Checkmate - February 1998 by Armenian International Magazine

argo Service to and from

enta

DEPARTMENTS: 4 Editor's Note 5 Letters to the Editor 8 Notebook 9 Bytes on File

12 55 56 59 60 62

Focus

Other People's Mail Faces

On the Shelf Underexposed Essay

ARMENIAN SURVEY:

Cover Story ln a momentous difference of opinion between an elected president and his apporntees, the president resigned. What happened?

The end of an era

Enter the Military

Soldiers, veterans, defenders

of the land. They are taking

an active role in the political arena.

Sumgait

Armenians were raped, beaten and burned alive in an Azerbaijani f adory town 1O years ago. Where are the survivors now?

33 "Cha-ra-baghl" On the 1Oth anniversary of the National

Democratic

Movement, AIM excerpts Mark Malkasian's documentary of the critical days which gave meaningto glasnost. Sumgait Survivors

ten years later.

Armenia's China Connection

Back

to School: Armenia's Education Minister

5PORTS: Armenia's '10 Top Athletes

Meet the country's premier sportsmen and women.

DESTINATIONS: Layers of History

50 Co digging in the

Uncover history on your next vacation.

Cradle of Civilization A RT;

52 Mosig Guloian A quiet sculptor chips away at conventional expectations. 58

The Reel World Filmmaker Atom Egoyan's dance cinema verities.

with

Oscar, and other

COVER DESICN BY RAFFI TARPINIAN.

Ten athletes make it to the top.

ispublishedmonihly,$45peryearbyTheFoudhMillernumSociety,2oT AIM(lSSN1050-3471),February1998,Vol.9,No.2 Farr(818)246-0088. PerodcasPo*a8epard SouthBrandEoulevard,Suite203,clendale,CA91204,Phone:@1$2467979 at Cendale, CA and additional maring offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Product sales Agreement No.0516457. o Copyright 1 998 by The Foudh Mi lenn um Society. A I nghts reeerved. A M may not be reproduced in any marnet either in whole or ln pad, wiihout wrltten permission from the publ sher The ediio6 are not respons ble for unsoiicited manuscripts or ad unlesrastamped self-addressedenveopeisenclosed. opinonsexpressedirsignedadlclesdonotnecessarilyrepretentthe vlewsofTheFoudhMillenniumsociety. Foradvedsingq!eriescall:1 818246-T9T9.Subscriptionratesforl2Gsues,US:$45, Foreign: t55 Postmasters:5end address changes to AIM PO 8ox 3296. Manhattan 8each, CA 90266, U.S.A.

February

1998 A LUt

itor's note

Founded in 1990 TOUNDING EDITOR Vartan Oskanian FOUNDING PUBLISHER Michael Nahabet

Granting Yioion AIM has received major grants to sustain its regular publication, and they could not have come at a more critical time. Your patience and support combined with our determination and persistence have sustained AIM sufficiently to allow the magazine to survive until this day. These magnanimous grants will make possible a new day for a unique publication. The donors are not unfamiliar to you. Specifically, the names Kirk Kerkorian, Louise Simone, Hirair and Anna Hovnanian, Sarkis and Bobbye Acopian, Joe and Joyce Stein, Heros and Kate Dilanchian are frequently seen as benefactors for major causes. Often quietly, they give to traditional institutions, as well as to new and innovative projects and programs. In fact, most community programs point gratefully to assistance from one or another of their foundations.

Their generosity is not unusual. What is unusual, and certainly a source of pride for AIM, is that rarely are their names seen together as benefactors of a single project. The obvious major exceptions are the United Armenian Fund which is based on the premise of combined effort, as well as the Armenia Fund. AIM is fortunate to have received this kind of support. We are very aware of the responsibility this places on the magazine to meet its potential. Especially now. The resignation of the president of the republic signals a change in Armenia's domestic, and possibly international politics. The lengthy cover story in this issue begins with an evaluation of the Ter Petrossian legacy by Professor Ronald Suny, continues with a chronology of what happened and why by Senior Editor Tony Halpin, and includes exclusive interviews conducted with some of the main players in Yerevan. These are followed by varied and bold analyses of Jivan Tabibian, Moorad Mooradian and Ross Vartian on the various national and international implications of a situation which could lead to either danger or opportunity. As historic as this February has been, it is also the tenth anniversary of that other historic February which saw the beginning of the democratic movement

in Armenia (chronicled in an excelpt from a book by contributor Mark Malkasian). February 1988 also witnessed the Sumgait tragedy. This echo of the Genocide will strike a chord with readers because every family has its own story of survival and rebuilding. In this context, the accounts of survivors then and now (Page 28) make very powerful testimony.

Stay with AIM and see history in the making.

Armenian lnternational Magazine 2O7 South Brand Blvd. Suite 203 Glendale. CA 91204, USA Iel: 818 246 7979 Fax:818 246 oo88

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DIRECTOR

PRODUCTION AND PHOTO MANAGER Parik Nazarian DESIGN AND PRODUCTION The Central lmage Agency INTERNS Karine Avedissian, Sonit Krikorian

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CONTRIBUTORS Artashes Emin, Yerevan; Susan Pattie, London; Ara Chouljian, John Hughes,

lanet Samuelian, Hrag Varjabedian, Los Angeles; Mark Malkasian, Rhode lsland; George Bournoutian, Lola Koundakjian, New York; Moorad Mooradian,

Wtrhington, DCi Vartan Matiossian, Euenos Aires

Mkhikr

Khachatrian, Zaven Khachikian, Rouben Mangasarian, Yerevan;

Aline Manoukian, Armineh Johannes, Paris; Edmond Terakopian, London; Karine Armen, Kevork Djanseziafl, Raffi Ekmekji, Eric Nazarian, Los Angeles;

Caro Lachinian, Maryland; Ardem Aslanian, New.,ercey; Harry Koundakiian, New York;

Berge

Ara Zobian, Rhode lsland

EDITOR EMERITU5 Charles Nazarian EDITORIAT CONSUTTANT

Minas Kojaian

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WRITE TO AIM!

AIM Production Manager Parik

Nazarian, lar left, went to Armenia last fall to locate Sumgait survivors and report on their lives 1 0 years after the massacres.

rul

February 1998

We welcome all communiGtion. Although we read all letters and submissions, we are unable to acknowledge everythint we receive due to limited staffing and resources. Letters to the Editor may be edited for publication.

/UNI

plans to run a series of articles on Diaspora-based medical assistance programs to Armenia. John Hughes wrote a piece

Earthquake Relief Fund

for

the

Armenia

Mental Health Program which Dr.

It was too long to include in the earthquake story. It will run in an upcoming rrrrr. ,r" Editors

Goenjian started.

I appreciated

Nicole Vartanian's

Essay (January 1998). Her thoughts on

neglecting the non-genocide related

A Varied Palette The cover of the recent AIM

promised, I think, more than it delivered. The article, while very good, left a lot out. It would have been a good opportunity to indicate who actually has stuck it out with the people in the earthquake zone, both from America and Europe. For example, in Gumri

there is the Mental Health Outreach program begun right after the earthquake by Dr. Armen Goenjian that continues through until today. As you

know, the Armenian Health Alliance

aspects of "Armenian identity, culture and history" were so accurate. I a m an

"adopted Armenian". I am from Ohio, married to an Armenian since 1968 and

we have raised our sons to be

Armenian as possible (with US blendings, of course). Nicole is right-there is a rich world of Armenian culture and history that exists, but it remains in the background, and the efforts ofdenial of

the Genocide dwarfs all of that. My husband and I have been reading The Crossing Place, as well as other books

and absorbing the broader history referred to by the author Philip Marsden. Through the years,

have

of books and articles, and agree with your questions: read

established the Primary Care Center in Gumri in 1994. We have trained three doctors and nurses, although only two doctors, aside from myself, have been willing to endure the physical and

read lots

mental discomfort of living in Gumri. I can only hope that the next ten years will see the resurrection of this unfortunate city. It will be easier to rebuild the physical structures than salvage the souls of the people. The real challenge is not only to help these people to emerge from their shacks, but to emerge from the deep depression that has enveloped their souls. On a brighter note, I thought that Nicole Vartanian's essay was outstanding. In the spring of '97 I took eight members of our clinic staff in Gumri,

The premise that things are not always what they seem is true through all of life, like layers of an onion. Nicole should be thanked for being so

to Karabakh. They had the same of their "Armenianism"

reawakening

as Nicole did. They too, for the first time, understood why this land is worth fighting for. I wonder if there is any

way of helping people to understand

the importance of Karabakh without actually sending them there? Carolann S. Najarian, M.D. President, Armenian Health Alliance

As you know, an article on the Health Alliance's many programs has been in the works for a while. AIM

Charents? seen Sarian? loved Artsakh? There is a whole culture to be explored and delved into.

Janet Tatevosian

Yernon Hills, Illinois

Tabibian's insightful analysis in the January issue of the forbidding dilemma facing Levon Ter Petrossian.

History will finally judge the or "cunning" of this clever

"naivete"

but unenviable politician. I suspect he suffers many a sleepless night weigh-

ing the possibility of a

compromise.

His heart must cry, for it is certain that despite the necessary display of political pragmatism in the face of a seem-

ingly insurmountable challenge, he must in his heart desire NagornoKarabakh and its people to be one with

Armenia.

Of course, there remains always the problem of political ideology, constant in-fighting and a lack of bipartisanship on important national and social issues, political expediency and self-preservation, and

am sure,

degree of corruption that is inevitable in any small developing country. The eyes of the international com-

munity are upon us and our internal political struggles and the level of stability, the government's commitment to democracy, freedom of speech, diverse political views will partly dictate the level of international support. I fear the greatest danger and chal-

lenge facing Ter Petrossian and the

in respect to Karabakh are not merely the changing loyalties of the many players but the the scenes" manipulative of the greedy oil companies

"behind especially enjoyed your cover

story in the November-December issue. The coverage was excellent. in that it covered both the magnitude of Kerkorian's move and the effect it will have on the small business owner in Armenia. The external challenges that

the administration of the

philan-

thropist's loan presents and the internal adjustments that people in Armenia need to make to be able to take advan-

tage

impressed by the piece on Kerkorian's bold and charitable step for the encouragement of business in Armenia. I hope other farsighted individuals will follow Kerkorian's example. AIso thought-provoking was Jivan

Armenian people

open-minded.

The last two issues were very informative and I was particularly

of it or accept with dignitythat

they do not, for any number of reasons, qualify for it. The coverage of such a new and unprecedented issue is not easy and you have done it with insight, tact and care not to step on anyone's toes. Well done.

Nora Ohaqianians

power

whose "investments" in Baku can only be multiplied if there is sufficient safe-

ty and security in the region and they

will not hesitate to undermine Armenia's and Karabakh's position on the international front. In the past they have been known to bring about pressure upon much stronger nations to change the course of events to their advantage. Given the potential of the oilfields in Azerbaijan, it is a likely

scenario, unless Ter

Petrossian has the cunning, coolness and courage to turn the tables to his advantage. Vaz Hovanessian Sydney, Australia

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada February1998

AIi

Oun duty

Did you know that...

in ARMENIA 5

in AMERIGA

years ego

is Glcar

years flgo

there were only 28 active churches and 24 students at Holy Etchmiadzin training for the priesthood.

the Diocese's "mission parishes" (newly-formed communities) in the U.S. numbered 6.

Tbdny

people have re-opened more than 100 churches. Hundreds more await clergy.

we have 23 mission parishes on their way to becoming

full-fledged parishes.

Whatwitlthe be used I

Write, publishr

UF among

IUTUFG Ihe Centennial

the Centennial Endowment Fund, tion will remain intact foreaer-generating iear after year to fund fumenian Christian education.

Endouumeltttund an integ'al pan af

Yes, I wantto invest in

ACEF

ourfuture! Enclosed is mycontribution of $

Name

Address City

-zip

Make checks payable to the AGEF Cenlennial Endowment Fund and mail to: Diocese ol the Armenian Church ol America, 630 Second Avenue, New York, NY l0016 For information call: George Kassis, Centennial Endowment Coordinator, (212) 686-0710 All contributions are tax-deductible.

-Telephone-

fin AmDMAN Csuncs orAmruce utt u gtunf'rlnhohh! {u8nt ut}bnh\u3h

Drocrse or

630 Second Avenue, New York,

NY 10016

NAltllE: MARMARA ONLINE WHERE DO YOU FIND lT? http://abone.superonline.com/ -Marmara WHAT lS lT LIKE? This is the on-line version of the Armenian daily newspaper published in lstanbul, Turkey. The web site of one of the Diaspora's most interesting and reliable daily newspapers emphasizes the daily news together with advertising, e-mail, guestbook and archives of past issues.

UPSIDE: Simple and user-friendly organization.

,lhum *"^"..**'."-''.:*g'

-lI!F;. i!'rd'r

"..trIfllf"i;"".

DOWNSIDE: The site must be updated daily, and

to be a problem.

iEIhFIl

The site is viewable only with Netscape 4.0 and lnternet Explorer 4.0. Be patient, the site is still under construction, but what a source this will be for daily info about Armenia especially, and in Armenian.

|rqo.

by Ara Chouldjian

Living History A permanent and one-of-a-kind

exhibit on the

Armenian Cenocide currently occupies 900 square feet in the Armenian Library and Museum of America

(ALMA) in

Massachusetts

Watertown,

(AlM,

March

1992). This is the offspring of a much larger temporary exhibit which ALMA ran in late 1995, and left a powerful effect on visitors, according to ALMAs museum curator, Gary Lind-Sinanian. "We had one woman screaming in rage because of what had happened to her family. She was in her 90's. Her family was wiped out, and nothing had been done. They got away with it." This exhibit, which opened to the public in September 1997, was designed to convey not only the facts and statistics of the Cenocide, but also the horror of the event. The exhibit begins at a narrow entrance corridor, where one feels almost claustrophobic, herded forward, a deliberate reflection upon the deportation columns of the Cenocide. Next, visitors arrive at the center of the exhibit, where a display case holds, among other artifacts, the tattered clothes of an Armenian boy who died of starvation in Der El-Zor, in the Syrian desert, in 1915. There is also a dog collar once worn by an Armenian slave. Throughout the central area, soft duduk music plays, underscoring the melancholy of tragedy. The final area features excerpts from newspaper accounts and deportation maps. Every detail of the exhibit has been tailored to evoke a sense of loss in the face of the Armenian Cenocide. Even the placement of the exhibit on the second floor of the museum, overlooking the main gallery was deliberate. "When you're in the main gallery...if you look up, you will see the Cenocide exhibit above you, and it impinges upon you. We were trying to reflect that the Cenocide impinges upon every 20th century Armenian, " said Lind-Sinanian. 8

/tlt

February 1998

in the beginning stages this appears

Fonts are still being changed, too.

Number of operating churches

allowed in Armenia, pre-independence: 28 Number of churches in Armenia, today, with clergy: 1O0 Number of communities waiting for churches: 3OO Number of former soviet bloc countries where Russian is still the official language: 2 (Russia and Belarus)

Journalist's Legacy Revisited

lf Samvel Shahmuratian had not died on the frontlines in Karabakh in September 1992, he would have celebrated his 43rd birthday this February 25. Shahmuratian was a young journalist, often called foolhardy, when he became known for his articles and essays on ecology, urban development, and perestroika. His byline was frequently seen in Grakan Tert or Carun, from the first days when Armenians took up then Soviet leader Mikhail Corbachev's calls for glasnost and began airing their environmental concerns out loud. Today, Shahmuratian is remembered for his difficult, pioneering work with Sumgait survivors in February 1988 (see page 28.) Weeks after Armenians in the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait were tortured or killed simply because they were Armenians, and their brothers in nearby Karabakh and Armenia were clamoring for the right to exercise the promised glasnost, Shahmuratian took a tape recorder and

went

the personal tragedies that together amounted to a political turning point in the Karabakh document

Movement. They told him how they were beaten with iron posts, walked on with sharp boots and raped often repeatedly. He recounted later how when shown the transcripts of their own testimonies, many were shocked that they had in fact shared so much detail that was so personal and horrible. Shahmuratian did not stop there. He traveled to Moscow to report on the criminal proceedings brought against some of the attackers. He didn't live long enough to turn all his archives into articles and books. The Sumgait Tragedy, consisting of survivors' testimonies, was published in Russian, English and French. His wife Nelly, who works in the CIS Department of Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hopes to publish a collection of her husband's writings, so that they may be used for the historical and political purposes for which they were intended. Shahmuratian is remembered today, not only by his wife and two children. He is remembered especially by the survivors of Sumgait, who are still grateful for the real concern he demonstrated at a critical time in their lives. And they remember him in Karabakh, where he went to fight to serve as an example at a time when so many were leaving, and where he died.

Percentage of former dependencies of the British or French empires which still use English or French as official languages: 5O

Number of days each year the Armenian Church identifies as days of penitence and fasting: 12O Number of years before Christ when the Armenian Patriarch Haik defeated the Babylonian Bel, and began the Armenian dating system: 2492 Total number of students at Glendale Community College in

Southern California: 14,000 Percentage of Clendale College's student body which identifies itself as Armenian:

Percentage of non-Armenians in a beginning Armenian language class: 33 Percentage of Armenia's telephone company. Armentel, sold to the Creek OTE company: 90 Total value of Armentel sale in dollars:

500,000,000 Percentage

Peru's

telephone company sold: 35 Total value of sale in dollars: 2,OO2,OOO,OOO Foreign Affai6, Dioese of the Armenian Chutch of Ameilc, Remembruce & Hope (Ashiian),Nouvelles d'Amenie Mageine, Manchester Auardian

February

'1998 A I il

The Fourth Millenrriurn Societl is an irrdependentlv funded artd adrnirtistered public chalitv comtnit-

ted ro the dissernirration of inltrrmation for the purpose of developiug an infonned public. Llrrderpirrnirrg all our'*'ork is the finn conviction that the vitalitv of au itrdepelrdeltt press is fundarrrental 1o a derrrocratic societv in Annenia antl rlerrtocratic irtstittttiolts in the I)iaspora. The Fotrlth Millerurium Societv publishes Arnrenian Internatitxtal \'lagazine in its effort to contlibute to lhe national dialogue. The directors are grateful to the Benefactors. 'I'r'ustees. Patrons alrd Friends of the Fourth Nlillenniurn Societv who are tornrnittetl to thtr well-being. growth arrd developrrrent of Arrrenians and Annenia tlrrough the promotiorr of open discrrssion and the liee flou'of infortnation arnoug irrdividuals antl organizations. '[.heir financial corttributions support t]re *-ork of the Fourth

THB

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SOCIBTY

ald

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Michael Nahabet, Vartan Oskanian. Rafli Zinzalian. Directors.

DIRECTORS'98 Shahen Hairapetian. Annett Hatnpar. Zaven Khanjian, Michael Nahabet\:artan Oskanian" Alex Sarkissian. Bob Shamlian. Jivan Tabibian. Raffi Zinzalian. BENEFACTORS

Sarkis Acopian.

llirair

Hovnanian. The Lincv Fourtdation- I-ouise Manoogiart Sitttont SENIOR TRUSTEES

AUSTRALIA: Heros & Kate Dilalrchian: CALIFORNIA: Khachig Babavan. (-leorge & Flora Durtaians, George & Cracc Kar'. Joe &.lovce Stein; CANADA: Razrnig Hakirnian. Kourkt:n Snrkissiatt: HONG KONG: Jack \laxian FOUNDING TRUSTEES

AUSTRALIA: \'aroojarr lskendeliaur CALIFORNIA: Gareu Avctlikiatr. \larrlr Kaprielian.

Erllartl \lissr:rlian. Bob Movclf . \'arott.jart \alraber. \orair Oskanian- Elttttr Papazialt Zare h Sarkissian.

Raffi Zinzaliar: FLORIDA: Ilagop Korrshakjiarr

PENNSYLVANIA: Zaroulti \larclikiarr ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES

Araxic \'1. Ilarotttittiart. Ralph arrrl Saver'

-l-u{i'nkian

PATRONS

AUSTRALIA

,\rrran arrd \airi Dertlerian Ocorge

ald Yartouhi 'lhlouk jiarr Artin Eitrnekjial CALIFORNIA

Milrran and Elizabeth Agbabian Ciarabed Akpolat

.\rtttattrl arrtl \an,'r \ntl,iart \rart kes and .lean Barsatn Harrv and Ahart Barseghian Berj antl IIera Bovajian Ilago1, arxl Vi,rlct Dakr'..iarr -A.rtla"h arrtl Mariarr l)er,lcriatt

Dirnitri antl Tarrrarr Dirnit ri Ster',, artrl l.rreillc E.tlplrlrrirrr \{anorrs[rag Femrrniarr

Cagik trnd Knar (lalstian \-ahan anrl Autlrev Clregor Pierrt' arrd Alice IIaig

CALIFORNIA (cont.) Arrrren and (iloria llamliar Arpiar anrl I lernrine .lanovan h,.r ork arrrl :irtenig Krrrajeljiarr \i'hanf arr,l Sorta Kuzaziatt John arrd Rose Ketcltolatt

Carv and Sossi Kevorkiart Zaven arrtl Sona Khanjian Krikor Krikoriarr l)ora Scrr ialiart-K tthn Alik \lahdesialr Str.1,arr anrl F.r,ljurrik \lirrkariart I lalorrt artrl Rita \lerr,,hiirrt

CANADA

\4igirdic anrl

\{iirirdit:varr

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(laro Kelrcvarr ITALY

Krikor

arrd

Harout Istanbttliau

LEBANON

Kevork Borrladian MICHIGAN Alex N{anoogianf

Jasmirtc \lgrdichian

L.,luar,l arrd \lice \ir\a:argiilrr Rali Ourfalian \liclracl arrtl Ilerrrrirre Pirarrirttr Alex Sarkissian Rol,ert arr,l Ilelerr Slrarttliart Petros an(l Carinc '['aglr an Ara and Avrrlis'l'avitiarr Caidzag anrl Dzovig Zeitlian

Art

NEVADA

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T0GETHER AGAIN FOR THE LAST TIME: Minister 0f Delense Vazgen Sargsian, Minister oJ Foreign Atfairs Alexander Arzoumanian, Prime Minister Robert Kocharian and President Levon Ter Petrossian atthe CIS Summit in Kishinev, Moldova, in November, 1997. Ter Petrossian and Arzoumanian resigned in early February. Kocharian is acting president.

12 AI,{^

February1998

Last summer in Yerevan when I listened to public speeches about the Karabakh problem, the word "compromise" was inflected with a sense of capitulation, even of betrayal. For proposing that Armenians would have to learn to live with the realities of their geopolitical situation and the demands of the international community, one could expect, not reasoned debate, but angry shouts of "traitor." While ordinary people were much more concemed with the day-to-day problems of being out of work and shared a bitter hostility toward politicians in general, those who still fancied themselves political players frothed with a kind of intransigent nationalism that reminded me of the worst recent excesses of the supporters of Netanyahu of Israel. It was striking how narrow political discussions had become among Armenians and how ready people were to reject angrily suggestions of "foreigners," even if those foreigners claimed to be Armenian. Armenia was particularly fortunate in the last ten years to have as a political leader lrvon Ter Petrossian. The serious scholar-tumed-politician had ridden the Karabakh movement to the presidential palace; but even when

he enjoyed extraordinary popularity, he remained an odd leader for Armenians. In contrast to the volatile rhetoric on the squares and the passion of cafe conversation that exposed a political culture in which people staked out absolutist positions and drew sharp, impassable lines between friend and foe, the president appeared the congenital moderate with a nuanced and subtle approach to complex and seemingly irresolvable problems. When others clambered for greater militance on Karabakh or a morc inflammatory declaration on the Genocide, the president opted for the less popular option of keeping open lines of communication to Azerbaijan and Turkey. When the initial effort to abandon Armenia's traditional orientation toward Russia

proved to be fraught with dangers of isolation and impotence, a quiet read-

justment was made that relinked Armenia's fate with its great and unpedictable neighbor to the north. No choices were easy, but Ter Pefrossian's ;iiarrd/itre{"

tenure was marked by his insistence on not taking the easiest choices. In late September of last year the president shared his thinking about the options on Karabakh with the public in an unusual press conference. ln sorhe sense that openness began the steady slide

into political crisis that culminat-

ed in early February with his resignation. Already weakened by chronic eco-

nomic problems and the suspicions that lingered about the 1996 presidential elections, Ter Petrossian had long ago lost the overwhehning popularity that elevated him above othen in the early 1990s. Armenia's options had narrowed to essentially the intolerable status quo, war with Azerbaijan, or a serious attempt at step-by-step negotiations toward resolution. The president chose

principle and good sense on the Karabakh issue over political expediency. Time had seldom been on the side of the Armenians in the Karabakh conflict, but in the almost four years since the May 1994 cease-fire it shifted even more to favor Azerbaijan. Armenians had won the war in Karabakh. But almost from the moment of victory their impeccable moral position had

February1998

Allvt

resource-poor Armenia would face a wealthy

intransigent on the Karabakh question, far less

and powerful Azerbaijan. He reasoned that victory in the war presented Yerevan with an opportunity, not to stand fast, but to cut a deal that would guarantee both Karabakh's security and Armenia's political and economic wellbeing. His views grew closer to those of the co-chairmen of the Minsk GroupFrance, Russia, and the United States-that had been charged by the international community to find a solution to the conflict. The emerging consensus was that a

willing to compromise, much more suspicious of Westem meddling in Caucasian affairs.

