Man of the Year: Kirk Kerkorian - December 1993 by Armenian International Magazine

KIRK KERKORI,AN

hffith

fte.

Montreal, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver, San Diego, Los Angeles, no matter what your port of origin, we offer you more flights to Yerevan than any other airline with exceptional service, at affordable prices. After all, we can fly you from more US or Canadian gateways ttran all ottrer airlines combined. Once a week, from over 95 cities in the US and Canada, TransArmen leads the way to Yerevan with a convenient, direct, and

For reservation and information call:

BEVERLY HILLS WORLO HEADOUABTERS (800) 544-5568. Fax (800) 662-3290 BUENES AIRES (54-11 322-7372. Fax (54-11 322-7584 GENEVA (41 -22)735-439s . Fax (41 -2217a6-4993 LONDON (aa-71)a93a03o r 144-711 49s-O927 LOS ANGELES (800) 544-5568. Fax (800) 544-ss68 MILAN (at Malpensa Airport) (39-2) 4009-9226 . Fax (39-2)7012-2178 MILAN (at City Center) (39-2) 701 2-21 15 . Fax (39-21 70tZ-2179 ITONTREAL (514) 2U-1231 . Fax (514) 845-4122 NEW YORK (800) 700-9923. Fax (800) 700-3293 SAN FHANCISCO (800) 700-9922. Fax (800) 700-3292 TORONTO (41 6) 223-9422 . Fax (416\ 223-946/ VIENNA (43-1 )434-441 . Fax(43-1 )402-5981 WASHINGTON D.C. (2O2)728-4141 . Fax (202) 78s-5169 YEBEVAN 1788-52152-9a-72, Fax(788-52)1 s-1 6-76 We welcomo all maior crodit cards:

American Express Discover. MastarCard . Visa

immediate connection through Milan's Malpensa Aqport. Wth a schedule and network of gateways that is constantly growing, TransArmen is bound to become the airline of choice for all ftavelers to Armenia. One rip with us will show you why.

Uniting Armeniawith the WorldsM

-tii,:'ffi

m|!9ll{ a-

-'-fi

BEHINDTHE LINK .. .It's safe to say it's neve-r_been done before-a publication honoring someone who tnrly

didn't want the accolades. Not in our community anyway. Butthechoice seemedfitting to thegroup charged with theresponsibility ofimplementing an early AM idea-a Man of the Year designation forthe individual who has inade ttre greatest single contribution tothe Armenian experience over a l2-monttr period. No matter which way you look at it, ttre Armenian experience of 1993 began and ended . with the crisis in Armenia and Karabaktr. For the Diaspoia, then, 1993 was iyear in which we each,.individually and collectively, attempted to identify our own positions and roles in relationship to that crisis.

. Thatthereare.manyindividuals,knownandunknown,whohavesweatedblood(andmany whohave indeedbled) forArmeniamustbe acknowledged. Whatsets KirkKerkorian apart from the rest is his vision of the role that the Diaspora Can play in Armenia's-and consequently its own-future. The giant in the corporate world continues to think big in the Armenian world. It is not simply the s94e of his financial conribution-I5.7 million in 1993 alone, counting the $14 million double match which spearheaded the winter Fuel project-that is compel=ling, but the means and methods Kerkorian has chosen for his giving: sponsoring airlifts ivhich-have been a blockaded Armenia's only consistent, dependable biidge to basiclupplies; and offering to double-match all funds raised, because, ai an observer quipped, 'Ttri glue created by double-matching is like crazy glue, it makes everyone stick toleirir; you cai''t afford not to

FOURIH MIIIENNIUM SOCIETY A l.lofr,brPrcf,t, PuUic Bcncftt Grpootion

DIRECTORS

YAIOUJAN

NAHAIII

NOlAliO3K/rNnN

ta|;t ztNzau^N

participate."

He could have done all this on his own.What is most significant is that he has chosen to enjoin his participation on a unified approach, tluough theUnited Armenian Fund. The UAF is not just a new institution in the Diaspora. It's also a new kind of institution, one that glvisions a Diaspora that is, if not united (yet), at least coordinated. By its very stucturc, the UAF has already demonsrated the power of thinking big, planning ivell and working in harmony. Now for the next stage. Everyone involvedspoke of the UAF as if speaking of achild: young; in need of nurturing; slow steady growth; must mature; taking tentative first steps. As tnre as the parallels are, they can be taken further. Just as young children go through a stage of-parallel play-playing alongside each orher, but not rcally together, until they ina-

turesufficientlytotrulyinteractandcooperato-somustthesix orginizationsoftheDiaipora moveontothenextlevelandactuallyplaytogether.

Armeniansthroughouttheworldexpect

oftheir leadership. AIM and the Fourth Millennium Society salute Kirk Kerkorian-AlM's first Man of the

no less

Year-for

reaching beyond personal initiative and making the Unircd Armenian Fund and through it a coordinated Diaspora able to bring critical, fundamental assistance to Armenia a

reality.

fe;1il^^.--

rrA\7Alr MEXICO RUSSIA

ITALY

? CIub Med

FRANCE

CARIBEAN & BAHAMAS AUSnflrA/NEW

ZEATAND

FOUNDING TRUSIEES

TATDO KAPilIUAN OATIN AYIDIXI^N

,rllcc, OODJ ilANI N YAtOUrilN I3ITNDIIIAN I{AOO? KOUIHAK'TAN

lot movlt Y/llourlrit NAHAttt NOtAtR OSXANIIN

Z tlH S Irc3SNN tatttztNzAtl

N7 SOIJIH BRANO BIVD.

sum r07 GIINDAIE

ca 9120a

Trhdsr

ala. atb. vrv, lq

il6.216.0080

tulullllt:

Mldlsl thh.b.t

IDI?OI:VrbnO.krnlrn

/NNI

COVER STORY

UNGOilUON IHPACT

Beblkltn, Kevork

,Trllnr Setemlen, Jlvrn Teblblan, Tellne Mldr.el

At the peak of his powers, Kirk Kerkorian, AIM's Man of theYear, is as formidableonthe corporateblockas he is low-key in his impassioned quest to help rebuild Armenia. A tough guy-cum-business tycoon who grabs headlines on Wall Sneet, his name has become all but synonymous with the increasingly powerfrrl UAF. UPDATE

THE OTHER JOLT

Five years afterthe Armenian eartlquake, the promise

reconstruction has been only partially fulfilled. The blueprints are still impressive, but to the thousands of sunrivors in the disaster zone, buildings are louder than plans. INTERVIEW

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

Robert Haddejian draws much of his inspiration from the

old Armenian neighborhoods of Isanbul. Blitor of the duly Manruraand an award-winning author, he continues a tradition ofjoumalism ttratthrives on the vital bonds

ofcommunity. comrul{mE8

alr l TIOII:A&AOnphl6, C.nrdt tx?rlxl?roxll auf lctt7ilox lxD lDYlt?ltrxo rrrrrttxrlfl Yrtr

MOVE

THE UNFINISHED

Inalandsteepedinhistory,India'sArmeniansboastarich legacy of fteir own-in more ways than one. Inheritor of holdings thatinclude hugeproperties and financial assets, thecommunityis now facedwithtotaldecimation, while it appeals to the Armenian world forthe one investrnent it needs

most-manpower.

Publlrher'r Note

,ulllalltD la l rutlto atlvtct lY ?oultll ItLLIxxtuI aoctttY,

lxot tot.ttot!?It atto ttxtttTcor;or ttox

Anelyrlr

Letterr Doralel Byter on Flle

Contert

Economy

Encounterr

22 24 27 20

Bookr Clore-Up

F t0e3, Vol. tl, I 2447e7e. Fu:

zUNI

um. All dghb r

IIOUXDID lX laa! lY Zrnh B.rtlihn, Vrirn fffoonl.nirn, Shrhr K.h.hn, Kdlo. Xrll@.Ln, Mlchlal l,Lhrbal Vabha Oknrhn, Va,tn OatanLn, Thoor Y.bdrn OGtdilaaEr Chrdo tlsrrlrn, Ulru Xolrlrn

adllon

oi.d rildo

tr m

PD-I(O R'DCORDS PRDSDlrYIS

r-oLKl_()lilQriti AIlMtiNtt'\-NFl

NtusrQUF:

AIrM[lNtAN ti()t_K Mtj$tc I

I,\MPI(].IAIir)LIRIAN

THE WORLD'S LARGEST ARMENIAN MUSIC PRODUCERS OFFER THE LATEST RELEASES FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN

CAI.L FOR OI]R IR.DD CAIAIOGT \ll [$rd $"lt-l], ().tLhtlJ Httd_r.'t, \glllrJi

tt tl.ll,UI

Cfirl

\t l(rirt{t

l'r

mL. s (51&) 887-5718

tr.

6t vfll]lafrt (I.L

1899-9&

HBM

1555 DUDEMATNE, MTL., QUf. lRz CANADA FAX : (5r4) 3:J^7-2o_74

189&9A

Replde wlh color reproductions on glossy the Agenda also canies

9'x 8'stock,

the biographies of participating artists. st'ffe+st

HrL\\ititfr*

""$'i'

Order your copy today callzUNl. toll free

1-800-736-3246

ln Ganada call 514-339-2517 Fax at 514.339-5394

or mait the coupon

Please send me Agenda(s) At U.S. $24.95 plus $5.00 s&h each

Nam6 (pbasoprrnrl

City/Shlotzp Country

Cheque (payable

h AAA PUBL|SH|I{G)

trMe8toroad trVisa trAmEx Cerd

Ep.

Dale

Si$uturo

I. |

Mailto:

PUBLTSHTNG

3250 Pleo Ello Auchh,

lltl., Clnadr

H3til 1E4

I-..Jn*.,'-rrr*-*;;";;;--.**-

integrateforeign influences inourculture and become the

richerforit

Give Armenia time. Its intellecnrals will find a way o leam and internalize the best values the West has o offer, without surrendering their traditional Eastem virtues. This is the new challenge, not just for the Homelan( but forttre Diaspora as well. The Soviet period frustated the Eastern and Western halves of ourpopulationto activatethe symbioticprocess thatis now takingplacetocope with this problem. East and West have met

in the Armenian soul-Rudyard Kipling notwithstanding-and will do so

before

again. I believe in our unique duality, but it remains to be shown that it is a positive force forourselves and the world.

I want to see more critical essays of this nature in AIM. Ourmedia should do more to raise our threshold and appreciation for criti-

If the Soviet experience has taught anything, itisttris: asociety thatcondemnsits critics condemns itself. Tomonow belongs o those who question the truth of today.

cism.

All About Dcmocracy Greg Bagdassarian's OctoberEssay criticizing Armenia's eager submission to the iron embrace of US imperialism might have been more nuanced: in a world in which the IMF, WorldBankandUS militarycallthe shots, the leaders of a small, war-wrecked country have feweroptions than Bagdassarian likes to think But his main point is surely well taken. For years now, Armenia's politicians have been outdoing one another in an effort to trade in

Soviet shackles for American chains. The Diaspora, once so quick to condemn forcign domination of Armenia, is eittrer fast asleep, or else falling all over itselfin a pathetic attempt to convince Western banks that the country is for salo<heap. And much of our erstwhile "independent Left" is out there hawking the homeland with the best of them. Bagdassarian is a notable and courageous exception. You are to be commended for showing the courage to give him a forum, despite ttre predictable red, blue and orangcoris itrcd, white and blue-fireworks. P rofe s s o r G e off G o s hg arian Paris, France

JolmHalajian Cold Spring Harbor, NewYork Re: "Whose Constitution?" (Foreground, October). Despite the existence of a free press and

political stability in Armenia, of which, of course, every oneofus is proud, the government is still a one-party apparatus; almost all executiveposts are monopolizedby memben

or sympathizers of the ANM; govemment poss are disributed on the basis ofpolitical allegiance; people at large are apathetic, pessimism is prevalent, and comrption is widespread. Because ofthis uncertain and

critical perid, we need better guarantees against arbitrary and unpredictable policies, which could be devastating for the country.

Theconstinrtion should, therefore,providefor a collective typeofleadership and tlrc greatestpossible presence of all political forces in the government apparatus. Without this, it is hard to see how any government" whether in the hands of the

ANM, ARF or any other political group whose top man happens to be in charge

Reading Grcg Bagdassarian' s essay, it felt good to know that Armenians arc capable of responsible self-criticism (our partisan press notwithstanding). I{hether or not such criticism could leado reform in the Homeland (the subject ofhis essay) is a question that we in theDiaspora should notbe smug about since we have not put our own house in order. But I remain optimistic forboth of us. Bagdassarian is probably accurate when he

paints a picture of post-Soviet Armenia peopled with beggars and nouveau riches milling around in an ambiance of Western kitsh and capitalistic comrption. fue we to conclude that we arc an Eastern people hopelessly aping the West-like our former op pressors, theT\lrks? I don't think so. Ourhistory and artshowthatwehavethe

flexibilityto

executive reins, can ensure the willing coop eration of othen and create a spirit of unity and

mutual trust betweâ&#x201A;Źn the government and people. It will eventually rely on its own men

for "efficiency," nurturing seeds of discord and mistrust.

Tackling Armenia's current problems, internal as well as external, is beyondthecapacity of one man or one political party. A strong democracy, which means, among other things, maximum efficiency and stability, can start with a constitution which provides for power sharing of all political forces and accountability of the executive.

ArsenNawrian The Haguc, Nethcrlands

I have been an AIM subscriber since the AIM,DECEMBER 1993

0*""rr^""ttfifr"* VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ARCHIVES oF PRoJEST SAVE

early days ofits publication. The purpose of this letter is to encourage Armenians everywhere to strive forperfection. Idon'tlike to seeArmenianscriticizeeach other, but let's face it, 0re more we offer constructive criticisrn" ttre better work we usually do. This is exactly how we Armenians have survived until now. The more criticism and competition we've faced, the harder we've had to work to s€cur€ ourpositions and pre-

alongside teen-aged Russian soldiers. Only those of us who are deeply committed to working with the inspiring folks in Armenia will continue to return. I encourage the continuing efforts ofthe govemment to improve these conditions. Do you suppose we could have a fenced area

serve our lifestyle.

butwhatadifferenceitwouldmakeobeable

WishingAIM andtheArmeniannarionall thebest. S us an

Faclng thc

Artinian N aj arian Ontario, Canoda

AS YOU RELIVE THE PAST THRoUGH PRoJEcT SAVE,S BEAUTIFUL AND POTGNANT VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS

oF ARitENIANS AT woRK. A CALENDAR YoU WTLL TREASURE FoR MANY YEARS. A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT. CLIP AND MAIL To z16

PROJECT SAVE, ELToN AvE., l,YA.rERTowN,

mA o2l-r2-4t t6 .l CaLENDAR @ $t5............... $_ .2-lO cal-s. @ $12.5O . # oF cal-s. .....$_ . MassacHusETTs RESIDENTS .... $_ aDD 57oTAx . PoSTAGE & HAIIDLTNG (Ii UsA & CANADA) . $1.75 EACH caLENDan ........$_ (DOUELE FOI EUiOPE ANO SOUTH

AilEiIqA)

. $7 FLAt RATE FOR 5-tO CALS. SENT To rHE saME aDDREss $_

(TIIPLE POi EURO?E AilO SOUTH AIERICA)

. MY ADDITToNAL TAx-oEDUCTIBLE DoNATToN . .. $_ . TOTAL (U.S.$$) PAYABLE To PRoJEcT SAVE ........................ $_ (PLEA3' PRIif)

ADDRESS

TELEPHON CARD IS REQUESTED. I ara EHCLosiING tNsTRUqTtoNs. -GIFT 10

ness.

DeborahWelsh F o nne r C lwir, Cambridge-Ye revan

mance at the Hollywood Bowl

EACH MoNTH YoU BEcoME

tobreatheArmenia'srefircshing airrattrerthan

being confined to an atmosphere that is so conmry the county's traditional gracious-

turlc

I applaud Michael Arshagouni's unbiased review of VatscheBanoumian's conducting work on tre newly released Kom itas: Rustic Scenes CD. The recent embarrassing perfor-

PART OF ARMENIAN HTSTORY

outside the waiting room during the six months of warm weather where we could sit attables while we wait? A small suggestion,

by Mr.

Barsoumian was followed bybarrages of rave reviews in recpnt Armenian newspapers declaring ittheperformance of the cenurry. I am glad to see someone finally come to the scene to rcscue us from the darkness. Re-

porting with skill and knowledge, Mr.

S iste r C ity Coilrrtittee C arnbrid g e, M a s s achus e tt s

Thc Right Quotc

was misquoted at one point in Tony

Halpin' s piece entitled'Coming of Age in the U.K." (Communities, October). I did not say the church and the community council are irrelevant in our community, but that the

Church Community Council itself is inelevant.

Anhagounibroughtlightto theissuewithhis

MisakOlanrian Inndon, England

constructive criticism from which Mr. Barsoumian should also benefit.

I congratulate AIM for its courage in printing such a grcatreport.

