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April 7, 2007 — From the front section
All of the articles that appear below are special to the Armenian Reporter
For photographs, visit
1. Serge Sargsian is Armenia’s new prime minister
2. Aghtamar reopening becomes a celebration of Turkey (News analysis
by Tatul Hakobyan in Van)
* The former seat of Armenian catholicoi is now a Turkish museum
3. Holy Cross survives, diplomacy dies (by Talin Suciyan in Istanbul)
4. From Washington, in brief (by Emil Sanamyan)
* Rep. Watson warns colleagues of Turkey’s Aghtamar ploy
* Rep. Hoekstra looking for intelligence in Azerbaijan
* State Dept. plays down Caucasus missile defense talk amid tensions with Iran
* Georgia’s NATO membership increasingly likely
5. Russia’s foreign minister, in Yerevan, is upbeat about Karabakh
peace deal (by Armen Hakobyan)
* Speaks in favor of stability in Armenia and the region
6. Russia to send a full contingent of OSCE observers
7. Armenia is second only to the United States in Grant Thornton
International Super Growth Index
8. Catholicos Karekin II announces the date for the next
chrism-blessing ceremony
9. Gyumri mayor wounded in drive-by shooting; 3 bodyguards dead
10. New trees for Republic Square
11. Commentary: Ziya Buniatov (by Ivan Arakelov)
* The contentious life, mysterious death, and toxic legacy of
Azerbaijan’s foremost historical revisionist
12. Commentary: Traffic jams are a new fact of life in Yerevan (Living
in Yerevan by Maria Titizian)
13. Letters
* Support for Armenian concerns? Or lip service? (Berge Jololian)
We can recognize the Genocide and work with Turkey (Rep. Michaal Capuano)
* Turkey won’t sever ties to United States (Ross Vartian)
* Turkey and its past (David Boyajian)
14. Editorial: Numbers count, too
********************************************* ******************************
1. Serge Sargsian is Armenia’s new prime minister
YEREVAN – President Robert Kocharian on April 4 appointed Defense
Minister Serge Sargsian, 52, as Armenia’s new prime minister, thus
filling the post that was left vacant with the death on March 25 of
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian. The president was constitutionally
required to appoint a prime minister by April 5, even though
parliamentary elections are only five weeks away.
"I have known him personally for a long time," Mr. Kocharian said.
"He is a hard-working, honest, and diligent individual. I am convinced
that he is in a position to lead the government in this responsible
time, especially as we have no one [else] with his level of
experience." Mr. Sargsian joined the government in 1993.
Mr. Sargsian was nominated for the post by the Republican Party of
Armenia, the leading member of the three-party governing coalition,
which also includes the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the Dashnak
party) and the United Labor Party. The new prime minister joined the
Republican Party in mid-July 2006 and was elected as chair of the
party council on July 22. He had no party affiliation before then.
The prime minister will have to step down after the parliamentary
elections on May 12. He may be re-appointed if the Republican party
wins a majority of the National Assembly’s 131 seats, or if it is able
to form another majority coalition. Mr. Sargsian is a leading
contender for the presidency at the expiration of Mr. Kocharian’s term
in 2008.
A native of Nagorno-Karabakh and a philologist by education, Mr.
Sargsian rose to prominence during the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan.
He commanded Karabakh Armenian forces before being named Armenia’s
defense minister in 1993. He later served as minister of the interior
and national security, and briefly headed Mr. Kocharian’s staff until
the start of his second stint as defense minister in May 2000.
In appointing Mr. Sargsian as prime minister, the president also
relieved him of his duties as defense minister. Under Ministry of
Defense rules, Chief of Staff Mikael Harutiunian will temporarily
serve as Armenia’s minister of defense.
**************************************** ***********************************
2. Aghtamar reopening becomes a celebration of Turkey
* The former seat of Armenian catholicoi is now a Turkish museum
News analysis by Tatul Hakobyan
VAN, Turkey – On March 29 the renovated and restored Cathedral of the
Holy Cross on Aghtamar Island in Lake Van was re-opened. The church
was built in the early 10th century, during the reign of the Armenian
King Gagik of Vaspurakan, and served as the seat of the Armenian
Catholicos of Aghtamar from 1113 through 1895.
Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Atilla Koc, Van governor
Özdemir Çakacak, Archbishop Mesrob II, the Armenian Patriarch of
Turkey, ambassadors accredited to Ankara and representatives of
embassies, and an official delegation from Armenia headed by the
Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs, Gagik Gurjian, attended
the ceremony, which ended up as a celebration of Turkey.
On the day of the opening, Aghtamar Island and the mainland shore
across from it were covered in Turkish flags, and only the Turkish
language could be heard. Minister Koc, Governor Çakacak, and Patriarch
Mesrob spoke, and then, as the Turkish national anthem rang out, they
cut a ribbon – which like the Turkish flag was red, the color of
blood.
Turkey spent close to $2 million to renovate and restore the Holy
Cross Church, but inaugurated it not as an Armenian church but as a
Turkish historical and cultural monument, in which no church services
will be performed. Moreover, the government, in spite of requests from
Archbishop Mesrob, did not allow a cross to be placed on the church.
It was with this fact in view that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
and the Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia both turned down
Turkish government invitations to attend the opening. And rightly so.
* Catholicoi not present
The Mother See announced on March 27 that it would "not participate in
the ceremonies after having considered that the Holy Cross Armenian
Church, recently renovated by the Turkish authorities, will not
operate as a church under the spiritual authority of the Armenian
Patriarchate of Constantinople and instead will be designated as a
museum; and that the opening ceremonies will be conducted solely with
a secular program and not in accord with the canonical rites of the
Holy Apostolic Armenian Church."
The announcement concluded: "In this new century, when there is a
universal desire for mutual understanding and collaboration between
peoples, as well as in the context of dialogue between religions and
cultures, this action of the Turkish authorities against the pious
Christian beliefs and emotions of the Armenian people cannot be
perceived as a positive step on the path of bringing the two nations
closer."
Levent Bilman, a representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry,
told journalists that the Foreign Ministry – yes, the Foreign Ministry
– is studying the question of whether to place a cross atop Holy
Cross.
Archbishop Mutafyan did say in his speech at the opening ceremony
that the Holy Cross Church is an Armenian church. He used the terms
"Aghtamar" and "Holy Cross" rather than the Turkified "Akdamar"
(meaning "white vein"). He entreated that the
church-turned-into-a-museum be the site of at least one religious
service per year.
* "Respect the history"
Mr. Koc and Governor Çakacak stressed in their speeches that Van is
the most likely magnet for tourism in eastern Turkey because many
civilizations have thrived in the area over the centuries. They
represented the renovation and restoration of the Holy Cross Church as
an example of Turkey’s respect for history and culture. Everywhere in
Van there were signs in English and Turkish reading, "Respect the
history, respect the culture."
But how can one speak of respect when Holy Cross – stripped of its
cross, and with its historic name altered – embodies Turkey’s utter
contempt for history and culture?
Turkish television covered the ceremony at length. A clip that was
repeated over and over showed Turkey’s minister of culture and
Armenia’s deputy minister of culture sitting side by side, sharing a
chuckle. Mr. Gurjian told reporters that Turkey is "a multicultural
country," and expressed hope that the opening of Holy Cross could be
the beginning of a "cultural dialogue" between Armenia and Turkey.
Official Yerevan participated in the festivity on the level of a
deputy minister, which was a message to Ankara that Armenia is
dissatisfied. It is not clear, however, whether any delegation should
have attended the opening.
On his return to Yerevan, Deputy Minister Gurjian said that in 2008
Turkey plans to begin a five-year restoration project in the ancient
Armenian capital of Ani, just across the border from Armenia. Mr.
Gurjian said that Mr. Koc had not ruled out the possibility of the
participation of Armenian experts in the project.
