Armenians in Iran - May 1994 by Armenian International Magazine

INDIVIDUAL, PARTNERSHIP, CORPORATE, FIDUCIARY, TAX PLANNING & PREPARATION

Ararafian FULL RANGE OF ACCOUNTING SERVICES

520 East Wilson Avenue, Suite 245,Glendale, CA 91206. Phone (818) 547 3474. Fax (818) 547 3476

COYERSTORY

ARMENIANS IN IRAN BETWEEN TWO 40 woRLDS Fifteen years after the Islamic Revolution, while Iranian-Armenian emigres reminisce aboutthe good old days ofthe Shah, Armenians in Iran remain committed to a country they still consider theirhome. Across the border, Iran and its neighbor Armenia sustain a delicate balance in the midst of the Karabakh crisis.

AilALYS!S

WHEN THE GUNS DO THE TALKING 32 After

12 days on the frontlines in Karabakh, geopolitical strategist Gerard Chaliand expounds on the dual-and contradictoryrealities of the Karabakh conflict-local imperatives vs. international interests.

PIIOTOESSAY

LIFE AND

WAR

Austrian photojournalist Christoph Lingg' s startling images of bombarded buildings inhabited by refugees, empty markets and war-weary children in Karabakh's capital.

Publlrhor'r }{oto

Lotton

FIlc Forcground

Bytcr On

lO A quick look at recent events in Armenia, the Caucasus and therestof theCIS, as well as the Middle East.

Doricr ARF sends money to Karabakh... Russiaand Israel acknowledge theGenocide... William Saroyan's house is designated a historical

landmark... More trees for Yerevan.

A major exhibition of Armenian illumination art at New York's Pierpont Morgan Library is a first.

Book

Exccrpl

Carol Edgarian' s Ris e The Euphrate

nov el

is an honest and probing look at the

Genocide's effects on three generations of Armenian-American women. The plight of Yerevan's zoo and its resiCOVER DESIGN BY oICBAN Y. KASSOUNY; PHOTOGBAPHY BY ARMINEH JOHANNES

dents.

Alm (ISSN 1050-3471 ), MAY 1 994, Vol. 5, No. 5, is published monthly, $45 per year, by Fourlh Millsnnium, 207 South Brand Boulevard, Suilo 1 07, Glsndalo, CA 91204; Phons: (818i 246-7979, Fax: (818) 246{088. S€cond Class Postage paid ai Glendale, CA and additional mailing otlicos.Canada Posl Publicalion3 Mail Product Salos Agr€emonl No, hecessarilv reoresent the visws ol the Dublisher. For ady.rtlalng qucrl.3 c.ll: 1 -800-736-3246. Subscrlptlon P.O. Bor 3296,

llanh.tt.n Bclch,

CA 90266, U.S.A.

r.t

3 tor

on. yoar, US: $45; Canada: $55; France: 350

FF ($55);

SIDON Trauel &Tburkm, Inc.

Our New Sentice to Yerevan is Outstanding Experience the privilege of traveling with convenience and comfort aboard Alr France (Boeing 747) every Monday from Los Angeles to Paris, connecting to an Air France Air Charter (Airbus A 320) with direct service to Yerevan's Zvartnots airport. You will enjoy Air France's renowned reputation for impeccable service all the way to Armenia. Only Sldon Travel, the pioneer of direct flights to Armenia, can provide this weekly service to Yerevan.

Sorfor your nextflight toYerevan, clnose Sidon Travel where you can expect the best. For reseryation atld information, please contact the numbers listedbelow.

5825 Sunset Boulevard Suite 218 Los Angeles, CA 90028 PHONE: (213) 466 9161 (213) 466 2869

FAX:

34 Avenue des Champs-Elysees

HotelAni

EscalierA,2eme etage

19 Sayat Nova Street

75008 Paris, France PHONE: 39.1 42 56 40 30

FAX:

33.1 42254121

Yerevan, Armenia

PHONE:522967 ,522579 1516 84

FAX:

KARABAKH, THEWORLDANDIRAN I I rs. Ruth Bedevian of New Jersey and Mrs. Seda Garabedian Barnes of Las Vegas, Nevada, may not think of themselves as missionaries, but they are. n t rul:[:"J',I"'il:ilHr'#li:i,"il11ilHJ:1"$:i;:;$1i#,",,'3$!]ffi1 cal to Armenians. Mrs. Bedevian has become a tradition around here. Every Christmas for the past several years, she has given l0 of her lucky friends gift subscriptions to AIM. Mrs. Barnes has just joined the ranks. After AIM participated in the Las Vegas community's April 24 commemoration, she, too, sent in some l0 gift subscriptions. In this issue, we are launching a new program which we hope will secure more AIM readers. This time, our target is the world. Political leaders, local legislators, international business executives, heads ofreliefand humanitarian agencies, professionals in the media and education-these are some of the people who should be reading AIM. The Fourth Millennium Society's mission of promoting access to objective and comprehensiveinformation aboutArmenians in ArmeniaandtheDiasporarequires abroadbased readership. We arc counting on you to help us secure this base. Sponsor a VIP! Your gift subscription to well-placed opinion andpolicy makers willhelp improve their understanding of complex issues in an often-ignored corner of the world. Every other month, a new category of VIPs will be featured with some suggested names. But feel free to make up your own list. Your local mayor, a college friend in a major corporation, a business acquaintance with ties to international agencies-the Armenian Diaspora's networking abilities can be an immensebenefitto Armenia, and to ourlocal communities. AM's voice can help you reach powerful ears.

FOIJRIH MIIIENNIUM SOCETY Bn ft Co.pordim

A l.l+6rPro8t, h/bliâ&#x201A;Ź

DIRECTORS

YATOIJJAN NAHAIIT

NOIAII,OSKANIAN

IA';I

Z|NZAUAN

ASSOCIATE TRUSTEE

JACXTAXiIAI{ rcui K!6 TOUNDING TRUSTEES

O^TIN AYIDIXIAN CATOM

trooooor m

ilaNtaN

YAIOI,IJAN ISI(INDITIAN M

HATOU' KAHYEDJI.AN @

matDo t(a?tlluar{

HA@P KOI,,SHAXJIAN

flou

ZANOUHI I$ANDIK]TN ffiNVNh

IDWAID TUSSITUAN dffih

aol ilovH, ffi

first

YATOUJAN NAHAIII

days of the magazine: Writers we write about

NOtAIt OSXANIAN 4toM

n interesting pattern has developed sincethe

begin to write for us. Sarkis Shmavonian, the historian-linguist whom we covered in June, 1992, has written several pieces on Armenia's real and potential relations within the former Soviet Union. Myriam Gaume, the Armenian-French journalist whose book,Guests onThis Eart h, w as feanrred in the August, I 993, issue has and will continue to write about Karabakh for us, as well. With this issue, we are pleased to add Gerard Chaliand( AIM, August 1993) to the list. One of the world's foremost experts in third world politics, guerrilla movements, in geopolitics and strategy, Chaliand recently visited Armenia and the frontlines in Karabakh and his impressions of the immediate and the long-term social and political scenarios appear here. hen we sat with Kathy Mekertichian and Harmik Hacobian, two active local Iranian-Armenians to secure information about lranian-Armenian concentrations outside of Tehran-and Glendale, we were surprised that the list included countries on every continent. Ironically, the only community outside of Armenia that wasn't really considered Diaspora (northern Iran has, after all, been traditionally part of the historical Armenian experience) has now become a Diaspora par excellence. With the exception of a few northern cities close to the Turkish border, Iran's was also the only community not made up of survivors of the Genocide, a community that had enjoyed a stable existence for several hundred years. Over the last decade and a half, they too have been dramatically displaced. Our cover story this month takes a preliminary look at parts of the Armenian community of Iran as it exists today. Successive issues will feature articles on the rich traditions ofNor Jugha near Isfahan and the region ofTabriz. For now, we have concentrated on the way this resilient community has rewoven itself into the new fabric of hanian society. Oursearch wasfacilitatedby the workoflranian-Armenian-turned-Parisianphotographer Armineh Johannes, shown here, who wove herself into a carpet at the bazaar

during a trip "back home" last summer

TZ.*-til^"--AIM. MAY 1994

ffi

ZATTH SATKIISI,AN

drouh

tatH ztNzaltaN ffiA

207 SOT,IH BRAND BTVD, sum 107 GIENDAIE, CA 91204, USA

T.lcpllm

3ta-2$-r9r9 Fq

tr8 .246 - @88

ATIIBACK]SSI'ES

Complete your collection by ordering back issues at $8 an issue. Price includes shipping and handling.

To place your order, call l-800-736-3246 or write to: AIM, P.O.BOX 10793, Glendale,CA91209-3793 Availability ofall issues is not guaranteed.