"phased" series

begun to blur in the eyes of the Western pow-

ers. Armenians occupied about 20 percent of Azerbaijan and had rendered hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis refugees in their own country. Their govemment outlawed a major oppositional party and manipulated elections. Comrption and economic polarization marked their move to a market economy. At the same time, for quite cynical reasons, Azerbaijan looked better and better to the West. A state with a population twice the size of Armenia's, Azerbaijan was blessed by accidents of nature. One of the great undeveloped oil reserves in the world lay under the Caspian Sea, and Azerbaijan stood to become a Caucasian Kuwait. Baku now found new friends in Washington and Houston, among them former secretaries of state and national security advisors. The US government, which had hobbled its oilmen in Iran and Iraq, was

reluctant to do it to them once again in the Caucasus. The peculiar thing about oil is that

it dirties people's hands, but they do not seem to notice. Liberal theorists like to think that capitalism is a close relative of democracy, but in many other parts of the world, like Saudi fuabia or Iraq, oil lives comfortably with despotism. An oil-rich Azerbaijan would

likely remain under the fists of former Communist party boss Heidar Aliev and his family and friends, who see little need to move from authoritarian government toward a

more pluralistic, democratic

system.

Americans who are impatient with the failure

to solve the Karabakh conflict appear to be infinitely tolerant of shong leaders who keep their small states stable and friendly to the West. Armenia had lost its democratic patina just as Azerbaijan no longer was required to acquire one.

Ter Pehossian's cool realism about the

political and economic trends in Transcaucasia mapped a future in which 14 Alm

February1998

negotiated settlements,

One of Kocharian's

frst

acts was to end the

ban on the Armenian

Revolutionary

Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, a party with a militant loyalty to Karabakh. In the late Soviet period, the Dashnaks argued for supporting Karabakh rather than Armenian independence. But

bleak as the situation seems

for

a negotiated settlement, a bright spot remains.

No government, either Armenian or Azerbaijani or Karabakh, can come to the it

rather than a fully-negotiated "package deal,"

table and agree to make concessions unless

was the best way to achieve resolution of the

has a measure of strength at home, for at the

conflict. A step-by-step approach-beginning with the withdrawal of the Armenian forces

end of the day it must take an agreement back to its own people for approval. For a variety

from the occupied Azerbaijani territories outKarabakh-would build confidence on both sides that could lead to a long{erm solution. But along with this strategy of negotiation was also the conviction, so difficult for Armenians to swallow, that neither independence of Karabakh nor annexation of the region to Armenia was a possible outcome of the negotiating process. Rather, fumsri.ns had to recognize that Karabakh would be formally, de jure put of Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijanis had to recognize that the Armenians ofKarabakh would be de facto fully self-goveming. The details of

of reasons, only some of which had to do witlt

side of

this strange, hybrid anangement would have to be worked out.

But Ter Petrossian's move toward this of compromise, which was accept-

Karabakh, Ter Petrossian's position had weakened over the last several years, and he proved

unable to forge the kind of political coalition and broad base of support required to carry forward his negotiation strategy. But a new government, elected democratically on a hardline platform, might have

the clout (if

finds the vision) to move

beyond its rhetorical intransigence. Such a government that brought down the president

who led Armenia into independence represents the last alternative to the more moderate former president. With its popular mandate, it might find the strength and will to face the hard compromises that are essential for a lasG ing peace.

Sooner

position

or (more likely) later will

both

able to a large degree also to Azerbaijan, pre-

Armenians and Azerbaijanis

cipitated the long crisis that led to his resigna-

ize that neither side can have the whole cake in Karabakh. Such a revolutionary settlement would be no settlement, but like the Israeli

tion. Not only was the government

Karabakh, led by newly-elected President Arkadi Ghukasian, opposed to the outlines of this agreement, particularly any suggestion of

come to real-

victory of 1967 will lead to generations of war and resistance. For a lasting negotiated settle-

"vertical subordination" of Karabakh to the

ment to be reached, each side must give up

Baku government, but Ter Petrossian's own

something: the Armenians give

prime minister, the former president of Karabakh, Robert Kocharian, also dug in his

Armenian sovereignty over Karabakh, and the Azerbaijanis give up de facto control. Then,

up full

heels. Kocharian had powerful allies within

each side also wins something: Armenians

the Armenian government: Minister of

win self-ruIe,

Defense Vazgen Sargsian and Minister of the

ereignty over Karabakh. Only then will there

and

Azerbaijanis get formal sov-

Interior, also from Karabakh, Serge Sargisian.

be a chance for peace

An intense intra-governmental struggle went

um.

on at the end

into the next millenni-

1997 and the beginning of the

new year, with rumors of Kocharian's resigna-

by Ronald Grigor Suny

tion and outbursts of political violence in Yerevan. But when almost half of Ter Petrossian's coalition in parliament defected

Suny, Profesor ofPolitical Science at The

to the opposition, the president decided resign.

Monrrrs HIsroRy (Bloomington: Indiana University Prcs, 1993) and, most rccently,

For those who believed that Armenia of the Karabakh war, the events of early

Sovrnr Uuron, IND THE SuccESSoR SrATF.s (New York Oxford University Press,

February are clearly a setback. The new gov-

1998).

and Azerbaijan were close to a settlement

emment

is made up of men who are more

University of Chicago, is the author of

Loorruc Tomno Anlnlr: Aru,mxH rx

Trc Sovnr E>prnnmxr:

Russn,

cover storv

Ter Petrossian and Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian, in more agreeable days

The end, when it came, was swift. In the space of three days, the Government of Armenia collapsed under the strain of the divisions which had opened up over the future of Nagomo Karabakh. As allies peeled away in a series of resignations, hesident Levon Ter Petrossian stared into the abyss and took the only option available to save the country. By resigning office, as he made

tion had prevented similar splits between government and governed, even when the economic blockade was at its worst. This time, however, the contradictions went to the heart of government and, cru-

cially, the military took sides. Aware that intemational pressure for a settlement was growing, Ter Petrossian sought to clarify the options available to Armenia in his

now-notorious press conference of

ed-Ter Petrossian might

have been able to sway public opinion behind him. His legendary ability to go over the heads of politicians by appealing to the people with direct, calm, and measured argument via television might have saved the day. But he was no longer confident, as he had been throughout

his first term. Weakened, uncertain, Ter Petrossian was open to attack from a tri-

clear in a televised address to the nation, he

September 26 last year. But the ground had

umvirate of politicians within his own government who sensed he was incapable of

stalled the prospect of a forcible seizure of power followed by the likely collapse of the

not been prepared and the sudden abandon-

resisting their coalition against him.

republic into dictatorship or anarchy.

"If I

take the decision to resign,

believe me, that means I thought that the altemative would be more dangerous for our state," he told viewers.

was a grim and hagic finale to a political career which had seen Ter Petrossian lead Armenia and be installed as its

independence

first president with

ment

of the goals of

independence for Karabakh, or union withArmenia, exploded like a thunderclap in the arena of public opinion.

A simple re-reading of the president's comments shows he had given nothing away other than a preference for a negotiation over war or inactivity. The circumstances,

stressed, were as good as

Armenia was likely to get for an acceptable

Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian, once indivisible from the president in his

opinions, swung behind Prime Minister Robert Kocharian and Interior Minister Serge Sargsian, both Karabakh men, in the battle over policy.

Evidence had mounted since the disturbances which followed the presidential elections

1996 that Sargsian was a loose

cannon, with his own agenda and scant regard for the niceties of democratic poli-

massive 91 percent of the popular vote less

settlement, one which guaranteed the secu-

than seven years ago. Isolated and outma-

rity of Karabakh's population and provided for the maximum possible autonomy in its

tics.

affairs.

ing to leave office even

noeuvred, a democratically elected president had been forced from office by men who had never won a single vote from an Armenian citizen between them. How had

Comments he made then about refus-

the opposition

But, coming from a man who had

had won the election ought to have brought

of a committee the return of Karabakh to

instant dismissal. But Ter Petrossian had come to depend on the tough-talking Defense Minister who ensured order at a moment when he could have been swept violently from office. Sargsian, too, appreciated just how

risen to power as head

this happened?

demanding

Domestic pressures generated by the conflict over Karabakh had already broken

Armenia, Ter Petrossian's pragmatism

three regimes in Azerbaijan. But Armenia's careful diplomacy and steadfast determina-

if his re-election a year earlier had not been so narrow-and so disput-

smacked

a sell-out to his opponents.

Perhaps

Februaty

1998 A I ll

'15

cover storv Such was the seismic shock of Ter Petrossian's remarks, however, that no-one was listening to his reasoning. The opposition, which had long accused him of plotting to betray the national interest, of being a despot interested only in preserving his own power, saw in his words confirmation of all that they had claimed. This would have mattered little of itself- the opposi-

tion parties remained as ineffectual and

z E

divided as they had always been and there

was

for a return to the street politics of the independence movement. But two key develop-

ments tumed the drama into Armenia's most

little appetite among the general public

serious political crisis since independence. Kocharian, backed by Serge Sargisian,

Babken Ararktsian, left and Ter Potrossian were two of the original members ol the Karabakh Committee. Ararktsian, a mathsmatician, was elected President of Parliament immediately upon parliamentary elections in 1995. He was among the in 1996.

founders ol the Armenian National Movement and led Ter Petrossian's presidential campaign committee Ararhsian resioned as President o, Parliament on the day the Parliament accepted Ter Petrossian's resignation.

powerful he had become and soon there were reports of clashes between him and the newly appointed Prime Minister l\rmen Sarkissian, who sought to press forward reforms aimed at breaking an unhealthy concentration of power and influence in the hands of a few by opening up Armenia's economy and society. Sarkissian's resignation through illness early in 1997 ended Ter Petrossian's hopes for reforms and a fresh beginning. What happened next sowed the seeds of his

own downfall. The decision to bring Kocharian, then president of Karabakh, into the heart of government as the new Prime

Minister appeared to many as a brilliant

solidity about him that brought reassurance to a population troubled by the was a

unrest of the previous months.

vital question Ter Petrossian bring Kocharian into the govemment if he knew that he would soon seek to persuade the country to accept a negotiated settlement over Karabakh? Perhaps he believed a compromise would be easier to sell both in Yerevan and Stepanakert if it was seen to be endorsed by a figure of such stature. Conversely, in the wake of the Lisbon meeting of the Organization on In retrospect, however,

remains unanswered.

Why did

Security and Cooperation

Europe (OSCE), when the international community had made plain its irritation with Armenia's

stroke which demonstrated in the most concrete way possible that the interests of the

refusal

two Armenian states were indivisible. Others worried that the Karabakh

signal to the world that Armenian concems

to bend, perhaps with Kocharian's appointment, he sought to send a defiant

problem was being thrust back into the center of Armenian politics at a time when economic development was more pressing. Of

could not be easily ignored.

course the two were linked, as they had always been, but the balance of concerns had tipped towards an issue in which little sign of immediate progress seemed likely.

ed he would be

The

appointment

also

undermined

In either case, it was a fatal gamble. Nothing in Kocharian's record had suggest-

willing to make concessions

and so it proved. With the exploitation of

oil

resources in Azerbaijan gathering pace, and

billions of dollars resting on a guarantee of security, international pressure intensified

Armenia's repeated assertions that it had no

on Ter Petrossian to move towards a settle-

territorial claims on the enclave and that Karabakh should participate in peace talks as an independent body in its own right. Wasn't Kocharian's position proof, said

ment. How long could Armenia resist with-

some obseryers, that this was fiction? In any event, Kocharian, a thoughtful politician and war hero, proved a popular

a capable somewhat dour administrator. Ifhe lacked the flair and Western-inspired ideas of Sarkissian, there appointment and

16 Alrl

February1998

out being forced into a weaker bargaining position than it currently occupied? TerPetrossian, in typically blunt fashion, spelled this out at his September 26 press conference, saying: "I don't think maintenance of the status quo is real. We may persist for a year or two but the international community will be exasperated and lose all its patience."

whose ministry controls Armenia's 20,000strong police force, quickly made plain his disagreement with the president, opening a chasm at the highest levels of government. It was evident to all that the two positions

could not long coexist and that one man would have to give way. The balance was tipped by Vazgen Sargsian, increasingly confident ofhis own power base within the military, who began to flex his political muscle. A month after

Ter Petrossian's comments, the Union of Yerkrapahs (see page 24), an organizatton of Karabakh war veterans and other military, presided over by Sargsian, announced that it was establishing its own parliamen-

tary faction. The message was plain - the defense minister intended to assert his own

political agenda backed by the unspoken threat of military intervention. At the very least, the divide between him and the presi-

dent put a question mark over the true loyalties of the army in the event of a political showdown. Events moved quickly. Ter Petrossian and Kocharian sought to make light of their

differences but made no effort to hide the fact that they disagreed fundamentally on the course advocated by the president.

Ter Petrossian has repeatedly rejected

what he sees as the adventurism of those, like defeated presidential contender Vazgen

Manukian, who insist that union with Karabakh is part of Amenia's national mission. According to this argument, all that is

required to tum military victory into incon-

trovertible political fact is sufficient national will to carry it through come what may. Ter Petrossian had wamed in the starkest tefins that is the road to war. Certainly, Sargsian's decision to side with Kocharian against the president sprang from his belief that nobody should negotiate away what was won through blood and sacrifice. In this, he was undoubtedly repre-

cover storv senting the opinions of a sizeable segment of Armenian opinion, which was simultaneously mystified and outraged by Ter Pehossian's abrupt acceptance of the need

for concessions. Here, the international powers which had pushed Ter Petrossian into a corner must shoulder much of the blame for the political crisis which ensued. No effort appears to have been made either by the United States, Britain, France, or Russia to pressure Azeri President Gaidar Aliev into responding positively to the opening crear ed by Ter Petrossian. lnstead, Armenia's move seemed only to bolster Azerbaijan's confidence that its oil reserves would do all the talking necessary to win back what its troops had lost so comprehensively on the battlefield. Azerbaijan continued to refuse even to recognize Karabakh as a full party to negotiations but persisted in arguing. contrary to every fact on the ground, that the talks must

end

in the

eventual restoration

their authority over the enclave. None of this did

anything to reassure Stepanakert that it was in their interests for Ter Petrossian's overtures to succeed.

The Copenhagen meeting of the OSCE from December 16-19 only heighr within the Government. The diplomatic success of Armenia's foreign minister Alexander Arzoumanian and his deputy Vartan Oskanian in preventing a ened tensions

repeat

of the Lisbon humiliation was one

benefit of Ter Petrossian's willingness to demonstrate flexibility. Indeed, Arzoumanian's insistence in

Karabakh. Unlike Kocharian who had been a war hero and a proven leader, Ghukasian,

disturbances which erupted as the results the presidential election were disputed.

the former Foreign Minister had still to

The Defense Minister confirmed his defiant stance by declaring that he would not resign even if the president asked him to go, justifying this by arguing that Karabakh

prove himself when Ter Petrossian began to

talk

compromise. Ghukasian's response

was quick, loud and unequivocal. Relations with Ter Petrossian cooled to such an extent that senior officials were openly suggesting that he risked losing office if he persisted with his stance. This provoked Ter Petrossian's press spokesman,

Levon Zourabian, to issue the Karabakh authorities with the remarkable warning in

Ianuary that "attempts

meddle in

"will no longer trust us" if any of them were forced from office. An impasse had been reached. Ter Petrossian, unable to withdraw from his policy without shattering what remained of

his credibility with the public, faced

unlikely alliance of Kocharian, Sarkisian, and Sargsian who were determined not to

in their

Armenia's intemal politics are unaccept-

budge

able".

Kocharian joined the alliance to temper the

Per textbook politics, as the senior office holder, the president had every right to insist that members of his government who disagreed with foreign policy should

more militaristic power ministers, or whether he believed equally in this power

opposition. Whether

play, is unclear.

The situation worsened. Terrorist

go. In a normal situation, this would only have been expected, but the authorities in

istration officials in January further height-

Karabakh were already looking to

ened tensions,

Kocharian

corner.

that the other was engaging

Ghukasian declared that the Prime Minister "has no right no step down" as rumors abounded that Kocharian was indeed set to quit to resolve the political crisis. At a lanuary 23 press conference, Vazgen Sargsian made it clear that normal government had already broken down. He declared Kocharian's departure be

tions" to justify a crackdown.

to fight in their

"impossible", as was that

Interior

Minister Sargisian, and in so doing publicly underlined the fact that he believed his own position to be unassailable. [n case anyone did not appreciate that a slow coup d'etat was under way, Sargsian announced that the

attacks directed against three senior admin-

with each side hinting darkly

"provoca-

The Armenian National Movement had kept its resolve in the nerve-racking cat-and-mouse games employed by Moscow in the struggle for the republic's independence from the Soviet Union. But this time, it blinked first in the power play that was unfolding. The first indication came with the resignation of the president's long-standing ally, Yerevan Mayor Vano Siradeghian, on February 1, amid speculation that he had been linked with men anested by Interior Ministry troops in connection with the ter-

anny would not intervene in the political crisis - that is, he had no intention of sup-

rorist attacks the previous week.

his speech to the conference that any settle-

ment must allow Karabakh "full control over its territory" with security guarantees

porting Ter Petrossian again as he had done in September 1996, following the violent

2, Foreign Minister fuzoumanian tendered his resignation. He explained that he could

and a "geographic contour that will end its enclave situation" - that is, a land link with

Serge Sargisian, left, and Vazgen Sargsian, right, during a sessionof Parliament

Armenia

The following day, Monday February

should have indicated that Ter

Petrossian was very far from engaging in a sell-out.

But for the hard-liners, the outcome of the meeting and the resumption of efforts by the OSCE Minsk group mediators to open talks on the basis of step-by-step solution only confimed that Ter Petrossian was shifting against the interests of Karabakh.

With both Armenia and Azerbaijan indicating willingness to continue discussions within the framework of the OSCE, the authorities in Stepanakert were left making increasingly belligerent statements about the extent of their disagreement with Yerevan. The Stepanakert position was

complicated by the recent election of

Arkady Ghukasian to the presidency of February

1998 Al fri 17

cover storv no longer function in an environment where those with no foreign policy authority were formulating policy-a clear reference to his fellow ministers. Another close supporter of Ter Petrossian, Central Bank Chairman BagratAsatrian, who was implementing the president's fiscal agenda, also announced that he was quitting. Far more significantly, however, 46 members of the ANM faction in parliament deserted the president and switched their

allegiance to the new Yerkapah faction, which immediately became the largest groupilg in the assembly. All but one of Armenia's regional governors, all appointed by the president, also withdrew their allegiance from Ter Petrossian. In effect, his writ now ran no further than the presidential palace.

This Union of Yerkrapahs had already

its hostility towards Ter Petrossian's Karabakh policy and had joined protest rallies in the streets to make declared

plain its alliance with those opposing the

Albert Bazeyan, head of the Yerkrapah faction in parliament and vice president of the organization, noted that its members had been involved in paramilitary action against opposition demonstrators after the September 1996 presidential elections. Now, Bazeyan told one demonstration, "it has become evident that high-ranking political offrcials in this country do not reflect the hue will of the people". "The Yerkapahs have believed in the government.

nation's leader and his'victory, stability, and progress'pledge, and as such have protected him," Bazeyan stated, adding: "But now,

they see that the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (the president) is working against the collective will of its people." The departure of the president's closest supporters, perhaps out of solidarity with a decision which he had already taken, turned the spotlight firmly on him to make the next move. Acutely aware that events were taking a dangerous tum, unsure per-

duties under the current situation is fraught

with a real danger of destabilization in the country I accept that demand and announce my resignation.

refrain from any comments or

in order not to aggravate the I just think it necessary to note

problem

committee chairmen who were ANM members, bringing to completion the withdrawal from offrce of the party which had dominated the government of Armenia for the past seven years.

war.

Power passed directly to Prime Minister Kocharian, again in line with the constitution. At a press conference on

assessment,

situation.

that speculation over the Karabakh problem was

just a cause in the crisis of power. The

is much deeper and is connected with the fundamental principle of the statehood and the alternative between peace and "Time

will

show who did what for

Nothing extraordinary

happened.

'the party of

peace and decent accord" has lost. Let us not burst into complexes. The party of peace has suffered defeats in more developed countries, like Israel. But both in Israel and Armenia, everything is transient. Just a temporary defeat. Sooner or later peace will make a path for itself. "I call on you to display restraint, keep order in the country and run legal, civilized elections of the new president. That will be a manifestation of the maturity of our state we have formed for the last eight years and

Simply

deposit in maintaining that image abroad. "I wish the new president success for the good and welfare of the Armenian people. I am very grateful to you for your trust

I also thank all my supporters who were near by me all the time and remain with me now. "If I take the decision to resign, believe me, that means I thought that the altemative would be more dangerous for and support.

our state.

'If I

did

something good, do not expect any gratitude. I ask your indulgence

for all errors and the things

did not

With that ended the term in power of of

his resignation had been "demanded" by "well-known bodies of power", indicating that he had resigned in made

clear that

response to an ultimatum.

His brief farewell statement to the Armenian people bears repeating in full: "Taking into account the fact that the fulfillment of the president's constitutional 18 Aln

February1998

Yerevan remained calm. All of this was true. But it overlooked a cenffal fact: none of the men now running

the country-neither Kocharian, Sargsian,

nor Sargisian-had any democratic mandate whatsoever. They had broken the president who appointed them-a president who himself had paid the price for pursuing a politically unpopular policy. But to whom were they now answerable? The point may appear arcane but it goes to the heart of who might replace Ter Petrossian and on what terms. Will his successor feel free to replace any or all of these three, and will they go? If not, then is the new president running the country or is he little more than a figurehead for the coalition which brought down Ter Petrossian? Will either Kocharian or Sargsian pos-

sibly be the next president? Kocharian may have to prove that he is constitutionally able to run, since his eligibility based on residency (a l0-year requirement according to the Constitution) was, as of mid-February,

still in question.

Sargsian

will

have to con-

vince the public that he can be a president, and not just a general.

any case, sooner or later, Ter will find himself fac-

Petrossian's successor

the independent republic of Armenia. What

ing the same dilemma. He may have suffi-

to be known is whether this will

ciently large electoral support to face down the resistance that would inevitably resurface and perhaps to carry the public along with his change of heart. He may have

turn towards danger, even disaster.

his presidency, with calm dignity. Addressing the nation on television he

within the legal and constitutional framework ofthe republic, and that the sheets of

the first democratically elected president

for the loyalty of the military,

He left his office as he had conducted

do.

With best regards."

remains

Pelrossian announced his resignation.

February 4, he underlined the fact that the

political crisis had been conducted entirely

Karabakh and who is indeed selling it.

haps whether a catastrophic split might occur if he called Sargsian's bluff in a battle Ter

noted, he had had the support of a majority of deputies, adding: "I don't want to support the policy of a different majority." Deputy Speaker Ara Sahakian also tendered his resignation, as did parliament

signal a new beginning for the country or a

The president's resignation accepted

by a vote of

111

was

to 36 in parlia-

learned the lesson

of Ter Petrossian's

ment the

demise and engaged the people in more vig-

were prepared. But he, too, announced that

orous debate of all the options facing them, a mark of a more mature and confident democracy taking root in Armenia. Or, having come to power on precise-

following day. Under the constitution, President of Parliament Babken fuaksian would have assumed office temporarily while elections for a successor he was quitting alongside his long-standing friend and ANM colleague. "We came to power as a team, struggled together for our ideas, many of which

were realized," he said.

