party Consortium of Newspa- breakup of the Ottoman Empire, primarily in what is license to make the genocide designation official. pers modern-day Turkey. Biden previously caused a stir with Turkey after re- Armenian Mirror-Spectator Boston It was Biden himself in 2009, then vice president, ferring to Erdogan as an “autocrat.” Last year, the Baikar Boston who called Hamparian’s group, the Armenian Na- U.S. imposed sanctions on Ankara after the Turkish Abaka Montreal tional Committee of America, to break the news of government purchased air defense systems from Azg Armenia Obama’s decision to back off of his promise, citing Russia. Zartonk Beirut a vow from the government of Turkey, a NATO ally, Biden has long vowed to make global human rights Nor Ashkharh Athens that it would improve relations with Armenia. De- a priority. In less than 100 days, his administration Sardarabad Buenos Aires spite years of pressure, Obama refused to make the has authorized sanctions on top Russian government Arev Cairo designation official, choosing instead — on his last officials in retaliation for the poisoning of Alexei Armenian Remembrance Day in office — to call it a Navalny, harshly criticized China over the clamp- April 24, 2021 massacre and the “first mass atrocity.” down on democracy in Hong Kong, and warned Interviews with current and former diplomats, governments from Ethiopia to Myanmar about the elected officials and Armenian American leaders consequences of endangering civilian lives. familiar with how Biden made the decision tell the On Friday, Biden talked to Turkish President story of a new president and the upper ranks of his Tayyip Erdogan — the first time they had spoken ADL Letter to President Biden national security team, many of whom carried regret since Biden took office — to inform him of the im- APPRECIATION, from page 1 over having failed to recognize the atrocities when pending designation. The White House’s official For many years, this tragic event of history remained a casualty they were previously in power. readout of the conversation, however, did not in- of political expediency, until you came to stand tall and with the On the campaign trail in 2019, Biden was at a clude that crucial detail. highest degree of honesty and truthfulness defined this mass atroc- Boston-area fundraiser hosted by Larry Lucchino, Today’s designation marks decades of efforts by ity with the name that it deserves. former Boston Red Sox president and CEO, when he the Armenian community, an advocacy effort that The United States, which personifies the principles of human saw Anthony Barsamian, co-chair of the Armenian was often outmanned and outspent by Turkish lob- dignity, has historically stood by the victims and survivors of the Assembly of America, and reached out his hand. byists who showered Washington powerbrokers Armenian Genocide, beginning with US Ambassador Henry Mor- “I know how important the Armenian Genocide is with cash and warned that the genocide recognition genthau, a witness of the tragedy in 1915, and President Woodrow to you. Of course it’s genocide,” Biden said, accord- would jeopardize relations with a key ally. Wilson, whose arbitration of the rights of minorities and wisdom ing to Barsamian. “I didn’t even need to say any- But Biden’s decision was also decades in the mak- to support the Sèvres Treaty defined the trampled rights of the thing. He led with that.” ing. victims of this great tragedy, all the way to the Near East Relief After Biden’s election, members of Armenian “This is something that he’s expressed to me on organization, which provided care, food and hope to the survivors groups were invited on two calls with the Biden numerous occasions for 20 years,” said Dick Har- of the genocide. team, one during the transition and another weeks pootlian, a longtime Biden friend. Harpootlian, a Your noble proclamation on this occasion raises you to the level after Biden took office, according to a person on the South Carolina state senator and former Democratic of all our American leaders who have made history by enunciating call who described the conversations to POLITICO. party chair who is also of Armenian descent, grew and giving life to American values. The second call, headed by Philip Reeker, acting up with family members recounting atrocities to Your proclamation comes to certify and complement the legis- secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, him. Harpootlian brought the issue up nearly every lative actions undertaken in 2019 by the House of Representatives focused in part on the genocide but stopped just time he’d see Biden, he said. “He had no hesitancy and the Senate of the United States. short of making a full-blown promise. in referring to what happened as a genocide.” This timely