Genocide
The California
Courier
Sergio La Porta and Dr. Alison Vacca to Lecture on
Armenian Narrative on Early Islam: Ghevond’s History’
of LAUSD
Keyan School
Crab Dinner on February 3
Northern Section of Road to Artsakh
Man Opens
in Georgia’s
Ninotsminda
Teacher Fired After
for Peace with Armenia
Ambassador to Denmark
Wins
Against Armenia
in European Court
Genocide
Sassounian
The California
Courier
30, 2017, Cengiz Aktar, a prominent Turkish political scientist, journalist and
writer, published a candid and compassionate article about the Armenian
Genocide. Aktar’s article titled, “Confronting past violence with more
violence,” is posted on Ahvalnews.com, an independent overseas website, beyond
the reach of the Turkish government’s oppressive regime.
Aktar begins his article with a stern warning to Turkish denialists: “Unless we,
as a society confront a massive crime in our past like the Armenian Genocide of
1915 and unless we commit due reparations to the descendants of innocent
victims, impunity will haunt us, and even more evil will follow. This is a
century-old ethical predicament with remarkably deep roots.” Aktar not only
demands recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but more significantly,
“reparations.”
Aktar believes that the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish
government is at the root of all vile events that have occurred in Turkey since
1915: “Considering that Genocide is a substantially massive crime than any of
the public, individual or collective infractions, or the incessant evils of
today, if the public consciousness can stomach Genocide, it can easily stomach
any lawlessness. And thus, evil begets evil. We as a society have constantly
refused to bring up the events of 1915 due to the intensity of the
transgressions that followed suit — directly correlated to the impunity of
Genocide — as well as voluntary or forced dementia.”
violence and injustice have become routine in Turkey due to the reluctance of
dealing with the mass crimes of the Armenian Genocide: “…Collective dementia,
collective violence, and collective depravity that were imposed after the
transgressions of 1915 became our lifestyle. Now we have unlimited violence and
depravity everywhere, inside our homes, barracks, workplaces, hospitals — in
every arena, from politics to the media — against everything from humans, to animals,
nature, cities, and culture. But lawlessness, impunity, injustice, and
indifference are everywhere as well.”
describes the denial of the Armenian Genocide as an on-going ‘curse’ upon
Turkey that has led to many of today’s evils in Turkish society: “Some kind of
schizophrenia that immediately forces one to forget and try to make others
forget the violence it just inflicted. This is a collective sickness that
transgresses the delusions of banal everyday politics. However, the suppressed
memories of the past violence keep themselves alive in the public
sub-consciousness by creating more violence, testing the confines of our
dementia. So much so that while trying to forget an evil, we beget a new one!
Maybe this is the curse of a society that refuses to face voluntarily its past
violence through involuntary confrontation with daily violence with all its
sinister consequences.”
end of his graciously humanistic article, Aktar reposts another powerful
article he had written just before 2015, on the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, in Taraf newspaper which was deleted from the website by the Turkish
authorities.
earlier article, Prof. Aktar also blamed all the evils occurring in Turkey
today due to the curse inflicted upon Turkish society by the victims of the
Armenian Genocide: “Who knows, all the evil haunting us, endless mass killings,
and our inability to recover from afflictions may be due to a century-old curse
and a century-old lie. What do you think? This is perhaps the malediction
uttered by Armenians, children, civilian women and men alike who died moaning,
and buried without a coffin. It may be the storms created in our souls by the
still agonizing specters of all our ill-fated citizens including Greeks and
Syriacs and later Alevis and Kurds. Perhaps, the massacres which have not been
accounted for since 1915 and the charge which have remained unpaid are now
being paid back in different venues by the grandchildren. The curses uttered in
return for the lives taken, the lives stolen, the homes plundered, the churches
destroyed, the schools confiscated, and the property extorted…. ‘May God make
you pay for it for all your offspring to come’… Are we paying back the price of
all the injustice done so far? Does repayment manifest itself in the form of an
audacity of not being able to confront with our past sins or in the form of
indecency that has become our habit due to our chronic indulgence in
unfairness? It seems as if our society has been decaying for a century, with
festering all around.”
Turkish leaders accept the mass crimes committed by their ancestors and make
amends for them, as Prof. Aktar suggests, that is when Armenia and Turkey can establish normal
diplomatic relations and only then can they put the past behind them. May Allah
bestow His blessings on this righteous Turk and his pursuit of Godly justice!
