When Small is Big - January 2000 by Armenian International Magazine

A SolidForurdation furUnbrolrcnTiadition Throughout nearly two decades ofa flourishing practice, Ourfalian & Ourfalian have grown into a

full service litigation

firm in the Southern California community. Staffed with experienced attorneys and legal

professionals, the firm offers its clientele a broad spectrum of legal services supported by state-of-the-art technology and expertise.

Ourfalian & Ourfalian continue to provide their clientele the best and most modern legal services available.

Ourfalian & Ourfalian specializes in

General Business Law Personal

& Litigation

Injury & Civil Litigation

Medical Malpractice

Tfademark & Copyright o I

6 N ! N

205 East Broadway Glendale, California

d a

205- I 008

8.550.7788

818.5501777

4 I

Facsimile

/UNI

IRMTITllil IilIIRII|IIIONAI. MIGIIIilT January 2000, Volume

ll,

No.

llEPARTMENTS

12 tP0m the Editon 13 letter$ to thc

Editon

16 flM Uiew

N0tBb00k

2l BytGs on Filc 22 tocls GOUB STORY

24 Economic News & Indicaton$

Anmenian Euangelicals Haue Bendened a Gentuny and Hall

ol $envice.

26 Glo[al Pictune

fOGU$

ilffis tffiIuilY

28 lnmenia Bniels

22 Tie 2000 Gele[nation$

30 lliaspona Bniels

The world celebrates the beginning of a new era.

Busines$ and PlBasunc A radio executive has a huge collection of vintage cars.

73 How I Eot

lhat $hot

74 Undenexposed 77

ilM lnitiative

78 Essay REGt0t|

55 [.ailblazins in AzenDaiian Tourguides encourage travel in the region.

& EGONIIMY 60 Glrips off thc (ltd Btoctr

BUSIIIIESS

HreIIM

ffim0$Et

Psychological Wellane Using art to heal Karabakh's children.

From the country of stone, Armenians in the US are in the

National MedalS Anania Shirakatsi

stone business.

medal below was recently given to the two slain deputy speakers of Parliament.

GONNEGTIOTUS

Psychological Wellane A psychologist uses art as therapy in Karabakh.

Cover design by Patrick Azadian Cover photos by Harry Koundakjian, Eric Nazarian AIM (ISSN 1050-3471) s publ shed monlh y $45 per ymr by The Founh l,/iilenn um Sociely 20Z SoutlrBrandEouevard,Sule203.Gendale CAgl204 Phone (818)246 7979 Fax (818)246-0088 Periodiâ&#x201A;Źh Poslagepaidal Glefdale CAandaddit onalmailln! olJices. CanadaPosl Pubt mlons Ma Product&lesAgeemenl No 0516457 O Copyrighl 1998 byThe Foudh Miilenn um Soc ety At1 r qhts reseryed. AIM may nol be reproduced ir any mannel eilher in whole or ii pa(. wlhoutwrten perm6sion kom lhe pub sher The ediloB aae fol responsible lor unsol ctod manuscripts or an unh$ a slamped.sel{addressedefveopeisenclosed 0pinionsexpressedinslqnedarlicesdonolnmsMrily reprsent lhe views ol The Fourth lt4illennium Socely For advertising queries ml: 8l8-2467979 Slbscilptionrateslorl2issues,USr$45 Foreqn:$55.P0$maste6:Sendaddresschanoeslo AIM P0 Boxl0Tg3,Gendale CA91209 USA

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

it,

Fly British Airways or their alliance partners and one ticket is all you need to get to Armenia, wherever you are in America. With more transatlantic flights from more states to London Heathrow then onto to yerevan, there's

no easier way home. For full details contact your local travel agent, the British Airways website at www.britishairways.com or call British Airways anyrime on Free phone 1-800-AlRwAyS. Services hom Heathrow operated by the independent carrier British Mediterranean Airways Lrd.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

The worldt favourite airline

Enlightened, Embraced, Empowered 'Enlightened by the past. Embraced by the present. Empowered by the future." We so perfectly, I'd like to borrow it. What began in July 1990 as a monthly publication to link the communities of the Diaspora to each other has become a sought-after magazine that opens windows onto homeland and the Diaspora. The people responsible for this monthly window (and minor) are the benefactors, trustees and patrons who enable AIM's unintemrpted publication. AIM's subscribers, too, a loyal, curious and intelligent group of people in more than 70 countries make AIM's growth and expansion possible. There are AIM's regular and irregular contributors whose names you see, but the scope and variety of their input is not always visible. Finally, there is the AIM staff, in Yerevan and in Los Angeles. Where and how do I begin to describe the individual dedication and commitment that makes this operation a success? Over the last four years, the staff in Glendale had seriously diminished over its initial size. This year, we are almost at the point that we can say we are fully staffed. Almost. The 14 bodies you see here in these two photos add up to seven full time equivalents. Yet, the total work output is much more than that number would indicate. Some of the names that go with these faces have been on our masthead a very long time. AIM's Yerevan office was established by Gohar Sahakian, who now is our Advertising Manager in Yerevan, and quite good at it, too. Editor A.H. Alexandrian (not pictured below) is frequently joined by Diaspora writers. The coordination of the Yerevan office falls to Anahit Martirosian who knows everyone in the capital. Anna Gasparian helps her find them. The work of photographers Zaven Khachikian and Mkhitar Khachatrian, the photos of Armenpress, and the production work of Vahan Stepanian are responsible for the wealth of AIM's visuals. From the Glendale office, Hratch Tchilingirian is just this week relocating to London where he will finish his doctoral work at the London School ofEconomics, but his contribution to each issue will not decrease. Seta Khodanian, Subscription Manager, has the greatest seniority - and remembers all of your names individually. She's followed closely by Parik Nazarian whose photo management responsibilities will grow, and whose hand you will increasingly see in articles which raise our social awareness. Some names are relatively new. Patrick Azadian, who ably designs the magazine, has brought a sense of stability and consistency to the operation. The broad-based experience and enthusiasm of Teni Melidonian and Hrair Sarkissian will facilitate both editorial and administrative responsibilities which have increased in recent years. These two years have indeed been unprecedented. Advertising revenue has increased, thanks in large part to Advertising Manager Fimi Mekhitarian, and the collaboration of our dedicated readers and supporters. AIM has grown in size, too. Never before have there been 80 page issues every month. So, there you have it. Our best wishes to you for a productive, healthy, peaceful year

didn't come up with this slogan, but it fits AIM

and decade

tosether'

/UNI

Founded in 1990

Founding Editor Vartan oskanian

Founding Publisher Michael l{ahabel Armonian lnternalional Magazine 207 South Brand Boulevard, Suite 203 Glendale, Caliiornia 91204 USA Phone 818 246 7979 Fax 81

246 0088

E-mail aimagazine@aol.com EditorPublisher

Salpi Haroutinlan Ghazariar Senior Edilor

Hratch TGhilingirian Photo l\4anager

Parik llazarlan Art Director

PakiGk Azadian Associate Editors

A. H. Alorandrian, Ysrsvan Tony Halpin, london Design Consultanl

Ralli Tarpinian Associate Pub isher

Teni

llolidonian

Subscriplions Manager

Sela l(hodanian Adverlising l\4anager

Fimi tlelhitarian Assistant to the Edilor

Hrair Sa*is Sartissian lnlern

Karina Avedissian Ysrsvan Eureau 5 Nalbandian Boom 24 Phone 583639 Phone/Fax 151849 E-mail aimarm@arminco.com Coordinator

Anahil Marlirossian Assistant

Anna Gasparian Advertisin0 l\4anaoer

Gohar Sahalian Design and Pioduction

Vahan Stspanian Contributing Editors

Ar*--r''&^-r_t--f,/-"",.[

John HuChos, Bonald Grloor Suny, Talins voskeritchian Conlributors

tulashes Emin, Yennn; Susn PalliB, Lord0n; Edlt Balaian, An Chouliian, Los Angolssi Janel Samuelian, Palm Springs; lrart ilallasian, Rhode lslsnd; Geor0s Bournoulian, Lola l(oundakllan, lleu Yort Myriam oaumE, Paris; Malthew l(aEnian, iloorad ftlooradlan, Washin0ton, DC; Vaian ltlati0$ian, 8usno8 Alrcs. Pholographe6

Mkhitar Xhachatrlan, Zaven Kiachildan, Routin Manoasarian, Yercyan; Antoins A0oudiian, Amineh Johannes, Alins Man0ukiar, Paris; Edmond Tenlopian, L0d0[; farinâ&#x201A;Ź Am6n, lGvork Dlansszian, Rafri Ekm0kii, E]lc

llaarlal, An X0undakiian,

oshagan, Los Anloloq Gam Lachlnlan, Massachusetts; HaIIy lleu Yofi; 8eO8 AR Zobian, Rhodo lsland.

Editor Emeritus

Ciads8 ilazafian lnlernational Subsc.iplions ard Adyertising Rspresentalivss Argrdlna Colegio Mekhitarista, Vnrey del Pino 3511 (1426) Buenos Aires, Phone

541 552 3690Auskalla Varcoj lskenderiaf,, 148 Koola Aw. East Killara NSW 2071 Phone 02.9251 2882i Ailred Markailil P 0. Box 370, Hatris Park NSW 21 50, Phone 02909i l 846i Vahe Kateb P0 Box 250, Port Melboume, Vicloria 3207, Phone 03 9794 0009 Canada Bamig Hakimian, 3150 Sarlelon Street, Sl. Laurent, ouebs H4B1E3, Phone 514 339 2517 Holg l(ou Jack Maxian, RM A2, 11,4, Block A, 26 Kai Cheung Rd., Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Phone 852 795 9888 llaly Pie(e Balanian, Via Morlacca, 61 A4l5, 80re, Phorc 995 1235 Lsbamn Zarlouhi Kabalian, P0. Box 55669, Beirut, Lebanon Phooe (1) 510212 Unltld Ani EminlcsGuliarJonian, P0. Box 44564, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Phone 911 2 775 721 Fax 971 2 775 1 91 lrnltEd Xl[cdom Mi$k 0hanian, 105A Mill Hill Rd. Aclon, Lo0don W3&lF, Phone 0181 992 4621

Wrile to Aim! We welcome all communication. Although we read all letlers and submissions, we are unable r0 ac{rowledoe everylhing we receive due to limited stalling and resources. Leilers l0 l1e Eoilor may be ediled l0r pLblication.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

people here do. There are enough BMWs and Mercedes around Yerevan to make the disparity of wealth painfully clear to so many of us. Don't blame the TV shows, don't look for an out, when you are wearing the latest fashion

on your trip to Gami and handing out fivedollar bills to children on the street. Do you see the irony yet?

Jen Bender Peace Corps Volunteer

Alaverdi, Armenia

Just a Little Confidence I congratulate you for the two AIM Views of November: "Not Yet Over" and "Winning Is Not Enough." These were very balanced, to the point and candid. It is time Armenians take a more mature and confi dent outlook regarding self-criticism and encourage and allow the media to play the important role of a protector of democratic and national values, by being very candid and critical. We need many moreAlM-type publications. Kevork Tbroyan New Canaan. Connecticut

not being able to fall sleep. I looked outside, and the bright flames of a fire on the street

caught my eye. The old was being bumed away, yet nothing would be established in its place. My hope for a better tomorrow didn't bum like the grass engulfed by the flames. Instead, it shone bright like ttre fire itself, with my hope of a better tomorrow establishing its root.

We can do it. Reviving Armenia is all up to us now. Anonymous

Glendale, Calfornia spent a month in Yerevan last summer.

Although I was entranced by its beauty, I couldn't ignore the state of the country. I saw the gloomy lives our people led and how their hope for a better tomorrow had vanished long ago. It hurt to see a wonderful country like Armenia crushed. Those who live there deserve much more than what they get. Their lifestyle is not adequate at all. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to me, because I see it happening yet can do absolutely nothing to

it. The ugly truths of Armenia gnawed at my head perpetually, making me feel awfully sad. I remember laying in my bed one night change

Homework Heaven My dad has been receiving AIM magazine for the past two years , and I always skim through it and find excellent articles to use for my excellent current events assignments.

I love all your articles and they are all very well written and debatable. I hope you keep up the good work... and maybe for an idea you can give us some kind of source where we can contact the writers, photographers. Meghedi Khodaverdian Thornhill, Ontaio, Canada

A+ for Heroic Effort Unfortunately my Armenian is insufficient, just like my English. pleased when I became aware ofthe fact that you had given room in your 1999 November edition, the interview of Tessa Hofmann with myself. It has taken me some time to obtain your contact details. Nevertheless I would like to forward a delayed thank you. Yelda Ozcan, Hamburg, Germnny

I was very

Dispelling Myths

In '"thking J.R. out of Yerevan" (Essay,

tls

August-September 1999) I was hit by the irony of the statement, ' It is not American or Armenian-

American reality ttrat the average Yercvan resi-

dent knows. [For] the Armenian-American Diaspora relationship to get serious, real images and nue depictions ofAmerican - andArmenian-

American life need to get to Yerevan." Maybe you do not see the irony in this.

Maybe you haven't really seen how the Armenians in Yerevan see the Diaspora. How could you, from your third story window, $ 100 a night room at the Armenia One Hotel,

from your seat in the air-conditioned minivan, from your table at the Italian restaurant at a $50 a meal for two? I'm sure these instances are when the Armenian-American Diaspora is dispelling the myth of American wealth. If you really want to project the image that Americans aren't rich. don't live in mansions, and don't hop planes in an instant. I suggest that the next time you (Armenian Diaspora) come to Armenia try living like rhe

L:ir 'r',

,-a.

-__:.:-al i:1

"* .-l_r::_ill

L;==:-::

ltl

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

ffi

v;;;

The Fourih Millennium Society is an independently funded and administered public charity commirted to the dissemination of information for the purPose of developing an informed public. Underpinning all our work is the firm conviction that the vitality of an independent press is fundamental to a democratic society in Amenia and democratic institutions in the Diaspom. The Fourth Millennium Society publishes Armenian International Magazine in its effort to conribute to the national dialogue. The directors are grateful to the Benefactors, Trustees, Patrons and Friends of the Fourth Millennium Society who are committed to the well-being, growth and development of Armenians and Armenia through the promotion of open discussion and the ftee flow of information mong individuals ed orgmizations. Their financial conributions support the work of the Fouth Millennium Society and ensure the independence of AIM Michael Nahabet, Raffi Zinzalian, Directors

DIRECTORS

2OOO

Shahen Haimpetian, Armen Hampa\Zaven Khanjian, Michael Nahabet'

Alex Sarkissian, Bob Shamlian, Raffi Zinzalian. BENEFACTORS Sarkis Acopian, Albert and Tove Boyajian, The Cafesjian Family Foundation, Inc. Hirair Hovnanian, The Lincy Foundation, Louise Manoogian Simone SENIOR TRUSTEES AUSTRALIA Heros & Kate Dilanchian CANADA Razmig Hakimian, Kourken Sarkissian HONG KONG Jack Maxian USA CA Khachig Babayan' George & Flora Dunaians, Araxie M. Haroutinian, George & Grace Kay, Joe & Joyce Stein RI Papken Janjigian FOUNDING TRUSTEES AUSTRALIA Varoojan Iskenderian USA CA Garen Avedikian, Mardo Kaprielian, Edward Misserlian, Bob Movelt, Varoujan Nahabet, Norair Oskanian, Emmy Papazian, Zareh Sarkissian, Raffi Zinzalian FL Hagop Koushakjian PA Zarouhi Mardikian ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES USA CA Vartkes and Jean Barsam, Walter and Laurel Karabian' Gary and Sossi Kevorkian, Ralph and Savey Tufenkian NH Jeannette John

Commerce Casino Hasmik Mgrdichian, George Tumanjan and Karine Artounians

lXXr-

.ot: a

r.r"..

tr.ll orlr.

Law Office of Aris Artounians Aris t

NASA Services Inc Sam and Elizabeth Sarkisian,

Z"*'

Remax of Glendale Vahe and Aida Yeghiazarian

Nick and Kamelia Sarkisian, Arsen Sarkisian ISB Group Armen

& Ketty Kazandjian

PATRONS Arpiu and Hemine Janoyan

ARMENIA Khachatur md Rouzanna Soukimsian AUSTRALIA Armm and Nairi Derderyan Artin Etmekjian George and Vanouhi Tavoukjian

CANADA Louise Aznavour

Greg Kahwajian Jack and Mm Kalaydjian Kevork and Satenig Kilajerjim Nishant and Sona Kuuim

Mack Vahmian Anonymous CALIFORNIAUSA MihBn ed Elizabeth Agbabim

Migirdic and Ani Migirdicyan CONNECTICUT USA Louis T. Hagopian CYPRUS

Kirk and Ann Kesapym

Gao Keheyan

John md Rose Ketchoyan Zaven and Sona Khujian

Krikor and Hmut Ishnbulian

ITALY LEBANON Kevork Bouladian

Krikor Kdkorian Dora Seniuian Kuhn Avik Mahdesiant

Cdabed Akpolat Armand and Nmcy Anbid Harry and Alvm Bmeghim Aram and Terez Bdsenian Berj and Hera Boyajim Hagop and Violet Dakessie Ardash and Muian Derderian Dimibi and Tamda Dimitri Steve md Lucille Estephanian Manoushag Fermmian Gagik and Knil Galstian Vahan and Audrey Gregor Piere and Alice HaiS Armen and Gloriaf Hmpr Shahen md Maf,ha Haoutunian

MASSACHUSETTS

Richud Simonian MICHIGAN USA George Chamchikian

Edwtrd and Alice Navasdgian Ammd O. Norehad Kenneth md Cindy Norian Rafi Ourfalian Michael md Hermine Piranian Hratch and Helga Sarkis Alex Smkissian Robefr and Helen Shamlian Peros and Gaine Taglyan Ara and Avedis Tavitian Gaidag and Dzovig Zeitlian

FRIENDS

Alex Manoogiant Kirakos Vapurciyan NEVADA USA and Seda Bmes NEW JERSEY USA

LMy

Nuu md Anemis Nuaian NEW YORK USA

Harry md Aida Koundakjian Vahe Nishmiant V John and Lucille G. Sukissian UNITED KINGDOM

Diran and Suzi Chakelian

OFAIM

The Fourth Millennium Striety is gBteful to the following for conributing during the last month to ensure AIM's findcial independence. CANADA Themodyne Engineering, Ltd.

UK Rafli Sukissian, Gabriel Soulmim USA CA Linda Avakian. Janet md Tom kist, Manin and Seda Marmtim Nf Dr. Nikit md Eleoom Ordmian PA Harry md Alice Andonim VT Euphronia Meymaian WA David M.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

USA

Kevork Atinizian

Stepm ud Erdmik Mrkarian Harout md Rita Mesrobian

Ross

Please sencl me-copy(ies) of the video SURVIVING ON THE RICHTER SCALE at $25"00 each (in tJS funds), including shipping & handling.

Please make checks payable t0:

3061 Iean-Bouillet Ville Saint-Laurent Quebec, CANADA H4K zGB 334-5454 i514) aaproductions@mail.

.:l

Irssons to Be I-,earned One Hundred and Fifty Years of Seeking and Finding Their Place Armenian Evangelicals (See page 34) are, ahead of the rest of the community tual and organizational issues.

in many ways,

in dealing with social, spiri-

A decentralized, local govemance structure allows for very active church memben in each of the neady 200 Evangelical congregations around the world. Indeed, members are so active, that the Evangelical community has registered a disproportionately large number of accomplishments, compared to its size. Schools, social service outlets, publications - they are all part of the Evangelical community's more than a century and a half of service.

At the

same time, the close connection that Armenian

Evangelicals have to other Protestant denominations has made some things seem effortless. Intermarriage has been not only acceptable, but also sometimes desirable, especially between the families of ministers. Even the issue of the Armenian language has been consciously relegated to second place. It has been very

easy, as a result, for many to consider them not 'really Armenian.' Some in the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy still see them as 'poachers' who want to win souls away from the Mother Church. For Evangelicals, the issue is something else altogether. For them, their close association with non-Armenian ministers and congregations has often meant easier access to the bigger world of education and professions, possibly explaining the disproportionately large number of professionals ilmong this small group. At the same time, such connections have made it possible for them to

come to the realization that dual identity - in their case, Armenian and Evangelical - is possible. They have begun to resolve the identity dilemma which faces the rest of the Diaspora Armenian communities. Is it possible to be French and Armenian? Australian and

Armenian? Canadian and Armenian? The Evangelicals have demonstrated that with the necessary awarenesS and consciousness, it is possible to be Armenian and Evangelical at the same time. It is possible to integrate within the larger society, while holding on to and propagating one's own culture. The questions about the duality and the internal struggle are not over yet, by any means. Nor are the solutions always simple or perfect: the United Armenian Congregational Church in Los Angeles, after years of debate, chose not to place the name of the church in Armenian on the exterior of the church building. Yet, they have gone through the great expense and trouble of making earphones and translators available so everyone understands the service and the sernons. These are, arguably, small problems. Their solutions may not be comprehensive. Still, the questions are at least being asked. Perhaps most importantly, since this is a religious denomination after all, Armenian Evangelicals have been more active in defining issues of creed and faith. Questions about family life, ethical issues, sexuality, all have been tackled more forcefully by the Armenian Evangelical community than the Armenian Apostolic church. Again, even when answers are not made in heaven, at least the act of questioning is not considered blasphemous.

