PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
MOORAD MOORADIAN TO GIVE LECTURE AND ALL-DAY SEMINAR AT NAASR IN
SEPTEMBER
Dr. Moorad Mooradian of Yerevan State University will present “A New
Look at TARC (Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission)” in a lecture
at the Center and Headquarters of the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR), 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, Mass., on
Thursday evening, September 8, at 8 p.m. On Saturday September 10,
Mooradian will offer an all-day seminar at NAASR entitled “Hurting
Stalemate or Mediation? The Conflict Over Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Dr. Moorad Mooradian’s writings on Armenian political and historical
issues are widely read on a weekly basis in English-language
Armenian newspapers, and he is also the author of a new book on the
Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission. His previous lectures at
NAASR have been to standing-room-only audiences.
A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON TARC
One of the most contentious issues in the contemporary historiography
of Armenia and Turkey has been the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission (TARC). In his new book, A New Look at TARC, Dr.
Mooradian has examined TARC and its composition and has analyzed it
in terms of conflict resolution theory.
Dr. Mooradian will offer his evaluation of TARC’s stated goals, its
performance, the quality and competence of its members as reconcilers,
and the course that chairman David Phillips allowed the commission
to travel. Dr. Mooradian maintains that the idea of TARC was good,
but was funded by the wrong parties and was unable to make the public
view it as impartial; it’s members, except for the chairman, were all
activists for their respective sides; and that TARC chose the wrong
issue upon which to attempt to build a bridge between the Armenian
and the Turkish governments and societies. It is Mooradian’s view
that TARC violated basic conflict resolution theory and practice and
thus was destined to be minimally, if at all, successful.
Professor Dennis Sandole of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and
Resolution at George Mason University, who wrote the foreword for the
book, states that for “those who are interested in understanding and
dealing with intractable, often violent conflicts, Dr. Mooradian’s
account of TARC is a must.”
Copies of A New Look at TARC will be on sale in the NAASR bookstore
and Dr. Mooradian will be available to autograph copies. The event
is open to the public at no charge (donations accepted at door).
AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF KARABAKH STALEMATE
Capitalizing on Mooradian’s presence in the Boston area, NAASR will
feature him in an all-day Saturday seminar on September 10, from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which will examine the various aspects of mediation,
its goals and various processes, in comparison with theory and with
what actually transpired in the Karabakh mediation efforts.
An analysis will be presented on the intensified warfare that
commenced with the Kelbajar offensive in 1993. Comparisons of the
several mediation efforts will be made to determine whether it was the
mediations themselves or the increased violence and destruction that
caused the opposing sides to seek an end to the organized violence
that culminated in the ongoing ceasefire.
The Russian mediation that competed with the CSCE (OSCE) effort will be
analyzed closely, with an effort to determine if it is valid to give
the Russians credit for bringing the Armenian and Azerbaijani side
to the negotiating table that led to the ceasefire. In the process
of evaluating the data, an examination via quantitative analysis will
be made to determine the logical outcomes of the mediations. Finally,
Dr. Mooradian will address the question–if a hurting stalemate brought
an end to massive violence in the form of set-to military battles,
why did/has it not led to a peace treaty?
Preregistration Recommended
Information on fees can be obtained from the NAASR offices.
Admission is open to all, but enrollment will be limited in order
to encourage active discussion and interaction. It is strongly urged
that participants register by September 1.
Dr. Moorad Mooradian received a PhD from the Institute for
Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University after a
distinguished 25-year career in the United States Army, from which he
retired as a colonel. He was Professor of History and International
Relations at the West Point U. S. Military Academy, N.Y.
Mooradian helped establish a Conflict Studies Curriculum at Yerevan
State University, which now awards both undergraduate and graduate
level degrees. He has been teaching at Yerevan State since 1995 as a
Visiting Professor and has developed a Long Distance Learning Center
there so that students may receive instruction from the U.S. as well as
Yerevan. He has also served as an unofficial advisor to the Minister
of Foreign Affairs and has been a Fulbright Scholar to Armenia.
Dr. Mooradian is a former member of NAASR’s Board of Directors.
More information on Dr. Mooradian’s lecture or seminar or about NAASR
and its programs for the furtherance of Armenian studies, research, and
publication may be had by calling 617-489-1610, by fax at 617-484-1759,
by e-mail at [email protected], or by writing to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave.,
Belmont, MA 02478.