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November 28, 2009
1. NKR Leadership Makes Boston Visit Ahead of Thanksgiving Day Telethon
2. Grandson of Cemal Pasha Makes Overture to Armenian Community
3. Commentary: What Is The Alternative?
4. Commentary: Visit of Catholicos of All Armenians to Damascus
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1. NKR Leadership Makes Boston Visit Ahead of Thanksgiving Day Telethon
*By Alin K. Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff*
WATERTOWN, Mass. – The prime minister of Karabagh, Ara Harutunian, and his
entourage, including the charismatic Primate of Karabagh, Archbishop Pargev
Mardirossian, Karabagh’s representative to the US Robert Avetisyan and
policy advisor David Babayan, made a local stop at the Armenian Cultural and
Educational Center. The visit was one of several around the country that the
group was making in advance of the annual Armenia Fund Telethon, which was
scheduled to be broadcast on Thanksgiving Day.
Armenian Fund USA Chairman Raffi Festekjian showed a short film on the
group’s focal point for its fundraising this year, which is the city of
Shushi.
Shushi, a former capital of Armenia and one of the largest cities in the
Caucasus in the 19th century, has been in ruins since the war for
independence. It is going to receive increased support from the government
of Karabagh also, which, according to Harutunian, is going to relocate the
Ministry of Justice, as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Artsakh
branch of the Armenian Agricultural University to the city in the upcoming
years.
Festekjian opened the program by noting that the global economic
difficulties have made life especially difficult for the rural residents of
Armenia and Karabagh.
`The best way to provide a long-term solution is to make them fundamentally
independent,’ he said. As part of that independence, Karabagh needs improved
infrastructure, including water, power lines and healthcare facilities. The
next step, he said, is to develop the region’s businesses through training
and micro financing.
Mardirossian, speaking English fluently, said: `Seventeen years ago, our
brothers and sisters gave their lives for Artsakh. It is time to come
together and rebuild our historic capital.’
He suggested that if Shushi remained in its current dilapidated state, some
outside the community could question the Armenians’ desire to hold onto the
city.
`It is time to restore our symbol,’ he said, reciting the names of some
prominent Armenians who hail from there, including Boghos Nubar Pasha and
Muratsan.
`In the 19th century, it was the biggest city in the Caucasus. Now we just
have 3,000 Armenians in Shushi,’ he said.
Harutunian, who has been premier since 2007 and was on his first-ever visit
to the US, thanked Armenia Fund and Festekjian. While acknowledging the
problems of the republic, he noted that many advances had been made since
the end of the war, including the construction of modern highways and
provision of healthcare for the citizens, as well as renovated schools and
community centers.
He spoke about the pounding that Shushi received during the war, when it
became the base for the retreating Azerbaijani forces. As it is perched high
up in the mountains, Shushi gave the Azeris the vantage point they needed to
attack the Armenian forces based in the capital Stepanakert, which is
located down the mountain. Thus, Armenian forces had to make the difficult
decision to attack Shushi in order to regain it from the Azeris, a strategy
that worked yet left the city in the shambles it has remained in since.
Harutunian related that the liberation of the city occurred on May 7 and 8,
1992. `Every soldier who participated in the liberation of Shushi felt proud
to partake in this historic mission,’ he said. `There is a saying in
Armenian that the person who controls Shushi is the person who controls
Karabagh. This mission is the equivalent of reconquering and liberating
Shushi in 1992.’
The mellow atmosphere of the event disappeared for a while, as the issue of
the protocols between Turkey and Armenia, and also the negotiations over the
settlement of the fate of Karabagh, created some tense moments. One
audience member in particular insisted that Karabagh would be lost to
Armenians.
A calm yet forceful Mardirossian replied, `In 1992 I came here and I said
victory would be ours, in the face of grave inequality in strength. Did I
lie? No. Don’t doubt [the future of Karabagh]. It is ours and will stay
ours.’
Harutunian related some history of Karabagh. He noted, `We are not waiting
for anyone’s permission to keep the lands we have. No one allowed us to take
Lachin, Kelbajar or the rest, but we took them anyway.’