"Seeing the ruined state of the mother church in Ani, the Arakelots
Cathedral, and some other churches, we were once again convinced that
the participation of Armenian architects in the restoration is
strictly necessary," Mr. Gurjian said.
Pavel Avetisian, director of the Institute of Archeology and
Ethnography at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, who was
part of the Aghtamar delegation, believes "cultural dialogue" with
Turkey is necessary, as it is the only way to save Armenian cultural
and religious monuments in Turkey from destruction. "If the churches
of Ani are not restored in the next 20 to 25 years, there is a danger
that they will be lost forever," he said.
* "A never-ending process of gestures"
In a statement issued the day before the opening, Armenia’s Foreign
Ministry said, "This is a positive move and holds the potential of a
reversal of the policy of negligence and destruction." (See full text
below.)
"We hope the same kind of approach will extend to cover the nearly
collapsed churches of Ani, Mush, Tegor, and a dozen other priceless
examples of Armenian medieval architecture, which have been abandoned
at best, or more often, intentionally vandalized, simply because of
their Armenian identity," the Foreign Ministry added.
"Turkey’s announcements about the opening of this renovated church
do not include the word ‘Armenian’ anywhere," the statement noted.
"This is an evasion of the Turkish government’s responsibility not
only to history and memory, but to its own Armenian minority.
Noting that pictures of Aghtamar are being circulated by Turkish
lobbyists in Washington, the Foreign Ministry said, "Armenia and
Armenians wish for substantive progress with Turkey regarding our
painful past and a potential of a shared future as neighbors. Armenia
and Armenians do not want to be played in a never-ending process of
gestures that do not intend to make real inroads in reconciliation,
and instead are simply public relations moves."
Like the catholicoi of Etchmiadzin and Antelias, official Yerevan
too could have skipped the opening of Holy Cross as long as the
Turkish government declined to place a cross atop the church and treat
it as a place of worship, where the faithful could light candles and
the clergy could perform services.As noble as Prime Minister Erdogan’s
original reasons for ordering the renovation and restoration of the
church may have been, there is no doubt that the opening ceremony was
nothing more than an attempt to undermine the Armenian Genocide
resolution under consideration in the United States Congress. The date
of the ceremony was shifted around a few times. At one point, a
cynical decision was made to hold the ceremony on April 24, the day
Armenians around the world pay their respects to the memory of the 1.5
million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide. After Archbishop
Mutafyan made a strong protest, the date was shifted to the week of
April 11 to 15. But the date was changed again, this time to March 29,
which made it timelier for Washington lobbying purposes.
After the official opening ceremony, regular citizens on the shore
of Lake Van were allowed to cross over to the island on the boats used
to transport the official delegations. A few dozen locals, ranging in
age from 15 to 55, arrived to throw rocks at rabbits, the weakest
residents of the island. Thus concluded the day’s sad and repulsive
Turkish celebration.
************************************ ***************************************
3. Holy Cross survives, diplomacy dies
by Talin Suciyan
ISTANBUL – "We started our journey to Aghtamar Island. Lake Van is
mysterious, its color changing moment to moment, as we approached the
island in a small boat. The little chapel next to the church was
almost totally destroyed, but the church’s turn had not come yet. The
captain commanded [the workers demolishing the church]: ‘Until I come
back you won’t touch the church. I am going to the governor.’ The
workers came to attention, and their leader said, ‘With pleasure
commander!’ Arriving back in Van, we called [the newspaper]
Cumhuriyet, and two days later, Mr. Avni Basman, who was then the
Minister of Education, sent a telegram to the governor to stop the
destruction. This happened on June 25, 1951: the day Aghtamar Church
survived."
This is a quotation from the book Ya sar Kemal Kendini Anlatiyor
("Yasar Kemal Narrates Himself"). It was Yasar Kemal, the legendary
Turkish writer, who back in 1951 went to Aghtamar Island as a
journalist and saw the workers destroying the church. He immediately
called his newspaper, got to the minister of education, and managed to
stop the destruction.
Yasar Kemal was not present at last week’s unveiling of the
renovated Holy Cross Church on Aghtamar Island. He probably was not
even invited. But if there was a church left to renovate, he’s the one
to thank.
Turkey was hoping to have a grand inauguration ceremony, with many
guests from the Armenian diaspora and Armenia, hundreds of other
visitors, international groups, and the like.
Not one of these expectations was fulfilled.
The border with Armenia remained closed. The cross and the bell were
conspicuously missing atop the church. The edifice was opened as a
museum, not a church. And so, Armenian religious leaders from outside
Turkey skipped the ceremony. Diaspora Armenian groups didn’t bother to
make the trip.
The name of the church was changed – with the abetment of Turkey’s
mainstream media – to "Akdamar" instead of "Aghtamar" or "Akhtamar."
And with that name change, no one even thought to mention the name
"Holy Cross Church."
* Çandar: "Cultural genocide"
Cengiz Çandar, writing in the English-language Turkish Daily News and
the Turkish Referans, had this to say: This is the day of the opening
of a ‘church-museum,’ which the Minister of Cultural Affairs turned
into a mess. Whatever the intention was, it looks like a ‘cultural
genocide.’"
Çandar continued, as if to Ministry of Cultural Affairs: "What you
do is simply ‘cultural genocide.’ How come you have the right for
that? And why?
Ultranationalist Turkish groups, on the other hand, organized some
protests. The daily Yenicag announced the opening ceremony with this
headline: "Freedom to Church, Prohibition to Mosque." According to the
ensuing news item, a memorial service had been proposed for what the
newspaper called "Turkish martyrs killed by Armenians," to be held on
the day of the opening. But the authorities had withheld permission.
On the day of inauguration, Archbishop Mesrob II, Patriarch of
Armenians in Turkey, went to visit Nareg Monastery in the village of
Yemislik – the former Narek village. In the place where Nareg
Monastery once stood, today there is a mosque. Six years ago, there
were still some remnants of an archway of the monastery. In Sevan
Nisanyan’s book, Eastern Turkey, Nareg Monastery is called a very
important remnant of Armenian architecture, destroyed in 1951.
The renowned Istanbul-born Armenian pianist Sahan Arzruni offered to
perform at the opening ceremony, saying that he is a descendant, 36
generations removed, of King Gagik Arzruni, in whose reign the church
was built in the year 951. He sent a piece composed by his cousin
Sirvart Karamanuk, an Armenian composer based in Istanbul, titled
"Akhtamar," to the Ministery of Culture. But the ministry decided that
Tuluyhan Ugurlu, a Turkish pianist, should play on the occasion.
*No translation for Armenian visitors
A day after the ceremony, on March 30, Milliyet – one of the rare
newspapers to dedicate an entire page to the opening – noted that no
translation service had been provided for the Armenian delegation,
which thus could not follow the Turkish speeches.
Gagik Gurjian, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Culture, headed the
Armenian government’s delegation, which made a 16-hour land journey
over Georgia. Mr. Gurjian told Agos, the Armenian-Turkish weekly, that
the Armenian government has offered to renovate Turkish monuments in
Armenia jointly with Turkish experts. Mr. Gurjian said, "For us, all
restorations are important. Some years back we renovated the mosque to
its original form, in Yerevan. It is important to keep the original
form."
In the end, Aghtamar’s highly-touted inaugural ceremony turned out
to be a local event. And as a news story, Aghtamar seems to be dead
again. For the moment.
***************************************** **********************************
4. From Washington, in brief
by Emil Sanamyan
* Armenian-American organizations offer spending recommendations to Congress
The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA), and the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs
Committee (USAPAC) submitted recommendations for the March 29 public
hearing held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations about spending in Fiscal Year 2008. The subcommittee, along
with its counterpart in the Senate, sets U.S. foreign assistance
levels.
