California Courier Online, November 11, 2004
1 – Commentary
Enhanced Armenian Activism Will Pay
Good Dividends in Future Elections
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
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2 – APN Hosts Tribute
To US-Armenian
Military Veterans
3 – Entries Sought for Sixth Annual
Armenian Film Festival at CSUF
4 – AESA and ARPA Sponsor Lecture
On Armenia’s CRD on Nov. 16
5 – George & Flora Dunaians Host
APS Benefit Tennis Tournament
6 – Turkish Groups Agree Not to Appeal
Armenian Genocide Plaque Decision
7 – Armenian Film Foundation to Host Book
Signing for Genocide Survivor’s Memoirs
1 – Commentary
Enhanced Armenian Activism Will Pay
Good Dividends in Future Elections
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The re-election of Pres. Bush is not expected to result in any substantial
changes in U.S.- Armenia relations during the next four years. Pres. Bush
will most probably have his hands full for some time to come dealing with
other more pressing issues that would command his full attention.
Nevertheless, should unexpected complications arise with the Bush
Administration regarding Armenian issues, Armenian-Americans can try to
resolve them by: 1) Working with their Democratic and Republican friends in
the House and the Senate; and 2) Using the connections that some
Armenian-Americans have developed with Bush Administration officials as a
result of their support for Pres. Bush in the presidential election.
Since most Turkish-Americans, just like most Armenian-Americans, backed the
candidacy of Sen. Kerry, the Bush Administration is not expected to favor
either one of these communities simply because of their votes on November
2nd.
It is noteworthy, however, that one of the most respectable journalists in
Turkey, Mehmet Ali Birand, wrote an opinion column on Pres. Bush’s
re-election in the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the Turkish Daily News with the
following headline: “Osama bin Laden is very happy with the results.” He
went on to say, “Ankara is [also] happy with the results.” Birand does not
explain the reasons why both Osama and Ankara are happy with Bush’s
re-election and what the two have in common!
I would also like to mention the following incredible statement made by
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul: “We are Turks. If necessary, we burn
a whole quilt for a flea!” According to the Nov. 4, 2004 issue of the
Turkish newspaper Zaman on-line, Gul made that statement in a letter he
sent to the European Union, complaining about parts of the report issued by
the EU on Turkey’s application for membership. Foreign Minister Gul’s
undiplomatic and threatening statement should be reason enough to
disqualify Turkey from the European Union! It does not look like this
“modern” and “European” Turkish official is much different from his Ottoman
predecessors!
Armenians, on the other hand, were much more gracious and diplomatic. As a
routine protocol as well as a positive gesture, the President of Armenia,
Robert Kocharian, sent a letter to Pres. Bush last week congratulating him
on his re-election. Similar congratulatory letters were sent by various
Armenian-American organizations, including the Armenian Assembly of America
and the Armenian National Committee of America.
One major positive by-product of the presidential campaign was the fact
that, for the first time, the Armenian-American community was very
extensively involved in practically all aspects of the election. In
addition to issuing political endorsements of candidates by
Armenian-American political organizations, Armenian individuals contributed
heavily to the campaigns of both Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry. In addition,
hundreds of Armenian-Americans were involved in day-to-day campaign
activities, everything from manning phone banks, going door to door in
various states, sending supportive postcards to Armenians in swing states,
organizing campaign events, etc. This is a far cry from previous
presidential elections when most Armenian-Americans would just sit back,
waiting to see if the winning candidate would keep the promises he made to
them during the campaign.
