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vot.10, No.

JULY 1999

7

DEPARTMENTS

6 7

10

Editor's Note Letters to the Editor AIM View

Notebook 15 Bytes on File 16 Global Picture 12

'18 Armenia Briefs

20 22 63 64 55 68

Economic News Diaspora Briefs Cyberpages Faces

Underexposed Essay

NATION

24 Focus-New

Government in Armenia

Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian spells out problems ernments and sets new tasks for his government.

28 The End of

of previous gov-

a Journey

The challenges facing the Armenian Church after the death of

Catholicos Karekin I of All Armenians.

34

Cover Story-Word and lmage At the close of the millennium, AIM focuses on the role, place and prospects of the Armenian media in Armenia and the Diaspora.

Catholicos Karekin l, one of the most prominent leaders of

recent Armenian history, leaves behind decades-long legacy of service.

BUSINESS

48

&

ECONOMY

Hydroponics With advanced technology,.agriculture is no longer the same.

CONNECT!ONS

51 53

Cats and Dogs ln a population struggling for daily living, there are still a few who've made pets part of their family.

lnstilling the Armenian Spirit Two schools in the United Arab Emirates provide the fundamentals of language, history, culture and religion.

56 A Film Says lt All Everyday images present the life and dreams Karabakh.

of the children of

With rapid technological advancement and globalization, the Armenian media is at a critical juncture.

scrENcE & rEcx]L9reeY_

58 Activity

in the Galaxies

fellow scientists in search of answers that would ultimately shape the direction of life in the 2lst century.

Yervant Terzian and

ARTS .

62 Biennale An exhibit in Venice, COVER ART AND DESIGN BY RAFFI TARPINIAN

Teaching Armenian is no longer a local challenge.

AIM (|SSN 160-3471) ts publlshd mn$r, ta5 F yea by tu tuud Mlhnniun WV, 207 $d &d 8ouhild, Suib 203, Glendab, CA 912@r Phone: {818) 24-D79, Fa: {818) 26@. P€did Pe& pdd al Cbdde, q ild dtud mdlin8 ofts. Canda Po* Publicatons Mail Prdud sd6 Agem€nt No.61457. O Copydtht lm by ft. foud Mlhnnium b.ty. Aln6tts]tld. AIM may not be Gpdued in any manner, eitheri. wh* orin Fd, withutwdt n Fmhio frdftpubrftr. Thedfro6 aE not.6Frbl. tuunslidil neurdpb o.ad unle$ a shmFd, eltaddres*d envehpe k endd. opinions exrrd an itnd d.Bdo not.e6sdly Eprentfre vi*s of ft€ Foud Millennium Society. for advedsint quenes @ll: 818-24-79D. subeiplio raG tu 12 he6, US: 145, FoEl6n: I55. Potua*6: *d ddBs chan&s to ArM, P.O. Box 10793, Ghndah, q 912@, U.S.A.

Rethinking Church and Nation, Still

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Armenian lntemational Matazine 2o7 South Brand Blvd. Suite 2o3 Glendale, CA 91204, USA Tel: 8i,A2467979 Fax: 818 246 0088 E-mail: aim4m@well.com

ETHT]S$l{G

EDITOR.PUBLISHER

Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian

iAlpltArloll lffi-1

MANAGING EDITOR Hratch Tchilingirian ASSOCIATE EDITOR

A. H. Alexandrian, Yerevan SENIOR EDITOR Tony Halpin, London DESIGN

Raffi Tarpinian

PRODUCIION AND PHOTO MANAGER

-*--*-

Parik Nazarian

-*#

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Dania Karakachian SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER

Being right is a good thing any time. It's especially good to be right on one's birthday. Even if it's for the wrong reasons. Read on.

AIM's inaugural issue saw the light of day in July 1990. With this July 1999 issue, AIM begins its 10th year of publication. Given the mortality rate among magazines, l0 years is a good number to be celebrating, and AIM's readers, advertisers, patrons, trustees and benefactors are to be congratulated for truly being forward-looking participants of the Fourth

Millennium Society.

Unfortunately, His Holiness Catholicos Karekin I, a long-time AIM friend who supported the magazine in its darkest days, did not live to see this anniversary. No one could doubt the Vehapar's deep understanding of the power of information. Some would (and did) say he was much too aware of the media, and gave it too much importance. Yet, he read variedly and voraciously, and his understanding of words and their impact came from personal experience.

He not only knew how to use words, he also grasped the significance of their context. On one visit to San Francisco, he remembered a quote from Nikos Kazantzakis. He brought out a hand-covered, much-worn favorite red notebook which traveled with him in which he copied just such gems for future use. But he stopped, just before delivering the line, to say perhaps it's best to refer to 'a Greek writer'rather than Kazantzakis whose political (Marxist) leanings might color the way the statement was understood.

The Vehapar's intelligence and wit will be missed. So will his frankness. He, too, would have re-read the AIM March 1994 Cover Story and probably conclude, as we did, that AIM was right then and nothing much has changed. The article, which preceded the death of Catholicos Vasken and the Catholicosal elections (in 1995) that resulted in Karekin's elevation to the throne of St. Gregory is, unfortunately, still on target. The critical spiritual and organizational issues facing the church, and the nation,

I

are still unresolved.

4@*7n.

AIM JULY I999

Seta Khodanian ADVERTISING MANAGER Fimi Mekhitarian INTERNS

Karina Avedissian, Dina Hovsepian, Mesrop Slmonyan

YEREVAI{ BUREAU 5 Nalbandian Room 24 Tel: 583639 Tel/tax: 151849 E.mail; aimarm@arminco.com COORDINATOR

Anahit Martirossian ADVERTISING MANAGER Gohar Sahakian DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Areg Asatrian, Vahan Stepanian

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS John Hughes, Ronald Grlgor Suny, Taline Voskeritchian CONTRIBUTORS Adash6 Emin, YeBan; Suen Pattie, London; Edik Braian, Ara Chouljian, Los Angel6; Janet smueliil, Palm spdngs; Mark Malksian, Rhode lsland; ceorge &umoutian, Lola Koundakjian, New Yo*; Mydm Caume, Paris; Matthfl Karanian, M@nd M@radie, Washington, DC; Vadan Matio$ian, Buen6Ai6.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Khachatdan, Zaven Khachikiao, Rouben Manteian, \trcvan; Antoinâ‚Ź Agoudjian, Amineh Johen6, Aline Manoukian, Pa.is; Edmond Terakopian, London; (adne Aman, l(evo* Djanse2iail, Raffi Ekmekji, tic Naarian, Ara Oshagan, Lo9 An$16; Garo L&hinian, Mstachu*ttsi Ardem tulanian, New Jeey; Hany Koundakjian, New Yo*i Bste An zobio, Rhode lsland.

Mkhit4

EDITOR EMERITUS Charles Naarian

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Minas Kojaian INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES

tttr

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.

WRITE TO AIMI we welcome all communication. Althouth we

.

read all letters and submissions, we are unable to acknowledte everythint we receive due to limited staffing and resources.

Lettetr to the Editor may be edited for publication.

given these people the right to decide what is "good" for their "adult" children.

Enough is enough. Why doesn't the new generation stand up and defend their own rights to pick and choose what they want to do with their own lives?

What really bothers me is that each generation is repeating the same pattern over and over again. It's time to face this demon in the face and exorcise it forever.

Armineh Hovanesian Waltham, Mas s achus etts

Who's a Terrorist

I

was very disturbed

Armenia

is offering

to read that to Varoujan

asylum

Garabedian upon his release from prison

Family Affair

I have been an AIM

subscriber for a

few years now. I absolutely love reading the magazine from cover to cover.

I really like the AIM View section you have started. In the May 1999 issue you raised the question of "courtship." That's great and it is about time someone started talking about it. I believe you should also mention the fact that to this date arranged marriages are still in effect! For crying out loud, what the heck is that for? With all due respect, who is going to live with the "chosen" man or woman? The family? Who has

(Briefs, May 1999). Although I do not remember if any people were killed as a result of the explosion at the Turkish Airlines office at Orly Airport, it is clear that a bomb is intended to kill people. By offering asylum, Armenia is in effect condoning terrorism-the kiling of innocent people for a political purpose. There is no excuse for terrorism just as there is no excuse for the genocide. By condoning this

act of terrorism, Armenians are justifying the killing of innocent Turkish people and Armenia weakens its claim to the moral "high ground" in international negotiations.

Carol Kelejian White Orlando, Florida

AIM JULY 1999

The Fourth Millennium Society is an independently funded and administered public charity commitled to the dissemination of information fbr the purpose

of developing an infomed public. Underpinning all our work is lhe firm convic tion that the vitality of an independent press is fundamental

ety in Armenia and democratic institutions in the

b

a democratio soci-

Diaspora. The Fourth

Millennium Society publishes Amenian Intemational Magazine in its effort to contribute to the national dialogue. The directors are grateful to the Benefactors, Trustees, Patrons and Friends

THE

I*1,rISR,ilrf

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the promotion of open discussion and the free flow of information among individuals and organizations. Their financial contributions suppon the work of the Fourth Millennium Society and ensure the independence ofAlM. Michael Nahabet, Raffi Zinzalian, Directors.

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AIM JULY I999

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Democnacy is Good

-

Ihe lliaspora-Armenia Gonlerence can

Fon Them be the oppoltuniU to reuilalize the lliaspora

If everyone agrees that democracy is good for Armenia, why is it not good for the Diaspora, too?

Not the kind of democracy where those who lead organizations announce that they represent not just their own membership, but all the rest of the non-organized and non-aligned, as well.

That's pretend democracy. Genuine representative democracy would mean one Diasporan, one vote. The very idea is too complex, perhaps too scary for most organizations and Diasporan institutions to contemplate.

But the Armenia-Diaspora conference (see page 19) to be held this year in September, in Yerevan, at the invitation of the

Diaspora life, from media (see page

is still the

4l) to education

single most organized block

and sports.

It

of activists outside

Diaspora. Armenia is asking whom do we talk to when we want

Armenia. More organized than the church, even.

And as such, it does not wish to lose its preeminent place in the Diaspora. That's the catch. It does not need to. No one needs to see an organized Diaspora as a threat.

Instead, Armenia's invitation to the Diaspora to panicipate in nation-building and state-building can be seen as the bait necessary to bring out of the woodwork all the non-involved Armenians that Diaspora organizations have been trying to lure for decades.

If the inactivity of these silent masses was perceived as one of the reasons for an ineffective, non-representational Diaspora leadership, this is the chance to correct that. Ifthe Diaspora agenda has-

to talk to the Diaspora? Not who leads, or who directs,

the

n't interested the professionals ofColorado or the stockbrokers in

Diaspora, but who can speak (and listen) in its name? Thus far, the Diaspora's answer has been a list of half a dozen names.

True, Armenia may have its problems, but it continues to develop policies and fight for a future in which it believes.

The Diaspora, on the other hand, has no platform, there's no agreement (or coordination) between its various components, and it has become increasingly more fragmented. For this, the blame is usually on two sets of shoulders. First, the masses of silent, inactive, invisible Armenians. Second, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutiun. But it is not either group's fault.

One of the reasons the ARF is strong is because the alternatives are so feeble. The party takes itself seriously. It puts time, money, energy and resources into organizing all aspects of

New York and London, maybe Armenia, a work-in-progress, will.

The Diaspora conference can be the opportunity to entice the formerly uninterested Armenian to come forward and find ways to provide sensible, useful, concrete assistance to the work-inprogress that is Armenia.

At the same time, such a broad-based Diaspora can't help but provide new fodder for the traditional Diaspora organizations which have been crying out for new blood.

And these new recruits won't put up with the old-fashioned methods by which some corrrmunity organizations continue to operate and be guided. It's a win-win situation all around, for the Diaspora, even more than for Armenia.

This is the chance.

Armenian government, may force such thinking upon

the

A Futune ol Hope on ol Hopele$sness Fully one-third ol Amenia's [orulation Gan only loolr loruatd There are two futures for Armenia. There is the self-confidence of a nation that has come of age, that feels neither superior nor inferior to anyone, or there is the frustration and nostalgia of those who yearn for a mythical past and who make decisions appropriate for another time.

As difficult as the transition-cum-blockade has been for Armenia, statistics seem to point to the greater likelihood that the first future

will come to pass.

According to UN statistics, fully one-third of Armenia's population is under the age of l5 (see page 68). This means it's

10

a young republic, and one that can be hopeful, as evidenced by a recent US Information Agency survey.

The USIA poll is telling. lt shows that 58 percent of those questioned felt that "young people did not have much to look forward to" versus 26 percent in Azerbaijan and 24 in Georgia.

Yet, in Armenia, fully half of those below the age of 30 responded that young people can expect much of the future.

This hopefulness counts for a lot. The single greatest value that made Asian economies so successful was the optimism of their peoples. After all, if you think your world is going to get bet-

AIM JULY I999

ter, you are much likelier to do the things that ter, such as working hard and taking risks.

will make it bet-

Armenia's under-25 population didn't really experience Soviet life. With all the deprivations and disappointments since independence, this generation takes for granted simple liberties that their parents never expected: the freedom to speak, scream and even curse publicly, the freedom to assemble even if nothing comes of it, the freedom to print whatever. Simply, the freedom to be. It is no wonder that the newer and larger businesses which have opened in Armenia in the last decade hire the less-educated (and more receptive) youth, over their more educated elders who come with Soviet baggage.

So, it's a good thing that one third of the country is starting from scratch. Learning anew. But learning what?

Unfortunately, the under 25-group is quite possibly the least educated segment of Armenia's population. And therein lies the danger. This will be the generation that will shape the state.

The burgeoning power of Armenia's young can't be overestimated. In the decade to come, Armenia faces critical elections

for President and National Assembly-the first ones to be held under "normal" circumstances. The last decade's votes were swept up first by the giddy euphoria of independence, and later by the dejection of discovering that there is no instant gratification.

This youthful one-third will be voting in the elections of 2003. They will be working in new and old enterprises. Writing and reading newspapers. Voting for or cursing at elected repre-

sentatives. The anger and frustration

of the young can't

be

exaggerated. This is the segment of the population that wants access to education today, andjobs and housing in the not dis-

tant future. Yet, many are no longer bilingual. Few are computer literate. All are caught between a Soviet system that was maligned and Western thinking that has not yet been adopted, or adapted.

Now for a sobering thought: To tackle this huge mountain of a problem, Armenia's Education Ministry's entire annual budget is 20 billion Drams or $40 million. That's $40 per youth.

Scary, isn't it?

Fnom Rags to Riches Ihe communiU'rags're[ui]c fiGhes and reasons t0 tlanslorm thcmselues Democracy is an impossibility without a good communications network. It is information that helps the human race live as free beings.

Governments often operate with secrecy, but democracy requires transparency, and it is this tension between the two that gives a free media it's raison d'etre (see page 34.)

But, it is still true, that freedom of the press "belongs to those who own one." Nothing more need be said.

Those with the financial resources to support a publication have the freedom to publish what they wish. It's that simple. If the resources are limited to a single source, the freedom diminishes even more.

A newspaper dependent on its sponsor is likely to splash his picture on its front page from time to time, as Diaspora newspapers regularly do. As a result, readers don't know whether someone is on the cover for what they did, or what they gave. Eventually, everything that newspaper offers is unconsciously questioned: is it here for the reason stated, or is there another agenda?

Newspapers in Armenia often fall into another trap. A publication whose sponsor is at odds with those in power is likely to rant on about government's abuses. The space and weight given to a story is often determined by the sponsor's agenda, and not society's.

Are these newspapers free? Yes, they are free to print what they want. But they choose what they want based on financial considerations that are dependent on a single (or at best a few) sources. In western societies, publications choose what to print based on the economic potential of the general readership-a much bigger group with a more varied agenda.

How to break out of this cycle? It's harder in Armenia where the population still does not have the buying power to justify advertisements which are the bread-and-butter of mass publications.

In the Diaspora, it's financially easier, but psychologically harder. For years, readers subscribed to newspapers because their parents did so before them. Now readers must demand (and pay for) those publications which meet some basic journalistic, qualitative standards. The community newspaper doesn't have to look like the London Times. On the other hand, it shouldn't look and read such that an unsuspecting l6 year old who picks it up is embarrassed.

It's the 2lst century and Armenians will have to consciously put resources into developing the kind of media that will encourage and foster dialogue, start getting beyond old taboos and "shameful" topics and approach the serious business of prospering for another millennium.

AIM JULY I999

One Homeland

-

Many Perceptions

AIM JULY I999

Militany $wectheants Quarrelsome negotiations between Georgia and Russia continue over the return to Georgian control of facilities used by the Russian army stationed in Georgia. Still, in recent months, Georgia has become the "military darling" of both regional and international players.

Tirrkey: In early June, a Turkish Armed Forces General Staff delegation paid a three-day working visit to Tbilisi. Earlier in April, four Turkish Navy ships had visited the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi.

Turkey and Georgia have signed an agreement under which Ankara will grant Georgia $1.7 million in 1999 toward modernizing its armed forces.

Last year, Turkey granted Georgia $5.5 million for defense purposes.

Greece: During a two-day reply visit to Georgia in June by the Chief of the Greek Armed Forces General Staff discussions focused on a program for military cooperation between Greece and Georgia this year. A military drill, which will be attended by the Georgian Defense Minister, is planned for the end of this year in Macedonia within the framework of the NAIO Partnership for Peace program.