PUIU3HER Michaol Nahabel EDfTOF verlan Oskanian

1\INI

and elsewhere as the base for up and coming technocrats of Western Asia than as a fawning Euro-"wannabe". Gregory R. Chopoorian

ExECUnvE EDIrOR Salpl Haroulinian Ghazarlan EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Minas Kojaian ED]TOn EIEBITUS Charles Nazarian EDITOR AT IIROE Tony Halpln

Central Falls, RI

ARTDIBECTOH Dlcran Y. Ka$ouny ASSOCIATE EDITOR Garine Zeillian

I would like to point out an omission in your otherwise excellent magazine. The

CONTnIEUTING EDITORS Vlcken Bablkian, Kovork Keroplan, Mark Malkaslan, Tallno Salamian, Aris Sovag, Roneld Grlgor Suny, Jivan Tabiblen, Taline Voskedlchian CONTRIBUTORS Marlne Arakolians, Armsn Atoyan, Michaol Arshagounl, Arlashes Emln, Yvetlo Harpootian, Hovhannos Haruliunian, Anl Klchlan, Lola Koundak,len, Gil& Kupelian, Miciraol Mastarciyan, Lillie Merlglan, Moorad Mooradian, Nancy Naiarlan, Ara Oshagan, Susan Patlle, Simon Payaslian, Janel Samuelian, Ratti Shoubookian CORRESPONDENTS Ammln: Ara Voskian Amtt rdlm: Arson Nezarian Brualal3: KevorkOskanian EucnotAlrar: Sam Saddssian london: Anl Manouklan Mo.cow: Gayane Hambarlzumian Prrlr: Khalchlk Kochian Sydn.y: Haig LepodilanVLnnr: Sobouh Baghdoyan Wllhlngton: zanku Armenian Yarcy!n: Hakob ABatrlan, Amon Baghdasarian, Babkon Gadachik, Tigran xmallan PHOTOGRAPHERS Ammrn: Karekin Kololian Bcltui: Amo Jihanlan Borlon: Lena Sanents, Ari Stamaliou Lo! Ang.l.t: Karin6 Armon, SoBsl Madzounian, Kovork Djansozlan f,llml: Tony Savlno Naw York: Harry lmirz lan, Halg

graphic depicting the different Diocese and

Prelacy churches in North America correctly includes in the state of Texas the Diocesan churches ofDallas and Houston, as well as the mission parish of San Antonio; it fails, however, to show the mission parish of Austin, the state's capital.

The Armenians of Austin make up a small but active community despite the fact that we do not have an actual church building and that we do not enjoy church services more than three or four times a year. Still, we do ourbestto maintain andpromote our culture, heritage and traditions and to educate the broader public about issues relat-

Koundakjlan North B.rg.n: Ardem Aslanlan Pula: Amlnoh Johannos, Alino Manouklan Ptovl.Lnc.: Berge Ara Zoblan San F]lnclrco: Armon PetrosSlan Yctavan:

Mkhitar Khachatrian, Zavon Khachlklan,

Roubsn

Mangasadan

ASSIST NT TO THE EDITORS Aylln Baharian GFAPHIC DESIGN Lena Talosian PHOTO ARCHIVISTS Varant Gourjian, Parik Nazarian

CIFCULATION DIFECTOR Thomas Yalerian PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR Beth Broussallan

ADmlilISTBATlvE ASSISTANT Asdghig Mazmanian ADVEBTISING DInECTOR Alino S. Kassabian ADVERTISING REPFESENTATIVES ANi AZAT, MEIiNE Ouniian, Hralch Yerknabstian IIITERNS Tina Jlzmoiian, Elda Aghaian, Elsa Aghalan COLOR SEPARATION A & A Graphics, Montroal SYSTEHS CONSULTANT Razmig Arablan, Los Angelas AlXl POLLS conducted by the Contsr lor R$earch on lho Amenian Envlronment, Yerevan, Nune Magoyan, Dlrector INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVEFTISING HEPRESENTATIVES CANADA: Razmlg Hakimian, 6695 Hsnri Bourassa Wesl, Monlr6al, PO, H4R2El,Telophons5l433925l7UN|TED ARAB EIIBATES: Sebouh Armonagian, POBox 3000, Sharjah, UAE, Tol6phone 971 6 331 361 UNITED KINGDOM: Misak Ohanlan, l05A Mill Hill Road, Aclon, Lodon W38JF, U.K., Telephone 081 992 4621 FRANCE: JeanPalrick Moundian, 3 Rue Julee Guosde, 9414o-Altortville, Telephono 3t! 1 48 93 10 33 HONG KONG: Jack Maxian, BM. 42, I l/F, Block A, 26 Kal Cheung Rd., Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Telephono 852 795 9888 AUSTRALIA: Allred Markarian, P.O.Box 92, Merrylands, NSW21 60, Telephone 02 897 1846, Mobilo Phono 018 865 188; Artin Goc,29 MaylairAve., Femtree Gully, Victoria 3156, Phone 03-7523873 Fax 03-752-3638 PUBLISHEO AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE FOUBTH IIILLENNIUil SOCIETY, A NOT.FOR.PFOFIT PUBUC BENEFIT CORPONATION

FOUNDEO

lUNI 1909 BY Zareh Bastailan, vartan

Karaoghlanian, Shahe Keheian, Krikor Krikoilan, Michael Nahabet, Vatcho Oknaian, Varlan Oskanian, Thomas Yoterien Co-Found.rr Charles Nazarien, Minas Koraian

Questions about your subscription? Ouestions about delivery? Renew gift subscription? Moving? Call

tâ&#x201A;ŹoG73e32fi

lnternational

subscribers call: 1â&#x201A;Ź18-24G7979

llorc Than A Qucrtion Of Gcography

A diagram (Cover, March) featuring the geographical jurisdictions of Antilias and Ejmiatsin raises an issue of critical political and scholarly importance. The diagram places Georgia and Azerbaijan (and by extension Armenia) underthe heading of Europe.Is this consistentwith AIM's editorial policy? The Transcaucasus, in Soviet and postSoviet times, appears to be an area about which neither cartographers nor editors can form a consensus : Is Asia (i.e., the Middle East) or Europe a more appropriate context from which to view the region? A factor in this confusion may be identifying the Transcaucasian region too closely with the

Austin, Texas The map should have included only those

communitie s w ith functioning churches. The communities with new parishes but no c hurc h buildings o r pas tors, and t he dozens with occasional sert ices by visiting clerics were intentionally not included. San Antonio should not have appeared, either.

Lct Thc Dialoguc Bcgln The March issue of AIM deserves high marks for its effective and responsible treatment of topical issues. Interestingly, Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian didnotfollow upher

dominantpowerof the last 70 years-Rus-

highly informative interview with Levon

sla.

Ter-Petrossian with a critical assessment of the lessons to be drawn from his state visit to Britain. The President greatly impressed his British hosts. Fluent in his delivery, he proved himself at home on complex geopolitical issues and a most effective spokesman for

Membership in one or several European organizations (which all former Soviet republics inherited regardless of their geographic location) does not change the reality of Armenia's geography, history, language or ethnographic traditions. There are indeed some Armenians who long to be considered European, but why? Is there something inherent in traditional European attitudes towards Armenia and neighboring countries that makes some of our scholars, community leaders and diplomats feel that it is not enough merely to adopt useful European institutions and practices, but that we must become Europeans to be respected? If the traditionally Armenian regions of Kars, Erzerum and Van were everto come underArmenian conEol would those who consider Armenia to be in Europe then redraw their lines again? There is no need for Armenians to trade pride and self

respect for much-needed short-term aid

/UNI

ing to Armenia. In the last few years, our community has grown rapidly and comprises today about 70 families. AlexisTakvorian

from Europe. Armenia could actually attract more well-deserved attention from Europe

AIM, MAY 1994

Armenia. Meeting the Armenian community at St. Peter' s, the President again was impressive with his intellectual fluency. Otherwise, it was a singular opportunity missed. Instead of meeting with the community, the President used the platform to speak over the heads ofthose present to address thepolitical parties, citing the litany ofinternal political problems faced by his government. Evident in his interview (in AIM) and in his remarks at St. Peter's is a fundamental misj udging of what has formed and what defines the Diaspora. Statements by visiting ministers, too, are disturbing in their broadbrush, inaccurate portrayals of the Diaspora.

In London, party affiliation did not hinder full support for the funding of the

Embassy nor the continuing supportfor the All-Armenia Fund. Although "all is changed and nothing is changed" makes goodjournalistic copy, the truth is that much is changing, but it requires nurturing. The present lack ofdialogue between Armenia and the Diaspora makes

many

of us who admire Levon Ter-

Petrossian, despair the harm that is being done.

If it is evident that it is only in Armenia that the parties

will prosper or perish, then

it should also be evident that problems related thereto should be dealt with in Armenia.

Finally, a consultative body, including representatives of the Diaspora, should be setup by the governmentto bgin the long-

overdue machinery for an effective dialogue.

