California Courier Online, July 28, 2005

1 – Commentary
Switzerland Detains Turkish Politician
For Denying the Armenian Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Califorrnia Courier

2 – Mesrobian School Will Mark
40th Anniversary with Banquet
3- DVD Review: ‘Road to Redemption,
Memories of the 1915 Armenian Genocide’
4 – Cyprus Greeks Threaten
To Retaliate Against Baku
5 – AGBU Orange County Co-Sponsor
First Pan-Armenian Festival in OC
6 – Armenian Couple Gives CSUN Record $7.3 Million Donation
7 – Winner Announced for the 2005 William
Saroyan International Prize for Writing
8 – Glendale Adventist
Medical Center Hosts
‘Blessing of Grapes’
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1 – Commentary
Switzerland Detains Turkish Politician
For Denying the Armenian Genocide

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

In recent years, tensions have been steadily mounting between Switzerland
and Turkey following the adoption of resolutions recognizing the Armenian
Genocide by various Swiss cities, cantons (states) and the Federal
Parliament. Visits by government ministers and parliamentary groups have
been postponed or cancelled and economic/political relations have been
adversely affected.
A new dispute between the two countries flared up this past weekend when a
large number of Turks from several European countries and Turkey arrived in
Switzerland to celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne
which marked the foundation of the Turkish Republic and reversed the ceding
of lands to various nationalities, including the Armenians, as mandated
three years earlier by the Treaty of Sevres.
Among the dignitaries expected to travel to Switzerland on this occasion
were Rauf Denktash, Former President of Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus,
Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu, Chairman of the Turkish History Foundation, Dogu
Perincek, Chairman of the Workers’ Party in Turkey, and several other
well-known revisionists of the Armenian Genocide, including Gunduz Aktan,
former member of the infamous Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission,
Dr. Hikmet Ozdemir, Head of the Armenian Studies Department of the Turkish
History Foundation, and Sukru Elekdag, former Turkish Ambassador to the
United States.
At the last minute, Dr. Halacoglu had second thoughts and decided not to
travel to Switzerland. He told the Turkish media that he was concerned
about “possible provocations” against him, as he had been summoned by a
Swiss Court for having questioned the veracity of the Armenian Genocide in
remarks made on May 4, 2004, in Winterthur, in violation of Swiss law which
prohibits the denial, belittling or justifying of genocide. It is not known
if Aktan, Elekdag and Ozdemir ended up going to Switzerland. They may have
also changed their travel plans to avoid similar legal action against them.
Dogu Perincek did go, however, only to get himself in legal trouble with
the Swiss authorities. He had already made denialist statements on the
Armenian Genocide during a previous visit to Lausanne and Bern on May 7,
2005. The Swiss-Armenia Association alerted the Swiss authorities on July
15, 2005 that he and other Turkish denialists were about to enter the
country with the intent of breaking Swiss laws once again.
Last Saturday, after Perincek told reporters in Winterthur that “the
Armenian Genocide is an international lie,” he was detained and questioned
for several hours by the public prosecutor. Winterthur police spokesman
Werner Benz was quoted as saying that Perincek was interrogated for denying
the Armenian Genocide. A criminal probe was launched against him as he is
suspected of violating Swiss anti-racism laws. During his questioning, he
was accompanied by two Turkish lawyers and diplomats representing the
Turkish Embassy in Bern.
Following his conditional release, Perincek bragged about his confrontation
with the Swiss prosecutor. He boldly repeated the same lies about the
Armenian Genocide the next day in Lausanne, even though he was warned by
the Winterthur public prosecutor not to make similar denialist statements
in future public appearances in Switzerland. Following his remarks, the
public prosecutor in Lausanne requested that Perincek appear in front of
him to be interrogated at a later date.
While Perincek was gloating over the fact that he had defended the honor of
Turkey in Switzerland, little did he realize that he was inadvertently
helping publicize the Armenian Genocide. Thanks to Perincek’s misguided
efforts, newspapers, wire services and TV stations around the world printed
and aired hundreds of news items in dozens of languages. No amount of money
spent by Armenians could have bought this kind of international publicity
for the Armenian Genocide.
