Author: Maral Takmazian

The “forgotten peace” of World War I One hundred years after the Treaty of Lausanne, …

Maral Takmazian
One hundred years after the Treaty of Lausanne, a look back shows its shortcomings for Armenians — and others.
Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office
Publication Date:

As negotiations for the Treaty of Lausanne began in late 1922, the aim was to hammer out one last international settlement about territories and rights following the first world war, this time between the victorious Allied powers and the Ankara government that had just abolished the Ottoman sultanate and started governing what would soon become the Republic of Turkey. Those watching the conference closely included Armenian representatives who had survived the genocide led by Ottoman rulers in 1915-16, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed.

At the conference, the Armenian delegation had one major aim: that Armenians be granted an autonomous region within Turkey, either in what is now eastern Turkey or northern Syria. They called this an Armenian National Home (ANH), an autonomous, demilitarized area within Turkish territory where Armenians could practice self-rule and express their culture and religion safely.

The negotiations did not produce what the Armenians wanted, however. Turkish leaders rebuffed Armenian demands, while the Allies were not heavily invested in the matter. The Treaty of Lausanne became known as the “birth certificate” of modern Turkey, while Turkey’s Armenian population became a minority group with mostly equal rights, but often facing discrimination in practice.

“The Treaty of Lausanne doesn’t mention Armenians even once,” says MIT historian Lerna Ekmekcioglu.

Now, in a newly published research article, Ekmekcioglu contends that the Treaty of Lausanne is an often-overlooked event of great historical significance for Armenians. As she writes, “the Treaty of Lausanne rendered the Armenian Genocide politically inconsequential.” There was no redress for Armenians, in the form of autonomy or any kind of restorative justice, and no accountability for the perpetrators.

That article, “Debates over an Armenian National Home at the Lausanne Conference and the Limits of Post-Genocide Co-Existence,” uses new archival research to reconstruct the dynamics of the treaty negotiations. As such, the research illuminates both Armenians’ struggles as well as the international community’s struggles to deliver consistent support for multiethnic, multireligious states. 

“The issue broadly is how states govern people whose identities don’t fit with the historically dominant group’s identity,” says Ekmekcioglu, who is the McMillan-Stewart Associate Professor of History at MIT and director of MIT’s Program in Women’s and Gender Studies. “It’s an ongoing question. This is a very good case study for contemplating these questions. It’s also very relevant to this day because the Lausanne Treaty did not collapse.”

The paper appears as a chapter in the edited volume, “They All Made Peace — What Is Peace?: The 1923 Lausanne Treaty and the New Imperial Order,” published this month by the University of Chicago Press. It is edited by Jonathan Conlin, a historian at the University of Southampton, and Ozan Ozavci, an assistant professor at Utrecht University. The volume marks the 100th anniversary of the treaty being signed, which occurred on July 24, 1923. The book is part of a collective scholarly effort about the treaty, the “Lausanne Project,” whose website suggests the pact may be the “forgotten peace” of World War I.

Ekmekcioglu’s past work largely focuses on the lives of Armenians in the modern Turkish state. In her 2016 book, “Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey,” published by Stanford University Press, she notes that immediately after World War I, Armenians were optimistic about their political prospects; Ekmekcioglu calls the time from 1918 to 1922 an “exceptional period,” as Armenians hoped to gain full rights they did not have under the Ottoman Empire.

However, the Treaty of Lausanne negotiations — held in Lausanne, Switzerland — brought an end to Armenian optimism. Perhaps that should have been predicted: In the few years after World War I ended, Turkish military forces defeated Allied-backed troops in skirmishing for control over some Turkish territory. That made the Treaty of Lausanne discussions highly unusual: The putative victors, the Allies, had just lost military battles to the side they were negotiating against.

“They have so much negotiating power that they get most of what they want,” Ekmekcioglu says, speaking of the incipient Turkish government of the time.

In that sense, 1922 was probably already too late for negotiations to deliver success for the Armenians. But as Ekmekcioglu details in the article, the Allies lacked not just military leverage, but perhaps moral standing. The Turkish press ran many stories about colonial misdeeds by the British and French, and even stories about the Ku Klux Klan in the U.S., all aimed at showing that the Allied powers had mistreated minority groups. To whatever extent there may have been Ottoman backing for a new Armenian settlement, that kind of coverage helped squelch it.

“One of the reasons they [the Allied side] didn’t have much standing in the eyes of the Turkish public is that they confused humanitarianism with colonialism,” Ekmekcioglu says. “They claimed specifically to have never treated any minorities badly in the empire. But Turkish newspapers were writing about that double standard of imperialism.”

The Treaty of Lausanne has perhaps been best known for having ratified a massive and compulsory population exchange in the 1920s between orthodox Greeks in Asia Minor and surrounding areas, and Muslims in Greece. Perhaps 2 million people were relocated, about three-quarters of them Greek. That exchange, which homogenized area populations, has often been regarded as an antedecdent to the partitioning of India and Pakistan in the late 1940s.

