JUNE 10, 2017 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVII, NO. 47, Issue 4491 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the Since 1932 INBRIEF ICG: , Azerbaijan Closer to War Over Nagorno- , Azerbaijan and Turkey to Hold Military Karabakh Than at Any Time Since 1994 Drills

of the conflict in the South , findings of analysts who had talked to resi- (Anadoou) — Tbilisi will host military By Margarita Antidze which is criss-crossed by oil and gas dents and observers on the ground, said drills held jointly by Georgia, Azerbaijan and pipelines, have failed despite mediation led the settlement process had stalled, making Turkey this past week, the Georgian Defense by , Russia and the United States, the use of force tempting, at least for tacti- Ministry reported. TBILISI (Reuters) — The former Soviet cal purposes, and both The Caucasus Eagle drills have been held since republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan are sides appeared ready 2009. This is the third time the exercises have been closer to war over Nagorno-Karabakh than for confrontation. held in the trilateral format. at any point since a ceasefire brokered “These tensions Earlier this May, the defense ministers of the more than 20 years ago, the International could develop into larg- three countries signed a joint statement indicating Crisis Group (ICG) said. er-scale conflict, lead- the parties’ willingness to continue efforts on Fighting between ethnic Azeris and ing to significant civil- securing stability and peace and recognizing the first erupted in 1991 and a ian casualties and pos- territorial integrity of each of the three countries. ceasefire was agreed in 1994. But sibly prompting the Azerbaijan and Armenia have regularly main regional powers traded accusations of violence around to intervene,” the ICG Tankian Hopes to Start Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Azeri- said. Music Festival in Armenian border. The ICG said that Clashes over control of Nagorno- Russia remains the Armenia Karabakh have intensified in the past three most influential for- years and turned into a violent flare-up of At the front line eign player, yet its role — A year after Armenians launched a the conflict last April, when the ICG said at is complex. generous new peace prize, the frontman of rockers least 200 people were killed. “It is prima inter sees more to come in the coun- It said any descent into all-out war could known as the OSCE Minsk Group. pares in the Minsk Group, but also chief try — including perhaps a music festival. draw in regional powers, which include “A year after Nagorno-Karabakh’s April arms supplier to Azerbaijan and Armenia, , singer of the chart-topping Russia and Turkey - closely allied to 2016 violent flare-up, Armenia and both of whom suspect Russia is more California hard rock band, composed a theme song Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively. Azerbaijan are closer to war than at any see KARABAGH, page 2 for the Aurora Prize, which was inaugurated a year Since mid-January this year, deadly inci- point since the 1994 ceasefire,” the ICG ago here. dents involving the use of heavy artillery said in a report titled “Nagorno-Karabakh’s The award, backed by Hollywood A-lister George and anti-tank weapons have occurred and gathering war clouds.” Clooney, is presented on behalf of Armenians who May saw a significant increase, including “While violence remains at a relatively survived the 1915 . reports of self-guided rockets and missiles low boil, any escalation quickly could spin German Troops Tankian said the Aurora Prize showed gratitude used near densely populated areas along out of control,” the think-tank, which to those who helped survivors. the contact line. works to prevent conflict, said. To Leave Incirlik “Any group of people that have suffered Efforts to secure a permanent settlement The ICG, which based its report on the immensely, whether it’s genocide or any other type of human-created catastrophe, should embody com- passion and an understanding of that pain better By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach than anyone else,” Tankian told AFP. Special to the Mirror-Spectator The Lebanese-born Tankian, whose grandparents survived with help from a Turkish mayor and an — When Turkish government American missionary orphanage, said that too often, officials repeated to German Foreign people fail to draw lessons from their ancetors’ pain. Minister Sigmar Gabriel their refusal to “I find it really disheartening that there are allow German parliamentarians uncondi- people who have suffered immensely, or whose tional access to their troops at Incirlik base, grandparents have suffered immensely, and yet it was the proverbial straw that broke that their position in life has been unequivocally egotis- suffering camel’s back. Gabriel had trav- tical and myopic in terms of how they see their lives elled to Ankara on June 5 in a last-ditch and how they spend their money,” he said. effort to reach a compromise solution to Tankian said he wanted to do more in Armenia the conflict that has strained relations, and was in the early stages of looking to set up a both bilateral and within NATO, to an music festival. unprecedented degree. After talks with The singer voiced hope that Armenia, rarely a both Foreign Minister Mevlùt Çavusoglu destination for Western artists, could be integrated and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, into the European summer festival circuit with Gabriel made clear that would touring bands. have no choice but to withdraw its troops “I’ve always dreamed of setting up an interna- and relocate them. “There is no decision, tional music festival in Armenia,” he said. no concrete plan,” he said, but there was “As much as I have tried to do political work and see INCIRLIK. page 3 social work,” he said, “I would also like to carve out time to do art work, music work.” Conducting the Chamber Orchestra Adrienne Alexanian Back in the Presents Father’s INSIDE Memoir, Forced into (Sort of) USSR Genocide, at ALMA YEREVAN — Constantine Orbelian is a hard man to find. He is a globe-trot- Ambassador ting pianist and conductor with thriving careers in several countries. And he likes it exactly that way. He is an American-born, globally suc- Talk in NYC By Alin K. Gregorian cessful pianist who is equally well- Mirror-Spectator Staff known as a first-rate Russian conductor. Page 5 In the process, he has garnered many firsts. He was the first non- Russian conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1956 by con- ductor and violist Rudolf Barshai. A tireless champion of Russian-American cul- INDEX tural exchange and international ambassadorship through his worldwide tours, Arts and Living ...... 12 he was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of Russia” in 2004, a title which Armenia ...... 2 had never been bestowed on a non-Russian citizen until then. Community News...... 6 Orbelian, a charming raconteur with a hearty laugh, said during a recent Editorial ...... 14 phone interview that he felt a special kinship with the orchestra when he took International ...... 3,4 see ORBELIAN, page 12 See story on Page 11. 2 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia AMAA Executive Director/CEO Visits Artsakh Republic President Attends Opening of Center of SHUSHI, NKR — On May 22, Zaven the implemented programs. Artsakh and expressed confidence in Khanjian, Armenian Missionary Khanjian next visited AMAA’s the strengthening of the continued cor- Excellence at Polytechnic Association of America (AMAA) office as well as the dial and brotherly relations between Executive Director/CEO, visited Baghdikian Kindergarten next to the the Armenian Apostolic and University AMAA’s Camp Bedrosian in Shushi, Center. At the Baghdikian Evangelical churches. Artsakh, where renovations and refur- Kindergarten, the children are nour- In the evening, Khanjian, accompa- YEREVAN (Armenpress) — President Serzh bishments are underway. The camp is ished, educated, take naps in comfort- nied by AMAA representatives in Sargsyan on June 5 attended the opening ceremony adding green spaces, opening new able beds and have playtime in the Armenia and Artsakh, visited the of Center of Excellence at the National Polytechnic lanes, landscaping the playground and University of Armenia. The center has been created making renovations inside the build- through the joint efforts of the French Schneider ings in preparation for the upcoming Electric company and Tashir group of companies. Camp season. After reviewing, the ren- The center’s opening comes three months after a ovation process, Khanjian, visited memorandum of cooperation was signed between AMAA’s Bilezikian Kindergarten where Electric Networks of Armenia and the French com- he met with Diana Danielyan, director pany in Paris within the frames of Armenian of the Kindergarten and the Senior President’s official visit to France on March 8. Director of Shogh Day Care Center, Accompanied by Minister of Education and Science housed in the Kindergarten. Khanjian Levon Mkrtchyan, President of Tashir group of com- reviewed the education and learning panies Samvel Karapetyan, President of Schneider process at both the Kindergarten and Electric in CIS Johan Vanderplaetse, Chairman of the Day Care Center, praised the work the Board of Directors of Electric Networks of and reiterated AMAA’s support of con- Armenia Karen Darbinyan, French Ambassador to tinued improvements at the Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier and other offi- Kindergarten and Center to cope with cials, the president toured the newly opened Center, got acquainted with the works carried out, the con- ditions, its opportunities equipped with latest high technologies. The Center has been built on the base ICG: Armenia, of the Polytechnic University and will become one of the first attempts of close cooperation between Azerbaijan Closer to Schneider Electric and the national scientific com- Zaven Khanjian visits AMAA’s Baghdikian KG in Stepanakert munity. War Over Nagorno- The center’s representatives said dozens of stu- Karabakh Than at dents and young scientists will have a chance to adjacent playground. President of Artsakh Republic, Bako develop their skills and get acquainted with the latest Any Time Since 1994 On May 23, Khanjian visited the Sahakyan. The president noted with technologies in energy and automation industry. The Honorable Ashot Ghulyan, Speaker of satisfaction AMAA’s historic presence center will be useful also for workers experienced in KARABAGH, from page 1 Artsakh’s National Assembly. Ghulyan in Artsakh and the different education- the electricity supply field. interested in expanding its influence in welcomed his guest and commended al, social, youth support and humani- the region than in resolving the con- the humanitarian mission the AMAA tarian aid programs that it implements. flict,” the group said. carries in Artsakh. Mr. Khanjian Khanjian reiterated AMAA’s commit- Aznavour House Museum The Minsk Group is part of the expressed his delight witnessing the ment of continued and elevated sup- Opens in Yerevan efforts by the OSCE European securi- continuous developments in the eco- port of the people of Artsakh through ty watchdog to find a solution to the nomic and social life of the people of its various programs. YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — The conflict. Artsakh. He confirmed house-museum was opened in According to the report, Armenia – AMAA’s commitment to con- downtown Yerevan on June 1, in a solemn ceremony concerned about Nagorno-Karabakh’s tinue its humanitarian pro- attended by the legendary singer, his son Nicolas security and angered by ’s jects in improved facilities and Aznavour, Armenia’s President and a increased assertiveness – insists on a expanded services where number of guests. Minister of Culture Armen lowering of security risks before sub- needed. They also discussed Amiryan handed the symbolic keys to Charles stantive talks can start. the current situation on Aznavour. It said Azerbaijan – frustrated with Artsakh’s Eastern border and The ceremony also marked the launching of the the longstanding status quo and con- relations with the Diaspora. Aznavour Foundation that will aim to preserve the cerned that additional security mea- On the same day, Khanjian maestro’s cultural legacy. It will also work out and sures could further cement it – insists met with Archbishop Barkev implement educational and social programs. substantive discussions cannot be Martirosyan, Prelate of the “All of our joint efforts should be targeted at the delayed. Diocese of Artsakh. Mr. development of the Motherland to enable the youth Government officials in Armenia and Khanjian thanked the Zaven Khanjian receives his award from to realize their dreams inside the country surround- Azerbaijan had no immediate com- Archbishop for his spiritual President Serzh Sargsyan ed by beloved ones,” Aznavour said. ments on the report. leadership of the people of The singer says he has decided to establish the foundation after seeing the brilliant educational pro- grams implemented in Armenia, the restoration of historic monuments and creation of new infrastruc- Armenian, German Scientists Hold Workshop in Byurakan tures. BYURAKAN, Armenia — The first and Culture, Martina Münch, the aim of the workshop was to present workshop on common scientific lord mayor of Potsdam, Jann Jakobs, existing cooperation, explore com- Artsakh to Cultivate interests in the physical sciences the German Ambassador to Armenia mon scientific interests, and discuss Caviar between Armenia and the State of Matthias Kiesler and representa- potential future projects. Brandenburg, Germany, (ARBRA tives from the German Academic This workshop was inspired by a STEPANAKERT (Public Radio of Armenia) — The 2017) was held on May 23-24 in Nor Exchange Service (DAAD) met recent letter of intent, signed by the caviar factory in Artsakh’s Martakert region is plan- Amberd, Byurakan. about 30 Armenian scientists from Brandenburg Minister of Science, ning to produce 15-20 tons of black caviar year- German scientists from Deutsches Yerevan Physics Institute, Byurakan Research and Culture and the ly. “The caviar has already passed scrutiny by a lead- Elektronensynchrotron (DESY), Observatory and the Institute of Armenian Minister for Culture, with ing international company,” Prime Minister Arayik German Research Centre for Geology of the National Academy of the goal of strengthening relations. A Harutyunyan said at a press conference this week. Geosciences, Leibniz Institute for Science of Armenia, the representa- number of potential future projects He said despite a number of economic problems Astrophysics and Potsdam tives from the Armenian Ministries were presented at the workshop. After Artsakh has faced since April, a double-digit growth University, together with the of Science and Education and the the workshop, participants will pur- is expected in the country, mostly thanks to invest- Brandenburg Minister of Science State Committee of Science. The sue the collaborative projects. ments in the fields of mining and hydropower, he said. “We have grown into a country that not only satis- fies its energy demands, but also plans to expert it to Armenia,” he said. According to the Prime Minister, construction and fish-breeding have also been among the fastest-grow- ing branches over the past months. Harutyunyan said the government is planning to build the Talish village anew. “Construction of the community center and the medical center has already started. Construction of the school and kindergarten Scientists from Armenia and Germany held a workshop on May 23-24 in Nor Amberd, Byurakan, Armenia. (Photo: A. will start in the near future,” he said. Alikhanyan National Laboratory) S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 3 ARMENIA German Troops to Leave Incirlik International News