Until then,

Iy the opposite platform, he may find another Armenian president accused of betrayal and brought down before the end of his term.

by lbny Halpin

cover sforv

IHE INSIDE tlN rnlery' , w''h eail'' g Players ip lhe Cris' I

Uano Siladeg[ian, lhe president ol the Armenian llational illorement is

also a mem[er ol Parllament.

leslgned lrom his posillon as lllayor o[ YereYan lha day balore Ier Petrosslan's resignation. $iladeghian's interulew tool place on FeDruary 4, in the IoDDy ol the ilatlonal Assembly.

weaken Russia?

ments, such

I was not referring to Russia.

a reaction from

the

was

National Assembly was natural. not surprised.

You have not resigned from your position as head of the AI\M. Does that mean you intend to participate in the presidential elections?

to remain Russia's ally in

The ANM will have to work with a new distribution of power under new political conditions and have to outline its new positions and activities. The ANM has been the party in power. Now, new standards of conduct will be necessary. Of course, I would like the present balance of power to remain.

long that it is difficult to understand the concept of support. And, whether or not it is ajust concept.

will hold its General

Assembly soon, and will probably examine these questions. The ANM had its place in the political landscape. My resignation as its president would have removed the ANM's presence

entirely and would have seriously affected the balance of power. That would have been dangerous. I will not

this is a new issue? Siradeghian: The trigger of the recent events in Armenia is the Constitution itself. That is to say, these events began two years ago. The Constitution

we suffered the

for

consequences

It is said that Levon Ter Petrossian invited Robert Kocharian to

Armenia as a symbol unifying the people. But, as soon as he took office he felt he was President. I don't know, you should ask that question to Levon Ter Petrossian and to the Prime Minister.

In the ANM's last statement, you made an appeal not to distinguish

between Armenians and Karabakhtsis. Is that distinction more eyident right now? That depends on the answer to another

You have said that power was consti-

question: who

tutionally taken by those who wanted a different resolution to the Karabakh conflict. Is there a risk that the military conllict will restart

Does the lfth anniversary of the Karbakh Movement mark the end of the Karabakh Committee?

because of this new direction. That possibility cannot be ruled out. The war has been going on for three, four years. It may or may not restart.

will be President?

No, why? So many members of the Karabakh Committee are still in power. Only in the ranks of theYergrapahs? That really makes no difference.

As a result of those protections, presidential power can easily be shifted to the Prime Minister. When we adopted the Constitution, I warned Levon a

Constitutional overthoilreversal one day. And that's what occurred. But, my conscience is clear from that perspective. There is obviously nothing wrong with power being in the hands of the head of the government, in this case the prime minister. But, still, the Parliament is what

the

Ttanscaucasus? I don't know, we supported them and

participate in the elections.

is protected.

Ter Petrossian: You may see

Would the non-settlement of the Karabakh problem force Armenia

The ANM

AIM: Recent events have unfolded very rapidly. Do you really believe

Would a settlement of the conflict

its handling of this matterl. Yet, since the Constitution permits such develop-

is. My close friends know the effort I put into preventing the election of this

type of Parliament. I would say the majority of Parliament was insolent [in

Was'what occurred the product of a specific change in Armenia's foreign policy? There is a change, but it is not significant. The superpowers also have their stake in this matter. But, not in the sense of overturning one in favor of another. Expressing opinions about external forces

is a

serious matter

which can never be proven. At least two or three states are actively engaged in destabilizing and weakening Armenia. They have realized that the Karabakh problem will not be solved this way, and so they are trying to weaken Armenia.

Sfiauatsil(oc[aran ls a loundlng mem[fi and on the exacutiuG [ody 0l tltc ilatlonal llGm0clatlc Unl0n

(l{DUl, heailed ry Uazgen ls also a mGm[cl ol

tllanullan. He

the llatlonal Assemily. Followlng thc crGils ol Se0tGmtor 25, 1990, ln l[G dars lollowing lfie presldential electlon, IloU mGmtels, lGd by lf,anuklan dlil not attcnd sGsslons 0t DarllamGnt. 0n t[c dat Presldent Iel Pefiossian olllclall, ]oslgncd, thc llllu rGulnGd lo PalllamGnl. February1998

Alli

cover storv In the beginning such talk was natural. Since power was taken by force, it was a question of conflict between clans. At the same time, there were forces that stressed and reinforced the root differences. That situation was made acute with the divergence of the two wings of power. Only free and fair elections can remedy that. If the people cast their votes, then what does it matter whether they are from Karabakh or Ashtarak.

tlefields in the past are not fighting to occupy senior govemment positions,

Are you certain Vazgen Manukian

play a role in the events?

wilt win the elections?

I don't believe there was pressure that Karabakh remain attached to Azerbajian. It seems everybody

today.

How do you interpret the resignation

of the President and the Vice President of the National Assembly,

as well as the other resigrrations? There has been an attempt to create a power vacuum.

Did external forces, More than the victory of

Vazgen

Manukian, I place grcater importance in free and fair elections. My own view on the matter is something else entirely.

AIM: How should we interlrret the return of NDU members to parliament after such a long absence? Kocharian: The republic is going through a new phase that will permit it to get out of its current crisis. That obstacle was placed by Levon Ter Peffossian during the elections. Once that obstacle is destroyed and we have orderly and proper elections, then we

will have the right

preconditions to

resolve the rest of the problems.

Arrn't you concerned that in the struggle between those in power and the opposition that a third power might take victory? Is there a danger of a military dictatorship? All the public declarations to date witness a desire to have free and fair elec-

Al[oil Bazeyar ls thG hcad ol tlrG Dalllamentary lactlon Imoun as Yergra[ahs, and UlGc-P]Esldent 0l thG Unlon ol Yergrapahs. 0n FeDruary 2, thG day Delore lel Pelrosslan's resignatlon, dozens ol deputles qult tltG Haua[etutlun (BepuDllcl iloc, and rallled t0 thG YergraDahs. WIt[ 72 mGmDGls, thG Yer0rapahs tool orer thG maio]lU 00sltl0n lr0m lhG Preslilent's Alltl.

superpowers

believes that the entire world is trying to make us cede Karabakh. If there were such a great number of levers, then why did they permit the war? They should have prevented it. I would like to stress that peace is to everyone's advantage, to us, to the Azerbaijani population, and to the countries that have invested in oil. In that direction, Karabakh is an important component. Yet, no one is capable of imposing any-

thing on Karabakh.

In the redistribution of power now taking place, will the Yergrapahs constitute a political force?

The Yergaphah factor cannot be ignored. It was exploited by different parties at different times. At present, we do not intend to be transformed into a political party. We are concerned about the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and we reject all intentions to surrender on that front. On the other hand, we are playing political a role,

tions. We must bring our forces togeth-

er to reinforce that mentality. If any other power tries to subvert that initiative, the NDU will use its powers to fight it.

too.

We shouldn't forget that the

Yergrapahs were created to resolve the

social problems of our volunteer fight-

Were the recent events the result of

ers.

an abrupt change in Armenia's foreip policy?

Parliament, we must play a certain legislative role.

I don't think so. Armenia has a very slight margin of freedom in its foreign policy. I don't think that a change in the political forces would seriously modify Armenia's foreign policy. Unless, of if the Communist Party takes power. The policy of that pTty would be complete submission to Russia rather than to provide an independent course,

orientation.

tiation between an Armenian from Karabakh and an Armenian from Armenia? AI

But, as a majority, you will be a fac-

tor in the

AIM: After the President's resigna. tion, do you think the new arrivals will try to hold on to their seats? Bazeyan: People believe that if the

Presidential elections. Have you taken any positions in that regard? I don't want to comment on the elections or candidates at the moment.

Yergrapahs are the majority today, they

Is therrc a risk of incrtased differrcn.

Today, as the majority in

flr

February 1998

should occupy senior positions and become chairmen of parliamentary commissions. That will not happen. The Yergrapahs who fought on the bat-

lnterviews by Laoura Baghdassarian T[anslated by Harry Dikranian

cover storv

End Game in the Gaucasus

Depending on one's perspective,

is tempting to see this in terms of one

two dynamics.

According to one viewpoint, it is possible to see this as nothing more than the internal squabbles of cliques and position and clans jockeying power-a game of ambition, greed, revenge and betrayal, a run for the spoils of government and office. Within the

for

framework of this interpretation, policy

are mere pretexts. Karabakh and its fate are seen as a convenient casus belli. If this perspective is valid, we haven't yet seen the end of the last act, when this gathering ofdisparate groups united in their opposition to Ter Petrossian will start splintering along factional lines. this version of the "tragedy" is correct, no matter who was Brytus, Caesar's successor has a rough road ahead of him. On the other hand, if one were less cynical and melodramatic, one could see disagreements

this as a legitimate ideological, political, substantive battle between two concepts of the "national" interest in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict-a "realistic" step-by-step accomodationist willingness to compromise and to settle, The resignation of President Levon Ter Petrossian on February 3 was the

culmination

events, begun

a few

weeks earlier. "Assassination aftempts" against political and security associates of Ter Petrossian and his supporters in the Armenian National Movement led to mutual recriminations between the targets and those members of the govern-

ment who claimed that the shootings were staged. To pressure the president to declare a state ofemergency, key people in the President's camp, such as Vano Siradeghian, the mayor ofYerevan, and

Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian, tendered their resignations. Fifty members of parliament left the President's Republic bloc and joined the Yerkapahs (see page 24), With Prime Minister

Robert

Kocharian and Minister of Interior and National Security Serge Sargisian aligned against him, the President lost his last power base with the defection of Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian. The

defense minister was unequivocal in commuoicating to all those concerned but mostly to Ter Petrossian that the armed forces would be unavailable for

any show of force on behalf of

the President, and for a presidential declara-

tion of emergency. It is well known that what divided the two camps were fundamental and

substantive disagreements about Armenia's strategy vis-a-vis lhe Karabakh conflict. Formally and offi-

cially, the curtain opened with

Ter Petrossian's famous press conference of September L997 and his subsequent detailed retort, whereby he signaled to the OSCE, the Minsk Group and the

Azerbaijanis, that Armenia-that is, he and his government-were willing to cut a deal and make peace, in terms not fully in sync with the positions of the self-declared Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. The recent eYents are the final and critical manifestation of that conflict. On the one side, there were Ter Petrossian and his ANM supporters, and on the

other, people

Karabakh and in

Annenia who thought Ter Petrossian was giving away too much too soon. Opposition to Ter Petrossi4ll's policies and negotiating sftategies was no longer

confined to a segmâ&#x201A;Źnt ofpublic opinion both within Armenia and the Diaspora, or to opposition parties across the ideological and opportunistic spectrum bottr

within and outside the country, but spread to critical members of his own government and to his own prime minister and other ministers in control of the instnrments of coercion: the army, the militia, the police, and the intelligence services.

versus

steadfast rejectionism and

alignment with Karabakh's position of

resisting any settlement short of unequivocal recognition

dence-in short,

indepen-

an alternate assessment

of "reality".

In this battle, the Karabakhis with-

in Ter

Petrossian's government clearly

chose to defend their conception of Karabakh's interests-the maximalist ones-against Ter Petrossian's conception, which they portrayed as incompetent at least and treacherously defeatist at worst. Those referred to as "hard-lin-

ers" in this confrontation want to hold out for greater security guarantees and a firmer recognition of Karabakh's status. Some of the leaders who arg determined to hold out were formerly active in military campaigns. With military victories on their resumes, they have been able to garner popular and emotional support.

National pride, triumphalism,

willingness to fight to the finish, standing up against corrupt pressure from the West, oil, money, Tirrkey, land, these are all potent symbols and slogans, as well as genuine and powerfirl convictions. They may not always seem prudent and

diplomatically effective, but they are

capable of mobilizing the masses and popular opinion. Botl of the above perspectives pre-

sume that Armenia's internal politics take place within a purely domestic Febtuary

1998 A I /f, 2'l

cover storv way of the political-bureaucratic official government around Yeltsin and his min-

istries. To understand Russia's role in the Caucasus, one has to look at these

impact the motivations, choices

and actions of Armenia's and Karabakh's political elites. The Karabakh conundrum is at the

center of the intemational geopolitical end game in the Caucasus. The main

focus of that game is the fate of Azerbaijan and its oil resources. It seems clear that Russia, as the successor

state to the Soviet Union and the old Tsarist Empire, has is not willing to defer to US and Western (including

Turkish) hegemony, or primacy. vis-avis Azerbaijan. Russia's geopolitical interests in the Caucasus revolve around four major elements: a-the military and political security of its southern flank, given Turkey, NATO and US pressure and thrust; the increased vulnerability of its own federal structure in Chechnya, Dagestan and the northern Caucasus, if its line of forward political control were to become too porous south of its borders;

c-the

economic and strategic value of Azerbaijan's oil reserves in the Caspian;

d-the pivotal role (if not

domino

effect) of a US-Turkish-Israeli beachhead through Azerbaijan into Central Asia.

Given these interests and Russia's broader role in the rest of the world, there are clearly some internal tensions and contradictions in the formulation and conduct of Russia's foreign policy. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seems there is no single

foreign policy establishment. There are

competing vested interests, from the emerging business and financial elites to the old military-security complex, by 22 Alt

February1998

for Caspian

between Moscow and Washington

and actions.

Second Republic, through the actions of a few with impeccable nationalist cre-

its

presence the Caucasian near-abroad, it is not in itself sufficient in denying Azerbaijan to the US. The Karabakh conflict and remains one of Russia's primary instruments of leverage against Azerbaijan's full emancipation from Russia's clutches. With peace in Karabakh, Russia

crucial and significant forces outside Armenia-forces which at the regional and international Ievel powerfully

oil

were being played in the streets of Yerevan. It would be a pity if our

consolidate

environment. Both explanations ignore

to imagine that an end-game

multiple goals, multiple strategies and at these seemingly contradictory policies

Thus, while the Russo-Armenian Treaty of August 1997 is a formal and solid component in Russia's attempt to

The normally reticent Primo Mlnister was at first quiet about his policy difterences with the President.

witting and unwitting actors in a play scripted in Moscow. It is disheartening

would lose its last effective arena for covert mischief. Overtly, within the framework of the OSCE, and as co-chai of the Minsk

Group, "official" Russia is acting as a good international citizen. Reluctant to alienate the US and Europe for mostly economic and financial reasons, Yeltsin and his foreign office must appear as honest brokers between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is no secret, however, that neither the Russian military nor its

national security establishment have fully reconciled themselves to the "loss"

of the

Caucasus, a very critical area in Russia's historical consciousness. It is this other Russian foreign policy, with a combination of hard-nosed tenacity and national-imperial nostalgia, and operating in the shadows with arms and

dentials, embraced again a Russian bear it took so long to get rid of. By portray-

ing Ter Petrossian's accomodationist strategy as a pro-Westem sellout to oil and money, those who insist they can continue the good fight should be careful not to do other people's dirty work.

It is

also ironic how Diasporan

Armenians and some of their political leaders, blinded either by their hahed of Ter Peffossian or their fanatical and unfulfilled nationalist aspirations delude themselves about the motives and methods of the ringmasters in Moscow. Finally, from the perspective of the US and Armenians of US citizenship, it is discouraging to notice, that in the Caucasus, US poligy has been singularly inept. By refusing to grasp the legitimacy of Armenian concerns aboht the security of Karabakh and its inhabitants,

and in its

eagerness

placate

Azerbaijan, the US has fostered Baku's

intransigence. The US has also fed Armenia's historically justified fears of sell-outs and traumatic memories of recurrent massacies set against cynical international duplicity and indifference. Sumgait is too recent to be easily dismissed. US foreign policy in the region

full

for

intrigue at its disposal, that has found

must take

willing and eager interlocutors among Armenians, primarily in Karabakh, but

tributing to Armenia's reluctance to embrace the OSCE Minsk Group's

also within Armenia proper-and in the

indirect Russian offers of support must

diplomatic formulas. By refusing to alleviate Armenian fears, it has made a significant number of its leaders in Karabakh and in Armenia willihg once again to tum to the protector from the

seem inesistible since Russian help and

North.

military assistance were critical in Karabakh's David and Goliath confrontations with Azerbaijan. It does not

Viewed from this perspective, the of these last few months may not only be the longterm peace, prosperity and democratic

Diaspora. For people convinced that hard-won victories and territories must

be defended at any price, covert

and

take too much imagination to appreciate

responsibility

con-

great losers from the events

the significance of enduring relation-

foundations

ships and informal channels of communication. Besides, who could deny that

Republic, but also US interests and the

historically, Armenians in Karabakh have always felt comfortable with Russian protection against Turks and

Persians. It would be naive to assume that Armenia's domestic crisis and the

major actors are unaffected geopolitical forces.

these

would be ironic if, with the national interest in mind, and the emotionally charged symbolism of land and liberty, certain leaders had become the

Armenia's

Second

emancipation of the Caucasus from the clutches of Russia, transmogrified out of the ashes of the bld Soviet Union, the same Soviet Union incidentally which placed Artsakh under Azerbaijani sovereignty. At the moment, all we can wish is for the new guardians of our national

interest

to have the wisdom and

resources to look the

the

gift horse from the

north in the mouth. by Jivan Tabibian

All Politics Is Loe al tial

elections and its aftermath from which President Ter Petrossian never recovered. Even as news services reported his resignation on February 3, many writers talked about the questioned fairness of the outcome of the elections. No longer would the intemational community report that Levon Ter Petrossian was the unequivocal choice ofthe peoplethere was always an asterisk explaining an election too close for comfort, opposition dissatisfaction with the results, and finally violence on the streets and an attack of the National Assembly

building. E E

Prime Minister Kocharian with Ter Petrossian, in the early days of Kocharian's appointment.

The late Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill lost only one political race in his long and illustrious career. ln 1934, he ran for the Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council and was defeated. The future polir ical dynamo learned two lessons from that defeat that stayed with him throughout his life as a successful politician. The first lesson to which he attributed his many political victories is that "all politics is local"-take care of the environment and the people around you and they will take care of you. The second lesson ties in closely with the first: talk to the people around you, keep your public informed and maintain personal contact. These are fundamental political "truths" that apply in Armenia as well as the US-although President Levon Ter Petrossian never quite grasped their essential importance. The controversy over the Karabakh conflict and how it is to be resolved resulted from a history of insensitivity and lack of awareness of the ground on which the President stood. It would

to get acceptance from the Armenian people on a Karabakh settlement not agreed to by the Karabakh leaders. Yet, President Ter Petrossian apparently had not even prepared his own ministers or his hand-picked prime minister. He obviously did not bring his underlings into his confidence, nor did he use them as a sounding board to get a glimmer of their reactions. The president may have been able to survive the crisis in the ranks of the government officials had he retained a large following among the voters. However, he sprung his thinking upon a public that was totally unprepared. In his last two public speeches-the ones that precipitated the crisis on the Karabakh issuehe called for support from an uninformed Armenian public with whom he had never established personal contact. The president failed to nurture the locals with data that may have been used to defang those who accused him of a "sell-out." It is unnecessary to look outside of the local arena for reasons that led to hesident Ter Petrossian's resignation-not that there were no outside pressures. There is considerable evidence that the OSCE co-chairs had exerted pressure upon Armenia, and who can deny that the advent of a pipeline across Armenia is tantalizing. Yet, these among other external factors could have been have taken a political master

circumvented if President Ter Petrossian had learned Tip O'Neill's dictum that successful politicians must take care of the local environment and its people first. A second fatal local flaw was the disastrous 1996 presiden-

The reaction to the storming of the National Assembly may have been equally damaging. Thousands of Armenia's citizens chastised the violence perpetrated by the opposition, but they heaped equal scorn upon the President for bringing tanks into the streets. In the eyes of many Armenian citizens, Ter Petrossian reacted no differently from the former Soviet masters. No matter what President Ter Petrossian offered as reasons for filling the streets with troops, he undermined himself by not seriously reaching out to the opposition. Instead of extending an olive branch in reconciliation, he remained hardlined and provided the opposition with. recourse to continued agitation at home and around the world. If the communists knew anything, it was that a way to a person's heart is through the stomach. There are myriad reasons

why the economy, hence the Armenian people's standard of living, is in dire shape. The deprivations may have been palatable to the bulk of the populace if the President spoke to the people and insured that government elite shared in the hard times. However, the manifestations of corruption in high places abounded and resulted in the worst possible image in an administration that dismissed the value of effective public relations. This served to further alienate the public from the chief executive. hesident Ter Petrossian really wounded himself by publicly and personally becoming involved in the "Dro" ARF debacle. He lowered himself into the muck of dirty politics and could not escape with his virtue unsullied. Instead of allowing his minions and the courts to go about the business without his interference, he gave the ARF ample ammunition to unlimber its powerful public relations channels to unleash endless attacks. His previous standing as a stalwart democrat was shaken to the point that objective organizations such as Human Rights Watch could take up the cause for the abuses that they perceived. To the day of his resignation, the effects of his actions tainted his image in the minds of many of the public on whom he depended for support. One of acting president Robert Kocharian's first steps was to reinstate the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun as a political party and free several imprisoned ARF members. Local satisfaction is the source of all political strength. Another intemational political leader who leamed that all politics is local is Benjamin Netanyahu. Without that philosophy ingrained and practiced, he would never have survived the latest crisis with the Palestinians and his defiance of the White House-a situation every bit as emotional and critical to the Israelis as the Karabakh conflict is to the Armenians. These are realities that former President Levon Ter Petrossian never quite understood, and which led, to a large measure, to his downfall.

by Moorad Mooradian February

1998 A l ri

cover storv

E E

President Ter Petrossian, lett, and statf, met with US Congressman Frank Pallone, second from right, Vartian, first from right, and Assembly Chairman Hovnanian, fourth from right, in early January. Pallone returned to present a reportto Congress where he called for a change inUS policy in the Caucasus.

As Acting President Robert Kocharian presides over Armenia's 40 day transition to

do to secure parallel concessions and supPresident Aliyev? Nothing what-

new presidential elections scheduled for March 16, US policy makers should reflect on what was the driving force behind the

#:l:.

political crisis that resulted

President

Levon Ter Petrossian's resignation. While Ter Petrossian alluded to other factors in his

resignation address to the nation, since last

September both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh became consumed with an intense, polarizing debate over the terms of the proposed OSCE Co-Chairmen interim peace agreement. Ter Petrrossian's support for that document and the step-by-step negotiating process envisioned by the U.S., Russian and French negotiators were almost universally rejected by his own govemment and unanimously criticized by the govemment of Nagomo Karabakh. From September of last year when then President Ter Pehossian announced his support for the peace plan up to his resignation on February 3, it was evident to any US policymaker that Armenia and Karabakh would not join Ter Petrossian. The growing

Despite consistent comments from Armenian officials that security guarantees were inadequate, Administration officials did not enhance the peace document substantially. In response to proposals from Congress and the Armenian-American community

to extend an invitation for

President Ter Petrossian to visit Washington

1997, the Clinton Administration did nothing. Perhaps even more damaging was

the Administration's inability

secure

actions from President Aliyev complimentary to the peace process as promoted by the US, Russia and France. Azerbaijan's hesident never responded in kind to Ter Petrossian's concessions,

the interim peace proposal was particularly

Aliyev to do contrary, Aliyev and other senior officials of his govemment refused to recognize Nagomo Karabakh as a full party to the conflict. Aliyev also declined to participate in tri-partite direct negotiations Instead, Azerbaijani officials celebrated Armenia's acceptance of the peace plan as its foreign policy success while repeating

obvious to Clinton Administration officials

that all of the occupied territories would be

responsible for the Caucasus generally and

recovered and Azerbaijani dominion restored over "upland Karabakh" during

sentiment in Armenia to reject completely

the peace process specifically. In essence, the US-backed peace plan was going down, and could possibly take Ter Petrossian

nor did the US ever pressure

so. On the

to evaluate critically its failed peace diplomacy and its overall pro-Azerbaijani policy tilt. Clearly there is no support in Armenia and Karabakh for the current peace docu-

ment. The next President ofArmenia cannot support it. It should also be clear to the Clinton Administration that more rounds of shuttle diplomacy-in lieu of direct negoti-

ations-will

als. If

produce more flawed proposthe US wants a lasting peace

between Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, it must secure the support of all conflicting parties for direct negotiations without pre-conditions, strengthen the cur-

rent fragile cease-fire as a first priority of direct negotiations, refrain from any further statements or actions that serve to predetermine the status of Nagorno Karabakh, extend an invitation to the newly elected President of Armenia to visit Washington. As the Chairman of the Armenian

Assembly's Board

Trustees Hirair

Hovnanian stated on the day of the president's resignation, "This is a wake-up call for the Clinton Administration. US policy

on the Nagomo Karabakh conflict,

and

indeed the entire Caucasus region, must be

intransigence, compounded by U.S. inaction, served to increase the political pres-

adjusted from its oil-centric,'peace at any price' approach that has failed miserably. After years of shuttle diplomacy between Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, peace is not at hand. Only direct negotiations with the full participation of the conflicting parties-backed by

sure on Ter Petrossian to resign.

even handed mediation-has any hope for

will elect a new President on March 16, or if a second

success."

second phase negotiations. Azerbaijan's

down as well. What did the Clinton Administration do during this period to help President Ter Petrossian as he sought to gain support for the plan?

round is required, shortly thereafter. This is

Ross Vartian, Executive Director,

for the Clinton Administration

Armenian Assemblv

What did the Clinton Administration

A I tli

February 1998

The people of Armenia

ample time

armenian survev

MITITARY THE ENTER Ihe Amenlan

llalional

[houement Is no longq the leaillng

nolltlcal lorce ln the Amenlan Pafllament. A new oruanlzallon,

the unlon ol

lerlraDahs

lPrutecton ol $e lanill ls now the most ruweilul, yet llttle-known

suD[oil base lol Amgnla's new leadenhip. With the formation of a political faction in Parliament and the declaration of its

third congress, the Union of Yerkrapahs marked the effective entry of the military into the political affairs of Armenia.

