California Courier Online, February 24, 2005

1 – Commentary
Wall Street & US Finally Realize
Turkey Is No Friend of America

By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – UACC Men’s Fellowship Program
Headlined by City Attorney Delgadillo
3 – Mashdots College Establishes Armenian Teacher’s
Institute
4 – Disabled Athletes from Armenia to
Compete in L.A. City Marathon
5 – Annual DSA Benefit Gala Honors
Founders George and Flora Dunaians
6 – Schwarzenegger Names
David Kalemkarian to
Fresno County Court
7 – Iraqi-Armenians Struggle
To Rebuild Community Life
8 – ANC Announces Endorsements
For Glendale City Elections
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1 – Commentary
Wall Street & US Finally Realize
Turkey Is No Friend of America

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

The Wall Street Journal unleashed last week a devastating “shock and awe”
attack against Turkey. The commentary titled, “The Sick Man of Europe –
Again,” caused shock waves in Turkey as well as the United States. This
opinion column was not written by someone who had an axe to grind against
Turkey, but by Robert L. Pollock, “a senior editorial page writer at the
Journal.” In fact, in a subsequent interview with Voice of America, the
writer described himself as a friend of Turkey.
The Wall Street Journal is not just any newspaper that happened to publish
an unfavorable piece on Turkey. As the unofficial mouthpiece of US big
business and military interests, the Journal has been staunchly defending
Turkey for the better part of the past 50 years. When this publication
makes such an abrupt shift in course and attacks its long-standing
“protégé,” that can only indicate a major transformation in American
attitudes toward Turkey. In fact, Pollock told Voice of America that his
article reflected Washington’s current views on Turkey, and that many U.S.
officials shared his concerns.
Pollock starts his lengthy commentary by recalling an art exhibit in
Istanbul that featured “fat capitalists with Uncle Sam hats and emaciated
workers…. ” The exhibition indicated to him “that a 50-year special
relationship, between longtime NATO allies who fought Soviet expansionism
together starting in Korea, has long had to weather the ideological
hostility and intellectual decadence of much of Istanbul’s elite. And at
the 2002 election, the increasingly corrupt mainstream parties that had
championed Turkish-American ties self-destructed, leaving a vacuum that was
filled by the subtle yet insidious Islamism of the Justice and Development
(AK) Party.” Pollock says, “it’s this combination of old leftism and new
Islamism — much more than any mutual pique over Turkey’s refusal to side
with us in the Iraq war — that explains the collapse in relations. And
what a collapse it has been.”
During his early February visit to Ankara with Undersecretary of Defense
Doug Feith, Pollock found “a poisonous atmosphere — one in which just
about every politician and media outlet (secular and religious) preaches an
extreme combination of America- and Jew-hatred that (like the Turkish
artists) voluntarily goes far further than anything found in most of the
Arab world’s state-controlled press. If I hesitate to call it Nazi-like,
that’s only because Goebbels would probably have rejected much of it as too
crude.” Pollock points out that the Turkish press didn’t miss the
opportunity to note that the US Undersecretary of State, Douglas Feith, was
“another Jew.”
He relates the anti-American and anti-Semitic articles found in the Turkish
press such as “the Islamist newspaper Yeni Safak, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s favorite. A Jan. 9 story claimed that U.S. forces were
tossing so many Iraqi bodies into the Euphrates that mullahs there had
issued a fatwa prohibiting residents from eating its fish. Yeni Safak has
also repeatedly claimed that U.S. forces used chemical weapons in Fallujah.
One of its columnists has alleged that U.S. soldiers raped women and
children there and left their bodies in the streets to be eaten by dogs.
Among the paper’s ‘scoops’ have been the 1,000 Israeli soldiers deployed
alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, and that U.S. forces have been harvesting
the innards of dead Iraqis for sale on the U.S. ‘organ market.’ ”
He then quotes from the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper which “accused
Israeli hit squads of assassinating Turkish security personnel in Mosul….