Sergio La Porta and Dr. Alison Vacca to Lecture on
Armenian Narrative on Early Islam: Ghevond’s History’
will present a lecture entitled “An Armenian Narrative on Early Islam:
Ghevond’s History” at 7:30PM on January 26,
in the University
Business Center,
Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191. The presentation is the second in the Fall
Lecture Series of the Armenian Studies Program. The Leon S. Peters Foundation
is a co-sponsor of the event.
armies in the seventh century, Armenia
became a province of the Islamic Caliphate. In the following century, the
caliphs integrated the region within the Caliphate by stationing armies,
minting aniconic Arabic coins, extracting taxes, and placing Muslim governors
in Armenia.
Around 788, an Armenian vardapet, Ghevond, who witnessed the circumstances of
caliphal rule in Armenia
wrote a history of early Islam from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 up
to his own time. It is the only work of its kind that illuminates how Armenia
was transformed during a century and a half of caliphal rule. In this talk, Dr.
Sergio La Porta and Dr. Alison Vacca take an interdisciplinary look at this
history by situating it in relation to the Armenian Christian and
Arabic-Islamic historical traditions. They not only address Armenian
perceptions of the circumstances of Islamic rule in Armenia, but also speculate on the
relationship between Armenian and Arabic historical texts.
Professor of Armenian Studies and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at California State
University, Fresno. His areas of research include
medieval Armenian intellectual and political history, philology, and
apocalyptic literature. Dr. La Porta’s publications include a three-volume
study on Armenian commentaries on the works of Dionysius the Areopagite
(Peeters, 2008) and several articles on political legitimacy and intellectual
history in medieval Armenia.
He recently co-edited a volume with Dr. Kevork Bardakjian
entitled, The Armenian Apocalyptic Tradition: A Comparative Perspective (Brill,
2014). La Porta is also currently the editor of the Journal of the Society for
Armenian Studies.
History at the University of Tennessee and author of Non-Muslim Provinces under
early Islam: Islamic Rule and Iranian Legitimacy in Armenia and Caucasian Albania
(2017). She is interested in early Islamic rule over Armenia, intercommunal conflict,
and the relationship between Arabic and Armenian texts. Her new book project
investigates the role of women as cultural mediators in the medieval Caucasus.
parking is available in Fresno State Lots P5 and P6, near the University Business
Center, Fresno State.
Parking permits are not needed for the Friday evening lecture.
contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669, visit the website at
www.fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies or visit the Facebook page at
@ArmenianStudiesFresnoState.
Ekchian was named Interim Superintendent at Los Angeles Unified
School District (Photo:
Daily News)
ANGELES – The Los Angeles Board of Education on Jan. 9 unanimously approved the
appointment of Vivian Ekchian as interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Unified School District is the second largest in the United
States (behind New
York) and enrolls more than 640,000 students in
kindergarten to 12th grade. It operates 960 schools and 187 public charter
schools spread over 730 square miles, according to the district’s statistics.
has been serving as acting superintendent since October, when Superintendent
Michelle King went on medical leave. On Friday, King announced her retirement
citing a diagnosis of cancer and saying that she wanted to focus on her
treatment.
humbled and honored to serve the students, families, and employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District
as interim superintendent,” said Ekchian in a statement issued on Tuesday
evening by the board of education.
forward to accelerating the transformative work that is occurring throughout
the District, while maintaining our steadfast focus on 100 percent graduation
that will guarantee college, career, and life readiness for our shining stars,”
she added.
confidence in Ms. Vivian Ekchian’s ability to lead the team during this
critical period,” said School Board President Mónica García. “L.A. Unified’s
commitment to access and equity will continue without interruption.”
Vice President Nick Melvoin said, “Vivian has once again answered the call of
this Board to serve. Her leadership of the District over the last few months
has earned her our confidence in this interim appointment, and her steady hand
ensures that we can keep working to increase student achievement during this
period of transition.”
57, has spent her entire career at LAUSD. Prior to filling in for King, she was
Associate Superintendent overseeing human resources and the office of parent
and community services.
Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti welcomed Ekchian’s appointment, expressing
confidence in her leadership and dedication.
of Education made a wise choice with the selection of Vivian Ekchian as Interim
Superintendent of LAUSD. She is a respected educator and proven administrator —
who will provide the strong leadership and dedication that our young people
deserve, and build on the progress that Michelle King delivered in her time
leading the District. Angelenos are grateful to Interim Superintendent Ekchian
for stepping up at a difficult moment, and I look forward to working closely
with her to expand partnerships between LAUSD and the City that are helping to
bring students closer to their dreams,” said Garcetti in a statement issued
minutes after Ekchian’s appointment.
Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region warmly congratulates
Vivian Ekchian on her appointment as Interim Superintendent of LA Unified
School District,” said Nora Hovsepian chairwoman of the ANCA-WR Board. “We look
forward to continuing our past work with the school district and expanding our
efforts under her capable leadership to effectively address the needs and
aspirations of the tens of thousands of Armenian students enrolled in LAUSD.”
School Board on Tuesday also announced plans for a search for a permanent
superintendent. Ekchian’s appointment does not mean that she will be named to
the permanent position. However, sources at the school indicate that she is a
strong internal candidate.
Keyan School
Crab Dinner on February 3
February 3, the Charlie
Keyan Armenian
Community School
will be hosting its 15th Annual Crab Feed, a “Buccaneer's Eve”, at the Holy
Trinity Armenian Church Social Hall.
for the school. The evening includes an All-You-Can-Eat Crab Dinner, a spirited
live and silent auction, full bar, appetizers and desserts, and music.
p.m.
financial aid programs, offset general operating costs and also support many of
the activities our students are involved in throughout the academic year. CKACS
is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the
National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Event in 2017 Was Construction
Northern Section of Road to Artsakh
(PanArmenian.net) – The most important
event for Armenia
in 2017 was the completion of the construction of the northern section of the
road leading to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), said political scientist Alexander
Iskandaryan at a press conference last week.
link runs from the northern Karabakh town of Martakert
to Vardenis in eastern Armenia
through the Karvachar district. It is the second road between Armenia and Karabakh built with the
financial assistance of the Armenian Diaspora.
"This road has strategic, economic, military and political significance
for Armenia
and Karabakh. It has not only solved a number of economic issues, but first of
all has raised the level of security of Armenia and Karabakh,' said
Iskandaryan.
the opening of this motorway has strategic, economic, military, and political
importance.
process of opening of the free economic zone [(FEZ)] in Meghri,” noted Iskandaryan.
processes in the region.
economic zone near the southern Armenian town of Meghri
on the border with Iran,
will create 2,500 new jobs and increase Armenian exports by 30%. According to
the government, the main purpose of the free economic zone is to help boost
trade and economic relations with Iran
and other countries of the region, help the development of the southern
Armenian province of Syunik,
as well as position Armenia
as a link between Iran
and members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Georgia. About 120
foreign companies are expected to be hosted by the free economic zone, which
are expected to invest a total of $350-400 million.
key event for Armenia
in the year past was the parliamentary election that was held in April.
underscored the signing of the European Union-Armenia Comprehensive and
Enhanced Partnership Agreement.
Jordan – Palestinian Arabyoum.com website reported on January 4 that a number of students received
dentistry diplomas from Armenian universities for 15.000 without even having
been to Armenia.
Hassan said in an interview with the site that the police had discovered 200
fake medical diplomas, 56 of which had been issued by Armenian universities.
diplomas within a few weeks; I’m convinced that there is a criminal group in Armenia
which carries out this operation. There are three universities in Armenia
that issue such diplomas – a state one, a private one, and a Russian one. A
criminal group of the same kind exists here as well; it as Palestinian and
Syrian members who cooperate with each other and buy these diplomas in Armenia.
There are students who studied in Jordan
and the Arab American
University but failed the first year;
they were, however, somehow able to get diplomas from Armenia within a year. This is a
dangerous phenomenon. I have appealed to the Ministry of Health and to the
police to look into the documents received from the universities of Armenia,”
Hassan said, adding that some of these people have even managed to open and
operate dental clinics.
Man Opens
in Georgia’s
Ninotsminda
– Li Aka, 32, from China
lives with his family in Ninotsminda town of Javakheti, a predominantly-Armenian-populated
part of Samtskhe-Javakheti Province of Georgia.
goods for already a year now.
Armenian-populated town was a surprise, and it was even more unexpected when he
began speaking Armenian—and in the local dialect.
China, to Georgia with his family five years
ago, and after living in Akhaltsikhe town for four years, he had decided to
open his own business in Ninotsminda.
with Armenian customers. He said Armenian is very easy, and he soon will learn
the letters, too.
Georgian.
Armenian-populated town is its people’s friendliness and sincerity and its
tasty food and clean air.
