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COVER STORY
TWIGE
SHAKEN
IO
Since 1 98 8, systematic racial violence against Armenians in Azerbaijan has wiped outage-oldcommunities in
Baku
and elsewhere. The cataclysm has claimed hundreds
of
lives and resulted in massive displacements-some 300,000 Azerbaijani-Armenians have fled to neighboring Armenia. But plagued with fuel, housing and food shortages, and a de facto war with Azerbaijan, Armenia is hardly capable of relieving the plight of the refugees. Often faced with the added degradation of local prejudice and unemployment, many Azerbaijani-Armenians are on the run again, now heading toward Moscow and making the long, tortuous trek to America. COMMUNITY
A SLIGE OF
EDEN
26
ln a city rocked by religious rivalry and political unrest, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been wrangled in a mesh of scandal and allegations of mismanagement. But since taking office two years ago, Patriarch Torkom Manoogian is striving to surrnount moral decay, as well as financial woes, and restore the community as a beacon of Armenian culture. PROFILE
THE GASE FOR
DEFIANCE
41
Paul Roupinian says denial by the Nissan Corporation of a potentially life-threatening defect in his car has forced him into a protracted legal battle with the Japanese giant. Despite what the 23-year-old sees as a conspiracy between govemmentand industry to silence him, he remains
defiant. FOCUS
A HERITAGE
REBORN
42
With official resffaints on religious worship lifted in the former Soviet Union, Armenia's Jewish community is once again reaffirming its cultural roots. But economic hardship is forcing many to opt for emigration. Edltor'c Note
4
Letters Arts Journal
5 7
Coverdesign : Dicran Y.
Cover photography:
a
stampgd, selGaddressed envelope is enclosed. Opinions expressed
Commonwealth of lndâ‚Źpondent States: $35i Armonia: $30
Po.tma3t.Er
in signed
:
Alt,
3A
tusic
40
Analysls
45
Kassoury
Ilkhltar Khachatrlan
articles do not necessarily represent
Sond addrsss changes to
Close.Up
P.O. aox 3296;
lhe views of the publishers.For.dyertlilng quericr
ilenhattrn B.rch,
CA 90266, U.3.A,
EDITOR'S NOTE
PUBLISI|ED BY
EDI?OR-lI{-CtllEF:
At[, ll{C.
Varlan Oskanian
EXECUf IVE EDITOB: Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian
UANAGIilG EDITOR: lshkhan Jinbashian EDIIORIAL COxSULTAilT: Minas Kojaian
EDlfOn EtEBITUS: EDIIOR AT LABGE:
Charles Nazarian Tony Halpin
DIBECTOR OF OPEBATIOilS: Michael Nahabet
The Armenianrefugee crisis does not possess the immediate drama of an
earthquake orawar. Homes, notbuildings are desftoyed. Life is taken slowly by despair, not swiftly by bullet. But hundreds of thousands of lives are being wasted, with tragic consequences for the Armenian nation in its widest sense. Hope turns to cynicism, talents go unused, a senseof belonging is replacedby rootless insecu-
rity-again. The immediate concern for Armenia is economic. How can a country struggling to shake off a shattered Soviet economy, pay for a wrr, and rebuild the earthquake zone, cope with the task of settling those who have fled from Azerbaijan? The obvious answer is that it cannot, a conclusion many refugees drew in deciding to head for Russia and the United States rather
thanArmenia. The skills and commitment of those refugees have been lost to Armenia, probably for good. They must deal with indifference, and sometimes hostility, in their new host countries. The challenge for established Armenian communities is to welcome and integrate the newcomers: judging by the complaints of some refugees, not enough is being done in that direction. The quarter of a million people who didmake theirway to Armeniadrain scarce resources even as they feel resentment over the inadequacy of official help. If the refugees are not to become a social time bomb at the heart of Armenia, they must be given a stake in the republic. Special treatment for refugees, suchasproposedtaxincentives foremployers tohire them, wouldcreate resentment and furtherdistort an already twisted labormarket. Abetter solution would be simply to decree thatall Armenians, refugee or not, have the right to live and work wherever they can make a living. Arbitrary distinctions between those who fled Baku and more recent refugees from Karabakh are unjust and anyway impossible to enforce. Those who do not wish to return to Artsakh will lie about their origins, while the notion of forcibly deporting Armenians from Armenia to Karabakh ought to chill everybody. Properly handled, the refugee crisis in Armenia can be turned to advantage: a growing economy will need skilled labor, Armenians can be drawn closer together by the need to help each other, and diasporan communities canbe invigoratedby the insights of new arrivals. The Armenian media, AIM included, must hold up its hands here and acknowledge afailuretoreallyinformabouttherefugee crisis andwhatneeds to be done to tackle it. Our report is a beginning, not a definitive answer. As in so many other global debates, Armenians find themselves right at the centerof the modernrefugee question. AIM will endeavorto ensure that what we have to say about it gets the widest possible audience. TONY HALPIN AIM,DECEMBER 1992
GOI{TBIBUIIxG
EDITOBST Vicken Babikian,
Kevork lmirzian, Haig Keropian, Mark Malkasian, Taline Satamian, Taline Voskeritchian ASSISIANT EDITOR: Katherine Chiljan ASSISTANT TO THE EDlfOBr Hasmik Harutunian CoxfnlBUIOBS: Armen Aroyan, Christopher Atamian, Florence Avakian, Gerry S. Graber, Yvette Harpootian, Linda Kirishjian, Ani Klchian, Lola Koundakjian, Gilda Kupelian, Gerard Libaridian, Michael Mastarciyan, Moorad Mooradian, Nancy Najarian, Susan Pattie, Ralli Shoubookian ARr DIRECIOBT Vah6 Fattal CBEATIVE SEnVICES DIRECTOR: Oicran Y. Kassouny YEBEVAN BUREAU: Papken Gadachik (Chiel), Mark oadian, Gayane Hambartzoumian, Souren Keghamian, Gourgen Khajagian COnBESPOIIDEilf S! Amman: Ara Voskian; Amsterdam: Arsen Nazarian; Boston: Arto Payaslian; Brussels: Kevork Oskanian; Buenos Aircs: Sam Sarkissian; Chicago: Sonia Derman Harlan; Detroil: Simon Payaslian; London: Ani Manoukian; Moscow: Tigran Xmalian; Monlreal: Gulizar J. Mardirossian : Parls: Armineh Johannes, Khatchik Kechian; San Francisco: Janet Samueliani Sydney: Haig Lepedjian; Tokyo: Sonia Katchian; Vianna: Sebouh Baghdoyan; Washinglon: Zanku Armenian
PHOTOGBAPIIERST Amman: Karekin Ketelian; Boslon: Lena Sanents, Ari Stamatiou; Los Angeles: Michael Agyan, Kevork Djansezian
i
New Jersey: Ardem Aslanian; New York:
Hary Koundakjian, Tony Savino; Paris: Armineh Johannes, Aline N4anoukian; Providence: Berge Ara Zobiani San Francisco: Armen Petrossian; Yerevan: Mkhitar Khachatrian, Zaven Khachikian. Rouben Mangasarian ASSISTA]ar TO rHE PUBLISHERS: Dikran Djetrahian CIFCULAf IOx DIBECIORT Thomas Yeterian ADHI1{IaTRATIVE DIFECTOnT Sela Kouzouian 1, AnXEf ING DIBECTOB: Candace Kentopian ADVERTISIIIG DIBECTOFs Aline S. Kassabian ADVERTISIIIG DEPARTf EilTr Ani Stepanian, Victoria Manjikran. Hratch Yerknabetian
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'I1I1â‚Ź Hues Aglow Sonia Derman Harlan's "The Color of Diversity" (Community, August-September), about the "dozens of small, variegated Armenian communities [that] dot the American landscape," was highly informative. Harlan should be congratulated for the excellent article.
The Vosbikian Band
EdTutelian Ar me ni an As s oc i ati on of T o I e do
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The Old Man and the Khash
Special 50th Anniversary new cassette recording.. Enjoy the big band sound of the fabulous
It was both interesting and emotional for me toreadTony Halpin's "Survival Instinct" (Archives, August-September). Dora Aghbalian's picture and story brought back
Vosbikians. Perfect for parties ! Great for the carl Order now for Holiday Gifts. Also available: Vols 1, 2 & 3
many childhood memories of my experiences
I just received my first issue of AIM.I am very proud ofthe excellentjob you are doing with the magazine. As an Armenian in my sixties, I never expected such a publication would see the Iightof day. Bravotoallof you. Michel Bedrossian Quebec,Canada
Biased Constructs Your August-September cover story, entitled "Armenia: Building a Democracy," provided valuable insights into the tumultuous, even chaotic, ebb and fl ow of democracy
in Armenia today. However, I noticed a few drawbacks to the method of reportingdrawbacks which, although not glaring, contribute to a less-than-balanced coverage that predetermines certain outcomes. Specifically, I refer to the writers' tendency to portray the National Alliance opposition movement in terms that emphasize manipulative and power-bent behavior. I do not dispute such conclusions per se, for it is already apparent that political behavior in
Armenia can be no less cynical than in most of the rest of the world. I simply ask that such conclusions be formed less upon assertions made by the authors andmore upon balanced investigation and evidence. Forexample, why interview only the Ararktsians and Shugarians, who are bound to offer the Ter Petrossian line, and not the Seyran Baghdasarians and Rafael Ghazarians, who are likely to offer something different? Why treat the opposition's unprecedentedcohesion and stubbomness as a cause rather than an effe c t of crisis? [n other words, why not at least explore the option that such an arrangement of disparate forces and theircall foracoalition governmentcomes not from a design to gangtackle Ter Petrossian but as a response to an
unprecedented crisis over Karabakh-a response that stresses the need for national forces to come together? Anu'anig Kasbarian Teanec'k, New Jersey
with herfather, Nikol Aghbalian. Since my father, Kourken Mekhitarian, was the editorof the H ousaper Dai ly inCairo, Egypt,l hadthe privilege of meeting manyof the political and intellectual leaders ofthe I9I8
l- -
,;d..;o
-
-1
OVOL4
J
*y,_r*uo-
The Vosbikian Band 9 Tanner St Haddonfield, NJ 08033 (609) 429 - 0800
Armenian Republic. As a child and then
teenager. I spent many summer vacations with family and friends in Lebanon's mounas a
tain villages, where Nikol Aghbalian also spent his summers.
Dora's eyes and her words reminded me of her tather-the same melancholic look. a look of deep yeaming and a certain sadness that I always saw in Aghbalian the elder's eyes. Now I realize how much he missed his family and how much he sacrificed for his political beliefs. He may have died alone, but in his lifetime he eamed the love and respect of many. I remember taking long walks with him and listening to his stories about his adventures in Armenia. On one of our walks, we had actually lost track of time and foundourselves very hungry. We were strolling along a large orchard. He told me God would surely forgive us if we snuck in and plucked a few of the
apples and pears off the trees. Then, very quietly, he held my hand and we ran into the orchard. I've never had any fruit that tasted better than those we ate that day. Though widely considered a recluse, Nikol Aghbalian was in fact quite an outgoing
_
l
r"r",
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ROGEN K. DERDERIAN FINANCHLCONSI,'LTANT
SHEARSON V
MHIVINT
BROTHERS
man. One of the most important events of each
summer was his cook-out in the woods. He wouldstartbydiggingapitinthe grounddays before theevent, preparethe wood andthe fire and start cooking his specialty ,the khash,the day before. More than 50 of his friends from the surrounding villages would trek to his village, gather around the fire the next day, and, with great pride, Nikol Aghbalian would serve us his magnificent dinner. The children really disliked the soup, but nobody dared refuse the famous chef. I am only sorry that Nikol Aghbalian and my father's generation are not alive today to rejoice and support the new independent Republic of Armenia. Seta M ekhitarian Terzian
Dedham, Massachusetts
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20324iJ24Jd0 8008428450CT 800 243 3ls4 USA
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(818) 5't8 - 2110
AIM. DECEMBER I992
Completing the List
The "Armenian Medalists in Modern Olympics" list (Sports, August-September) should have includedthe
following athletes:
Igor Ter Hovannesian, bronze medals in long jump, Rome, 1960, and Tokyo, 1964 (The Complete Book of the Olympics); ar.d Armenak Alajajian, silver medal in basketball, Tokyo, 1964 (Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia). Chahe Kassardjian
Glendale, Califumia
Toward a New Symbiosis? Dr. Sarkis Shmavonian's essay, "The ViThing" (August-September) presents a
sion
coherent summary
of the
problems of
Armenia's geographical location in relation to its foreignpolicy. However, his thesis that the Armenians are "wholly different" from their neighbors in regards to language, alphabet and ethnic origin is aflimsy argument againstArmenia's viability as anindependent state. Neither the Georgians nor the Kurds speak languages mutually intelligible to their immediate neighbors but, like the Armenians, are indigenous to the Middle East. As for racial and ethnic origins, it seems apparent to mosthistorians that Armenians are related to their fellow Indo-Europeans in the region (Kurds and Iranians) as well as to nonIndo-European speakers who over the cen-
EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT Presented by
turies have absorbed "Armenoid" physical characteristics (including groups as diverse as the Turks and Syrians.) The real problem, therefore, is not that Armenians do not fit in, but that certain Armenian intellectuals (not
necessarily Dr. Shmavonian himself) are uncomfortable to the point of paranoia and
self-hatred
with their own
Middle
Eastemness.
Landmark's NUART Thealre 27 2 Sanla Monica Blvd. Santa Monica 11
FRIDAY, DEC.4 8:00 P.M.
One of the characteristics of Armenian civilization (as well as any other healthy society) is its ability to assimilate influences from surrounding cultures without diminishing its sense of uniqueness. At the same time, these very influences are potential bridges to new relationships with countries (including Turkey, kan, the Arab states and others) from whom Armenia and other Transcaucasian peoples were artificially cut offduring Sovietmle. Gregory Chopoorian Central Falls, Rhode Island
SAT. & SUN. DEC. 5.6 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 P.M.
MONDAY, DEC.7 8:00 P.M.
Landmark's UG Theatre 2036 University Avenue Berkeley
SUNDAY, DEC.20 3:15,6:00,8:45 P.M. AIM, DECEMBER 1992
Letters should be addressed to:
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ARME}IIA1{ TETI'/ISION PRODUOIOilS,
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Vintage Karsh
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Eversince hisportraitof Winston Churchill, one of the mostwidely reproducedphotographs in history, appearedon the
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BominMardin,Armenia.in l908,KarshmovedtoCanadain1924.Afterapprenticing with the eminent Boston portraitist John H. Garo, Karsh opened his own studio in Ottawa. His celebrated photograph of Churchill, taken when the British prime minister visited
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Clockwise from left: Yousuf Karsh; a scene from the
American Legends exhibition; Karsh's portrait of Brown University President Vartan Gregorian Canada
inl94l,
brought him intemational acclaim. A collection of Karsh's most recent works will be on exhibit at the Intemational Center of Photography (ICP) in New York through January 24.Entitled Karsh: American Legends,the exhibition is organized by the ICP and funded by Springs Industries as part of The Springs of Achieyement Series on the Art of Photography. In creating the exhibition, which includes colorand black and white photographs of Helen Hayes, JasperJohns, Isaac Stem, Jessye Norman, Leonard Bemsteinand Dizzy Gillespie, Karsh traveled across Americatophotograph his subjects in their own environments. "My quest has brought me great joy," Karsh has written. "Ithas keptme young atheart, adventurous,foreverseeking, andalwaysaware that the heart and the mind are the true lens of the camera." A portfolio of portraits by Karsh, also entitled Ka rsh: American Legends,has been published by Bulfinch Press to coincide with the exhibition. In addition to 42color and44 duotone photographs, thebookfeatures an introductionby Karshandphotographs ofseveral "legends" early in their careers. Each portrait has a personal caption by Karsh. Karsh's works arepartof theperrnanentcollections of the ICP, the Museumof Modem Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Portrait Gallery of London and other museums throughout the world. AIM, DECEMBER
1992
,t:.lj.{
Tokyo Mon Amour Ikeda, Isomura. Harada...and Oundjian comprise the renowned Tokyo String Quartet. "There musthave been hundreds ofpeople who sat through a whole concert and nevereven thought I wasn't Japanese," says first violinist Peter Oundjian. "My hair is stillpretty dark, I'm about the same height as they are, and f rom a clistance people don't even think about it. My name is a bit rnore strange to rnost people, so they think Oundjian is a funny Japanese name." Oundjian joined the Tokyo String Quarret l2 years ago, fresh out of Juilliard, to become the group's first non-Japanese member. "l find that music transcends nationality." says Oundiian, who doesn't speak a word of Japanese. "There is an issue of taste and refinement that perhaps I find very easy to associate with in the Japanese. I don't know whether it's my English upbringing or my Anrenian heritage, but none of us is interested in overstatement. I think we're allon the slightly introspective and rather intense side when we play. We don't disagree about the character of the music we play."