Armen Sahakian

Iondon, England

vious attempt in 1988); the multitude of Armenian and non-Armenian volunteers; and a wider base of community and riding support (obviously mostly non-Armenian). But your reporter's treatment of the issue and reasoning is quite secondary and almost irrelevant. What success story does not have a combination of interdependent factors we mortals are temprcd tocallluck!

As if to belittle Assadourian's achievement, you mention five other Armenian candidates. All these candidates should be congratulated and supported for their efforts. Butrelating arareArmenian achievementto attempts by otherArmenian candidates from mostly tiny fringe political parties (who, aside from the Progressive Conservative Party, have never been able to have theircandidates elected toParliament) does not provide the properperspective this

Armenian

succes s

was quite reticent and often apologetic. Assadourian's election is a rare Canadian-Armenian success story. It could only be attributed to his hard work and perseverance (after all, he lost by 640 votes in a pre-

In your story on the Citizenship Law (Context, February), Kim Balayan, a member of the ARF and Chairman of the Parliamentary Comminee of I*gal Affairs, is quoted as saying that "there are reportedly 200,000 Armenian refugees in Germany."

If not a printing error, this so-called report is extremely wide of mark. According to reliable German sources, in 1993, only 6,469 Armenians applied for asylum. Of these just 30 were successful, the applications of the others were turned down. Rafi Kantian Hannover, Gernuny We printed the numbers as they were givento our reporter inYerevan.

^yy"iiyl:m

Sctting thc Bceord Stralght Your overall tone in reporting Sarkis Assadourian's successful election to the Canadian Parliament (Profile, February)

Pleylng tho Iumborr

That GovcrAgrln I don't know whether other readers have reacted similarly but I found the cover of the February 1994 issue very upsetting. You could leave some things to the reader's imagination. Thanks for listening. Archie Yeghissian

Bloomfield,

AIM, MAY 1994

Lâ&#x201A;Źtters to the editors should be brief and include veriliablo name, signature, address and daytime phone number. Mail letters to

Atlt

P.O. Box10793, Glendale, Calllornle 91 20$3793 or lax to (818) 246-0088 Letters may bE edited and/orcondensed.

MESONHLE Percentage of Russian language books among the332,517 children's books inYerevan's libraries: 80

Weekly gold sales in Beirut inl994:400 - 1000 kg. Daily gold sales before the Civil War: 500 kg. Number of villages destroyed by the Armenian Earthquake of 1988: 360 Percentage of women among the 1501 members ofArmenia's Journalists Union:27

Number of countries withAIM subscribers:58 Number of AIM subscribers in Africa:3O Number of women in the 23-person state committee preparing forthe 1700th anniversary of Christianity inArmenia: I

NumberofArmenians who apply each weekto the Russian Consulate in Yerevan to emigrate to Russia: 100

Number of dogs featured Armenia's Ninth Dog Show: 227 arnong 18 breeds Amount required by UN High Commissioner for Refugees for "the vulner able 2.5 million of Armenia's 3. 5 million population" in1994: $4.3 million Number of kanians, Pakistanis and Iraqis illegally crossing into Russia fromAzerbaijan in 1994: 100 Number of Armenian visual artists who fought for the USSR in World War II: 14 1 Number of Armenian architects: 75 Value of goods produced in radio elecfronics, electrical engineering, and gold and diamondproduction, in Armenia, from January to April, despite ongoing blockade and energy crisis: 1.47 billion drams.

Number of Turkish guest workers in Germany in 1992:I.86 million Number of Turks seeking political asylum in Germany:28,327 EN4 Azg Lragir;Reulers;Zoryan lnstitute; Covcas Bulletin; Arrnenia's Delense Ministry; EmbassyofRussiainArmenia;Musanere0hlrels,il,;AlMResaarch; UStlewsadWorldReport.

AIM, MAY 1994

Gompllcd by OABII{E ZEITLIAil Armenia's Prime Minister Hrand Bagratian callcd for the establishment of an lnterstate bank and the use ofa

to fight in Karabakh and have desertpd Azerbaij an' s arrned forces.

met with Turkish Foreign Minister HikmetQetin and

unlfomrorrencylntheformerSovlet

Prime Minister

Unlon in order to facilitate trade, en-

Qiller. Talks focused on

Tansu

orr May 4, Azerl fiuops bombcd 0te rcgions of Noycmberian, Ijevan, Taush and Krasnoselsk in Armenia. The arca,

currencies and reinforce each republic' s financial independence. Bagratian explained that reliance on the Russian mble to close adeal necessitatcs the establishment of nrble credits with Russia.

theKarabakhconflict and resulted

consisting of mostly agricultural communities, was badly hit. Armenian border troops returned the fire.

Thispuspressureonthatcountry'streasury and engenders fears ofinflation in the Commonwealth, further depreciat-

Qetin had met

couragetheuseoftherepublics' national

inapledgeofcon-

tlnued Turklsh rsslstance to Azerballan. On

Aprilz4,

Aliev in Baku whcre Aliev

explained his government's perspcctive on thcmediationeffortsof theUNandthe

ing the national currencies.

CSCE. Qetin pledged support for

The rellcs ofSalnt Thaddeus and Sdnt Bartholomew, the two Apostles

country's food embargo on Armenia

Azerbaijan's position and said that his

wouldcontinue.

who introduced Christianity to Armenia, were brought from the Vatican to the Holy See of Bjmiatsin on April22, as a token of the "world's recognition of the great contribution of the Armenian Apostolic Church to Christian civilization." Cardinal Silvestrini, the Special Envoy of Pope John Paul II, presented the rel-

ics

personally

On May 4, Gelder Allev

slgned

the NATO Partner-

shlp for Peace

agreement. "[Weare]seeking

to His

new possibilities

Holiness Catholicos Vazgenl andmetwith Presi-

stabilize the situation in the

dent l.evon Ter Petrossian.

Juan Antonlo Stmaranch, the

also

dence, sovercignty, tcnitorid integrity and inviolability of statc borders," declared Aliev. The Partrership, which was formed in January, allows for participation inmilitaryexercisesas wellaspcacekeeping, but it does not involve NATO membership. Armenia has not yet announced whethcr it will join the Partnership.

pledged financial assistance to participants in the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Skirmishcs in the Caspian port of Derbent benveen thc Lezgis and Azeris

In April, the Cossack leadership of

of the Autonomous Republic of Dagestan in Russia led to talks about thc necd to establish a fiuntler end customE poltcy

Chalrman of the Internrtional Olymplc Commlttee, met wi0r athletes and leaders of sports organizations in Armenia, and visitcd the athletic complexes of

Tsaghkadzor and Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan. He praised the achievements of Armenian athletes in past Olympiads, especially in the catcgories of wrestling,

boxing and weight-lifting. He

the oblast of Rostov in southern Russia Fotested against the lnllux of Atmenlan nefugecs ino their arpa. In a letter to the Armenian governmcnt, it de-

manded that Armenians "clear out of their tcnitory" immediately.

On May 6, Azerbaijan's President

GaidarAlievanivedinTirkey wherehe

Transcaucasus. NATO's foreign policies are based on the principles ofindepen-

between Russla and Azcrbe{lan. This would facilitatc contact bctwccn Lczgis in southern Russia and those living in

Azcrbaijan. Azeri Lczgis-numbering over 7(X),(XXHrave formed a political organization called ALPAN sceking unification with Dagestani legis. Lezg soldiers of Azerbaijan's army haverefused

AIM, MAY I99I

In the early morning hours of April 9, a bomb exploded on a Yerevanbound passenger traln, killing three Armenians, injuring 34 and setting four cars on fire. The explosion occurred at a time when the train had stopped for customs inspection on the Georgian-Armenian border, 37 miles east of Tbilisi.

United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghall reJected a rcquestby Moscow tograntUN peacekeeplng status to the over I 5 ,000 Russian Eoops stationedin conflictzones in the former Soviet Union. The Russian government was secking this status to obtain UN funding for the maintenance of these soldiers. Ghali starcd that such troops could onlybe granted the UN seal if they were part of multi-national troops serving under a UN mandate. After two years of talks, the presidents of Russia

and

agreed

Latvia

August3l dead-

lineforthewlth-

drewd of the former Sovlet forces from

Latvla.

The

agreement, which allows

Russia to retain its early warning radar system in l,awia still needs to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.

The tneaty also stipulates for the establishmentof ajoint fund for therepatria-

tion of ethnic Russians residing in Lawia. The last Russiail soldier lcft Litluania last August, and negotiations about the withdrawal of 2,3(X) more from Estonia are under way.

Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev said that Russla wlll be proposlng en alternadve to the Partnershlp for Peae at the NATO meeting in Brussels in May. The proposal centers around the formation of an Asian-Pacific collective security agreement whereby Russia positions itself as the link between Asia and Europe. Last month, Russia had rpfused to bepartof the NATO-sponsored military cooperation program. The Council ofMinisters instructed the government's oil and gas commit-

tee to hasten the repayment of Ukralne's extensive debt to Russla and to setup

with

whatitcalled'barterdeals'

Russian supplieis, such

Gazprom. Llkraine is ready to supply

Russia with automobiles, industrial equipment and food iems but refuses to

transfer part of the Black sea fleet to Russia in payment for energy. Chevron has announced progress in talksontheKazakhollexportplpellnc

r611ffhigh-level meetings hdld in Moscow at the end of March. Chevron is a partner in TengizChevroil joint venturc that is responsible for the development of the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan and the cxport of the crudc through a one-

million-barrel-a-day export pipeline,

then play the role of peace-broker. He said membership criteria should be freedom from military conflict, observation of international agreâ&#x201A;Źments, recognition of tenitorial integrity and renunciation of erConornrc PreSSUre measures.

Turkmenistan's State Corporation of Poweror Kuwat and the Armenian Ministry ofEnergy and Fuel are negotiating the provisions of an agrecment whereby

Turkmenl electrlctty wtlt be supplled toArmenia thrcugh Iron in 1995. This necessitates the establishment of electric a project anticiparcd to cost about

lines,

$45 million-with Armenia assuming responsibility for the construction of the Iran-Armenia portion of the lincs (100

krn).

On April

During his official visit to Great Britain, Kazdkhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to create aEuroAilatlc Unlon by eliminating those

members of the

CIS involved in military con-

flicsfromtheorganization,inorder to create a

"beltofstability" in the area. Such a purified orga-

nization could

lion of which will be used toward cover-

ing Russian debts to Turkey. Russian Defense Minister Grachev said that Tur-

key has natural interests in

the

Transcaucasus and thatRussiawill soon be establishing

military bases in Arme-

nia and Georgia and a radar station in Azerbaijan.

Saparmurat Nuyazov an-

nounced a 1,400 km, $2.9 billion

pipeline agrcement to cary

Turkmenlstan's

tionothevictimsl familiesbediscussed.

gas to westertr European countrles through Iren end Turkey. Thc pipeline would run along the Caspian Sea into Iran, will loop south of Tchran before

Palcstlnlan self-rule was signed be-

On May 4, a historic document on

year.

tweenPLOChairnan Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin makingtheGazaStripand the town ofJericho in the occupied West Bank the c,enters of a Palestinian homeland. This pact, brokered by US SecretaryofstateWarren Christopher and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, follows the general

The UN Security Council approved Secretary General Boutros Boutros

peace framework signed in Washington last September. The agreement was followed by the release of hundreds of Pal-

Ttrkmenistrn ctt off its grs supply to AzerbelJan in mid-April, following thelatter's inabilitytopay is $76 million

Kazakhstah, Russia and Oman.

which included aTurkisharms purchase from Russia worth $75 million, $60 mit-

on May 4, in attcmpt toresolve the tension between the two countries over the Iranian plane which he said was shot down by "mistake.- He said Iranian and CIS teams werc still investigating the matter, and that only upon theirconclusioncould thc issues of rcsponsibility and compensa-

President

the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, is

representatives of

Russla and Turkey signed an agreement on defense cooperation

Ifarutunian vtslted Iran

heading to the Turkish border.

up of

Greece have expressed their concern about the re-introduction of the Turkish facor in Balkan potitics.

Armenia's Vlce Presldent Gagik

Turkmenistan's

the route of which is being discussed. The other interested party in this deal,

made

tnoops will leave forBosniaafterthe achral agreement is signed benreen Turkey and the LIN in New York. Bulgaria and

debt. This means halting the 8.5 million

cubic meters of gas per day, which accounts for more than half of Azerbaijan's gas necds. Talks between the two countries focused on thepossibility ofpaying for the gas in commodities. A similardeal was workedout with Georgiaearlierthis

Ghali's proposal to deploy Turkish part of the UN peaceheeplng mission in Bosnia. There was no opposition to theproposal. Thc 2,700 Turkish troope

AIM, MAY 1994

new

estinian prisoners from Isracli prisons and by the crossing from the Egyptian border into Israel ofthe first contingent of a Palestinian police force.

RUSSIAAND ISRAEL ACKNOWLEDGE

representing another people victimized by genocidal policies. This intpresting turn of eients pame in the same month as a highly successful US Holocaust Museum program on the Arrnenian G6nocide held at theUS Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC-

GENOCIDE

agency of the federal government, and because it is dedicated primarily to the Jewish Holocaust during

The Russian Parliamentpassed

an event siginificant both because the Museum is air

unanimous reso-

lution on April22 recognizing the Armenian Genocide as being the "first instance of genocide in this century." The resolution was supported by the Rus-

WorldWarII. In Armenia, the 79th anniversary of the Genocide was marked by the march of nearly one million Armenians to the Tsitsemakaberd Monument. Despite

the fact that the eternal flame had not burned for many months due to the counEy's severeenergy shortage, the governnient ensured enough fuel for the fire to burn all day on April 24. Dignitaries at the monument included President Levon Ter Petrossian, British Parliamentarian Baroness Caroline Cox and US Ambassa. dor Harry Gilmore' GartneZeriltan

THECHURCH TN TI{E NEW WORLDORDER In what appears to be a movement to position the Armenian Apostolic Church as a.leaderamongreligiousestablishments in the former Soviet Union, a delegation frcjmthe Mother Seeof Ejmiatsin willparticipatein aconferehce, June 2l-23,whrch

IB 2

Brron$s

Cox (thlrd

trom rlght), Zorl.

Brlryrn

and otherr

walldng to the Martyrs llonumonl ln Yorevan on Aprll 24

sian Armenian Commonwealth Support Fund headed by Edik Hovhannisian of the Armenian Revolirtion-

ary Federation (ARF) . The resolution further ex-

offi-

sibility of direct church intervention with govern-

cial condolencâ&#x201A;Źs to the Arnienian people and ex-

ment authorities in areas of conflict. Christian attitudes to growing nationalism within the former Soviet Union also tops the agenda of the

pressed Russia's condemnation of the crime, its pressed its sympathies to the descendants of

survivors

living in Russia and throughout the world. Inan obvious shift inpolicy towardiis ohly Middle Eastern ally, Turkey,Israel's Deputy Foreign

Minis-

terYossi Bilin announced tti the Israeli Knesset, his government's position that the extermination of the Armenians was ."certainly massacre and genocide, something that the world must remember." The announcementends years of silence froma government t2

will bring together the major churches and Christian denominations of the CIS. To be held in Moscow, the conference will primarily focus on ways of resolving the conflicts that threaten newly-found religious freedoms. Another topic of discussion at the conference will be the pos-

AIM,MAY

1994

conference-the first major interdenominational gathering since the collapse of Communism. Planning began in Moscow last September at a meeting called by the Russian Orthodox Chirrch and the US National Council of Churches. A second meeting was anended by representatives of the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical churches, as

well

as other churches representing the Christian bommunities of Russia, Ukraine, Geoigia, Armenia and Belarus. Representatives of the World Council ofChurches, the Council ofEuropean Churches and

ecumenical bodies also attended. At the same time, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jenrsalem, which falls under Ejmiatsin's ecclesiasticaljurisdiction, is destined to play an important role in the upcoming talks on the status of the city of Jerusalem. TheWorld Council of Churches (WCC) has urged that future decisions regarding the status of the city that is holy to the three monotheitic relilions of the world take into account its importance for Jews, Christians and Muslims. The preservation of Christian holy places in Jerusalem is of vital importance to the Council's 322 member churcheS, particularly the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental

Orthodox-among them the Armenian Church, which is one of the custodians of the holy places. The WCC, emphasizing that it was not its normal practice to comment on the activities of the Vatican as a state, added "itis ourunderstanding thatthequestion of the future status of Jerusalem will be a subject of continuing disCussions between the Vatican and the State of Israel"'

Hntch rchrttngtrtan

oFFtGtAL, DIRECE ANDPUBLIC MONEYSTO KARABAKH The first installment of funds rnised during a nationwide telethon in the United States at the end of February was transmittedonMarch 29 to Karabakh

officials-Karen Baburian, President

the Kdrabakh Parliament, and Robert Kocharian, Chairman of the Karabakh StateDefense Committee-by represbntatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Fdeiation of theWesErn U.S. The "Artsakh Fund" telethon had raised nearly $1.5 million from 10,700 donori, individuals and organizations over I 2 hours. An

additional $125,0(X) was raisedduring a similartelethon in San Francisco a month later. Viken Hovsepian, a memberof the ARFCentrat Committee of the Western United States, explained that $500,000 of the sum raised was wired ior disbursement on specific projects and that the ARF's primary goal at this time was to estahlish "a mecha-

nism according to which theparty would monitorthe expenditure offunds artd report to people." He also said that the party had established an understanding witli Kocharian regarding the appointmentof a monitorwho, he said, would nothimselfbeinvolvedin the expenditure of funds. He added ttrat the remaining nearly $l million are partially encumbered and that there is some discussion about allocating part ofit for an orphans fund. Hovsepian explained that the party is notpursuing a particular agenda in this endeavor "beiause evenbeforethe funds werecollectedthere was acom-

mitment to transfer funds" to Karabakh for projects needed there, although he did acknowledge that the party will reap indirect dividends from this effort, such as "increased legitimacy" in Karabakh. He said the ARF has transferred other funds to KarabalJr in ihe past, but not in this "official, direct

andpublic"manner'