Up until now, the army has been content to submit to direction from the elected civilian leadership, making its opinions heard through the normal political channels of govemment. But, with Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian as its leader, the Union of Yerkapahs became a rival to President Levon Ter Petrossian for the loyalty of the

important change in relations. The key to the rift lay, inevitably, in the propositions emerging from the Minsk group of the

military.

Karabakh could neither be independent nor merge with Armenia. After that, Sargsian repeatedly stated his refusal to consider any concessions prior to settling Karabakh's

Its position, set out at the union's third congrâ&#x201A;Źss on November 27 and 28, was clearly distinctive from those of the highest

political leadership of the republic and in particular those of the president. For some time, the declarations of the Defense Minister had exposed a similar division of opinion. But Ter Petrossian's absence from the opening session of the meeting for the Yerkrapahs' third congress signified an

for

SecuritY and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for resolving the conflict over Nagomo-Karabakh.

Organizations

The President's press conference of September 26 appeared to accept that

status, thereby aligning himself with the position of Stepanakert authorities.

Such differences were

not

widelY

publicized in the country up to the convening of the Union's congress. But Albert Bazeyan, Vice President of the Union of Yerkapahs stated explicitly that if the government pursues "unacceptable positions

armentan sltrvev relating to Artsakh, we may not follow". He added darkly that "the army may well have its own position. Sometimes the army does not execute the decisions of the state ifthose decisions are notjust". Even the way they conceive of ques-

tions concerning Armenia's national interests highlights differences between Defense Minister Sargsian and the Union of Yerkrapahs on one hand, and Ter

his supporters on the other. Ter Petrossian has rejected several

Petrossian and

times the concept of a "national ideology," but Sargsian admits to "having been and remaining a close supporter of this concept". Bazeyan argues that the current vacuum in tenns of a national ideology is one reason why Armenia has been unable to translate military victories into diplomatic

But relations fust began to sour in the

legislative elections

of July

1995.

According to Bazeyan, the ANM tried to ruin the electoral chances of Yerlaapah candidates

opposing them

every

region where they stood as candidates, despite them

a pre-election agreement

between

which ruled out such activity. Things worsened the following year

in regional elections. The

Yerkapahs

squarely accused the electoral committees,

composed mainly of ANM members, of exerting pressure on Union members and falsifuing electoral resuhs in certain areas to favor

ANM

candidates.

This produced an unexpected outOn November 28, 1996, the

Yerhapahs surrounded and occupied the headquarters of the ANM. They were only forced to abandon

Sargsian has also declared that "the very fact of having endured for so many centuries in this region demonstrates that we are not an ordinary nation." It is, ironically, an outlook not dissimilar from that

Father Housik Lazarian alerted Ter Petrossian, who in turn asked Defense Minister Sargsian to intervene with the

by opposition leader Vazgen Manukian, who characterized Armenians as a "world nation", another concept criticized

Ter

few minutes at the ANM's ninth Congress

Yerkrapahs' meeting four months later. lnstead, the ANM was represented by its Vice PresidentAra Sahakian, who called for an alliance between the two groups for the legislative elections in 1999. Sargsian himself replied during the press conference at the end of the Union congress that there were still "two whole years until 1999. The Yerkrapahs have not considered the issue yet; and in any case, in the current state of

relations, the forming

when

ANM president

Yerkapahs. Further evidence of tensions between the two groups was offered at each party's 1997 party conference. Sargsian spent only

Th"

towards relations

with

Diaspora

and a

into existence either independently or through the patronage of various organizations and political parties. With the advent of political independence in Armenia,

these groups were placed under the central authority of a Defense Commission by parliament. By the time the

the

pan-

Union was launched in 1993, the formation of the national anny was aLeady

hesident. TheArmenian National Movement (ANM) and the Union of Yerkrapahs have until recently been presented

largely complete.

The Yerkapahs continued to participate in battles for Karabakh until the

political part-

ners in support of the cunent

regime. Indeed,

many

Yerkapahs are also members of the ANM and took part as delegates in the ninth congress of the party last July. Some were even elected as members of the executive committee of the movement.

This is aside from the fact that, prior to Bazeyan's announcement of the formation of the Yerkrapahs' own political faction on October 21, both groups co-operated closely in the Republic parliamentary faction made up

Armenian National

Movement deputies their allies. Al

rul

February

and

yerlrapahs, was

Armenia's borders and support Karabakh,s right to self-determination. Diverse battalions of volunteers had started to proliferate spontaneously as early as 1998, coming

Armenian entente which differed from those of the

as inseparable

those who took up arms to safeguard

Finally, the policies which emerged from the Union's third congress set attitudes

Unioo

founded in July 1993, while ttre war raged in Karabakh and along Arrnenia's border regions. The "protectors of the land" were

Petrossian.

out distinctive

of an ANM-

Yerkrapah union is not foreseeable."

come.

gains.

adopted

in July, a compliment returned by ANM chairman Vano Siradeghian at the

Above: The tomb of the unknown soldier. The union of yerkrapahs considers these dead sol$erq pepb-e.rp oI its organization. Below: Defense Minister Vdzgen Sargsian (right) as the President of the union, stands to benefit from its power base, rinite at tlre samdtirire raising questions about the degree to which the new government's agenda will be set by the army.'

end of hostilities in May 1994 allowed soldiers to return to Armenia. As a result of losses suffered, the

ranks

of the Union

were

depleted, but the Yerkapahs had eamed a reputation for

bravery and devotion to the motherland.

The Union

Yerkapahs insisted it was not associated with any political party but claimed to

represent the majority of volunteers involved in mili-

tary operations. After

the

of hostilities, the Union continued to define

cessation

itself as an essentially apolit-

ical organization, but now concerned about the social

rights

veterans. These

armenran survev fighters realized they had been left out of the economic and political changes which had taken place in the country during their

ber at nearly 20,000, with

absence, particularly privatization.

membership. Despite its initial assertions of political neutrality, the Union ofYerkrapahs has twice been used in operations against the opposition. On June 21, 1995, as legisla-

addition, because

of its

meager

resources, the government failed to assume its responsibilities to the families of dead

fighters and to veterans left disabled by the war. The social reintegration of physically able veterans who wanted to work and play their part in society also became a serious issue. Dissatisfaction with their precarious social position became widespread among Yerkrapahs. Their military training, and the fact that some remained armed, highlighted the serious possibility that Yerkrapahs could easily become uncontrollable or even destablizing elements in society, open to political manipulation. Consequently, in the last three years, the Union has gradually transformed itself into an undeclared but very political force. At the same time, the organization's membership had gone through changes as a number of returning volunteers joined the regular army. The membership of the Union broadened and the Yerkrapahs declared themselves to represent the interests of that important national institutionthe army. By the eve of its third congress, the

Union of Yerkrapahs announced it had 5,000 members: 25 percent of them

many as 4,000

wishing to become members. The hope and expectation is for a rapid growth in

tive elections approached, a faction of Yerkrapahs were used for the first time to quell demonstrating members of the opposition. But, it was following the events of September 26, 1996 and the disturbances in the wake of the presidential elections, tlat the reputation of the Yerkapahs truly deteriorated among many in the population. Under the orders of Vazgen Sargsian, a large number of Yerkapahs actively participated in the dispersal of demonstrators

following the assault on the National Assembly building by supporters of the defeated presidential candidate Yazgen Manukian. The opposition accused the Union of acting as an "illegitimate guard" of Levon Ter Petrossian, while a large number of people began to see the Yerkrapahs as a paramilitary organization at the service of the authorities. During this time, rumors conceming the involvement of the Yerkrapahs in questionable economic activities, and allega-

tions that they were attempting to secure

belonging to the regular army, and 836 soldiers disabled in the war. In a highly emotional symbol of its relationship to the national struggle, the Union also considers the 2,000 soldiers killed in action to be

profitable commercial monopolies for

eternal members.

desire of the Union of Yerkrapahs to start legislative and political work for strengthening the national army and Armenia's

Numerous Yerkrapahs now hold important positions of command within the

regular army. Six members are highly placed military personnel, aside from the Minister of Defense himself, who is president of the organization. The congress also changed its rules to extend membership to

anyone, including anny conscripts, who

had participated

in military

operations.

Sargsian put the number of conscripts num-

themselves began

to gain public

accep-

tance.

At the heart of its decision to establish

its own parliamentary faction was

the

defense.

The group intends to campaign for people in military service. The Yerkapahs also advocate the resolution of social prob-

lems resulting from material losses and human suffering caused by the war. They will seek to press for a resolution of the Karabakh conflict based on the right of

self-determination. The Union counted some 20 heads of municipalities and regions among its members even before the dozens of new members who joined in the days preceding and

following Ter Petrossian's resignation in early February. The Union also counts

of large successful businesses among its members. Their financial support, say the Yerkrapahs, allows the organization to aid its less fortunate members, making the Union independent and selffinancing.

directors

The Yerkapahs had stated their inten-

tion to occupy what they saw as the center ground of politics in Armenia, acting as

mediators between the Ter Petrossian administration and the opposition. With Ter

it will be interesting to see where they place themselves. Petrossian's resignation,

Although they may be inspired by narrow political calculations and interests, the strength of the Yerkapahs emerged clearly from the current state of the Karabakh negotiations.

All of these attitudes,

including the

focus on resolving social problems, has placed the Yerkapahs very close to those who constituted Ter Petrossian's opposition. But this does not mean that a strategic rapprochement could take place between the two groups. Until the current situation, that opposition seemed incapable of gaining new life, according to some observers. Instead, the Yerkrapahs emerged as another form of opposition from within the very basis of the existing power structure. The Union of Yerkrapahs, armed with solid

intellectual capital, radically transformed the current balance of power on the Armenian political scene.

The big unanswered question is the extent to which its agenda will be set by the army, thereby heralding the creation of a

more militaristic political tradition in Armenia. by A. Alexanian Thanslated from the French with certain adaptations, by Harry Dikranian

Febtuaty

1998 Al l

,{a:E4

riJrilli

Three Doys Thot Chonged The World The response to the peoceful demonstrotions of Februory 198B (see Books, poge 33) demonding the right of selfdeterminotion for the Armenions of Korobokh were met with brutol ond sovoge reoction in the industriol town of Sumgoit, Azerboiion. Beginning on Februory 27, Azeri mobs roped, murdered ond beottheirArmenion neighbors, foreverchonging the noture of the politicol struggle between Armenions ond Azerboiion. Sumgoit wos the kigger for so much of whot come ofter-the bifierness, the determinotion thot Korobokh could not be sofe in Azeri honds, the intention of Azerboijon to rid its territory of oll Armenions once ond for oll. The otrocities which losted three doys olso signoled the demise of the Soviet empire. The Soviet outhorities were proved both unoble ond unwilling to deol with the politicol demonds of the Armenions ond the extreme violent reoction of the Azeris. After bonds of men ottocked Armenions in their homes in vorious Sumgoit neighborhoods, 10 doys of questioning ond investigotions followed before Azeri officiols ollowed ihe victims ond witnesses to return to their homes. But the Armenions didn't stoy. Over the next two yeors, hundreds of thousonds of Armenions left Azerboiion. A similor number of Azeris left Armenio for feor of reprisols ogoinst them. ln Armenio, the refugees were given residences in vorious ciiies outside Yerevon. Those who remoined in Yerevon con still be found living in dormitories, or similor public housing. Mony more wenl to other cities throughout the Soviet Union. Hundreds ended up in the United Stotes through vorious church refugee progroms ond volunteer orgonizotions. Just os wllh the Genocide survivors, there wos never o concerted, orgonized effort to help the victims of Sumgoit gropple with their tortuous memories. However, olthough it took over 60 yeors before people thought to record the testimonies of Genocide survivors, iournolist Somvel Shohmurotion oudiotoped Sumgoit eyewitness occounts in the first weeks ond months ofter the ottocks. This mode it possible to reconskuct o rother complete picture of the Sumgoit events, the developments preceding them, the types of crimes committed, the voriety of trogic fotes, ond instonces of self-defense. Accounis lZoryon lnstitute, Corotzos, Some of these occounts were gothered in Ihe Sumgo it Trogedy, v. I -Eyewitness l99O) which Shohmurotion edited. Volume 2 whlch wos io contoin more occounts, ond volume 3 which would contoin the deposition of witnesses ot court proceedings, indiciments ond sentences, os well os orticles ond reports in the periodicol press, never oppeored. Shohmurotion died in Korobokh in 1992 (see Birthdoys ond Anniversories, poge B). Yet, even the single volume of The Sumgoit Trogedy serves to document the unbelievoble horrors which were unmislokobly genocidol octs performed o mere 1O yeors ogo. These occounts moke it eosy to comprehend the fundomentol distrust of the Armenions of Korobokh regording Azerboiion-its people ond its outhorities. A decode loter, AIM stoff member Porik

Nozorion found some of these survivors. Byureghavan, Building No. 33. This is where Sumgait survivors live. Ask anybody in town, they will point and say "Yes, the refugee building." That's what they said in 1988 when Samvel Shahmuratian went looking for them to record their testimony. They

attention and are forgotten, despite their incomparable sufferings. Hrand Adamian is 72. In 1988, he was beaten, and his son-inlaw Rafik Tovmasian was burnt alive. Today, Adamian lives with his wife Hersik (far left), daughter and teenage grandchildren.

still

"Our situation should be viewed differently from those of the of Baku, Kirovabad and Karabakh. We need medical help, we are still suffering the consequences of the beatings and torture and we can't possibly afford the high medical fees. We still don't know what a dollar looks like. The pension we receive is hardly enough for bread only for 10 days. My grandchildren attend univer-

say that today.

There were l7 families in this building then. During a decade

that hasn't been easy for any of Armenia's residents, thousands of refugees emigrated to Russia, others left Armenia for Karabakh, still others relocated elsewhere in Armenia. Today, of the seven families left in this building in Byureghavan, three ofthem gathered in the

home that 37-year-old Lyudmila Mejlumian shares with her sister Karine and Karine's two daughters. At first reticent, they gradually opened up about their lives after "the Sumgait Tragedy." That's what Lyudmila calls the events of The fear, anger and a general numbness is visible in their facial expressions. In a society where psychological and mental health ser-

vices are not a priority, this population of victims and survivors bears its scars in isolation. Added to that is the ongoing daily struggle for basic daily needs.

sity. The transportation costs for the two of them, together with heating, light and other expenses are beyond our means. We want to be classified the same as those from Karabakh and have the same ben-

efits." Others much younger are also concerned. His neighbor, Irina

1988.

refugees

The refugees from Sumgait were the first Armenians to flee Azerbaijan, but they were not the only ones. They were followed by those from Baku, Kirovabad and, of course, Karabakh. They all received refugee status and therefore, shelter in dormitories, empty houses, hotels and elsewhere. Some received permanent housing through the United Nations Refugee Program which has partially funded the construction of a few thousand residences. Yet, the Byureghavan refugees think that they receive the least

Melkumian, 36, says, "the government gives credits and discounts to those from Karabakh, but not us." Nevertheless, given the choice to have remained

in Sumgait,

they say they prefer living in Armenia. Adamian's granddaughter Ruzanna, 19, is a student at Yerevan State University. "I want to be here," she says. Her grandmother looks on. "She loves Armenia and so did her father. They bumt

him."

Ruzanna's mother Raya,

university graduate, calmly

observes, "Here, we are among our own Armenian people and there

is nothing better than that." Adamian and his wife can't help but reminisce, however. "We had good lives in Sumgait," he says. His wife joins in, "We had a Febtuary1998

Ati

armenian a stamp missing, which I had never noticed. When I went to fix that problem, they told me, "This is a false document, we can't do anything, you have to go to Sumgait and get the proper stamp in the passport." I have documents proving that my husband has been killed and that I am a victim of the Sumgait tragedy. I have tried every government office, except the president's. The fact that I am a woman makes me powerless and I don't know how else I can make myself heard. I am so bitter that I don't want to live here anymore. If after all these tragedies, this is how I should be treated, I don't want to live here."

It is difficult to know how much of their need is emotionalthe need to be recognized as a survivor of a special kind, a genocide survivor-and how much is practical. Is what they're experiencing simply a darker version of the Armenian experience since 1988-a real life-and- death struggle to establish security in the face of overwhelming forces, both man-made and natural?

According

Mekhak Gabrielian

of the

Refugee and

Population Relocation Department within the Ministry

Social

Services, the Sumgait refugees receive the same social services as all

citizens, with special additional benefits (subsidized utilities, transportation and other services) if they fall into a certain category of disability, or if the children are orphaned. In some cases, we make special requests of the hospitals to waive medical fees and generally, they get the waiver. The major problem, according to Gabrielian is housing. "We have created a waiting list for those who live in temporary homes in Yerevan. We are also working to develop a system to deal with migration. Those who have not found jobs in Armenia and have left in search of employment will gradually come back as things get

back to normal here."

The khachkar built in memory of the Sumgait victims stands in Tsitsernakaberd, not rar lrom the Genocide Monument. Survivors visit the site for annual memorials.

Turk [Azeri] neighbor who would always wam us, 'They will kill you, very soon, they will kill you.'I would wonder and say 'But why, what have we done?' In retrospect, they still search for explanations. "It never crossed our minds that in Soviet times such a thing is possible-to

It isn't just the refugees from Azerbaijan and Karabakh who need services, but also those from Georgia, Abkhazia, Chechnya. Their needs, coupled with the existing needs ofArmenia's population, make the social problems---especially those of housingluite complicated. Armenia's problems with health care obviously have their affect on the refugees as well. Hersik Adamian remembers that for a short period of time, a doctor from the Red Cross visited regularly. Another doctor came and passed out medication and never showed up again.

It was unheard of. Later, we remembered that five months before the massacre, they came to our doors and registered us as if to automatically deduct utility payments

These doctors tried to deal with the mental health needs of this small, tightly-knit group who have not finished grieving for their loved ones. Lyudmila says, "Each February 28 or 29 we all gather at

from our salaries, So, they had a complete where they lived," Adamian says.

Tsitsemakabert, near the Sumgait khachkar memorial."

go door-to-door massacring Armenians.

list of Armenians

and

"But if if wasn't for our good Azeri neighbors, nearly half the Armenians would have been killed then. My wife and daughter would have been killed the same day," he continues. hina Melkumian lives with her father and her l2-year-old daughter Lilia, She had been standing at the foot of the stairs of the Refugees Building, when someone asked her where the Sumgait refugees live. Her face cold as ice, she announced, "l am one of them."

With the same glassy expression, Melkumian spoke about her

life. "I am a hairdresser, but I can't work because I'm ill. I get no extra help besides my father's pension and the benefits Lilia receives because she has no father. No matter that five of my family members

were bumed alive, I still don't qualify as a victim because anywhere say that I am from Sumgait, not from Karabakh. When we were sent to Armenia from Sumgait, I was given a new passport to replace my burnt documents. Years later, when I wanted to go to Moscow for my aunt's funeral, they did not let me because there was

I go, they

30 Allu

February1998

Ikand Adamian explains, "Since we are unable to put a flower of our dead, we put a couple of flowers by the foot of

on the graves

the khachkar instead to ease our pain. But, we

can't forget. It haunts II, and we had heard a lot about the 1915 Genocide. To us it seemed like a movie, something very distant, but we never imagined that we us all. We had heard of the fascist atrocities during World War

would witness such things. We have seen enough pain to last us the

ofour lives. Now, we need stable lives to be able to heal." It is a struggle on two fronts-coping with the honors of the past, and trying to build a new life in these harsh economic conditions-especially for the surviving children. Roman, now 15, Adamian's grandson had seen the mob coming. He told his father, "Dad, be careful, they will kill you." His father's assured response was, "Don't be afraid, my son, nothing will happen, and if it does I will kill them before they do anything." Instead, Roman's father was burnt alive. His grandmother sobs, "The child is still haunted by the memory. He's so fearful and shy." Samvel Shahmuratian, the first and perhaps only outsider who rest

was cornmitted to sharing their grief and agony, is still revered' Irina says, "If Samvel were alive, he would check up on us, and he would

do everything he could to meet our needs."

Lyudmila adds, "He would call and ask if we needed anything, then he would provide medicine, school materials and anything we

for." Hersik continues, "After Samvel's death, we all went with

asked

him." Actually, everything had been lost long before' There's very little left of their old life. When they retumed to their looted homes briefly after the post-massacre investigations, they found everything destroyed. "They had only left the items that meant nothing to them, like old family photos and books. We found those and brought them with us to Armenia," says Lilia's mother. Those who were tried in Moscow and Baku courts were found guilty of some type of assault and murder. The maximum punishment anyone received was

l}yews. Many Armenians were

called to

testiry after they had said they can identify the perpetrators. But when it came time to participate in the investigations and attend the trials, only a few showed up. Many were afraid. '"They say that in Sumgait, people have made heroes of these criminals and we, the victims, don't even have proper support in our country," Irina laments. "If I had the chance, I would get out immediately to Russia or overseas even. Here, there is no hope." At the same time, they see the other side of the coin' Lyudmila points out, "Even in Sumgait now there is a crisis for their own people, because of all these political and economic changes, and if we were there, we would be in similar conditions. The factories are closed and most probably we would have been jobless there, too"' "Unless we create good ties with Russia and open the railroads, our condition will not improve. Factories have to be open to provide jobs. More than anything now I wish not to see any more war and tragedy. We'd ratherjust have a bite of bread and live in peace, than go through the past tragedies again," Hrand says. "The fact that someone from America is here and is interested in our well-being makes me happy. Someone is thinking about us and wants to sit down with us and listen to us," Hersik says. hina looks down the road. "Here, we know that our children speak their mother tongue and we are living with our own people." Nevertheless, when feeling comfortable, they admit that "Some of the local people don't like us and ffeat us as they treated other refugees in the past. Just like those who came in the 40s and 60s and

felt unwelcome and foreign, we feel that way sometimes, too." Despite all the memories and experiences, they are surprisingly philosophical, "I just don't want to see people killed again, we have lost a lot," Raisa says. For Irina, her life is a mixed bag' "I feel fortunate that my child survived, but I feel especially vulnerable because I am a widow living with a l2-year-old daughter, and my elderly father. I feel powerless." Understandably, they often find refuge in religion. Ruzanna doesn't talk about the past. She says she doesn't even want to think about it. "Believing in God, that is everything, and I am happy to be in university with Armenians. I want to be a history teacher to retell these eyewitness accounts."

