Do We Have the Keys for the Next Millennium - June 1999 by Armenian International Magazine

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the [aunc[ ol a lllew PnoGG$s September 22-24, 1 ggg, yerevan, Armenia Please send your comments, views and proposals to the steering Gommittee Ministry ol Foreign Atfairs 2 Government Bldg. Republic Square 37501 0 Yerevan, Armenia Tel 37 42-583978 . Fax: 37 42-151042 E-mail: Diasporaconf@mfa.gov.am

Pan flnmenian Games August-September 1999

f"iiil% I

t :,

Yerev?h, Armenia The

world Gommiltee ol the Pan Armenian Games announces the lirst games with the participation of Armenian youth from Armenia and around the world.

Activities will include lootball (soccer), basketball, volleyball, tennis, table-tennis, lrack and lield, and chess.

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Republic Square 2 Yerevan 375010 Armenia Tel.lFax (+37 42) 50.52.56 Email: Armgames@arminco.com I nternet: http://www.arminco.com/homepages/arm games

ffi

/NNI

voL.10, No.

JUNE 1999

DEPARTMENTS

6 7

Editor's Note Letters to the Editor

AIM View

Notebook Bytes on File

15 16

Armenia Briefs

22 Diaspora Briefs 58 Faces 60 Underexposed 62 Essay

Global Picture

NATION

24 Focus-Going

to Vote, Again

This is the second time Armenians have voted for national legislators since independence. This time around, the problems and achievements are new and different.

Armenians went

to the

Cover Story - Millennium

Karabakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan

The Propaganda Game

polls on May 30th with mixed

thoughts and feelings.

The Armenian state and the Armenian nation will be entering the new millennium with an unexpected set of challenges. A beginning look at some of the problems and potential solutions to be considered going into the next century.

An interview with the strongman of Karabakh.

How do Armenia and Azerbaijan play the game in Washington?

REGION

38 Ajaria

Looking for lndependence, too

Does the leader of Ceorgia's Ajaria province want from Tbilisi or control it?

BUSINESS

Gerard Avedissian stages grand spectacles

Arabic,

& ECONOMY

The Ultimate Mail Man

Australia's lntelmail company competes with international giants

ARTS

45 Multilinsual

Armenian and French on Middle Eastern stages.

to break away

Plavwrite

An ArmenJan artist'in Lebanon

50 A Children's Film The King and

I has Peter Bakalian's name all over it.

53 Chris Bohialian

Oprah Winfrey liked his book so much, he's now part of her club'

54 La Bibliotheoue Nubar

ln the heart of Paris, the Nubar library is a fount of wisdom.

COVER DESIGN BY RAFFI TARPINIAN AIM (r55N 160.3471) 6 pubtished nonihly, t45 per year, by The foutrh Milennium society, 207 south Erand BouLevard, sute 201, clendale, cA 912@; pho.e:(8i8)246-7979,Farr(818)246-@88 mailinEotrice5. Ca.adaPo*PublicalonsMailProduct PendcatsPortqepaidatClendale,CAandadditiona 051&57 @ Copyright 1998 by The Fourth Mlllennium Society Al i6hB râ&#x201A;Źsetued. AIM may not be rePrduced in any manne., either in whote or in pad, w ihoui writen perm $ion fiom the pub ther. The editoG arâ&#x201A;Ź notrsPneble ior u.e[cited manurnpb orad unhs a 5hmPed, seliaddres*d queries call: envetope tsen.tded. Opinions exprested in siEned adicles do not nsererily epresentthevrewsofThe Foudh Millennium Socety ForadvedLing g18-246-7979 Sobscriptior.aieslorlrtssues,Us:t45,Forei8n:$55 Postmste6rsendaddre$chanSesto AlM,P.O 8ox10793,Glendale,CA912@,U.s.A Sates AA.eement No.

Armenian wrote and Produced the

and Hammerstein tale about a Thai king.

Rodgers

..;r:"" ::

.:" .'

Searchirg for the Missirg Keys

1\INI

;,m**[[::

Armenian lnternational Magazine

month's cover story is a rare, insightful essay on the challenges facing fhis r Armenia and Armenians in the next millennium. This first exploration of the subject focuses on Armenia. Similar kinds of analyses will follow for the Diaspora as well. The presentation of this essay in AIM says two things.

The first is rather obvious. The new millennium will be like no other, especially for Armenians and other small nation-states and peoples in Diaspora. Conditions created by politics, geography and technology will either become historic opportunities or dangerous dilemmas-both in homeland and in communities around the world. This essay by Jivan Tabibian (right), Armenia's Ambassador to the OSCE, is a deep, detailed, dense exploration of the most fundamental gaps in Armenian society: the absence of institutions. Not organizations, or associations, or establishmentsof which there are plenty-but institutions. These I E aren't buildings, but behaviors and relationships which are defined, structured and established and which are accepted as a fundamental part of a work-

ing society. Does this sound complex and dilTicult? It is, but so is the issue, and the discussion of this issue should not yield to easy oversimplification. The essay is not easy reading. But, together with the parts that will follow (on the institutional needs of the Diaspora, and of Armenian society in general, within the Republic, but not in the government sector), this is a unique analysis. It does not explore or propose or advocate specific activities and projects, goals and objectives that must be accomplished ifArmenians are to be around as a nation and a state throughout the next century and millennium. Instead, it addresses the preconditions necessary for improvements in the economic, health, education, communications and all other sectors. Ambassador Tabibian has performed the same kind of analysis for various municipal and federal governments in the US, Europe and Asia. His essay here is a textbook look at the situation in Armenia. Replace 'Armenia' with any other developing or transitional country and the analysis holds true, still. The second thing that has become obvious as AIM publishes this essay is that there are no publications-again, in Armenia or the Diaspora-which have the mandate and the audience for such a topic, except AIM. AIM-like magazines do not generally deal with foundational or structural issues. But then, AIM is not in a typical market. For our readers, AIM is all things: a source of news, a features and entertainment magazine, and a journal of ideas. we know that there are many in AIM's diverse and dispersed audience who will appreciate this search for the keys required to enter the next millennium. Extended versions of the various parts of this study will later be available as a separate multilingual monograph.

207 South Brand Blvd. Suite 203 Clendale, CA 91204, USA Tel:818 2467979 Fax: 818 245 OO88 E-mail: aim4m@well.com EDITOR-PUBLISHER

Salpi Haroutinian Chazarian

MANAGING EDITOR Hratch Tchilingirian ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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

Raffi Tarpinian PRODUCTION AND PHOTO MANAGER Parik Naarian

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS lohn Hughes, Ronald Grigor Suny, Taline Voskeritchian CONTRIBUTORS Adarhes Emin, Yerevant Susan Pattie, London Edik Balaian Ara Chouljian, Los Angeles; janel Samuelian, Palm Springs, Mark Malkasian, Rhode hland; Ceorge Bournouian, Loa l.oundakiian

Ncwvork.MyarrCaLne.Dn.l Matrewkaran,an MooadMoo'ddiar.Wa(h1gio1

DC vandr

/ilatossian, Buenos Aies.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Mkhitar Khachatriar. Zaven Khachikian RoLben Mangasaran. yerevan; Antoine Agoudjran, Armineh lohannes, Aline Manoukian, Parisi Edmond Terakopian, London kailne Armen: Kevork D,rr\"/rd1. Rafr ElnctI. En( Naza, dn A,i Oshagdr. . o! Al8ete(. Cdro .dcl-,1rar. Mdsd(nu5ems, Ardpm Aldr a1. New len"v -a ry New yo.. Be,te Ara lobEr. RlooF hLno ^o"lddkiian

EDITOR EMERITUS Charles Nazarian

\lext month is the beginning of AIM's 1Oth year of publication-ten, tumulI \ tuous varied historic years. To mark the tenth anniversary, we invite you to

join

our family of subscribers, patrons and advertisers. we are also proud to introduce our lOth anniversary cor?orate sponsors, some of whom you have already seen in the magazine: Commerce Casino, NASA Disposal Systems, Import Stone and Remax Realty. Join them and help us celebrate AIM's first decade.

4@r/n-AIM JUNE I999

EDITORIAL CONSUTTANT Minas Kojaian

INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Colegio Mekhtaista Vrrey del Pno 3511 (1425) Buenos Aires, phone A1 552 3590. CANADA RdmigHakiman,5595HenilEoura$aWeil,Morreat.pe,H4R2Ej,phone5143392517. UNITED AMB EMI RATES C u izar Jonian, PO. Box 4554, Abu Dhabi, LJAE, phore 97 1 2 115 t2t , ta\ 971 2 775 191 . UNTTED KTNCDOM: Miek Ohaniar. t05A Mi I Hit Road, Adon, London WjS]l phoie 0181 992 4521 . IIALY: Piei.e Ealan;an, Via Mortacca, g1 A4l5, Rome, phone 995 12J5 . HONG KONC lack Maxian, RM. A2, 11ll Slock A, 26 Kai Cheung Rd., Kowt@n Bay, Kowloon phone 952 795 9888 AUSTRAUA: Varooj kkeiderian, 148 l(oola Ave E6t Kilara NSW 2071 phone 02.925j 2882r Atfred Markarian, PO Box 370, Har5 Park NSW 2150, phone 029897 1845; Vahe Kateb pO. Box 250, pod Melboume, Vcloia 1207 Phone 0l 9794 0009ARCENTINA:

WRITE TO AIM! We welcome all communicaiion Although we read all lefters and submissions, we are unable to acknowledte everythinS we receive due to llmited staffing and resources. Lette6 to the Editor may be edited for publlcation.

Karabakh was less supportive, we had difficulties but will continue as best we can.

Recently, the President of Karabakh said, "To build a nation we need freedom first and economic development next." So my friend and I supplied the seed money to restart an abandoned farm in Artsakh. Luckily we found a reliable person to

look after the project. Without him, it would be impossible to get the project going.

Rebuilding Karabakh is a good start, but we need the cooperation of the locals in Karabakh, and some people to lead projects. Z. Ken Darian Huntington Station, New York

KrBp LrsrrNrxc

Thank you for your coverage of

ArmenTel (Postscript, February 1999).

ENCone, ENconr

What? Another cover story (APril 1999) on Karabakh? I am sure you will receive some letters from your readers saying exactly that. Let us please see this picture one more

The implications of mismanagement, corruption, and bribery taking place at ArmenTel, Armenia's telephone company, go beyond unpopular telePhone

of our nation, in Armenia and Diaspora.

charges. Such activity may jeopardize a golden long-term economic opportunity for Armenia.

We should do everything possible by taking an active role in rebuilding Karabakh and see it flourish. One of the best chan-

It is now clear that future business and personal communications will take place over the global communications

nels for this is "Hayastan" All-Armenia Fund which, over the last six years, has realized the most projects for Karabakh. The Toronto chapter of the Fund alone, to

network known as the Internet. The beauty of the Internet is that it is oblivious to physical and geographical boundaries, the same boundaries which are today strangling Armenia's economy. In order to have the opportunity to compete and par-

time: Karabakh is the key to the survival

date, has delivered two projects in Stepanakert, the capital, and has decided

that all

future projects

will be in

Karabakh.

Another cover story on Karabakh? Oh, yes, thank you and congratulations. Have as many repeat performances as you can, please. M i girdic h M i girdicy an, C hairman " H ay as tan " All-Arme nia F und Toronto, Canada

ticipate in the

"Communications Revolution" the current government of Armenia must ensure that ArmenTel effectively constructs a quality communications infrastructure that may easily be accessed

by its citizens. It must

also strategic investments are

ensure that made for this sector of the economy to grow.

The trend in privatizing and de-regu-

Your cover story, Rebuilding Karabakh, is a good start. In addition to identifying projects, we need to identify local or governmental organizations, that

will oversee the projects. Years ago you published articles on the Armenian Business Corporation, I invested. There is an organization in place and some progress.

Laler a friend and I invested in and imported carpets from Karabakh, it worked, but later our contact person in

lating national communication service providers in other countries has generally in a greater number of quality services as well as lower prices. The government of Armenia has taken a huge risk in granting ArmenTel a l5-year monopoly, a virtual lifetime given the rapid rate of change in this sector. Thus, ArmenTel's near term performance must be scrutinized because its actions will have a significant impact on the long-term potential growth of Armenia's economy.

resulted

AIM JUNE

1999

Victor Berge Ganjian Boston, Massachusetts

Flsr Fooo

I wonder how important it is for Armenia and Armenians to know that McDonalds has opened in Georgia (Underexposed, April 1999). Is Armenia anxiously waiting for a trash food invasion? Or with the opening of a fast food franchise, does the status

of a country

move one step ahead towards intemational acceptance as a modern country with Western values? Do we have to measure all things according to Western standards, ideas, mentality and psyche. Is technology and science the means of measuring all values, cultures and traditions?

To add to the insult, I quote AIM: "Still 24,500 McDonald's restaurants in 1 15 countries must be doing something right to convert local tastes." Well, products of giant tobacco companies sell in more than 215 countries and crime is in all countries, it must be something good. Or AIM has a message , if you can't beat

them, join them. It seems that AIM is ignorant of the fact that with McDonald's yearly turnover of US $15 billion, it has tens of millions of dollars in capital to

promote and market its product. It has been so successful that McDonald's has become the most popular fast food fran-

chise; it has become synonymous with family, it is invading and destroying traditional family dinner time get together, it has a destructive nature and a negative impact on our social habits. Armenia does

not need such unproductive alien elements in the quest for nation building.

One may argue and say that it creates jobs, but in the case of Armenia, it has zero economic value.

We do not need McDonald's

and

Coca Cola intoxication and the fast food trash culture of the West , but would very

LETTERS much welcome their expertise in industrial know-how, agriculture, farming, planning, organization, hydroelectricity, communications and banking-all this with long term loans and low interest , which

would be very beneficial to Armenia's and the region's stability and to the West.

Alexander Khossrovian Ame

rsfoort, The N et he rlands

The Founh Millennilm Society is an independently tunded and adminis lered public charity c(lnnritted

tr the dissemination of infbrmarion tb. the purpose of developing an informed public. Underpinning all our work is the firm convic tion thal the

vitality of an independent press is fundamental to

a democratic soci

ety in Armenia and democratic institutions in the Diaspora. The Fourth Millennium Society publishes Ailnenian International Magazine in its eflon ro 10 the national dialogue. The directrrs are gratelul to the Benefactors.

contribute

Trustees, Patrons and Friends of the Fourth Millennium Sociery who are commiL

THE

ted to the

FOURTH MILLENNIUM

well being, growth

the promotion

and development

ofArmenians and Armenia lhrough

of open discussion and the free tlow of inli)rmation among indi

viduals and organizations. Their financial contributions support lhe work Fourth Millennium Society and ensure the independence ol Michael Nahabe!. Raffi Zinzalian. Directors.

SOCIETY,Inc.

Your April edition was so informative and unbiased that I feel your publication is giving the Armenian news, saying it like it is. As an Armenian American, Armenia's politics trouble me. It needs an open mind, which is not an Armenian trait. Hopefully, influence from educated indi-

Sarkis Acopian, Albert and Tove Boyajian, Hirair Hovnanian, The Lincy Foundation

viduals from outside of Armenia can help

Louise Manoogian Simone

DIRECTORS'99 Shahen Hairapetian, Armen Hampar, Zaven Khanjian, Michael Nahabet,

Alex Sarkissian, Bob Shamlian. Raffi Zinzalian. BENEFACTORS

structure democracy and eventually be adopted.

So much has to be corrected in It is no easy task. Hopefully,

Armenia.

outside influence can help Armenia to get back on track to being a Christian people and having a giving attitude. Violet Herbekian

of the

AIM.

SENIOR TRUSTEES

AUSTRALIA: Heros & Kate Dilanchian; CANADA: Razmig Hakimian, Kourken Sarkissian HONG KONG: Jack Maxian CALIFORNIA: Khachig Babayan. George & Flora Dunaians. George

& Grace Kay,

Joe

& Joyce Stein RHODE ISLAND: papken Janjigian

FOUNDING TRUSTEES AUSTRALIA: Varoojan Iskenderian CALIFORNIA:

Garen Avedikian. Marrlo Kaprielian.

Edward Misserlian, Bob Movelt, Varoujan Nahabet, Norair Oskanian. Emrry papazian,

Cathedral City, Califo rnia

Zareh Sarkissian, Raffi Zinzalian FLORIDA: Hagop Koushakjian

PENNSYLVANIA: Zarouhi Mardikian

all

The March 1999 issue of AIM. like your issues made for great reading

ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES Araxie M. Haroutinian, Papken Janjigian. Ralph and Savey Tuf'enkran

cover to cover. I congratulate you on what

is the finest for the English-speaking

Armenian community today. The news coverage, editorial content, and production quality are all excellent. One of my personal favorites in the magazine is John Hughes' closing essay, which I always find insightful as well as humorous. Having visited the homeland this summer, I found his description of traffic in Yerevan from a Californian's point of view delightful.

wish you continued success and growth in producing AIM. An independent and balanced publication like yours is an important part of a strong Armenian community.

PATRONS ARMENIA Khachatur and Rouzannr Soukirssian

Armcn and Glu ia

Hampar

CANADA

Arpiar and Hcrntine Janoyan

Migirdic and Ani Migirdicyan

AUSTRALIA

Wulter and Laurel Karabian

CONNEC'TICUT

Arrran and Nairi Derderyan

Kevork and Satenig Karajerjian

[,ouis T. Hagopian

Ccorge and Vanouhi Tavoukjiun

Nishari and Sona Kazazian

CYPRUS

Artin Etnrekjian

John and Rosc Ketchoyan

Garo Keheyan

Anonymous

Gary und Sossi Kcvorkian

ITALY

CALIFORNIA

Zuren and Sona Khanjian

Krikor and Harcut Islanbulian

Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian

Krikrr Krikorian

LEBANON

Garabed Akpolat

Dora Serviarinn Kuhn

Kevork Bouladian

Armand and Nancy Arabian

Avik Mahdesiant

MASSACHUSETTS

Vafrkes and Jean Barsam

Stepan and Erdjanik Markurian

Richard Simonian

Haffy and Ah'a( Barseghian

Harout and Rita Mesrobirn

MICHIGAN

Aram and Terez Bassenian

Jasmine Mgrdichian

Ccorge Chanlchikian

Bcrj and Hera Bovajian Hagop and Violet Dakessian

Edward and

Alice Navrargian

Kenneth and Cindy Norian

Alex Manoogiani Kimkos Vapurciyun

Ardash und Marian Derderian

Rafl Ourtalian

NEVADA

Dimiu i and Tailara Dimitri

Michacl and Hermine Piranian

[-arry and Scda Barncr

Sterc and Lucille Estephanian

Hratch and Helga Sarkis

NHW YoRK

Manoushap Fermanirn

Alex Sarkissian

Harry and Aidu Koundakiian

(;atik

and KDar Ctlstian

Vahan and Audrcy Gregor Pierrc rnd Alice Haig

Robert and Helcn Sharrlian

Vahc Nishanian'i

Pctros and Garine Taglyan

UNITED KIN(;Do]!I

Ara and Avedis Tavitian

Diran and Suzi Chakclirn

Gaidzag and Dzovig Zeitlian

FRIENDS OFAIM The Fourth Millennium Society is grareful to the following for contributing during the last month to ensure AIM's financial independencc.