Britain: The British government donated two British border patrol boats to Georgia's Department for the Guarding of the State Border at the port of Poti. The boats will be used to patrol Georgia's sea border, especially the area adjacent to the Supsa oil terminals. Last year, the Department received other patrol boats from Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Germany and the US. United States: Also in June, a Mi-8MTV helicopter, valued at $1 million and bought in the Ukraine by the US govemment, was donated to the Georgian border guards by the US Coast Guard. A military cooperation agreement has been signed between Georgia and the US within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program. Earlier the Georgian border guards had also bought a number of other vessels with American assistance. Over $12 million has been allocated by the US government for this year to help the development of the Georgian border infrastructure.

However, despite foreign efforts to improve Georgia's armed forces, the military establishment faces serious intemal problems. After having uncovered more than 3,000 instances of army desertion, the Georgian Defense Ministry has held special meetings to improve the situation.

In April, some 50 officers of Georgia's air force staged a protest at the Makhata base demanding payment of salaries for the past seven months, improved living conditions, and free metro passes for themselves and their families. In 1998, the Defense Ministry paid only 70 percent of salaries and owes two months' wages for 1999. Meanwhile, Georgian courts continue to rule in favor of companies that sue the ministry for not paying its bills, although the 1999 state budget froze the

ministry's debts until 2000.

AIM JULY I999

SRI LAI{KA

THAILAND An official Thai delegation, headed by the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Savanit Kongsiri, visited Armenia and held meetings with their Armenian counterparts where the development of bilateral relations was discussed. A protocol was signed between the two sides on holding consultations between the foreign ministries of Thailand and Armenia.

The first Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Armenia, Nagohorpitchai Sikkander, resident in Moscow, presented his credentials to President Robert Kocharian. Bilateral relations in the sphere of economy were discussed as well as ways to exchange information on possible common areas of cooperation. Armenia and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations in 1992.

IND!A India's Ambassador to Armenia, Vida Bhusho Soni, resident in Ukraine, paid a working visit to Yerevan where he met with Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. The appointment of a new Indian Ambassador, the opening of an Embassy in Yerevan, and the situation in Kashmir were discussed.

cHll{A In reference to the Azerbaijani protest over the sale of eight Chinese Tlphoon anti-aircraft missiles to Armenia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry assured the government in Baku that the Chinese authorities will take steps to prevent similar activities in the future. Beijing claimed that it has nothing to do with the sale of the missiles, which were sold by a private company and said that the Chinese cabinet has banned sales of weaponry to Armenia by Chinese businesses.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan demanded that Chinese authorities withdraw the systems from Armenia.

HUilGARY Hungary's Ambassador to Armenia, Erno Kesken, presented copies of his credentials to Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Baiburtian.

GEOBGIA The foreign ministers of Armenia, Georgia and Iran signed a memorandum in Tbilisi on cooperation in the sphere of illegal drugs and money laundering. According to the agreement, the three states will hold annual meetings, exchange information and train

Armenia's new Ambassador to Syria, Levon Sargsian, presented his credentials to President Hafez al-Assad. Further development of bilar

specialists.

eral relations between the two states was discussed during the meeting.

SVRIA

LEBANOil Lebanon's first Ambassador to Armenia, Tony Badaui, presented his credentials to President Robert Kocharian and met with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. Lebanon opened its embassy in Yerevan in May 1997.

KOSOYO During the recent military operations in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia, Armenian Airlines transported over two thousand refugees affected by the war. Participating in a UN-sponsored mission, two Armenian Airlines crews transported refugees during the month of May. A TU- 154 jet made l0 flights from Macedonia to the Netherlands, two flights to England and one flight to Denmark.

Hovhannes Baghdishian of Armenian Airlines ,said the UN coordinators greatly appreciated the services ofArmenian, French and Portuguese airlines, whose pilots flew under difficult weather conditions.

r6

AIM JULY

1999

GREECE Within the framework of a memorandum signed between Armenia, Iran and Greece in February of this year, a delegation representing Greece's Ministry of Development visited Armenia to discuss the projected construction of an Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline. The delegation will report back to the Greek govemment, which will determine its final position on its participation in the pipeline construction consortium.

TURKEY Armenia and Turkey are negotiating over the water resources of the Arax River at the Armenian-Turkish border. Currently, Turkey is draining more water from the area because it has built a water collection system on its side of the border. Armenia has two reservoirs in the area-the Akhurian and Armavir water reservoirs-which are currently being re-equipped with water collection systems within the framework of a World Bank plan. Once work is completed at these sites, Armenia will be able to better utilize the resources of the

Arax River.

WORLD BAI{K

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SADC), a

World Bank President James Wolfensohn (above, pictured with children in Spitak) and in Ejmiatsin (below, center, with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, second from right) paid a two-day working visit to Armenia in the wake of the recently held parliamentary elections. After meeting with Armenian officials, Wolfensohn said that it is unlikely that Armenia will roll back economic reforms pursued since the early 1990s. Armenia is heavily dependent on Western financial institutions, with some $500 million borrowed from the World Bank since 1992, and experts say that Yerevan has little choice but to stick to the reform course, which often involves taking unpopular measures. The World Bank already finances parts of Armenia's large budget deficit. However, Wolfensohn said the World Bank is encouraged by Armenia's progress in economic reform and plans to release about $240 million in new loans over the

Swiss government-sponsored institution, which has been providing

next three years.

AUSTRIA Organized by the Armenian Chamber of Trade and Industry and the

Austrian Chamber

of Economy, a

business

forum was held in

Yerevan with the representatives of 22 Austrian and 150 Armenian

companies. Similar meetings were also held in Tbilisi and Baku.

According to the Armenian Chamber's Samvel Sharbatian, currently the volume of imports from Austria to Armenia exceeds the exports by five times- amounting to 1.2 billion Drams. The forum intends to create a more active interstate trade between the two countries.

SwlTZEBLATD humanitarian assistance to Armenia since the 1988 earthquake, has implemented projects in Armenia worth some $1.4 million in 1998. A further $l million in housing and repair projects for refugees are planned for this year in cooperation with UNHCR. Since 1995, 60 families have been provided with homes. SADC is also involved in the implementation of a Work for Food Program, together with the United Nations, helping some 25,000 people, as well as providing assistance to Armenia's National Service for Seismic Protection.

TCHAIKOYSI(Y I1I GYI,HRI Amidst military hardware and artillery, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian, played Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture under open skies at the l02nd Russian military base in Gyumri, northern Armenia. "The concert climaxed in the artillery salvos accompanying the majestic music by the Russian composer and the national anthems of Russia and Armenia played after the

overture," reported Interfax. Base commander Major-General Arkady Bakhin said, "Thanks to the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, this remarkable music is played today. I do not think any one of us will hear anything like this in the future."

AIM JULY

1999

t7

MEDIA DEPARTMEilT

JOUBI{ALISTS

A decree signed by Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian announced the creation of the government's Press and Public Relations Deparfinent.

Joumalist Dikran Hagopian, 39, who was in charge of Armenian State TV and Radio between 1993 and 1995, was appointed head of the department. From 1995 tol998, Hagopian headed the Armenpress news

For the first time since the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, a delegation of six journalists from Armenia visited Azerbaijan from June 28July 2, as part ofa Swiss-funded international program called "Support for Media in the Transcaucasus." Organized and coordinated by a Swiss-Armenian journalist Vicken Cheterian, the three-year old program has sponsored seven other conferences in Georgia, Armenia and Karabakh, with the participation of journalists from the three Transcaucasian states. In 1997 and 1998, Azerbaijani joumalists visited Yerevan and met with President Robert Kocharian, first as Prime Minister, then as President. Last year, they even succeeded in visiting Karabakh where they met local officials. Georgia was represented by three Georgian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian journalists causing some conflicts during the conference in Armenia.

agency and later became chief editor of Hayk, the organ of the Armenian National Movement, the former ruling party. A staunch supporter ofthe candidacy ofVano Siradeghian who was seeking the presidency of ANM, Hagopian became a member of the ANM executive committee last September. He also led the campaign of Khachatur Sukiasian, the head of the SIL Group, who was elected to the National Assembly in May.

KURDS

11{

ABTEI{IA

Dissension within the Kurdish minority in Armenia became apparent during the hesident's Human Rights Commission meeting. The commission has two seats designated for delegates representing different minorities and national organizations in Armenia. There are nine minorities in the country making up three to four percent of the total

population.

A

principle

of rotation had been

adopted within the

Commission, whereby every six months, two different minorities occupy the two seats in the Commission where the concerns of the minorities are heard and discussed.

As a rotation is due, a problem of definition has created tensions in the Kurdish community. Kurds of Armenia are split into different factions. A number ofYezidis assert that the term Yezidi does not refer to a religious sect of the Kurds, but that Yezidis constitute a nation by themselves and do not wish to be called Kurds. However, most of the 40,000 Yezidis in Armenia do not share this opinion. There are a few thousand Moslem Kurds in Armenia, among them a small faction who consider themselves close to the PKK and the Kurdish cause.

These Kurds and Yezidis remain outside the Union of Nationalities of Armenia which, according to them, tries to monopolize the right to rep-

in official forums. Founded in

1994. the Union of Nationalities brings together most national and minority organizations, such as the Assyrian Atur, the Greek Patrida, the Georgian Iveria, the

resent them

Polish Polonia, the Ukrainian Fund, the Russian Oda, the Council of the Kurdish Intellectuals, and others. This has created problems.

STUDE]ITS' BEWABDS The Minister of Education and Science of Armenia rewarded 285 gold and 103 silver medals to 388 high school graduates who excelled academically during the 1998-99 year. The Sunik region, one of Armenia's 10 administrative regions had the highest number of medals-5O gold and 26 silver.

cottul$sts,

DtssEltstolt

Nineteen members of the regional organization of the Communist Party inVanadsor signed a letter announcing that they are quitting the party in

protest

of its policies. They criticized CP First Secretary Sergei

Badalian and Vladimir Darbinian who, according to the letter, are "furthering only their narrow personal interests and are playing the role of a fake opposition to the regime." The defections in the CP rank and file, which had started back in November 1997 during the 33rd party con-

gress, deprives the CP from an important organizational base in Vanadsor where Communists are considered strong. In the last legislative elections the CP gathered 25 percent of the votes in Vanadsor.

18

11{

BAKU

In Baku, the Armenian journalists met with Azerbaijani officials, including Presidential Advisor Vafa Guluzade, who seized the opportunity to assert that originally, "Today's Armenian territory was part of the Azerbaijani Khanate of Yerevan, which was detached from Azerbaijan

by Russia." Likewise, "The Azeri Zangentr region had been granted to Armenia by the Russians in order to separate Azerbaijan from Turkey."

Moreover, "It was due to active Russian intervention that 120,000 Karabakhis were able to win a war against eight million Azeris," Guluzade said. In his opinion, "Armenian journalists are very badly informed and ignore many realities, such as the fact that Armenia is the least free

of all the ex-Soviet Republics, that today the Armenian mili-

tary sphere is in the hands of the Russians who nominate Armenia's defense ministers and deprive Armenians of their right to choose."

RUSSIAil TBOOPS Lieutenant General Mikhail Vassilievich Naymilo was named the new commander the

Border Guards

of in the l02nd

Russian military base in Armenia.

Naymilo replaces Maj or-General Yevgueni Potekhin who served in

Armenia for three

years.

Recently, the Armenia brigade had been reorganized into an operative troop, acquiring the status of a special unit under Moscow's direct command. In early June, the 102nd base also received additional MIG 29s which completed its squadron of 15 bombers. The planes reportedly violated Georgian airspace when they flew into Armenia. Georgia presented an official protest for the incident.

ABCHEOLOGY Armenian and French archeologists are studying 20-30 thousand year old settlements dating to the Stone Age. Obsidian tools, as well as animal and plant fossils have been found in a gorge near Lusagert in the Godayk region. According to Professor Aram Kalantarian, head of the Archeology and Ethnology Institute of the National Academy of the Sciences, excavations have revealed that the oldest known human settlements have existed on Armenian territory.

After the forced inactivity of the last several years, Armenian archeologists have restarted their scientific expeditions on Armenian terrain.

This year's program includes research around Lake Sevan, Artashat, Tvin and Armavir. With the financial help of the Central Bank, archeologists will also conduct research in the Sisian region, where more ancient human settlements exist. Kalantarian stated that Armenian archeologists have authored three scientific studies this year and soon a few others will be published in French publications.

AIM JULY

1999

UI{ITED STATES US businessman philanthropist Jon Huntsman, 62, visited Armenia for the ground breaking ceremony of the The Huntsman Village in Gumri, where a 400-unit apartment complex will be built, together with a neighbhorhood school on a9-acre site. Jon and Karen Huntsman have provided $15 million for the project. Since the 1988 earthquake, the Huntsmans have donated some $18 million to Armenia. President Robert Kocharian awarded the Mesrop Mashtots Medal to Huntsman during a ceremony in Yerevan and handed him an Armenian passport (above right). Utah-based Huntsman, worth some $3.2 billion, owns the largest privately held chemical corporation in the US. In 1991 , Huntsman established a pre-stressed concrete plant in Armenia, employing several hundred people, and providing fuel and food to their families. During this most recent visit, Huntsman dedicated a new roofing tile plant in Yerevan. During President Kocharian's US trip in November, the Huntsmans hosted the presidential party at their home in Salt Lake City.

ABTElI!A.DIASPORA

coilsuLTATlol{s In preparation for the first Armenia-Diaspora Conference to be held in Yerevan on September 22-23, consultative meetings have been convened in Budapest, Paris, Beirut, Washington and Los Angeles. Representatives of community organizations as well as individuals active in Armenia have met with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian to discuss the agenda and format of the September conference as well as the problematic issue of delegate selection. The

consultative meetings in the varies cities demonstrated that in places such as Beirut, Lebanon (right) where community orgarizations and political parties do represent the majority of the Armenian community, selection of community representatives will not present a major problem. In Eastern Europe where Armenian communities have their elected leadership. again acceptable, legitimate representation won't be difficult. It is in Westem Europe, and especially the Americas, where 'who represents the Diaspora' will become the main issue both prior to and, especially, following the Diaspora Conference. The government of Armenia hopes that discussions about forming an umbrella organization that can serve as a coordinator of Diaspora-Armenia relations can begin during the conference, which is being called the first step in a process that will result in more effective, collaborative activities that will benefit both Armenia and the Diaspora.

AIM JULY 1999

t9

MERCEDES II{ ARMENIA Daimler-Chrysler opened a representative agency in Armenia, the last of the former Soviet republics to have such an office. In addition to selling Mercedes cars, the agency will offer spare parts and car repair services. A delegation from the company's Stuttgart office, headed by Herbert Muller, CIS and Mongolia Sales and Marketing Manager, was in Armenia for the occasion.

The agency is held by Intermotor Armenia, a Lebanese-Armenian joint venture, 75 percent of which is owned by the Lebanese side (represented by the Asmar Group), and 25 percent by the Armenian side (represented by Mardin Hovhanissian, President of Credit Yerevan Bank, Sedrak Sedrakian, President of the Yerevan Stock Exchange, lrvon Fermanian, President of Artshin Bank, and Armen Stepanian).

The 6000 sq. meter office is currently under construction in the Nor Nork district of Yerevan. It is expected to be ready in late October.

Intermotor Armenia intends to invest $4 million by the end of the year.

The agency will have 60 to 100 well-paid employees. A few of them will be trained in Germany. The Yerevan agency is said to occupy the largest and the most luxurious office among those opened in CIS countries. In time, besides the main office, a number of service stations and spare-parts sales points will be opened in different cities of Armenia.

Agency sources announced that the first cars would be imported in August. Muller said that the establishment of a chain for the assembly of cars may be foreseeable in the future, but it depends on the market, as this would be economically sound only if a minimum of 50,000 cars were assembled. Armenia does not have such a market, yet. According to some estimates, there are 10,000 foreign cars in Armenia today, 40 percent of which are Mercedes. According to traffic control figures, 7.5 percent of all cars are produced outside the CIS- I 2 percent of these are Mercedes and nine percent BMWs.

(especially tomatoes) at the request of local food processing plants. As a result, 8000 tons are expected to be processed this year, compared to 2500 tons last year. According to estimates, this increase will create 300 new jobs in these plants. The fruit juice concentrates prepared by the Ararat and Artashat food processing plants are exported. The buyer is the Swissbased Andre Group. However, Andre's products do not mention Armenia as the source of these products. According to an agreement signed early this year, the Ararat and Artashat factories have agreed to provide the Andre Group with apple, apricot and peach juice concentrates. The Armavir canning factory rejected the terms proposed by Andre Group, and instead, it started producing its own apricot, peach and otherjuices under the Ararat Nectar label. The juices are well packaged in modern design containers and according to intemational standards. Armenia's dozens of old canning factories do not function today. The Yerevan canning factory for example, is currently being used as a market.

HOTEL YEREYAIII The Yerevan Hotel-the beautiful old structure next to the Moscow Theater on Abovian Street-was bought through tender early this year by the Italian company, Renco. Restoration is expected to end in December. Some 150 construction workers are involved in the renovation project. When completed, Yerevan Hotet will have 100 to 120 rooms and will be a four-star modern hotel, with 50 employees.

According to the sales agreement, Renco will invest three billion Drams in the reconstruction, preserving the architecture of the building to match structures in old central Yerevan where the hotel is located.

TOBACCO INDUSTRY Grand Tobacco, the cigarette producing firm which ,is a Canadianjoint venture, is showing a marked increase in production.