To make matters worse for the Turks, the Foreign Minister of Turkey,
Abdullah Gul, issued a statement condemning the Swiss authorities for
detaining Perincek. He thereby helped generate even more publicity for the
Armenian Genocide in the international media. As the official of an
autocratic state, Gul put himself in the ridiculous position of lecturing
the Swiss authorities on “respecting the principle of freedom.” He
threatened that Turkey would take necessary steps in light of further
assessments of the situation. “We became involved the minute we heard that
Perincek had been taken to the prosecutor’s office for questioning. Our
Consul in Zurich, Mehmet Emre, has been with Perincek every step along the
way. Our Ambassador in Bern, Alev Kilic, has been keeping me up to date on
all of the developments. And I have been keeping the Prime Minister up to
date through the night. It is simply not possible for us to accept this
being done to a Turkish leader of a political party,” Gul said.
After such around the clock monitoring of the situation, Armenians would
hope that Gul would carry out his threats and take retaliatory steps
against Switzerland, thereby further antagonizing the Swiss against Turkey.
The additional political fireworks would result in even more media coverage
of the Armenian Genocide.
While pretending to defend the principles of freedom and coming to the
rescue of a fellow Turk, Gul may not have paid sufficient attention to the
fact that he was actually supporting one of most dubious characters in
Turkish politics. A Turkish journalist, who was in Lausanne covering the
event, was quoted by the Swiss “24 Heures” as saying that he deplored the
“extremist” speeches delivered on that day. He said that Dogu Perincek had
very few followers in Turkey. The Swiss paper also reported that even some
Turks were keeping their distance from the events in Lausanne.
Who actually is Dogu Perincek? He is the Chairman of a minor leftist party.
The State Department reported that he “served 11 months in prison on a
sentence for illegal possession of classified state documents, assisting a
terrorist organization, and possession of unlicensed firearms.” He was
subsequently “acquitted on charges of assisting the PKK and possessing
secret state documents.”
According to Mehmet Ali Birand, a prominent Turkish journalist, Perincek’s
party received less 1% of the votes in the last elections. Furthermore,
Birand states that Perincek has written in his book on Kemalism that there
were “fascistic practices during the Ataturk era.” Perincek has referred to
the Turkish Armed Forces “as a fascistic army,” according to Birand. Does
Gul share Perincek’s views on Ataturk’s fascistic rule and the fascistic
army? Birand writes that “in many of his speeches Perincek likened
Ataturk…to Milosevic and Saddam.”
Furthermore, Birand states that Perincek called Rauf Denktash, the former
President of Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, “a British collaborator.”
Perincek now hails Denktash as a national hero and ccompanied him “to
celebrate the Turkish victory at Lausanne.” According to the Kurdistan
Observer, before becoming a Kemalist, Perincek was a Maoist.
It is simply amazing that the likes of Perincek and Gul dare to open their
mouths and give a country like Switzerland lessons in democracy and freedom
of speech. Nevertheless, the more they talk, the more they disgrace
themselves and the more they provide free publicity for the Armenian Cause.
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2 – Mesrobian School Will Mark
40th Anniversary with Banquet
PICO RIVERA – Mesrobian Armenian School will reach a milestone when the
2005-2006 academic year begins in September. The school will celebrate its
40th anniversary at a Gala Banquet on Friday, October 21, 2005, at Holy
Cross Cathedral’s Bagramian Hall.
The 40th Anniversary Committee is diligently working and planning all the
details in order to ensure a memorable and successful event. Committee
members include Principal Hilda Saliba, teachers, parents, alumni, and
representatives from all the organizations and school-affiliated
committees.
Mesrobian School has been a source of pride and joy for the community
during the last 40 years. Its graduates have received the highest academic
preparation, along with an excellent education in Armenian language and
history. Mesrobian students have been accepted to and graduated from some
of the best universities throughout the country. A testament to Mesrobian’s
success is that the alumni have not only enrolled their children at
Mesrobian School, but have returned to work as teachers and coaches.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for the community to rally around
Mesrobian School’s achievements and to ensure continued progress for its
student body,” stated Finance Committee Chair Sarkis Nourian.
Mesrobian School is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges (WASC).
In addition to the Oct. 21 Banquet, the Committee is also putting together
a special raffle with a 1st Prize of $5,000 cash. Raffle tickets, printed
in a limited number, are priced at $100 each.
For more information, contact the school office at 323-723-3181 or call
Lydia Minasian at 323-726-7181, or Goharik Gabriel at 323-440-7297.