Lilia wasn't even four All

years old when the "tragedy" happened'

she remembers is her mother grabbing her by the shirt to pass her

over the balcony to her aunt. Just then midway, in the air, her shirt tore and she remembers falling. Her mother grabbed her and pulled her back, but she'll always remember the falling sensation. Even if she didn't, the thick bittemess, the expression of anger and pain on her mother's face is a constant reminder to Lilia about the tragedies that she can't recall, but that changed their lives forever'

Lyudmila @lumian, avictim ot ., .,,1...

t',

Lyudnih

Whnd bsalilb$ illlss

Meilu

:::

3$sldqYerpy,Sgwi$

',,:..:

h*.iiit$r

i:,'

,.::

lt;.1,lil:

ltn,.?8a m$0ilr,]

8'=i

: ll:' 1

' ;i

i':i':ili

ing aki*t the pri99 the S.umgaitArmeniat{paid tti'''

Annenii iiow. We peid for it in human capudties nnd,;, great! Now, after the Sumgait cripfldfates--+he price lives into'befme" and "after"' our divide tr.i"dy, we, dre victints,

be living in

** i*

In our building, the tragedy stafted on Fâ&#x201A;Źb 28, about f:w in tlrc my slin afternoon. When I reeall how they broke doryn our crawls; even no*, among Anrenians, aqlong Pople wtn wi$ me starting over ag'in' I reurember how *uat only well, I feel like it's mob broke into our aparment. My fatlrer had an axe in his hands and

had immediately locked both of the doors. The mob was shouting all of their eJies wene strining, all red" insomnia. At fhst about 40 peopte Uns iru hlt later I'was from lfte

sanding wittr my back to ttB door and couldnit see' Tky carne in to Se halltnto tlre h'tchen ard dragged nry futkr into tk othuroom" He di&r't uner a word, he just mieed the exe to. hit tlem hrt,qqryrna snatched the axe from behind and said "teE ftem not to toueh the children, tell them they can do as tlrey want with u$ bur not to harm

,.,'

l .r .

,-t,l

"r., :thechitrdran." The group was prepared, I know this because I noticed that some of them only broke up furnilure and dhers only dealt with us. I remember that when theywere beating me and'tearing my clo*rcs off I felt neither pain nor shar&ebecatlseqy entire atisntie-tr'iiias *$ir eted to Karina. All I could do was watch bow much they @at her and how painfirl it was for her and what they did to her She is very trcau:,.

tiful and they did everything to de$troy hâ&#x201A;Źr beauty' Most$ they hu-face with,flsts, ,l,r,,r lYhrentlrey ccryrpletely

thling

her, using anything

caniedKarinaout

hal

*ey could:ffi;.r,;1,.r:

and,beatMqSI@=#i'lffffi,

rcsverediryith btrCIo&*thhth when,tr startdi,ts feel:

Februayl99S

Alm

pain. I blacked out several times. I think I,m a kind permn by natwe, but I'm vengeful if someone is mean to me, And every time I would come to and see one of those animals on top of me, IU remember them, and fll remember them for the rest of my life, even though people tell me "forget," you have to forget, you have to go on living." Since I didn't scream, didn't beg them at all, they became all the more wild, [ke wolves. They started to trample me with their feet.,Shoes with heels on them, and iron horseshoes, like they had specially put them on. Then I lost consciousness. I came to a couple of times and wiited for death, summoned it, beseeched il. But I realized that they were going to torment me for a long time to come because I had showed mysoif to bo so tenacious. I started to strangle myself and when I started to wheeze they realized that with my death I was going ro put anal end to their pliasure and they pulled my hands from my throat."

The person who injured and insulted me most painfirlly

remember him very well, because he was the oldest in the group. He losked around 48. I know that he has fow children and ttrit he considers himself an ideal father and person, one who would never do

zuch a thing. Something came over him then, you see, even during the investigation he almost called me ..daughbr," he apologizedl although, of course, he knew that I'd never forgive him. After two, three hours, (of torture) four people remained in the room. One of them coavinced the others to leave and helped me put on my sister'$ coat, becarso I couldn't do it myself. Wt iti tlr"y *"r" raping me, they repeated quite frequently "Let theArmenian women have babies for us, Muslim babies, let them bearAzerbaijanis for the struggle against the Armenians." Later, I found out what they had done to our Karina, Mamma said, "If she recognizes you, don't cry. Don,t tell her that her face

looks soawful." They fook Karina and me to the Sumgait matemity home. My father went to them and said in a guilty voice, as thougir it was his fault that he'd been beaten, ',My ribs hurt so much, thoie reeps have probably broken my ribs. please look at them." The doctor says, "That's not my job." They put us in the same ward with Ira B. When she told me what had happened at their place, I felt worse for them. Because when they raped Ira, her daughter was in the room, she was under kd on which it happened And ka was holding her daughter,s the hand, the one who was hiding under the bed. Wtren they were beating ha or aking her eanings off, when she involuntarily let go of her

this, so I called the police. When they didn't come, I called again. When I called a third time, they said, ,,We're sick of you, don,ical_ lus anymore."

That night we couldn't sleep. By that time, the military was already in the city. We had seen armored personnel carriers, trucks and tanks drive by. For a time, they came and parked around our building. I called my sister and told her not to wotry. Then, the sol_ diers left. Around five o'clock, they started beating down our door. There were 13 of us in the apartment, including my sister-inJaw who was pregnant and two children. The men told us to take the children and climb over the balcony into the neighbor's house. We did_ n't want to, but for the sake of the children, we left. There were eight of them left. Later, a Russian man who lived in the next building described

what had happened. First they stripped my mother-in-law and dragged her downsrairs, where a group of 12, 13 year old boys beat her to death and threw her in the basement. Those bandits came in a huge mob. They had a flag, there was a car with a loudspeaker on it, and someone was talking over it, "Get out of here. This is our land. Long live Azerbaijan. They raced into the courtyard, and then into the entryway. And they were all wearing something dark. It wasn't coats, I don't know, maybe a uniform or something they all had on? They beat Edik, my husband, with sticks and shovels. They had axes and some kind of knives. It was all homemade. It had all been especially prepared.They burned my sister-in-law. They took her clothes off and bumed her alive. Altogether six people were killed. I have a daughter of three and a half, her name is Lilia. In a matter of min_ utes, she lost her father, her grandfather, her grandmother, her uncle and her aunt. They hastily buried them in Baku. It was raining. There was a very strong wind. They put up five metal crosses. There were no names on them. The weather was so bad, they said they,d put them on later."

-from

The Sumgait Tragedy, 1990.

daughter's hand, her daughter took her hand again. Her daughter is in the fourth grade, she's I I years old. Father still can't look us in the eyes. He still feels guilty for what happend to Karina, Mother and me. Because of his nerves he has started talking to himself. I've heard him argue wirh himself sev-

eral times when he ttrought no one is listening. "Listen, what could T#hat do? could I do alone, how could I protect them?'

-from

The Sumgait Tragedy, 1990.

lrino Melkumion, 28-Sumgoit, lgBB On Sunday morning, my sister called. ..A neighbor came to our apartment and told us we should take off the name plate with our Armenian sumames on it," she said. So, we took the one saying

Melkumian off our door, too. That day, we didn't leave the house at some teenage boys turned over a car which belonged to some Armenians. I thought, they're not going to stop at

all. At lunchtime,

Lilia Melkumian, 13, holds a photo ot her slain father, and the photo her mother lrina holds is of all five of her slain in-laws.

A I rit

Februaty i99B

(ha-ranbrghf' .(lra-ru-

l,ua-r4,- tryl,u! " The Emergence

of the ilational Democratic Movement in Armenia

Wayne

by Mark Malkasian State University Press, 1996

February 20, 1988, arrived in Yerevan without fanfare. News of

the events in Mountainous Karabagh had reached the city, but inter-

est in openly supporting the demonstrators in Stepanakert

was

largely confined to a handful of intellectuals. More immediate were

restaurants that dotted the city's center, talking politics over demitasses of gritty Middle Eastern coffee or plates of grisly spiced meatballs and fried potatoes, Their collective memory told them to proceed with caution.

the rallies of the two previous days against the construction of

The last attempt to raise the issue of Mountainous Karabagh on

chemical plant in Abovyan, ten miles to the northeast of Yerevan.

0ctober 18, 1987, had ended in a show of police force. The abortive

march from the town, led mostly by women, had drawn the partici-

Karabagh protest occurred the day after an officially sanctioned

pation of more than 2,000 people. Many expected the protests to con-

demonstration of environmental activists had been held. With over-

tinue through the weekend, especially as word spread about devel-

head banners at the environmental rally declaring, "We Want Healthy

opments in Mountainous Karabagh. Yerevan, however, was not Stepanakert. By noon Saturday, the

Children!' and "Shut Down Nairit [chemical factory] So the Armenian People Will Survive!", thin, inconspicuous strips of paper were dis-

fate of Mountainous Karabagh and the Abovyan chemical plant had

tributed among the crowd of 4,000 calling for a noon gathering to

attracted n0 more than 3,000 people to the circular plaza outside of

discuss Mountainous Karabagh near the Central Committee build-

in Theater

ing, headquarters of the Communist Party in Armenia. A phalanx of Armenian policemen arrived early that Sunday

Yerevan's imposing, stone opera house. Most of those

Square were veterans of past political gatherings -- young scientists involved in the ecology movement, schoolteachers and professors,

morning in front of the Marshal Bagramyan subway stop to make

well-educated transplants from Mountainous Xarabagh, rebellious

sure the demonstration never took place. Those venturing too close to

artists and journalists, and students from Yerevan State University, particularly budding historians. Many frequented the cafes and

the subway entrance were roughed up before being sent home, usLtally minus their homemade placards and portraits of Gorbachev.

Photos by Rouben Mangasarian

gradually cleared. Hundreds of additional protesters entered the square, mostly alerted by telephone calls from their friends participating in the meeting. The demonstration did not end

until 9 pm, and only after those

present had vowed to spread the news about their cause. The following day, the demonstrators returned at 2 pm, this time double in number. lnformation on the resolution passed by the Mountainous Karabagh oblast soviet was greeted enthusiastically.

that the Central Committee in Moscow had scheduled a meeting that evening to deal with the question. Speakers seemed emboldened by the course of events. A forbidden song celebrating the exploits of turn-otthe-century Armenian guerrilla fightLater came news

ers, or fedayeen, was sung. This

still was not Stepanakert, but those

on hand in Theater Square at least felt that they were playing a supporting role in what they hoped would be a historic victory. They disln 0pera Square, Zori Bilayan and Viktor Hambarbumian (above, background) listen as Suren Harutunian and Sergey Hambarbumian address the crowd. Below Protbstors on Baghramian avenue, in front ol what is now the American Univ. of Armenia.

persed late in

the afternoon in anticipation of a positive decision

from Moscow. The sharpness

of the Central Committee's response

Sunday

night was unexpected. Not only was the appeal for unification rejected, but the Armenians themselves were denounced for the "breach-

ing of public order" and heeding "irresponsible calls by extremist individuals." The rebuke struck Yerevan like a slap in the face. The Armenians were not floored, though, only stung. Among the thousands of living room pundits who dissected Moscow's statement well into the night, a consensus emerged that anti-perestroika forces in the Kremlin had distorted the cause of Mountainous Karabagh. The reformers had somehow been deceived. (ln fact, the Central Committee's declaration echoed

the report that Azerbaijani First

Secretary Bagirov and Azerbaijani Second Secretary Konovalov had made after returning from Stepanakert.) Telephone conversations the next morning devised

what seemed

like a logical strategy: turn up the volume. University students called

for a boycott of classes. Participants in the weekend rallies roused their family and neighbors. Many Yerevanis who had paid scant attention to the movement were now incensed. Altogether, nearly few of the same policemen were undoubtedly stationed around Theater Square Saturday, February 20, trading glances with members of the crowd.

Nonetheless, they did not pounce. lnstead, there was a chilly unease in the air to complement the February weather. The stubborn low clouds

that blanket the plain of Ararat during much of the win-

ter sealed off the sun, rendering the sky as grey as the basalt facade of the opera house.

Tentatively, the gathering took on the form of a demonstration, A few impromptu speeches were made with the help

Most concentrated on the past week's events

of a bullhorn. Mountainous

Karabagh. The Armenian government was called upon

to support

efforts for unification. The ecologytheme was sounded again. And all the while, the crowd waited anxiously for the crackdown that never came. 0nly four days earlier in Lithuania, officials had gone to great

squelching efforts to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the declaration of independence issued by the

lengths

Lithuanian National Council. Unofficial meetings had been banned in Vilnius and supporters of the regime had patrolled the streets. ln Yerevan, however, the police milled about the square, observing, but showing no signs of intervening. As the afternoon progressed, the sky

ttt

February 1998

150,000 of them turned out in Theater Square on Monday, February 22, and the Karabagh movement was born. The sheer enormity of the February 22 demonstration stunned even those present, The first emotion lvas awe. No one quite believed

that a

people best noted for cynicism and dark humor would sud-

denly join hands in solidarity. For much of the afternoon, heads swiveled with incredulity. The vast sunken square was almost full, stretching back more than a hundred yards to a clump of shade trees

and pines.

tranquility almost unknown in Yerevan seemed t0 settle

over the multitude. The belief of Alexander Tamanyan, the architect

of modern Yerevan, that a pagan temple "of song and love" had once stood where the crowds now gathered at last seemed validated. Absent were the normal unpleasantries of social intercourse in

the Armenian capital -- no shrill shouting matches, no jostling for a better view, no poison-dipped insults. People who had long been accustomed to elbowing their way through lines for a kilo of chicken or a movie ticket shared, at least for the moment, an inexplicable bond. The students and intellectuals from the weekend rallies were

still there, but now they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with

factothe first

a few

ry workers, department store clerks, and others representing

signs or working class involvement. Unspoken

that

Monday afternoon was

the realization that

populations were relatively small. Yerevan was

Yerevan had grown up.

Although Yerevan's origins predate the founding of Rome, the

Armenian history. And along

new page in

with numbers came other features of

life: heightened political awareness, a substantial

modern city is very much a Soviet creation. For most of the nineteenth century, Yerevan was a sleepy backwater. The old town

educated class, a standardized national literature, the homogenizing

remained within the confines oJ the deep gorge cut by the Hrazdan

effect of mass media, and the development of common values and

modern urban

River and the sunounding hills. 0nce the Persians were defeated, the

beliefs. All of this occurred under a government at least nominally in

city lost its strategic value. Russia's wars with 0ttoman Turkey in 1853-56 and 1877-78 elevated Alexandropol (present-day Gyumri)

the hands of Armenians.

above Yerevan in terms of vitality and importance. Up until World War

l, Yerevan had been an overgrown village of 30,000 people, roughly half Muslim. The one-story, flat-roofed houses were mostly of adobe and stone, roads were narrow and dusty, and camel caravans were an essential means of commerce. The remains of a walled fortress, first built bythe 0ttoman Turks in the sixteenth century, stood out as the city's most prominent architectural feature long after giving way to Russian cannons in 1827. Also dating from centuries of Muslim rule were eight mosques, as well as six Armenian churches. Beyond the city, the Hrazdan River watered lush gardens and bountiful orchards.

The 150,000 people in Theater Square the afternoon of February 22 clearly understood that they were part of something unprecedented. As darkness

fell, many remained where they had stood nearly the

entire day, unwilling to return to their otherwise mundane lives. The speeches continued.

0ne activist suggested the demonstrators

march through the city to inform residents of plans to launch a citywide strike. A legion of volunteers came together, and within minutes more

than 15,000 set out into the streets. Their ranks quickly grew

as others left their apartments to join the stream of demonstrators.

to a symbolic halt in front of the Pantheon of at 4:30 am, they had walked eighteen miles. The march had set its own course, with the old pushing the young onward each time Before they came Heroes

Under Soviet rule, Yerevan was methodically transformed into a

the crowd reached a crossroads. They chanted, they sang, they tip-

the same brute power that recast other towns and

toed softly past hospitals, some even wept. "People marched without feeling tired," journalist Meri Yuzbashyan later wrote. "We forgot

republic capital

cities throughout the USSR. The first urban plan drawn up by Tamanyan in 1924 envisioned a city of 150,000. Filteen percent of Yerevan's total area was set aside for beltways of greenery and tree-

lined boulevards. New buildings made use of stone indigenous to Armenia -- tufa, basalt, trachyte, granite, and marble. By 1959, the city's population had topped 500,000. Urban sprawl had climbed into the northern hills of Nor Arabkir and Kanaker, and claimed the high ground of Nork and Sari Tagh to the east. The Armenian genocide brought the first of many demographic changes in the twentieth century, as tens of thousands of refugees from Western Armenia poured into the city. The refugees continued coming after sovietization, and increasingly they were ioined by educated Armenians squeezed out of their middle-class lifestyles in Baku and Tbilisi. Meanwhile, a massive migration of peasants into the city was engineered by Stalin's collectivization of the countryside

and forced industrialization in the 1930s. After World War ll, the Soviets directed a repatriation campaign at Armenian diaspora com-

munities in the Middle East and Europe, settling many of the approx-

Armenian Communist Party General Secretary Karen Demirchyan, center, addressino protestors.

imately 150,000 immigrants in the capital to work in the chemical industry. By the 1970s, Yerevan's population had topped 1 million, and even with the Soviet melting pot at

full boil, the

mix of dialects,

about our injuries and impotence." By Tuesday morning,

the march had become the stuff of legend.

the word took credit for the outpouring of

cuisines, and customs did not readily blend. Eastern Armenians were

Those who had spread

pitted again$ Western Armenians. Urbanites from Tbilisi, Baku, and

workers into Theater Square

that distinguished Tuesday's rally and of the crowd to nearly 300,000. Strikes shut down

elsewhere looked down 0n native Yerevanis. Repatriates resented

boosted the size

their Sovietized countrymen. And everyone despised the peasants.

many 0f the city's factories and offices. University students stayed

Beneath the fractured surface, however,

a coherent

Yerevani

away from classes. The demonstrations had begun to acquire a dis-

identity quietly took shape. lntermaniage forged links between oth-

tinct character. More homemade banners appeared in Russian and

erwise clannish c0mmunities. Patronage networks created new loyal-

Armenian. "Karabagh ls a Test of Perestroika" took hold as the unof-

ties by providing secure jobs and access to consumer goods.

ficial slogan of the movement. 0thers stood out as well' "There ls No Brotherhood without Justice;" "Perestroika ls Not Extremism;" and "0ne Nation, One Republic." More prominent was the ubiquitous image of Gorbachev -- hundreds of leaflet-size portraits waving above the crowd, as well as a few that stood a meter tall. A rhythmic chant gained acceptance: "Gha-ra-ba-ghe mer ne!" (Karabagh is ours!), with the accent falling on the possessive pronoun. The demonstrations even attracted their own theme songs.

The

Soviet experience gradually supplanted old divisions based on regional ties. Finally, Yerevan itself unleashed its own array of forces. Under Soviet rule, Yerevan had become the first truly Armenian

metropolis in history. The major nineteenth century urban centers of Armenian life -- Constantinople and Tiflis had been polyglot cities

on foreign soil. 0n the other hand, the Armenian heartland had pro-

duced architectural splendor at Ani, Van, and elsewhere, but the

February'1998 A

Lli

The microphone, powered now by an electrical generator, was open to anyone with something to say, but the attention of 300,000 onlookers tended to discourage the more faint-hearted. For others, the vast audience was exhilarating. Vatche Sarukhanyan, a theater director and native of Mountainous Karabagh, was among the early crowd favorites. With his oratorical eloquence and poet's eye for the nature and people of his birthplace, Sarukhanyan lent Mountainous Karabagh an almost heavenly quality. Aside from a few

still

well-turned phrases, however, Sarukhanyan had little to say of significance. Ashot Manucharyan, one of the movement's most astute observers, later analyzed the rhetorical evolution of the February demonstrations. "The boldest, the most emotional speakers became the recognized leaders. lt was whoever made the strongest impression on the crowd. Sarukhanyan and others played the role of actors. What they

said was often not important. The danger, of course, is that actors use appeals to emotion, shifts in the direction of their ideas, simply to boost the emotional level of the crowd without appreciating the consequences."

lndeed, much of what was heard from the speaker's platform pressed well-known emotional buttons. There were plenty of allusions to the glorious past of Karabagh, persecution under the Turkish

fuerbaijani SSRs." Speakers in Theater Square, however, were not deterred. Rather, they called on the Armenian Supreme Soviet to convene an extraordinary session. Manukyan went so

far as to

suggest

launching a labor strike to exert leverage on the Kremlin. February 23 brought an acknowledgement from Moscow that the demonstrations

ln Mountainous Karabagh, First Secretary Boris Kevorkov was replaced with oblast soviet First Deputy Chairman Henrik Poghosyan, an official better attuned to Armenian concerns. (Poghosyan's lineage was tied to one of Mountainous

were serious business.

lfurabagh's melik families.) Meanwhile, Politburo candidate member

Vladimir Dolgikh and Central Committee Secretary Alexander Lukyanov were dispatched to Yerevan to meet with Armenian First Secretary Demirchyan, as well as with protest organizers. There had been previous demonstrations in the non-Russian republics during the Gorbachev era. ln December 1986, 3,000 Kazakh students had clashed with police during protests over the replace-

of First

Secretary Dinmuhammad Kunayev by an ethnic of 1987 had also witnessed a rally by the Crimean Tatars in Moscow and public commemorations in the Baltic republics of the 1939 pact between Hitler and Stalin. ln size and

ment

Russian. The summer

scope, however, the Yerevan demonstrations opened a new chapter in Soviet history.

yoke, and longing for the snow-capped peaks of Mount Ararat. But

along with the boilerplate lamentations, a few speakers also criticized the lethargy of the Armenian government. From the first day of

the demonstrations, activists Hambartsum Galstyan,

Vazgen

Manukyan, and Levon Ter Petrosyan had challenged Armenian party and government leaders to lend their support to the movement in Mountainous Karabagh. A few days earlier, Armenian officials had

Vpon nearing of the Politburo delegation's arrival, much of the crowd in Theater Square spilled into the streets and surged toward the Central Committee building, located less than a mile away. Once stationed before the towering wrought iron fence that separated the well-tended grounds of the party headquarters from Bagramyan Prospekt, the protesters waited until 9 pm before

received telegrams from organizers of the movement in Mountainous

Lukyanov appeared. The Kremlin spokesman's comments were brief.

Karabagh urging them to organize rallies in solidarity with Karabagh

a microphone that had been set up across the street from the Central Committee, Lukyanov noted that the Soviet Union faced many nationalities problems. He promised a more studied

Armenians. 0n Monday, however, the leadership of the Armenian Communist Party dutifully approved the resolution of the Central

Speaking into

Committee condemning the Karabagh movement. Armenian First Secretary Karen Demirchyan spoke gravely of the dangers posed by the Karabagh question. "The actions and demands," he said, "ori-

response the next day after talking

ented to the review of the existing national-territorial system in this

with popular leaders, and yet there were no leaders with whom to meet. 0nly after Lukyanov's remarks in front of the

region, contradict the interests of the workers of the Armenian and

The

with leaders of the movement. anival of Dolgikh and Lukyanov was shaded with an

irony few appreciated. The Kremlin representatives had come to Yerevan to meet

Central Committee on February 23

was the Karabagh

0rganizing

Committee in Armenia formed. lgor Muradyan, an iron-willed economist who had devoted much of his energy

after 1985 to the unilication campaign in Mountainous Karabagh, dominated the selection process that extended into the early hours. To pre-

sent the Armenian case

the

February 24 meeting, Muradyan chose a lew articulate intellectuals,

most

them

historians.

Manucharyan inserted himself into

the delegation at the last minute by arguing that a political analyst was needed to place the movement in the

of perestroika and glasnost. Equally important was the task of

context Levon Ter Petrossian, at microphone, addressing the crowd in front of the Matenadaran, after 0pera Square was outlawed as a gathering plac0. Standino behind Ter Petrossian are members of what came to be known as the Karabakh Committee.

36 Alt

Februarl99S

stining up trouble in Transcaucasia. The disturbances,

own career by

so the line of analysis went, would allow Demirchyan to play the role of peacemaker. Finally, Moscow was playing up speculation that

Armenian political parties in the diaspora had somehow orchestrated the demonstrations from abroad.

The conspiracy theories, however, all failed

to account for the

the Karabagh movement a historic event. The l(GB or Demirchyan might have been able to bring 5,000 people into the streets, even 10,000. No behindthe-scenes conspiracy, phenomenon

that

made

though, could have possibly enticed hundreds of thousands of average Yerevanis to join their neighbors in Theater Square. The numbers, eventually approaching 1 million, were awe-inspiring. None of

the Yerevan activists, much less the authorities, imagined that the populace would turn out with such force. ln a very real way, the people defined the movement.