Toronto-born
Oundjian is the fifth child of an Armenian tather fiom Istanbul and an English mother:
she worked
fbr an
Armenian carpet
cleaning
house
and he owned an oriental rug com-
pany. Oundjian's
musical talents u,e re manifestcd tirst in singing and then on the piano. By age seven. he had switched to the
violin. Two music
:
teachers provided
o
inspiration:iwtr,ffi NIanuk Parikian anci Ivan Galamian. Galamian was also responsible fbrinstructing the likes of Itzhak Perlnran and Pinchas Zukennar. Ound.jian came into prorninence when he won the Gold Medal at the Royal College of Music in London and took first prize in the 1980 International Violin Competition in Chile. Even though several string quaftets asked him to join. he focused on completing his studies atJuilliard to pur.sue a solo career. But then the Tokyo String Quartet was too good to pass up. The critically acclaimed group, which is based in the US. has perfbmed throughout the world since 1969. Oundjian attributes some of his talent to his Armenian roots. "We're a sensitive people," he says. "ln a way, there's a dark side to the Armenians, and I don't mean that in abad way. As a people. we're aware of ourcollective suffering and I think we draw strength from having overcome adversity, along with a willingness. and almost a need perhaps, to express powerf ul emotions." Commenting on his musical sensibilities. Oundjian comes ecross as an unabashed purist. A Beethoven aficionado. he doesn't mince his worcls about pop culture. "Most of the great conlposers were otten expressing a f-eeling of torment and anguish...there's lots of joyful thernes in Beethoven. but which is the rnost famous theme? The dread of the Fifth Symphony. And that's one of the things I f-eel sad about when I think of young people who 10 rock concefts-the only dread tonnent in that is that they're going to become deaf! -qo They really don't get in touch with a genuine. personal level of emotion. I do like rock'n roll. but I'm sorry that there's too little good n'rusic in homes." Now 36, Oundjian divides his timebetween touring with thequartet, teaching chamber rnusic at Yale and spending time with his wit'e and their two-year-old daughter and infant son. The qual-tet has released numerous recordings, including two Mozafi viola quintets with Pinchas Zukeman and two triple CDs of the Beethoven string quartets. A third triple CD, soon to be released, will cornplete the Beethoven cycle.
-Katherine AIM. DI]CEMBER I992
Chiljan
Enduring Myths When Laura Kalpakian first picked up the pen, she wrote stories from tales her Armeniangrandparentstoldherabouttheirfirstyears in America. Thoughhalf-Armenian, itwas the side of the family to which she felt closest since the others were far away in ldaho.
Kalpakian,herprofessionalname, isalsohermother's maidenname, andadopting it pretty much goes against the typical name transformations that occur when immigrants come to America. "Iknew Ididn'twantto usemymarriedname, I wantedaname I wascomfortable withandldidn't wanttomake up somethingfalsebecause I knew this wasaforeverthing," Kalpakian says. A writerfor 15 years, the l,ong Beach, califomia-bom Kalpakian has had asuccessful career, with six novels and countless short stories and essays on a variety of topics to her credit. Herlatestnovel, Graced Land, is the story of a welfare mother-cum-Elvis presley freak who passes pearls of wisdom and her admiration for the King to a young social vvsd(e1-n ssrority girl fresh out of college. The story came toKalpakian while reminiscing with her mother about the days when they drove together to work. "On the way to work there was this Elvis shrine. I wasn't an Elvis fan at all, so I always had these mixed reactions to it; on the one hand, it was
kind of squalid and tacky; on the other hand, there was something noble about it." Kalpakian fancied thatthe person whoerected the shrine was a woman withtwo daughters named Priscilla (Elvis' ex-wife) and Lisa Marie (his daughter). "The minute I said that, this whole story just started to fall into place with such force and conviction, I had to put anotherproject aside to write it." She dedicatedthe book to hermother. Kalpakian knew little about Elvis beyond his fi nal
days as an aged and bloated Vegas act. She didn't even visit Graceland (his birthplace) until the tour with the book took her to Memphis, Tennessee,lastMay. Then howdid she gettothe heart of heroine Joyce Jackson's passion for the late great rocker? ..I wentoutandboughtall themusic. Iplugged it in andlistenedto it and eventually watched all the movies. But that's all I did. I didn't do any research per se." Truly a work of the imagination, Kalpakian has received a mandate of approval from a legion of Elvisfans. "I getalotof nicemail from people who,ve said that in Gra c ed l,ondlwas able to articulate whatthey felt butcould not say," says the now honorary memberof numerous Elvis fan clubs. "I am a total fruitcake on the subject now," Kalpakian says. on Elvis' birthday, she and
hertwosonscelebratebybuyinghimacake, wearingtheirElvis sweatshirts andpiayinghis musicalldaylong. "IthinkElvisisoneofthemostimportantAmericans inthe20*rcentury, andlthink his import willbecome more andmore apparentas time goes on." She believis thatevery culture needs myths and legends to define itself and that Elvis has become an Americanone.ItcanalsobeoneexplanationfortheubiquitousElvis sightings. "Theykeep seeinghimbecausetheywon'tlethimgo. Andfrommypointofview, youdon'thaveioever let him go, his work really lives on." Movie rights to Graced Land were bought by comedienne Roseanne Barr Amold and company, who have recently finished shooting a two-hourTV dramatization based on the
book. WithBarrherselfstarringinthefilm,the workisboundtobringKalpakianevenwider recognition. "I hope so. I'm really hoping it will bring in 6 much broader audience to my
work," says theauthor, whofeels thathadherwritingmanifesteditself in justonevein, she would have been better known by now. "My work is really eclectic," Kalpakian explains. "Butlthinkit's oneofmygreatstrengthsas awriter."Thischaracteristic, shebelieves, was fosteredbyherupbringing. "when Iwouldgotomyfather'sfamilypicnic reunionswewere all too dark to fit in, and we clearly didn'tbelong, butby the same token we'd go to the Armenian picnics with my grandmother and she never taught us the language so we just sort ofwanderedaroundnotfittingin thereeither.It's maybe notcomfortable but I dothink it's a useful wal to grow up, in the sense that you always have to be alert and you're always looking at things from aperspective that'sjuston the outside."
-K.C. AIM,DECEMBER
1992
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TWICE SHAKEN
AGhronicle of the Baku Refugees By TALINE SATAMIAN
t the old dormitory the Yerevan
cials say. According to many, the
of problem of old refugees from Polytechnic Insti- Azerbaijan and new ones from tute, refugees from Karabakh has not been solved Azerbaijan have adapted to liv- largely because the govemment ing wittrout gas or hot water. The lacks the financial resources to 54 families who live in the handle the sinration. And some, delapidated building have fur- like parliamentarian Stepan nished theirrooms with home- Grigorian, a member of the made shelves and closets nailed Committee on the DisasterZone together from scraps of wood. and Refugee Affairs and the Some refugees have also at- ARF, say that theANM-domitempted to beautify their rooms nated goveflrment is unwilling by painting them, and decorat- to solve the problem for politiing them with wallpaper. De- calreasons as well. spite these efforts, the threeThe refu gee issue has not been story structure, which was slated addressed in Parliament, which fol demolition before the refu- is occupied with "more imporgees arrived in 1 988, remains in tant" economic andpolitical isdeplorable condition. sues, according to Grigorian. No Shmavon Khudadian, who law exists that defines the term lives here with his wife and two "refugee," the rights and prodaughters, pointed to ttre broken tections refugees have, and what windows in the the government is obligated to hallway leading providethem. to his family's room."Thedraft duringthewinter will be bad for thekids,"hesaid. Onthe sffeet, he looked up the side of a wall wherewaterwas sfieamingdown. "That's from the communalbathroom,"headded. "If [the government-supportedl
institute prolnce 1988, Armenid has absorbed
massive influx ol Armenian refugeesose to 300,000 from Baku and other regaons lAzetbaiian, and some l,000lrom Shahumian and Martagert this rar. Still,.Armenia has no law at delines the term "refugee" or what rights rd
protections rcfugees have.
videsuswiththe needed materials, we can fix the building ourselves. But the govemment has forgotten us, as if no one lives here." "Not so," govemment offiAIM, DECEMBER, I992
Yet a law on refugees cannot, in and by itself, solve the problem without adequate funding. Forfiscal yeu 1992-1993 , the
four-year-old State Adminisffation for Refugee Affairs was allocated 60 million rubles. "That's the costofone building," Grigorian commented. "Although almost half a billion rubles have been spent on refugees, this amount has not been sufficient," Alexander Kalashian, deputy-director of the State Administration for Refugee Affairs said. A large portion of the government's refu gee bill remains delinquent. Financial claims against the govemment are many. Holiday resorts where refugees are housed have not been paid.
Afll
ter four years ofuse, they are falling apart, and resort directors, like Svetlana Hairabedi, lack
the resources to restore them. Hairabedi's Hotel Drujba (Friendship in Russian), now home to l5 refugee families, stands halfrenovated because the director does nothave the money to complete the project. When Hairabedi, a longtime Yerevan resident who was bom in Baku, agreed to take in the refugees, she thoughtthe govemment wouldcover her expenses, based on her experience with earthquake victims who also stayed in her hotel. But govemment subsidies have not materialized, and Hairabedi has decided to rent out the non-functioning hotel reslaurant to raise funds. The refugees, too, have claims on the govemment. They are due compensation for their losses in Azerbaijan-which, one year ago, had amounted to five billion rubles. "With devaluation, that amount has probably
jumped
to lfi) billion
rubles by now,"
Grigorian said. However, between 1988 and 1992, the govemment has given some assistanceto the 213,000 refugees registered with the State Refugee Agency. (An estimated 55,Ofi) more are not registered.) It has provided most of the refugees with permanentortemporary housing and some monetary assistance. In 1988, the govemment allocated 100 rubles per per-
son. Those who had been employed in
Azerbaijan received an additional sum equivalent to three months' wages, or a minimum of 450 rubles. In 1990, the amount was supplemented with acoupon worth 2fi)rubles for the purchase of clothing and other basic items. The refugees received no other aid, except unemployment benefits, retirement pensions, allowances for children, and other forms of assistance available to non-refugees as
well.
About 8,00O recent refugees from Shahumian have also been helped. For four months now, pensioners have been receiving 600rubles amonth, andfamilies with children 210rubles perchild. Theirfoodexpenses are also paid by the govemment, which spends 50 rubles a day per person for this purpose, ac-
cording to Dikran Altunian, head specialist in the Compensations Department of the State
Administration for Refugee Affairs.
ents, Kalashian said. Gtutiun has not approached the agency for a thorough and updatedlist of the mostneedy refugees, headded. The reason for this, Stamboltsian said, is that
his organization kept its own list of needy refugees which was more accurate than the state's. Agency officials complain that Gtutiun's list is part of the problem. Stamboltsian's charity, they say, works only with refugees in a few locations and ignores anybody outside ofthose areas. Clearly, both government and private assistance has not been sufficient to solve the numerous difficulties that refugees must overcome. A Refugee Plan, drawn up by Grigorian and other members of the Committee on the Disaster Zone and Refugee Affairs, recommends the creation of a state refugee fund supported by public taxation to finance refugee needs, which include, most
Non-governmental assistance to the refugees has not been substantial, and was badly
critically, the housing problem.
coordinated. "Big promises were made, but only one or two people came through by donating old clothes," Kalashian said. "$100,000 was sperit to ship useless old
Armenians from Azerbaijan, there are still 25,00O refugee families without permanent housing in Armenia; some 105,000 people live in schools, dormitories, hotels, earthquake-damaged buildings and basements. The Privatization Law has placed the responsibility ofproviding housing forrefugees and earthquake victims on the govemment, but few believe that the Ter Petrossian administration can act effectively in the foreseeable
clothes to Armenia." Local non-govemmental organizations like Gtutiun, headed by Khachig Stamboltsian, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the DisasterZone and Refugee Affairs, have also failed because they help the same aid recipi-
Four years after the mass deportations
of
future.
With the devaluation of the ruble, construction material prices have skyrocketed, and the govemment, now forced to buy at market prices, can barely afford them. The country-wide housing shortage following the 1988 earthquake further complicated the problem of finding habitable places for po-
oTlraT,*rat,r
litical refugees. And the Azerbaijani blockade has dealt yet another blow by stopping the
flow of construction materials from other former Soviet republics. "When the blockade
was imposed
in
1989, new construction
practically came to a standstill," Stamboltsian said.
"No one is building for us to hope for an apartment," sighed Gulnara Baghdassarian, a former Baku resident who was born in Karabakh. Until the housing situation improves, Baghdassarian will probably continue to live in the two rooms of a Yerevan dormitory with herhusband anddaughter. However,
when permanent housing does become
available, she may have to live outside of overcrowded Yerevan, a prospect that is dreaded by most refugees now living in the capital.
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"They are denied the right to work and live in the capital because the city is closed to new residents," Altunian said. Yet some, like Knarik Grigorian from Baku, are resisting this ban. Grigorian has illegally occupied a stateowned apartment since 1989. She says the
formerresident of the unit left forthe US, and transferred it to her. After changing three homes since she arrived from Baku in 1989,
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Grigorian refuses to leave this one. Grigorian's Refugee Plan suggests one way to address the housing shortage: to give atax break to those in the construction industry who work on refugee housing projects, thus encouraging housing development for refugees.
As gloomy as the situation is, a few alternatives have been worked out. According to the State Administration for Refugee Affairs, about 28,000 families have exchanged their homes in Azerbaijan with homes belonging to Azeris in Armenia. The Armenian govemment validated thisfait accompfi with a decision in April 1992. Another solution was formulated forfamilies willing to live in villages. More than 7,000 families received free land parcels, where they were allowed tobuild their homes. The families were given government loans at.57o interest. Part of the loan will be forgiven as compensation for their losses in Azerbaijan.
However, Khudadian disputes the government claim that the lands are free. "In Artashat, my friend was asked a 10,000 ruble bribe to receive his share. He paid. I didn't because I did not have the money," he explained. Those who could afford to pay bribes now have village homes which also provide them with a source of income frorn farming. Others who do not wish to live in villages are usually unemployed, partly because of the country's weak economy. No new jobs have been created to absorb the refugees. Instead, jobs are disappearing, even for residents, and refugees are left with temporary positions.