He added, `After the liberation of Khojaly, Turkish troops came very close
to the Armenian border and while Artsakh was liberated settlement by
settlement, the Turks announced they were going to intervene and attack
Armenia. But those threats could not get the Artsakh army to stop; instead
it motivated them. Not only Turkey exerted pressure, but the global powers
always pushed us to give back those territories.’
He complained about the leadership of Armenia then, led by former President
Levon Ter-Petrosian, suggesting that they stopped helping the effort in
Karabagh by not giving them food or weapons, and that in 1993, asked the
Artsakh leadership to give back regions to Azerbaijan. `We still went on
to
take Aghdam, Fizuli and Jibril,’ said Harutunian. `Support from the diaspora
at that crucial time, however, did not stop. Let me thank you once again for
it. I am telling you this so that you know there is no pressure that can
force us to give back and retreat from our past. The only way Artsakh would
cease to be Artsakh is when the last Artsakhtsi dies in Artsakh.’
After the meeting, the Karabagh delegation was hosted by the Knights of
Vartan Ararat Lodge at Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge, where more
than 100 members gathered to greet them. Sbarabed (commander) Nelson
Stepanian gave a welcoming speech. At the end, Avak Sbarabed (grand
commander) of Knights of Vartan, Haig Deranian, spoke.
For more information on the campaign or Armenia Fund USA, visit
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2. Grandson of Cemal Pasha Makes Overture to Armenian Community.
*By Alin K. Gregorian*
WATERTOWN, Mass. – The Armenian Cultural and Education Center on Tuesday,
November 17, was packed by Armenian-Americans eager to hear the grandson of
one of the three architects of the Armenian Genocide apologize for the sins
of his grandfather and to reach out a hand to the community.
If Turkish journalist and grandson of Cemal Pasha, Hasan Cemal, expected a
big, warm embrace, he was mistaken. However, the audience members were
certainly interested in what he was saying.
He opened his comments with the phrase `Barev harkeli barekamner’ (hello
esteemed friends), to the surprise of many. `I came here tonight to hear
you, to understand you. I came here to open my heart to your suffering,
pains and sorrows – pains coming from your history, coming from Anatolia,’
he said. `I am not here to compare or to equate your suffering. I am here to
understand them. I came here because my dear friend Hrant Dink said, `first
let us understand each others’ pain.’
He repeated the phrase, as well as the Armenian greeting, several times.
`My conscience does not accept the denial of the grand catastrophe which
Armenians were subjected to in 1915. In the memory of Hrant Dink, I reject
this injustice,’ he added. `To make excuses for such a crime is to collude
in it.’
Hasan Cemal’s grandfather, Cemal Pasha, one of the three leaders of the
Young Turks who had masterminded the Armenian Genocide, was assassinated on
July 21, 1922, in Tbilisi, Georgia. The younger Cemal met a few years ago
with the grandson of his grandfather’s assassin.
Cemal explained that he had initially learned about the Armenian Genocide
from Dink, later to be educated by the books of fellow panelist Taner Akçam.
`He touched my heart, and my friend Taner Akçam has touched my mind,’ he
noted.
His following comment, to a certain extent equating the sufferings of Turks
and Armenians, as well as tying the comments to the recently-signed
protocols between Armenia and Turkey, disconcerted some members of the
audience. `We should not become prisoners or captives of our pains and
suffering. We should not forget the past,’ he said, but should go on in
life.
He added, `It is a very interesting period between Turkey and Armenia. The
normalization process could start with the establishment of diplomatic
processes. For the sake of peace, it is better not to be a captive of the
past. The Turks endured suffering, too, in Anatolia. The Kurds suffered,
too, in the denial of their language and identity.’
Again, he changed his tone to say, `I know pain such as this cannot be
compared or equated.’
His comments perplexed some members of the audience.
However, fellow panelist Akçam was able to get to the heart of the matter.
`This is a very emotional moment,’ he said, adding, that with his intimate
knowledge of both communities, he realizes problem arise because the two
sides do not understand each other.
`The first time you met a Turk, you think of them as someone who murdered
your ancestors and supports the policy of denial,’ he said. `For Turks,
Armenians are traitors who killed innocent diplomats.’
Akçam, the chair of Armenian Studies at Clark University in Worcester, said
Turks tend to view Armenians as a single bloc that focuses on the Genocide
exclusively. Any Turks who break from their pack and try to embrace the
Armenians, he said, is regarded with suspicion in the Armenian community.