CA: Violet E. Herbekian RI: Rose G. Caprielian UAE: Haygaz Tahmazian

AIM JUNEI999

Monr QursuoNs AnNrnNr,q.N

AND

ANswnns.tnout

Scnoor,s-AN ExculNcr

I was intrigued by the piece entitled "Lots and Lots of Questions" (AIM View, February 1999) regarding the raison d'â&#x201A;Źtre of Armenian schools. This topic has raised a great deal of debate among young Atmenian couples in search of education choices for their children. They are torn between the ideal of supporting the Armenian cause and the betterment of their children's education. It is unclear whether Armenian schools can compete academically with other private or even some public schools. Armenian schools offer more than academics, such as camaraderie with other Armenians, and it is still unclear whether these can be gained at home or during after school/weekend programs.

School or educational choice is one of the most important questions that young par-

ents face. For them to make an appropriate decision they need more information about the academic performance of Armenian schools and their graduates. They need to know what percentage of graduates are accepted into four-year universities. What tier universities are their graduates attending: for example, are they accepted to Ivy League programs or junior colleges. What is the average SAI score of an Armenian school graduate versus a neighboring public or private school. What percentage of their students receive academic scholarships from non-Armenian sources? These questions need to be answered before parents will feel comfortable with sending their children to Armenian schools. Dx Robert Popovian Studio City, California

Lots and lots of proper questions were timely raised concerning the reasons for an Armenian school education today. The lack of a proper debate about this subject in the post-independenc period is acutely felt. Everyone who attended an Armenian school in the Eastem or Western Diaspora before the 1988-1991 movement can testify that nothing is as it used to be.

of course YES, and this affirmative is conditioned by a lot of factors, from the most elemental one: Without Armenian schools, it seems like a dream to think of preserving the

a living entity. And if

Diaspora as

the

Diaspora is not preserved as a living entity, then thinking from an entirely utilitarian point of view, independent Armenia would lose its most immediate "market" in the near future.

You say:

guage

"If it was the Armenian

lan-

culture we were preserving.

Armenia does that much more effectively." But it was not just the Armenian language or culture we were preserving (and trying to develop, a word so frequently absent from any rational discourse about the Diaspora). It is a thinking system, an identity of its own, which Armenia does not (and cannot) preserve, let alone do it "much more effectively." We are preserving and trying to develop a Western Armenian heritage, turned into a Diasporan one-1uite different in certain ways from the Eastem Armenian one. This is not to say we have to practice a dissociation between Armenia and the Diaspora just for the sake of it, but to take into account such realities when exploring ways to reconcile disparaging situations.

Bearing this in mind, "one extended summer vacation in Armenia" cannot "take care of that worry." Someone who speaks, reads and writes Armenian as a living language does not need to take such a vacaimprove his tion-if he can afford knowledge of... Eastern Armenian. He just needs to develop the consciousness ofbeing the carrier of a way of communication, of a living heritage. And that is impossible, in its ultimate way, out of an Armenian school, even for those who cannot attend it for whatever reason. "You have the duty to save the language and the culture of the Armenians... Words and languages correspond to different ways of feeling and of conceiving the world, and if you lose a language, you lose that way," Jorge Luis Borges once said. If we do not want to commit suicide, then let's think of the proper ways to find the proper answers to proper

it-to

""t"o};non

Matiossian

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Without trying to address all the questions raised in your editorial view, I want to refer to the "most fundamental question of all," because it contains some disturbing and equivocal thoughts. in my opinion. You say: "Are Armenian schools necessary or even supportable given the existence of an independent Armenia?" The answer is

In reply to your request for opinions on

"Questions

on the raison d'Otre of

Armenian School Education," the following are some of my thoughts on this very important subject-to which I am partial, having formed and directed two Armenian schools

AIM JUNE I999

in Argentina. Before analyzing the present state of affairs and looking for solutions, we should define our aims and objectives in crealing and keeping open Armenian schools in the Diaspora. They are created to safeguard identity and survival, two natural deep urges for which the schools are founded and kept

functioning. Another premise

that

Independent Armenia needs the Diaspora, and we need the "mother country." To have a clear understanding of identity, especially outside of the homeland, I am enclosing a simple analytic and graphic explanation I had formulated, published and put away, but have just learned that it is

being successfully used in a class

Armenian culture in Canada. When the issue is survival with a clear functioning conception of identity, no effort is excessive. If the problem is the level of excellence of scholarship in the Armenian schools, efforts must be exerted to secure the excelIence of the institution, formative and informative. If more money is required, then the community must produce it. Armenians can be generous. Answers to your specific questions can be long. I would like to spend time to word more thoughts clearly and effectively. Alice Ezegelyan Buenos Aires, Argentina

The AIM View about Armenian schools produced many responses-by mail and b1t telephone. As we had stated in the Vew itself, it is important to ask questions, however extreme some of them might sound, specifically to elicit thinking and response. Still, many assumed, as we had feared, that the questions themselves somehow assumed the answers. They do not. For the purpose

of encouraging further

two points bear

repeating. Extended summer vacations in Armenia can indeed replace years of classwork if the purpose is "to learn Armenian." It's been done. Cost is a facto4 but five, 10 or 12 years of Armenian school education is not inexpensive, either Infact, a couple of summers are cheaper. So, if the purpose is not simply teaching language but sowing seeds of identity, then the question is what kind of identity, whose identity. What definition or image of Armenia is being sown? Post-independence, that que stion must be asked, and the answer cannot be assumed. The Editors

discussion,

Tnanslonming a llneam into a Gountny

The l(eys to the new millennium lie beyond Khfimian Haifilr and Uailan Mamiftonian

he next millennium will keep Armenians busy transforming a place into a country. But building a society and a state is a tedious job. No quick fixes, no fast

taken for granted. Old institutions, old strategies, old rules and regulations no longer apply.,

results, no quick gratification. This is as true in developed societies with long institutions of statehood-such as the US and

Government employees are frustrated and untrained (at best) or careless and inappropriate (at worst). And plans, when they

France-as in new and developing states, such as Lebanon and Armenia. (In the latter case, however, the stakes seem so high

exist, are not clearly articulated nor shared with those who must execute them or those who will be affected by them. There are no systems to carry on these tasks.

and patience is so short.)

Clearly, in order to make such transformation possible, effective, efficient and successful, the task must involve the Diaspora. Yet a decade has gone by since Armenia's newly found independence and for many, Armenia is still a grand, tragic, dream. It has not yet been transformed into a country. So, the Diaspora too must change

if it is to find ways to join

Armenia in this task.

Budgets exist only on paper and revenues are undependable.

Without these basic functions in place, nothing-from presidential decrees to parliamentary legislation to tax collection-

will

be successfully implemented.

Everything that is hoped for and expected in the new millennium-from peace and prosperity to health and educationdepend on effective planning and effective implementation. These are the tasks of institutions.

The first thing the Diaspora (and Armenia) must do is shed

For a dream to turn into a reality, there must be a clear vision

the search for an omnipotent, omniscient hero. Neither Khrimian

of what is desired. For a dream to turn into a country, there must be a very purposeful process of investing resources and time,

Hairik nor Vartan Mamikonian can save the nation now. The solution (not salvation) must be sought in institutions and structures-rules, regulations, budgets, staffs, and plans (see

and building working institutions.

page 28). This seems mundane and obvious in the West where

The new millennium presents more hope and opportunity than the Armenian nation has had for centuries. In the next few

we take every institution, from the mayoralty to the police to

years, Armenia and Armenians face a critical test of their com-

communications, for granted. Yet, in Armenia, nothing can be

petence, their imagination and their

lime to be $hontsightcd

ilew allianocs ruill

haue to be lorged

within lhe new ilalionalAssembly

week after the National Assembly elections (see page 24), which saw Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian and

former Communist Party First Secretary Karen Demirchian victorious, the joke on Yerevan's streets was that any day now, the price of sausage would fall to what it was in the "good old days."

intent.

Demirchian, who as

presidential candidate

1998

received 40 percent of the vote, symbolizes the stability of the Soviet era. As such, he also personifies the disenchantment with

the authorities attempting to lead the country through the difficult, early independence years.

AIM JUNE I999

Sargsian brought Demirchian into the alliance as a way

keeping the pro-Demirchian vote from turning into an antiKocharian vote, that has worked for the time being. Demirchian owes his new high position to the Sargsian connection. If

Assembly will have to take their jobs seriously. Envisioning and building political relationships with strangers or former oppo-

Demirchian is able to successfully serve as the Speaker of the National Assembly and bring together difficult political and per-

begin coalition building, convincing and compromising. And Demirchian has to lead them down this road which is new to him as well. He has to lead them all-not just the hugely victorious

sonal perspectives, he

will

not just keep, but also renew and

refresh his image as a veteran, experienced leader and perhaps even the country's next president-in four years.

But Demirchian's popularity does not depend on Sargsian (in order of authority according to the Constitution). If they do not manage to maintain their working alliance and there is a

clear fall-out,

it will look like

1998

all over

again and

Demirchian will stand to benefit. After all, who needs these new ideologically driven leaders if they can't manage to hold on to their positions?

nents is a daunting task. Yet, the new parliamentarians have to

Unity Alliance but also the rest. Of course, it is the Unity Alliance that is really in the line. It must demonstrate that its greatest victory was not the election. It must become a political party and not just an expedient union between its leading per-

sonalities-Sargsian and Demirchian. The people may joke about the price of sausage coming down tomorrow, but they don't really expect that to happentomorrow. They expect it eventually. Before that, they want to see, need to see the practical effects of the specialized work of

On the other hand, Demirchian can take a fall, too. His list of responsibilities is frightening and he has to prove himself as a leader in a new era. He is no longer the sole voice of power.

their representatives.

Demirchian is presiding over the National Assembly at a time when president Kocharian will try to implement his many dif-

the victory-say about President Kocharian's strength and his staying power. The answer has to be that whatever the shifts in

ferent campaign promises. These include amending the constitution such that the powers of the National Assembly, its speak-

power at the highest levels, no one can be so unthinking, so shortsighted as to imagine that they can be resolved by another presidential resignation. At worst, the failure or inefficien-

er, and the Prime Minister are increased. The clear beneficiary

'of such changes will be the political parties and their constituents, the people.

For this to happen, the new members of the National

Finally, a word about power. Throughout the elections, the question asked most often was what does all

this-the alliance,

cy of the alliance and those who back it will result in another wasted opportunity and more years lost. That would be shortsighted enough.

AIM JUNE

1999

Racing for Power t2

AIM JUNE I999

"Neither Baku nor Yerevan have exclusive right to Karabakh." Kruiderink, UNDP Assistant Administrator and RBEC

-Anton

Regional Director

Holocaust... in that respect we are brothers in fate [with the Armeniansl." Rabinovich, former Ambassador of Israel to the US

-Itamar 1993-1996

"History is not a science; it cannot be repeated in a laboratory to

Necdet Sezer, judge and president

-Ahmet Constitutional

Turkey's

Court

"Azerbaijan has played a key role in the development of Iranian civilization... Azerbaijan can survive without Iran, the question should be, can Iran survive without Azerbaijan?" Newsletter on "Who are the lranian Turks"

-Tlrrkistan

"We cannot understand why Russia needs military bases in

prove a hypothesis."

Libaridian, historian, in his latest book The Challenge

-Gerard of Statehood

Armenia."

-Heidar

"Language is the house of our identity, and house we are left with nothing."

if they burn down

that

Dorfman, Chilean playwright

"Since Azerbaijan

speech

should be lifted and our legal codes should be cleansed. The tenitory of freedom should be enlarged."

"The Armenian Genocide happened. The Israeli Knesset doesn't need to recognize it. It's not an act of recognition. We are very much aware of the Armenian Genocide. You know we had a

-Ariel

"Turkey should change its constitution and laws to harmonize itself

with universal standards... Restrictions on freedom of

is a country that lost lands, the so-called

Karabakh syndrome hasn't become a political and cadre phenomenon. In effect, our army was defeated for some reasons and therefore cannot be ambitious." Lli, a senior member of the oppositioh Musavat party in -Kemal Azerbaijan

Aliyev, President

of Azerbaijan

"To live with such a great neighbor in peace is very important for us. . . Our further cultural development without Russia is not possible... In the last several hundred years, we have got used to this nation."

-Nursultan

Nazarbaev, President of Kazakhstan

"Colonized consciousness can take decades to eradicate." Skutnabb-Kangas, Institute of Languages and Culture, -Tove Roskilde University

Thke the multiple choice quiz below and rate your understanding of the Armenian Apostolic Church and its theological understanding:

clergyman belonging

to which of the following

churches

MAY NOT officiate at a wedding held in an Armenian Apostolic Church? a) the Assyrian Orttrodox church b) the Coptic Church c) the Ethiopian Church d) tlre Indian Malabar Church e) the Mekhitarian Order Give yourself an A+ if you picked answer (e): the Mekhitarian Order.

That's right. The Assyrian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Indian Malabar churches are "in communion" with the Armenian Apostolic Church and clergymen of these churches can and do per-

form or participate in weddings, bapisms, burials and other sacraments of theArmenian Church. Bu! a priest of ttreArmenian Mekhitarian order can only if the parish priest allows it. In fact, one Mekhitarian clergyman could not don the vestrnents and share the altar with the offrciatingApostolic priest in an Antetas-affiliated church in Hollywoo( Califomia last month. Why? They're Catholics, notArmenians is the answer. . .

What were they going to do with the Pope in an Armenian church? Would he have been allowed on the altar?

AIM JT]NE

1999

A Houselul ol llistony Marjorie Housepian Dobkin's name first became famous with the publication of her novel, A Houseful

htve. This 1957 bestseller was a fictionalized account of life in an Armenian-American family living in the US. She also published fiction an{ nonfiction in a variety of publications including The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review and Vogue. Still, it was the publication of her The Smyrna Affair (in the US in 1966 and in the UK in 1972 as Smyma, 1922) that she is possibly best known. The books are still sought and used as sources on the outrageous events which led to the burning of one of Turkey's largest cities, Smyrna, following their defeat of the Greek armies in 1922 in Asia Minor. The Western powers again of

ignored the event, to protect their interests. But the city died. As Housepian says in her introduction, "The burning of cities is nothing new. Rome, London and Chicago provide examples of cities rebom from cinders, while the legends of these conflagrations have themselves achieved a measure of immortality. But the I first of Smyrna, Turkey, was of a different nature and bore a different result. Smyrna died in 1922.lts character was obliterated, its name erased from the maps of the world-although, commerce dying harder, it survives in the name of a fig." Why remember Smyrna today? Because, as Housepian states, "Today is it perhaps all the more essential for men of good sense to review historical cause and effect; to ponder the resolution of a minority problem in Turkey half a century ago; to contemplate the forces that distort the past and pervert the future; to recognize the forces within ourselves that will save or consume us all." Housepian herself continues to remind the world. She is a board member of the Armenian National Institute (ANI), she continues to use her teaching position at Bamard College in New York to build links and coalitions with activist intellectual circles. Her name, together with those she has brought on board, appears on open letters and public statements which appear in major US newspapers calling for recognition of the Armenian s

Genocide. Housepian, her husband and three sons live in New York City.

Rednauring thc Map In June, 1918, just a month after Armenia had declared its independence the first time around, Armenia and Turkey signed the Batumi Peace Treaty. Thus, Turkey became the first country to officially recognize the newly independent Armenia. A few weeks later, the Armenian government sent a three-man delegation to Turkey to iron out the terms of the peace among Turkey, Germany and the Caucasian countries. The delegation was also charged with attempting to expand Armenia's borders. The government had appointed Alexander Khatisian as a member of the delegation. Khatisian, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, was to spend four months in Turkey. Later, he returned to take on the post of Foreign Minister of Armenia. In his memoirs, The Birth and Growth of the Armenian Republic, Khatisian remembers his visit to Istanbul which took place just three years after the genocidal events of 1915. "None of the local Armenians dared to come out and greet the representatives of the Armenian Republic. Later we heard that such a visit seemed to many to be a dream. The horrific images of the Great Tragedy were still fresh in everyone's minds. And which Armenian could believe that after those horuors, Armenia's ministers could appear before them? "Our basic message at the Conference was clear: Either Armenia will live and prosper, in which case you must expand our frontiers and give us appropriate borders; or it will not live, in which case all our discussions are irrelevant." Khatisian continues, "Talaat later told me, Enver Pasha believed that it would be better to radically exterminate all Armenians in the Caucasus, as they had been in Turkey; and that a small Armenia in the Caucasus would be enough reason for the Armenians to continue to aspire to extend their borders, and would become an eternal danger to Turkey. But, Talaat said he responded that that would be impossible since somehow, two million Armenians had survived, and it would be impossible to exterminate them; and even if 100,000 of them were left alive in the world, they would not leave the Turks in peace." Later, Enver Pasha proudly told Khatisian, "I resolved that very complex problem: by allowing the establishment of an Armenia, I satisfied Armenia's national demands, but I did so in such a way as not to sacrifice an ounce of Turkish land." The delegation returned without securing redrawn borders. Eight decades later, representatives of the Turkish government have forgotten that their predecessors maintained relations with their Armenian neighbors. And Armenians have forgotten that representatives of the First Republic, led by the ARF, did indeed negotiate with the Turks, just a few years after the Genocide, and no one called them traitors.

AIM JUNE I999

Mixed llninks First the Armenians complained that the national treasure-the Armenian cognac factory-was sold to the French, and was sold at a price that was dirt cheap. Thirty million dollars? The barrels of aging cognac alone were worth more, Armenians claimed. Then, the French giant Pemod-Ricard complained that there wasn't as much aging cognac as was assumed and that the Russian market on which they depended had shrunk due to Russia's financial troubles. Finally, Pemod Ricard went to court charging that the Ararat name was being used illegally by other bottlers, thus cutting into its monopoly. These are the French, after all, who believe they own the terms cognac and champagne, too. The courts agreed with the buyers. And the buyers, therefore, finally agreed to the final purchase price (still $30 million) for Armenia's Ararat Cognac Factory (still considered a national treasure).