Plcturs Doublc After reading the article by Kevork

VanlusDelhliaa

Imirzian entitled "Fragments of A Valiant

Hollywood, Califomia

Past" (July ), I decided to ask for the address of ProjectSAVE'sMn. RuthThomasian. My interest concems the photo depicting General

Will thc Smokc Clcar? This letteris aresponsetoastory published

inAlMaboutYerevan's airport(FieldReport, October). Bestwishes toAlMonitswellthoughtout and well produced publication. I enjoy its professionalism and its commitrnent to pIovide us with abetterunderstanding of Armenia and Armenians. Aftermany flights to Yerevan overthe past several years, I finally decided I would have to takecareofmy ownhealttrduring tlre flighs andonarrival to Yerevan. Passengers' health

andsecurityhadn'tseemedtobeahighpriorityonthepreviousAeroflotflights. Ihadeven begun to recognize tlte descendants of the flies who continued o ride thePuis-Yerevan-Paris flight, as I greeted their cousins who joined them at Sochi during refueling. On my last nip in August,I canied surgical masks to protect my lungs and avoid any chance of losing my dinner because of the smokers. I found the airportventilation much

improved, buton landing attheairportthe old rumbling ofnauseahitmeas we wereimprisoned in the waiting room forclearance where we suffocated from loss ofoxygen. Whatan irony the Yerevan arrival is. One lands withgreatjoy to greet ttre spiritually invigorating early morning air, and to view the magnificence of Ararat, only to find oneself

locked for hours in a smoke-filled room AIM, DECEMBER

1993

AndranikOzanian with theGorakianfamily. You can call it a mystery, but my family also has anoriginal ofthis photo taken atNational Photo Studio in Boston.

My mother-inJaw, Alice Ekmekjian, is a step-daughter of Nevart Vartanian (former Ozanian), the general's wife. We own the house of Andranikin Galata, Vama. As we havemanyhistoricalrelicsfromtheGeneral, I thought you and Mrs. Thomasian would be interested in knowing this.

Your magazine is very interesting, but few people know about it here in Bulgaria where we have a strong Armenian community. Kril<orDikranian Varnq Bulgaria Ruth Thomasian'

addre

ProjectSAVE, 46 Elton Ave., Watertown, MA 02 I

72 -4

btte]s

to the editors shouE be bdef and include verihble narne, signature, addressad daylime phone number.

lilail lattersto

atf,

P. O.

lor

10738,

Glondrlq Grlllomh

orrax to

tl 2O$trUl

(818) 246 0088. Letters may b€ edited andor cordensod.

B.IJ .S .I.N .E.S .S C. E.N.T. E.R KARAYAN CHIROPRACTIC GROUP

Gerard A. Karayan, D.C.

Roger Karayan Thoroughbred Trainer DISORDERS OF THE SPINE

4llN.CentralAve.,Suite250 Glendale, CA

91203

TEL:(818)240-2270 FN(: (818) 240-0976

O'QPTTS#,k

1751 Cielito

Dr., Glendale, CA91207. (E18) 957 - 19!)4

KnercunrunrnN D. M. D.

A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

GLENDALE MEDICAL ARTS CENTER IO3O S.

La Crescenta, CA 91214

TeL (818) 957-1993 Fax: (818) 957-3109

7035 Beracasa Way Boca Raton, FL33433 OFFICE: (407) 362-4503 RES: (407) 4A2-8448

REALTOR-ASSOCIATE,

GimffiP,PPEffiil+s.=. NATIONAL: (800) 228-9689

LINE

133 E 73 ST. P.O.AOX

)ixI\'YORX )iY tot63 T[l-. (212) 474 fO ID

F,{\ (212).r72 6a a3

Address: Ave. lnglewood, CA 90301 Business

RISID[]._CE CHAILLOT ISQUAqECHARDIi* 78150 LE CHES.-A]' lrEI-. (1) 39 66 06 07 FAX (r) 4.r 07 00 54

Armen Realty

Krikor "George" Hovsepian CARGO SERVICE TO/FROM ABMENIA

1294 USA

FLORIDA

'ET /r/a ghr7o--a-r-

307 East Beach

HOURS BY APPOINTMENT (818)5008989

L\* CL!:lC-{l- PSYCHOLOGI' (P.AIIlS SOnBoNNE) DIIIT:CTDII O} TITE CLT}ICAL TRANiI.TIG CENIER IAC (PARIS - NEW }'ORK)

ARLYS KOUSHAKJIAN, GRI

228-2087

GENERAL DENTISTRY

PROSTHENC &

HIOIJRIK C. Z,\K.A,R[.AN tru.D.

TO BUY, SELL o? LEASECALL

FLORIDA: (8oo)

GLENDALE AVE.. SUITE 5OI GLENDALE. CA 91205

SIRAN DER.BEDROSSIAN Residential & Commercian Real Estate

310-419-7404 1-800-874-1745 FAX 310-419-8957

TO ADVERTISE IN THE BUSINESS CENTER CALL

(305)s63-2565 24 E OAKLAND PARK BLVD.FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 33334

I.8(x}.736.3246

,,\lNI

SEEING SHADOWS Incessant guenilla activity in southeasternTurkey

and recent attacks in six European countries against Turkish establishments by the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), have prompted the Turkish governmentto sendwamingstoitsNATOallies aswell as to neighboring Syna, kan,Iraq and Armenia. At a

zEtaatJl

l\r-l i i-. J, - - ;L-=1_i(UBDrSr, ,.,;^ aYtta -/

l,Dt'

tllo -*"^

tatl

speech delivered in Istanbul, Prime

*, MinisterTansuCiller,whohasbeen | ,",y ;;"i-uguirJt the PKK, ;.\ threatenedTurkishretaliation.

ffi\ A*A

"It'stimeforowneighborsto showtlreyarewithus...toseewho is our friend. There is no in-behtreen," Ciller said, adding that ifTurkey's neighbors do not show signs of cooperation, "we will do what we have to

do."

This statement came soon after her October visit to the US where she received hesident Bill Clinton' s firm support of Turkey's military efforts against the PKK. The governments of Syria, han and Iraq have usually gone along with Ankara's antiKurdish military operations along theirborders during "Helmut Kohl has tho

opponuntyto

say PKK, out," saya Turkey's

Hunlyâ&#x201A;Ź/tdelly.

the last nine years, since the Kurds declared war against

theTurkish military, but neighborly rclations have deteriorated in recent years as a rcsult ofTurkey's apparent regional ambitions.

Reinforcing Ciller's pronouncement that the govemment has evidence of Armenian involvement in PKK activities, Interior Minister Mehmet Gazioglu told the AnkaraNewsAgency thatthe 10,000-manstrong PKK is an Armenian-backed organization and that its leader,

AIM,DECEMBER 1993

Abdullah Ocalan, is an'tttrnic Armenian". Gazioglu added thatcunentPKK activities "recall the Armenian attacks on Turkish villages in history. This approach is beingusedas amessage."Meanwhile,officials fromttre southeast reported that terrorists of Armenian as well as Syrian nationality with links to the PKK have been taken in for questioning. Outside Turkish borders, the PKK claimed respon-

sibility for the violence which resonated th,roughout Northern Euope on November4. Onepersondied in Germany and several others were injured during attacks on Turkish embassies, consulatps and Turkish-owned businesses in 60 separate targets. Police in Germany's Ruhr region reported 22 separate tar gets were hit in that areaalone. Inseveralinstances, PKKleafles werefound declaring that the violence was a protest against the planned genocide of the Kurdish people in southern Turkey. This secondwaveof Kurdish attacksinEurope in rccent months has helped supportTurkish assertions

regarding the urgency of acrack-downon PKKterrorism. More significantly, it has made European governments wary of PKK activity inside Europe. Germany, the home of a 1.8 million-snong Turkish community, has been compelled by the recent attacks to rethink its policies toward political activities of foreigners as well as their freedom of movement. Both ChancellorHelmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel have condemned the violence and demanded that the govemment quickly ban PKK groups in Germany. Aylln Baharlan

APERMANENT HOME FORTHE PERMANENT

MrssroN

The battle to represent Armenia's interests at the United Nations were eased somewhat with the NovemberT openingofthe new quarters ofthePermanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations. On hand to mark the historic event, were Ambassador Alexander Arzoumanian, Ambassador Rouben Shugarian and Presidential Chief of Staff Shahen Karamanoukian together with hundreds of well-wishers. Kevork and Sirvart Hovnanian, the donors of the building locatedjustoff ParkAvenue inManhattan, had spent $2 million for its purchase and renovations. "One of the richest natural resources Armenia has is its Diaspora," noted Arzoumanian, pointing to the Hovnanians' gift as asymbol ofapeople's shengthand

sisting in asuicide, they lash outatthe medical profession for failing to endorse the concept as a legal medical service. Kevorkian was jailed on November 5 for assisting in the suicide of a7?-yar-old woman suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. After only three days in jail, Kevorkian was unexpectedly released when a local lawyer who opposes assisted suicide put up $2,000 to bail him out. The lawyer explained his move as a way to stop Kevorkian's attemptto

furtherridiculethelegal

system by atmcting too much attention to his assistedsuicide campaign.The doctor said after his release that he wouldresume his hunger strike if he is jailed again. On November 22nd, Kevorkian was present at his 20th assisted suicide, this timeof a 6 l -year-old Chicago doctor suffering from bone cancer. The suicide ofAli

I d

resilience.

Armenia's UN Mission had been housed at the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America since its opening in August, I 99 I , when it began with a staff of

A. Khalili, who specialized in reating physically disabled people, has further intensified the debate over assisted suicide, especially in ttre medical community. "In my opinion, Khalili was making a political statement," said a colleague ofthe deceased doctor's decision togoto Kevorkian. "Hewantedto show thatthere are situations where a very rational, knowledgeable person wouldchoosetoend his life." Kevorkian is currently out on bail while awaiting uial in February.

one-Arzoumanian, who also held the position of Charged'Affaires oftheArmenian Embassy inWash-

inglon,D.C. As the saff grew-today, it numbers six-the need forexpandedquarters andadequateworkspacebecame uitical. Shugarian, Armenia's Ambassador to the US noted in his remarks that 'this is crucial for our diplo.

macy."

APRINCIPLE FORDYING The controversy over retired pathologist Jack Kevorkian has intensified in recent months as a result of his continued defiance of a rpcenMichigan state law againstassistedsuicides. Betterknown in themediaas the"SuicideDoc!o/' and"DoctorDeath", the 65-yearold Denoit resident has assisted in the suicides of four tcrminally ill people since the enactrnent of the law in February which was essentially aimed at stopping his activities. In his thrce-year crusade, Kevorkian has helped 20 people die.

Kevorkian and his many supporters argue that Michigan's law, whichcarries afour-yearprisonterm, is unconstitutional sinceitviolates the privacy ofseriously ill people to choose to end their lives. As for as-

: "&ffi lrltt Y3'.

k" A

*',

MONHE Number of Armenians in Ausfralia: 35,000 Area of Australia: 2,966,2W sq. mi. Number ofArmenians in Glendale, California: 40,000 Areaof Glendale:31 sq. mi.

Numberof schools inA}*ralkalak, Georgia, whereover90percentofthepopulationisArmenian:70

ffitsl"iiHl'#X,tffi Percentage of newborns inArmenia who are nursed exclusively on mother's

milk

0.9 percent

Amount of long{erm loan made available to the norttreasternArmenian border city of Thvush, for residents whose homes have been rocket bombed: 1 13 million rubles Value ofArmenia's exports: 54 billion rubles

Value ofArmenia's imports: 109 billion rubles Percentage of tade deficit due to import of grain:26.7;Percentage due to import of energy resources: 36.2

Amount of fuel needed daily byjust one ofYerevan's seven mefropolitan bus centers: 14,000lires; total amount received for the entire month of October, 1993:20,000 lires Armenian government's one-year debt toArmenia's five hotels which house refugees: 19 million rubles

Numberof US publicrelations firmsunderconftacttotheRepublic ofTiukey, theEmbassy ofTirkey, the Ttrkish Ministry of Tourism and various Tlrkish institutions: 12 Percentage of Moscow's drug distribution operations which originate inAzerbaijan: 80

Number of copies of anAyatollatr Khomeini volume of poefiry printed inYerevan: 3,000 Number of airplanes Azerbaijan will receive from ttre Boeing Corporation in exchange for oil: 12

Amount of gas Armenia would have received from Ttrlanenistan per day in November were the gas pipeline on the border of Ossetia and Chechenia not damaged: 13 million cubic yards Funds needed to set up a factory for the manufacture of fluorescent lights in Armenia:

AIM,DECEMBER 1993

million

lg{

qils

h$rA llo&]E[D

WBERT

t{ER

ffi

n"AcES LEFT

PEIEBSOl'l 7HE SU'V

BUT YOU'RE MY BODY6UAR.DS /

7HE CONTR.ADICTIONS

Vancower CANADA

or cnprrRursu I o

" oG.

/ ,,1/ ,t6U0. -

I{00...41p

trttuo,.

,t((rt

ISAAC

BUtEfN f00AY Manila PHILIPPINES

CART@I\IISTS & WRIIEBS SYI{DICATE

SCHRAIIK

8 StE8ZErur,G

UN@MMON IM

Kirk Kerkorian: Man of theYear ByIIARKARAX illionaire. Buccaneer. Gentleman. Recluse. Giver. Taker. Warmhearted. Flinty. Brilliant. Ballsy. Somewhere under the pile of these colliding images lies the truth and the ambiguity of AIM's Man of the Year for 1993, fi nancier KirkKerkorian. He is perhaps America's mostfamous and misunderstood Armenian, certainly its most enigmatic. He exists

inthepublic mind largely as acaricature, anaccumulationof misleading and conflicting images. Mystery is surely one of the keys to his incredible success. He refuses all interviews. Hecannotbebothered with inventingormassag-

Armenian Church of North America, or to the Armenian Relief Society Social Services, no Kerkorian name can be seen on buildings. No gold plaques honoring him on church walls. And yet his recent contributions to a beleaguered Armenia-some $25 million since 1989 for airlifts of medicine and equipment and heating oil, and special projects-are too far-reaching to go unnoticed. Now, it may be proper to add one more image to his long list of descriptors: lifesaver. This winter, Armenia will receive 200,000 tons of heating oil purchased by the United Armenian Fund, an umbrella group comprised of Armenian church and charitable organizations and Kerkorian's Lincy Foundation. "Operation Winter Fuel" is a $21 million project, $7 million of which was being raised in October and November,

ing amediapersona. He insists onbeing shrouded in riddle. His poker face is said to be one of the best in corporate America. During a half century of empire building and corporate raiding and hobnobbing with Hollywood luminaries, Kerkorian, 76, who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, has remained practically invisible in the Armenian community. This does not mean he hasn't given generously to Armenian causes over the years. But in keeping with his famous shyness, the gifts had always come with the same string attached: the identity of the gift giverto remain strictly anonymous. Although there

are stories

in the community

about recent gifts to the Diocese of the

frn

5tr ;

fl'a FF !E

{d!

TIIANSI}III â&#x201A;Ź@qg@

launched by a two-week whirlwind tour throughout the Armenian Diasporaby a high-level delegation from Armenia and the Diaspora. Theother$ 14 millioncame fromonepocket-Kerkorian's. Theproject will provide heat to two-thirds of the people in a county where another freezing winter without heat would have surely resulted in calamity. The oil, quite literally, has become Armenia's lifeblood. "Contrary to what some people might believe, Mr. Kerkorian has never forgotten his roots," said Hirair Hovnanian, chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Armenian Assembly. "Now, during Armenia's neediest hour, he has come through in a wonderful, wonderful way. "He has given without expecting one thing in retum. He doesn't seek any recognition. He doesn't want any monuments in his name. I amhoping oneday very soon he will visitArmenia and thepeople there

will

get to meet this giant of a man... He is a hero." The very formation of the United Armenian Fund, bringing together forthe first time church and civic organizations with ahistory ofdiscord, could not have happened without Kerkorian. The group was conceived in the winter of I 989 during a meeting between the billionaire financier, his close associates and Califumia Courier publisher Harut Sassounian. Frustratedoverthe continuing ravages of the 1988 earthquake and the Azeri blockade of landlocked Armenia, Sassounian approached Kerkorian with the idea of a single airlift of supplies to dozens ofvillages unreached by previous humanitarian efforts. "Because of Mr. Kerkorian's background in aviation and his

recordofquietphilanthropy, I soughthim out," Sassounian said. "I'be 42-y ear -old publi sher knew enough about Kerkorian tocometothatfirstmeeting armedwith logistical facts and details. "He asked me more than a hundred very precise, specific questions that needed 'yes' or

'no' or very short an-

swers. What kind of planes? What kind of tnrcks? What kind of runways and overland rcutâ&#x201A;Źs? Hewas no'nonsense. Hewantedto see if I had done my homework and he wanted to see if this was doable. "Once he was satisfied that it could be done,hewastednotimesayingyes. Soacazy ide4 a dream, a fanasy, immediately became a reality wittr the nod of his head." Kerkorian coverpd the $108,000 cost of chartering theBoeing 7frl cargo planethrough the Lincy Foundation, named after his two daughters, Linda and Tracy. The six other organizations making up the UAF-the fu-

menian Assembly of America, Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of fte Armenian

ChurchofAmericaandthehelacyoftheArmenian Apostolic Church of America--each chipped in $25,000. Most of the 40 tons of supplies weredonated.

