Armenian Relief Society, Inc. Telephone: 617-926-5892
Central Office Fax: 617-926-4855
80 Bigelow Avenue e-mail: [email protected]
Watertown, MA 02472 Website:
Date: May 21,2007 Contact person: Hamesd Beugekian
ARS Inc. Honors Baroness Cox with "Ararat" Award of Excellence
The Armenian Relief Society, Inc. recently awarded Baroness
Caroline Cox with its highest honor, the "Ararat" Award of Excellence.
The award was presented to Baroness Cox on April 29 in Los Angeles at
the ARS Western USA’s Centennial Gala Celebration before a crowd of over
500 ARS supporters.
ARS Inc. Vice-Chairperson Georgi-Ann Oshagan presented Baroness Cox with
the award, which was established in 2003 "in the spirit of those voices
that will not be silenced and those lovers of freedom who will not be
deterred."
"It is an award that the ARS does not give every year, on any particular
schedule," added Oshagan in her introductory remarks, "because, quite
frankly, the award is reserved for a special few."
The ARS presented the first ARS "Ararat" Award of Excellence in 2003 to
Canadian-Armenian film director Atom Egoyan, whose movie, "Ararat," told
an intricate story-within-a-story of genocide, denial, denial’s impact
on future generations, and the power of truth.
In the 2007 "Ararat" Award presentation to Baroness Cox, Oshagan
reminded the audience, "This second ARS ‘Ararat’ Award of Excellence
goes to a woman who is no stranger to us in this room and to Armenians
around the world."
Baroness Cox has been a member of the United Kingdom Parliament’s House
of Lords since 1983. In Parliament, she served as Deputy Speaker for
nearly 20 years and since 2002, has chaired the Parliament’s Armenia
Group.
Deeply involved and supportive of the Artsakh movement for
self-determination, Baroness Cox first learned of Artsakh at a May 1991
Andrei Sakharov Memorial Congress in Moscow. During that conference,
Baroness Cox heard of the Azerbaijan government’s on-going human rights
violations against the Armenian people that were occurring in the region
with little outcry from any of the major powers. She immediately
volunteered to head a fact-finding mission to Artsakh which resulted in
a comprehensive report, "Nagorno Karabagh: Forgotten People in a
Forgotten War."
Baroness Cox has traveled to Artsakh and Armenia over 60 times, "telling
all who will listen about the atrocities that she has seen, and
advocating for the immediate self-determination of the Armenians of
Artsakh on their historic lands," said Oshagan.
"This Baroness is a human rights activist who has championed the right
of self-determination for the people of Artsakh from the very earliest
days of that struggle," Oshagan added as she presented the award to
Baroness Cox who received a standing ovation. "For your brave voice,
your tenacity, and your unshakable sense of justice and fairness, on
behalf of the ARS and our 18,000 members around the world, I am proud to
present you with the ARS ‘Ararat’ Award of Excellence."
The ARS was established in 1910 and is the oldest international women’s
organization in the world. For more information about the ARS, Inc.,
visit the ARS, Inc. website at ; telephone ARS, Inc.
headquarters at (617) 926-5892; or e-mail [email protected]