Now, Ricard, the world's fifth-largest wine and spirits company, will produce Ararat Cognac alongside Jameson whiskey and Wild Turkey bourbon, along with its traditional anise-based Pernod. When it was first announced that Pernod-Ricard had won the tender and was set to purchase the Armenian brandy factory, they announced their intention to modernize the plant and increase production. Although modernization has begun, production has sunk to new lows, as a result of a shrinking Russian market. Still, upon signing the agreement, the company's president insisted that Armenian brandy will regain its volume and profitability, since it "appeals to brandy connoisseurs worldwide."

AIM JUNE I999

GHI]IA

RUSSIA

. A cooperation agreement in the sphere ofagriculture was signed between the ministries of agriculture of Armenia and China. The

Russian border troops at the Armavir military base-which guards the Armenian-Turkish frontier-celebrated the 75th anniversary of their deployment late May. Lieutenant-Colonel Vahram Manukian, head of the base, stated that 41 nationalities from the

agreement stipulates cooperation especially in seed-growing techniques, agricultural equipment, irrigation, research and student exchange programs.

. Azerbaijan's State Foreign Policy Adviser Vafa Guluzade alleged that Armenia has acquired eight Chinese [phoon rocket system. However, both the Chinese Embassy in Yerevan and the Defense Minister of Armenia denied the allegation.

Russian Federation serve in the detachment. Since the ratio of Russian and Armenian soldiers is fifty-fifty, Manukian explained that funding for the base is shared by Russia and Armenia equally. While Russian border guards serve in accordance to Russian law and military regulations, they represent Armenia during their meetings with their Tirrkish counterparts.

ROTAilIA Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskinian paid an official trvo-day visit to Romania where he held meetings with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu and other senior officials. Discussions focused on bilateral trade and Romanias involvement in the "Silk Road" pro ject. Romanias Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu stated that Bucharest will support Armenia's bid to join the Council of Europe.

LEBAT{Oil Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian paid an official visit to Lebanon and held talks with President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister

Salim Hoss, who also holds the foreign ministry portfolio. Oskanian explained that the purpose of his visit was to "consolidat-

ing bilateral relations, particularly in the economic and cultural fields." Last September, Prime Minister Armen Darbinian had signed three agreements in Beirut on tourism, education and customs. President Robert Kocharian is expected to pay an official visit to Lebanon later this year.

SYRIA Armenia's First Deputy Foreign Minister Shahen Karamanoukian visited Damascus as head of anArmenian diplomatic delegation and held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk Shiraa and two meetings with Deputy Foreign Minister Suleiman Haddad. Regional issues, cooperation and further development of Armenian-Syrian relations were the focus of discussions.

UilITED STATES U.S. Ambassador at Large and special advisor to US Secretary of State on Newly Independent States, Stephen Sestanovich, paid a two-day visit to Armenia and held talks with President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Armen Darbinian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and other officials. The discussions focused on the processes of settling the Karabakh conflict, gradual integration in

the South Caucasus, and Armenia-US bilateral relations. At the Armenian Defense Ministry, Sestanovich's talks focused on possible programs of cooperation in the area of control and transportation of weapons of mass destruction as well as Armenia's participation in NAIO's Partnership for Peace program.

BELARUS Meeting on the sidelines of the CIS Defense Minsters' Council in Yerevan, the defense ministers of Armenia and Belarus signed an agreement on military and technical cooperation. In the past,

ISRAEL An Israeli foreign ministry

Armenian officers were trained at the Belarus Military Academy.

delegation (above left), ted by Shimon Stein, deputy first secretary ofthe Israeli foreign Ministry, held talks withArmenian govemment officials. The discussion focused on developing bilateral relations. Israel's Ambassador to Armenia, Ehud Eitam, stated that relations between the two countries is "good and friendly," but "not intensive." During the talks, Armenia received an invitation to send a group of economic experts to Israel to explore trade possibilities and to inform lsraeli businessmen about opportunities in Armenia.

EBRD Anand Koyindasami, Director of Energy Division of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) visited Yerevan. During his meetings with Prime Minister Armen Darbinian and other officials, the possibility of financing rehabilitation of Armenia's gas network was discussed together with a series of issues related to Armenia's energy sector.

AIM JUNE 1999

NATO A group of NATO military representatives performed military site inspections and verified that Armenia is in compliance with the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. The 1990 treaty sets military quotas and limits on troops and conventional weapons for each participating country. Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Vahan Shirkhanian stated that Armenia does not intend to join NAIO, but will continue to participate in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program.

GREEGE In mid-May, Greek President Konstandinos Stefanopoulos

paid

official visit to Armenia and held meetings with President Robert Kocharian and a number of Armenian officials. "Relations between our states are at the highest level," said Stefanopoulos in Yerevan. Further development of economic, trade and cultural ties between Armenia and Greece were discussed. A group of Greek businessmen accompanied the President's delegation and explored possible investment opportunities in Armenia. "I leave Armenia .with the warmest sentiments and feeling of gratitude to the Arrnenian leadership and to the Armenian people," concluded Stefanopoulos before his return to Athens. He has extended an official invitation to President Kocharian to visit Greece in the nearest future. an

crs . Defense Ministers of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgizistan, and Tajikistan and Deputy Defense Ministers of Ukraine and Georgia met in Yerevan as part of a regular meeting of CIS Defense Ministers Council. Some 15 items relating to collective security, promotion of military and military-technological cooperation and other issues were discussed. The ministers agreed to step up military cooperation among the participating states, however, the absence of representatives of Uzbekistan, Moldova and Azerbaijan underscored growing intemal divisions within the loose grouping of twelve ex-Soviet republics. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan have expressed misgivings about their continued participation in the CIS defense pact and have threatened not to renew their participation in the 1992 CIS Collective Security Treaty unless major changes are made in the document.

The Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Yuri Yarov (left), on a working visit to Yerevan reported to the Armenian administration about what has been done to implement the April 2 decision of the Council of the Heads of State. Items such as the creation of a CIS free trade zone, the restructuring of the CIS Executive Committee, and the distribution of posts on that committee among individual CIS states were on the agenda. According to Yarov, so far only half of the CIS countries have ratified the free zone agreernent which was signed in 1994. Yarov said he was dissatisfied with the level of economic cooperation among CIS states, partly as the consequence of the economic crisis and production decline in CIS countries.

wHo Director of the World Health Organization's European Office, Joe Eric Asval, visited Armenia and participated in a conference on the development of public health policy in Armenia. During his meeting with President Robert Kochmian, and later with Prime Minister Armen Darpinian, the director briefed the Armenian officials on the new organizational developments in WHO, whereby, because of sffuctural changes in the organization, aid will be increased. He told Kocharian that WHO will assist Armenia to implement national health programs. Asval stated that he saw positive changes in Armenia since his last visit in 1994.

JAPAN Armenia's Ministry of Environmental Protection received technical supplies from the Japanese government for Armenia's environmental protection, part of which was given to the Botany Institute of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. A formal ceremony was held in Yerevan in the presence of Kazuhiro Yarnashi, Executive Director of Japan's Wildlife Research Center and Environment Deputy Minister Samvel Balayan. The donated equipment will be used to protect thousands of plant species in Armenia. Meanwhile, a group of Japanese businessmen, headed by Yunuchi Nakazava, chief manager of Satimoto Corporation, visited Armenia to further develop trade relations between Armenia and Japan. During a meeting with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, the possibility of appointing an Armenian diplomat in Tokyo was also discussed.

AIM JUNE 1999

GOLD A new branch of the Yerevan-based Armengold jewelry factory was inaugurated on May 22 by President Robert Kocharian at Dilijan's Impulse factory. This is Armengold's fifth branch in addition to branches in Yerevan, Yeghegnadzor, Vayk and Spitak. The new branch employs 300 people. Armengold's director, Emile Grigorian, said that his pledge to the president to create 2([0 new jobs until the end of the year will be kept. Kocharian described the event as the materialization of "agreements made with Diasporan businessmen" during his visit to the US. The agreements concern the marketing of gold objects produced in Armenia.

Dilijan's Impulse factory established in 1963, used to produce

JUICE PRODUCTIO]I The Elopack Finnish company has invested $185,000 for juice production at the Sartarapat plant in Armenia. Financed within the framework of a $16.75 million World Bank credit program, the juice will be produced from local raw materials and

will be in one liter foil containers provided by the Finnish parent company. It is e.r(pected that 30 percent of the products will be

sold in the local Armenian market and the will be exported to Georgia and Russia.

rest

PERLITE KPMG Armenia, an auditing firm, and the British IMC Mackay and Schnelmann Consultantsjointly developed a project to establish a perlite processing enterprise in Armenia. The Armenian-Swiss Mazungu Constructions Company is a potential partner. The enterprise is expected to be set up in the city of Gyumri. Gagik Giulbudagian, KPMG manager, said that initially the enterprise will produce about 100-200 thousand sq. m. of thermoinsulating slabs of

perlite, with a capital investment of $800,000-1.7 million. telecommunications equipment for the Soviet military and civilian industries. Like so many similar enterprises, it was sitting idle during the past few years, partly because of a lack of demand of its products and partly because it had become technologically outdated. The day the former telecommunications factory was transformed into a jewelry plant, Armen Ghoularian, the governor of the northeastem region of Tavush said,"This is the first time in three years that a serious enterprise is established in the Marz (region)."

GAS PIPELIIIE The management of Armenia's network of natural gas pipelines

and transportation has been transferred to the Armenian-Russian ArmRosGazprom Company. The company was created by the Russian giant Gazprom (45 percent), Armenia's Armprom (45 percent) and the Itera Corporation (10 percent) inAugust 1997, during former President Levon Ter Petrossian's visit to Moscow.

T!l{D THE GAP

ArmRosGazprom is supposed to modemize Armenia's gas pipelines network and eventually create a transit line for Russian natural gas to Turkey and the Middle East through Armenia. According to Karen Galstian, Armenia's First Deputy Minister of Energy, the network (which was built in the 1960s) was estimated by experts to be worth some $270 million in its current state. The construction of a similar network at current market prices would have cost $750 million. With the sum of $10 million invested by the co-founders of the

A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) study concluded that over the last few years the living standards of most Armenians have declined and the gap between rich and poor has widened. The study found that 20 percent of the most well-off families in Yerevan receive 63 percent of all income and the poorest families get only 4.7 percent of all income. The average monthly salary in Armenia is $27, yet, according to UN estimates, CIS citizens who receive less than four dollars a day

company, ArmRosGazprom's consolidated capital amounts to $280

or $120 dollars a month are considered to be poor.

AIM JUNE 999

DIAMOI{DS The Diamond Company of Armenia (DCA) was sold on May 2l to the British Furfono Co. Ltd. for $5.5 million. The buyer is close-

ly related to the De Beers, the international diamond cartel. The Amio Exco international audit firm evaluated the sale as a success for the Armenian government and considered it Armenia's best deal thus far. According to Finance Ministry sources, Furfono has pledged to invest $40 million in the next five years to re-equip DCA and to collaborate with other local diamond processing plants. In addition, the company is to purchase unprocessed diamonds owned by the Armenian government. According to DCA's Executive Manager, Gagig Abrahamian, the company has exported $13 million of products in the first quarter of 1999. It is projected to increase exports to $45-50 million this year. doubling them from previous years. DCA was established late last year when it was separated from the state owned Shoghakn diamond processing company. It has six production units and employs 250 people. It also collaborates with diamond processing plants in Stepanakert, Vayk and Yerevan. Meanwhile, a new diamond processing plant was also opened on May 26 in Artashat. The plant belongs to ANNA Group with equipment from the Shoghakn Company. Director Gagig Hovhannisian stated that the new plant would not cooperate with diamond cartel De Beers and that the raw material will be imponed from Russia, whereas the processed diamond is to be exported to Belgium. Currently, the enterprise is working at 50 percent capacity, processing 2000 carats ofdiamonds monthly. One hundred people are employed at the plant. In another development, the president of Lory Ltd., a diamond processing firm, announced plans for collaboration with the Arslanian Brothers of Belgium. The Arslanians have increased their

monthly volume of exports to Armenia by 10,000 karats. In addition to Lory, at least three otherArmenian firms process raw material for the Arslanians, one of the biggest providers of unprocessed dia-

monds

to Armenia's

processing plants. According

to Haig

Gevorgian, Minister of Trade and Industry, the development of the diamond processing industry in Armenia will create 2000-2500 new jobs in the next two years, mostly in the border regions of Armenia.

CATHOLICOS KAREKIil I Due to the deteriorating health of Catholicos Karekin I of All Armenians, Pope John Paul II's planned visit to Armenia-scheduled to take place in early July-was cancelled. Most of last year and early this year, the Catholicos Karekin underwent surgery and prolonged treatment in New York for a malignant tumor under his tongue. In March of this year, his physicians were satisfied with his progress and Karekin I returned to Holy Ejmiadsin for a long convalescence. However, soon after his return, it became clear that his condition is much worse than expected. "The doctors cannot say with certainty what the outcome of this will be in the immediate term," said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian in a communiqu6, "What they do know is that medical science has done

all it can to improve Vehapar's condition." Having visited His Holiness in Ejmiadsin, Barsamian assured the faithful that "Even as his body weakens, Vehapar's mind is still as sharp as ever, and his spirit is still strong. Although he has not recovered the ability to speak aloud, he is still able to communicate with people through writing. He must be careful, of course, not to unduly tax his strength."

AIM JUNE

1999

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TURKEY

President Robert Kocharian awarded the Diasporan poet Zahrad, 75, with the Movses Khorenatsi Medal for his outstanding

contribution to Armenian literature. Zahrad, (Zareh Yaldezian) is an Istanbul-bom poet whose modern verses have been published in various periodicals and as monographs since 1943. His poetry has been translated to French, English, Greek and Lithuanian. . When Archbishop Mesrop Mutafyan (right), the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Istanbul and All Turkey visited Armenian President Robert Kocharian, talk centered on the current state of Armenian-Turkish relations, and possible prospects for their development. Kocharian congratulated Mesrop II on his election to the post of spiritual leader of the Armenians of Turkey. At the Patriarch's request, the President also discussed the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia's economic development and economic policies.

US Four filmmakers took a breather during marathon 1999

AFFMA-Arpa

the

Foundation for

Film Music and Art-Film Festival held April 30 to May 2 at the Raliegh Studios in Hollywood. Festi..,al director Peter Bahlawan ian participated with his short comedy Sorry,, Wrong Address, Kris Sakola with the feature drama Celebration Day, Serj Minassians with a documentary, Beyond Commitment, and producer Bryan Kertenian. All together, AFFMA exhibited five features, two feature documentaries and 24 shorts by Armenians around the world. Among the unusual inclusions were a l2-minute animated short called Plugby Meher

Gourjian, and Erotas by Eric Nazarian. Opening night honored producer Hank

Moonjean, a member of AFFMA s board and best known for his f/,m Dangerous Liaisons. This is the second film fest for the Los Angeles based AFFMA which now has 600 members.

SWITZEBLAI'ID

CYPRUS

The World Council of Churches convened an interfaith meeting on Kosovo in Geneva on May 30, chaired by His Holiness Aram I (righQ Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia and WCC Moderator. The church leaders wanted to use the opportunity to bring together the representatives of the churches in Yugoslavia, in neighboring countries and in NATO member countries to explore together the possibilities of stopping the war in Yugoslavia and helping the political powers to initiate a

Recently, His Holiness Aram I bestowed the "Grand Cross" medal of the Catholicosate

of Cilicia on the President of

Cyprus,

Glaftos Cleridis. During a luncheon ceremony in Nicosia, Aram I underlined the long-standing good relations between the Armenian and Cypriot peoples. He said that the two nations have been subjected to Turkish atrocities and have struggled together and continue to struggle forjustice and human rights.

process aimed at "harmonious and peaceful co-existence between the ethnic minorities." This meeting follows the

visit of a delegation representing the Council to

President Cleridis

Yugoslavia and Kosovo. The WCC General Secretary Konrad Raiser has appealed to the United Nations to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict within the framework of the UN. The WCC has sought to provide relief to the refugees of the bombing and displacement as well.

in his turn spoke

about Armenian-Cypriot relations and com-

mented on the Armenian Genocide. He con-

sidered

the Armenian Community of

Cyprus an inseparable and vital part of Cypriot society.

AIM JUNE I999

from the lrst day of the earthquake to the present. Last month, in an interview in Paris-based Nouvelles d'Armenie magazine,Aznavour complained about the various obstacles placed before international humanitarian organizations by Armenia's tax and customs authorities. He charged that customs duty and valueadded-tax will be imposed on the aid he sends to Armenia. "Aznavour for Armenia organization will not continue its activities in Armenia, if it faces impediments," he said. Aznavour is the first Diaspora celebrity to publicly air the frustrations of mauy. He defended his comments as constructive criticism.

Aznavour had several complaints. "The Diaspora cannot replace Armenia," he charged. "I am very much surprised that the restoration of the earthquake zone is no longer the country's priority task." He expressed frusffation at the fact that his allegiance is misunderstood. "I do not belong to any president and all I am doing, I am doing for the sake of Armenia and Armenians. Opportunities must be created for those who are still able to do something, whereas others should be provided with the means to lead a normal life. It is no good to encourage the outflow of workforce from Armenia, depriving them of an oppornrnity to find their place," he continued. A disgruntled Aznavour pointed out, "I am engaged in a humanitarian mission called Aznavour for Armenia. It could be called Aznavour for Georgia. Georgia is a country where my parents were born. Georgians have done much for me, they have restored the house of my father. And of course I will do something for my country, since it is necessary for the region that these two countries should walk side by side," he added. He also vowed to come to Armenia to attend a football match between Armenian and French teams. "I will use this visit to go to Georgia and see the house of my parents, as well as to meet with Armenians of Javakhk," Aznavour noted. In September, a memorial plaque, initiated by the local Georgian authorities, will be placed in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, Aznavour's parents hometown. the government of

AZNAYOUR FOR ARTEI{I,A President Robert Kocharian sent a note of congratulations to French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour on his 75th birthday. Since the earthquake in Armenia, Aznavour has come to represent the Diaspora's humanitarian aid effort to Armenia. His organization,

Aznavour pour l'Armenie, has provided food and nutrition to Armenia's various regions. The president's message said, "As one of the symbols of our century whose art represents universal hu'man values, you are an endless source of love and pride for each Armenian. Taking advantage of this festive occasion, I would like to extend to you my appreciation and the deep respect of our people. Armenia will never forget your humanitarian and moral support

FBAilCE In May 1998, the French National Assembly passed a one line resolution acknowledging that the events of 1915 in Turkey constituted Genocide against the Armenians. This act was greeted with great jubilation by Armenians everywhere' The Turks however responded with various economic threats to the French government, which responded by putting the Genocide recognition issue on the back burner and delaying its introduction to the Senate. The Armenians of France, however, were not going to take this sitting down. This year, on Apnl 24, rather than just marking the memory of the Genocide for one day, various community organizations came together to organize a three-week nationwide march from Lyons to Paris, culminating at the French Senate building in May' Participating in the march were thousands of Armenians from the various French cities lying between Lyons and Paris, as well a government representatives, mayors and other officials who supported the Armenian effort to call attention to the Genocide. Among the mayors who greeted the walkers was the mayor of Alfortville, a Paris suburb with a large Armenian population. The walkathon culminated on May 12, when the crowd, bearing Armenian flags, gathered first in front of the Paris City Hall and finally before the French Senate, protesting the French government's failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The walkathon was organized by a coalition of Armenian organizations and individuals led by the Armenian National Committee of France and the newly-formed Ap,'il 24 Committee.