Chinese tradesman, and his living in this small town seems to have motivated
the local residents.
hundreds of thousands of women and children were wasting away without food or
water, unprecedented humanitarian relief efforts in the United States provided aid and
sustenance to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide. It was not uncommon
in those days to hear and even read in print the term "Starving
Armenians" as a description of the physical condition of those who had
miraculously escaped the Turkish atrocities.
Rights Watch Committee issued a statement condemning the use of racial slurs
against Armenians, blacks and Jews in the Dsily Show and host Trevor Noah.
and despite the welcome development of generations of enlightened people all
around the world, the Daily Show and its Trevor Noah last week turned back the
clock to a dark age when such reprehensible racial epithets as ‘Dirty Jew’ and
‘Lazy Ni**er’ were shamefully uttered, even if in hushed tones. It unnerves
and unsettles us deeply to regurgitate these despicable words, even if by way
of comparison. They sicken us.
and Trevor Noah's cruel, crass, and callous stunt by referring to Armenians
as ‘Filthy Armenians,’” the joint statement noted. “Mr. Noah would never
have dared describe Jewish or Black Americans in such despicable and vile
ways. Had he done so, Mr. Noah would now be looking for a new job and
groaning under the weight of creditable and crushing lawsuits.”
reference to Armenians may have been intended to coax a laugh from the audience
by ridiculing President Trump's self-proclaimed genius and tolerance, the
Armenian Rights Watch Committee of the Armenian Bar Association condemns such
affront and slander. To make matters worse, the Daily Show thought it
would be neat to add a chirpy laugh track to accompany the scandalous
_expression_.
issue a retraction and an apology. It would be a good start but not
nearly enough to unring the bell of hatred and insensitivity which tolled
terribly that night,” the ARWC and the Armenian Bar statement observed.
Teacher Fired After
for Peace with Armenia
of men from a nationalist organization broke into a high school in Baku and
accosted a teacher, who had become a social media sensation for posting a photo
of one of his students dressed in traditional Armenian attire.
“They humiliated me in front of my students. They called me Armenian,” the
teacher, Rovshan Azizov, told Eurasianet. “They said I am an Armenian agent,
that I came to Azerbaijan to
destroy this country under orders from Armenia. I just wanted to show that
peace is possible, and that we cannot solve this conflict by killing each
other, that's all,” Azizov said.
Azizov said that school officials had pressured him even before the
nationalists stormed the school. “They told me: 'You better go. If you stay,
you put our life and the life of kids in danger,” Azizov said. “Teachers told
my students that I was Armenian and that they had to stay away from me.”
Days later, on December 28, Azizov was fired. School officials say it wasn't
because of his pro-Armenian positions, but his unorthodox teaching methods.
But the episode highlights the delicate balance that the Azerbaijani government
is trying to maintain in its ongoing struggle with Armenia:
the two states are locked in a stalemated process to determine the future of
Nagorno Karabakh, a territory seized by Armenian forces from Azerbaijan in a war in the early
1990s.
Azerbaijani government officials insist that their dispute is with the
government in Yerevan,
not with the Armenian people, and they take pains to emphasize its dedication
to multiculturalism and inclusion.
In an interview last year, Azerbaijani First Lady and Vice President Mehriban
Aliyeva
she “will never let the Azerbaijani people form an enemy image of Armenians.
There was a time when these peoples lived together, drank their wine at the
same table. We should go back to that time.”
At the same time, Azerbaijani school textbooks portray Armenians in highly
negative terms to children who, for the most part, have no firsthand knowledge
of Armenians. One 2012 study
terms like “Armenian terrorist, Armenian fascist, Armenian bandit,
Armenian separatist, Armenian barbarism, enemy and adjectives such as nasty
Armenian and fascist Armenian are widely used in those textbooks.”
“For 25 years the government has developed ideas of revanchism and an image of
the enemy, without putting forward any plan for peace,” said Orkhan Nabiyev, a
peace activist. “Unfortunately, Azerbaijani society was poisoned with this, as
were Armenians. So our conflict is transforming from politics to ethno-politics
and we – Armenians and Azerbaijanis – have to stop it.”
The controversy over Azizov began in November, when he posted a photo on
facebook of one of his high school students, in front of Baku's shuttered Armenian church, wearing the
traditional Armenian outfit known as the taraz.
The photo was seized on by government-supported nationalist groups like the
Female Karabakh Veterans Association and the Karabakh Liberation Movement, and
spread rapidly across Azerbaijani social media.
Users pored through his previous social media posts, and found that he had a
long record of promoting peace with Armenia. He had
photo with the Armenian and Azerbaijani flags flying together, with the caption
“I live in Azerbaijan.