At Sabah, a columnist last fall accused the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Eric
Edelman, of letting his ‘ethnic origins’ — guess what, he’s Jewish —
determine his behavior….” Pollock reports that in the Turkish view, “almost
everything the U.S. is doing in the world — even tsunami relief — has
malevolent motivations, usually with the implication that we’re acting as
muscle for the Jews.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial writer reports that Turkish
parliamentarians have accused the U.S. of “genocide” in Iraq. And Prime
Minister “Erdogan (who we once hoped would set for the Muslim world an
example of democracy) was among the few world leaders to question the
legitimacy of the Iraqi elections.”
Without mincing words, Pollock calls the Prime Minister of Turkey “a prize
hypocrite for protesting to Condoleezza Rice the unflattering portrayal of
Turkey in an episode of the fictional TV show ‘The West Wing.’ The episode
allegedly depicts Turkey as having been taken over by a retrograde populist
government that threatens women’s rights.” The writer sarcastically adds,
that “sounds about right to me.”
Pollock then points out the various favors that successive U.S.
administrations have done for Turkey: “Entirely forgotten is that President
Bush was among the first world leaders to recognize Prime Minister Erdogan,
while Turkey’s own legal system was still weighing whether he was secular
enough for the job. Forgotten have been decades of U.S. military
assistance. Forgotten have been years of American efforts to secure a
pipeline route for Caspian oil that terminates at the Turkish port of
Ceyhan. Forgotten has been the fact that U.S. administrations continue to
fight annual attempts in Congress to pass a resolution condemning modern
Turkey for the long-ago Armenian genocide. Forgotten has been America’s
persistent lobbying for Turkish membership in the European Union.” As a
noteworthy sign of the growing anti- Turkish mood in Washington, the Wall
Street Journal, for the first time in memory, uses the words Armenian
genocide, without qualifying it as “alleged.”
Pollock ends his column with an ominous warning: “Turkey could easily
become just another second-rate country: small-minded, paranoid, marginal
and — how could it be otherwise? — friendless in America and unwelcome in
Europe!”
Such an outcome would be welcome by all those who have been trying to show
the true face of the Turkish regime for so long!
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2 – UACC Men’s Fellowship Program
Headlined by City Attorney Delgadillo
LOS ANGELES – L.A. City Attorney Rockard J. (Rocky) Delgadillo appeared
at the February monthly co-ed dinner meeting of the Men’s Fellowship at the
United Armenian Congregational Church in Los Angeles.
Chairman Haikaz Hovanessian greeted the guests, and Rev. John Melkonian
offered a devotional message.
Arthur Avazian presented his colleague, Delgadillo’s Deputy Raffy
Astvasadoorian, a Fresno native who has worked in the L.A. City Attorney’s
office for more than four years.
Astvasadoorian formally introduced Delgadillo who previously served as
Deputy Mayor of Economic Development under Richard Riordan and is currently
running unopposed for a second and final term as City Attorney because of
term limits.
During his tenure, Delgadillo has concentrated on three major issues:
public safety, education, and an entrepreneurial-driven economy, and has
instituted a number of neighborhood programs, among them “Operation Bright
Future.” This anti-gang program targets sixth graders with excessive
absences, educates their parents, and holds the parents legally responsible
for sending their children to school. He believes that we must intervene
before kids become gang members, whether they be Latino, Asian, or even
Armenian.
A native Angeleno, Delgadillo grew up in Highland Park the fourth of five
children. His Hispanic father was an associate engineer. His non-Latino
mother stayed at home to raise her family. Rocky attended Harvard
University on a scholarship, and received his law degree from Columbia Law
School before returning to Los Angeles where he now lives with his wife
Michelle and two sons, the older age 3, the younger 11 months.
The Men’s fellowship dinner meetings are normally held the last Tuesday of
every month at 7:30 p.m.
A few of the past speakers have been internist Dr. Daniel Abdulian,
cardiologist Dr. Arthur Loussararian, seismic engineer and American
University of Armenia founding president Dr. Mihran Agbabian, urologist Dr.
Missak Abdulian, USC Armenian Music authority Lucina Agbabian Hubbard, eye
specialist Dr. Nazareth Darakjian, USC Professor and Middle East expert Dr.
Hrair Dekmejian, and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vartkes Najarian.