Armenian-Americans were not just voters in the 2004 elections. More than a
dozen Armenian-Americans were candidates for various political offices. I
am happy to report that most of them were successful in getting elected or
re-elected:
Congressional races: The two Armenian-American members of the House of
Representative, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), were
re-elected;
State Senate races: State Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-CA) won, joining
Chuck Poochigian and Jackie Speier in the California State Senate; while
candidates Harry Haytayan (R-NH) and Danny Tarkanian (R-NV) lost;
State Assembly races: Greg Aghazarian (R-CA), Brad Avakian (D-OR), John
Garfield (R-MI), John Fresolo (D-MA), John Geragosian (D-CT), Rachel
Kaprielian (D-MA), Peter Koutoujian (D-MA), and Jim Miceli (D-MA) were
elected or re-elected; while Rita Topalian (R-CA), Aida Aloian (R-PA), and
Jasper Bedrosian (R-RI) lost their bids;
Mayoral races: Scott Avedisian (Warwick, RI) and Kirk Cartozian (Downey,
CA) were successfully re-elected.
In order to accomplish the political objectives of the Armenian-American
community, Armenians must be actively involved in political campaigns and
help elect Armenians as well as supportive non-Armenians. Even though for
many Armenian-Americans their preferred presidential candidate did not win,
they nevertheless made good progress and gained significant capital in
terms of heightened political participation and experience, which they
would hopefully be able to convert to future victories.
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2 – APN Hosts Tribute
To US-Armenian
Military Veterans
BURBANK, Calif. – The Armenian Professionals Network of the Western Diocese
of the Armenian Church of North America (APN-WD), under the auspices of
Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, will host a reception, paying
tribute to the dedication of Armenian American men and women who have
served in the Armed Forces of the United States.
The event will take place on Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m., in the Hampar Primate’s
Reception Room, Arshag and Eleanor Dickranian Diocesan Headquarters, 3325
North Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank.
Participating in the program will be; Lieutenant Colonel George
Ampagoomian, master of ceremonies; and special guests, Major General (Ret.)
Ron Markarian, Nishan Derderian, Mike Hartunian, Darwin Avedisian. Richard
N. Demirjian, author of “The Faces of Courage: Armenian World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam Heroes,” will sign copies of his book.
For reservations, contributions, or further information, contact Arthur
Zabounian at (818) 974-9454.
3 – Entries Sought for Sixth Annual
Armenian Film Festival at CSUF
FRESNO – The organizers of the 6th Annual Armenian Film Festival be held
April 1, 2005 in Fresno are calling for entries of films made by Armenian
directors/writers, or films with an Armenian theme.
The festival is being sponsored by the Armenian Students Organization
Armenian Studies Program California State University, Fresno. The festival
is being partially funded by the Diversity Awareness Program of the
University Student Union, CSU Fresno
Requirements are: Films up to 1 hour in length; films may be in any
language, English preferred; films may be on any topic, Armenian theme
preferred; Film must be in video/DVD format- if in video it should be in
NTSC format.
Entries should be accompanied by a CV of the director/writer and a synopsis
of the film. The Festival Committee will meet to view and judge which
entries will be accepted for the Film Festival. Entrants will be contacted
by email with the decisions.
Deadline for entries to be received is February 1.
The video/DVD should be sent to:Armenian Film Festival, c/o Armenian
Studies Program, 5245 N Backer Ave. PB4 Fresno, CA 93740-8001; Telephone
559-278-2669, or Email: barlowd@csufresno.edu
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4 – AESA and ARPA Sponsor Lecture
On Armenia’s CRD on Nov. 16
SHERMAN OAKS, CA – The Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America (AESA)
and the ARPA Institute will present a Lecture/Seminar on “The Cosmic Ray
Division (CRD) of Armenia” on November 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the Merdinian
Auditorium, 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks.