Gerrnezett an

SO T}IERE ARE

MERCENARIES IN AZERBAIJAN The matter of American and British mercenaries in Azerbaijan has surfaced and been buried frequently

during the recent phase of the Karabakh conflict. According to Alexis Rowell, a British journalist based in Tbilisi, Georgia, who reports for the BBC and London'sThe Observer, Yanks and Brits continue to receive good payment for their military services, despite laws and assertions to the contrary. IntheSpring 1994 issueof Covert Action,Rowell draws on information from Baku-based foreign diplomats to establish that MegaOil, an American oil fields development company in Baku since 1991, initially had its headquarters in the Azerbaijani Defense Miiristry. In response to US pressure on the gov-

erhment in Baku to have the Americans leave, as a registered American coinpany. Its military arm reappeared in Autumn 1993, upon accession topowerof GaidarAliev. According to Azeri soldiers who've been trained by

MegaOil ceased its operations

MegaOil officials, the US mercenaries are now based tn Azeri military camps, two of which are locatedin

Baku while the third is near Haji Kabul in central Azerbaijan. The MegaOil training program includes instructionon strategy, targetpracticeandphysical exercise especially designed for military personnel. AccordAIM, MAY

1994

ing to Western diplomats based in Baku, there were about 12 such mercenaries operating on a yearly budget of $ 1 2 million, which often comes in the form of

oil. Rowell also discusses the service of British mercenaries in Azerbaijan despite initial denial by the BritishForeign Office. London has now acceptedthe existence ofBritish citizens in an advisory capacity in Azerbaijan.

GarlneZeltllan

FIRST FAMILY MOURNS On May 8, I 994, Hakob TerPetrossian, the father of Armenian President Levon Ter Petrossian, passed away at age 86. The elder Ter Petrossian, who suffered from ill health and failing eyesight, was a native of Musa [pr, now part of Eastern Turkey. In 1915, heparticipated in Musa [rr' s armed resistance against |:

f l:

t I

Azaluhl and Hakob Ter Petrordan ln thelr Yerovrn home

with a son-moved to Aleppo, Syria. Involved in local politics, Ter Petrossian helped found the Syrian Communist Party and was later imprisoned. In aninterviewlastyear, TerPetrossianexplained that his communist beliefs complemenled rather than contradicted his patriotism. His politics led him to repatriate withhis family to Soviet Armenia in 1946. Settling in Yerevan, he worked as a carpenter, while retaining his interests in political issues.

invading Turkish forces, by carrying ammunition between defense positions. Together with the rest of Musa Ler's population, Hakob TerPetrossian' s family was moved by the French to the Egyptian city of Port Said. The Ter Petrossians returned to Musa Ler in 1923-at the time, part of the French mandate of Syria. In 1939, Ter Petrossian-by then married and AIM, MAY 1994

l988,Ter Petrossian-then hospitalized-watched on television as the movement for self-determination of Karabakh Armenians escalated and led to Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union, and the election of his son l,evon as the first president of the ReWhentheKarabakhMovementbeganin

public.

Ter Petrossian is survived by his wife Azatuhi, sons Telman, Levon, Gamo, and Petros, daughter Iskuhi Semerjian, and grandchildren.

TallneSatamlan

THE G REENING

OFA R MENTA

In April, the Armenian Assembly of America arranged fortheplanting of20,000 seedlings in Yerevan overtwo weeks, aspartof its "ArmeniaTreeProject." Established one year ago, the Tree ProjeOt is a longterm program aimed at reversing deforestation which has resulted in drastically reduced forest areas of 0. I hectar per capita, creating widespread risks of soil erosion. Project founder Carolyn Mugar who is also President of the Assembly's Board of Trustees traveled to Armenia with Project Director Regina Eddy for the planting. Overthepastthreeyears, Armeniahas hadits rees cut extensively due to severe winter conditions add blockade-related widespread shortages of fuel. The ArmeniaTree Projectis amultifacetedproject geared toward assisting Armenia in using fiees to improve the standard of living and to protect the glo. bal environment and the air quality in the city, in addition to sustaining the city landscape. The trees were planted around public institutions such as schools, hospitals and seniorcenters, so thatresidents can care forthe trees afterthe planters have left. A city forester will also ensure the effectiveness of the watering sytem. Project directors are considering expanding the

projectto the countryside, in orderto meet villagers' food needs, income andquality of lifeby developing tree products. Yet another project includes the estab-

lishment of a tree nursery research station, including asolar greenhouseinorderto guarantee highyield and superior survival rates and and to preserve the native ecosystem. Moved by similar concerns, the city council of Stepanakertdeclared March 20-April20 a month of tree planting to restore air quality and to cure deforestation.

GarlneZeltllan

THE DEATH OFA WRITER Writer Vardges Petrosian, 62, was shot dead in his Yerevan home on April 15. Petrosian was a member of the Armenian Parliament' s Armenian Demo-

cratic Liberal bloc and the former Chairman of the Armenian Writers' Union. Although this case was reported as the fourth assassination of a government 12 months, and although Interior MinisterVano Sirateghian, aformerwriterhimself, promised a $10,000 reward for any assistance in the in-

official in

vestigation, manypeoplein Armeniabelieve thatthe case is clear. Several years ago, Petrosian's son, currently jailed, killed his sister's fiance. Vardges Petrosian's death is seen as an actof revenge following that incident. A native of Ashtarak, Petrosian was a member of the Communist Party since I 952 and had held a number of party positions. He graduated from Yerevan State University in 1954. He was a member of the editorial boards of various newspapers and editorin-chief of the literary periodical, Garun.In 1975, he became Secretary of the Armenian Writers' Union,

Twoofhis plays werenrnning onBroadwaythatyear,

Precldent

wrcte Sweeny in the Trees and love's Old Sweet Song here, before returning to New York City. In I 972, Saroyan wrote of this period as having been "a very exciting personal time, and although I was famous and rich at last, I knew it really didn't mean anything." While the other Saroyan houses of Paris, Malibu and Fresno have been sold, this one will become part of the National Rcgisterof Hisoric Places. Itwill take its place as thehouse-museumof a famous American

Ter Peiroeslan

and he was 3 I years old. He

ln attsndance at

the lunoral of wrlter,

parllamentarlan

Vardger Petroelan.

author like Jack London's in Glen Ellen, Mark Twain's in Hartford and Edgar Allan Poe's in Baltimore. Jacqueline Papazian, the daughter of Saroyan's sister Zabel, recalls climbing the steep stairway to watch consffuction of Uncle Bill's house. Now she andhusbandArthurKazarian havepatiently acquired sole ownership of her grandmother's house and. restored it as it was at the time Saroyan lived there. JanetSamuellan t3 E

t I

in 1976, oftheAll-SovietWriters' Unionandin 1981, he was elected to chair the Armenian branch of this organization. His book llaylrokan Eskizner [Armenian Skerchesl which described life in Yerevan in the 1970s gained him popularity.

TlgnnXmallan

Saroyln't Sen Francl$o

THIS ISTHE HOUSE WHERE BILL LIVED

houag, e

hlstorlc plme

William Saroyan wrote that early in 1939, he bought a house in a big, new hillside development of San Francisco, called the Sunset District. He had builder Henry Doelger fix him a "a good apartment" on the lowest, third level. "The rest of the house was for my motherTakoohi, and for my sister, Cosette." AIM,MAY

1994

TREASURES

INHWEN

! I I

By lRlS PAPAZIAII

, r

our years ago, one of the world's leading scholars of Armenian art,

Professor Thomas Mathews of

New York University' s Institute of Fine Arts, approached The Pierpont Morgan Library in New YorkCity with the idea

of an exhibition of Armenian illuminated manuscripts from American collections. While the largest collection of manuscripts is in the Matenadaran, the State Library of Manuscripts, in Yerevan, with ad-

ditional sizablecollectionsinJerusalemand Venice, Professor Mathews had painstakingly located and researched the Armenian manuscripts inNorthAmericaandwas convinced that a substantial number could be brought together for a major exhibition. Roger S. Wieck, the Morgan Library's

AssociateCuratorof medieval andRenaissance manuscripts, and Project Director of Treasures in Heaven, immediately realized the viability of such a project. '"fen years ago,"hesaid, "itmaynothavebeenpossible to put together an exhibition like this. Now, through the workand teachings of Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Nina Garsoian and Thomas Mathews, wehave thebrain power." Wieck was already very familiar with Armenian illuminations, since the Morgan Library houses several in its own collection.