“This has important international legal law consequences because population transfer then becomes a potentially recognized solution to the existence of heterogeneity and population mixing,” Ekmekcioglu observes. “Other groups, in the future will take this as an example. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

So, while the Treaty of Lausanne did guarantee certain rights for all populations, its inability to deliver a more thorough pluralism in political bodies may be a lasting part of its legacy. To be sure, the Armenian representatives at the Lausanne conference also wanted their own largely homogenized territory, too — although, as Ekmekcioglu notes in the paper, their extraordinary circumstances makes that fairly understandable.  

And so, after suffering at the hands of the Ottomans, the Armenians then felt let down by the international community, another blow in short succession. Perhaps there were no easy answers at the time, but, Ekmekcioglu observes, we can still think through what the best alternatives might have been. Especially, she notes, in a world often still struggling to achieve stability and pluralism at once.

“To understand minorities in Turkey to this day, you have to understand the Treaty of Lausanne, and how it came to be,” Ekmekcioglu says. “It’s a great laboratory for comparing, and ideally coming up with an answer to, the issue of difference.”

https://news.mit.edu/2023/forgotten-peace-world-war-i-lausanne-treaty-0724

Turkish Press: Baku accuses Armenia of ‘illegal activities’ in Azerbaijani borders

Maral Takmazian
DAILY SABAH

Azerbaijan on Thursday accused Armenia of intending to continue “illegal activities” on its territory over Yerevan’s rejection of a road into the disputed Karabakh region proposed by Azerbaijan.

"The fact that Armenia … rejects this road (Aghdam-Khankendi) by any means possible proves that the claim of a ‘tense humanitarian situation' in the region is groundless and that Armenia intends to continue illegal activities on the territory of Azerbaijan," a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry said.

The statement came in response to comments made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian during a government meeting earlier in the day.

It said Yerevan's repeated claims on the Lachin road over the past eight months show the country's intention to "use the issue for its political purposes and to obstruct the peace treaty negotiations that have been progressing recently."

It further said Armenia's claim that Azerbaijan is taking steps to carry out "ethnic cleansing" in the Karabakh region is "quite wrong and dangerous."

The statement defined Pashinian's conditions on the form of dialogue between Baku and Armenian residents in Karabakh as "unacceptable" and a direct challenge to Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It also said Armenia is clearly trying to make the process of border delimitation between the two countries fail, given that Yerevan "does not fulfill its obligation to withdraw the Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, continues to provide financial support to the territory, and emphasizes its territorial claims in various letters, statements and speeches."

"Azerbaijan, as the initiator of the peace process with Armenia in the aforementioned areas, is interested in establishing peace, stability and security in the region and is an active party in the negotiation process. If Armenia is interested in peace, it should stop efforts that hinder the peace process," it concluded.

Karabakh has been at the center of a decadeslong territorial dispute between the two countries.

Azerbaijan in April set up the border point at the entrance to the Lachin corridor, exacerbating allegations from Armenia of a Karabakh “blockade.” Tensions soaring over the move left another half a dozen people killed from both sides since December.

Baku fervently denied the claims, saying the checkpoint was created in response to security threats from Armenia and citing the transfer of weapons and ammunition to the Karabakh region.

Earlier this month, it temporarily halted the checkpoint pending an investigation into the Armenian branch of the Red Cross for alleged smuggling.

The latest developments followed a monthslong protest by Azerbaijani environmental activists, which Yerevan claims spurred a humanitarian crisis and food and fuel shortages.

Azerbaijan insisted at the time that civilian transport could go unimpeded through the Lachin corridor.

In February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the U.N.’s top judicial body – had ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement on the road.

The two former Soviet republics fought two wars to control the mountainous region of Karabakh in the 1990s and again in 2020.

Six weeks of fighting in autumn 2020 ended with a Russian-sponsored cease-fire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territories it had controlled for decades.

There have been frequent clashes at the two countries' shared border despite the ongoing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under mediation from the European Union and the United States.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed some 30,000 lives.

With major regional power Russia struggling to maintain its decisive influence because of the fallout from its war on Ukraine, the conflict has also drawn Western mediation efforts. Washington has been sponsoring peace talks, hosting ministers from both sides to hammer out an agreement twice this year alone, while the European Union has been mediating at the level of leaders between the former Soviet republics.

Baku and Yerevan say “tangible progress” was made at these talks but emphasize “more work” is needed.

AMAA’s Avedisian School Holds 2023 Graduation Ceremony in Yerevan

Maral Takmazian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Latest, News, Top Stories

2023 AMAA Avedisian School graduates


The Armenian Missionary Association of America’s Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian School on June 12 celebrated the Class of 2023’s graduation ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia. The event was attended by representatives of the AMAA, philanthropists, leaders of universities and schools in Yerevan, parents, and former graduates.

