HE SHARED OTHERS’ PAIN
by Vahan Arzumanyan

KarabakhOpen
03-05-2007 10:37:14

The Armenian community of Kaunas district (Lithuania) decided to
erect a monument to the famous explorer and humanist Fridtiof Nansen
in gratitude for his aid to the Armenians saved from the Genocide in
1915-1922 in Turkey. In 1925 the League of Nations instructed Nansen
to study the possibilities of the problem of Armenians who ran from
Turkey after the Genocide. Thanks to him several dozens of thousands
of Armenians settled down in East Armenia and Syria.

In July 2006 in the town of Bergen Vahan Arzumanyan, the head of the
community, and the director of the Rekstensamlingene museum Espen
Selvik signed an agreement on placing a monumental khachkar to Nansen
in the yard of the museum. The museum is located in a picturesque
district of Bergen, opposite the residence of the royal family of
Norway. The sponsors of this project were Spartak Ter-Avetisyan, the
head of the Armenian community Havatk in Lithuania, and the head of
the Armenian community Garun in Vilnius Oleg Isayev.

In January 2007 in Kaunas the Lithuanian sculptor Gvidas Shvenchenis
started the creation of the monument designed by Vahan Arzumanyan. The
monument carved of light green Swedish granite was opened on April
21 in the framework of the Norwegian-Russian-Armenian celebrations
in Bergen dedicated to Nansen.

Representatives of Norwegian NGOs, the Russian delegation, the
representatives of the Armenian Diaspora to Norway took part in the
opening ceremony.

Professor Arnljot Strømme Svendsen, Rekstensamlingene museum,
addressed the opening ceremony. The grandson of Fridtiof Nansen Eigil
Nansen said Nansen condemned the European policy of the declarative
condemnation of the Genocide.

Addressing the League of Nations, he called for placing universal
values at the basis of the policy.

He dedicated the monument after the address. Then the children’s
choir of Bergen sang the anthems of Armenia, Russia and Norway.

The president of the Nansen Foundation, Vahan Arzumanyan, Spartak
Ter-Avetisyan, and Oleg Isayev also addressed the ceremony. The
director of the museum Espen Selvik said in an interview with the
correspondent of the Public TV of Armenia in Karabakh Narine Aghabalyan
although Norway, the homeland of the great humanist, has not recognized
the genocide, the monument will mark the start of this process.

Three days later on April 24 the corner of Armenia was opened
at the museum and an evening of remembrance of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide in Turkey was held. The photographs of the
Canadian photographer were displayed, a film on Armenia was shown. The
participants got acquainted with the documentary film on the events
of 1992 in the village of Maragha, Karabakh, when within 4 hours the
Azerbaijani OMON slaughtered almost the entire population of the
village of Maragha. The film was created by the Tsir Katin Studio
(director Narine Aghabalyan). All the four families of Bergen were
present in the evening.

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