From Individual to Collective Listing the Dead is the Best Way to Keep Their Names Alive In the 1970s, when genocide survivors were already past middle age, various institutions and academics in the West embarked upon ways of recording the voices of those who survived, As a result, the stories of a couple of thousand heroes and victims qf the Genocide of Armenians by the Turkish government in 1915 have been audiotaped, videotaped and filmed by nearly a dozen different individuals or organizations around the world. These records are not available in any one place, through any one index. They are not easily accessible to researchers who are potential writers or filmmakers. There is no central list of survivors whose stories are recorded, or ofthe organizations who own these records. The Munich-based Institute for Armenian Research is not out to solve any of these problems, however. They are intent on tackling another greater one. They havejust announced a project (See page 31) to compile a list of all victims "as a means to secure reparations." There are plenty of other gobd reasons to embark 16

on this seemingly-hopeless task. It is not enough to say, "It feels good," or as one Institute official said, "If we start, maybe someone else will continue it." Already, 85 years after the beginning of the Genocide, this will be a laborious and daunting project. There are the theoretical issues: how to define 'victim?'How to identify official names and birthdates? Then, there are the practical problems. A broad-based grass roots effort is essential to accumulate a respectable list. The Munich Institute, affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, has the ability to draw on that organization's vast, international network to carry out this tough but not impossible task--if they're serious about this endeavor, and are not embarking on it for public relations. A carefully-prepared questionnaire that will ask the survivors and their offspring about their relatives and loved ones who did not live, can go a long way toward turning individual memories

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

into a collective manifesto. The purpose of such a list is not to convince anyone about the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. The historical facts about the (failed) artempted annihilation of the Armenian people and their forcible removal (successfully) from their historic homeland are there for all to see. The facts are plentiful and plain. For those who want to dispute them for political reasons, no amount of historical research is adequate or convincing. But for those who are willing to study and examine the historical data, the greater the availability of detail and specific fact, the more thorough and comprehensive will be the resultant conclusions, interpretations and analysis. This process of listing one and a half million names will do more than just turn the individual into the collective. It will trans-

form personal loss into a common cause. It is the deprivation of life - both individual life and especially, a way of life - that is the great violation of the Genocide. To dismiss a register of the dead as insufficient- because it is just a list and not legal censure of the executors - is too easy. The accumulation of hundreds of thousands of names

dare one hope

- is the most indisputable, inarguable accusation and, at the same time, condemnation of the perpetrators. In this decade, before the centennial commemoration of the 1.5 million?

Genocide in 2015, the children of the survivors -- those who most often heard the stories and names of dead, massacred relatives must come forward and do what their parents would have done: name the dead as the best way to keep their memories alive.

Healing Hearts and Minds The Children of Karabakh Must Live Despite Their Scars In this century, it seems no nation has needed psychological help more and used it less than Armenians. The survivors of the Genocide didn't - couldn't - seek help. Certainly, neither did their children. Those who grew up in refugee camps in the Middle East did not have the luxury of such professional care, nor an inkling of its potential. More recently, those who lived through the Lebanese Civil War and the Iranian Revolution certainly could have used psychological help, if it weren't for the inaccessibility and embarrassment of the whole thing. All these generations of trauma victims have had to fend for themselves even as they struggled to nurture families and build Diaspora communities. In Armenia, Stalin purged a whole generation, and the families that those Siberia-bound victims left behind had no psychological refuge or sanctuary. They neither trusted nor respected Soviet shrinks. Indeed, after the 1988 earthquake, it was the foreign professionals in whom earthquake survivors confided their greatest fears and to whom they voiced their pain, not Soviettrained professionals.

And what of the lO-year-old conflict over Karabakh? Who amongst its victims is most in need of psychological care? The soldiers who lived, but saw their buddies die? The soldiers and civilians who survived after losing an arm or a leg or an eye?

The physicians and nurses who remember the ones they couldn't save? The wives and loved ones of the dead men? The parents who buried their sons? Or, the kids for whom childhood has been one long war? There are just a few programs in place now in Armenia and Karabakh which treat the mental health of the survivors. But it

is the children (See page 64) whose psychic health is critical. They are the ones whose worldview and perspective on the future will determine the chances of renewal and restoration in Karabakh.

Psychological care for Karabakh's children is one of those unavoidable, unpostponable, undeniable needs about which the Diaspora can do something very concrete. It won't even take the whole entire Diaspora. It might take just one organization, one chapteq one individual, one family deciding to make this a reality. Just one. And the beneficiaries? The children of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to actually defending the Karabakh which everyone proclaimed "is ours." Their children deserve a chance to heal. To do that, they need professional help to express their anger and pain over all that they have been deprived, and to come to terms with what they have lost and why. This way, they can move toward keeping what they have gained. The Diaspora can help. Will it?

0llt$Tl[il$? $ulsrriptiolt Deliuery RBllBWrl [l!ouin0 ralt

/\INITdl tnee 1.888.738.$2{0 AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Ir Now journalists and deputies will be practically undressed on entering the country's parliament.ll -Sayat Shirinian Press Secretary, lnterior Ministry of Armenia, referring to the tighter security at the National Assembly building.

lIWith

trade and Gommerce opening up, who knows, perhaps the Armenians will return and pick up the thteads of historY'rHizabeth Roy after visiting the Armenian Church in Madras, built in 1772, and meeting the only two remaining elderly Armenians there.

r(The army doesn't have the right to demand the President's resignation.

acting commander of the Karabakh Army

Neither investors nor big money come to places where there is saber-rattling.ll -Petar Stoyanov President of Bulgaria, referring to the Karabakh conflict during his visit to Baku

rr 0ur people are Iike a child

- naive, trustlul, emotional and sometimes ill'educated. A child must be brought up by positive examples.ll -Rima Karapetian w i d ow

s rai

n parr iam

;fl

f,ffi:

Ifl t

$3rrfl

3r Most ol the terrorists who were killed so lar are 0ur childlen.

l(anabakh a la Hong l(0ng According to David Hakobian, Chairman of the Marxist Party o{ Armenia, Bill Clinton told Robert Kocharian, while meeting behind closed doors in lstanbul, that the US will recognize Karabakh as an entity of international law similar to the status of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Presidential Spokesman Vahe Gabrielian said, "the Kocharian-Clinton meeting was not held behind closed doors."

G0000000000000000411 Armenia's soccer officials nullified the 15-5 result of a match between two local teams after watching a video replay of the game. The team leaders were accused of rigging the game. They were fined.

-Golonel Movses Hakobian

$alnt Uar0on At the Fourth Congress of the Yerkrapah Union, a delegate addressed the congress and suggested that they request the Catholicos of All Armenians canonize the late Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and declare him a saint of the Armenian Church.

T,TlJd

-Suleyman Demirel

$OlSmh lilfn n lormer French intelligence officer says in a new book that a nuclear test canied out by the Soviets lay at the origin of the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988. 0UUChl An Ayvazovsky painting, entitled "Mkhitarian Fathers of St. Lazarro," on loan for an exhibit at the Vatican was reportedly "cut with a knife." Fortunately it was insured for $20 million by HSBC lnsurance company. The painting has been restored.

llam Sa0nlllC0 President Suleyman Demirel of Turkey asked authorities not to sacrifice two rams to mark the inauguration of a dam. Demirel said that would be against European Union regulations which bar the slaughter of animals in the streets for health reasons. "First inauguration without sacrifice," said the daily Sabah. (Ban) Turkey's Education Ministry asked a primary school +21( P

math publisher to remove the letters P and K from an equation because together, the letters resemble the acronym o{ the banned Kurdish rebel group, PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) reported the Associated Press. The publishers agreed to remove from subsequent editions the "offending P and K" and will use instead E, G, F and H in algebra to avoid "wrongful interpretations."

President of Turkey, referring to the August 1999 Repentance Law allowing terror elements to lay down their arms

I(The only way a society moves lorward is to have full accounting ol its past, including its bad past,

rt -Bill Bradley

and the Armenian genocide is a fact.

Democratic US presidential candidate, calling upon Turkey to acknowledge the 1 91 5-23 genocide of Armenians

rrWhat can we do? The Turks are ignoring it all the time and they say we didn't do it, our ancestors did it. What is the good of being angry. God lorgive them.ll -Rosa Khederian 87-year-old survivor of the Genocide, to BBC World Service

Society as a whole should contemplate this issue

lol conuption in Georgial, because this is a plague which

D0 you knou, how 'Baku' is pronounced

in American? [sicl lt is pronounced 'oilt' And American capitalism is striving to establish a world monopoly ol oil. 0n account ol oil, hlood is being shed. 0n account ol oil, a struggle is waged, in which the Amedcan hankes and the American capitalish- attempt everywhere t0 Gonquff the places and enslave the peoPle where oil is lound.

,r*

spread throughout society, and the authorities, especially the president alone, will not be able to cope with it.ll -Eduard Shevardnadze

AIM JANUARY

** of

fie

Peoples of the East in September 1 920 in newU Sovietized Baku. Reed was one of the founders of the US Communist movement

President of Georgia

he opening rally of the First Congless

2OOO

Armenia's [conomy

July 1800 lnau0unal Issue

In July 1990 AIM wrote, "The visitor to Armenia need not be an economist to realize that Armenia's economy, like the rest of the Soviet Union, is in shambles, Stores are empty, inflation is high, and unemployment is rampant. What's more, the Kremlin has gone public with its long awaited program for transition. With this program things will get worse before they get any befter. Consumers will soon pay higher prices for certain goods, including bread, in an effort to bring prices closer to the costs ofproduction. Yet, Armenia has one of the highest standards of living in the whole union. In terms of "luxury" items, such as TV sets and cars. Armenia ranks high. Although Armenia's GNP is only l.8Vo of Soviet Union's GNP, given its small

population the per capita income

higher than the average Soviet

income.Today, Armenia's economy is not only feeling the heat from perestroika's backlash, but also from the recent devastating earthquake, Azerbaijani blockade and the massive and frequent strikes... Currently, there is continuous debate and discussion on Armenia's economic situation and its future, and the general consensus is that the economy is the key to Armenia's independence.Armenia is very much dependent on the rest of the Soviet Union. Its oil, gas and other necessities are brought in from the other republics; 60 percent of its consumer goods are also imported from abroad. Indeed, the recent Azerbaijani blockade pretty much exposed the lim-

its of Armenia's economic capabilities. Those who oppose Armenia's independence at this state argue that Armenia at present is not economically viable, emphasizing Armenia's geopolitical position and its heavy dependence on the rest of the republics as two major obstacles. The proponents of independence contend that Armenia has enough resources and economic infrastructure that will make it economically viable, if they use and manage them efficiently. As far as its geopolitics is concemed, they argue that Armenians will eventually manage to come to terms with the geopolitical reality of having a common border with Turkey, Azerbaijan and kan.,,

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

ARMENIA'S

Hudships sist ; so does ptential for I

bd*rb^il-dE t -c-bt*h

! rrr-tr-"ry.&&r d lL t6,ir Uii! a L .tda 5B*.+r, ilLi.Lttl'd ..Ftt!--4ry-tYrc tf*btEfarlirt ft hE-{EEbEhvb -q!aqrrilFret.ec t!'lrrtt*..ryra6 F, l*fr Fi6 e. cfih |poda i*bqa, i -.&t bLLt FbtuDrtc6dFuha

Y.r, Add. t- E !4tu ry ttdo(trt-tLr*r Lgrof .Hb-r'J sds id -l

d-b r, b fro.q id 6c Sffid @irthd.ffiybdElly sAtELt hd.pqir@" ArGi.hwyn &drpad666! Edt Sdl*Lhi,o lt"6i!fB.d drdlrDt0rtirbtrm 6. da EFitrs 60* oa iB ffi toorB G llF i[foi.d &G *.8 d. IldGr4 6. |M tst iFi tlocl* puty r*t .rpocd rt liaib of l,gh'rwicr?rt+d{ lb& *ho opte Accnir't hdrDee { {i. it ! qE du

NOTEBOOK

Mandelstamh Jounncy Russian-Jewish writer Osip Mandelstam, born in in January, 1891, was one of the most highly regarded poets ofthe 20th century. In addition to poetry, he Warsaw

published essays. One longish one was written after spending the spring and summer of 1930 in Armenia, much of it at Lake Sevan. In her memoirs, his wife Nadezhda Mandelstam says that in Armenia, he began to write poetry again, after a long silence. Charents, she says, encouraged

him. The Soviet critics didn't much like his long

essay,

"Joumey to Armenia," but Gevorg Emin called it "one of the best works on Armenia ... and on everything that is conceived in the mind and heart of a talented and thoughtful man at the sight of Armenia." Mandelstam died in Siberia about a decade after his visit to Armenia. As in the case of Charents and others, his crime was a specific poem. Although his works were published in Armenia (and in the West) his standing has always been better away from his homeland. He had studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and in Heidelberg, Germany, as well as St. Petersburg. He considered Armenia and the Transcaucasus a center of human civilization. He spent his months in Armenia studying historical and architechral sites, and attempting to leam classical and modem Armenian.

All of this

is evident in

his l3-poem series which reflects on his understanding of Armenian history and culture.

Bass fina Ben[cfian Retines Ara Berberian, rerently retired

after a 42-year career with the NY Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera and the San Francisco Opera, is busy pursuing his life-long interest in early American rural farm life, and particulady the barn. As charter members of the

Barn Preservation

Network National Trust, Berberian and

his wife Ginny have already rescued five early American barns from demolition and have

rebuilt them on their property. Berberian's latest project, a 50-

foot-high wooden walled bam may be the next venue for very small cultural events. "I want to leave this facility as my legacy that will be useful to many people.

I would love to

see many

Armenian musical, educational and social

functions in this barn. It's a marvelous place," said Berberian. Still somewhat active on the music scene, Berberian often teaches master classes at the University of Michigan. Last year, he taught a class at the University of Southern California. But Berberian admits he finds the end of his active performing to be a welcome relief. "After 42 years, you'd think you would hate to give it up, but that did not happen to me," said Berberian. It may be because at one point in his career, Berberian, a bass, was averaging 200 appearances

in one season Bom in Detroit, Michigan in 1930, Berberian leamed to play the piano and the violin and sang his way through law school. But it wasn't until he got back from the army in 1958 as part of the US Army Band and moved to New York City that he considered a career in music. Throughout his career, Berberian sang in over 150 operas in English, Italian, German and French, mainly in the US, but also in Germany, France, the former USSR, Japan, Israel andArmenia. Still, Berberian says, "My backbone is my Armenian heritage. I fell in love with music listening to Komitas and operatic arias on my father's phonograph."

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

NOTEBOOK

A Base in Banuftolr

Armenia's 22 embassies around the world all have Consuls job it is to handle non-political tasks related to the work of Armenia's Foreign Ministry. In addition, there are three honorary consuls: Hovsep Seferian in New Delhi, Tsolag Momjian in Jerusalem whose

and Bob Kevorkian in Bangkok.

Kevorkian, a noticeable presence in Thai business and government circles, has represented Armenia since 1997. His experience in construction (see AIM March 1996 and March-April 1997) has meant

he has worked with a variety of local and intemational figures in Bangkok, which has experienced a building boom over the last two decades.

Kevorkian, whose lakefront offices also house the Armenian Consulate, uses every opportunity to present Armenia's political and economic realities to Thailand's opinion and policy makers, and businessmen. In August, he organized a memorial service for the late Catholicos, Karekin II, who had visited Thailand in 1997. Many of those who had met the pontiff attended the service and were reminded of his eloquence and ecumenism. In September, as in years past, Kevorkian organized a celebration of Armenian Independence Day, aftended by several hundred media and government figures. In 1998, the Bangkok Post and the Nation ran full page supplements on Armenian Independence Day, with messages from the President and the Catholicos, the Foreign Minister, as well as Kevorkian himself, together with information on Armenia, its government, political structure, geography and economy.

Kevorkian's wife, Linda, operates the Nor Giank [New Life] Baby Home in Bangkok. Located in a residential part of central Bangkok, the home has a staff of l0 and cares for 15 children affacted by HIV. Thailand's 40 or so Armenians are mostly jewelers, some are in textiles and a few in construction. They meet about once a month, and are frequently joined by compatriots from neighboring Hong Kong and Singapore.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

BUSNE$8

IIEFHI|SE INDUSIRY

President and businessmen discuss restoration of public confidence in the country's economy.

Agreements 0n restoration ol Armenian-Russian military industtial Gomplexes signed in Moscow.

During an end-of-the-year meeting, President Kocharian met

Prime Minister Aram Sargsian (above, right) paid a two-day offrcial visit to Moscow and held talks with then-Russian Premier Vladimk Putin (above, center) on cooperation in the economic and energy sectors. An important intergovemmental agreement was signed between the two prime ministers on cooperation in the production of defense plants. Putin said the agreement "would be implemented by 18 Armenian and 2O Russian enterprises. That would be a qualitatively new level in our relations." The nature of the specific items Armenia

with more than 70 businessmen, listened to their opinions on the government's economic policies as well as general economic trends. Prime Minister Aram Sargsian, Finance Minister Levon Barkhudarian (below, right,) Industry and Trade Minister Karen Jshmaritian and Central Bank Chairman Tigran Sargsian (above, left) attended the meeting as well. Kocharian said that the government is obliged to take into account the opinion of the country's big taxpayers. While noting growth in industry, Kocharian characterized last year's economic situation as "fairly difficult," noting the continuing impact of the Russian economic crisis and the general political situation in the country, especially after the assassination ofArmenia's top leadership in October. "We also failed to boost investment policy and to solve some issues of tax administration," Kocharian admitted.

Following Kocharian's address, the participants presented and discussed various proposals and expressed their views on a number of economic issues, most importantly the issue of restoring public confidence.

would produce for Russia was not made public. Putin said the two sides also discussed and reached an agreement on Armenia's energy debt to Russia. 'W'e set up a mechanism satisfuing botit parties," he said. "We agreed on broader Russian involvement in ttre Armenian economy, as well as the participation of ttre Russian governrnent and Russian enterprises in tlre privatization of property

ARMHIIIA

inArmenia"

he added.

IIllIH.

Labor dispute Goncluded with Goult ruling in lavor ol Amenia Hotel. The district court of Yerevan and Nork-Marash announced a ruling in the case brought by Trade Union of State Employees againstArmenia Hotel, owned by a group of Armenian Americans and operated by Marriott. The court ruled that the hotel administration did not violate the conditions of the collective agreement. The 450-employee Armenia Hotel, which is undergoing major renovations, announced that it would donate 30 percent of the fumiture in the Armenia II complex to the hotel's former and present employees. In November, the Armenia Hotel, one of the largest private enterprises in the country laid off 100 retirement-age employees and provided a severance package including up to 50 percent ofeach employee's salary for 24 months, in addition to a monthly food grant of 7'800 Drams for 12 months. This is the first time such a deal has been offered

in the privatization process.

Armenia prepares to become a lul! member 0l the World Trade 0rganization this year. Armenia's Minister of Economy Armen Darbinian participated in the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference in Seattle, Washington, and reported that the intemational organization will decide on Armenia's membership early this year. The last steps for qualification include the adoption of a package of legislative documents by the NationalAssembly.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

TtlBASGll New Greco-Armenian joint venture Gompany lor tobacco processing created.

GIS PIPHJIIIE Russian c0mpany expressed interest in Armenian-lranian pipeline. GasProm, the Russian oil company, expressed its intention to invest some $120 million in the construction of a 140 km Iran-Armenia nat-

ural gas pipeline. One hundred kilometers of the pipeline will pass through Armenia. Already a consortium is being formed involving Armenia's Ministry of Energy, GasProm, and ArmRosGazProm, the Armenia-Russia joint venture. Gaz de France and the Iran National Gas Company have also expressed interest in the project.

GRflll

An Armenian-Greek joint venture named Masis Tabak will start tobacco fermenting and processing in Masis, a town 10 km. south of Yerevan, in January. The new venture was started by l{rant Vardanian, head of the Armenian-Canadian joint venture, Grand Tobacco (who owns 51 percent of Masis) and the Greek Missirian Tobacco Company (with 49 percent.) Masis Tabak is expected to produce 10,000 tons of tobacco in 2000 and a full capacity of 13,000 to 15,000 tons in 2001, mostly for export and mainly to Russia. The plant will process both imported and

locally-grown tobacco. Masis Tabak's future plais include setting up a similar operation

Foreign assistance and imports subsidize Armenia's annual demand lor grain. Armenia's 297,800 tons of grain production in 1999 was down nine percent from the previous year, according to the Agriculture Ministry. The republic needs about 800,000 tons annually. The shortfall is covered by state-to-state humanitarian assistance and imports from Russia. Since 1992, the US, the largest provider of humanitarian assistance, has supplied Armenia with 1.33 million tons of grain - 74,000 tones in 1999. The govemment of Greece donated 4,800 tons of wheat to Armenia in 1999. The Agriculture Ministry forecasts that Armenia will produce 315,000 tons of grain in 2000 and 321,000 in 2001.

HllEREY Gonsumers lailed to pay l0r energy consumption. Due largely to unpaid bills by Armenian consumers, ArmRosGazProm, the gas company that started operating in July owes the Russian

Itera company $11 million for gas. ArmRosGazProm is currently

in Karabakh.

engaged in restoring the gas system in Armenia which was left unattended and unused during the fuel shortage years of 1993 to 1996.

B[NKIIIIG

January lo November 1999 in the GIS Gountries, over preuious year.

IIIIDU$IRIII IIUIPUI ERIIWTH

Banks in Armenia post increase in assets and loans. There were 3l licensed and active banks in Armenia by October 1, 1999, the same as last year, however, the number ofbank branches fell by four to 172. ln the first nine months of 1999, the total assets of the banking system increasedby 21.9 percent, reaching some 194,940 million Drams (about $370 million), while obligations reached L&,476 million Drams, an increase of 23.9 percent. Of the total 30,464 million Drams capital of the banks, 21,665 million were the chartered capital of the banks, while reserve capital was 2,152 million Drams. [n the same period, 23 banks made a net profit of 2,291 million Drams and eight banks accumulated losses of 1,167 million Drams.

Meanwhile, Conversebank's vice chairman of the Board of Directors, Artak Anesian, announced that under a World Bank program credits totaling $541,243 were granted to small and medium-size businesses for a five-year period at an annual interest rate of 12-20 per-

cent. In addition to World Bank credits, Conversebank participates in Lincy Foundation's loan program to medium and large businesses. Under the Lincy program, the bank has granted loans totaling $1.634 million for three years, the highest annual interest rate being 15 percent. From its own funds, the bank granted credits totaling $2.493 million and 336 million Drams, for a period of one year at annual interest rates of 20-42 percent. Also, Armimpexbank announced that it would increase its charter capital from $l.l million to $2 million in Spring 2000, with Moscow's Impexbank being one of the possible outside investors in the Armenian bank. the

RU$$ll +7.8 %

Source: Russian State Statistics Committee, CIS Statistics Committee.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

tlSGE

TUROPE

Minsk Group co-chairmen visited the region in an attempt to restail the Karabakh conllict resolution talks.