“Just as a mother bird soars her nourished, winged chicks, I wish you the same to you. Follow your dream, soar boldly. Don’t slack off, don’t hesitate, don’t be lazy. Study, work, be brave. Love and be loved. Appreciate study, work, wisdom…,” said School Principal Melania Geghamyan in her farewell message to the graduating class.

Following the Principal’s message, a video presentation dedicated to the late and generous benefactor of the school, Edward Avedisian, was shown. It was impossible to watch the video and hear the gentle and kind voice of Edward on the screen without becoming emotional. Everyone’s eyes were directed to the philanthropist’s widow, Pamela Avedisian, who, following the tradition founded by her beloved husband, “continues walking in Edward’s footsteps toward Yerevan, to the Avedisian School.”

Pamela Avedisian

In his remarks, AMAA Representative in Armenia Aren Deyirmenjian’s offered advice to the young graduates as they enter a new chapter of their lives.

The graduation’s keynote speaker was Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan. His message was a challenge to the students to become a well of knowledge for Armenia.

Valedictorians Nare Bagratunyan and Maria Petrosyan delivered words of gratitude, the former in English and the latter in Armenian.

AMAA Avedisian School Principal Melanya Geghamyan

The highlight of the event was the speech delivered by Pamela. Pamela or, as the students of the Avedisian School call her, dear Pam, spoke from her heart in Armenian. “Dear graduates, today, one hundred times or more, we wish a good march. We believe that it will be so. And let the sky above you be cloudless, and the horizons always open and be inviting,” she said.

During the ceremony, the “Paros” Chamber Choir, directed by Raffi Mikayelyan, performed the favorite tunes of the late Edward Avedisian, and RA honored artist, conductor Sergey Smbatyan’s Orchestra of talented youth—made up of scholarship recipients of “Music For the Future” cultural fund—performed a few musical selections.

The graduates received diplomas under the flags of Republic of Armenia and the Avedisian School. After the classic cap-throwing ceremony, Rev. Hovhannes Hovssepian, Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Church of Armenia, offered the Benediction.

This year’s graduation ceremony went according to all the “rules,” but the emotions shown and felt were very different than usual due to the passing of Edward Avedisian.

Founded in 1918, the Armenian Missionary Association of America serves the spiritual, educational, and social needs of Armenian communities in 24 countries around the world including Armenia and Artsakh. For additional information, you may visit AMAA website.

Russia again tells Azerbaijan to open Lachin Corridor

Maral Takmazian

 11:22,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has met the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloghlu to discuss the situation in South Caucasus, as well as the reconciliation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Russian side reaffirmed the need for the complete and immediate unblocking of Lachin Corridor and restoration of transport connection in two directions, in accordance with the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, as well as the need for creating conditions for the normal livelihood of Nagorno Karabakh,” reads the statement.

The parties also discussed the Azerbaijani strong reaction to a recent statement by the Russian foreign ministry. Azerbaijan criticized Russia for what it described as associating the Azeri territorial integrity with the statements made by the Armenian Prime Minister on recognizing the Azerbaijani territorial integrity, which, according to Baku, contradicts the Moscow-Baku partnership agreement.

“Regarding the inappropriate comments by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on July 15, it was emphasized that the Russian Federation has always respected the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is fully committed to the spirit and letter of the bilateral statement on allied cooperation. At the same time, this doesn’t eliminate the issue of comprehensively promoting the Armenian-Azerbaijan normalization process and resolving all issues on the agenda, including the issues of ensuring the rights and security of the population of Nagorno Karabakh, with exclusively peaceful political-diplomatic methods,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Moscow also expressed readiness to organize a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting to discuss the implementation of high-level agreements, the draft peace treaty, which will then be followed by “a summit of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing the abovementioned document.”

The California Courier Online, July 20, 2023

Maral Takmazian
The California
Courier Online, July 20, 2023

 

1-         Pashinyan is
Incorrect that Armenia
had

            Agreed to
Exchange Meghri for Artsakh

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Preeminent
Historian, Scholar Prof.
Richard Hovannisian
Passes Away

3-         At Haigazian
Conference, International Scholarly Community Discusses             'Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space:
1900-2020'

4-         CA Senate
Unanimously Adopts Artsakh Resolution

************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

1-         Pashinyan is
Incorrect that Armenia
had

            Agreed to
Exchange Meghri for Artsakh

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

           

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attempted last month to
distract attention from Armenia’s
current tragic situation by blaming former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.
This is a routine ploy used by Armenia’s
current leader to cover up his defeat in the Artsakh War and failure to protect
the country’s national interests.

This does not mean that the former leaders were faultless.
They made plenty of mistakes and I repeatedly criticized them at the time while
sitting in front of them in the Presidential Palace. Those who describe my
criticisms of Pashinyan as defending the former leaders are totally mistaken.