The February 24 meeting between the Kremlin representatives, Armenian officials, and six members of the newly formed Karabagh

Committee was uneventful. Astrophysicist and chairman of the Armenian Academy of Sciences Viktor Hambartsumyan provided the occasion's most noteworthy moment by following up the long string of titles attached to the introduction of Dolgikh

alized credentials: "Viktor

Ha m

with his own person-

bartsumyan, extrem

ist,

nationalist. "

0therwise, the paucity and bias of Soviet media coverage, while the authorities, from Moscow and Yerevan alike, pressed for an end to the demon-

Karabagh Committee members complained of the

strations.

ln Theater Square, the crowds were still growing. Columns of

Streets and balconies were tull for hours, as people listened to long speeches and verbally participated in the calls for unification with Karabakh.

marchers, some numbering into the thousands, arrived on foot from

designating several trustworthy activists to collect relief supplies and money for Armenians in Mountainous Karabagh's Armenian community, which was already feeling the effects of Baku's retaliation, Muradyan's two closest associates were Gagik Safaryan, a native of Mountainous Karabagh, and Manvel Sargsyan. Both men

villages and provincial towns, and received salutes of acknowledgment before merging into the mass. Some had walked from as far away as Leninakan (present-day Gyumri), a distance of seventy-five miles. Following his meeting, Dolgikh appeared on Armenian televi-

had worked with Muradyan in coordinating petition drives on behalf

speakers from the Armenian Central Committee tried lamely to con-

of Mountainous Karabagh. Before the night of February 23 was over,

vince the gathering in Theater Square that the government was on

sion and called on demonstrators to return to work. That evening, two

hard-

the people's side. Robert Arzumanyan, secretary of the Central

ly the entrenched underground network that Dolgikh and Lukyanov

Committee in charge of ideology, made the first faux pas by remark-

expected.

ing, 'We hear your problem and we are studying it." The response,

seven or eight others had also received Muradyan's approval

Hrair Ulubabyan, a schoolteacher and one of the early commit-

tee members, offered a simple explanation for the lack of structure; "No one expected

this movement to escalate so quickly, and as

"Our problem!' Minister of Higher Education Ludwig Gharibjanyan followed: "You think that we do not have sentiments like you?" The answef: "N0!"

result no one paid much attention to the question of leadership. From

The next day, February 25, the government presented its case

the start, this was meant to be a real popular movement. We only

more resolutely, Nearly 5,000 Ministry of lnternal Affairs (MVD) troops

tried to gauge the feeling of the people."

were flown into Yerevan to guard government

buildings,

At the same

or even many

time, access to long-distance telephone service was restricted and

Armenians, wanted t0 hear, Much more appealing to Kremlin propa-

foreign journalists vvere banned from travelling to Armenia, After the

gandists and armchair theorists were the various cloak-and-dagger

nighttime march 0f February 22-23, the Yerevan city soviet had

The

truth, however, was hardly what

Moscow,

pm to 9 am curfew, claiming

that the measure was in

conspiracies that emerged in the wake of the huge demonstrations,

imposed an

Perhaps most widespread was an imagined web linking Politburo conservative Yegor Ligachev, KGB (Committee for State Security)

response to citizen complaints. Enforcement of the curfew, however,

chief Viktor Chebrikov, and other hard-liners in a plot to discredit Gorbachev's reforms by instigating nationalist unrest. There was also a local Armenian angle pointing to beleaguered First Secretary Demirchyan. Demirchyan had been publicly chastised by Gorbachev in 1987 for lagging behind in implementing perestroika. According to rumors circulating in early 1988, Demirchyan was hoping to save his

was largely overlooked. Theater Square had by now become a world unto itself. Nearly half a million people ringed the opera house and spilled over behind the artificial pond called Swan Lake. Dazzling sunshine punctuated by snow flurries heightened the drama of the day. Those close enough to the speaker's platform cheered as veterans of the Afghanistan war renounced their medals and declared their readiness to fight in Mountainous Karabagh in "the spirlt of internationalism," The l23rd February1998

Alm

This was almost a daily scene in opera square in February, 1988.

anniversary of the birth of General Andranik was marked by appeals

for construction of a memorial statue. A Russian journalist condemned distortions in the Soviet media and pledged solidarity. The demonstrations, in effect, had taken the form of a general

the future of Mountainous Karabagh. At 2:30 pm, First Secretary Demirchyan made his first appearance before the demonstrators to take credit for the Armenian Central Committee's decision and pronounce an end to the rallies. Demirchyan's only other public com-

strike. Even the most apathetic Armenians found themselves drawn

ment on the Karabagh movement had come during a brief statement

into the square. Some were driven by a sense o{ curiosity, others by

on local television February 22,when he endorsed Moscow's decision

a desire to stake their claim in history. ln and around Theater Square,

who were

against the unification of Mountainous Karabagh. This time he sought to cast himself as a national leader. The crowd, though, saw him differently. Demirchyan appealed in a paternalistic tone for an end to strikes and trust in the govern-

and covering much of the city's center, while the day's events befit-

first

ted the national forum that had assembled in the Armenian capital.

voice shot back:

however, individual motives counted

for little. The crowd did what

crowds do everywhere, forming a new entity that in turn shaped those

a part of it. February 26 was remembered in those terms. Numerically, the turnout was at its peak, totaling nearly one million

Gorbachev was the

first to address the crowd. At noon, his fif-

ment.

He was

answered by piercing whistles. Flustered, the Armenian

secretary turned threatening: no work, no pay. An anonym0us

"lt's all the

same. We

can't buy anything anyway."

Demirchyan retreated from the encounter without accomplishing his

teen-minute statement was read over television and radio by Dolgikh

mission. Whatever fence he had imagined himself to be straddling

in Armenia and Georgi Razumovsky in Azerbaijan. ln Yerevan, loud-

between the interests of the Kremlin and Armenia had obviously

speakers broadcast it live to the crowd in Theater Square. Gorbachev

given way.

warned against "the power of spontaneity and emotion," and called on listeners

to "return to normal life and work, and observe social

With Demirchyan deflated, the news that Zori Balayan and poetess Silva Kaputikyan had flown

order." At the same time, though, he conceded "not a few shortcom-

to Moscow for a meeting with Gorbachev was greeted with open enthusiasm. Balayan and

ings and difficulties have accumulated in the Nagorno Karabakh

Kaputikyan were both well-connected members of Armenia's intelli-

Autonomous 0blast," and committed the Central Committee to close-

gentsia. The afternoon of February 26 represented a high-water mark

ly monitoring the fulfillment of its recommendations to improve con-

in the optimism of the Karabagh movement. No one actually came

ditions there.

forth to say it, but underlying the popular m00d was a conviction that

The reaction of the crowd was far from unanimous. ln fact, with

Armenia had achieved something. The euphoria that settled over

people spread out otter half a dozen blocks between Lenin Prospekt

Theater Square that Friday also said much about the difference

and Abovyan Street, the crowd was more a quilt of discussion groups

between Mountainous Karabagh and Armenia. The movement in

than a single audience. The microphone set up at the rear of the opera house reached only those within the cement boundaries of the

Stepanakert was clearly defined from the start, with an objective, a battle plan, and a population ready for its marching orders. ln con-

square. Beyond the range of the amplifiers, hundreds of smaller

trast, most of the demonstrators in Yerevan came to Theater Square

debates offered various interpretations of Gorbachev's address as

looking for a purpose.

information based from ear to ear.

Early in the afternoon, another piece of news grabbed the crowd's attention. Unexpectedly, the Armenian Central Committee had recommended that Moscow establish a commission to examine

38 AIi

Febtuaty1998

Hambartsum Galstyan, a young ethnographer and member of

the Karabagh Committee, recognized that for most in Armenia the issue of Mountainous Karabagh's unification was "a pretext for expressing the discontent which has been accumulating over

of bottles of Pepsi, passed hand-

decades in the face of social injustice, corrupt leaders, the degrada-

sudden appearance of thousands

tion of the environment, [and] the decline of cultural and moral val-

to-hand in an orderly fashion into the center of the huge crowd; old

ues."

women

Justified or not, Soviet Armenians often characterized themselves as a nation of deep thinkers. Their ruminations focused espe-

cially on their nation's history of past glories and modern disappointments, turning downright morose as they approached the 1980s. After destalinization, life in Armenia had acquired a dull, albeit merciful, stability, with the bleak monotony of the Soviet state weighing heavily on the collective mind. Three or four generations earlier, Armenians were at least able to find inspiration in the nineteenth century utopian revolutionary philosophies that sprouted up in the final decades of the Russian and 0ttoman empires. Even the early years of communism held out promise for some. But Stalinism crushed whatever hope had survived into the 1930s. By the time life resumed a more routine pace under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, Armenia had become a dreary place for many of its inhabitants. At the most basic level, Soviet Armenians viewed themselves as

expecting more from life than their neighbors. As was frequently said, a loaf of black bread and a tin of sardines might have been sufficient for the stereotypical Russian, but not in Armenia. Not only were there more private automobiles per capita in Armenia than in any other republic of the Soviet Union, but Yerevan was also the

offering baskets of bread and cheese brought from home; dri-

vers in private cars shuttling food to the multitude.

0rder, self-discipline, and compassion in Theater Square a matter of national honor. A few words were sufficient to open pathways through the throng to accommodate first-aid workers became

to demonstrators taken ill after long hours of standing. As the crowds grew, organizers at the speaker's platform were

administering

to police the occasional scuffles that the authorities

unable

were

of instigating. lnstead, the crowd itself acted to smother the disturbances by closing in tightly around the participants. When suspected

a teenager seized the microphone and testified

that Azerbaijanis had

killed his father and burned the corpse, the crowd had already learned

its lesson.

The overwhelming response was: "Provocation!"

to have been affected by the to the crowd in Theater Square by an the city's MVD office had been contacted by

Even Yerevan's underworld seemed movement. One story, related

MVD officer, told of how the ringleader of localthieves, who promised that his men would not

practice their trade during the demonstrations. One criminal report-

edly passed

out

money

to strangers, beseeching,

hope this will

redeem me in the eyes of my people." Whatever the case, there were

in fact no crimes registered in Yerevan during the last week of

place to find Japanese electronics, fine jewelry, brand-name sneak-

Februa ry.

ers, and dozens of other consumer items in high demand. The often crass materialism, however, masked a deeper malaise. As Yerevan awoke in February 1988 and complaints about the problems of pollution, corruption, cultural stagnation, and political

Rafael Ghazaryan, an elder statesman of the Karabagh Committee, described the events in political terms. "The Karabagh

repression grew louder, Galstyan's reading of the Karabagh movement was affirmed. The February demonstrations assumed the characteristics of a national renaissance -- a metaphor quickly adopted

to believe that such a struggle is possible and is not hopeless." For the hundreds of thousands in Theater Square, the politics of the movement trickled down into their personal lives. As one average

by intellectuals of a literary bent. Kaputikyan's language, for exam-

Yerevani

ple, is that of the poet:

pens, we are standing on our

"During these demonstrations our people arose and were

movement," he explained, "has awakened the masses in the republic to the terrors of feudalism in all organizations. The nation started

said, "We are so proud of ourselves. No matter what hap-

Forthe first time in my life,

reborn; they rid themselves of the mire and mustiness of the years of

For

feet now, instead of being on our knees.

lfeel

like a human being."

all the euphoria in Armenia, however, the prickly question of

stagnation and of the temporarily acquired traits of selfishness,

Mountainous Karabagh was what the authorities saw when they

greed, and of national and social indifference. During these demonstrations our people assumed their fate and, proudly leading the way

looked

of their glorious history, stood assembled and imposing as is char-

maned the peaceful protests in Mountainous Karabagh. Armenians

acteristic of an ancient nation which has recovered the remnants of

in the oblast had been attacked as early as February 21, the day Azerbaijani First Secretary Bagirov had sternly rejected tenitorial

its lost biblical origins." Nora Dudwick, an American anthropologist conducting field research in Yerevan at the time of the demonstrations, also recorded

the shift in temperament. She was most struck by the "transcendental" quality of the week -- a sense that the laws governing human nature had been temporarily suspended. By February, Dudwick had

at the Karabagh movement. And at the practical level, the

issue was becoming pricklier with each day. Violence had already

changes in a televised address. Clashes later in the week led to the

first deaths blamed on the movement. At the same time, roads between Stepanakert and 0utlying districts of Mountainous l(arabagh remained blocked. As a general strike among Armenians in the oblast took hold, representatives from Baku and Politburo candi-

been observing Armenian society at close range for four months at a

date members Razumovsky and Demichev leaned more heavily on

grade school on the outskirts of Yerevan. The demonstrations not only

threats and intimidation to choke off the protests. Baku authorities,

redirected the focus of Dudwick's research, but also recast the per-

including Armenian party officials, were dispatched to Stepanakert to stamp out popular participation in the movement. Darkening the

sonalities of the teachers and students around her. Dudwick recalled

that many of the teachers returned to their classrooms as if they had visited another planet, while students grew overnight from protected children to political activists. Perhaps the most compelling testimony to the transformation of

consciousness was found in anecdotes and popular lore. The small

events were best remembered: hundreds of thousands of people squatting in Theater Square in deference to a legless speaker; the

atmosphere further was the broadcast of Bloody Sunday February 26. film, which pre-empted regular programming, depicted tsarist

The

police gunning down peaceful protestors in the streets of Saint Petersburg in 1905.

ln Moscow, the discussion Gorbachev held with Balayan and Kaputikyan February 26 represented another dimension of the Kremlin effort to plug the hole in the dike. Alexander Yakovlev, Februaty1998

Alm

Gorbachev's closest Politburo ally in 1988, had summoned the two reform-minded writers

Moscow

to convince them of the danger

that the Karabagh movement posed to glasnost and perestroika. Both over the telephone and in a three-hour conversation at his Kremlin office, Yakovlev emphasized the need "to put out the fire" in

the streets of Armenia. Later in the day, Gorbachev hammered away at the same point. The only glimmer of hope for the Armenian representatives came as Gorbachev worked to charm Kaputikyan by recalling how he had memorized her poems in the 1950s. Kaputikyan seized the literary allusion to note that Secret Ballot -- Gorbachev's personal favorite -- told the story of a Communist Party member facing up to a ditficult choice in a pafi election during the Khrushchev era, or, as Kaputikyan put it, "when there was a little renaissance." Gorbachev carried the theme further, promising to create the conditions lor a little renaissance in Mountainous Karabagh. According to the general secretary, the Politburo would look after the problem. Otherwise, Gorbachev rebuffed a proposal to send a commis-

sion to Mountainous Karabagh. Unification was dismissed as out of the question, Gorbachev said, lest it stir up the country's 18 other

intelligentsia. For decades they had tightroped along a fine line between Armenian nationalism and official Soviet internationalism. 0n the Karabagh question, the genocide issue, and other matters dearto the Armenian soul, they spoke with the voice of their people. At the same time, though, they kept themselves in good stead with Moscow and reached the upper crust of the Soviet intelligentsia. Kaputikyan was satisfied that she was serving the role of both loyal party member and good Armenian on February 27. During her interview with local television, broadcast that evening, Kaputikyan conveyed Gorbachev's call for Armenians to get back to work. More significantly, she termed the meeting a triumph for the Armenians. Kaputikyan had applied a generous measure of poetic license to her report, but for most Armenians and fuerbaijanis her proclamation of victory was taken quite literally. Earlier that day, Balayan had likewise raised expectations in Theater Square. With the late afternoon chill settling over a crowd of half a million, Balayan too called on Armenians to heed Gorbachev's appeal. ln fact, lgor Muradyan and a number of other speakers had already suggested that the demonstrations be suspended and that the republic work Sunday shifts to

pressing nationalities problems. Gorbachev even remarked obliquely on the vulnerability of the more than 200,000 Armenians in Baku,

make up for lost production. Balayan formalized the consensus, com-

prompting a response of "So what?" from Balayan. The Kremlin meeting was hardly the breakthrough that had been anticipated in Theater Square, but the two Armenian representatives had at least been granted a hearing bythe Soviet leader. They left the Kremlin feeling that something had been achieved and were more than willing to serve Moscow's cause in ending the demonstra-

below waited silently. Again

rejected the "V" for victory sign a few orators had flashed and gave the movement a new symbol. He held up an open hand and instructed his audience. "To demonstrate unity, we must raise our hands in a clenched fist," Balayan said as he curled his thick fingers toward the base of his

tions. The next day in Yerevan, Balayan went to Theater Square while

palm, 'because if we fight with open fingers we run the risk of break-

Kaputikyan recorded an interview for local television. Back in the small pond of Armenia, the pair revelled in the celebrity status that their Kremlin meeting had bestowed upon them. Both Balayan and Kaputikyan belonged to a nimble{ooted stratum of the Armenian

ing our bones." With night falling, Balayan ordered the crowd to disperse in an orderly fashion, the demonstrators along the rim of the

posing a letter

in his

at the microphone while the crowd with a flair for the dramatic, Balayan

own hand

huge semi-circle being the first to

turn around and head for their

homes. For many in Yerevan, the evening of Saturday, February

27,was

itself an occasion for celebration, or at least thanksgiving. Most went home sincere in their commitment to give up their Sundays in

for Gorbachev's pledge to consider their demands. More important, they left Theater Square secure in the belief that the

exchange

Armenian people had regained control over their destiny, that once again they belonged to a nation of actors rathor than passive spectators. Less than

200 miles away in Stepanakert, the mood was stark-

ly different. Protestors there had drawn inspiration from events in Moscow, but they were hardly prepared to bring their demonstrations to a halt. 0n the contrary, the Armenians of Mountainous Karabagh

were determined to set the pace of their struggle. When the appeal

of Balayan and Kaputikyan to end the protests reached Stepanakert, the reply was fittingly defiant: "We did not ask you when to begin. You cannot tell us when to stop.

will stop when our demand is met."

Mark Malkasian, a third generation Armenian-American from the San Joaquin Valley lived in Armenia in 1987-1988 and studied at Yerevan

State University. He witnessed history as the incredible emergence of a grass-roots and popular movement led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the Republic of Armenia. Malkasian,

Curriculum Developer for the Choices for the 2lst Century at Brown University in Rhode lsland is a former high school teacher, a journalist and a contributor to AlM. Education Project

Across trom 0pera Sguare, near the Conservatory, students staged candlelight

vigils.

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representatives have visited Armenia to

study investment possibilities in light industry and food production. They traveled to Gumri where the textile industry was quite substantial before the earthquake. Another area of cooperation is the chemical industry. A Chinese factory is showing an Armenian cement factory how to make ecologically safe products. We are also developing business relations in the private sector. In this respect,

our embassy provides legal advice

and

assistance. Already, several exchanges between Armenian and Chinese delegations have taken place in the private sector. There are Armenian students studying Chinese and other technical subjects in Beijing, and two Chinese students study-

At the 0ther End ol the World Martirossian,.right, with Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, center, and Hong Kong businessman and embassy supporter Jack Maxian, in Beiiing last summer, on the occasion ot the blessing bf the embassy.

Azat taillrossaaL 42, is Almenla's

fl$l

amlassador l0 Chlna and the only dlplo-

mal ln Soulheast Asla. taflltosslan sDole l0 Alt c0nlll[uto] llratch Ichlllnslrlan 0n a ranoe ol lssues lnuoluing Amenlan-Slno and Armenian-Aslan

invaded China, more Armenlans were exiled as "opponents" of Communism. The bulk of the remaining Armenian

community moved again during the Chinese Revolution. Armenians lived in Harbin until the 1950s.

When did Armenian-Chinese rela-

relatlons.

AIM: Could you give us a brief history of Armenian-Chinese relations?

Martirossian: Armenian-Chinese relations go back to Moses of Khoren, the fifth century historian. He describes the Chinese people, their industriousness and their country's beauty. And there's a theory that the famous Mamikonian clan's origins go back to China. The only concrete proof of Armenians in China, however, begins in the l2th-13th centuries. After the Mongol-Tatar invasions, a certain number of Armenian hostages were transferred to Mongolia, northern China. Thereafter, Armenians moved to various regions and, finally, established a community, mainly Canton (present Ganzhou). There was a sizable community in Canton-they even built a church.

tions start on the state level? Armenia and China signed a commu-

niqu6 on diplomatic relations in April, 1992. In fact, China was one of the first states to recognize the independence of Armenia and to open an embassy in Yerevan.

After diplomatic relations

were

established, Armenia's relationship with

China developed quickly. President [,evon Ter Petrossian's visit to China in May, 1996 was significant. The agreements signed then covered such issues as

bilateral relations. double-taxation, air traffic and cultural exchange. ln 1997, there

were Armenian cultural events in in Septemberl998, there will

China and,

be Chinese cultural events in Armenia.

To date, more than a dozen agreements have been signed between

Amenia

and China, covering cooperation

in com-

In the l3th-l4th centuries, Canton

merce, economy, science, communication,

Armenians were granted special commercial rights equal to those of the British.

sports and tourism.

The Bible was first translated into

A major turning point in ArmenianChinese relations was the August, 1996

church, schools, papers and associations.

establishment of the Armenian embassy in Beijing. Besides political and diplomatic functions, our embassy focuses on establishing economic ties between Armenia

However, when the Japanese occupied

and China, and eventually, in the region.

Manchuria, a large number of Armenians were exiled. Then, when the Soviet army

Are there concrete projects?

Chinese by Hovannes Chugassian. Another community established in

China was in Harbin.

42 Al In

It had its own

February'1998

ing Armenian in Yerevan through a fouryear, state-sponsored program. This has long-term political and economic benefits.

What are the political dimensions of Armenian-Chinese relations?

The relationship is friendly. Both countries are interested in pursuing muru-

ally beneficial interests. China is

the

world's most populous country and has

dynamic economy. It has great intemational political significance, with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. These are important factors in Armenian-Chinese relations.

China is also interested in Armenia. A unique aspect of Chinese foreign policy is its egalitarian treatment of large and small nations. We might have difficulties due to geographic distance or transportation, but in political, economic or cultural terms, our relationship is very good. Of course, economic development depends on transportation, which is a problem. Armenia's railroads are still under blockade. Today, goods are transferred between Armenia and China only through Iran, or by air.

What goods have gone from Armenia to China? In 1992,China allocated five million dollars for raw materials for light industry, which were transported by land through Iran. We have been talking about

setting regular flights between Yerevan and Beijing. This would enhance regular contact between us. What is Armenia's policy toward Southeast Asia? Armenia's foreign policy toward Southeast Asia focuses on economic ties. The same is true for China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The potential is great, but it has not been

fully developed. The region is becoming

global

economic center, alongside the 'traditional' European and North American eco-

nomic regions. Armenia could build a symbiotic economic relationship with Southeast Asia. For example. Armenia could receive raw materials from here, which it lacks, and the region in turn could benefit from Armenia's scientific and technological capabilities, especially in the area of production. It's also important to note that, diplomatically, there are

no obstacles between Armenia and these countries. Armenia has never had difficulties within the region, historically or at present. We should also remember that, other than Japan, these countries all boomed economically in the last 10 to 15 years.

Their pre-boom conditions were fairly similar to Armenia's situation now. In fact, some of these countries wete worse off than Armenia is today. So, Armenia can leam from these experiments in economic development. In South Korea. we

can see how they used their internal resources to move from economic stagnation to prosperitY.

How is your relationshiP with Armenians living in the region? Other than Australia, there are no organized Armenian communities in this region. There are individual Armenians who live in Hong Kong, Bangkok and so on. but we don't have a community' In Bangkok. we do have an honorary consul, Bob Kevorkian. Our embassy is the contact point between Armenians here and Armenia.

And there are Armenians involved in major economic projects here.

They have already helped our embassy. I must say that the visit of His Holiness Karekin I to Bangkok last year and his meeting

with Armenians living in this region has contributed to strengthening ties between

Armenia and Armenians

Southeast

Asia.

Businessmen from Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and JaPan are interested in exploring investment possi-

I believe this renewed relationship with Armenia will also help the Armenians living here build sffonger internal bonds together and per-

bilities in Armenia. And

haps, eventually, become an organized community in Southeast Asia.

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Alrl^

the buildings to generate income. There are 1400 schools throughout Armenia, not counting pre-schools and kindergartens and the specialized art, music and sports schools. Those special-

ized schools, too, require attention.

Traditionally, they have accepted and trained students who demonstrate spe-

cific

talents. But, perhaps,

we open

them up to those who are willing to pay for such specialized education, we would broaden our audience, and at the same time generate revenue. I wouldn't be surprised, for example, if students from the Diaspora were interested in attending those specialized schools for one or two years.