Radmila Grigorian, a 23-year-old nurse from Baku now living in the Armenian capital, is among those struggling with unemployment problems. For some time, she did work as a nurse, but only as a temporary replacement for another employee. As Grigorian contemplates her options, she sees
but one, undesirable, solution: moving to Moscow, where she hopes to be more readily hired by Russian employers. The Refugee Plan, when implemented, proposes to change employer resistance to hiring refugees by offering social security tax breaks. Still, other job-related hurdles, such as the issueoffinding ajobto suitone's skills, are not addressed in the plan. LiliaGalian, who was ascientist working intheBaku oil industry, is an exception to the rule. When she arrived in the capital in I 988, she was able to land a position in the Seismology Institute as directorof its Chemical Department. As she was also involved in refugee issues (having created Shtap, a volunteer group to assist refugees,) she was soon offered ajob at the State Refugee Agency, where she is now director of compensations. Many of the unemployed refugees, and those who work for low wages, depend on government assistance. "They survive on Adapting to Armenian society has been rough for refugees from Azerbaijan. They have govemment pensions and allowances for the been heckled, thrown out ol bread llnes and stigmatized for not speaking Armenian. Refugee women often bear the addltional lnsult of being singled out for sexual harrassment. elderly and the children," Kalashian said.
AIM, DECEMBER I992
Svetlana Sarkis, a Baku refugee supplements her meager eamings with money received from the govemment. Sarkis, who is the only employed member of her family, receives 1,200 rubles a month, working as a custodian in a hospital. Her seven-member extended family includes her mother, who receives 600 rubles a month, and her two
Armenian, which creates another obstacle for
tackled to help the refugees adapr to their new
job seekers. Programs to help them leam the language were cut short after the earthquake, according to Stamboltsian. Indeed, adapting to Armenian society has been rough for the refugees. Khudadian's wife washeckled and thrown out ofa bread line because she could not speak Armenian. "That day, she came
=
t I a
,
lives in Armenia. There are concrete proposals in the Refugee Plan addressing language and social issues. For example, in areas where there are concenffated numbers of refugees, Armenian language classes may be oflered to them. There is also a proposal to increase Russianlanguage programs examining refugee issues on radio and television.In short, theplan aims to ease the integration of refugees into Armenian society.
Lately, a new wave of refugees from Shahumian and Martakert have settled in other regions of Armenia, further exacerbating the situation.
Naira Aftandilian, who recently fled Martakert, said that it was impossible to stay in her village after the Azerbaijani air raids began. "It was possible to protect ourselves from the Grads by hiding in a two-meter-deep hole, but the bombs make holes the size of a car," she said. Naira Andriasian, camped out
inthepark aroundtheChamberMusic House in Yerevan, also said that she had no choice but to leave. "What else could I do? Bombs were
falling on us,"
she said.
"The Armenian govemment cannot accomodate the new refugees," Stamboltsian said, planning to appeal to Europe to transport the refugees there on a temporary basis. "By
agreement of both the Armenian and the Karabakh governments, these refugees are only temporarily in Armenia," he said. About 8,000 women, children and elderly people from Shahumian and about 20,000 from Martakert have entered Armenia in the last fivemonths. The govemment pol icy for refugees from Karabakh remains firm. "The refugees must retum to their homes," Stamboltsian contin-
The Armenlan governmenl has
somewhat allevlated the crlsls by provlding most reglstered relugees wlth permanent or temporary housing and a measure ol monetary asslstance.
home crying," Khudadian said. Now she rarely goes out. Khudadian, too, who speaks Armenian with a Baku accent, does not feel accepted by the local population. Refugees
from Azerbaijan are labeled "Turks,"
said-a stigma that he
he
wants to spare his Yerevan-bom daughters. "I wantmy children to grow up and live in Armenia so that they are not told 'you're a Turk,"' Armenian women from Baku and other Azerbaijani cities must bear an additional insult. AnahidAvetissova, a22-year-oldmother of one, rarely leaves her room in the dormitory because men sexually hanass her. She
. saidthatmen often say, "You've gone out with i Turks. You can also go out with us."
young nephews, whose unemployed parents, now temporarily in Russia seeking jobs there,
receive 420 rubles. Her son is also unemployed.
Sarkis, like most refugees from Azerbaijan, has difficulty communicating in
Avetissova has given up her evening walk with her two-year-old son, and spends most of hertime indoors. Yet, some oIficials, like Stamboltsian and Kalashian, who are busy with other refugee issues, do not believe that the language and social adjusnnent problems are critical. Others, like Grigorian, who has a seat on the Committee on the DisasterZone andRefugee Affairs, think that these problems need to be
AIM, DECEMBER
1992
.
ued. Samvel Begrakian, head specialist at the State Agency for Special Programs, was not sure that the policy could be carried out. His
agency, created two years ago to resettle Karabakh Armenians back to Karabakh but now assigned the task ofproviding shelter to Martakert refugees in Armenia, does not know the whereabouts ofrecent refugees, most of whom have relatives and friends in Armenia and may be staying with them. Grigorian is also concemed because, he said, the government policy is forcing the refugees to disperse, making it impossible to retum them to Karabakh. "The same policy was directed toward the Getashen refugees, who arrived last April," Grigorian said. "They were not given permanent housing in Gapan where there were safe, abandoned villages, and where they could have worked and maintained a senseofcommunity," he continued. But because the government hoped that Getashen could be re-
captured-which has not happened-the villagers were provided with temporary housing until they retumed to their village, "They were placed in Dzaghgadzor's best resorts and given three meals
a
day," he said.
-
Now, the govemmenthaving decided to accept'them as permanent refugees, it has not been able to convince them to go to Gapan. The chance to integrate Getashen refugees into Armenian society has been lost. "Many are unaccounted for and may have left for
Into
Russia," Grigorian said.
Grigorian fears the same outcome in the of the refugees from Shahumian and
case
Martakert. In the same way, the govemment delayed the decision to acceptthe Shahumian villagers as refugees. When it did acceptthem,
financialc
they were given the status of "temporary
herebap encoura$ng o
refugees" and were not provided with permanent housing in Gapan, according to Grigorian. Kalashian disagrees that the as they underfrequent Azerbaijani bombardment, and he does not know of any available permanent spaces in Armenia. Consequently, when the Shahumian refugees arrived five months ago, they were placedin schools andhotels inregionsoutside
abandoned villages can be usednow, are
of Yerevan. But, according to Grigorian,
slgn.
many Shahumianrefugees are now inRussia and potentially lost to Armenia.
In
contrast
to the
refugees from
Shahumian, the refugees from Martakert are still denied any kind of refugee status. Although the government, through the State Agency for Special Programs, is attempting to prov ide temporary housing for all the refugees, many Martakert refugees are homeless, and spend their nighs in parks and in strang-
ers'homes. According to Grigorian, the failure of the government policy to retum Artsakh Armenians to Artsakh or, for that matter, the failure to solve the refugee problem in general does not alarm the authorities, who would rather not take any decisive action and prefer to see the refugees leave Armenia. "There
will
be one less headache for the government," Grigorian said. Kalashian denies the charge. "If wehad the necessary funds, we would take action," he said. Neither denies that waves of refugees are leaving or want to leave Armenia for Russia
and the US. The phenomenon is easily observed among old and new refugees alike.
"Let them take our entire village to America," pleaded Assia Mardian,
a music teacherfrom Martakert.'"There is nohope. We will not be a burden, take us abroad and we will work and supportourselves," echoedElza Karabetian, also from Martakert.
Many
of the older
refugees from
Azerbaijan have also decided that to end their woes in Armenia, they must leave. The
records
of the State Administration for
Refugee Affairs show that about 6,000 refugees have emigrated to the US. Another
48,000 (both in Armenia and Russia) are waiting to emigrate to the US. Many moreclose to 80,000- have left for Russia and other CIS countries. "They want to stay there temporarily, but two or three years later they are lost forever,"
l6
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
Kalashian said. Most painful to Kalashian is the fact that the intellectuals are leaving because there is no work for them in Armenia. About 80 percent are gone. Alexander Tumanian, an athletic trainer from Baku, will soon leave for South Dakota
with his wife, who was a professor of philosophy in Baku, and his two children. Tumanian, whohas nohome in Armenia,has illegally lived in an earthquake-damaged house in Yerevan. "I would have stayed if I had a home," he said. Z7-yearold Sergey Others, Navasardian from Kirovabad, are waiting to go to the US. A second-year student in the MBA program at the American University of Armenia, Navasardian has applied to emigrate. After studying in Moscow, he retumed to Armenia in 1990, largely for patriotic reasons. "Why work in Russia and benefit the Russians? It isbetterto be in Armenia,"he had thought. But after a couple of years in Armenia, Navasardian, who received a degree in aero-
like
space engineering
in Moscow, is disap-
AHARDMIX
Armenion-Azeri FamiliesTry to Cope with the Consequences of Racial Hatred By TOIIY I{ALPIN They arepeoplefor whom war is literally
ofthe heart. Elmira and Raouf Aliev are a "mixed" an affair
couple-she Armenian,heAzerbaijaniexiled to Moscow by ethnic hatred gripping the two grcups. The Alievs will celebrate their lTth wedding anniversary in a dingy Moscow apartment loaned by a friend-their fifth home
sincefleeing Baku in 1990. Only afew books and irersonal possessions remind of life in
Their l5-year-old daughter Yelena was bom there. But the tolerance which made such ethnic and cultural inter-
G
tI c T
= =
marriagepossible
belongs to a dif-
ferent time: the couple were so
used.
"It was not for time
unusual at that
couldonlyhopetoworkasateacher. Buteven that option is no longer available because Navasardian cannot teach in Armenian. Even Khudadian, who said that after seeing Baku he would never live hmong nonArmenians again, seemed to reget his hasty statement. "If I go anywhere, it will be to ttrc US, There, atleast, they'recivilized."
I
convince them there was no one left." A family friend, Elena Sarkissian, also
from Baku and herself the widow of
an
Azerbaijani, recalled an Azerbaijani neighbor who tumed away a mob which had come to destroy herapartment. "she still calls me from time to time," says Elena, now also a refugee with her daugh ter lmad4 22. When the violence had subsided,
Moscow. They have neverretumed.
from
realnamesnotbe
where they had succeeded in exchanging their home inKirovabadforahome where anAzeri family had lived. In Tumanian, Navasardian
everything was finished." A gang came to Raouf's home shortly after he had hidden his family with friends. "They said 'we know you have Armenians here'. They searched my house until I could
reprisals
requested their
pointed. "There is no life here. Wages are low....My skills are not useful here," he said. Navasardian receives 1,300 rubles a month, working as a commercial agent for an Armenian-Iranian cloth-manufacturing joint venture. He lives with relatives in Yerevan. His parents live in the rural Tumanian region,
movement in Azerbaijan. "They hadlists ofthe names and addresses of Armenians living in Baku.There were organized groups of people who went from housetohousetofurd the.Armenians,"he said. "When the soldiers arrived, they said ii was to help the Armenians. But they came when
Azerbaijani friends helped Raouf get his daughter and mother-inlaw out of Baku to
authorities that they
iroposed retugee plan addresses language and other lundamental sscial issues. lt recommends the creallon of a state relugee tund supported by public taxatlon and promises to change employer râ‚Ź3lstance to hlrlng retugees by ofterlng tax ancentlvâ‚Ź.
for
afraidof possible
Azerbaijani
A
and mother-in-law. The pogrom continued
four days until Soviet troops entered the city. He believes the violence was inspired by the Soviet KGB as a pretext for sending in troops to crush the budding nationalist
Azerbaijanis and Armenians to
marry,"
said
Raouf, an economist, continued to work in Baku for another year to try to support his family. But he finally quit as his colleagues' attitudes toward him became increasingly aggressive. Meanwhile, Elmira traveled to Yerevan totry toregisteras arefugee and receive financial help from the Armenian au-
thorities. "When
the official found out my daughter was Azerbaijani shebegantopresentall kinds of obstacles tomy registration. So I left," she
Raouf of their 1975 wedding attended by friends from both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
said.
"There wag no problem then between Chris-
to them and many other
tians andMuslims." Despite mounting violence and tension in the late 1980s, the couple continued to hope things would tum out all right. Elmira, a teacher, remembers the exact moment in December 1989 when she knew they would not. One ofher pupils burst into the classroom brandishing aknife and demanding she get out of Baku. The incidentconvincedherto accept an invitation from friends to visitGermany the
next month and, on retuming to the Soviet Union, she stayed in Moscow. Aday afterRaouf retumed to Baku, anti
Armenian violence broke out and he was forced to find hiding places for his daughter AIM, DECEMBER 1992
Thefamiliesreflecton whathashappened "mixed" couples with amixture ofpain andresignation. "We lostour home, our work, our position in society, everything," said Elmira. "Wehave been thrown out of life," added Raouf. "We feel ourselves the victims of something that was beyond our control. We lost everything-what is our guilt?" A thoughtful and humorous man, Raouf pinpointed a time when the road to conflict could have been diverted. "It began with Sumgait when nobody was punished," he said quietly. "Ifthey had punished all the people who took part in Sumgait and if theArmenian people could maybe have been a little patient and not become excited,
t7
then maybe everything could have been stopped.
"After Sumgait everything
was on
televi-
sion and people became more and more agitated. It was a very good provocation." Canthe two peoples everbe friends again? Elmira shakes her head but Raouf is less pes-
simistic. He tells of an Armenian refugee friend who has married an Azerbaijani since moving to Moscow. "Armenia and Azerbaijan are not such big countries that they can have a long war be-
THE LONG TREK TOAMERICA By SONIA DERIIAN HARLAN Eduard Oganesov
considers himself lucky. In February
tween themselves. We have to live on such a small piece of ground.
"The development of economic relations will have an effect. Business does not know borders and people will cooperate." Elmiraretains herdoubts. "The fue which has bumed will smolder a long time," she said. "A lot ofblood has been spilled and there's a lot of anger between the two peoples." Both families are adamant they will never retum to Baku, but they feel unwelcome in Moscow whereprejudice againstpeople from the Caucasus is commonplace. They dream of a fresh start in the US, but hold little hope that their applications for admittance as refu-
will be processed soon. Do Elmiraand Raouffeel the strains of war on theirmarriage? "We speak about it but we trynottohavebig splits in ouropinions," said Elmira. "The basis of our relationship means we can be in love with the good and the bad sides ofeach other. "We never get to the point of saying Armenians are good and Azerbaijanis are bador vice-versa. But of course we know families where this has caused problems." "And anyway, sometimes she beats me gees
and her relatives keep me down," laughed Raouf, teasing his in-laws. But what of the children, half-Armenian half-Azerbaijani, in aworld which asks them to take sides? Imada, who retains her father's last name, Mamedova, admits she is tom inside by the clash ofidentities. "I do feel discomfort. I argue with myself to be more objective but one day I am on the Azerbaijani side andthe nexton the Armenian side." She worries too about the effects ofethnic
killing on the next generation. "When someone is killed in front of achild itmeans the
will
understand that
child
it is possible to kill
someone because he belongs to another nationality. He will see it was possible without
being punished." Yelena puts on
a
bolderface, denying any
conflict in her dual identity. "When there is news about the fighting on television, I don't feel terrible inside. At school, my friends are very unpolitical. My friends are both Armenian and Azerbaijani and everything is OK here."
