The California Courier Online, October 4, 2018
1 - Commentary
Prominent Pro-Erdogan Istanbul Armenian
Engages in Pro-Turkish Propaganda
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- AAF Ships $8.9M of Aid to Armenia, Artsakh
3 - Legendary Singer and Songwriter Charles Aznavour Dies at 94
4 - Three Artsakh Soldiers Killed by Azeri Fire
5- Charlie Chaplin’s daughter, granddaughter to visit Armenia
6 - How a phone call changed a national institution
7 - Eco-Tours Are Putting This Small Village in Armenia on the Map
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1 - Commentary
Armenia Needs Both Charity & Investments,
Not Only Investments
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Throughout the years, since Armenia’s independence in 1991, I have had
the unique opportunity of spending hundreds of hours with the
country’s three previous Presidents, discussing privately with them
Armenia’s many problems. I offered them my professional assessments
and frequently my criticisms of the way they were running the country.
Although the Presidents were not pleased that I was pointing out their
shortcomings and mistakes, they understood that my intent was not to
disparage them, but to help them improve the living conditions of the
population.
Ever since the earthquake of 1988, I have been doing charitable work
in Armenia and Artsakh, initially as President of the United Armenian
Fund (UAF), subsequently the Armenia Artsakh Fund (AAF), and as Vice
Chairman of Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation, delivering over $800
million of humanitarian aid to Armenia and Artsakh by the UAF and AAF,
and managing $242 million of infrastructure projects funded by Lincy.
Despite all the corruption prevailing in Armenia during those years, I
fought hard to protect the humanitarian supplies and funds,
persistently bringing to the attention of the Presidents the abuses by
high-rankling officials, and demanding that they be disciplined or
fired.
During my 58 trips to Armenia and Artsakh, I saw firsthand the
miserable conditions of most people in our homeland, deprived of
money, food, medicines, clothing and other basic needs. Seeing the
Presidents’ neglect of the people’s deprivations, I frequently and
forcefully brought their dismal situation to the attention of the
country’s leadership. I was particularly upset when I heard government
officials speaking about Armenia needing investments, not charity. I
found such remarks to be callous of the people’s suffering. After each
such pronouncement, I confronted these officials explaining the
negative effect of their statements.
Consequently, I was surprised when Armenia’s new Prime Minister, Nikol
Pashinyan, a man of the people, during his remarks in New York on
September 23, 2018, announced that in the context of Armenia-Diaspora
relations, work must be encouraged, not charity: “Armenians can assist
Armenia only with one option: carry out economic activity in Armenia,
establish any business, and work. Today, Armenia’s understanding is
the following: It is a country where it is possible to carry out
economic activity, establish a business, earn profits, get rich and
enrich. Our message to all of you is the following: get rich and
enrich. We want Armenia to be known as such a country. Not charitable,
but developmental projects must be implemented in Armenia….”
To be fair to the Prime Minister, in his speech, he also spoke about
many other topics which I agree with whole-heartedly. He has
tremendous support both in Armenia and around the world! He has
practically eliminated corruption in Armenian society and has
represented the voice of the people who had remained voiceless for
more than a quarter of a century since independence. However, just as
I have told the previous Presidents, I would like to provide the
following explanations to the new Prime Minister:
1) I fully support the Prime Minister’s initiative that Armenia needs
economic investments in order to create jobs and expand exports. By
creating jobs, not only the people will have the income to pay for
their daily expenses, but the government will also have the tax
revenues to support the country’s and population’s multiple needs.
2) However, the Prime Minister’s urging that “work must be encouraged,
not charity,” would deprive hundreds of thousands of poor people of
their basic necessities. Investments take time to trickle down to the
people and produce results. In the meantime, if charitable efforts are
discouraged, many poor people will not survive.
3) Not all Diaspora Armenians can invest in the Armenian Republic.
There are dozens of charitable organizations which by law cannot get
involved in economic activities, as they can only do charity. Since
the earthquake and Armenia’s independence, Armenian and international
charities have provided a large amount of aid to Armenia and Artsakh.
If it were not for this humanitarian assistance, the standard of
living would have been even lower, jeopardizing the survival of many
Armenians. By discouraging charity, we are simply asking charitable
organizations not to help the needy people of Armenia.
4) Armenian governments so far have been unable to meet the many needs
of their population due to lack of money. Diaspora’s charitable
organizations have provided the aid that the government could not. If
there were no charitable assistance in Armenia ever since
independence, the people’s many needs would not have been taken care
of and Armenia would have been a poorer country.