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3 – DVD Review: ‘Road to Redemption,
Memories of the 1915 Armenian Genocide’
By Jason Sohigian
WATERTOWN, MA–The DVD film, “Road to Redemption, Memories of the 1915
Armenian Genocide,” is unusual in that it is a high-quality video of an
Armenian Genocide commemoration.
Such commemorations are usually attended by concerned Armenians and then
relegated to memory, but the Genocide Archive Project has ensured that the
historically rich multi-media program organized by a joint committee from
the Greater Boston community to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the
Genocide will have a much wider impact.
The event, held at Boston University on April 21, 2005, and final DVD were
carefully orchestrated for an audience with the goal of creating a
broadcast-quality DVD on the Armenian Genocide that can be used as an
educational tool at any time of the year.
Another unusual aspect of the DVD is that it is not centered on any one
individual, such as an academic, making it modular enough to have specific
sections for use in educational settings. Each section is valuable on its
own, but the entire DVD should be viewed to achieve the overall affect.
One of the most ground-breaking sections is an original 13-minute
documentary that is probably the first time-line based film of the
political and social events leading to the Armenian Genocide and its
aftermath, including a clear case for German complicity.
The DVD combines the documentary, brief opening remarks by Boston
University President Aram Chobanian, and three recently recorded eyewitness
survivor videos, interspersed with four Armenians ranging in age from young
teenagers to adults each describing their family’s story of survival during
and after the horrors of the Armenian Genocide.
The survivors featured in the DVD are Armine Dedekian of Bandirma, Peter
Bilezikian of Marash, and John Kasparian of Van. Most of the accounts are
being told publicly for the first time.
As the audience reached an emotional low after these chilling personal
accounts, an upbeat section begins with Armenians from around the world
proclaiming “I am an Armenian” from their respective country. The DVD ends
with scenes from today’s Armenia beginning at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian
Genocide Monument, ending with a candle light march all to the music of
“Sardarabad.”
Quotations from Samantha Power’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “A Problem
from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide” and New York Times columnist
Nicholas Kristof provided contemporary transitions between sections.
The executive producer of the event and DVD, David Davidian of the Genocide
Archive Project, said that the biggest challenge in creating this event was
preparing the documentary and survivor testimonies in time for the Boston
University program. Davidian revealed that even though he was working with
an experienced team of video experts and Genocide researchers, the original
documentary was completed only hours before the event began.
One of the biggest challenges in trying to illustrate the connections
between Armenians from all over the Diaspora who were dispersed to many
countries around the world as a result of the Genocide, was collecting the
brief “I am an Armenian from…” clips used near the end of the program.
“Leading up to April when everyone was planning their own commemorations of
the 90th anniversary, it was tough to get these nameless clips,” stated
Davidian. “In some places where there is a poor Internet connection, for
example, some of the clips were even taken with video cell phones since
they wanted so much to be a part of this ground-breaking program!”
This unique DVD is a must have in one’s collection. Individual DVDs can be
ordered for $19.99 plus shipping and handling via the Web site
For bulk orders, contact the Genocide Archive
Project at dbd@urartu.sdpa.org.
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4 – Cyprus Greeks Threaten
To Retaliate Against Baku
YEREVAN – The Greek community of Cyprus threatened to retaliate against
Azerbaijan for its plans to forge “tight relations” with the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus last week. A private Azeri airline, Imair
announced earlier that it would begin regular flights to Turkish-occupied
northern Cyprus, becoming the first non-Turkish carrier to fly directly to
the internationally isolated enclave.
In retaliation, the government of Cyprus said it would establish direct
flight between Nicosia and the capital of Nagorno-Karabagh, Stepanakert,
Mehmed Ali Talaat, the president of the unrecognized Northern Cyprus has
told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, that the threat would not succeed.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan said Azerbaijan’s rapprochement with
Northern Cyprus would help offset the international isolation of the
Turkish Cyprus statelet.
On the eve of his recent trip to Russia, Erdogan said that the latest steps
of Baku represent Azerbaijan’s factual recognition of the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus.
Last month Azerbaijan became the second state, after Turkey, to recognize
the Turkish Cypriot passport.