Since that maiden flight in December 1989, there havebeen 59 more flights ferrying over $58 million in supplies to Armenia,

People who have seen him negotiating a deal describe a master atplaying thereluctant bride. He allows those opposite him to con-

todiscoveran auctionofhis farminprogress.

vincehimofthewisdomofdoingwhathehad

of $8,000 in cash, Villa Kerkorian would watchhis empirccrumble. Hepackedhis wife

in mindfromthe get-go. Suchis theabsence His biographer, thelate Lo s Angeb

Tinu s

reporter Dial Torgerson, had a hard time finding anyonewho spokeevilof Kerkorian, even those felled by his harchet. "Kirk's word is better than most men's contracts," said a veteran airplane broker. "Whatever he says, he's good for it " said a casino manager.

of Souttr-Cenral L. A., hawking newspapers and running with a gang called the kague of

Nations, so named for its polyglot membership. He landed in reform school and never graduated. Hejoined the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, and after a stint

Like otherjournaliss profiling hirn" this writer, too, has neverlookedKerkorian in the eye, never measured the firmness of his handshake. Even his voice remains amystery. '"TherewillnotbeaninterviewwithMr. Kfor thisarticlg" saidaKerkorian aidewhorefused to be named or otherwise quoted. "Please don't take itpersonally. That's his answerto everyone." Such is the extent ofhis reticence. And yet there is a story or two about his childhood on a watennelon ranch in Kern

County, slories that even he may not recall. When my grandfather, Aram Arax, anived a

for what he has done for Armenia," said

young man in California's Great Central

FriendsdescribeKerkorian as an intcnsely privatemanwhoradiates sincerity. Heis more comfortable around regular people, they say, tlmnthehightone. Andyethe's datedhis share of Hollywood types. He is said to be an avid jogger who owns a wicked forehand on the tennis court. He wears a perpetual tan and hates formal dress, preferring open-collar shirts and leather jackets.

and four children-Kirk the youngest--and headedoLos Angeles like ftousands of otlrcr broke Armenians, their plight told in ditties. "[ am loss. You are loss. The banks are loss. We all find ourselves loss Angeles." Young Kirk grew up tough on the streets

ofhis ego.

not counting this year's heating oil. "\ile cannot thank Mr. Kerkorian enough

Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian of the Diocese. "I was in Armenia last winter. Imagine children born in a hospital with no heat. Imagine elderly people. This year, in large measure because of Mr. Kerkorian, Armenia willhaveheat. Armeniawilhave light Hehas boosted the morale of an entirc nation."

He grabbed a hoe and severed one man's ear beforethe proceeding was halted. Forthe want

Valley in 1920, it was Kerkorian's father, Villa, who took him in, providing not only a firstjob but food and shelter on his I lGacre ranch in Weedpatch.

My grandfather loved Villa, whose real name was Ahron. He was a tall man with a ferocious handlebar mustache thatresembled Mexican hero Pancho Villa's, thus the nickname. Hehad abigheartandtempertomatch. Hecameto theValley in 1905 and amassed a smallfomrneinland" farmingmoretlnn 1,000

acresofgrapesandmelonson l0ranchesfrom Weedparch to Frasno.

The recession of l92l-22 caught him overextended and the banks moved to foreclose. He was out of town and arrived home

Ia E

clearing rails in Sequoia National Park, he returned home to a job steam cleaning car engines.

His father's get-rich schemes always

t i I I | I AIM,DECEMBER 1993

managed to fall a little short, and toearn grocery money Kirk followed his olderbrother, Nish, a pro boxer, into the ring. He got offto an auspicious start, knocking out his first op ponent with a single blow in the first round, eaming the sobriquet Rifle Right Kerkorian. In every successful life, it seems, there is one window that offers itself early on and for Kirk Kerkorian that window waJnot boxing but flying. From the moment his friend ook himupinaPiperJ-3 Cub, Kerkoriandreamed of being a pilot. He worked as a bouncer at a

UowtingaUeybartopayforflyinglessons. In 1941, attheageof24, heeamedhiscommercial license-just in time for World War II.

HetaughtfledglingArmypilotshow and then fenied bombers across the

fly

Atlantic

forthe British Royal AirForce, risky missions a one-in-four chance of failing. More than once the tempermental bombers threatened to go down and Kerkorian, cheating the odds, narrowly coaxed a landing. After the war, he bought a small plane and began flying high rollers and the lovesick to a tiny gambling and wedding spa known as Las

with

Vegas.

Aviation would become the backbone of

I I Planes' a .. norse batflewlththe : trader extra-ordlnalre. Walt Dlsnev Co. 9 Buttrue tohis restless- overtheualol v nation's best known Centerandtop:

buversand sellersofair_ Kerko-rlan durlng

ness, Kerkorian did not the MGM name sitcontented. Hebuiltan on a theme park.

Kerkorlan won.

even bigger

"irlil;: Trans International, and decided to take

public. George Mason, then

novice stockbroker

and editor and publisher

of the Courier,

his financial empire. To tum his small charter

slogged door to door in the San Joaquin

service into a full-fledged airline, Kerkorian needed a four-engine plane. He set his sights on a smelly Douglas C-54 used to transport livestoch is fuselage rotting fromcattleurine.

ley talking up Kerkorian's company. Many Armenians helped launch Trans Intemational and those who stuck with Kerkorian were not disappointed. In I 968, after six years ofownership swaps, he sold his controlling interest in the airline to Transamerica Corp for $104

Val-

million. He then tumed his attention tohis old love, Las Vegas, where he was a familiar presence on thehigh-stakes gamblingables andwhere he had found his f,rrst wife. At the time, much of the glittery strip was

owned by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Kerkorian bought the Flamingo Hotel, once the domain of Jewish mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky, and burnishedits image. Atage50, amillionairemany times over, he embarked on the constnlction

of what was to become the world's largest hotel and casino, the International. Hughes, for one, resented the intrusion, believing the Strip to be his turf. In all his arrogance and madness, he tried to block Kerkorian, first by negotiations and then by direct pressure to potential lenders. "I wore out two pairs of shoes pounding the pavement looking for financing," Fred Benninger, Kerkorian's longtime aide, recalled. "I don't think too many people in the financial world really believed we were going to do

it."

Kerkorian decided to personally underwrite early conshrction of the International

It proved a bargain. For $70,000 cash and $28,000 in repairs, he had a plane worth $150,000. And Kerkorian knew what to do with abargain-heturned around and sold it for a $100,000profit. "I'm not married to anything," he was quoted as saying then. In the biography, Kerkorian: An American Success Story, writerTorgerson explains this capacity tobuy

pointedoutthataninvestorwhobought$100 worth of MGM stock in 1975 would have made $2,687 in 1986. "Every shareholder whohas participatedwithhimhasdoubledor tripled his money," said one stock analyst. "That's a record very few men have." In 1989, nearing a cash crisis, Kerkorian was forced to inject $180 million of his own money to keep MGM/UA afloat. He sold the

studio

a year later to Italian

financier

Giancarlo Parretti for $ I .3 billion. The $967 million he pocketed from the deal didn't sit idle for long. He promptly began buying shares in the ChryslerCorporation, soon be-

Hewasforcedtosellboththelntemationaland

MGM Grand's Grand Opening

to be held, true to form, on New Year's Eve. It would make the earlier MGM Grand, built in 1973 and sold in 1986 to Bally's, blush by

nearly equaling his debts.

hearted.

business. "He made many moves which

in 1986, in one con-

founding deal, he sold Ted Turner the MGM and United Artists snrdios and then bought them back at a $150 million profit. Turner wound up with 3,500 film classics including The Wizard of O z md Gone With the Wind. Tinseltown never forgave him; Kerkorian wasn't looking for its approval, Torgerson

the Flamingo at rockbottom prices, his assets

seemed inspired by exrasensory perception."

Torgerson wrote. The authorcredited Kerkorian with a sixth sense for anticipating changes in the aviation

memorabilia.Then,

coming its biggest shareholder, and an-

It was the early 1960s and he was one of the

hangup that possessions are permanent,"

tioning off of favorite movie

and then issue stockto fi nanceits completion. The International opened July 2, 1969 with Cary Grant, Kerkorian's closefriend, making a personal appearance. Not a year later the recession hit and Kerkorian, like his father a half century earlier, was badly overextended.

Kerkorian onceexplained his dealmaking strategy by taking out a l2-inch ruler and measuring off the last four inches. "I'll risk eight, but I'm going to keep four," he said. Kerkorian had retained a controlling interest in Western Airlines and the MetroGoldwyn Mayer Corporation, the famed movie studio-a purchase he had completed by 1970. After both hostile takeovers, Kerkorian ousted the heads of both companies and implemented cutbacks that increased profi tability butearned him an image as hard-

and sell, ttris absence of sentimentality, as ttre possible result ofa childhood ofconstant uprooting. "Somehow he apparently missed the

Few Hollywood insiders couldunderstand his MGM dealings which included rhe auc-

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

nouncedplans fortheworld'slargesthoteland casino, theMGM Grand, markingthe fourth time in 25 years he would build the world's largest hotel and casino of the time. After two years of consluction, the new is scheduled

comparison. Costing in excess of $ I billion, it takes in more than 5,000 rooms, 170,000 sq. ft. of casinoand a33-acrethemeparkforadults and

children. Its excess stands in sharp contrast to the man himself, friends and family say.

"Kirk is the most modest and humble wealthy person I've ever met," said longtime confidant George Mason. "Unfortunately, his shyness has played into the image ofcorporate raider and wrecker. IfI was his advisor, I

would have probably suggested that he be more open to the press and not allow other peopleo define him. Buthe finds it extremely oppressive to be saddled wi0t strangers and fieirquestions. [ttakes away fromhis ability to enjoy life." Kerkorian's 83-year-old sister, Rose, says her younger brothertook after their mother's sido--+oft- spoken and reserved. "Kirk was always shy," she said. "I remember when we wanted o put a plaque in the church with my mother's name. He said he didn't want it." orrly in fte last few years has heeasedup on the condition that his name not be linked o his philanthropy which is funneled through the Lincy Foundation. Recipients of Lincy's largesse include various local Nevada instihrtions, as well as such giants as theRedCross, various Girls and Boys Clubs, universities, hospitals and other medical charities. Butunlike a lotof wealthy Armenians who arclavish gift givers, his friends say Kerkorian will never be a chest pounder. "WhatMr. Kerkorian has done for Armenia, he has done not because he is wealthy but because he cares," said Harut Sassounian. 'The best way to offend him is to give him

notoriety. He doesn't want the glory. He doesn't want the publicity. I really think this honor ft,om AIM will embarrass him." lilarkAnx ls a rcporterlorThe Log

AngelesTlm*.

THE UNITED ARMENIAN FUND A vision is launched t was the first anniversary of the Arme-

nian earthquake and the international effort to help the landlocked country continued to behitand miss, aconfusion of voices often working at cross purposes. Tons of clothing, for instance, were still being sentwhenthecounbydesperately needed antibiotics and powdered milk. Out of this disarray was bom the United Armenian Fund, comprising the six largest non-profit organizations in the Armenian-

American community and-Kirk

Kerkorian's Lincy Foundation. The Armenian groups had lots of personnel and little money. The Lincy Foundation had lots of money and little personnel. It was the perfect symbiotic relationship. There was just one problem. The Armenian organizations had neverbefore worked together on long-term projects requiring coordination and planning. Indeed, several of them shared a long history ofdiscord.

ITIE ONLY AR'UIENIAN DAITY BROADCASTW IN SOI.ITHERN CAUFORNIA

'"This united effort to help Armenia became a way around the differences," said Hanrt Sassounian, UAF's executive direcor since 1991. "We had nvo goals from the very beginning: to erase the emotionally divisive lines ttrathave separated ourcommunity in tlrc past and to conribute practical assistance on a sustainedbasis to the homeland." The six Armenian-American groups-the Armenian Assembly of America, theArmenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the fumenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, the

Armenian Missionary Association of America-agreed to pirch in $25,000 each yearto help defray adminisrative costs. The Uncy Foundation would double-rnatch funds raised for approved projects. Chartered forthepurpose ofbringing short and long term aid to Armenia, the Board of Directors of the United Armenian Fund-

^/\Ir\l EDITORIAL POSITIOI{8 AVAILABTE AIM is looking for individuals who are willing to break new ground in editing and writing. Requirements include establishing and maintaining contact with reporters and correspondepts, lollowing up on leatures assignmenls, and managing files and databases. Familiarity with the Armenian community a plus. Send resumeto AlM PERSONNEL, EDITORIAL

KRCATv Chonnel 62

P.O. Box 100O4 Glendale, Calilornia 91 209-3064

SALES FOSITIOilS AYAILABLE

MONDAYTHROUGH FRIDAY I I:3OPM - I2:(X)MIDNIGHT FOR INQUIRIES AND ADVERTISING CALL

8I8

1244J-9044.

FACSIMILE: ARmENn IODAY 520 North Cenhol

is o

Are you an organized, goal-oriented, dynamic person who enjoys dealing with the public? Doyou have unlimited energyand knowthetrue meaningof "closing a sale?' lf so, we have room foryou. Proficiency in English required. Knowledge of Armenian a plus. To join us in selling advertising space, send us your resume: AIM PERSONNEL, ADVERTISING P.O. Box 10064 Glendale, Calilornia 91 209-3064

8l 8/2/r'l8220

production of

fhiriy Secondr, lnc.

Avenue , Suire72O, Glendole, CA 91

203

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

consisting ofone representative from each organization{ecided airlifu came first. For the past four years, 60 flights have ffansported some four and a half million pounds (ornearly 2000 meric tons) donated by various organizations or individuals from around the world, orpurchased by the UAF. The aidhas ranged from roofing materials to

fi fint major UAF undertaking not because the i UAF Board hasn't been willing to sponsor

Value of Supplies Transported by 6O UAF

Airlifts

g moreprojecs, butbecausenoothen havebeen fl foundappropriate. $ The Fuel Project is also the first initiative that will impact the entire country at once, or at least most of it. "We've gone a great stEp forward in doing this," Simone said. "Armeniaisn'tthe only republic suffering. Butwhat other republic has anybody raising $21 million to buy oil?" The UAF is an organization without frills. No banquets or dances to proclaim its suc-

i:;l;

knitting machines, fromprosthetic suppliestoantibioticstox-ray film to books and computers, from agricultural seed to museum supplies to construction equipment. The Lincy Foundation has paid for most of the airlifls, with recent ones costing about $120,000each. "The airlifts have been a miracle," said AGBU's Lpuise Simone. "I don'tknow what Armenia would have done without them. I bandages to sewing and

o o

e. ? N N

cesses.

o F

Detailed logistical planning must go into .

"Peopledon'trealize this isn' tlike

throwing something on the back of a ruck," Sassounian said. "Wehaveto figureoutwhat is going to whom, whether the gifu and the

d t o

recipients are an appropriate march, whether the materials should in fact be shipped by air and whether the value of the goods indeed

justifies the cost of transportation." The $21

millionWinterFuel Projectis the

t',F

staff-

Armik Safarian. And

something of which the Board members are quite proud---annual public accounting of all funds spent. And afterthe airlifu ? Sassounian has plans.

hatetoeventhinkaboutit. Wewouldhavehad to take our project money and spend it on

each airlift

the major decisions and small de-

Sassounian and assistant

o N 0

airlifts."

All

tails are handled by a very small

o !F lr

N |F !F

1990 1991 1992 1993

"We have to develop major projects to help tumtheeconomy around. Fint, Armeniamust come out of the current situation, the conflict over Karabakh must be settled. Then, some economic and social reorganization musttake place in order tobuild an infrastnrcnue capable of receiving and utilizing major and long-term assistance. By then, the UAF too will have matured. It takes time. Seven organizations without a long radition of working together are gingerly taking their first steps in a united

effort."

l0Gyear chronicle in a clear historical context.

MEMOIRS By Shahnazar Keotahian A key observer and participant ofthe Armenian experience in the 20th century, Keotahian examines life in Asia Minor prior to ttre Genocide and the subsequent transitions of the diaspra. The author was a suprvisor with the Near East Relief. His account encompasses orphanage and ghetto, educational and cultural rcjuvenation, the Armenian community in Greece and its upheaval

'Y$W

during and after Nazi occupation. Over 50 photographs. In Armenian, 375 pages. $35. incl. postage.