Director Hrant Vardanian announced that in the first five months of Armenian

1999, the company has exported $2.3 million in cigarettes, whereas its total 1998 exports reached only $1.5 million. The company has also launched a tobacco cultivation project in the Lachin region, in an area covering 100 hectares, where the company is investing some $5060,000. Tobacco cultivation is labor-intensive and provides jobs to hundreds of non-skilled and underpaid workers. As production increases, it is expected that workers' salaries will increase. According to estimates,

a total of 1,500 families should find work this year in this deal. The company pays salaries ranging between 30,000-70,000 Drams (approximately $60 to $140).

Grand Tobacco now owns I 950 hectares of tobacco plantations dispersed throughout the country, but plans to increase the number and total area of its plantations. In addition, Grand Tobacco provides technical advice to tobacco planters. The company expects 5,000 tons of crop this year, and, considering the current development rate, a much higher amount next year. Self-employed farmers receive $ 1- 1.5 for each kilogram of tobacco they produce. Each hectare of land yields 3-35 tons oftobacco leaves. Currently, some 15,000 people are employed on the tobacco plantations, and the number increases during harvest and drying times. The tobacco crop in Armenia reached 150-160 tons in 199697, and 1,000 tons in 1998. The production of cigarettes increased three-fold last year and reached to 2.4 billion. It is expected to reach five billion this year. Finally, local production covers more than 80 percent of the local market demand. There are also some 60 hectares of tobacco plantations in Karabakh's Martakert region.

FOOD PBOCESSI]IG This year, cereal (especially wheat) cultivation in the Armavir region has covered 15,100 hectares, compared to 18,700 hectares in 1998. The remaining 3,700 hectares have been used for the cultivation of vegetables

20

WORLD BAI{K LOANS ln late June, the World Bank approved a$26.6 million loan program for improving the safety of Armenia's water reservoirs. The announcement was made by the WB's resident representative in Armenia, Oweise Saadat (second from right, meeting with Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian), who dubbed the decision as yet another indication of WB's good disposition towards reforms in Armenia. The credit will be disbursed on standard WB International Development Agency (IDA) terms and will be repayable in 35 years, starting l0 years after the loan is received. Within a period of five years, 20 reservoirs will be repaired, six of them in the first year. Armenia has a total of 80 reservoirs dispersed around the country. Almost all of them need repairs for safety reasons.

The WB project'will take care of the 20 most dangerous reservoirs.

Construction is due to begin on October 1, following the outcome of a tender announced for the repair contract. The whole project will cost $30.3 million. The $3.7 million difference will be provided by the govemment. This is the first loan approved by the WB since the May parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government. And for the first time, the entire project was developed by local engineers.

For the next three years, the WB intends to loan $240 million to Armenia to support the realization of various projects, among the most important being judicial reforms and the development of small and medium size businesses, irrigation systems, and communication networks and transport facilities. Negotiations for a transport-communications loan (50 million dollars) and a judicial reforms loan (10 million dollars) are still in progress. As with the water reservoir loan, repayment

AIM JULY I999

of the loans is scheduled over 40 years-with a non-repayment and zero interest grace period of l0 years-and an interest rate of 0.75 percent for the following 30 years.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS FrRST QUARTER OF 1999

TWT AIID OTE SUED The Armenian govemment filed a lawsuit against TransWorld Telecom (TWT), and the Greek OTE (the owner of ArmenTel monopoly telecom) companies for failure to pay about $ I 8 million in income tax and fines. The suit was filed by Smbat Aivazian (right), the newly appointed Minister of State Revenues. Originally, ArmenTel was a joint venture between the Armenian government and TWT, but was sold to OTE in March 1998 (left, company executives at a news conference). The Armenian govemment asked TWT and OTE to pay their back taxes, but

(Vo change compared

with same period of 1998;

Gross Domestic Product

+3,8 -2.5

Industry Production of consumer goods Production of electric power Construction Exporls Imports

-9.7

-7.5 +43 -6.7 -11.3

Source: Ministry of Stotistics and Stqte Register

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS FTRSTQUARTEROF 1999 {% change compared with same period of 1998 unless otherwise staied)

;

Real GDP

+4,6 -4,4

Industrial production Employment (7o of population) t" Unemployment rate (Vo of labor force)

the demand was ignored. Of the total, $10 million represents fines levied by the government for nonpayment. According to Harold Racheworld, president of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips of Los Angeles, the law firm hired by the government as consultants on this lawsuit, "These are quite ordinary legal proceedings concerning tax collection." In reference to fears that such a suit might be detrimental to Armenia's attempts to attract future foreign investments, Racheworld said that this step would actually promote investments to this "developing country with excellent potentials." Meanwhile, Minister Aivazian stated that "If TWT and OTE think that Armenia shouldn't apply its tax regulations, then they are very much mistaken."

Wages

35.1 9.8 26.5

â‚Ź)

Consumer prices Tlade balance (million US$, CIF-FOB) r, Current account (7o of GDP) debt (Vo of GDP) ,,,

-3.9

'

-129.9

**r*n

39.9 $i

:r,r'$xbhange rate Dram/US$ (quarterly average)

538J

:,,'Wâ‚Źir rates

.

:4I

ir6oA ,l'.1:,:..'::91 base Treasury la,lil.':::rr.';::

BUDGET DEFrcF Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian reported to the National Assembly that

the revenues collected in the first four months of the current year are short by 20 billion Drams from the amount projected by the 1999 State budget. The revenues collected and the grants received represent 31.9 percent of the annual budget. According to some semiofficial and financial sources, the revenue gap is actually higher. The revenues of the 1999 State budget were set at 191 billion Drams (around $350 million). Deputy Finance Minister Gagik Arzumanian said that budget revenues fell below projections mainly because of a decrease in imports.

He said because of the Russian economic crisis, hard currency transfers to Armenia have dropped, bringing about a decrease in the purchasing capacity of the population. As a result, imports have dropped by more than 10 percent and taxes levied collected at the borders have decreased by 15 billion Drams. As a temporary solution, tax department officials have been collecting taxes from businesses notjust for the current period, but for upcoming months. In other words, businesses are expected to pay taxes on expected revenues not yet earned. The government on its part is considering increasing excise duties on cigarettes and gasoline. Also, negotiations are underway with the World Bank and IMF for a loan of 25 million dollars each to cover the budget deficit, but these are not due until autumn. However, these measures are unlikely to solve the problem and, therefore, Finance Minister Levon Barkhudarian does not rule out the possibility of freezing budget expenditures.

Bill (weighted average) Refinancing rate (end of period) 3 month commercial bank loans (in Dram)

State budget

.lt' ,"'rr

(io of GDP\

Deficit

2.3, 30.2, 32,5

Revenues Expenditures

(1) Officially registered (2) Estimates (3) 7o of cunent year GDP

.

Soutrce:

l: l.lntlal

Amenia Economic Treruls, April l99g; based on ddtd from Bank of Amenia, IME Miniitry of Finance and Minisiry oJ

Starisrics

TRADE (relative to first quarter of 199S)

'

tr'ofeign T[ade ($US millions) Exports Imports .,:Monetary income of population

:

-9:5: '9.1"

,10,1 ,

-11..

NM R"uooh ,,,,,,1fun':

AIM JULY 1999

21

r[nH

. Armenian Hospital

The Holy Savior Armenian Hospital in Istanbul celebrated its l67th anniversary. Formal ceremonies began with a Divine Liturgy in the

hospital chapel, celebrated by Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafian of Istanbul and all Turkey (right, pictured with Hospital Board members). A banquet was held in the gardens of the hospital following the Liturgy. Over 500 guests attended the ceremonies.

. Church Anniversary St. Kevork Church in Samatya, which was given to the Armenians as a patriarchal church in 1461, celebrated its 538th birthday. The Sahakian choir (right center) of the same church also celebrated its anniversary. The Divine Liturgy, attended by over 1000 people, was presided over by Patriarch Mesrob II, and was followed by a luncheon in the church hall.

. Ottoman Anniversary On the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Ottoman Empire, Patriarch Mesrob II and his official entourage visited the mausoleum of Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, in the Fatih Mosque complex and placed a wreath. It was Sultan Mehmed who in a 1461 decree transferred the Armenian Diocese in Bursa to Istanbul and elevated its status to a Patriarchate. A reception celebrating the 538th anniversary ofthe Armenian Patriarchate was held at the Hilton Gardens Hotel in Istanbul.

. Oflicial Visit Following parliamentary elections in Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob II paid courtesy visits to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Motherland Party leader Mesut Yilmaz. During the meeting with Ecevit, the Patriarch presented a list of issues pertaining to the Armenian com-

munity in Turkey.

. Mayor of Istanbul Patriarch Mesrob

II

paid a courtesy visit to the Grand Mayor of

Istanbul, Ali Mufit (right bottom) on the occasion of his recent election. The Patriarch congratulated the Mayor and presented him with a valuable reproduction of the official insignia of Sultan Mehmed II.

. Church Consecration The Holy Hripsimiants Church in Buyukdere, on the western bank of the Bosphorus, was reopened after having gone complete renovation since the beginning of the year. Patriarch Mesrob II consecrated the new altar. Funds for the renovation were donated by the Gazzeyan family.

rwlclLlrc

rffiilnf,

The tiny Armenian community in Wellington, New Zealand, gath-

The executive committee of the

ered for an emotional lirst ever Divine Liturgy when Archbishop

Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand, visited Wellington recently to meet community members and their families.

Armenians living in Auckland also participated in the Liturgy.

Some 20 community members and Archbishop Baliozian visited the New Zealand Parliament House, where, the community donated an Armenian Tricolor Ribbon with an embroidered Armenian national emblem.

EUTf,GETJGTL OOUnGfl.

Armenian Evangelical World Council (AEWCFrepresenting six Evangelical Union member churches-met

in Marseille, France, and discussed matters related to the mission of the Armenian Evangelical Church, as well as issues pertaining to the min-

istry of regional unions. A statement of faith and a manual for the Armenian Evangelical ministry was presented at the meeting, designed

to create "a common denominator and an instrument to strengthen the spiritual solidarity" among the Armenian Evangelical Unions. The Council also discussed plans to celebrate, in 2001, the 1700th anniversary of adoption of Christianity as state religion in Armenia.

AIM JULY

1999

CA]IADA In response to the question raised by Sarkis Assadourian, Member of the Canadian Parliament, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Julian Reed, affirmed the historic event of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the House of Commons, howev-

er, without using the term "genocide." Reed stated to the Parliament: "On behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs I wish to inform the House that together with all Canadians we remember the

calamity alllicted on the Armenian people in 1915. This tragedy was committed with the intent to destroy a national group in which hundreds of thousands of Armenians were subject to atrocities, which included massive deportations and massacres. May the memory of this period contribute to healing wounds as well as to the reconciliation of present day nations and communities and remind us all of our collective duty to work together toward world peace."

JERUSALET The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported violent incidents

at the Armenian property on Mount of Olives. When

the

Armenian Brotherhood of St. James and the seminarians went to the Mount of Olives to celebrate the feast of Ascension in May, as they customarily do, they were faced with a mob of youth. The incident "culminated in an episode of stoning," according to the Patriarchate.

Attempts to calm the situation with a "pacifist approach and dialogue failed to stop the stoning" by the local residents. Eventually, the members of the Brotherhood and the seminarians returned to the Armenian Patriarchate (below) unharmed. The following day, dur-

ing religious services, young members of the Abu-Alhawa family stoned the Armenian premises again, broke into the compound and damaged the property and fumiture in the rooms. The Patriarchate's

efforts to peacefully settle the disturbance were futile. The AbuAlhawa family has declared theArmenian site on the Mount of Olives as a mosque while, immediately adjacent to the Armenian property. there already exists a mosque. Having failed to come to an understanding with the intruders, the Patriarchate has referred the matter to the courts. Meanwhile, the Israeli police authorities have been kept informed in detail about the situation. Armenians had begun purchasing land on the Mount of Olives in the 1830s and ever since have conducted religious services there on church feast days. The Patriarchate regards these sites, including the one currently in dispute "as sacred."

st'Ht \ The Armenian Consulate in Aleppo sponsored a series of cultural events on the 130th anniversary of the birth of poet Hovhannes Thmanian. As Tumanian is well-known for his numerous children's stories, an exhibit of children's books published in Armenia was held in the courtyard of the Consulate, attended by students from local Armenian institutions.

FRTTGE A park dedicated to Misak Manushian, a leader of the French Resistance during World War II, was inaugurated in the town of Pelvoisen, with the participation of Armenia's Ambassador to France, Edward Nalbandian, and Chairman of the Val de Loire Central District Council, Michel Sapin. The park project was initiated by the National Union of the Resistance Movement Participants and the Pelvoisen City Council.

SGETI|STS HOf,ORED US scientist Arnold Nikoghosian, member of the International Academy of Aeronautics and head of NASA s National and Microgravitational Sciences Department, was elected foreign member of the Armenian Academy of Sciences.

Academy President, Fadei Sargsian, awarded a diploma to Nikoghosian and praised his role in establishing telemedicine in Armenia. Immediately following the Armenian earthquake in 1988,

Nikoghosian organized telebridges between Armenia and the US, which lasted for four months. These arrangements made it possible for Armenian specialists to receive assistance from their American counterparts. Some 500 victims were helped through the program.

Educated in Russia and a recipient of Gagarin and Korolev Medals, Nikoghosian now works in the US.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA) presented its 1998 Victor Hambartsumian Scientist-of-theYear awards to three scientists in Armenia: Academicians Michael L. Ter Mikaelian, a theoretical physicist in the field of high-energy and laser physics; Edward Y. Khachikian, astronomer; and Arkady S. Karakhanian, head of the Seismotectonics Department at the Institute of Geological Sciences in Armenia. Established in 1994, the awards consist of a certificate and an honorarium.

AIM JULY 1999

GONTINUIil Prime Minister Yazgen Sargsian's new government

By A. H. ALEXANDRIAN

he most notable aspect of the new government of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian is not its individual members, but its total make-up. There are no new faces in this body of 25. Half are from the Kocharian's first year in office. All served under the various prime ministers of these eight independent years, or in the Soviet years which preceded them. Some-like the ministers of education, post and telecommunication, and urban planning and construction-have been invited to serve because they enjoy National Assembly Speaker (and Sargsian ally) Karen Demirchian's support. Others, such as Vahan Shirkhanian and I,eonard Petrossian, are clearly Sargsian's men and have been given "honorary ministries" such as Industrial Institutions, and Government Operations. A few strong ones have stayed on based on their own record: among them Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian, Health Minister Haik

Nikoghosian and Minister

of Information and Statistics

Stepan

Mnatsakanian. Others have been invited back because of their past

track record, such as erstwhile Finance Minister Levon Barkhudarian and Director of Government Operations Shahen Karamanukian. The Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, Roland

Sharoyan stayed

on because the Armenian

Revolutionary

Federation wanted him to. Armen Darbinian, whose accomplishments in the economic arena were not so notable during his year as Kocharian's Prime Minister, has nevertheless been invited to remain as Minister of Economy. The ministers of transportation and privatization, too, could have been asked to leave by many accounts and would have been little missed. But they've stayed on.

Serge Sargsian who was once part of the triumvirate in power saw his ministry split in half. He stayed on as head of National Security, and saw former Yerevan Mayor and Sargsian ally Suren Abrahamian take on Internal Affairs. Finally, the designation of the career soldier Vagharshak Harutiunian to replace his old boss

24

Sargsian makes one wonder if the Armenian army has entered a new era of development, where volunteer guardians of the homeland will be replaced by career soldiers.

All this was part of the side show. The main attraction was the new prime minister, former Minister of Defense, Yazgen Sargsian and his own thoughts and actions regarding the new government.

After Sargsian's first speech to the newly elected National Assembly, it was clear that if unbending will is all it takes, Sargsian will accomplish what his program willfully sets out: to overcome the economic and social crises in the country, first, through an accurate assessment of the situation at hand (which is something each prime minister has identified as a first step). In Sargsian's case, he added an emphasis on identifying what went wrong since independence and why, and a (negative and positive) evaluation of the methods used so far, with the obvious desire to amend those methods in a way to prevent a recurrence of the mistakes.

He said his ultimate target is achieving progress in all spheres through efficient use of all Armenian resources and potential both in the country and from the Diaspora.

The speech was, as were his statements during the election campaign, more a statement of faith than practical proposals and methodologies.

Still, Sargsian's presentation to the National Assembly was quite daring in its readiness to fight against comrption at all levels of civil service, including a declaration to clean the local administrative bodies of shadowy "bosses" and a decision to tackle the shadow economy and bring it within the framework of normal, legal economic transactions.

As for the government program presented by the Prime Minister's office, it described the economic environment in 1998 and during the first five months of 1999 with its achievements and shortcomings, and tried to define a few practical measures which

AIM JULY I999

AND REFORM might be taken in the immediate future and which were designed to cover the current budget deficit amounting approximately to 20 billion Drams (around $37 million.) The longest section of his program was culled from all the campaign programs of the various parties.

Without amounting to a specific prescription, it served to once again list what must be done by the government in various spheres.

At the outset, the Prime Minister warned that what he was presenting was not in fact a program of socio-economic development, but rather a summary of the problems existing today. If solved by the end of the year,

II

future development programs can be prepared, he explained.