5) Even if the Diaspora would start investing in Armenia today, that
does not mean that the influx of new funds would take care of all the
needs of the people overnight. Certainly, a large number of people
would eventually be employed, but many others, such as the elderly,
would still be left with hardly any income from their negligible
pensions. Those who are unaware of the extent of appalling poverty in
Armenia should read the Guardian newspaper’s Sept. 29, 2018 article by
Nick Danziger, titled: “‘It’s better to die’: the struggle to survive
poverty in Armenia.”
6) There is the mistaken notion that if there were many investments in
Armenia, there would be no need for charity. In almost all countries,
even in the most advanced ones, there are hundreds of charitable
organizations that tend to the needs of the poor people. In the United
States alone, billions of dollars are provided annually to needy
individuals and families by charitable organizations. If the Americans
require charity, Armenians would certainly need charitable assistance
for a long time to come.
Paradoxically, Prime Minister Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakopyan,
recently launched her own charitable organization “My Step Foundation”
to support educational, healthcare, social and cultural projects. She
is doing what’s absolutely necessary because the people of Armenia
desperately need help.
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2- AAF Ships $8.9M of Aid to Armenia, Artsakh
GLENDALE—The Armenia Artsakh Fund (AAF) delivered $8.9 million of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh during the third
quarter of 2018.
The AAF collected the entire $8.9 million of medicines and other
supplies donated by Americares ($7.9 million) and MAP International
($1 million).
The Kansas National Guard provided free space on board its military
plane in September 2018 to Yerevan, to carry $210,000 worth of
medicines donated by Americares for the Health Ministry of Armenia.
The Armenian American Medical Society of California generously donated
the cost of transporting cancer medicines with a total value of $1
million donated by MAP International. These cancer medicines were sent
to the health ministries of Armenia and Artsakh.
The medicines and medical supplies donated during this period were
sent to the AGBU Claudia Nazarian Medical Center for Syrian Armenian
Refugees in Yerevan, Arabkir United Children’s Foundation, Fund for
Armenian Relief, Institute of Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Center, Metsn Nerses Charitable Organization, Muratsan Children’s
Endocrinology Center, Nork Marash Medical Center and St. Grigor
Lusavorich Medical Center, and the health ministries of Armenia and
Artsakh.
In the first nine months of 2018 AAF shipped to Armenia and Artsakh
$20.7 million of medicines, medical supplies and other relief
products. In the past 30 years, including the shipments under its
predecessor, the United Armenian Fund, the AAF has delivered to
Armenia and Artsakh a grand total of $806 million worth of relief
supplies on board 158 airlifts and 2,410 sea containers.
“The Armenia Artsakh Fund is regularly offered free of charge millions
of dollars worth of life-saving medicines and medical supplies. All we
have to do is pay for the shipping expenses. We would welcome your
generous donations to be able to continue delivering this valuable
assistance to all medical centers in Armenia and Artsakh,” said AAF
president Harut Sassounian.
For more information, call the AAF office: (818) 241-8900; e-mail:
[email protected].
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3 - Legendary Singer and Songwriter Charles Aznavour Dies at 94
“What does it mean to be Armenian today? I would like to know. What
does a diaspora Armenian mean? To eat and drink well? To own a store
and rattle on about the genocide? Is that what being an Armenian is
all about? It is just not enough.” -Charles Aznavour
French Armenian singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour has died at 94
after a career lasting more than 80 years, a spokesman has confirmed.
The star died overnight Sunday, September 30 at one of his homes in
the south east of France.
The performer, born to Armenian immigrants, sold more than 180 million
records and featured in over 60 films.
He was best known for his 1974 hit She and was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Aznavour married three times and had
six children.
He was named entertainer of the century by CNN in 1998.
The singer was born Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian in Paris in 1924 to
Armenian parents who fled the country’s genocide to begin a new life
in the French capital.
Aznavour’s lyrics drew on his own experiences of growing up in
deprivation as an immigrant.
The singer was due to take on a seven-date tour across France and
Switzerland, starting in November this year. He had recently returned
from a tour in Japan, having been forced to cancel concerts this
summer due to a broken arm.
He recorded more than 1,200 songs in seven different languages and
performed in 94 countries. He sold more than 100m records in 80
countries and had about 1,400 songs to his name, including 1,300 he
wrote himself.
Aznavour’s song She was famously performed by Elvis Costello in the
opening credits of Richard Curtis’ film Notting Hill.
He was sung by all the great French musical stars, including Edith
Piaf, his onetime mentor, and Maurice Chevalier. Dubbed France’s Frank
Sinatra, Aznavour wrote his own songs on taboo subjects about
marriage, homosexuality and male _expression_ of emotions. His 1973 hit,
What Makes a Man, was about a gay transvestite.
Still performing to packed stadiums well into his 90s, Aznavour
continued to write songs about his life, including his Swedish wife to
celebrate 50 years of marriage.
As well as a singer, he was a successful actor and played the lead in
the 1960 film Shoot the Piano Player.