SAVE 40%'70o/o

MRYDAY

To order, call: (213)934 -3628 or write to:

lZ4 AIM,DECEMBER 1993

South Ridgeley Drive, Lns Angeles, CA 90019. USA. 21

ANALYS$

THE SAF ,t{F}'

Moscow Redefines lts w tr Terms of Hegemomy ; f

{

Bg* W* iq* "

ffi

frs

.i#

t,t

,;,.it qffi

r\.. h

Russia's policy in the so-called "Near Abroad"-the republics of the former Soviet Union-has been inconsistent and hesitant ince the establishment of Boris

Yeltsin's personal rule, based equally on the military and the hope that elections will lead to a more democratic outcome, the Russian president has systematically undermined the old political elites. He has routed most of the regional leaderships, even those democratically elected, and plans to end the "sovereignty" of the autonomous republics in his new constitution. Yeltsin promised a more unified, more centralized Russia than it has been since the fall ofGorbachev. And his actions have immediate consequences not only for the Russian Federation but for the other countries of the former Soviet Union.

since the breakup ofthe Soviet state. Consumed by its own internal problems and divided between two rival centers of authority presidency and the parliament-the -the Russian government was unable to assert forcefully is authority outside its borders. The results werethatvarious republics could look abroadfornewfriends, andotherpowers were abletomakeinfluential inroadsintottreformer Soviet periphery-Turkey and Iran in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the Scandinavian countries in the Baltic republics, and Eastern Europe in Belorus and the Ukraine. Georgia made appeals to Germany, the Ukraine, and the world communiry in general. Armenia's TerPetrossian tied to play both the Turkish

AIM, DECEMBER

1993

and Iranian cards, while Azerbaijan's Elcibey

attempted

to bring Turkey directly into

Transcaucasian politics. But the dreams of a Pan-Turkish funrre in the Caucasus proved

illusory, a figment not only of Armenian imagination, but of Turkish as well. With the Yeltsin coup, Russiahas emerged as a much more coherent and determined player in the politics of its neighbors

-particularly in Transcaucasia and Tajikistan

where the republics of the Soviet south have been unable to solve their inter-republic and internal ethnic problems on their own. In the last two years Russia has been most friendly and supportive of Armenia, the only

Transcaucasian state that remained in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Within weeks of Yeltsin's coup, both Georgia and Azerbaijan agreed to join the CIS.

.*d

Russia's foreign policy in the Near Abroad. Russian policy aims at a sphere of influ-

With Georgia and Azerbaijan now in the CIS, Russian's former tilt toward Armenia is

of the former Soviet Union, certainly in Central Asia and

likely to move eitherto

, ence in much

Transcaucasia, Such

position of mediator

sphere is

tacitly accepted by the West, which understands not only that this region has traditionally been "Russia's backyard," but

also that Russia is the only possible peacekeepeer in the area. American policy toward the former Soviet Union has generally been a "Russia first" policy in any case. Such a sphere ofinfluence, while falling short of a reconstitution of the old Soviet

Union, will involve military

presence. Rather than fully sovereign states that can deal equally with Turkey and kan, theTranscaucasian and Cennal Asian republics must expect a period of renewed Russian hegemony as the most likely outcome of recentevents in Mos-

cow. Foreign powers will not be permitted to intervene in the

region, or even mediate conflicts, without explicit Russian

invitation

acquiescence.

Moreover, Russia will not only play a peacekeeping role but also will insist on being a partner in economic development, for example, in Western ex-

ploitation

of the offshore

Azerbaijani oilfields or the gas and oil of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Russia and its neighbors have entered a new world since September. The course to democracy in Russia has taken a

tharpdetour,andmanyleaders consolldailng lhe new order: yeltsln wlth Armanlan less ird;id;;iI;;iei petroseran, rop, and vtstlng a

in the NearAbroad may be constrained than they were the past to respect the

HaidarAlievofAzerbaijan hadalready tumed his republic away from a pro-Turkish orientation toward Russia and actively sought Russian mediation in the Karabakh crisis. He seems to understand that without a settlement

of the war his govemment could quickly go theway of his predecessor's. Eduard Shevardnadze, desperate to hold Georgia together after his defeat in Abkhazia and the renewed

campaign of the Gamsakhurdia forces in westem Georgia, also naveledto Moscow and begged Russia to send troops to shore up his

govemment. Armenia, which had benefited most from its memebership in the CIS, now has no alternative but to deal with its neighbors in negotiations structured by the Russians. Rather than a true commonwealth of nations, the CIS increasingly appears an instrument of

tactory ln Sochl.

fledgling

democratic institutions that exist. All the states

of the former Soviet Union are experiencing weak state authority and economic crisis. The one fetds into the other. Newly independent states with long Sovietpasts maybetempted toemulate Yeltsin' s treatmentofconstitutions and parliaments. Governments in Georgia or Azerbaijan, faced as they are by warfare and insurrection, are unlikely in the short run to tolerate democratic practices. Armenia or Kyrgyzstan, the most democratic states on the southern tier of the fomer Soviet Union, may be encouraged to move quickly, roughly, against internal opposition, without concern for legality orconstitutionality. The hrst steps along a moreauthoritarian road to the future have been taken in Moscow; others may soon be tredding behind.

AIM, DECEMBER

1993

between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh, or, eventually, to a more pro-Azeri

position. Russia wants an endtotheethnic orinterconflict south of its borders, but it does

state

notwantstateboundaries to shift. Thiswould encourage similar shifts within Russia itself and lead to a war of all against all. Yeltsin has made it clear ttrat Russia sees itself as the hegemonic power in the Transcaucasus, a special gendarme, to settle what the locals can't on their own. Moscow wants nomorerefugees flooding Russian cities and is in an ugly mood toward Caucasians. For Transcaucasia, the briefperiod of Russian retreat is over and small nations must scramble for ttre best deal they can get from their more powerful neighborfrom the north.

NAZIK'S BEAT TEXT AND PHOTO

By MYRIAM GAUME "Where's Nazik?" The minute she disappears, Manvel, commanding officer of the Edilubrigade, goes outlooking forher. Whenhe finds her, his smile changes. Nazik is 27, a captain in the army of

Karabakh. For five years, ever since her graduation frotn the Econornic lnstitute in Yerevan, she'sbeen living in the Hatrutregion, the poorest paft of Mountainous Karabakh. Quartermasterin aunitin which lif'e is hard, she runs the administration of the base camp and supervises the flow of supplies to the cornbat posts. Always incombatfatigues and a striped jersey, she lives in the Edilu baracks, herdust-

covered little empire. Some of the windows and doors of the building she shares with the offrcers have been walled over; an incoming shell destroyed the first floor in July. In her room on the second floorhangs aportraitof Araik, who was killed in action during the fighting at Fizuli last August. Nazik took part in the battle, assault rifle in hand. When an Armenian tank sustained a

anything of theirs. The same way we don' twant any Azeri land-all we walt is tokeepourown. To safeguard our villages, we had to push the

Two fighters died. Nazik is a leading light in these parts. she has the eyes that can turn to ice and the voice that cuts like a knif-e-tbr as long as it takes to issue an order and make sure it is obeyed. She is light-heated, with a young smile, when she forces herself to do simpler chores. In April, Nazik was wounded. The vehicle she was in was mak-

ingits way downadirttrack, and the Azerishadtherouteundertlre. Herdriver'sarmwastorn o1T. Nazik suffered burns on the back and shoulder. "There aren't many Naziks," says Manvel. In 1990, when Soviettroops emptied 12 villages in the region. expelling the inhabitants, she was arrested along with the soldiers and irnprisoned in Shushi. "Wepaidaransomto getNazikback. As forus, we escaped from the hospital after being beaten up." Working with Manvel, the Chiel Nazik has firmed up her phi-

at the crux of his peaceful overturcs to thc Karabakh leadership. Facecl with a qrorving tide of military losses which incltrded Aghdam,FizuliandJebrail. Alie v. the thcncle tacto leader of Azerbaijan, ncedccl tirlre ltr regroup militarily and quell dortrestic tlissatisfaction with a costly war. He initiatecl thc

as far forward as possible. But our objective is not the Arax." Nazik's face clouds over. She examines a broad planished copper tray, washing the dirt from the engravings, the better to admire it' "The military has done its job. Now it's up to the politicians to do theirs." That evening, Nazik makes Manvel coffee, then tums his cup upside down. She likes reading the future in the cofTee grounds' She does so with high seriousness. Manvel listens' "Hye dghal Son of Armenial Did you find any dolls today?" The soldiers all know thatNazik goes into the houses tiom Fizuli to Horadizto take only one thing:roundplastic figurines, brides, their heads covered with lace,little plastic babies. Nazik's collection has a place of honor on her dresser. A small standing army of celluloid figures with their atms stretched outinliont of them. They stand opposite the portraits ofsoldiers killed in action, cartddge belts crisscrossed over their chests, rifles slung over their shoulders-guardians ofa period suspended between war andpeace, fbras long as the cunent ceasefire in Karabakh holds.

fiont lines

hit, she was thefirstto rush to the scene. the{irst to scoop water from a nearby stream to put out the flames. Then the pails went from hand to hand. bucket brigade-style. B ut not last enough.

be a far mclre reliable way of easing hostilities: the longest lasting ceasefire in the past twoyears was achieved through hilate ral talks that were statted in early Augttst. ForHaidar Aliev, political expedicncy was

losophy of lif-e. "l don't like things that come too easy. ln 1988, on Opeia Square, people talked too much," Nazik smiles. "Here, the eath nourishes us; it gives us its strength and fenility." Onhertours of Horadiz, the last Azeri village this sideof the lranian border-you can see the white houses in the lranian villages beyong Jebrail-Nazik has discovered a reserye of wheat in a silo. She organizes thetransportofthe stored grain. The ghostcity, tarelf touched by last August's bombing, crackles with radio reportt. li94kstays in touch with all the territory controlled by the brigade; the Chief always knows where to find her. From time to time, on one of his interminable military inspection tours, he spotsherlight-coloredhair and comes over. Up and down the banks ofthe Arax lie acres and acres ofvineyardE stretching back as lar as the eye can see. The comfortable houses are empty. There is still dishware in the cellars, a dented samovar-the large traditional tea kettle of the orient-stands on a veranda, overripe fnrit plops fiom the trellises in the gardens. Here, the roads are paved with asphalt, and there is water in the wells. "A village that has been burned down is of no use to anyone. A yearago, the Azeris looted our homes in Shahumian and Martakert. They made off with thousands of head of cattle; they rippedeverything they could outof ourhomes, right down to the windows. As fbr us, we're only going to take what we need. We don' t want

Translated by Geofi Goshgarian

negotiations on ALrgust 5 and secured a rcspitc. Inrnrediately alier being elected President on October 3. however, he announcecl that recapturc of Azerhaiiani territory was the nrosl prcssing issr.re on his national a-uenda. It becarre cl iclent. once again. that Baku was intent on a nrilitary, rather than a peaceful. solLrtion to the Karabakh conllict. Russia. on the other hand. does not seem to be trxr keen on the f uture prttgress ol'dircct rtelr()l iirl iorl\. Klrt'ublrkh t epresentittivcs wr're lelt out of the Octobe r -5 Moscow summit be-

AIM. DECEMBER

1993

tween Russia. Ceorgia. Artnenia

and

Azcrbaijan. and although the Karabakh conat the nteeting. no concrete decisions were taken. Aliev's refirsal to have direct contact with Karabakh representatives at the sLrmmitmaybe an indicationthat he had high hopes in joining the CIS: as a reward fbr nrerr-rbership, he may be counting on Russia's intervention on Azerbai.ian's behalf. But that will come at a price. Russia would like to reintrodr"rce its army to the region. Although not considcred highly desirable by

flict was discussed

civilian population fleeing the

Council of Karabakh, recently declared his republic's willingness to withdraw from certain sections of Azerbaijan, providedthe latter rccognizes the independence of the Re-

warzone.

public ofKarabakh.

Azerbaijan. Karabakh forces stopped the advance for48 hours to open a safe corridor for the

Soon, Karabakh defense forces captured the central dis-

rict of Zangelan, from which

of-warmeasures such

southwestern Karabakh and the

"redirection" of industrial production, the military has begun reinforcing Gianja, the country's second largest city. In addition,

Azerbaijan had bombarded Kapan region

Armenia.

Karabakh forces continued the offensive by pushing eastward,

and took control of much of Azerbaijani tenitory on the kanian border.

HlrcdGunr Although the involvement

"opposition forces"

TheDomlno Effect Although the battlefield was relatively calm for a few months- Karabakh maintained the ceasefire, which was extended un-

til November 5-Azerbaijan broke the quiet on October 22. Accompaiiied by a large'bar

talion of tanks, Azerbaijani forces launched a surprise attack on Karabakh's southeastern front and capturcd five important outposts. Iater Baku confessed to breaking the ceasefire, but claimed that forces loyal to the opposition were responsible. Twodays later, Karabakh defense forces

recaptured the outposts and launched a counter-offensive, destroying much of the battalion and seizing large quantities of ammunition and miliary hardware. The Horadiz railway station, which had served as the main Azerbaijani supply line in the area, was also seized.

The new Armenian gains meant the Zangelanregionwas now totally cutoff from

military build-up in tlre east (toward Aghdam-

Askeran) and

this particular move in Azerbaijan. In the meantime, Aliev has been aggressively campaigning to further internationalize the conflict by attempting

gain military support from the United Sates, among others. This, together with the Afghan deployment, appear to be partof Aliev's efforts toboost army morale after several months of continued military defeas, but their inability to nrm the tide, even with the intro-

Golng FulhScale On the eve of the official expiration of the three-month-old ceasefire, Aliev called on the Azerbaijani people to unite and stop Armenian aggression. As the warescalatei, volunteer units, including middle-aged refugees from [,achin, Kelbajar, Kubatli and Fizuli-, are being organized throughout Azerbaijan. This may be Baku's cynical way of somewhat alleviating the refugee problem while providing fresh manpower in the battlefield. Karen Baburian, hesident of the Supreme

scope,

for

Blg Brotherr Soimmenseis thesizeof thevictories that the Westhas been stunned.

NeitherRussia's

reâ&#x201A;Źntry into the region, nor the gains ofthe

Karabakh forces sit well with the United Sates, EuropeorTurkey. On theonehand, tlre CSCE Minsk Conference, setup expressly for the purpose of finding a peaceful solution to the Karabaktr conflict, continues to registerno real successes, as proposal after proposal for an acceptable timetable linking Karabakh's

withdrawal ftromoccupiedtenitory to specific

Azerbaijani guarantees of a cease-fire is rejected by Azerbaijan. On theotherhand, itwas Russia's mediation which produced the first bilateral talks and cease-fire between the warring sides. In one of the ironies of war, Russian special envoy Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov, who has pressed for a lasting cease-fire, was

shot at by Armenian border in mid-November, while shuttling from Baku to

troops

via a

Yerevan, routâ&#x201A;Ź unannounced to Armenia. Although he was not injured,

Russian emotions flared over

theincident. Increasing suspicions by the Turks who fear growing Russian involvement in their backyard, coupled with real

Afghan

fighters, may portend of another intemal political crisis, according to someWestem analysts.

1993

in its

November's end, Azerbaijan's border with han was effectively occupied.

during meetings in August between Azeri military offi cials and Afghan Prime Minisrer Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Although Iran is believed to be the group's main financier, it is uncertain what role, if any, Tehran played in

AIM, DECEMBER

in the northeast (toward

Marrakert), and rumors that Azerbaijan has obtained a large number of computerizedT80 anks ftom an unspecifi ed source, arecause for alarm for Karabakh's defense forces, which now must manage a theater of war,

the lran-backed mujaheddin

of veteran

restrictions and

unprecedented

faction called Herb-i-Wahdat, whose services were secured by Baku for an undisclosed sum

duction

as press

Azerbaijan's October offensive has not been proven, there is ample evidence of some 1,5(X) Afghan mujaheddin fighters on the Azerbaijani side. This move marks the fint time that a large contingent ofsoldiers from outside the Caucasus has been introducedinto the war. The Afghan troops belong to anyone involved, this may in fact be found acceptable by any of the parties who wish Russian assistance toward a favorable settlemenL In any case, Russia is rehrrning to the Caucasus. This means that Moscow will assume a larger role in the Karabakh conflict while the roles of the UN and CSCE may diminish gradually. Sincethereinroductionof Russia's sphere of influence in Georgia and Azerbaijan were achieved primarily tlrough militarymeans, it's safetopresumethat, inthe future, regional conflicts are more likely to be fr ozen rather than resolved.

But Baku remains recalcirant. While the Azerbaijani parliament is considering state-

suspicions in Karabakh of the sincerity of the world community regarding the security interests of the population of Karabakh, point

toaveryrealthreat thatthisalreadycostlywar

will escalate to intemational proportions. Over 10,000 deaths and a reported one million refugees later, perhaps the Russians and the West

will both become more serious

in their mediation efforts, if only not to lose ground to the other. Translated lrom the Annenlan by llarlne Arakellane.

*,].E-

INTHEMONEY What's lndependence Without a Piece of PapeP o one was surprised when President lrvon Ter-Petrossian took to the airwaves to announce that on

ofgoods there.

November 22, lhe government

numbers in the republics which still accepted them. Of course, there, too, supply of currency exceeded the availability of goods-and inflation climbed. To combat

would issue the new national currency-the

Drarn It remains to be seen whether, beyond symbol of its importance statehood, this last-ditch effort to curb infl ation will also augur the way toward an independent monetary policy. As one of the few remaining republics of the former Soviet Union to continue to use the old Russian ruble, Armenia had, towards the end, become a dumping ground for everyone else's unwanted rubles and the excessive availability of rubles had led to intolerable hyperinflation. Indeed, there were as a

two weeks in November, when the dollar was suddenly worth I 2,000

rubles-

up from 2,000just htro weeks

currency-the pre-1992 greater

Russia, with the strongest and largert

own economic problems, welcomed

abundance ofavailable goods in Russia, and

mostoftheformerSovietUnion's rubles

were flowing back to the center.