INCIRLIK, from page 1 decided to engage NATO, but NATO and if they leave, we will bid them a also no alternative to transfer. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg friendly farewell.” The reason for the Event Dedicated to Çavusoglu for his part stated that, (whose doctrine is that Turkey is “a key Turkish visiting ban provided by the although German parliamentarians country for security in ”) foreign ministry was that Germany had Recognition of Armenian could visit troops at the NATO base at decreed the issue to be “bilateral.” given Turkish officers political asylum. Konya, “at the moment the conditions The NATO Dimension Furthermore, Germany was not doing Genocide in do not exist” for them to be allowed in Although the geopolitical considera- enough against the PKK. “Our expec- BUENOS AIRES (Armenpress) — An to Incirlik. It was expected that within tions behind this are obvious, the tation,” the Turkish foreign minister event will be held at the National Congress of days the government and Bundestag proclamation raised eyebrows in view of said, “is that our friend will not become Argentina on June 5 on the occasion of the 10th would deliberate on the matter and opt the fact that Turkey had recently a refuge for our enemies.” Gabriel made anniversary of the adoption of the bill for relocating the contingent to . blocked the decision for NATO’s collab- clear that in his country it is “indepen- recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen oration with in the . dent agencies and courts that decide on The initiators of the event are the Chairman of the had already explored the option in Austria is not a NATO member but had asylum,” not politics. In reference to Chamber of Deputies of Argentina’s Jordan and all that remained were the been cooperating with 500 soldiers in the case of Deniz Yücel, Çavusoglu con- parliament Emilio Monzó and Co-chair of Armenia - formalities of procedure. NATO’s Kfor mission in Kosovo. After ceded that he could see it was very Argentina parliamentary friendship group Ualdo Wolf. Piling Up the Straws Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz lobbied important for Berlin. “But,” he added, How could it come to this point? The for terminating EU entrance talks with “one thing is certain and Germany controversy began a year ago in the Turkey, Ankara responded by blocking knows it only too well: the charges Arch. Ateshyan Resigns wake of the Bundestag’s deicison on this operation. against Yücel do not have to do with June 2 to recognize the Armenian geno- A further reason to involve NATO journalism but with terror,” adding that In Istanbul cide. Turkey reacted by refusing visiting would be the fact that, in Erdogan’s the Turkish judiciary was independent ISTANBUL (Agos) — Vicar General of the rights to a delegation of German parlia- anti-Gülen purge, an estimated 150 of in its activities. He accused the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey Archbishop Aram mentarians to Incirlik, where 260 300 Turkish officers have been fired Europeans of sending journalists to Ateshyan announced that he had resigned, in a meet- German troops, 6 Tornadoes and fuel from their positions in NATO headquar- Turkey as spies, in order to play the ing with some foundation executives and benefactors, tankers are stationed as part of the fight ters, or as military attaches in “press freedom” card once they were on May 2r. Ateshyan also sent an official letter to against IS. In September Berlin found a embassies, according to Spiegel maga- caught. Archbishop Bekchiyan, informing him that he has compromise formulation to deflate the zine. The same source reports that 270 The German foreign minister was the responsibility to carry out the election process impact of the resolution, which led to mainly high-level officers in total had explicit in identifying underlying factors and he will hand over the administrative duties. It is Ankara’s permission for one visit. been fired by Erdogan, creating a col- to the strife. “For some time,” he said, expected that the process will accelerate now. Turkey resurrected the ban in response lapse in quality, as the replacements “it has not just been a question of the Ateshyan met with former and incumbent founda- to Germany’s refusal to extend the were often less qualified and lacked for- joint fight against IS, but also about tion executives Melkon Karaköse, Dikran Gülmezgil, witch-hunt against persons considered eign language capabilities. This has domestic politics. We cannot allow our Murat Öger, Aret Ergan, Rober Haddeciyan, Ara to be in cahoots with the Gülen move- security implications, as they may be soldiers to become the playthings of the Koçunyan and Hrant Moskofyan. On the same day, ment which Erdogan blames for the tasked with sensitive operations like air political climate.” He refused to budge Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation Chair Bedros attempted coup last July. Turkey’s space surveillance and secret defense on the demand that Bundestag mem- Shirinogu held meetings with several administrators. stance toughened further after planning, according to Spiegel. bers have unlimited access to the In the meeting, Ateshyan said that he was tired of Germany granted political asylum to That notwithstanding, NATO steered troops; “If Turkey insists that they can- reactions and announced his resignation. Turkish officers threatened with prose- clear of the dispute. Turkey would allow not, then what remains is a decision for Ateshyan wrote letters to Bekchiyan and cution as pro-Gülenists. In addition, German Parliamentarians to visit the transfer.” He expressed his desire to Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. Turkey charged Germany with harbor- German troops at Konya, because it is a “arrange it with our Turkish colleagues Bishop Sahak Mashalyan also assessed the devel- ing terrorists, with reference to Kurdish NATO base and as such no formal per- peacefully and without great fuss.” opments: organizations, accused of sympathies mit is required; NATO must simply As if to underscore the animosity, “Let’s hope for the best, a new era has begun. His for the PKK. To add fuel to the fire, in inform Turkey of the plan. But Incirlik Prime Minister Binali Yilderin made it Eminence Aram left his mark on the last decade. He February of this year Turkish authori- is another matter. known that scheduling problems would managed the patriarchate for better or for worse. We ties arrested Deniz Yücel, a German- A Bilateral Non-Solution prevent him from receiving Gabriel. shouldn’t blame him, he wasn’t the patriarch after Turkish journalist, as a pro-terrorist, Thus it came to be that Gabriel made However, Gabriel did get to meet all; this was the best anyone can do without being the and followed this up by detaining a one last attempt to reach a solution on Erdogan for an hour, and it was, as he patriarch. Paving the way for the election is what was German translator on similar grounds. the bilateral plane, and left Ankara said afterwards, a “sobering” experi- important. We weren’t discussing whether His Since the German army is an army of empty handed. Judging from public ence. “Relations are very tense,” he Eminence was a good vicar or not, we criticized him the Bundestag, it is imperative that par- statements made before the talks and summarized. Erdogan had accused because he constituted an obstacle to the election. liamentarians have unconditional access the tone struck at a joint press confer- Germany of failing to prosecute terror- Now, there is no obstacle. It is a favorable develop- to “their” troops, and for this reason ence of the two foreign ministers, the ists. Gabriel concluded, “We have to ment, but it should have been done earlier.” there can be no backing down on the atmosphere was not very congenial. take note of the fact that the Turkish part of Germany. After consultations Çavusoglu had said matter-of-factly of government has a completely different between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the foreseeable withdrawal, “We wel- understanding of the state of law than Armenian Lawmaker Defense Minister von der Leyen, it was comed them when they came and when we do.” Decries Reporter’s Kidnapping younger sister) uprooted themselves and YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Azerbaijani kid- Desert Rose moved to in August, where napping of Tbilisi-based opposition reporter Afgan years earlier her grandfather had invest- Mukhtarli to Baku has received worldwide attention, ed in property in Jounieh. Though safe Armen Ashotyan, chairman of the Armenian parlia- Moves to and secure, Alik Sarian and her family’s ment’s foreign relations committee wrote on transition and experiences have not been Facebook. Haigazian unaccompanied by challenges. “This issue is also relevant in terms of guarantee- But true to form and undeterred, Alik ing the fundamental freedoms and rights on citizens keeps her eyes on the horizon. She is fas- of Armenia and Artsakh and foreigners who are BEIRUT — Bear Grylls, the British cinated by science, but is more interested blacklisted by Azerbaijan. The strict response of the adventurer and television presenter, once in entering a field where she can help US State Department and the EU External Action said, “The rules of survival never change, people. That is why she has chosen Service once again emphasized the vivid and appar- whether you’re in a desert or an arena.” Biology as her major, with the intent to ent reality of violation of fundamental human rights These are words that Alik Sarian, practice medicine. Her favorite professor in Azerbaijan,” Ashotyan said. Haigazian University freshman and HU’s at Haigazian University is Dr. Nadim He emphasized that the full investigation into this Future Armenian Leadership Fund Alik Sarian Hassoun, who serves as Pre-Med advisor. incident is not only an internal affair of Georgia, but (FALF) scholarship recipient lives by. She is amazed at his experience, knowl- also a gauntlet thrown down by Azerbaijan before the Coming straight out of war-torn Aleppo edge and perspective. international community. with her family last summer, Sarian has University of Balamand, topping her 23 Alik expresses enormous gratitude for Mukhtarli is a known critic of the Azerbaijani emerged on campus with a clear direc- points against LAU (Byblos) only days the FALF Scholarship as “simply AMAZ- authorities’ policies. Since 2015, he was forced to tion and focus. Life and hope have before. ING!” She realizes that with the scholar- settle in Tbilisi. He disappeared on May 29 from emerged from a wilderness. In the words But her drive to excel is nothing new. ship, new doors have appeared and her Tbilisi, and later appeared in Baku and was jailed. of the prophet, “The desert… shall Under constant danger in Aleppo, Alik future intentions have a chance for being He said he was kidnapped from downtown Tbilisi rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” (Isaiah managed to play basketball and take realized. She could have easily received a by unknown people wearing civilian clothing, who 35:1) But behind her sweet shyness and piano lessons while also pursuing her Merit-based Scholarship or a Scholarship were speaking Georgian. pleasant demeanor is an inner determi- high school career. A stellar student, she for Syrian students. But FALF has extra He was forced into a car and taken out of Georgia, nation and resolution to be her best and represented the Karen Jeppe Armenian meaning in the word “Leadership.” heavily battered, blindfolded and taken to another to make an impact on society as she pre- College well, winning first place in the Supporters of FALF can rest assured vehicle and ended up in Azerbaijan. The kidnappers pares her future to help those in greatest (All) Syrian Science Olympiad four years that their investment in students like put a large amount of cash in his pocket, and now he need. straight. When the fighting intensified, Alik and the 7 other recipients is a is charged with smuggling and illegal border cross- Besides being honored on the with daily bombings in her neighbor- strong investment for the future. ing. He told his attorney that he has severe pain in President’s List, Fall 2017, Sarian has hood, the school moved to the safer, For more information on how you can the chest area, presumably fractured ribs. also become a rising star as the starting smaller Gulbenkian Middle School, and support students like Alik and invest in A Baku court has remanded Mukhtarli in custody point guard on the Haigazian University her studies were never disrupted. students who will follow Alik’s lead and for three months. Women’s basketball team. Just recently With Sarian’s diploma and her accep- make an impact on their world in the she earned her personal best, with 27 tance to Haigazian University in hand, future, visit Haigazian University’s Ways points in a 51-28 win against the the entire family (father, mother, and to Give Page. 4 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR INTERNATIONAL AGBU Europe Co-Organizes Teacher Training And Conference on the Armenian Genocide

BRUSSELS — On April 26, the Armenian Committee of Belgium (Comité des Arméniens de Belgique) in partnership with AGBU Europe and the Secular Jewish Community Centre (CCLJ), with the support of the Boghossian Foundation, organized a seminar in Brussels on teaching the Armenian Genocide in French- speaking Belgian high schools as well as a con- ference on the contemporary significance of the genocide. This initiative was financed by the Belgian government through the educational division of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and represented the first step toward the larger goal of expanding knowledge of the Armenian Genocide within the Belgian educational sphere. The morning seminar brought together 15 secondary school teachers and education pro- fessionals to diagnose the state of teaching of the Armenian Genocide. Participants shared their experience teaching the subject, their dif- ficulties and the reasons why many do not teach it. The Belgian educational system nei- ther mandates, nor prevents teachers from teaching the Armenian Genocide and the semi- nar confirmed that few teachers currently broach the subject at school due to a lack of information, a lack of resources, a lack of time, and a wish to avoid a sensitive topic. Available resources and teaching tools were On April 26, AGBU Europe co-organized a seminar in Brussels on teaching the Armenian Genocide in French-speaking Belgian high schools as well as a discussed and presented to them by Ina Van conference on the contemporary significance of the genocide. Looy of the CCLJ whose educational program against hate speech includes the Armenian Genocide and its denial. The partners in this many of the events of the twentieth century. in recent years, a century after the event, as The conference ended with a lively and inter- project intend to follow up on these seminar For professor of and litera- illustrated in the book she co-authored, La active discussion, which led to a deeper under- meetings, particularly, by continuing to encour- ture at the University of Leuven, Bernard Turquie et le fantôme arménien (Turkey and standing of several of the themes discussed, age teachers to include the Armenian Genocide Coulie, genocide is a product of Western the Armenian Ghost). including a debate on how best to advance the in their curriculum and by providing them with thought and civilization, and isolating these A third speaker, Vicken Cheterian, political teaching of the genocide in schools. stimulating, quality teaching materials. events from the rest of history, or reducing analyst and professor at the University of “It is so important that the Armenian story The public conference that took place after them to a bilateral matter (e.g. between the Geneva presented, in turn, how the genocide be told in schools. We are particularly grateful the seminar focused on the contemporary Turkish and Armenian peoples) prevents us all affected Armenian identity and history in the to the authorities and to the teachers we repercussions of the genocide. The conference from learning the right lessons. , emphasizing in particular that “it worked with for their interest and support. It is aimed to help demonstrate that the event Laure Marchand, a French journalist and is not possible to understand current events in now incumbent on us to help them by provid- should be an important part of historical cul- expert of Turkey, shared her account of the the Middle-East without an understanding of ing lively, stimulating educational resources,” ture as it provides significant background to shockwaves of the genocide in Turkish society the genocide of 1915.” said AGBU Europe Director Nicolas Tavitian. Azerbaijan: State-Run Bank Default Vexes International Investors

are slim to none. mer National Security Minister Eldar Mahumdov, an interview with the Russian journalist By Mike Runey Although upset investors have lashed out at who was fired by President Aliyev in late 2015, Vladimir Solovyov. the decision in the business press, and rightly shortly after the initial arrests in the case. Finally, it is difficult to assess Azerbaijan’s pointed out that Azerbaijan will have to pay Given the opacity of official decision-making decision to restructure IBA’s debts and anger BAKU (Eurasianet.org) — Azerbaijan rattled much higher interest to attract private invest- and state finances in Azerbaijan, it does raise investors at this moment in time outside the international investors this month when the ment in the future, Baku does not seem partic- the question of why the state chose this context of International Crisis Group’s recent country’s biggest lender, International Bank of ularly concerned - perhaps because internation- moment to cut off financial support to IBA. It report on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which Azerbaijan, announced it lacked the funds to al nongovernmental lenders like the European counts as just one of several surprising recent reported the breakaway province’s leadership pay bondholders and filed for bankruptcy pro- Bank for Reconstruction and Development moves from Baku, from formalizing a block on plans to use any future hostilities as an oppor- tection in a New York court. seem set to provide enough funding for the major independent media outlets to the shock- tunity to advance further into Azerbaijan. International investors who hold some of the country’s strategic economic priority, the ing kidnapping of investigative journalist and If Baku anticipates a renewal of hostilities in bank’s $3.3 billion in foreign debt will have to Southern Gas Corridor, despite Baku’s failure to activist Afghan Mukhtarli in downtown Tbilisi. the near future, it might be trying to hang on to accept a 20 percent loss in value or walk away meet the (fairly low) bar of transparency Taken together with Azerbaijan’s hasty and as much hard currency as possible, just as it entirely. And while it’s not uncommon for devel- demanded by the Extractive Industries unceremonious exit from the EITI in March might be trying to shut down the media outlets oping country banks to go bankrupt, it is rare Transparency Initiative. What, exactly, specific 2017, the underlying theme is the government that undermined the official narrative of last when the bank is de facto government-owned use for their currency reserves Baku has in appears to care less and less about its perception year’s Four-Day War. If nothing else, the ongo- and government-run, and the government in mind that’s more pressing than paying its debts in the west – which was also Ilham Aliyev’s ing IBA saga highlights the risks of betting on question has more than enough money to pay. is not immediately clear. explanation for naming his wife vice president in decision-makers in Baku. International Bank of Azerbaijan is legally a Despite the outrage from investors, the writ- private entity, but the bank is majority-owned by ing has been on the wall for some state enterprises, and Azerbaijan has not been time. Standard and Poor’s cut Azerbaijan’s cred- shy about writing checks to keep the bank it rating to junk over a year ago, Moody’s down- ’s Berejiklian Attends afloat. In 2016, the bank received $7.8 billion of graded IBA’s deposit ratings in February, government largesse, and creditors were betting and Fitch reported that 21 percent of all loans that this spendthrift attitude, combined with sta- in the country were nonperforming in March. Premiere of ‘The Promise’ bilizing oil prices, would save the bank from a As Business News Europe reports, average inter- portfolio filled with the nonperforming — that is, est rates on manat-denominated loans are sky- SYDNEY (Armenpress) — Prime Minister of more than 90 days overdue — loans that have high at 22 to 26 percent, so this last statistic is, Australia’s most populous province of New South been dragging it, and the entire Azerbajiani sadly, not surprising. Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, attended the premiere of banking sector, down. On top of everything else, IBA has a history Armenian Genocide themed movie ‘The Promise’ in While it is hard to sympathize with investors as a money laundering vehicle for the country’s Australia, the Armenian National Committee of betting on a middle-income country’s govern- rich and powerful. Australia said this week. ment bailing out a failing bank in perpetuity, In October 2016, IBA’s former chairman and Berejiklian expressed hope that more people would investors do have a legitimate grievance: IBA is seven others were sentenced to up to 15 years in see the movie, stating that it is important topic for a de-facto state-owned and run bank, and the prison for misappropriating 211 million manat of Armenians. She thanked the late Armenian philan- thropist Kirk Kerkorian for his great contribution state of Azerbajian has more than enough funds IBA funds. Analysts and activists suspect the con- Prime Minister of Australia’s to pay the bank’s debts. But as Sofaz, the state victed managers were merely scapegoats, and toward the production of the movie. NSW PM stated province of New South Wales, oil fund, is IBA’s largest investor, chagrined have alleged that the stolen funds actually that the Armenian community must take every chance Gladys Berejiklian, international investors’ chances of gathering up amounted to as much as $8 billion. The scheme to contribute to recognition of the Armenian Genocide. enough votes to reject the restructuring plan was allegedly connected to the once-powerful for- S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 5 Community News