Gouncil ol Europe reporl on Armenia holds out membership this year. Demeffio Volcic, the Council of

l0l

Europe's chief rapporteur on Armenia (right, with Armenian National Assembly Chairman Armen Khachatrian, far righQ reported that Armenia has made

"very considerable progress" in democratization and qualifles for

membership

in the 41-country

association after making a "written

commitment" to more political

andjudicial reforms and a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. In the past, Council of

Russian and US co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group visited Yerevan, Stepanakert and Baku with the hope of giving new impetus to the stalled Karabakh conflict negotiations. "Our mission is two-fold - to begin work on a new proposal and to look more intensively at the need for economic reconstruction of the region," said US mediator Carey Cavanaugh (second from left, above.)

ln late December, the French,

The co-chairmen held talks with the presidents, and other high-ranking officials, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh. The sides agreed that only a political solution could end the I l-year-old conflict. New in this latest Minsk Group mission was the economic element. The mediators pointed out that economic development can have a positive effect on the search for a political settlement of the conflict and provide the basis for a more sable peace in the region. On his way to Chechnya, OSCE Chairman-in-Offi ce Knut Vollobeck (right) visitedArmenia and met wittr President Kocharian and Foreign Minister Oskanian.

EIIROPE Three parliament Ghairmen ol the South Gaucasus met in Paris. The parliament speakers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia met at the Palace of Versailles in Paris. The meeting was hosted by the Chairman of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, who pointed out that many treaties were signed at Versailles and expressed hope that regional cooperation in the Caucasus will start there as well. In a joint declaration, the three chairmen - Armenia's Armen Khachatrian,

Azerbaijan's Murtuz Aleskerov and Georgia's Zurab Zhvania declared, "We agreed on the creation of a mechanism of consultations and cooperation in various spheres of legislation among our parlia-

ments proceeding from our common interests. We also decided to hold regular meetings under the aegis of Chairman Poncelet, to discuss issues concerning regional stability and security and to promote the development of cultural, economic and flnancial relationship between the South Caucasus and Europe." The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Strasbourg, France,

in May.

Europe (CE) officials have indicated a preference for simultaneous accession of Armenia and Azerbaijan after they resolve the Karabakh conflict. But, Lord Russell Johnston, President of the CE Parliamentary Assembly, stated in Yerevan during his visit last September that Armenia's accession will not be affected by the Karabakh dispute and its membership bid is not connected to Azerbaijan. Alain Chenard, the Chairman of CE's Congress of Local and Provincial Authorities, said during his visit to Yerevan in December, "In 20fi), the issue of Armenia's membership in the CE

will be settled

as there are

all the preconditions for it," he said.

Armenian parliamentarians met their European counterparts in Brussels. The Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee led a delegation to Brussels for the first constituent meeting of the European Union - Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. They discussed the Karabakh conflict and a wide range of joint projects between Armenia and the 15-member Union, including issues related to democracy, institutional and economic reform and Armenia's current economic situation. The decommissioning of Armenia's Nuclear Power Plant was the most hotly debated issue. Upon the Armenian side's insistence, the final date of the plant's shutdown, which was previously agreed for 20&1, was withdrawn from the final resolution. The possibility of developing altemative energy sources was also discussed, as was the Iran-Armenia gas

pipeline.

IRAN Expansion of bilateral relations enhances multilatelal and regional

co0peration. Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian paid an offlcial twoday visit to Tehran to promote bilateral political, economic and cultural ties. Oskanian met with Iranian Vice President Hassan Habibi,

who expressed his government's readiness for expansion

and

strengthening of relations with Armenia on a wide range of issues. "We attach special importance to the security and tranquility of the region," said Habibi, condemning the intervention of outside forces

in regional

affairs. Oskanian described Iran's stance on the

Karabakh conflict as "positive" and pointed out that Tehran's balanced regional policy has led to peace and stability. Meanwhile,

serious talks are continuing on a proposed gas pipeline from Armenia to lran.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

UIffiIINE

BUTGARIA Bulgarian head ol state paid ollicial visit to Armenia. hesident Petr Stoyanov of Bulgaria EtutGAnh

paid an official two-day visit to

Armenia in early December. During meetings with Robert Kocharian, a wide range of bilar

Armenia and Uhaine discuss gas pipeline extending lrom lran to Europe.

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian paid an official visit to Kiev where he met with his Ukrainian counterpart Boris Tarasyuk, as well as

rI,?irrrrli

President Leonid Kuchma and

eral and regional issues were discussed and a number of agreements were signed largely focus-

issues. Last year, bilateral trade stood at a modest $17 million. A group of

other officials. Discussions focused on a number of issues, including lagging bilateral economic relations. The sides stressed the importance of developing political and trade relations, and coopera-

Bulgarian businessmen accompa-

tion in regional developments

ing on economic

nying Stoyanov met

with

Armenian colleagues to discuss further cooperation.

In a joint statement, the presidents expressed "willingness to intensify the cooperation between the two countries'Foreign Ministries" and pay special attention to the "development and improvement of economic relations in indusfry, trade, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, construction, environmental protection and other spheres." The presidents reiterated their commitment to the European Union's TRACECA project to put in place a modem infrastructure that would link Europe to Central Asia via the South Caucasus tlrough a network of transportation and communication routes. "Bulgaria attaches particular importance to its geographical position on the way from Europe to Central Asia and the Caucasus, and is ready to serve as a gateway to Westem Europe forArmenia" said Stoyanov, who later paid a visit to Baku.

UNITED

for example, within the framework of TRACECA transport project and the Poti-Illichevsk train ferry system. New in Armenian-Ukrainian relations is the discussion of Ukraine's participation in the Armeniakan gas pipeline. The pipeline would run from southern Iran to Europe through Armenia and Ukraine. Minister Tarasyuk stated that the proposal had been made by his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi and that cunently talks are in their initial phase.

IrtrBlt$E Delense Minister gaue positive assessment ol Armenia.NAT0 relations.

NIIII|NS

The UN General Assembly debates language 0n Karabakh.

In early December, the UN General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue exploring the possibility of enhancing

cooperation, information exchange and coordination between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in

In particular, the Assembly welcomed and "expressed full support" to the 54-nation organization's activities in troubled areas, including Kosovo and Karabakh. Prior to taking action on a draft resolution, theAssembly was asked to vote on an amendment conceming Karabakh introduced by ttre representative of Azerbaijan, conceming "the conflict in and around ttre region of the Republic of Azerbaijan." The amendment was adopted by a majority. In response, Armenia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Movses Abelian reiterated that ttre Karabakh conflict '\pas undoubtedly one of the challenges facing the OSCE today," and "there can only be a political solution to the conflict, based on a mutual compromise." Abelian characteized Azerbaijan's amendmenq as "one-sided, biased and imposed a compulsory framework with which Armenia could not agree. Europe (OSCE).

Being an obvious attempt to predetermine the outcome of negotiations, that amendment rejected ttre language proposed by the OSCE Chairman-inOffice." He questioned Azerbaijan's seriousness, and said that the amendment further complicates the already difficult negotiations process.

While the resolution passed, together with Azerbaijan's amendment, the representatives of Russi4 France, the US (the three countries which co-chair the Minsk Group) did not vote in favor, and chose instead to abstain, presumably to preserve the language and approach adopted and agreed upon by the OSCE heads of state and the Minsk Group mediators.

Armenia's Defense Minister, Ueutenant{eneral Vaghanhak Hanrtiunian (above right, with former InteriorMinister Suren Harutiunian) participatedin the regular meeting of the 45-country Euro-Atlantic Partrership Council @APC), held at NATO headquarters in Brussels. In his address, Harutiunian presented the lessons that should be drawn

ftom the Kosovo crisis and drew

parallels with ttrc Karabakh conflicL tlarutiunian pointed out to his colleagues how various ethnic groups have been wiped out by nondemocratic regimes which justiff tlreir actions by the principle of tenitorial integrity. While in Brussels, Harutiunian also met with NAIO Secretary General George Robertson.

IRBImD Yerevan's diplomatic Golps grew by one new membet

Ireland's ambassador to Armenia David Donahue (resident in Moscow) presented his credentials to President Robert Kocharian. While discussing the development of bilateral relations in economic, trade and cultural spheres, Kocharian characterized Ireland's progress as "impressive and instructive" for Armenia.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

[$s[$SN[il0N

SIAIE ANII $OCIEIY

rtUuE$nG[il0|tl

Military prosecutor's investigation ol the October 27 assassinations raises many questions.

The continuing investigation of the parliament shootings conducted by military prosecutor Gagik Jahangidan is, according to some observers, turning into a "witch hunt." Some are fearful that instead of establishing who is ultimately responsible for the killings, this process is intended to weaken the authority of President Robert Kocharian. "Some people are beginning to use the case as a means of blackmail. And this is very dangerous," said Vazgen Manukian, chairman of the National Democratic Union. Besides the five gunmen, more than a dozen others have been arrested, including Harutiun Harutiunian, deputy director of Armenian National Television, and president of the Armenia branch of the Homenetmen (Armenian General Athletic Union.) However, the arrest that is potentially most explosive is that of top presidential aide Aleksan Harutiunian (no relation) who was indicted on charges of instigating the shootings. Soon after his long-time political ally was detained, President Kocharian indicated that Aleksan Harutiunian's arrest marked "the beginning of the second phase of an attempted coup." Kocharian went on to explain that if the assassinations themselves did not topple the govemment, then these slow but continuous attacks on those in office were intended to serve the same purpose. Amid allegations that those in custody were being mistreated, calls for the creation of an ad hoc parliamentary committee to monitor the ongoing

investigation were rejected by military prosecutor Jahangirian. "If I feel that the inquiry has come to a deadlock and there is a need for the National Assembly's help, I would definitely appeal to you," he told the deputies. Jahangirian also refuted allegations ofbias arising from his close relations with the Yerkapah Union, the Karabakh war veterans' organization opposed to Kocharian. Allegations of mistreatment gained currency when four members of parliament met with fellow deputy Mushegh Movsisian, who was detained in November. Among them, Vahan Hovanisian (ARF), chairman of the parliament commiftee on defense and security, reported

that Movsisian had been "severely beaten" by prison

guards.

Jahangirian ordered a thorough medical examination to establish the credibility of the torture allegations. Meanwhile, Artak Harutiunian, head of the military prosecutor's investigations department, rejected mistreatment allegations. It remains to be seen whether these increasingly politicized investigations will reveal those behind the killings or whether they will become the means for another major leadership change in Armenia.

Ull Committee presented a list 0l recommendations to the Armenian government on economic, social and Gultuta! tights.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued its observations during a meeting in Geneva on the situation in Armenia and four other countries. Armenia, Argentina, Bulgaria, Cameroon and Mexico presented reports to the Committee

keeping with their obligations as state parties to the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

signed by 142 countries. The UN Committee expressed concem about "the slow and complicated process required in Armenia for the adoption of new legislation which aimed to give effect to economic, social and cultural rights" in accordance with Armenia's Covenant obligations. It was also concerned that, "despite equality between men and women before the law, there were still discrepancies, in practice, in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights between men and women." The Committee requested that the Armenian government "take measures which would promote employment for women and their greater parlicipation in public life." In addition to problems related to housing, refugee resettlement and a number of related issues, the Committee "was alarmed by the fact that abortion remained the most commonly used means of family planning in the country due, in particular, to inadequate education and the high cost of contraceptives." The Committee recommended that a "family planning progftrm be set up for women, especially to decrease the incidence of abortion." The report commended Armenia's "efforts to comply with its obligations under the Intemational Covenant." The Committee also "acknowledged with appreciation the efforts made by the government to cope with the consequences of the many difficulties, in particular the natural disasters and armed conflicts, that have led to the current deteriorated economic, social and political situation." The Committee noted that despite those difficulties, cultural rights continued to be promoted. Over the last decade, "the serious negative effects of the difficult social, economic and political circumstances which the govemment of Armenia had faced," stated the Committee, have been complicated by "the obstacles arising from the trade blockade imposed by a number of its neighboring countries which had led to a reduction of trade activities

in Armenia." The Committee provided a list of useful recommendations to the Armenian govemment, among them ttrat "human righs education should be ensured in curricula at all levels ofeducation, as well as in relevant public institutions, such as the judiciary, administrative bodies and the police force."

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

PRI|IBIS

SGIENGE

PUBI.E

Engineers and scientists introduced a new medical device lor blood tests.

Detending soldiers'rights is a "thankless job" said leader ol a nine-month old oryanization. A protest demonstration by the

of the Engineering University's Department of Microelectronics and Biomedical Devices, Suren Khudaverdian,

The chairman

announced thatArmenian scientists developed an optoelectronic blood testing device which measures and analyzes complex medical data, including blood oxygen saturation, by non-intrusive methods. More functions such as a mini cardiometer to be added to the small device are under development at the university.

GlrE$S Armenian chess team leoorded historic victory at the European championships.

Soldier and Right organization was held in front of the National Assembly building demanding that the Parliamentary Committee

for Defense and the Internal Affairs and National Security Ministries should protect the righs of soldiers. In November, another Soldier and Right protest was held near

the Interior Ministry in support of the mother of soldier Robert Yegonian, who was killed in Karabakh.

Set up last March, Soldier and Right, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the Military Police, and rhe Military Procurator's Office, assists soldiers who are ill and visits hospitals. The organization also assists the parents of soldiers who have been

killed by helping uncover crimes committed against their children, according to Margarita Khachatrian, vice chairperson of the organization. She characterized theirjob as "thankless." Khachatrian alleged that unlawful actions are committed in the army and many sick soldiers are serving in the military, endangering their lives and the lives of their fellow soldiers. Last year, Human Rights Watch complained to President Robert Kocharian about "rampant physical abuse, beatings and torture of conscripts in theArmenian army that has led to numerous deaths." For the first time, the Armenian Men's Chess Team won the European championship in Batumi, Georgia. t ast year, the team swept the top tlree places at the New York Open as well. The four-member Armenian team played nine games and finished first with 22.5 points, ahead of Hungary and Germany, who came in second and third respectively. The victory attracted more attention since Armenia's two grandmasters had stayed home Vladimir

Akopian, the runner-up at last year's world championship in Las Vegas and Rafael Vahanian, a well-known player in various team events. "Armenia seems to have an abundance of chess talent," wrote

Lubomir Kavalek in The Washington Post. Upon their return to Yerevan, President Robert Kocharian met and congratulated the four champions - Smbat Leputian, kvon Arumian, Artashes Minasian and Ashot Anastasian. "This victory of yours belongs to all of us," said Kocharian. "Armenia has provided more proof that it is the world's leading chess country" he added. The Armenian women's team had also done very well at the European championships.

P01{s Armenia and Azerbaiian lreed two P0Ws each. After Yerevan released two Azerbaijani prisoners of war in mid-

December, Baku reciprocated by freeing two Armenians Ishkhan Mamoyan, 22, from Aygeshat village in Armavir and Vachik Chobanian, 42, from Nerkin Karmiraghbiur village in the Tavush region. The OSCE representatives in both countries mediated the exchange.

Public organizations lobby on behall 0, large families. A hold over frrom Soviet times is the expectation that those with large families are entitled to additional help from tlrc govemment. Thus, the Shiraz All-Armenian Benevolent Union for Large Families and Women of Armeni4 held protest rallies in front of the govemment building on December 24, demanding that the goverrurentpay attention to theirplight. Shiraz representative Mgen Ghazarian stated that his group has applied to various govemment agencies for assistance to large families since 1992.

It has offered for consideration a package of proposals which would alleviate the socio-economic burdens of large families, including new jobs, subsidized housing and electicity. However, according to Ghazarian, "not much has been done" and "the only man who really cared was the late Prime Minister Yazgen Sargsian. He promised to provide large families (four and more children) with free text-books," and other assistance.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

INDIA

IURIffiENISIAN Community in Turkmenistan wants chutch building and legal status. Invited by the Armenian Ernbassy in Ashgabad Father Vram Ghazarian

(right), 25, the Primate of the Armenian Church in Central

Churches in India announced the reopening of the Armenian College and philanthropicAcademy in Calcutta. According to the organization's chairman, Heros Avetoom, "orphans, poor and needy children'fromArmenia who were selected by the late Catholicos Karekin I of All Armenians have arrived in Calcutta "in two groups with some teachers." The students will be educated at the school, despite the fact that similar efforts several years ago were deemed unsuccessful. The children and teachers felt uncomfortable in a new and unfamiliar country, and the press in Armenia blamed the local organizers for unacceptable conditions.

Asia, who is based in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, paid a pastoral visit to the estimated 32,000-strong Armenian community in Turhnrenistan. Ghazarian

also participated

Needy students lrom Armenia arived in Galcutta urith theil teacherc to study at the Armenian College. The Organization for the Preservation of Armenian Schools and

an event

commemorating the 1lth anniver-

sary of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. "Father Vram was able to baptize 73, as well as rebaptizing 15 others - who had earlier been baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church - according to the canons of the Armenian

Apostolic Church," Ambassador Aram Grigorian told the Oxfordbased Keston News Service (KNS) from Ashgabad.

"All the the construction of the place site where took on a rites Armenian Embassy will soon begin. He did not conduct any other rites anywhere at all, as there is at present no functioning

Armenian church

Turkmenistan," continued Grigorian.

Turkmenistan, has so far denied registration to

all religious

groups except the officially-sanctioned Muslims and the Russian Orthodox Church. According to Ambassador Grigorian there are Armenians in Ashgabad, Mary, Nebit-Dag, Turkmenabad (formerly Chardjou) and Turkmenbashi. He noted that the communities desire to build churches in their respective cities, but "the Armenians here do not have money at the moment," he added. In the absence of their own church,

"Armenians sometimes go to Russian Orthodox churches. They sometimes even get baptized there, but this is mainly because of ignorance of the differences between the Orthodox and Apostolic churches," said Grigorian. In the port city of Turkmenbashi, an Armenian church was consecrated in 1905 but confiscated by the Communists in the 1920s. Currently the community is attempting to regain the right to use the church. According to KNS's Felix Corley, "Despite the ambassador's claims that the pove(y of the local Armenian community lies behind the failure to regain the church in Turkmenbashi and

establish churches

other

Turkmen towns, it is almost cer-

tain that state officials would block any attempt to register an Armenian church," as they have done with other churches and religious groups.

After long disputes over the adminisfation of the school and its prop erties, the Calcutta High Court issued a decree on February 15, 1999 giving "leave to His Holiness [the Catholicos] to administer the affain of the Armenian School in Calcutta in such manner as he proposes to do." Earlier in September 1998, Catholicos Karekin I had given his written commitment for "the direct supervision and responsibility of the management of the College." According to the London-based organization headed by Avetoom, "His Holiness's letter was the major and decisive factor in the subsequent chain of events that has led to an eventual satisfactory outcome."

GMMANY Gompiling names ol uictims 0t the Armenian Genocide. Almost 85 yean after the Armenian Genocide, the Munich-based Institute for Armenian Research announced a project to compile a list of all victims, "as a means to secure reparations for victims and their families." In a public communiqu6, the institute explained it has "already begun researching this project utilizing volumes of already existing materials" including "books, governmental documents and archives stored in various intemational organizations." In Armenia's archives,

speciflcally, the lnstitute employs several individuals who have already begun to accumulate the names of those who died during the Genocide of 1915. A questionnaire has been prepared for this purpose and the public is invited to participate in this large data collection project. "The utilization and storage of all documents will be determined in consultation with Armenian governmental and academic experts," said the announcement.

who was ordained a priest at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, in 1995, will pay further pastoral

This is the Institute's first project which requires this type of massive field work. In the 1970s and 80s, the Munich-based center which is affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun, had embarked on the publication of a series of volumes containing the Genocide-related archives of various European

visis toAshgabad and other towns.

governments.

Yerevan-bom Father Ghazarian,

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

uf,flGlrll

New Gatholic Patriarch and Synod visited Pope John Pau! ll. In mid-December, Pope John Paul

Mourad Topalian Delense Committee lormed.

defense committee has been

formed for the former chairman of the Armenian National Committee

received the newly elected Patriarch ofArmenian Catholics, Archbishop Nerses Bedros XIX in the

of America Chairman, Mourad Topalian, who was arrested in October on charges of conspiracy,

Vatican. Patriarch Nerses Bedros, whose See is in Beirut, Lebanon, was elected in October by the Annenian Cafiolic synod

concealing and storing stolen explo-

sives, improper storage of explosives, possession of machine guns and possession of firearms with

After celebrating the Divine Lihrgy with the Patiarch and about 100 members of the Armenian

defaced serial numbers.

Catholic synod, the Pope noted that the Patiarch's chosen name, Bedros [Peter] , is "a beaudfirl ard meaningfirl tradition of love toward this Apostolic Center," that has been practiced by "all Armenian Catholic Patriarchs." He wished that Nerses Bedros may follow the example of his patron, Saint Nerses, in being "a tireless promoter of communion, above all within (your own) Church, then within the marvelous harmony of Catholicism and flnally, in the longed-for path towards full communion with the beloved bretken of the Armenian Apostolic Church." John Paul tr earnestly urged Nerses Bedros, sayhg, "Your ministry requires vibrant spiritual strength. Awaiting you is the exhilarating task of reorganizing the Armenian Catholic Church, the starting point of which is conflrming and consolidating that Church in faith." The Pope particularly stressed that, "priests will be the principle object of your care. They request your help in finding the root and meaning of their ministry truly and solidly in Christ, and not in social position or personal prestige." And he added, "May the heritage of whole generations not be lost. Apart from the Pope, the entire Armenian people request this from you, for them the service of culture is also a guarantee of survival." Therc arc appnoxirnately l00,000Armenian Catholics ar,ound the world.

Topalian, was arrested

a longtime activist, in Cleveland, Ohio,

where he was an administrator in a community college. The govemment is linking Topalian to several of the attack in the 1980s in ttre US against Turkish govemment representatives or institutions. The Armenian National Committee, in its various press releases, is standing by is long-time leader, and seeking the community's support in his defense. Observers are questioning the timing of the arresg considering the case against Topalian had been developing over several years. Topalian is being represented by Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, whose father Paul had defended Hampig

Sassounian

1982, when the latter was accused

ofthe assassination of

Ttrkey's Consul General in [,os Angeles.