The same republics also suffered from miserable economic conditions which resulted in huge budget deficits-financed by money printed by Moscow. After some local circulation, rubles printed to cover deficits from Armenia to Uzbekistan, eventr'rally re. turned to Russia and Russian marke*#ttnrs creating hyperinfl ation there. ln orderto stop this inflationry pressurel Russia was forced to free iself oftre money not under its control. Therefore, in August, Yeltsin' s government declared thd pre-1992 rubles would be unacceptable withia Russia. This drastic step was intended to elrcura that the supply of money in the CIS's lcgest rE public did not continue to exceed tln supply

system and other open martetoperations have

not evolved sufficiently. More importantly, the Central Bank does not enjoy the people's trust. And rust they must, if they arc to bgin

to keep their money in the bank (instead of under the bed) to enable the statp to borrow against their savings to finance thedeficit-a deficit perpetuated by a sustained trade imbalance due to the Karabakh conflict as well as the continued blockades by Turkey and Azerbaijan. And so, itis thereserves of thewesternfinancial institutions-the IMF and the World Bank in particular, on which Armenia must

currency was introduced, even more old rubles poured

into the remaining "ruble Republics" including Armenia.

AndwhenonlyArmenia and Tajikistan were left,

rely. Yet, inaCatch-22 situation, Armenia maybeunabletobenefitfrom reserveswhich the IMF or the G7 counEies can make available for newly independent states of the

there were the surreal weeks

hyper-hyperinflation,

with200%o increases in the value ofthe dollar.

With Armenia's introduction of its own currency,

Marlbolo.'?

economy in theCIS, had long been caughtin a double bind. Republics, saddled with tlrolr

by printing culrency, which is iself inflationary, or borrowing it from that which is already in circulation. Although it would be much better for the govemment to borrow the additional funds from the people, no infrastructure exists in Armenia to make ttris possible. The banking

currency. Each time a new

the exchange rate was announced at 2N Russian n&les forone Dram. But as one Yerevan sageprtrtit 'ft;.gal exchange rapsill beconp clearwhfin tt ihhrur how mnrry Dram are noeded to buyt par*et o{

Marlboro."

former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, for economies in transition from central commandto freemarket, becausethelMFandtln World Bank do not give money to any counnry involved in a military conflict. The war over Mountainous Karabakh, as well as combinedTurkish andAzeripressure make it unlikely then that Armenia will receive the $60 to $70 million it needs over the 'ttxf 8 tol0 months.

As&rance Minister lrvon Barkhutarian

Indee4 the only thing that matters will bc whethorthe government is able to maintah the

k andthedollar. _, Forfimately, gone are thgwp

exehange rate

betffi*&g*raq

whatMoscowused

to cover. Today, like any other govemment, Yerevan must find the additional funds eitlpr

rubles, republic after republic inroduced its own

packet of

duced.

defi cit and how to fi nance

this spiral of inflation caused by a surplus of

"The real exchange rate will become clear when it is known how many Dram ane needed to buy a

earlier. This was the culmination of a process which began when the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and representatives of the G7 countries, insisted that alongside such political conditionalities as democratic reform, Russia implement significant economic reforms to receive credit. The most important was the conditionality thatinflation becontrolled and the deficit re-

soon,

Russia' s rejected

rubles-were circulated in even

a capital market today. There is also the problem ofthe budget

have

nffilik,rn

on Yerevan television,

the moment is

ruble

the specter of

valucofacounory's gold rcserves. Armenia'sg6ldtosorvo*are dt best limited, at worst ulproven. Since the turn of &eeentry; a cd$ttry's oxchange rate has been lir@rqitsbdance of payurenu-the difference bet*te.liaoney entering aad lcaving the country. Unfortunately, the three cornpoli@al.e-trade, investments and a capital market-which eff-esS3 counrry's balance of paymc {fi&gl4$ry,. '..alr.l; exist or don't wo4. *rdl in ..rrr; its in' drive to Wi&mt sufficieuoarrgy

r' fun6g$ig' existoidon'two*r&lin ,

Aropda &day,

is an

importoti

I**pnoduc,tivity comHned widt', Iowl$hl6satiort.f;sldi$o-ns andPoo .

SSlblocl

cns$.al ordOtit*U|d the E@!1gffiffirou rouM for improved .tfr khtionmus&eimposedtoensure rry*ffiffix,btion "eo,ft&t and appropriat(lcollection; and the banking system must he strengthened to

bolster@$t, to increase sfvings levels and to enable tha ctato to bonorf- from banks to finance the national defrcit. an' ; The hurdles are many. cautious ariiiouncement "

desirability of waiting for

confid{nce

rveffislfid tsiiieWsn mdrl$ts; Armonia"s

national

anddprestof The sa@ w&-time conditions prevent investment',p4fltal from eitering Armeaia.

Finally,

lilith.,other countries wtme

economies are in

tansition. ArmeniedcEs not

AIM,DECEMBER

1993

fur

Diasporc fiscal

MlssloN

boss'splantobuymissiles outof amixtureof nationalistic sympattry and personal greed. He contacted Martirossian, who admifed to police that he was a KGB agent, and Ashot

UNRATELED

Sargsian, chairmanoftreArmenian

The llacabrc Gase of the Dead Ghechens

ByTOiIYHALPIIII twas a story straight from ttre annals of James Bond. Money, sex, shadow killers, political intigueand shadydeals, an unsuspecting woman+ven the mafia on two continents got a mention in the plot which ranged from Yerevan to [-os Angeles.

But the clinical killings in London of playboypoliticianRuslanOuBiev, 38, andhis brother Nazerbeck, 20 had nothing to do with Britain' s fi ctional spy. Instead, they lifted the veil on the secret worldofArmenia's KGB andthehiddenwar being fought for Mountainous Karabaltr. Outsiev, self-styled hime Minister of the breakaway Russian republic of Chechenia,

Ter Ogannisyau a former swimmingpool attendant married to a BBC World Service journalist in London, had been working as Outsiev's interpreter since the Chechen's arrival in Britain in autumn 1992. His wife, AlisonPonting, hadonceinterviewedOusiev in Checheniabut, ttrough briefly anested after the murders, thereis no suggestion sheknew anything of the plot. Outsiev and his brother, a boxer and keep-fi t fanatic, had ac-

to exfraordinary

cess

wealth while in London.

Theypaidfl mil-

lion ($1.52 million) cash for their penthouse

in an exclusive part of

and his brother were each shot three times in the back of the head at point-blank range by a

central london and lavished tens of thou-

Berena pistol fitted with a silencer. Two Armenians, Gagik Ter Ogannisyan,

nishing

33, and Mkrtitch Martirossian, 25, were charged with the murders by Scotland Yard detectives who watched them enter the Chechens' luxury penthouse apartment to rcmove Nazerbeck's body. At first, it appeared that the men might havebeen killed in a Russian mafia vendetta by crime bosses angered at their squandering of organization money on high living. Then it emerged that the brothers, osten-

ofdollars on firit, including S37,500 ($57,000) in oneafternoononreproduction French furnisands

ture.

The

jury was told

AN A$SASSIN AND HIS MARKS: From lelt, GaglkTer

Ogannlsyan, Ruslan Outslev and brothor Nazoibeck

Outsiev enjoyed a lifestyle tomarch, regularly entertaining prostitutes, often tluee or four a night. Oneparticularly favored escort girl was said !o have received f,,30,000 ($45,600) in a month.

sibly in Britain to arrange the printing of

The Chechen Premier, who never dealt

money, passports and stamps for Chechenia, had been in negotiations for a f,173 million (US $263 million) loan with Joseph C. Ripp,

anything less than f50 bills, spent 92,000 ($3,040) in one restaurant, giving every

convicted American fraudster with connections to the American mafia. Apparently, a

the money was to be used to finance recon-

stuction workin Chechenia with substantial amounts

ofoil

signed over as security.

passing waiter f,100 tips. His bank account

stillheldf,2million ($1,949,666) atttretimeof his death. TerOgannisyan denied killing the brothers butofferednodefenseincourt. Policebelieve he tipped off the Armenian KGB about his

ButanenthralledOldBailey courthearda darkertale when TerOgannisyan stood trid in

October.

The evidence came from

Martirossian who was no longer around to

witness the effect of his confession-he had hangedhimself inhisjail cell aftermaking the statement, convinced he was marked for death

-))

bytheKGB.

4 (4-

Outsiev had been killed, Martirossian told police, because he planned to buy 2,(X)0 Stinger surface-to-air missiles which Armenia was convinced wonld be passed on to Azerbaijan. The

t+J @ d4

w tr=F

weapons threatened to tip ttre balance

inthewaroverMountainous Karabakh. His brother was killed to stop him from pursuing a vendetta. 28

Chmbâ&#x201A;Źr

of Commerce wittr possible ties to the KGB who has since been assassinated himself. Ter Ogannisyan andMartirossian had onoenrn an art dealing business together, and Ponting helped him get a visa to come to Britain. Martirossian used hertelephone tocontactthe KGB in Armenia after the killings. The plot to kill Outsiev was hatchedafter the Armenians failed to persuade him at a meeting in London hotel to back out of the missile deal. An assassin was hired from the community in los Angeles, namedincourtas Ashot Detmendzian, and the Beretta pistol

AIM, DECEMBER

1993

smuggled into Britain. Martirossian rented a house in [.ondon, using to

rcferenceprovided

arealorbyPontingonaBBCfaxmachine,

but he told detectives that Detrnendzian had visa problems and was unable to travel to

Britain.

Police are convinced, however, that Martirossian shot the two Chechens. The prosecution never alleged Ter Ogannisyan pulled the triggerin the shootings, described by thejudge

as "professional assassinations." Outsiev was shot in his bed in February. His brother was killed three days later after returning to the flat from a brief stay in a hos-

pitd. But while the killings may have been ruthlesslyefficient, whatfollowedafterwands owed more to the Keysone Cops than 007. TerOgannisyan and Martirossian went to bizarre lengths to buy a cardboard box for Ruslan's corpse. They nearly bought an antique grandfather clock before realizing it did not come with a box, and finally purchased a g1,000 ($1,520) refrigerator-freezerjust for the box using Ruslan's creditcard. With fte body tnrssed up inside, they hired tworpmoval men to carrytheboxotherented house where they planned to dispose ofthe body. Unfornma@ly, thebox splitopen along the way and the smell made the workmen suspicious. They alerted the police butby tlf s time Nazerbeck had also been killed. Detectives hid in the apartment with the

younger Chechen's body

until

Ter

Ogannisyan and Martirossian anived carrying elecric saws and dustbin bags bought from ahardware store in a grisly plan to disposeofthebodyby cuaing itup. Bothmenhad nro spentcartridges from themurderweapon intheirtnouserpockets andthe gunwas found in a safe at the aparfinent. Police found a vial of snake venom hidden under a bandage on Martirossian's body, which he said had been given to him by the KGB in case he had to commit suicide. Anothervial of snakepoisonwas sentinthemail

Arthur had canied out the shootings, he explained. Butdetectives dismised "Arthut'' as

afiction. Martirossian was described by police as "very intelligent, a nice man with a sense of humor." But added one detective: "He was also a ruthless

killer."

As for Ter Ogannisyan, detectives believed he was dazzled by the Chechens' luxurious lifestyle and saw achancetomake millions forhimselfif Outsiev was outofthe way. With the second most powerful man in

the Armenian Embassy in Britain did not attend the court proceedings and limited their involvement to a denial of any entanglement on the part of Armenia's KGB. Ponting sobbedin thepublic gallery as she watchedherhusbandof fiveyears being sen-

tenced. The couple had fallen in love and manied in Armenia in 1988, the year the Karabakh dispute flared. She could never havedreamedthentlnttlrc srugglewouldone day reach out to claim herhusband ftrom 3,0fi)

milesaway.

Chechenia gone, he would have become indispensable to Chechen president Jakhar Dudayev incompletingtheanangements for ttrecunency and otherdeals, they argued. Instpad, the tangled web of deceit and double-cross ended in his conviction at the

highest criminal court in Britain and a jail sentenceoftwolifeterms

for his part in

the

killings. Martirossian's bodywasreurmed

to Armenia after

the

inquest.

Representa-

tives of

from the United States to TerOgannisyan's home but intercepted by cusoms officials. While Martirossian was in custody at the high-security Belmarsh prison in southlon-

don,hewasvisitedinjailbyaKGB agentfrom Germany who passed him a small piece of cloth soakedwith vipervenom. Martirossian was supposed tocuthimself laterandpressthe cloth to his wound to kill himself but prison

guards discovered it during a routine search, hidden under a bandage on a non-existent in-

jury.

r t

A few days before he hanged himself, he asked to see detectives andrevealed the plan-

ning behind the murders. The KGB had blacknailed him into taking paft in the plotby threatening o harm his family in Armenia, he said, adding that "the KGB will not forgive anyone at any

4tr24

time. "

AIM,DECEMBER 1993

By IIAKOB ASATBIAil

The catashophic eartlrquake of December 7, 1988, which sEuck thenorthem region ofArmenia" turned approximately40 percentof the counEy into a disaster zone. According to official records, 2l cities and regions were badly damaged; 58 villages were totally destoyed; more than 25,000 people losttheirlives. Tko hundred thirty manufacnring enterprises were eitlrer completely or significantly damaged. The republi clost7 .&million miles ofliving space. Also damaged were thousands of schools, kindergartens, social and culnral institutions. The city of Gyumri, the environs of Spitak and Akfiourian were totally leveled. Seventy to 80percentofVanadzor (Kirovakan), Dilijan and Gugard were ruined. According to ttre plans drawn by former Soviet leaders, the eartlquake zone was supposed to have been entirely rebuilt from 1989 to 1993, yet only 35 to 40 percent of the original plan is completed. That's according to official sources. According to unofficial sources, 20 percent has barely been completed. Of the

projected 6.89 million cubic yards of housing, 3.9 million is

enian Earthquake. lhere Near Gbmpleition completed. There zlre many reasons-the economic and political chaos following ttrecollapse of the Sovietgovernment, thedeparture of consfiuction firms from former Soviet republics, *re eco nomic blockade ofArmeni4 which has been in place since 1989, the state of war, and of course, the general lack of institutional preparedness and organization. At present the recons0uction of the earttrquake zone is basically carried out by the government of the republic-and the Russians, who are still present and engaged inbuilding activities. TheArmenian govemmentis planning abroad-basedrebuildingpnrcject, which envisages I 1.5 million miles of living space will have been builtby the year 2000. The plan emphasizes the cons0uction of schools, kindergartens and hospitals and not much attention is given to the rebuilding of culnral centers due to ttre scarcity of energy resources and the reduction of Armenia's consffuction potential, to 30 percent of capacity. Meanwhile, 58,000 families are still without housing, and400,000 individuals still relief assistance.

REMEMBERING

E m

FTVEYEARS LATER These first-person accounts, and ttre photographs on the preceding pages, are based on interviews conducted this summer, in Spitalq Armenia, by Professor Donald Miller and LornaTouryan Miller, as part of a contemporary oral history ofArmenia in a pe-

riodof crisis. young or old wants to fight until all their lands arebackin theirhands and they'll fight to the end. That is ttreir decision.

how your neighboris faring. Wehave someland, wecan plant some gr€ens, some potatoes. Imagine us ! A physician and ateacher.We prepare the soil,we plant vegetables, what else can we

NAZG

do?Wehavenochoice. If wedon'g we

won'tmakeiL

AVDALIAN Orr situation isn't

TERESA

SAHAGIAN We don't have other activities. No TV, no theater, or movies. So, all we do is talk about the earthquake. All ofus, old and young.