Here is what Pashinyan said last month while testifying in a
parliamentary committee investigating the circumstances of the 2020 Artsakh
War: “On June 2, 2000, Aravot newspaper [in Armenia] published the following
article: Vartan Oskanian, the Foreign Minister, on April 25, 2000, during his
meeting with the Armenian community of Glendale [California], described by him
as ‘very private, unofficial remarks,’ announced the following: ‘Meghri is
being given to Azerbaijan, Lachin [Corridor] along with Artsakh is being given
to Armenia. Through Meghri, Armenia
is being given a sovereign road with which Armenia
would be able to have a sovereign contact to enter Iran.’” Pashinyan added: “His
[Oskanian’s] remarks were published in The California Courier weekly newspaper
[in 2000] which also quoted Oskanian's words that the above mentioned proposal
has ‘some logic and needs serious consideration….’”

Since Prime Minister Pashinyan was referring to an editorial
I wrote in The California Courier on May 25, 2000, a few lines of which were
reprinted in Aravot, I would like to set the record straight by quoting from
what I wrote 23 years ago, titled: “Exchanging Meghri with Karabagh: Good Idea
or Political Suicide?”

 

What Pashinyan is referring to was a 1992 proposal by Paul
Goble, Special Adviser to Secretary of State James Baker, to exchange Meghri,
the strategically important Southern Region of Armenia, for Artsakh. This idea
was rejected by then Pres. Robert Kocharyan and subsequently by Azerbaijan’s
then Pres. Heydar Aliyev.

Pashinyan is partially distorting what Oskanian said in Glendale. In my editorial
of 2000, I quoted Oskanian as saying: “There are many rumors about the
resolution of the Karabagh conflict. There are criticisms alleging that the
Armenian authorities want to give Meghri to Azerbaijan. In fact, there is a
small degree of truth in those rumors. Such a proposal on the exchange of territories
has been made to the Armenian
Republic, to the
President of Armenia. But, such a proposal was rejected. Armenia did not
accept it as a basis of negotiations.” Oskanian repeatedly stated that this
proposal was rejected by the Armenian government. The proof is that Meghri was
not exchanged for Artsakh.

However, Oskanian continued his remarks, raising questions
about his assertion that Armenia
rejected the Goble Plan. Pashinyan is now capitalizing on Oskanian’s
supplementary statement.

Here is what Oskanian said in his additional statement which
I reported in my 2000 article: “But let me say the following: I don’t want you
to misunderstand me. It’s been rejected, it will be rejected and it’s not a
plan that can be realized. Nevertheless, this is such a proposal that is worth
thinking about. It’s not happening. It won’t happen, but when people say it’s
treasonous to even think about it, that’s what I would like to respond to:
Let’s think a little deeply about it. This proposal has certain logic. To simply
dismiss such a proposal on a purely emotional basis is wrong. We have done
that. We must seriously analyze it. I wonder, maybe we are wrong in saying no.
What are we afraid of? Why are we not analyzing it? Is it a taboo? Let’s make a
checklist. Let’s analyze it in newspapers. It has pluses and minuses. What I’m
calling for is that it’s possible to have a very healthy debate and a dialog on
this issue, because this proposal is worth thinking about.”

I don’t know why Oskanian, after repeatedly rejecting the
exchange proposal, went on to say that it is “worth thinking about.” In my
opinion, there was nothing to think about. It was clearly an unacceptable
proposal, suggesting that Armenia
exchange one Armenian territory, Artsakh, for another Armenian territory,
Meghri. Oskanian’s speculative words gave Pashinyan a reason to blame him for
even considering such a bad idea.

I concluded my editorial in 2000 with the following words: “Armenia has
nothing to gain and much to lose from such an exchange.” I am still of the same
opinion.

Finally, for those who think that since Armenia lost most of Artsakh in the 2020 War,
maybe Oskanian was correct about considering the exchange of Meghri for
Artsakh, I must say that Azerbaijan’s
insatiable appetite is not satisfied by the conquest of Artsakh or even Meghri.
Azerbaijan’s imperialistic
ambitions extend to the takeover of the entirety of Armenia. The more Armenia’s leaders make territorial concessions,
the more Azerbaijan
will be encouraged to demand further Armenian territories. The only solution is
to arm Armenia’s
military with modern lethal weapons and defend its territory from further Azeri
incursions.

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2-         Preeminent Historian, Scholar Prof. Richard Hovannisian
Passes Away

By Prof. Bedross Der Matossian

 

Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, a paragon of enlightenment
and learning from one century into another, passed away on July 10, 2023, at
UCLA Hospital, on the same university campus where he taught for 60 years.

With his passing, the Society for Armenian Studies, the
academic world, the field of Armenian Studies, and the Armenian nation lost one
of the most prominent icons of the modern period.