The three organizations’ recommendations were nearly identical on
four items: (1) no less than $75 million in economic assistance for
Armenia; (2) no less than $10 million in humanitarian and development
aid to Nagorno-Karabakh; (3) equal amounts of Foreign Military
Financing ($4.3 million) and International Military Education and
Training ($1 million) to Armenia and Azerbaijan; and (4) strict
monitoring of the conditions to the waiver of Section 907, which
restricts U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan.
For the first time, the three organizations have also requested that
the U.S. Congress take a closer look at the $100 million 8-year
Caspian Security (Guard) initiative which has been underway since
2004. Under this program, U.S. has helped upgrade sea and air bases,
install radars, and train special forces in Azerbaijan.
Additionally, the AAA requested U.S. support for Armenia’s energy
security and Armenia’s participation in regional development projects.
Both AAA and USAPAC specifically recommended congressional funding for
confidence-building measures to support Karabakh peace. For its part,
ANCA requested U.S. funding for the California Trade Office in
Armenia.
* Rep. Watson warns colleagues of Turkey’s Aghtamar ploy
On March 29, Rep. Diane Watson (D.-Calif.) sent a letter to
congressional colleagues titled, "The Truth about Armenian Churches in
Turkey," the Armenian National Committee of America reports. The
letter came in response to Turkey’s efforts to advertise its
renovation of the Holy Cross Church on the Aghtamar island in Lake
Van. (See front-page story.)
Ms. Watson noted that while the Turkish government "is holding an
event to tout the rehabilitation of an Armenian Church . . . hundreds
of [such] Churches in Turkey, some dating as far back as the 4th
century, have been neglected and even egregiously abused." She added
that this was part of "a desperate and malicious campaign, which began
in 1915, to erase the Armenian people’s physical and cultural
existence in their historic homeland."
For more information about the issue see
ites.htm.
* Rep. Hoekstra looking for intelligence in Azerbaijan
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R.-Mich.), ranking member of the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, was in Baku this week. Official
reports suggested that Mr. Hoekstra’s April 3 meetings with
Azerbaijani officials focused on the "development of
inter-parliamentary relations," but the representative is better known
for his concerns about Azerbaijan’s southern neighbor.
In a March 4 television interview with Fox News, Mr. Hoekstra
complained that "we still don’t have the intelligence community
overall to give us, as policy-makers, the information that we need to
make good decisions in North Korea, Iran and other places." On March
27 he told Holland Sentinel, his hometown paper, that his frequent
foreign travel helped him fill in the gaps.
* State Dept. plays down Caucasus missile defense talk amid tensions with Iran
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza was in Georgia last
week. Speaking to the press in Tbilisi on March 30, he said, "the
United States does not intend to deploy missile-defense system in the
Caucasus," the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA) reported.
Earlier this year, the United States announced plans to place parts
of a European-theater missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech
Republic. U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Gen. Henry Obering
added on March 1 that the United States would like to be able to
deploy mobile antimissile radar in one of the countries of the
Caucasus.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have all denied receiving any
deployment requests from the United States.
A retired U.S. Air Force planner, Col. Sam Gardiner, told the
Armenian Reporter that while Iran does not yet have missiles capable
of reaching Europe, U.S. missile defense plans were clearly part of an
overall effort to put pressure on Iran. He added that having mobile
radars in the Caucasus might make sense to provide additional early
warning to U.S. allies.
"This is a game of strategic chicken," Mr. Gardiner said. It entails
ratcheting up of U.S. pressure, including a military buildup in the
Persian Gulf and the detention of alleged Iranian operatives in Iraq.
In recent months U.S. official have also expressed concerns about
Iran’s policies on ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Arabs, and
Azeris.
* * *
While in Tbilisi, Mr. Bryza noted that the United States would "want
to have an opportunity" to use air bases in Azerbaijan "in
emergencies," according to APA. As part of its Caspian Security
(Guard) initiative, the United States helped modernize several of
Azerbaijan’s air bases.
(A day before, on March 29, the Azerbaijani government invited
foreign diplomats to Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev (previously Nasosnaya)
air base to showcase MiG-29 fighter jets it just acquired from Ukraine
(see the March 24 issue of the Reporter for details). On March 30,
muscle-flexing continued as Azerbaijani aircraft flew near Karabakh.)
In response to speculations that the United States would like to use
Azerbaijan for strikes against Iran, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry
issued a statement on April 1 confirming Azerbaijan’s previously
articulated position that it "will not create opportunities or
conditions allowing foreign countries to use its territory against
neighboring countries," RFE/RL reported.
Meantime, Vafa Guluzade, top advisor to at least three Azerbaijani
presidents (1991-99) predicted that the United States intends to
destroy and dismember Iran because it is an anti-American state that
is "ignoring UN resolutions, which makes war inevitable," day.az
reported on April 3. Mr. Guluzade went on to warn that "since the U.S.
is trying to weaken regional states, [in the future] Turkey might end
up in the same situation as Iran today."
* Georgia’s NATO membership increasingly likely
On March 30, Mr. Bryza confirmed that the United States and Georgia
share a common goal: "Georgia’s membership at a right time in NATO,"
Civil Georgia reported. The "right time for Georgian membership in
NATO is when Georgia has completed all of its reforms . . . and has
continued what it’s been doing now for several months, which is
pursuing constructive and peaceful [efforts] to resolving separatists
conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia within Georgia."
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said on February 9
that the alliance should be "coming closer to honoring the ambitions
of Ukraine and Georgia." Both chambers of the U.S. Congress have voted
to support the two countries’ accession to NATO financially.
President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia in turn recently promised
to more than double Georgia’s force in Iraq to 2,000, which would make
it one of the largest contingents in the U.S.-led coalition there. Mr.
Saakashvili is optimistic that Georgia could become a NATO member by
2009.
Cory Welt from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies told the Reporter that there has been more
enthusiasm for Georgian membership lately. "They still have a lot to
do, but 2009 possibility is more realistic now."
Last month, Georgia’s parliament voted 160-0 in favor of joining
NATO. This policy is supported by most Georgians but has caused
lingering tensions with Russia. In apparent reference to the northern
neighbor, Mr. Bryza assured Georgians last week that "no country that
is not a member of NATO has any say over Georgia’s future within the
alliance."
Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan has expressed a desire to join the
alliance yet, but Mr. Welt believes that the two will likely "reassess
their current position in light of Georgia’s membership."
******************************* ********************************************
5. Russia’s foreign minister in Yerevan is upbeat about Karabakh peace deal
* Speaks in favor of stability in Armenia and the region
by Armen Hakobyan
YEREVAN – "The UN Security Council has set an international legal
framework for influencing Iran, and it fully rules out the use of
force. We call on those who have such ideas to fulfill the decisions
of the Security Council and remain on the firm ground of international
law," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia, who was in Armenia for
a two-day visit, said on April 3 in reference to recent media reports
about possible U.S. strikes against Iran.
Mr. Lavrov was in Armenia to mark the 15th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the Russian
Federation. He made his remarks during a joint news conference with
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian of Armenia.
The visit also marked the 10th anniversary of the bilateral Treaty
on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. The scope of
relations between the two former Soviet republics is broad, and the
visit was an opportunity for the two sides to synchronize their
watches.
* Regional stability
Russian forces are stationed in Armenia and protect Armenia’s borders
with Iran and Turkey. At the news conference Mr. Oskanian said, "The
presence of Russian forces especially on the Armenian-Turkish border
is very significant for us in terms of security. We believe that in
the present circumstances their presence is indispensable for
Armenia’s security."
It is also in Russia’s interests, Mr. Lavrov added. "It is in the
interests of Russia to ensure stability in Transcaucasia, in this
region that is vitally important for many countries, us among them."
He said Russia wants to see the Caucasus become a region of
cooperation and "joint prosperity." Russia is therefore pursuing
constructive relations with Turkey, Iran, NATO, and the EU, all of
which have interests in the region.