Nothing has been built since the earthquake, so there is no place for people o go. The only thing complercd was the kindergarten and whoever works there, has somewherp to go to. For the rest, whatever their age, there's nothing. We don't worry aboutanotherearthquake. Thaf s in thepast. Now, we worry about lif+is it going to improve, or not. This past winter was our worst . There were so many deattrs.I would say therc wasn't oneday when someone wasn't dying. We didn't have fuel or elecricity until January or February, when they were able to get it through Georgia. Butjust as we'd get some energy, it would stop again becausethey'd blow up ttrcpipelines orthe bridges or whateverit is that we need to get the fuel. It's a vicious cycle. They would blow it up, they would build it again, and they would dasu,oy it again. Once the blockade is removed and the warends, things will bewell. ButI know that Karabakh will not give in. We've lost so many young people, from Yerevan and Karabakh. So, it doesn't stop. It goes on. Here we are, it's been five years. Everyone I've met,

so bad. Since there is

a hospital near us, we always have water at least. Others don't even have that! The childrcn do nothaveiteasy either. They go to school, or if they're home, they just sit around without much to do. You should see them once the elecEicity comes on. They're so excited and happy, they comerunning to tell me we have light, as I can'ttell! Rightaway we turn the television onjust for something to watch. I'm telling you, our situation is quite good, much more comfortable than nrany. I feel so bad when I go to friends' homes andl see that they're so much worseoff than we are. I can'tjust say I'm fine and forgetttrerest. It's only human, you se€

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

I keep thinking how difficult it must be forthepeople living in those high-rise buildings in Yerevan. I feel so sorry for them. They have to carry waterupstairs, they have no land to cultivate. But we're still fine. It's tnre this is the earthquake zone, but we'r€ managing somehow. The

land saves us. Yet it's so hard to find basic foods. Rice, macaroni, butter, milk, meat. I'm t€lling you we eat meat about once a mondt. And this, withbothof us working. How does everyone else do it? There arp families where both spouses areunemployed. How do they live? How do they manage? That's why robbery is on the rise, homes are broken ino. What can they do? Even thieves have to live.

wDo

ver since 1978 various Califomia boards of RE-

ATTORS have been collecting canned foods for the Salvation Army's Food Basket Program. That first year in 1978 over 9,000 Ibs. of canned food was collected and the amount has been incrgasing everyyear. Vith

unemployment still looming accross the land, hunger is a subject ofgreat concem to all ofus. Thousands who normally would never dream of asking for assistance are being forced to swallow their pride and seek help. There are numerous fine organizations serving the hungry in the community. However, the Christmas Cantree organizers have singled out the Salvation Army for several reasons.

I II

III IIII

ters in the world. The Salvation Army is universally recognized as a haven of last resort for those in dire need, regardless of race, creed, color, age ornationality. rWhether

to help Armenians after the earthquake or Armenians in our community, the Salvation Army has always been

*ttt+*orrbesurethatl.o/oofcontributionsserve worthy cause because every cent received goes to buy canned foods. Support your local Cantree proiect by calling your local Board or Association of REAITORS . The Glendale Board of Realtors Cantree week will be from December 13 to 17 at the comer of Brand and rWrilson. For fu rther information or for help in delivering your cans,

call the Glendale Board of

The Salvation Army has no

Realtors at (818)241-2184 or

boundaries as it reaches

Paul Yahezia n

needy people accross the earth and it operates one of the largest networks of humanitarian service cen-

Holidays!

a{a1.&)?M.

Sharing with other people is what the holiday spirit all about. Thank you for your support, and Happy

GIINDAII

WESTERN DRI'GS, }.IORTH HOTIYIA/@D

433 West Colorodo Boulevord

1009 Burbonk Boulsrord, Unil 108

WESTERN DRUGS,

(b*en

(AtYinelond) TELEPHONE: 8 I 8-76G699 I

Ca*rol ond Pcr;ific) TELEPIIONE: 8l 8-241 {415

FAX:818-24l-0889

FAX:818-76G6992

WESTERN DRUGs, GTENDAII

WESIERN DRI'GS, G1ENDA1E

501 WestemAvenue

445WestBroodwoy

(AtLokeStreet) :8I TELEPI-ION E: 2t TE LE

FAX:

Pl-lON

818-507-6324

(AtPocificl

l -5996 FAX:818-24l-7149

8-242- 5887 3-245-437

TETEPFIONE:

I WESIERN DRI'GS, GIENDAIE 6 Eost Colo rcsdo (At Glendole Ave.) TELEPI-IONE: 818-243-2231 FAX: 8 I 8-243 2801 4I

ALLINA

menlan pncss lr rtill a vlablc plat. lorm lor ncw lltcraturc? There are some good writers outthere who are putting their stamp on the medium as a

DAYSWORK

legitimate literary outlet. And there are a number of newspapers that have taken lit-

Robert Haddeiian On the Discteet Charms of Gommunlty By lSHKllAl{ JINBASIIIAN

obertHaddejian's 'T.lotebooks," publishedregularlyin Istanbul's Armenian-language daily Marmara, are a fireside literary record of cosmopolitan

lifeinTbrkey andtheDi aspora. Editor-in-chief ofthe landmark newspaper for the last 25 years, Haddejianhas madea veritable art form of his pen-

chant for uniting j ournalism with literature. But even more significantly, he has also dismanfled the long-chic tuism

ofthecommercial inviability of publishing anything in Armenian : Marmara is oneofthefewArmenian newspapers today that are financially self-suffi cient.

Bom in l926,Haddejian eamed a degree in Education from Istanbul University and spent some two decades writing fiction and fianslating before joinng M arrrura. His "Notebooks" have been collected in a dozen volumes, with another 10 collections forthcoming. He lives in Istanbul with his wife andtwosons. We caughtup wi*rthe award-winning author and editor in Monff6al, Canada, during his recent visit there. 34

AIf: Whilc thc

Diacpora prcr! to. day gcnerously hclps itrclf to llt. craturc per ro, only a handlul ol ncwspapclt rccm to bc conccmcd with amplifying and maklng rcnrc of dally cxpcricnco thrcugh rcgu.

lar ctray columnr ruch at yout "Jlotcbookr.' Why do you thlnk thc litorary chrcnlclc gcnt! ls llzzllng out, and why Ir It lmportent lor roadcrr? Haddcjian: The Diaspora press has to carry out the dual function of political watchdog and cultural nansmitter. Armenian newspapers must not only wade through the

barrage of international events to establish significant associations between theirreaders and the world at large, but they should also vigorously maintain a language and modes of expression that keep public discourse alive. No Armenian-language newspaperpublished outside of the homeland is worth its grain if it does

notbring theculnral sphere tocommu-

nities whose very existence is dependent on cultural sustenance. And the literary chronicle is perhaps the most direct way of touching the hearts and minds of a community. In my "Notebook"

ty to merge thepublic and the private-it's a holistic approach that takes a

column,I

myriad of interests and directions into account offering something to everybody. The reason the literary chronicle has become a rarity these days is that Diaspora newspapenr

are so understaffed, and editors

overburdened with the logistics of putting a papertogether, thatthere's littleornotimeleft to develop columns that explore the deeper meanings of the events affecting our lives. The net effect is that non-reportorial writings are often treated as mere space fillers, lacking context and direction, and so we end up with a lot of mediocrity passing forcreative expression. Of course, it's also a matter of disposition and intellectual background : most editors are trained as "straight'' joumalists and don't see the point in the aftistic or philosophical aspects, and in fact many of them cannot stand the idea of fu singjoumalism with creative writing.

But iudging by whatcvcr

litcnry

output that appears in Diarpora nowspapors, do you think thc Art AIM, DECEMBER

1993

erature seriously enough to venture beyond news gathering with various arts supplements. The work of the few literary journals and periodicals is also quite important, even though there's much room for improvement here. As for literature as a whole, I think the Diaspora is in a wait-and-see situation: there is indeed the odd literary movement popping

upnowandthen,butasyetwedon'thaveheirs to the great writers of the past.

Overall, Ido seehopefulsigns, andlthink

it's nothing short of miraculous that the written word is in considerably wide cunency in communities outside of Armenia. My only qualm is with a certain elitist Eend that has become the hallmark of Armenian writers living inEurope. Trying Oemulate thehighly florid, often obscure style that is emblematic of French thought in general, these craftsmen havetakentheivorytowerto suchanextreme as to utterly alienate the average reader. Any literature today that denies intellectual accessibility is self-serving and, consequently,

useless.

I absolutely insist on those organic

links between writer and reader that bring abouttruecommunion.

Wherc do you

dtuatcthc rcality,

or thc Imagc, ol a homcland in all

thlr? lr lt your cxpcrlcncc that Armcnla's lndcpcndcncc has caurcd a major prychological shift in thc Diaspora? Armeniacontinuestobe atthecrux ofany

collective issue you care to mention. And especially since independence, the implications are becoming more and more tangible. Now you' ve got this constant, widespread agitation in our communities that grows proportionally whenever a decisive event grips the homeland. Most front-page news in Armenian papers around the globe are about Armenia; when an Armenian governmentministervisits Ankaraorlstanbul, thecommunity gets an extraordinaryemotionalrush; anditseems as

though almost every household

the

Diaspora is weighing the pros and cons of actually moving to Armenia. Ordoing something forit. Anything. Butindependentorno! Armenia will continue to feed what we might call a national spirit. I think the whole thing will crumble without the homeland factor. By the sametoken, Armeniais extremely fortunate to have found a willing, greatly mobilized Diaspora when it did. Since the mid-1980s, the Diaspora has experienced a reawakening of sorts which drewits snength from the homeland and later, throughout ttre independence process until now, moved Ar-

menian communities around the world to closely participate in the rebuilding of the homeland.

Thc Armcnl.n community In furkcy her pald . con3lrtcntly hlgh prlcc lor rtaylng whcrc It It. And yct, lt has elro tranrecndcd thc rdvcrrltlcr end larhloncd a vlbrrnt culturc that lr cqually groundcd ln Etrt and Wcrt-aftcr

all, lt war thc Wcrtcrn.cducatcd Armcnian wdtcrr ol lrtanbul who brought about thc grcat lltcrary rrnalrlancc ol thc latc l9th ccn. tury. How docr lt lccl to livc.c an Armcnian and cary thlr hlstodcal luggagc ln modcm

Tutcy?

of profound concern to the community is the growing threatof Armenian-bashing in light

ofthe recent Kurdish insurrection. Unfortunately, the Turkish news media don't miss an opportunity to label Armenians as sympa-

thizers of, or even collaborators with, the Kurdish movement. As itis, public opinion in Turkey is pronetodemonizing Armenians as ingrates or traitors, especially with the Karabakh situation going on. So we don't need some headline screamingthattheleader of the Kurdish movement is in fact an Armenian. I think we must campaign as force-

First, we must be careful not to put the Turkish-Armenian, or rather the Istanbul community, in the same bag as the Diaspora. Istanbul is a very old community, with a whole set of evolutions that are uniquely its own, and it has existed outside of the pattems that define the Diaspora of the last eight decades. I would say Istanbul is a historical tuming point somewhere between homeland and diaspora. Living in Istanbul does have its rules and protocols. The rule of thumb here is that the Armenian community would prefer to refrain from doing or expressing anything contrary to the policies of the Turkish government. In return, the community enjoys wide freedoms to conduct its civic and cultural life. And it is true that the main reason for the community's remarkable longevity is its ability to maintain

a cultural equilibrium: we

.enrhlP? I do credit our political parties forhaving shaped much of the.destiny of the Diaspora, but we in Istanbul have done quite well without them. Yes, it is possible to stand unitcd on collective issues, and !o care forthe rpcds of

a community, without actually relying on

partypolitics. Istanbul is an extremely close-knit community. And I mean close-knit in the geographical, as well as sociological, sense. We live side by side.WepintMamwrd atnoon and take the copies to Armenian districts. . Within acoupleofhours, thepaperis i sold out. The thoughts that you've fi

I !

committed to paper the night before and during the morning will be read by hundreds ofpeople youpersonally know and care for by the afternoon.

There's something tremendously heart-warming in this.

It lr rcnrlrlreblc, ln frct, th.t l.trnbul rupportr not

ono, but two dally ncwrpt. porr. But who aro thc road. orr? Wlret lr tho rgc rrngo ol both tl dcrr end wrlton?

Turkish pop culture is so overwhelming, and often so damned good, thatitisbecomingincrcasingly hard to srceryoung, college+ducated Armenians in the direction of Arme-

nian culture. There are some 20 Armenian schools inlstanbul, andallof them are kept open through great fi-

were

nancial sacrifice. The quality of

probably the first modem Armenians

education in these schools, which had plummeted for a while, has picked up steam again in the last decade, but

toinventamodelforcosmopolitan life that drew its vital energiei from Armenian culture and tradition.

Armenian-language teachers still find themselves actually forcing students to read Armenian books. And thevoiceoftheyoung generation

But what il thc policicc of thc Tu*ish goycrnmcnt col. lidc with thc largor "national"

intcrrsts and rcnrlbilitlcr ol

thc Armcnlan communlty,

Despite these setbacks, however,

har happencd with thc Karabakh and cconomic

there are some surprising, unac-

blockadc lrsucr?

In such sensitive instances, we either maintain a distance between our feelings and the events, that is to say, we keep silent, or, if there is indeed room fortalk, we engage in constructive discussion. ln Marmara,for instance, a considerable number of those events that pit the interests of the Turkish government against those of the Armenian state go simply unreported.

Thc govcrnmcnt of Primc llin. lstcr Gillcr may rcp?c3cnt a ncw rtylc ol Turkirh politicr. How do you cnvirlon thc Armcnlan community'r relations with the ncw powc?s that bc? I anticipate, and hope for, a wholly peaceful relationship. But one problem area that is

noticeably absent in our news pub-

lications.

fully as we can to dispel such popular misconceptions. I must also stress, however, that Armenians in Turkey have not suffered any significant harm because ofthese provocations. We do encounter racially motivated petty crimes here and there, but no organized acts of hostility.

lstanbul'r Armcnlanl havc donc a rtmarkablc job ol nurtudng harr

mony within thc community with. out co much as a hint of thc polith cal partles that are yirtually a way of lilc in the Diaspora. Docs thls mcan that wc can havc a pcrlcctly healthy public life without partl. AIM, DECEMBER

1993

countable surges ofenergy among the young that give us a renewed sense of fulfillment. These days, for instance, ifyou're in Istanbul and feel likeattending an Armenian arts event, you'll be atalosstrying

tochoosebetweentheusual anayofconcerts, recitations, theatrical presentations and exhibitions. Recently I attended some of these recitations and I was astonished by the sheer brilliance of the reciters-their intonation, their understanding of poetry and poetics made me think that our schoolteachers have cleaned up their act in recent yeam. But perhaps the most moving of all is the sight of new names in literary publications. Out of nowhere, it seems, we now have a group ofyoung authors appearing in periodicals like Hobina, Nor San and even

Marmara, who slowly, in their own novel ways, are tuming

thetables.

THEAGADEMIG I'I'AROVER I(ARABAKH By GEOBGE BOUBNOUTIA| he conflict over Mountainous Karabakh has generated numer-

Azeri, Russian,Turtish,French,British, and Persian dealing with the history of the region. These studies fall into two general categories: those which state that Karabalfi was partofhistoric Armenia and thatthere has alwaysbeen asignificantArmenianpresence in thatdisputedregion; and othen which claim

ous volumes in Armenian,

that IGrabaktr was never a part of historic menia and the Armenians are newcomers to the region-that they ar-

rived after the Treaty

fu-

Karabaleh [Artsakt: History of Karabakh] (Sevig Press) was published. Making use of various primary and secondary sources, the authors present a convincing case that the entire region encompassing present-day Karabakh and Ganja was part of the ancient Armenian provinces of Artsakh and Utik. The Armenians, they assert had continued to re-

mainamajorityintheregionevenaftertlreloss of ttre land to Sasanian han. The Arab invasion andoccupationdidnotalterthesituation and the Armenians remained a majority until the conclusion of the Tiuko-Mongol invasions in the l3ttrcentury. ThentheArmenians

In l99 1, parts of these French worls were included in a new work edited by British historian Christopher Walker, entitled Annenia

and Karabakh: Tke Struggle

for Unity (London, 1991). Thevolume, partof theMinority Rights Publications, put much of the above material into a well-structured survey which includes some new data from Armenian scholars refuting Azeri claims to there-

gion. Once Karabakh and Nakhichevan were made part of Azerbaijan in the 1920s, Azeri scholars wrote various studies in which these regions, as well as Zangezur and other areas of Soviet Armenia, were treated as an integral partof historical Azerbaijan. Moscow viewed Soviet Azerbaijan as an important base from which to spread its political message to kanian Aze6aijan, while Armenia, wittr is large Diaspora, was always suspected of nationalism. honically, most historians in Armenia, with the exception of B. Lllubabian, did not write about Karabakh and Nakiichevan. Armenian scholars in the Diaspora, with the exceptionof Richard Hovannisian and one of his

Turkmanchai (1828), when the Russians encouraged a large number of Penian-Armenians to immigrate into IGrabakh.

One of the earliest efforts to

Thc ZORY^N INS] For

Cort(mpmr{

cL17

Mountainous Karabakh in English is the work by Professor Richard Hovannisian, whose'"The Armeno-

Azerbaijani Conflict over Mountainous Karabakh, 1918-1919," in lhe Armenian Review of Summer 197 I, aswellassectionsinhismultivolume The Republic of Armenia, became the standard on explaining the origins of the Armeno-Azeri conflict over Karabakh.

ll trTf

&*nrch & kumrnlarion

ArnEtrian

'""Karabagh

document the recent history of

Immediately following

mentinthe 1980s.

r)N

Tt,f,

oljr^slto\ or Mo[iNTdtNous rARAlAct

rcl&ls ftflrd

t.ibddiln

Edl6r

the

emergence of the Karabakh Movement in early 1988, a volume en-

dtleAThe Karabakh FiIe was edited by Gerard J. Libaridian and published by the Zoryan Institute (Cambridge, 1988). The volume is a collection of documens pertaining to Karabakh from l9l8 to 1988 and demonstrated clearly the early Armenian dissatisfaction with Azeri rule, as a result of which Soviet premiers Khrushchev and Brezhnev were repeatedly petitioned as early as the 1960s and 1970s. A year later, in 1989, two French Armenians, Patrick Donabedian and Claude

gradually abandoned the plains and sought refuge in the mountains of Karabakh, a rclocationwhich was finallycomplercdby tlrclate I 5th cenury. The Armenians ofMountainous Karabakh, under the leadership of their meliks, were among the few who possessed arms, maintained some autonomy and actively soughttobreakaway from theTurkish

Mutafian, published a volume entitled Ie Karabakh: Une terre armenienne en Aurbaidj an [Karabakh: Armenian Territory

encirclement by petitioning the Russian mlen, Peter and Catherine theGreat. They collaborated with the Russians and were of some

in Azerbaijanl (Groupement pour les Droits ds Minorites). In 1990, theirenlarged andrevised edition, entitled Artr4kh, Histoire du

help intheirconqueringtheregionintheearly

l9th century. The remainder of the work contains documents on the Karabakh Move-

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

students, also overlooked the situation in Karabakh. In the late 1980s, political changes in the Soviet Union led to the renewed Armenian claims to Karabakh. The Azeris responded with a barrage of publications to prove their historical rights in the region. Under fte influence of academician Ziya Buniatov, the head of the History Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Aze6aijan, numerous volumes appearedclaiming thattheTurks arrived inthe regionmuch earlier than the 1 I th century and that there was a direct link between the Caucasian Albanians and the present-day Azeris.