"Weknew we had topresentArmenian illuminations in the contextof Armenian hisory andreligion," said Wiech "to show that &ey have their own individual aesthetic and are not 'provincial Byzantine' as some have said." In 1994, it happened. For the first time in the United States a major exhibition is devoted to the art and culture of Armenia, taking as its focus the illuminated manuscript, primarily the Gospel Book. Approximately 90 manuscrips have been brought ogether from 30 public and private collections in North America. Amongtheprincipal lenders are the J. Paul Getty Muselm, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library and tlte V/alters Art Gallery in Baltimorc, whenetheexhibitwill travel next. Charles E. Pierce, Jr., Director of the Morganlibrary, considers this exhibit "one of the most exciting and ambitious projects

the Morgan Library has ever undertaken." For good reason. According to Wieck, this extensive exhibit also required "a great deal

of support material in the form of wall charts, maps, lectures and

AIM,MAY

comprehensive

1994

iatalogue, all of which added up to a lot of money." The big break came when the National Endowment for the Humanities accepted the Library's grant proposal, which in turn 17

:.........4.........a

['OP

6ALE

IVo oil pantin$ by madcr pninter

: :

:ANTOYAN : i <Bn-:rn) : : purtitsft*'lt" 6tr[DLINC6 : (a mair

72'x7f,

6@d 6crieo)

: :

DAVN : rc'*z' : It'b is a time limited : offer ( 2 mo,ntlu onlv) trc . acquire the6e impoitirnt : Vorh of fine'art . at $9OOO oach : ( ,\TrnCr m

I :. :. !o

ohippqs not

. :. ..

lor

additional

irrcluded) :

Experienced fulltime salesperson needed for upscale Jewelry store. ldeal candidate will possess excellent sales technique, 3-4 years sales experience and be available for work overtime during high season. a

a competltlve

salary and commlsslon rate, bonus package, pald vacatlon, and a pro/a,sslonal unrklng envlronment. a

Fax your resume

for immediate consideration to (805) 259 1181 to the attention of Nelly HaJtar

aaaaaaaaaoaaaaaaooaa

Mead, and White, the complex was expanded in 1991, nearly ripling its original size, butmaintaining the beauty and intâ&#x201A;Źgrity of the main building. Originally called

simply "Mr. Morgan's Library" the Library passedohis only son, J. P. Morgan, Jr., who in l9?A established the library as a public institution in memory of his father's love of rare books and his belief in the educa-

tional value of the collection. Since then, The Pierpont Morgan Library has operatcd as an independent research library and museumdevoted to the arts andthehumanities. According to scholars, thetotal number of surviving Armenian manuscripts around the world is estimated at about 30,fi)Fa

small fraction of the original number. Throughout the centuries, illuminarcd books fell victim to the wars and political

the presentation of the Gospels of the Priest, dated 966 (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore),

Yerevan. Soft srainsofArmenian music fill the main gallery creating an overwhelming

oaoaaaaaaaoaaaaoaaaa

SylvieL. Merian, CuraorialAssistantatthe Morgan Library, and a major force in the preparation ofthe exhibit, notes that "therE has never been an exhibition like this in America before." Access to the manuscrips has allowed audiences to see the magnificence of certain l2th through lTth cenories objects that artisans devoted entire lives to creating. "This exhibit will also make the exotic and inventive nature of Armenian methods, uniquetothearg moreaccessibletolaymen, art historians and the world community," comments Merian. Theexhibitionbegins dramatically with

: . . .

a aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.aa

We offer

Noting that the history and religion of Armenia gohandinhandwithArmenianart,

inside a l2-foot model of the l3th-century

^ duzannc 6t O1O) 589

Foundation, and The Hagop Kevorkian Fund.

information .

fax Otone OOTO ih Malibu, CA call or

helped bring a generous donation from the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Fund. Additional funding was provided by the Arcana Foundation, the Alcx and Marie Manoogian

Church

of the Holy Mother of God in

aura.

A major portion of the exhibition is devoted to manuscripts produced during the Cilician Kingdom. These manuscripts are noted for their extensive use of costly ma-

terials, such as gold, and they show a blend of traditional Armenian motifs with influences from European art. The celebrated Zeitun Gospels, from the Cilician period, long considered lost, yet recently discovered, are on exhibit for the first time. Manuscripts of Greater Armenia show a

different artistic andcultural milieu, with

strong Eastern influence, as seen in the I 5thcentury Gospels by thepriest Khachaturof

Khizan (Walters Art Gallery) . The Gladsor Gospels (University of California, l,os An-

conflicts that so often plagued Armenian territories. For example, it is believed that

geles, Research Library) are considered

in I 170 AD some 10,000 Armenian manuscripts were destroyed by the invading Seljuk Turks. Today, the Malenadaran in

important examples of the manuscript illumination of Greater Armenia, and with the Gospels temporarily unbound, more than twenty illuminated pages are exhibited here. The final section of the exhibition brings together illuminated manuscripts produced as late as the lTth and lSth centuries in the

various communities

of the Armenian

Diaspora, such as Aleppo, Constantinople, and Nor Jugha. The concluding displays describe the unique book binding methods of Armenian craftsmen and the use of vibrant

Yerevan owns about 11,000 volumes; the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has about 4,000 and the Mekhitarist Monastery

of San Lazzaro in Venice, about 3,000. Treasures in Heaven will continue at the Morgan Library through August 7, 1994. It will reopen at the Walters Art Gallery in

BaltimoreonAugust28, 1994 whereitwill remain until Oc aber 23 , 1994 . In conjunction

withtheexhibit, theMor-

mineral-based pigments whose original hues remain almost unchanged. The site of the Morgan Library on Madison Avenue at 36th Streetwas oncetheprivate home of financier Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) and is now a public research library, a museum, an architectural land-

gan Library has organized an impressive series oflectures, a concert, and a two-day symposium. A 20-minute video precentation and a296-page catalogue, edited by Thomas F. Mathews and Roger S. Wieck,

mark and historical site. Originally designed by the prestigious frm of McKim,

lrls

AIM, MAY 1994

accompany the exhibition. Papazlan ls e wrlter, edltor and publlclct, llvlng ln New Jersey.

B.IJ'S.I.N.E.S.S a!r:rii!!!-.

C. E.NI . T. E.R

,r! .:

.:.,

.i:

i-,

i:.:if:

KABAYAN CHIROPBACTIC GROUP

G€rard A. Karayan, D.C. .t

DISORDERS OF THE SPINE CHIROPRACTIC ORTHOPEDICS

Roger Karayan Thoroughbred Trainer

411 N.Central Ave., Suite 250 o Glendale, CA 91203 Tel: (818) 24U227 Far (8 1 8) 240-0976

1751

Cielito Dr., Glendale, CA91207. (818) 957 - 1994

Zevsx KsarcunrunrnN D.M.D.

OOPTTcAL

A PROFESSIONAL CORPOMTION

GLENDALE MEDICAL ARTS CENTER IO3O S. GLENDALE AVE., SUITE 501

3920 Foothill Blvd. La Crescenta, CA 91214

GLENDALE, CA 91205

TeL (818) 957 - 1993 - 3109

CENERAL DENTISTRY

PROSTHETIC &

Fu: (818)9s7

7035 Beracasa Way Boca Raton, FL 33433 OFFTCE: (407) 362-4503 RES: (407) 482-8448

_ts_

IilOIIRIKC ZA]K.{]RIAN

TO BUY, SELLoT LEASECALL REALTOR-ASSOCIATE@

Gimels-tp,[9.I;ffifi*e*

lD4 6 Rr Git-Lr-Cur 3 Abovim 75(trPlb-Frire Ymm3750l Td(2tDn430l0 Tel/Fu3Il44{rS54 Atrruda FUQ1Z)426883 Tcl?-E8:t-2-58159 133 E 73 Sr. P.O.BOX

SUEGt

tIcwYf,iqNYlOl63USA

FLORIDA:(800)228-2087 NATIONAL:(800)228-9689

FLORIDA

LTNE

PHI. D.

in Oinical Psychology (Paris Sortorme) Dircacof the Clinical Training Ccnar I-AC (Paris - Nan, Yort - Ycrevan) Psychoanalyst ad Supervisor