Hovannisian was a monumental figure in the field of Armenian
Studies. Considered as the Dean of Modern Armenian History, he established the
field of Modern Armenian History in the Western Hemisphere.
He supported the establishment of some of the most important chairs in Armenian
Studies in the United States.
Hovannisian was the child of Genocide survivors. His father, Kaspar Gavroian,
was born in in the village
of Bazmashen near
Kharpert in 1901. Unlike others, he survived the Genocide and arrived in the U.S. He changed
his last name from Gavroian to Hovannisian after his father Hovannes. In 1928
Kaspar married Siroon Nalbandian, the child of Genocide survivors. They had
four sons: John, Ralph, Richard, and Vernon.
Richard was born in Tulare,
California, on November 9, 1932.
Being the son of Genocide survivors played an important role in his academic
path. In 1957, he married Dr. Vartiter Kotcholosian in Fresno and had four children: Raffi, Armen,
Ani, and Garo. Raffi would become the first Minister of Foreign Affairs
(1991-1992) of the Modern Republic of Armenia.

Hovannisian began his academic life in 1954 by earning a
B.A. in History, followed by an M.A. in History from the University
of California, Berkley. In 1966, he earned his Ph.D. from
the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA). His dissertation was published in 1967
with the title Armenia on
the Road to Independence
which was the precursor to the four-volume magnum opus The Republic of Armenia.
Hovannisian played an important role in establishing the teaching of Armenian
history at UCLA. In 1987, he became the first holder of the Armenian Education
Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, which after his retirement
was named in his honor as the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern
Armenian History, with Prof. Sebouh Aslanian as its first incumbent.

Hovannisian was a Guggenheim Fellow and received numerous
prestigious national and international awards for his service to the field and
civic activities. He served on the Board of Directors of multiple national and
international educational institutions and was a member of the Armenian
National Academy of Sciences. After finishing his four-volume The Republic of
Armenia, he dedicated his research and career to battling the denial of
Armenian Genocide, resurrecting the history of Armenian towns and villages of
the Armenian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire,
and writing textbooks on modern Armenian history. Although not a scholar of
Armenian Genocide, he has contributed more to the discipline than many others
in the field. He edited multiple volumes on different facets of the Armenian
Genocide, including historical, literary, and artistic perspectives.
Hovannisian also spearheaded a monumental project to preserve the eyewitness
accounts of the Armenian Genocide survivors.

In the 1970s, he launched the Armenian Genocide oral history
project. He and his students interviewed more than 1,000 Armenian Genocide
survivors in California.
In 2018, Hovannisian donated the collection to the USC Shoah Foundation’s
Visual History Archive to be available to scholars around the world. He
single-handedly edited and published 15 volumes with Mazda Press as part of the
UCLA Armenian History & Culture Series. The 15 volumes covered the history
of Armenians in Van/Vaspourakan, Cilicia (with Simon Payaslian),
Sivas/Sepastia, Trebizond/Trabzon, Baghesh/Bitlis, Taron/Mush, Smyrna/Izmir,
Kesaria/Kayseri and Cappadocia among other
places. The final book in the series, The Armenians of Persia/Iran, was
published in 2022. Hovannisian’s also edited the two-volume The Armenian People
from Ancient to Modern Times, which is considered a classic Armenian History
textbook.

 Hovannisian came from
a generation that fought against the stifling of Armenian voices within the
fields of Middle Eastern and Ottoman Studies, which had relegated Armenian
Studies to second-class status. He fought for the relevance of Armenian Studies
within these fields and tirelessly fought against the efforts to marginalize
Armenian issues and to deny the Armenian Genocide.

Besides his contribution to the field, Hovannisian also
mentored and educated multiple generations of scholars and thousands of
students. He was a strict mentor who demanded that his students work to reach
their full potential. He wanted to make sure that they would survive and thrive
in the tough terrain of the academic job market.

In his lifetime, Hovannisian was especially influenced by
two people: his wife Vartiter and Simon Vratsian (the last Prime Minister of
the First Republic of Armenia). Vartiter was his life’s partner for more than
half a century. Her dedication to Richard and the field of Armenian Studies
played an important role in shaping who Richard became. Vartiter was an
intellectual companion who read and reviewed every piece that he wrote. She was
also a constant presence at every conference he planned or attended. In the
early 1950s, Vratsian, the author of a major book on the First
Republic, became Hovannisian’s mentor
when he studied Armenian language at the Hamazkayin Nishan Palanjian Jemaran in
Beirut, Lebanon. This influence led
Hovannisian to write the first academic work on the First Republic of Armenia
and created the first step for his academic career. 

In 1974, Hovannisian along with Dickran Kouymjian, Nina
Garsoïan, Avedis Sanjian, and Robert
Thomson spearheaded the project to establish a Society for Armenian Studies
(SAS). Considered as the pillars of Armenian Studies, the main objective of
this group was the development of Armenian Studies as an academic discipline.
With access to very limited resources, this group of scholars was able to
establish the foundations of a Society that would play a dominant role in
developing Armenian Studies in North America
and beyond. From a handful of chairs and programs that supported the initiative
at the time, today Armenian Studies as a discipline has flourished in the United States
with more than thirteen chairs and programs providing their unconditional
support to the Society. Hovannisian was the president of SAS for three terms
(1977, 1991-1992, 2006-2009). During his tenure the Society flourished and was
able to achieve major accomplishments in the field.