AIM JUNE 1999

Anmenlat NGw Panllament Realignment of political forces and challenges facing Armenia By A. H. ALEXAI{DRIAN

he unlikely alliance of Defense

Minister Vazgen Sargsian

and

former Soviet-era leader and recent presidential candidate Karen Demirchian, was victorious in the May 30 parliamentary

in Armenia. The Union Alliance, as the new party was called, won 6l of 129 seats, with the outcome of

elections

two seats still to be determined. The National Assembly convened on June l0

and elected Demirchian

speaker.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Armen Darbinian had already tendered his resig-

nation, making it possible to appoinr Sargsian to the post. This is a first in Armenia's short history since independence that the parliamentary majority will shape the government and be responsible

for its actions. The intention is to secure the close cooperation of the legislative and the executive branches in order to increase the pace and quantity of reforms and improvements.

.+:

iil!

I'lew Parliament speaker Karen Demirchina (left) and new prime Minister vazgen sargsian

This was just one reason these elections were significant for Armenia. There were others. First, the format and procedure was as important as the content. With all the focus on development of democratic processes, it almost didn't matter who won so long as the elections were conducted cleanly and fairly. The stigma of electoral fraud-left over from elections past-had to be removed. This was important for the West, whose observers were again in Armenia in droves-and where "free and fair" elections were considered a prerequisite for admission to the Council of Europe. It was also important for the Armenian population itself, which needed to believe its votes mattered. A just and transparent electoral process was essential to facilitate the participation of a frustrated, cynical electorate. Second, for the president and the country as a whole, a formed, coalesced parliament was essential to move the state forward with the development of a legislative framework. The first year of the Kocharian administration was marked by a dysfunctional parliament unwilling to work on major programs. It also lacked a clear popular mandate, since much had changed in the Armenian world in the four years this parliament has been in office. In fact, this last year seemed like one long period of "wait and see." Third, the election would serve to clarify or reaffirm President Kocharian's own mandate. The identity and margin of the winners would clearly say something about what the voters expect of their government-and that includes the president.

;j-r-r i.X.i i::t lr,,

How well the elections resolved these and other issues remains arguable. Regarding the faimess of the elections, most European observ-

er groups gave Armenia good marks. In fact, almost all the observers, except the National Democratic Institute of America, registered an improvement over previous elections. CIS observers declared that the elections met international standards, observers of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe underlined a considerable improvement. OSCE observers added to these comments criticizing statements on the voting of soldiers and on several types of electoral fraud. As for the National Democratic Institute, it asserted that despite positive developments, once again Armenia "failed to meet international standards and commitments." All agreed, however, that the electoral campaign had been rather just and fair with equal opportunity for all, the political climate lacked the tension of years past, and the vote-counting almost normal. Press coverage was also considered to be adequate and fair. International observers considered the several day delay in the proclamation of the results a negative factor however. It was also true that far fewer voted and there was greater apathy than in earlier years. What was worse was that some who did come to vote were tumed away. Inaccuracies and major omissions in voting lists deprived tens of thousands of people of their right to

vote. Aram Abrahamian, editor of Aravot daily, wrote for weeks beforehand cautioning the public (and the authorities) cif this danger. Still, the extent of the omissions seemed to shock the voters and

AIM JUNE I999

normally suspicious populace was quick to ascribe the problem to malice and conspiracy rather than incompetence. Some thought the voting list inaccuracies were designed to artificially reduce the number of voters and thus increase the vote percentages of certain groups, while at the same time decreasing the threshold number of necessary votes to enter parliament-which must be equal to five percent of the votes cast, according to the electoral law. However, this was categorically rejected by President Kocharian himself who blamed the mayors and local community leaders for being careless in the preparation of the voter lists. It was argued that in previous elections, voter lists had been prepared by the Internal Affairs Ministry, and those who were left out were added to the list on election day. But the new electoral law prohibited the last-minute inclusion of new names to reduce the possibility of fraud. Thus, in the absence of reliable census data, the only way to assert your right to vote was to appeal to the Justice Ministry. Justice Minister David Harutunian announced that the courts had fulfilled their duty and restored around 22,000 voters' rights the same day, out of some 23,000 who had formally protested. Still, most people who could not vote did not in fact go to court. The frustration was so high, that "dead people can vote but not the

living" became an overnightjoke.

N PROrcRIIONAI. PARIY-BASED VOIES

4t.67 12.t0

UnityAlliance CommunistParty

Right&Accord

Ann Revolutionary

7.97 Federation

7.83

Countyoflaw

5.28

NationalDenrct Union

5.17

Apomolqll srars

votâ&#x201A;Źs seab* M8,133 29 130,161 8 85J'X 6 u2i2 s 56,807 4 516n 4

woN BY MAIoRITARIAN voIES

UnityAlliance

Cornrnunist Party

Armenian Revolutionary Federation

County oft-aw

National Denrocratic Union

Other parties

Non-affiliated" candidates

osE s; 3.27Vo 35,190 2.49Vo '26,823 2.3l%o '4,896 2.29Vo 24,681 l.24Vo 13293 l.l7%o 12540 l.03Vo ll,Arc 0.9Vo rc,Al 0i6%o 8,122 0.O1o 7,374 0.6lVo 6,5% 0.54Vo 5J85 0.53Vo 5,675 0.24:Vo 2588 019%o 2053

DpffiedFuure Union of Socialist Parties Stong Fathedand Self-Determination Union Fatherland

Ann

National Movement

Uberty Pafiy Dernocratic Party Mission Ramgavar Liberal Democrats Azat tlaykArakelutiun

Naional Sate YouthParty Socialist

Thus, although western report cards gave Armenia higher marks than in the past, the local population did not see its faith in government restored. As for these elections creating the necessary environment for the formulation of a normal political system where political parties are the real actors, again the outcome is ambiguous.

Armenia's political parties, although they number in the 70s, are unstable and powerless. Everything is still in the making, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Certain sociologists say the country still lacks the well-formed social strata linked by common

interests that find their expression and representation in political parties. That is why Armenia and Armenian politics revolve around

like Sargsian, or local neighborhood bosses. The new elections were an improvement in that a greater number of political parties entered parliament. Still, the margin between the power of the Union Allianoe and the other parties is so great that healthy political competition will be tough. Still, the Armenian personalities-whether they're national figures

AIM JUNE

& htellecuals

Shamiram

Total number of eligible voters

Actual number of voters

(51.77o)

2J9A5U 1,137,133

Ballots allocated to Electoral Commission

2223,619

Canalled ballots Validballos in tlre ballotbox

1,085,840

krvalid ballots lotal ballots in fie ballot box BalloB cast against all candidateVparties Total votes cast for candidatesrprties

65568 t,131,133

1,083,408

Numberof inaccuracies

*The

Nationa.l Assembly has

Source: Centml

1999

Elecoml

l3l

23,314 1,057,%2 17,625

seais.

Cmisim

Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, Vazgen Sargsian's National Democratic Union, the Communist Party, as well as several smaller groupings are all represented. Even those who a.re not represented, had their day before the electors. As a result, those of Kocharian's advisors-Vahan Hovhanissian, Aram Sargsian, Harutiun Karapetian, Paruir Hairikian-who had been appointed because their parties had little or no representation in Parliament, no longer serve as presidential advisors. Only specialists will serve as presidential advisors and not political personalities. Finally, what do the elections say about Kocharian's position and mandate? That seemed to be the question uppermost in the minds of the local press and observers, since Kocharian was elected president without his own local economic or political power base. Indeed, that is perhaps one reason the voters elected himbecause he appeared unbeholden. Sargsian's party's win is also a win for Kocharian so long as the two stay on the same path. They

appear to be on the same "pragmatic" economic path. Although the Union Alliance has not presented a clear-cut program, it has said all the right things about enhancing investment and trade. It has also acknowledged that even with the commitment to a free market economy, "the social protection of citizens" can not be forgotten. Still, Sargsian has no choice but to adjust all rhetoric and programs to the requirements of the international donor organizations, since Armenia is a credit recipient. In fact, during a recent visit to Armenia, immediately after the elections, James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, made a point of praising the economic program of the outgoing government. At the same time, word was out that Darbinian would remain in the administration in some economic capacity. So, on the economic front, Sargsian and Kocharian are on the same wavelength. But Demirchian? In the 1998 presidential campaign, as well as in the recent electoral struggle, Demirchian

AIM JUNE I999

implied that perhaps some privatization deals have not been wise

and that local investors should receive priority over foreign investors. One man who has served as consultant to various foreign businessmen also says that in the past Demirchian has obstructed some deals which he preferred go to fellow local businessmen.

Additionally, Demirchian comes from the Soviet tradition of government planning for and providing for the people's social needs. That is precisely why many voted for him. A week after the elections, the joke on Yerevan's streets was that any day now, the price of sausage would come down to what it was in the "good old days." If his unconnectedness was a plus a year ago to get him elected, today, that may be a problem for President Kocharian as he wages the day-to-day battles with the National Assembly to affect change. Still, he has remained very open and welcoming to the new players and his proven track record seems to be to go for inclusionary, participatory politics where possible. Still, as the 1998 power struggle (which culminated in the resignation of President Levon Ter Petrossian) demonstrated, realignments can always take place.

Sargsian, together with Interior Minister Serge Sargsian and President Kocharian started out as part of Ter-Petrossian's team. Allegiance changed when the three felt the country's economic and political fortunes could be better handled. Serge Sargsian seems to be a lesser player now, especially since his ministry, too, will be divided again into two: Interior Affairs and National Security. That leaves the new trio: Kocharian, Demirchian and Sargsian, in order of authority according to the Constitution. In real life, however, the balance of power will be decided over time, not just among these three individuals, but also between the executive r and legislative branches.

ARh4EN

Reatty

. Unity Atlimli;.;dl depUeri; headed blr,And$hi&r

M@arbn

. Communist Party, l0 deputies, headed

by Sergey Badalian

. Right & Unity. seven deputies, headed by Artashes Geghamian

. Orinats Yerkir, six deputies, headed by Arthur Baghdasarian . National Democratic Union, six deputies, headed by Vazgen Manoukian

. Stability (Kayunutiun), 2l

deputies,

headed by Hovhannes Hovhannissian

. Committee for Foreign

Relations,

: , ,,

Armen Khachatrian (Unity Alliance) ohainnan ..Cornrnittee for Social, Health Care & Environmental Protection, Gagik Tadevossian (Communist Party) chairman . Committee for State and Legal issues, Yuri BaKrshian {Unity Alliance) chairman . Committix far Finaniial-crediting, Budgetary and Economic issues, Yand&rt, Khaehatrieil (Unity Alliance) chairman . Committee fcrr:1Be&nse, Internal Affairs and National Security, Vahan Hotha;rnigsiao {$4llDashrakgtutiun) chairman . Committee for Sciences, Education and Culture. Shavarsh Ko.eharian (Narional Democratic Union) chairman

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t would be stating the obvious that since the independence of the Armenian Republic in 1991, Armenians everywhere are facing new challenges. These challenges, and the way they are met will shape the welfare and effectiveness, and identity of Armenian public life for years to come. This is what is new about the 21st century-the fourth millenni-

um of Armenian history-as Armenians take stock of what is to

be done, to come to terms with priorities, to sort out the essential from the merely instrumental. With the establishment of a

there is a paradoxical similarity in the fundamental challenge facing all of us-the govemment and the people within Armenia as well as the communities and populations of Armenians spread around the world so disparate in size, history and "consciousness." In the maelsffom of such pervasive transformation and structural change, it is possible to identify a set of issues and challenges that stand out as more fundamental, more critical and eventually

Stote institutions must

exhibit o triple form of outonomy, thot is, ultimote-

state-independent, territorially sovereign, with its own laws and

ly, non-dependence on insti-

structures, and a citizenry to protect, to educate, to feed, to employ

tutions outside the counfry,

and a culture to maintain and to

is "real." It

on non-stote instifutions

must survive and it must be secure and it must prosper. And it

inside the country ond

enrich-Armenia

must do all these things not within an abstract context, but deeply rooted in internal and external strategic, social, political and economic realities. And in that gener-

context,

on the idiosyncrosies of the leodership ot o given moment.

must take into

account a Diaspora whose numbers exceed the population of the Republic, a Diaspora whose experiences are plural and heterogenous, a Diaspora with fragmented interests, often uncertain of its own role and ambivalent about its identity vis-a-vis a bona fide liv-

(if at times needy) Motherland. [The Diaspora's own structural issues will be examined in a future article.l While there is a world of difference in the objective, concrete, social, political and especially economic situations that prevail within Armenia and the Diaspora, ing, breathing

AIM JUNE I999

more central than the rest.

These fundamental challenges

relate all to one large, all-encompassing, multi-layered and multidimensional element: institutions. For institutions both within and outside of Armenia will ultimately play the significant role of shaping our future, defining the contours of public life and establishing the boundaries of our collective experience as a nation in the years to come. Though interdependent, the issues related to institutions mani-

fest themselves quite differently within Armenia and the Diaspora. In Armenia, the institutional question is two-pronged. On the one hand there are the state struc-

tures-formal, legally founded, political in ultimate character and linked in functional ways as to insure national security and political/economic development and stability, order, opportunity and justice. These institutions are framed by constitutional dynamics, where their very evolution is determined by explicit legal foundations that define the parameters of political activity. Historically, and objectively, our state institutions in Armenia are emerging out of multiple and simultaneous dynamics, while trying to establish roots and tran-

TUIIONS scend contingent, ad hoc, opportunistic expresstons. They are emerging from a period of derivative existence, since they were previously the local "branches" of the

former Soviet institutions: govemment, party, military. This evolution of our emerging state institutions must achieve at a minimum the following: autonomy, legitimacy and legality as normative criteria and adaptability, compatibility, congruence, stability and predictability as performance criteria. This is a very tall

order indeed, and not one that can be successfully achieved within a decade of radical, sometimes traumatic strains.

Let us first rook at the normative

criteria.

fluouomr

ical experience. The latter two, no less than constitutional arrangements are not free from the objective historical cunent social forces. They are neither conceived in the abstract nor are they implemented outside the interplay of real political actors, representing, articulating or advocating real social, political or economic interests.

Legitimocy

refers to the

[ttttt1lnCV ---'T;;.*my

of state institutions must and do go hand in hand with legitimacy' viable state institutions are those that are legitimate: that is those that are perceived by populations (citizens) affected by those insti-

willingness to occept ihe

outhorify of on

state institutions must exhibit a triple form

autonomy, that is, ultimately, non-dependence on institutions outside the country, on non-state institutions inside the country and on the idiosyncrasies of the leadership at a given moment. Of course the distinction between non-dependence and independent is a deliber-

::::T?":"',Jil1";"ffi]',;"1;:1,::,,*

HX1',;

activities, decisions, allocations) without coercion, without the fear of the explicit use of force. Legitimate institutions are not only seen as necessary, but also as desirable-useful, just and fair. They are seen as guarantors of public order, providers of services, protectors of safety and embodying notions of the common wel-

ate one. While everything is somewhat related to every- fare, the public good, rather than as the mere instruments thing else, and influenced by a constant interaction, of private, sectarian or personal interests. Autonomous autonomy means that the source of its legitimacy, its institutions are more likely to be perceived as legitimate foundations, and its role are not tributary. Hence an and, conversely, legitimate institutions are more likely autonomy. And autonomous presidency, or the National Assembly are able to engender and consolidate their the temptation to see legitinot dependent on either some out-of-state presidency or here again, one must resist an abstract or purely symbolic compact legislative body, or local party, or even each other; and macy as ruler and ruled' between citizen and state' between finally nor should they depend on their conception and and leaders' There may be moments' subject between role of the momentary occupants of their leadership when emotive' patriotically charged events can confer a positions. otherwise put, a presidency should transcend j'T'-.t'Ttnq. euphoric legitimacy to new institutions a president, and a National Assembly should be more and "leaders"' but the sustaining and deepening of --o-"--'^ than the particularity of certain deputies o, "' r"girruiir" legitimacy is a slow process, dependent on political

blocks.

institution {ond its octivities, decisions,

ollocotions)

without coercion,

without ihe feor of the explicii

use

of force.

a public evaluation of institutional

To effecrively insure this triple autonomy, it takes :iLt:l::nd p""itli1t^i:.," both constitutional formal means, and the cumulative effecr or political practice, itserr the resurt bination of a living, evolving political culture and polit- teirleaderswhotakelegifimacyfogranteddosoattrcirownpuil.

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Howeveq at the heart of the legitimacy of State institutions, there is a paradox. As democracy advances and direct mass political participation becomes the norm, institutions become vulnerable to public mood and political manipulation. It is therefore essential to create structures that somewhat insulate institutions from political or demagogic volatility. Otherwise, institutions would lose their stability and become subject to "plebiscitary" tests of day-to-day utility, popularity and acceptability. It is therefore essential to anchor the legitimacy of institutions in an overall, overarching legitimate instrument or framework, that is, a constitution or a constitutional framework. This creates therefore a del-

icate but necessary balance between legitimacy and legality. Constitutional legality can thus underwrite and reinforce the legitimacy and autonomy of state institutions, strengthen their effectiveness and provide the state with the means to perform its tasks and duties. The process of endowing Armenia and the Armenian state with autonomous, legitimate and constitutionally consecrated institutions has just begun, and it must continue for years to come. It is undoubtedly the most difficult, complex and multi-dimensional process that will face Armenia in the decades to come and whose outcome will be crucial for the strength and viability of the country and its political system in the next century. If the state institutions we have in mind, that is the Presidency, the Government and the ministries, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, the military, the regulatory agencies, etc.

il},lT

ment agencies and bureaucracies require properly trained individuals for whom public service is not only a calling, but a profession. An effective civil service requires qualified civil servants whose competence is acquired by the appropriate education, whose loyalty is to the institution (not just to momentary leaders) and whose independence is guaranteed by the right adminis-

trative legal structures.

