California Courier Online, April 15, 2004
1 – Commentary
Turkish Minister Cancels Michigan
Trip Because of Armenian Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
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2 – City of Glendale Marks
Week of Remembrance
3 – Armenian Communities of Iran to be
Featured in Next UCLA Conference, May 14-16
4 – Sixth Armenian Music Awards
Returns to Hollywood, May 22
5 – ‘Seeking Simplicity’ is Theme
For May 14-16 FAPC Retreat
6 – In Memoriam – Vartabed Manuel Yergatian (1954-2004)
By Jackie Abramian
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1 – Commentary
Turkish Minister Cancels Michigan
Trip Because of Armenian Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Turkish Minister of Education Huseyin Celik was planning to visit
various universities this week in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and
New York. However, when the Turkish Foreign Ministry became aware of his
itinerary, he was advised to cancel his visit to the Univ. of Michigan (Ann
Arbor), because his host there would have been Associate Prof. of
Sociology, Fatma Muge Gocek.
Prof. Gocek learned that the Foreign Ministry had told the Education
Minister to cancel his trip to the Univ. of Michigan, because she
“recognized the Armenian claims [of genocide], had previously hosted Taner
Akcam [a Turkish scholar who recognizes the Armenian Genocide] at the
University of Michigan, and is currently writing a book on the issue.”
Prof. Gocek and Prof. Ronald Grigor Suny had jointly organized two
workshops on the Armenian Genocide in the last four years — the first at
the University of Chicago and the second at the Univ. of Michigan (Ann
Arbor).
This incident is yet another indication that Prime Minister Recep Erdogan’s
repeated promises to improve Turkish-Armenian relations are not sincere.
Under the guise of meeting the requirements for membership in the European
Union, Erdogan’s government has passed a series of “paper” reforms that
have not been implemented. Furthermore, despite repeated assurances that
the Turkish government is ready to open the border with Armenia, Turkey has
not even been willing to take the first step of establishing diplomatic
relations with Armenia. How could the Erdogan government convince anyone
that it is seriously considering to improve relations with Armenia, when it
can’t even tolerate the holding of a conference on Armenian issues
organized by a noted Turkish academic at an American university?
Ironically, while Erdogan’s government was ostracizing this Turkish
professor, the University of Michigan was honoring her with the Harold R.
Johnson Diversity Award for her “innovative efforts to open up constructive
dialogue among Turkish and Armenian scholars, as well as her continuing
efforts to enhance the quality of diversity on campus.”
British Ambassador to Slovakia Joins the Fray
For the first time since the controversial comments made by the British
Ambassador in Armenia on the Armenian Genocide, the British Ambassador in
another country has joined the fray.
Ric Todd, the British Ambassador to Slovakia, responded on April 5th to a
letter sent by Ashot Grigorian, the President of the Armenian Community of
Slovakia, complaining about the denial of the Armenian Genocide by Amb.
Thorda Abbott-Watt. Amb. Todd expressed regret that the British
government’s position “on the events of 1915-16” had caused personal
problems for the letter-writer, assuring him that “whatever happened will
not be forgotten.”
Amb. Todd’s letter is just as insulting as the denialist position of the
British Ambassador to Armenia. Readers should send their complaints to Amb.
Todd’s e-mail address: [email protected].
Meanwhile, the British Ambassador to Armenia, Thorda Abbott Watt, continued
receiving complaints from around the world. Two major Armenian
organizations added last week their voices to this on-going controversy.
The Armenian Democratic League (Ramgavar Party) of France published a
statement in the organization’s organ, La Lettre de L’ADL, “condemning the
British Ambassador’s statement as “false” and “politically ill-fated.” It
stated that her denial of the Armenian Genocide “is not only an insult to
the memory of the entire Armenian nation, but should be viewed as a
complicity to the Genocide.” The ADL of France demanded that the Armenian
government declare her a persona non grata and immediately expel her from
Armenia.