Admission is free
The Cosmic Ray Division (CRD) of the Alikhanian Physics Institute in
Armenia is one of the world’s premier centers, conducting research in high
energy astrophysics and space weather forecasting. At research stations
high on Mt. Aragats and offices in Yerevan, a staff of 100 scientists,
technicians, support personnel and students conduct leading research on
forecasting energetic events on the sun which can damage manmade satellites
in space, disrupt communications and power stations on earth, and endanger
space and air craft personnel. The CRD and its scientists have earned
enormous respect among their colleagues in the international scientific
community, putting Armenia among the top five countries of the world in
cosmic ray research. Recent additions to the list of their scientific
collaborators include the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Agency, the European Space Agency, and the international Committee on Space
Research. CRD has a longstanding partnership with Stanford University of
California and with Nagoya University in Japan. Recently the Space Weather
division of UCLA has also shown interest in collaborating with the CRD. A
year ago CRD won the prestigious UN World Summit Award in the e-science
category. The CRD has been featured in the international magazine Science,
because of its excellence. An illustrated presentation, with pictures on
the space weather effects, will be made and research at CRD will be
explained in simple terms. Pictures of the stations, the scientists, and
the World Summit Award ceremony in Geneva are part of this presentation.
The presenter is Ms. Anahid Yeremian. She has a B.S. degree in Physics from
Drexel University. She is a particle Accelerator Physicist at the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center since 1990. She designs the injector section of
very large particle accelerators (the one at Stanford is 2 miles long) in
the U.S., Japan and Europe. She leads a group of scientists, engineers,
and technicians to construct and assemble the accelerators she designs and
finally to commission them to perform to her specifications. Prior to
coming to Stanford, she designed the electron accelerator at the Boeing
Aerospace Company for the Free Electron Laser project as part of a star
wars program.
Yerimian’s hobbies include mountain climbing. She became acquainted with
the Cosmic Ray stations and the physicists on Mt. Aragats when she climbed
to the mountain peak in 1999. Since then, she actively pursues
opportunities for improvement of science in Armenia by working with the
scientists and governments of Armenia and the United States. This summer,
she spent seven days backpacking in the Geghama mountains and staying with
the Nomads in the mountains of Armenia. Her presentation will include some
spectacular pictures of the peaks in the Geghama mountain range and its
people.
For information, call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660 or e-mail at
hpanossian@hotmail.com
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5 – George & Flora Dunaians Host
APS Benefit Tennis Tournament
PASADENA – The Armenian Professional Society held its annual Tennis and
Backgammon tournaments on Oct. 24, at the spacious home of Flora and
George Dunaians. This year marked the 25th anniversary of this event, with
plenty of sunshine, friendly competition and good food.
The winners were awarded with trophies. First place winners in the
Advanced Division were Manvel Tabakian and Harout Ajdaharian. In second
place were Varuzhan Tombakian and Ruben Zakarian. In the Intermediate
Group, first place winners were Misak Oktanian and Harout Ishkhanian and
second place winners were Raffi Ishkhanian and Varouj Azizian.
The competition in the backgammon tournament was challenging. After hours
of elimination play, and a very close match, the finalists were announced.
Trophies went to John Sahakian for first place and to George Dunaians for
second place.
The festivities were planned by Ronnie Nazeley, APS 2nd Vice President, the
chair of this year’s event. Throughout the entire day, a continental
breakfast and refreshments were provided and a lunch buffet was served.
The Dunaians not only were gracious in providing their home for this
tournament but also donated $3,000 toward the scholarship fund. APS
President, Betty Jamgotchian thanked the Dunaians for their generous and
continuous support of the APS for the past 25 years. The funds are used
to award scholarships to graduate students of Armenian descent and to award
grants to various colleges and universities in Armenia. The annual
scholarship awards will be presented the APS banquet on November 14, at the
Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.
For further information, contact APSLA@yahoo.com or visit
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6 – Turkish Groups Agree Not to Appeal
Armenian Genocide Plaque Decision
SAN FRANCISCO – Two Turkish-American organizations, and the Turkish Consul
General, have withdrawn their lawsuit against the Council of Armenian
American Organizations of Northern California rather than face the claim of
the Council’s attorneys for fees.
The lawsuit attacked the plaque commemorating the Armenian Genocide which
the Council had placed near the 103-foot cross on San Francisco’s Mt.
Davidson. The Council purchased the Cross and adjacent land in 1997 from
the City of San Francisco, which sold it to settle a challenge to its
ownership on church-state grounds.