This training, education of the future

cadres

for the management of state institutions requires a national plan of high priority. The quality of our political performance will depend on the long{erm success of this concerted national effort. It cannot be left to haphazard recruitment and accidental or miraculous coincidences. Our future political-administrative elite, whether in economic or financial management of the

required

public sector, diplomacy, law enforcement,

resource

allocations of all sorts in energy, transport, communicain legislation, budgeting or

tions, or more generally

planning, must be formed. It must be formed technically, at home and abroad, and it must be formed sociopolitically with a profound understanding of challenges and opportunities facing Armenia in a very rapidly changing world and unstable region. The better prepared those who will manage our institutions, the better they will be adaptive, rather than withdraw into fixed, reactionary or superficial formula with which they will "hold onto" power, rather than

It is no longer possible

to rely on top-down coerciYe policy

moking ond

exercise authority.

implementuiion.

# ilffiffi il:"'1Tl,1JI;IT;i; m J,# lrunr - ru m

r$rnrTr

ur $rnu trru n rs

form for the public good. In that process, they must also i make proof of the instrumental characteristics we [tI[ lill|[tl.lilt$ This is another form of infrastructure which is referred to above. They must adapt to changing social, economic and political forces; they must be compatible essential for state institutions to function properly and with each other to reinforce each other's autonomy, they with each other. The scope and range of the competenwill be congruent with the dominant or emergent values cies, responsibilities and charter of various branches of of the civic society and finally, free from arbitrariness or govemment must be clearly defined and left to the sole narrow dependence on officeholders' self-interest, estabdiscretion ofthe occupants ofthe leaders whether in the rule of law. predictability within the lish stability through military or the executive roles, functions and mandates These instrumental characteristics of adaptability, must be clearly defined. Within the larger constitutional compatibility, congruence and non-arbitrariness are eas- framework, these are the rules and regulations that ier to enunciate than to operationalize. In order to determine both responsibility and the accountability of achieve these goals, there are several parallel societal, various branches, agencies, ministries, sections, departcultural and administrative actions that must be under- ments, etc. They limit to the extent possible the kind of taken, quickly and effectiveiy. Let us simply mention the internal tension that exists within all bureaucracies withmost important ingredients to help achieve these goals.

Innruruu

ffi[

[[tlGfiltuu

State institutions require not only leaders, but a larger number of cadres. The daily operations of govem-

out that clarity, and mechanisms of readjudicating inter-

and intra-institutional competition and conflicts, it is hard to achieve not only compatibility and congruence between various functions of the state, but also the coordination and effectiveness required to do what needs to be done to deserve public support and trust.

AIM JUNE I999

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Mnnntrurrur $vstrnrt$ f,il[ l0row-How Today, more than ever before, effective government must also be efficient government. Especially for a small country with limited resources, one trying to make the

transition from a centrally planned economy to a free market system within a global environment, state structures must put in place modern methods of management. Coordination, information and statistical techniques. meritocratic personnel decisions, transparency. macroeconomic inputs and outputs, effective budgeting, they all require the use of and continuous upgrading of management systems that are modern and sensitive to technological change and complex environment. It is no longer possible to rely on top-down coercive policy making and implementation. Instead, what are needed are skills of persuasion, communication, rational policy

making and the use

every available method for

orchestrating the interaction between the private and the

public sector.

Inr

nronmlltofl IG0MMUtI I EIII

Bt{

lurnnstnuGlURt The efficiency and effectiveness with which our state structures must perform in the next century, with,

in addition to the human and social ingredients mentioned above, also need the technical and technological

tools with which to function. The modernization of those tools is an absolute must, and our institutions will be at a distinct disadvantage in a world in which com-

munications and information are crucial for effective management.

Technological literacy requires both hardware and software and we must invest in both. Our ministries, our administrative units need to be as much information and communication driven as any modem firm or government institutions anywhere else. Otherwise, very soon, our state institutions are likely to be marginalized and find themselves unable to adapt to the dynamic changes

in Armenia's

demography, economics

and

military/strategic posture and even its foreign policy challenges. We need to know! Our institutions will serve best if they are knowledge-driven, if they communicate with each other and the public and the world at large. The reliabitity, democratization and transparency of information and its efficient dissemination will be essential to make our emerging institutions to be functionally configured and reconfigured rather than the dependent on ad hoc, fragmented and arbitrary, personality based inputs of expertise or experience.

Finally, before completing this picture of state institutions and their fundamental role in shaping our country's future in the next century, the following must be added: While institutions at the national level are critical and essential, we must also underline the importance of developing and nurturing public institutions at the regional and local level. Ultimately, true and effective democracy requires local democracy, government response to the needs of people at the local level. It is in towns and villages, at the municipal level that people interact with the government and authorities. The delivery of services is ultimately local. In this respect, the ultimate challenge for political institutional reform will be in our ability to decentralize. This is both new and alien in our political experience given the Soviet practice. The center must trust the regional and local institutions and give them enough autonomy, resources and responsibility to allow them to strengthen the most intimate linkages between the citi-

zen and his government. Local elections, local government, locally managed, create strong incentives for popular participation on the one hand, and greater accountability on the other. We must make this among the top priorities of national institution building agenda. For the coming millennium, the challenge facing Armenia and its people cannot be limited to those faced by the state, nor can they be met by the development and strengthening of state institutions. No matter how crucial, complex and difficult are institution-building challenges facing the young republic, there are not less crit-

Sociol

institulions, outside government

control ond imbedded

in sociol, communily

ond individuol needs, octivilies

ical needs in the domain of the wholesale renewal or invigoration of institutions outside the government and public sector. The requirements and the processes for

ond interests

institution-building in society at large are even more daunting. In fact, if this process does not occur, or is incomplete or is a failure, state institutions are likely to atrophy or be subverted. They are, as it is usually the case, evolved into authoritarian, inefficient and arbitrary instruments of control. Social institutions, outside government control and imbedded in social, community and individual needs, activities and interests are the very foundations of a civil society. Without these component elements of a civil society, there is no intermediary between the citizen and the political authority. The forces are too uneven, and the person remains naked, disconnected, vulnerable vis-a-vis the state and its coercive, judicial or allocative powers. Civic institutions are like transmitters and shock-absorbers. When they are well grounded and responsive they provide countervailing forces to the tendency of the state to legitimize all n authority and to claim all allegiance.

foundotions of

AIM JUNE 1999

ore lhe Yery

o civil society.

NATION

$lnoru Milolfianatafih Interview with Defense Minister Samvel Babayan quickly rebuild the economy, in order to improve the population's standard of living. You might have noticed that we are not even waiting for our foreign compatriots to come

AIM: The latest propositions by

and help us. We are trying, within our the

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen within the framework of a "Common StateD for-

mula for a settlement of the Karabakh conllict were accepted by Armenia and Karabakh and rejected by Azerbaijan. Since then negotiations have stalled. How do you assess the current situation and what may be the possible develop-

capacity, to improve the situation ourselves,

from the inside, and it seems to me that we are succeeding. If we continue in this way, we will really stand on our own two feet, and in that case there will be no reason for

haste. What really counts in today's world is the resolution of the economic problem. Economic solutions bring about political solutions.

ments?

A: Azerbaijan is not ready for the settlement of the conflict. It has its internal problems. The authorities there are unable to solve even minor problems. They're not ready for compromises because they have promised the people that the region will be theirs. The Azerbaijani authorities musr find in themselves the strength to make decisions. I find the political climate positive. Apprehensions of pressures and the like, which seemed to exist in the past, do not exist anymore. Such pressures have not existed, do not exist and moreover, will not exist. The problem is that the sides must come to a compromise and make a decision. This is not expected from Azerbaijan; not because it is preparing to conquer by

force-it is unable to do so-but

In a recent interview to a Yerevan daily you mentioned that you're not stuck to the post of defense minister and that you might even leave that post. What kind of a career would you envisage in that case, and would you be absolutely sure that the army would keep its present strength? Your interpretation is not right. The direct question put to me was: don't you fear that if you intervene in the political life of Armenia you may lose your current post of defense minister? I answered that I have

is the second issue for the resolution of the problem. I can work anywhere. I can deal with non-government work, but still be the same Samvel Babayan.

Since last year, you have been expressing

your views concerning economic policy. Within that year, Karabakh's economy has witnessed noticeable change. What is

sions.

This situation does not upset Karabakh as much as it should upset Azerbaijan. The problem does not consist in the fast or slow resolution of the conflict, but rather in the fact that the people live free, and decide for themselves their life and their future. Ir does not seem to us that the resolution of the conflict will be followed by an immediate amelioration of the economic situation. Our task, and that of the Diaspora as well, is to

worry?

and I do not fear dismissal. I do not think that I have to be defense minister forever. If God grants us success one day, and we sign a final agreement [with Azerbaijan], I will, of course, deal with the economy, not with the army, because today we also need an economic victory. We must again enter into another territory, in this case the economic territory, where we must reach victory. That

because

win. This means that the present blumed situation will go on. Aren't you worried?

do we have to

presented that request myself, several times,

the authorities are not ready to make deci-

You're claiming that there are no pressures and that Azerbaijan will not resort to war because it knows that it cannot

ment. Why

Azerbaijan should worry.

your own conception of economic development?

Aren't you worried by the fact that after the settlement of the Kosovo conflict, the West's and NATO's attention might focus on the South Caucasus and more precise-

ly on Karabakh?

We do not have such worries.

and

besides that, the problems of Kosovo and Karabakh are not similar. Even in the case

of increased attention, we will not be harmed in any way because we are pursuing our legitimate national rights. We are not committing any infraction and no one has the (legal) means of punishing us. Instead,

I've dealt with the economy since late 1996. In my opinion, the stare should spend as much as it earns, avoiding debts. Loans should be used only as investments, rather than for the payment of salaries and pensions. A state like ours does not have the right to be indebted. We shouldn't be governed by creditors. This is the most dangerous thing. This is why I feel it is my dury to enter the economic sphere, and to whisper "help" and try to straighten the situation as much as I understand it. I repeat, in my

number of

opinion we shouldn't be governed by the outside, by any creditor. Some do not

infractions and as such is subject to punish-

understand this, others do not accept it well,

Azerbaijan has committed

AIM JUNE I999

NATION and still others think that pleasure in political affairs.

meddle with

As an agricultural region, Karabakh must have its important place in Armenia's market. Based on our country's wealth and the study of our environment and market, we should be able to decide what to produce. We should have business plans and low interest credit sources. Tax and customs authorities must be involved actively in providing resources for loans, but in my opinion their work is not organized and unsatisfactory.

In Karabakh or Armenia?

I do not place any distinction between Armenia and Karabakh. For me, they con-

row no bomb will fall on your

business?

become more conscious and try to put national interests ahead of business interests. Today, the problem is very simple: Final freedom and victory depend on economic success. Guarantees are not the issue here. The Diasporan is guaranteed like all the other citizens. No one can say that a person who has invested in Karabakh and

explain to Europeans that Karabakh is not a Russian stronghold are to no avail. They are not convinced. Time will show. Our

you think, are there no investments in Israel?

The

Diasporan Armenians must

has been robbed, killed or anything like

that. Such events have not and will not occur. As for the war, God forbid its

stitute one state.

resumption. That depends on how fast we develop and how mighty we become.

That's a statement of faith. But they rep'

Local elections took place in Karabakh

resent two different administrations. Karabakh has its own budget and gov' ernment. So what? Every single US state has its own budget and government. Don't they all constitute the United States of America? Each state might have different laws; some might have permissive laws on taxation, others not. That's a different question. Even if they (Armenia and Karabakh) are different states, I do not want to put a distinction between them; I do not have the right to do so.

Despite positive developments in the economy within this last year, Karabakh is still conceived in the outside world as a

risky zone. Given these facts, do you encourage Diasporan investments and would you guarantee them? There can't be two oPinions on that matter. We urge Diasporan Armenians to invest here. As a guarantee, we provide the

lives? Those who live here don't have the

a percentage of your business? What guarantee do you request from me? That tomor-

Monte's role in Karabakh's libera-

tion struggle?

Azerbaijan? Indeed, a process of democratization has been taking place in Karabakh for a long time now. You don't find in Karabakh what they say exists in neighboring former Soviet countries. No political arrests have occurred in Karabakh. Of course, there was war, and it was necessary to have a strict policy that everyone must submit to the law. After the war, everyone has the right to free expression, a free way of thinking and acting. Authorities are not appointed; they are elected, from school directors to town leaders. From the outside it seems that this is a dictatorship, but in reality the people love, respect and accept the authorities. People wish to establish parties, and we are not against it. I personally think that

the parliamentary elections of next April should take place through the parties. Laws

option to request guarantees for their lives. If my child and my family are living here without guarantees, then why can't you risk

June 12 was the sixth anniversary of Monte Melkonian's death. How do You assess

must be changed, and the parliamentary

want to hurt anyone's feelings, but they fail to understand two simple things. Two percent of the nation is risking its life on the battlefield, while the Diasporan Armenians would be risking a percentage point of their business. Which is more costly? A percentage point of the business or people's

laws, working methods and deeds will show them. It seems to me that although we don't speak much, we have done more than all the other former Soviet states.

ties were registered. Can the development of democracy reach its end before the signing of the peace agreement with

eigners. Here, there are no problems. It in the Diasporan Armenians themselves. I don't

rather than Russia. Intensive attempts to

last year, and recently new political par-

same and equal rights to both locals and forseems to me that the problem resides

also include freedom of the Press?

Of course. When I talk about democratization, I have in mind all the democratic institutions. Here the problem is that parties do not have financial support. We have to adopt laws to allocate sums from the state budget. Armenia's parties must also help. In my opinion, Karabakh's legal and administrative structure must lean towards Europe

Bombs explode every day in Israel; what do

majority must shape the government. None of the officials are keen to keep their seats. Indeed, we are all tired of holding these responsible positions, but it is our duty to definitively help the people out of this situation. When I feel that even 50 or 100 people are protesting and requesting that I leave my post, then I will be ready to do it. It seems to me that the president and others think the same. The problem is that in Karabakh, besides authority, leaders also have huge responsibilities and duties, and

Monte had

decisive role

they differed

mentality and ideas. He

in the first period. After their straightening out, he always complained that the people of Martuni encountered problems

would not understand him. I tried to explain

to him: "Avo (Monte's nom de guerre), those people have had a different education,

a different mentality and different

ideas.

You must comply with it and try to pick up the maximum of whatever is needed for our nation." He played a big role in Karabakh's defense. The very fact that we didn't cede a

single village

in the Martuni

region is

Monte's success and the result of his efforts. Besides that, victories in many other areas were also the result of his efforts. He always understood the problems and solved them. In my opinion, however, our nation suffers from a certain illness that I do not accept, and that's why I speak little. We try

to put the fate of the whole nation in

the

hands of a single personality. I do not refer to Avo. This is not right. If we tum back the pages of history, we find that every man has

done his

task. Avo even more so; he has job. The same applies to me.

everybody is not ready to assume authority.

Does your program for democratization

me and of the others.

1999

the

problem presented to him found its solution. He always struggled through to try to reach final solutions. It was very difficult for him to work with post-Soviet people because

done a great

AIM JUNE

Martuni region. He organized the defense, starting with the first decentralized units all the way to the regular army. He was very disciplined, strict and demanding. Every

Such a figure should not be carved out of

NATION

ilo Propruanda 0amo Azerbaijan and Armenia Develop Strategy and Counter-Strategy By MATTHEIIY KARA]'IIAN

ing more than propaganda. It's no surprise, Azeri version of

enin was a vegetable in a wheelchair and Stalin was maneuvering to take

confol of the Soviet govemment in 1923, born.

he year

Heydar

Aliyev

was

Seventy-six years later, Lenin's experiment with Communism is a failure, and Stalin's reign of tyranny has been dissected by forensic historians.

Aliyev, however,

Armenia

want

these observers say, that the the world is distorted.

The official statements coming out of Azerbaijan are frequently difficult to con-

nect with real-life events, says Emil

thing today, said Sanamyan.

Some of the pronouncements from Aliyev may sound absurd to students ofhistory but

they are frequently

doing

The propaganda campaign exhibited April23-25 during rhe NATO Summit in Washington, DC, provides a dramatic exam-

ple. Azerbaijan distributed a slick, 100 page color-illustrated book which described the sup-

independent Republic of Azerbaijan. And despite suffering

from heart disease, and

having undergone heart surgery just a few weeks ago. Aliyev is doing more than just biding time as president. He is leading an aggressive campaign to promote the Azeri version of the world.

posed ongoing genocide of Azeri Turks by Armenians. The book was available to the 3,200 representatives of the press who had traveled to Washington from around the world. printed in Turkey.

Support for this campaign is strong in Azerbaijan. Support for Aliyev still appears strong, too. He's a popular politician who has

The propaganda in the book

of the Armenian Assembly of the Executive Director

America, because of its context. The book was presented as

a discussion of the "mutually

KGB in Azerbaijan for a couple of years. The presidency, which he claimed as his and head of the

beneficial cooperation" between

NATO and Azerbaijan. And although the first dozen or so

pize after a 1993 coup, is perhaps the logical culmination of this

pages outlined this theme, the book quickly degenerated into a

career.

diatribe against Armenia. The A photo of Aliyev and Solana on the cover of a book published by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the occasion of Azerbaijan's participation in the NATO Summit in April 19gg

that has dictated the content of Azerbaijan's intemational public relations effort and lobbying during the past few years.

It's no surprise, therefore, that the information being distributed is really dis-information, and that the public relations is noth-

It had been

was effective, says Ross Vartian,

Communist party faithful, a lieutenant of the Soviet ruling class

His background, according to observers and political analysts, accounts for his aggressive style. And it is Aliyev's style, some say,

neither

benign nor amateurish.

Stalin's purges, and a young man during the horrors of collectivization. Now he is the leader of the

Azerbaijan. "And they southern

all of the

To accomplish this, they are using Turkey as a model. Seventy-five years ago, Turkey used propaganda to create a national identity. Azerbaijan wants to do the same

A WORLD OF THEIB OWI{

Aliyev was a child during

of his career

control

Caucasus."

much better.

spent most

as Western

Samanyan, a representative of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. "It's difficult to reply

to them. They're dealing with a frame of reference that they created." By example, he says, they refer to all

AIM JUNE I999

book concludes with a claim that genocide has been conducted by "Armenian monsters of cruelty."