The second important statement was issued by the Armenian Community and
Church Council (ACCC) of Great Britain. In a letter addressed to British
Prime Minister Tony Blair, the ACCC called Amb. Abbott-Watt’s denial of the
Armenian Genocide “most insensitive and an affront to our dignity…. It is
highly offensive not only to the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians whose
Genocide she refers to, but to all Armenians throughout the world,
including British Armenians….” The ACCC demanded that Amb. Abbott-Watt
“issue an unqualified and speedy retraction of her hurtful and offensive
observation which one could easily consider to be undiplomatic,
patronising, and most definitely unbecoming an Ambassador of Her Majesty’s
Government….”
Furthermore, the ACCC called the British government’s policy of denial “not
only slanderous, but an immoral act, sinister in the extreme, committed
merely for political expediency.” The ACCC urged the British government to
“re-address the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915,
…denounce the atrocities perpetrated against the Armenians of Turkey in
1915 as Genocide, and to condemn those responsible.”
Interestingly, on the eve of April 24, “the British-Turkish
Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group” is visiting Turkey this week. After a
stop at the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the British Parliamentarians will meet
with various Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
Readers are urged to continue sending e-mails to Amb. Abbott-Watt:
Thorda.Abbott [email protected]; to Michael Jay, the Under-Secretary and Head
of the UK Diplomatic Service: [email protected]; and to Prime Minister
Tony Blair through the following web site:
(click on select a subject,
select “international affairs,” and then click on the “go” button), asking
the British government to withdraw its Ambassador as she can no longer
effectively carry out her diplomatic duties in Armenia. Please send copies
of your e-mails and any responses to the Armenian Foreign Ministry:
[email protected] and to: [email protected].
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2 – City of Glendale Marks
Week of Remembrance
GLENDALE – A panel discussion focusing on “Man’s Inhumanity to Man”, a
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and a book drive will highlight the
City of Glendale’s “Week of Remembrance 2004” during the month of April.
The events are free and the public is encouraged to attend.
The Genocide Collection Book Drive will run during the month of April.
Donated items may include books and audio materials which will be evaluated
for inclusion in the Glendale Central Library’s “Genocide Collection.” All
donations can be dropped off throughout the month at any Glendale Public
Library branch or at the Glendale Civic Auditorium on Saturday April 24 and
Sunday April 25.
The panel discussion on “Man’s Inhumanity to Man” will be aired the week of
April 19 on the City’s Government Access Channel, GTV6, on Charter Cable.
The educational student discussion will be moderated by Sonali Kohatkar of
KPFK radio. Panelists will include Dan Alba, Program Director of the Los
Angeles office of “Facing History and Ourselves” and Professor John Roth
from Claremont McKenna College.
The Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide will be held on Saturday, April
24, between 10 am and 9 pm at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N.
Verdugo Road. Attendees are encouraged to view an art exhibit and donate
blood to the American Red Cross. At 7 pm, there will be a formal program
including musical presentations and performances. At the conclusion of the
program, there will be a candlelight vigil outside of the Civic Auditorium
at the future site of a monument commemorating the genocide. In addition,
community members will have an opportunity to view the art exhibit and
donate blood on Sunday, April 25, from 10-5 pm on the lower level of the
Civic Auditorium.
For additional information, contact Zizette Ayad, (818) 548-4844.
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3 – Armenian Communities of Iran to be
Featured in Next UCLA Conference, May 14-16
UCLA-The 14th in the UCLA International Conference series on Historic
Armenian Cities and Provinces will feature the colorful history and culture
of the Armenian communities of Iran from ancient to modern times.
The conference, to be held in Glendale and on the UCLA campus from Friday
evening to Sunday afternoon, May 14-16, will bring together scholars from
Armenia, Cyprus, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, and various parts of
the United States. The opening session in Armenian will be held on Friday
evening, May 14, from 7:30 to 10:00, in the Glendale Presbyterian Church at
the corner of Louise and Harvard Streets in Glendale and will include
illustrated lectures by Armen Hakhnazarian (Germany and Armenia), Ani
Babayan (Isfahan/New Julfa, Iran), Onnik Hairapetian (Glendale and Mashdotz
Colleges), and Gohar Avagian (Historical Archives, Armenia).