But Elmira interrupts: "She told me the
1990,hisAzerifactory
supervisor
wamedhimtotakehis family out of Baku. Indeed, killings, looting and kidnappings of Armenians escalated shortly afterward. Mrs.Vera Semenov considers herself lucky. Her registration number on the American Embassy's refugee list for admission into the United States was in the nineteen thousands; her friend's was in the fifteen thousands. Vera and
her family were picked earlier. The Semenovs now live in Jamestown, near Fargo, North Dakota. They are anrcng 22 Armenian refugee families from Baku brought here by the Lutheran Social Services and the Episcopal Diocese
of
North Dakota. This community is expecting 35 more fumenians next month.
The
Oganesovs were
broughtto Chicago by Catho-
lic Charities. They are one of
l5
families; others
were
sponsored by Lutheran Social
Services of Illinois.
YuriandRemaAbakimov arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania, a year ago. They are part of a
growing group
of
150 refu-
gees sponsored by the International Institute of Erie. Ninety miles away, 10 more families are being assisted by
Methodist, Ukrainian and Jewish charities of Cleveland. TheexactnumberofBaku Armenian political refugees now living in the United States is not clear. Hundreds were processed in l99l as part ofthe 61,000 quota of refugees entering the United States from the former Soviet Union. Big cities, including San Fran-
cisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Seaftle, Denver, Houston and Chicago, are receiving greater people than numbers
of
other day she wished she were Russian. She said life would be easier if she was a Russian
Cleveland, Kansas City,
inMoscow."
Fargo, Lansing, Harrisburg
I
fore-
AIM, DECEMBER
1992
and the like. Then, there are those coming to places with names totally foreign to them:
Erie, Pennsylvania; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Akron, Ohio; Bowling Green, Kentucky;
Belville, Illinois.
"Until thetroublestarted in 1988, we were very well off in Baku, better than our counterpartS in Armenia," explained Eduard Oganesov. "Armenians had the highest level of jobs in Baku's oil industry. The Azeris needed and respected us because we were educated, honest, hard-working and modest people. Until the last few years, we lived peacefully in mixed neighborhoods with
Armcnian lactory owncrs and managers w,erc burnped into positions subordinate to Azcris. The Amrenian intclligcntsia began
its power basc: prof'essionals werc harassccl: propcrlics. hontes wcrc vandalized :lncl looted: livcs werc thrcittencd... It wasn't so rnuch a Christran-Muslim prob-
of Eric. "They comprised the industrial backbone ol Azarbaijan's capital. Wc are doclilr\. ettgineel'.. .uitrtting ccoltomirt:.'fhey
coulcl carc lcss about thc Arrrtenialts." saicl Stepan Astvatsaturov. Askcd i1'they thought Anncnians startccl thc Karabakh conflict
are creativc and talentists. musicians. entcd pcoplc." But regardless of skill and talcrlt, until these pcople arrivc in thcir host cornmutritics. thcl' are identilied rs nanres arcl nutnbcrs on thc rosters ol'the Dcparttltcnt ol'State ancl its satellite Refu-ecc Data Ccnter in Washington, D.C. Il no rclativcs are fbut'rcl. thcirnames are subn'ritted totheChurch World Servicc (part o1' thc National Council ol' Churchcs). r'hich in tunr rclers cases 1rl thc national headqr-rarlers of its denominations. alf'iliates or charities. The Luthcran IInmigration ard Rc1'r-rgee Servicc. thc US Clatholic Contcrcnce. the Amerrcan Council for
too soolr. thcy insisted tl'rat i1' Arntenians didn't starl it, thc Azeris woulcl havc. Thc
tion Ministrl . the Internrtional
Azcris were rcaclying themsclvcs. In spite o1'that. Margarita Aslvatslturova culre to Chica-eo bearing a great tlcal o1 rcscntnrcnl towartl Yerevan. "The Amtc-
Soeictr Jr'!' tnr()rlt llto.e otgrtttizlliotts. Relugcc fnnrilics are then assigncd to host
losing
Ienr as Annenian-Turkish problern." said Ogancsov. His co-patriots in the room ugtcr'tl: The t['lcl'iortttittg sitttlrtiotl ua:
Azcrbai.jan's glaring attcnrpt at ethrtic
"clcansir-r9."
Is history rcpeating itsclt'l "This timc Gorbachev has Arnrcnian blood on his hands. He coukln't cnlbrcc thc laws. He
I'
Nationality Service. the Episcopal Migra-
Rcscue Conrmittcc and thc Hcbrew Lnnri-crant Aid
parishcs bascd on the reccivin-9 contt.t-t ut-tity's rcadincss tu renclcr services. Il no church is liruncl, ref'errals go to voluntccr secular organizations. lirundations ancl indiviclLral bcne-
irctors. Thc Statc Department refirgcc bcnef it alIocation averages 1ll22.5 per pcrson. AII rcl'ugce rescttlemcnt agcncics are accountable to thc Statc Depafinrcnt.
f
"Oul all-voluntccr Rcl'ugec
Rese
lllcmcltt
Cornm ittee lhrrn thc Trin itr Luthcran Chr-rrch got a dry's noticc belbrc the arrival ol otrr
fivc
fanrilies." saicl Viola Reinrcrs ol
Jarncstown. North Dakota. "Thc welcttmiltg cornrnittcc mct thenr at thc airyofl. Wc took thern to the ir lirrnishccl apartmettts. an(l ma(lc surc that all thcir basic ttcctls wcrc l-net." Thc
comrnunitl' paid thc l'irst rnonth's rcrtt lilr each fanrily. 'I'he Lr-rtheran Social Scrviccs l-racl
ProW P"
% %p-a
lf history is repeating itself, this time around Armenians are coming lo America with highly developed intellectual and socio-economic background.
a
Turks. l-atars. Jews. Russians ancl Gcor-
nian govclnrncnt victimizccl us whilc at-
gians. Although only our e lderly are 11ucnt irt
ttrrrpting to gain Karabakh ll'orn Azcrbai.ian.
Arnrenian. wc all l'ccl vcry Armcniatt. Wc
That is why we did not go to Ycrevut as rclirgccs." shc said. Il' history is rcpeating itsell'. this time around Arnrcnians arc coming to Anrcrica
wcrc allorvecl to nurture our cthnic pridc. Wc attcnded St. Grcgory the illuminator Amrcnian church. wc opcnly looted lirr thc Ararat SoccclTcum tiorn Arrnenia. neu,spapcrs antl magazine s fiorr An'ncnia fi'ccly circulated in our homcs." "Littlc bi' little. things hcgan 1o chtnge .
already loancd thcnr thcir travcl expcnses.
Public Aid providcd hcalth scn'iccs antl tbotl starrps. Those cligiblc tbr cmploymertt receivccl autornatic authorization and a Social Securitl cur d..\l I rcccir ed olictttltl i, rn: ttttttty were immecliatcly enrolled in Englislt classcs.
with a highly clcveloped intellectual artd socioccononric background. "lt is obvious to tne that Annenians wcrc Baku's clite. saicl Pnul .lcrico. director of the Intcmational Institutc
AIM. DF-CENIt]ER i992
Thc Janrestown rcl'ugce rescttlclltent program appears to bc the "best-casc scenario." A 1'car latcr. tctt tnentbcrs ol'thc Iive lnrnilics are crrployecl. Most arc sclf-sulficicnt. Thel' are intcglrtirtg well into their community. Every month Armenians are lcaturcd in the Luthcran Social Serviccs ncwslctter. .larnestown hosted an Armenian picnic in AurLrsl. If thc Baku relirgccs had an1, fbrcknowleclge o1' the Amcnian comnrunitics in thc Unitcd States. it was strictlv about Southcrn Calilbrnia. Who wor.rlcl have hcard ol Anne nians in a place called Dcnvcr. ColoradoJ How luck1, lortw'o lnnrilie s that thcir sponsor wirs nonc othcr than the Arrncrtian Cotttntunity' of Colorado. Usually, nrottths go by befirrc rcl'u-eecs
connect with ncarbv Amcrtians. "lltiaginc
our disbelie l artd amazcmcnt wltcrr ortc o1'us
reported that he had seen the
fare system. There is
sign outside the Armenian
housing here."
Congregational Church on
"Armenians
Sheridan Avenue in Chicago," said Svetlana Mertycheva. "We found a guardian angel inside." Indeed, Rev. Barkev Darakjian mobilized his congregation and spearheaded
a
are
cheap
buying
abandoned old homes for $5000,
fixing them up, moving in and/ or renting out. These forty families are responsible for the urban renewal between 2lst and 26th Streets," Jerico chuckled. Close to 32 refugee families from Baku and Kiev live on Independence Avenue in Kansas
community-wide
effort to find better housing. fumishings and clothing for thesefamilies. "If it weren'tfor
City. Missouri.
him we would have had to pick fumiture out of the garbage. We were not given a chair to sil on by the Catholic Charities," said
Prostitution.
drugs and crime are rampant there, and the tiny local Armenian community has limited re-
Mertycheva. More impor-
sources. "We can supplement merely what the Don Basco (Catholic) Center is doing for
tantly, both the Congregational Church and St. Gregory's Armenian Apostolic Church in the
them. We gave each person 100 dollars and are now helping them upgrade their employment. We
city have become
spiritual sanctuaries for the Baku refu-
gees. The Detroit scenario is much the same, but on agranderscale.
need assistance from Armenian
Social Services. Are there any
such organizations?"
There are close to 45 families in
asked
George Terian, president of the Armenian Society of Greater
Detroit. One hundred more people havc come to Lansing
Kansas City.
and Grand Rapids. Alex and
The answer is no. Both the Diocese and the kelacy of the Armenian Church are aware of the problem. Both centers lack the networking capability that could enable them to supplement
Marie Manoogian and other community leaders, pastors, educators, and medical professionals have all helped. "None organizations and
of our
churches were prepared to launch this kind of help," said Dr. Nadya Saraf, principal of
agencies.
the Alex and Marie Manoogian School in Southfield. "Catholic
Chicago's Catholic Charities. "the presence of the Armenian
the work of local charities and According to Wodarczyk of
Charities are housing the Baku Even though families community is helpful and vital. often apply for welfare benefits, many refugees families in run-down buildings, say they would much rather work than while away time listlessly. These people need to connect which the church owns in emotionally, they need to have Hamtramck, a nearly abandoned factorycommunity in order to receive more benefits. local Armenian friends who can see them town in Detroit." This is why Wodarczyk established contact through their grieving process. Consider the "They think we are shortchanging their between her Chicago office and the local fact that most are too proud and too indepenbenefits and that we receive big moneys from Armenian community. She feels that a coordent to accept charity. Consider the fact that the govemment on their behalfl" said Mary dinated effort will speed up the process of they are putting their faith in the hands of Wodarczyk of Catholic Charities. "They have acculturation. total strangers, then try to understand why been conditioned to expect everything from Some communities like Detroit are makthey are suspicious, depressed, and often feel their govemment. They do not understand ing sure that acculturation does not evolve abandoned. Ifone could be made to feel part that here, federal, state and private agencies into assimilation. Refugees who live far from of a community again...It is much easier to work together to provide the benefits; they Armenian churches and schools are encouraccept charity and advice from your own have to understand that benefits run out after aged to maintain their culture. "Last year we people." a while, that they are one of many refugee enrolled20childrenatthe Manoogian school, By the time driver's licenses are obtained groups we support, that this is a cyclical in spite of the transportation problem. Our and used cars are bought, after US govemprocess. No two refugees' experience will be next project is to move them closer to our ment travel loans are paid back and saving the same; it all depends on the availability of churches and community," Saraf said. begins for down-payments on a home or services at a given time." Other communities are failing to attract business, resettlement program directors hope Erica Riddington. assislant program refugees because of traditional Armenian dithat the refugees will have established roots manager at the Lutheran Social Services of visions. Refugees in Erie, Pennsylvania prein their host communities. Illinois, agrees. "There is a lot of misunderfer not to move to Cleveland or Niagara Falls "The senior citizens and the middle-aged standing and miscommunication about what where there are established communities. are unhappy about having to accept menial the refugees expect from us," she said."We "We have to choose between this side's or jobs but they are making the best of it," she are here to get them started. We administer that side's church," said Yuri Abakimov. said. "They are willing to be challenged, help. We are their advocates if they run into Instead, there seems to be a large-scale mimake mistakes and learn from them." Acproblems with the landlord or the boss.'' gration of Armenian refugees to Erie. "They cording to Vicki Schmidt, director of the Some Armenian community members are mostly coming from Houston," explained Refugee Program in North Dakota, "they feel that some refugees play agency against Paul Jerico. "Pennsylvania has a good welhave already demonstrated what industrious 20
AIM, DECEMBER
1992
people they are. They are not abut to go on
welfare." Jerico has observed that "the younger and more recent arrivals seem to be taring better. They already have experienced the changeovertocapitalism, they know about inflation and they do not expect hand-outs." At24,Harry Abakimov, of Erie, has already become a critically acclaimed concert violinist. He is also enrolled at Penn State University's degree program in restaurant management. Sergey Karamanov carne last September. He had studied English in Moscow. He is now teaching English as a Second Language to Hispanic students in Wahpeton, North Dakota, an hour'sdistancefromFargo. Several English-speaking refugees have been hired as case workers by the very charities that resettled them in the US. ."And look what they have already given to us," said Schmidt. "They have heightened our consciousness to the point where, for the first time in our state's history, we are organizing a Festival of Nations. Bismark and Fargo are simultaneously holding the event in October. Armenians are participating with
MAKING DO IN TINSELTOWN By ANI KLCIIIAN At the time of the Sumgait massacres in 1988, Valery Babaian and his family lived in Baku. Ahairdresserby
profession, Babaian, 51, led a comfortable life in the Azerbaijani capital and owned a summer house near Stepanakert.
"[Baku] Armenians thought the Sumgait events would be controlled and the criminals duly punished," says Babaian. "But the gangs were given such freedoms that the riots quickly spread to Baku and other regions."
d o
=
In those days, Armenia was already faca national crisis trying to cope with the effects of a catastrophic earthquake and the
ing
economic blockade imposed by Azerbaijan. Housing, food and fuel shortages were rampant. "The situationafterthe quake was awful," Babaian remembers. "The Armenian government couldn't possibly help us the way it wished it did, and many Baku refugees decided to move on to Moscow. We were given refugee status there and, eventually, entry visas by the United States embassy." Hovannes Sofian, 41, another Baku refugee, tells a similar story. "On November 24, the mob gathered in the central square of the city," he says. "The day before, they had started crushing and buming houses in the downtown area, where mostArmenians lived. On November25, we saw the Azeri crowdliterally thousands of them-stampeding toward us." Sofian, who worked in a shoe factory in Baku, fled with his family to Georgia, where they had relatives, then moved to Moscow.
"More and more people arrivedeach day,"
Sofian recalls. "The Armenian embassy couldn'tdoanything tohelp us. We were told to try the American consulate. We were also
Thousands of Armenian lamilies from Azerbaijan spent conditions, often forced to live on the streets. their culinary arts and music." A major concem for all those who were interviewed was having to pay back their travel loans. Even higher on the agenda is filing applications to bring out loved ones left behind in various parts of the former Soviet Union. They are despondent because
they have been told by Refugee Program directors that the quotas iue full and will be curtailed next year. It is rumored that due to policy changes Armenians are no longer being interviewed for refugee status. Some sources say ifapplicants have relatives in the US, they would be admitted as part of the 50,000 quota in 1993. I 22
a
whole year in Moscow in disma!