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3 – Mashdots College Establishes Armenian Teacher’s Institute
GLENDALE – Mashdots College President Dr. Garbis Der Yeghiayan, announced
the establishment of the Armenian Teachers’ Institute at the College’s 13th
Anniversary Dinner-Celebration. The announcement was greeted with great
enthusiasm by more than 400 guests – – including prominent clergy,
community leaders, educators, benefactors, journalists – – attending the
celebration event.
The primary objective of the Armenian Teachers’ Institute is to prepare
educators who possess the specialized knowledge, skills and attitudes which
facilitate learning in children and youth. The Institute offers programs
for prospective and incumbent teachers, administrators and bilingual
specialists to assist in increasing the number of educators and in
enhancing the quality of the educational processes and teaching materials.
The Institute also endeavors to equip prospective educators with ethical
values in order to develop a sense of community and social responsibility.
The program of study will assist in the development of attitudes and skills
that will enable the student to become a contributing member of the
educational profession and the Armenian American community.
The academic program of the Institute include two degree: Bachelor of Arts
in Teacher Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in Armenian Studies. Both
programs require 128 units.
The B.A. in Teacher Education is a diversified major/Armenian emphasis. It
is offered to students who will pursue a career in
elementary school teaching in bilingual/bicultural settings both in public
and Armenian private schools.
The objectives of the program are: a) To offer degree and certificate
programs with an Armenian emphasis to prospective and incumbent educators.
b) To offer in-service training to equip educators with modern pedagogical
principles and methods and to keep professional teachers abreast of new
educational developments by organizing educational conferences, workshops
and lecture series. c) To assemble panels of specialists to evaluate
existing educational materials for children and to commission
professionally prepared modern educational materials for classroom use. d)
To establish an educational placement service to assist both public and
Armenian private schools in recruiting appropriate personnel and qualified
educators.
The Armenian Studies B.A. program is designed to provide a solid academic
foundation in Armenian letters, history, politics and culture. As such, the
program intends to prepare students for teaching in Armenian schools, for
community service and leadership and/or for graduate studies in the field.
Students will be encouraged to apply their acquired knowledge by engaging
in
research and/or participating in pertinent campus and community activities.
The College also provides Certificate Programs in Early Childhood
Education, Armenian Language and Linguistics; and Advanced Armenian
Studies.
Pres. Der Yeghiayan also announced that the College will allocate 20 full
scholarships annually to prospective Armenian students who wish to pursue a
teaching career in Armenian schools in the United States.
For further information write to: Armenian Teachers’ Institute of Mashdots
College, 616 N. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206. Tel. (818) 548-9345,
Fax: (818) 548-9342, E-mail: mashdots @aol.com
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4 – Disabled Athletes from Armenia to
Compete in L.A. City Marathon
LOS ANGELES – Pyunic, the Armenian Association for the Disabled, announced
last week that two of its athletes from Armenia will compete in the 20th
Los Angeles City Marathon on March 6.
Mariné Hakobyan, 30, a paraplegic, suffered a spinal cord injury in the
devastating 1988 earthquake that left over 25,000 dead and hundreds of
thousands injured and homeless. A member since 1992, Hakobyan has
participated in Pyunic-sponsored programs including several rehabilitation
camps and, most recently, competed in archery at the 2004 Paralympics Games
in Athens.
Greta Khndzrtsyan, 18, a double-leg amputee, lost her parents at the age of
two in the earthquake. Raised by her grandparents, Khndzrtsyan is a student
at the Gyumri Pedagogic University majoring in Psychology. At the age of
15, she competed in the 2002 Los Angeles City Marathon. Both athletes train
at the Pyunic Center for the Disabled in Yerevan.
“It is pure determination and dedication that will help these athletes
cross the finish-line. Their triumph will provide motivation and hope for
many disabled individuals living in Armenia,” said Sarkis Ghazarian,
president of Pyunic, the athlete’s sponsoring organization. There are over
100,000 disabled persons in Armenia; current laws and public socialization
do not meet western standards.
“My hope is to create greater awareness and public acceptance for the
disabled in my country,” Hakobyan said.