ARLYS KOqSHAKJIAN, GRI

'ET

HOURS BY APPOINTMENT (818)5008989

etaa+a-v-+*

Krikor "George" Hovsepian CARCO SEEVICE TO/FROM ARMENIA

StRAil DER-BEDROSSIAN tr OWIIER'OPEBA"OR

Address: Ave. lnglewood, CA 90301 Business

307 East Beach

ARMEN REALTY (3051 563.2565

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

TO ADVERTISE IN THE BUSINESS CENTER CALL

24 E. Oakland Part Blvd., Ft. Lauderdalq, FL 33334

I.8(x)-736.3245

/\INI

tsv CERoI, EncnRrAN Rnxpotr Hlousu,lsg+

? RrSn TuU

leged

EUpunerlS is not just a publishing success. It is a rare and priviA novel about the trauma of loss and death that was the Geno-

find-

cide, about mothers and daughters living each other's burdens and guilt, and about coming of age in small town America. It scratches, probes and mends life in a way that we're not often privy to in the Diaspora. Of her first published work, author Carol Edgarian says, "The book began for me with the character of Casard. It doesn't happen very often that a character enters my imagination so full blown, in suih a compelling way. As a writer, I leave myself as open to inspiration as possible. ilut ttrls wis almost mystical. I had to follow her." Follow her she did. For ten years, Edgarian worked on what has inarguably become a publishing phenomenon. An advertisement in Tfie New Yorkerreferred to "1915, the year the Muslim Turks slaughter one million Armenians." Lengthy, and generally admiring, book reviews in dozens qf newspapers and magazines,lamented the crime and extolled survival. Such successful writers as Amy Tan aLd intelligentsia favorites as | commercially Robert Stone have heaped their praises. RIsu Tun EupuncTUS made the San Francisco Chronicle best-seller list as soon as it appeared-several weeks befqre its April 24 publication date. lWhat I'm hearing is that non-Armenians are reading the book and it feels to them like it's their storyItalians, English, Americans saying this is my family, my story. While the Armenian story is extreme, eyery faqily has ghosts that get passed on. Everyone feels that they've inherited some kind of familial haggage." The book is as much about mother-daughter, male-female bonding, conditional and unconditional love, as it is about the permanent and long-reaching scars of the Genocide. "Readers-educated people-are saying I never knew this happened, I never knew about the Genocide." They may not have known when th-ey opened this book with a cryptic title about a biblical river, with chapters which begin Gar oo chugar (there was and there was not), with frequent references to the Armenian Relief Society which Armenians know so well as the Armenian Red Cross, and others don't know at all. But Casard, the grandmother who, as a child, survived the Armenian Genocide only because she pulled back just as her mother flew into the Euphrates, to her death, teaches and indoctrinates not only her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, but also the reader-even the cynical readerwho does not believe that the Genocide can be told. "The narrator, Seta, is Casard's granddaughter and her quest is very clear. She's pregnant and she's going to find a way to stop this particular burden from being passed on. She's not looking at anything sentimentally as she goes back to understand her mother and grandmother. My gut told me thatrs the way the story had to be told-to remove any kind of emotionalism from the prose so ttrat the power of what happened would come across," Edgarian explains.

AIMMAY1994

"That's really the task for all of us-to come to terms with the past and to move forward. That's a frustrating experience for Armenians because there has never been a public acknowledgement of the past. The book looks at how, privately, wemust come to terms with it. At the end of the book, Seta is really just beginning. " Edgarian herself has clearly found some peace with what is still the determining experience in the lives of most DiasporaArmenians-even those who, like the 3 2-year-old, American-born writer are three generations removed from the Genocide. She has succeeded, thanks as much to the distance and outlook af= forded by parentage, as character. Not only is her mother Swedish, but her father's parents were from Eastern Armenia-Georgia and Persiawith no immediate, personal Genocide experience. "I grew up in a household that allowed me perspective. Besides, as a writer, I'm sort of outside all communities, an observer by nature. My natural disposition is to look at things, try to understand them and try to go deeper. "I don't think we can explain why things move in the psyche the way they do," reflects Edgarian. "I had done research when I was a Congressional Page inWashington, DC, and I spentweekends looking at the primary documents in the National Archives. In my junior year at Stanford University, when I was in France, this book c4rr1â&#x201A;Ź te 111s." Edgarian has brilliantly succeeded in deliveringwhat everyreaderyearns for-an experience that transports and penetrates. "In writing about the genocide, I had to live it, and this has been a healing process. That wound which every Armenian feels has healed somewhat for me. I feel like I've come out the other end." Bv

SALPI HAROUTINIAN GHAZARIAN

g pRo[,0

Myparentswere married three yearswhen theybegan hav-

GUU

hese are the things that were not lost. My name is world through the blue grace ofmy parents, George and Araxie Loon, and the concise desperation of my grandmother, Casard. It was Casard who named me Seta, after her mother; my fathergave me Loon. Bythese gifts of name I became Seta Loon. I came to this

-JI- my grandmother's shiny hope, her Armenian girl, lesacv ofTurkish massacres and nights nishts on the one to hold her legacy the road of death, a legacy of the shame she suffered at the banks of the Euphrates River. I became Loon: daughter of my father, an American, odar.' outsider. Iwas raised in the townof Memorial, tenmilesfromthe capital of the Constitution State of Connecticut. Here, among the factories, my grandparents laid their roots: in a place where a person could have one opinion in the morning and another in the evening and dismiss them both by saying, "It's a funny thing." The Memorial I knewcontained Main Street, with Connecticut National Bank on one end and some three miles farther on toward the highway, Jimmy's Smoke Shop, where the best-selling items were Camels and Bazooka gum. Between the bank and Jimmy's there was downtown, and to the south and west the park, and beyond the park, nearly to the reservoir, our house. My parents, George and Araxie, were both raised in Memorial, though they did not meet until after they had left town for higher education-my father to Massachusetts, my mother to central state-and returned home. They met at the assessor's office, where my mother worked and where my father, an aspiring real estate broker, transacted his business. Theycourted briefly and married, beginning their new life in an old place, even though my mother had spent a summer in Europe, and so dreamed of grand boulevards and rose-windowed cathedrals and palaces wittr trigtl gilded ceilings. She chose George Loon and stayed.

AIM

ing children: first my brother, Van, then me and, last, Melanie. We three entered this world believing as our father did that we were the lucky ones, for we had been privileged with the

most beautiful mother, a mother whose troubled soul only heightened her outward beauty: her black swath ofhair, her deep pooled eyes, the lethargic ease withwhich Momma made even the smallest gesture seem infinite. Countless mornings I stood beside hertowatch the wand of herlipstickslowly, painfully describing the O of her mouth. Momma's beauty had, at its core, an aspect of departure, which promised that nothing about her would ever become mundane. From thetime we were toddlers, Van, Melanie and I scrambled to catch the brim of our mother's affection, for at any moment she was likely to clutch a child to her breast, and gasping, as ifthe lost had been found, she would kiss and kiss

me-

sometimes it was me, sometimes Van or Melanie- a thousand times behind the ear, as I stood before her still as stone, praying her kisses would never end, and of course, knowing

they would. I grew up with my father, a willow of a man-benevolent, fair- whose gangly limbs reminded me always of roots. In his large, capable hands I believed he had once formed a cup, and in this cup gathered the troth of his charms for the satisfaction of my mother. By turns Momma studied that cup, peering over its rim with wide luminous eyes. Dipping her finger inside, she burrowed to the bottom, where she found that part of George Loonwhichwas most essential. Gazingintohishappy, unsuspecting face, she replied, "Well, yes! All right." Before I knew anything much I knew that by marrying my father my mother had committed a terrible betrayal of her community, and that my grandmother, in particular, deeply resented my mother's abdlcatlon. The Armenians, most of whom livednortheastof town in proximityto St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church, did not think much of marrying odars. And while my generation sprang up alongside shopping malls and fast-food emporiums, Memorial's Armenians shunned change,

MAY

1994

preferring to keep within their own crowded, Persian-carpeted rooms, in which they spoke the old language, ate old-country food and married their kind. Van, Melanie andlwere partof this community. Our grandmother, Casard, was a pillar in the church, Even so, we were treated like distant relations. Our hairwas light, while Armenian hair was black; our limbs were lanky, like our father's, while Armenians'were short and compact. At school we kept to one friend, maybe two, while the Armenians moved in packs, the girls dressed like tinymothers in old-fashioned crocheted vests and long black braids tied back with plastic balls. It was the girls who vexed me, peering from under their thick lashes and dark brows at my light, wavy odar hair, However much my hair would darken with each passing year, it would never be blue-black like Momma's or theirs. The part of me that was Armenian belonged to Grandma Casard. She taught me thatthe half thatwas hersmade me special, In me was the first Christian nation on earth, a nation where God himself had settled Noah's ark. In me was the mountain Ararat and the songs of the poets and scholars and the soul of every Armenian slain by the Romans up through the Young Ottoman Turks. Our Armenia was gone, Casard said and, tucking me close beside her, showed me her empty right palm as proof. As she taught me I taught others: See myfingers, they areTurkey, and Russia is mythumb. And mywrist? Persia. The flat of my palm is the plain of Anatolia, and each line a river, and the rises, mountains and hills. And if asked, Where is this Ars menia? Casard taught me to spit in

myself as two halves: half Seta, half Loon. I saw my family as shivering fragments and my grandmother falling like a wingless bird. I saw Memorial as a strange, thwarted place, having at its center a grassy knoll where the town's ancestors had been raised on pedestals of granite, alabaster and marble. Around this plot of statues my grandparents settled and my parents after them and here under the watchful eye of the dead I was meant to grow. Lafayette. Bassett. Elliot. Lasalle. Polanski. Iwas fifteenwhen I took up my grandmother's legacy. That year, the story she had planted in me

first in our family. Before Momma ever thought to marry an odar, Grandma Casard committed a be-

trayal, which, though she spoke of it only twice in her life, bound our family in a miasmic web of shame. I learned of Casard's betrayal when I was iust forty days old. Be-

fore the baptismal font of St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church, my grandmother pre-

sented me with my name and the Der Hyre priest made me a Chris-

note-

When I was just eighteen I left Memorial. I am now thirty-three. After many years I have come home. For a few days I will pass through town, the woman inpalazzo slacks, her heels snapping briskly on the walk. Others will see me, and the childpushing out fromunder myshirt. The people

who knew my grandmother and my mother will find Seta Loon, pregnant, unmarried, smiling: a peaceful, inward smile that will seem commensurate with expectant thoughts. What they will not

know-one can never really

t**ghU rthers: See *y [i*g.nu, Il*nk*y, amdl Russia is th"y

know-is that I am smiling because, at last, I have learned something of

forgiveness, and, at last, without shame, I hear Casard's voice.