Ambassador USC Shoah Foundation To Launch Intercollegiate Hovhannissian Diversity Congress at Addresses New Presidential Leadership Summit York Community LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California (USC) Shoah Foundation At Meeting Senior Director of Programs and Operations Kori Street gave a keynote presentation about fostering inclusivity and preventing hate on col- lege campuses and announce a new program By Florence Avakian for student leaders at the National Campus Special to the Mirror-Spectator Leadership Council (NCLC)’s Presidential Leadership Summit in Washington, DC this past weekend. NEW YORK — In a message of “engaging NCLC launched in 2012 to better empower directly with the people, and improving out- student body leaders at colleges around the reach,” Armenia’s Ambassador to the United country to develop the tools, networks, and States Grigor Hovhannissian, who has been in skills necessary to confront exigent issues fac- this office for a year, spoke at a gathering of ing students today. Its annual Presidential local Armenian-American community leaders Leadership Summit, now in its sixth year, is the on Wednesday, May 31, at the Diocese of the largest convening of student body presidents in Armenian Church of America. the country. Attending were several representatives of reli- The summit includes sessions on policy gious, social, political and aid organizations issues, skills training, and networking opportu- including Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag nities for incoming and outgoing student body Barsamian, pastor of the St. Illuminator’s John Ohanian and Leo Ohanian presidents and other student leaders in order to Armenian Cathedral Rev. Mesrob Lakissian rep- equip them with the tools and knowledge nec- resenting Prelate Archbishop Oshagan essary to serve their campus communities. Choloyan, Armenian Evangelical Church of USC Shoah Foundation was invited to give a New York minister Rev. Haig Kherlopian. Also presentation at this year’s summit by Rini present were leaders of the Armenian Assembly, Leosons Overseas Corp. Sampath, a 2016 graduate of USC, former USC Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), Armenia student body president and currently NCLC’s Fund, Tekeyan Cultural Association, Armenian policy director. Sampath collaborated with the Democratic Liberal Party, the Armenian Receives Presidential Institute during her senior year at USC to Revolutionary Federation, the Armenian inspire students to speak out against acts of General Benevolent Union and others. hatred and racism on campus. The ambassador, who previously was Award for Exports She said the Institute’s history of using the Armenia’s consul general in California, and has stories of witnesses of genocide to educate worked at the Secretariat, and inspire action against hatred and bigotry focused his more than two-hour PowerPoint ALBANY, N.Y. — US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross presented Leosons makes it an ideal organization to motivate talk on Armenia’s transition to a parliamentary Overseas Corporation with the President’s “E” Award for Exports at a ceremony student body presidents to address issues of system, the US presidential election and its rela- in Washington on May 22. The President’s “E” Award is the highest recognition inclusivity and hate on their own campuses, tion to Armenia and Artsakh, and the four-day any US entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion inspired by the testimonies of real-life sur- Azerbaijani attack in April. of US exports. vivors and other witnesses of hatred through- Hovhannissian detailed the bilateral relations “Leosons Overseas Corporation has demonstrated a sustained commitment to out history. since 2016 between the US and Armenia, includ- export expansion. The ‘E’ Awards Committee was very impressed with Leosons The students at the summit are the next gen- ing high-level talks with President Obama and Overseas’ ability to modify packing to meet frequently changing international reg- eration of leaders and therefore responsible for senior officials, as well as participation in the ulations and support export sales. The Company’s focus on trade shows to sup- affecting change and progress, Sampath said. NATO summit, and Armenia’s support for peace- port export growth was also particularly notable. Leosons Overseas’ achievements “We are the ones to create a peaceful, loving keeping operations in Afghanistan — a larger con- have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support society,” Sampath said. “The onus is on us.” tingent (124 soldiers) than NATO countries, as the US Economy and create American jobs,” said Ross in his congratulatory let- In her presentation, Street will talk about the well as economic, investment, trade and energy ter to the company announcing its selection. different forms of hate that can happen on cam- meetings in the US and Europe. In his speech at the awards ceremony Ross congratulated John L Ohanian, pres- puses, from LGBTQ discrimination to anti- “The US is Armenia’s most important partner ident and CEO of Leosons, and Leo Ohanian, vice president/managing partner. semitism. She will demonstrate a variety of and plays a decisive role in the political and eco- He highlighted the family business and Leo Ohanian’s efforts stating “In his 20s, resources in a toolkit on IWitness that will pro- nomic life of Armenia,” the ambassador stated. Leo opened an office in Dubai, learned Arabic and the company expanded vide student leaders with testimony-based Though some members of Congress have vis- throughout the MidEast and South East Asia,” Ross said. resources to support their efforts in creating ited Armenia, support for Armenia in that body Leosons is one of the leading providers of US Pharmaceuticals, OTC products inclusive campus communities. has “diminished” from 160 to 94 members in and Nutraceuticals to markets around the globe. The business is widespread on One of those resources is a new IWitness the Armenian caucus currently, entailing 75 six continents; however, the focus is the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region. The activity, Reflections and Action on Campus percent Democrats and 25 percent Republicans, head office is located in Albany. Additionally, Leosons has an associated sales Diversity, specifically designed for student lead- he said. “Most are nominal supporters with no office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Leosons is also the owner and distribu- ership councils that addresses various forms of real motivation, and most are unaware of the tor of brands such as Nice® lozenges, Chooz® (Sugar Free-antacid Chewing discrimination and prejudice, the role of the Armenian issues. They need to be educated. see EXPORTS, page 6 bystander, and how to take action on campus to There are barely 10 who know the Armenian create inclusive campus environments. All pres- issues and community.” idents are encouraged to complete the activity He listed the issues for cooperation as ener- with their own councils. gy, security, democracy, humanitarian, peace- Street will also announce USC Shoah keeping, military, education, trade, investment, Foundation’s new program, the policies against corruption, and nuclear non- Intercollegiate Diversity Congress. The proliferation. Intercollegiate Diversity Congress will con- “We need to take things to the next level, vene student leaders from higher education especially high level meetings with the US pres- campuses across the United States to sup- ident, which have drastically declined since the port their efforts in building inclusive con- Obama administration. The mechanisms of the nected communities. USC Shoah Foundation Bilateral Cooperation agreement signed in will provide resources for the student leaders 2015 are largely idle now, and US economic to convene groups of students, staff and fac- assistance to Armenia and Artsakh have dra- ulty to explore clips of testimony on a range matically declined,” he said. of topics and facilitate dialogue around cam- The Trump administration has proposed for pus climate issues. the 2018 fiscal year, a little over $6 million in Summit attendees, and all student leaders, aid to Armenia in 2018, a cut of 70 percent are encouraged to complete the activity this fall from 2017. and register to participate in an Intercollegiate Demining — Crucial in Artsakh Diversity Congress Summit at USC Shoah In addition, funding for Artsakh will be elim- John Ohanian and Leo Ohanian with Secretary Wilbur Ross, left Foundation in Los Angeles in winter inated. “This needs to be revised, as one of 2017/2018. More information about the pro- Artsakh’s most crucial and key elements is gram can be found at iwitness.usc.edu/stu- see AMBASSADOR, page 8 dentleaders. 6 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R OBITUARY Norman Pashoian: Elegant Doorman at Boston Hotel for 66 Years

Switch the gender and that description could — smiling, gentle, compassionate,” added good CIA agent, that’s for sure. In many cases, By Bryan Marquard have been applied to Pashoian. “My father was Regan, who is now president of Regan I learned a lot of information about my father a quiet person,” said his son David of Dracut, Communications Group. “He could have been from my uncle, but I learned it 30 or 40 years one of Pashoian’s four children. “I don’t think working at Buckingham Palace.” later.” BOSTON (Boston Globe) — Soft-spoken and I’ve ever heard him raise his voice in the house. Norman E. Pashoian Jr. grew up in Malden in Early on at Malden High School, Pashoian discreet, impeccably dressed on the job and off, I’m serious when I say that. There was no doubt an Armenian family, a son of immigrants. His hurt his knee badly playing football — an injury Norman Pashoian opened the door of the Ritz- he was a humble person, and he always taught mother, the former Takouhy Sarkisian, was that would later curtail his Army service. He Carlton Hotel to politicians and powerbrokers, us to be humble in life.” known as “Queenie” and had lived in an couldn’t play sports again until he was a senior actors and musicians, Brahmins and those At home, as at work, Pashoian “was always a orphanage after her family died during the and joined the hockey team. He graduated in buoyed by fortunes of a more recent vintage. caring person. If you ever needed anything, he Armenian Genocide. 1946 and started working at the Ritz on August He greeted visitors for 66 years, steadfast at was there. He was your support. He always said, Pashoian’s father, Norman Sr., and an uncle 4, 1947. his post as the Ritz became the Taj, until he ‘Everything’s going to be OK,’” David recalled. ran a neighborhood grocery store, which they Three years later, he met Claire LeVangie, retired at 85. Along the way, he unobtrusively who worked at the Joseph Antell ladies’ shoe became Boston’s most famous doorman and a store across Newbury Street from the hotel. Back Bay institution. “I just do my job, try to be Some days she stopped to talk after work. polite, and never — well, almost never — get into Other times, she slipped love notes into his arguments with guests,” he said quietly in spiffy Ford convertible. They married in 1954. 1997, his 50th anniversary at work, as he stood “If I hadn’t worked at the Ritz, I never would in one of the city’s most elegant entryways. have met her,” he said in 2013 of Claire, who Pashoian was 89 when he died May 26 in died in 2005. “I courted her for four years, and Melrose-Wakefield Hospital of complications you don’t do that for just any girl.” from congestive heart failure. His affinity for In addition to his sons Norman III and David, continuity was as apparent at home as it was at Pashoian leaves another son, Mark of Melrose; work. He held one job his whole adult life. And a daughter, Lisa Pashoian-Cook of Beverly; two except for a brief stint in the Army, he lived in brothers, Edward of Malden and Warren of Malden his entire life. Lynn; and 10 grandchildren. The list of those with whom he exchanged A funeral Mass was said at St. Joseph Church small talk could fill a set of encyclopedias. He in Malden. An urn with his ashes was placed in greeted Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, fresh a niche, next to his wife’s urn, in Holy Cross from the baseball diamond. Joseph Kennedy Sr. Cemetery in Malden. and his son John F. Kennedy passed through Pashoian was devoted to his wife, who “was a the door Pashoian held open, planning cam- beach nut,” their daughter said, so family vaca- paigns, perhaps. He welcomed the musical col- tions often were a series of daytrips to laborators Richard Rodgers and Oscar Gloucester’s Wingaersheek Beach. In later Hammerstein II, too, and stepped nimbly aside years, Pashoian and his wife traveled to when movie star Gene Autry rode his horse into Caribbean islands, where he could golf. the lobby. During a visit by Elizabeth Taylor, he Outside of family and work, his passions were carried her two dozen bags inside. golf, nice cars, and fine clothing. For decades, Pashoian had his favorites, of course — chief he was a member of the Gannon Municipal Golf among them his hero, Winston Churchill, who Norman Pashoian opened the door of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel to politicians and powerbrokers, actors Course in Lynn, where he was still playing stayed at the Ritz in 1949 while in town to deliv- and musicians, Brahmins and those buoyed by fortunes of a more recent vintage. (John Tlumacki rounds last summer, at 88. He owned a series of er a speech. He watched Churchill stand on the photo) fancy cars, most recently, a SLK350 Mercedes- steps of a dining room staircase, flashing a V for Benz. As for what he wore, “we grew up in a victory with one hand, and clasping a cigar with middle-class life in Malden, but you wouldn’t the other. “Here I was, just in my early 20s, and Former Boston mayor Kevin White was fond closed during the Great Depression, when cus- know it, looking at my dad,” his daughter said. I was seeing someone as famous as Churchill,” of Pashoian, whose counsel he sometimes tomers could no longer pay their bills. “He appreciated the finer things when it came Pashoian told the Globe in 2013, on his last day sought after a tough day running the city. Even in youth, Pashoian had a taste for sar- to clothing.” as a doorman. “I was amazed.” White “would go in and have a glass of wine,” torial flair. His children were at first mystified to On his last day at the Taj, Pashoian allowed He never spoke with Churchill, who came the mayor’s former press secretary George hear he had been a Boy Scout. “I said to my himself a moment to mourn the decline of ele- and went with an entourage of bodyguards, but Regan told the Globe in 2013. “He spent good Uncle Eddie, ‘Why would dad join the Boy gance. “Nowadays, you can come into a hotel for many regulars, Pashoian was more just than days there, but mostly bad days, and after a hor- Scouts? He’d never go camping,’” recalled his with a knapsack on your back, wearing ripped a helping hand at the door. Jacqueline Kennedy rible day Norman would greet him and give him son Norman III of Great Falls, Va. “Uncle Ed jeans and sneakers,” he said. “I’ve always liked Onassis addressed him by name as they greeted a big hug.” said, ‘Well, Norm, he loved the uniform. That’s the old days, when people knew how to dress each another. She was, he recalled, a “beautiful, Pashoian “could be having the worst day in why he joined.’” and always showed up well-groomed and well- well-dressed, very humble, very gracious lady.” the world, but he was always the perfect greeter He added that his father “would have made a tailored.”

George Balekjian Telephone (617) 924-7400 Owner of Carpet One Aram Bedrosian WESTWOOD, Mass. — George Balekjian of Westwood died on June 1. He was 89. Funeral Home, Inc. He was the husband of the late Gladys (Afarian) Balekjian. He was the father of Harry Balekjian and his wife Hilda and Larain Doursounian and her husband Kirt all of Westwood; Continuous Service By The Bedrosian Family Since 1945 grandfather of Nicole and George Balekjian and Taline and Nora Doursounian; brother of MARION BEDROSIAN the late Anoush Garabedian. He also leaves several loving nieces and nephews. 558 MOUNT AUBURN STREET He was the second-generation owner of Harry’s Carpet One in Quincy. PAUL BEDROSIAN Services were held at Holy Trinity Armenian Church, 145 Brattle St., Cambridge on WATERTOWN, MA 02472 LARRY BEDROSIAN Monday, June 5. Interment followed in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge. Arrangements were made by the Giragosian Funeral Home, Watertown.