In 2019, the Society for Armenian Studies awarded
Hovannisian with the SAS Life Time Achievement Award in recognition and
appreciation for his outstanding service and contribution to the field of
Armenian Studies.

The community wake will take place on Wednesday, July 19 at
7 p.m. at Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church,
located at 900 W. Lincoln Ave.,
Montebello, CA
90640.

The national funeral service will be held on Saturday, July
22 at 11 a.m. at Holy
Trinity Armenian
Apostolic Church,
located at 2226 Ventura Ave.,
Fresno, CA 93721.

Hovannisian was predeceased by his wife, Dr. Vartiter
Kotcholosian. He is survived by: Son, Raffi and Armenouhi Hovannisian, children
and grandson; Son, Armen and Elizabeth Hovannisian, children and granddaughter;
Daughter, Ani and Armenio Kevorkian and children; Son, Garo and Arsineh
Hovannisian and children; Sister-in-law, Nazik Kotcholosian Messerlian and
family; Brothers John, Ralph, and Vernon Hovannisian families (Fresno-Visalia);
In-laws, Takouhi Khatchikian family; Zabel Aranosian family; Seda Artounians
family; Zohrab Kevorkian family; and all relatives, friends, colleagues, and
students.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Orran (Center
for Underprivileged Children in Armenia),
c/o 2217 Observatory Ave.,
Los Angeles CA
90027 or the Richard
G. Hovannisian Scholarship Fund/Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School, c/o 101 Groverton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90077.

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************
3-         At Haigazian Conference,
International Scholarly Community Discusses             'Transitions
and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020'

 

During three days between June 27 and 29, the Haigazian
University-based Armenian Diaspora Research Center (ADRC) organized in Beirut,
Lebanon, the second conference on “Transitions and Transformations in the
Armenian Space: 1900-2020” in collaboration with the Khatchadur Apovian State
Pedagogical University in Armenia (SPUA).

ADRC director Prof. Antranik Dakessian welcomed the audience
and noted that the conference “is a call to the researchers in the diverse
fields of Armenian Studies to observe and discuss anew the last 120 years of
the Armenians from the perspective of the proclamation of the republics of Armenia and
Artsakh.”

Due to the illegal Azeri blockade since April 2022, Mrs.
Elina Mekhitarian from Artsakh could not join the conference in person.
Nonetheless, she sent a short message to the conferees stating that the Azeri
violation of basic human rights is intended to force the indigenous Artsakh
Armenians to desert their homeland.

Rector of SPUA, Professor Serpuhi Kevorkian, noted that the
topics raised not only academic interests, but proposed practical resolutions
to basic issues concerning the Armenian Church, as well as to issues related to
Armenian socio-political institutions, Armenian culture, identity, world
perception, Armenian Genocide, and Armenian statehood.

In his lecture, titled “The periods of Armenian
transformations”, the guest speaker of the conference, Professor Khatchadur
Sdepanian, divided the Armenian transformation process into three different
periods and presented the social, linguistic, cultural, կենցաղային, and other aspects of
these transformations.

Haigazian University President, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian
asked, ‘Whose task is it to crystallize such a strategy in both our conditions,
statelessness and having a state, a strategy that would contribute to Armenian
safety and security, national, educational, military, linguistic, ethical,
religious, economic, cyber, environmental and other fields?”

During the next two days of the conference, June 28 and 29,
17 presentaions were delivered. These included Prof. Vatchagan Krikorian’s
analysis of transformations of 20th century Armenian prose, Prof. Hagop
Cholakian’s in-depth analysis of the transformations of the Western Armenian
language, Prof. Claude Armen Mutafian narrated the transformation of the Carpathian
Armenians since the 1900s, Prof. Vahram Shemmassian (via internet) discussed
the transformations of the Musa Dagh Armenians, while Prof. Lusié Sahagian
discussed those of the Hamshen Armenians, Prof. Garen Megerdchian and Prof. Ani
Fishenkjian respectively highlighted the transformation of the Iranian and
Syrian Armenian communities, Rev. Dr. Haidostian focused on the transformation
of the Armenian Evangelical Church, Dr. Hratch Chilingirian discussed the
institutional secularisation of the Armenian Church, Prof. Raffi Cherchian
examined transformations in Armenian church architecture, Prof. Hovhannissian
highlighted the transformation of the Catholicosate of Cilicia between the
Genocide and the 1930s,

Prof. Lilit Hovhannissian spoke about the transformation of
the interpretations of the diplomatic history of the Armenian Cause between
1878 and 1923 in Soviet and post-Soviet Armenian historiography, Vilen
Mnatsakanian detailed the transformation of economic policy during
state-planned and market-run economies, Prof. Khachig Mouradian made a deep
observation on the transformation of genocide education from past to present
and presented its future prospects, Prof. Hagop Tatevossian analysed the
socio-psychological transformation of patriotism and its expressions, Harut
Sassounian discussed the transformations of Diaspora representations and the
project of a Diaspora parliament, and Dikran Yegavian examined the
transformations of the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the
Diaspora.