Drops of sweat appear on Babaian's face recalls thehorrors he witnessed. "People were bumed alive, thrown out of windows and balconies," he says. "Men and women alike were raped; the mob made no distinction between children, old men and women. Meanwhile, they had blocked the airport and the railway. People saved themselves as bestthey as he
could.
reminded that Moscow was indeed behind the atrocities against Azerbaijani Armenians. A yearlater, we were given refugee status by the US embassy, but the Soviet govemment refused to acknowledge us as refugees and allow us to leave the country." Sofian and his family, like thousands of other Azerbaijani Armenian refugees, spent anotheryear in Moscow in dismal conditions, often forced to live on the streets. They often rallied in front of the US embassy, desperately trying to draw the attention of American and
Soviet officials alike. "In October 1990, the Soviet Foreign Affairs department finally granted us exit visas," Sofian says. "There aren't any fumenians left in Azerbaijan today. I have no idea as to the whereabouts ofmy foursisters andmy brother since the events. My only consolation is that we were able to bury my mother next to my father before we left." Unlike many other Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, the Babaians and Sofians see no reason to blame the Karabakh conflict or the Armenian govemment for their plight. "This is not the first time Karabakh has stood up for its independence," says Sofian.
"We took to our heels and moved to Armenia, as did most Azerbaijani Armenians," Babaian goeson. "[n Yerevan, wewereshown greathospitality. Total strangers welcomed us at the stations and took us to their homes to
"During the Soviet years, the people of
stay."
Kirabakh rose against the Azeri regime at AIM, DECEMBER 1992
least 50 times. Each and every revolt was drowned in blood and muffled." Almost all Azerbaijani Armenian refugee families who settle in the l,os Angeles areaare sponsored by Catholic Charities, which provides the newcomers with food and housing for the first few months. And though families often apply for welfare benefits, many refugees say they would much rather work than while away time listlessly. But jobs are hard tocomeby, especially in today's recessionary marketplace. Babaian is trying to get a hairdresser's license. "I could do anything, just about any
kindofjob woulddo," says Sofian. "Ihave to raise a child. I can't believe there's no work in this huge city." Despite their difficulties, however, the Babaians and Sofians count their blessings. "This govemment has done for us what the
Soviets didn't-and wouldn't-do," says Babaian. "We feel safe here." Both families now live in an apartment complex in Hollywood. As the conversation shifts to the matter of getting help from local Armenian organizations, the mood tums sour. "We were interviewed by an Armenian newspaper and then by [the television programl'Horizon,"'says Sofian. "It'slikethey all scrambledtogettheflrst shot,to gaincredit
for working with refugees. They took our phone number, but no one has evercalled us.
Wedon'tneedtheirpity; we don'tneedcheap
G**ri.* [r*Jl.*]kJ [t"]li*, uh** **Jl
**ni*
Glendale (in The Exchange) 133 N. MarylandAvenue
(Et8\247-237s
popularity. All we want is achance to work." Sofian says someelderly womenfrom St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church came by several times to bring food and clothing, and gave 30 dollars to his child. "They told us a bank accounthadbeen openedto help outthe refugees," Sofian says. "Butithas been along time since they were last seen in these parts. We don't need their money. We're not their puppets andour grief is nota sourceforprofit." Babaian fared better. He says he was offeredjob-placementassistance from aman on
behalf
of a local Armenian organizatioh,
whose namehecannot recall. Babaian is also taking English language clasSes andreceived some counseling sponsored by the Armenian
Catholic Church. The Armenian Relief Society runs four social service centers across Los Angeles, seeing some 10,000 refugees ayear. Of those
only 100 to I 50arefrom Azerbaijan, director Sona Zinzalian said. Staff offered counseling, help in finding jobs and a place to live, and assistance in getting social security, welfare, and medical aid
from government agencies. The ARS also runs English language classes, she said, but financial aid for refugees was available only in emergency cases such as homelessness. "We do our best so that they can become self-sufficient in the future," Zinzalian said. The initial shock and pain of displacement seem tohave somewhatsubsided. Butforthe Babaians and Sofians, and for thousands of
otherBaku iefugees, the scars
remain, I
AIM. DECEMBER 1992
I[.n
*** **J \^@mre]n
Woodland Hills (in The Promenade) 6100 Topanga Cyn Road
Fellow Armenians:
During its third fiscal year which ended on September 30, 1992, the U.A.F. airlifted to Armenia 11 plane-loads of relief supplies worth over $11 million. This brings the total number of airlifts during the past three years to 37, dis-
BALANCE SHEET SEPTEMBER 30, 1992
patching 2.7 million pounds of humanitarian assistance with an estimated value of $28 million. During this past year, the U.A.F. has concentrated its ef-
fofts on supplying large quantities of urgently needed medicines and hospital equipment to Armenia. The U.A.F. purchased and airlifted millions of dollars worth of medical supplies by paying only 3% of market value. ln addition, the U.A.F. funded four medical projects which provided a computer network for the Health Ministry, a medical waste incinerator for the Erebuni Hospital, an intensive care unit for the No. 'l Children's Hospital, and a blood grouping and sampling system at the Hematology & Blood Transfusion Center in Yerevan. The U.A.F. is the collective effort of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Relief Society, Diocese of the Armenian
ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and cash equivulents
Prepaid e.rpenses and deytsits Totnl cunent assets
616,(
FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT: Furniture and equipment
26,t
L( ss--At'( util ul a ted dep re, iat i,,n
(
12,5 13,(,
TOTAL ASSETS
Church of America, Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, and Lincy Foundation.
ALEX YEMENIDJIAN
HARUT SASSOUNIAN
Chairman U.A,F-
Executive Director
LIABILIT!ES AND FUND BALANCE CURRENT LIABILITIES:
$ i( )15
Accnted LiobiLitie.s Advances
Toktl c une nt liah ilitie s
26,6
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS FUND BAI-A,NCE
To the Board of Directors of The United Armenian Fund:
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of THE UNITED ARMENIAN FUND (a California non-profit corporation) as of September 30, 1992, and the related statements of revenues and support, expenses and changes in fund balance and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of The United Armenian Fund's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporling the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. ln our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all malerial respects, the financial position of The United Armenian Fund as of September 30, 1992, and the results o{ its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with generally accepted ac-
counting principles. ARTHUR ANDERSEN & CO. Los Angeles, California November 17,1992
602,9
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE
$ 629,i
STATEMENT OF REVENUES AND SUPPORT, EXPENSES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 1992
REVENUES AND SUPPORT: Goods and senices contributed.for airLifis Cash contribtttions - Board Mentbers Cash contributions - Other
$ I 1,289,2 1,196,)
t9,i
lntere.rt Total revenues and support
12,746,j
EXPENSES: Good.s shipped ond sen,ices used in
airlifls
I 1,s 1-1,:
Airlifis and related costs
787,i
)ot
Supporting sentices Total expenses
12,592,3
Net revenues and support over expenses
153,9
FUND BAI-ANCE, at beginning of period FUND BALANCE,aI end of
1
period
449,9
$
642,9
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. Organization The United Armenian Fund (The U.A.F.) is a non-profit charitable
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30,1992
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
$
Net revenues and support over expenses Adjustments to reconcile net reyenues and support over expenses to net cash provided by operating actbiies:
Depreciation Decrease in receivables.frommember Increase in prepaid expenses and Decrease in accounts Decrease in accrued Decrease in
org.anizations
1s3,9s4
5,242 100,000
deposits payable liabilities advances
(27,848)
Net cash provided by operating activities
149,590
(
174)
(3,521 )
(78,063)
organization whose primary purpose is to bring shoft and long-term humanitarian aid to Armenia. The U.A.F. was formed on November 7, 1989. The U.A.F. dispatches airlifts of supplies, equipment and resources necessary for relief and reconstruction to Armenia. ln addition, The U.A.F. makes donations to other humanitarian causes as deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. The U.A.F. is the collective effort of six memberorganizations: Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Missionary Asso-
ciation of America, Armenian Relief Society, Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, Lincy Foundation and Prelacy of theArmenian Apostolic Church of America. Each of these organizations provides financial support and contributions of goods to The U.A.F. for airlifts to Armenia. One representative from each organization serves on the Board of Directilrs of The U.A.F.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
a. Revenue
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
received. Contributions are received from individuals, corporations and both member and non-member charitable or ganizations. Funds designated bythe donor, grantor or other outside party for particular purposes are deemed to be earned and reported as revenues when The U.A.F. has incurred expenditures in compliance with the specific designation. Such amounts received but not yet earned are repofted as advances.
(1,569)
Payments made on capital lease obligation
NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS I18,O2I CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS: at beginning ofperiod
117 5))
b.
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, at end of period
Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid short-term money market instruments with original maturities of seven days.
contributedfor airlifis
Goods shipped and semices used in
$ 11,289,227
airlifis
$
11,513,503
paidfor interest
fr
s
354
++,.,.
'*+=,.
I}t".@ij.'[hIwji]
The U.A.F. has received preliminaryfavorable determination letters f rom the Internal Revenue Service and the California Franchise Tax Board stating thatThe U.A.F. is exempt from bothfederal and California state income taxes. Accordingly, no provision has been made in the accompanying financial staterirents lor federal or California state income taxes.
The accompanying financial statements reilect revenues of
'* 1s.:sra, ',: *t _ : r ,,
ffi $4* ,t â‚Ź {i '@e**. f'''* ffi $ $*$J Il* $-r-,' $i: i iir, ' l" wl
4. lncomeTaxes
5. Goods and Services Contributed for Airlifts
'64'",6;ru,g.. '11.,.
straight
3. Cash and Cash Equivalents
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Cash
Depreciation
Furniture and equipment is depreciated by use of the line method over a period of five years.
585,513
Goods and semices
Recognition
All contributions are recognized as revenue when earned or
*.r
i. i:ii . a=:+-,lrir '. -. s; -:i*il ;1 =i ,;' r:.i. li ; i]"
,,$tr@,,Sl_
:'
6
$11,289,227 ret-ating to goods and services donated by various corporate, individual and charitable donors. This value was determined based upon the review of supporting documentation provided by the donors or the estimated cost of services provided, as applicable.
6. Goods Shipped and Services Used in Airlifts
The accompanying financial statements reflect expenses of $1
126 SOUTH JACKSON STREET
sutTE 205 GLENDALE
and seruices used in airlifts.
The U.A.F. leases office space under an agreement that has a
Tel: 818.241.8900 81 8.241
,51 3,503 relating to goods shipped
7. Lease Commitment
cA 91205
Fax:
1
lncluded in this value is $224,276 relating to funded projects and other purchased goods by The U.A.F.
.6900
Consumer Price lndex escalation clause which provides for annual rent increases of between f ive and ten percent per year. The office lease requires a minimum annual leas6 payment oi $24,255 in the year ending September 30, 1 993.
8. Fund Balance lncluded in the Fund Balance is $336,000 designated by member organizations to meet urgent requests from Armenia.
ASLICEOFEDEN Armenian Jerusalem at a Grossroads
By SYLVA NATALIE MANOOGIAN and TALINE SATAMIAN
hediscoveryofthe"BirdMosaic,"northoftheDamascusGateinJerusalem,excitedMichael Stone, professor ofArmenian Studies at Hebrew University, fortwo reasons. First, it is the mostbeautifulmosaicdatingfromtheByzantinePeriod. Secondly,itsArmenianinscriptions are yet another piece of evidence proving an ancientArmenian presence in Jerusalem. Even before scholars had an oppornrnity to study it, another mosaic, also inscribed withArmenian letters, dating from the mid-seventh century, was discoveredlastyear 100 yards away from the"Bird." The "New Mosaic, " as Stone refers to it, along with the "Bird Mosaic" and otherfindings such as tombs, dating from the early sixth century, and pottery vessels, all inscribed withArmenian letters, indicates that a large and complexArmenian centerhad existed at the site. According to Professor Stone, the Holy Land is rich with similar finds indicating the extent ofArmenian settlements in the region. In Nazareth, the oldest Armenian inscriptions, dating from the first half of the fifth century were found. Within two to three decades after Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet,Armenians, who had arrived in the Holy Land as artisans, traders and conscripts of theRoman army, were already usingit. They were also coming as pilgrims to visit the Holy Places as early as 360AD,laden with valuable offerings and gifts to theArmenian churches and religious centers which were being established. Some used their skills to leave apermanentmarkinthe Old City. The sixth centuryArmenianmosaic floor of the Church Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter of Saint Polyeuctos in Jerusalem is a magnificent occupies onesixth otthe Old City. testament to those times. These treasures, collected for over a millennium and a half, are now kept in three sites withinthe walls ofthe SaintJames ConventinJerusalem, wherethe Patriarch of Jerusalem resides. The Mardigian Museum houses some of the arti-
a 6
facts,wheretheyareonpublicdisplay.About4,000manuscriptsarekeptintheSaint Toros Church. The most valuable, however, are locked away behind four doors with four different locks inspecialcellsintheSaintJamesCathedral. Eachofthefourkeysisinthecustodyoffourdifferentmembers of the monastic order of Saint James. On special religious occasions, the four priests gather and enter the cells together to select items needed for the ceremonies. "No one can go in alone," AIM, DECEMBER
1992
27
emphasized Patriarch Torkom Manoogian, who is notentitled to a key. The patriarch underscored this point perhaps because, when he became patriarch two years ago, not only did he inherittherichhistory ofthe Jerusalem Patriarchate, butalsoits tamished image. "Until recently, every six or seven months, news and rumors of a bad scandal surfaced in Jerusalem," said Ara Kalayjian, a former Jerusalemite, who is now the editor of the Boston, Massachuggtls-hr.sedArmenian
In addition to churches, manuscripts and
off Patriarchate funds. Patriarch Manoogian believes that moral degeneracy and a lack of a sense of accountability were attherootofthe scandals. "Each member of the Brotherhood was left on hisown as long as he bothered no one," the patriarch said. For Kalayjian and many others in the
joint custody of the Christian Holy Places.
Diaspora, the infusion of new blood into
Armenians played an active role in the recon-
a museum under its care, the Patriarchate is
also responsible for educational institutions, real estate holdings, apublicationdepartment and a library. But more importantly, the Armenian Church, along with the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches, has
struction of the Holy Places after a Persian
in 614 AD which resulted in invasion
widespread desffuc-.
around missing trea-
tion. Their contribution to the rebuilding enhanced the prestige of the Armenian Church,
sures and financial irregularities under
anditsleaderinJerusalem was accordingly
Mirror-Spectator.
These
scandals
mainly revolved
the late Patriarch
granted the title of patriarch.
Yeghishe Derderian. Between 1966 and
During the Cru-
1967, about two
sades, Sultan Saladin,
dozen manuscripts were being sold in
City, issued a procla-
who captured the Old
foreign auction
mationinwhichherec-
houses when they
ognized and reconfirmed the rights and of Arme-
were recognized by a
privileges
London Armenian
in the
cleric, according to
nians
Kalayjian. Morethan 20 were retumed to
Places. This would
Holy later
form the basis for the Clockwise from top: the interior ol the Saint vital firman, progeneral
Jerusalem.
along withthekeeper
view ol the catheJames Cathedral; dral; PatriarchTorkom Manoogian, who hopes claimedbytheOttoman rulers, which is a corlo reinvioorate lhe Jerusalem Patriarchate. nerstone of the 1929 British mandate document "The Status Quo in the Holy Places." In this document, the
of the manuscripts,
Armenian Apostolic
"They were sold because oftheir covers, which were in-
laid with precious stones," Kalayjian said, who,
Church was granted
Archbishop Norair Bogharian, had in-
joint custody of the Church of the Holy
spected the recovered manuscripts for
Sepulchre in the Old City, the Church of the Ascension on Mount Olive, the Tomb of the
missing pages. "Artistically and
textually, they were second- and third-
Virgin
rate...They were not as valuable as sensational media reports
madethemouttobe," he continued. The late patriarch was implicated in the scandal. Diaspora demands for accountability were in vain as the Jerusalem Patriarchate enjoys a special legal status making it independent from any authority, including the State oflsrael and the Holy Sees of Ejmiatzin and Cilicia. Only the Saint James Brotherhoodhas control over the Patriarchate. Kalayjian said that, after the death of Patiarch Derderian, aprivate account belonging to him was discovered in a Swiss bank, with only a few dollars remaining, although thousands were allegedly siphoned 28
Jerusalem
in the person of
Patriarch
Manoogian means that the morally and financially impoverished Patriarchate is on the road to recovery. "He is a strict, financially dependable man," Kalayjian saidpraising the Patriarch who was formerly the Primate of the Eastem Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America. There were hopes thatthis change would improve the image of thePatriarchate and thatreassured Diasporans would senddonations in greaterabundanceto relieve the inoney-strapped institution.