Leosons Overseas Corp. Receives Presidential Award EXPORTS, from page 5 organizations from across the country with the F UNERAL H OME gum), Tanac ( mouth sore relief ointment), President’s “E” Award for their role in strength- Giragosian Caldecort (anti-itch cream), Privine® (nasal ening the US economy by sharing American James “Jack” Giragosian, CPC drops) Leolyte (Children’s Oral Electrolyte ingenuity outside of our borders. Mark J. Giragosian Product), Leona’s Children’s Gummy Vitamins, US companies are nominated for the “E” Funeral Counselors Amerix Adult Vitamins and Fiberall (Sugar Free Awards through the US Commercial Service, 576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, TEL: 617-924—0606 Fiber Laxative powder). part of the Department’s International Trade www.giragosianfuneralhome.com “In 1984, I moved my entire family from a Administration. With offices across the United war stricken Beirut to Albany, NY. It is then States and in embassies and consulates that I started to take a strong interest in selling around the world, The International Trade products ‘Made in USA’ to the international Administration lends its expertise at every marketplace. Today we represent and export stage of the exporting process by promoting over 200 items to 30 plus countries. It is an and facilitating exports and investment into Nardolillo Funeral Home honor that my son and I receive the Presidents the United States; administering Anti- Est. 1906 E-Award for Exports for the work our team has Dumping and Countervailing Duties orders; achieved for over 30 years. I am proud of the and removing, reducing, or preventing foreign John K. Najarian, Jr. achievements of my business, our staff, the ven- trade barriers. Rhode Island’s Only Licensed Armenian Funeral Director dors and customers who work with us on a US exports totaled $2.21 trillion in 2016, daily basis. Our business, now in its second gen- accounting for nearly 12 percent of US gross 1278 Park Ave. Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 942-1220 eration, is growing rapidly, I look forward to domestic product. Exports supported an esti- 1111 Boston Neck Rd. Narragansett, RI 02882 (401) 789-6300 watching Leosons continue achieve greater mated 11.5 million jobs nationwide in 2015, milestones,” said John L. Ohanian. according to the most recent statistics from the www.nardolillo.com In total, Ross honored 32 US companies and International Trade Administration. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 7 COMMUNITY NEWS 8 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR COMMUNITY NEWS

fessor, and due to his work with the MPI, WPI Launches Armenia Project Center Apelian’s free time is minimal, and while Aghajanian is retired, he’s busier than ever with charitable, business, and academic work — the our conversation, and right away he said, ‘I’ve only feasible time to host the program would be By Allison Racicot been thinking about the same thing for years, in E-Term. However, students interested in trav- let’s do it!’” eling to a project center during the summer A small country about the size of Maryland have to pay additional tuition. With the deci- WORCESTER — One of the staples of an with a population of roughly three million, sion that it wasn’t fair to penalize the students undergraduate education at Worcester Politech Armenia celebrated its 25th year of indepen- because of their respective schedule con- Institute (WPI) is the Interactive Qualifying dence from the in September straints, Apelian and Aghajanian raised the Project (IQP), a project experience in which stu- 2016, and Apelian is quick to point out the funds to cover the costs. dents work together to tackle and solve a real- impressive amount of varied opportunities avail- “We were able to fund the trip for all eight world problem. In addition to local project cen- able in the young country. “It’s 25 years old, students ... tuition, a round-trip ticket, housing, ters around Massachusetts, students may but it has 3,000 years of history,” he explains. and a stipend.” choose to complete their projects at one of over “It’s perfect for students to see the impact of As a young country full of possibilities, 40 centers around the world—locations range technology on society while figuring out plans, Armenia is the perfect place for WPI students from England and Albania to South Africa and executing them, and delivering results.” to begin their project experiences. Because the China. Aghajanian began getting involved with IQPs center is a pilot program, rather than the usual Starting this summer, students now have five years ago, co-advising projects in four to six projects, two are available to stu- another option to add to their list of prospective Melbourne, Australia; Venice, Italy; and Santa dents: destinations: Armenia. Fe, New Mexico. “Each time I was working on My Armenia Cultural Heritage Tourism The brainchild of Diran Apelian, professor Program comes from a collaboration between and founding director of the Metal Processing the United States Agency for International Institute (MPI), and Michael Aghajanian (WPI Development (USAID) and the Smithsonian Class of ’80), adjunct professor and member of Diran Apelian Institution. It centers around the impressive the Foisie Business School’s advisory board, amount of tourists Armenia attracts — between the Armenia Project Center is an endeavor 400,000 and 500,000 per year. Most tourists years in the making. feel like you’ve known them for a long time,” stay in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, and do not Both Apelian and Aghajanian have Armenian Apelian says. venture out to the more remote regions where roots and clicked immediately upon meeting, According to Aghajanian, it didn’t take long there is much to discover. Armenia is a country like many people around campus had said they after their first meeting for them to start mak- that has distinct national treasures — architec- would. “It was one of those meetings where you ing the Armenia Project Center a reality. “I ture, viniculture and the culinary arts, crafts- connect with someone almost instantly and you brought up the idea to Diran a few minutes into manship. It is a paradise for birdwatchers—the country has more bird species than anywhere on earth (due to the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat, according to legend). WPI stu- dents working on this project will help develop Ambassador Hovhannissian Addresses a website that approaches the goal of increasing tourism in the rural areas through a market New York Community at Meeting segmentation approach. Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) will chal- AMBASSADOR, from page 5 needs to strengthen strategic alliances with cer- Michael Aghajanian lenge students to build upon Armenia’s Mobile demining.” The diplomat pointed out that US tain ethnic groups in the US, notably the Eye Hospital (MEH), which travels to the coun- military assistance to Azerbaijan and Georgia Jewish, Mexican and Evangelical communities try’s remote villages to serve those unable to “is huge, but to Armenia very little, and the aid which he claimed have similar objectives. (It projects, I could see that in addition to the travel to Yerevan for eye care. The AECP is in to Azerbaijan is used against Armenia.” was not made clear why these groups rather great things students get out of it and the sat- the process of building five Regional Eye The US plays a “key role” in the Artsakh than others were selected.) isfaction I get by helping and teaching them, Centers to provide care on a more consistent peace process as the co-chair of the Key Objectives for 2017-2018 the communities we work in are getting a basis. The students’ project work will revolve Organization for Security and Cooperation in In order to reverse the downward trend tremendous amount of benefits from these around examining the current situation, Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, he stated, between the US and Armenia, Hovhannissian young, highly intelligent students,” he says. “I researching best practices used to deliver med- acknowledging that since President Trump’s listed Armenia’s “key 2017-2018 objectives,” realized that Armenia could really benefit from ical care in remote areas of developing coun- election the phone calls with Presidents Recep which include continued US involvement in getting access to these students, as well. tries, and providing recommendations on how Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Ilham Aliyev of Artsakh’s peaceful resolution; the recognition There’s a mountain of projects they could work to best meet the eye care needs of Armenian cit- Azerbaijan have been “quite painful.” of Armenia’s and Artsakh’s security needs; on, and their work would be extremely impact- izens. Azerbaijan also forced the closure of the OSCE maintaining military cooperation and economic ful for Armenia. The citizens would be very WPI’s decision to establish the new project office in Armenia, he said. “The very little assistance programs; and high level meetings grateful to get those resources.” center is even more fitting, due to the fact that progress we made has to be recognized,” he and political consultations. Additionally, Aghajanian says that he hopes the city of Worcester is home to a prominent confessed. He also mentioned the need for removing the project center will spur students on to Armenian population. “When Armenians in the Though Armenia’s exports have mainly Armenia from the list of export control coun- potentially partner with Armenia when working ‘old country’ talked about going to America, included preserves, juices, liquor and jewelry tries; the promotion of the IT sector, invest- with various companies after graduation. they meant going to Worcester,” Apelian says, amounting to $50 million to US markets, with ment, R & D, and trade; networking with state “Armenia was known as the Silicon Valley of citing the vast historical and cultural connec- a growth of about 22-percent yearly, the major authorities, consulates, businesses, investors in the Soviet Union, with all of its technology,” he tions to Armenia throughout the city. “WPI has key US states; encouraging con- explains. “Most people aren’t aware of or have many Armenian alumni and connections with gressional delegations to visit much familiarity with it, but maybe the students the Armenian community within the city, so Armenia, funded by Armenia, will look to Armenia someday as a country to this partnership makes sense.” (with five to seven caucus leaders partner with in the future.” After spending just a short amount of time expected this fall; ongoing coop- Apelian and Aghajanian faced several chal- with Apelian and Aghajanian, I could see their eration with the Evangelical lead- lenges while creating the Armenia Project passion for and dedication to the Armenia pro- ership on Christian and other Center; complications that ranged from secur- ject center; seeing their efforts come to fruition minorities in the Middle East. ing housing to determining appropriate spon- is exciting—and for Apelian, it was almost as if He also advocated expanding the sors for projects, but one of the biggest hurdles the stars had aligned to set everything into LAX-Armenia direct flights, and that had to be overcome was the program’s motion. “When those things happen in life, you revealed that 50,000 Armenians cost. should grab them,” he says. “When those from Los Angeles visit Armenia year- Because of schedule constraints — as a pro- opportunities come, you should do it.” ly. “California is Armenia’s gateway to the US,” he declared. “We need reassurance and the highest pos- sible dialogue and contact with BOSTON — Arman Khajag the US,” he said. “Our relations Sanentz graduated from with Russia do not prevent good Boston University’s College of relations with the US.” Arts and Sciences with two Before a brief question and answer period, the ambassador Bachelor of Arts degrees in invited a representative of the computer science and linguis- Armenia Fund to deliver a talk tics, on May 21. Heis the son of Ambassador Grigor Hovhannissian about the organization’s contribu- Ara and Marguerite (née tions, infrastructure and projects Vartivarian) Sanentz of in Armenia and Artsakh. Amesbury, Mass. He is the commodity is the IT sector dealing with major Concluding his presentation, Hovhannissian grandson of the late Paren IT companies in Armenia. They include such announced two extraordinary exhibits that will Sanentz and Nazely (née multinationals as Oracle, Cisco, D-Link, take place in 2018 in America. The Partamian) Sanentz of Synergy, National Instruments, Microsoft, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will Watertown, and of the late Dr. Mentor Graphics, among others. host a monumental exhibition of Armenian art Boghos Vartivarian and the The value of Armenia’s IT services exported next year, with artifacts from major Armenian to the US exceeds $250 million, roughly five churches and institutions from around the late Nevart (née Keshishian) times the exports in commodities, he said, world. Also in 2018, Armenia will present the Vartivarian of Paris, France. adding that he will travel to Silicon Valley to Smithsonian Folklife Festival to be held in He has joined Amazon, in make this fact better known in the US. Washington, D.C., marking the 400th anniver- Boston. The ambassador revealed that Armenia also sary of the Armenian community in the US. S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 9 COMMUNITY NEWS The Hazy Science of Day Drinking

By Katie Heaney

NEW YORK (New York Magazine) — What makes us feel like time is speeding up or slowing down? How do we learn to tell the difference, and how we can learn to control it either way? When it comes to booze, everyone’s got a strategy: liquor before beer; a full glass of water and 400 milligrams of ibuprofen before bed; eat carbs before, during, and after; no tequila under any circumstances. But there’s also the ques- tion of timing. Uncorking an early afternoon bottle of wine used to require a self-effacing, “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” and yet among a certain brunch-crazed demographic, week- end day drinking has become routine. Bottomless mimosas (or Bloody Marys) are simply part of the deal. And for some reason, drinking four mimosas at (and consume) afterward — which might explain why my edi- sounding study in which students dosed with vodka-cran- brunch feels different than drinking, say, four gin-and-tonics tor tells me she feels “kinda fine” after drinking outside all berries were made to hold their hands in ice water or watch in a bar after 9 p.m. It’s daytime! The sun is (maybe) shin- day, whereas I feel like death. And while it’s good to have food a graphic video of eye surgery. The students exposed to ing! Instead of going to bed afterward, you’re going to the in your stomach before you drink, don’t think the two are these stressors were shown to reach peak blood-alcohol park for a picnic, or for a tipsy stroll about town. You may canceling each other out. “Food in your stomach will delay content (BAC) more quickly than those who were not, sug- very well have consumed the same number of drinks (or gastric emptying, which will make the alcohol take longer to gesting that alcohol is absorbed more quickly under duress. more) than you would on a night out, and yet you don’t feel get into the blood system,” says Dardarian. “Would I suggest “There are a lot of factors at play,” says Burdick. “From my as drunk. But is there anything actually different about eating carbohydrates before drinking large volumes of alco- perspective, there’s the time of day affecting how quickly drinking during the day? hol? Yes, I would, but I would also probably suggest not you metabolize alcohol, but there’s actually a lot of research The answer is, appropriately, hazy. Nyree Dardarian, a pro- drinking large volumes of alcohol.” that I’m only starting to look at that indicates alcohol con- fessor of nutrition sciences at Drexel University, says that con- But let’s just say you were. Is there a “better” time to do sumption can alter your circadian rhythm, too.” According trary to popular it? The research is mixed, and sometimes contradictory. “It’s to Burdick, these effects could alter our vulnerability to (mis)understanding, alco- totally confusing,” says Alan Burdick, author of Why Time liver disease, among other risk factors. hol is metabolized at pret- Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation. Burdick referred me Dr. Joseph Bass, a professor at Feinberg School of ty much the same rate to a 2001 study which found that subjects (rats, mind you) Medicine at Northwestern University, tells me that leading throughout the day. had an increased sensitivity to alcohol at nighttime. researchers in the field of circadian rhythms aren’t pursu- “Your metabolism is func- Because the researchers controlled for absorption, metabo- ing the link to alcohol — which, fair enough — but suggests tioning 24 hours of the lism, and distribution of the alcohol consumed, they sur- there is reason to believe it exists. When we wake up, when day,” she says. From her mised this increase had to do with the body’s circadian we’re hungry, when we go to bed — all of these things are perspective, drinking dur- rhythms — the physical and mental changes which closely ruled, on some level, by internal clocks which keep time ing the day versus at hew to a 24-hour cycle in most living beings. with the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. “Clocks are in pretty night doesn’t shift our Another study’s results seem to suggest the opposite: 40 much all cells of the body, including the liver, where alco- biological response so male medical students, half of them given alcohol before- hol is metabolized,” says Bass. He points to similar studies much as it does our hand, took a cognitive test in the afternoon, and their done with yeast, which have indicated that timing plays a behavior: “Somebody results were compared to an identical experiment in which role in the metabolic cycle. “The principles in terms of the who’s drinking bottom- students were given the test in the evening. Unsurprisingly, chemistry are conserved [with alcohol], and they would sup- less mimosas might sit the students who drank alcohol did much worse on the port the idea that the metabolism of alcohol could also be there longer and eat Nyree Dardarian afternoon test than those who didn’t. But what was sur- programmed by the clock.” more, and then miss their prising was that there was very little cognitive difference What exactly that means for the bottomless mimosa three o’clock workout.” between those who drank and those who didn’t before tak- drinker, researchers aren’t yet sure, but it seems safe to say Then again, you might be more of a late-night gyro-from-the- ing the test in the evening. As Burdick says, “The data is all it’s a matter of degree — there is no time of day at which deli-type drinker. Much of how you feel after drinking during over the place.” alcohol has no impact whatsoever. If there were, you prob- the day versus drinking at night depends on what you do Burdick also described a particularly cruel- ably wouldn’t drink during it. What would be the point? Tracy Palandjian Named Harvard Overseers Vice President