The tie-in with the summit made the book effective, says Vartian. "We couldn't damage that piece," he says.

The summit presented numerous other propaganda opportunities, as well. At the US State Department one after-

NATION trast to the tactics of Azerbaijan.

noon, Secretary of State Madeline Albright was posing for photographs with Armenian

our attention from real issues," he says.

President Robert Kocharian, and with

Armenia say the same thing. Kocharian was

Aliyev. A handful ofphotographers were on

hand

for the event, and so was Ilgar

Moukhtarov,

a political officer from

the

Embassy of Azerbaijan.

Moukhtarov turned to question the woman who had escorted him and the group ofphotographers into the building. "Are you

with the State Department?" The woman said yes, and Moukhtarov handed her a 54page spiral bound booklet, complete with color maps, called The Armenia Azerbaijan Conflict. This publication identified Armenians as aggressive menaces who threaten stability in the Caucasus. It repeated the allegations of genocide, it identified the Azeris as

victims, and

characterized Armenia's

friendship with Russia as "Armengate." By the close of the summit, these statements had lost much of their novelty. Aliyev had been repeating them frequently, never shying away from an opportunity to demonize Armenians. Does Aliyev actually believe any of this? Maybe not. "He was schooled in

disinformation and propaganda," says Rouben Adalian, the director of the Armenian National Institute (ANI). "He's taking a page out ofTurkey's technique," he says.

But whether Aliyev believes what

says, or not, the people ofAzerbaijan prob-

ably buy it all.

"Azerbaijan was influenced bY the communist era," says Rouben Shugarian, the Armenian Ambassador to the US.

"There is a cult of personality that results in the leader being seen as the Almighty," he says. This, combined with their communist history and "Oriental feudalism," has created a society in which the Azeris are unquestioning in their loyalty to Aliyev, he says. "This is a different world for us," says Shugarian. Still, he says, "we try to understand it, because we have to deal with them." ON THE DEFEI'ISIVE

Armenian leaders compare the barrage

of accusations to claims that the Jews

are

responsible for the Holocaust, or worse, that the Jews victimized Nazi Germany. But they are reluctant to respond.

"We don't want to play by their rules,"

says Samanyan, the political officer

Karabakh's

public affairs office

Washington, DC. "Their strategy is to divert

Representatives

of the Republic

"We're keeping a low profile," says Lilit Toutkhalian, First Political Secretary of

emphatic about his policy. "We are not going to respond in kind," he told AIM during his visit to Washington. "They have

the

become prisoners

of that propaganda." Armenia, by contrast, is "in a position to be freer to negotiate" by not responding to each

bate problems," she says. One of those problems, she says, is eth-

attack.

warned against. Armenia

Leaders outside government appear to be following this lead. "I'm not going to repeat the charge,"

actions that

of the Armenian Assembly. "I'm not going to give it that notoriety."

says Vartian

This strategy of not responding in kind has some exceptions at the government

Armenian Embassy in Washington. "We aren't launching an aggressive [propaganda] campaign because we don't want to exacer-

nic hatred-the "fear of others" that Clinton

will not take

will

inspire hatred, she says. Shugarian, the ambassador, offers an additional reason: Armenia simply doesn't need a lot of propaganda. Take the case of Kocharian's participation in the NATO summit. "Armenia cannot

and shall not be advertising [the reasons] President Kocharian was here. His very visit

level, however.

to Washington was publicity

for example, has made an official statement to NAIO correcting the

Shugarian says.

Armenia,

record, and Kocharian has commented on

enough,"

Contrast this with the approach of Azerbaijan's Aliyev, he says. Aliyev was

the consequences ofthe propaganda. During

featured in a color photograph at the top of

the summit, Kocharian said that the Azeri

thefrontpageof the Washington Posf onthe

dis-information campaign is poisoning rela-

opening day of the summit, and he received extensive coverage in a story the following day. Indeed, Aliyev got so much press that a reporter for the Posl wrote that "He looked like the fox who had just gulped down the cat that had swallowed the canary." "It's tempting to speculate how he got so much press," says Shugarian. Tempting, but perhaps unimportant, he adds. "Armenia has a different mentality. Our propaganda is simply our presence." This different, low key mentality is not without its critics. Outside of government, some leaders say, quietly, that they wish the government would be more proactive. Even Shugarian acknowledges some flaws in the approach that Armenia has

tions between the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And Karabakh's Foreign

MinistrY

issued a statement to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on April 20, complaining that the Azeri crir icism was extremist, that it was manipulating history and public opinion, and that consequences could be irreversible and could "exacerbate inter-ethnic conflicts for a long term period." The statement was issued after the OSCE appealed to all parties to restrain their official rhetoric. COUilTER.STRAIEGY

President Bill Clinton was on center stage during a state dinner at the White House. He was addressing the leaders of the 44 nations that had assembled for this culminating event of the NATO summit. The leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan and

Georgia, each no farther than three seats apart, sat to the right of the president. On the

other side

Clinton's podium

sat

Kocharian, the president of Armenia. Next to him was the leader of the Albanians. Left unsaid was whether these groupings were intended to signify anything. "Peace is threatened by the world's oldest demon," said Clinton. This demon, he said, is "fear of others." It was a point that rang true to Kocharian, and this has been reflected in the public relations strategy of the Armenians. The Armenian strategy stands in stark con-

AIM JUNE I999

taken.

Blockades and war have preoccupied Armenia, leaving little time for public relations. But, he says, this is not a justification. "We cannot ignore public relations." In Azerbaijan, he says, "They have an inch of opportunity, and they make it a mile' We have mile of opportunity, and we use one inch."

He wouldn't, howeveq agree to any rhetoric that might inspire hatred. Sure, he says, it's true that "Armenia is not in the best neighborhood in the world. We don't have Canada and Mexico for neighbors."

But

throughout historY,

saYS,

periods of peace between Armenians and the

Turkic peoples have been much more common than Periods of war. "This tough neighborhood can be turned

into a good

one."

REGION

Alanla FlUhts lon fiutonomy Georgia's northwestern district, too, is pushing away from Tbilisi By VICKEN GHETERIAN, Batumi

occurred in Ajaria." Abashidze boasts that he

riving from Tbilisi to Batumi-the

has achieved two things that the rest of Georgia does not have. In the early 1990s

biggest Georgian sea port-across tea plantations and orange groves, one has to cross a strange kind of border. At the entrance of the "Ajar

when the country was plunged into civil-war and inter-ethnic violence, Ajaria enjoyed peace and stability. And moreover, the standard of living in Ajaria is better than the rest

Autonomous Republic"

neighboring Turkey quite often; there he has

excellent relations and direct contacts. Abashidze has equally good relations with

Moscow, and more particularly with the Russian military base in Ajaria. Most of the servicemen at this base are locally recruited, and are a source of income for a region hard-

hit by the post-Soviet

one ls faced by concrete blocks

collapse.

placed

Moreover, the military base provides the necessary protection for Ajaria, in case the central govern-

formed men check cars and passports, while a customs check levies

ment attempts to introduce loyalist troops here. In 1991, when thenDefense Minister Tengiz Kitovani tried to send his forces to Ajaria, the

in a defensive manner to block the road in case of a tank invasion. Behind them armed and union tnrcks transporting merchandise. On the opposite side, no one stands, as if this is a one-sided taxes

attempt was frustrated

border.

In fact, Ajaria is part

The autonomous policy of

Ajaria does not please Tbilisi. Many fear that at an opportune moment, Abashidze will declare the separation of Ajaria from Georgia. Such

Georgia's Black Sea coast bordering Turkey, the 3,000 square km province has a strategic importance for the whole Caucasus. Batumi is the main port for commerce for the land-locked regions of the Caucasus,

and even

Ceorgian fears are influenced by past traumatic experiences in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. where Tbilisi no longer has control, even after military confrontations.

for the Central Asian

states. Both the highway and railroad that connects the Transcaucasus with Turkey pass through Georgia's

The suspicion in Tbilisi is further increased by the good relations between the Ajar leadership and the local Russian military. The preva-

frontier with Turkey. The population here is ethnic Georgian, but of the Muslim faith, distinguishing themselves from the rest of the Christian Orthodox Georgians. Ajaria's status under international law was deter-

lent assumption in Georgia is that the Russian military was the cause separatist rebellions in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and

mined with the Turkish-Soviet treaty

they fear Russia is able to repeat the

of Kars signed in 1921. One man holds all the power in

Ajaria, Aslan Abashidze, the chairman of the local parliament. His followers call him "Aslan Bek" using the old Ottoman title; Abashidze traces his origins to local aristocratic roots back to the middle ages. His rule in Ajaria is uncontested and dissident ideas are not tolerated. The 1998 US State Department Human Rights Country Report for Georgia criticizes election practices, and adds, "The most serious violations noted during the 1995 [parliamentary] elections 3B

the

times that the Georgian secret services have tried to assassinate him.

Georgia, but a part that insists on its autonomy.

The westernmost region

Russian military. Since then, Abashidze has claimed several

of the country, thanks to the booming transit business.

The short and bald Abashidze is

shrewd politician. He received our group of

visiting journalists two days after he retused to

join Georgian president

had

Eduard Shevardnadze on an official visit to Turkey. His official reason was illness. He wanted to show that his problem with Shevardnadze was purely political. In fact, Abashidze visits

AIM JUNE I999

same in Ajaria. Moreover, some Georgians fear that in the future Ajars could succeed in gaining dominance over all of Georgia. According to a journalist who works at a Tbilisi-based pri-

vate TV, Rustavi-2, four

to six million

Muslim Georgians live in Turkey, and if there were dual citizenship (which there isn't now) these people might get access to Georgian

citizenship and be mobilized

to vote for

Abashidze.

Abashidze, on the other hand, claims that the problem is that Tbilisi's politicians

want to curb the autonomy that regions like Ajaria enjoy. He complained that while Ajaria is the Georgian district which contributes most to the national budget, the cen-

tral authorities discourage foreign investors and intemational donors from working with Ajaria. Moreover, Ajaria is being boycotted by

Tbilisi in an attempt to circumvent

this autonomous republic. For example, the new pipeline that is being built to pump Caspian oil to the Black Sea ends at the Supsa termi-

nal, a dozen kilometers from Ajaria,

even

though an older one ended near Batumi. The Georgian authorities are using the European Union TRACECA project investments to develop the Poti seaport, to reduce the importance o[ Batumi. Moreover. new projects are

being developed to link Georgian railway and highway systems with Turkey at places controlled by the Georgian government. In a few years, Ajaria risks the loss of both its

strategic significance and the lucrative income of the transit business. A number of politicians in Tbilisi have recently aroused the anger of Ajaria by insisting that there is no point to Ajaria's having "autonomous" status, and proposed to revise it.

Abashidze is fighting back. He turned Batumi into a haven for leftist opposition forces, who scored successes in the

November 1998 regional

elections. According to opinion polls, Abashidze himself is a very popular politician nationwide, more popular than Shevardnadze and only surpassed by the former Georgian first secretary Patiashvili. Last year, when the debate

t[ !,

r!I

;..-

rli? A?1

tlf tI

of the Armenian inhabited Javakhk region arose once again, Abashidze proposed to include the region as part of his over the fate

own autonomy. Ajaria itself has a four percent Armenian population, according to 1989 figures.

In spite of the fears in Ttrilisi, it is difft-

cult to imagine that the existing conflict between Batumi and Tbilisi will turn into a second Abkhazia or Karabakh. The struggle in Batumi is over control of the wealth from the transit economy, on which Georgia is pinning its hope for future prosperity. The con-

tinuous interest

of Abashidze in

political

maneuvers in Tbilisi reveals that his ambitions go beyond control ofAjaria and its seaport. He may be interested in securing power as a Georgian leader with national reach, and maybe even becoming its next president.

Vicken Cheterian is a Geneva-based writer and head ofthe Transcaucasus Media Proiect

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BUSINESS

ECONOMY

T[e Ultlmale [llail ]flilr

Sydney's Heros Dilanchian develops and produces large-scale mailing systems By KRISTEN KIDD

accurate mass mailing systems.

Dilanchian's systems also ake a look in your mailbox, and take a close look at your bank statement, your bills and the junk mail. Who do you suppose organized that material, placed it into envelopes, sealed the envelopes and mailed them? Do you picture an assembly line of little old ladies in

uniform sitting hunched over a conveyor belt?

There was a time some companies handled their mass mailings this way, but not anymore. With clients numbering in the tens of thousands for some firms, this has become

a job for intelligent mailing machines. Today, more than 95 percent of Australia's major mail users, and a rapidly growing number of businesses around the world, are turning to Heros Dilanchian's Intelmail for fast,

needs

the

at the receiving end. When you write

several dozen bills each month, inserting a check and an invoice into the envelope, maybe with a nasty note to the supplier, it is

Dilanchian's machines which receive your mail, open envelopes, remove staples, separate correspondence from checks, note your payment, and actually deposit checks into the company's account. In another lifetime, he might have been the guy who trained the ponies and charted

the routes for the Pony Express heroically delivering mail across the Wild West. Today Dilanchian, 46, builds mechanical ponies to deliver millions of pieces of mail to a global

frontier. He is a revolutionary figure in a giant industry. He's also a great success story; an Armenian kid from Iran who moved

fulfill

AIM JUNE I999

to Australia at age 16 and by his mid-30,s became one of the best in this business. Not so long ago Dilanchian was just

another hard-working employee

Australian mailing house. After working his way up over 15 years from operator to production manager, Dilanchian had learned all there was to learn. He was ready for a challenge.

With no formal education, but a knack for mechanical engineering and a good understanding of the business, Dilanchian built a better machine. "Our equipment is unique and at least three times faster than anyone else's," he says of his patented Intelmail systems. Using bar codes, the personal-computer driven systems determine in an instant, which inserts to include with billings or bank statements. Not everyone gets the same information; your inserts depend on your

BUSINESS spending habits Dilanchian explained. Once the machine determines which materials to include, it folds the paperwork with the mailing address precisely positioned to appear

through the envelope's plastic window' It stuffs the envelope, seals it and stacks it for mailing. It does not make mistakes and it does not need a lunch break. Of course, some worry such technology is replacing human jobs. Dilanchian explains the greater concern is privacy-people can rest assured his machines won't sneak peeks at private account numbers or bank balances.

Besides, Dilanchian points out, even these

will one day become obsolete as we move closer to becoming a paperless society. "Although there is still quite a bit of life left in our industry, every business has a life cycle. We're aware of that so we try to invent different products," Dilanchian explained. With at least 50 percent of his company's efforts going into research and development,

machines

Dilanchian believes computers are still the key. "software is the future of our business and Avo is the brains behind our software,"

said Dilanchian. Avo is Avo Vartanian, Dilanchian's brother-in-law, who writes all the software Intelmail machines use. In his trademark humble manner, Dilanchian credits the employees with his company's success.

ECONOMY Today, Intelmail is an international pace-

setter with offices

in Australia, North

America, Europe, China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand. Clients include all of Australia's banks, Australia's telecommunications giant Telstra, American Express

and Diner's Club credit cards, in addition to

many insurance and health companies,

and

direct marketers. Intelmail gets the job done with a much leaner staff than most of his competitors which include Pitney Bowes and General Electric. "GE would have 50 guys in white lab coats doing the same amount of work as our seven engineers," remarked

a talented group mainly of immigrants. "We have many

Dilanchian who has assembled

Armenians working here, together with Chileans. Mexicans and a few Australians as

well." Dilanchian says his success secret

has

been to make smarter machines and keep the focus on the future. It also involves standing

behind the quality of the machines' which take anywhere from one week to three months to construct. Employees handle every step of the process from design, manufacture, selling and support under one roof in Sydney so that clients know where to find answers to any questions. "That's why customers like us, the buck stops here," said

Dilanchian. I

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ARTS adaptation

of the Armenian folk tale Kach

Nazar.

"When I returned from Armenia. I immediately started to work in the Arab theater," says Avedissian. "My life was not directly involved with the Armenian community." However, in 1971, he wrote, directed and produced a major Armenian play called Getseh Arkan lLong Live the Kingl and then returned to Arab theater. "Whenever I've done Armenian theater it has always been on a large scale," explains Avedissian. "My Getseh Arl<an consisted of 60 actors in an outdoor theater. It represented Armenian history with songs, dance, marionettes, fire and lights. It was a very large popular piece and was staged in the playground of

an Armenian school in Burj Hammoud. It played all summer long. If you don't gamble big, you don't make it big. For me

tion was a 1970 French play by Gabriel Bustany. "I was lucky enough to have the lead-

agency

ing role in it," he says with excitement. "While my first acting role was in French, I wasn't convinced that I should work in French theater,

company.

despite the fact that in those days French theater

was fashionable in Lebanon and the intelligentsia was very involved with it, As a young actor on the road to building a career, Avedissian made a crucial decision. "I realized that unless I quickly get into Arabiclanguage theater, I would fall into either the French ghetto or the Armenian ghetto. If I had to do Armenian theater, unfortunately, I would

have had

to be affiliated

either with an

with networks around the world.

1987, he has

Since

had his own TV/film production

Four years ago he retumed to Lebanon and wanted to immerse himself in Lebanese theater and television. "In fact, currently my major projects are in the Arab theater," he says. But, on

the side, he has two serious projects for Armenian theater, too. "The first is David of Sasun, which will be performed as part of Beirut Festival next year. I have written the play

in three languages-Arabic, Armenian and English-and it will be a very big production performed outdoors,"

Avedissian

explains.

Armenian club or a political party. This was out of the question for me," he says decisively.

grand theater is much

more important than intimate or private subjects. In fact, I wouldn't do Armenian theater if

the subject were not

patriotic theme. I wouldn't translate English or American plays into Armenian," he says, referring to a common trend in Lebanon.

believe there

market for such big productions today," continues Avedissian, "but it has to be

high quality

production.

When you tell Armenians this is a very costly and large production; you have to wear your best dress to come; they will. But if you tell them it is a $10ticket in a Burj Hammoud theater, they won't come. I understand

this."