I =

Back to School Reuampin0 Armenia's Educational System tinistt, of EduGaffon ls rcsponslllo ht eus]y-

Arnonla's and SGIEIGG

tilU

ltom Dre-scho0ls l0 sclGnilllc acailemlGs. 64,000 chlldrcn attond []e-

sch00! and klndGlgailm ilcatly 280,000 allond elGmentary and hlgh sclrool.Ihen

therc alG ilts Golle0Gs and unlm$tilss. Ihe new uluale unlustsilles haue ouer 20,000 studGnt$. Ihere ar8 04,000 slu.

dGnls

in ruDllc

unluersiliss. And 0l

Goulse, lhote ats lhG tfousands 0l sclen-

llsb who, as lhG ffinl$tGl says, ,,hauo []ought glory and mdG h ou Gountl.,, IhoI aru also pan d mG mhlsU,s mandato.

futashcs PGlnsslan, 40, has Deen tlnlslor 0l Edrcaflon slnco 1906. lte ts

an asuoiltyslclsl and a []olGss0] ol

p[Islcs and matlGmaflcs. He ailt0nd

ouGl a hmdtGd sclsnffilc

Glcs and u0drGd

ha$

aili-

al intcmationally rcc-

0gnlzed asfion0mlcal ce[tGls In trance,

lle

U$, ltaly and Grcat Bfitaln. Stnce

1994, he has

[een llltect0l0l

Byurafian 0Isenatory

flters

[mc[la,s trc wo]ficd

lor yearc wlilr Ullrlor llamDalbumyan. llls rloctoral dtsseilaffon dGa[ wflh lhe ilailarian galaxles. Petrsslan GamG lnlo a tro[UGd mhlstl wt0ught wllh Gonuouctsr. y0! nh larsismcdno$s has made [0sstile an oDfimlsm fiat lnsDl]ss GotilldencG. 44 Al In

February 1998

As a scientist, how do you categorize the problems facing you?

You're right.

minister, I approach these problems as a scientist. I don't have to be a specialist in early childhood education to be able to analyze the problems and consider alternative solutions. That is how I work with my colleagues. And of course, there are many problems not specific to education-for example, the problem of inadequate salaries for our teachers. staff and

scientists.

Your ministry is

completely

In making any of these decisions, there is clearly a need to take the time to conceptualize and plan. ye[, at the same time, each year that you spend thinking and planning about overhauling an integrated, complex system that includes curriculum, books,

teaching methodolory, purpose, staff training, etc. means one year taken

away from a child's education. How do you approach this tangled web? We have no choice but to do the

whole process simultaneously. That is, decisions about closing schools are inextricably tied to teaching methodolo-

gies, purposes, textbook availability.

Not only must we move fast, with minimal errors, but in some cases, we must

move right away. The matier of text-

books is critical, since the old ones were destroyed before the new ones could be created. During this past year, we

received funds from the UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, Cathotic Refugee Services, and the Norwegian govern-

dependent on the state budget. you do not have income options. Except for a small percentage of students who actually pay to attend the state university or some of the institutes, that is correct, we have no sources of outside income.

($51,000), the Fund forArmenian Relief (approximately $30,000) and Aznavour

Yet, your expenses are high-from staff to buitdings to books. Yes. We are studying the existing

pour L Armenie ($10,000) have provided funds for the reprinting of basic Armenian language texts for those grades. Not only has the printing of the

institutions and the budget requirements to see what changes can be made. For example, in some areas of Yerevan there are five schools within a seven square kilometer area. Some of those schools have 1500 students, others have 200. We

need

to study the conditions within If one with a small stu-

those schools.

ment to print all the necessary textbooks

for the first through third grades. In addition, the Armenian Relief Society

books been guaranteed, but we have also

instituted a system that will serve as an international experiment. Books will be rented to each child, at a yery affordable

fee-approximatety 150 Dram, or the

price of a loaf of bread. At the end of the year, the book is returned to the school for use again the following year. The "rental fee" is deposited into an account

dent population really isn't worth keeping open, we can redistribute the students among the other, more popular,

will

perhaps bettermanaged schools, and use

Armenia Bank and the funds will accrue

which remains untappable for four

years. Each of Armenia's 1400 schools

open an account

Midland

until the next cycle of

textbooks

becomes necessary. By then, there will be the necessary funds for the schools to "purchase" the books from the publisher.

How about the higher grades? There, the situation is a little more encouraging. About half the necessary textbooks exist. At the same time, there is a World Bank Program in effect, which should solve our textbook problems for those grades in 1998. In addition, the curriculum per subject, per grade, has been determined bY the

involved in the process of change, they will find ways to adapt their methods.

But this cannot be done forcefullY.

Do you have the same kinds of problems in the institutions of higher learning? No, there the Problem is different.

We have a problem with the Private

Education Ministry. Based on the educational objectives identified, we have

institutes and colleges which received licenses to operate four, five years ago. The diplomas or certificates of the graduates of these schools still go largely unrecognized. Those students cannot be accepted for work here or at any other ministry, nor can they apply to graduate programs. No criteria has been set for

The best ones will be Published.

tutes, paying an average

started an open bidding process for authors to present textbook proposals. Where is the Public debate that

should be going on about what we want to teach and how? Do we keep the didactic, often successful Soviet apprnach? Do we adoPt the critical thinking-based Western aPProach? Should the two be combined?

That debate must take place. We must find a way to adapt the best of the

Westem system, not just its superficial attributes, while maintaining that which worked quite well in the old Soviet system.

Yet, you are dealing with individ' uals who have years, decades invested in one or another method. Who are your soldiers? The teachers are my soldiers. I have great confidence that if teachers are

them to be evaluated and certified. Yet, some 20,000 students attend those insti-

of $250

Per

year, and some 3,000 have already graduated. We must resolve this dilemma.

Why do so many attend

their

future is uncertain? It is easier to get accepted bY the

American system is being introduced: bachelor s, master's, Ph.D' The problems there have to do with the student body and with tuition. For example, some will be paying tuition, while others in the same class will be attending on scholarship.

How is it decided who PaYs and who doesn't? Let's say thejournalism school can accept altogether 60 students, and five of those can attend on scholarshiP, because the school can only afford five scholarships. If 500 people apply' the best sixty are accepted, and ofthose, the top five, attend free. Then, sometimes, during the second or third or fourth year of study, a paying student can no longer afford tuition, and even though his grades have been excellent, he may be forced to drop out. In some departments' annual tuition is as high as $1500' What are we to do in such a situation, where

bright students face tough choices? We

the smaller, newer institutions. And, there is a desire to learnn to attain a

have instituted a system whereby those who receive govemment scholarships will be reevaluated each year, and they will only be able to renew their scholarships if they maintain academic excel-

degree. That is still a national attribute of ours, one we should be Proud of.

positions to others.

private colleges than by the state university. There are no space restrictions at

And obviouslY there is a market Yes. We must find waYs to establish the necessary criteria for initial certification and for evaluation. Look at the US' where the best universities and colleges are often private.

Here, the state institutions are also

undergoing changes' The three-tier

lence. Otherwise, they

Are there

will

lessons

cede their

that can be

learned from the new, Private col' leges? What subjects have a readY market,

for

examPle?

I imagine

that

the state schools excel in the hard sci' ences, but not in the social sciences. I don't know of a Private college that even offers physics or math. Yet, they offer lots of courses in psychology,

law, management, foreign languagesthe social sciences and humanities courses that are a new necessity. So yes'

the market

is dictating what is

being

offered, especiallY when the schools have limited sPace in

state each

department.

With such limited space, it's no wonder that corruption in acceptance procedures is quite a Problem.

Yes,

1996, the Problem was

immense. But we do have clear tactics and strategies to overcome such comlption. One is to try to increase the number of spaces available, so that the competition is not so tough as to lead to cheat-

the combined olfices ol what used to be Far left: Minister of Education Artashes Petrossian. The building above.houses oiii ior rrtgiiii;d-riliid;nd th;;cid;mies, the otherfor prâ&#x201A;Ź-schoolthroush hish school.

ffi;ii6ilffiiri$iriii:

ing. The other is to find new and innovative testing methods, so that there is no time to develop underhanded ways of beating the system. Finally, we must insist on consistency and objectivity in the selection of students, so that there is February

1998 A I ii

no room to cheat out of desperation.

Is one way also to define new areas of specialization that didn't exist before? Yes, and that will take time. Our problem is great and there is so much at stake.

Is there also a

problem with

teachers? Yes. The problem is that teachers' pay, which comes from the state budget,

is still quite low Their pay is augmented by income from tuition and yet they still face income tax. Fortunately, the govemment has just agreed to exempt educational institutions from income tax. Thus, the additional funds will stay in

each school's budget and may help make a salary raise possible. Of course, individual teachers are still taxed. We have to find a way to ask the government to offer special solutions to these professionals. Perhaps, they can be left tax-free for say, two years, until the system stabilizes. That will help the entire

field of education, as well

as the teach-

ers.

Does the brain drain in the scien-

tific world affect the colleges?

I think it can be safely said that the brain drain has ceased. There was a time when it was very bad, and it affected us in the theoretical sciences as well as in the universities. Today, we don't have that problem any more. Scientists have already begun to return. They have managed to work three or four months outside the country, saved some $3000$4000, and come back to live on that money. So, they are coming back, although they maintain those connections. We have to develop those international links and connections, advertise, develop projects, do whatever we can so that scientists are integrated into the world of intemational science, so that a majority of them can benefit from that world. In the beginning, it wasn't just the bright scientists who worked outside, but also those who were clever and able to promote themselves. As a result, many of the exceptional ones remained behind. I've been to the US frequently, and I know that how you present your-

self is an important factor

there.

Knowing that, one of my objectives is to find ways to present the work of these scientists to the outside world, so they can receive outside contracts and still

work here. The US does not have a Ministry

A I lrl

February 1998

of Science. Armenia does. What probIems do you have here that make such

a ministry necessary? For example, would the need for this promotion of scientists be a reason? That's part of it. But we are also proposing the creation of a scientifictechnical council whose job it would be to study issues associated with the scientific world and make recommendations. In short, to "develop state policy on matters of science, technology and new technologies."

Make recommendations to whom? To the government, to other scientists, to the president, even. "To develop proposals on the international scientific agreements and contracts." For example,

the government wants to enter into a scientific agreement with, say, Germany,

then this council

specialists who

know Armenian science and know German science can make selections and organize the proposals. Today, the government has huge ecological, health and other issues to resolve. This council can work to study the issues and develop proposals for their solution, and ways of funding those solutions. So, the council works as a consulting group for the president. Yes, the ministry is after all an arrn

of the government, which has

taken upon itself the organization of the country's scientific community and the devel-

opment of a national techno-scientific policy. When things are sufficiently well organized, as they are in the US, then perhaps there will no longer be a need for such a ministry. In the US, even though there is no ministry of science,

there are institutions such as NASA which present projects and proposals and fund them through various universi-

ties, there

is the science

foundation

which also determines areas of research and oversees them. Today, in Armenia, our ministry is the sole unit involved in this kind of work, and especially, in the work of planning and organizing. As an outsider, just looking at the physical condition of buildings, their Iocation, the existence of computers and furniture, and staffing, it's possible to say which have been the impor-

tant ministries, and which the

the various offices, and notice that there

really is an absence of computer equipment, for example. And yet, it's called the ministry of science. I can show you letters which have been typed---on a typewriter. No one uses typewriters in other countries any more, and even here typewriters left. So, I agree, the situation has been rather sad and neglected. But that too

in Armenia, there are few

will

change. It's a matter of strategy, If we are to enter the international arena, then we need computers and specialists. We also need the Diaspora's help to develop these internal resources. again.

\[hat, specificallp do you

want

atrd expect from the Diaspora?

Honestly,

haven't formulated a I simply want to

specific answer to that

repeat what has already been said. that if to the

every Armenian contributes

Armenia Fund, then when we present projects to the Fund, we will be able to receive funding. We, of course, need the input of the many wonderful specialists of the Diaspora. From such matters as developing objective tests about which we spoke earlier, to more specialized areas, we need experts. They don,t need to live here. They can come for limited periods of time and participate with us in this process, as brothers or sisters, and as specialists.

Is there a structure in place that someone coming in and working with you either as an intern

will facilitate

or as a consultant-specialist? Thus far, it has appeared to be a hopeless one-

way street. Educators from Armenia come to the US, visit schools, ask for books, and that's the end of the learning-sharing process. There are plenty of Armenian educators in the Diaspora who say, please no more

Armenian experts. No, such a system doesn't exist, but we must create it, and we ask your help to do so. I know from my experience at

the Byurakan Observatory, that you don't just invite someone in and say, "look this is what we do." You bring them in and give them the opportunity to work with you and share the pleasure, and make their own time investment

effective. We must attract efficient, working specialists and provide

them

the space and the opportunity to be productive.

less

important. Clearly, education was not among the important ones. I agree. For me, it was quite a surprise to walk in for the first time, visit

by Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian

TEIT FOR THE TOP While two skiers and four figure

Australia and earning a special place in

skaters from Armenia are competing in

Armenian sporting history. "I intend to keep my title in 1998," he says, "but my dream is to win in Sydney in the Olympic Games, and

the

Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan,

this month, another group of Armenia's athletes remain focused on winning the gold in Australia in the year 2000. The athletes are a varied group ofconfident young stars ready to take on the world. Some of them were recently named the country's top 10 athletes by Armenia's sports journalists.

Ara Gevorgian (above left) is a 24year-old freestyle wrestling champion from the village of Kaghtsrashen. He has every reason to be calmly self-confident about his Olympic prospects. Gevorgian won the European title in the 69 kg category, then added a world crown in the championships last fall under the careful preparation oftrainer Razmig Gyoletsian. Now he has his eye on making it a hat-trick of titles in

become the fust Armenian freestYle wrestler to win Olympic Gold". Karen Mnatsakanian, 20, from

to come in first," he said later. "After I'm through with this sport, I want to become a coach, and at the same time enter a sports-related business. I can't imagine my future without sports," says Vahan Juharian, 19, from Gumri, who found that his elders were

not necessarily his betters in

the

Yerevan, also knows that winning feel-

Graeco-Roman wrestling chamPi-

ing after becoming

onships.

EuroPean Youth Graeco-Roman wrestling. But it was the location of his win that added something extra. In the final in Istanbul, TurkeY, the

champion for

58kg fighter, described as having a stubborn streak, beat out the local favorite to claim his title. As he stood on the dais savoring his triumph, the Armenian National Anthem played in the stadium. "I will do everything I can to maintain our country's honor in all international competitions by striving

Trained by Aram Sargsian and Vachik Vardanian, Juharian made his debut in international competition at the world youth finals last year, finishing a creditable fifth. Then he decided to enter the adult competition and finished up with a silver medal' "I want to follow in the steps of those other olympic champions from GumriLevon Julfalakian and Mnatsakan

Iskandarian," he said. Juharian, who relaxes bY listening February

1998 Al Nt 47

From left to right: Tennis plaver Sargis Sargsian is now ranked 57th in the world among tennis players, and first in Armenia. lnternational Grandmaster Vladimir Hakobian won his lirst world title at age 16, l0 yearsigo.

to folk music, already

has

a future

career mapped out for himself when he eventually quits the sporting arena.

is a Russian version ofjudo, the 52kg competitor has his eye on equalling the achievements of his sporting hero. "My

earthquake destroyed. "

sports idol is my compatriot, five times world champion Gurgen Tutkhalian. I have a dream -to repeat his achievement," said Grigorian.

"It is construction that interests me. And eventually, I want to work in that area, rebuilding my city which the Michael Jackson's fancy moves

may well inspire Aram Ramazian to

Although kick-boxing is a relatively new sport to Armenia, the republic has already produced a world cham-

ing ring. A fan of the

dance around his opponents in the boxsinger, the 19-

pion. Super heavyweight

year-old from Yerevan won a bronze medal in the world finals in Budapest

had already raised interest

last year. Weighing in at 54 kg, he aims to win a medal at the European meets

in Armenia with respectable performances in intemational meetings. But

this year as well.

Trainers Walter

Atanesian and Harutiun Nazarian will be making sure he's fighting fit for the occasion.

Ervand Grigorian, 24, from Gumri, became world Sambo champi-

on in Tbilisi, Georgia, in

November.

Trained by Robert Aghababian in what

A I lU February 1998

Ghalajian, 25,

Suren another Gumri athlete,

in the

sport

he really caught the public's attention when he took the world title in Gdansk, Poland, in December last year. The

9lkg fighter, trained by

Hrair

Garabedian, knows that there will be no such thing as an easy opponent from

now

on.

champion.

Everyone wants

beat

"It's hard to become world champion, but harder to maintain that title," he admitted. "That's what I will work to do in 1998." When he isn't knocking opponents over, Ghalajian likes watching Amold Schwarzenegger do it to the bad guys in his movies. He also enjoys Armenian folk music and historical novels.

Vladimir Hakobian is building

strong reputation in the chess arena as he pursues the ultimate goal of becoming the world's best player. Already an international grandmaster, the 26-yearold from Yerevan knows what it takes to be the best for his age group. He took

world titles first at 16, then 18, and finally as a 20-year-old. Last year, he

played with the successful

Team

Armenia, receiving bronze medals first at the European and then the world championships in Yerevan. In individual competitions which

MEL K BACHDA5ARIAN/ARMENPRISS

.1 i

""l1:''1

Fromrightl0 left: PrimelvlinisterKocharianc0ngratulatedtheaward-winningsportsmenatareceptionattheArmeniaHotel;

andawardedAraGevorgian,chosennumber

one sportsman, with the keys t0 a new car.

f'eatured the world's strongest players, Hakobian has so far taken respectable

placing of between ninth and l6th. Nun.rber eight among the top l0 is Sargus Sargsian, who made a little bit of

enjoy photography." So sure is he of where he's going, that he's inspired several Armenians in

Southern California

to set up an

Armenian Tennis Association, to help

like him train

other martial arts," she said. Then, with only a hint of menace, she added: "I enjoy winning by using tricks that hurt."

Yeprem Avagian, 11, from is earning an international

history he met Andre Agassi on the courts

Sargis and others

last fall-the first time two Armenian tennis players had faced each other.

excel.

reputation as a sharp shooter in air pis-

Sport is a family affair for Zoya Khachatrian. Her father Edward is her

tol and small caliber pistol competitions. Trained by his father Armen,

Sambo trainer and her [hree-year-old

Avagian finished third at the European Youth championships in Guyvola,

Agassi may have triumphed that day but 25-year-old Sargsian is definitely charn-

pionship rnaterial. Born in Yerevan, he has lived and trained in the US, under coach Harutiun Khachatrian. also from Armenia, for the past four years in his quest to join the world tennis elite. Now ranked -57th in the world, he has set a goal this year of breaking into the top 25. "Then I'll be uble to receive prrrses which will help Armenian tennis," he said . "Living away from my country, I console myself by listening to

Armenian music. In my spare time, I

and

daughter Roza is her biggest fan.

But don't let the matemal

image

fool you. The 22-year-old fiom Yerevan

is a determined exponent of

the martial art and a successful interna-

tional competitor. Last October, in Novi Sayk, Yugoslavia, she won a silver medal in the international women's championship. She has already

promised Roza that it will be gold next time. "l'm sorry that Sambo is not considered an Olympic sport, but it is in no way a lesser tbrrn of combat than the

Yerevan,

Finland last year. His total of 549 points from 60 shots was just two points shorl of first place. Now he has his sights set on Olympic glory. "ln 1998, I want to place first in the adult competitions and collect enough points to allow me to participate in Sydney in 2000." try Tony Halpin and Araik Galstian

February1998

AIM

Peeling Back the Layers ol History Uisiting a Wofiing Excauation Sifting their hands through mounds of dirt, excavators uncover thousands of pottery fragments. Small intact perfume flasks find their way to light under the careful guidance an archeologist guide. A glint in the brown earth catches the guide's eye, and he carefully blows

Emma Khanzatian, director of

the granules of dirt away from a bead pure gold. The bead turns out to be part

hands."

a funerary necklace wom by a

of of

Metsamor excavation. "And

the

as an assis-

tant to the professional

excavators, participants receive an in-depth introduction to the world of the ancient Armenians and their culture by actually uncovering

the layers of history with their own

gists.

"The expedition package price is actively funding the excavation," says

below Mt. Ararat. As the Mesopotamian

fantasy? Finds like these occur repeatedly at working excavations in Armenia. The richest finds are centered in the working excavation at Metsamor, located in the heart of Armenia's "Cradle of Civilization". Until recently the excavation sites have been off limits

to visitors, ogists, but

students and amateur archeolthe need for funding

and the

desire to share Armenia's extraordinarily rich history has spuned Metsamor to permit a limited number of "excavation tourists" to participate in the archeological digs. The Metsamor Excavation Expeditions are pattemed on working excavations in Egypt and Greece. They place participants on active digs as working assistants to professional archeolo-

50 AIi

February1998

and Tigris Rivers have their

to a rival

Experts say, this too. is Armenia. Beginning 9000 years ago, a series of cities appeared at evenly placed spots

in the Ararat Valley. All of them

Participants are carefully guided through the excavation process, and they receive hands-on lectures and also visit other archeology sites in Armenia. "Metsamor was the richest city in the area," Khanzatian adds, "It held the source and process for refining rich ores of copper and tin into bronze. It charted the stars and was the center for religion in the area. Wejust uncovered a layer that shows inhabitation in the 6th millennium BC. And there are more layers to go". Metsamor is older than the pyramids at Giza and a key to understanding the beginning of Civilization. Armenia's emergence into world history begins with the earliest known story, the Sumerian epic poem Gilgamesh (5th-4th millennium BC). In the poem there is mention of a land called "Arata", where visitors had to "go by mountain, return by river". This perfectly describes the Armenian Plateau, where the Euphrates

royal

princess more than 6000 years ago.

empires rose, they referred

power in the "Land where the Mountains of the gods live," a land rich in bronze, gold and precious jewels.

source

were

built around the metal and trade industries. Their inhabitants were among the first to forge copper and bronze, and they the first recorded people to have discovered the properties of iron and successfully smelt it. The metal ore mined in this area was among the purest in the world, and the natives shaped their culture around it. They believed the technique for forging metal was given to are

them from the heavens. "Metal processing at Metsamor

was among the most sophisticated of its kind at that time," Khanzatian says. "The foundry extracted and high-grade

processed

gold, copper, several types of

bronze, manganese, zinc, strychnine, mercury and iron. Metsamor's processed metal was coveted by nearby cultures and found its way to Egypt, Central Asia and China." Metsamor was also home to the first astronomers. The earliest records of history show Metsamor was the first city to have sophisticated observatories.

to focus recent excavations on the outer walls and burial chambers nearby because of financial constraints, but the intrepid director believes she has found the location ofthe archives and says they are under the temple mound. "They are there, and if we can receive the help of visitors, we can at last uncover them." Many tourists are thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of archeology's major finds. The excavation tours put participants right at the center of the digs,

where they can help unearth untapped treasures.

by Rick L. NeY

Far left: Museum Director Khanzatian, standing, lourth lrom left, talking to a group ol tourists. Above, part ol the dig.

Metsamor astronomers were the first to create a calendar that divided the

time. They were also among the hrst to devise the compass and to envision the shape of the world as round. They also used trigonometry as early as the 3rd millennium BC to chart the rising of the star Sirius. Located just outside the village of year into 12 segments

the fortified citadel of Metsamor, which means "central swamp", is about 10.5 hectares in size. The entire city is believed to have covered 200 hectares at its greatest extent,

Taronik,

inhabited by as many as 75,000 people,

it a large metropolis in those days. Nearby spring-fed marshes and lakes suggest the extent to which wildlife making

covered the area up to the bases of the Aragats and Ararat mountains.. First excavated in 1965, annual digs Metsamor continue between December under September

and

Khanzatian's supervision. Adig in 1996 revealed a mass

skeletons piled under

the 5000-year-old cyclopic walls. The discovery indicates a siege of the city by a rival kingdom, and the excavations con-

tinue

to pose more questions

than

answers.

Thirty-two years

of excavations

haveuncovered extraordinary examples of pottery (in a geometric style predating that of the Minoan cultures in Asia Minor), exquisitely designed gold, lapis

lazuli

and quartz jewelry, and an

advanced understanding of the cosmos and medicine; but there has been no discovery of a written language. How could a culture that was so sophisticated, that had developed one of the first calendars and actively traded with Asia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and the

early Mycanaeans vanish without

of their language? Khanzatian is because the believes it record

Metsamorians carefully guarded the

wrir

ten word and kept all examPles in archives which have yet to be uncovered.