While in Southern California, the athletes will be honored at Pyunic’s
annual fundraising event – Winter Brunch & Silent Auction – benefiting
disabled programs in Armenia on February 27, at the Brandview Collection in
Glendale.
Founded in 1989 to help the disabled children of the 1988 earthquake,
Pyunic is the leading non-governmental organization shaping public
awareness for the disabled. Pyunic provides humanitarian aid, social
services, career training and summer/winter teaching camps. Pyunic athletes
have competed in numerous worldwide athletic competitions, including the
Los Angeles Marathon and both summer and winter Paralympics since 1994.
For more information about Pyunic, contact Sarkis Ghazarian at
818.785.3468.
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5 – Annual DSA Benefit Gala Honors
Founders George and Flora Dunaians
LOS ANGELES – The Developmental Services for Armenia (DSA) will honor
founders George and Flora Dunaians at its Annual Benefit Dinner to be held
on March 13, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. The event
is aptly titled ‘DSA Salutes the Visionaries,” in recognition of the
Dunaians strong compassion for humanitarian causes and for their
accomplishments, leadership and selfless dedication to the Armenian
community, both in the U.A. and Armenia. In 1993 they founded and
organized DSA with a group of friends sharing the same vision to help the
children of Armenia by facilitating projects for schools and orphanages.
The organization can look back with pride on the approximately $1 million
that has been raised and directed to improving the lives, health and
education of children in the homeland.
The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a Silent Auction and Mini-Vernisage
during the reception, featuring jewelry, wines, sporting event tickets,
restaurant certificates and many other unique items; followed by dinner at
6:00 p.m.
Larry Zarian, former Mayor of Glendale and a dear friend, will serve as
Master of Ceremonies and guests will be entertained by the Zvardnotz Dance
Ensemble, winner of the 2004 International Folk Festival in Malta,
choreographed by noted Artistic Directors Vartan and Armine Aghajanyan.
Special guests include the former First Lady Lucia Ter Petrossian, one of
the key organizers of DSA and administrator of many projects in Armenia;
Dr. Harutyun Balasanian, Director of Kharberd Orphanage, who will be
recognized for the tremendous achievements he has made in improving the
lives of the children since assuming this position in 1999.
The evening will also celebrate the accomplishments of the past 10 years
and reflect on the improvements in the Erebuni College of Nursing; the
Center for Rehabilitation at Oshagan; the Vanadzor Home for Abandoned
Children, the Harberd Orphanage for physically and mentally handicapped
children; the Nubarashen Orphanage and School; the renovation of School
154; and the shipment of medical and educational supplies, and nine
ambulances.
In October of 2004, Board members visited Armenia to review projects and to
participate in ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the Kharberd Orphanage for the
new DSA wing with a family living quarters and Dental Clinic; School #154
for the installation of a new heating system; and the A. Ter Grigoryan
school in Ljashen Village the region near Lake Seven, with 700 students,
for the completion of the boiler room and its new heating system.
Proceeds from the evening’s gala will benefit ongoing projects in Armenia.
Members are presently reviewing requests for 2005 from hospitals,
orphanages and schools which include ambulances, computers, microscopes for
biology and chemistry classes; and heating systems for additional schools.
Sponsorships for the Annual Benefit Dinner range from $10,000 to $500.
Individual tickets are $125. DSA is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization.
For further information and reservations, call: Savey Tufenkian (818)
956-8455; Elizabeth Agbabian (310) 476-5306 or Hermine Janoyan (818)
342-4600.
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6 – Schwarzenegger Names
David Kalemkarian to
Fresno County Court
SACRAMENTO – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the
appointment of David C. Kalemkarian to the Fresno County Superior Court.
Kalemkarian, 42, of Fresno, has served for the last seven years as Fresno
Superior Court Commissioner. Previously he worked as an attorney for
Stephan A. Kalemkarian, Inc. where he practiced primarily family law.
Prior to that, he served as an attorney for Morrison and Foerster , LLP.
Kalemkarian earned his Juris Doctorate from Boalt Hall Law School at the
University of California, Berkley and a Bachelor of
Arts from California State University, Fresno. He is a member of the
Fresno County Bar Association and the California State Bar Association.