action by the executive and legislative branches of The Armenian community had heard promises be- On Saturday, when the president’s state- the world’s most powerful nation is a most proper moral and his- fore. ment finally came, Biden didn’t mince words. toric lesson to the deniers of the Armenian Genocide. In 2000, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert was “We remember the lives of all those who died in The descendants of the perpetrators of the Genocide in Turkey on the cusp of bringing a resolution before Congress the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit are still in a state of denial. Even more, the armed forces of the but reneged after phone calls from then-President ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever Republic of Turkey, along with its ally Azerbaijan, have been Bill Clinton and his policy appointees urged against again occurring. Beginning on April 24, 1915, with concentrating their troops along the borders of the Republic of it — a move that ultimately cost one of his GOP col- the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community Armenia, with the open threat of bringing to its completion the an- leagues, Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Calif.), his seat. leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman authorities, nihilation of the Armenian people which had begun 106 years ago. Weeks later, Rogan paid the price in his district, one and a half million Armenians were deported, America’s courageous stand draws red lines for any power of ill where there is a large Armenian community, losing massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign will harboring genocidal intentions towards the Armenian people. reelection to then state Sen. Adam Schiff. of extermination,” the president said. “We do this The Armenian people all around the world will mark this histor- For Armenians, it was a long road with barriers not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened ic occasion with gratitude and remember it forever. small and large. They fought with newspapers for is never repeated.” Armenian Democratic Liberal Party Supreme Council years to stop referring to the slaughter as an “al- (This piece originally appeared on the e-news Boston, April 24, 2021 leged” genocide or for putting the word genocide magazine Politico on April 24, 2021.) SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR 19

COMMENTARY

My Turn Finally, President Biden Acknowledges 5) The struggle for genocide recognition is also a political battle by the coun- try that perpetrated that mass crime on one hand and the descendants of the The Genocide! What’s Next? victims on the other. The Government of Turkey, as in past years, did every- After the United States avoided the issue for 40 years, thing in its power to prevent the United States from acknowledging the Arme- ever since President Ronald Reagan mentioned the Ar- nian Genocide. Turkey paid millions of dollars to American lobbying organi- menian Genocide in a Presidential Proclamation, Pres- zations to deny the genocide, pressured and threatened the United States with by Harut Sassounian ident Joe Biden used the term Armenian Genocide, dire consequences should it acknowledge the genocide. Nevertheless, Turkey despite the gag-rule imposed on the United States gov- suffered a devastating political blow. Turkey’s arrogant President, thinking ernment by the denialist rulers of the Republic of Turkey! For good measure, that no country can go against his wishes, was sternly put in his place by the President Biden used the word genocide not once, but twice, in his “Statement President of the United States. I am sure President Erdogan spent a sleepless on Armenian Remembrance Day.” night after President Biden called him on April 23, advising him of his decision Last year, when Biden was a presidential candidate, he promised to acknowl- to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Hopefully, the humiliated Erdogan edge the Armenian Genocide. But, since Armenian-Americans were deceived understood that the world does not rotate around Turkey. so many times by previous presidents who had not kept their campaign prom- Let us now see what the Turkish government may do in retaliation. Will it ises, they were cautiously optimistic about Biden’s commitment. temporarily recall its Ambassador from Washington, threaten to cut off com- Even though the United States had repeatedly recognized the Armenian mercial ties, or block the US Government from using the Incirlik airbase in Genocide starting from 1951 when the US government submitted an official Turkey? I hope Erdogan will take all of these steps and many more. With such document to the World Court; the House of Representatives adopted three