During the second day of the conference professor Mutafian’s
book “Jérusalem et les Arméniens jusqu’à la conquête ottomane (1516)” was
launched. Prof. Dakessian highlighted the scholar’s legacy while Prof. Mutafian
highlighted the main aspects of the Jerusalem Armenians until the Ottoman
conquest in 1516.

 

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4-         CA Senate
Unanimously Adopts Artsakh Resolution

 

SACRAMENTO—The
California State Senate adopted a resolution on July 10 with a vote of 39-0
calling for the protection and security of the Armenian population of Artsakh.
The passage in the Senate follows the March 30 passage of the resolution in the
State Assembly and operates as a unified position by the State of California calling for
the protection and security of the Armenian population of Artsakh.

Senators Anthony Portantino (pictured) and Maria Elena
Durazo made statements on the Senate floor before the resolution was voted on.
The resolution condemns Azerbaijan’s
ongoing blockade of Artsakh and calls upon the United States Federal Government
to use any and all tools to compel Azerbaijan to end the blockade. The
resolution also calls on the federal government to end military assistance to Azerbaijan,
provide humanitarian aid to the people of Artsakh, establish an international
peacekeeping mission to ensure Artsakh’s safety and security, and support
Artsakh’s self-determination.

 

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Asbarez: Merdinian School Board Elects Nerses Aposhian as New Chair

Maral Takmazian
by Contributor

 

 July 3, 2023

 

in Community, Latest, News, Top Stories

The C. & E. Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School’s Board of Directors has elected Nerses Aposhian as the new chair of its Board of Directors. Aposhian succeeds Dr. Tzoler Oukayan-Sagherian, who served on the Merdinian School board as chair from 2020-2023 and will continue to serve as a board member.

Nerses Aposhian

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the school and our community,” said Aposhian. “I look forward to helping lead the school through this phase of growth, facilitating academic excellence, and encouraging investment in our educators and facilities. Merdinian holds a special place in my heart. I hope through my and the board’s leadership, we can create a special experience for our students – the Christian Armenian-American leaders of tomorrow,” he continued. 

Nerses Aposhian, becomes the first Merdinian alumnus to assume the role of Board Chair. He attended Merdinian for 11 years and graduated from the school in 2006. Beyond his time as a student, he remained actively engaged with the school and since 2018, has served on the school’s Board of Directors. Since joining the board, Aposhian has served in several capacities as the associate treasurer, treasurer, and chair of the development/finance committee, co-chair of the facilities committee, and member of the personnel committee. He played an instrumental role in hiring current principal Dr. Souzy Ohanian, upgrading the current facility, and leading fundraising efforts for the school. He is the grandson of former Merdinian principal, the late Mr. Aram Boulghourjian, or as Nerses called him “Baron Dede.” 

Aposhian is currently the Acquisitions Director at IDS Real Estate Group, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment, development, and management company with a 40 million square feet portfolio, including industrial, office, and retail real estate. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California (USC) in Political Science and Communication and his law degree from Loyola Law School. He was also an active member and served as the president of the Armenian Professional Society, the USC Young Alumni Council, and USC Alumni Association Board of Governors.

As Chairperson, Aposhian will work closely with Dr. Ohanian and the Board of Directors in shaping the strategic direction of Merdinian, ensuring that the institution continues to thrive and make significant strides in fulfilling its mission to provide exceptional education to students. 

Joining Aposhian on the Board are George Phillips, Jr. (Vice Chair), Gareen Darakjian (Secretary), Peter Amloian (’06) (Treasurer), Dr. Tzoler Oukayan-Sagherian, Christopher Cofer, Rev. Harut Khatchatryan, Levon Filian, Rev. Haig Darakjian, Dr. Hasmig Baran, Lucy Papazyan, Sedda Antekelian (’01), Jacqueline Melkonyan (Parent Board Representative), and Lucy Papazyan (PTO Chair).

Armenia General Staff initially denied information from Nagorno Karabakh during war before eventually confirming – PM

Maral Takmazian

 12:51,

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS. Information provided by the Nagorno Karabakh President during the 2020 war was initially being denied by the military leadership of Armenia before eventually being confirmed, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on June 27.