Azeri claims have been accepted and restated without any critical examination of the sources by a number of Iranian Azerbaijani authors, such as AMulatrad Behrad's Qarabagh in History (Tabriz, 1993) and by one American scholar, Audrey Altstadt, whose The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and ldentity Undcr RussianRu/e (Stanford, 1992) is basically an English franslation ofthe Azeri claims stated above. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, following the fall of theoldrcgime, anumber of monographs were finally published in Yerevan in Armenian and Russian in which Armenian scholars demonstrated that Iftrabakh has not only always been part of Armenia, but that it has been one of the few places where the Armenians

had kept their independence after the fall of the last Armenian kingdom in historic

Armeniain the I lth century. Works such as a collection of documents published by Yerevan State University entitled The Truth About Nagomo-Karabakh: Col-

lection

PahcrooilAB6ohN

C|a!doMUTAFIAN

KARABAGH

Une lsrre arm6nisnne eo Azerbaidian

Documents

(in

Russian,

Yerevan, 1989); The Right of Self- Determination as the Base of a Democratic Solutionof Inter-Ethnic Problems (in Russian, Yerevan 1989) by G. Barseghov; The Medieval Art of Artsalch (in Arme-

Planning to visit

France to spend some time in the French

capital

Paris ? We Offer you accomodations in our furnished studios just off the Ghamps-Elyseer. Rooms include: kitchen, television, telephone. Monthly rate:

$t,3(x, Minimum Stay:

I tonth

Contact:

YEZEGUELIAI{ Armenia lnc.

34 Avenue des Ghampr Elyrecr

Parir 75OO8, F;ancc

Phone: (331 ) 43 59 65 81

Fax:

(331)40740859

nian, Russian, and English, Yerevan, 1991) by H. Hakobian; articticles by B.

H. Abrahamian in Haireniki Dzain (Yercvan, 1988); and

ARI',IENI,AI{

especially Ilisto ry Is the Memory of Past

TEI^EUIIiION

Ulubabian and

Generqtions: Historical Issues Surrounding Mountainous Karabakh (in Russian, Yerevan, 1990) by Paruir

Grouperenl pour les Drdts des Miwitds

River-as

stated by all Greek and Roman

sources-but actually extended to Lake Sevan. Armenian architectural monuments

and stone crosses (lchachkars), they contended, are actually ancient and eady medieval Azeri architecture and artifacts. Finally, they contended that the Armenians came to theregionaftertheRussianconquestandArmenian claims are part of a plan to recreate Crreater Armenia, the result of nationalistic fervor which is fueled and funded by Armenians of the Diaspora.

NC.

Muratian, began the Armenian counterattack to Azeri allegations. In their arguments Armenians rely heavily on Armenian, Russian and west European sources. Azeris claim thatthese sources are biased. The irony is that a carefu I examination of Arab, Persian and Azeri primary sources clearly indicates that the Armenians had been in the region prior to the arrival of the Turks and the Mongols and after their anival had formed

a strong

Furthermore, they asserted thattheborden of Caucasian Albania did not sop east of the Kur

PRODUEUONS,

base

in the mountains of

Karabakh. Realizing their problem, the Azeris have been feverishly revising and republishing many of thesi sourceslThe neweditions, printed in the tens of thousands, have deleted most references to the Armenians of Armenia. Azeris hope thatinexperienced scholars and those who support their view will make use of these new editions and in time the earlier editions which were pub. lished in small numbers during the 1950s and early 1960s will become unavailable.

ffi"aNNErwonK(Ar'N') l3ar5 CHANNEL

Prolessor Bournoutlan's new study, A Hlstory of Qarabagh: An Annotated Trans. latlon of Mlza Jamal Javanshlr Qarabaghl's Tarlkh+ Qarabagh, to be publlshd ln I 9%, examlnes Arab, lranlan and Azerl prlmary sources deallng wlth Karabakh. AIM,DECEMBER 1993

[:t

f.?9!;I!

Vcurowen Street, Vcrr Nuys, Co 9llo5 PHONE:

(8r8r 782 4944 FAX: (818) 782 5360 37

ASCANDAL INCAIRO The Lucy Artin Affair Hits the Big Boys By BAFFI KOUBOYAI{

major-generals. The scandal, which began

withreportsof

Lucy Artin's relationships with various Egyptian security forces fight Islamic militants in the slums of s

Cairo, the Egyptian government recently was hitby apotentially

regime-threatening political scandal. It revolves around Lucy Avedissian Artin and a web of inrigue involving members of Egypt's

ruling political establishment. Daily newspapers covering the Lucy Artin affair, as it became known in the local press when it first broke in March, werc usually sold out by 1 1

a.m. The resulting public outcry forced the Egyptian government to ban the local press from giving further coverage to the affair. However, thebeleagured government'skneejerk reaction to allegations ofhigh level corruption came too late to conceal opposition prcss revelations of the forced resignation of a presidential advisor along with two police

memben of the Egyptianjudiciary and their effecs on her divorce case quickly went beyond merely appearing higNy irregular and assumed political overtones implicating se-

nior Egyptian offrcials. At the time of her arrest, in early March, the 28-year-old was quoted by the London-basd Sunday Times as telling investigators that'the big men [of

Egyptian officialdoml have gone uazy... They have all fallen in love withme. Why is thatmy fault?' Before these latest developments, Lucy Artin was married to Bernard Artin, the son of anArmeniantobaccofactoryowner. After

Lucy Artln: Caught ln the polltlcal tallout.

the birth of their two daughters, the couple split up in the mid- 1980s. She then sued him for alimony. According to the Beirut-based M idd I e Ea s t R ep o rt e r, the courlawarded her

a second lawsuit for alimony. Litigation continued for five years, during which time

and her daughters a monthly allowance equivalent to US $550. However, her

Bernard Artin permanently left Egypt for Australia. The well-regarded and well-connected Avedissian family has in the past rendered numerous services to Cairo's 5,000-strong

Armenian community-from assisting businessmen seeking official permits by

TheArtof theArmenLanTdr The Art ofArmtendatT?r(72 minutes) showcases Armenia's

preeminent tirist. Hovannes Dabinian performing transcriptions of Armenian sacred and secular music. Darbinian offers listeners something remarkable: an instrument steeped in tradition yet resonant with contemporary possibilities.

cutting through Egypt's legendary red-tape to helping maintainthe status quo in the face of Egyptian MinisEy of Fducation efforts to evoke the right to exclusive Armenian enrollment in Cairo's remaining three Armenian schools. When Lucy Artin secured a monthly alimony increase from the equivalent of $550 to $3,000, her husband appealed. Then, Artin, according to a tapped phone conversation later released by investigators, managed to extract a further concession from "a man of great influence." He promised he would find someone who would tell ttre appeals judge to "listen to God" when making his final decision. Thejudge was later arrested in Artin's apartment. Lucy Artin's honeymoon with ttre Egyptianjudiciary ended whenherattorney failed

to obtain legal title to her ex-husband's

Recorded in Yerevan by Ohannes Sallbtan Balance Engineer Sâ&#x201A;Źvan IL Flclclan Design and Typography Harout Kellan Cover Photo Manouk Seraderfan.

property in Cairo's posh Heliopolis neigh-

To order: $ft.OO/CO; $1O.OO Cass. Shipping and Handling: $2.0O first copy; $1.2! each additional copy. MA residents add 50lo sales tax.

MEG Recordings P.O.Box 472 Cambridge, MA phone 5t7 .494.0877 Fax 677 .489.1.094 38

husband's successfulappealledhertolaunch

022fi

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

borhood, which she had previously claimed as collateral on the considerable arrears on alimoly payments. According to the charges against her, she then attempted to gain conrol ofthe property by way ofan under-thetable deal with a Land Registry employee to forge the necessary document. That is when, according to Interior Ministry sources, the Lucy Artin case was uncovered. They maintain that, quite accidentally, while investigating the suddenly-ac-

gired

wealth of the l,and Registry employee, tlrcy noticed thatlucy Artin was his fuquent visior. Subsequently, the Public hosecutor authorized that her telephone be tapd.

ARMENIAN MISSIONAEY

Pnblic Security, and Fadi Habashi, Inspecor of the Ministry of the Interior' s lnvestigations Bureau. Information of theirimplication in the case came by way of a highly unusual leak ftromthe InteriorMinistry. This lead to their resignation only days before ttre Lucy Artin scandal became public knowledge. The inability of trvo influencial career officers to contain allegations of their comrp tion within theconfines of the secretivelnteriorMinistry suggess thattheirdownfall may have been part of a broader political game. After yet another rcsignation, this time of shongman, Field Manhal Abu Ghazala, apparently inrelationto the Lucy Artin scandal, signs emerged that the furor over the Artin

affairmightwell berelated to Cairo's shifting political scene. Duringhis tenure as Defense Minister in the eighties, the Field Marshal's rivalry with President Mubarak lead him to develop an altemative power-base within the

military. Consequently, most political analysts considered him the natural successor to the presidency. However, before his association with the scandal, Ghazala had been making sympathetic overtures to moderate Islamic fundamentalists. This gained him the dual animosity of Egypt's largely liberal political establishmentas well as of aPresident Mubarak eager to contain fundamentalist militants. In such a charged political atmosphere with rumors of a military-lead coup d'etat doing the rounds of Cairo's coffeeshops, it may be that Lucy Artin, who was eventually released, was the ideal excuse for

ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA [fooBFoRArED

t.O FOEESTAVEM'E PA8ATfl,,S, N J, 07652 PHOTE

Thephone taprevealed the extentof Lucy Artin's contacts within the Egyptian security apparatus. In particular, among her intercepted calls were those described by the

SundayTimes as "very intimate" with two major-generals: Halmi Al Fiqqi, Direcor of

(mil

&m1/m

FAl{.

(nil N.&7s

IROJECT "WII{TER'94": rrEAT FOR ARMENIA The sevene winter of l9y2l93 in Armenia will not sutn be forgottcn by those who lived through it. Without heat, light or hot water, 3,5(X),O00 people sufferpd from frostbite, disease and malnutrition, and many died. Storcs, offices, schools and institutions were closed. The entire nation came to a virtual standstill. Another such winter would be far more disastncus, as a weakened population would succumb in larger numbrs to cold and disease. We must not let this hapoen. The recently-formed Armenia Fund, USA and the United Armenian Fund (UAD are joining forces to raise $21,000,000 to provide Armenia with

oil.

2m,(m

tons of heating The Lincy Foundation of.California has offered to match, two-for-one, every dollarthat is raised for this puryose. The goal is to raise $7,000,000, to which the Linoy Foundation would add $14,000,000. Every dollar you give will bring in two additional dollars to help meel this god!

All the money that is raised will be turned over to the UAF. The UAF, in turn, will purchase heating oil and, in cooperation with the Armenian Government, will arrange for its transport to Armenia. The suppliers have agreed to have payments deferred until after the oil reaches Armenia, thereby eliminating any risk of loss during transportation.

we meet our goal, millions of Armenians, for the first time in several winters, will have heat in their homes and wort places. The heating oil we provide will keep schools and hospitals open and warrn, and will enable electric generators and water pumping stations to stay in operation.

The Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), as a partner

in both the Armenia Fund, USA and the United Armenian Fund,

committed to cooperating fully with this vital project. The success of this effort will mean the difference betrveen life and death, literally, for thousands of Armenians. We must succeed!

a preemptive internal coup within Egypt's political establishment. Nevertheless, in a society in which political discourse is increasingly being shaped by puritanical Islamic values, allegations of esablishment comrption related to ttre Artin

The AMAA urges you to respond to this appeal as generously and as promptly as you can by filling and sending in the coupon below. We must do our part and do it now!

scandal ineviably will continue to tamish the Mubarak administration' s public image in the short-run and undermine its legitimacy in the

Armenian Missionary Association of America

long-run.

14ll Forest Ave.

lndeed, as Hussain Amin, Egypt's former ambassador to Algeria, himself both a lead-

Prramrs, NJ

ing anti-fundamentalist and a critic of the govemment commented, "The Lucy affair could well be instrumental in bringing down the government. The government keeps asking the public's help in beating the extremists. But with the scandal affecting the men who couldhavebeen ournextpresident, people are asking themselves, could an Islamic rcgime be worse?'

Ralll Kouroyan ls an analyst et

*ononlc trlcer,tch

Yes,

117652

I would like to holp Project 'Wintor'94.'

Enclosed is my gift of

$----------_----

Name

Address

Mako tax{eductible check to AMAA - Project 'Winter '94'

ilccill Unlwnlty ln Nonfid,,l.

AIM,DECEMBER 1993

=#-i=

=#..

ffi :+=.---=.-

='%u,

:::::i:=:=:.::::E=::::'

'::-=::+:=:r

For all your business & personal banking look no further than American International Bank . Unsecured

Lines of Credit from $10,000 to $50,000 to professionals and well-established businesses subject to qualifying Longer term loans for business acquisitions, real estate plant expansion or purchase ($tOOO rebate for packaging SBA loans)

Home Equity lines of credit

Courier Seruice

. .

lnsured Deposits for $100,000 per depositor Free initial check orders for business accounts (minimum standard orders)

Financing imports and exporls at competitive terms

American -lnternational Bank James Dorian President & CEO Susan Mangassarian Vice President lnternational Banking 213-688-8640 Karnig Karayan Vice President Los Angeles Main Otfice 213-688.8626 Vartan Bedrosian Vice President Glendale Otlice 818-546-3357 Maro Gostamian Vice President Los Angeles Main Otfice 213.688-8625 Los Angeles Main Oflice One Wilshire Building,264 South Grand Avenue., Los Angeles, CA 90017,310-688-8600 Glendale 520 N Central Avenue, Glendale, CA 91203,818-545-8800 18645 East Gale Avenue, 818-854-8600 Tar.ana 18321 Ventura Eoulevard, 818-774-2699 Torrance,23670 Hawthome Boulevard, 310-791-2800

IFDA I I INSURED

f:I L.rrl

LENDER

COMMT'MTIES

THE UNFINISHED MOVE

staying put continue to nurture their heritage while striving to draw the attention of the world-wide Armenian community to their plight. Joseph Arathoon is suchan "activist."

While Armenian churches in Madras and Bombay have long closed their doors, Arathoon and a co-trustee offer regular services in Calcutta's Armenian church. The city's Armenian Association helps care for some 50 elderly Armenians in aconvalescent home and subsidizes the Armenian Philan-

thropic Academy. "We can revitalize

lndia's Armenians Face the Prcspect of Not Being There By ARTHUR J. PAIS omany Armenians living in India, the Iranian Revolution has been a blessing in disguise. In the years

following Ayatollah Khomeini'

coup, when hundreds of Armenian-lranians sought refuge in neighboring India, Armenian-Indians accepted the newcomers with open arms, offering support networks that included shelter, education and immigration assistance. To the all but decimated Armenian communities of Calcutta and Delhi, the infl ux of Iranian compatriots has come as a temporary breath offresh air. With a history spanning a millennium, India's Armenian communities are reduced to little more than a cluster of relics today. In Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Bombay and elsewhere, Armenian schools, churches and

cemeteries stand as grim reminders of aonceburgeoning culture that thrived in manufacturing, commerce, govemment and scholarship, and lavished its riches on the arts and charitable causes. And though many of the

community-owned structures and other holdings have been presewed thanks to the sheer tenacity of a handful ofdedicated individuals and the work of the Armenian Association, it may be only a matterof time before these properties are leftheirless andpassed on to the Indian govemment: atthetime of India' s independence in1947, there were 5,000 Armenians living in the country; today, there are some 300left in the whole of the Indian subcontinent, and their numbers are decreasing rapidly. There are five Armenians living in Bombay, two in Madras, while the remainder of Armenian-Indians is scattered in Calcutta and

Delhi. But despite bleakprospects, many who are

Calcutta as a center for Armenian studies," says Arathoon. Considering the past contributions of the Armenian-Indian communiry, his optimism may not come as a surprise after all. As early as in the 7th century, Armenian traders settled in Calcutta and Madras. In subsequent centuries, thousands more traveled from Karabakh and from Julfa, Iran, in search offame and fortune in the vast lndian landscape. Armenians gave the first printing press to the city of Madras, and here they published the first Armenian journal anywhere in the world; they also constructed one of the key bridges in the city, and helped build the scores of steps leading to the shrine ofSt. Thomas atop a mountain; in Calcutta, they founded schools that offered a world-class education in Armenian studies; the Grand

Hotel, a fabled sight in this city steeped in poverty, was builtby an Armenian merchant, Aratoon Stephen; and some of the finest jewelry shops in Bombay were once owned by Armenians.