In their lawsuit, the Turks claimed that the plaque violates the terms of
the deed under which the Council acquired the Cross and land from the City.
The Council’s attorneys denied any violation and also urged that the Turks
lacked legal standing to challenge the plaque. The lawsuit, they said, was
an impermissible attempt to suppress the Council’s free speech rights.
The court agreed and dismissed the case. This entitled the lawyers, who
were representing the Council without charge, to recover their attorneys’
fees from the Turks. Faced with a claim for $100,000 in fees, the Turks
agreed to abandon their appeal of the court’s ruling, and submitted to an
injunction against any repetition of it. They also agreed to indemnify the
Council if any such lawsuit is brought by any of their members. In return,
the Council’s lawyers, at its request, dropped their claim for fees.
Speaking for the Council, a coalition of 35 Armenian American organizations
in Northern California, its Chairman, Dr. Krikor Soghikian, stated that the
Turkish challenge to the memorial plaque is part of a broad campaign to
oppose any public acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, which is
officially denied by the Turkish government. The 1915 event is considered
by historians as the first genocide of the 20th century, and the most
significant human rights crisis of World War I. The leaders of the Ottoman
empire systematically carried out the extermination of 1.5 million
Armenians, more than half of the Armenian population living in its historic
homeland. The overwhelming majority of Armenians living in San Francisco
and the United States are descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors.
Armenian Americans wished to purchase the Mt. Davidson Cross to avoid the
destruction of a San Francisco landmark. As the first nation to have
accepted Christianity in 301 AD, they believed that the Cross site would be
an ideal gathering place to remember their forefathers. Turkish groups
actively opposed the purchase, conducting a protest campaign urging city
officials, neighborhood and political groups, to vote against the enabling
proposition, but 68% of San Francisco voters cast their ballots in favor of
the proposition.
The plaque was unveiled in 1988 by Mayor Willie Brown, in the presence of
several Genocide survivors.
The Council was represented in the lawsuit by David Balabanian, Geoffrey
Holtz, and Matthew Gray of Bingham McCutchen, an 850-lawyer firm with
offices in 12 cities.
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7 – Armenian Film Foundation to Host Book
Signing for Genocide Survivor’s Memoirs
LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Film Foundation will host a reception and book
signing on Nov. 15 for A Hair’s Breadth from Death, the memoirs of
Hampartzoum Chitjian, which has been published in English and in Armenian.
Scholar Hilmar Kaiser, a German historian who has authored two publications
on the Armenian Genocide, will travel to Los Angeles to give his remarks on
the book. “Chitjian’s memoirs are a unique contribution to the field of
genocide studies, immigration studies, and the social-economic history of
the Ottoman Empire and Armenia,” says Kaiser. “His encounters with other
shattered Armenian survivors offer a panorama of Armenian survival
strategies and the appalling conditions and choices these few had to make.
Students of immigration to the United States will find the account of the
author’s journey to the U.S. most interesting.”
Publisher Ara Sarafian of Taderon Press in London, who will travel to Los
Angeles to speak at the book signing, notes, “Chitjian’s life story is
remarkable for the amount of detail that is included, and that is why these
memoirs are one of the most important first-person accounts of the Genocide
and survival.”
J. Michael Hagopian, founder and chairman of the Armenian Film Foundation
will present a short film on Chitjian, who appears in the AFF’s “Witnesses”
trilogy of documentary films, and will offer some personal reflections.
Chitjian was J. Michael Hagopian’s caretaker after the Genocide when some
Armenians were allowed to stay in Kharpert.
Chitjian’s daughter, Sara, will speak about helping her father with his
memoirs, which Seda Maronyan transcribed in Armenian over the course of
several years. Sara translated the memoirs to English, finishing the work
after her father passed away last year at the age of 102.
The book signing is at 7 p.m. at the United Armenian Congregational Church
hall, 3480 Cahuenga Boulevard West. Copies of the book will be available in
English and in Armenian at a cost of $35 each.
Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. For further
information, contact 805-495-0717.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress