California Courier Online, July 20, 2006

1 – Commentary
Do US Ambassadors Serve at the
Pleasure of Pres. Bush or Turkey?
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
2 – Triple X Fraternity
Hosts Annual Picnic
In Orange County
3 – Geragos Estate BBQ Will
Benefit St. Gregory Church
4 – Glendale Students
Receive Coca-Cola
$1,000 Scholarship
5 – ‘Little Armenia’ Play to Premiere
August 11at The Fountain Theatre
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1 – Commentary
Do US Ambassadors Serve at the
Pleasure of Pres. Bush or Turkey?

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

After months of avoiding to state the true reason for firing John
Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Matthew Bryza, the U.S.
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, inadvertently disclosed two weeks
ago that Amb. Evans was indeed dismissed for recognizing the Armenian
Genocide.
Asked by Anna Hakobyan, a reporter for the Yerevan-based Armenian
language newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, "When will Amb. Evans’s
successor, Richard Hoagland, come to Armenia and what was the real
reason for the recall of Amb. Evans?" Mr. Bryza was quoted as saying:
"Amb. Hoagland will come to Armenia immediately after his
confirmation, I think in one or two weeks. "It is not honest to say
that Amb. Evans has been recalled. Some people have also said that he
is being dismissed from the Foreign Service. That is not true. Each
Ambassador in general serves the President. This means that he must
follow the policy of the President. And Pres. Bush’s policy regarding
these horrible events – the mass killings of Armenians – is very
clear, as he refers to them in his annual statements. Of course, if
someone disagrees with the policy of the President, he can make his
own decision, but he must not express it in public. We all serve the
President and our job is to support his policy. Of course, our job is
also to give him advice, but when it comes to our public statements,
we must support the President’s policy." Ms. Hakobyan vouched that
she had accurately translated Mr. Bryza’s words into Armenian, which
were then translated back into English by this writer.
Mr. Bryza is the first U.S. official to disclose the true reason for
the dismissal of Amb. Evans. He gets high marks for that, even though
he and his colleagues at the State Department have been giving all
sorts of false and evasive answers for months. Mr. Bryza gets very
low marks, however, for the rest of his statement. He had no way of
knowing when Amb. Hoagland would be arriving in Yerevan. In fact, not
one, but two weeks have passed since he made that false prediction,
and Amb. Hoagland is still in Washington, waiting to see if and when
the Senate would confirm his nomination. Mr. Bryza is also not
telling the truth when he says that Amb. Evans was not dismissed from
the Foreign Service. Mr. Evans was in fact fired!
Anyway, it is not within the purview of Mr. Bryza’s job, as U.S.
negotiator on Artsakh (Karabagh), to make wild and inaccurate
predictions on the confirmation of U.S. Ambassadors. Such decisions
are made by the U.S. Senate, not by a junior State Dept. official.
Another indication of Mr. Bryza’s improper and amateurish behavior
was that within days of his recent appointment as U.S. co-chair of
the Minsk Group, he unilaterally disclosed some of the details of the
confidential Artsakh negotiations. He thus violated the agreement
that was made between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan as
well as the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group (Russia, France and
U.S.) not to make public their delicate negotiations until a
preliminary agreement has been reached between the conflicting
parties. Rather than forcing Armenia and Azerbaijan into a compromise
solution, he has in fact compromised the negotiations, perhaps
irrevocably.
Such a serious violation of protocol is probably the result of Mr.
Bryza’s inexperience in diplomatic work. It is obvious that he is not
qualified to conduct such complicated negotiations. Given his
unprofessional behavior, Pres. Bush may want to reconsider the
appointment of Mr. Bryza to such a critical position. Otherwise, it
would be difficult to avoid making the obvious conclusion that the
Bush Administration does not take seriously the Artsakh conflict.
This week, the President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, snubbed Mr.