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5 – AGBU Orange County Co-Sponsors
First Pan-Armenian Festival in OC
NEW YORK – In early June, the AGBU Chapter, AGBU Saturday School and AGBU
Young Professionals Group of Orange County joined a number of other
Armenian organizations to host the first local pan-Armenian festival in
Laguna Hills, Calif. This was the first time Armenian organizations in
Orange County, Calif., came together to collaborate on such an extensive
joint event. The festival, aimed at raising awareness about the Armenian
culture, attracted more than 3,000 Armenians and non-Armenians to the
Laguna Hills Community Center, raising $5000 for orphanages in Armenia.
The two-day festival included a vibrant entertainment program with music,
dance, children’s activities and a Saturday ribbon cutting ceremony with
local political representatives. The Festival also received congratulatory
messages from dignitaries, including Senator Poochigian, former California
Governor Deukmejian, Congressman Christopher Cox, and a visit from Orange
County Sheriff Michael Corona. Many expressed hope that the festival would
evolve into an annual event.
ABGU Orange County is dedicated to preserving and promoting the Armenian
identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian
programs. For more information on AGBU Orange County, email
kirk@westcoastrotor.com.
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6 – Armenian Couple Gives CSUN Record $7.3 Million Donation
NORTHRIDGE, Calif., – A former San Fernando High School art teacher who
graduated from Cal State Northridge and her husband have donated their
entire $7.3 million estate as a bequest to the university for expanding
student scholarships, marking the largest cash and alumni gift in the
university’s history.
The endowment created by longtime San Fernando Valley residents Mary and
Jack Bayramian?who passed away in November 2002 and January 2005,
respectively?will fund two major new university scholarship programs,
including a $2.3 million portion to launch student scholarships for the
future Valley Performing Arts Center project on the campus.
“This remarkable gift from Mary and Jack Bayramian will empower the
university to support outstanding students,” said Cal State Northridge
President Jolene Koester. “The Bayramians, who were devoted to each other
during more than 60 years of marriage, now have extended that caring to
improve the lives of hundreds of our students.”
To honor the gift, the California State University Board of Trustees,
meeting July 20 in Long Beach, approved renaming the university’s Student
Services Building as Bayramian Hall. President Koester called the
dedication a fitting tribute, because the building houses the university’s
scholarship, financial aid and other student support services offices.
“Because Aunt Mary graduated from Cal State Northridge, she had a great
feeling for the university,” said Don Barsumian, Mary Bayramian’s nephew,
who is the couple’s trustee. “I think she had a real love for young people
and for education. Mary believed in education and she wanted to help. This
was her way of helping,” Barsumian said.
Mary and Jack Bayramian each had Armenian parents from Aintab, Turkey, who
came to the United States to escape persecution. The two lived near each
other as teenagers and graduated together from Hamilton High School in West
Los Angeles in 1939, marrying in 1942. After Navy service during World War
II, Jack had a 20-year career as a Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co.
technician.
After the war, the couple first lived in Reseda and later bought a
Northridge house several blocks west of today’s university campus. A
homemaker who returned to college in her late 30s, Mary Bayramian attended
from 1960 to 1963, earning a bachelor’s degree in art and a teaching
credential from San Fernando Valley State College, which later became Cal
State Northridge.
After graduating, Mary Bayramian went on to teach art at nearby San
Fernando High School, where she was affectionately known as “Mrs. B,” until
the couple retired in 1971. At age 50, they moved to Laguna Beach in Orange
County and lived there another 30 years, investing, improving and managing
real estate, and settling in an ocean-front home.
The Bayramians led an extraordinarily active life. Mary was an active cook
and author of published cookbooks, designed and created her own jewelry,
painted and played golf well into her 70s. Barsumian described Jack as the
unofficial greeter of Laguna Beach and a “firecracker” who in his younger
years was an avid handyman skilled in electrical, carpentry and concrete
work.
The couple’s $7.3 million endowment will create the Bayramian Family
Scholarship Fund at Cal State Northridge and support two major new
programs. The earnings from $5 million of the endowment will fund the newly
named Mary and Jack Bayramian Presidential Scholars and related
scholarships within the university’s premier Northridge Scholars Program.
The Bayramian Presidential Scholar awards, the most prestigious granted by
the university, will ultimately go each year to two dozen or more
high-achieving upper-division students through a competitive process.
Recipients will partner with faculty members on scholarly projects. The
scholarships include a $5,000 award, bookstore discount, priority
registration and other perks.