“I want to be clear, I am not saying that practically the information given by the General Staff [of Armenia] turned out to be untrue. I am saying that there’ve been dozens of cases when the President of Nagorno Karabakh called and said that the situation had changed in a given area , and when I tried to verify this information from the Ministry of Defense [of Armenia], I was told that this information was untrue, but some time later they were forced to admit that it was indeed true,” Pashinyan said at the parliament selection committee on the 2020 war.

USА interested in peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Ambassador Kvien

Maral Takmazian

 18:23,

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS. On June 27, the head of the "Civil Contract" faction of the National Assembly, Hayk Konjoryan, received the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Kristina Kvien.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the National Assembly, the parties discussed the prospects and plans for further deepening of Armenia-US inter-parliamentary relations.

The key role of the Armenian parliament and the US Congress in the issue of Armenia-US strategic dialogue was emphasized.

Hayk Konjoryan highlighted the involvement of the US in the peace process, expressing hope that progress will be made in the negotiations to be held in Washington today.

Ambassador Kristina Kvien emphasized that the United States is very interested in the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is evidenced by the active involvement of the US in the negotiation process.

Why do some Jews spit on Christian clergy in Jerusalem’s Old City?

Maral Takmazian
By PEGGY CIDOR

Clergy living in Jerusalem know that nothing good comes out of a random encounter with young haredim in the alleys of the Old City.

The striking clothing of Armenian priests, the heavy crosses hanging on the chest of monks from each of the 15 different churches represented here – and lately also Christian buildings, especially entrance gates to churches – have become favorite targets for Jews to spit on.

Why do some Jews spit on gentiles? This was the subject of an emergency conference of scholars on Christianity and Christian communities in Israel, run by the Institute for the Study of Relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims at the Open University.


Yisca Harani, a scholar who has devoted years to the study of the phenomenon as part of her extensive research on the Christian denominations in the Holy Land, conceived and planned the conference as an initial response to the increase in these incidents.

The conference, initially planned to be held at the Tower of David Museum, was almost canceled due to Mayor Moshe Lion’s opposition to connecting the municipal institution with such a sensitive issue. On very short notice, the organizers moved the conference to the Armenian complex in the Old City.


Videos shown included ultra-Orthodox or National-Religious youths spitting in the face of priests or at their feet; stopping for a second – even while sitting in a car– just to spit at the entrance to a monastery or church; and disturbing graffiti. It all painted a worrying picture of a serious deterioration of relations with Christians in the holy city.

Some downplay the severity of the phenomenon, attributing it to bored young people who do not really understand the seriousness of the act.


Deputy Mayor Arieh King, who does not support the spitting incidents, has maintained that Christians, including the Evangelicals who love Israel, are all engaged in missionary work. He has said that this issue should be addressed, and not the spitting phenomenon, and accused the organizers of running an “antisemitic conference.”

For the conference organizers, the spitting phenomenon has been aggravated by political events. On Jerusalem Day, King – along with Rabbi Zvi Thau, who has been leading a hard line against Christians for years – protested during a traditional ceremony of Evangelical Christians at the Davidson Center, claiming that it was a blatant missionary event.

Harani said that the current political atmosphere in the country has enabled the spitting phenomenon to worsen. Now, she said, it is no longer a question of “bored brats,” but an organized campaign at least on the ideological level, which originates from the claim of fighting missionaries. In this context, King’s comments are significant, despite the fact that he does not approve of the spitting incidents.

The fact that the Armenian Church has never engaged in missionary activity does not seem to bother those who wish to increase the fight against the Christian presence in Israel. 

Dr. Amnon Ramon, a researcher on Christian communities in Israel at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, pointed to the hostility that sectors of the extreme Right have toward Christians. This, he maintained, is a continuation of acts that occurred in the 1980s, such as when arsonists torched the Baptist Church in Rehavia.

According to Ramon, the extreme Right feels that the threat of Christianity to the State of Israel’s Jewish identity is much more dangerous than the fight against the Muslims. Ramon also said he believes that the current political extremism in the country is enabling the worsening of the spitting phenomenon.

With the exception of a letter issued about two weeks ago by former Sephardi chief rabbi Shlomo Amar, in which he expressed his opposition to the practice, silence on the subject among rabbis from all sectors is deafening. ❖


Authorities to announce timeframe of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Washington D.C. soon

Maral Takmazian

 12:33,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The new timeframe of the Armenia-Azerbaijan foreign ministerial talks in Washington D.C. will be announced soon, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan told reporters on June 19. 

He said that discussions are underway regarding new timeframes of the postponed meeting.

“I think we will be able to provide public information in this regard soon,” Kostanyan said.

Kostanyan said that Azerbaijan’s actions – the tension on the border, the gunfire targeting sovereign territory of Armenia, as well as escalation in Nagorno Karabakh – are not conducive to building peace and stability in the South Caucasus region and question Azerbaijan’s statements claiming that they are truly interested in peace and stability.

The foreign ministerial meeting in Washington D.C. was supposed to take place on June 12th but was postponed by Azerbaijan.