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Harvard Gazette) — One of the University’s most active alumni and applied sciences, and the governing boards’ studied economics at Harvard, earning Eliot Scott A. Abell ’72, past president of the Harvard leaders in recent decades, he served as presi- joint committee on alumni affairs and develop- House’s John B. Imrie Memorial Award, and Alumni Association and retired chair and CEO dent of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) ment. went on to Harvard Business School, where she of Abell & Associates, Inc., has been elected in 2000-01, leading a comprehensive strategic He has also served as a member of the visit- was a Baker Scholar. president of Harvard’s Board of Overseers for planning process that helped reshape the HAA. ing committees for the Departments of Her Harvard roles since graduation have the academic year 2017-18. He received the HAA Award in 2003 for his Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Human and included service as vice chair of her College Tracy P. Palandjian (’93, M.B.A. ’97), co- work on behalf of Harvard. Evolutionary Biology, and Mathematics. class, as a member of the Harvard Business founder and CEO of Social Finance, Inc., will Abell came out of retirement in 2004 to serve He lives outside of Cleveland with his wife. School Alumni Board, and since 2016 as a serve as vice chair of the board’s executive com- for several years as the dean for development Palandjian has served since 2011 as co- member of the Harvard Corporation mittee for 2017-18. for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He founder and chief executive officer of Social Committee on Finance. Both elected as Overseers in 2012, Abell and currently serves as the national chair of the Finance, Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit organi- As an Overseer, she chairs the board’s com- Palandjian will serve in the board’s top leader- John Harvard Society. zation dedicated to mobilizing capital to drive mittee on schools, the College, and continuing ship roles for the final year of their six-year Born to a family of modest means, Abell over- social progress. Social Finance develops pay-for- education. She also serves on the executive terms. came childhood polio to become a multisport success and other public-private partnerships committee and the committee on humanities “Scott Abell and Tracy Palandjian each athlete. designed to address complex social challenges and arts, as well as the visiting committees for embody the qualities of good judgment, devo- Abell went on to a successful business career such as achievement gaps, health disparities, the Division of Continuing Education, the tion to higher education, constructively critical after graduation, while taking active part in the and prisoner recidivism. Before leading Social Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and perspective, and appetite for service that our civic and philanthropic life of his communities Finance, Palandjian spent more than a decade the Sociology Department. most valued alumni bring to the work of the through such organizations as the Woods Hole as a managing director of the Parthenon An active trustee well beyond Harvard, she University,” said President Drew Faust. “It will Oceanographic Institute, the Center for Group, where she established and led the firm’s serves on the boards of the Surdna Foundation be a privilege to work with them even more Nonprofit Excellence, Akron General Health nonprofit practice. and Affiliated Managers Group. She is a past closely in the year to come.” System, the Children’s Hospital Medical Center Co-author of the book Investing for Impact: trustee of Milton Academy and the Robert F. For nearly 30 years, Abell served as chair and of Akron Foundation, and Stan Hywet Hall and Case Studies Across Asset Classes and vice Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, CEO of Abell & Associates, Inc. He founded the Gardens. chair of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, she and past chair of the board of Facing History company in Akron, Ohio, in 1973, shortly after As a Harvard Overseer, he chairs the board’s writes and speaks widely on impact investing and Ourselves. his graduation from Harvard College, and led committee on institutional policy, in addition to and social innovation. Palandjian lives in Belmont with her hus- its work in the fields of financial services and serving on the executive committee, the nomi- A native of Hong Kong who came to the band, Leon Palandjian ’91, M.D. ’00, and their health care consulting. nating committee, the committee on natural United States at age 14 as a foreign student, she three daughters. 10 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR Arts & Living

Knoxville Kaloosdian’s Book Symphony (MARYLYNDA BOZIAN-CRUICKSHANK PHOTO) On Tadem Continues Orchestra Music Receiving Praise Director Aram WASHINGTON — The Armenian National Institute announced recently that Robert Aram Kaloosdian’s book, Tadem: My Father’s Village Demirjian Lands Extinguished during the 1915 Armenian Genocide, was reviewed in the April 2017 issue Where He Belongs of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the premier journal of the discipline published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the United States By Wayne Bledsoe Holocaust Memorial Museum. In his review, Robert Melson, past president of the International Association of Genocide KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (USA Today Network) Scholars, describes the book as a “significant — Probably at no time in his life before he contribution to historical understanding” of the applied for the job did Aram Demirjian ever Armenian Genocide. imagine himself as artistic director of Melson, also professor emeritus of political the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO). science at Purdue University, writes: “A gradu- “I’ve never wound up being where I thought ate of Boston University’s School of Law, I would be, but I wound up being where I was Kaloosdian is the founding chairman of the supposed to be,” says Demirjian over coffee at Armenian National Institute, and one of the Awaken Coffee on Jackson Avenue. founders of the Armenian Assembly of In his first year with the KSO, he’s led his America. He relies on a written chronicle of the musicians through both beloved favorites and village and on oral testimonies by elderly sur- unfamiliar pieces. And in his youthfulness vivors, among them members of his own family, (Demirjian just entered his 30s), Demirjian including his father Boghos.” shows no lack of maturity, but a fresh enthu- Melson continues: “One of the historical siasm that is infectious. questions that Kaloosdian helps to clarify...is Aram Demirjian grew up in a family of non- the role of locals in the mass professional musicians violence...Kaloosdian’s research demonstrates Born in Boston, Mass., and raised in nearby that a potential for violence against Armenians Arlington and Lexington, Demirjian grew up at the local level existed even before the mas- loving American history. sacres of 1895-1896.” “Lexington is where the birthplace of In her review which appeared in the Winter America, where the Revolutionary War start- 2015 issue of the Journal of Levantine Studies, ed,” he says. “It’s where I became fascinated Soprano Alynne Corrigan Dr. Nazan Maksudyan of Istanbul Kemerburgaz with history. I studied it in high school. I was University wrote: “Kaloosdian has made a last- even a tour guide for my summer job, wearing ing contribution in reconstructing the experi- the three-corner hat and everything. I was obsessed with it.” Demirjian grew up in a family of non-pro- Going the Distance for fessional musicians. His father plays violin. His mother plays piano. His older sister played both of those instruments, but excelled as a FAR at Spring Benefit vocalist, before pursuing a career as a journal- ist. She now works at the Washington Post. Aram played cello and sang in choir and Luncheon other vocal groups, both in his high school and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. LINCOLN HARBOR, N.J. — On June 1, the Friends of Fund for Armenian Relief “Music was always the No. 1 extracurricular, (FAR), held a Spring Benefit Luncheon at the Chart House. More than 150 attend- the No. 1 passion,” he says. “But I was always ed the event, among them benefactors Sirvart Hovnanian, Suzanne Toufayan, raised with the ethos of make your money Archbishop Khajag Barsamian and Garnik A. Nanagoulian, executive director of elsewhere and spend it on music. I never, at FAR. any point in grade school, would have consid- The purpose of the benefit was to support and raise funds for the expansion of ered that I would be doing what I’m doing the Art Studio/Center of Creativity and Healing project in Armenia. Many of the now. Although you talk to my friends and children coming to the FAR Children Center (FCC) are the victims of and witness- they’ll say they all saw it coming.” es to many physical and physiological traumas and art therapy is often used to help He credits the public school system for fos- treat and heal those young survivors. tering a love of music and having programs to The event raised $16,000; as the board members of FAR will match the amount, encourage young artists. the total raised will be $32,000. “For a music nerd, I was very lucky that I Sylva Torosian, co-chair of the event, gave the opening remarks, and thanked all went to schools where it was cool to be a musi- for attending the luncheon “to support the most vulnerable children in Armenia.” cian and I made a lot of great friends, many of see FAR, page 13 ence of Tademtsis (people from Tadem) during whom are still my best friends today,” he says. (MARYLYNDA BOZIAN-CRUICKSHANK PHOTO) and after the genocide.” Maksudyan added: He says the first piece of music that had a “Robert Aram Kaloosdian’s Tadem, My Father’s deep effect on him was Gabriel Faure’s cello Village: Extinguished during the 1915 piece Elegy. He heard one of his cello teach- Armenian Genocide is an exceptionally rich er’s older students play it at a recital and knew local history of a rather small village, based he had to play it himself. mostly on oral histories, but also on memoirs “I remember the first time I played it, hav- and other published accounts. The book pro- ing a real heightened emotional connection to vides an almost complete picture of life before the music,” he says. “That was the first one. the genocide, with detailed population figures, There were many more beyond that.” census-like data on each family, socioeconomic Another epiphany occurred when he was in background, and so on. Moreover, the book a youth orchestra playing Dvorak’s New meticulously records the different phases of the World Symphony, according to Demirjian. genocidal process by presenting Tadem as a “I was 14 years old,” he says. “The piece just microcosm of the genocide.” kind of what overwhelmed me at that moment. The Journal of Levantine Studies is published Just the phenomenon of a whole symphony by the Van Leer Institute, a center orchestra. You have got 100 people in a room and dedicated to the interdisciplinary study and dis- they’re all doing something individual and yet it’s cussion of issues related to philosophy, society, in service of a greater harmony. I became fasci- culture, and education. nated by how that all worked and I became even While some would rather we deny, forget, or more fascinated by what everybody else was doing ignore the reality of the Armenian Genocide, than I was in what I was doing in my cello part From left, Sirvart Hovnanian, Suzanne Toufayan and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian the book serves as a countervailing force for and I really wanted to be as connected to every truth and for remembrance. It further clarifies aspect of it as possible.” with heartbreaking sincerity, what it is that see DEMIRJIAN, page 11 see KALOOSDIAN, page 13 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 11 ARTS & LIVING Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Aram Demirjian Lands Where He Belongs

DEMIRJIAN, from page 10 New York Philharmonic; the composer John Conducting appeared to be the route to what Adams; and Hugh Wolff, who would later men- he wanted. He took some lessons with a conduc- tor Demirjian. tor when he was 15 or 16 and Demirjian’s orches- “To be 21 years old and to have an orchestra tra teacher allowed him to conduct his high that did four or five concerts a year and you can school orchestra during Demirjian’s senior year. do programming and practice marketing and do Studying Politics at Harvard auditions and run a rehearsal cycle and every- Demierjian followed by enrolling in Harvard. thing like that, that was invaluable experience “I was studying government and politics and I that I really did not appreciate the significance was very much on the path of working in of that experience of that until now when I’m Washington, DC, and getting a law degree and back in a musical director position,” says all that,” he says. Demirjian. “And something about being on that During his junior year, Demirjian realized that podium felt right and it felt like, ‘You know, I it was music, not government studies that was could do this!’” truly his passion. Demirjian graduated with a music degree and “I loved the government work, but at a certain then took a year off to prepare to audition for point it began to feel like it took effort. Music graduate school. takes effort, but at the same time there’s a sense “I decided to challenge myself to put myself in Aram Demirjian of effortlessness to it. And I’m always amazed at as many new situations as I possibly could. I was how much deeper you can go in music and I always better being around people I was close to. never tire of going deeper and deeper and deep- Then I decided to just be around new people and in for an assistant conductor for the Long Island from the most musically fulfilling experience I’ve er into music. I am never fatigued by it or wea- have new experiences and be fearless about it, Youth Orchestra for a tour of Scandinavia. ever had, but I can’t even imagine what my life ried by it.” which turned out be, even though it was initially Demirjian says he would have normally said, would’ve looked like without that trip.” Demirjian won the position of orchestra direc- terrifying, very positive. I met a lot of new peo- “No,” but he was still challenging himself to new Demirjian was accepted into the graduate pro- tor for Harvard’s Bach Society Orchestra, which ple.” experiences: gram at New England Conservatory, where he has been an institution at the university for 160 One of those new people was particularly “I decided, ‘Sure. Why not.’ It turns out one studied with Hugh Wolff, the teacher he had years. The orchestra’s past directors include important. During that year off an associate of the chaperones on that tour, I’m now married hoped to study with. It turned out to be the Alan Gilbert, current musical director of the asked if Demirjian would be interested in filling to. That’s how I met my wife. I will say, It was far right fit. “When you go to conducting school, every- thing else stops,” says Demirjian. “It’s boot camp. It’s like the first two years of med school. It’s like the first two years of law school. It’s that Alexanian Presents Father’s Memoir, Forced into Genocide intense. You either find yourself doing more work than you thought you could every possibly Armenian Genocide, told her that it would be juxtaposes vivid descriptions of both good and do or you don’t. And that determines whether By Aram Arkun useful because of all the recent denialist litera- evil acts of Turks. you succeed and get through it.” Mirror-Spectator Staff ture concerning Armenians serving in the The book, she said, begins with her father’s Demirjian worked for three summers at the Ottoman army. childhood in Sivas. Alexanian showed slides to Aspen Music Festival, which led to an invitation During the question-and-answer session at the audience as she spoke, pointing out various to audition for the assistant conductor position WATERTOWN — Adrienne Alexanian pre- the end of her talk, Alexanian said that her aspects of the city of Sivas/Sepasdia. An in the Kansas City Symphony. He landed the job sented the memoirs of her father, Yervant father did not present his full story to her. excerpt from the memoirs read to the audience and, in his four years there, rose to associate Edward Alexanian, at the Armenian Museum of Every so often, he would tell her small anec- pointed out that her father was born only three conductor. America (ALMA) on May 18. The event was dotes, such as the way playing the bugle saved days prior to the outbreak of the 1895 mas- “Again, I wound up exactly where I needed to sponsored, in addition to the museum, by the his life. She said, “He did not want to burden us sacres of Armenians. Fortunately, Turkish be,” says Demirjan. “It’s a great organization Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian neighbors protected the family members who and it was just the right time. They were open- Cultural Foundation, the Armenian General were at home. Yervant’s father was traumatized ing a new concert hall and taking a step up to a Benevolent Union (AGBU) New England and was unable to recover from his experiences. new level of playing and new level of national District, Project SAVE Armenian Photograph He died at the young age of 42 seven months distinction.” Archives and the National Association for later. After four years, Demirjian felt that it was time Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Yervant learned Armenian, French and Latin to try for a music director position. Music direc- ALMA Executive Director Berj Chekijian wel- at the French Jesuit School in the city until it tor Lucas Richman had just announced that he comed guests and recognized all the sponsor- was closed in 1914 due to the outbreak of the would be leaving the Knoxville Symphony ing organizations for the event. Marc world war. His memoirs, Adrienne continued, Orchestra and that was the first job Demirjian Mamigonian, Director of Academic Affairs for portrayed scenes of Armenian life before the applied for. NAASR, introduced the author and the book war. Nobody imagined that a genocide could “I applied thinking, ‘OK, this is a little bit too she edited, Forced into Genocide: Memoirs of happen. Adrienne emphasized that Armenians big and too advanced for me, but I need to prac- an Armenian Soldier in the Ottoman Turkish were part of the fabric of Ottoman society and tice applying for these positions if I’m ever Army. Alexanian, a graduate of Hunter College life. They even contributed to the war effort gonna get one.’ Fast forward to a year and a half in New York with bachelor’s and master’s financially in 1914 and 1915. later, here I am.” degrees, taught intellectually gifted students in Yervant Alexanian was conscripted into the Maybe it was Demirjian’s attitude about a con- New York. Active in various Armenian organi- Ottoman army in June 1915, and was able to ductor’s attitude with the orchestra that was a zations as a volunteer, she has organized pan- stay in Sepasdia during the deportations. His deciding factor. els for the Diocese of the Armenian Church of army commander allowed him to go only on the “You have to have conviction,” he says. America (Eastern) and the AGBU at the United first leg of the deportation journey with his “That’s not the same thing as confidence. That’s Nations and elsewhere. In 2010, Alexanian family, and then to return. Alexanian converted not the same thing as arrogance. That’s not the received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. to Islam in order to save a childhood friend, and same thing as cockiness. It’s conviction that you Alexanian explained how the project of dis- was sent to the Ottoman Military Academy in belong up there given all the realities of the sit- seminating these memoirs, which she edited Pera. Interestingly, afterwards he was sent to a uation, understanding what you have to offer … and published this year through Transaction training camp in Istanbul for the use of and listening to the orchestra, seeing what they Publishers, arose. The memoirs came to light machine guns, where together with other have to offer, and seeing how you can work while she was going through her father’s Armenians he became part of the together. effects, intending to donate his papers to appro- “Senekerimian Brigade.” She showed a slide of Demirjian is a very active conductor. He priate Armenian organizations. Her father, born this group. moves a lot with the music. in 1895, died in 1983, leaving many documents An interesting aspect of his experience, “The best moments when I’m on the podium and papers to go through. according to his memoirs, was that Alexanian is when it feels like the music is playing me and He was very active in Armenian organiza- senior encountered Ottoman Minister of War everyone is kind of one brain,” he says. “Those tions after emigrating to the US. Yervant Yervant Alexanian graduating from the military Enver Pasha three times. are the times it’s easiest to relax and the small- Alexanian was a lifetime member of the academy with the rank of second lieutenant, with Alexanian after the armistice was able to jour- est gestures can have the most powerful of Armenian General Athletic Union and the his bugle hanging from the wall nearby ney to America to join his siblings who emi- impacts.” AGBU, and president of the New York chapter grated there prior to the war. Adrienne said Demirjian, though, wants to change some atti- of the Pan-Sebastia Rehabilitation Union, as that the latter part of the memoirs provides an tudes about orchestra concerts. He wants to well as later on a member of its executive com- with those stories…his therapy was actually overview of his life in the US, including his keep old familiar favorites in the KSO’s pro- mittee. He was a delegate to the 1947 World writing, so he wrote his memoirs.” However, struggle for justice for the Armenians. The grams, but he also wants to bring new audiences Armenian Congress, and later co-commander of Alexanian said during her presentation that her book includes various letters and personal doc- in and showcase new works. the Vasbouragan Lodge of the Knights of father thought about the Genocide every day of uments translated into English with notes. “I want to attract audiences who are artistical- Vartan. his life. Alexanian pointed out that Robert Fisk wrote ly curious, who have not necessarily tried out clas- He raised funds for the construction of St. In fact, she said, “My father would have said about her father’s memoirs in an article on sical music or who are curious about classical Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York as the he is the messenger to tell a bigger story.” As Turkish genocide denial in the Independent on music, but have not felt comfortable or welcome chairman of a committee in the Bronx, and sup- he died before he could tell this story to the March 23, 2017, thus assuring that it would be or in the right place at the symphony,” he says. ported the Danish-run Birds Nest Orphanage in world, Adrienne took on this responsibility. known to wider circles of potential readers. “Sometimes that means younger people, some- Lebanon for decades. He and his wife were Alexanian said that she was impressed with At the end of the talk, Mamigonian was asked times that means middle-aged people. Sometimes among the first to send help to the Armenians the work of Simon Beugekian, who had trans- to read Yervant Alexanian’s moving “Final that means people in their 60s or 70s who have of after the Turkish invasion. lated Karnig Panian’s Goodbye, Antoura mem- Thoughts” about the fate of his mother. never been to an orchestra concert.” Adrienne Alexanian said that she was upset oirs into English. She hired Beugekian and Audience members, some of whom were descen- He wants loyal KSO fans to hear new unfa- that she had not found these memoirs earlier, worked with him for one year while he trans- dants of Sepasdia Armenians, were inspired to miliar sounds and familiar sounds in fresh ways. yet was comforted by the timeliness of the pub- lated her father’s handwritten pages from ask a number of questions during the discus- “It comes down to two words for me: Defy lication. Dr. Taner Akçam, a researcher on the Armenian. She then edited the result, which sion period. expectations.” 12 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARTS & LIVING