"Their interest is understandable to us," Mr. Lavrov said. "There
are natural resources here and transit routes that are geopolitically
important. We want the interests that are understandable to us to be
realized by methods that are understandable to us, not along the lines
of a zero sum game, but along the lines of joint engagement, which
will benefit all." In this matter, too, Armenia’s interests coincide
with Russia’s, the Russian foreign minister said. "Stability in the
region is in everyone’s interest."
* The Karabakh conflict
Representatives of Russia, the United States, and France jointly chair
the OSCE Minsk Group, which is charged with mediating a solution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Russia plays a very important,
constructive role in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict," Mr.
Oskanian said. "We are very pleased with Russia’s role and its
willingness not only to mediate the conflict but also to guarantee the
agreement, once it is reached. Russia’s participation in this process
is very important to Armenia."
The Russian foreign minister spoke very optimistically about the
matter: Karabakh is "unique" among conflicts in that the "interests of
Russia, the United States, and the European Union absolutely do not
contradict each other or the interests of the conflicting parties
themselves." He added, "So concrete a package to untie this knot has
been devised that participants of any other talks on the settlement of
any other conflict can only be envious. It is nevertheless up to the
leaderships of Armenia and Azerbaijan to have the final definitive
say."
The Russian foreign minister expressed hope that "this unique
unanimity, not only in principles but also in detail, which exists
among the cochairs," will help Yerevan and Baku arrive at a mutually
acceptable agreement. He reaffirmed that Russia and other countries
"will in full measure act as a guarantor of these agreements."
If everyone’s interests are so well aligned, then why is no
agreement in place, journalists wanted to know. Mr. Oskanian responded
with restrained realism: "There are indeed broad areas of agreement on
the principles in the negotiating document. Nonetheless, there is not
full agreement. On the level of principle, it is true, there are
common approaches on most of the issues, but there remain one or two
principles around which agreement has yet to be achieved. When we go
from principles to details, we see issues there too." The Armenian
foreign minister added that there is "positive movement, and as Mr.
Lavrov said, we hope that we can really continue our work on the basis
of this document and reach some sort of positive conclusion."
Mr. Oskanian emphasized that the "positive movement" is clearly in
the direction of continued self-determination for Karabakh.
Mr. Oskanian said another meeting between him and his Azerbaijani
counterpart will take place preferably in late April or, failing that,
in early May. A meeting of the presidents is expected in June.
* Regional integration
In response to a question about the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project,
which was inaugurated in March and would connect Baku to Turkey by
rail over Georgia, Mr. Lavrov said, "I have heard that this isn’t
happening so far. Such plans exist, but there are others as well,
concerning development of railways and other infrastructure in the
region." Such plans, Mr. Lavrov said, "must not create difficulties
for Armenia."
What makes it difficult to achieve regional integration, Mr. Lavrov
said, it the absence of a final settlement in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. "Until long-term agreements are reached," he said, "we shall
use every possibility to alleviate the present situation." The
situation has been exacerbated by the continuing Russian transport
blockade of Georgia.
He pointed specifically to the upcoming launch of a rail ferry
service between the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti and Russia’s
Port-Kavkaz. The ferry link will be primarily used by Armenian
exporters and importers.
* You cannot split Aram Khachaturian
Russia has in recent years taken possession of five major enterprises
in Armenia in lieu of $100 million in debt. In addition, more than
half the shares of Armenia’s electricity delivery grid and Armenia’s
natural-gas distribution grid belong to Russia, which also owns the
Sevan-Hrazdan hydroelectric cascade, the Hrazdan thermoelectric plant,
and other significant properties.
Mr. Lavrov noted that Armenia and Russia "have become so intertwined
in [their] destinies that it is very hard at times to sort out where
one country’s culture, history, and heritage ends and the other’s
begins. How can Russia and Armenia split Sergei Paradjanov, Aram
Khachaturian, and Frunzik [Mher] Mkrtchian?" he asked, referring to
Armenian stars of the Soviet firmament. Indeed, Mr. Lavrov had
revealed in July 2004 that his own father is an Armenian from Tbilisi,
Georgia.
Mr. Lavrov visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial at
Tzitzernakaberd and planted a tree there. (The Russian parliament
recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide in the mid-1990s.) He
did not, however say anything in Armenian. Mr. Oskanian, on the other
hand, surprised correspondents by making his opening statement in
Russian.
************************************* **************************************
6. Russia to send a full contingent of OSCE observers
YEREVAN – For the first time, Russia will exercise its right to
include Russian observers as part of the OSCE mission that will assess
Armenia’s elections.
At an April 3 press conference in Yerevan, Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said Russia is "sincerely interested in seeing Armenia stable
and prosperous and advancing along the path of continued reforms."
Results so far, he said, inspire confidence, and Russia would like to
see the constitutional process lead to "the creation of conditions for
continued movement" in the same direction.
In the past, Russia has sent observers to Armenia’s elections as
part of CIS observation missions. The OSCE and CIS observation
missions have usually reached different conclusions about the
elections.
"Russia is interested in seeing the international community form an
objective picture of how the pre-election campaign is unfolding in
Armenia," Mr. Lavrov said. Each OSCE country is entitled to send up to
10 percent of the total number of observers, and Russia will use its
quota fully, the foreign minister said. Of the 300 observers expected
on election day, Russia will send 30. In addition, Russian
representatives will participate in the long-term OSCE observation
mission that has already arrived in Yerevan.
"Of course, our observers will to a maximum degree participate in
monitoring the elections under the auspices of other organizations
too, including the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS and the
Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE," Mr. Lavrov added.
"Armenia is our friend," he concluded. "We want it to develop in an
ongoing way in accordance with its constitution and with the choice
which, in the end, the Armenian people will make."
— Armen Hakobyan
**************************************** ***********************************
7. Armenia is second only to the United States in Grant Thornton
International Super Growth Index
Armenia has achieved the second position in the Grant Thornton
International Super Growth Index. The index measures the proportion of
"super growth" companies in a country. Grant Thornton Internation
defines "super growth" companies as those that have grown considerably
more than average.
The United States tops the index for the third year running, with 44
percent of companies qualifying as super growth. This year Armenia
(where 38% of companies qualify) has replaced India in second
position. Indian companies suffered a dramatic drop to 14th in the
table as the country’s proportion of super growth companies halved
from 34 percent to 15. Ireland has maintained a top five ranking (29
percent; third place) and is joined by the United Kingdom (26 percent,
fourth place) and South Africa (25 percent, fifth place), up from
tenth place last year. Of United States companies 44 percent qualified
as super growth.
To identify ‘super growth’ companies, Experian Business Strategies,
an economics consultancy, took four key indicators to create a
weighted index. The four indicators were: absolute growth in turnover
(adjusted for inflation); percentage growth in turnover (adjusted for
inflation); absolute growth in employee numbers; and percentage growth
in employee numbers. By this measure, 23 percent of all privately held
businesses surveyed worldwide were classified as super growth.
Other significant climbers in the Super Growth Index include Russia,
which has moved from 29th to 18th in the rankings; the Philippines,
from 23rd to 8th; Argentina, from 27th to 15th; and Italy, from 30th
to 21st.
Hong Kong, the other strong performer in 2006 at third place, has
fallen out of the top ten this year, coming in at number 11. Other
fallers in the chart include Malaysia, from 8th to 26th, and New
Zealand, from 15th to 28th, its worst performance in four years.
The Super Growth Index, now in its fourth year, is a research
project that forms part of the Grant Thornton International Business
Report (IBR). The report covers the opinions of 7,200 privately held
businesses in 32 countries and represents 81 percent of global GDP, a
press release from the Grant Thornton International press office
states.
A ‘super growth’ company is one which has grown considerably more
than the average measured against key indicators including turnover
and employment.