AIM, DECEMBER
1992
at Gethsemane, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. ThePafiarchatehas historically relied on the material support of the otherseesof theArmenian church (Ejmiatzin and Cilicia included), pilgrims and the Armenianpeopleas a whole. 6'proper image" may not be However, a enough to convince Armenians to send more money to Jerusalem. "Armenians are more preoccupied with Armenia," Kalayjian explained. In fact, donors have not responded well to the patriarch's numerous public and special appeals. "I am disappointed," Patriarch Manoogian confessed.
ihere
are otherconcems as well.
Kalayjian
was not certain whether the patriarch's re-
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forms, which are based on moral scruples, would be taken up by future patriarchs , unless fundamental legalchanges aremadetothebylaws that govem the Saint James Brotherhood.
"[The Brotherhood] needs to drop its laws entirely and adopt new canons," Kalayjian said. trgal changes would mean invoking a general assembly andreconciling the various
interests
of all of
the approximately 50
members of the Brotherhood. However, more than half do not live in Jerusalem, but are
scattered world-wide, serving various Armenian communities. Kalayjian was skeptical about the likelihood thatthe priests could come to an agreement and that the Brotherhood could reform itself.
"We shouldamendmany,butnotall ofthe articles, becausetheydatefrom I888,"agreed Patriarch Manoogian. However, what is more important is to restore the moral fabric of the Brotherhood. "Legal accountability makes a subordinate responsible to a superior. Moral accountability means being responsible to the world, to the Armenian world,"he continued.
Though not legally required to do so, the patriarch's policy is to issue receipts for donations made to the church. He encourages donors to insist on receipts, and wams them notto giveto individualsbutonlytothePatriarchate.
Legal reforms have not been at the forefront ofthe patriarch's efforts because "other immediate concems and cares" have monopolized his time. Despite financial and manpower consffaints, the Patriarchate must continue to fulfill its important responsibilities in the Holy City. It must renovate and modemize its private institutions, and safeguard its privileges in Jerusalem.
"Wemusthaveclergy serving inthe Holy Places. But all that we are left with are 16 clerics, including myself. Six are bishops and have specific functions. The remaining I 0 are vardap et s (celibate priests)...We need at least 30 such priests to fulfill ourobligations toward the Holy Places," the patriarch added.
"Every day, every moming, every midnight, patarak (liturgy) is celebrated," Patriarch Manoogian said. "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is where the doors are locked from outside. A Moslem family is in charge of the gate keys. Our priests cannot get out from eight in the evening until four in the moming. During this period, the doors are locked, and our vardapetshave to remain inside. At I I they have to wake up and perform midnight service. Afteraone to two-hournap, they celebrate the patarakfrom three to four o'clock. Then they come back to the monastery andtake anothertwo to three-hournap." The Patriarchate cannot afford to wait for the ordination of some of its 30 seminarians
now studying at the Alex and Marie Manoogian Theological Seminary, which ranks as one of the most important outside of Ejmiatzin. However,30 is not a spectacular number in a building that can house 100 seminarians. The academic standard has also
Clockwise lrom top left: a future seminarian stands in the care ol a member olthe Saint James Brotherhood; the municipalityof Jerusalem has madeseveral unsuccessful attempts (sometlmes leading to scuflles) to tax property owned by the Patriarchate; for centuries, Armenians
visiting the Holy Cityhave had theirarms tattooedto marktheirpilgrim. age; Armenian children in Jerusalem commemorating the Genocide. dropped, partly because of a shortage of teachers in practically all subjects: history, languages, religion and mathematics. "We are asking all the Armenian primates in the world to sendus students. I am hopeful thatthe new seminarians will have apositiveeffect on the others...The seminary is the source of our future hope," Patriarch Manoogian said. According to Kalayjian, the Patriarchate, which until 1979had attracted seminarians from Turkey, lost that source when Turkish
authorities did not allow Father Manuel Yergatian, a Turkish citizen, to retum to Jerusalem where he was pursuing religious studies. After charging him with being a spy for the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), he was imprisoned for six years. When Amnesty International intervened on his behalf, the priest was released, but was no longer allowed to leave Istanbul. After this episode, the Turkish govemment refused to issue passports to Armenians expressing a desire to study in Jerusalem. Some seminarians have recently been re-
AIM. DECEMBER I992
cruited from Armenia, which is becoming a new source for young men interested in the priesthood. However, this does not fulfill present needs. "We needpriests in Jerusalem now," Patriarch Manoogian said. "We have
decided to approach people in the US who have the proper intellectual grounding to becomepriests. Wecannotafford to waitforour own seminarians to grow up and serve in the
church." This approach has not been too success-
ful because most priests and bishops are entrenched in and preoccupied with the communities they have been serving-in some fordecades-admits thepatriarch. Only one youngmemberofthe SaintJames Brothcases
erhood, an Armenian-American who was serving in New Jersey, agreed to return. Armed with an MBA in Management, recently promoted Archbishop Houssig Baghdassian will manage the extensive real estate holdings of the Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem, which is the largest propefty owner in the city. Many of these properties are in dire need ofrepairs and are the cause ofmuch ofthe financial strain that the Patriarchate faces. The annual budget of about $1.5 million is not nearly enough to cover these extra expenses. The basic budget, collected mainly through donations and rents from commercial properties, is not exact because the Patriarchate, which lacksan accountingdepartmentandthe necessary personnel, has been unable to prepare an annual budget and has appealed for help in ordertocreateone. Like the appeal for donations, this too has gone unanswered. The $1.5 million is enough to cover everyday expenses like running the kitchen, which serves about l2Opeople including the clergy, the staff, needy parishioners, senior citizens and the disabled. The monastery also provides medical care for parishioners who are not insured. A clinic donated by the JinishianMedicalFundofNew Yorkis saffed by a general practitioner and a nurse. The elementary and secondary school budget is part ofthe church's regular annual expenses as well.In 1929, Patriarch Yeghishe Tourian combined the Armenian schools of Jerusalem, whichhadexisted since the middle of the l9th century, into one institution, the
Surb Tarkmanchatz (Holy Translators)
School. Today,theschool isrecognizedasone
ofthe leading private institutions ofsecondary education. It follows the London-based GCE curriculum and prepares studetts for acceptance into university. Most of the 150 students enrolled carmot afford to pay tuition. Theireducational costs are subsidized by the school. Unlike othermonasteries where monks are isolated from the secular world, the Saint Jamescompound, builton the site ofaRoman encampment, houses a sizable lay community. ffthe size of the Armenian community inJerusalem has shrunkfrom apeakof about 20,000 after World War tr to today 's close to
AIM, DECEMBER I992
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3,000 Armenians, financially, the Patriarchate has not sufferedgreatly, because thebulk
While the cathedral does not need to be renovated at the moment, the Convent of the
of this population lived in rent-free apart-
Archangels, where Armenian mayrapets (nuns) had lived, does. The second major Armenian church in Jerusalem is located in-
ments, on property owned by the Patriarchate.
Rather than afinancial blow, the loss to the Patriarchate was psychological. Thousands fled due to the political instability and wars of the Middle East. "It is a sad situation," Patriarch Manoogian said. "We startfrom the gatesofthemonastery and weenterabig yard. That yard was once
side the convent, at the northem edge
ofthe
Saint James compound, and is the site for weddings, baptisms, and funeral ceremonies. The historic tiles decorating the walls of both the cathedral and the church have been
designed and baked
by Armenians in
teriorated for reasons other than the ravages of time. According to the patriarch, the new 2O-year-old structure was not built properly when it was erected. "The funds were there at the time of construction,"he said, but didnot know whetherthey were fully usedfor construction. The building is in need ofrepairs which are estimated to cost $450,000. The seminary was founded in 1843, and grew until 1917, when it was shut down for three years following the Genocide. Since its
T-:-Tffirofl6nr,fll1 reopening
full of
in
1920, a
Today, when you
number of outstanding clerical and lay pedagogues have developed it into a leading institution for the training of
enter, there is only silence."
Armenian clergy from around the world.
children, youngsters, teenagers. Once there were
800-900
of them.
If one
The deterioration
listens
Partizatagh, the resi-
oldArmeniansounds may be echoing off
dence of the clergy, as well. "It was in such a dreadful condition that I was truly embarrassed
the three-foot-wide
walls, which
are
sheddingtheirwhitewash under the ravages of humidity.
to show it to anyone,"
Patriarch Manoogian said. So a plan was
The houses behind the stones may be
nothing but
of
buildings is evident in
carefully, centuries-
drawn up
to create
dank
modem living quarten
dungeons in some cases. Yet people continue to live in them. "Perhaps the fact that the houses are blessed twice
for the clergy and guests of the Patriarchate. Two rooms were joined into Clockwise f rom top: the Saint James Convent a bedroom and study, a
houses a sizable lay community within its walls;theold Armenian cemetery lies outside thewalls; the Saint James Press needs copying, binding and book-sewing machlnes to modernize its operations.
each year, at Christ-
mas and Easter, by
the parish
priest,
bathroom with hot and cold running water was
added, and an icebox and small stove were installed.
The building that
helps to make them habitable," quipped
houses the Edward and
one resident.
Helen Mardigian Mu-
According to Patriarch Manoogian,
seum of Armenian Art, where tourists can view some of the treasures of the Patriarchate, has
the Patriarchate can-
notaffordtorenovate
also deteriorated. Built in 1857, it was the site for the old seminary. According to Patriarch
many of the residential and non-residential structures inside
andoutsidethecom-
Manoogian, the foun-
pound.
and commercial
dation of the building may be damaged be-
holdings outside the
cause it has no sewage
monastery walls, the compound includes
system. The museum a curator as well. Alibrarianis needed forthe Calouste Gulbenkian Library. Built in l929,the librarycontains over l00,000books, half of which are Armenian texts. The library has already outgrown its facilites and needs additional floors, according to the patriarch.
Inadditiontoland
needs
the Saint James Cathedral, amagnificient edifice which ranks as one of the most awe-inspiring in all of the
Middle East.
It is bedecked with
tallow
candles made by the Patriarchate's private chandler, and centuries-old oil lamps which dangle from a soaring vault and are replenished daily. The cathedral, builton the site of the tombs of SaintJames and SaintJames the ksser, has in the past also served as a bomb shelter.
Ktitahya, Turkey, who were celebrated for their distinctive ceramic work. The Patriarchate plans to renovate the houses in the small convent and raise two-story buildings with at least six to eight units each. With moneyfromthe JinishianFund, there is aplan to build six to eight rooms for the Armenian elderly. Other structures like the Alex and Marie Manoogian Theological Seminary have de-
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
A keeperof the Patriarchate's manuscripts
is also being sought to assist S9-year-old Archbishop Bogharian who has devoted his life to cataloguing the manuscripts. Ten volumes describing the artifacts have already 33
been published, andthe last volume is due to published soon. hesently, the manuscripts
be
in bookcases that have glazed doors. Special equipment, including fue and burglar alarms and dehumidification systems, were installed in the Saint Toros Church to ensue the safety and protection of the manuscripts, are kept
which must be maintained at proper temperature and kept under special atmospheric
conditions.
the
OldCity,
is aclosedcompound,
aminia-
ture city within a larger one, entirely surrounded by a high, fortressJike wall. The heavy gates are locked and guarded at night, as they were during the Middle Ages. Occasionally the compound must brace
itself against Israeli govemment encroachment into the affain of the Patriarchate, which enjoys exra+erritorial rights, much like an embassy. Except for the right to intervene in
As aresponse to an act ofvandalism by a Jewish tourist atthe Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian, Greek andlatin communities together staged aFotest march early this year. After gathering atthe gate of Saint James, Armenian seminarians, priests, bishops and the faithfulproceededalong the winding and narrow alleys of tlrc Old City towardthe Greek Pariarchate. There, thecrowdpickedupmore
of the faithful
An institution celebrated
for its
James Press
and
continued on to the Church of the Holy
unique publications, the Saint
Sepulchre.
began
It
was a
peaceful demon-
printingbooksin 1833.
stration re-minding
Thepresshasbeenable
to produce
multiple editions of the'entire corpus of the ritual, liturgical and ecclesiastical books of the Ar-
on-lookers and offi-
cials alike
of
the
Christian presence in the
city.
During the rally, word came that the Armenian compound
menian church. Its editions bear the stamp of greater authenticity because they are basedon
wasunderattack.The seminarians, priests
the Patriarchate's rich
and bishops hastened
collection
of
scripts. The
manu-
away. Near the con-
vent, traffic
press,
was
jammed. The gates to the convent were locked.
however, has failed to keep up with modem
publishing. "Only one operator is setting the pages with singlemetal letters, which are all womout. HeisS4years
Taking advantage of the absence of the
patriarch and
the members of the Saint James Brotherhood,
old, and is known as 'Sarkis of the Printing
the municipality of
Press',"Patriarch
Jerusalem had sent
Manoogian said. "Yet
representatives to
we have to keep going;
collect taxes from the families living within the monastery walls. Because this is not a
atleast,wehavetokeep
himonthejob."
"We get
requests
municipal entitlement, the intruders
from Armenia where they think that we have
modem printing facilities. But we don't. We
were stopped at the gateandexpelled.The massive monastery
don'tevenhaveaxerox
gate was double-
machine...We don't have the necessary
locked and only the
equipment to produce
smaller inner door
propermaterial," he
could be opened with permission. Across from the barricaded monastery, one lone
the
added. Though the Pa-
triarchate owns a rela- Klndergarten students ln 1 952 at Surb Tarkmanchatz School; 20 years later, a new generatively modem printing tlon is stlll uslng the same tables and chalrs. machine,
itisonlygood
for limited purposes like printing cards. A more sophisticated, $500,000 printing press, capable of printing 16 pages at a time, is needed. Copying, binding and book-sewing machines are also necessary for the printing press to become self-suffi cient. Besides day-to-daypractical concems, the Patriarchate must come to terms with political issues as well. The Saint James Convent stands in the midst of a city tom by cultural rifts and political andreligious srife. TheArmenian Quarter, whichoccupies one-sixthof 34
tax collector looked
civil
unrest, the govemment has no other privileges. The patriarch says that there are no particular government pressures on the Patriarchate. According to him, the govemment does not meddle in the "status quo" govem-
furtively around, while talking into his cellular phone.
According to the patriarch, the tax collection issue has been resolved since that incident, and the Municipality of Jerusalem has made no further demands. Yet the Patriarchate, which forcenturies has often been the sole
ingthecustodyoftheHolyPlaces. Foritspart, the Patriarchate follows the Israeli constitution. "[However,] there are some general issues, which we face as they come,"thepatri-
effort whichmaynotsucceed ifrenewalfrom
arch said,alluding to vandalism and tax collection attempts.
ofalackoffundsandhumanresources.