Bryza by refusing to meet with him during the latter’s visit to
Cyprus. If Mr. Bryza continues to undermine the Artsakh negotiations,
the Presidents of both Armenia and Azerbaijan may also refuse to meet
with him, leaving Pres. Bush no choice but to replace him with a more
experienced senior diplomat.
Complicating matters further, Mr. Bryza’s long-time partner is a
woman by the name of Zeyno Baran. Normally, it would be inappropriate
to drag a diplomat’s personal life into a political commentary. In
this case, however, there are special circumstances that justify such
a reference. Ms. Baran herself has introduced her personal
relationship with Mr. Bryza into the public domain on several
occasions, by openly referring to her ties with him. In her speeches
and reports, she often thanks Mr. Bryza for giving her "tremendous
intellectual and personal support." They often lecture together at
various venues both in the U.S. and overseas.
Ms. Baran, a native of Turkey, is opposed to various Armenian issues,
including the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. On March 8, 2005,
as the Director of International Security and Energy Programs for the
Nixon Center, she told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that
she is opposed to the congressional resolution on the Armenian
Genocide. "Given the prevalent Turkish view that the U.S. is running
a campaign against Turkey, it would be very damaging if the Armenian
Genocide resolution passed Congress this year," Baran testified.
"This year is the 90th anniversary of the tragic 1915 massacre and
certainly Armenian Diaspora groups would like to get recognition.
However, such a resolution would play right into the hands of the
growing set of anti-Americans and ultra-nationalists in Turkey," she
said.
Last week, in an interview with the Mediamax news agency, Ms. Baran,
now the Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson
Institute, defended Mr. Bryza’s partial release of the documents on
the Artsakh negotiations. She also said that she still believes what
she told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee last year that
"the strength of Armenian Diaspora limits U.S. ability to encourage
democratic change in Armenia."
It is no wonder that during a trip to Turkey last year, Mr. Bryza
unabashedly declared: "I am thrilled to be back in Turkey. Turkey in
many ways feels for me like a second home. I cant’ spend enough time
in your beautiful country. I hope to be back soon and often." One
would hope that Mr. Bryza would soon realize his wish and retire in
Turkey permanently!
In the meantime, a growing number of Senators are continuing to
question the recall of Amb. Evans. So far nine members of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee — half of the committee (5 Republicans
and 4 Democrats) — have submitted written questions to Amb. Hoagland
seeking clarification on the State Dept.’s policy on the Armenian
Genocide. Even though he has been promptly responding to the
Senators’ s letters trying to expedite his confirmation, Amb.
Hoagland’s answers remain evasive and unsatisfactory.
In a new and major setback for Amb. Hoagland’s confirmation, the Los
Angeles Times published a strongly-worded editorial on July 16,
urging the Senate to "block the nomination altogether until the
ambassador-to-be dares to utter the g-word. And the Bush
administration should have the courage of its lack of conviction and
explain forthrightly — not just to Armenian Americans but to all
Americans who believe in calling evil by its proper name — why U.S.
policy is being dictated by Ankara nationalists." This editorial,
titled "Armenian Genocide: Speak No Evil?" and subtitled (on the
internet version), "The White House’s cowardly and secretive refusal
to call Turkey’s genocide of Armenians by its proper name," is the
second one published by the L.A. Times since March 22, 2006, taking
to task the Bush administration’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide.
So far, the Senate has blocked the nomination of Amb. Hoagland,
despite Mr. Bryza’s inaccurate, inappropriate and arrogant
prediction! The political tug of war continues between those who seek
full and proper disclosure on the premature recall of Amb. Evans and
those who play vulgar word games with genocide!
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2 – Triple X Fraternity
Hosts Annual Picnic
In Orange County
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Orange County chapter of the Triple X
Fraternity will host its 31st Annual Family Picnic at Miles Square
Regional Park in Fountain Valley on July 23.
Live Armenian music will be provided by the Tom Bozigian Orchestra.