He also appeared in the Oscar-winning The Tin Drum, playing a kindly
Jewish toy seller.
Aznavour sang for presidents, popes and royal families and at a number
of humanitarian events.
President Emmanuel Macron was a big fan of Aznavour and sang many of
his songs during karaoke nights with friends when he was a student,
according to former classmates.
He was heavily involved in charity work and founded an organization
after the 1988 Armenian earthquake with friend Levon Sayan.
In 2009 he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and he
also became Armenia’s delegate to the United Nations in Geneva.
Thousands of fans from around the world have paid their respects on
Twitter, including some celebrities.
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4 - Three Artsakh Soldiers Killed by Azeri Fire
STEPANAKERT—An Artsakh Army soldier, 19-year-old Aghassi Mkrtchyan,
was killed Wednesday, September 26, in a military outpost in Artsakh.
Artsakh presidential spokesperson David Babayan on Thursday confirmed
that Mkrtchyan was killed as a result of Azerbaijani fire.
Artsakh President Bako Sahakian awarded Mkrtchyan posthumously with
the Medal of Valor. Mkrtchyan was the third soldier to be killed by
Azerbaijani fire in the last week.
According to the Artsakh Defense Ministry, Defense Army Private
Artsakh Hovsepyan (born in 1998) was killed from Azerbaijani fire on
Friday. On Wednesday, Contract Serviceman Haykaz Matevosyan (born in
1980) died in the defense positions of one of the military units
located in the northeastern direction of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan
border. *****************************************************************************************************
5- Charlie Chaplin’s daughter, granddaughter to visit Armenia
The daughter and granddaughter of legendary British comic actor,
filmmaker and composer Charlie Chaplin, who rose to fame in the era of
silent film, visited Armenia this week for the world premiere of their
joint silent play in capital Yerevan.
Their play titled Bells and Spells will be performed at Yerevan’s
Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theatre on October 3 and 4.
They received the invitation to visit Armenia from Armenia’s Union of
Theater Workers chairman Hakob Ghazanchyan.
“Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and Aurélia Thierrée Chaplin were set to
arrive in Armenia in March, but after talks they were decided to visit
the country in October and hold the world premiere of their new
performance in Yerevan,” Ghazanchyan told Panorama.am.
The play is staged by Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and performed by
Aurélia Thierrée Chaplin and Jaime Martinez. A surreal spectacle of
physical theatre, comedy, magic and dance, Bells and Spells is the
tale of a kleptomaniac who falls under the influence of the objects
she steals.
Italy’s Spoleto festival hosted the world premiere of the performance in July.
During the Armenian genocide, Charlie Chaplin created a fund to help
the Armenian children. Almost all the money he had earned was
transferred to the fund. In the 1920s, Charlie Chaplin made a tour of
Europe, during which he donated $1M to help the Armenian and Greek
orphans who fled from the Ottoman Empire. He personally visited these
children and helped build shelters for these orphans throughout Europe
and also in the United States.
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6- How a phone call changed a national institution
By Natalie Teperdjian
In 2016, when Constantine Orbelian received the call from Armenia
asking him to become Artistic Director of the Yerevan Opera House, no
one could have imagined that epic changes were on the horizon. Two
years on, and under the guidance of Maestro Orbelian, this landmark
institution has begun to write a new chapter in its history and
embarked on its first international tour in 25 years.
For 85 years, the Armenian National Opera and Orchestra has played an
iconic role in the Armenian narrative. Historically significant opera,
ballet, orchestral, dance and other creative performances have been
brought to life, and its building in the heart of Yerevan serves as
the epicentre of the city’s vibrant street and even political culture.
But despite all this, in the last 17 years the Opera has only produced
8 new opera productions, four of which never made it far beyond the
opening night. Financial constraints, lack of support and political
unrest all contributed to this dearth of productivity. But the arrival
of Maestro Orbelian has started to change all this.
In his brief time with the Opera, Orbelian, an internationally
acclaimed pianist and conductor, has injected new life into the Opera.
“I came here to support a national treasure,” said Orbelian. “We have
so much untapped potential within the Opera and across Armenia. Before
the end of the year we will have six new opera and ballet productions
on stage, more than was launched in the last 17 years combined.”
This new vitality has already manifested significant results with the
Opera embarking on its first international tour in almost 25 years.
Masterfully bringing to life Bizet’s Carmen and Mozart’s The Magic
Flute to packed audiences at the Dubai Opera House in the UAE, 200
performers, tech crew, a costume team, full orchestra, opera chorus,
children’s chorus, conductor and directors travelled from Yerevan to
Dubai. Later this month the Opera will continue its international tour
when they open the new Kuwait Opera House located on the compounds of
The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center with the new production of
the Magic Flute and orchestral selections marking a significant first
for both the Opera and Kuwait. The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural
Center, informally known as the Kuwait Opera House, is a prominent
cultural centre in Kuwait, located on the Gulf Road in the capital
Kuwait City. It is the largest cultural centre and opera house in the
Middle East.