IRAN

Clrristiandenominations andorganizations who attendedtlre specialcercmony. During a private audience with the Pope, Mesrob tr presented him with a gift from the Armenian community in Turkey. While in Rome,

Following the death 0l Archbishop Manoogian, a new archbishop arrived in Tehran amid US charges 0l intolerance The Armenian Diocese of Tehran welcomed its new primate, Bishop Sebuh Sarkissian, 53, succeeding Archbishop Artak Manoogian (below) who passed away in November after 40 years of service. The Syrianborn Sarkissian is a member of the Brotherhood of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. Meanwhile, Artush Vanessian, chairman of the Armenian Council of Rasht, a northem city where some 2,000 Armenians have four churches, responded to US accusations ofreligious intolerance in kan. Vanessian stated "Such accusations are baseless." He explained that Armenians are considered kanian citizens and not an ethnic minority, and they enjoy "social and national rights." The Armenians in kan, the largest Christian community in the country, have two representatives in the hanian parliament. In an interview with ttrc TbhmnTi.rnes, representative Artavazd Bakumian stated that the Iranian Constitution recognizes

Pariarch Mesrob met with former Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic

religious minorities including

Church, Archbishop John Peter XVIII Kasparian, and Armenian Sisters of the lmmaculate Conception, in Rome. He also delivered a sermon to a large crowd of young members of the Community of Saint Egidio in Santa Maria Basilica in Trastevere. Reflecting on his fip to Rome, Pafiarch Mesrob said, "It was first and foremost a pilgrimage to a holy apostolic site, where together with the Pope and numerous other friends, I had the chance to pray on the threshold of the Third Millennium. It was also good to renew fratemal ties with the Church of Rome. Gven the fact that his health was so frail, it was sort of a miracle that His Holiness the Pope could undertake such long services on the occasion of the Opening of the Holy Doors." He also emphasized the importance of ecumenical dialogue among the churches. "I have always been at the service ofchurch unity, personally, and from within the unity of the Armenian Church as a whole," he added.

Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians who have complete freedom to practice their religions without any problem. "The constitution is important

Rtlrffi Patriarch ol lstanbul and All Turkey participated in the Jubilee Gelebrations. For the first time in history Pope John Paul II ceremonially opened the "Holy Door" of St. Paul's Church in Rome, marking the beginning of the Great Jubilee Year 2000. The Armenian Patiarch of Istanbul and all Trukey, Mesrob tr Muaffan was arnong the invited guesB ftom m4jor

AIM JANUARY

for us and all kanians have to abide by it," he added. Inreference to US

Secretary

State Madeleine

Albright's call to Congress to irnpose sanctions on tan and three other counties for'leligious intolerance," Bakwnian sai{ '\ve dont need sympathy from others, whatever righs we have we ae satisfied"

2OOO

'$ ffiffi&," ffie,e ex : {" **$*fi}fud: *.s fta..*. ^ r \a s s-r m* ffi"o & ? ; 3 .ffi"s"

{ i

ARMENIA'S WARM STOI\E g-e ffiru,.ffi-'dk q.F

ffi., S ffi

'stu*dMffi-

&$dh%ffiffi]& si w tsr w *& _{ &fr & s' w & jffi. ffi: qP q- ffi& & S ffi q_.ffi r$ffi,

ryeffi[ft,{;:;r,'

Trovertine-AR

Tuff

Felsite

fistp T*k*t {*rrurjert Muiirrl [*trri:ii: a surrtssfi:i *ud iarrl',: t{rlii}fltti

from lndia,

!il

.;anrs iiltli. Trl*;,,," rf rs

*f +;:*i*. qlirilrt* ilriit liiri*lt*::sr

[*i*;*, li*iilre,lrrrkny. i\lr"lli,;;*!" 5pnin, firnrr{ runri !l,ti1;

fulndltl fv]arhl* tlnunrtims

thq lirut arr# ri;:iy iil'ipr;rrrr

;l*li frisltr rllr[nllv

silss:iI y 17t'Jllfl,

trr.lrcl

'ifi

rirl{,

&ir:r;:ia* mlnr,l

it"

*i*hs ilnrJ fl{urh,s

tfi r,

llt

COVER STORY Hlstony

that the first imperial acknowledgment was issued on November 15,1847, recognizing the Protestants of Turkey as a separate communiry and granting them freedom of conscience and worship. In 1850, again through foreign diplomatic efforts, the rights and privileges of the Protestant community were per-

The founding of the Armenian Protestant church goes back to the lgth century during the "intellectual renaissance" that took place among Armenians within the Ottoman

Empire. Historians agree that a separate Armenian Protestant denomination was "imported" and "implanted" by European and

US missionaries but are divided over

manently defined

the

causes and affects of events which led to their establishmenl The first Protestant missionaries sent to

the Ottoman Empire were from the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England in l8l8 and later by the American Bomd of

Commissioners for Foreign Missions. In 1831, William Goodell, the first American

to arrive in Constantinople, founded the Mission of the American Board for the Armenians of Turkey. Two years later, two native Armenians, John Der-Sahakian and Paul Minassian, joined the mission. DerSahakian was appointed general superintendent of the Mission's high school in Pera. However, in 1837 the school was forced to close due to pressures from the Patriarch Mateos of Constantinople, the Armenian ethnarch in the Ottoman Empire and head of the Armenian Apostolic Church - the 'Mother Church." Despite the opposition of the Patrimchate, missionary

the evangelical movement made considerable headway with a following of about 500 peo-

ple. The Mother Church protested the activities of the missionaries among theArmenians.

Eventually, the confrontation led to a formal excommunication of Protestants by the Patriarch and even persecutions by the Ottoman govemment authorities. The missionaries in tum were critical of the Armenian Church. In a report, Goodell wrote, "Like all the Oriental churches, *rc Armenian [church] had become exceedingly

corrupt. It was almost wholly given up to superstition and to idolatrous worship of saints, including the Virgin Mary, pictures, etc. As with all rigid formaliries, the weightier matters of &e law and the gospel are considered of small account compared with the punctilious perfomrance of religious rites and ceremonies,"

The Protestants stated that their "supreme endeavorwas to help the Armenians work out a quiet but genuine reform in their church," but their gradual attack on the established Apostolic Church lead to fierce confrontations. Eventually the Protestants sought the protection and intervention of American and European govemments to defend their "rights."

By May

1846, the Evangelicals were

by an

imperial firman

(edict) and the Protestants were authorized to elect a civil head. Stephen Seropian was the first person chosen for this position. By the end of 1860, the Protestant Church had grown to 23 mission stations; 65 outstations; 50 missionaries and 50 female assistants; 40 evangelical churches, with a total membership of almost 1,300. Wthin three decades, however, the relationship between theApostolic and hotestant Armenian churches was cordial enough to permit the collaboration on a modern Armenian New Testament, which was published under the Armenian Patriarch's imprimatur in the 1890s and freely circulated among the Armenians. (Goodell had pub-

lished the first Bible for Turkish speaking authorized to resume their "normal" life as Protestants. This ended the civil persecution

of the hotestants. But a few months later, on the occasion of

the feast of Ejmiatsin, Patriarch Mateos issued an encychcal ofperpetual condemnation and anathema against all Protestants to be publicly read at every annual return ofthe festival throughout the churches. Thus, "the reformers," originally

a $oup within

the

church, now excluded from the church's fellowship, formed a rival organization outside the church - the Protestant community.

Armenians in 1842 and Elias Riggs published a modern Armenian Bible in 1853.) The Evangelical Church has come a long way since the controversies sunounding its establishment. As Vahan Tootikian, a prolific minister who resides in Michigan, who currently heads theArmenian Evangelical Union of North America, writes, "When every criticism has been made, and every allowance recorded for the imperfection of the

Armenian Evangelical Church, the fact remains that she worked her way into many corners of the life of the Armenian Nation. Obvious faults and weaknesses must not hide the deeper significance of the Evangelical

A constitution was drawn up for the Armenian Evangelical Church, which provided a model of govemment halfivay between Congregationalism and Presbyterianism. On

Movement because measured by its effects, it proved itself a potent force among the

July 1, 1846 the constitution was formally

Ilrc

adopted by the evangelicals of Constantinople

massacres of Armenians (1895 to 1908) and the 1915 genocide ofArmenians in

and the First Armenian Evangelical Church of Constantinople (with a total of 40 members) began.

Within months,

meeting

the

"Protestant Nation" (millet) was called in Constantinople and an executive committee of four was appointed to represent the community in its extemal relations. This committee submitted a petition to the local govemor requesting separation from the Armenian community and the granting of a charter. Four petitions were sent to the Sultan in the space of a few months. However, it was only through the intervention of British diplomats AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Armenian people." GlunG{r in

fto 0laspona

The

the Ottoman Empire resulted in the loss of Protestant Armenian leaders as well. The American Board liquidated its 100-year interest in Turkey and withdrew from the field. Armenian Protestant congregations began to scatter around the world. Starting in 1923, Armenian Evangelical churches were established in Syria and Lebanon through the efforts ofpreachers and

later

in kan, Greece, Egypt

and Cyprus.

Churches in America were established much earlier, in the late 19th century, as Amrenians from the Ottoman Empire had come to the

COVER STORY loose association of five unions (North America, Near East, France, Armenia, Eurasia) and one fellowship (SouthAmerica) and more recently, another in Eurasia (see chart, next page.) In turn, each Union is an association of local churches in a given geographic area. Membership in a Union by a local congregation is entirely voluntary. The Unions do not dictate over member churches,

1ffi

which are ecclesiastically autonomous and independent. Rather, the Unions coordinate, organize and define conduct for the enhancement of the church's various minisffies. For example, the constitution of the Near

East Union is different from the North America Union, where there is more focus on cooperation than administrative authority. "In the Near East, the Union is more cenffalized in terms of links befween churches, while in North America it is decentralized,"

explains Rev. Megerdich Karageozian, "new world" for better oppornrnity. The first Evangelical church (ust as the first Apostolic

recent years that the AMAA, the mission arm of the church, has become ttre de faco "centel'of

the church, not through "election" but by

Today, there are about 100 Armenian

behalf of the Evangelical community. lndeed, at the first everArmenia-Diaspora Conference last September in Yerevan, where for the first time representatives of the Armenian nation

church)

in North America was founded

Worcester, Massachusetts.

Evangelical churches around the world. "The Armenian Evangelical Church does-

n't have a hierarchy," says Rev.

Movses Janbazian, Executive Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA). Unlike the Apostolic and the Catholic

Churches, the Evangelicals do not have a supreme head or cental headquarters. It is only in

acclaim and in recognition of its work on

gathered under one roof, Rev. Janbazian represented the Evangelical Church and was seated along with the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches.

The Armenian Evangelical Church is

hesident of the Near East Union. Various Unions have different constitutions and modus operandi and each member church has its own administrative model. 'Union bylaws draw fromboth Congregational and Presbyterian models, but they focus on the Armenian context and the specifics of Armenian communities," says Rev. Karageozian. The Union in France presents yet another model. Unlike all other Unions, the French

concentrate morg on mission than administration. "They have a very good system of

exchanging pastors and coordinating their services," explains Karageozian. In France,

|ilf,[r 0r ffimffi fll,ml

UilIOil llT IIIE !TE[R E[$I

uilt0il 0r ffililGt

ffiblisherl 1$1

Established 1924

(East and West coasts merged in 1971 )

OOIJNIRY/$T$U/CITY

CONGREEANON

US & GAIIADA

Egvpt

Calilor*ia

Greecg

lran*

ilassachusstls

Lebanon

t{iqFJgen

Hampshirs

CONGREGATION

lllinrh

ll6w

7 Active Glergy* 12 Congregations

25 Active Clergy 26 Gongregations

28 Active Clergy 25 Congregations

Syria

1 Alexandria 2 Athens 3 Tehran 6 Beirut 5, Anjar

Bourg-Les-Valence

Damascus, Homs

Tu*ey

lstanbul

tlr*

Australiat

Sydney

Decines 1

11 Aleppo 5, Kessab 4,

llwJersey Yodc

Allortville

lssy-Les-Moulineaux

Lyon

Marceille Montelimar Paris Ponl D'Aubenas

* Aho serves ths Assyrian Eva[gelical congregation.

lncluded in the Near East Union as the origins of the eongregation h from the Middle East.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

..All pastors ara born in France.

COVER STORY every seven to 10 years, pastors go through a mandatory rotation, a procedure not practiced, for example, in Lebanon.

Like other churches, the

Armenian

Evangelical Church has also experienced decades-long internal and external problems. Externally, since its establishment, relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church have not been always smooth. While cordial

relations were maintained on the formal level, the Armenian Apostolic Church had always seen the Evangelical community as the "separated brethren," and along with the

Catholics, did not consider them "fully Armenian." In recent years, however, with

the changes of circumstances in

the

Armenian world and as the Evangelical leadership has reaffirmed the place and role of the Apostolic Church as the "Mother Church," a better atmosphere and spirit of cooperation has been established.

For religious nationalists, one can not be Armenian and Protestant at the same time. The term Protestant - together with all its distorted mispronunciations: "Porot" for Protestant,

'Bereder" for Brother

- is still used in a

derogatory sense by some. Still, those who use these divisive terms are unaware that such "national" heroes as Soghomon Tehlirian, who assilssinated Genocide architect Tialaat Pasha, was a Protestant.

Southern Califomia real estate broker who is

paradox, this is not unique to the Evangelicals, it applies to all Armenians. The fear of assimilation is not a denominational issue." Full rapprochement is not anywhere near, but in recent years the Apostolic Church hierarchy and laity have increasingly accepted the legitimacy the Armenian Evangelical Church. On its part, ttre Evangelical Church has made it clear that its mission is not'tonverting" Armenians to the Protestant faith, but the overall spiritual, moral and mental well-being of the Armenian people regardless of their creed. Perhaps, the most signiflcant endorsement

active within and outside the Evangelical community. Most recently, Khanjian has

taken on the presidency of Armenia Fund Inc. of the Westem US. "But in reality the Armenian Evangelicals did not even think

about this duality. They were and felt as Armenian as anyone else," he continues, tracing the roots of the derogatory distinction

"The distinction between our in the Middle East to Patriarch Mateos's

'Armenian' and 'Evangelical' identity was more emphasized in the Middle East by the

Apostolics," says

l[uN

Zavel Khanjian, a

rmffiul

Esiaoi,siieni3ss Aclive Cleryy 18

Congregalions

anathema in the late l9th century. But, in North America, it is different says Khanjian. "While we are aware of this identity

rEtow$p 0t flHtilEutrI flnffH lnffil ffilmffiS 0t All are Spanish- aild Portuguei $psakiflg I HlftPf c0ngregati0ns. ,ElrllUEEElL

i ert Established ur,r,,ru 1998

c0ut\tTfiv

lncludiog Ysreva0, Vanadsff, Gumri, StepanavaE ard others.

CONGREGAll$'

BelUium

Bulgaria

ufltu

Hmfisl

EstablishBd 1g95

6 Active Clergy [excluding

Armenial

8 Gongregalions [excluding Armenial

1 Brussels 4 Sofia, congregations

in Plovdiv, Russe, Vama

England

Franâ&#x201A;Źr

See France

Grgeeg

See Near East

Tu*ey

See Near East

80$rcRE6ATtff{

Ar0efiifia

Buenos,Aires

Vaecon&illos '

London

[flUElIIrU EtnffiESAt W(IRIII SOUtllGil. Established 1986

coNGHEoAtroil

Armenia

See Armenia

Goorgia

Consultative body made of two representatives from each 0f the five Unions and the European

Tbilisi 3, Akhalkalaki 2,

$ukhumil Rusla

Moscow, Sochi

There are les$ than 5,000 Evanaelicals in ail 0f

AIM JANUARY

lufiips.

2OOO

Fellowship, two AMAA representatives and one representative from the Stephen Philibosian Foundation.

,*7 :1..,1: I

COVER STORY came from the late Catholicos Karekin

aid after the earthquake, they organized volunteers to go to Armenia," says Janbazian. ln France, worship services are conducted in French and Armenian, and some churches are attended by non-Armenian members.

Church in the life of the Armenian nation in the last century and a half and "prayed for

There are also varying degrees of "Armenian consciousness" among the congregations in North America. Some have assimilated into local Protestant denominations, preserving only the "Armenian" in the name of the church. Others have a mixture of

I of All Armenians when he participated in the Evangelical Church's l50th anniversary celebrations in Yerevan. The Catholicos praised the ministry of the Evangelical the Armenian Evangelicals to become stronger and spread their spiritual values

among [the] nation, together with Armenian

Apostolic Church."

both Armenian and non-Armenian members and preserve a "balance" between the two "cultures." Still in other churches English is used exclusively as the language for services and preaching. In what is possibly the largest

lssrps ol ldenflU Intemally, local and regional Evangelical congregations have not always agreed on docrinal, theological or national issues. The freedom of each congregation to follow its own theological and administrative course, has made

it virtually impossible to establish a

common Armenian Evangelical identity. "There are Armenian Protestants who do not wish to be called Evangelicals," explains Khanjian, "because they associate the term with Christian fundamentalism. They'd rather be called Presbyterians or Congregationalists." Yet, he continues, "The founding fathers ofthe Armenian Evangelical Church consciously chose to be called Evangelical (literally 'of the Gospel', or Avedararwkan) because it best described their belief and mission." For years, Khanjian has been one of the strongest supporters of preserving the Armenian identity of ttre church. He was among those who first pushed for the idea of an Evangelical

US congregation, the United Armenian Congregational Church (UACC) in Los is the only Evangelical Armenian day school in Norttr America and some 300 students (most from non-Evangelical families) are taught the standard Califomia curriculum, Armenian language and history as well as religion.

Still, in some areas, some congregations have completely lost their Armenian character. In Argentina, "the Church has lost is Armenian and Evangelical image," says Rev. Janbazian, who served in Brazil as pastor in the late 1970s. Now a Greek colleague ministers to the Armenian community in Sao Paolo. 'They are aware that they are Armenians. They don't speak the language very well, yet they feel Armenian. As a visitor you wouldn't know that they are Armenians, but they iden-

School. Today, the Charlotte and Elise

tify

Merdinian School in Sherman Oaks, Califomia,

Paulo church was one of the first to mobilize

themselves

with Armenians. The

Sao

Angeles, Califomia, earphones were installed in the sanctuary and simultaneous interpretation was instituted as a way of appeasing

both Armenian-Americans as well as newcomers from the Middle East. The US-born Rev. Ron Tovmassian, 43, senior pastor at UACC, doesn't see any problems in living with two identities. "Armenian is one's nationality and Christianity is a person's choice and faith," he says. Of the Union's 28 active clergy in North America, half like Tovmassian, are in their 40s or younger. "Our church serves two purposes: primarily to propagate the Gospel of Christ and to do that ministry in the context of our Armenian heritage," explains Tovmassian whose father and grandfather were also ministers in the Armenian Evangelical Church. "AMAA has always emphasized the preservation of *re Armenian heritage, including language and culture," says Janbazian. Yet teaching the Armenian language is not part of the church's ministry in the US, although

some churches such as the Armenian hesbyterian Church in Paramus, New Jersey, do have Sanrday Armenian classes. Apart from the issue of language, Rev. Janbazian considers "loss ofArmenian identi-

ty" as one of ttre major

issues facing the Armenian Evangelical churches. The other

two he mentions arc "loss of spiritual zeal" and

"a decline of srong sense of commitment to mission of the Armenian Evangelical church." The comments of Michael Agbabian, 29, a television and film producer, strnd in stark contrast to Janbazian's concems, however. Agbabian, the grandson of two pastors, is active in the Evangelical community. "I feel

more comfortable in that environment. It's more casual. It's in plain English. I get the message," he says. His involvement does not end with the church, either. "The younger AIM JANUARY

2OOO

/\INI

AH[lI[lIAII IilIIR[lAIIOI{AT illAIAIIIJI

PUTIOU REAIIERSURUEY

GIUE US A PIEGE tlF YllUR MIND Dear Reader, This is your chance to make AIM the kind of magazine you want to see every month. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions below. Your input is more valuable than the help of all the consultants and professionals in the world. Rest assured that the information you submit is for our use only, and is strictly confldential. Your honest, complete answers are important to us. That is why we do not ask you for your name. We do want to say

thank you for taking the time to help improve AIM, Once yoube answered all the questions, please pull out these four pages, fold in half, tape the sides together and return by mail. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. If you'd Iike to tell us your name and address, we'd be happy to send you a CD, completelyfree, as ourw&y of saying thanks. If you'd rather remain anonymous, please accept our sineere thank you. l. fue you a current AIM subscriber?

10. What are your main reasons for reading AIM? Check all that apply-

o Yes oNo

2. This copy you are

o o

currently reading is

Your subscription A gift Someone else's copy

3. For how long have you been a reader

Coverage

ofDiaspora issues

O Info about fumenia o Info about the Caucasus and the region O News of international Armenian communities o Info about business and economy o Info about the arts o Stories about interesting people

ofAIM?

o I year or less o Between I and 3 years o Between 4 and 6 years o Over 6 years

o o o

Social and political issues Opinion and commentary Other

11.

AIM is credible.

Tlue

Somewhat

true

O False

False

4. Apart from yourself, who else reads your copies of AIM?

o Spouse/partner o 0ther family members o Colleagues

12.

O Friends

13,

o 0ther

people O Nobody else

than yourselfalso read or browse

through your personal copies of AIM? (If none, write 0) Male

Female

Somewhat

true

False

AIM helps me understand what's going on,

l}ue

15.

O Somewhat

AIM has a global rather than a local perspective.

l}ue

14.

5. How many people other

AIM is easy to read.

Thre

Somewhat

true

False

AIM is my main source of information on Armenia.

Tlue

o Somewhat

true

False

6, Is there a person under age 25 in your household?

OYes oNo

(lfyes,

16.

does he/she read

AIM? o

Yes

No)

7. Overall, how would you rate AIM? O Excellent O Fair O Poor

Tlue

true

Ttue

18. AIM's

o o

o Somewhat

true

Too

Somewhat

true

subscription rate is

high o Too low o Just right

AIM provides information not easily found elsewhere.

Tlue

Somewhat

true

False

17. Most ofthe articles in AIM are about subjects you are encountering for the first time.

AIM provides analysis and background not easily found elsewhere. o o Somewhat o False

AIM articles are generally too long.