Avedissian points out another important aspect of the Armenian audience. "With Armenians you

have

Gerard Avedissian (opposite page) directed Sakhret lanbs (above) in Masrah Al-Madina in 1995

to touch their hearts-with

national themes, with big productions; it doesn't have to be a tragedy. For example, David of Sasun is not a tragedy, but you can tell them that perhaps this is from your past. You're not sure, but you can make a con-

nection. When you brighten their eyes and

fill

Instead, he found a place for himself in Arabic avant-garde theater, where novel and open approaches to artistic creativity and per-

The Festival is sponsored by Solidairethe construction company responsible for rebuilding downtown Beirut-and LBC, the

spectives were appealing to the budding artist. Avedissian's long career in theater and the

largest and most influential television broadcasting company in Lebanon. "They've accepted the concept of David of Sasun, but have asked for Armenian participation in funding the $300,000 project. They

him

their ears with music, with beautiful dresses

entertainment industry has taken

and sets, they will bring others and feel proud that this is an Armenian production." Avedissian's first acting role after gradua-

Europe, North America and around the Middle East. He has worked as creative director and TV producer at Impact/BBDO, an advertising

AIM JUNE I999

said

ifArmenians put up one third ofthe funds,

ARTS we will feel they are serious about the program," affirms Avedissian, who has applied to the AGBU for possible funding. Funds permitting, David of Sasun will play in Arabic one night, in Armenian another night; and when it's edited for television broadcasting, an English soundtrack will be added. David of Sasun "is dance theater not a musical," he says. "It is a mixture of songs, dance and elements of expressive theater. I have already written the script and it has a

very spectacular approach, something that would be appropriate for a big festival." Avedissian explains his second project. "I want to make Paruir Sevak's Anlreli

Zangakatun [The Endlessly Ringing Belltowerl into a stage performance, with voices, chorus, recitations and the entire cast working with their bodies." As for funding,

"I'm

keeping my fingers crossed. I don't know!" he says. In addition to regular appearances on television, Avedissian has made a series of short films for LBC on controversial issues in Lebanese society. While six films passed Lebanon's media censors, eight others did not because they dealt with such issues as rape, homosexuality, drugs, suicide and infidelity. Avedissian is well known for his direct, uninhibited and pleasant style on television, but most viewers appreciate his political incorrectness, especially in a multiethnic and complex political society like Lebanon. Given Lebanon's experience with the l7year civil war, Avedissian reflects on issues from a broader cultural perspective. "There is a certain cultural milieu in the Middle East. You cannot tell the Lebanese that they have fallen from a tree onto this land. He has to know why he's in Lebanon; how the boundaries of Lebanon were drawn; and what does it mean to be Lebanese. These things have to be

explained to the people. Otherwise, what difference does it make whether you're Lebanese or Syrian or something else. Now, these differences are interpreted differently,by different people. The Christians explain it in a certain way and the Shiites explain it in another

way. So

feel a responsibility to explain to

people that Lebanon

not just politics;

Lebanon has its cultural, artistic and social values, which can spread throughout the

Middle East. This approach makes more sense to me than leftist or rightist or religious or political approaches." In a society were religious sensitivities have lead to conflicts and wars, Avedissian is

critical of politicized religion. "I'm anticlerical when they start screwing around with iolitics or when they start to play with people's

minds," he says bluntly. "Every time I'm on a talk show, I criticize the clergy for their political meddling. And every time, most callers to

the show side with me, because I do not approach things politically. I don't mind whether someone is Moslem or Christian. It doesn't make a difference to me." As for Armenians in Lebanon, Avedissian

"If we take Armenian history in the last one hundred years and fast forward it, there would be people who are going to look ridiculous. But it doesn't mean that this is black and that is white. Everyone is in the same boat. What happened in 1915, in the reflects:

1920s, the 1930s is the same thing. At one time this side was wrong, at another time the other side committed mistakes. This is how it should be told, especially to the youth, the new generation. We should not

fill them with false

IT I$[TT BY MIEIE IIIfiT IIM APPEIR$

nationalism." Avedissian has a more realistic view of

the situation

TUERY

MOIllilI

the Armenian youth in

Lebanon and the Middle East than what the Armenian "establishment" is ready to admit. "We have to realize that the new generation of Armenians in Lebanon, and the Middle East, too, is going to be Arabized very quickly, faster than in the last 50 years. The integration is going to be very fast. Armenians in their 40s are connected in one way or another;

Armenians in their 30s are lost a bit; and young people in their 20s don't even know how to write their names in Armenian. If our new generation remains in the Armenian ghetto, they will stay ignorant and closed. If they come out of the ghetto, they will make some-

thing

themselves,

but possibly at

the

of losing their 'Armenianness.' " He recognizes that, unlike today, in the

expense

50s and 60s there was a certain

level of quali-

ty in the "Armenian ghetto, especially in terms

of literary and artistic talents."

"Look at our newspapers today," he points out, "How many copies do they sell every day? Who is reading Armenian newspapers today? If there are no Armenian readers, Armenian writers, Armenian actors, what is there? Singing Turkish songs in Armenian? Today you go to any Armenian banquet and all you here is Turkish and Greek music." Avedissian laments the fact that the new generation in Lebanon is somewhat removed from their Armenian identity. meet many young Armenians and would find out that they are Armenian half an hour into our conversation; they don't tell me they are Armenian and they don't speak Armenian. It is not important

for them."

The question is "How do we make the Armenian sexy, attractive?" says Avedissian.

"I don't have an answer," he

admits.

AIM JUNE I999

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ln the NamB I ol Wnlllnu

Peter Bakalian Produces The King and By KRISTEN KIDD

ot to bc conlirscrl with [)ctcr Bllukirtl. Peter Buklrliun tr u nanrc that's ulso gainirtg u orltlr.l

irle noticc in u ritcr's

circles.

Bakalian is u talcntcil artd successlirl yourrg ri'ritt.r. ulbeit a screenwritcl Lrnlikc lris coLlnterprrt Balakian uho pcns poerns antl rnernoirs. The tr.,, o har e

cxccllcd in their- clilf'cring tlisciplincs have contlsed their identitics. "Pcoplc were crlling ure up ancl congratLrlating nre when Bluck Do,q of' Fttrt, althoLr-gh sor.nc

canrc out l^' Bakalian recalled rvith a laLrgh. "l linallv got an autographed copy." Througir that autobiographical tale (AlM Decentbcr 1998) Bakaliart discovered that not only clocs he slule a sirrilar narne and profussion with

Balakian. but manv aspects ol thcil livcs ls Armenian-Arnericans see nr to parallcl. 'I'hc cor.tl'usion is likell,to run both tlircctions

n(r\\ u\ BlLkulil,rr's

Ilrle

ritirrl

Plri.'e

gains intelnational attcntion. The 36-1'ear olcl Bakalian is co writcr ancl co-proclucer ol'thc nru uninratcd aclaptation o1' Rorlgels uncl Hanrnrclstcin's classrc

nrtrsical Thc Kin,q utul I. Thc chiltlrcn's f ilrrr has been entertaining audiences irr the L,S sincc nricl-March. It's schcdulccl lirl r,,'orlrlwicle releasc ur"cr thc sunrncr anri tirr lhut -flris is thc Bakalian is to bc con-ulatulatccl. Rodgcls Hunrnrcrstcin fl'st tirrc thc unil Organization has allowccl onc ol its pnrjccts to be rnacle into an aninlutccl l'ilnr. "'fhe nrost lirn I'vc hacl on this pro.jcct is seeing kids cnioy it. that's vcry gratilying." saicl Ilakalian who is an rrnclc lo liis older brothcr I)avid's thrcc kids. but rkres not l.urve

anv chilrhcrr ol' his own. "[)alc

altu arnring

I say it's

lilnr'1" otlclccl a

modest Bakalirin. culclLrl not to overrscll his role in

llr,

hitt,:,tttrl

1."ll'i

ilninrirli(,lr ir rcr'1 rritc.

thc nrLrsic is Lrnbclicr ablv goocl. ancl thcrc are aninlrls llorrr Siunr ancl I'r.rn thinss to hclp

kitls lirllou llrc stor.r'." he erplainecl. It is alicl all chilrlren Btkalian ancl his colleague s \el ()Ul l(r \\il) r'\ct'. httl lhc ttc,:.rlirc tct icr't: ll-or.rt sorue gro\\ n-Lrp critics have bce n arlrnittedll' dittlcult to ignore. "TI-re problenr \\'e'\'e nrn into is thc 'how drre you' tactorl Hori dale \'ou put lr rnoust:rche on the Mona Lisu. hor.r tlur-e r ou

have l-urry aninrals running ulounrll

\l\l

\l:1999

.,\nrl

thut's rrnlirlturlrte [recuusc herc's a reallr nicc littlc l'ilnr. It's good ftrnrilv entertainnrcnt." Bakalian arguecl. The criticism mal urrlirrtururtc. but it was not unexpectcd. "Wc kncu, lhrt lkrnr day one. And Rod-se rs antl Hamnrerstein's people knew also thut critics r,,ould be upset with the dillerences in this nrorie and the original play. [3ut thclr uant their nork to be seen ancl apprcciatctl l-re

b1'

even

-9eneration."

Bakalian sa1,s tl.rc challcngc lirr hirrr in adapting the stage plr,v rvus in puring dowrr the tr,,o hours ol nralcrial to u r isuully cxcitin-e 9[)-nrintrtc scrccn;rlar,. Hc hucl to ask himsclf rnanl rlrirslrons hclirrc lirinu up thc conrputcr. "Hou can I prcscrrc tllc slrlrclurc r.l,hich I kttolr alrcailr u orks.) Hou clo I nrake it uninlrtablc.) I'r'c got I8 songs. r,' lriclr ones clo I choosr'.)" 'l'hc f ilnr llatr-rlcs ei-uht

inclutling thc populal anthenrs "Gctting To Know You" lncl "Shall \Vc Dunce)" perlirlnrccl spccilically fir thc filrn b1'such niulrcs irs Balbra Stlcisand.

A l0 ycar vcteran in the screenwriting l'icld. Llakalian suys he lbr-rnd it easier irdaptinir thrs ston, than writing sorne o1' tl're ori-!rinal uork hc has pnrcluced in the past. "When

ARTS you're doing something from whole cloth, the challenge is discovering your story which you thought you knew at the beginning, then you don't, then you find it again. Rewriting or editing is always easier than

writing," Bakalian stated, adding after pause,

"Actually I hate writing. I like having

written."

Bakalian enjoys using his sense of humor in his work, and continues to build a portfolio of projects aimed at young audiences. His apparent drive to create wholesome entertainment for children may have been shaped during his own childhood when Bakalian's father would direct his attention

to classic movies. Bakalian recalls, "I was eight or nine years old and my dad would call me over to the TV saying Casablanca is on. You should watch this, this is important. My father always liked cinema, I guess that made an early impression on me," he pondered.

sic American animated holiday films

After meeting with every studio, Bakalian and Rankin signed an agreement with Warner Brothers.

The job

Bakalian's parents Azad and Alice still

live in the New Jersey suburb where he and his two older brothers spent part of their childhoods. Azad recently retired after his long-time business, Holiday Cleaners, was destroyed in a fire. Bakalian, who now lives with his wife Diane in New York City, recalls growing up in New Jersey surrounded by a

large Armenian immigrant community.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Peter Cottontail. The relationship Bakalian forged with Arthur Rankin led to his opportunity withThe King and I. "l worked there for 4 years and leamed about production and animation and after that went off on my own to write scripts. I took some courses in New York and started writing a lot of bad stuffl Then it started getting a little better and I got an agent," he recalled. When Arthur Rankin decided to pursue the rights to The King and I he called on Bakalian's talents as a writer and producer. "I wrote a script and went to L.A. and went through the arduous process of selling the project. You need $25-30 million dollars for a feature film, which we didn't have so we had to find a partner," Bakalian explained.

of pitching a project to

the

notoriousfy tough studios is not a task most writers relish, but Bakalian moved through the process with little difficulty. "It wasn't that big a leap because of my college background. I have an MBA from Harvard so dealing with the studios wasn't that alien a world," Bakalian noted. "I understand how to run numbers."

Despite that presence Bakalian connected more with non-Armenians than Armenians.

numbers helps His knowledge Bakalian realize how impressive an achieve-

"I didn't have that many friends who were Armenian, and didn't grow up that much in the church. When we were younger we went, but when we got a little older we moved to Rutherford, a very suburban neighborhood in New Jersey, so most of my Armenian friends were in the family." After a stint on the business side work-

ment this project is. "There's only seven studios to go to in Hollywood, with thousands

ing for HBO, the cable movie channel, Bakalian decided to pursue more creative work. He took a job with Rankin/Bass the production company that created such clas-

people and thousands

projects out

all-I

there. The fact that this was made at guess I take a lot of pride in that." Bakalian says he gained good insight into the moviemaking business which will help him in the future. Fornow he is working on an original movie for the cable channel VH1. Taking it

one project at a time Bakalian is not sure what he'll do next. "Really what you just hope for is that you can do it

again." I

AIM JUNE I999

FoR THE MmruM -AcpNDABruprrNGS oN CruucAL Issups

IMoNTHLy

1l \

AIM Publisher's Forums, we invite you to our monthly dinners. Dinner will befollowed by a short briefing AIM editors on the news events and developments of the month. A featured speaker will make a presentation n a critical topic o/ concern as we approach the millennium. Presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.

Expanding on our popular by

John Hughes "Iiuing in Tnansition" Mr John Hughes, an

experienced American journalist, has lived in year Armeniafor one and writtenfor AIM. His insights and observations as a non-judgmental but curious outsider ltave struck a nerye with readers around the world.

Monday, July 12, 1999 er BRANDVIEW COLLECTION 109 East Harvard Street, Glendale, California

Dinner 7:30 p.m. Briefing 8:00 p.rn. Speaker 8:30 p.m. Donation: $25 for AIM subscribers; $27.50 for non-subscribers FOR RESERVATIONS

& TNFORMATION CALL (8t8) 246-7979

BOOKS

GHRIS BI|HJATIAN

mFd$mlth By tllC0LE E. VARTANIAN

hris Bohjalian represents a rare com-

bination

of talent and humility. A

writer of fiction so compelling it leaves readers rueful to turn the final page, Bohjalian exudes sincerity. Talk

show queen Oprah Winfrey agrees,

of the nicest ever had the pleasure of talking to" during his feature on Oprah's Book Club. Also a deacon at his hometown United Church of Lincoln, Bohjalian, 38, routinely counts his blessings. Still, he maintains no illusions regarding his calling, and accepts his limitations on the altar. "I am immensely well-intentioned and I take my deacon's duties very seriously, but when it's my turn to prepare the communion, I dubbing him "one

authors

ule (when he is not on tour) is

illustrative-ris-

ing at five to write fiction, switching to jour-

Armenian-American

"I do not set out trying to be controversial," Bohjalian explains. "That happens because I give my characters a certain amount of free reign. They really do have their own hopes,

tracks," he writes in Midwives. It is this spirit that makes Bohjalian's characters human, endearing readers to their genuineness and for the tragic turns that dot their otherwise unremarkable lives. This has become a formula for success, as Bohjalian reached the pinnacle of the New York Times

whose

notes,

"Moral ambiguity clearly is an underly-

ing concern in my work. As a storyteller, it is wonderful fodder for fiction. For better or worse, my last three novels are all about good people trying to do what they perceive to be

Paperback Fiction Bestseller

List

with

Midwives.

is clouded, but none of them are the kind of people that you look at and say 'they are evil.'" These books, and his forthcoming one, address dowsing, midwifery (which he explored after a midwife told him people

The 1997 novel tells the story of Sibyl Danforth, a midwife who experiences a "bad outcome" while delivering a homebirth baby. A trial ensues, and the reader travels this emotional joumey through the narrator, Sibyl's daughter Connie. Herein lies much of the novel's genius: the author's male voice never

"catch" babies at home), homeopathy (which he tried after acquiring a pesky cold), and the transgendered, respectively-none of which, he emphasizes, are meant to be "issue" novels.

intercedes, neither in Connie's tender narrative nor in Sibyl's soulful joumal entries. This fulfills Bohjalian's wish: "The goal of my fiction is to create a novel that has the

the right thing. Often, their judgement

AIM JUNE

growing up

Cheeveresque settings around New York, he always wrote; however, he prefers restricting his bibliography to his adult works. He notes with feigned fear that his Armenian father (who lives in Florida) and Swedish mother (who passed away in 1995) would threaten to bring "the apprentice fiction of Chris Bohjalian" to light and expose his early, less heralded efforts.

Bohjalian's book readings take him across the country, where he encounters mid-

dreams, ambitions."

therein.

lives become extraordinarily complicated by destiny and their own choices. Bohjalian

in Law of

achieve this stature, patience and practice have a second-generation

proven beneficial. As

"I used the word 'vulva' as a child the way some kids say butt or penis or puke. It wasn't a swear exactly, but I knew it had an edge to it that could stop adults cold in their

for his characters--ordinary people

Like Leland Fowler, the state prosecutor caught between love for his homeopath and the law in Bohjalian's latest novel, Bohjalian's life could be viewed as similarly divided. A taxicab adventure, at least, marked a crossroad for him and wife Victoria Blewer. After a harried New York style "cab-napping," they deserted the city, where Bohjalian was working in advertising and Blewer in private banking, and made their way to Vermont. There, Bohjalian says, "I found my voice." From that juncture, until the unlikely cashew that pro"Patience is a well-paid dowser," he writes in Water Witches. For Bohjalian to

nalism projects at ten, with a welcome break for breakfast with daughter Grace. [n contrast, his novels revolve around the messy confines of life and the fateful decisions people execute He reserves the meatiest moral dilemmas

two great divides.

Similars, Bohjalian has been charmed.

take the ritual-which should look like a waltz-and make it look like disco. I am con-

meticulously orchestrated. His writing sched-

imagination." ln Law of Similars,he writes, "For a long time, I certainly grouped my life into the period prior to Elizabeth's accident, and then the days since. Now, it seems, I have three parts, with a car accident and a cashew forming the

vides the brilliant plot twist

vinced that one of the small reasons God put me on this earth is to entertain the choir." Waltzing aside, Bohjalian's life seems

emotional power of a memoir. I really want people to forget the fact that this is a novel, pulled completely from some obscure writer's

1999

wives, homeopaths, and Armenians-whom

he greets with a heartfelt

Eenchbess es?

Bohjalian notes, "I have felt incredibly nurtured by the Armenian community. Through these

books-set in rural Vermont about hard-

core people from Vermont-I'm becoming reacquainted with my Armenian heritage. I'm even discovering family members!" He seems

humbled

by his role as a

preeminent

Armenian-American novelist, joining the ranks of authors he has read: Saroyan, Balakian, Edgarian. With Law of Similars Bohjalian tests the

boundaries

truth, justice, and

love-

reminding readers that decisions in life are rarely clear-cut. In the process, he fine-tunes

the "exploration into why good people are capable ofdoing bad things, often in the name of love," which has proven to be a literary gift and the catalyst for his success. This is gratifying to watch unfold, for in Bohjalian's case,

at least,

simply is satisfying to see good

things happen to a good person. 53

ilu[an's leUacy A Unique Intellectual Center in the Heart of Europe By FELIX C0RLEY Photos by ANT0INE AGOUDJIAN

Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire.