“We are overjoyed to be part of these firsts for the UAE and Kuwait,”
said Orbelian. “Our invitations to perform in both countries are a
true testament to the artistry of the Opera company and marks the
important relationships between these countries and Armenia as a whole
as they share our vision for the importance of a thriving arts
community.”
All this innovation, however, belies the Opera’s minute budget, and
its rehearsing and performing in a building that is a visual icon for
the city, but needs much repair and work inside. Every great city has
a thriving Opera House. From Sydney to Moscow, from Milan to New York
a rich tapestry of historically significant and modern musical
journeys come alive on the stages of these opera houses. Each thrives
in large part due to their team of business leaders and supporters who
financially back the arts and understand the significance of a
thriving arts community for a truly modern nation, which Armenia is
still lacking.
Orbelian has plans for everything from developing an updated
production of the Anush opera to developing an archive library to
preserve Armenia’s rich performing arts history. But it is clear that
Orbelian cannot continue indefinitely to carry the full weight of the
Opera’s journey forward on his own.
But that’s exactly where the Armenian National Opera is today.
Whatever the future holds, however, the story is waiting to be
enriched by people around the world ready to foster the physical space
and human talent pool to ensure Armenia is firmly on the map with the
world’s greatest arts centres.
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7 - Eco-Tours Are Putting This Small Village in Armenia on the Map
By Ani Melkonian
KARIN, Armenia—This tiny village with a population of 300 in the
Sasunik district of Aragatsotn is attracting visitors from all over
the world. The village boasts no historical monuments, churches,
museums, or galleries. What it does have is a tree nursery where
Armenia’s supply of green goodness is cultivated.
Armenia Tree Project (ATP) opened the Karin Nursery in 1996 to have a
continuous supply of trees for its planting initiatives, and to
provide jobs for newly settled Armenian refugee families from Baku.
Today, they are experts in tree propagation and are ready to share
their knowledge and love for nature with the world through eco-tours.
ATP’s “Green Tours” to Karin present an opportunity for visitors to
see and learn about more than 150 different types of trees and shrubs,
including both endemic (native) and non-native sorts. “Trees which
have changed the history of medicine, trees whose leaves are edible,
trees that fight off evil spirits, and even trees that give hugs are
just a few of the fascinating things found in ATP’s gardens,” says
Nursery Manager Samvel Ghandilyan.
Guests are shown the amazing journey trees take from seeds to
seedlings. “We show visitors how trees are grown, grafted, irrigated,
cultivated, and replanted at community sites across the country,” adds
Ghandilyan.
The tour includes a visit to ATP’s greenhouses which are equipped with
modern agricultural technologies, as well as the Michael and Virginia
Ohanian Environmental Education Center, where visitors are likely to
encounter schoolchildren learning about the environment. The center
hosts more than 2,000 students of all ages from Armenia and the
diaspora every year.
Guests pay $20 for the tour and some even get their hands dirty doing
nursery work.
“Our guests love seeing the endangered species which we grow here,”
says Karin Nursery Team Leader Svetik Tarjumanyan. “It’s a quiet place
but thanks to all the tourists it’s gotten a bit more exciting to live
here. They also enjoy seeing Ararat, Aragats, and Ara mountains all at
once from this spot,” she adds. Svetik’s been with ATP since 1996.
After the nursery tour, a fresh, healthy “village style lunch” is
offered under ATP’s tent. But why end it there? Voskevaz Winery is
just a 15 minute drive away and presents the chance to turn the Green
Tour into a real countryside excursion. The combined nursery/winery
tour is offered for $50.
Established in 1932, Voskevaz is the oldest functioning winemaking
company in Armenia and uses both traditional old karases and modern
technology in its production. In their medieval-style cellars, guests
can learn about the different methods and secrets of winemaking and,
of course, taste their selection.
If all the trees with superpowers and delicious local wine aren’t
action enough, ATP’s Ashtarak Park is right next to the nursery and
for a fee of $100 visitors get a chance to actually plant a tree and
contribute to the greening activities of a new community which will
shape around the park.
“Ashtarak Park is a great example of how ATP is transforming
landscapes from desert to oasis, and inviting the public to be part of
it,” says Ghandilyan. “For many years, people have asked us how they
can plant their own trees in Armenia, to get their hands dirty and put
roots into the soil. Now with the establishment of ATP’s park in
Ashtarak, we are offering that opportunity to help with the greening
of Armenia.”
For more information, visit www.ArmeniaTree.org
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