Tlue

False

Please proceed

to next page,

False

ffiWffiffiW ffiWW ffire AIMEADERSURUEY 19. How thoroughly do you normally read each issue of AIM? o Read entire issue

o Read about half o Don't read anything, I just

flip through the pages

20. I regularly reado Editor's Note o Bytes on File

32. What do you do with your copies ofAIM after you have flnished reading them? Check all that applyo Save for reference

o Letters to the Editor o Other People's Mail o Notebook o Underexposed o Essay o News Briefs o Cover Story o Business Stories o Arts Stories o Connections o Religion & Education o Other

o o o o o

arrives, and put

(but don't always have a chance) o Look through it when it arrives and read o Read it during the day that it arrives o Pick it up 2-4 times during the month

down to read later

within

week

23. I want AIM to do more investigative reporting of Diasporan and Armenia-based institutions: o Disagree o

Agree

I want AIM to

cover social issues more frequently (sexuality,

intermarriage, identity, etc.)

Agree

o The Economist o Forbes/FortuneBusiness Week o NewsweeMlime o People o National Geographic o ProfessionaVtrade publications o Fashion magazines o Entertainment magazines o Your local newspaper

o Other 34. How many other

fumenian related periodicals do you

receive?

o None o 1-2 o 3-5 o o None o 1-2 o 3-5 o o None o 1-2 o 3-5 o

fumenian language English language 0ther language 35. Do you purchase

oYes

Armenian

Disagree

CD's?

oYes

oNo

Ifyes, how many during the last year?

05+

Agree

37. Have you visited Armenia?

o Yes (If yes, when was the last time? How many times in 1999?

want AIM to present more arts and culture articles,

Disagree

Agree

Disagree

29. I want AIM to present more articles about the Diaspora and less about Armenia. o Disagree o

Agree

30. Were you moved

oNo

oNone

28, I want AIM to present more profiles and success stories,

to take

any action as a result of having read

article?

ol 02

03+

38, How many times have you traveled internationally during the past two years?

oNone

ol 02

o3+

39. How many times have you traveled within your country of residence?

oNone

a speciflc article?

o No o Yes If Yes, which

36. Do you purchase books on fumenia and Armenians?

ol-2 03-4

26, I want AIM to stay awayfrom controversial topics. o Disagree

Agree

oNo

o o

Ifyes, how many during the last year? o 1-4 o 5-9 o 10+

Disagree

25. I want AIM to present more critical articles about Diaspora institutions: church, political parties, schools, cultural organizations, etc.

Other (specifr

Which, if any, of the following publications do you read? o Financial TimesAVall St. Journal/IH Tlibune

22. Which of these best describes the way you read AIM?

24.

Clip/copy articles ofinterest Discard Give/loan to someone else Place in public area

33.

21. 0n average, how much time do you devote to reading each issue of AIM? o One hour or less o 1-2 hours o More than 2 hours

o Look through it when it

31. Which of the following actions have you taken as a result of reading an advertisement in AIM? Check all that applyo Purchased advertised item o Contacted advertiser for info o Recommended purchase of advertised item o Saved ad for reference o None ofthe above

40.

o1 02

03+

Where do you live?

Country

City

$PMT llUT IlT AIMEADERSURIIEY 41. What languages do you know besides English?

42, Where were vou born?

56. What type of home is your principal residence? o House you own O House you rent o Condominium or apartment you own o Apartment you rent

o Other City

Country

57. Total number of cars in your household? 43. Have you made a donation or fund in the last year?

fumenia

For For the Diaspora 44.

to an fumenian project, program

fue you a member of an fumenian organization?

in an fumenian organization?

oYes ONo held office in a non-fumenian organization?

oYes oNo 47. Do you

l-2 o 3+

OYes ONo

oYes oNo

46. Have you ever

58. Do you have access to a computer?

o Yes O No o Yes o No

45. Have you ever held office

O None

59. Do you use e-mail?

oYes oNo 60. How often do you use the Internet (other than for e-mail)?

o Daily O At least once a week / but not daily o At least once a month / but not weekly

o Few times a year o Never

attend church? 61. Which of the following have you attended during the last three months? Check all that apply-

OYes oNo

o Other

o Concert o Sports event o Cinema o Museum o Theater

49. Are you:

62. How many countries have you lived in, in your lifetime?

48,

If yes, what denomination?

o Armenian Apostolic o Armenian Catholic o Armenian Evangelical

o Male o

oOne oTko o2+

Female

50. What is your age?

Under

25 o 25-34 o 35-44 o

51. What is your

45-54 o 55-64 o 65+

o Once

Thice o More than twice

marital status?

o Sin$e o Married o Widowed o 52. What is

63. How often have you purchased computer-related equipment during the last three years?

Divorced,/Separated

the highest educational level you have achieved?

o Less than secondary o High schooVsecondary diploma o 2-year college degree o 4-year college/university degree o Master'Vdoctorate or equivalent

64. Which of the

Stocks/shares

Please proceed to next page.

YE$IYE$I

53. What is your working status?

o Full-time employed o Part-time employed o Self-employed o Retired o Student o Homemaker o Unemployed

following do you own? o Mutual funds o Works ofart

THfrTMTE.ED; EiST/I"\8T

NAUE

STTEET ADDRESS

r,ff

54. What is your occupation?

STATE

Couunv

rEtEPffoTlO

55, What was the total combined income of all members of your household before taxes for lggg? o Zero-50,000 o 50,000-75,000 o 75-100,000 o 100,000+

O NO THINKs, I DON'T WANT IHE CII. rII RATHER REMAIN INONYMIIUS.

$TffiK

ffiruY XM AIMEADER$UruEY 72. What has been your greatest source of disappointment in AIM?

65, How many people in your family smoke? o None o One O More than one 66. How many people in your family e4joy an occasional drink? o None o One o More than one 67. Do you bring drinks as gifts?

73. What do you

like most about AIM?

74. What do you

like least about AIM?

oYes oNo 68. Number of nights you stayed in a hotel last year:

o Zero o

l-7 o 8-14 o l5+

69. Number oftimes you rented a car last year:

o Zero o

l-3

o 4+

70. What AIM articles do you most remember from previous years?

75.

Ifyou could changejust

one thing about AIM, what would

it be?

71. What has been your greatest source of satisfaction in AIM?

FROM I|UISIIIE U$[ IPPRI|PRIIIE PIISIAGE MUSI BE PAIII BY SENIIER.

NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE

UNITED STATES

MAIL BUSINESS REPLY NO.495 FIRST-CLASS

MAIL

PERM]T

GLENDALE, CA

POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE

ARMENIAN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE P. O. BOX 10793 GLENDALE CA 91209.9725

COVER STORY people in the Evangelical community are usually in that circle only. I am more involved in other things as well, such as the AGBU and the Armenian Assembly," says Agbabian, continuing, "but I am not the norm." Still, he says he has noticed "there is a growing group of junior high/high school aged people coming to

[the United Armenian Congregational Churchl who are active in youth programs. I think that is cool." This more liberal, consensual and accommodating organizational model of the Armenian Evangelicals can be considered one of the most significant elements of their success. At the beginning of the new millennium and in the age of globalization, the Armenian Evangelical Church seems to be ahead of all other Armenian organizations: organizationally decentralized but unified in mission. This is in contrast to other religious, political and civic organizations with very strong chains of command. The Armenian Evangelicals have also been among the pioneers ofeducation in postgenocide Armenian communities, especially in the Middle East. The establishment and support of schools is part of the Armenian Evangelical'tulture." The fact that most of their students come from non-Evangelical families has been a factor in the improvement of relations between the Evangelical and Apostolic communities.

IMIT Confrary

popular perception, the

Armenian Missionary Association of America, the AMAA, established in Worcester in 1918, is not a church, but an association which implements the 'tommon mission" of the evangelical churches. It's supported by congregations in other countries, as well. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian Evangelicals have kept step with the times. WithAMAA's help, three new unions were founded to better serve the needs oftheir congregations: the 50 church and fel-

lowship Union of Armenia, the Union of Eurasia, which includes congregations in Russia and Georgia. and the recently estab-

lished Fellowship of Armenian Evangelical Churches of Europe, embracing congregations in Eastern Europe. The AMAA's mission focuses on charity, education, financial assistance and "the spiritual growth and development of theArmenian people." And not just the Armenian people. "When there is a major disaster with great tragic consequences, we as a Christian organization and as an organization of a people who has suffered a lot and enjoyed the assistance

others in the past, show solidarity with other

nations'disasters. Thank God we can do it; we can help others because we are well offnow," says Janbazian and cites recent assistance to earthquake and flood victims from Colombia to Nepal to Cameroon. Colleague agencies present the AMAA with requests for funding and "we participate with one time gifts," explains Janbazian. The cooperation doesn't stop there. In the spirit of Christian reciprocity, "they help us with projects in Armenia," he continues. But there is no argument that the bulk of the AMAA s resources go to Armenian causes, and to Armenia. Since the 1988 and especially after Armenia's independence, the Armenian Evangelical Church, through the AMAA has sent about $1.5 million in aid to Armenia alnually, according to Janbazian. To enhance its long term commitrnent to assisting Armenia, it has established an office in Yerevan where some 38 local and Diaspora staff members implement the church's projects, which concentrate on humanitarian aid, relief, education, and construction. One of the largest projects of the organization is the sponsorship of 2,100 orphans who are given

food and clothing on a regular bash AIM, February 198.)

(see

"Our people is a responsive peopte, no matwalk of life. lf you explain things to them clearly, with a clear projecq they respond. ter what their

We don't have problems raising funds for Armenia"" says Rev. Janbazian. The AMAAs budget this year is $5.2 mffion. It's nret largely *mough income firom endowment funds and investrnents. The rest conrcs

anyone

from donations.

still had doubts about

the

"Armenianness" of the Evangelical Church,

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Rev. Janbazian's statement at the ArmeniaDiaspora Conference last September tried to put the issue to rest once and for all. He expressed the Armenian Evangelical Church's wish and support for Karabakh's liberation and independence, for the defense and security of Armenia, for the creation of conditions for political stability and a democratic system of govemment in Armenia, for a vitalized Armenian economy, for reform and modemity in Armenia's educational sys-

tem and for Armenian genocide recognition

by a greater number of nations and international bodies.

Mlsshn Gmllnuos This combination of patriotism

and

national aspirations could have come from either of the Apostolic church leaders pre-

sent at the Conference. What

made

Janbazian's speech "typically" Evangelical was his call for a return to the "former spiritual values" and "the faith' of the nation's ancestry. Rather than a narrow denominational understanding, he gave a wider, ecu-

menical definition

to the mission of

the

Armenian nation. "In 301 AD, our forebears made a covenant with Jesus Christ. If we fulfill our commitrnent to that covenant, then God will abundantly bless our small but precious nation, and He will make our nation a source of blessings not only to its sons and daughters, but also to its neighboring peoples and to all humanity. We believe this is our nation's reason for being; this is our people's mission in the world; and this is the

God-ordained destiny [Armenian] race."

of our Haigazian

everend Movses Janbazian of the Armenian Missionary Association of America reminisces about his various relief missions to Armenia.

Evangelical community has a well-defined niche.

with Hamt Sassounian of the United Armenian Fun{ we put forward a large sum and found

Soon after Armenia's independence, the remnants of the only two Armenian Evangelical communities in Soviet Armenia - the Baptists and the Evangelicals which were forced to merge and register as one community in the Soviet period - came out into the open and began to reorganize. In 1994,

abciut 160 tons of baby formula. I went to Ewope

they formally registered with the government

lifted from there in eight airlifu. "The Minister of Health had called volunteers to download the products. Armenia was freezing and it was cut off from the world. The fint day I saw these thin people working hard without eating. On the way back to Amsterdam, I asked the pilot to bring more sandwiches from the airport catering service. He brought a lot of them. We distributed them to the workers. I saw that an o1d man put one in his pocket. I said to him, 'why don't you eat it?' He said I have a grandson at home. The thin, old man working in the snow, cold,

and in 1995, they established the Union of Evangelical Churches in Armenia with some

*In

1994, we received a call to

send infant formula. We coordinated

and it was air

hungry, saved the little sandwich grandson. I

will

for

his

never forget this."

It is stories like this that explain the Diaspora's continuing humanitarian assistance to Armenia.

In that huge

endeavor, the Armenian

50 churches and fellowships and almost two dozen native clergymen. The Pentecostals are not part ofthe Union and are affiliated with their "home" churches in the US and Sweden. They also have theological differences with other Evangelicals, such as the emphasis on the role of the Holy

Spirit in the life of a Christian. Many Pentecostals believe that "administrative cooperation" with other churches or a Union

would imply theological compromise and impede their autonomy. The organizational model for the Union in Armenia'ts a mixture of the Unions in the US and Irbanon," says Rev. Rene lronian, 48,

who is AMAA's representative in Armenia and President of the Union of Eurasia. '"The AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Church in Armenia is loosely cenralized, but each local community is autonomous," he says. It is centralized in general organizational issues and in determining the criteria for ordination of clergy, but each congregation is "autonomous in theological issues" and has "total freedom" in conducting their internal affain, explains lronian. The Union coordinates the church's Christian education program for all ages. It offers weekly programs for youth in spo(s, arts, crafts, choirs, musical bands and Bible studies in 35 centers throughout Armenia where thousands of children take part. The Union also helps local congregations

become self-sufficient with worship places and resources to conduct their ministries. The majority of the congregations in Armenia rent buildings for worship. The first church building erected after independence was in Stepanavan, a northem town severely damaged during the 1988 earthquake. *We help in the organization of communities and make sure they have acceptable conditions to have qualified clergy with proper theological education," says Leonian, who has been serving in Armenia since 1994. Indeed, in order to provide qualified min-

COVER STORY isters for the church's ministries in Armenia, 1997 the Union established a theological

seminary

Yerevan,

with a

four-year

Bachelors degree program and a two-year Masters program. There is also a two-year Christian Education program for both male and female students.

Currently some 40 students, mostly natives of Armenia and some from Georgia, study the Bible, theology, history psychology and sociology. One third of the faculty are from Armenia and two-thirds from the Diaspora - Lebanon, France and the US. Recently, one student was sent to the Fuller Theological School in Pasadena, California,

and another to the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon, to further their education. Rev. Leonian, who holds a doctorate in

theology from the University

Lyon,

France, and a second doctorate in education, is the dean of the seminary, and draws upon his decades-long pastoral experience in the courses he teaches. Ordained

attheageof22,

Leonian served Armenian congregations in Lyon and Paris for l9 years and was the chaplain of the largest prison in Paris. From 1993 to 1994, Leonian was chief of staff at the Armenian Embassy in Paris and was instrumental in the establishment of the embassy. His pharmacist wife, Sylvie, also serves in Armenia at the church's medical clinic in Yerevan.

"In view of the many social and moral in our society in Armenia,

problems

Christianity should become a part of family life again," says Rev. l-eonian, who preaches every Sunday at a rented hall on Bagramian Street in Yerevan, where on average some 300 worshippers attend the services. Some pastors preach in Eastern Armenian, others in Western. All try to make religion relevant to people's lives.

"We need to explain not only what religion is, but what faith is. People are thirsty for spiritual nourishment," says Leonian. But he wams that Christianity should not be presented as another "belief system." "The Soviet system collapsed and with it went an ideology that people upheld; if Christianity is presented as another ideology then people will reject it. They want to be free in their faith relations, they want to see sincere leaders who practice what they preach, not just nice talk, or clergy who do not believe what they are preaching," explains Leonian. "When people see your kind and sincere faith, they become more convinced of the values you preach than what the cults are offer-

ing," he adds. To teach aboutreligion and faith, Bibles and devotional literature are offered to the public. More than 700,000 pieces of scripture publications alone have been distributed, and, every year, 66,000 children's Bibles are passed out to all first graders in Armenia and Karabakh, upon ttre request of the Ministry of Education. To demonstrate their commitment to improved quality of life, the AMAA operates medical and dental clinics in Yerevan, Vanadsor and soon in Stepanavan. Shipments of milk formula for infants with special nutritional needs continue to be made through the United Armenian Fund, and around 750 chil-

dren benefit. Regular food stuff and fuel assistance goes to orphanages and schools. School buildings are renovated, various schools are sponsored, with every need from repairs to textbooks covered by the AMAA, 6,000 undernourished children and orphans from Armenia and Karabakh attend a weeklong summer camp program. All aid is not in the humanitarian sphere.

The Polytechnic Institute, now called the State

Engineering University ofArmenia also

receives help

from

the

AMAA.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

In the past, they even invested in a renewable energy program. It has since been turned over to the Engineering University. The AMAA has also sponsored the establishment of a pig farm in Goris. The farm, which provides employment for six families, is now run

by the local collective. In Vanadsor, it's a chicken farm. In Gumri, it's a carpet weaving operation. Everywhere, the focus is helping people and demonstrating the Evangelical community's commitrnent.

It's the same in Karabakh where the AIV{r{A has a permanent office with a staff of two. There, they run a swnmercamp, a medical clinic, a milk program and orphan sponsorship just like in Armenia, assist schools in Shushi and other regions, sponsor the village of Gichan where the AMAA did everything from bringing water to the vi-llage to renovating the school. And always, Bibles and religious texts are distributed to the public. As part of its educational campaign, the Union has distributed not only material about its own faith, but also 10,000 brochures cautioning people about the "wrong" teachings

of new religious movements or "cults" in Armenia, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses, the fastest growing group in Armenia with an estimated membership of 16,000 "according to official sources," says Leonian. I*onian believes that the cult situation is cause for concern "but not dangerous." He enumerates several possible responses toward their

spread. One

"indifference on everyone's

part"

another is "fierce struggle against them," or "active preaching by all churches, Apostolic,

Catholic and Protestant."

"Of course," he adds, "I prefer the third option." Nevertheless, despite the Evangelical church's strong and consistent presence in Armenia, "People and govemment officials are not familiar with us and do not know who

IntefmOtOf Armenia ry CISC - General Distributor for DaimlerChrysler

in Armenia

Intermotor Armenia offers the sales and serYices of Mercede s-B enz vehicle in Armenia For more information an our offered services, please contact: lntermotor Armenia

OFFICE & SHOWROOM: 2 Arami Str., Yerevan 375010, RA

Tel. {374-2} 58-1 JV CJSC

General Distributor for Daimler0hrysler in Armenia

2-7 5, 58-3?-7 8

t374-2) 52-80-8s Fax: (374-2i 56-51-79, 15-18-50

e-mail: ima@arminco.com

Mercedes-Benz The Future of the Automobile

COVER STORY we are and what we're doing. There is still a learning process there. When they compare us with cults I smile, instead of explaining the whole thing. It hurts when people who are supposed to know, don't know about us,"

difficulties, because whenever we face a problem we deal with it through dialogue with the right channels." Despite perennial hurdles, Leonian is res-

olute. "We shall maintain our presence and witness everywhere in Armenia and no one

explains AMAA s Janbazian.

The general confusion both among the population and the established churches is

can forbid us doing so." Indeed the current state-church relations in Armenia make the Evangelicals neryous.

due in part to the intolerance of the Armenian Apostolic Church on the one hand and the state's imprecise (and at times contradictory) laws on religion, on the other. In April 1995, an armed band attacked all

Unofficially, the state favors the Armenian Apostolic Church by granting certain legal privileges to the "Mother Church." The Evangelical Church in Armenia has relatively harmonious relations with the Holy See of Ejmiatsin and theArmenian Church in

non-Apostolic religious groups in Armenia, including the Armenian Evangelicals, and caused extensive damage to their properties. (The Catholics were spared the havoc, reportedly because of Armenia's diplomatic relations with the Vatican).

AMAA

general. And despite "ill will" by certain clergy of the Apostolic Church, they cooperate in some projects.

Yerevan offices and

the Evangelical Baptist Church were subjected to unlawful entry, search and seizure of property by Amenian government officials. International human rights groups and the US govemment lodged an official protest with then President Levon Ter-Petrosian regarding violence against the Evangelicals and other religious groups such ns the followers of the Hare Krishna (ISKCON). There are some 40 churches and "sects" officially regis-

tered by Armenia's State Council for Religious Affairs. The Interior Ministry apologized for the "hooligan" actions against these groups and launched a criminal investigation. To date, no one has been punished for these illegal activities. The attack on the Evangelicals was a major embarrassment for the Armenian govemment,

especially in view of the enormous assistance that the AMAA and its affiliate organizations provide toArmenia. Since then, however, rela-

tions between the government and

the

Evangelical community have improved. "Many government people and clergy do not understand people's spiritual needs," says Leonian. "The state should come up with fair

laws. Law on religion should be clear and

just. Freedom of religion and

conscience

must be guaranteed by the state," he says, adding that rules and regulations should be

instituted through discussions with various groups who are affected by them and in consultation with all religious groups inArmenia. For example, the law on humanitarian assistance by religious groups, and for that

matter

all

charitable organizations,

are

unclear. Humanitarian assistance i$ taxed in

Armenia. "Laws are vague; sometimes it's it's very difficult to clear customs for humanitarian aid. We've discussed easy, sometimes

some of these problems with the authorities," explains l,eonian. "Generally, we do not have

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

The late Catholicos Karekinl "rcspectedand honored the Armenian Evangelical Churctr," affirms Lronian,'?erhaps because he was from the Diaspor4 he had had close contacts with the Evangelicals and was very familiar with our work He greatly appreciated ttre Evangelical contribution to the life of the nation." It remains to be seen how ApostolicEvangelical relations will evolve during the tenure of Catholicos Garegin IL "We hope the new Catholicos will, in his own way, find the right path of cooperation in a constructive way, which would stengthen the Apostolic Church as well," hopes Leonian. Ultimately, "our intention is not to convert Armenia to Evangelicalism but to preach Christianity and the Gospel to Armenians," says I"eonian. "Indeed, the Apostolic Church could benefit from this mission as well. We would like to see the Apostolic Church - and all churches in Armenia - preaching and working together for the spirirual welfare of our people."

ra (not his real name) was four years old when a social worker brought

him to the Armenian Evangelical boarding school in Anjar, the Armenian village in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The school was in session and the principal insisted

already that fua should come at the beginning of the following year. But the social worker could not take Ara back. "You wouldn't send him away if I told you where this child comes from," pleaded the desperate social worker. Ara was very quiet and looked disturbed, says Rev. Nersess Balabanian, 40, who is in charge

the environment he came from." In fact, the school did not even need to solicit the services of a psychologist. "The school environ-

ment 'healed'him," says Balabanian with a satisfied smile. That was two years ago. Ar4 now six, is one of 120 boarding students at the school, 80 percent of whom come from roubled families, the majority of them in Beirut. Butthe school's student body is mixed. Unlike orphanages or other "special" schools, this school also caters to some 200 local Anjar students.

of the school. "The child's father is a drug addict, his mother is a prostitute and he lives in

The Evangelical church in Anjar was established in 1939 when some 5,000 Armenians fled Musa Dagh to escape Tirkish afiocities and were relocated in the area by the French army. The school started in 1940. 1947, the "Angel of Anjaf' Sister Hedwig Aenishansslin of the German-Swiss Hilfsbund (Helping Bond) Missionary organization came to Anjar from Greece to help Armenian orphans. The Armenian-speaking Sister Hedwig and two other sisters were part of the Armenian mission, which was estab' lished in 1896 by Pastor Ernst Lohmann of Frankfurt in the wake of the 19th century Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire. "We are here as the representatives of the

in the Orient, a joint

a tiny room with nvo other little

Christian Hilfsbund

"Within a week, this child was transformed. He was running around, playing, sc6arnilrg, laughing," continues Balabanian.