The Saturday sessions on May 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. will be held on
the UCLA campus, in Court of Sciences 50 (Young Hall), and will be
conducted in English. The presentations will focus on the political,
cultural and literary, economic, and social history of the Armenians of
Iran or Persia. Speakers include Richard Hovannisian (UCLA), A.E. Redgate
(Newcastle, England), Peter Cowe (UCLA), Hovann Simonian (USC), Thomas
Sinclair University of Cyprus), Gabriella Uluhogian (Bologna University,
Italy), Vazken Ghougassian (Eastern Prelacy, New York), Rubina Peroomian
(UCLA), Houri Berberian (California State University, Long Beach), Rose
Marie Cohen (Los Angeles), Gayane Hagopian (UCLA), Anahid Keshishian
(UCLA), Bert Vaux (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).
The Sunday afternoon sessions on May 16 from 1:30 to 5:30 will be in
Armenian and in English with presentations by Armen Ter Stepanyan
(Matenadaran, Armenia), Armen Hakhnazarian (Germany and Armenia), Artsvi
Bskhchinyan (Armenia), Samvel Stepanian (Glendale), Aida Avanessian
(Tehran, Iran), Claudia Mardirossian (UCLA), and Anny Bakalian (New York
University). As in all previous conferences, a photographic exhibit will
be mounted by Richard and Anne Elizabeth Elbrecht of Davis, California.
The conference is organized by Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, Holder of
the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at
UCLA, and is co-sponsored by the Armenian Society (Iranahay Miutiun) of Los
Angeles and the UCLA International Institute, G.E. von Grunebaum Center for
Near Eastern Studies, and the Center for European and Russian Studies.
All proceedings are open to the public at no charge. Parking on the UCLA
campus is in Parking Structure 2, entrance from Hilgard Avenue at
Westholme. The conference program may be viewed at and
Professor Hovannisian may be contacted by e-mail at
[email protected].
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4 – Sixth Armenian Music Awards
Returns to Hollywood, May 22
GLENDALE – First produced in 1998 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale by AMFA
Entertainment, the Armenian Music Awards will return this year, and will be
aired simultaneously in the United States and Armenia on May 22.
It has successfully entertained people with the biggest stars the Armenian
music industry had to offer. The fifth year event last November had
included celebrities such as Stewart Copland from the Police, John Densmore
from the Doors, Serj Tankian from System of A Down, Miles Copland founder
of IRS Records (REM, Bangles) and producer of Sting for many years, Jerry
Bell from the Daz Band and more.
The sixth Armenian Music Awards will be aired on Horizon TV, May 22, 7 p.m.
(Pacific) and 10 p.m. Eastern (Eastern).
n past years, artists such as Charles Aznavour, Tigran Mansourian, Aram
Khachaturian, Constantin Orbelyan, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Harry Hadikian,
Djivan Gasparyan and others have climbed up to the podium and have received
their ‘ANUSH’es for their contributions to our lives.
The last Awards aired to a record audience of over 2 million people around
the world. This year will even be a bigger draw. The event is not open to
the public and all attendees will be contributors of the show and/or music
& entertainment industry.
“We have changed our venue, to The Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, and
have re-invented the evening for all those who change with the times,”
producer and creator Peter Bahlawanian explains. The host of this year’s
gala event is none other than Kev Orkian from London.
To oversee the judging procedure this year, the committee panel includes
industry producers such as Stepan Partamian of Garni Music, Gagik Adamian
of Narek.com, Daniel Parseghian of Parseghian Records, Alfred Nazarian of
Chaterian Music, Garo Kirakosian of Armenfilm and founder Peter Bahlawanian
of Pe-Ko Records. Emil Sardaryan is heading the marketing team and Teni
Melidonian is involved with special groups.
Red carpet ceremonies will start at 5 p.m., Pacific time.
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5 – ‘Seeking Simplicity’ is Theme
For May 14-16 FAPC Retreat
FRESNO – “Seeking Simplicity” is the theme of the 2004 Spring Retreat of
the Armenian Evangelical Youth Fellowship Western Region.
The AEYF ministry weekend will take place on May 14-16 at the First
Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno.
The conference is open to high school and college-age youth and the
registration fee is $25 per person, which includes a commemorative T-shirt.
The registration deadline is May 10.
Reverend Mgrdich Melkonian will be the keynote speaker for the convocation.