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
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vigilant to maintain its rights in the city, an withinthemonasterywalls
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SOUTHERN MENAGE
The Meghri Region !s a Grim Reminder of the Loss of Shahumian and Martagert Plrotos and Text By ZAVEN KHACIIIKIAN
Armenia's Meghri region constituted the southemmost tip of the former Soviet Union. For decades, security measures were so stringent on this, the Tianscaucasian fringe of the hon Curtain, that citizens ofYerevan were actually required to obtain visas to take ttre 165-mile trip to Meghri. Today, the region is a sinister reminder of the loss of Shattumian, Getashen and Martagert. Sandwiched between kan, Azerbaij an and Nakhi-chevan, Meghri i s virtually cut off from the rest of Armenia due to incessantAzeri bombings of the Kapan region to the north. Meghri's other potential life line, a temporary bridge built overtheArax river linking it to kan, is currently guarded by Russian border troops. The Meghri region has been continuously inhabited by Armenians since neolithic times. A dominion of a number of successive Armenian principalities, Meghri also came underthe sway of the Sasanids,Arabs, Persians, Seljuk Tirks, Mongols, Ottoman Turks and Russians. In the 18th century, Meghri significantly contributed to the national liberation movement headed by the Armenian prince Davit Beg. But independence in the modem era was shortJived. Meghri cirme under Russian rule in 1 805 and, after l92l ,was part of Soviet Armenia. The only region ofArmenia to boast a tropical climate , water-rich Meghri is famed for its vineyards and wineries. Other local industries include hydroelectric production, mining and farming.
I
AIM, DECEMBER I992
AIM. DECEMBER 1992
A LIVERPOOL AFFAIR Four Armenians from Tbilisi Call Themselves The Blitz Beatles Text and Photos by GEOFF LAITIBERTSEN t is November 199 I . We sit in a desperately dingy flat in asuburbofliverpml, chatting. The Blitz Beatles, four Arihbrtians from Tbilisi, Georgia, then on their second tour to Liverpool, have taken me into
their inner circle of confidants. As they ply me with something they call coffee, our attention is suddenly taken by a BBC news report coming from a small black-and- white TV screen. Georgia appears to hover on the brink of civil war. They pick up on the background soundtrack and the comments ofordinary Georgians. We see paramilitary figures firing guns and bits of
former haunts of their idols. As it huddles into the tiny dressing room behind the stage ofthe Orrell Park Ballroom, where the Beatles often played for fees that would now harldy buy four pints of beer, the resident emcee remarks how much the Blitz remind him of the Beatles. When the gig is over and the adrenaline still high, a frequently observed occurrence begins with a gentle tapping on the the dressing-room door. Enter an ex-member of a Liverpool rock band with sincere congratu-
masonry flying through the air. Drummer Ben Osimov points excitedly at the screen. "My flat is on that street!," he says. At that moment the Blitz tourof Liverpool effectively ends, though it would take
parison, the Blitz look a little awkward. By the time they finish "I Saw Her Standing There," the hall, packed with thousands, is on its feet. The contest is over. A cluster of Beatles contempofaries come backstage to endorse that decision. For these four Armenians this represents a climatic triumph, but it brings no commensurate financial reward. By Octoberthe band prepares toretum to Tbilisi. Drummer Ben Osimov has given way to Nodi Ostatishvili and formed a new Armenian band, "Gen6tic Code." These friends fl y in to take over the c ity center house from the Blitz. A party is held to celebrate the launching ofthe sister band. A clutch of Armenian musicians are reunited in aforeign country. In a house in the shadow of Liverpool Cathedral they sit in
candleJight, singing beautifully harmonized sharakans. It is a moving moment.
anotherday ortwo to realize it. Band leader Valery Kocharov tums to me and shakes his head. "Crazy, just crazy," he says. Concerns about family and
The band appears to fulfill an emotional need in a city that has suffered a lot ofsetbacks in the last 20 years and that still moums the loss of its greatest treasure. "The
justone more worrytobe Blitz launch into anotherheady night, playing the muBeatles in Liverpool are like sic of theBeatles like no otherband something holy," says Kocharov. has ever done since the originals His stage persona is John Lennon, themselves. and when he goes down to the loIn the late 1970's Kocharov cal pub for a pint, John is what he formed the Blitz Beatles Club in is called. Tbilisi to listen to and play the muThis summer the city of Liverpool played host to the sic of the Beatles. then an activity still frowned upon by the authoritallships of the world in a major ties. In 1980 the band traveled to a maritime extravagaiza. The city large rock festival in Moscow, newspaper looked for an essential where it played to great acclaim. Liverpudlian symbol to greet the Kocharov is an artist ofconsidsailors of the world, andchose four Armenians to be that symbol. erable stature in Georgia, a successful painter and sculptor as well ai But what of the future of the an influential figure in the developBlitz? Their early difficulties with ment of Soviet rock. His passion English, their extreme good manThe Blitz are, clockwise lrom top left, Valery Kocharov, Valery for playing the music of the Beatles Ambarzumian, ners and openness, combined with ZaZa Sakhamberidze and Nodi Ostatishvili. led to a buming desire to play in the their poorly planned tours-a spiritual home of the Fab Four. In 1989 a consequence of unpredictable visa grantinglations and eagertorecounttales of theirperhas left them farfrom well-rewarded for their videotapeoftheband was senttothe organizsonal contact with the Beatles in the old days. talent and success. High British living costs ers of the Intemational Beatles Convention In September this year the biggest ever in Liverpool and an invitation was duly reand Georgian infl ation mean they retum home International Beatles Convention assembled with less than expected. Liverpool, a foreign ceived. in Liverpool. Here every obscure piece of The band attracted the attention of Alan city in its own countqr, adores them, has memorabilia is availablti, but the real draw is Williams, the original manager of the Beatles adopted them. Butrockbands are like sharks; the music. The audience is truly international. and the man who once rather audacioulsy they must move forward or die. Though they with American and Japanese rivalling the have found a new spiritual home, the Blitz, told John trnnon, "You'll neverwork again." British in numbers. The Blitz are tense. Half Under Williams' guidance, the Blitz had a like theirheroes before them, mustbreak loose adozen bands will play, each hoping to sway sobering introduction into the delights of and break out. a frighteningly knowledgeable audience that Westemcapitalismandmadehardlyapenny. they have the most authentic Beatles Sound. They dispensed with Williams. Some have studied the body language and Geoff Lambertsen is a freelance writer. He lives in Liverpool, England. The band has performed in many of the chatof theoriginals and reproduce it. Bycomfriends
muffled
40
is
as the
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
THEGASE FORDEFIANCE Paul Roupinianvs. Nzssa n Motor Corporation By KATHERINE CHILJAN
in
1987, Paul aby" was, Roupinian's prized possesion, his very first new car. Then one day Baby did a no-no-;-engine started and put into reverse, she suddenly rewed to 7,000 RPMs and blastedbackward out of the driveway like
a
rocket; Roupinian says he
never touched the accelerator. After he applied the foot brake, the front wheels locked, but the back tires were still spinning and the carstill moving. Onlyafterapplyingtheemergency brake and taking it out of gear did the car finally stop. Roupinian jumped out of the car, but the engine was still racing at 7,000 RPMs. What began as a mere request for repairs with Baby's maker, Nissan Motor Corporation, tumed forthe then l9-year-old Roupinian into an out and out war with the Japanese giant. Upon a brief company investigation of the car, Roupinian says he received an insulting letter from Nissan, in which the
informationtoNissan, which, Roupinian says, remained impervious to his pleas, he tumed to Washington for support. The govemment hadpreviously investigated the problem, but found no grounds for a recall. Roupinian petitioned the government to reopen the investigation; however, here, too, he found a deaf ear. Despite what he thought were numerous inconsistencies in the investigation, the govemment closed his case and refused to give credence to the supplemental evidence he presented. Meanwhile, Roupinian came into contact with others who had similar experiences
problem was flatly denied and poor driving on his part was blamed for the surprise acceleration ofthe vehicle. According to the CalifomiaPublic Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization, Sudden Unintended Acceleration is a problem that has been reported by hundreds of Z owners. Roupinian, a Rancho Palos Verdes, Califomia,resident,madenolessthan 10 requests to Nissan for furttrer investigation, citing evidence of Nissan's knowledge of the problem. But the company only offered to repurchase the car. "I asked them what they would do with the car, andthey saidthey'dhave it soldin a few days. I said if you can fix it, fine, if you can't, I don't want you to give it to somebody elseandnotknow what's going to happen to him," Roupinian explains. The impassive treatrnent on the part
people involved in the system, the bottomline is theirpocketbooks," Roupinian says. "They don't care that people have been injured and killed because of this manufacturing defect. Even the govemment covered it up because they, I believe, are alsocontolledby themoney being passed around under the table." Automotive magazines also ignored Roupinian, reminding him of just who pays ttreirbills and salaries. Distraughtbutunfazed, Roupinian forged ahead. To him, it was only a car that was lost; but to others, it was their lives. He filed suit against Nissan in 1990 to pressure the company into acknowledging the problem. Armed with the most thorough understanding of his vehicle, he faced an army of Nissan attomeys alone, acting as his own lawyer. The suit rages on to this day; it is a contest that Nissan cannot afford to lose, since a judgment in favorof Roupinian is likely to set aprecedent for numerous other lawsuits, he explains. But Roupinian, now 23, feels that goodpublicity will get more actionthan a lawsuit, which is why he says he is on the verge of a media blitz with a secret weapon: a20-page report documenting alleged hconsistencies, misrepresentations, cover-ups and fakerecalls on the part of Nissan and their lawyers. Once he presents the report to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which govems all safetyrecalls,the govemment has up to three months to respond. He and others believe the report is aktight and promises to be a sensation. "I've been working sohard, my
room is literally covered with docu-
AIM
/ SGSI
MOZOUNIAN
Roupinian at the gate of Nissan headquarters in City of Carson, California
ofNissanwas Roupinian'scalltobattle, and he set out to discover for himself Baby's mysterious ailment' As a student at University of Califomia at Irvine, he pooled allhisextratimeandresourcestoforce Japan's number three car-maker to make amends . He culleddocuments fromfriendsthroughoutthe world, including employees of Nissan. Researching engineering books and other technical literature and consulting his professors, Roupinian at last discovered that the electronic system's design has a glitch that, under certaincircumstances, sends wrong signalsto the cruise control mechanism of the car, causing the carto abruptly accelerate. But rather than presenting the newfound
with their Nissans, many who had suffered bodily injury and emotional distress as a result.
Roupinian has been matching wits with Nissan foroverfive years now, all in the name of getting the 300ZXmodels recalled, forhis
own safety and that of thousands of others whohave neitherthe stomach northe time to take their case to Nissan. He also leamed a thing or two about govemment corruption and deceit: he says that senators and otherpublic officials brushed him off, and sometimes would pass the information he provided straight to the Japanese car-maker. "For most
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
ments. I can't see even the floorexcept for some socks,"Roupinian says. Ittook him over a year and a half to accumulate information for the report and a whole month of furious writing to produce the appropriate letters. "WhatI'm
pointing out is that Nissan lied, lied blatantly, and here are documents that will prove it. I'm going to force a recall ofhopefully up to nine model years." CBS' top news magazine, "60 Minutes," producedasegmentonthe case lastyear, "but they were threatened by the [Nissan] lawyers-the lawyers started playing pattycake
like crazy, and '60 Minutes' ran like a chicken," Roupinian says. As forBaby, "It's sitting out in front of the house roffing away. The tires are all cracked-my mom's eyesore." With the information Roupinian has now secured, he feels it won't be parked out there for long.
I
4t
A HERITAGE REBORN
For Many Jewish-Armenians, National ldentity Has Assumed a New
Tirist
By ANI KLGHIAN AIX PhOIO bY ROUIEN TANGASAFIAN
ensus figures put the number of Jews living inArmenia today at about 1 ,000, but the actual count is fluctuating. While severe economic conditions are driving some Jewish families out of the country, many others are coming forth to declare their Jewishness after seven decades of concealment and fear of official persecution. But since Jewish law considers individuals in mixed marriages Jewish if they are bom to a Jewish mother, andArmenian tradition holds the opposite, patriarchal view, children of mixed marriages are finding that ethnic identity and belonging are, for legal as well as spiritual purposes, maffers of personal choice. According to the OldTestament, which the Jews refer to as the Torah, there once were 12 Jewish tribes, of which only two have survived. Their descendants fall into one of two geogaphic groupings-the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain 1492, and the Ashkhenazi Jews of Europe. The Jewish community in Armenia belongs to the Ashke nazibranch. A Jewish-Armenian Culnral Relations Center, Arev, was founded trvo years ago inYerevan. IgorUlanovsky, 35, achemist, was elected president of the foundation.
n
The following is an interview with Rabbi Gersh Bourshtetn,33,spiritual leader ofthe Jewish-Armenian community and aphysician attheYerevan State Medical lnstin*e. AIM. DECEMBER I992
AIM-How did the Jews settle in Armenia? Rabbi Bourshtein-The first Jewish communities date back to the frst century AD, when Tigran the Great settled them in the country. In the course of time, that early wave has totally assimilated into the Armenian population. The second influx began in I 937, when rampant anti-semitism drove many
like all other forms of religious worship, was repressed throughout the Union.
Where are your spiritual gather. ings held now? Wedon'thave asynagogueyet. However,
following Armenia's declaration of independence, we obtained permission to build one and have even chosen the site. It is at the end of Mashtots Boulevard, across from the St. Sargis Church. We usually gather at the houses of community leaders. Last year, for instance, we
marked Yom Kippur at Igor Ulanovsky's house. The New Yearfestivities were held at the State Medical Institute. This year Hanukkah was celebrated on a larger scale. Also, announcements about Jewish religious
holi-
days are being regularly published in the newspapers.
What about schools and other or.
ganizations?
A Sunday school was founded in August. Here, both young and old will be taught the Torah, become aquainted with the history of Judaism and leam Hebrew. The school has 175 students-75 children and 100 adults. Only the adults pay tuition. We are planning to open at least three more such schools. There is no point in having a full-fledged Jewish
Yom Kippur (Day ol Atonement) observance ln Yerevan. Rabbi Gersh Bourshtein (left) and lgor Ulanovsky (above) are community leaders. Jews
outof Russiaandthe Ukraine. Armenia
was perhaps the only Soviet republic where Jews were not persecuted, though Zionism,
AIM, DECEMBER I992
secondary school, since the Jewish community is not very large here. This year we have also established a communitv service for the
care and preservation of Jewish cemeteries.
Do you see a consensus in the Jewish community, particularly among intellectuals, on the current state of Armenian politics? Jewish-Armenian intellectuals consider themselves part of Armenia, and many have sympathized with the Karabakh movement from theveryfirstday. Mostof usparticipated in the rallies and the demonstrations for the self-determination of Karabakh, shoulder to shoulder with Armenians. Novy, in the postSoviet landscape, people are beginning to see a broader cultural and geopolitical perspective and I think national sovereignty is necessary for progress. Every nation should be independent, regardless of its size. This doesn't mean, ofcourse, that newly established states should isolate themselves from the rest of the world. Without international, truly crosscultural relations, progress is impossible. Cooperation between nations is increasingly crucial, and it must be based on equal relations between the parties, regardless ofgeography
or population count.
Do you maintain ties with
lsrael?