German-Swiss Mission," explains Gottfried Spangenberg, the current director of the mission in Anjar, who has been there for 15 years. For over a century, the little known Hilfsbund has served the Armenian people in

"He opened up again. He was such a positive kid, there was nothing wrong with him except

explains that "Pastor l,ohmann had heard

siblings," explains Balabanian, "we couldn't possibly retum ttris child to that place." They took him in.

various parts

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

of the world.

Spangenberg

COVER STORY about the Armenian massacres in an American magazine. He published articles about the situation of the Armenians in German church magazines. There was a very quick response to his appeal and through the help of various other smaller organizations, they were able to take care of Armenian orphans and widows affected by the Ottoman massacres." The Hilfsbund mission set up schools and vocational classes. After the l9I5 Genocide, the German-Swiss missionaries cared for 500 to 7fi) orphans. Later, they ran ahospital and a boarding school in Marash, Turkey. However, ln 1932 the Tbrks expelled the missionaries. Betweâ&#x201A;Źn the two world wars, they had started relief work for Amrenians in Greece, Varna and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After World War tr, they moved their relief work to Anjar.

.* .e"** $

#aF

"Currently, our work is primarily in kbanon and Syna" says Spangenberg, adding that the organization is in the process of reassessing its mission. "We are in a tansition to hand over our operations to the Armenian

community," he explains. "This handover is qpread over a lGyear period, so that the [aosfer is smooth and without major problems." Stating in 2001, the annual financial grants of Hilfsbund to the school will decrease by 10 percent until it is phased out by the end of 2011. Meanwhile, all real estate and other properties have been offrcially transferred to the Armenian Evangetical community of kbanon. Since the 1988 earthquake in Armenia,

abused children," he adds.

Hilfsbund has also sent material help to

Most of the children are brought to the

Armenia. "For the last six years, we have two people in Armenia helping ttre Zadik orphan-

school by social workers serving in the Jinishian and Karageozian social service centers in Beirut. But not all the boarders are dis advantaged children. "\ile have students who come from very well-offfamilies, whose parens pay full arition and boarding expenses," says tlreAleppo-bom Balabsdanwho s,tudiedmusic and theclogy in

age in Yerevan," says Spangenberg.

In the 1970s, the running of the school and the dormitory was divided between the Armenian Evangelical community in Anjar

and the German-Swiss Mission. The Armenians assumed responsibility for the school.

By 2oll,the

entire instihrfon will be

the Evangelical Church's responsibility.

The boarding school in Anjar is one of only two schools in the Diaspora that provide residential care and education to "orphans" and children from roubled families. The other is the Birds Nest in Jibel, kbanon, run by the Catholicosate of Cilicia. (Ihe other two residential facilities are regular boarding schools: the Melkonian School in Nicosia, Cyprus and theArmenian College in Calcutta krdia.) *We have children from divorted or bro-

ken families, children from very poor families, and some orphans," says Bala-banian. "There are also some unwanted children. When one parent remarries, the new spouse doesn't want the children. We have victims of abuse, and even a few rare cases of sexually

Dallas, Texas. "Pareats, fu example frrom Syria come andsee oursc*rool and decide to send their chil{ because we arâ&#x201A;Ź nearsr and cheaper than the Melkonian Sctrool in Cypus.' They also have a few slrdents from southem

Kuwait, as well. "Last year, we even had an application

from New York,

plus, we thought a teenage girl raised in America would have difficulty living in the context ard environnprt of otn schml in

dormitories are impre.ssed by tfre immacuiatety clean Iiving qumters of the childrcn ard the sererre natural zunoundings. The childrcn have homerna& nr.nls *ree times a day. One day las fall, 300 dolrnas were being prrepared for lunch-

The annual tuition for kindergarten is about $500 and as much as $1000 for high

school. "Even

married to an Arab woman, has six children," explains Balabanian. 'Tkre is nothing Armenian around or near where they live. Their patemal grurdmttrer was Armenian, but fte kids did not speak any Armenian, they spoke Arabic. Cunently we have four of the children sildying at our school. One of them win graduate this year," he says. Then there is an l8-year-old student from Bulgaria, whose mother was the principal of the Amrenian school in Plovdiv. Dwing the Gulf war, a few students came from ka{ and

which they don't

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Anjr.-

Visitors to the school and especially &e

Syria near the Israeli boder. "An Annenian

t@,

a l6-year-old girl," says

Balabanian. "Her grades were not impressive,

need

every parent pays tuition,

- only

one

third do - we still

to do fundraising," says

Balabanian.

"Only one third of our budget is generated through tuition paid by the parents. We have to raise the rest ourselves."

As the Diaspora's focus has shifted to Armenia, the school has been receiving very litfle from their 'inaditional" donors in the US. "We received about $10,000 from the AMAA,"

says Balabanian

with concem.

The school's non-teaching staff of 30 all comefromAqjar, as do mostof the 30 teachen,

COVER STORY Apostolic Church of kbanon; it was established in 1970. While son-p teachers work at both schools, tlrere is very little cooperation betwen them other than the celebration of national holidays. 'olV'e have certain official contacts but deep dorrn we do not havo a dialogue on muhral coucorlf," says Balabanian.

Both schools have fiaancial difficulties. Recently, there was oorne discussion onjoining tbe upper grade.s. Buq 'this is only a wish at tlrts point and nothing [tore," he adds, The Ctristim character and coritext ofthe schaol ie an funpprtant part of its wor*. The care pr,ovided to the students is based on the

failh

snd- mission

tra

explains Rev. Raffi Messerlian, 31. Messerlian, bom ih Beinrl, studied at Haigazian University and the Near East School ofTheology and has

principal since October. During Irbanon's nearly two-decade long Civil War, the school continued to operate, despite many shortcomings; they didn't even have a telephone. Today, they have cellular

been

phoues, e-rnail ard an Internet connection. But as with all Diaspora comrmrnities, ttre{e are also divisions in tiny Anjar - along denominational and political lines. The village's less

tltan 2,500 residents have three

churches:

Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical. In addition to the Evangelical school, tlpre is arnther high school atrliated

witr ttpArmenian

Evangelical chur&.

1996nressagemthe sndsrm, Rev. De*er

Schultz, Gencral Secretary of Hilfsbutrd Mission said, 'Even &o little conEibutioq of the Hilfsbund helps the children of the Evangelical Sphool to become people who carry the praise and the love of God into the wodd. Especially, you all as Arrnenians have a great task

from God to wiftess by your his-

Jesus Christ stands beside a people need and trouble."

lory that even ia

I[u ffmsniffi [uffi[GliGtl Uniolt ul fie ilcan tffi

GOPINE

WITHI]lE ffTTGI$ OTffiWIR

stablished in 1924, the Lebanonbased Armenian Evangelical Union of the Near East is one of the oldest among the five Unions that comprise the Armenian Evangelical Church. It is a union of over two dozen churches and congregations in seven countries in the Middle East and one church in Australia, as the origin of the Sydney church is haced back to Lebanon and Syria. Each member church in the Union is autonomous in its internal affairs; however, certain Union-wide functions are central-

milieu," says Rev. Megerdich Karageozian, President of the Near East Union, "but legal-

and formally we are part

the

Evangelical Denomination of Lebanon." The Denomination is guaranteed one seat in the Lebanese Parliament. And since 1972 the "Protestant MP" has been anArmenian as

well, In the past Anftanik Manoogian

and

Nourjan Demirjian have served as MPs; currently Abraham Dedeyan represents the interests of all the Evangelicals in Lebanon. "An estimated five percent of Armenians

ized, such as the screening of candidates for the ministry. New recruits study at the Near East School of Theology, and at Haigazian

University.

Unlike those in other parts of the world, the Armenian Evangelicals in Lebanon, as

part of the Evangelical Denomination of Irbanon lTaefa Protestantf, ue one of the officially recognized communities in the coung/'s sectarian political system. "The Denomination has wide cooperation with the Armenian Evangelical contmu-

nity and is much closer to the Armenian AIMJANUARY

2OOO

in Lebanon are Evangelicals," says Rev. Karageozian. "Currently that is probably around 5-6,000 members." Over the last two decades, thousands have left lrbanon depleting the human and financial rosourc,es of the church. Especially during the Lebanese Civil War, "50 percent of our congrogation emigrated," says Rev. Karageozian. The Union closed two schools in Zahleh and Tripoli due to lack of students and one school in Beirut was closed due to dfficult

ARr\4ENTANVbMEN oF Ti{E Srncp By Alice Navasargian

This bilingual coffee-table.book presents the life stories of more than sixty Armenian women of sound and

stage

in Armenia and_Diaspg.ra (circa 1840-1999). Siranoush, Lucine Amara, Gohar Gasparian, Siroon lvlangurian, T.ara Doloukhanian, Arlene Frances, Lili Chookasian, Lucy Ishkhanian, eathy Berberian, Louisa Bozabalian, Kallen.Esperian and_many more... with short biographies, and their dramatic personalities. The album contains 300 pages, including more than 280 photographs, both ii sipia and full color. Hard cover 10.25" x 12.75"

I would like to order Neue

copy(ies) of ArmenianVomen of the Sage at US $79 each, including shipping and handling.

Checks payable to:

Edith Navasargian AooRnss

P O. Box 11535

Glendale,

CrwlSrlnrlZw

CA9l208

Phone 818.957.8619 Fax 818.957.5372

Email ednavas@aol.com

COVER STORY who have brought a new "thinking process" in the community. "We ue 20-25 years late in instituting administrative reforms," he says, "probably because of the war in Irbanon. He mentions a case of embezzlement in the church, for example, and adds, "we should have had a system to prevent that." In general, "People recognize the need for reforms," he adds, "but we have a con-

financial conditions. But the community continues to educate some 1,600 students in three secondary, trro middle and two elementary schools in Lebanon, wittr help from endowment funds. Before the beginning of the war, the Evangelical schools had more than 5,000 students in their schools. "The economic well-being of the population has been disrupted because of the war and emigration." He explains that the community expects the Union to provide scholarships and cover the cost of every sfirdent who attends their schools. "In the past, a $100 scholarship meant a lot, but today an upper class student costs about $2000,".he explains. But the pride of theArmenian Evangelical Church is ttre Haigazian Univenity, the only higher education instinrtion in ttre Diaspora (see story below).

In addition to education, the Union has a social service office and several joint projects with other Armenian charitable organizations. In cooperation with the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Evangelical Union is involved

ceptual problem in reconciling professionalism with pastoral concerns." In addition to organizational issues, there are raany pastoral challenges. "There are new

problems with the operation of theArmenian infimary in Azunieh, the home for the eldedy and a center forthe blind in Bourj Hammoud. The Urtion also cooperates with the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and l,ebanon and the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem. The fortysomething Karageozian is part of a new generation of Evangelical leaders

HAIEAZIATII UIIIIUTRSIIY

to deal with," says Rev.

Karageozian and notes an "increase of divorce cases relatod to financial problems." And as a side effect of financial problems there is "increasing cases of drug use and gambling," he says with alarm. The Union, under its new, younger leadership has started a process of reassessment and reorganization to better conduct its

mission under changing times and circumstances.

IN TEBANI|III

0t*ffi

only Armenian institution of higher education in the Diaspora. Haigazian - which has graduated over 1,600 students since its founding in 1955 - is accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education of Lebanon and is a member of the Association of International Colleges and Universities. It offers 19 undergraduate and four graduate degree programs.

The university is named after Yale

University graduate Dr. Armenag Haigazian (1879-1921), the former principal of the Jenanian Apostolic Institute in Konya, Tirkey. A respected educator and community leader, Haigazian died on the road to exile in

Kharpert. His family in the US donated

the seed money for the establishment of the school. Haigazian, which had 550 students in

of l3 universities in Lebanon and among the handful that offer classes in English, in league with the well-known, 4000-student American University of Beirut 1999, is one

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

COVER STORY (AUB) and the expensive, 4500-student Lebanese American University (LAU). About 58 percent of the students are

Armenians and the rest Lebanese and a few It has some 100 full and part-time staff and a mixed faculty of whom about 35 percent are Armenian. In comparison with other universities, "We provide quality education," says Houry Mekhdjian, the university's full time recruiter and a business administration graduate of Haigazian. "We have a cozy, family atmosphere and each student gets personal attention. Students do not become just numbers,"

foreign students.

she adds.

If still not convinced, she mentions the most important incentive in post-war Lebanon, "Haigazian is much more affordable than other universities." Having gone

through the university program herself, Mekhdjian introduces Haigazian to various Armenian and non-Armenian high schools in Lebanon and talks to prospective students with confidence as to how they can "depend on Haigazian for excellent education." "We have a small campus, the students are much more disciplined and much more friendly," says Najoie Nasr, a professor and former Citibank executive who teaches statistics, marketing and management full time in the Economics Department. "Of course, other schools have a larger

problem for many students and their families,

especially in view of the still struggling Lebanese economy. Estimated annual full tuition is about $6,000 at Haigazian. "We attract the middle-class which is eco. nomically hit the hardest," Mekhjian continues. "We're into the second semester this year and have some 300 students who have not paid their full fees yet." Then there is the Lebanese social status factor. 'Most of the guys study for future careers, but for most of the girls, university education is a status symbol," says Ara Sanjian, professor of history and cultural studies. "Agirl from a wealthy family has less interest in developing a career, than those girls who go through great difficulties in paying for their education," he explains.

The university also offers

Lifelong

Learning Adult Education Program coordinated by Mclardy. Started in the early 1990s, close to 80 adults are enrolled in the university's two most popular programs: a continuing education for adults who never had a chance to study at a university and an in service teachers training program.

diversity of students, both within political and religious lines, that we do not have. But our administration and faculty are much more focused on the students. They care about their students." As for the quality of education, Nasr mentions with pride that those of her students who have gone to AUB for Masters degrces "are

doing extremely well." Like other institutions, there are cultural, linguistic and political differences among the students, but'"They are all Lebanese, whether Armenian or non-Armenian," says Nazim Nouiehed, a graduate of City University of New York and professor of mathematies since 1996. "Ultimately, it is the quality of education that matters," he adds.

Indeed, Haigazian does not have the conventional parochialism found, for example, at Catholic institutions. "It is incidental that Haigazian is Armenian, what's important is the level of professionalism that you have here," says Canadian-born Ailsa Mclardy, Coordinator of Continuing Adult Education. The high cost of university education, at least by Lebanese standards, remains a major

Last year 85 percent of all Annenian students in Lebanon who sought a university education applied to Haigazian. A significant number of them needed finaucial assistance and received various degrees of financial assistance from the university, which amounted to abour $300,000 in i999. Haigazian president Dr. John Khanjian says 90 percent of the university's trvo million dollar budget is covered by tuition payments. 'To be tuition driven is not healthy, especially if you are a not-for-profit organization," says Khanjian.

Further development and expansion will require new endowment funds to preserve the competitive edge of the

AMJANUARY

university. r

2OOO

ll leod ise.

will h.!P You

n the vistr'

REGION

Blulnu

[Uetttl Falls ln

tfie 0aucil$lt$

New Guide Book Promotes Tlavel in Azerbujan By MATTHEW KARANIAN

aku is a rough and gritty oil town in

a remote location. Paris isn't. But when Neil Wilson talks about Baku, he can't resist making a comparison.

Wilson is a writer who traveled throughout Azerbaijan last year, doing research for a travel guide. He reports that the streets of Baku are lined with mature trees, and that the architecture is beautiful. There's also a huge expatri-

ate community that gives the city a spark. "It's a very lively place," Wilson says. like

But then he delivers the punch line, ' It looks a Paris that hasn't been washed in 4O years."

A Surge oflnterest in the Caucasus Wilson spent six weeks traveling around Baku and the rest of Azerbaijan last year. He had gone there on assignment for Lonely Planet, a publishing company that specializes in adventure travel writing. He sums up his overall impression of the country with a question. "Have you seen the new James Bond movie?" A scene early in The World Is Not Enough shows the British spy driving pastrusted oil derricks and a banen landscape. James Bond is told that this is just one example of how the Soviets 'plundered the countryside" in their search for oil. t ater, the master spy is seen skiing through a beautiflrl alpine forest. Azerbaijan, it would seem, is not easily summed up. While Wilson was touring Azerbaijan,

two other writers were working in Armenia and Georgia. Each of them has written a chapter in a guidebook to the southern Caucasus that Lonely Planet will release in May. This is a brand new title by Lonely Planet, and it marks a milestone in the entire publish-

ing industry as well. Lonely Planet will become the first major publishing company to

feature Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan all in a single guidebook that is dedicated solely to the Caucasus, rather than as part of some huge comprehensive guide to the East.

Lonely Planet will also become the first major publishing company to release any tourist guide at all for Armenia, either singly or as part of a regional guide. AIM JANUARY

2OOO

REGION

Azerbaijan, however. Just last year, Trailblazer Publications of England took ttrat prize.

Why all the sudden interest in writing about this part of the world? Some say that these books are anticipating that travelers will increasingly choose adventures, rather than safer and more pre-

because

however, because of the geography. Just

about every place

bill'

According to Wilson, however, Lonely Planet chose to do the book simply because

there was a void in the market. There weren't any comprehensive travel guides

"nobody else had been there."

for the Caucasus. And he says that he

Scotland. "The peoPle there [in

A T[ailblazing Guide to Azerbaijan The fint major guide on travel toAzerbaijan was released last year by Trailblazer. Their 32G page guide is calleAAzerbaijan -Wth Georyia, but the section on Georgia runs only 38 pages,

Quips such as this might make one think that Wilson has panned travel to

emphatic about his point: traveling in

and reads like an afterttrought. There's no

Azerbaijan, but this is not true. Joking about ttre difficulties is just one way of coping with

Armenia section.

unfamiliar conditions.

and he says that

Mark Elliott, a Belgian, wrote the book

if there's a second printing, the Georgia chapter will probably be dropped'

The local people took Wilson to see a

Azerbaijan is an adventure. Don't expect the comforts of home. The Lonely Planet guide will make this clear for both Georgia and Armenia as well.

Trailblazer left Armenia out of the book

mosques, and then, he saYs, there was nothing left to do. He didn't see any Christian sites, and he spent the rest of his time trying to stay far back from

couple

because, according to Elliott, inclusion would have given readers the wrong impression.

"A book on Azerbaijan and Armenia in one volume would be rather silly, as tourists would be under the false impression that they

the border with Armenia, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the already curi-

The First to Go There

The isolated Azerbaijani province of

Nakhichevan is

comprehensive.

Nakhichevanl were amazed that [a tourist] would go there," he says. "And after a day I was amazed that I went there!"

ended up going to Azerbaijan to do the research because "they couldn't find anyone else to go." Wilson is obviouslY joking, but he's

close to the border. Lonely Planet's chapter on Azerbaijan will cover history geography and geology, in addition to the more mundane lists of hotels and bus schedules, and tips about getting visas and cheap taxis. But its omissions of Armenian religious sites make it less than

This approach may account for much of the allure of the Caucasus, especially for someone with no ancestral ties to the region. Wilson is a Scot, and a British subject' Wilson was in a talkative mood during a telephone interview in January from his home

dictable cruises and group tours. The Caucasus would fit the

ous police. This proved to be difficult,

Nakhichevan was a brief stop on Wilson's itinerary. Wilson says that aside from terrain that was barren and desolate, there wasn't much to see. He suspected this before he went, but he was nevertheless excited to go

Lonely Planet cannot claim ttre honor of being the first major publisher to write about

t/excueno

Gpnnr

ARMEN

Clrsurs AccouNrs CIRRIEo

DrurscHr BANKAID( BRov {

Realty

Mrunrn Nnv Yonr Srocr ExcHnucr Esr,ultsuEl 1800

Ann IsurrmN'tnN Branch Manager, Senior Financial Advisor

Siran Der-Bedrossian

Member NASD/SIPC Anr You Pru,Penro Pon

18 YEARS OF

EXPERIENCE

FINeNctAL lt{osPrNnsNcr

Realtor CRS - GRI

'Web

Fmoruc Srnetrclns

Prser 954.992.0630 Fix: 954.938.8966 Eve: 954.565.0462 E-mail: armenrealtY@att.net

A Hoppy O

t'i'pir;

N;Yean

RroucE tup

Start Planning Retirement

Childrent Education

YOUR REAL ESTAIE CONNECTION rN FLORIDA (954) 938-9858

AllArrneninnt

HELP

It's Never Too Late or Too EarlY to

page: www.realtor.com/ftlauderdale/siran

We Vfish

Irvrp,tct Trxrs CeN H,qvr oN Youn IrwsrMENT RxruRNS

Youn FneNctAL GoALs AnE, IuponreNT To Us \(rr Hnvn EenNro Oun CLtBurs C,ur Nov & ExpEmNcE SuccEss vtTH VANGUARD CAPITAL

2r3.629 .2255

tts

640 South

Hill

Street Suite 265 Los Angeles CA 90014 Email araish@Pacbell.net

REGION can transit between the two," he told AIM. Tourists are not the primary market for his

book, however. "The place is really lovely when you get to know it, but presenting it as an international tourist destination may not be the best use of the country's resources," says Elliott. Azerbaijan is home to a huge expatriate community, however, most of which works in the oil industry. Elliott says the book is targeted at this group. Elliott says that during his travels in the region, he found Azerbaijan to be "brilliant." "I believed there was more to that country than meets the eye, and was fed up of hearing people say that there was nothing to see there - largely because most travelers take the dull central road across the country and miss the best bits," he says. He suggests that he might have enjoyed writing a separate title on Armeni4 but says that financial considerations made it impossible. "There's a tiny [profit] margin" on small-

run books. Trailblazer printed only 3,fi)0 copies, and many of these went to Mobil Oil Co. Why did Mobil take so many books? Elliott had approached Mobil, and asked them to sponsor his guidebook. Mobil agreed,

and Elliott says that the book "only really exists because the sponsorship made it financially feasible." Mobil has a couple of advertisements in the book, and its sponsorship is prominently noted on the back cover. Despite the small press run, Elliott anticipates a great impact. "The very existence of the book is important, and does help develop new tourism potential. It opens the minds that tourism is possible, simply by seeing the name of the country on the shelf at the local bookshop," he says. There are still many obstacles to traveling in the Caucasus, however, even with a guide-

book that answers lots

preventing Elliott from doing much

research there.