res- actions, Turkey will exacerbate US-Turkish relations, provide worldwide pub- olutions in 1975, 1984, and 2019; the US Senate adopted unanimously a resolu- licity to the Armenian Genocide, and drive its failing economy into bankruptcy. tion in 2019; and President Reagan issued a Presidential Proclamation on April This could lead to internal turmoil and the eventual removal of Erdogan from 22, 1981, President Biden’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide in 2021 the presidency during the next election, if not sooner. Interestingly, in a lengthy is a major step forward with several positive consequences: televised speech to the Turkish nation late at night on April 26, besides his usu- al lies on the Armenian Genocide, Erdogan dared not announce any actions 1) As the mass murder of 1.5 million people is a very emotional issue, the against the United States in retaliation to Biden’s April 24 statement. Thus, descendants of Armenian Genocide victims felt a deep sense of satisfaction that Erdogan displayed his utter humiliation and impotence. the genocide suffered by their ancestors is formally and correctly acknowl- As usual, not having been able to bully the United States to abandon its plans edged by the President of the United States. to recognize the Genocide, Turkish leaders are now resorting to their usual 2) This most recent and authoritative acknowledgment by the American tricks by stating that the US recognition does not mean anything. If it meant President will enable US Courts to go forward with lawsuits making claims by nothing, why did Turkey spend millions of dollars on lobbyists for several de- Armenians on genocide era-demands from the government of Turkey. In the cades and pressure the US government, threatening dire consequences? past, such lawsuits were dismissed by Federal judges who claimed (wrongly) Rather than continuing the lies and denials for over a century, it would be that since the US government had not acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, much better for Turkey to simply acknowledge the crimes of its predecessors, individual states like California could not pass laws allowing these lawsuits ask for forgiveness, and make amends for the horrendous damages caused to to proceed. Nevertheless, if the courts decide that President Biden’s statement the Armenian people. Turkey would do well to follow the example of Germa- on the Armenian Genocide is not sufficient to allow the filing of such lawsuits, ny after the Holocaust. Germany apologized for Hitler’s mass crimes, erected then Armenian-Americans would be obliged to push for the adoption of a pro- memorials for the Holocaust victims and paid billions of dollars in reparations. posed law, not a commemorative resolution, which needs to be adopted by both This is what a civilized nation does when its leaders commit a grave crime. Houses of Congress and signed by the President into law. That should be the In the meantime, Armenians in the Diaspora and Armenia should pursue final word on fulfilling the legal requirements for filing lawsuits against Turkey. their demands through legal channels by filing multiple lawsuits against Tur- 3) As the United States is a superpower, pronouncements by the President key in various country courts and the European Court of Human Rights, seek- have a major effect on other countries -- particularly Great Britain, Australia ing restitution for the damages caused by the Genocide. The Government of and Israel. Therefore, it is expected that several countries would follow suit in Armenia, on the other hand, should take Turkey to the International Court of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Justice (World Court), where only governments have standing to file lawsuits. 4) President Biden’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide comes at a Finally, this is the appropriate moment to remember and acknowledge a particularly sensitive time for Armenians worldwide following the disastrous great friend of Armenians, former US Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall defeat in last fall’s Artsakh War by the hands of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Is- Evans, whose diplomatic career was cut short in 2006 after he told the truth lamic Jihadist mercenaries. President Biden’s April 24 statement will boost about the Armenian Genocide during a visit to California. It would be only the spirits of Armenians and could create an atmosphere of goodwill by world proper for the Biden Administration to appoint Evans as the next US Ambas- powers towards the just resolution of Artsakh’s status and the protection of its sador to Armenia. This is the least the US government could do, after the Pres- population. ident issues an official apology to him.

