LEARN ABOUT TURKISH-ARMENIAN RECONCILIATION AT NAASR
Belmont Citizen Herald, MA
Aug 25 2005
Dr. Moorad Mooradian of Yerevan State University in Armenia
will present “A New Look at TARC (Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission)” in a free lecture at the Center and Headquarters of the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, 395 Concord
Ave. in Belmont on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, Mooradian will offer an all-day seminar
at NAASR entitled “Hurting Stalemate or Mediation? The Conflict Over
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
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.
One of the most contentious issues in the contemporary
historiography of Armenia and Turkey has been the Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation Commission. In his new book, “A New Look at TARC,”
Mooradian has examined TARC in terms of conflict resolution theory.
He will offer his evaluation of TARC’s stated goals, its performance,
the quality and competence of its members as reconcilers, and the
course that it has traveled. 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.
Mooradian received a Ph.D. from the Institute for Conflict
Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University after a 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 U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
Mooradian helped establish a Conflict Studies Curriculum at
Yerevan State University, which now awards both undergraduate and
graduate 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. Mooradian is a former member of NAASR’s Board of Directors.
Copies of “A New Look at TARC” will be on sale in the NAASR bookstore
and Mooradian will be available to autograph copies. The event is
open to the public at no charge (donations accepted at the door).
Capitalizing on Mooradian’s presence in the Boston area, NAASR
will feature him in an all-day seminar on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9
a.m. to 4 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.
Pre-registration is recommended. Fees for the course will be $75
($60 for NAASR members; $35 for full-time students with current IDs).
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 Sept. 1.
For more information on Dr. Mooradian’s lecture or seminar or
about NAASR and its programs, call 617-489-1610, e-mail hq@naasr.org,
or write to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.