The Armenian Embassy in Georgia wantfor a visa to

ed him to wait a couple of weeks

Armenia, "and sadly I couldn't afford the time. So I made do with the two days allowed for transit with a visa from another CIS country. I would have happily spent much longer."

If he had, one surmises, Armenia might have received more balanced treafrnent in the history section of ttre guidebook. [nstead, Armenians are generally presented either as agents provocateurs or as dupes for the Russians.

questions. In Azerbaijan, both Elliott and Wilson say the largest obstacles are created by the government. There are no tourism offices, and visa requirements are difficult to fulfill.

When Wilson went to Azerbaijan, the only assistance he received from the government was when someone gave him the telephone number of the Minister of Tourism, he says. And this wasn't any help. Elliott says he was able to get a flexible visa, but this was the only assistance he

received. "As yet, they don't have much in the way of a tourist office."

Armenia also set up obstacles that resulted

But Is it Safe to Go? Discussions about travel to Azerbaijan might seem like an academic subject for most people who are either Armenian citizens. or of Armenian descent.

The word on the street is that these people, even if they have a US passport, are not welcome. But a spokesman for the Azerbaijan Embassy in Washington, DC, insists this is not true, and says there is no travel restriction for any Americans. If you have a US passport, then "you should be able to go," says Elin Suleymanov,

MAN&EnRTH:ADTALoGUE An Exhibit by

D^jad Yardemian Poet-Sculptor

February

fi Cr ry

OppNrNc REcppTroN Friday February 18 zooo 7i3o PM Saturday February 19

rrtotPM

GTBNpILE PUBLIC LIBRARY z2zBast Harvard Street Glendale California grzot PLEASE CALL 8r8.t46J967 rox FURTHER INFORMATION COMING SOON TO SAN FRANCISCO, NEIT YORK AND MONTREAL

REGION the press officer at the Azerbaijan embassy. "l know people who have gone, it is generally safe. But you probably should take precautions that other people wouldn't normally take." What kind of precautions? Well, he says, "you don't run around

yelling..." He doesn't say this, but Americans with Armenian surnames should not expect to receive a warm greeting. Elliott, the author of the Trailblazer book, says that he knows of travelers who have safely entered Azerbaijan, even with Armenian stamps in their passports. "No trouble," he says. Karabakh may be a different story however. Elliott's book has a section on Karabakh, but even he did not travel there.

Ironically, says Suleymanov, Armenian citizens don't even need a visa, according to official transit requirements. "We don't know how to handle that one," he says.

"It's a crazy

world."

Azerbaijan - With Georgia by Mark Elliott. Published by Trailblazer Publications, United Kingdom, 1999.320 pages, tsBN 1 873756 33 X, $21.95

David R. Ajemiofl Vice President Phone 213.228.4003. Fax 213.228.5823 At Bank of America Private Banlq we are experienced Et helping our clients develop a customized plan for their financial needs. Let us show you how the pieces might

david.r.aiemian@ban kof america.com

ftt together.

Bankof Ame n ca Private Bank 555 South Flower Street 49th Floor Los Angeles California 90071 ( -d4ia r'm es&cd pn \iil.'fi *-aildble thn ugh Eunk al' -,tdtti<'d Pril'a*e Ddn* u\l Bail* t)f .4mcrtuB irytrlfieit dJilidtes are:

m.y to3r Yetue

llo Brnk Gurrtntee

relarioUhip ddnogs iwkl bt gtdil kt i,tn,Ju.t xilt b un im'{$hent L-tttst ltod! dt t\r ime$acnt a-llilitte. a Nt:Ntcfrd lrft'ker<l&tfur uill M(ilhcr NASD.

liilr

Bank of America PriYate Eank

IMPORT STOI\{E %,6

%a"y 8/,* *'A/'5*il {aTa**

Marble

Largest Collection of - Granite - Limestone - Travertine

Residential - Commercial Buildings and Hatel Projects Finest Service, ilependable, Exceptional Standard of huatity ConpoRnrr (lrnce: 7817 Van Nuys

Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91402

TEL, (818) 785-1100

FAX: (818) 785-7630

Wnnmouse Locnrrots Los Axerus (818) 78s-1100

PHorrrx (602\ 437 -4t37

Smnu

SnH Drreo

(206) 762-8221

(760) 741-8000

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

[hlps 0fi lhe 0ld Block Entrepreneurs Bring Old World Stone to the New By KRISTEN KIDD

it's because Armenians come from such a rocky country, or perhaps it's as Import Stone founder Kirk Kesapyan suggests, Armenians are just aybe

naturally good using their hands to create beautiful work with difficult material. Whatever the reason, Armenians in Califomia are rapidly becoming a dominant force in the natural stone industry. Not stone as in jewelry, but stone as in marble, granite, travertine and slate - materials used in home and building decor. Driving through a suburb just north of Los Angeles, one quickly loses count of all the tile and natural stone shops. Stop in and buy from one of these businesses and if the

owner is notArmenian, chances are the salesman, or the man who cuts or "fabricates" the

stone, or the man who installs it will be. Armenians are involved at every level of the industry, many of them self-taught with no experience dating back beyond the 90's, yet doing very well. "We are the third largest stone importer in California. We're either the sixth or seventh in the US, and probably the largestArmenianowned in the world," estimated Kesapyan who employs 36 people in his Van Nuysbased company. Kesapyan and partners Levon Atlas and Randy Ott have reason to be proud of that accomplishment having started their business from the ground up just seven years ago in 1993. Import Stone now operates

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Seattle, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona as well as two others in Van

warehouses

Nuys and San Diego, Califomia. They are among the biggest suppliers, but they are just one of many Armenian-owned stone busi-

to enter the market in the last 10-15 Southern California. The Uniarts Armenian Yellow Pages lists 20 Armenian-

nesses

years

owned granite and marble distributors. And these are just the ones that advertise. Business is apparently booming. In floral boutiques, bakeries, even at a car wash, one finds business cards at the counter touting free estimates on marble installation, with names like Avo and Ashot next to the pager numbers on the cards. Sold by the slab or the pre-cut tile, natural stone has become wildly

BUSINBSS & ECONOMY popular among home-owners and builders in the US during the last decade. For many, stone has become the material of choice replacing ceramic tile, linoleum, hardwood and carpeting. It has an elegant quality, it's naturally beautiful, comes in a wide range of colors and textures, and the price has become more competitive with its man-made altematives.

Kesapyan's large Van Nuys warehouse now stores more than 250 different styles of stone on a lot surrounded by tall fencing topped with razor-wire. More than a dozen specialized forklifts are constantly loading and unloading the heavy slabs of stone from large containers the size of semi-trucks. Nearly every day, more containers arrive in the Port of Los Angeles from quarries and

factories

India, Brazil, Italy,

Spain,

Portugal, Greece, Turkey, China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Norway. "We import 80 containers per month," and there has been no trouble moving that material says Kesapyan. Import Stone has supplied many recent building projects in Las Vegas, including the new resort-casino Paris Paris. "They came to us and we were able to deliverl2 containers immediately. This is one of the advantages we have because we cary so much stock," Kesapyan explained. Large commercial projects make up most of Import Stone's business. In the past seven years, Kesapyan's company has helped many Armenian immigrants enter the fleld as fabricators and installers. "Naturally we take care of them - teach them about the business aspect. Sometimes somebody comes here and says we'd like to buy but we don't have any installers so we'll give out their names and create jobs for them that way." Fabricating and installing stone is challenging and labor-intensive. A person must be precise with measurements and skilled with handtools to be a success. "In this area, maybe 50 percent or more of the installers are

about 99 percent of them from Armenia," said Kesapyan who believes the language barrier is also a reason non-English speaking Armenians have gravitated toward this field. A few miles away in Sun Valley, Osep Tokat has found a way to help Armenian businessmen in Armenia. He is the sole supplier in the US of theArmenian tufa stone. lnl997, Tokat started an experiment to import tufa to Southern California where he thought there would be interest in buying the material for homes and businesses. The factory he works Armenian

with is about 20 minutes outside Yerevan and employs nearly 50 people.

Tokat admits supply is not always reliable due to problems with intermittent electricity, and in the winter it's not possible to excavate tufa. 'My goal is to bring five to l0 containers every month, but they cannot meet that right now," Tokat explained. Transportation has also been a challenge, it takes at least six to eight weeks to get a shipment of tufa from

Armenia. "I give them wooden palates and they stack them with tufa and send them by train to a Black Sea port in Georgia. Sixty days later, the ship arrives in Los Angeles." Tokat, 42, is another self-taught success story. He had no prior experience in the stone industry in his home city of Istanbul, but now 11 years later he is the exclusive US importer of stone from several Turkish quarries as well. Currently, Tokat imports the black and red shades of tufa although he says it also comes in pink and purple hues. Tufa, a volcanic, igneous rock, is lighter and less durable than metamorphic stone such as granite or marble that has been subjected to strong forces of heat and pressure underground. For this reason, Tokat says tufa is best used as ornamental stone on the exterior walls of building facades, or surrounding the fireplace, rather than flooring or countertops where it will tend to scuffand wear down within a few years.

"Honestly, I only do this to support my country," confessed Tokat who says he often sells nrfa below cost, losing money in the process just to keep the product moving. US Customs does not charge duty tax on tufa because it comes from a developing country, saving Tokat the additional expense that would be incurred if importing similar material from Western Europe for example. Tufa sales now make up less than three percent of Tokat's total business. He hopes to see that number rise dramatically in the next decade. "I think this industry's going to expand much more as people find out stone is not as

expensive as they thought it is," said Kesapyan of all natural stone in the US. "The stone industry is still a very small industry in the US compared to carpet, hardwood floors and ceramic. All the others are multi-billion dollar industries; stone is maybe $500 million because it's still considered a luxury item for homes." But Kesapyan and Tokat see greater opportunities for Armenians interested in entering the field in the coming years as demand continues to grow. "There's going to

be more competitiort, more suppliers, more factories and bigger production," Kesapyan predicts. More chances for entrepreneurs to chisel their way in and get their own piece of the

rock.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Buslne$$ and Plea$llre Radio Station Executive Turns Love for Cars into a Gold Mine Text and Photos by JANET SAMUELIAN

rthur Astor, 74, is president of the Anaheim, California based Astor Broadcast Group where he began as 1972. general manager

Autographed photos of country music stars line the walls of the marketing and sales area of the offices which manage five Southern California radio stations: KFSD-FM classical music, KSPA-FM Big Band, KCEO-FM Business News & Talk and KIK-FM and AM. Astor says hiscompany bills $5 million a year, and he sounds proud. As he should be, because that's success in the crowded

Southern California radio market. Yet,

Astor's real pride and joy seems to be his huge collection of vintage cars plus gas pumps, juke boxes, slot machines, radios, phonographs, telephones. "And everything works," he adds. Astor's love affair with cars began before he could even drive. One of his prized possessions is a l93l Cadillac in blue and black, with three enormous windows on each side, just like his father had for the family. His love for cars and for radio date from his childhood. "In those days, radio was the biggest thdll. I'd get chased out ofthe living room and couldn't hear my programs. At 11, I was on a quiz show and decided then and

'L-

AIM JANUARY

there that this is for me. I wanted to be on the radio. I got my own radio at age 12." He sold newspapers on street comers to do it. Later, while attending Los Angeles High School, he worked in supermarkets to buy his fust car, a 1941 Ford Coupe.

There weren't many Armenians in Los Angeles in the early 1940s. Astor himself arrived in Los Angeles when he was three years old. His father, Astor Arakelian, was an attorney who took his first name and turned it to the family name, on the advice of

American clients. The elder Astor was an attorney. He had been saved by a Turkish woman after his parents had been massa-

ffiI-:::

2OOO

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

cred, he grew up in an American Methodist Orphanage, learned English, graduated from Euphrates College, was admitted to the University of Southern California, but left a

year and a half later when he ran out of money. He took the bar exam anyway and passed. Astor had put himself through school by translating Armenian in courtrooms. One of Fresno's three Armenian attorxeys, he was in the AGBU ieadership, and instrumental in selling war bonds to the Armenian community. "My dad considered America a gold mine of opportunity," remembers Astor,

who made good on his father's

sedan. Today, his 160 mostly American "rolling sculptures" fill two warehouses and require a curator. The oldest car in the collection is a 1925 Dodge Brothers car, the newest a 1999 300M Chrysler. The most valuable? "Probably the 1936 V-12 Lincoln four-door convertible. It's worth about $125,000," he says. One side of the gallery displays 17 gleaming Packards, including one of only 500 made

1958, its last year.

From his unadorned early vehicles to deluxe legends, if Astor can't drive thern, he

doesn't buy them. On weekends, he takes out these dream machines, one row at a time, to drive through local streets. Ten minutes is enough time to determine whether something

is wrong. Their mint condition has won him many first-place trophies and benefited many charity events. "Armenian Americans have endeared themselves to this country with their customs and appreciation of art. That's our legacy. I've

never met an under-achieving Armenian," savs Astor

drearn.

During World War II, Astor was a tail gunner with a B-17 bomber crew. "We flew 30 combat missions over Europe in one year, and barely got back alive." With the GI bill funding his education, he actually graduated fiom USC in 1949, with a degree in advertising and communication. Astor did-

n't just study the business, he practiced it. He had his own television show. Club El Teen in the early 1950s, and was its master

"l was the Armenian Dick Clark," he laughs. He was also ambitious. He went from selling radio advertising at a San Francisco station to Los Angeles regional manager to general sales manager for two of Los of ceremonies.

Angeles's biggest stations: KHJ and KRTH. That was decades ago. Now, as owner of five different stations, he still works ten hour days.

"My destiny is more controlled noq

not

dependent on others. Still, you never stop selling," Astor says. Or buying. His collection began in 1975 with his third car, a 1961 Jaguar 4.2 liter

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

CONNECTIONS

very child and adult in Karabakh has a war story" says Khatchatur Khachik Gasparian, 36, psychologist and head

of the Yerevan State Medical University's Medical Psychology

Section. "The need to listen to them is enoflnous and essential," he adds. Much has been written about the political, military and economic implications of the devastating war in Karabakh, especially from 1991

to 1994. But very linle attention is given to the long-term psychological effects of the war on the general population and, especially, children.

A1997 study, conducted by a team of professionals headed by Gasparian, which surveyed a randomly chosen sample of 158 adults, showed that 80 percent had been affected by the consequences of griefbecause of loss

of family members. The study found some226 cases of fear among the surveyed group (most of them having multiple fears), and 198 different psychosomatic symptoms. Gasparian indicates that most children in Karabakh are fearful of losing their fathers and are very scared that the war will start again. "Traumatic events in Karabakh over the last 10 years are now causing somatic reactions," says Gasparian. "For example, there is an increase in diabetes among children; there are also cardio-

logical and cardiovascular complications. These are direct results

fears and anxi-

eties," he explains.

According to Gasparian, the worst psychological affect of the war is on family relations. "The war changed the population's

family structure," he says. "The role

and

responsibility of the missing member of the family, for example the father, has fallen on either the mother or the children. Women who have lost their husbands project the others

As in the case of all societies at war, there

is "war fatigue and combat trauma." People are tired of fighting for years and not knowing when it will end. "Most people do not have

any certainty about the future,"

says

Gasparian, adding that this could have longterm implications for Karabakh's society. He explains that over time post-traumatic syndromes tum into somatic diseases, which "are on the increase" in Karabakh. Indeed, Gasparian believes that there is a need to create various special programs to deal with such issues, especially the problems of soldiers. "Psychological intervention in traumatic cases could greatly reduce effects on the

of the

their problems on their relationships with their children. There are many instances where mothers expect their young sons to ful-

physical health

fill the role of the husband in domestic chores. It is not uncommon to see boys four and five

Development Center at the Queen Elizabeth College in Oxford, England. Gasparian had been working in Karabakh since 1992 implementing various psycholog-

years old cutting wood for winter or doing the

'male jobs' around the house."

Gasparian, who

people,"

says

1995 received an eight-

month fellowship

at the

AIM JANUARY

International

2OOO

ical treatment projects.

1994, he initiated a

program with Doctors Without Borders (known by its French abbreviation, MSF: Medicins Sans Frontieres) and became director of a psychological center in Stepanakert set up MSF - the international non-governmental organization, which in 1999 won the

Nobel Peace Prize. Gasparian and a team of psychologists treated more than 300 children

and 150 adults right after the bombings in Stepanakert. Subsequent proposals

intervention

for psychological

and training projects

Karabakh have been rejected. He mentions with disappointment that several Armenian organizations in the Diaspora did not even respond to his lefters. Intemational organizations do not easily fund projects in "unrecognized" countries. In fact, when Gasparian

received an acknowledgment from the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), they thanked him for his "humani-

CONNECTIONS

Gaspanian's intenpnetiue analysis ol seuenal childnen's illustnation$.

A girl shows fear of going back to her home in Martakert because there were Azerbaijani soldiers in the house when they escaped. She remembers Azerbaijani soldiers beating her father in their house in Baku. During a therapy session, the girl put the Azerbailani soldier in "prison" as a way to deal with her fear and anxiety.

8-year-old girl projects fear through her mother s image.

A 10-year-old Stepanakert boy's self-image, and his fear of dead bodies expressed through a coffin and a snake behind a cabinet door.

The globe drawn by an 8-year-old boy showing Moscow, France, US, England, and France. When asked where is Karabakh, he said, "Karabakh is not on the map, no one cares about Karabakh."

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

CONNECTIONS tarian work in Azerbaijan." But Gasparian did not give up. When in 1996 MSF's two-year grant ended, he helped

continue the program with a few local Karabakh professionals using the modest infrastructure that was in place. In 1998,

*$'P

working with MSF Belgium, Gasparian was successful in creating a new Mental Health Project in Karabakh, funded by the USAID,

#4,.,

An B-year-old girl shows a wounded soldier with arm cut off, covered with blood, that she and her family saw in the woods while escaping from Martakert to Stepanakert in 1992.

A 9-year-old girl drew a circus, explaining that children from all over the world are welcome to play there, except for children from Karabakh. ln 1990, the girl and her family fled Baku for Martakert, then in 1992 they escaped to Stepanakert.

through Save the Children. This was part of the $12.5 million US aid to Karabakh allocated by the US Congress for the fiscal year 1997. The grant will end in mid 2000. But permanent treatment and care facilities are sorely needed. According to Gasparian, since 1994 over 1000 patients (among others, 657 suffering from schizophrenia,266 from epilepsy) have been treated for psychological problems caused by the war. Not all of them have received adequate long+erm treatment, since there is a lack of facilities, as well as human and financial resources.

Last summer, Gasparian organized a training program in Stepanakert where doctors from the Diaspora and Armenia

such as Lara Aharonian from Canada,

Edmond Gergerian from New York, Dikran Nalbandian from Moscow and several from Yerevan - participated and provided useful material to local care providers. The training was coordinated by Marite Stephans, MSF Belgium's resident coordinator in Karabakh, and Thierry Tavox, head of the MSF mission in Armenia. But the future of psychological care and intervention in Karabakh is uncertain. Gasparian, working with the Health Minister of Karabakh, ZoyaLazaian, and in consultation with Karabakh authorities, has been trying to establish a permanent psychological center. The authorities have given him all necessary help but funding is still a major problem. "It would take less than $100,000 to establish a state-of-the-art psychological center in Karabakh, which would also serve the regions," says Gasparian, who has appealed

to a few

Armenian organizations

in the

Diaspora for funding. He's keeping his fingers crossed.

"I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a center to treat people with psychological difficulties; shortterm grants by international organizations do not provide adequate long-term solutions," explains Gasparian. "We need to treat adults, especially war veterans, as well as children and others who have 11-year-old Stepanakert boy presents a picture ofthe war. The tanks are unable to down the plane; anxiety is the dominant phenomenon in his perception of his surroundings.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

seen

death up close. It's the only way to help prevent an entire generation from losing hope in the

future."

Binthmanlr

Ihe Ghallenge ol Statehood

A Bilingual Anthology of Armenian-American Poetry

Armenian Political Thinking Since lndependence

Edited by Gourgen Arzoumanian

By Gerard J. Libaridian

61 poems by Nancy Agabian, Ara Babaian, Sevana Bagdasarian, Sylva Dakessian, Tina Demirdjian, Alec Ekmekji & Shahe Mankerian, in original English and their translations to Eastern or Western Armenian. This anthology seeks to penetrate the depths of ArmenianAmericans' creations. lt also grasps psychological and sociological issues and the methods of dealing with social and identF ty problems. Paperback

BIRTflMARI( aEiarydWP

210 pages

An analysis ol conllicting interpretations of history have nurtured competing policies and inlluenced the future of Armenia and its relations with its neighbors. The author challenges the ideologized views of war and diplomacy, of the Genocide and the politics of its recognition, and of national unity and political legitimization. He explores the Karabakh conflict, relations with Turkey, and the relationship between Homeland and Diaspora. Paperback

162 pages

$15.00

1pen Letter, Glendale, California tsBN 0-684-80151-5

Blue Crane Books, Cambridge, MA lsBN 1-886434-10-7

Wnitings lnom Pnison

Fnagile llpeams Armenia

By Leyla Zana

ln 1994, Zana and five other Kurdish parliamentarians were stripped of their parliamentary immunity, arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for statements made in support of a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey. Since the arrests, a tremendous effort has been launched on her behalf by human rights organizations and the diplomatic community worldwide. This book is a collection of Zana's personal letters and statements written from Ankara prison since her anests.