`In 1999, 2000, in the eyes of most of you, I was not an average Turk. Some
thought I am in the secret police or an agent. We viewed each other through
a prism. Now we are becoming more like individuals.’
He added that Turks and Armenians have different views when it comes to
their perception of time. `For you the past is present and lives today. The
Turks built it up with denial. When I say there are positive changes, you
say `we’ve heard it before.’ The Turks have no sense of history. Our
youth
have no idea what happened in 1908.’
He summarized, `One side is frozen in a tunnel of history, whereas the other
side is completely unaware of it. This meeting is part of getting past it.’
The third panelist, Asbed Kotchikian, who focused on the diasporan
experience, related his first experience interacting with a Turk, a fellow
college student in Beirut. While he said they never became close friends,
they talked enough to break down some of the stereotypes with which they had
grown up. `Opening of hearts and souls is not enough; we have to open
minds,’ he noted.
Kotchikian, who teaches at Bentley College in Waltham, noted that increased
dealings in civil society – including gatherings such as this – add to
the
two sides’ understanding of each other.
Kotchikian noted that Turkey seems to have changed tremendously. `Is Turkey
the same Turkey as 100 years ago? Twenty years ago? For me, the
transformation, even cosmetic, on [their position on] the Kurds is
monumental.’
The question-and-answer session that followed gave Cemal an opportunity
again to pay tribute to Hrant Dink, suggesting, `Hrant placed so much
importance on establishing diplomatic relations and opening the border. It
is very, very important.’
Asked about the protocols that were signed in October by the Armenian and
Turkish foreign ministers, Cemal said, `Armenian-Americans should attach
importance to those protocols. It is a very important turning point. It
could change the whole picture.’
Akçam suggested that perhaps a commission could be formed in Turkey to
examine Turkish textbooks and to restore them to contain the correct version
of history. `Changing public perception is very important,’ he stressed.
The program was organized by the Friends of Hrant Dink.
Sossi Aroyan of the Friends of Hrant Dink introduced the panelists and acted
as moderator.
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3. What Is The Alternative?
*By Edmond Y. Azadian*
On November 22, presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Munich for the
sixth time trying to resolve the untractable issue of Nagorno Karabagh. The
results were mixed once again. The meeting, which was held under the
auspices of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
co-chairs, generated neither a breakthrough nor much enthusiasm.
Once again OSCE co-chairs praised the determination of the two presidents
yet they conceded that several unresolved issues remained to be taken up in
early November in Athens, Greece by the foreign ministers of the two
countries.
What is significant about these meetings is the mindset of the participating
interlocutors.
Before departing for Munich, the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, once
again, raised the specter of war, reiterating his belligerent statements:
that Baku has to resort to the military option should these meetings fail to
produce results. He also brandished his military hardware by announcing that
Azerbaijan has converted its petro dollars into armaments.
The OSCE co-chairs admonished the Azeri president’s rhetoric, which may
damage the ongoing delicate negotiations. The French and Russian OSCE
co-chairs bluntly announced that military option is not a solution. They
also acknowledged that military threats were for domestic consumption.
This is not the first time that the Azeri president has threatened war with
Armenia.
Even if the belligerent statements are intended for the domestic audience,
it should not be discounted, but rather be taken seriously.
Besides reprimands from the OSCE co-chairs, the Turkish news media have also
been critical of Aliyev’s war rhetoric. War will not be Armenia’s choice.
And nor was it in the 1990s when the Baku government thrust the war upon the
Armenians. At that time, Azerbaijan was badly defeated, creating a huge
internal refugee problem.
But those refugees are still living under the tents, despite the flow of
petro-dollars, to solicit sympathy from the international community and to
justify another war.
Should Armenia face another act of aggression, what would be the remaining
alternatives?
It is wise that the Armenian side has not escalated the war rhetoric.
Instead, the Yerevan administration is soft peddling, which has been
appreciated by the OSCE co-chairs. Only the presidential office issued a
statement that should Azerbaijan engage in any military adventure, Armenia
may recognize Karabagh’s independence and sign a mutual defense pact.