named the likes of Hasmik Papyan, Barsegh Tumanyan, and soprano Lianna Haroutounian, Back in the (Sort of) USSR currently at the Opera. “The highest possible talented people we have and they happen to be Armenian,” he noted. ORBELIAN, from page 1 awarded the Order of Friendship of Armenia in has been diving in to help the direction of the Orbelian said, “I happen to be in love with it on in 1991 because they shared several 2015. orchestra. the voice. I want to take whichever road to things, including that both had come into the He has been chief conductor of the Kaunas City “There had been a stalemate going on but make the voice comfortable. There are no world in 1956. Symphony Orchestra in Lithuania since 2014. there was no direction, no energy. Everybody boundaries on which composers, which lan- The San Francisco-born Orbelian’s journey, He is also in charge of the Music Program for was grappling for money,” he said. guage I prefer. I feel it is a matter of what I am both in terms of music as well as straddling the the Stanford University Overseas Campus in The orchestra in Yerevan provides 750 jobs. doing at this particular time.” East and West divide, was almost pre-ordained. Moscow.Orbelian has led concerts and record- The season for the ballet and opera will open in He has about 50 albums with Delos. His 2014 He was born into a musical family of Soviet emi- ings with some of the world’s greatest singers September. recording of Virtuoso Rossini Arias with greés on the West Coast, making the family cer- including Renée Fleming, , It was the exact same problem that he was tenor was nominated for a tainly different in the eyes of many in their new Sumi Jo, Jonas Kaufmann, Marcelo Alvarez, facing in Russia in 1991. The day-to-day prob- Classical Solo Vocal Album Grammy Award and country. and Lawrence Brownlee. lems, he said, precluded concentrating on the a 2015 Vocal Recital International Classical While his parents left the Soviet Union after direction of the orchestra. Music Awards. feeling the pressure of Stalin’s wrath, the Complicated Legacy The opera had only five productions for the For Orbelian, the constant repetition of the younger Orbelian now calls St. Petersburg Orbelian is the son of Harry and Vera past 15 years and Orbelian decided to use the piece can only lead him deeper into the music home. However, he still has homes in San Orbelian, from Armenia and Ukraine, respec- funds at his disposal so that instead of one and the psyche of the composer. “The more you Francisco, a city to which he frequently returns. tively. He is the nephew of the late Konstantin new production in one year, he would get study the piece, the more you realize the genius Orbelyan, an Armenian pianist, composer and eight. He therefore started a process that is of the composer,” he said. “You can’t help but A Musical Prodigy conductor of the State Sympho-Jazz Variety new to Armenia, importing productions. That be moved.” The younger Orbelian made his debut as a Orchestra of Armenia, also known as Estrada, a way, the director of a previous performance In addition, he said he is implementing acting piano prodigy with the San Francisco beloved institution. would come and for two weeks would share classes for the opera singers in order to bring Symphony at the age of 11. After graduating His parents came to the US after a long their work and thus their Armenian counter- the operas to life. from Juilliard in New York, he embarked on a and tortuous path. They met when they were part could take advantage of that effort, Khachaturian Competition is a member of career as a piano virtuoso that included appear- prisoners of war in Germany during World rather than coming up with the production the World Federation of Music Competitions. ances with major symphony orchestras War II. from scratch. The Competition has been organized by the throughout the world. Between 1980 and 1990, His grandfather, Agaparon Orbelian, was “They hadn’t done anything new,” he said. It Armenian Ministry of Culture, the “Aram he gave approximately 750 concerts, and his arrested and executed in the Lubianka as a rev- was the same with the ballet. Khachaturian Competition” Cultural recording of the Khachaturian piano concerto olutionary “enemy of the people” during Orbelian, again, is not taking a salary in Foundation and the Yerevan State won “Best Concerto Recording of the Year” Stalin’s annihilation of Communist party mem- Armenia. Conservatory. It is held under the patronage of award in the . bers in the 1930s. Constantine’s grandmother Orbelian is particularly fond of working with First Lady Rita Sargsyan. During the years after his graduation from was imprisoned for eight years in a gulag for singers, and top among those is Dmitri The orchestra, which provides 750 jobs, will Juilliard, he performed and recorded as guest wives of “enemies of the people.” When the Hvorostovsky, a “superstar baritone” at the open for the season in September. soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Nazis invaded Russia in 1941, Constantine’s Metropolitan Opera. Incidentally, Orbelian last month in Armenia He was on tour in Finland in 1990 when he father, Harry, who had been an outcast since The Soviet Union and Russia have given the received the Tekeyan Cultural Association’s received a phone call letting him know that the the arrest of his parents when he was a teenag- world many great singers, he said, and with the annual award for music achievement. A story MCO Music Director, Andre Korsakoff, had died er, was drafted into the Russian army to fight falling of the Iron Curtain, the pool of singers about the awards ceremony will appear in next suddenly of a heart attack, and the orchestra for his country. That same year, he was cap- from that region was like “a diamond mine.” He week’s paper. was inviting Orbelian to become its music direc- tured by the Germans and spent four years in a tor. German prison camp, owing his life to the fact For this Russian “treasure,” as it is often that he spoke German and could function as a called, to be entrusted into the hands of an translator. Constantine’s mother, Vera, grew up American was unthinkable. in the Ukraine, and for a brief time realized her In the year 1991, right before the fall of the lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. But dur- Recipe Soviet Union, much of the former empire was ing the Nazi invasion she was taken from her mired in poverty and uncertainty. home and forced to work in prisoner-of war “I knew I could do something for the orches- camps. tra. People’s minds were on everything but Vera and Harry emigrated to the US sepa- Corner music,” he said. “It was a surreal time. There rately, but eventually settled in San Francisco. was no electricity, running water, etc. It was like Harry got a job as a janitor at Gump’s, where in by Christine Vartanian Datian those movies about World War II where people the next two years he worked his way up to a took a suitcase full of money to buy a loaf of position as vice president. bread” because the ruble was dropping in value There is a film about the couple, titled “The so quickly, he recalled. Missing Son,” which was shown on Russian Summer Okra with Lamb and Tomatoes One of the reasons that Orbelian was able to television. take on the job and succeed was that he had no “The incredible story of the Orbelian family (Bamiya) attachment to the crumbling Soviet hierarchy takes in the entire 20th century,” the voiceover and he was also immune to the financial limita- says. INGREDIENTS tions of the system. The music director’s salary, 1 1/2 pounds small baby okra, washed and trimmed which translated into $100 a month, was one New Musical Journey 1 pound lamb shoulder meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 and 1/2 inch cubes he could afford to forfeit. Orbelian founded the Palaces of St. 2 medium tomatoes, chopped or 1-16 oz. canned crushed tomatoes Orbelian said he was never regarded with dis- Petersburg Festival of chamber music. He also 2 medium yellow or white onions, finely chopped trust by his musicians there. He said with a founded Moscow’s unique concert series, 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced hearty laugh, “Nobody asked me to be a spy. I “Musical Treasures at the Museums of the 6 to 8 cups water (some low sodium beef broth may be substituted for part of the didn’t blend in enough. I was just too visible.” Kremlin.” water) The Moscow Chamber Orchestra has attract- In 2001 Orbelian was awarded the Ellis 1 cup low sodium tomato sauce ed some of Russia’s greatest soloists on their Island Medal of Honor; in 2011 in Russia – 1 cup canned garbanzo beans, washed and drained many concert tours: David Oistrakh, Mstislav Order of Friendship for outstanding contribu- 1/4 cup tomato paste Rostropovich, Leonid Kogan, Yehudi Menuhin, tions in the development of Russian cultural 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar Sviatoslav Richter, among others ties; in 2015 – Order of Friendship of the 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) According to the orchestra’s website, Dmitry Republic of Armenia. 1/2 teaspoon each ground allspice and cumin Shostakovich, who entrusted the first perfor- Orbelian has made more than 50 acclaimed Sea or Kosher salt, black pepper, dried mint, red pepper flakes, paprika, or Aleppo pep- mance of his Fourteenth Symphony to the recordings on the Delos label, and has led con- per to taste orchestra, said: “This must be the greatest certs and recordings with some of the world’s Olive oil or unsalted butter chamber orchestra in the world.” greatest singers, including Renée Fleming, Finely chopped parsley During a recent interview, Orbelian praised Dmitri Hvorostovsky, , Juice of one or two large lemons his parents for their support. “They were sup- Sumi Jo, Jonas Kaufmann, Marcelo Alvarez, and portive and wanted me to do what I wanted to Lawrence Brownlee. He has also helped pro- PREPARATION: do” and thus they provided him with financial mote the careers of many young Armenian In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the lamb in some olive oil or butter for a few min- stability while he went on this uncharted path. singers including baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, utes until browned on all sides. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until onions are He led the orchestra until 2009. tenors Liparit Avetisyan and Hovannes translucent. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, garbanzo beans, vine- In May 2010, Orbelian led the opening Ayvazyan, and sopranos Asmik Grigorian and gar, sugar, allspice and cumin, and stir. Bring to full boil, add the okra and the additional Ceremonial Concert for the Cultural Olympics Hasmik Torosyan. spices, and stir a few times. in Sochi — the first event setting the stage for In 2016 Orbelian was named the artistic Cover and simmer for one hour or longer until the lamb and vegetables are tender, Russia’s hosting of the Olympic Games in 2014. director of the State Academic Opera and Ballet stirring occasionally. Add more water at this point, if needed. In 2012 the Consulate in San Francisco award- Theater in Yerevan, Armenia. This summer he Add the parsley and lemon juice, and simmer for 5-10 minutes longer. Remove from ed him the Russian Order of Friendship Medal. will serve as the Chairman of the Jury for heat and serve over Armenian rice or bulgur pilaf with extra lemon and red pepper flakes In 1995 he led the 50th Anniversary the International or Aleppo pepper on the side. Celebrations of the United Nations in San Competition’s first-ever vocal competition being *This recipe may be made without the lamb, of course, and served as a vegetarian side Francisco and in 2004, at a performance at the held in Yerevan from June 4-16. dish or main course. Loin lamb chops may be submitted for the lamb shoulder. U.S. State Department, he commemorated 70 Also on the jury is Isabel Bayrakdarian as Serves 4-6. years of diplomatic relations between Washington well as a representative from the Metropolitan and Moscow, all with the Moscow Chamber Opera. *Christine's recipes have been published in the Fresno Bee Newspaper, Sunset Orchestra. He and his orchestras have also par- The winner will get $10,000, the second and Magazine, Cooking Light Magazine, and athttp://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/ ticipated in cultural enrichment programs for third prize holders will receive $5,000 and young people, both in Russia and the US. $3,000, respectively. Also see: http://www.myrecipes.com/search/site/Datian In 2001 Orbelian was awarded the Ellis Orbelian said that he has been working with Island Medal of Honor and in 2015 he was the Opera in Armenia for the past year. And he S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 13 ARTS & LIVING CC AA LENDARLENDAR