Photography by Antoine Agoudiian More than 150 black and white photos

from 1989t0 1998 depictvarious moments of joy and pain in the lives of Armenians after the eafthquake. "The same things Antoine Agoudjian saw in Armenia, but he did it with a talented and watchful eye, as an aftist devoting his sensibility to his art, with love. He took his time so he would not miss anything. Thanks to him, I went back, saw again and took a new measure of all that my eyes had only brushed past and skimmed through. Visiting in black and white this old colorful country."

-Charles Aznavour

Paperback-115pages. $15.00

Paperback- B0 pages $28.00

1995, Blue Crane Books, Cambridge, MA rsBN 1-8866434-08-5

1999, Actes Sud, France tsBN 2-7427-2316-1

The Gneat Amenican loneliness

A Wall ol Silence

By Peter Najarian

The Unspoken Fate of the Armenians

American Lonelinessis an autobiography in the form of short narratives written between the 70s and the The Great

90s. lts central theme is the journey of an artist in the middle of his life where the way is sometimes lost. ln between protraits of his mother and her peasant Armenian roots are the memoirs of his fellow artists. Paperback

186 pages.

$15.00 1995, Blue Crane Books

lsBN 1-8866434-09-3

Cambridge, MA

Produced and Directed by Dorothee Forma Humanistic Broadcasting Fnd, The Netherlands

An unprecedented documentary on the Armenian Genocide. The film presents the lives and scholarship of two historians - Turkish Scholar Taner Akcam and Armenian professor Vahakn Dadrian. "Turkey can never become a democracy il it does not face its history," says Akcam, "We have to research violence in our past in order to know and understand our present. Contemporary Turks are not guilty, but they have a responsibility toward history."

Video Documentary

$25.00

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

54 Minutes

VHS NTSC

Hagopian

llut of $tone

The Art of Hagop Hagopian

Armenia

Written and Compiled by Shahen Khachatuilan Director of the National Gallery of Armenia and the Mafiiros Saryan Museum.

Robeil Kurkjian and Matthew Karanian

Hagop Hagopian's retrospective exhibition in Moscow. "Hagop Hagopian belongs to a generation of Armenians who, as an aftermath ofthe 1915 genocide, grew up and matured away from their homeland," writes Khachatrian, chronicling Hagopian's life and is part of this book. Khachatrian also presents Hagopian's works during various periods with notes from D. Andranikian, Eme Azat R. Davoyan, J. Carzou, A. Kamensky, 0. Nikulina and Hagopian himself. lncludes 300 of Hagopian's paintings from 1948-94.

Aftsakh

Photography and Text by

"This painter's art has absorbed the pain and the wisdom of all of Armenia," someone wrote in the visitors' book at the

Hardcover album

150 vivid full color images made during the years 1995 through 1999 capturing moments in time, peoples' expressions and beautiful landscapes. "Three thousand years ago, among rock-strewn steppes, an ancient people chiseled a homeland. They created a society, and built a nation. These Armenians carved an enduring civilization - out of stone," say Kurkjian & Karanian. Deluxe Hard Cover Edition

184 pages

$49.95

92 pages

$75.00

1999, Stone Garden Productions, Washington DC rsBN 0-9672120-0-6

1997 AAA Publishing House, Canada lsBN 09697620-0-6

AIM 4th Millennium Mug Read your AIM while sipping

your coffee or tea from this beautiful Armenian lnternational Magazine Fourth Millennium Society Mug.

$5.95 each. $10.00 for two.

lllllth youn ondsr ol3 flManlrcPlace items, you'll ncGeiue i c0[shmmy nil[ Inom AlMffounth Mlllennium $ocieU!

Item

Name

Quantity

Unit

Price

Total Price

Checf Enclosed Payable t0

Credit Card Account No

Tax [on CA orders only: 8.25%]

Phone

Shipping & Handling

Ship to

AIM Charge my C

zip

City

Subtotal Shlpping Cosls Sales Up to $40 add $5. $40.01 to $80 add $7. Over $80.01 add $10. Add an additional $5 to Canada orders. Add an additional $10 to international orders.

Ordered by

Total

tr,tC

C Visa C

Amex

Expiration Date

City

Mail Ordets. AlM.207 South Brand Blvd, Suite 203. Glendale. CA 91204 USA. Phone 0rders 818.246.7979. Fax Orderc 810.246.0080 AIM JANUARY

2OOO

lnfirSt tax dsdu

0[l

ilfr tH rnnturll ilpp

lB[8

lf you like AlM, hecome a Paton or Trustee of the Fourth Millennium Society and ensure AIM's progress in the twenty-fiH Century. Sei your name puhlished in every issue of the magazine. Serve as an example to others. Show the world you support a free press.

benefactor

$50,000+ patron

senior trustee $10,000-4g,ggg associate trustee

$1,000-4,999

trfih unniver$ary corporate sponsoi

$10,000 provides

l2 full

friend

$5,000-g,ggg

$50-ggg

color pages for adveilisement thruughout

AIM's lOth anniversary yearThe company's and individual's names rcmain on the Fourflr Millennium Masthead for life. The touilh Millennium Society appreciahs the oppoftunity t0 panicipate in eshte and gift planning, and would he pleased to provide additional infomation ahout includingdre Society in your plans, including charitable fusts, annual gifts, and ofter eshte and gift planning possihilities.

/ulI

dOntm$$uut O 0h yB$ !, **to

make my firsttax-deductihte donation or tre cenrrry through AlM.

cen,osedismvhx-deductibledonation'

C fiBt/last

plannins.

I UUt$h tn n 0 f, 0 lil m n

please call me. i would like more information about estate and sift rurestateandgiftpranning.,

name

Chenelactor

Cseniortru$ee Oassociate trustee

state

counry

OPatron

Cfriend

phone numbu [AlM use onlyl

enclosed find my credit

cad

expiration date

no.

1Oft annivemary coryomte sponsol

ThesffieByAraoshagan

Thg annUal IndependenCe Day pafade in September 1999 coincided

with the govemment,sArmenia-Diaspora Conference. Together with Yerevan-based photographer Zaven Khachikian, we went early knowing we would find much more interesting situations while the troops were bored and waiting than while they marched in front of a crowd of thousands.

The troops and their military hardware occupied several boulevards feeding into Republic Square. We started at the top of one of the streets and worked our way down. When they saw us, officers told us we can't photograph the troops, but at every step, the troops begged to be photographed. This is typical of people on the streets in Yerevan, and outside the capital, too. So, we photographed until someone stopped us, then we moved a few feet down and continued to photograph. Besides the military personnel, there were policemen stationed along the whole parade route. As we wandered, we ran into this particular group of officers. I talked with them a bit, snapped a few photos, answered the standard questions about life in "Los" shorthand for Los Angeles, where

[their

everyone in Yerevan seems to have a relativel when the policeman in the foreground (above) wanted to pose for a photo. I knew that would not be a very interesting shot - a policeman, smiling, with his buddies standing around in the background but sometimes you take a photo just to keep

the interaction going. You hope that the longer you stay, the more you photograph, the more they will relax, let their guetrd down and perhaps act less reserved. So, I agreed to take their picture. The policemen stood and the one in front saluted. I waited a bit to see what the others would do; that's when I saw the one in back making that distinctive male motion. He had a different salute in mind. That's when I snapped the photo.

-Ara 0shagan, a Los-Angeles based photographer, is working on a text and book prolect with his father, writer Vahe 0shagan, about life and peace in Karabakh. AIM.IANUARY

2OOO

Human Potential (in red Raising the public's awareness about the disabled population of Armenia is an ongoing task. Paralympic athlete Haik Abkarian was as marathon, famous in that city's participate to in November York (foreground) in New were Torosian shirt, belo;) and Onnik weightlifter Artur Grigorian. All three are members of the Pyunic Association for the Disabled, and all three are disabled: Abkarian and torJsian *" u.put""r, Grigorian is a paraplegic. All three, in their twenties, placed quite respectably in the marathon: Abkarian came in I 3th press place in the wheelchair division, followed by Torosian in 21st and Grigorian in22nd. Coverage in the Armenian and non-Armenian of Day International on the Yerevan, later, in A month society. Armenian of segment invisible often of this irigtrggtrtea the accomplishments potential. the Disabled, a concert at the State Song Theater brought in hundreds of the young and able-bodied to celebrate the human

1,,, :

Ilauid Battle$ Dauid in Goliathland World soccer minnows Armenia and Guatemala played a not-so-friendly "friendly" intemational game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in January. The game, which ended in a l-l tie, was also notable for the number of yellow and red cards earned by the two sides. Although the final score was tied, Armenians came ahead in the discipline contest: Armenians received one red (ejection) and one yellow (caution), in a game that had a purse for the winning team. Guatemala, on the other hand, accumulated two reds and four yellows. While both sides had played with 10 men for most of the game, the Central Americans carried on with nine for the last 15 minutes. Later in the month on Sunday, January 16, Armenia was defeated by the US under-23 Olympic team by a score of 3-1. This game followed the highly publicized US-Iran match which ended in a l-1 stalemate' Only 3,000 of the 50,000 crowd stayed to watch Armenia lose to the American youth.

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

stiliifilrli i:,';jli

Rewarding $enuice and Ualon In the United Kingdom, there's the Most Noble Order of

the

Bravery

Garter, considered to be the highest civil and military honor obtain_ able. In France there is the Legion d'Honneur to acknowledge out_ standing military and civil service. In Armenia there are a series of

national medals and awards granted to residents of Armenia and those in the Diaspora.

Military Gross

The Armenian National Hero medal was created in April 1994 and bestowed upon those who have strengthened the defense and legal system of the republic. It was bestowed on Movses Gorgisian and Monte Melkonian, among others. The Military Cross is for those who have demonstrated extraordinary bravery dedication and professionalism in the country,s defense. I_eonid Azgaldian and Shahen Megnan are among the recipienS. The remainder of the medals were created in July 1993 and are offered not just for military, but also cultural accomplishments. The

Mesrob Mashtots medal has gone to Gohar Gasparian and Silva Kaputikian, as well as Hagop Hagopian and Charles Aznavour, for ser_ vices in the natural and social sicences, culture, education, health and public services. The Mkhitar Heratsi medal is named for the l2th century physician, naturalist and philosopher, who was the founder ofclas_ sicalArmenian medicine. The medal is given to those who have shown skills in the Iield of health services and charitable endeavors, such as physician-scientists Karlen Adamian and Gevorg Grigorian. The other medal granted to those in science and creative thinkers is the Anania Shirakatsi medal, named for the medieval astronomer-mathematician. The Moses of Khoren medal, named for the .,Father of Armenian History" have been granted to those in Armenia and the Diaspora who have marked visible achievements in art, culture, literafure and educa_ tion. Among the recipients are Vahe Oshagan, Vahakn Dadrian, Loris 'lleknavorian, Hovhannes Chekijian and Varduhi Varderesian.

Two additional medals for military valor are the Medal of Bravery, given to Artak Znynalian, Stepan Ohanian and others, and the Military Service Medal for personal bravery and extraordinary service on the battlefleld. Mikael Harutunian, Artur Alikhanian and Henrik Abajian are among the recipients.

St. Mesrob Mashtots

0ne-and-a-Hall Million Aslr Why One million post cards are being distributed throughout the United States to call the attention of US presidential candidates to the issue of Armenian Genocide recognition. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has spearheaded a massive effort to get voters to send cards to their favorite (and not-so-favorite) candidates telling them: One-and-a-hali million Armenian-Americans want to know why' Four of the presidential hopefuls, one Democrat (Al Gore) and three Republicans (George W. Bush, Steve Forbes and John McCain) have not recognized the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish Government in 1915. The fifth candidate, Democrat Bill Bradley has, and his card says: One-and-a-half million Armenian-Americans respect your courage. Aram Hamparian says not only have the candidates'campaigns responded to the cards, but people from across the US have called asking for cardi to send to their candidates. Hundreds of requests have come in from young people, many non-Armenian, who have seen the postcard campaign mentioned on the website of the rock band System of a Down (see AIM August 1998). "It never occurred to me," says Hamparian, ..that a rock band from Califomia would put this subject on their website and that the reiponse would be so tremendous.,, The Washington DC based ANCA will continue to push for the cards to be mailed throughout the campaign, and it will wait for candidates to officially respond to the question: why?

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

Anania Shirakatsi

8d"

oiT/* a%"d

1a7/*

o,&erillaru,zaneann

Mlllennium lllnnGr u,lth lnmoila's Penmanent Rspne$Gntatiue t0 0SGE lm[assadop Jluan Tauuan

Fnom

lis[on to lstan[ul In the fall of 1999, AIM inaugurated its Millennium Dinner

series

in Los Angeles.

Held

monthly at the Brandview Collection, in Glendale, distinguished and unusual

speakers are invited share their outlook on social,

sociological, political, cultural and economic issues. Ambassador Jivan Tabibian (left), Armenia's Permanent

Representative to the Organization for Security and Coopera-

tion in Europe, was the first Millennium Dinner speaker of the

cated, tedious process, where things get built one brick at a time. Although from Lisbon to Istanbul sounds like we are talking aboul going from the depths of failure to the summits of triumph, that is nof the case. what happened by the Istanbul Summit is that countries realized that if they want movement [in the peace process] they can,t push one party into a corner; there cannot be a one-sided solution if we want stability in the Caucasus. Lisbon meant three years lost in search of a solution. They did not want to be the ones holding the gun that killed the peace process before it had

begun."

Panil llazanlan's Cyclo 0l lilc 0n C0mpact lti$c

Inacing Roots uia Music

2000 series. Ambassador Tabibian

spoke

to a remarkable mix of

Southern Califomia community leaders and individuals on the theme: From Lisbon to Istanbul. At the OSCE Summit held in Lisbon in 1996,..The Armenian del_ egation [indicated refusal to endorse] a paragraph on Karabakh... President Levon Ter Petrossian explained his intransigence by stating that to accept the principles ofthe ... paragraph would have b..n tunl tamount to risking a second genocide, something he was clearly unwilling and unable to do," explained Tabibian in an article in AIM, November-December I 996, entitled ..Blackmail in Lisbon.,, Three years later, Tabibian heads the OSCE Mission which worked overtime for months to make sure that no such unacceptable language made its way into the Istanbul Declaration. Indeed, ln his presentation at the Millennium Dinner in January, Tabibian said, ,,We demonstrated that by being reasonable, talking softly, being clear_ headed and articulating our ideas without fanaticism we have gained a rather substantial respect and following, within the walls of the OSCE. The Istanbul Summit Declaration is proof. All the regional conflicts - Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya every singli con_ flict that is mentioned refers ro the territorial iniegrity of th" iorrtry. If you read the paragraph on Karabakh, there is no reference io Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. That is the result of sustained nego_ tiations, and particularly not pushing extremist positions *f,", "u.n you think you can score." Tabibian began his talk with a brief interpretation of the typical Armenian understanding of national affairs. ..We alternate between a

form of breast-beating and self-characterization as victims, or at the other extreme, we see ourselves as better and stronger, as survivors, as dedicated nationalists, always prevailing.,' He cautioned the audience that his description ofthe evolution ofevents from Lisbon to Istanbul would not fit in that formula. The ambassador continued with an extensive explanation of the dual and contrary principles of territorial integrity and national self-

determination and how they have become such important guiding principles for the OSCE. He concluded his talk by saying,..This is not a report on our tri_ umphant foreign policy, nor is it the time to wallow in how come we never get what we want. Intemational relations is an ongoing, compli_

Fifteen yean ago, Parik Nazar-

ian formed the Gorani

Song Ensemble and performed in more than a dozen Southern California

cultural festivals. From smallish affairs at UCLA to large citywide festivals sponsored by the

Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the Gorani singers were popular because they represented the best in newly emerging World Music. Parik and her group

dressed

authentic costumes,

oflife, work, love, death - and life, again. Today, Parik (who is AIM's photo Manager) has issued _ Ihe

sang songs

Cycle of Life - a CD unlike any other. produced by Garni, this is a rare collection of authentic, captivating, soul-searching renditions of

ethnographic songs. Although she was born and raised in lran, her family moved to SovietArmenia in 1970, and she lived there for l0 years. That was exactly the time when Hayrik Muradian (above, seated, with parik) an engineer near retirement, began to publicly perform songs which were no longer familiar. Parik was inspired. She had heard some of these songs at home, from her mother, and her uncle. Now, she began to accumulate different versions, explored the meaning ofthe various dialects used, researched the historical and social context, studied the lifestyle of the people whose lives were represented in these songs _ and she began to sing. Unaccompanied. Without orchestration. For Parik, the effort was as important for purposes of archiving and pre_ serving these songs, as for presenting this little-heard styleio today,s audiences. She wanted to send the recording to Hayrik Muradian, who at the age of 95, lived in Yerevan, didn,t get out much, but was still considered the father of the ethnographic music movement. The CD came in from the factory on January 7. Muradian died in yerevan two weeks earlier, on December 22. But the purpose was served: The CD together with the bilingual, full-color 20 page booklet which accompanies it constituie a detailed, contextual introduction to a whole world of song, a whole cycle oflife from cradle to the grave. r

AIM JANUARY

2OOO

ESSAY

TheGoldenTnp By STAN TERMEER

sn't it dangerous in Armenistan? A concerned friend asked me when he lieard about my destination. To the Dutch, living as they do beneath sea level, all these rocky places in the southUatt of the former Soviet Union are much the same: inhab".n ited by fierce looking men and traditionally dressed women in u.oogh landscape, governed by corrupt politicians and preforring vodka to water. -Preparing

my trip to these outskirts of the world, I read cuttings from Ore ut f,iu"i, tra:vel stories from the Internet and one book, Philip Marsden's The Crossing Place.Tlrc dark, mysterious picture on ttre cover, showing the interior of Geghard monastery convinced me: that's where I want to go! A phone call to the travel agency taught me that getting there would noi be a problem. Once a week, Armenian Airliies ("-Don't they crash a lot?" the same friend asked) flies directly from Amsterdam to Yerevan. So far so good. But where to stay? Could I use my credit card.out there? How tJg"t u visa? Lots of questions, no answers' After a short search througtilibraries and specialized bookshops I celebrated my first real disc-overy. Here at last was one country, one among few for sure, that had no travel guide written-about it. Eien the much-praised Lonely Planet series tailea tne traveler. How exciting' And how extremely awkward.

Then

got the golden tip. "Why don't you ask one of

the

Armenians in the Netherlands?"

"Are there anY?" "Oh, yes. I haVe a book about people living in Diaspora' There is a chapter on the Armenians in it." Fiom there on, things went fast. A few days later I found myself in the office of N., a friendly Armenian working with the Dutch Refugee Council. On the wall, of course, a picture of Ararat, my first encounter with the mythical moqptain, symbol of the promised but lost land' We

I.\i. told me. There was this conference on the Diaspora in Yerevan that he would attend, so if I felt like it"' Wednesday, September 22. ln the huge concert and sports complex, Hamalia unmistakably a product of Soviet architecture, there 'are gattrered 1200 representatives of Armenian communities in 50 For two whble days, they will tussle to find "a new formu"ouritri"t. la for cooperation between the Diaspora and Armenia," as president Kocharian stated in his opening speech. The subject is tricky, I understand. The Armenians living in the Diaspora are disappointed with Armenia's performance since independence' Too much poverty, too

would be in tne fameptune,

much bureaucracy, too much poor governance' They will not say so in public, but it is what they think, and what they tell me, as a foreigner' ^ The Armenian government, in turn, badly needs the Diaspora's money. As the President said, "The Diaspora must have economic relations with and interests in Armenia, not only emotional relations." But money never comes for free. Americ-an' .lrengh or Russian Armenians may try to place themselves in the driver's seat and get hold of the steering wheel. The current leaders dread the prospect' This is not a iniquely Armenian source of tension' I found the same mistrust in Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America. The people who stayed there after independence in 1975 are very suspicious bt tfr"it countrymen who migrated to the much wealthier irlethertands. 'They may send us food and clothes, but we won't be told what to do. After all, we have suffered hardships, not them'" What struck me even more during the conference was the role of the church in Armenian society. Immediately after the presidential opening speech, Archbishop Bozabalian qf Fimiatsin and Aram I, the C'utt oti-"oi of the Holy See of Cilicia' were given the floor' Not without demagogy, both priests whipped up passions with religiously inspired oi"[i,"t.. "Tlie state has to take care ofthe people's physical n""dr," the archbishop said, "but the church is there to see to the spiritual needs and cultural traditions." Unfortunately, Bozabalian complained, all kinds of sects were now freely entering the country, com'mitting "Aark deeds." Obviously he had not yet got used to the reli;free market," in which his church is just another player' A gious 9u9siion tre failed to raise was why the Armenian ground is so fertile for his competitors. Do they, by any chance, flll a need the Apostolic Church has failed to suPPlY? Aram I seemed to be more in touch with the needs of society' He, too, emphasized the importance of the church, but unlike the other religious leader, he was prepared to put on.the hair shirt' "Let's open op io out people," he eicliimed. And as if to convince himself, he repeated, "Let's serve, serve' serve, serve!" ^ Both men's desperate sounding appeals cast my mind back to the days of my catholiCyouth, when churches in the Netherlands began to lose grounO. Incapable of changing tack in time, they stood by help lessly while non-believers and even believers walked out' But then, Armenia is unlike the Netherlands in many ways' We

never went through 70 years of atheistic propaganda' And we don't have such beautiful, age-old churches and monasteries'

-stan

Termeer is the editor-in-chief of the Dulch 1nze wereld magazine

Ltedry .u-b:Efust

Anss Anumwlwgesss Law Offices

Bankruptcy Business & Corporate Law Wills, Thusts & Probate

Family Law Immigration Criminal Law

520 lt{orth Central {ve1ye Suite 600

Glendale

California gl203

StS.2SS;XSgS

With direct service fron the U.S. to Armenia

From large shiPnents

and lran Armenia

to snall Parcels and

to the U.5.,

even food Packages,

Jet Line

ensures

the timely and sale delivery of

y)ur carg) shipments.

we will provide You fast, efficient and

reliable service at reasonable rates. With over 25 Years of experience in

international sltiPPing, it is no surprise that Jet Line is the comPanY

choice for all cargo services to Armenia.

Air Cargo

lnc.