He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ralph Nunez.
Kalemkarian is a Republican.
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7 – Iraqi-Armenians Struggle
To Rebuild Community Life
Special to The California Courier
By Ara S. Ashjian
Baghdad, Iraq
BAGHDAD – The Armenian community in Iraq suffered few casualties during the
March-April 2003 war, but several Armenians lost their lives during
subsequent US military operations. A number of homes belonging to Armenians
were destroyed or damaged.
After the war, the Armenian Club and the priest’s residence in the northern
city of Kirkuk, and the Armenian Club at the southern city of Basra were
looted by mobs.
Armenians worldwide took a role in aiding their brothers and sisters in
Iraq. For instance, a relief committee was established in California, which
provided monetary assistance to Armenian families who were facing severe
distress, and to rebuild damaged homes.
Catholicos Karekin II issued an appeal to all Armenian dioceses worldwide
to aid Iraqi Armenians. Consequently, through Etchmiadzin, the
Iraqi-Armenian community received donations from Armenian church parishes
worldwide.
Donations were also made by the Karageuzian Foundation and other Armenian
charities, the UK Committee for the relief of Iraqi Armenians, and the
Armenian community of Germany.
The Primate of the Iraqi Armenian Diocese, Archbishop Avak Asadourian, and
community officials exerted considerable efforts in the post-war era to
uphold the educational and the religious rights of Iraqi Armenians, in
order to have the forthcoming constitution take into consideration the
rights of Armenians as well as other Iraqi minorities.
The establishment of the Armenian National School of Baghdad was one of the
priorities. The Diocese formed a committee to reopen the School that was
nationalized 30 years ago. The Primate had several contacts with officials
of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Ministry of Education. As a result
of these efforts, and for the first time in the history of Iraq, the right
to
teach Armenian along with other languages in Iraq was stated in the
country’s transitional constitution.
The Primate and the officials of the Community have also made strenuous
efforts to recover the ownership of the building of an Armenian secondary
school in Baghdad, which had been confiscated by the previous regime.
Large sums of money are needed to prepare the building to open its doors as
a secondary school once more, because of the extensive damage caused to the
building when it was looted and burned by a mob in the post-war era.
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8 – ANC Announces Endorsements
For Glendale City Elections
GLENDALE – The Armenian National Committee of Glendale announced Thursday
its list of endorsed candidates for the Glendale City Municipal Elections.
The endorsements include candidates for Glendale Unified School District
Board of Education, Glendale Community College Board of Trustees, City
Clerk and City Treasurer. The committee is holding off on endorsements for
city council until a later date.
“With 19 candidates in the City Council race, the endorsement process is
inevitably taking a few weeks,” stated board member
Armond Gorgorian. “We really want to make sure we take the time to meet
with candidates as well as community members in order to make a well
informed endorsement decision.”
Regardless of the City Council race, the ANC went ahead with it’s
endorsement of eight candidates for various races. In the highly
publicized City Clerk race, the Armenian National Committee of Glendale
endorsed Ardashes ‘Ardy’ Kassakhian. The committee endorsed incumbent
Ronald Borucki for City Treasurer along with all three incumbents for the
College Board of Trustees: Armineh Hacopian, Anita Quinonez Gabrielian and
Victor I. King. Finally, for GUSD Board, the ANCG endorsed incumbents Greg
Krikorian and Chuck Sambar as well as Nayiri Nahebedian for the remaining
seat.
“The Armenian National Committee of Glendale believes that these 8
candidates are the best candidates for their respective races.
We are confident that these candidates bring with them the experience and
leadership skills necessary to improve our city and serve our community,”
said Alina Azizian, Executive Director of the Glendale ANC.
The endorsements come less than two months before the April 5th elections.
The ANC will spend the next 6 weeks encouraging people to register to vote
and get active on campaigns, Azizian stated. The ANC will also be launching
a voter education campaign to inform voters about the candidates, the
issues and the voting process.
For more information regarding the candidates or ways to get involved,
contact the Armenian National Committee of Glendale at
818.243.3444
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