for collaborating with the deniers of history, for allowing American Armenians who sur- vived the genocide to go to their deaths with no justice, no recognition. Recognizing Armenian Historical memory of genocides matters, as the trauma and pain carry forward for generations. In April 2015, I was in Yerevan, Armenia for the centennial of the genocide. I watched Genocide Was Long Overdue, as ten-year-old descendants of genocide victims stood in their school dresses, read po- ems, and lit candles. As I was leaving, descendants of that genocide walked up the hill. They weren’t coming to lay wreaths. They were coming to ‘be’—to live with the memory But It’s Not Enough of their ancestors who had been murdered for no reason except that they were Armenian. President Obama did not attend the event, but there was much anticipation that he By Stephen Smith would at last call the Armenian genocide by its name. But like so many U.S. presidents before him, he declined to name the genocide. I sat listening to System of Down, the rock On Saturday, President Biden took the long overdue step of recognizing the Armenian band that has told the story of the genocide though their music. Like the young woman I genocide. Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were systematically murdered had met a decade earlier in Sweden, I began to cry. by the Ottoman government in modern-day Turkey. That the President of the United Here’s what the word genocide means to the woman at the 2004 conference, to the States finally used the word ‘genocide’ is a critical and historic step. Yerevan memorial visitors, to the Armenian diaspora: It means that the loss of lives, It is also cold comfort. America has been on the wrong side of history for over a cen- family, property, home, churches, identity, and dignity has finally been defined. What tury. Imagine if the British government denied the Holocaust for 106 years in order to happened to the Armenians 106 years ago was genocide. There may be no justice for a normalize relations with Germany? It would mean Jews would still have to wait to 2051 single Armenian child, and it is unlikely there will be restitution of a single home, but to hear a British Prime Minister find the courage to say the word ‘The Holocaust.’ recognition does rehumanize those who were dehumanized. It tells the world that they Saturday’s announcement by President Biden is thus both a welcome change from past were the victims of senseless, systemic hatred, and that while their families perished in a administrations — and a sign of how obstinate the United States has been on this issue hateful action, their descendants can live with purpose. until now. President Biden had the decency to do the right thing. But let us hope that his state- Does the word genocide matter? Yes. In 2004, I attended the Stockholm Forum on the ment is a first step. Importantly, there has been remarkablymuted media coverage of his Prevention of Genocide as an advisor to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson. At- words; at our institute, which houses 1,900 testimonies of Armenian genocide survivors, tended by 1,000 delegates from forty-five national governments, the forum was in many we have not had a single call from news outlets asking to use the testimony of those that ways a success. Among other concrete measures, the conference prompted then-Secre- lived through the Genocide. To give the word a voice. That’s because, after a century of tary-General of the United Nations Kofi Anan to announce a new permanent position of denial and ugly geopolitics, the Armenians who perished are all but forgotten. I believe Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. the U.S. government owes the Armenian community a museum equal to the U.S. Holo- But as I left, I found a young woman in tears. She told me through her sobs that she caust Museum—and it owes a commitment to tell and retell the story of what happened, was deeply upset that every single delegate had studiously avoided applying the word so that it may never happen again. “genocide” to what her Armenian ancestors had suffered. It was ninety years after the genocide at that point. She looked at me and said, ‘What about me?’ (Stephen D. Smith is Finci-Viterbi executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation. Many in the Armenian community are relieved and encouraged by the Biden admin- The first episode of “The Memory Generation” was released on April 15, 2021, and istration’s declaration. But I am not celebrating. I am calling to account multiple admin- can be found at https://www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/episodes This commentary istrations for the pain they caused, for political integrity traded for political expediency, originally appeared in the Jewish Journal on April 25.) 