Khanzatian and her team have had February

1998

A I ni

Beirut.born Mosik Guloian, left, in his studio in Venice, ltaly, below, has ,,particularly c0ncentrated moments of creative energy where experience, experimentation and ambF

tion come logether to lor0e a pinnacle ol expression."

The FaGe Malrer Mosilr Guloian Bronzes Histoly Mushegh Ishkhan is in Lebanon, Kristapor Mikayelian is in Bulgaria, Fritjof Nansen is in Norway, and Vahakn Dadrian is on his way to the US. But at one time they were all in Sculptor Mosig Guloian's studio. The 27-year-old has been commissioned to create the busts of these and other famous people.

Guloian's clients are varied; the Catholicossate of Antilias had asked for the famous Norwegian humanitarian's bust on the occasion of Nansen's 100th birthday last year. It is now in Oslo's Norskfolke Museum. Guloian was born in Beirut. After graduation from the Khanamirian High School, he was trained at Hamazkayin's Toros Roslin's Academy. He has lived in Italy since l994.He came to study at Venice's Accademia delle Belle Arti. There, he was provided lodging by the Mekhitarian Fathers of San

Lazzaro whose Armenian Cultural Center in Beirut had attracted Guloian and others like him. The Mekhitarians wanted to encourage talented artists. Guloian's abilities were evident.

Guloian's work is a peculiar fusion of intense visual observation and abstract fantasy. His fuekagn Artar [The Just 52

/ti

February 1998

Sunl, which represented Dante's Purgatory was shown in the 1996 international Dante exhibition, held in Ravenna, Italy, every two years. Among more than 300 artists from 37 countries, Guloian received the bronze metal for his three-foot tall bronze statue depicting hordes of men on a search. In this piece, just as in his renditions of the famous and powerful, physical and internal strength are visible on the facial contours. When he began sculpting ar age eight and writing poetry

soon after, his father Hagop Guloian couldn't object. The elder Guloian is famous among generations of Armenians in Syria, Lebanon and the West, as a particularly effective performer of that great Armenian art-recitation of poetry. The younger Guloian has found a happy medium between decorative and fine arts by designing gold jewelry and at the same time experimenting with the vast possibilities of his medium. This year the Ravenna Biennale will focus on Dante's Paradise. Guloian has been invited to participate again. Text and photos by Dania Ohanian

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THESE ARE REAL LETTERS TO REAL PEOPLE. SEND US YOURS. smooth transition

underway, some

might even be disappointed at how lan-

guid things are, knock wood. Robert

Dear Mr. F:

looks good, acts efficient and fast, had one meeting with all the bankers today, another with the media, one more with the corps diplomatique, and yet another

Thank you for sending me the article

Armenian International Magazite

regarding Peace Corps volunteers sent to Armenia On April 24,lhad the opportunity to cormemorate Armenia's tragedy on the Senate floor. The following is an excerpt from that statement: "The extraordinary resiliency of the Armenian people can be seen bY what they have accomplished in their new lands. Nations around the world have benefited from the spirit and perserver-

with the government. Levon gave

ance of the Armenians. No nation has benefited more from the contributions of the Armenian Diaspora than the United States.

farewell party (food and drinks served) to associates, looked really happy, no plans so far, has to rest. Khosrov Harutunian (one of former PMs) is the Parliament Speaker. Elections scheduled for March 16. Why don't you come? Very decent media coverage here and in Moscow' Boris (idiot!) publicly regretted losing a compliant partner. Hairikian is comme

My own state of Massachusetts is

blessed with a large and vigorous community of Armenians who have played an important role in all aspects of public and private life in our state. "I commend the tireless efforts of the Armenian Assembly of America and

toujours. Manukian so far silent. Serje and Vazgen behaving decently. Vano et al

extremely low profile. HHSh lost majority in the parliament, the rats went to 'Yerkrapah' faction nowin the majority. Incidentally, local TVs do nice public

opinion surveys

in the

streets, fun to

watch.

Fraternal kisses, A

the Armenian National Committee for their outstanding work in informing Americans about the history and culture of Armenia and its people. In honoring Armenians throughout the world today, we also pledge to do all we can to banish genocide against any peoples anywhere

from the face of the earth." I also want to take this opportunity

to congratulate you on your service in the Peace

Corps. I am pleased to see that the

legacy

peace and understanding

President Kennedy implemented with the Peace Corps is still practiced today.

Sincerely'

Edward M. KennedY

Dear S,

Everything's quiet down here,

"don't you feel less Armenian here?'because Zina Ku)ryig, the cook, told us a few stories about her life in Armenia. I'm not sure. I feel more Armenian here, actually. Rags, I honestly and sincerely think that

will have the time of your life if you meet me in Beirut. The crty is amazing, you will not find people wittr so much character in the you

States. The driving is the best part, you can do

AI{YTHING you want in the car and you won't get stopped. I haven't had to look in the rearview mirror once.

But that's Beirut. Sitting here in I wait for the surrise, I sit and

Yerevan, as

starc at the old buildings, one after another

the distance, like carbon copies, gray with dangling bricks falling all over tlre place. Gray houses against gray buildings against gray clouds. I wonder what the fuEre holds for these dark alleys and dusty comers, rusty roofs and shattered brick houses half-bui1t, yet

firlly occupied. I am guilty. I am guilty of my life, my family, and my blessings. And as I watch the slow meandering sholl of an old lady, sffiing through the steets undertlre wet clothes suspended in the damp foggy air, I think. Will tlrey ever dry? Dull brick buildings with broken wood mending their seams, and broken dreams mending ttre grief of anothermelancholy day. The daily

conflict of soul against circumsance, faith

Dear H,

a floor witlt

Right now, I'm someone from Oklahoma. His name is Dorian; it used to be Assadorian, but his sharing

mother was English so she took the "ass" out.

against fate, and datkened souls, desperately seeking light at the end ofthe nrnnel, is preva-

lent. Scaned by remorse and regret, the lamentations of a gray life; this is Yerevan. This is

city 29 years olda than Rome.

nothin'else to do. The offices closed at five and I can't say I have a friend in ttre whole

But, despite the burden of catastophic events which define our destiny, tlre tale of an historic people whose sfiuggle defines their

county, ye! so I decided to ake a nap which lasted until 9 p.m. and then it was too late to go anywhere. So, I lay here thinking, how, without a voice, without a tongue, without a noise, my homeland has the ability to speak to me and tell me that it loves me. It is now that I understand I did not choose to come here,

nature, continues. I rejoice. I rejoice in the suffering of my people, knowing that it's a powerfirl aspect of divine faith in the stuggle for survival. Our Bible says that we should rejoice, knowing that suffenng produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hoPe.

yet I was chosen. I only wish my brother and my grandparents could be with me. Vana said

Lova ya,

Yesterday I

slept 14

houn because Ihad

February 1998

The Woman in Charge The election of Annie Totah to the chairmanship of the Armenian Assembly of America's Board of Directors is a unique phenomenon in a

community whose institutions are full of glass ceilings. Annie Totah has been a Trustee and Board Member

of the Assembly since 1987. She has also served on the boards of the United

Jewish Appeal Federation and the Washington performing Arts Society, as well as chaired the Washington chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union and the Armenian Rights Council of America.

Community activisim is not new to Totah. A graduate of the Melkonian Educational Institute in Cyprus, Totah and her sisters Rita Balian and Cecile Keshishian are dedicated to causes which are often both high-profile and difficult to pull off. "I am especially thrilled to have the opportunity to lead our organization's efforts in Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh during these historic and challenging times, and at a critical milestone for the Assembly-the 25th anniversary of our founding,,' said Totah. "One of the major issues facing the Assembly today is the survival of Nagorno Karabakh, especially in view of Azerbaijan,s orchestrated propaganda campaign to impugn Armenia." Totah is active in Washington political circles, lobbying and fundraising for Armenia's friends in the Congressional Armenian Caucus such as Congressman Sander Levin of Michigan, right, and others.

passed on his appre-

ciation for Burdon's

music to his

son.

Young Eric could recite all the lyrics

of Animal songs at the ripe age of four. Flash forward two decades. Young

Eric is in

college best

and he's

friends and a professional colleague of his namesake, the aging rock star. It was a Southern Califomia appearance by Burdon two years ago which aroused young Eric's interest. He had to attend and see his idol in person. ..His songs have had a great impact on my life-from the cradle to now," says Eric. Nazarian went to the performance and convinced stagehands to introduce him to the rock star after the show. Burdon was shocked that a twenty-something knew of him and appreciated his music; but when the younger Eric told the elder Eric the story which spanned two generations and over two continents, Burdon was moved. ,,He

Eric and his Nlamesake What's in a name? A lot, if you ask Eric Nazarian. The 20-yearold was named after rock star Eric Burdon of the 60s rock group, the Animals (remember "the House of the Rising Sun?',). Eric's father, Haik, was a devout fan of the band when growing up in Iran and

56 AIi

February1998

was very fascinated by the fact some unknown man in an unknown country would name his son after him," says Nazarian. The two Erics have since become good friends. Nazarian calls the relationship "intimate and fatherly." He adds, .,now he,s a fourdimensional person: so many interests, such a wise man. Not just a pop icon." Burdon often visits the Nazarian home and engages in long discussions about music and film with Eric and his dad.

Young Eric is a film student at the University of Southern Califomia and directing Burdon for a video promoting the musician.

A Pioneer's History Edward Koenjian is considered a pioneer of microelectronics, but his most recent

in Print

book covers an even more remarkable subject - hiself.

and later helped construct the lunar landing module which carried astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon's surface. Koenjian also spent 12 years as the

begins in

Survived to Tell: An Autobiography Tiflis, Georgia and ends in America. Along the way, Koenjian recalls his experi-

(AGARD). He has published copiously in Russian and English and lectured around the

ences during the siege of Leningrad in World

world.

War

II and being accidentally buried alive

with hundreds of corpses in a mass grave. Koenjian, 88, has had an equally momentous professional career. He built the

first solar powered radio transmitter in 1954,

US member of NATO's research

arm

Recently, the Edward Koenjian Visiting

Professorship

Microelectronics

was

endowed at the University ofArizona, bringing practitioners and scholars from the field to the university.

tlr. Groong The most immediate, and these days indispensable, source of news and information about Armenia and Armenians is a mouse-

Packing Suecess Bachelors and busy moms alike are all

familiar with ready-to-eat products at the neighborhood supermarket. One of the most practical and popular items is the pre-cut and pre-washed salad. There is a large variety, each differing in content, flavor and size; and the man who has made a successful business of ready-to-eat salads is Southem California resident Dennis Gertmenian. The 5l-year-old is the founder and CEO of Ready Pac Produce, Inc., the third largest retail supplier of pre-cut produce in the US. Gertmenian first started in the pre-cut produce field back in 1968. His father owned a

The existence of Groong has bridged dis-

produce distribution company at the time and left Gertmenian in charge while on a moose hunting trip. "Our largest account, at the time, said that they wanted to buy this product cut-up," says Gertmenian. "And I didn't want my Dad to come back after two weeks of vacation and hear I'd lost his largest account,

tances and closed what might otherwise be a

so...I went to the local junk yard in Pasadena

click away, thanks to a computer program-

mer with the University

Southern

California and his use of the Intemet. Asbed Bedrossian, a graduate of USC's Film School and a prolific screenwriter, maintains the Groong and Hayastan e-mail lists.

dangerous and discouraging information void, providing untainted and unedited news and opinions. Groong is an up-to-the-minute

compilation of news reports forwarded as messages to each subscriber's e-mail address. Bedrossian's own sources, stories he asks contributors to research and write, along with material from established news organizations make up the bulk of the material. Among Groong's 2000 subscribers are a number of notable organizations including the US State Department, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Hayastan is a short list people who post messages discussing Armenian

issues-not always in amicable tones. Although running both lists requires a substantial time commitment from Bedrossian, he has never sought financial rewards for his efforts. In fact, he is adamant about having no fee associated with either list, insisting that the spread of information remain free.

and bought an old chopping block and

bathtub to wash the lettuce in, and [I] went to the local restaurant supply store and bought some French knives and some poly bags, and that's how we started." Ready Pac salad mix sales have risen from $48,000 to over $31 million in 1993 alone. The company has grown at a rate of around 20 percent annually with total sales averaging $225 million.

Gertmenian was born and raised in Pasadena, California. His father, now 86, originally immigrated to the US from Hajin, Turkey.

Februaty1998

AIM

Riding the

Iitanic Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's motion picture production company, MGM Studios, is set to release the latest film starring the top box office

draw, Titanic star

Leonardo DiCaprio. Paramount and Fox coproduced Titanic. the most expensive motion picture ever made, but they've also cashed in on what is so far the biggest box ofhce hit of all time.

Accountants and critics feared that the 200 million dollar epic love story would sink the studios, but the story of a sinking ship has not only pushed full-steam ahead to the top of

the box office charts but has also scored 14 Academy Award nominations. Kerkorian's studio is banking on DiCaprio's rising star and will soon release the actor's next featwe, The Man in the lron Masft based on the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. DiCaprio has also played the

lead

in the recent production of

modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

Atom, Meet (lscar The critics said

months in

advance; they all knew it and predicted it: Atom would get an Oscar nod, and he did-not one, but two. The news came as a surprise to Canadian-Armenian fi lmmaker Atom Egoyan. "I was stunned," he told the press. "It was completely unexpected

and beyond the realm of anything I could have imagined." Egoyan was nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best director and best adapted screenplay for the movie Tfte

Sweet Hereafter (see Arts, AIM January 1998). The film is about how a small town deals with a school bus crash which claims 14 of its children.

"I'm just says Egoyan.

absolutely thrilled,"

"I'm

so excited about

having the means to open this film wide." The Oscars will be handed out on March 23 in front of a world-wide television audience of over a billion viewers.

58 A I /tl

Februaty 1998

RECENT BOOKS AND CDS Wlnds of Passion-Patriotic /lllusic, Gami CDOO38. The duduk quintet which brought you the first Winds of Passion reprises its performance with a whole new world of music. This time, the famous patriotic songs from the turn-ofthe-century have become instrumental mood setters. Beginning with a trumpet

playing lnchou e aghmegoum keduh-

the theme song of the Karabakh Movement, to the Armenian National

Anthem, six duduks, one shevi and one

dhol render old traditional pieces into Lucirc lGsbarian, Armenia,

Dillon Press,

that has useful information

for

adults, too, Armenia

pad of Silver-Burdett's coun-

try

series. Beyond

the con-

sumer market, it is sure to find shelf-space in schools and libraries as a tare research

accessible tunes without extraneous

ll00l).

orchestration.

CD by its cover, and the cover

tool for the "mid-

dle-aged" student. Excellent photographs (including some from AlMl archives) bring Armenian history and culture alive. Kasbarian has also done a good job of incorporating the Diasporan experience.

You can't judge a

of this CD can't begin to

0-382-

39458-5. A children's book

Dicran Jamgochian (New

York, Golden Age GAR

explain the beauty you'll find

ffin**

Records

inside. Jamgochian, whose

5OO22. Eleven songs in an original and unique style is what's on the new Forsh CD. The entertainer sings his own material and also throws in a couple of old favorites. Hls style is fresh, his delivery is

deep bass renditions of classical and traditional songs from Melikian's Varte to a Verdi aria to the popular Zartir Lao, has selected pieces from his over 17 long-playing records.

Forrh,

the Night, Libra

passionate, and

the performance

accompanied by a live orchestra featuring the likes of Garo Hairabedian and Armen Husnunts and vocals from figran Hekekian's quartet.

Violon: Entre orient & occident, Editions Nech 3269C. Yerevan's accomplished and famed violinist

Armenia's )azz Orchestra, Symph-onic Orchestra, Folk lnstrumental Ensemble and Violin Ensemble enrich the content of this excellent selection of the world's (and Armenia's) most valued trea. sures.

Hratchia Haroutunian performs Armenian and non-Armenian classical pieces. The selections are moving,

captivating and

well-executed. Haroutunian is accompanied by Ada Akopian, Ziline Zakarian and Edouard Mamayev on piano as she performs pieces from Komitas, Khachaturian, Baghdasarian, Mirzoyan, Cui, Paganini, Wieniawski and Kreisler.

An Anthology of Armenian Patriotic Songs, AYF-YOARF. Perhaps it's Ohannes Salibian's arrangements, per-

haps it's the innocent and authentic sounds of the Boston Children's Choir and the Yerevan Children's Choir, but whatever it is, this per-

formance

turn-of-the-

century nationalistic songs is exquisite, moving and rele-

vant.

The selections are standard but the renditions

are exceptional. Youthful, yet trained voices combine tre right amount of art and spir-

There's nothing old about

trese songs.

Archbishop Illlesrob

Ashf -ian,

Remembrance and Hope-Essays

Faith and Life, The Armenian

Prclacy. Beyond being a religious leader, Archbishop Ashjian is a prolific writer with a keen eye. This volume, his umpteenth

book of essays, articles, memoirs and observations, is an eclectic read (see Bytes, p. 9). He recounts how the late Catholicos Vasken 15 funeral evoked memories of a comparable scene in Paradjanov's Color of Pomegranates. ln a chapter on calendars, the Archbishop explains, once and for all, the difference among the Gregorian, the Julian and the Armenian calendars, the moveable feasts, Lent, Rules of Fasting, and other fascinating if not essential facts. All of them are fascinating, even if few of them are of daily relevance. His chapters on people, well-known and newly discovered in far-away places, remind the reader of the truth of William Saroyan's familiar adage.

llllehdi Zana, Prison I{o. in

S-Eleven Years

Jails, Blue Crane Books, 1.885434-05-0. Itl hard to look at the warm, smiling face of Mehdi Zana

Tur{rish

on the cover of this slim vol-

ume, then. open the book and read his letters about the

beatings and humilitation he

endured

jail.

Zana

imprisoned because he does not hide his Kurdish heritage or lifestyle. Crisply and honestly written, these letters go far towards proving that history does indeed repeat itself.

February

1998 A I l,t 59

Siren ol Song

Iuned ln Each time President Levon Ter Petrossian visits Paris, he has opportunities to take in some culture. From visiting the Sorbonne and receiving an honorary doctorate to Charles Aznavour concerts, to a visit to the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Armenian president carries out cultural diplomacy, as well. In October, after his visit to the Second Summit of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, he met with renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich at a dinner held in the president's honor by the French-Armenian Friendship Assocation. Rostropovich was one of many dignitaries

She's tuming heads and selling CDs singing the familiar and compelling songs of the minstrels. But that's not all she sings. Nune Yesayan's two CDs have won the hearts of those who are still brought to tears by the heartfelt songs of the landsongs which have moved listeners for hundreds of yearsfrom Kani Vur Janim to Kele Ino. She's not too bad at belting out the tunes which set your feet a-dancing, either-witness her dozens of Western-style shows in Armenia and Karabakh.

present.

Getting Away lrom it All With all its economic and political troubles, Yerevan is very much a city. Highrises and street traffic are an inevitable part of everyday life. Still, some people find ways . The gentleman below is fishing in Yerevan Lake, right in the heart of the city. The other one is gardening in a plot of land he has appropriated from--it's not clear from who. But. it looks like it's his now.

60 AIM

February1998

A Doctor ulith Heart Cardio-thoracic surgeon Hrair Hova-kimian of Oregon has lived in Armenia for over four years and performed cardiac surgery on children and adults. In November, President Ter Petrossian bestowed upon Hovakimian the title of Honorary Citizen, after

Hovakimian performed his l000th operation.

Sponsored first by Medical Outreach, Fund,

then by the United Armenian

Hovakimian operates on those with congenital heart problems which can be life-threatening. He is also very involved in the postoperative care his patients receive, making certain they are monitored adequately.

Honey, [et's Go Sho[ping

It's the same everywhere in the world. At the Exhibition of Industrial Goods held in

fall, some were attracted to the variety of shoes available, others to the lines of cars that could be ordered individually or for distribution. The exhibition, sponsored jointly by the Armenian Businessmen's Association and the Russian Businessmen's Association was intended to present business opportunities in Yerevan last

Armenia for Russian businessmen and investors. Russia was represented by the Moskvich car factory. Armenian companies included the Luxe and Nairy shoe factories, beer and champagne plants, the Garun Textile Factory and machine shops.

: R

: February

1998

A I fll

Perched on the Southem tip of Califomia, just an ocean away from the Orient, Los Angeles is culturally Western with visible traces of Eastern influence. This is a city where you can shop for religion and for alternative methods of reproduction equally well. The Armenian spoken here is a patchwork of Eastem and Western dialects, flavored with English and seasoned with Arabic, Turkish, persian, Russian and other European languages, with accents to match. My first exposure to this curious Esperanto was at a gathering where the expression

gazmagerbutune zannedersem dissolve olmush" broke me

Armenian-American culture.

into

the

had witnessed various other language concoctions, but the leap over three languages left me speechless. Indeed, we carry the full spectrum of nationalism-from the exftemist who refuses to utter one English word for fear of being adulterated, to the one who tries to cut the "ian"

tail of the sumame to disassociate from the

Armenian species. Newcomers bring a flavor of their birthplace and a fair amount of resistance to change. The loud coffee-klatch crowds, tavloo players on the front lawn, the honking of horns, scattered sunflower seeds and cigarette butts are all distinctive marks of a significant portion of the immigrant pop-

ulation. The natives abhor this invasion of privacy. They live in silent worlds and cannot accept the cahoot. For the uninitiated, Los Angeles offers a cold welcome. The discovery of a fellow Armenian, to whom you can bare your soul or pour out your frustrations, is akin to searching for a hairpin in the ocean. Every dark-eyed creature is a candidate and worth at least one try: Armenian you speak? Armenian syntax does not lend itself to easy English adaptation. The phrase "Armenian you speak?" is a far cry from "Do you speak Armenian?,' with a complete reshuffling ofthe sentence. Innocent literal translations of sentences distort the meaning. There is quite a distinction between "I am cold" in English, meaning I could use a coat, versus "l am cold" in Armenian (bagh em), which would translate to "l have a cold temperament,,. A 180-

in thought processing cannot be achieved overnight. The grappling with language and culture can be hilarious. The story of a lady looking for garlic still brings tears to my eyes. Frustrated at not find-

degree tum

ing it in a supermarket, she seized an onion and demanded of a clerk: "Where is the cousin to this, cousin to this!" The duality of meanings is also very confusing. One guy, given hints that he needed some polish, before applying for a certain job, questioned why he needed Polish in an English speaking society. Other misinterpretations can be outright embanassing. At a neighborhood cafe, where workers were going through a fast line for a breakfast, one f.o.b. (fresh

off the boat) attentively listened to all the orders---coffee and

French (toast), coffee and English (muffin), coffee and Danish (coffee cake).

When his turn came, he ventured in his best English, ,'Coffee and Armenian please!"

Discarding Armenian and concentrating on English altogether is no solution. It is akin to saying, "Now that I've grown up, why do I need a mother?" Granted, English is a practical language and essential for business or education. But one cannot cut the umbilical cord. Being Armenian is a womb-to-womb inheritance, not an acquired nationality. Wherever we go, all we need is to find one Armenian and we feel at home.

A friend once sent greetings through me to another acquaintance in Africa. Al1 I did was call that person. But the red carpet treatment I received in a forlorn spot ofthe world left me staggered. The only identity deepest

card I had was the Armenian language that tumed a cold, formal hospitality

into a warm pleasant family atmosphere.

Armenian allows

us to access

the souls of our forefathers, understand

and accept ourselves, the Naregatsis, the Khorenatsis, the culture, the liter-

ature, the experience of being unique. It is our product differentiation that makes us marketable. Only by self-acceptance can we promote self-respect and by so doing upgrade the national self-confidence.

The community shows signs

precedence over the emotional wealth

ABMEiIIAiI YOU SPEAI(?

strain where material values take of one's mother tongue. The genera-

tional gap becomes an abyss when a grandmother cannot converse comfort-

ably with the grandchildren, thus disrupting the continuity of tradition.

Family members

become

strangers, alienated and inse-

cure: the older

generation

of the lack of familiarity and the inability to communi-

because

cate with the younger generation

which is submerging its identity

in a vast sea of humanity. Then "If this was to be the result, why did we sufthe question arises:

fer the massacres?" Perhaps Armenian is not a prac-

tical language in universal application, but

it is home away from

home, the warmth of a cozy cor-

ner, Mom's bosom, chicken soup, a pat on the head, the spe-

cial touch that creates a hearth and a community

in the

desert,

on the high seas, on an island, anywhere where two Armenians meet and ask, 'Armenian you speak?"

by Mary Terzian Terzian is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles.

February 1998

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