The other half are

ucked away in a quiet square in Paris' most fashionable arrondisement is the Nubar Library, one of the best collections of Armenian material in Western Europe and, for

material on the

decimated

Armenian community of Turkey, perhaps the best collection in the world. Scholars from far and wide come to the AGBUsponsored library to consult its unique collection. Housed in a small apartment block next door to the AGBU's offices, the library

offers an atmosphere

calm, with its

cloth-covered tables and walls lined with shelves of books. Presiding over the Nubar Library is Raymond Kevorkian, who has been curator since 1987. "We have 37,000 works in the library, including 1,000 journal titles," he tells me in his elegant office, happy to reel off the statistics of the collection. "Half the books

are in Armenian, above all 54

from

in other

languages,

French and English mostly. We don't have a language problem," Kevorkian declares.

The library was founded in 1928 by Boghos Nubar Pasha, the wealthy son of the former Egyptian prime minister who had founded the AGBU over two decades earlier in Cairo. Nubar, whose framed picture hangs above Kevorkian's desk, also established the Armenian student residence on the southern outskirts of Paris the same

ily

(Portukal was the director

the

Ottoman Imperial treasury). "Most of the collections came out of Turkey during the Armistice and before the arrival of Mustafa Kemal in Istanbul," says Kevorkian. "Founded to save the patrimony of

Turkish Armenians as well as to help Armenian immigrants to integrate, the library addressed itself originally to the intellectuals from the Ottoman Empire, many ofwhom escaped and came to France

in the 1920s and 30s. It represented the pro-

of the cultural life

year.

longation

"The strong point of the collection is the Constantinople Armenian press of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century. When the library was founded it had the clear aim of recovering as much as possible of the written heritage of Turkey's Armenian community." The foundation of the collection was Patriarch Malachia Ormanian's personal library, as well as the collections of Hrant

Constantinople. However, the library's role has changed over the 70 years of its existence." Since all the changes that have affected Armenia and the Armenian community worldwide in the past decade, the Nubar now has the profile of a research library, with master's and doctoral students arriving from France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States to work in its valuable collection. What about students from Armenia? "We have links with Armenia.

Assadour, Aram Andonian (the first curator of the Nubar Library) and the Portukal fam-

AIM JUNE I999

BOOKS but frankly they don't have need of us," Kevorkian admits. "I doubt if they have such a complete collection on the Ottoman

Empire in Armenia, but all Armenian collections have been microfilmed and sent to Yerevan and to the AGBU headquarters in New York." "Our strong point is for research into the seventeenth century, the beginning of

through UMI in Ann Arbor, and buy copies

of all relevant academic books from

the United States, though sometimes these come in with a bit of a delay. We have an

agent

in Boston who provides the books

once a year." Not surprisingly, the library's growing collection means that space is limited but Kevorkian is always on the lookout

for prime material.

the twentieth century and, of course, the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. Outside these special areas, this is a generalist library. We have all the historical sources, basic research tools, all the Armenian journals and Armenian catalogs."

As well as books and journals,

I had an inquiry on the Ottoman Armenian community school from a student in Boston. I told her we had

es. "Last year

the

the best collection on this in the world and that she should come over and research here herself."

have the manuscripts of'Aram Andonian. 15 massacres and was

A third generation French Armenian, for 17 years at the French national library with responsibility

later held in many concentration camps in

Kevorkian worked

source on these camps. He took on the work of conserving the memory of these camps, gathering vital source material and testimony of survivors. We have the personal papers of Patriarch Ormanian from 1896-1908, an excellent source for the history of the period viewed

Syria. He is the basic

through the Patriarchate. We have files on many Armenian religious and lay figures from the eighteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century." Another vital collection consists of the papers from the Armenian national delegation, established in Paris in l9l2 and headed by Boghos Nubar Pasha, the library's founder. The delegation tried to negotiate with the Allied powers for greater rights for the Ottoman Empire's Armenian popula-

tion. "There are papers related to

the

attempts to reform the Armenian provinces of Turkey in l9l2-14, the treaties of Sevres and Versailles, correspondence with the

British Foreign Office and the US

State

Department, and material about the reset-

tlement

of survivors in the Middle

East,

Europe and America."

The library used to house the AGBU archives, but these were moved to New York in 1988, soon after the headquarters of

the organization were transferred to

the

United States. However, Kevorkian is keen to stress that the library is an organic entity, continually developing and acquiring new material. "We buy material that students will need or to develop a particular area of the

collection," he explains. "We acquire copies of relevant North American theses

am not saying we don't have the money, but we don't have the interest." However, Kevorkian is prepared to respond to questions from around the world sent in on e-mail or by ordinary mail.

specific queries. I will answer the questions if they are well posed but I do not want to do research for people," Kevorkian stress-

these have already been microfilmed. "We

April

with just a card index of books. It would of work to computerize and we would have to take on extra people to achieve this. The National Library here in Paris has hundreds of people on the staff. I

take a lot

"People do enquire, but they must have

library also contains archives, some half a million documents in all. About half of

He escaped the

is a library on a human scale, run manually

for the Armenian material. For ten years he combined his duties there with running the Nubar library. During this period he compiled a catalog of Armenian incunabula and another of manuscripts, a work that took him six years to complete. Since moving to the Nubar library he has retained his links with the national library and organized a major exhibition of Armenian manuscripts there

1996.

At the moment Kevorkian is working on exhibition of treasures from medievalAni, which will be mounted in Paris in 2001' He has already identified manuscripts, jewelry gold and pottery from a number of museums that he would like to use, including items from museums and libraries in Britain, Italy and Armenia. What about Turkish museums? "I hope they will collaborate. I will put an

A unique collection the library recently acquired consists of the books of the late Charles Dowsett, a British academic based at Oxford University who died last year. "Dowsett worked here in the 1950s and 60s, often staying for several weeks a year. After he died, his book collection was bought by the AGBU in London and I went to England to select 600 of the most valuable volumes. These boxes were shipped here last December. He had 6,800 books in all, half of them on Armenian themes. We already had many of them, but the 600 titles we received will be housed in a special Dowsett room which we will build here to keep at least some of his books together." Kevorkian sees no need to bring hightech to the library, other than the photocopier and microfilm reader. "I have no

intention

of putting the catalog on

the

together requests and we'll see." Despite the many projects he is involved in, Kevorkian has ambitious plans. "I am more and more oriented towards research. I want to found a doctoral school on modern

Armenian history at one of Paris'universities. The aim is to have students enrolled at the university who would be based here in the library, to turn it into a research institution. It is planned to open in the fall of this year. When I did my doctoral research there were no specialists I could register with-I had to register with a non-specialist as my supervisor." And will there be enough suit-

ably qualified students? Kevorkian laughs.

"We'll see."

World Wide Web," he states bluntly. "This

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Last year, Mark Arax, joumalist for the Los Angeles Times, received the Anahid

Anahid's Authors If

you had to name the top 10 Armenian

writers in the English language living today, these names would have to come to mind: Nancy Kricorian, Mark Arax, Leslie Ayvasian, Peter Balakian, Eric Bogosian, Diana Der Hovanessian, Gregory Djanikian, Atom Egoyan, Laura Kalpakian and Peter Najarian. If you don't know all of these writers, Columbia University's Armenian Center recommends you add their work to your must-read list. These outstanding authors share a special tie; they are recipients of The Anahid Literary Award. It's a prize given out by the Armenian Center at Columbia University in New York annually. An anonymous donor created the

Literary Award. In addition to his work for the Times, Arax has written a book called In My Father's Name based on his quest to unravel the mystery surrounding his father's death. Peter Balakian captured the imaginations of mainstream Americans with his award-winning novel Black Dog of Fate. He is AIM's

Bogosian received the Anahid award in 1994. Diana Der Hovanessian, the renown poet and Armenian language translaton, has pub-

lished 14 volumes of original work. She co-

edited the groundbreaking Anthology of Armenian Poetry, a collection of translations spanning two millennia. Der Hovanessian is the 1993 Anahid award recipient.

Gregory Djanikian's fourth book is due

out in

novel Zabelle received rave reviews

Caveat. Kalpakian was the second writer to receive the Anahid award. The first recipient of the Anahid Literary Award. Peter Najarian. is a poet

and novelist living in

American Loneliness (Blue Crane

(left to right): Khanjian, Ayvasian, Egoyan and Kricorian.

1998 Man of the Year (see article penned by

Mark Arax in December 1998). Balakian received the Anahid award in 1995. Eric Bogosian may be America's bestknown Armenian actor. He is also a brilliant playwright, author of Suburbia and Drinking in America among his growing collection.

I I3!r[ of,@

*itS

Berkeley,

California. Najarian's new book Great

from critics who found the story of a genocide survivor powerful and fascinating. The New York novelist received her $5,000 award in May at a reception at Columbia which also included past winners Egoyan (screenplay I/re Sweet Hereafter) and Ayvasian (stage play Nine Armenians).

A prolific poet, of the at the

University of Pennsylvania. He received the 1992 Anahid award. Laura Kalpakian has written numerous short stories and novels including last year's

award l0 years ago to acknowledge and encourage the efforts of outstanding writers of Armenian descent. This year the select committee, headed by Ararat editor Leo Hamalian with Peter

Balakian, Peter Sourian and Marjorie Housepian-Dobkin, chose Nancy Kricorian for the award. Kricorian's first

October.

Djanikian is also director Creative Writing program

AIM JUNE I999

Books, Cambridge, Mass.) is a compilation of his life's work. Hamalian. who is on the select committee, says "People will find these writers are very exciting and

challenging. Armenian writers can of a nice feeling, always thought of ourselves as second rate, but any of these writers can hold their own compared to writers of other groups." He says the donor began with a twoyear pledge and has continued for over a

hold their own, sort

decade.

Fon tal?

llose & Ihnoat Patients who can't pronounce his specialization thank him

for allowing them to hear better, breathe easier, and enjoy a simple thing like swallowing without pain. Dr. Gregorio Babighian, known the world over for his work as an otorhinoIaryngologist, has improved the health of patients not only in Italy where he lives and works, but everywhere his research is read. Otorhinolaryngology is the treatment of ear, nose and throat diseases and Babighian has been working in the field for 34 years.

Babighian, 59, was bom in Trieste, Italy, the son of Armenian parents who met in Venice after World War I. His father was the sole survivor in his family. His mother escaped Turkey and seftled in Paris with the rest of her family during that time. Many of her family members were doctors. "My choice to enter a medical school was probably inspired by one of my uncles," Dr. Babighian said. After completing his medical training at the University of Padua, Babighian studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders in Dallas, Texas. Of the more than 150 research papers he has published, Babighian is most proud of his work on central auditory fatigue which he first researched with Dr. George Moushegian at the Callier Center. With private practices now established in Padova and Venice and clinical research work at the Ospedale San Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, Babighian keeps a very busy schedule. "I have too little time for my Middle Age and Renaissance history readings," he lamented. However, he admits to being most happy when working. "To perform surgery, to teach, to be curious and consequently to explore a medical problem," these are the things that continue to challenge and excite this earnose-throat man. AIM JUNE I999

TltG,

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What do you do if you're a young educated. trilingual. mullicultural professional. living in the biggest Diaspora community lwhich is also one olthe world's great cultural centers) and still having nowhere to go lbr art. culture and socializing in the Armenian context?

lYou make your owri culture. That's what two dozen, rnostly LEbanese and Iranian born architects, designers, teachers and MBA's did when they forrned Arvest. an arts colleclive. a few years ago. Arvest, under the general umbrella of the Fl4mazkayin Cultulal,:Association, has published two books--oae each on the art and philosophy of two artists-Vahe Berberian and Vachik Der Sarkissian. Berberian and Der Sarkissian were two of the main figures on stage, too, during the collective's two variety shows. The first one receivetl rave reviews when it was staged a couple of yearu ago. The second. presented last rnonth on the nearly-bare stage of the Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School in Southern Calilbrnia. had the 600 plus in the audience in stitches. "Sharp, qophisticated humor, born of a rare, comfofillile ability to laugh at ourselves as a community." said one doctor who has,treen working with and helping the group produce events, the proceeds of which sometimes go to support the artists them$el.Ve.s, The shoit pieces staged included a song recital accompanied by a lhilariously inaccurate):translation tionr Eastem Armenian to Western Arnrenian: a reenactment of Mesrop Mashtots'elforts to creale an Armenian alphabet. and the expectations of his patron, King Vrarush*puh (top left, featuring Vahe Berberiaa and Sako Berberian);,a take-off on a ty.picnl Armenian organization meeting (tt-rp rightl wilh members having problems with everything from dialects to agenda to the name of the meeting itself-a roundrable--<onvened around a rectangular one; and a publisher-writer relationship that lea.vlEg,rlgch to be desired {bottom right) and an Arnenianieed renderir.rgg{Oh Carol as Oh, Caro (bottom left1 performed by Harout (Dedeyan) and the Aras (Madsunian. Baghdoyan and Oshagan). Finalty. a "documentary" film by Ara Madsunian, chronicled the lile o[ Amenian filmmaker Alfrecl Kouchak who was the real inspiration for Allied Hitchcock. The reacrion of the audience was prool that there is room for enlightened. contemporary, risk-taking theater.

r,r,t,,l'

-It

]NE I 999

mffirurffi =

;

Anniuersary ol a Uictoly Turks and Persians continuously fought over the city of Shushi-one of the most important cities of the Caucasus during the l8th and lgth centuries. After the Sovietization of the Caucasus, it became an industrial and cultural center, and a vacation site. Sitting high on a hill overlooking Stepanakert, Karabakh's capital today, it was also the source of the thousands of missiles which fell on Stepanakert during the years of military struggle earlier in this decade. Therefore, the liberation of Shushi from Azerbaijani hands was an important military objective. Seven years ago, in May 1992,that impossible-seeming goal was achieved, as Armenians climbed up the huge rocky hillside and overtook the Azeri forces. That anniversary is celebrated each year in Armenia and in Karabakh. Perhaps because Shushi was for so long the home of Armenian culture, too, art exhibitions have always been part of the anniversary celebrations. This year, a children's art show was held at the Children's Art Center and another sponsored by the Artists Union.

AIM JUNE I999

Our Daily Mutton By J0HN HUGHES

This is a story about Proshian Street, the smelliest, smokiest, meatiest, least sanitary and best tasting street in Yerevan. About khorovats, the best reason I know for being non-vegetarian: swords carpeted in lamb, in pork, in beef, in the hopefully fresh remains of all manner of the hooved, bathed in onion and greens and tumed over coals that started as grape vines.'

the night I lost my chance to become a Muslim. And about the night I swore loyalty to Armenia based on

It is a story about

what a man and a fire can do with a dead pig. Proshian. There is a town in

It was to one of these that I joined a group of acquaintances on my first visit to Armenia and innocently perpetrated

offense against Allah. There were in this group a few Muslims, for whom consumption of pork is forbidden. I was quite sure that what I saw on those metal rods was lamb-small chops, whitish

of color, and somehow dainty according to standards by which I had come to judge pork, based on having seen it freshly slaughtered as a boy in Alabama, unimaginably far from this place.

Armenia by that name as well and I suspect the name once belonged to a man of greatness. can't tell you the street leads to the town. But I can tell

you that between Marshal Bagramian and Mashtots, a tour of Proshian Street will take you to places that reach far beyond the limits of sidewalk and potholed pavement. An exotic, and by no means prissy stretch, Proshian is also known by tourists and taxi dri-

"Che, che," said the chef. "No, no." Then he put a finger beside each temple to form ears and said "oink, oink." It was too late to control the damage. Still I raced to the leader of the group to confide that swine, the unclean, had been consumed.

ride. But walking is better.

is the Fifth

Avenue, the Rodeo Drive, the Champs Elysees of camivore consumption. On an early evening when Ararat is a silhouette barely glimpsed through a gray curtain rising from so many pungent smolders, a walk along the canyon rim Proshian hugs is a stroll through heated clouds that are themselves appetizers. I have not counted the number ofrestaurants on Proshian. There are a lot. I have meant to, but research always ends at a table where the only count that matters is "more." Some have names. Many do not. But all have a metal box outside-right against the street-from which embers glow and, over seasoned

meats speared on metal skewers that look

like weapons. 52

When the fire has burned to embers. the meat goes over the coals four or six inches above where the smoke seasons it, golden with burnt crisps as highlights. This much I could learn from watching and smelling. Then I learned too much. I pointed at the darkening

"baaaaah?"

will likely double. It will still be worth the

them, men in white coats lay

The meat smells of a vinegary marinade, but it in fact has soaked, maybe ovemight, in nothing but onions and a mix of greens that includes parsley and cilantro.

meat, dripping amber grease

cab, your fare

Proshian

though the animal it used to be has not suffered enough. It is performance folk art at its barbaric finest.

onto the hot coals and said, as sheep-like as possible,

vers as "barbecue street." And I can tell you that if you use that

description upon entering

fire. Then wood-poplar, maybe-is added and while it burns, a man with hands as thick as a $30 steak grabs large hunks of meat and gores them onto those three-foot rods, rough-handling the juicy cutlets as

"Yes," the Muslims were told,

"it

lamb." Assured that the meal of the evening was halal (or ritually acceptable), the guests took to the meal like pigs to, well, you know. Plates of "mutton" vanished as soon as they were placed, garnished by greens and washed down with Jermuk Mineral Water

for

some and Kremliovskaya Vodka for

others.

Drawn

to the fire, I went to

khorovats master

the

to learn the process.

There, over this platform pit of sorts, with cars passing within reach and the smell of dozens of pits just like this one whisping into the air like sirens for the senses, I learned that grapevines are used to start the AIM JI]NE I999

"Whatever you do, don't tell them," he reasoned. Don't tell them, that is, that these who follow Islamic practice were violating one of its most basic prohibitions. I felt bad. But first I felt good, filled by a delicacy (if pork can be a delicacy) that I have enjoyed numerous times since, but never without recalling the first time. There are many reasons to fall in love with this place, but khorovats was the first. I saw my new acquaintances the next day and asked their leader if any suspicions had been raised. Turns out that the Muslims of the group

were delighted, saying our meal was "the best lamb" they'd ever had. Forgive them, Allah, for they know not what they did. r

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