20 SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Nevada Community Commemorates Armenian Genocide with Somber Program LAS VEGAS — Despite 40-50 mph and recognition of the truth. The lieu- gusty winds, members of the Arme- tenant governor also expressed her support nian-American community gathered at to teaching the truth about the Armenian Sunset Park Armenian Genocide Memorial Genocide by adopting the Holocaust and Monument for a Candlelight Vigil on April Genocide Education bill. 24, 2021. This year, Armenian Genocide Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson, Remembrance Day was particularly sig- City of Las Vegas Councilwoman Victoria nificant with President Joe Biden’s formal Seaman and Coun- recognition of the Armenian Genocide. cilwoman Michelle The Candlelight Vigil, Hosted by the Ar- Fiore also took the menian American Cultural Society of Las podium in support of Vegas (AACS) with the participation of all the Las Vegas Arme- Las Vegas Armenian Churches and orga- nian-American com- nizations, honored the 1.5 million martyrs munity and presented on the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Certificates of Recog- Genocide. AACS Board Member and Mas- nition. Demi Falcon ter of Ceremony, Hermann Brumm invited and Gerri Shroder, Las Vegas Homenetmen Artsakh Chapter representing Nevada Nevada Lt. Gov. scouts for the flag presentation as Naree Committee of America - Nevada chapter, inviting Nevada Lieutenant Governor Kate Congresswoman Dina Kate Marshall Asherian sang both Armenian and Ameri- Lenna Hovanessian Esq. co-chair, wel- Marshall to the podium, Hovanessian high- Titus and Susie Lee can anthems. comed Nevada elected officials, dignitar- lighted the importance of the current bill addressed the vigil. Nevada Assemblyman The invocation was led by Very Rever- ies and representatives of various organi- about Holocaust and Genocide education Andy Matthews, District 37 was also pres- end Sasoon Zumrookhdian of St. Geragos zations who participated in the vigil. Mrs. to be adopted by the Nevada Assembly. ent and expressed his support in adopting Church, Rev. Artsakh Badoyan of St. Ga- Hovanessian thanked President Biden’s Nevada Lieutenant Governor Kate Mar- rabed Church and Pastor Sam Agulian of formal recognition of the Armenian Geno- shall had specifically flown from Carson the Armenian Evangelical Church, accom- cide, ending denialism. Hovanessian also City to participate in the vigil. In her re- panied by Der Vahan Gosdanian and Der honored the 5,000 martyred soldiers of the marks she thanked President Biden for Nareg Matarian. 44 Day Artsakh War of 2020 under Azer- acknowledging the Armenian Genocide On behalf of the Armenian National baijani and Turkish aggression. Prior to and affirming Armenians’ right to justice

The Tekeyan Cultural Association Is Rolling Up Its Sleeves Again

Before the 44-day war, we supported the development of the strategic Berdzor corridor and made large investments in the region. Berdzor and its neighboring regions (Kashatagh) have now fallen into enemy hands. All of a sudden, its residents, students and teachers were forced to become refugees and are now helplessly scattered all around Artsakh and Armenia. They have lost everything and their living conditions are less than desirable. The good news is that once more Tekeyan is engaged to make their lives better, so that Flag presentation by Las Vegas Home- they remain in Armenia and become part of the nation-building process. netmen Artsakh Chapter Scouts This time though the help will be achieved through investments and not through donations. The creation of a sustainable economy is the aim of this appeal. the Armenian Genocide Education Bill, Through small contributions / mass funding we will create income-generating and Assemblywoman Annie Black, District 19, presented a proclamation. opportunities for the displaced families. Tekeyan of Armenia in association with a local Lenna Hovanessian acknowledged the reputable NGO (Shen or Syunik or Kashatagh) will make investments in agriculture and/or presence of the Honorary Consul of Leba- housing to create income or comforts for their beneficiaries. The recipients get these funds non in Las Vegas, Mr. Philippe Ziade, and conditional that they give back on an annual basis the equivalent in produced goods of 5% expressed the Armenian community’s grat- of the amount of assistance they have received. itude to Lebanon, where hundreds of thou- sands of Armenian lives were saved after Contributors in this funding will be gratified to: the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Ziade spoke a) Alleviate the hardship of these forcefully displaced families highly of the Armenian community in Leb- b) Receive a 5% annual return – goods which in turn will be redirected to schools or other anon as exemplary and ingenious people needy institutions. who contribute to society wherever they are with hard work and integrity. Anti-Defamation League, Nevada Re- gional Director, Jolie Brislin, Jewish Ne- vada Organization President and CEO, Stephanie Tuzman, also addressed the vigil expressing their support to the Armenian community. Also present were Heidi Sar- no Straus, Chair of the Holocaust Educa- tion Task Force, Esther Finder, advisor to Nevada Governor’s Council on Holocaust Education, and Noa Jensch of the Israe- li American Council. Also present were Commissioner Danny Tarkanian and Dr. Sabri Atman of the Assyrian Genocide Re- search Center. The evening concluded with prayers by the clergy and guests placing flowers and candles at the “Eternal Circle” of the mon- ument. Prior to the vigil, two new Guinness World Record were set by father and son Hratchia and Hakob Arakelian. On April 24, 2021 at Sunset Park, they successful- ly set two new weightlifting records where i Hratchia lifted 11,100 pounds in 3 min- utes with 37 squats and Hakob lifted 7,400 pounds in 1 minute with 40 squats. Both records were dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. –Adroushan Andy Armenian