Ourrelations with Israel areconducted on both official and unofficial levels. The Jewish community keeps in touch with friends and relatives in Israel who have emigrated from Armenia. Thanks to our contacts there, the Israeli govemment issued a document supporting the Armenians of Karabakh, along with an objective evaluation ofthe events by the prime minister's office.
ls there a new emigration pattern among Jewish.Armenians today? Indeed there is, and it is difficult to say
whetherit is forthebetterorthe worse. On the all Jews, as the children of Israel, should sooner or later retum to their Mother-
one hand,
land.
On the other hand, Soviet Jews, many of whom were bom and lived in these lands for long years, haveestablished strong roots, and it is difficult for them to leave everything behind. Unfortunately, the recent Jewish exodus from the republics of the former Soviet Union is basically motivated by economic problems rather than patriotic urges. JewishArmenians are alsochoosing therepatriation route. The question remains, whetherthey will be able to acquire a home in Israel. But people throughout Armenia are facing the same socio-economic problems.l think we are all in this together and we have to combine efforts to get out of the pit together.
How do you explain the paranoid and groups towards Jewishness and
attitude of some circles
Jews? There have always been scapegoats in history. Jews have often been used to discharge tension in times of political instability. Today, in Russia, anti-semitic groups and organizations are using age-old methods to divert the attention of the masses from thereal causes of social unrest. The notion of antisemitism in Russia has been advanced as a means of political distraction since Tzarist times. And because the Jewish community was isolated under a shroud of secrecy and
mystery, it was easy to blame it for engineering all kinds of plots. You have probably heard of the so-called Masonic League, amythical organization, which allegedly plans to conquer the world. Anti-semitism is also used to provoke intemational hostility. The same kind
of intrigue was played off in Karabakh. Here there was no effort on the side of the Soviet govemment to find a solution----on the contrary, there was an obvious attempt to further deepen the antagonism. The gist ofZionism is not the conquest of the world, but the conviction that all Jews must live in their country, a claim natural to each and every nation in the world.
What is your interpretation ol the fact that the Holocaust was almost
uniYersally acknowledged,
whereas the veracity of the Armenian Genocide is still questioned by a number of international powers? I have often asked the same question. Many countries donotrealize the seriousness as a guarantee for preventing new genocides. That indifferencehasresulted in the recent
of the act of acknowledgement
massacres ofArmenians in Baku. Kirovabad and Sumgait inAzerbaijan. These events were not isolatedcases of hooliganism. They were premeditated, highly organized massacres. An Armenian girl I knew had been thrown into the fire alive. Another, a child, witnessed his fatherbeing killed. How can these people believe in intemational friendship ever again, if the democratic world is so indifferent toward their plight? There is no doubt about the factuality of
the I 9 15 Genocide.The Turkish govemment should accept its responsibility, as the Germans did after World War II. Maybe the present generation is not to blame for the crimes oftheir forefathers, but an official acknowledgment of historic facts by Turkey would demonstrate sincerity in joining the intemational democratic community
.
ANCIENT TIES, MODERN REALITIES L I I Lf 7
ur ties-and similarities--{raditionally stemmed from
commoncalashoohes. Floodwasthefirstcause. "And on *r" seventeenth day of the seventhmonth, the ark came to rest on ttre mor-uitains of Ararat" (Genesis, 8:4). Nextcame an invitation toarms during the storming of Babylon. "Liftft up a banner in &e land! Blow the trumpet among the nations ! parethe nations forbattleagainsther; summon againstherthese Preparethe
kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz" (Jeremy,5l:27). Perhaps the widgsicross-culrural contact between the Armenian andJewishpeoplessccund inthe firstcentury BC, whenTigranthe Great resettle.d some I 0,000 Jews in Armenia after retreating from Palestine.
Sixhuadredyears later, Moses ofKhoreneclaimed inhisHrstory of Armenia that his sponsor, Prince Smbat Bagratuni, was a descendar*ofthoseearly Jewish settlers: "Youhave toknow thatyour name Smbat, by which Bagratounis used to call their sons, means originally Shambat in their former language, that is Jewish," Khsrenatsi wrote. And perhaps the so-called Zogs, a community of some 20,000 Senritic Armenians, were the last representatives of the oldest JewishcommunityinArmenia. TheZogs, whohadlivedinNakhichevan
sinceTigran'stime, weredeportedbyAzerbaijanin l9SS,alongwirh the rest of the area's Armenian population But the similarities end here. Today, Israel regards Turkey as an ally and the Arab world as its nemesis, while Armenia may gain much from relations with Arab states, especially in light of a de facto war with Azerbaijan overKarabakh and Turkey's active support of its Turkic neighbor. Israel and the great powers undoubtedly support Azerbaijan, because only the isolation oflran can gu,uantee the control ofoil reserves in both the Middle East and the Transcaucasus, while Arab countries and Russiaremain dependent upon the West for military andfinancial aid. But politics has scarcely affected personal sympathies between Jews and Armenians. ComposerAram Khachaturian, chess champion Tigran Petrossian and President lrvon TerPetrossian have all marriedJewish women, and worldchess championGary Kasparov is the child of a Jewish and Armenian union. Atleast 1,000 Jews call Armeniahome, though alotof them are goingtomeetnextyearin Jerusalem, whilethousandsofArmenians still live in
AIM, DECEMBER I992
Israel'
-Tignn
xmaltan
I
WELCOME
TOTHE FST'By SARKIS SHMAVONIAN rmenian political and economic policies have to address the problems of Armenia. Or do they? Can they do so in the narrow sense? The three Baltic states, as well as Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan , are supposed to be independent now-all go their separate ways; all solve their own problems; all stand or fall on their own merits or defects. Or do they? Can they do so in this narrow sense? For starters all commentators are agreed: Armenia is in serious fiscal and economic trouble today; the country is looking ahead to another bleak winter and deprivations which may add social and political disorder to its catalogue of hardships. Some Armenianpolitical commentators, especially in theDiaspora, find that a change of party or personnel would alter the politi-
cal climate, rally the citizenry, get the country into the proper
spiritual frame of nationalism.
"fingerprint" is identical, whether in Lithuania, Armenia, or elsewhere along the westem and southem tiers. To date the sole extent. The
political repercussion of this collapse has been retrenchmentalthough in each republic the retrenchment has been carried out in a different way. In Lithuania, for example, it was accomplished by voters through a free election. The October 25 election threw out the nationalist Sajudis movement and gave the reform wing of the CommunistParty an absolute majority, now confirmed in the runoff round of November 15. Partly as a result of the October vote, Russia the following week halted the pullout of its military forces from all three Baltic states. So for Latvia and Estonia, the retrenchment was executed by Russian military fiat, building upon the Communists' electoral mandate in Lithuania alone. Also in October the new Ukrainian prime minister declared that every sector ofhis country's economy was disastrously decayed: agriculture, industry, credit-fi nance, banking, health, ecology. Couldone substiluteArrn eniafor U kraine
Other commentators who take a politico-economic stance allege
that
it is the ongoing conflict
in such an assessment without raising an eyebrow? Ukraine has put off introducing its new currency for fear that rampant
over Artsakh which has undercut Armenian economic discipline. If only a political settlement with Azerbaijan could be
inflation-around I 3007o an-
nually-would rapidly render
achieved, gas and oil would flow again into Armenia. The Armenian economy would rebound and prosper. Or would it? The common thread running through all such commentaries is that Armenia is somehow off by itself in an untethered space. But Armenia is not isolated; its entire modem history has been within the Russian orbit. There-
it worthless. Could this be the T\e m a nat?
d r a m instead?
As Russia supplies Ukraine
an astounding 80Va of
the latter's energy, the prime min-
ister has determined that "it would be the greatest crime if we quarreled with Russia." In Ukraine, then, the retrenchment has been carried out by a series
fore, the sole accurate
means of administrative decrees, not available to distinguish what is by votes or coercion. Georgia important from what is incidenis fighting two to four civil tal is to compare Armenia to wars in its west and north-no other states within that same orone has figured out how prebit. Armenia's fate is Ukraine's cisely to distinguish the comfate is Latvia's fate. and so forth. batants on each week's lineup Failure to recognize this comcard. While the integrity of the monality leads to distonion and Armenia's Prime Minister Khosrov Harutunian, right, with Russian coun- Georgian state may be threatterpart Yegor Gaidar during a press conference in Yerevan worthless myth-making. ened by armed conflict, one The hardships which Armenia is experiencing are the same as result is certain whether Georgia stays together or breaks into those afflicting the entire territory of the former Soviet Union. (In fact, fragments: inflation will stay at 50 percent or more per month. CIS it is high time to coin an acronym-the FSU-to standforthis entity.) military interests have caused this damage. Only the massive printing Wherever one looks in the west and south, all the new republics are of money has kept Georgian heavy industry intact, tuming out fighter going through the same privation and fiscal turmoil, the same aircraft and arms no one will buy. Outside of military needs, gas and inflation, the same critical oil and gas shortages. The collapse may be oil are in critically short supply at all times. So the CIS, in ways that traced everywhere to the same causes because it has occurred remain obscure, has subsidized those enterprises that feed its armed everywhere with the same unexpected rapidity and to the same broad forces while letting the rest of "independent" Georgia go to the
dogs-a rather limited retrenchment instituted *Former Soviet Union
at the
grave expense
of fiscal stability.
AIM, DECEMBER I992
45
Several oil industry bulletins have sounded the alarm-Azeri refineries are near collapse. The Azeri govemment lacks the wherewithal for repairs and maintenance. The highly-touted deal with British Petroleum will have no effect on that sector for five years or more. Turkey was wamed off Azerbaijan last summer in quite a definitive fashion by the CIS military, an act which assured that any government in Baku, no matterhow professedly "Turkic" its nationalistic fervor, would be neutralized. None of this retrenchment need have happened if during the 70 years of communist rule, the authorities had permitted the efficient growthof truly regional economies. But of course such a prograln was precisely the one Moscow labored hardest to thw ut---<ve rything had to be tied to Russia, and for political, not economic, reasons. The Soviet Union was the inversion of Marxism, not its expression. The economic orderof
production and distribution under "true" Marxism was supposed to determine the political formations, but the Soviet Union set the relation up the other way around. It is now too late for anyone to fix that mistake, to try for a dreamy but "true" Marxism. The economically inefficient system of production and distribution is "efficient" because it is the one already in place. Yet, notwithstanding the practicality of using such available systems to the full, the principal nationalist calls among these westem and southem republics of the FSU have been for economic selfdetermination. These are essentially the same call, sounded by different figures whether in Ukraine or Armenia. And they lead nowhere. Nationalist economic aspirations alone cannot under present circumstances move beyond the range of political debate. no matter which figures or parties occupy the seats of power. Like Azeri nationalism, all the other nationalisms too have been effectively neutralized, though without receiving such a hard blow to pride as the Azeris suffered. No western or
southem nationalist movement
in the FSU
can
deliver even the rudiments of an independent fiscal and economic order, one tailored for that republic, without committing assets and output to foreign lenders for many decades The recent IMF policy which requires that each republic mustformulate its own independentplanto lay before the IMF for approval turns Russia and the rest of the FSU into a clutch of third-world countries. These IMF demands will have apoorreception as long as Russiaalone controls gas, oil, andefficient
traffic to and from markets in the region. The IMF is by no means able to come up with sufficient capital investment to weigh in against that common dependency. The economic interdependence of the FSU is intact, even under today's prospect of slowing production, fiscal ruin, and eventual collapse.
Military Command runs its own affairs, even the exporting of "surplus" equipment abroad for its private hard-culrency reserves. Strengthening the role of Russian interests on the Committee on Nationalities is next, with obvious consequences for Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and any republic with a sizable Russian minority. The new appointment to this post carries with it the rank of Deputy Prime Minister, which puts its authority near that of the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs. Coordination of nationalities policy among these ministries will henceforth be smoother, but the motive for such "smoothness" derives from its fresh "Russian" orientation.
Ordinary Russians too have stopped caring which political faction is in charge of government; fiscal and economic
The hardships which Armenia is experiencing are the same as those afflicting the entire
territory of the former Soviet Union. All the
new repuhlics are going throurgh the same privation and fiscal turmoiln the same inflation, the same critical oil and gas shortages. To date the sole
political
repercussion of this collapse has been
retrenchment-
although in each republic the retrenchment has been carried out in a diflerent way.
issues have become parirmount. Large associations have stepped into the breach left by the indifference
of ordinary citizens. The powerful military and major state-owned enterprises support the State Bank around these issues; their representatives have formed potent lobbies in Russia and Ukraine. The Civic Union, as the political wing of this faction is called, has decided to withhold support from the Yeltsin govemment unless the market reform program ishalted. The Civic Unionhas advocated slow reform, to avoid tearing the valuable industrial base apart in any transformation. But the Civic Union is not a party, and its advocacy is not a program.
Subsidies drive up inflation; fiscal restraints drive up unemployment. Inflation on the scale of FSU causes economic chaos; unemployment on a like scale causes social unrest. Who wishes to inherit this mess? The current bet is the Civic Union in collaboration with reform communists to provide the needed "party" base. In such an alliance, the directors of state-owned enterprises and the military high command will have plenty of strength to hold the upper hand over the communists. Beyond an admittedly vague callfor some suclr authority to curb the market reforms and somehow achieve fiscal stability by other means, nothing is in view. The Congress of People's Deputies which convenes early in December may bring the tension between foes of inflation and foes of unemployment to a head, or it may not. But the bad situation cannot continue as it has. Now, will the same political retrenchment occur in Armenia as has occurred in Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia? What, if anything, will distinguish the Armenian retrenchment from the others? A seem-
the
ingly offtrand remark made by the Armenian President's wife in a speech at the University of Califomia on October 9 may in retrospect have indicated just this concem and given a clue to the government's alertness. She statedthatthe communists in Armenia were always more nationalistic than those elsewhere in the Soviet Union. Does that
Russia remains the one big player in the region; and Russia shows no
leadership. Instead what may be under way in Russia is a serial capture of the govemment, ministry by ministry, rather than a sudden coup. Yeltsin and the Economic Ministry have failed to carry through the designated market reforms. Ninety percent of the Russian economy is still in state hands. The govemment does not even control the State Bank, which under authority of parliament is tuming out money round the clock to shore upthehuge systemof state enterprises. Theconsequent rise in the inflation rate has shot above 307o monthly and is accelerat-
ing. High inflation is fully undercutting any fiscal stabilization achieved by limited market "reforms." The Defense Ministry too is not answerable to Yeltsin. The CIS
mean that a retrenchment has already been thought through in Yerevan and its probable results tabulated? No comparable body to the Civic Union is in evidence today as a rival to the sitting govemment. There is, of course, the ARF. Would the ARF close ranks with nationalist communists to achieve a happy alignment with postreform Russia? Against that drastic fusion which requires somehow integrating two party structures, the ANM might itself readmit some more Armenian communists into govemment ranks in order to accommodate anew regime in Moscow. Such areffenchment--tven if mild-may yield good gains in economic vitality forthe Republic.
Sarkis Shmavonian, Ph. D., received hls advanced degrees in
history with specialization in Armenian natlonallsm under the Russian Empire.
AIM, DECEMBER 1992
To Lufthans?, therc's no such
thing
as a foreign country.
lf you're looking for an airline that knows the world, you could say we have it covered. Because Lufthansa flies to 190 cities in 83 countries on 6 continents around the world. And we have offices in over 390 cities. Which means almost anywhere you go, you'll find a trained Lufthansa staff to help you with travel arrangements and more. Our people can find you a place for a business meeting in Beijing, a translator in Taipei, or even tell you where to spend your lire in Livorno. At Lufthansa, making foreign travel less foreign to you is another way we show our passion for service. A passion that ensures you the best flying experience in the world.
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