Sargsian, who speaks with an earthy eloquence, expressed a real fear that because

ffir

u$rglne, *EggG

individuals' socio-economic situation is so dismal, people run the risk of underestimating and not fully valuing Armenian society's

m

ffi

tion strategy in place in Armenia thus far, and defined a series of seven measures to put the privatization process on the right path.

"The enthusiastic privatization which went on at lightning speed was followed by the upheaval of the war. All of this prevented us from noticing that we were first privatizing the profits of

the enterprises, then the enterprises themselves, and finally their debts. The public was left out of these processes and a monstrous social polarization set in, with the creation of monopolies as a result. State intervention in this respect was considered heresy," he explained. "Today,

esonomic

re ltilst neimt

an lm fi| m -

frfmmh

3S

fr]ft1f,

nOt A

there

is a

need

for

state regulation," he

noted, "which is a means rather than a target.

However, the state must regulate and not dictate. We are convinced that every foreign

investor, and even more, every Armenian citizen must feel that the state, too, is contributing to their initiative. Up until now, we

not succeeded in creating the necessary u$&h G0ffiilFr sd mI have confidence inspiring environment with equal rights for the private investor. Most privatized enterprises ceased their activity. il."x1.::fJ,:Hl;,il1 Jilffii,T51#i:: It mr sFUisG ffiilr no one explained to the public what kind of [E IEh sf oM'$r, ffi:ill::#j;,]H.Tj:f:'ff:,[':,$:i: society was being built and what obstacles

sreat successes of recenr yeal',.11.1:T::1tion of independent statehood, the embrac-

might be encountered

in that process.

Everybody understands, however, he stressed, that there are no alternatives to the reforms. He went on to explain that the country's development depends exclusively on these reforms.

At the same time, he repeated that the authorities themselves should have understood and should have explained to the people that market economy is more than a mechanism, it's a way of life, that the transition was and is painful.

Sargsian said that he thought there had not been a privatiza-

a public system for the implementation of the reforms did not materialize in the Armenian Republic," he explained, stressing that only with the creation of a society dominated by moral and spiritual values, where social and political cooperation prevails, will serious economic progress be achieved.

Sargsian said that newly-appointed ministers will be expected to be responsible for the programs entrusted to them, and called on them to work as a united team-something that no government has thus far achieved.

AIM JULY

1999

)<

ALprrnn ro THE Prunae MnusTER To

:.

Mr.Vaz-gel.S arkisian

Prime Minister Republic of Armenia Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Congratulations on your recent appointrnent, which came as little surprise to most of us. Nor will it be unexpected news to learn of your candidacy for President when that time shall come.

You could probably fill Lake Seyan with the number of letlers you're getting: suggestions, demands,'complaints, and the general outpouring of the politically needy clamoring to suck up to a man of your position.

\\re[,

here's another one. Letter,

I mean.

Know this right off: You can't do anything for me and I can't do anything for you.

Wait. That's not entirely ffue. You could do things that would make life better for some very deserving friends of mine and that would make me happy. But l can't do a dang thing for you, owing to the fact that I'm not even a citizen of your republic.

Anyway.

Have you ever heard of "pothole politics"?

In the rural southern United States where I grew up, it wasn't unheard of for a man to get elected because he promised to fix the "potholes" in the roads people travelled. Folks in those parts would see a road construction sign and say: "Must be election time."

The problem, though, was that too often the potholes getting fixed were only those on roads where politicians lived.

By

Mr. Prime Minister, a whole lot different from

comparison,

Armenia ain't

Alabama.

You me a man of letters, and so you understand that the reference is allegorical as well as literal.

I've dodged the potholes on the roads of your country and I know they are many.

The economy gets the blame for most, but isn't it the economic sfructure that is really the culprit for the economic state? Tlvo examples: 1. In order to make up for the budget shortfall, your tax administration officers have begun to collect trxes early. They want businesses, even small mom and pop ones, to pay now for what they think they may bring in next month. Isn't there a better way?

2. I don't need to tell you how much outside humanitarian aid comes into Armenia- But, did you know that hospitals receiving goods from charitable agencies must pay taxes on donated equipment and medicines? Is that really necessary, considering that the rcost eventually effects the patients - average Armenians - for whom the free aid was intended?

The birth of a frse-market economy comes with considerable growing pains that are too complex for non-experts.

So let me ask you about a "pothole" that threatens to erode the reputation of the department you just left, the military.

26

Why, in a country with so much national pride, are boys running, literally, ftom serving in the arniy? And why are fathers who are themselves veterans, willing to pay bribes to keep theirboys from facing conscription?

I know a young man who was working two jobs and whose mother was working as a cook and a maid just so the family could pay army officers who signed papers saying he had done his military service when in fact he hadn't. What is wrong with the Annenian army that would make it so objectionable?

And on the subject of bribes: Why do the police shake down every driver who isn't behind the wheel of a "power" car? And why do members of evaluation boards accept bribes to lct kids widr money into the best universities even if their grades eren't as impressive as their bank accounts? And why do physicians accept kickbacks to perform surgeries that the State supposedly is underwriting?

And why do the people in airport Customs, and the ofFrcials at the motor vehicle registration departnent and the inspector at the tax bureau . . .

And why did only about half as maay Armenians vote in the latest elections as when they first had the chance to exercise that freedom?

Because nobody is fixing potholes, Mr. Prime Minister.

In your country there is no sense of cause and effect when it comes to voting.

Don't misunderstand me, I am not on some ethical high horse here, certainly not when in my own country national policy is shaped by lobbyists who use votes like money.

But at least here I have a sense that, however corupt, the system is fundamentally designed for the comfort of life for average people like me. I don't like paying taxes, but I like having i functioning public utilities.

And I like the opportunity to change the i way my government works. I see the connneci tion. Yow people need to see the same.

You could show them.

One of the first things I was told about how things work in Armenia was that no matter who sits in the President's chair, the man really in charge was the Minister of Defense. That was you. And the widely held belief was not a reflection of the Office, but of the Man. Now that you are Prime Minister, there's no reason to believe that the balance of power has shifted, but only that it now comes from a more logical base.

I know Armenians who are eager for a leader who'll fix potholes.

More significantly, I know too many Armenians who are tired of seeing the potholes fixed only on the sfreets where powerfrrl people live, while common folk endure a significantly bumpier ride. t'{o one is to blame for the conditions in Armenia. Too much happened too fast.

But someone should be accountable if things don't improve. you are the man I've heard about, you are willing to accept that

If resPonsibilitY'

AIM JULY 1999

John Hughes

loo[[rd PBlrorlrn

{fr r;, I0r0l0n

i:!E:;i:#+:;:=:'-'.

";,i.'iii:rtilrlil;ir*iif,.li1iiii. iti"i.lilliii llhhs illllsl0p t0r0mnlcflt 0[GIili0[il ls$[ss

i,1f,ffifi,ir:,,.i',iiiulrrriII Glrll

Errva[t

lllnlslor

liiilririiiiltriliiel

flalirxal

,::

' 1,1:' -,. , '1 lgFlrrltln0 Mlrlslsr

S08[rity

I'llll$ton

::ffi$:1-;,1;11.];.=

r

[conolll$l

Fhllolsgl$t

{,

lilitlffili.:.l i,i.-r1iri:..i;r:fitr:i..:j=-::.:i-:::::.:,'s,:: : ., rnd hdustrlal hslilrt0ls tirir0[mGlt ttBiilcr tflrrgy ]liilsl0r illhlrtor $[orts Mlnlrlon

responsibilities was

1'oL

a clear

gtrvclnrncnt ilcti()ns. Atnong

r

$ftfl{liriiiilililllllili iiri'tuffi,., , :'

Jolrlrllsl

He also plainly statcd that unethical behavior can be punished, and called firr a transparent govemment, where all activity is publicly r.'isible, and ri'hele sovenlrent "does not conceal the real atfairs of state fhrnr the peoplc." He pledged to personally address the pLrblic u'ith rnonthly updates on the republic's economy. Er,en as hc pledgecl to cooperatc liberally with all political forces in the counlry. hc stt'cssod that he did not u'ish to "dilute'' the responsibility assurncd by the Union Alliance ri'hich he and Den'rilchian headed, thus placing on the Alliirnce the

entire responsibility

rilllriliiiittrillll

G[lur0, Y0ill|

those

inclication that the activities and lunc-

tions of local administrators fiom trayors to regional gover-

luors will be n'rore closely monitorcd so that thcy "stop bcing positions which provide possibilities 1'or the accutrtr,rlation ol wealth."

hillool

;:r,,SEE::-= Iigi[Gsr

t:..

::.i.i,

lmlmer

ln[lnos!

"ln the ecor.ron-ric sphere. we mllst reject once and fol al1 the idea that Armenia is not a viable country and that it may survive

only with thc hclp of others. Annenia's natural

resources.

geostratesicposition, technological and procluctive capacities and its intellectual potential are cnough to ensure the development of the countn,." lie said. whilc at the sarne tirne pledging to contlnue and deepen the coopcr.ation with international financial organi z atior-r s.

When a1i tl'ris is accornplishecl, he explained, then all Armenians with resources arountl the wolld will be "called to Armenia, just as the army recruited its comnrandin-q oftlcers rvith

in 1990." referred to the upcornine Almenia-f)iaspora

such a call back

Sargsiar-r

Conl-erence in September as an opportunit," to urakc such a ciill for

participation.

Just as Armenia was forming a new government, changes were taking place in Karabakh's government, too.

But of a different nature. ln early June, Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian (asked for and) accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Jirair Poghosian. In his place, Ghukasian appointed Stepanakert-born Anushavan Danielian. 4-1. a Ukrainian citizen, to the post of Prime Minister. #: :{F A graduate of the University of Simferopol, Danielian was chairman of the Interstate and National tt, 1 Relations Committee of the Crimean Parliament, and then Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. An active member of the Armenian community, Danielian was the head of the Federation of Armenian Communities in I4 o Eastern European countries in the mid-1990s. Prior to his appointment as Karabakh Prime Minister, he was the tr-.

Y !.d chief managel of a state-run cable factory in Yerevan. a{ Danielian's experience in the Crimea, where a popuiation seeking a semblance of self'-rule is caught between Russian and Ukrainian politics, will certainly provide a useful perspective in the Karabakh situation. In reference to the issue of Crimea's autonomy, Danielian told AIM in a February 1996 interview that "Leaders have no right to act based on emotions or personal interpretations of reality. The examples of Abkhazia, Chechnya and Yugoslavia demonstrate how emotionalism can result in tragedy....

Historical injustice differs from historical justice in terms of time. The former can be eliminated with a mere stroke of the pen, but it may take centuries to restore the latter.''

Upon taking office, the new premier immediately assured the public, saying "I wilt do my very best to gain your high trust and will use my knowledge and experience to improve the wellbeing of the people." he said.

Danielian's appointment was not the end of the story, however. Karabakh's strong Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, an ally of Poghosian, and others in the government were not pleased with Ghukasian's move. Officially, Petrosian's dismissal was attributed to his tailure to improve the economic situation in Karabakh since taking office last year. His government's performance in the economic, health, and social sectors as well as its ta,r policy was dismal,the president said. In the first quarler of 1999, the volume of industrial output in Karabakh grew by only 2.5 percent compared with 1998. Production in the state sector fell by 5.2 percent, but grew in the private

,,{_

k{.'#

sector by 3-1.3 percent.

However, repol'ts and rumors about a bugging device being found in Ghukasian's ofTice ilid not help foster confidence in a smooth, natural transition. Indeed, weeks after the appointment, the military and others in government were still expressing their outrage.

AIM JULY

1999

r

N

A

o

T

N

a d

zr E

Klnnrru I Carnor,rcos or Ar,r, AnurNraxs 1995-1999

C.t:rnor.tcos

or Cn rcn

t977-1995

B

y Hnarcu TcnIr-II.rcrnIeN

April 1995, Karekin I was elected the 131st Catholicos of All Armenians in

n

Ejmiatsin by the National Ecclesiastical Assembly, arguably, the most pan-

Armenian body representing almost nine million Armenians in the republic and 32 countries in the Diaspora. Unlike other elections in the last five hundred years, this one was the first in a free and independent Republic of Armenia. And for the first time in history the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in Lebanon, was elected Catholicos of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin.

An entire era had ended with the passing'of the previous Catholicos, Vazken I,

AIM JULY 1999

Karckin I and his motter in lorcnto, Ganada

29

NATION reform should preserve an order that

is

alive, not an order that is just a structure. We need to reform the church in such a way that she will become an active and positive presence for the benefit of our nation."

The Catholicos had set himself a daunting task. However, in the few years before he fell ill to cancer of the throat, he set in motion multiple administrative and ecclesiastical processes to address the needs ofthe church as he had outlined them at his inau-

gural speech as Catholicos of All Armenians.

For example, after Armenia's independence, the Armenian Church faced one of the greatest challenges of its history: how to minister and "re-evangelize," as Karekin I described it, a population of three million Armenians with fewer than 150 clergymen?

Toward this end, the Catholicos paid great attention to the seminary in Ejmiatsin where future priests are trained. Today the seminary has over 100 students, a record number for this century.

Catholicos Karekin was an unparalleled church leader at least in one very

He

ushered the important respect.

Catholicosate of All Armenians in Ejmiatsin into a new post-Soviet era, albeit only for

four years and left his mark on

the

Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon, where during his lS-year tenure as Catholicos under the most difficult conditions of the Lebanese civil war, he turned the Cilician See into a vibrant religious center.

Glnllenucs laciru

ile

G[ut'GIt

Preparations for the election of a new Catholicos have already started and a new head of the Armenian Church will be elected within six months. However, in addition to the enormous project of celebrating the 1700th anniversary in 2001 and the ongoing "reformation" of the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, the new Catholicos will face several long-term challenges.

whose 40-year tenure was marked by Soviet pressure and state control of the church. The nation anticipated the beginning of a new era under the leadership of Karekin L

workers for the religious revival of the Armenian nation; the reinterpretation of Armenia's national and religious identity; and ensuring the financial stability of the

Upon his election, Karekin I had listed four priorities for Ejmiatsin: the organiza-

Holy See of Ejmiatsin.

His ultimate vision was the complete

tion of celebrations for the l,700th anniversary of Christianity as the state religion of Armenia; the training of clergy and lay

overhaul of the Church. "The reformation of the Armenian Church should be our goal, our target, our point of departure. That

AIM JULY 1999

il1$$lm

Catholicos Karekin I and virtually all hierarchs of the Armenian church have repeatedly stated that Armenia needs to be "re-ev angelized," "re-Christianized" after seventy years of communism. And the effects of communist oppression of religion and the church remain all too tangible in Armenian society.

31

NATION

(

t,

S, Above: Service at the St. Sarkis Cathedral in Yerevan, where high-ranking clergymen, govemment officials, and the people came to bid last larewell to Catholicos Karekin l's; Below: The funeral in Eimiadsin

The Church, as a meaning-providing institution, has a significant role to play in the construction of a new order after decades of moral dislocation of society. The discussion of basic moral and ethical values and their relevance to the life of the peo-

and new religious movements-or sects as they are popularly known-in Armenia is a subject of constant debate. In recent years there have been reports of incidents of "persecution" of evangelical groups and new

a threat to "national unity," and even to "national security." Yet, how the Church is going to position itself in an emerging democratic society, where pluralism and freedom of conscience are guaranteed by

the constitution, remains

ple-collectively and individually-

to

be

The move from a parochial to a more ecumenical worldview is a challenge that the new Catholicos seen.

is one of the most basic tasks lay peo-

ple expect from the church, beyond or in addition to the performance of

and the Armenian Church as

rituals and religious services.

whole

have to address.

Unlike the past, the Armenian Church is no longer a surrogate

fr{trshhrmc

As a national institution,

state

it

the

Armenian Apostolic Church enjoys the full support of the Armenian state. While constitutionally, church and state are separated, the lines of demarcation are not yet clear. Since independence, the Church has been tempted to seek state patronage to advance her own interests, but this has complicated the state's position vis a vis other churches and religions in Armenia.

The emergence of foreign missionaries 32

a

will

for the Armenian nation, and to come to terms with the

has

new conditions and realities creatthe Diaspora.

ed in both Armenia and

religious movements and the Church at best has been silent about these incidents. In a homogeneous society such as Armenia, the presence and activities of non-indigenous religious groups can all too easily be seen as AIM JULY I999

lrUn[wmilI Plans are already underway to organize events on both local and international levels to celebrate the Armenian Church's 1700th

"birthday" and the nation's acceptance of Christianity as state religion. Catholicos

NATION Karekin I called the anniversary celebration a 'new Pentecost' for the Armenian nation. Will it be? While the population in Armenia is better informed about the anniversary, most of the Diaspora is barely informed. The historic, national and international significance of this most auspicious event is yet to be explained, grasped and made meaningful. On the national level, this event could become the catalyst for the much-desired "unity" of the nation, on the international level, it should create an interest and a window to Armenia. The challenge

as

is to make this event much more than exhibits, conferences and localized pilgrimages, but an unprecedented national and international affair.

ffiChurch disunity continues in

the Diaspora despite the high hopes raised after Catholicos Karekin I's election. The church

in the Diaspora, especially in the United States and Canada, has been divided for into two diocesanjurisdictions, one

decades

affiliated with the Holy See of Ejmiatsin, the other with the See of Cilicia. Both

enhance

its

mission and administration

Catholicoi Vazken and Karekin attempted to resolve the diocesan unity issue, however, it has become obvious that the resolution of the problem is not a priority for the See of Cilicia. Given the developments of the last few years, it is unlikely that the current sta-

around the world. In February of this year, a By-laws commission set up by Catholicos Karekin I presented a draft "Constitution of the Armenian Church" for further study which would eventually be approved by the National Ecclesiastical Assembly.