A native of Aleppo, Syria, Rev. Melkonian earned a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Armenian literature from Haigazian University in 1982 and a Master of
Divinity Degree from the Near East School of Theology in 1984. Upon
graduation, he served as youth director for the Union of Armenian
Evangelical Churches in the Near East. In 1995, Rev. Melkonian accepted a
call to become Associate Pastor for Parish Development at the United
Armenian Congregational Church of Hollywood. In September 2003, he was
installed as the 11th Senior Pastor of the host church.
The Spring 2004 Retreat is a prelude to the Fourteenth Biennial Convention
of the AEYF, a hemispheric convocation scheduled for June 23-27, 2004, in
Fresno. The Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church is the host
congregation.
Southern California students are invited to call 818-989-6208 or e-mail
[email protected] for details. Central and Northern California students
are invited to call 559-285-9369 or e-mail [email protected] for details.
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6 – In Memoriam – Vartabed Manuel Yergatian (1954-2004)
By Jackie Abramian
During the tumultuous period of the early 1980’s when the killings of
Turkish officials by Armenian groups made worldwide headlines, the Turkish
government arrested an Armenian priest by the name of Fr. Manuel Yergatian
at the Istanbul airport and accused him of treason. The 26 year-old native
of Istanbul was detained in 1980 for the alleged possession of maps that
indicated Armenian territory within modern day Turkey. At the time of his
arrest, Fr. Yergatian was accompanying a group of Turkish-Armenian students
to the Armenian Patriarchate’s Seminary in Jerusalem for the summer. He was
the deputy director of the Patriarchate’s Theological School.
Fr. Yergatian, called Hayko Manuel Eldemir (Turkish equivalent of
Yergatian), was charged under articles 140 and 242 of Turkish law with
“having participated in activities against the state and damaging the
interests of the country by utilizing his priesthood.” He was sentenced by
Istanbul’s Martial law Command Military Court to 14 years in prison, to be
followed by four years and eight months of internal exile. Amnesty
International (AI), on the insistence of various Armenians (including Harut
Sassounian), adopted him as a prisoner of conscience, after concluding that
the evidence against him was baseless.
I obtained Fr. Yergatian’s prison address from AI and wasted no time to
write my first letter – attempting to cheer him up by assuring him that he
was not forgotten. I was delightfully surprised to receive a reply to my
letter in a week. The airmail envelope was from “Fr. H. Manuel Eldemir”
with small script and addressed to “Dear J. Abramian”. The letter was in
Turkish:
“Sireli Jackline. My eyes could hardly believe your letter. It is the first
letter I have received. I am glad to know that I am not forgotten! These
are hard times. I’m writing in Turkish hoping that you can read my words.
My letters are controlled so I don’t want to entertain any difficulty. My
heart and conscience is clean. I have not done anything wrong. I love
Turkey and wanted to return to Turkey. But at the airport I was arrested
and soon found myself in 4 walls.”
That was the beginning of our correspondence that continued until his
release in 1986 and his subsequent internal exile at the Istanbul
Patriarchate. Every letter that arrived was stained with black markers
across lines indicating censored parts. I read each letter many times over
and deciphered the Turkish with my mother’s help, reading between the
lines. Fr. Yergatian often spoke of the weather — rainy, snowy, or cloudy.
He was tired and not well. In the spring, he relayed his hopes for renewal,
always underlining words of wisdom from the Bible and his devotion to
Christ and Christianity. I would grow anxious when his letters were
delayed. Being frequently tortured, he was often exhausted and could not
write. Fr. Yergatian never mentioned his tortures, but simply spoke of the
“hardships” of prison and of his “friends” – his cellmates. He spoke of his
weak eyes, the time he spent “at the hospital” and how he had new glasses.
Although he was young, his eyes were quite weak, he said. He spoke of being
born in Istanbul in September 11, 1954, spending his early years in Turkey,
his theological training in Jerusalem, his return to Turkey to serve in the
army, and then being an ordained priest. He wrote of how he had “cried the
day of” his ordination as he wanted nothing but to serve God and to love
all mankind. His letters always ended with “love and peace” written in
English, and in Armenian “Aghotkov yev sirov.”