Any war is winnable under certain conditions: a) technological edge in
military hardware; b) commitment and resolve to defeat the enemy or c)
international endorsement. No war can be initiated unless a major power
approves it.
The first Karabagh war was won because of Armenia’s resolve and
preparedness. It was a chaotic situation where technological advantage did
not play a critical role, if we discount the participation of the former
military brass from the Soviet army.
During that war, Russia not only provided the armaments, but also the
political and military support.
Should a war break out, we are not sure what level of sophistication the
Azeri army enjoys to use its new military hardware.
This time around, Russia’s intentions remain unclear. Moscow has its
interests in Azerbaijan’s energy resources. Also, it is not in Russia’s
interest to push Baku into the lap of Western powers.
What would Armenia offer to offset those interests?
Armenia’s resolve has also been weakened by the constant and permanent
outflow of its population and internal political division.
We would not like to know the level of preparedness because that may betray
secrets about the plans of the Armenian side.
We would be certain of Russia’s support had a conflict flared up in Javakhk,
seeking independence or autonomy, because it is in Moscow’s interest to
further destabilize Georgia and to chip away some more territory from
Georgia.
Rather than criticizing the Armenian government and insulting its leaders,
it is time to demonstrate some solidarity, raise the alarm for the
international community and begin a recruitment of volunteers, giving a
signal to Aliyev that the entire diaspora is behind Armenia and Karabagh.
It was no surprise, perhaps, that support came from the most improbable
quarter, Levon Ter-Petrosian’s HAK opposition group. Indeed, the first
president criticized the ARF position, and came to President Sargisian’s
rescue, albeit, a little late.
It is also rewarding to learn that the Armenia Fund phonathan in Europe has
scored unprecedented results, despite all the campaign to discredit the
government. We hope the telethon results will be equally successful.
If we wish to preserve the peace, we need to be ready for war.
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4. Visit of Catholicos of All Armenians to Damascus
*By Hagop Vartivarian*
>From November 13-18, for the first time in history, the Catholicos of All
Armenians went on a pastoral visit from Holy Echmiadzin to Damascus, the
historic city of the erstwhile Umayyads, the first Muslim dynasty (661-750),
and the capital of the present-day Syrian Arab Republic. As expected, the
Damascus Armenian community, as a whole, welcomed its pontiff with open
arms.
During the past half century, Damascus witnessed the saddest pages of our
contemporary history, especially the days of our church split, beginning in
1956, and the fratricidal fighting resulting from that. Furthermore, ever
since the day that the intervention of Vazken I, Catholicos of All
Armenians, to put an end to the crisis within the Catholicosate of Cilicia
and restore amity and legality failed due to the revolt against the
authority of the Mother See and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s
forcible establishment of its dominance over the Cilician Catholicosate, the
Damascus Armenian community remained loyal to the supremacy of Holy
Echmiadzin and, till this day, continues to extend its unmitigated love and
respect to the Mother See.
In 1928, by the decision of the Administrative Council of the Patriarchate
of Jerusalem, with the approval of the then patriarch, Archbishop Yeghishe
Tourian and by unanimous decision of the St. James Brotherhood’s General
Assembly, the jurisdiction of the diocese of Damascus, as well as that of
the dioceses of Beirut and Latakia, Syria, was freely turned over to
Catholicos Sahag Khabayian, the elderly occupant of the throne of the See of
Cilicia in exile, in order for the latter to have authority over a few
dioceses. However, the Damascus Armenian community, led by its patriotic
national and political organizations – ADL, SD Hunchak Party and AGBU –
generally speaking, remained firm in its faith, and the general populace
directed its love and faith solely to Holy Echmiadzin, while holding the See
of Cilicia in respect.
The leaders of these organizations of ours didn’t have an easy time of it,
especially in the wake of the Cold War, when a heated political atmosphere
prevailed throughout the Middle East and from which the Armenians of
Damascus could not, of course, remain exempt.
Unfortunately, instead of striking Turks, some Armenians struck other
honorable, law-abiding fellow nationals who displayed solicitude toward the
traditions of the Armenian Church.