The full survey is to be released in June 2007.
ain/index1.php?page=118&lang=en&id=119915& amp;country_id=0
******************************** *******************************************
8. Catholicos Karekin II announces the date for the next
chrism-blessing ceremony
VAGHARSHAPAT, Armenia – Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians,
has announced that the next Blessing of Holy Muron ceremony will be
held on September 28, 2008.
The Catholicos made the announcement during a scheduled session of
the Supreme Spiritual Council – the church’s governing council of
bishops – convened under his presidency March 7 through 9 at the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Muron (from the Greek myron) is the chrism, or oil, employed in the
church’s various anointing ceremonies, which include baptism,
matrimony, ordination, and consecration. Typically, the officiating
priest will daub sanctified oil in the form of a cross on the person
or item being blessed.
This chrism is confected, using a centuries-old "recipe" of fragrant
spices and herbs, by the catholicos during the muron-blessing
ceremony. During what is inevitably a major public gathering, the
catholicos gathers the ingredients in a large cauldron (along with a
residue of chrism from the previous ceremony), and blesses them with
the Relic of St. Gregory, a vessel in the shape of a man’s forearm,
believed to contain bones of the saint. Following the ceremony, the
newly sanctified oil is distributed to Armenian churches across the
world.
The ceremony is performed at the discretion of the Catholicos of All
Armenians, generally every seven years, but also at moments of great
national consequence. In 1991, Catholicos Vasken I broke the
seven-year cycle to bless "the muron of independence" in honor of the
establishment of a sovereign Armenian republic, and Catholicos Karekin
II did so again 10 years later, during the celebration of the 1700th
anniversary of Armenia’s conversion to Christianity.
The newly announced date will evidently resume the cycle, falling
seven years after the 2001 blessing ceremony.
*************************************** ************************************
9. Gyumri mayor wounded in drive-by shooting
* 3 bodyguards dead
YEREVAN – Vardan Ghukasian, who is the mayor of Gyumri, Armenia’s
second-largest city, and an investor in local businesses, was wounded
on April 2 in a drive-by shooting along the Yerevan-Gyumri highway.
Three of his bodyguards were killed, while his driver and the deputy
mayor were seriously wounded.
According to the prosecutor general of Armenia, at 10:20 p.m. on the
Yerevan-Ashtarak highway, a grey vehicle without license plates
overtook the mayor’s two-car convoy. Occupants of the vehicle fired
two rounds of ammunition from two submachine guns at the two cars.
Investigators found 77 spent cartridges on the scene.
The mayor’s official Mercedes 600 was carrying Mr. Ghukasian, Deputy
Mayor Gagik Manukian, and the head of the city’s civil construction
department, Hovhannes Grkikian. A second vehicle was carrying the
mayor’s bodyguards.
Artyom Adamian, 22, Misak Vardanian, 26, and Hovhannes Mirzabekian,
36, the mayor’s bodyguards, died on the spot. Mr. Manukian and the
mayor’s driver, Varazdat Ghukasian, were seriously wounded.
The mayor underwent surgery and was said to be recovering from a
bullet wound in his abdomen.
The heads of law-enforcement agencies were summoned to an emergency
meeting with President Robert Kocharian. They were instructed to solve
the crime as a matter of urgency.
The mayor was returning to Gyumri from a meeting of the council of
Republican Party of Armenia, which had just agreed to nominate Serge
Sargsian as Armenia’s prime minister.
In a written statement, the Republican party suggested that the
shooting was an attempt to undermine the "stability of public life" in
Armenia. One member of the board, Ashot Aghababian, claimed that the
crime was specifically directed against the party, RFE/RL reports.
"Why would it happen right after the board meeting?" he said.
However, the mayor was not in Yerevan solely for the meeting of the
party council. He was accompanied by his deputy (a member of the
Communist party) and the head of civil construction, neither of whom
were eligible to participate in the Republican party meeting.
A similar incident happened on the same highway on August 8, 2006,
when Aleksander Ginoyev, an underworld figure, was killed. The crime
remains unsolved.
President Kocharian visited Mr. Ghukasian at the hospital to wish
him a speedy recovery.
— Armen Hakobyan
**************************************** ***********************************
10. New trees for Republic Square
YEREVAN – In an eerie flashback to the days of Armenia’s energy
crisis, trees are being cut down in Yerevan, and in Republic Square no
less. But Yerevan’s chief arborist, Suren Maksapetian, assured the
Armenian Reporter that there is nothing to worry about.
"These trees are 40 years old or older," Mr. Maksapetian said. "They
have caught Dutch elm disease, which is incurable. It causes yellowing
of the foliage and defoliation, and ultimately the trees die. In any
case, they have lost their decorative function."
There were 60 trees in the square, ten of which are healthy and will
stay, he said.
The city is replacing the diseased trees with 3-year-old acacias.
"Before starting the project, we asked 8 professors for their written
views," Mr. Maksapetian said. "The acacias are just right for Yerevan.
They deal well with the cold, they deal well with dryness, and they
resist contagious diseases."
According to the chief arborist, the project is costing the city 5
million drams ($14 thousand).
— Armen Hakobyan
**************************************** ***********************************
11. Commentary: Ziya Buniatov
* The contentious life, mysterious death, and toxic legacy of
Azerbaijan’s foremost historical revisionist
by Ivan Arakelov
WASHINGTON – Ten years have passed since the assassination of Ziya
Buniatov, vice-president of the Azerbaijani Academy of Science, who is
widely esteemed in his country as the "father of Azerbaijani
historiography." Outside of Azerbaijan, he is best known for
controversial revisionist views on the history of the Caucasus.
Buniatov’s publications and the works of his associates have been
widely criticized, in part for their role in stoking up the Karabakh
conflict. The product of Buniatov’s career is an apparently
intentional misinterpretation of the region’s past, in which
Azerbaijan is featured as a country identifiable since antiquity, and
its neighbors characterized as impostors and conspirators. These works
have since been utilized by official Baku as academic cover for its
territorial claims on Armenia, and for its program of marginalizing
Armenians in territories that were forcibly made part of Soviet
Azerbaijan in the 1920s.
Buniatov’s death was as controversial as his academic career. In
February 1997, he was assassinated at the entrance to his apartment in
central Baku.
* Warrior-Academic
Buniatov was born in 1923 in the town of Astara, in the southernmost
corner of modern Azerbaijan, on its border with Iran. His mother was a
local subbotnik, a sect of ethnic Russians that mixes principles of
Judaism and Christianity, and had settled in the area since the 19th
century. For his military accomplishments during World War II,
Buniatov was decorated with the title of the "Hero of the Soviet
Union," a distinction that put his career on a fast track.
After graduating from the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in
1954, Buniatov defended his doctoral dissertation and returned to
Baku. There, he began working at the Institute of History of the
Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, rising from the position of
research associate to an academician and vice-president of the Academy
of Sciences. Buniatov was a leading representative of what was known
as the "academic nomenklatura": a privileged group of intellectuals
whose close ties to the leadership of the Communist Party provided
them with substantial influence in cultural and political affairs.
Buniatov’s position was enhanced further through his personal ties
with Heydar Aliyev, head of Azerbaijan’s chapter of the Soviet KGB,
who in 1969 became the republic’s Communist leader. Such political
capital sheltered Buniatov’s botched methodology and nationalist bias
from exposure – and his research from censorship.
* A flawed thesis, and its purpose
Buniatov’s work focused on so-called "Caucasian Albania" (no relation
to the Albania in the Balkans). In Soviet and Western scholarship this
term came to designate the Kingdom of Aghvank, an ancient
Armenian-dominated state in the Caucasus. For a time Aghvank was ruled
from the territory of present-day Nagorno-Karabakh by local kings and
princes, who despite their Armenian roots (or possibly precisely
because of them) tried to retain their political autonomy from the
Kingdom of Armenia.