The length, language and methodology

tus quo will change in the

of performance of the church's liturgies

foreseeable

are

future. It remains to be seen how the new Catholicos in Ejmiatsin will deal with the

among the other long-debated issues in need of serious attention.

problem.

Finally, the most arduous and contentious issue in the Church is a common understanding of the Church's Christian and National Mission. What is the mission of the Church today and what will it be in the 2lst

mm

For decades, the liturgical, administrative and missionary "reform" or restructuring of the Armenian Church has been on the agenda of successive leaders of the church.

After the Armenian state, the Armenian Church is the largest and, arguably, the most organized national institution with branches in virtually every country where Armenians live. However, the Church lacks a cohesive administrative apparatus, namely byJaws for

the entire Armenian Church, which would

AIM JULY I999

century?

In April 1995, then president Levon Ter Petrossian addressing the National Ecclesiastical Assembly that elected Catholicos Karekin I said, "Today, we have the opportunity-without the demands of foreign forces-for the first time, to solve our problems ourselves." Will the new Catholicos and the Armenian Church face up to the challenge?

at)

Word & lmage The Armenia Media: Reflecting Reality in the Next Millennium

By T0t{Y HAIPIN

t's always risky when a publication decides to

fall short. The idea that there should be the

write about the issue of the media. Either the exercise is perceived as navel-gazing by a public

expectation, albeit in more limited financial and journalistic circumstances, towards the Diasporan press merely

already concemed that journalists and editors

produces resigned laughter.

Here one might be expected to blow AIM's trumpet. Certainly, from the outset this magazine declared that part of its mission was to introduce a new quality of

think too much of themselves, or it is taken as an opportunity for a little mud-slinging at the rivals.

But the subject is inescapable in a world where image has more power than substance. The medium, as Marshall Mcluhan famously declared, is the message and how things appear to be increasingly defines how they really become.

Since we all now live in Mcluhan's global village, the image of Armenians as defined by their media is very often how the rest of the world will see them.

If, as with governments, people get the media they deserve, what does the present state of Armenian journalism say about the Diaspora and Republic it serves?

Some would cynically observe that it is an accurate reflection of Armenian life-fractured, introspective, rather parochial, somewhat corrupt.

Others, more optimistically, see the mirrors of the Diaspora struggling to come to terms with a new statebuilding agenda, far removed from traditional "parish pump" issues, while continuing to serve local needs.

Meanwhile, Armenian journalism in the republic must overcome a mind-set of 70 years, within govemment but also the wider society, that is hostile to the whole notion of a public's "right to know." In a country where life can be bought cheaply, asking too many awkward questions is not encouraged.

But it is not simply a question of maturity.

Armenian-Americans live in arguably the most information-rich society in the world, with a huge variety of news and opinion outlets both in print and on the airwaves. They are well versed in the skills needed to make sense of a "knowledge society," of sorting credible fact and opinion from the incredible.

Yet this seems to have little impact on the quality of joumalism they receive-or expect to receive-from the Diaspora press. It is as if they accept that what they read should not be taken too seriously, or that it must always be refracted through the particular political prism of party prejudice. No one asks whether the New York Times or the Washington Post presents a party line.

Readers' expectations are of detached objectivity-and great is the outrage when those papers are perceived to

34

AIM JULY1999

same level

of

joumalism into Armenian affairs at a time of historic change.

The attempt to reach a global audience with the sort of fact-based, original reporting that makes up its journalism was standard practice in international journalism, yet new to Armenian journalism, and much commented

upon by readers.

Surviving 10 years is a success of sorts. But AIM has not succeeded in some other respects. It has not, with one or two honorable exceptions, provoked others to enter the same field or spurred a general increase in competition on a more professional plane to the benefit

ofthe reading public generally. And, despite an intense-

ly loyal

readership, it has not so far succeeded in securing a large enough base of support to fund the breadth of joumalism needed by the global Armenian community.

Do Diasporan Armenians much care, therefore, whether they get reliable information about themselves and their compatriots in Armenia? Is this really a con-

cem of a few self-obsessed media types? Or is the image and self-image of Armenians important after all?

Part of the problem must be structural. Too many media outlets, for historic reasons, remain the mouthpieces of political parties or the product of a few committed individuals.

Take two examples. Asbarez is about the only Armenian daily newspaper left in the United States. The bilingual paper, based in Glendale, California, is the

product of the Armenian Revolutionary FederationDashnaksutiun (ARF) and, as such, promotes the views and policies of that organization. But this, according to editor John Kossakian is not its role.

He explained, "Its prime function is to increase the level of political awareness of the community, the overall political awareness notjust that of a certain group or party. Because the Armenian people lived most of the last century without any statehood, they lack the political and diplomatic experience that other people have.

"We believe our newspaper has a role in bringing

that awareness level up, then to bring enough information that they will be in a position to come up with their own conclusions and analysis. Thirdly, to provide them with as many different points of view as we can."

Regular readers-and non-readers-of Asbarez might be surprised to learn that it sees itself as a platform for varied and general debate, not just within its own party ranks but also in Armenian society generally.

Is it really likely, indeed, that a political party would finance and support a newspaper that gave space and credibility to the opinions of political opponents to the detriment of their own ideas?

But Kossakian is adamant that, although the paper is a party publication, political considerations do not color its reporting.

"We are one of the very few newspapers that cover Armenian life in Armenia and the Diaspora in a very detailed and objective way," he said.

Indeed,

at the beginning of the

Democratic

in

1988, Azbarez and its theneditor Apo Boghigian were the first to devote great resources and space to providing up to the minute news about developments in Armenia and Karabakh.

Then, as the ARF's policies regarding the Armenian government and leadership evolved, the quantity ofcoverage remained high, but the selection of items, and the headlines reflected the party's position.

Nevertheless, Kossakian maintains, "We don't mix news and editorials as some papers do, we cover the news without comment and are satisfied with using the editorial columns to give the stance of the paper and the party it represents."

He considers most of the rival Armenian press to be "parochial" in comparison to Asbarez. His paper sells 5,000 copies daily, usually 16 to 20 pages, and 10,000 on Saturdays when a 4O-page issue is produced. The newspaper also has its own website.

Movement in Armenia,

Kossakian, who has been editor since 1991, says the paper relies on a variety of wire services, such as Reuters, Noyan Tapan and Armenpress, for news as well

as information provided by reporters from Yerkir, Asbarez's sister paper in Yerevan.

"With these sources we never fail to provide corect and objective news," he said.

Three thousand miles away in New York, Edward

concentrate on local community events.

Boghosian says he is simply responding

to

the

of his readers-they

are tired of hearing of events in a far away country of which they know little demands and,

it

seems, care less.

"For an American-Armenian the picnic in

his

church is more important than what is happening in Armenia," he said.

"All the news we are getting in Armenia is not positive enough for the community to be proud of. We had people calling and complaining that we were giving too much news on Armenia.

"We are not giving too much importance to Armenia now. I would try to cut it down to one page out of 32 and that would be in our international page."

He added: "We put Miss Armenia on the front page and a woman called to complain that it didn't mean anything to her. AIM also has this prob-

lem,

it

gives too much space

to

Armenia.

"It has become a place where people go as tourists. We are total-

ly different people-the

DiaspQra

Armenians and the Armenians in Armenia-and the gap is growing.

Any change in that will have to come from Armenia; they should put their house in order.

"But every time we get nega-

tive news about corruption and decline of moral values, the Armenian-American community rejects this. They can't understand

how an Armenian woman from Armenia can become a prostitute.

Go to California and there are 34,000 Armenians in jail and most of them are from the Armenian republic."

Is this bleak know-nothing view of Armenians right? Would they rather avert their eyes than look such issues squarely in the face? Do people really no longer care what happens in Armenia, just 10 years after the momentous events that produced their longed-for dream of an independent homeland? And, if they are so disappointed, is the role of the media to walk away or to find new ways to connect people to impor-

of the Armenian Reporter International, is convinced that party papers such as Asbarez are doomed. But his alternative is a retreat into even greater parochialism in the beliefthat readers simply don't want to know.

He set up the Reporter in 1967 as a commercial enterprise because, he said, "we took it for granted that the majority of the community did not participate in Armenian political parties."

He added: "In my estimation, they are obsolete now. They have nothing to do-what is the purpose of a political party in the Diaspora? To sit down and decide how to govern Armenia? It's ridiculous."

ing them high-quality reporting that, in the old adage,

Recently, the Reporter has been cutting back drastically on coverage of events in Armenia, preferring to

informs, enlightens, and entertains. Instead, most papers content themselves with recycling wire reports and fill-

K.

Boghosian, editor

tant issues?

None of these questions have easy answers but in many cases the answers are not even being sought.

There is either a lack of will or of resources to produce a which relies upon its readers for survival by offer-

press

AIM JULY

1999

35

ing

space with long and dreary opinion pieces, which often display as much ignorance as knowledge. There is a general unwillingness to face social and political problems openly, in the hope of producing reasoned debate about solutions. Instead, there is a retreat into criticism of people who raise difficult subjects as somehow giving Armenians a "bad" name in the wider community.

The result is a curious lack of engagement between the press and the people they profess to serve, particularly the young. Playwright Arthur Miller once said that a good newspaper is a society in conversation with itself. What sort of conversations are taking place in the pages of the Diaspora press?

Opinion formers within the Armenian communities of the US pay little heed to their papers, while the partially assimilated professionals and young ArmenianAmericans are openly contemptuous. The papers have nothing to say about their concerns, do not address the way they lead their lives, and at best offer only the occasional nostalgic wallow in spotting old school friends and others in photographs ofweddings and parties.

Good journalism is costly and time-consuming-

"A good newspaper is a socieg

in conversation with itself'

difficult in a market divided into small circulation publications with limited advertiser appeal. But if a media fit to meet the challenges of the 2lst Century is to emerge, it must begin by taking the relationship between the journalist and the reader more seriously. Facts are sacred-leaving out part of the picture because of political inconvenience is a breach of that relationship. So is the idea that there are subjects, which should not be touched for fear of causing offense. Offering simple, glib solutions to intractable problems devalues the bond of trust between reader and writer. Better surely to admit that the problems are difficult and to invite open, honest

State Department and the German Bundestag, as

the Organization for Security and

well

as

Cooperation

in Europe.

He has no political axe to grind, nor even a personal agenda, he says, beyond disseminating as much news as possible about Armenia and Armenians to those who want to find out what's happening Bedrossian is now arguably the most influential Armenian publisher in the world. On a daily basis, each subscriber receives, free, over 100 articles (from the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times to Radio Free Europe and the Associated Press, as well as

some original pieces) covering events affecting Armenians in Armenia and in virtually every comer of the globe. The news items are located and submitted by Groong readers.

What Bedrossian does demonstrates the challenges that face Armenian media in the next decade.

"A lot of the reason why it is where it is today is because the Diaspora rags are just that," said Bedrossian.

"They are puny little newspapers with no influence. They charge people a lot of money and make their living but

they don't think. There's no future in that."

Ironically, the majority of news items about Armenia which appear in the dozen or so English language newspapers in North America are culled from Groong's daily postings. Not all articles are reprinted, however.

"The newspapers can't say anything negative, I will publish something negative about Armenia in a jiffy if I think people will read it and say they never want to see that happen again and let's fix it," whereas

discussion.

As readers come to feel that they are being treated due respect and seriousness, so will the publications grow in authority. Perhaps then some of the structural problems can begin to resolve themselves as, with their eye firmly on serving the reader, papers and organizations discuss joint ventures or mergers designed to boost their competitiveness in the market.

With greater resources comes better coverage and a more accurate reflection of the way people lead their lives today. Armenians all over the world have a fantastic story to tell in the 2lst Century, a triumph of hope over adversity. Their experience of retaining a dynamic

with

cultural and national identity throughout the long decades after the Genocide holds lessons for every people and country grappling with the consequences of a

world without borders. Yet that story has failed to take its proper place in the world's consciousness because the Diaspora lacks the institutions and the people capable of doing it justice.

That task becomes more important than ever in a

world of the internet where anyone anywhere on the planet can read anything anywhere else on the planet.

Information is power; those who best succeed at telling their story will earn the greatest respect. Those who fail to tell it at all will simply fade away.

It was the absence of reliable information on the 36

Karabakh conflict that prompted Asbed Bedrossian to start the Groong Internet news service in l99l with a group of friends. What began as a desperate need to find and exchange news has now grown to 2,300 subscribers, including the President of Armenia, officials in the US

AIM JULY I999

Bedrossian continued.

He believes the cause of Armenian journalism is up against general apathy and "a huge psychological mindset" which values small, local initiatives over the bigger picture.

He provides information sourced from the BBC World Service and news wires like AP and Noyan Tapan to individual reports from professionals in a wide range of fields connected together through the Groong wire.

The Internet, he argues, will be the future of serious Armenian publishing, providing access at low cost for every community no matter how small or isolated.

Groong runs on idle time on computers at the University of Southern California, where 3S-year-old Bedrossian works as a computer analyst. It costs nothing to run and nothing to subscribe.

"It has taken four hours of my life every day for five years. But there are a lot of decision-making circles that are getting their news from Groong and I realize the influence we can have in making sure everyone is wellinformed about Armenians."

It is precisely that challenge create and serve a well-informed public- which the-to rest of the Armenian media must take up. There is a long way to go. r

Crisis ulfithoutB0rde r

The Media in the Middle East

By HBATGH TCHlLlNGlRlAl,l

n the old days, when things looked bleak in the Diasporan communities of the West, everyone

Dikran Jimbashian, acting

of

looked to the Middle East for hope. There, Armenians spoke, read, wrote Armenian. There, the future of the language and the culture was guaran-

describes

teed.

paper,

editor

Aztag,

a typi cal reader of his

"I

would

Today, publishing Armenian newspapers in the Middle East is basically "a national obligation" passed

say the typical reader is a middle

from one generation to another," says Mardiros Balayan, publisher of the Cairo-based Chahagir bi-weekly, established in 1948 as the organ of the Social Democratic Hnchakian Party.

The editors and publishers of the six existing Armenian newspapers in Lebanon and Egypt conlirm Balayan's characterization. While many of the problems and difficulties faced by Armenian publishers in the Middle East are local in nature, to a large extent their situation is not much different from virtually all publications in the Diaspora. What keeps these newspapers afloat is the financial and human resources ofthe political parties each represents. At least for now, their survival hinges on the willingness of a given party to preserve the "legacy" of their "founding fathers." More than a forum for discourse, these newspapers have become a litmus test of survival in a changing Diaspora.

Armenian-language newspapers in the Middle East

aged person, with limited education, but who reads and writes

have to deal with three major, perennial problems:

The first is shockingly new for the Middle East: a lack ofreaders. There is a steady and alarming decline of Armenian readers. Even in Lebanon----once considered the 'Mother of Diasporas"-Arabic and English have become the preferred languages among the youth.

"Our fundamental problem is that there are no readers," says Seta Krikorian, a journalist contributing to Aztag, the ARF daily in Lebanon, established in 1927.

Garbis Yazjian, the chief executive of the Cairobased Arev (of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, the Ramkavars) attempts a description of those who do read the party papers. "If we are going to answer tiis question honestly, it is not pleasant," he says. "It is the older generation that reads the paper; perhaps only 20 percent of the new generation simply flips through the pages.

At best, they look at the sports section or the announcements. Probably, the copies we send to other countries are

more thoroughly read than the ones we distribute here in Egypt."

Armenian. A person who generally does not read

Arabic

or

foreign

papers

of lack of knowledge of other languages, so they read Aztag to get both national and international news. These are our most loyal readers."

Krikorian adds, "Below the age of 50, people read specific sections that interest them." She explains, "W'e have people who just buy the paper for the crossword

because

p:uzzLe. We have people who read only the horoscope section. Young people mosfly read the sports section only." publishers concur on the profile the "Armenian Readef' today. Baruyr Aghbashian, editor of

of

All

Arev's Beirut afhliate, Tnrtonk, (established

in

1938)

laments that, "Large number of Armenians in Lebanon go to non-Armenian schools. Even the so-called community leaders do not send their kids to Armenian schools. There is a whole generation of Armenians who do not speak

Armenian."

The l,ebanese-bom Aghbashian, who is a graduate ofYerevan State University, is concerned about the longterm implications of the current trend. "I have difftculty seeing who will replace me as editor or writer," he says.

"We don't pay well to attract new writers. Sometimes we teach in several schools to make a living and that certainly does not provide an attractive career choice for the new generation. The new generation is much more successful in mainstream lrbanese society than in the Armenian community."

Jimbashian shares Aghbashian's concern. "Axtag's biggest problem right now is that there are not enough writers. We don't have intellectuals who are capable of writing, analyzing and presenting local, regional and intemational issues inArmenian. Sadly, this pertains to all AIM JULY

1999

37

TII',,' United States Agency for International Development

ExcmNc IwyssrrrENT{orNT Vnurunn OpponruNrrrEs wmrr rHE

USAID AnurNrex LaNo Trruruc exo RrcrsrRArrou Pno;ucr The State Unified Cadastral Department of Real Property of the Republic

of

Armenia has begun a two-year project to streamline the land title registration system and facilitate the development of a real estate market. One of the project's key

objectives is to train Armenian professionals in the areas of real estate brokerage, surveying and appraisal.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through

RONCO Consulting Corporation in association with International Land Systems, Inc., is assisting the Armenian government in this component of the nation's overall economic reform effort. An integral part of this project is the creation of accurate, up-to-date cadastral surveys that

will provide

the foundation for a parcel-based sys-

tem for the registration of rights to real property.