ner and a social evening ($50 per person). Limited to 128 lecture on the history of the Armenians, Thursday MASSACHUSETTSFLORIDA players. Tournament and tee sponsorships available. at 2 p.m. by Dr. Ronald Brown, professor of history and RSVP deadline, June 12. To register or for further infor- ethnic studies at Touro College and world religions at the JANUARY 20-28, 2018 — Armenian Heritage Cruise mation, http://www.htaac.org/calendar/event/403/ or Unification Theological Seminary in New York City. Free XXI 2018 Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard the Royal contact the Holy Trinity Church Office,617.354.0632, or to the public. The library is located at 144 W Merrick Rd, Caribbean’s Freedom Of The Seas. Travelling to: St. Kitts email [email protected]. Freeport, NY 11520, phone (516) 379-3274. / St.John’s Antigua / San Juan / Labadee, Private Island. JUNE 20 — 7 p.m. ABN-AIWA Boston Spring Soiree. Join Cabin Rates starting from US $1044 / person based on the Armenian Business Network and Armenian RHODE ISLAND Double Occupancy, including Port Charges and ACAA International Women’s Association for an evening of net- registration fee. Government taxes of $108.36 are addi- working and a view of the Tall Ships at 7p.m. at the Boston JUNE 30 — Friday, 7 p.m. Egavian Cultural Center. Sts. tional. Armenian Entertainment, Armenian Cultural College Club (100 Federal Street 36th Floor, Boston) Sahag and Mesrob Cultural Committee presents Presentations, Armenian Festival Day, Tavlou & Belote $130 per person. Space is limited. Register at aiwainterna- “SUMMER RHAPSODY” Concert featuring Jasmin Tournaments and much more. Call TRAVELGROUP INTER- tional.org/ABNAIWA2017 Atabekyan and the Gasparyan family quartet ( from NATIONAL @1- 561-447-0750 or 1-866-447-0750 Ext. JUNE 25 — Sunday, An Afternoon of Classical Music, ) Janet Khalarian, vocal NAZELI Dance Groups. 108. Ask for Janie. Armenian Cultural Foundation, Arlington, Featuring Nor American, Armenian music , and dance. Providence. trio. 3 p.m. Works by Glinka, Franck, Ghazarosian, Donation $15. Refreshments. MASSACHUSETTS Aleksanyan, Khachaturian and Büsser The Mirak Chamber Music Series: Inaugural Concert. WASHINGTON, D.C. JUNE 11 — Sunday, St. James Armenian Festival! 12-6 p.m. NOVEMBER 2 — Thursday, Symposium with the partic- Delicious Armenian food. Live music. Raffle. Children’s ipation of the International media representatives, JUNE 13 — Monthly Public Discussion. Speaker Aram activities. Moon bounce. Balloons. Face painting and more. dedicated to the Armenian Mirror-Spectator’s 85th Hamparian, Executive Director, Armenian National On Church Grounds, 465 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Anniversary. Details to follow. Committee of America “A 360 Degree View of Armenian [email protected], www.stjameswatertown.org NOVEMBER 3 — Friday, 85th Anniversary Celebration American Advocacy” 7-8 PM. St. Mary’s Armenian JUNE 17 — Society of Istanbul Armenians of Boston Banquet of the Armenian Mirror-Spectator Church Cultural Hall, 4125 Fessenden Street, NW, Inc. is hosting A Father’s Day Dinner Celebration hon- Newspaper the first English Language Armenian Washington DC. Knights and Daughters of Vartan. oring Rev. Arakel Aljalian as Father of the Year. 7 p.m. St. Newspaper in the United States @ Newton Marriott Hotel JUNE 25 — Book reading, Adrienne G. Alexanian, Forced James Armenian Church, Armene and Veronica Tarvezian Banquet Hall. 85 Years and Beyond. Details to follow Into Genocide, memoirs of an Armenian Soldier in the Hall, 465 Mount Auburn St., Watertown. Tickets $50. Ottoman Turkish Army. 1 PM, 4125 Fessenden St. NW, Call Mr. or Mrs. Shaboyan at 617-489-0346 or Garo NEW JERSEY Washington, DC. Organized by Knights & Daughters of Yavshayan at 617-620-9899. Vartan, St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church Parish NOVEMBER 18 — Save the date. Gala banquet cele- Council, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian JUNE 19 — The Gregory Hintlian Memorial Golf brating the 70th anniversary of the Tekeyan Cultural National Committee of America. Tournament, “This Year Remembering Gerry Association. At the Terrace at Biagios. Details will be Ajemian,” sponsored by Holy Trinity Armenian Church of forthcoming. Calendar items are free. Entries should not be longer Greater Boston, Marlborough Country Club, than 5 lines. Listings should include contact information. Marlborough. Monday, 9:30 a.m., registration; 11 a.m., NEW YORK Items will be edited to fit the space, if need be. A photo “Shot Gun.” Payer’s fee: $175 (includes hospitality, lunch, may be sent with the listing. Items should be sent no dinner, green & cart fees, prizes and gifts) – or just din- JUNE 29 — The Freeport Memorial Library will have a later than Mondays at noon.

Kaloosdian’s Book on Tadem Continues Receiving Praise Going the Distance for FAR at Spring Benefit KALOOSDIAN, from page 10 The ruin of Tadem never needed to occur. They genocide entails. Because the book documents were not near a war zone. Tadem stands as a FAR, from page 10 the tragedy at such impressively granular track- testament that religious hatred and racial prej- Following a video presentation of the FAR children, Alynne Corrigan, soprano, performed ing, not just a village or community but also udice are far more destructive than the three Gomidas songs, including Kele Kele and Hoy Nazan. families and individuals, the reader is witness to weapons of war.” Corrigan, who is from Toms River, NJ, began singing in the Armenian Church when she the complex pattern in which genocide unfolds Kaloosdian’s book had already received two was a child, and continues as a soloist at Saint Stepanos Armenian Church, Long Branch, - often decentralized, and with a collection of awards in 2016. Tadem: My Father’s Village was NJ, and is a member of the Gomidas Choir. differently motivated types of perpetrators. The awarded an Independent Book Publishers There were several vendors present at the luncheon, with a raffle offering many gifts. Association’s There was also a touching display of the beautiful art work made by the FAR children (IBPA) Benjamin ages 4-17 years old, which included traditional Armenian dance figurines, needlework and Franklin Award watercolor paintings. as a Silver The concluding words of the event were from the president of FAR, Primate of the Winner in the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) Khajag Barsamian, who stressed that Best New Voice “since the inception of FAR Children’s Center in 2000, it has helped over 10,000 in the Nonfiction cate- motherland.” He stressed that representatives of more than 20 countries and organizations gory. The IBPA have visited the FAR center, including the United Nations’ International Children’s describes the Emergency Fund (UNICEF). book as follows: “These are the most defenseless of Armenia’s children, and we need to continue to stand, “Drawing on love and support them,” he concluded. accounts from –Marylynda Bozian-Cruickshankie over a dozen wit- nesses, most (MARYLYNDA BOZIAN-CRUICKSHANK PHOTO) never before published, the author recounts the life and death of one vil- lage. With strik- ing immediacy, the author pre- Robert Aram Kaloosdian sents Tadem as a microcosm of the Genocide and message is particularly poignant in light of the argues that the Turks used the outbreak of current turmoil in the same region where slav- World War I as a cover for atrocities motivated ery, forced marriages and conversions, and by religious hatred and greed.” other forms of exploitation are seen playing out Tadem: My Father’s Village also received an against a background of international inaction “IPPY” Silver award in the category of World Friends of FAR Committee members, from left, Alice Yigikurt, Anta Temiz, Elizabth Bestepe, and apathy. History. The “IPPY” Awards, launched in 1996 Margarita Hamparsoumian, Nadya Garipian (co-chair), Sylva Torosian (co-chair), Papken Kaloosdian stated the “voice that came forth and given out by the Independent Publisher Dzayrakooyn Vartabed Anoushian, Garnig Nanagoulian, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, in Tadem is from those villagers of Tadem who Book Awards, are designed to bring increased Annette Choulfaian, Sirvart Hovnanian, Sonia Bekarian, Marylynda Bozian Cruickshank and no longer have a voice. They were peaceful and recognition to the deserving but often unsung Nivart Arslan. agrarian, rich in culture but limited in titles published by independent authors and resources, certainly posing no threat to anyone. publishers. 14 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR COMMENTARY

COMMENTARY Mirror Mischief in Georgia

connecting the three countries and bypassing Armenia, and now By Edmond Y. Azadian it is engaged with those countries in a military association. The Spectator special forces of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey held joint mili- tary exercises on June 5, during a program called “Caucasus A recent incident in neighboring Georgia, involving the abduc- Eagle 2017.” The exercises, hosted by Georgia, will last until tion of an Azeri journalist, came to divulge the entire web of rela- June 14. tionships between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. The latter The Tbilisi government is cognizant that those two countries EstablishedEstablished 1932 1932 two are in a virtual war with Armenia, keeping it in the grips of are Armenia’s enemies. Getting into a military association with a blockade. Georgia is nominally neutral or even friendly with them and pretending to harbor friendly relations with Armenia An ADLAn Publication ADL Publication Armenia. However, as recent events prove, Georgia is in deep col- at the same time are contradictory actions. lusion with its Muslim neighbors which are actively threatening However, Armenia’s government, despite Georgia’s apparent Armenia. enmity, has to treat that country with kid gloves so as not to The above mentioned incident took place on May 29 in Tbilisi. jeopardize one of its precarious outlets to the world markets. EDITOR An Azerbaijani journalist, Afgan Mukhtarli, who had been living Georgia faces another tough problem, this time around with Alin K. Gregorian with his family in exile in Georgia, was abducted and later sur- Turkey. That is the case of a Turkish teacher in Georgia, Emre faced in Azerbaijani custody, accused of the absurd charges that Chabuk. He is accused of being a supporter of Fetullah Gulen ASSISTANT EDITOR Aram Arkun he had crossed the border illegally and that he had a large and Turkey has been requesting his extradition. The teacher is amount of cash on his person. under detention at the present time. He was arrested right after ART DIRECTOR It turns out that Mukhtarli was one of the few journalists let Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited Tbilisi. Rights Marc Mgrditchian out of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s jails and living in Georgia. activists insist that like Mukhtarli, he will be tortured in Turkey. His true crime was that he was investigating the business rela- If Georgia delivers him, it will be in violation of international tions of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s family in Georgia. If human right obligations, which will cause another political scan- there was nothing illicit, why would the Azerbaijani government dal. go to such lengths to silence a journalist? This triad, beside causing damage to Armenia, will place SENIOR EDITORIAL COLUMNIST: Piecing together this abduction story, one comes to the con- Georgia on the horns of a dilemma; either the country will Edmond Y. Azadian clusion that the security services in Georgia forced the journal- become a vassal to two neighboring brutal regimes or live with- CONTRIBUTORS: ist into a car and after two or more transfers, Mukhtarli heard in the terms of its agreement with Europe. Florence Avakian, Dr. Haroutiun the abductors speak Azeri while the first abductors spoke Georgia is the willing victim of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Arzoumanian, Taleen Babayan, Diana Georgian and Russian. The journalist’s passport was left at home price it pays to survive within that evil circle is defined by the Der Hovanessian, Philip Ketchian, with his wife, Leyla Mustafayeva, also a journalist. choices Georgian leaders have made. Kevork Keushkerian, Harut Sassounian, Had there not been collusion between the security services of Turkey, in its turn, is instructing statehood to the novices in Hagop Vartivarian, Naomi Zeytoonian the two countries, it would have been impossible to cross an Baku. But along that instruction come tricks to undermine the international border without a passport. sovereignty of other states. One of those tricks is the abduction CORRESPONDENTS: Georgia was in the process of gaining a reputation as a coun- of their opponents. Erdogan’s regime has manufactured a per- Armenia - Hagop Avedikian try of law and order, vying to join NATO and adopting European fect scapegoat for its ills, reminiscent of the Stalin era, when the Boston - Nancy Kalajian New York/New Jersey - Marylynda Union rules. Indeed, despite all his adventures and recklessness, Soviet ruler had to create “enemies of the people” to consolidate Bozian-Cruickshank former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was able to erad- his power. Gulen has become that “enemy” par excellence, to Berlin - Muriel Mirak-Weissbach icate bribes and made headway in Contributing Photographers: Jacob Demirdjian and Jirair Hovsepian combatting corrup- tion. Incidentally, a side note is worth mak- The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is published ing here: the EU and weekly, except two weeks in July and the first the US have helped week of the year, by: Georgia to develop Baikar Association, Inc. its economy and 755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472-1509 offer a decent stan- Telephone: 617-924-4420 dard of living to its FAX: 617-924-2887 citizens, rendering www.mirrorspectator.com the country a show- E-Mail: [email protected] case in the Caucasus For advertising: [email protected] with a clear message that aligning with the West pays off. On the other hand, Russian rulers have yet to understand SUBSCRIPTION RATES : the value of treating their strategic allies with dignity. U.S.A. $80 a year However, the recent blatant abduc- $125 a year tion has tarnished Georgia’s reputation. Other Countries $190 a year In a release by the Georgia Institute of Politics, Mariam carry the burden of all the abuses committed in Turkey by Grigalashvili and Joseph Larsen state: “The incident in any case Erdogan and his henchmen. will have a negative impact on international perceptions of the To grasp the “creative” impulse of Turkish officials, it suffices © 2014 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator level of democracy and human rights protection in Georgia. At to read a report in McClatchy News by Greg Gordon and Peter Periodical Class Postage Paid at Boston, MA best, the authorities failed to stop Mukhtarli and his captors at Stone: “[former director of the CIA James] Woolsey said he and additional mailing offices. the border, let alone keep him safe. At worst, members of the arrived late to the meeting and found [former National Security ISSN 0004-234X Ministry of Internal Affairs actively participated in his abduction. Advisor Michael] Flynn and some Turkish government officials The Azerbaijani authorities must understand that Georgia’s obli- brainstorming a plan to kidnap and fly to Turkey one of the gations undertaken under its Association Agreement with the country’s leading dissidents, Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The European Union are real and cannot be flouted.” Ankara has accused of assisting in a failed coup attempt last sum- Armenian Mirror-Spectator, 755 Mount Auburn mer. Gulen is living in a heavily secured compound in St., Watertown, MA 02472 Human rights activists have decried Mukhtarli’s abduction as an example of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on independent journal- Saylorsburg.” Other than the editorial, views and opinions It seems that along with the official request to Washington to expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily ists. reflect the policies of the publisher. The Georgian government leaders were either caught by sur- extradite Gulen to Turkey, the Erdogan government was also prise or are forced to take face-saving measures. Indeed, the hatching an illegal plan for an abduction on American soil. In Interior Ministry has announced that it is investigating the pos- case the plan was successful, it is irrelevant how much money sible “unlawful imprisonment,” while the president, Giorgi Flynn would have made as the damage caused to US prestige in Margvelashvili, said that the journalist’s “disappearance from the world would have been catastrophic. Copying for other than personal use or The Azeri and Turkish frames of mind operate in the same internal reference is prohibited without Georgian territory was a serious challenge to the Georgian state express permission of the copyright and its sovereignty.” manner and the usual victim of that collaboration is Armenia. owner. Address requests for reprints or If indeed those government officials were unaware what had This time around, however, that damage has ripped through back issues to: transpired on May 29 in the heart of their capital, then they have Georgia. given over the country’s sovereignty to Azerbaijan. At this time, the Georgian government has some damage con- Baikar Association, Inc. Georgia has conspired with Azerbaijan and Turkey to build the trol to do while leaders in Armenia have to assess how to survive 755 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02472- Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in a region plagued by conspiracies and outright hostilities. 1509 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR 15 COMMENTARY