The Israeli journalist Yo’av Karny, who visited Buniatov in 1995,
describes his impact on Azerbaijani nationalism in his 2000 book,
Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus on Quest for Memory. Karny
writes sardonically that Buniatov "had an important mission: endowing
Azerbaijan with a history…. [The] task was particularly daunting: his
nation’s very name had not existed only seventy-five years earlier,
and its enemies were still assailing its ‘artificiality.’"
Buniatov’s effort was essentially political, since historical
belonging was and is seen in the Caucasus as the basis for modern-day
legitimacy. The resulting research is a textbook example of
pseudo-science, both because of its factually problematic material,
and the serious flaws in methodology it employed. Buniatov’s arguments
often hinge on conspiracy theories that he substituted for his absence
of evidence.
For example, the lack of any specifically "Albanian" culture or
historical record was arbitrarily blamed on medieval Armenian clerics
and governors of the Arab Caliphate, who – according to Buniatov’s
contention – destroyed the entire body of "Albanian" literature to
solidify their grip on "Albania."
British journalist Tom de Waal, the author of the Black Garden, a
2001 book about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noted that: "Buniatov’s
scholarly credentials were dubious. It later transpired that the two
articles he published in 1960 and 1965 on Caucasian Albania were
direct plagiarisms. Under his own name, he had simply published,
unattributed, translations of two articles, originally written in
English by Western scholars C.F.J. Dowsett and Robert Hewsen."
U.S. historian George Bournoutian adds: "In his edition of the
Russian translation of an eighteenth-century history of Karabakh by
the Armenian patriarch of the Holy See of Gandzasar in Karabakh,
Academician Ziya M. Buniatov has blatantly and systematically replaced
the noun Armenian with Albanian. Several travelers’ accounts have also
been subject to the same tampering by Buniatov."
Buniatov achieved notoriety by turning "Caucasian Albania" into a
means to rob the Karabakh Armenians of their historical heritage.
Buniatov claimed that because the Armenians of ancient Karabakh
sometimes described themselves as belonging to "Aghvank" they were not
Armenians at all. This would be similar to claiming that Venetians or
Genoese were not Italian because in the Middle Ages their territorial
identity – as citizens of Venice or Genoa – was more important than
their linguistic identity.
After disassociating Armenians from Aghvank/Albania, Baku’s
academics proceeded to declare as "Albanian" all Armenian historical
monuments found on territories incorporated into Soviet Azerbaijan,
including Karabakh – even those with extensive Armenian lapidary
inscriptions, uniquely Armenian designs, and well-documented role in
Armenian history. Medieval Armenian poets and scholars born on the
territory of modern-day Azerbaijan were likewise re-baptized as
"Albanian."
Buniatov’s other claim was even more bizarre: Prior to the 19th
century, he argued, there were simply no Armenians in Eastern Armenia.
In the words of the Russian historian and political scientist Victor
Schnirelman, in his two-pronged assault on common sense "Buniatov
tried to cleanse Azerbaijani lands of Armenian history."
De Waal writes in Black Garden: "The subtext of [Buniatov’s] history
was obvious to anyone who lived in the Caucasus. [Armenians] were
either guests in Azerbaijan (nineteenth-century immigrants) or
Azerbaijanis under the skin (descendants of Albanians) and should
behave accordingly."
* Buniatov’s "Elders of Ararat"
With the start of the Karabakh conflict in 1988 Buniatov’s suppressed
hate instincts came into full motion. His 1989 article called "Why
Sumgait?" widely circulated throughout Azerbaijan, became a manifesto
justifying anti-Armenian violence in Azerbaijan, and sounded eerily
similar to the "Protocols of Elders of Zion," an early 20th-century
Russian invention alleging a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.
The article, according to de Waal, established Buniatov as
"Azerbaijan’s foremost Armenophobe." Its publication coincided with
the announcement of criminal indictments by a Soviet court against
several Azerbaijani participants of the anti-Armenian pogrom in the
industrial city of Sumgait, near Baku. Those events, which took place
in late February 1988, overnight transformed the Karabakh issue from a
legal and political dispute into a violent ethnic conflict. Dozens of
ethnic Armenians were killed or maimed, and the entire Armenian
population of Sumgait – around 14,000 people – fled the city in panic.
But according to Buniatov, the pogrom was masterminded and executed
not by Azerbaijanis but by undetected Armenian agent-provocateurs who
aspired to nothing less than the creation of a giant "Greater
Armenia." At the helm of that plan, argued Buniatov, stood several
prominent Armenian intellectuals and clergy, as well as Soviet
administrators of Armenian origin, all of whom he collectively
described as "Dashnaks."
Among those attacked by Buniatov was Vasken I, Catholicos of All
Armenians, who was called a protégé of the "international Armenian
mafia"; the prominent Armenian poetess Silva Kaputikian, incorrectly
described as "a daughter of a leader of the Dashnak Party"; and the
early 20th-century military hero Andranik Ozanian, dubbed a "one-eared
bandit." The article also revealed Buniatov’s deep aversion to several
Soviet pro-democracy activists, particularly academician Andrei
Sakharov, who supported Nagorno-Karabakh’s request to secede from
Azerbaijan.
* The ideologue of Aliyev’s regime
Following Heydar Aliyev’s comeback to power as a result of the 1993
military coup, Buniatov’s fortunes seemed to receive a boost. After
all, it was Aliyev who promoted Buniatov in Soviet times. The ageing
academician became vice-chairman of Aliyev’s ruling New Azerbaijan
Party, reinventing himself as an ideologue of the new regime in what
was described as a transition from Leninist "scientific communism" to
post-Soviet "scientific nationalism."
In 2001, in several interviews with the Azerbaijani press, Aliyev
confessed that during his tenure as a Communist boss he led a
20-year-long campaign aimed at squeezing Armenians out of
Nagorno-Karabakh and replacing them with Azerbaijanis. Since
Buniatov’s revisionism provided a "scientific" justification for that
program, it was not surprising that many of Aliyev’s nationalist
concepts developed in the 1990s were either inspired by Buniatov or
were direct borrowings from his earlier works.
In the time since, "Caucasian Albania" has become a universal
political tool used by Baku for a variety of purposes: from advancing
irredentist claims against Armenia, Iran, Russia, and Georgia, to
schmoozing with the European Union. Buniatov’s purported thesis of
Armenians’ "guest status" in the Caucasus is publicly aired in
speeches of Heydar’s son and successor Ilham Aliyev, while his
lieutenants call for the wholesale elimination of Armenians from the
region.
Billed as "Albanian" are all Armenian monuments in areas of
Azerbaijan’s actual or desired control – including the recently
destroyed medieval cemetery in Nakhichevan’s Jugha region, and even
the 19th-century church in the capital of Baku, as well as the ancient
and medieval monuments in Armenia’s southern province of Siunik,
against which Azerbaijani leaders advance occasional territorial
claims.
Just this week, one of Buniatov’s modern-day followers claimed that
the unmistakably Georgian monastery of David Gareji, which lies on
legally disputed land along the Georgian-Azerbaijan border, is also
"Albanian" – and hence non-Georgian.
* The end
Buniatov’s life ended abruptly on February 21, 1997, when he was shot
twice and then stabbed multiple times at the doorway to his apartment,
in what looked like a contract murder. The government pointed the
finger at an Iranian-linked group, which was purportedly outraged by
Buniatov’s translation of certain Islamic texts. A crackdown on
Azerbaijan’s Shiite Islamists ensued, with five people arrested and
sentenced to long prison terms.
The Islamist hypothesis, however, made little sense to anyone who
was familiar with Buniatov’s generally respectful attitude to Islam. A
theory developed later by a group of independent Azerbaijani
journalists led by Einulla Fatullayev offered an alternative
explanation: by 1997 the impatient and easily irritable Buniatov had
become a liability for President Aliyev. Witnesses told the
journalists about increased tensions between Buniatov and Aliyev, and
about several emotionally-charged encounters between the two.