Earnings from the other $2.3 million will fund Mary Bayramian Arts Scholars
and become the largest gift yet toward Imagine the Arts, the fundraising
campaign for the 1,600-seat Valley Performing Arts Center planned for the
campus. These scholarships will support upper division and graduate
students involved in the project through their courses, internships or
related activities.
“Mary Bayramian was an art student at Cal State Northridge, an arts teacher
at San Fernando High School, and an artist herself,” said Judy C. Knudson,
CSUN’s vice president for university advancement. “She was deeply engaged
in the arts, and especially in opening the world of art to others, a goal
that will be advanced by the Performing Arts Center project.”
CSUN earlier this month launched the campaign for private funds to match
the state dollars that will build/operate the Valley Performing Arts
Center, due to open within the next five years. Planned as a signature
facility, the center will be the largest venue of its kind in the San
Fernando Valley and open the region to high-caliber performances not
currently able to perform there.
The university learned only recently that the couple had given CSUN’s
largest-ever cash gift after the husband’s passing in January 2005. The
university’s prior largest cash gift came from The Eisner Foundation in
2002 when Disney CEO Michael D. Eisner and his wife Jane gave $7 million to
create a new teacher-training program at the campus.
Lili Vidal, the associate director of CSUN’s Financial Aid and Scholarship
Department, said the Bayramians’ gift will provide a major boost to the
university’s scholarship programs, which last year aided about 1,600 CSUN
students based on their talent and achievements. “To have this gift is
really fabulous for our students,” Vidal said. “We will help many students
with it.”
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7 – Winner Announced for the 2005 William
Saroyan International Prize for Writing
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Stanford University Libraries, in partnership with the
William Saroyan Foundation, announced the winners of the second biennial
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing July 19, during a ceremony
on the Stanford University campus.
Established to encourage new and emerging writers, the Saroyan Writing
Prize is awarded for newly published works in two categories; fiction
(including novels, short stories or dramas ) and non-fiction (including
works of biography, history or the environment).
Entries were limited to books published in English and available for
purchase by the general public.
The 2005 Saroyan Writing Prize received 125 qualified entrants. One winner
in each category was awarded the $12,500 prize, narrowed down from four
fiction finalists and three non-fiction finalists. Winners were named The
Laments by George Hagen (Fiction category); and The King of California by
Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman in the non-fiction category.
“As custodians of the Saroyan Archive, we consider the Saroyan Writing
Prize to be an important and integral activity to fulfilling that role,”
said Michael A. Keller, Stanford University Librarian. “As a research
library, we go well beyond merely accumulating, preserving and providing
access to archival collections. We are also called to promote the scholarly
and intellectual resources that present themselves in those collections.
The Saroyan Writing Prizes in Fiction and Verity are powerful and
meaningful ways promote the creative output of emerging authors whose drive
to express themselves through writing is
every bit as intense as William Saroyan’s.”
“It was Saroyan’s desire to establish a writing prize to encourage and
perpetuate the art he so loved,” said Robert Setrakian, Chairman of the
William Saroyan Foundation. The Foundation was officially founded by the
author in 1966.
Since then, distinguished professors, business executives and high-ranking
government officials have accepted appointments to the Foundation’s Board
of Trustees. Commencing in 1990, the Trustees set a goal of bringing
together into one single archive his entire literary estate. A decision was
finally made by the Trustees to offer Stanford University the assembled
Saroyan Literary Collection with provisions that would safeguard one of the
rare treasure-troves in American literature in perpetuity, carrying on
the legacy of Fresno, California’s own Native Son, William Saroyan.
For more information visit or

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8 – Glendale Adventist
Medical Center Hosts
‘Blessing of Grapes’
GLENDALE – The Glendale Adventist Medical Center will host its seventh
annual community ceremony “Blessing of the Grapes” on Aug. 10 at 9:45 a.m.,
in the hospital Chapel, 1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale.
Rev. Vazken Atmajian, Pastor of St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church will
perform the ceremony, an Armenian harvest-time tradition that dates back
1,700 years.
The ceremony is designed to give the first yield of the vineyards as gifts
to the Church as a way to ask for God’s blessings.
All patients in the hospital will receive a cup of grapes on their dinner
trays and a card quoting a passage from the Bible.

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