Currently, only surveyors licensed by the State Unified Cadastral Department of Real Property of the Republic of Armenia currently provide these surveys. However, there is currently a shortage of firms available who can carry out this work.

Over the next several years USAID, the World Bank and the European Union are combined, providing over $10 million USD for these necessary surveying services.

Our project team can facilitate interaction between interested parties and qualified Armenian firms. For more information on how to establish an Armenian surveying

firm or how to invest in a joint venture with an existing Armenian firm please contact us at:

Noel Taylor, Survey Specialist RONCO Consulting Corporation/IlS, Inc. Land Titling and Registration Project Room 307,7 Arshakuniats Street, Yerevan 375010, Republic of Armenia.

Telephone: (374-2) 529-124,560-097 Fax: (374-2) l5l-794 Email: ronco @ arminco.com

professions, not only to the media," he says.

In Egypt, the lack of readers and writers is not the only problem. There is also a lack of Armenian typesetters. The typesetting ofboth Chahagir and Arev is done

by Egyptians whose mother tongue is Arabic. Chahagils 55-year-old office boy cum typesetter has been preparing the newspaper for publication for 28 years by character recognition. He has even learned the rules of hyphenation of the Armenian language without ever leaming to speak, write or read Armenian. Recently, he has also learned to typeset on a computer by learning an Armenian keyboard.

Beyond a lack of readers-and the economic and administrative implications of that problem-there are the financial limitations placed on these newspapers. All of them operate on a bare-bones budget with lots of volunteer and dedicated help.

All six

papers are subsidized

either by their parties or through individual sponsors.

None of them are financially self-sufficient. Indeed, most of the small pool of writers in Armenian newspapers hold several other jobs to make ends meet because their newspapers cannot afford paying them "normal" salaries, as Aghbashian noted. However, there are some interesting exceptions. For example, the Egyptian writers who contribute to Arev's monthly Arabic supplement are paid three times more than the Armenian contributors to the same Arabic edition.

The third problem-a lack of organizational infrastructure-is a direct consequence of the newspapen' financial difficulties. The Armenian media in the Middle East "does not have a sophisticated or advanced organization for gathering, writing and publishing information and news," say Aztag's Itikorian. "With the limited number of staff, it takes us two days to work on a story and that's already late for a daily newspaper," she explains.

None of the six newspaper have full-time corespondents who cover community events, regional or international developments. At best, they have a few freelance or part-time writers who voluntarily contribute reports or articles, some receiving small honoraria.

Other than Aztag, which is 10 pages daily, the rest are four-page newspapers with regular sections on general and community news, sports and culture. While the number of printed and distributed copies of each newspaper is either a "party secret" or very hesitantly revealed by the publishers, the overall range is 500-3m0 copies. A large number of copies are sent and distributed in Syria, where there are no local Armenian newspapers, except the Gandsasar monthly published by the Armenian Prelacy in Aleppo.

Bebo Simonian, whose articles regularly appear in various newspapers, is also a former principal and currently an instructor in Armenian schools in Beirut. He puts it more bluntly, "Today, the editors and publishers of the Armenian print media, instead of commissioning original articles to those who are capable of writing, prefer the scissors-they simply cut out and use already printed material from other publications." His observation holds true for almost all newspapers in the Diaspora. '"fbday, our newspapers ile generally reprints of news and articles published elsewhere-basically a mission of recycling," says Simonian. Worse, "Articles are reprinted in several papers

without regard to copyright or honorarium to the author," he complains.

The problem is not unique to the Armenian-language print media. A survey of Armenian weeklies published in North America presents an even grimmer picture. The

overwhelming percentage of the newspaper content is simply the print version of what appears on the lnternet, such as the popular Groong network, and the rest is uncritical, at times unedited, reprints ofnews releases sent by community organizations and individuals. Other than the occasional editorials and opinion columns, there is no original or serious reporting.

I

So pervasive is this practice that readers assume that is the norm, and when publications such as AIM adhere to the

intemationally accepted practice ofnot reprinting any press releases, the senders are sometimes shocked, even hurt.

Still, most newspapers live by this method. The Armenian Reporter International even runs a regular note to readers asking them to alert the editors when a submission is both faxed and e-mailed, in order to "save us the unnecessary effort ofpreparing duplicate stories for pub-

lication."

The sophistication

of the Internet is

"Articles are such that

Armenian language publications, too, can benefit from the new technologies. Several Intemet-based agencies 1epfimed in Sefgfal such as Armenpress, Noyan Tapan (Armenia), Asbarez,

Horizon, Massis (Los Angeles), Gamk (Paris) and

Marmara (Istanbul) provide ready-to-print articles and papers witho[t news daily, most of it for free, to anyone who has a computer. These Internet services have made life easier for editors in the Middle East, and elsewhere. regafd t0 Cgpyfight The majority of these articles are onArmenia. And as Simonian points out, "The independence of Armenia

politi-

caused an ideological crisis in the Diaspora." The Of h'n,fafi,m cal changes in Armenia in the late 1980s and the internal upheavals of the mid-1990s have had a lasting impact on the relatively stable internal life of the Diaspora and con$e aUHOf' tinue to shape the "national agenda."

However, even as editors agree that Armenia and Karabakh remain the focal point of Armenian national life around the world today, news on Armenia is not in great demand as it was just a few years ago, and today Armenia news is moved to the inside pages, unless it is major news.

Now that the ColdWar is over, the newspapers in the Middle East tend to be "less ideological and more informational," says Aghbashian. On the other hand, almost all the papers practice political correctness when it comes to local Armenian community affairs. "Respect" for individual and organizational sensibilities, especially if the individual is a leadeq takes precedence over the collective interests of the community. As for skirmishes between the political parties, Aztag's Jimbashian says, "It is our policy that we neither write about them nor answer their criticism about us." Such a 'gentlemanly'approach leaves little room for dialogue.

The future of the Armenian-language media in the Middle East depends as much on socio-economic variables that are beyond the control of the community as it does on the determination and dedication of a handful of publishers, editors and

h

writers.

ATM JT]LY I 999

I

39

who'*G0tthepiCtUfe? Armenian television producers want access to the airwaves

By KRISTEI'| KIDD

t seems appropriate that the search for a new definition of the role of the media is taking place in the

Diaspora's most concentrated communityGlendale, California. Not surprisingly, it's turned into a battle of the kind that could not have taken place in the days when only print media existed.

After all, for more than a century, Armenians have come to accept-and expect-that print media are owned or sponsored by somebody. It is the rare publication that is, or tries to be, independent.

and met

with

the

station administra-

tion to voice their concerns and objections.

The

concern

was that Horizon would now use its privileged position

to

dominate

the

Traditionally owned and operated by a political

viewpoint on chan-

party, or a church, or a philanthropic organization, newspapers have served as that organization's newsletter, its mouthpiece, its public relations tool.

But this is 20th century America and the airwaves, too, are home to dozens of Armenian programs, especially in Southern California, where cable channels are plentiful and govemment regulations have imposed a certain amount of easy access to community groups.

In Glendale, the Diaspora's first and only cable TV

nel 55; that Marcus

channel dedicated entirely to Armenian programming, channel 55, was created just one year ago (see AIM, April-May 1998). Almost from the start the battle was on for access and control of the medium.

The venture by Marcus Cable system in Glendale to mine a largely underserved market niche was at first welcomed with cautious optimism.

Nearly 20,fi)0 viewers who were already paying $15 a month for a microwave decoder to receive Armenian

television pioneer Sarky Mouradian's programming known as ABN (Armenian Broadcasting Network) could now receive the same programming on Marcus'channel 55. The channel is part of the cable company's "Showcase" package, which costs an additional $20 above the basic cable rate of $12. More than 102,000 subscribers in the Glendale area subscribe to the service.

But a year later, when Marcus announced that it would be dropping Mouradian's TVN Production Services as its programming provider, and would enter

into a deal with Horizon TV-a subsidiary of the - Dashnaktsutiun's Asbarez News-to manage the channel, the response was Armenian Revolutionary Federation

quick, negative and overwhelming.

Making an entire television channel and access to it the monopoly of a political party? Even recent immigrants found that hard to swallow.

Unorganized independent professional, amateur and part-time producers of other programs came together

has handed over an exclusive and powerful communication tool to a political party that represents only one part

of the community. Berdj

Karapetian,

Marcus Programming Manager, said while Horizon will now manage the channel, final say on all

decisions belongs

to Marcus

management. Herein lies part

of the

problem. Karapetian, along with Marketing Director Valerie Odenthal and Regional Manager Tom Belcher, comprise the management team that will oversee Horizon's handling of channel 55. Neither Odenthal nor Belcher speak Armenian, and Karapetian is an ARF member who has been highly active in Glendale politics, including serving as Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee. Karapetian has promised he will not use his influence to promote ARF viewpoints, but he acknowledges his presence appears suspicious.

Karapetian said Marcus approached six programmers before contracting

with Horizon which demonstrat-

ed the greatest flexibility in negotiations. Horizon also offers some of the cleanest looking programming on the air. Under the new l2-month agreement, Marcus now charges $60-$ 128 an hour to run programming on channel 55, depending on the time and day of the week.

Horizon collects a fee for its service which includes operating the tape playback equipment, maintaining studio space and gathering material to fill the schedule-functions Karapetian says would be too costly for Marcus to perform in-house. The deal includes a 90-minute weekday primetime slot for Horizon's own productions.

AIM JULY I999

41

Package lncludes:

Round Trip Air-Fare

Hotel Accommodations

Airport Transfers

,

frlhals, Guides,

Transportation

Concerts, Theater

Special tours to Karabakh

Group packages available Customized itineraries upon rcquest

knft Isthh hH hflane-e-n

rtrdft 20Hh. IIic.*

srt*dâ&#x201A;Źrrr

+dHffus-p

PrSA:$*-t!8

h!]|fn{!.Gl0

Frtrtlr{Ea-$

Odenthal cited viewer complaints about poor picture quality on the channel as the main reason for wanting to make a partnership change. "There was a dire need to improve picture clarity, to run programming with a higher resolution and no snow," she said. The company also wanted to restructure its revenue agreement with TVN whose contract was up. "We were paying a monthly amount for them to develop and distribute Armenian programming," explained Karapetian. "They were to go out and get programming from a variety of sources, but they were getting it from only one source (ABN), and we were

er channel, then there would be competition and we

not happy with the image quality." Indeed many viewers had complained that some of the material being run was

would have better programming. Why did they have to take over?"

His friend added, "The previous programming had no politics; it had news, shows for children, concerts and there were different parties represented." The women were no less vocal. "Before we had news and variety all day. Now it's like the same people talking all the time.

I'm not satisfied."

Referring to an incident at the library meeting, one woman said, "We saw an old man who was in a headlock at the meeting because he was disagreeing with someone who was supporting Horizon TV. We were ashamed."

of very low quality, the result of video that had been

Another woman repeated the old dream, "We want all

dubbed from copies of old movies. Karapetian said TVN wanted Marcus to pay them $7,500 a month in a renewed contract. Marcus no longer wanted to pay but to charge

Armenians and help each other."

In other conversations around town, a doctor said

for programming. Negotiations broke off and Horizon TV entered the picture.

"That, in itself, is not the problem," according to Vatche Mangasarian, producer of the Armenian National Network, a program that is broadcast throughout Southem California on various cable channels. "Our fear is not simply that Horizon will control access to channel 55. Our greater concern is that, in their search for added revenue, Marcus Cable will limit all Armenian programming to channel 55 only. Today, cable subscribers can view Armenian programs, including mine and others, by

paying the basic cable fee, and receiving channel 17.

Channel 55 is available only as part of the showcase package which includes various movie channels. If Marcus and Horizon are convinced that channel 55 is adequate for Armenian coverage, and they phase out channel 17, then the Armenian public is stuck. Not only will they have to pay more money for the opporflinity to view Armenian programs, but those programs will be chosen and placed by Horizon, following their own pri-

orities and ideology. That is not acceptable," said Mangasarian. Odenthal flatly denied such maneuvering is in the works, "Channel 17 isn't going anywhere. We have a contract with Wallis-Silliphant, the company that leases channel 17, and they will continue to operate that channel as they have all along," Odenthal said.

Mangasarian and other Armenian television producers have called on the Glendale public to voice their concerns. The response has taken various forms. On June 19, a beyond-capacity crowd of more thae 400 packed the Glendale Central Library auditorium to discuss the situation. That gathering degenerated into a shouting and shoving match, some say spurred by ARF members there

to disrupt any talk of boycott. Others claim the instigators were non-ARF people using the occasion to badmouth the largest, most well-organized political party in the Diaspora. No one from Marcus attended the meeting.

The controversy is also the top item of discussion in Glendale's public parks and other places where immigrants gather.

Nearly two months after the change in management

of channel 55 had taken place, a group of men

and women had the following to say to anAIM reporter. One man said, "They could leave channel 55 and take anoth-

Armenians

to put

aside party things and

just

be

the new programming can best be described as an "infomercial." An ARF member lamented the loss of old films which were part of the former programming.

The controversy has pushed beyond the realm of the Armenian-American community in Glendale, attracting attention from the city's daily newspaper, the Glendale News-Press. The cable controversy and Armenian politics

in general have

been the subject

of a

series

of

'*We mamt all

careful

columns by GNP's Will Rogers. Rogers even claims to have

been threatened by John Kossakian, CEO and editor of Asbarez for asking too many questions about the ARF. In one column Rogers wrote, "Kossakian said that even asking about Horizon's intentions constitutes more of your constant attacks on the ANC. He added that criticizing the ANC is tantamount to attacking the entire Armenian community."

Rogers wrote in a follow-up column that Kossakian "warned he will destroy me-apparently in the pages of his newspaper-if I persist in my questions, then called my publisher to reiterate the threats."

The threats don't stop there; according to the

Arnmemiams

to prrt

aside party thimgs

amd iM5il he

Arrn*niaeif'

Glendale News-Press, Kossakian is considering legal action against anyone trying to get Armenians to cancel their cable subscriptions or pull advertising as a means of pressuring Marcus to break its contract with Horizon.

And some people are trying. Full page ads in local Armenian newspapers sponsored by the Armenian Television Producers Association is calling on viewers to make their feelings known to the station's administration. The group has retained attorney Albert Abkarian to negotiate with Marcus for a channel of its own, or for prime time hours, for which they wish to be paid.

Marcus insists this is a simple case of choosing the strongest candidate in order to provide the best service, It is easy to see how Horizon would fit the bill: a large institution with a long-time presence in the media, with programming that looks clean and more professional than most of the competition. Said Odenthal, "We researched this very carefully. This was a business decision."

Meanwhile, Sarky Mouradian says he still has a contract with Marcus and Horizon is not in total control.

Marcus plans to send mail surveys to customers t}tis summer in which it will ask for their comments. Perhaps I then, the picture will become clear.

AIM JULY

1999

43

r

Comoetins rorlffluence Hundreds of media outlets in Armenia Try to Assert Tlreir PIace

By T01{Y HAIPIN

f the challenges of reporting a Diaspora in transition are huge,those facing the media of a newly independent

country are immensely greater.

Seventy years of enforced conformity left a legacy of distrust for authority of any kind. People had grown up expecting to be lied to and had developed an instinctive unwillingness to reveal information at every level ofpersonal and official relationships. Creating a culture of openness and

nalism-would have

trust-the

essence of good

jour-

been a task of Araratian proportions

in the best of circumstances.

But circumstances were very far from good. The economic collapse meant there was little chance of an independent media finding the financial resources to survive and grow. Then there was the dependence on the state printing facilities which imposed subtle-and not so subtle-pressures on newspapers to avoid controversial subjects for fear of finding their publication blackballed.

But gradually a press and broadcasting network has grown, albeit dependent to a large extent either on political party funding or the pockets and whims of rich individuals. In this last respect, at least, Armenia is little different from other countries where being a "press baron" is the preserve of ambitious and wealthy tycoons.

At the start of this year, no fewer than 904 media out-

lets were registered with the Ministry of Justice in Armenia. Of these, 178 were TV companies, there were 47 radio stations, 24 information agencies, 134 magazines and an astonishing 521 newspapers. All this in a population of 3.5 million people. In reality, only 50-60 newspapers appear regularly, that is just once or twice per month.

Many others are effectively defunct, unable to raise thefinancial resources to carry on.

About 30 TV companies are on the air in different parts of the country while nine FM radio stations are broadcasting. Again, the environment in which they operate is very different from anything most Westerners experience. State television, for example, broadcasts for only part of the day-from 9am to I l am and from 5pm to I am on weekdays. It can be viewed by 95 percent ofthe population, however, and is now broadcast by satellite, mak-

ing it available to Armenians across Europe. The lanof all home-grown programs is, naturally enough, Armenian but there are also many foreign programs and films dubbed into Russian. News services are very much seen as the voice of the govemment, with a strongly proguage

presidential bias.