Perhaps Aliyev was not sufficiently nationalist by Buniatov’s
standards. Or was Buniatov threatening to expose the widespread
corruption network that Aliyev’s second coming helped bring back to
life? No one really knows for sure.
* * *
Ivan Arakelov is the pen name of an author and consultant in the
Washington, D.C. area.
******************************************* ********************************
12. Commentary: Traffic jams are a new fact of life in Yerevan
Living in Armenia by Maria Titizian
When we first moved to Armenia, driving was a daunting daily ritual.
Not so much for the cars, but for the abundance of potholes one had to
be careful to avoid or risk facing substantial car repairs. That of
course was no consolation for the shocks on our car that had to be
changed frequently because on most dark, rainy nights we invariably
ended up in a pothole. Strangely enough I don’t recall ever changing
the shocks on my old Japanese car which I abused while I sped along
the absurdly smooth streets and highways of Toronto. But of course,
nothing is ever simple in this complicated corner of the world.
Thanks to the Lincy foundation, most streets in downtown Yerevan
were repaved a few years back and for a short time our car seemed to
breathe a sigh of relief. And then came the harsh winters and rainy
springs and new, never before seen potholes emerged. One could pose
the question of whether the repaving of the streets were done with any
care or professionalism, a term which has yet to find its way into the
Yerevantsi vernacular. But I digress and that is an article for
another day.
While I was doing the research for this month’s piece, which
included reading reports on the transport sector in the South
Caucasus, I decided to forgo statistics in exchange for some humorous
stories that I swear are not fabrications of my imagination, but
actual real life encounters with potholes, pedestrians and traffic
police and the new phenomenon of traffic jams.
I have come to the conclusion that driving in Yerevan is not so
different from the dizzyingly fast paced video games my son plays. By
now it’s abundantly clear that you must not only know where all the
new and old potholes are, but you must also try and figure out where
the traffic lights are situated – usually conveniently hidden behind
overgrown trees or strategically placed billboards. I can’t tell you
how many times I have driven through an intersection when the light
was red. So now, if I can’t see the traffic light I look at the
opposite side of the intersection to see what color the light for the
oncoming traffic is and then map out my course of action.
Then there are the obnoxious drivers who insist on cutting you off
and if that fails try to run you down to make it to the next set of
lights before you. It’s almost as if a competitive driving streak is
wired into the brains of Yerevantsi drivers and regardless of whether
they are trying to make it to an important meeting or not, the
overriding impulse is that they must win. You must also be wary of
pedestrians because they cross the street whenever and wherever they
feel like without looking to see if there are cars coming, or whether
it’s their right of way. They don’t run to avoid getting hit, they
don’t even break into a jog; they just casually stroll across 6 lanes
of traffic.
Now let’s add stray dogs to the mix. Sometimes these poor creatures
have adapted and cross at a green light with other law abiding
citizens, and other times they come at you out of nowhere and bark at
you for disrupting their repose. Sometimes I think everyone and
everything is out to get me.
So we have potholes, pedestrians, dogs and now no scholarly article
on driving in Yerevan would be complete without the traffic police.
Thankfully they no longer stand at every street corner, baton in hand
with the signature cigarette dangling from the corner of their mouths.
No, they have been taken off the beat and now are replaced by cameras
that will capture any traffic infraction and fine the owner
accordingly. I don’t know if this new measure is working; I have yet
to receive a ticket. The likelihood that I will is strangely greater
now because previously whenever I was stopped by the traffic police, I
was always let off because I am a woman, and subsequently don’t know
how to drive therefore should be let go. I once argued with a police
officer, demanding to be fined. Of course, I had violated some traffic
law, which one in particular eludes me at the moment, but he refused
to fine me because I was a woman. At the end of a 15-minute argument I
told him that it was their fault I was violating the law because I
knew I would get away with it. Had I been a man they would have
automatically demanded the standard 1000 AMD bribe, but even that
‘privilege’ was denied me.
Another time I was stopped once again but this time I was on my best
behavior. The officer couldn’t have been more than 20 years of age and
kept lamenting how he didn’t want to fine me (even though I had done
nothing wrong) because I was a woman and a guest in his country – I
speak western Armenian. I told him to either fine me or let me go. At
which point he said, "You must be a new driver". Incensed by his
comment I calmly told him that when I started driving he was probably
still in diapers, grabbed my driver’s license from his hand and drove
off without a second glance.
Sadly traffic police stories will now be few and far between.
Thankfully when I moved to Yerevan six years ago there weren’t so
many cars on the streets. It was hard enough after a lifetime of
driving in a country whose drivers are sickeningly law abiding to
adapt myself to the culture of aggressive driving. Trust me; the meek
will not inherit the streets in Yerevan. In order to survive, you have
to recondition yourself and yes, perhaps become a little more
aggressive. But now, there is so much traffic in Yerevan that if the
aggression factor is not removed, there will be serious consequences.
This past year over 29,000 cars were either imported or purchased in
Armenia as opposed to 13,000 the previous year. As the economic
situation of the country improves, more people will be buying cars.
Add the shortage of parking space, driving has become a test of one’s
patience. One time my husband and I got caught up in a crazy situation
at an intersection because some drivers had not heeded the lights and
cars from all four directions were facing each other down, not able to
move forward or reverse. As much as we tried to see the humor of the
situation, it took us over 20 minutes to crawl out of that gridlock.
Urban planning, studying traffic flows, the development of innovative
solutions must become a priority for city officials, otherwise pretty
soon we’ll all be working out of our cars.
* * *
Maria Titizian’s column appears monthly.
**************************************** ***********************************
13. Letters:
We are grateful to reader Berge Jololian for the following letter,
which we forwarded last week to the office of Rep. Michael Capuano
(D.-Mass.) to give the representative a chance to respond. Mr.
Capuano’s response appears below.
* Support for Armenian concerns? Or lip service?
Sir:
As an American and a resident of Massachusetts’s 8th Congressional
District, I attended a public forum given by U.S. Representative
Michael Capuano on February 24, at Somerville City Hall. The event was
videotaped, and the audience of about 90 people was allowed to ask
questions.
After publicly thanking Mr. Capuano for co-sponsoring the Armenian
Genocide Resolution (H.R. 106), I asked if there was more he could do
to work for its passage.
"Nothing," he replied.
Capuano did say that the Genocide was a fact and that he did not
know why Turkey would not acknowledge it. He stated, however, that he
had "no problem with Turkey" and that it was an important ally in a
strategic location.
I reminded him that Turkey had not allowed U.S. troops to transit
its territory at the start of the Iraq war in 2003.
Capuano countered that that was a very small and unimportant
example. Germany, he added, had not sent troops to Iraq, yet was a
good ally.
After I remarked that, "Genocide denied is genocide repeated,"
Capuano asked, "Well, so?"
When the forum ended and Capuano was leaving, I approached him and
shook his hand. "If Germany denied the Holocaust," I asked, "would you
do business with it?" He said, "Yes" – repeating it twice for
emphasis.
Capuano clearly pays no more than lip service to Armenian-American
issues, and his unqualified support for Turkey is disturbing. I
question whether he cares that his district – previously represented
in Congress by J.F.K., Tip O’Neil, and Joe Kennedy – is and has long
been home to many thousands of Armenian-Americans.
I suspect that many other Congressmen and elected officials are,
like Capuano, fooling their Armenian constituents by doing little more
than occasionally giving a speech on April 24 and co-sponsoring a
Genocide resolution. With rare exceptions, they will not expend any
political capital whatsoever, or make any real effort for us.
To the readers of the Reporter, I would ask: Is your own Congressman
or Senator getting away with paying mere lip service to
Armenian-American issues? I bet the answer is yes.
Very truly yours,
Berge Jololian
Cambridge, Mass.
* We can recognize the Genocide and work with Turkey
Sir:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter submitted by
one of my constituents. I have actively supported the Armenian
Genocide Resolution since being elected to Congress and am hopeful
that this year the U.S. House of Representatives will have an
opportunity to record U.S. indignation at such a sad and shocking
historic tragedy.