Today, India's Armenians have no prominent figures in government, education,

*?Tr

ft,It{-

{**&r4e

"r**q;

l* ;Sffi,Tr'iiiffi ,i]i,1... -.- -,--+#r

.il

.rtffi,

afF S

/it

r *"

ffi

ffi :,'

- n:e;erq\.!.

,.s

f,,fi,_

.{c

!}ii*a*

ffi fse{i,{4+ffi{F

SIMOI\IAN ORIEI\ruAL RUGS

ARMEI\IAN RUG (KARAAAGH) ca. 1917

RESTORATION

APPRAISAL

HAIYDVASIIING

939 N. Amphlett Boulevard SanMareo, CA94401. Tel: (415)343-o929

Fax:

(415)j43-5rrs

The Armenian Alphabetis exquisitely engraved on the surface of a solid wood pen case using precision computer guided beam of light. The case contains a slim, matching color, genuine wood

ballpointpen.

When ordering indicate Model A or B, followed by (R)

=Rosewood (pictured), (W)=Walnut or (M)=lvtxpls. i.s. AO\D.

Price: US $39.95 Quantity discounts are available (12 or more)

S&H charges: USA & Canada: First item $3, each ad-

ditional item $1. International Air Mail: First item $8, each additional item $3. Make checks payable to:

UMQUECRAFTS 1874 S. PCH, #165

RedondoBeach,CAgOzTT

USA Tel: (818) 507 - 8019 or (310) 316 - 3620

Shipping Address

B': s4

# hr â&#x201A;Ź"

,rt]

* " r'lt

AGUN FORALL

$1 I

1.,

SEASONS

it it.\ ti 1t' 1

.11

!i"

,-{

The Raj andthe Dragon

WIDholhZtt -Tamnahtlwt'Fire-breathingdragon,'laldsthePwfab,fortLcgreat green-bronze piece is always

first of the conqucror's loot.

F rom Rudy ard Kip lin g' s Km

Inthemid-lT00s,theEmperorAhmadShahDurraniorderedhisvizier,ShahWaliKhan,

!S ANYBODY OUT THERE? George Grlgorlan and hlr wlie are the lone caretakerl ol Madra!' Armonlan Church, below rlght. the sciences or the arts, with the sole excep-

tion of Ann Bazil (Barsheghian), who has become a most respected leader of the women's movement in India. In 1959, Bazil was elected president of the All-India Women's Council; she is also the author of Armenian S e tt I e ment s in I ndia, in which she attests to the existence of tombstones in the

tomakeforhimagun "terribleas adragon, andhugeas amountain," a'taptuerof srongholds." Wali Khan, in turn, commissioned Shah Nazar Khan, a mastergunsmith, to manufacturethe technological marvel that the emperor sought. NazarKhan, anArmenian, sonofAllaverdy ofQuaiquli, finishedcastingthecannonin 1761. The gun was named Zamzamah, or lion's roar. Itwas made of a mixture of copper andbrass,andmeasured 14.5 feetinlength(notincludingthecasement), whiletheaperture of the bore measured 9.5 inches. According to historian Mesrob J. Seth, the cannon was put to deadly use the same year by Shah Dunani in the famous battle of Panipat. The effects were so devastating that the

Zamzamahbecameacovetedwarmachineinlndiaandremainedamilitarysaplethroughort the history of the British Raj. Today, Nazar Khan's invention is preserved in ttre Cenual Museumof Lahore.

-Peter

Armenian Cemetery of Agra, dating from the l6th century. Hundreds more, mostly merchants, manyfromkan, somefromErevanor Tbilisi, were buried there through the 1920s.

Thc l.ert ol thc Rclics Every morning, 79-year-old

who had refused to side with the French, helped reconstruct the church after ttre British won the war. The church was consecrated

in1772. George

Gregorian rings the bells of the Armenian ChurchofHolyVirginMaryinMadras, lights thecandles, says aprayer, andgoes ontotend the gardens and help his wife carry into their apartment the fresh vegetables and meats she has boughtfrom a nearby market. Gregorian then sees a visitor or two: possibly a scholar

researching Armenian history in India, or a tourist curious to see a two-century-old church thathas had no priestorcongregation for more than three decades.

Theoriginalchurch was constructed some timeinthefirstdecadeofthe I 8thcentury and was burned down when the French and the British fought for the hegemony of the Madras region. Some 40 Armenian merchants,

'"There arejusttwo ofus left behind to care forthis church," Gregorian says. "Myself and mywife. About5Oyearsagotherewereabout 200 Armenians here. Most sailed away to

AustraliaorBritainorAmerica." Hehas been the sexton of ttre church for more than three decades, he adds. 'This church is full of history; it is a gem and it is ever so peacefu 1," Gregorian continues. The streetiself is called Armenian Stneet and is situated in the heart ofthe city, next to the High Court and t aw College. Nvart Parseghian of Bombay tells a similar story. She screams at the men who are playing cards outside the little church in the city's bustling commercial area. "How would you feel if someone satout-

brlan

side your temple, smoked and played cards?" she asks. The men, startled by her voice, scram. One of them tells the others: "But the church is hardly open."Another man re-

sponds: "And shecomes here sorarely."That makes Parseghian angrier. "Can't the Arme-

niancommunityacross theworldhelpuskeep this little, this beautiful church open the year around?" she says. Born in Turkey, Parseghian, now in her 70s, migrated to the US, joined the foreign service, then settledinBombaywhere shemet her husband, a member of India's minority Parsees community. As she leads the visitor into the tiny but well-mainuined St. Peter's Armenian Church, tears well up in her eyes. She talks of a couple of apartment buildings owned by the Armenian Association in ttre city and wonders if they could be sold and a fund created to maintain the church and a small museum. "People ought to know that

SAGREDLINES

The Story ol Sarmad the Fakir

UnderthestepsofDelhi'smagnificentJamaMusjid

mosqueliesburiedtheArmenian

poet and fakir (ascetic) Sarmad of Karabakh, who defied the most fiendish of legendary Mogul emperors, Aurungzebe. A descendant of Genghis Khan and one of the three sons of Shah Jehan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, Aurungzebe had Sarmad beheaded in 1661 because, accordingtolegend,thepoetrefusedtocoverhisnakedness. Butsomehistorians believe that his subversive poetry had morc to do with his death. Bom in Karabakh, Sarmad settled in India's Sind province where he became a successful businessman before relinquishing his worldly possessions for a life of ascetism.

Today, Sarmad is venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike for his mystical quatrains, originally composed in Persian and translated into English and Armenian. H. Dorlan

-Peter

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

GUUTUREBY NUMBERS llerrlvc Rcrourccr,

Dudndllng llenpowct

Historically, most of the Academy's students have come from outside India-from han and the Middle East. But the lot of the students from Armenia is quite different and diffrcult. Some want to stay, others want !o

By PETER H. DORlAll

though we always were such a small community in India, we have contributed a great deal to Indian education and sports," she says, adding that one of the famed football clubs in

Calcutta was started by Armenian philanthropists. Even though the church has not had rcligious services in more than two decades, Parscghian says she kept itopen duing the last Lcntseason sothatChristianswhoworkinthe

areacoulddropin for"quietconlemplation." Artfiur J. Pals lc a lre*lancp wrttet who twrtty f,tlbd lndla, hls home counw.

here is one Armenian school in the world thatdoes not sufferfrom a lack of funds. Located in the heart of Calcutta, where the total Armenian population is just over 100, the

As Aram Harutunian, for years Soviet, then later Russian Vice-Consul in Madras, explains, "The process of acculturation, fa-

Armenian Philanthropic Academy's major

miliarization with

râ&#x201A;Źtum.

strangeenvironmentis a

problem is lack of students, not money. Butthe Academy' s management team has foundawayto solvetheproblem. InDecembr 1992,17 boys and 8 girls, ranging in age from eight to l0 years, most orphaned by ttre

1988 Armenian earthquake, anived in Calcutta from Yerevan. Just last month, another 17 joined them. For the next five to l0

years-until they graduate from high school-they will be fed, clothed and educated at the school's expense, together with the rcst of the school's 25 students .

Ctlcuttt't

fffiN ''

lkmp

-v==4

Armenlan Academy.

Pnxos ,.r*.H

Pnsrnv

& MEDTTERRANEAN PASTRIES

SAMPLER PACKAGE.48PCS of AssortedBaklava deliveredto yourdoor 2nd day air included for only

good until

..TRY

Jrnurry 15, 1994, Contincntrl USA only

AND TASTE THE DIFFERENCE''

Call toll free l.Em -999-6022 for delivery

information & free colorcatalogue. Call between 9am - 5pm Pacific Standard Time. 5150 Hollywood Blvd.,

L.A., CA 90027 C A 9120/.

41 8 S.

Cenral Avc., Glendale,

17145

VcnnmBlvd., Encino, CA 91316

AIM,DECEMBER 1993

(21s) 661.033s (818) s02.0s49 (rrr) 7E3.9361

difficultone."

During an official visit to India by Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Navasartian, Haik Sookias, Chairman of the Armenian Church Committee, agrecd !o do whatever was possible to help the orphans adjust. The lack of Armenian teachers and Armenian textbooks is an obvious problem. Sookias explainedttratan officialrcquesthas beenmadeto Armenia's EducationMinisuy tohelpfindqualifiedArmenianlanguageand literature teachers as well as administrators. The need has been partially met by the arrival of Reverend and Mrs. Sahak Ter Sahakian. He teaches Armenian, she teaches a stipulation by the Ar-

Russian-to fulfill

menian govemment that upon their return, these students, whose scholastic instruction

isprimarilyinEnglish, alsobeabletoreadand understand Russian.

Armenianteachers areaminority inOrc lG person teaching staffled by acting principal

The Armenlan Academy provldet all the amonltlea ot a boardlng

D. Bhattacharyya.

MassonceayearonSt. JohnttreBaptist's Day

Although classes are coeducational, the Academy has dormitories for both girls and boys. Included in the Academy's several buildings are aspecial indoorswimmingpool and a huge football field. Every Sunday, the children must attend Mass at the Armenian Holy Church, built in 1 724, the oldest Christian church in the city. Additionally, the whole

attheSt. JohnArmenianChurch,builtin 1695, in Chinsurah, some 25 miles from Calcutta.

community in and around Calcutta celebrates

Founded

in l82l by

rchool-lrec

ol chergc.

main institution. In the Calcutta of the 1930s and l9rlOs the Academy hadmore than 200 students whosc

Astvatsatur

athletic exploits both in boxing and ficld

Muradkhan and Mnatsakan Vardan, the Armenian College has produced thousands of graduatcs. In 1925 itjoined with the Armenian Philanthropic Academy. Since then, the Davidian Girls School, founded inl922by David Davidian, has also merged with the

hockey were legendary. For over 10 years, Baby Aratoon held the heavyweightboxing championship for all of India, Burma and Ceylon. In 1945 and 1948, the Armenian Rugby Team won the most coveted trophy in thc

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

But participate they do. Every four years,

sport, the Calcutta Club Award. Some years, it was even All Indiachampion.

new and active committee is elected. The currentCommittee is prepared to providethe requisite space for an Armenian Embassy in India, as well as for an Indian Embassy in Armenia. However, in order for the Church Committee to be able to legally function and ad-

Such glorious memories are what motivate the school's Committee to seek out new means of survival.

I 8

And money is no problem. Expenses for educating these children and all others are paid from funds bequeathed to the Academy by Armenian merchants who wereeducated in

ministerits sizable funds, thecommunity must

the institution. One of the greatest benefactors of the Academy, Tigran Mathews Gregory, was a Hong Kong diamond merchant who died i n 1962. His endowment of over HK $6 milThe Armenlan College Team, wlnner of the Calcutta lion provides more than 100,000 InClub Rugby Tournament, 1941. dian rupees (US $3,226) monthly India to aid Armenian earthquake victims. A interest for the school. Another benefactor lotal of I 1 million Indian rupees was given to was the Honorable Sir Paul Chater who Rajid Gandhi to send to Armenia, via Mosamassed huge wealth in real estate in Hong cow, in the days following the earthquake. Kong. Every month, the Armenians of Bombay, According toJudeGalstaun, agraduateof Bangalore and Madras receive some 1,500 to the Academy who then went on to attend 2,500 rupees (US $48 to 80) from the ArmeYerevan State University, the endowment nian Church committee. The 50 or so residens fund itsell is not great, falling somewhere ofthe SirChaterSeniorHousing receivefree between one and two million US dollars. lodging, food and health care. However, according to his estimation, the real Only those who do not receive financial estate belonging to the Armenian Church is assistance-some 15 people-may particivalued at some billions. pate in elections for the Armenian Church Indian law lorbids taking or sending Committee which is the only official body money out of the country. But an exception recognized by the Indian government. was made in 1988 to allow the Arrnenians of

main[ain its size. Of the dozen or so young Armenians left in Calcutta, most are thinking of moving to Australia or England. Clifton Martin (Manirosian), an auto mechanic, plans

to move to Armenia. Thirty-one-year-old John Creet (Hovannes Kritian) says "lifehere is dead." So, for now, they are dependent on greater

numbers of students from Armenia. Stephen Jordan (Stepan Hordananian), an architect and forrner memberof the Armenian Church Committee, explains that the it must provide the necessary academic and living accommodations before additional students come from Armenia. "Butcome they must," he says. "We cannot be cut off from that link to life which is

whattheAcademy's Armenia

students are." Wlth reportlng by Gurgen Khalaklan. Peter H. Dorlan, a graduate of Calcutta's Armenlan Academy, retlred from IBM aa technlcal wrlter and edltor.

Bring enchantment to your home with this hand-carved solid mahogany standard size Alphabet Door The pictured model is now available at the special price of US$1500. Regular price is set at US$1895. Allow approximately 3 months for completion and delivery of orders . Minimum deposit of US$1000 is required with each order. Balance is due upon completion of order.

To order, call (504) 887 0289

or write to: The Alphabet Door 3425 Edenborn Avenue #160, Metairie, LA 70002, USA Shipping & Handling included for all US orders. For shipments to other countries, rate will be advised accordingly. 46

AIM, DECEMBER 1993

reA '][.rup Amomw ']THtr

\\roRr-D rHE TRAVEIIIR II Built with legendary German craftsmanship and attention to quality, Grundig is the leader in worldband technology.

Sluy ln lbuch! The compact 7-band receiver

ing

x3t/zuxl'ho)

14 oz.,

and

purse

onlyweigh-

yet packed with

features,

only toll free Shortwave Hodine, (800) 872-2228 (9am to 4pm PST), in the industry.

Po'rr'bte ond il:"1.#,il:'ttt,'J::,Y#' eilIcldoble! selector switch, humane *rr.. tfr"$99.OO sleep rimer, OrderpOxi Frequency ;Siprping &I aiteydJfy,fl*

(I{WS), snooze alarm, is

your

ticket to events and culture all over the globe as they happen: discover hourly newscasts from the BBC, weather from Australia, soccer from Portugal or music from West Africa. It's the perfect tool for keeping in touch with the worldl

Snrerll

fit in your jacket pocket or (St/zw

slide control, Auto Control, pull out telescopic and also has a port for extern3Fd power (AC adapter not i

all

*rr"tax) *ith'ei 5hx* \,.'r-i.*ff6 ltqgyelvgp{g!tr43' Grundig North ffie1j& @

;f ,{

Orl

.i:,-

in Slze, yet

Big in Feolures

The Traveller II is small enough to lf you wish to chorge

GRU]TDI

pur

order pleos sign the uder brm hlow ond supply

pur

complete credit cord number ond expirotion dote. Pleose send me

Grundig Troreller ll Rodios lAllr4Pl2)

r\ielhod of Poynent: D [4osler Cord D Viso

Discoaer Cord

trAmuicon

t. Express

I I 1.

Credil Cord Acct. #

Exp. Doe

Nome

Addres CitylStote/Zip Signoture

l,ny

oflico*

nles

nx All

b;lld with shipnwt.

I .t

It used to happen every year or two. Your family would

Eiet a

new car. But these days, cars cost more.

$12000 on average. And people are keeping them longer. So consider this.The wrong gasoline

could be the worst thing that ever happens to your car.

It can leave deposits that clog fuel injectors and cripple valves. Only Chevron has TechrolineP the special additive that helps keep your intake system clean.

And your car running Iike it should. That's why Chevron is one of the best ways

to maintain your car's value. Though, we're sorry to it can't bring back that new car smell. Chevron

SimplySmarter

say,