There are numerous private

TV

companies, includ-

ing A1+, which was founded in 1991, and started by preparing news reports for foreign news organizations, particularly on the Karabakh conflict. It has now grown to producing documentary films, live discussion programs, and commercials. Postscriptum, for example, is hosted by Aram Abrahamian, editor-in-chief of the Aravot newspaper, and invites public figures from Armenia and the Diaspora (including AIM Editor-Publisher Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian) into the studio to answer live questions from callers. During the first round of the I 998 presidential elections, Al+ introduced the idea of live election coverage. By the second round ofelections, one month later, state television followed suit.

There is only one private station broadcasting on VHF frequencies. It's calledAR and was founded in 1996

by Meruzhan Ter-Gulanian, an MP, and at that time vice-

AIM JULY I999

chairman of a Parliamentary Commission. Its programs include political talk shows, modem art reviews, and comedies. Its broadcast signal extends across Yerevan and

part of the Ararat valley.

Armenia, the name of one of the best equipped TV stations in the coutnry, was created in 1998, after many well-known personalities from state TV broke away. But the sources of its financing are unclear, too.

There are regional TV companies too, including Shant TV in Gumri, which was founded in 1994 and now broadcasts up to 18 hours a day. Ashtarak TV was the first private TV station in Armenia and now runs the country's biggest cable network. The founder and studio director is Vahram Botsinian. It has a potential audience of 30,000 people and produces daily news, talk shows, and analytical weekly programs. Ashtarak TV has also joined with

A1+, Shant and five other stations to form

the Independent Broadcasting Network in Armenia. Ashtarak

TV has no obvious political affiliations and relies for income on subscriptions, which are the highest in Armenia at about US $4 per month. Apart from homegrown broadcasts, there is also

a

flourishing trade in satel-

lite equipment capable of delivering dozens of foreign and international channels. One company, for example, Armenian-American TV provides 24 channels for a subscription of $20 per month, including Discovery; CNN, BBC World, ESPN; National Geographic, TNT, and numerous Russian channels.

Among newspapers, the most prominent

are estab-

Hayastani Hanrapetutiun [Republic of Armenia] lished in 1990 by the newly elected Supreme Soviet which afterwards became the National Assembly. The Parliament is still the owner of the newspaper and the editor-in-chief is nominated by decree of the Speaker of Parliament. Hayastani Hanrapetutiun is published five days a week, except Sundays and Mondays, and printed in large New York Times format in the Periodika printing house, which belongs to the Govemment, and where most Armenian papers are printed. The newspaper's circulation has fallen from 7,500 to 5,500 copies but in any case its main source of revenue is the state budget. Some income also comes from advertising.

Respublika Armenia, the paper's Russian version was also established in 1990 by the Supreme Soviet together with the editorial staff of the newspaper. Printed on four pages, it is issued five times a week with a circuIation of 5,000 copies. Again, the main source of finance is the state budget.

Golos Armenii [Voice of Armenia, in Russian] was founded in 1991 and is regarded as a left-wing paper, highly critical of the authorities. It is also active on issues relating to refugees, social problems, and Armenian history particularly the l9l5 Genocide. It is issued three times a week on four large format pages and claims a circulation ofaround 5,200 copies. It relies mainly on adver-

tising with some funding from sponsors.

Party papers include Azg (Nation) and Yerkir (Land).

Azg was established in 1991 by five prominent members of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party - Ramkavars, who continue to provide significant funding to augment

advertising income. The editor-in-chief , Hagop Avedikian, came to Armenia from Beirut and received Armenian citizenship in 1996. The newspaper, printed on 8 folio size pages with a circulation of 4,000 (down from 30,0fi) in its heyday in the early 90s) has a reputation as a balanced and serious publication, covering political and economic events on both a regional and international level. It also devotes a page each to culture and sport.

Yerkir lCowfiryl was established in 1991 as the official organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun. Until it was closed by presidential decree in December 1994, it had a circulation which exceeded Azg's. Yerkir reopened in February 1998 and is now edited by Shaghik Marukhian, daughter of the ARF's longtime leader Hrair Marukhian. Circulation has fallen to a mere 1,800 copies.

Hayk, the official organ of the Armenian National Movement, was the irst independent newspaper to be offrcially registered with the Ministry of Justice of Soviet Armenia. It enjoyed tremendous public popularity, with a circulation initially of 50,000 copies. But today, it too is a shadow of its former self, selling around 3,500 copies weekly. The editor-in-chief ,Armen Baghdasarian, was one-time press secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former deputy editor of Hayastani Hanrapetutiun and Azg, and at one time, a writer for AIM. Aravot , founded as an independent paper in 1991, can probably lay claim to being the most popular daily paper today. The founding editor is Aram Abrahamian, a former press-secretary to Levon Ter Petrosian, and politi-

cally close to the leadership of the ANM, still.

Abrahamian is one of the few journalists in Armenia who was and is consistently critical of perceived mistakes without succumbing to personal insults and innuendo.

Aravot prints 16 folio-size pages and has a circulation estimated at 6,000.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the range of publications, there are 25 journalism schools in different state and private universities in Armenia. Unfortunately, journalism is regarded as an easy way to obtain a university diploma, so standards are not high. Many editors of media outlets claim that joumalism graduates ieed to be trained as ifthey had not been educated at all once they start work Abrahamian says that Armenian journalism in general needs a greater degree of professionalism before it can take its rightful place in society. "We need joumalists of a

"UYe have

prcilems

with talking opeilly, we do not knoY,

$e

ways of obtain-

ing information"

new school; the market economy and a free country requires this. The joumalism produced in the Soviet period had many advantages, but it is not relevant in the new world," he told AIM. "We, the journalists, must be capa-

ble of understanding the new problems that are the focus of our society's life today and move away from the problems that are interesting only to a part of the elite.

"Yes, there are problems with having an open dialogue, difficulties in obtaining information. But we must start with ourselves. We have problems with talking openly, we do not know the ways of obtaining information. We must first be sure that we are doing everythin we can before we complain that information is hidden."

AIM JULY 1999

45

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should have their own printing houses. It will make our marketing and selling policies much more flexible."

Even with press freedom, there remain several themes which are still taboo for journalists in Armenia.

These include stories relating to the military, reporting on Karabakh (only official information is permitted and there is little independent reporting on everyday conditions), inquiries into comrption, and investigations of human rights abuses.

Registration of newspapers and broadcasting organizations is done according to the republic's media law. But

Western-style journal-

ism

in which fact and

comment

are

strictly separated, is not the norm in most publications. The tradition to mix news and opinion within reports remains common in both the press and electronic media. But the style of presentation is gradually changing as news reporting with minimum comment becomes more popular.

Article 24 of the Armenian Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, declaring: "Everyone is entitled to assert his or her opinion. No one shall be forced to retract or change his or her opinion. Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, including the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas through any medium of information, regardless of state borders."

Some

in

Armenia have drawn the distinction

between having freedom of the press, which the country has, and a free press, which it does not. Avedikian says Armenia "struggled hard to achieve freedom of the press and now we can say that we enjoy freedom of expression." But he adds, "We do not have an independent press. The press must be not only free, but also independent and presently our dependence is of an economic nature. The economic situation of the newspaper forces its editor to look for sponsors, forces them to cope with the two monopolies-the [state-run] printing house and the [state-run] press delivery agency.

"We do not have any choice, we must work with them. And because of that we lose possibilities for development. If we do not overcome this situation, we will not have a free press for a long time.

"The only way out is to have a private distribution agency, and each newspaper, or a group of newspapers

it

is often difficult to know who

owns different media outlets because the information is largely hidden from the general public. While the ownership of papers belonging to political parties is obvious, there is less clarity with others.

Who funds different media is almost more important than who owns them, since the political outlook depends more on those paying the bills than those merely listed as owners. Advertising markets are small and the printed press cannot rely on the revenues they generate from sales. The reality is that, without wealthy sponsors, most would not survive at all. Newspapers, Avedikian points out, are now very expensive relative to the average salaries of most Armenians. The older generation was accustomed to buying papers very cheaply in Soviet times. "Reading newspapers in the mornirig is a habit and our potential readers have lost that habit. Look, Yerkir redtced its price by halt it is only 50 Drams now (ten US cents), but there is no difference in their print

run," he

said.

means that we can reduce our prices but this will not increase the number of readers we get. There are not

"It

many people in the country who still have the habit of reading." His own newspaper sells between 3,500 and 4,000 copies. Recent research by the paper showed it had around 13,000 readers or roughly four to every copy.

Avedikian went on,

"If

we take the total daily

circulation of all newspapers in Armenia, we will have

35,000-40,000 copies on average. It means there are about 100,000 readers in a country with at

least 2,000,000 potential readers. What percentage is that? How can we serve as opinion-makers like that?

"There is a another question--one of mentality.

Bureaucrats in the goveming circles don't react to the criticism in the press. They pretend not to see critical articles. So nothing happens.

"The article brings nothing but psychological satisfaction to the writer, or to the readers. We don't have investigative journalism. If these things change, then what we write would be much more influential."

Aravot's Abrahamian believes the development of a free press is closely bound up with the evolution of Armenia as a newly independent country.

"When the

first

three estates (legislative,

executive and judicial) are fully formed in Armenia,

when their functions are divided way, then the media

But not

before."

AIM JULY 1999

will

in a democratic

become the real fourth estate.

r 47

BUSINESS

6.

ECONOMY

l|ydroponlus Combining Science and Agriculture

Eventually this free-for-all farming will take its toll in tired soil.

Here in the land of Noah, the Old Testament concept of giving the soil a rest every seventh year has not yet caught on.

But it is not just the hopes of increased

lmira Sarkissian holds before her a small tube in which the tiny roots of a potato plant are forming and looks through the clear glass as though into a crystal ball.

The scientist sees the good work of her associates, sees the strong roots forming from a mix of nutrients her staffprepared. She sees the sprigs of a virus-free potato plant, but her gaze goes far beyond, into what she hopes will be the future of Armenian agriculture.

Here at the Institute of Hydroponics, where Sarkissian is a lab chief, the inherent optimisim of science and farming meet in a facility that is

propagation, of better crop production that keeps these at the Institute of Hydroponics working against unaccomodating conditions.

There is, says Mairapetian, a lucrative business opportunity germinating in the remnants of his institute. Germinating in the potential production of homeopathic medicinal herbs, in the development of more prolific herbs for cooking and, most specifically, in the yet unsown seeds of geranium plants.

To explain: During Soviet times the hydroponic farm at Ejmiatsin was a major source of

more a testament to decay rather than hope.

Here, what were once huge greenhouses

geranium plants, exported to Middle Eastem

are now rusted skeletons with broken glass for skin. There isn't suffrcient electricity for maintaining controlled environments as there was not so long ago when the Institute flourished.

countries where their oils were extracted for use in the production of perfume.

In a single year, the Ejmiatsin station produced about 200 tons of geraniums at a payoff of about $500 a ton.

was

founded by G.S. Davtian in 1947 and in 1956 began experimenting in hydroponics-the science of growing plants without soil, only water.

It

was a vibrant example of Soviet-Armenian ingenuity, which lead to the developmenr of a massive (four hectare or l0 acre) hydroponic station near Ejmiatsin.

But where several hundred once tended, studied, developed better ways of plant production, now only few are needed for the depleted conditions that followed independence. The Ejmiatsin facility is now closed. There is little sign of life at the institute, except that which grows from the gravel and volcanic slug in the plots where these few hopeful scientists snrdy methods for increasing propagation.

In Armenia, where healthy, taste-rich fruits and vegetables are sold at nearly every intersec-

The structure is in place, although in need

of repair, Mairapetian says, to resume producoverworked soil and make farming more efficient.

"Our institute is surviving because we are optimists," says Stepan Mairapetian who has been the institute's director since 1980.

Surviving partly on the enthusiasm of a few young scientists whose passion for their work exceeds other rewards.

As recently as two years ago, the average age of workers at the Institute of Hydroponics was 53. Today, Naira Yeritsian, a 22-year-old post-graduate biologist, and a few like her give added reasons for Mairapetian's optimism.

For a salary of only $8 a month, Yeritsian spends her days in the tedious practice of exper-

of

tion, such a method of farming seems hardly necessary. But Sarkissian explains that the Armenian soil is beginning to show signs of stress, brought on by overuse and by the prob-

Because this institute, unlike most hydroponic institutes in the world, Yeritsian says, is

lems of erosion and salinization.

Hydroponic agriculture, a means by which nutrients can be added directly to the water and more quickly to a plant's roots, would relieve

not aimed at industrial agriculture, but at better methodology for common farmers. "I think sooner or later, (farmers) will come to hydroponic agriculture," Yeritsian says, "because we

48

The young scientist explained the conditions that will eventually lead to a need for her science. Until 1990, farming in Armenia was done by the state, in designated regions where crops were produced as deemed necessary for the common good. Since independence, however, any piece of ground flat enough for cultivat-

ing has become somebody's farming plot.

BY JOHT'I HUGHES PHOTOS BY ZAVEN KHACHIIffiN

The Laboratory of Agri-Chemistry

are lacking soil and water. And because Armenia is a mountainous country we are suffering erosion."

imentation,

record-keeping,

of

gardening.

whv?

AIM JULY

1999

tion at the Ejmiatsin station.

Mairapetian estimates that

it

would cost

about $200,000 to get the Ejmiatsin station operating again. The director has prepared a prospectus for potential investors which claims that, with the research support of the institute, the Ejmiatsin facility is capable of producing 31 different herbs, teas and spices.

With the annual yield of such plants as peppermint, motherwort, basil and others, the prospectus (sent to interested parties in Israel, the Netherlands and the US) predicts that "by spending only $200,000, it is possible ro have profit of $575,000 to $1 million in the same year."

These are the figures of an avowed opti-

mist. Mairapetian has a three-stage plan for hydroponic expansion in Armenia that includes

a mini-factory for distillation of essential oils and the construction of packaging facillities where there are now salt marshes.

"From a technical point of view our sysold," Mairapetian says, "but they can be

tems are

replaced when the money is available

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 non-stop to Yerevan,

theres no easier way home. For full details contact your local travel agent, the British Airways website at wwwbritishairways.com or call British Airways anytime on Free phone 1-800-AIRWAYS. Services from Hearhrow operated by the independent carrier British Mediterranean Airways Ltd.

BRITISHO'*''U;F The world's favourite airline

CONNECTIONS ed, that is why

I feel more for cats."

The Anmenlan Bnigitte BaFdot

state-run shelter for animals, Hovhannes feels that it is up to people to care for them. One might argue that his passion is misplaced, but no one can doubt the strength of his feeling.

"Animals, just like plants, flowers and trees are a wealth that we have to cherish and preserve," he says. "Not long ago, the government, using the pretext of rabies contamination, killed

Safeguarding the rights of animals in Armenia

that those allegations were unfounded and the elimination of those animals was a very inhu-

Text and photos by ARMIIEH JOHAIINES

mane and savage act.

ovhannes

"Onik' Mossoian

stray cats and two dogs every day.

"My concern about animals and especially cats, probably have a genetic origin; in the village of Tzkhalpila, in

was absolutely enraged, as I think

Hovhannes says. "Some people make fun of me and say that what I do is stupid. But, I have to

I

was born, my grandmother used to feed stray cats," Hovhannes says. "When we moved to Yerevan, I decided to do the same."

The cat man ofYerevan is 59 and works at the Yerevan Court of Justice-as a repossession

do this. And I am not alone. I totally support [the French actress and champion of animal rightsl Brigitte Bardot, and think that she is a dignified and kind person."

His major concem is that he does not have money to take his animals to veterinarians when necessary. "An operation costs about 10,000 Drams," he says, "And I cannot afford to pay this sum. I had a pregnant cat who had to give

agent-where his official salary is 3,500 Drams ($7) a month.

But Hovhannes'wife, Sona, says her husband spends nearly $100 a month feeding cats.

"We are unable to save any money," Sona says. "He spends all we have on these cats, buying sausages, bread and kidneys-he also gives them what's left of our food."

birth through caesarian, but I could not afford to pay for it, and the poor creature died."

"I feel like God has charged me with the duty of caring for animals, and I believe that if a person is able to harm or kill animals, then he is

Cats sleep on their sofa and beds and in their kitchen, creating even more tension in the family. Still, Hovhannes insists on giving spe-

also able to do the same to

cial care to cats that have given birth to kittens, keeping them together until the kittens are old enough to run around and eat solid food. and

taking care ofthese animals is not an easy task," he says. "Last year, lost about 30 kinens because I could not afford to take them to a vet.

My wife sews, and with the money we earn, we buy food for the cats instead of buying better quality food for ourselves."

I

Hovhannes insists that even though his wife grumbles all the time, nevertheless she always helps him.

However, disagreements with his family have become so pronounced that Hovhannes is

moving out of his house and into the two-story shelter that he has built right next door.

"People bring me their cats because they know that I will not refuse to feed them," Hovhannes says. "My father used to say that dogs are street animals, but cats are domesticat-

50

I

is why he wants to form an association that will protect animal rights and educate the public.

"Adults have no respect for animals, and their children throw stones at cats and dogs, and no one ever tells them that it is bad to do that,"

his family.

"With my limited finances, feeding

stray dogs.

"There is a Parliamentary group charged with the protection of animal rights," he continues, "But in practice they don't do much." That

feeds 40

Feeds them, even when his attention to the shays divides his attention to

southern Georgia where

In the absence of a

AIM JULY I999

people."

r

CONNECTIONS

AIM JULY

1999

CONNECTIONS

lnstillinutheAnmcnian Armenian Education in a Transient Community

$init

BY HBAICH TCHILINGIRIAN

he tiny Armenian community in the United Arab Emirates, numbering less than 2000, has a collective history of about 20 years. Unlike most established Diaspora communities around the world, the most prevalent characteristics of this community is its transient nature.