Thus, in 1956, when the then-Prelate of the Diocese of Damascus, Bishop
Shavarsh Kouyoumdjian was in the diocesan office next to the church, working
on his book about the history of the Armenians of Damascus, a 17-year-old
youth, at the bidding of those in charge of the ARF at that time and with a
pistol given by them to him, fired twice upon the bishop. Fortunately, His
Grace Shavarsh was rushed to the hospital where he was saved from certain
death. He had cultivated the best of relations at the highest level with
the governmental authorities at that time. The country’s president was
Shukri al-Quwatli, while the foreign minister was Sarraj.
Prior to the visit of His Holiness Vazken I, another despicable event had
already occurred; namely, a group of Dashnaks rushed into the courtyard of
St. Sarkis Church and then, once inside the church, attacked Mihran Der
Stepanian, the chairman of the diocesan executive council and prominent ADL
leader, leaving him so bloodied that it could have cost him his life.
They resorted to these vile measures in order to make it clear to the
Armenians of Damascus that if they didn’t cooperate with the ARF, they would
be subjected to the same acts that were committed against the Prelate and
the chairman. Unfortunately, terror remained the sole means of enforcing the
ARF’s exclusive control and authority. They had carried out such acts in
Beirut, where patriotic youths whose allegiance was to Echmiadzin became the
victims of fratricidal fighting; during that same period, law-abiding
members of the Brotherhood of the See of Cilicia were thrown out of the
monastery in Bikfaya in broad daylight; and well-known figures in the
Armenian community and political party leaders like Prof. Parounag Tovmasian
and Nubar Nazarian became targets of terrorist attacks.
The Cold War had already begun to have an impact on Armenian life, as well.
In 1958, Syria united with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic, and
Al-Wehda (unity) developed between the two countries. George Mardigian, the
head of ANCHA, went to Syria where he tried to buy officers of the Syrian
army with large donations. During those same days, a Dashnak from Damascus,
Sarkis Bekiarian, was arrested as an agent working for the United States and
the location of his body would permanently remain unknown. Furthermore, a
large number of Dashnaks were arrested because large quantities of
ammunition were found in the ARF club and churches in Aleppo, while others
left Syria for good.
Thus, a severe struggle began in Damascus, during which many of our ADL
members, like Krikor Asilian, were also subjected to interrogation as
Communists. Here we are obliged to acknowledge, for the historical record,
the great effort carried out by our Hunchak friends to maintain the
diocese’s loyalty to the Mother See. Mrs. Gulizar Gartatsoghian,
Khashmanian, Laleyian and other Hunchaks fought wholeheartedly for the sake
of the supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians. AGBU leaders, as
well, like Levon Yacoubian and others, remained on the front lines of this
struggle with the same patriotism; that patriotic spirit still exists within
the Armenian community of Damascus.
Having appealed to the Syrian government to intervene, as necessary, our
friends prevented those in control of Antelias from entering Damascus.
During the initial days, even Catholicos Zareh I was sent back to Antelias
from the Syrian border, because his entry into the country was prohibited.
The same happened later on to Catholicos Khoren I. Until now, the entrance
of the catholicoi of the See of Cilicia to St. Sarkis Church is forbidden.
After the passing of Bishop Shavarsh, various patriotic clergymen were
called into service within the diocese for a short time, such as Archbishop
Serovpe Manoogian, the former Primate of Paris; however, Archbishop Knel
Djeredjian, one of the most courageous clergymen of the Armenian Church,
remained, until his last breath, the vanguard in the movement to keep the
Damascus Armenian community on Echmiadzin’s side.
Until now, as well, St. Sarkis Church remains on the register of properties
belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The same was the case
with Sourp Nishan Church ofBeirut but this property was turned over to the
Catholicosate of Cilicia during Archbishop Yeghishe Derderian’s term as
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.
And thus, for the first time, a Catholicos of All Armenians – our beloved
universal Catholicos Karekin II – has gone to Damascus, having already
completed his first decade as pontiff of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin.
His pastoral visit to Damascus came at a time, when that city’s Armenian
community was marking over fifty years of loyalty to the Mother See. It had
honored the supremacy of Echmiadzin even dating back to the time when Bishop
Dohmouni was the prelate. As it turned out, Catholicos Karekin’s visit has
been a blessing, particularly at this time when the masses of Diasporan
Armenians should warm up even more to Holy Echmiadzin and the motherland,
the Republic of Armenia.