but that of the Dutch Caribbean Islands,” according to EIC Minister. Next door to the dentist are the offices of Castillo investigators. Real Estate and Zealand Shipping — two of the family’s major Since then, EIC reported the Yildirim family owned 11 for- companies. eign-flagged ships registered “in a network of secretive com- In addition to these two buildings, Castillo owns four prop- panies in Malta, the , and the Netherlands erties in the Netherlands: an apartment building in My Turn Antilles — specifically now Curacao, with more suspected in Schoonhoven, two houses in Utrecht, and a shoemaker’s the Marshall Islands and Panama.” shop in The Hague. These six properties, valued over 2.16 By Harut Sassounian In addition, theblacksea.eu revealed that “Yildirim’s son, million Euro, were all paid in cash. A seventh property in daughter, uncle and nephews have purchased seven proper- Almere was purchased personally by Erkam for Zealand ties in the Netherlands, worth over $2.5 million — all of Shipping’s manager. Turkish Prime Minister’s Family which were paid in cash.” The Yildirim family’s biggest assets in the Netherlands — Owns $140 Million in Foreign Yildirim started his career in shipping in 1994 when he worth $129.8 million — were established in 2007 by Erkam managed Istanbul’s Fast Ferries Company (IDO), owned by under the name of Zealand Shipping until 2014, when it was Assets the city. However, he was fired in 2000 over revelations he bought by Holland Investments Cooperatif UA, also owned awarded a contract to manage the ferries’ canteens to his by Erkam. In addition, the Yildirim family “owns 30 percent Last week, we disclosed the improper enrichment of uncle, Yilmaz Erence,” according to Shaw and Sentek. of Q-Shipping BV based in Barendrecht. The partner in this President Erdogan of Turkey by receiving a $25 million oil Yilmaz is the same uncle who registered the Turkish com- venture is Abdulvahit Simsek, a Turkish businessman who tanker as a gift from an Azeri billionaire. This week, we pany, Tulip Maritime Limited, in Malta in 1998. Yilamz’s part- shares an office with the Yildirims in Istanbul…. Q-shipping expose the Prime Minister of Turkey, Binali Yildirim, who ners were: “Salih Zeki Cakir, a known ship-owner who briefly BV and its subsidiaries manage 20 ships — none of which sail turns out to be just as corrupt as his boss! employed Yildirim, Ahmet Ergun, President Erdogan’s advi- under a Turkish flag,” according to Shaw and Sentek. Craig Shaw and Zeynep Sentek revealed in their article sor from his days as Istanbul Mayor, as well as a former MP Until a year ago, New Zealand Shipping owned 10 ships fly- posted on the website theblacksea.eu, based on a report by [Member of Parliament] and high court judge, Abbas Gokce,” ing the Dutch flag, two of which were sold to “a Turkish con- the European Investigative Collaborations’ (EIC) Malta Files, according to Shaw and Sentek. glomerate close to the Erdogan government, Kolin Group,” that the Yildirim family owns shipping and other foreign The Black Sea and EIC reported that six of the 11 ships according to Shaw and Sentek. They summarize the assets worth $140 million. owned by the Yildirim family — “worth between 1.9 million “Foreign Wealth of the Turkish Prime Minister’s Family” as In 2009, when Yildirim was Minister of Transport and and 33 million Euro — appear to have been bought without follows: Maritime, he told a gathering of large ship owners in any bank loans. If so, this suggests an enormous cache of — 18 ships (Dutch conglomerates, fully or partly owned) Istanbul: “From now on any Turkish businesses owning funds exists in the Dutch operation, despite on paper being — 1 ship (Netherlands Antilles company) ships, yachts or sea vessels that flew foreign flags would be a money-losing business.” — 4 Malta companies ‘treated with suspicion’ by the government.” Yildirim gave On June 9, 2016, two weeks after President Erdogan — 7 properties in the Netherlands the ship owners three months to change the registration of appointed Yildirim as prime minister, he acquired four new — 8 ships in the Netherlands their vessels. Yildirim added, “Now they have no excuse. If shipping companies registered in Malta. The director of these — 3 ships in Malta they insist on not changing to the Turkish flag, we don’t see companies is Suleyman Vural, Yildirim’s nephew. Two of — Total estimated assets: $140 million. that [they have any] good intentions.” The Minister was these companies, linked to a business in Istanbul, were set up Shaw and Sentek conclude their article by noting that apparently promoting the creation of a strong, national ship- in 2015 by uncle Yilmaz and his son, Rifat Emrah Erence. “after Turkey’s constitutional referendum which granted ping fleet which would pay taxes to Turkey. Yildirim’s son, Erkam, also owns extensive businesses in President Erdogan the power to destroy the Prime Ironically, sitting just a few feet away from Yildirim during the Netherlands, including “modest properties and expensive Ministry in two years, Yildirim’s tenure at the top is com- the speech was his 30-year-old son, Erkam, who was “the reg- ships,” according to Shaw and Sentek. EIC reported that the ing to an end. But in the nearly 20 years since he ‘trans- istered owner of at least one general cargo ship called the Yildirim family owns a company called Castillo Real Estate ferred his businesses’ to his children, they have created a ‘City,’ through the family’s offshore company in the BV, based in Almere, the Netherlands, where houses a den- soft cushion for him to land upon when he leaves politics Netherlands Antilles. This freighter flew not the Turkish flag, tal clinic in a building owned by the son of the Prime for good!”

LETTERS At Humanitarian Conference Sparked by Armenian that had been done. Church Unity: A Dead The final blow came when some representatives raised Genocide, Trump Is an the question of what was meant by the “special relation- Issue? ship” between the unified Diocese and the Holy See of Cilicia that was expressed in the articles of agreement. Absent Presence To the Editor: That question sealed the doom of the venture. Academics, former world leaders, humanitarian heavyweights and Commencing 40 years ago, a great deal of time and Now, with the demands being placed on the Diocese by human-rights defenders descended on the Armenian capital this week- energy was spent by members of the Diocese and the the Mother See in Echmiadzin, that appear to be end for a heavy dose of altruism and idealism. Prelacy who were delegated to find the means for achiev- designed to achieve greater control of functions of the While the most pressing issue to emerge was refugees, it soon ing unity of Armenian Church administration in the Diocese, it is possible that some Diocesan leaders may be became clear that the elephant in the venues of Yerevan was U.S. United States. The individuals who were delegated the looking for a means of escape. Enter Unity! President Donald Trump. responsibility for negotiating acceptable terms were care- This time there may be no problem with a “special rela- They had gathered for the Aurora Dialogues, a two-day conference fully selected, and the fortuitousness of the selections tionship” as the logical step would be for the Diocese to on global humanitarian was evidenced by the mutual respect and trust that devel- join the Prelacy, instead of the other way around. In issues that is one of the oped during their deliberations. Hopes ran high as slow other words, the Diocese would place itself under the By Amie Ferris-Rotman programs of the Aurora but steady progress was made toward reaching the administration of the Holy See of Cilicia. Humanitarian Initiative. desired goal. Catholicos Aram I has demonstrated quite clearly what The organization was Then, a series of unfortunate occurrences precipitated a true leader has to offer his people, and that is a far cry founded by three philanthropists of Armenian descent in 2015, the by the actions of members at large of both parties began from what can be expected from his counterpart in centenary of the Armenian genocide, in which up to 1.5 million to sow distrust and disappointment in the ranks of the Echmiadzin. Armenians in Ottoman Turkey were killed. The organization’s Aurora negotiators. — C.K. Garabed Prize is awarded annually to an individual who has made a contribu- The negotiations deteriorated to the point where the (Charles Kasparian, whose penname is CK Garabed, is tion to advancing humanitarian causes, receiving $100,000 and an representatives of both sides conjectured as to whether a longtime columnist for the Armenian Weekly.) additional $1 million to allocate to organizations that inspired their there was any hope of salvaging all the valuable work work. Actor-humanitarian activist George Clooney presented the prize last year. This year, there was an air of urgency as the increasingly calami- Washington offices of my US Senators, Edward Markey tous Trump administration entered its fifth month. The Aurora Mass. Congressional (D-MA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and my Dialogues coincided with the G-7 summit in Sicily, where Trump’s Representative, Katherine Clark (D-MA). I asked them to team managed to scupper plans by the Italian hosts for a comprehen- Delegation Quiet on publicly rebuke Erdogan and his entourage’s illegal sive initiative to support the rights of the millions of migrants who actions. cross into Europe. Actions of Turkish It is now one week later (May 30) Neither Markey, According to a report issued by the United Nations last year, as of Warren, nor Clark has issued any personal statement the end of 2015 there were more than 65 million refugees and inter- President’s Bodyguards about the attack. I have looked at their official websites nally displaced people around the world, surpassing even the numbers and Facebook and Twitter pages. Earlier today I phoned after World War II. “The refugee crisis has reached a critical point,” their offices again to recheck. Neither Senator had issued To the Editor: Edward Djerejian, who served as U.S. ambassador to and later to a statement. During Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Israel, told Haaretz. “It’s a cruel reality that the refugee crisis has Clark’s office said it did not know. Only on my own did Washington, DC on May 16, his official entourage — on proved to destabilize the regional and international orders.” I discover that Clark has now belatedly signed a joint his explicit order — violently attacked a group that was Many of the speakers in Yerevan viewed Trump’s presidential win as statement with some other Members of Congress criti- demonstrating against ongoing Turkish human rights a symptom of a much larger, more global phenomenon of nationalism cizing the Turkish attack. violations. The group included . and the rise of the right. His nativism has so far led to a campaign Even their well-known dislike of President Trump has This rapidly became national and international news. It promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border at the Mexicans’ apparently not motivated any of the three to specifically has drawn widespread condemnation from media and expense (a plan which is yet to materialize), the creation of the contro- criticize his scandalous silence over the attack. elected officials, including Senators Cardin (D-MD), versial so-called Muslim ban and the reduction — and then reluctant My personal opinion is that my representatives in Cotton (R-AR), Cruz (R-TX), Feinstein (D-CA), Lee (R-UT), backtracking — of the number of refugees the United States will Congress are more concerned with the rights of, to cite McCain (R-AZ), Reed (D-RI), Rubio (R-FL), Sasse (R-NE), accept each year. “We all know that building a wall will not help. The one example, illegal aliens than the Constitutional rights Schumer (D-NY), and Whitehouse (D-RI) and some mem- Roman Empire couldn’t keep their walls up,” said Ruben Vardanyan, of American demonstrators. bers of the House of Representatives. one of Aurora’s founders. David Boyajian Almost immediately I phoned and emailed the Jamila Afghani, the driving force behind educating Afghan girls and Belmont, MA see CONFERENCE, page 16 16 S ATURDAY, J UNE 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR

At Humanitarian Conference Sparked by Armenian Genocide, Trump Is an Absent Presence

CONFERENCE, from page 15 reality the lion’s share belongs cooperation with other powers. Attending his rights community. “What President Trump women and a nominee for the Aurora prize, to Pakistan, and Turkey, believed to have first NATO meeting in Brussels last week, doesn’t understand is that governments who expressed her dismay at watching the refugee given shelter to some 10 million people over Trump chastised fellow members for not paying violate the human rights of their own people situation in Syria and other countries unfold, the last decade. The , who have come their dues (even though the military alliance are fomenting terrorism, they are part of the saying it reminds her of Afghanistan during and under international criticism for taking in few does not collect payments that way), shoved the problem,” said Elisa Massimino, president of the after the Soviet war of the 1980s, when a third Syrian refugees despite its two-year military Montenegrin president out of the way for a New York-based Human Rights First. “By visit- of her country also fled. “I never thought I’d role in the war there, were the most reluctant photo op and trailed behind his European col- ing Saudi Arabia, he sends a signal to countries see it again. We must try educate the children to take in refugees. Only 17 percent of those leagues as they walked through the streets of that America is not going to mess around with who are refugees, or they could lose their whole polled saying they would welcome them. Sicily — in a golf cart. “If the U.S. diminishes its your human rights record, and we’re going to future,” said Afghani, who grew up in a Around 44 percent of Americans polled said role in multilateralism, other countries could see more of that.” Massimino gave the example Pakistani refugee camp. they would welcome refugees, whereas follow suit, and this could create an even worse of Bahrain, which suffered a deadly government According to a new survey conducted by Aurora topped the list, with 87 percent of respondents situation globally,” warned former Mexican attack on an opposition rally two days after of over 6,000 people in 12 countries, most mistak- saying they welcomed them. President Ernesto Zedillo. Trump reassured King Hamad bin Isa Al enly believe that the West is doing more than oth- And while the survey was conducted when In sharp contrast to Trump’s European tour Khalifa of their good relationship. “Trump has ers in accommodating refugees. The majority of Trump was already in power, over February and involving a slew of gaffes, his trip to — and $110 given the green light,” Massimino said. respondents thought that the United States, France March, perceptions could alter as the Trump billion weapons deal with — Saudi Arabia has The genocide experience of tiny Armenia — and Germany took in the most refugees, whereas in administration appears increasingly allergic to been cause for particular alarm in the human its population is a mere three million — means the landlocked state is uniquely positioned to help others. “We’ve been traveling the globe for a hundred years. We know what it means to Member of European have to live in a different culture, different places,” said Vardanyan, whose idea to create Aurora stemmed from the millions of Parliament Marries Armenians who helped their fellow compatriots during the horrors. The eight-year genocide, Armenian Woman which came to an end in 1923, flung Armenians around the globe, and the active diaspora alone YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — Member is thought to number around eight million. of European Parliament (MEP) Frank Engel, a Similarities between the Armenian and Jewish Luxembourg politician and member of the experiences are obvious, although Israel has European Parliament, married an Armenian not formally recognized the Armenian geno- woman, Tatev Manukyan on June 6. cide, fearful of further weakening ties with The wedding ceremony was held at Khor Virap Turkey. (Twenty-eight countries have called Monastery, located in the Ararat plain in Armenia, what happened genocide, including Russia, near the closed border with Turkey. France and Canada, but not the United States). The pair was married by the director of “As a Jew, I’ve been struck by the dramatic Information Services Department of the Mother clarity of the message: we are here because we See Echmiadzin Rev. Fr. Vahram Melikyan, while were saved, therefore it’s our obligation to save deputy defense minister Artak Zakaryan became a more people, and that’s for human rights godfather. around the world,” said Ruth Messinger, global The bride carried a bunch of wheat Instead of ambassador for the American Jewish World wedding bouquet. Service. “That’s one of the messages I want to bring to the American Jewish community.” (Amie Ferris-Rotman is a columnist with (Right) Frank Engel and Tatev Manukyan at their wedding Haa’retz, where this column originally appeared.)