I don't want war. I want peace. We don't have to shed blood,” in both Armenian
and Azerbaijani. And the photo of the student was part of a larger
project in which he made a series of videos with students role-playing both
sides of the Karabakh conflict.
His videos, heavy on stage-fighting – including lots of gunplay – put off some
would-be supporters.
Education Office, said Azizov was fired because the videos were “inappropriate
for education and the moral-psychological development of the students.”
Others have found that explanation unconvincing. Every year, on the anniversary
of the Khojaly massacre – an incident in which Armenian forces killed hundreds
of ethnic Azeri civilians in Karabakh — students across Azerbaijan reenact the event using elements just
as violent as those in Azizov's video, according to Zamira Abbasova, the
co-founder of Tbilisi-based Neutral Zone radio, a program dedicated to building
peace in the Caucasus. “If Azizov is fired
from his job because of this video, then the directors of almost every school
should be fired for the Khojaly skits,” Abbasova told Eurasianet.
Akif Nagi, the head of the Karabakh Liberation Movement, confirmed to
Eurasianet in an interview that his group sent representatives to Azizov's
school to confront him because of the pro-Armenian nature of his projects.
“We tried to explain to him how his position works in Armenia's favor,” Nagi said. “But
he could not understand. He was trying to defend his views, as if he is a
pro-peace person and that he will continue until the society understands him.”
“Who speaks of peace means he wants our territories to remain
under occupation, which is unacceptable,” Nagi said.
Nagi also said that in December he spoke with the school's director, Tural
Mirzeliyev, who promised that he would fire Azizov. Mirzeliyev declined
to comment to Eurasianet.
In an interview at the Boho tea house in central Baku, Azizov wore the traditional Azerbaijani
arakhchin cap. But he acknowledged that he may, in fact, be Armenian.
He was adopted as a baby by an Azerbaijani family, and grew up believing that
his birth parents were most likely Russian. But after his adoptive mother died
in 2014, he started investigating, and people who knew his adoptive mother when
she was younger believed she had adopted him from an Armenian family, though he
has yet to confirm this.
“This is one of the reasons that motivated me to promote peace and
reconciliation,” he said. “Many think I am enemy of my nation. They think I am
dangerous. But I have never betrayed my country … I just promoted peace.
Calling for peace is not a crime."
Azizov said he still has faith in the government to make his case right. “If
they really believe Armenians and Azerbaijani people can live side by side in
peace they should support me,” he said.
note: Lamiya Adilgizi is a freelance Azerbaijani reporter
Ambassador to Denmark
Wins
Against Armenia in European Court
YEREVAN (Azatuyun.am) – Alexander
Arzumanian, a former opposition politician currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Denmark, won a court case on Jan.
11 against the Armenian authorities that stems from his controversial arrest in
2007.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered the authorities to pay
Arzumanian 2,500 euros ($3,000) in damages. It ruled that his four-month
detention violated articles of a European convention relating to criminal
suspects' right to get a trial within a "reasonable" time and be
released from custody pending trial.
Arzumanian, who served as Armenia's
foreign minister from 1996-1998, declined to comment on the ruling. Aruzmanian,
58, was arrested in May 2007 on charges of being illegally financed from
abroad. He consistently denied the accusations as politically motivated before
being set free four months later. The high-profile case was linked by many
observers with an anti-government
movement which Arzumanian and several other politicians opposed to then
President Robert Kocharian set up in 2006.
Arzumanian went on to play a major role in former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian's failed bid to return to power through a disputed presidential
election held in February 2008. He was among prominent opposition figures
arrested in the wake of the vote. Arzumanian spent more than a year in prison.
The prominent oppositionist subsequently fell out with Ter-Petrosian and teamed
up with other opposition groups challenging President Serzh Sarkisian. He held
a seat in the Armenian parliament from 2012-2017.
Arzumanian was most recently affiliated with the Armenian Pan-National
Movement, a small opposition party. He quit the party in February 2017.
Sarkisian appointed him as ambassador to Denmark five months later.
the Armenian News News Service with a few of the articles in this week's issue of The
California Courier. Letters to the
editor are encouraged through our e-mail address, [email protected]. However,
authors are requested to provide their names, addresses, and/or telephone
numbers to verify identity, if any question arises. California Courier
subscribers are requested not to use this service to change, or modify mailing
addresses. Those changes can be made through our e-mail, , or by
phone, (818) 409-0949.