Armenian foods will be also available. Games will be provided for
children.
The event begins at 12 noon at Shelter Area #3, (the original area),
16801 Euclid St. in Fountain Valley. The location offers plenty of
parking, shade and tables and chairs.
For more information, visit: or call
Ron Sarouhan at (714) 968-2346 or Naz Horasanian at (949) 361-5466.
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3 – Geragos Estate BBQ Will
Benefit St. Gregory Church
PASADENA – The home gardens of Mark and Paulette Geragos will be
setting for St. Gregory Armenian Church’s Summer barbecue on July 22.
The proceeds from the event will benefit the church’s new
construction/
According to Joan Meymarian, chair of the Ladies’ Society and Serop
Stephanian, Men’s Forum chair, the party will begin at 4 o’clock
featuring a multi-course dinner served by Robert’s Catering, wine
pairings by sommelier Albert Meymarian, music for dancing and
listening with DJ Melcon and Lori Tatoulian, actress-comedienne,
presenting a comedy skit.
In keeping with the wine pairings theme, three categories of
sponsorships, Rothschild, Opus One and Mondavi are available to those
who wish to participate. Complimentary tickets accompany each
category.
"The Ladies’ Society and Men’s Forum are hopeful that everyone
interested in being a part of the completion of our new church will
attend this event which promises to be entertaining and rewarding in
every way," states Ms. Meymarian.
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4 – Glendale Students
Receive Coca-Cola
$1,000 Scholarship
GLENDALE – Glendale Community College students David Arakelyan and
Sabine Freij have each been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the
Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.
Arakelyan is President of the Associated Students and the Student
Trustee at the college and Freij has served as Vice
President of Campus Activities.
Through the Coca-Cola Two-Year Colleges Scholarship Program, the
Foundation awards a total of 400 scholarships annually to students
attending higher education institutions granting two-year degrees.
All recipients have demonstrated academic success and participated
in community service within the past 12 months.
Now in its 7th year of funding the Coca-Cola Two-Year colleges
Scholarship Program, the Foundation has provided $2.8 million in
scholarship awards to students attending two-year degree granting
institutions and more than $29.7 million towards the Coca-Cola
Scholars Program during the past 18 years.
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5 – ‘Little Armenia’ Play to Premiere
August 11at The Fountain Theatre
LOS ANGELES – The world premiere of the "Little Armenia" play will
take place Aug. 11 at Hollywood’s The Fountain Theatre.
Almost two years ago, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department provided modest
grants for the Fountain Theatre to develop and produce a play
reflecting on the modern day and culture of "Little Armenia," a part
of Hollywood officially designated as such the city of Los Angeles.
The Theatre is located in the middle of the designated area.
Since then, the Fountain Theatre went to work and recruited Lorig
Bedikian, Aram Kouyoumdjian and Shahe Mankerian to go out to "Little
Armenia" and then write a play based on their interviews,
observations and findings. The result is a compelling
inter-generational story.
"The need and desire to represent human diversity is why we are
producing our next play of the season, ‘Little Armenia,’" the Theater
spokespersons explained.
In addition, project producer and director, Armina LaManna and
co-Artistic Director Deborah Lawlor have called for broad community
support for this artistic effort. The Fountain Theatre is a
non-profit 501 © (3) organization and donations to it are entirely
tax deductible
L.A. City Councilmember Eric Garcetti, whose 13th district
encompasses ‘Little Armenia" has called for full support to the
community arts project.
"Little Armenia has been and continues to be a major economic and
cultural hub for the high concentration of Armenian families,
businesses and churches in Los Angeles, and the Fountain Theatre has
played a major role in the cultural and social life of Little
Armenia," Garcetti noted.
"I fully support the Fountain Theatre and ‘Little Armenia,’" Garcetti
observed, urging public financial support for the project.
For more information, call Stephen Sachs (323) 663-2865, and Armina
LaManna (818) 545-7369.

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