"It

is very

difficult to think about the long

term future of this community because it is a constantly moving community," explains Tamar Der Hovhanessian, principal of the one-day-a-week Armenian school in Abu Dhabi. "We came here for two years, but have been here for 20 years now-we are among the very few; generally people stay here on a

tell you whether this community is permanent or tranmuch shorter term. Nobody can sitional."

There are legal, social and cultural reafor this. By laq a foreigner cannot become a citizen of UAE or own property.

One Abu Dhabi Armenian put more bluntly: "Whenever the government tells you to leave the country, you have to leave. The only thing that keeps people here is their jobs and businesses. Ifyou lose yourjob, you have to leave the country, unless you find a new contract. If

sons

you ask people what is your future in

the

Emirates, no one will be able to give you a definite answer. We have mostly young families who are here temporarily and always tell you it's about time to go back or move to another country."

While on an official visit to the UAE, Armenia's Foreign Minster Vartan 0skanian also visited the Armenian school in Abu Dhabi and addressed the studenb during Feast of Vailanantr celebrations. stable and our numbers are stable. The country has given a lot of opportunities for business

for work

and trade," says Viken Klenjian, a bank accountant and principal of the one-day-a-

necessity

week Armenian school in Sharja.

Most Armenians who work in the UAE come from other Middle Eastern countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, or Iran, and consider their time there as a transitional period in their careers. "Eventually, they will move back to their country of origin or to a third country,"

What makes the UAE different and exceptional is that only 10-15 percent of the

explains Klenjian. Indeed, many of the Armenians living in the UAE have multiple

two million population are natives or UAE citizens. The rest are foreigners and migrant workers from the Middle East, Europe, India,

citizenships-from US and Canada to

Pakistan and other Asian countries.

Nevertheless, everyone is satisfied to live

indefinite temporary status, the preservation of Armenian identity is a constant concem of parents with young children. Hence, as the community started to be organized in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an Armenian school in

and work in the country. Having willingly accepted and gotten used to the conditions of this country, Armenians in the UAE-and generally in the Arab Gulf states-are among the most prosperous and financially successful in the Diaspora. "The community's existence here is dependent on the economic and political situation in the region. As long as there is srability and economic prosperity, the community will be here. Right now the community is

a num-

ber of European countries.

While comfortable living with their

Abu Dhabi and one in Sharja, a town near Dubai were most Armenians live, were started.

"A group of us came together and realized that the children have very little opportunities in this country to be exposed to Armenian cul-

ture. Most of the Armenian community is made of young families who have come here

AIM JULY I999

and most of the time they leave the children with baby sitters. We thought it was a

to teach these kids

Armenian,"

explains Klenjian.

The school in Sharja, which started with only 23 students in 1980, currently has 120 students (kindergarten to eight grade) with 16 young volunteer teachers. Classes are held on Friday momings at the Armenian Church and school complex, which was built last year-on

a

government-donated parcel

of land-

through the efforts and financial contributions of the community. "The school is 'purely Armenian,' it does not represent any political party or cultural organization. It belongs to everyone," says the 47-year old Klenjian, who was born in Kessab and studied in Venice at the Mekhitarist Order's Murad Rafayelian School and later economics at an Italian university.

The school in Abu Dhabi, where some 400 Armenians live, is held on Thursday afternoons on the premises of a rented private school, and has 62 students from kindergarten to eight grade, with an additional special class for students who are not Armenian-speaking.

"I would say 80 percent of school-age Armenian children in Abu Dhabi attend our

53

CONNECTIONS

Viken Klenjian, Shafa school principal (left); Tamar Der Houhanessian, Abu Dhabi school principal, with community volunteer Gulizar Jonian (far dght).

school," says the principal. But "every year the school has a different picture and a student body due to the fact that this is a moving community. Some people leave, some new ones

come, some change their jobs and so on," explains Der Hovhanessian, who was born in Aleppo, raised in Lebanon, has a masters degree in bio-chemistry and has lived in the US for six years.

"Generally we have very high attendance

rate. Indeed, at the end of the year, we give awards to those who have perfect attendance record, rather than high academic marks. This

I believe is fairer approach

because each stu-

dent has a different level of knowledge of Armenian. We reward the students' efforts rather than their final grades," explains Der Hovhanessian, who taught Armenian to her own children when the family lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, then Oman and later Kuwait. They came to Abu Dhabi in 1983.

While parents pay a small nominal fee for registration for books and teaching material, both schools' annual budgets are subsidized by the Armenian Community Committee, an executive body appointed by the Diocesan Council of the Gulf (made of nine delegates from Kuwait and nine from the UAE).

British orAmerican private schoolswhere the language and the 'educational culture' of the school reflects the country of origin of the institution. As for the possibility of

French,

establishing an Armenian day school, Der Hovhanessian explains the problem. In addition to the small number of students, "Let's

say

if a family will eventually

return to

Lebanon, that means their kids need to learn Arabic; if they are going back to France, then they'll need to go to French schools here. It

would be almost impossible to have

an

Armenian day school that would be able to canter to all these specific needs, unless you have a very large budget." There are also other practical complications. The state has proposed to institute a new law to segregate girls and boys into different classes above the 4th grade, with segregated teachers. Ifpassed, this law would not pose a problem to the oneday schools, but it would to all other regular day schools.

After they finish high school in the Emirates, the youth leave to study in universities in other countries since there are very few

are complimented by cultural and social

higher education institutions locally. "Many go to Lebanon, North America or Europe to attend universities. Some of them remain in the country where they're studying and a small number come back and work here," explains Klenjian, a father of two himself.

Given the circumstances and unique nature of their community, the principals of both schools explain the purpose of the

events throughout the year involving the

Armenian school as

entire student body.

Because public schools or state-sponsored schools are for the natives, Armenian children attend private schools set up for expatriate families-such as Lebanese,

"Armenian Spirit" is instilled and nurtured in

Run entirely by volunteer staff and teachers, the schools' curriculum focus on teaching of the fundamentals of Armenian language, history, culture and religion, which

54

a

place where the

the students. "We do not expect that our students are going to know perfect Armenian, considering that we are a one day school.

Also, it is not possible, because a lot of our

AIM JULY I999

students speak English at home or at their respective schools. We encourage them to speak Armenian at least during those three hours that they are with us," says Klenjian.

"Probably they would write a letter in Armenian with much difficulty and with many spelling mistakes," he admits, "But more than the language, I believe what is important is their sense of belonging and their sense of Armenianess. It is the Armenian spirit that we try to instill in them. It is the spirit that they do not forget wherever they may be.

Once you instill the Armenian spirit in them, will never forget that," he says confi-

they

dently.

Principal Der Hovanessian concurs.

"Our purpose is to enable the students to love the Armenian. In the final analysis, our purpose is to give them a basic understanding of Armenian language, history and culture. We do not expect them to turn into Armenologists, but, if we provide them the basics, later on they can go on in life and find out more about the topics in Armenian history and culture that interests them. And even if they can't write and read Armenian, if we are able to instill in them the Armenian spirit, that is a big success."

Indeed, instilling the "Armenian spirit" in the new generation is increasingly become a more realistic objective of Armenian education in the Diaspora-for those who are willing to admit and adjust-than the convention-

al

emphasis

on language fluency. As

the

in the Diaspora become "global" with the rest of the world and less geographically specific, the task facing Diaspora educators is to determine what the issues and problems

constituent elements of the "Armenian spirit" are and how is it presented to a multicultural and technologically advanced generation. I

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0hlldrell ol Arl$akh Hopeful children's voice of Artsakh is a powerful, understated reminder

suggest a film on her good works. Sparks, 48, and a three-person crew got on a plane with Cox and traveled to Stepanakert in

By SALPI HAR0UTINIAN GHAZARIAI,I

aroness Caroline Cox, Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Lords, is a familiar and welcome figure in Karabakh. She has made over two dozen trips, delivering both short-term and long-lasting

I

What they saw and experienced resulted in a raw, emotional 2S-minute film about the land and the people which have become

the focus

Cox's efforts

for nearly a

Sparks, artistic director

of

the

Heartland Film Festival, formerly a college professor and the director of a treatment center for emotionally disturbed children, joined forces with fellow New Harmony

an

uncertain peace.

Her humanitarian work-not just in Karabakh, but in other war-torn areas, too-through Christian Solidarity Worldwide moved philanthropists Howard and Roberta Ahmanson to corltact Jeff Sparks of the New Harmony Project and

56

of

decade.

aid to a people who first suffered a

waq and are now suffering through

995.

board member, actor and producer Gary Bayer, 55.

Between them they knew next tonothing about Armenians. Except that they had

AIM JULY

1999

CONNECTIONS ers, active

in church life.

Liz and David McFadzean (one of the creators of the television program Home Improvement) soon joined them with additional funding and the result is an unassuming, yet powerful and Sparks' friends,

stirring

film,

about

life in

Karabakh.

Children laugh and play as the camera cap-

tures their lives in destroyed fields and bombed buildings. The only voices on screen are those of children and their grandparents. The middle generation is missing.

At the first semi-public showing in March, to Armenian-Americans of varying backgrounds and ages, everyone in the audience was visibly moved to tears. This was at the Armenian Assembly annual Board of Directors meeting, where people thought they had seen all there was to see on the subject. Sparks says the reaction is no different among filmmakers who have viewed the film.

Except

for the film's

stars,

the

Armenians of Karabakh, no Armenians are involved in the film's production or financ-

met Leslie Ayvazian, at New Harmony, which is a laboratory for new scripts for film and theater.

"This is an opportunity for the writer

ing.

"It was important to me to guard

against any allegations ofbias by financing the film from sources outside of the Armenian community," said Sparks.

to work with others in the business, without the benefit of production money to fine-

Indeed, one journalist who saw the

tune a work," says Sparks.

film said it could easily have been

"We've worked with everyone from Pulitzer Prize winners to first-time writ-

called

Children of Azerbaijan, and the emotional impact would have been the same.

Sparks and Bayer plan to put the film on the festival circuit, as well as undertake public showings in large metropolitan areas. I

ers," says Bayer.

"New Harmony tries to have an impact on media by helping writers develop lifeaffirming positive scripts, so we look for scripts which celebrate life in a positive way, like Leslie's Nine Armenians," continues Sparks.

Ayvazian's drama about the

life of

three generations of an Armenian family

fit

the bill (AIM, March-April 1997). It went on to play in eight cities around the country, and is scheduled to run in Philadelphia and Charlottesville, too.

"Before we made Children of Artsakh, Leslie was the only Armenian we knew," explains Sparks. "And on the day of our departure from New York, I ran out to a drugstore, and came face-to-face with her after not having seen her in years. I believe there are no coincidences. I believe God is in this little movie."

Indeed, the link among Sparks who

lives

in

Indiana, Bayer, who

is

from

Pasadena, Califomia, the British Baroness Cox, and the Ahmansons from Southern California is that they are all strong believ-

AIM JULY

1999

57

holes. Chief among the

The Realm ol $tar$ Scientist YervantTeruian is in search of answers Astronomy Department

By KRISTEI{ KIDD

ith about 150 days left betore

the end

of this millennium,

most people on Earth are doing some contemplation

about the future of humankind. Will the prob-

lems that have pitted people against one another over the ages finally be solved, or

will we ultimately

self-destruct?

Will we

questions of life: why are we here? How did it all begin? Are we alone in the universe?

find answers to the big

Yervant Terzian and his fellow scientists around the world are working non-stop in search of the evidence that will provide answers to those questions, and ultimately shape the direction of our lives in the 2lst century.

Terzian, who is chairman of the

5B

at

Cornell

University in Ithaca, New York, and his colleague Eduard Khachikian organized an international symposium in Byurakan, Armenia last year, together with Artashes Petrossian, then minister of Education, and long-time director of the Byurakan Observatory. The event was sponsored by the prestigious International Astronomers Union (IAU) and intended to explain complete scientific knowledge of the universe on the precipice of the year 2000.

The August 1998 conference was entitled "Activity in the Galaxies, and Related Phenomenon." About 130 experts from more than 30 countries attended the five-

day symposium where they shared

and debated information from a variefy of astronomical studies. Discussions included the latest discoveries and theories on such cos-

mic topics as quasars, galaxies and black

AIM JULY 1999

questions

astronomers are trying to answer is whether the activity of these items indicate the uni-

verse is open

or closed; whether it will

or eventually collapse back in on itself.

Terzian has many exciting predictions for the future including improvements in medicine and a shift in attitudes toward preexpand eternally

serving the environment. He also fully expects astronauts to land on Mars and discover ancient fossilized micro-organisms from a time when the red planet held a more hospitable atmosphere. "The most exciting event of the 21st century will be when we make contact with an extra terrestrial society!" exclaimed Terzian, who has worked extensively with radio-telescope technology. He explained scientists have been sending simple decodable messages into outer space for decades. There is still no response to those signals. Terzian is optimistic it will happen.

"We are probably not alone in the universe, the astronomy we have learned indicates that complexities in the universe must be very abundant. There must be trillions of planets and in quite a few of them the environmental conditions must be quite good,"

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By SALPI HAR0UIINIAN GHAZARIAN

he 48th bi-annual International

Art

Exhibition in Venice (known as the

will include a Pavillion of the Republic of Armenia. This is the third time Venice Biennale)

Armenia will be officially participating in one of the most significant international art events, this time represented by one artist.

NarekAvetissian, 30, has developed an

Documentation

of

Armenian Culture in

Balassanian, have spearheaded the efforts to at the Venice exhibition each year. addition, the Balassanians are the founders the

Armenia, Russia and Poland, is the son of painter Minas Avetissian, one of Armenia's favorites whose work is little known outside hisnative land. Yet, with this one international exhibition, an estimated will become familiar with the work of the young

Avetissian has collaborated over the years.

Avetissian and the new generation of Armenian artists. ln 1997, the Armenian Pavilion was located in the Mekhitarian

have Armenia represented

In

of

Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art in Yerevan, with which

since 1995.

Library of the Center for Study

62

and

of group exhibitions

played as part

sphere

Project, the installation is at the Temanza

the exhibition into space. At the same time, soil, water and other elements will keep the exhibition and the viewer-participant very much on earth.

Avetissian, whose work has been dis-

The Pavillion Commissioner Edward Balassanian and his wife, artist Sonya

Armenia's represenative at the Biennale

of science, and science into the of art." Entitled Post FactumEarth, Space, Dream: An Interactive

the Byurakan Observatory in Armenia, which will trasmit messages generated at

Venice, Italy.

electronic-audiovisual installation "presenting three basic phaes, which, with scientific succession, relocate art into the sphere

1997 Pavillion.

All the work at the Biennale represent, new, alternative, experimental expressions of art and Avetissian's work is no exception.

His exhibition is electronically connected to

The Contemporary Art Center has

been

The 1999 Armenian Pavillion is

Monastery on the Island of San Lazzaro, currently under renovation. In 1995, the first time Armenia was represented with an

official pavilion, the site was the

curated by Stepan Veranian whose work, together with those of Atom Egoyan and

ter that is being used this year.

Arman Grigorian was included

November

AIM JULY I999

in

the

in

same cen-

The Venice Biennale runs through

1999.

r

C

Y B

R

E

P

A

G

E

S

HtlW TO BRIilG IHE MI|UNIAIN Tll YOU Whether in the comfort of your home, office, school or even stranded on an island, now you can in the world. And don't forget to send a postcard after you see it!

AraratCam

see

Mount Ararat from anywhere

,ii!*\Lj,ii#i:r::

http ://www.arminco.comfl ivewebcam.html

If

you can't go to Armenia to see Mount Ararat, Yerevan-based Arminco's live

webcam brings "the holy mountain" to you anywhere in the world via the internet.

The webcam image is updated every five minutes. Check

it out!

While virtually in Armenia, send postcards from Yerevan to your family and friends on special occasions or just for

fun-for

free.

Here's how:

Send Postcards from Armenia http ://www.arminco.com/vistas l/postcards.html From the homepage, go to the "Postcard Gallery" and chose from seven categories of pictures-Armenian Summer, Artifacts, Vistas, Natural Armenia, Openings, Fragments, and Ancient Stones. There are eight photos to choose from under each category. Choose a photo you like from one of the categories, click on it, and an easy to follow instructions guide you through writing your own personalized message, addressing it for e-mail, and sending

it off. That's all. The service is free and you can send as many postcards

as

you wish. The service is set up by TourArmenia and Vistas and the photographs are my Rick Ney.

50 Postcards to See http ://www.cilicia.com/ In addition to other very interesting and odd material on Armenia

and Armenians,

this sites provides a series ofpostcards (only for viewing not sending) and a series

of places of interest in Armenia with brief explanations. See also "Pictures of life in Armenia."

AIM JULY 1999

*,q*

53

bJ

PlayinU With

t[e Wonld

Recently world chess champion Garry Kasparov took on the whole world via the Internet. He made his first move in an online match----called "Kasparov vs. the World" sponsored by the Microsoft Corporation-against anyone who has access to the Internet and understands the game. Enthusiastic Kasparov said, "Where else but on the Internet can you play the world champion?" Before each move is actually played, Internet enthusiasts will vote via their computers to decide what move the "World Team" will make. Visitors to the game site (www.msn.com) have 24 hours to vote for their side's move. Kasparov also has 24 hours to reply. The game is expected to last throughout the summer.

64

AIM JULY I999

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