Additionally, I have traveled to Armenia to learn more about its
history and culture, and have met with many groups and individuals
over the years to talk about issues important to the Armenian
community.
I have also traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh and have brought the
Armenian government’s position on this territory to the President of
Azerbaijan. There are persisting tensions between Armenia and
Azerbaijan and I believe those tensions cannot be resolved without
engaging both parties.
I understand that recognition of the genocide remains a
controversial issue in some circles and among many Turkish citizens.
The Turkish government has suggested that passage of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution will harm relations between the U.S. and Turkey
and could jeopardize the cooperation our nations have enjoyed as
allies. I do believe we must maintain a strong and respectful dialogue
with Turkey. Turkey’s cooperation will be essential if Iraq is to be
stable after U.S. troops are withdrawn.
In no way does my commitment to cooperation with the Turks diminish
my commitment to the Armenian community. I firmly believe that we must
correct historical inaccuracies and properly record the U.S. position
on the Armenian Genocide while we continue to work with the democratic
government of Turkey.
I regret if any of my comments during this particular community
meeting were misinterpreted or misunderstood. Genocide is never
acceptable and genocide or Holocaust denial is contemptible. We must
never forget any historic genocide and we must strive to prevent it
from happening wherever we can. I am working diligently to end the
atrocities in Darfur, a cause to which so many Armenian-Americans have
so generously contributed.
I thank you for the opportunity to express my views and I look
forward to working with the community in the future.
Very truly yours,
Michael E. Capuano
Member of Congress
* Turkey won’t sever ties to United States
The following letter was published in the Baltimore Sun on March 31.
Kenneth Ballen’s column "Wrong resolution on Turkish killings"
(Opinion* Commentary, March 15) falsely suggests that Congress holds
the key to U.S. relations with Turkey.
Citing a recent poll by his organization, Mr. Ballen asserts that
congressional passage of a resolution reaffirming the fact of the
Armenian genocide would give rise to increased anti-Armenian and
anti-American opinion among Turks.
However, poll after poll in Turkey – including recent Gallup, Pew,
BBC and Transatlantic Trends surveys – show extraordinarily high
levels of negative opinions about America, even before consideration
of the Armenian genocide resolutions before the House and Senate.
Should relations between the United States and Turkey deteriorate if
these resolutions are enacted, the responsibility will reside solely
with the Turkish government.
But I would note that there has been no enduring negative
consequence to Turkey’s relationships with countries such as France,
Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and Argentina as each nation acknowledged
this crime against humanity.
Turkey will not sever relations with the United States over
Congress’ telling the truth about the Armenian genocide. The
U.S-Turkey relationship is of mutual benefit, and the United States
has traditionally been Turkey’s leading supporter in the West.
Mr. Ballen was incorrect when he stated that Turkish Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated for trying to promote
reconciliation.
He was murdered after being serially prosecuted by the Turkish
government and receiving death threats from Turkish ultranationalists
for writing about the Armenian genocide.
Tragically, Mr. Ballen himself might be prosecuted in Turkey or
receive his own death threats for stating that "the genocide of
innocent Armenian civilians in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire
must be universally acknowledged."
The Turkish government is solely responsible for the dysfunctional
level of intolerance within its society today.
Mr. Ballen and others who are concerned about Turkey’s future as a
Western, secular state would be better served by supporting the
progressives within Turkey who are risking their lives by speaking
truthfully and encouraging universal affirmation of the first genocide
of the 20th century than by criticizing the genocide resolution.
Ross Vartian
Washington
The writer is executive director of the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee.
* Turkey and its past
The following letter was published in the Washington Times on March 29.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul is worried that the
House of Representatives will pass an Armenian genocide resolution
("Politicizing the Armenian tragedy," Op-Ed, yesterday). He’s a bit
late.
You see, the House already has passed three resolutions (in 1975,
1984 and 1996) that explicitly reaffirmed America’s long-standing
recognition of the Armenian genocide.
President Reagan’s official proclamation of April 22, 1981, also
affirmed the factuality of that genocide.
Turkey took no action against the United States on those occasions
and cannot do so when the current resolution passes, as Turkey is
infinitely more dependent on America than America is on Turkey.
That it would threaten the United States with retaliation over a
mere resolution disproves Turkey’s contention that it is a loyal ally.
Finally, Mr. Gul’s call for a "joint commission" to study the 1915
Armenian massacres is disingenuous, to say the least. He knows very
well that such a joint study was undertaken by the Turkish Armenian
Reconciliation Commission and released in 2003. Its conclusion: Turkey
committed genocide.
Turkey is in denial and must confront its demons.
David Boyajian
Newton, Mass.
14. Editorial: Numbers count, too
It’s not the 90th anniversary this year. Nor the 95th. Those "round"
figures seem to draw the biggest crowds to the annual Genocide
commemorations.
This year, many of us may be content to mark April 24 in private,
saying a prayer, reading a poem, remembering the atrocity, mourning
our losses, and giving thanks for our collective survival and for all
that we have achieved since 1915.
But at this year’s 92nd anniversary events across the U.S., the
spectacle of sheer numbers of people may count more than ever before.
As the Reporter has documented these past weeks, the Turkish
government has been making strenuous efforts to derail the Armenian
Genocide resolution. They seemed demoralized and resigned last month;
but they’re now showing optimism that their efforts are working – and
whether it’s bravado or not, Armenians need to take notice. Naturally,
since deniers cannot win on the historical facts (and increasingly,
their allies find it too distasteful to fight those facts), they are
using pressure and blackmail to keep the resolution from ever reaching
the floors of the House and Senate.
This week it was revealed that "major" Turkish protests will be
organized in New York (on April 21) and Washington (on April 22); in
the former case, the protest will occur one day prior to the Genocide
commemoration in New York’s Times Square. What "major" constitutes in
the Turkish-American community remains to be seen; but Turkish rallies
in Washington have been significant in the past. This year the events
have been widely publicized, and people are being encouraged to board
buses to attend the anti-Armenian rallies. No doubt they will find a
few sympathetic and pliant ears in the media.
We have urged readers to get involved and contact their
representatives about the Genocide resolution. It remains true that we
can take nothing for granted. Members of Congress will support the
resolution and the leadership will schedule a vote only if they see
how deeply their constituents care about this issue.
Let us all make the time and go out of our way to attend the public
Genocide commemorations scheduled for the week surrounding April 24.
This is a cause that unites Armenians across all sorts of divides, and
it is heartening to see the leaders of our organizations acknowledge
that fact and encourage the community to gather at full strength.
Furthermore, the upcoming commemorations should not be exclusively
populated by Armenians. This year more than ever, we should make an
effort to bring our fellow American citizens to the events, to show
that Genocide recognition is not just an "Armenian" issue, but an
issue that speaks to the heart of everyone who believes in the
American experiment.
And that brings us back to the Genocide resolution. Many Armenian
activists have asserted that the resolution, though obstructed in the
past, has its best chance of passage in the present Congress. But only
if we make it happen.
A strong show of popular support at the Genocide gatherings across
the U.S. will send an important message to our representatives in
Washington at this critical moment. We Armenians have justice on our
side, but that is not always enough. In a democracy, the show of
numbers matters, too – and rightfully should matter, certainly more
than the chummy insider relations of foreign operatives and former
diplomats, on which our opponents rely to advance their anti-Armenian
agenda. That’s why, for this 92nd anniversary, visible public support
for the large-scale commemorative gatherings across the country has a
special urgency, and no Armenian-American can afford to stand on the
sidelines.
For a detailed, worldwide listing of events commemorating the 92nd
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, log onto
For a current list of cosponsors of the House and Senate
resolutions, go to or If your senator or
representative is not a cosponsor, ask them to be. If they are, send
them a thank-you note.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