Fr. Yergatian was an avid painter and used his art as meditation. His
request to receive painting materials was actually granted by the prison
guards. When he painted, he was able to relax and not “suffer,” he said. He
even sent me photos taken by the guards of his paintings – and his own
photo, dressed in a sweater standing against an outdoor prison wall. I
remember staring at his paintings and wondering about his inspiration for
the serene natural setting with a river, mountains and trees, while another
painting reflected a sail ship caught up in stormy waters and high waves.
When his December 1985 Christmas letter ended with the words “pray for me,”
I knew he was losing hope. We had been corresponding for years and he had
never asked for my prayer. My contacts with the AI provided me with legal
updates on Fr. Yergatian’s case and news of his continued tortures. AI did
not encourage further publicity of his case, fearing that it would
undermine and damage the legal process. It was difficult to abide by AI’s
request.
As the years passed, other more pressing matters distracted my attention
from Fr. Yergatian’s case. Then his March 1986 letter arrived with a small
dried flower attached to its margin, bursting with happiness. He had
received word of his release date under a Turkish amnesty law.
“I am told that I will be released on May 18, 1986 – in the day of
Pentecost. It is really miraculous.” Fr. Yergatian wrote of his “six
friends” and how they had all applied for an early release. In April of
1986, a Congressional delegation visiting Turkey was pressed by the
Armenian Assembly to discuss his case with Turkish officials. The
delegation returned with assurances his scheduled release in May.
Fr. Yergatian wrote that after his release his “main trouble would start
with four years of exile in Eastern Turkey.” He was anxious about this,
the lack of Christian community in the East, and his unfamiliarity with the
countryside. But he wrote: “Remember our Savior’s words…go into all the
world, even to the ends of the earth and I will be with you to the end.” He
considered this a “great commission and a wonderful promise…that is enough
for me.”
I received his next letter, on May 10, 1986, from the Istanbul
Patriarchate. I was so relieved that he had survived the “hardships” of
Turkish prison. His letter was in English. It was full of good thoughts and
joy but with an underlining anxiety still about his internal exile.
“God will work wonders in the heart of men, for with God nothing is
impossible,” he said as though assuring himself. Then there was a long
period of silence with no letters from him. I grew anxious and sent an
urgent letter to Patriarch Kaloustian inquiring about Fr. Yergatian’s
safety, health and whereabouts. I received a kind, hand written letter from
the Patriarchate assuring me that Fr. his health was improving, that he was
busy with his new church duties and doing well.
Fr. Yergatian’s December 1986 Christmas card was a beautiful handmade card
with dried flower designs. For the first time, his letter was typed and in
Armenian. His internal exile to the Eastern Anatolia was lifted. He was
placed under house arrest at the Patriarchate under Abp. Kaloustian’s
supervision and given a studio space to paint while conducting his priestly
duties. He was prohibited from traveling abroad until 1994. He signed his
letters, Manuel Vartabed Yergatian. He requested paintbrushes to be sent to
him as he continued with his painting meditation. Even though his health
began to fail, he never said anything about it. In his Sept. 10, 1987
letter, he indicated that he had received the brushes. He said that his
health was fine and that he was about to age yet another year as the next
day he would celebrate his birthday.
Our letters became few and far between as the years passed and as he was
further entrenched in his religious life and duties. We promised each other
to someday meet. Then in 2000, I learned after having been to Amsterdam
that Fr. Yergatian was the parish priest of the local Armenian Church in a
nearby suburb.
My attempts to find Fr. Yergatian, his telephone number or email address
were unsuccessful. I was unable to carry through due to my own lack of
diligence and other preoccupations. I was, however, in peace. I knew he
was well enough to have his own parish and was living far away from the
tortures of his prison days.
I received news of Fr. Yergatian’s death from Harut Sassounian and was
deeply saddened. I regret my failed promise to meet Fr. Yergatian in
person. More importantly, I was angered by his untimely death because it
was a direct result of the tortures that weakened and aged him prematurely.
I was relieved, however, knowing that the devout Vartabed was now with his
creator resting in a place free of all abuse. It was time for me to pray
for Vartabed Yergatian — he had traveled “to the end of the world to keep”
our Christianity and had given his life for the mission.
Yeghitzi Looys Vartabed Yergatian. May you rest in peace and may God
forgive and enlighten your torturers.
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