"r"

*yth**b. ArJ mywrist? T[r" ffi*[ rfr *y pJ* iu [h" p[*ir" o$Ametolia, a*J eacfr

MA]RTYRS' DAY

lPersia.

[i** *ndr.r, amJthe

rdses,

moumtetms amJ hinfls.

tian. Then, as the ceremony con-

to Momma, Casard took me from my parents and brought me to the farthest pew

haunting, tremolo

ness.

shetnughL*"I

my hand and answer, Gunatz. Gone. Momma's betrayal was not the

which I carried throughout my childhood as a pit in my belly, ripened, in the same way that my hair turned from yellow to brown. I was fifteen: no longer half Seta, half Loon, but something else. Who I was I did not yet know, but my task seemed clear: I found my grandmother's name, and once found, I reached for the window of my escape. Each turn in a life defines, but movement without clarity means nothing. I knew I had to find the name, but I knew not how to heal. I knew not that in families the worst betrayal is the withholding of forgive-

cluded, according

The first chance I had, I asked Casard about Martyrs'Day, and I

learned

that my grandmother

hated it worse than filth. "Grandma, why won't you talk about it." Casard snapped the newspaper and stared at me with fish eyes. "Why aren't you outside with your

brother?"

where she whispered the tale she had been saving for many years. Gar oo chugar, she began. There was and there was not. There was, in the spring of 1915, a group of zealots, the Young Ottoman Turks, who set out across historic Armenia to purge the land ofthe Armenian race. Casard was nine years old. Her father and brother were murdered, and she and her mother, Seta the first, forced on a death march into the Mesopotamian desert of Der el Zor. They marched eight days until, finally, they reached the Euphrates River, and it was there, at the river's bank, that the wretched betrayal occurred, leaving Seta the first dead, and young Casard, having lost everything, losing one thing more: her name. The parts of us lost in childhood-innocence, wonder, youth-we are apttovalue most. Casardvaluedhername. And to this end she waited some forty years, and when at last, on the day of my christening, she whispered her story to me, she wept. Peering into my empty soul, she asked me to find the name she had lost. "Se-ta, Se-ta," she sang. "You." Iwas elevenwhen Grandma Casard died-whent}re betrayal

that she had so carefully husbanded, her cross and her

strength, having no center, set down upon the rest ofus, Soon after, my mother, sad Araxie, began looking out the window to find the color ofher despair. I looked too, and I saw

AIM

uBecause I want to talk." Go on, take your sister." She pointed at Melanie, who was seated across the room. "You know

Casard fumed-"I said Out.

better than to traipse Indignities in my house." Casard shook the paper, raising it like a wall in front ofher, so there was nothing more to argue with-just the hem of her house dress, her Bad Leg resting on the hassoclq her gray tie shoes and a wall of

print. I knew she was on the other side of

that wall, fish eyes blinking. It was a mystery to me that an event so far in the past could still hold poweroverourlives now. Howcould it hurtGrandma iust to have it mentioned? Of course, I did not realize that to talk about the genocide was to make it happen all over again, rightthere on herPersian carpet. She turned herhead andpiles of skulls appeared, and, in the corner by the fairy lamp, the butcher Turks. Recently, I had learned on my own about Martyrs' Day. Every year on April 24, throughout the world, Armenians held a service to mark the first day of the 1915 genocide. But each year Casard refused to participate in a public display that she perceived as toxic, worse than public toilets and public buses, worse than money tainted by "people's" hands, worse than

dirty feet on the bed. "Out"-she panted, shaking the newspaper.

Melanie and I marched to the foyer. "Wait here," I told my sister, and ran upstairs to Casard's room and brought down a

MAY

1994

SHAPE THE OPINIONS OF THE WORLDIS

DECIgTON.IWII(ERS.

SPONSOR.AVTP! Every doy hundreds of politiclons, corporqte executlves, professionols ond journolists formulote pollcles ond shope opinions whlch offect Armenlo ond Armenlon lnterests, With SPONSOR A VlP, you con now ploy o vltol role ln lnfluencing their declsion-moking process.

WhenyouSPONSORAY\PWruorebuylngoglfisubrctlptlonforonlmporlqntlndlvlduolororgonlzollonlnlhe oreo of governmsnl, lhe coporole wodd, lhe profeslonol llelds or lhe medlo. SelectyourVlP(s)fromthellstbelowondcompletetheottochedsubscrlptioncoupon. Wotchforonewllst of VlPs oppeorlng ln AIM every other month, The VlPs for Moy/June ore HEADS OF SIAIE: Argentlno - fueddent Cortos Menem; Austrollo - ftlme Mlnlslet Paul Keotlng; Azerbouon - Presldenl Heydor Alleu Belgium - Prlmo Mlnlster Jeon-Luc Dehoena; Bulootlo - fulme Mln$er Prcfe56or Ll/U6,en 861014 Conodo - fulme MlnM€/. Jeon Ch/etlen Cyptts - Presldent Glofcos Cledd*: Egypt - PresidentHosrlMthorok Fronce- PfasldentFrcncolsMlllercnd Georglo - SloleCouncllChdrEdwrd&pvordnodze; Germony - ChoncellorHelmutKoht Gre€ce - P,me Mlnbler Andreq Papondreou Vqn - Presldent Hosheml Rofsonlonl: lstoel - Prlme Mlnbler YlEok RoAn; Jagan - mme Mlnlster Tsutomu Hatq,Jodan- KrE Husgernf Kozoktston- PresldentNwsullonNeorboyer4 Kuwolt- Ptme Mlnlster$plkfu'qdAbdullqhol$dilm; Lebonon- Presldenf lilo6 Htowt Polo d - P/9ildant Lech Wolescr Russlo - Presldent Borb Yelrsrft Soudl Aroblo - Kng Fdtd Soulh Afilco - P/esrde nt Nelson Mondelo; $yeden - PtlmeMht&,terCodBlidttSyrlo- PrcddantHqfezlasod;lukey - PrlmeMlnbterTonsuQtllenUk'olne- PreddentLeonldKrovchuk; Unlled Klngdom- Prlme MilsterJoln Molx, Unlled Stoles- Presldent Blll CllnlonUzbklston - President Norn Kortmou Votlcon CltySlole - PopeJohn Poul ll;Otlier.

lf you would llke to rponsol onolher pelson or group, olher lhon those oppeqrlng here, pleose provlde lhe nome ln lhe spoce mqrked Personol Prclercnceon lhe qllqched coupon. SPIONSORAWPIs an ongoingprojcct$thc FourrtMilbnniumSociety, rkpublistars otAntcnian Intcmational Magazlne.

l---

YESI l

world flro bSPONSQR A VlPfor orryoc]cil 3a5$l lotorv cro nryfiv. cnob$lokan fiorn lh.lhi ctboy., h ord.r ol

YES|lwouldxkotorponrcr_tVlPrdll35.@or_5vlrrdtl95.m.

---l

mrrtmcc

B.hvc;crnybncholc.s,lnod.rofpltfirtnco

t0)

P€GorE, Prefor€nce

Ihe Fourlh M$enrfurn Socl€ly wfl osdon o VIP(3) boled on thgle cholcer on o f,Et€ome, fiEi€erve

bds.

E Pleose send my VIP(s) o speclol cord wtth my compllmenh os lhe sponsor of the subscrlptlon. tr Pleose send my VIP(s) o speclol cord slgned 'Anonymous' h. cn*,, d t- ffit l*antl4,/r S*V d-@r$-&,6

vilr*t N, Am*rq q Qrt %-r?V9

noilr

ffi

N. Atn d@.

tr PAYT,BII EilClOoO (chocb Fy(tla to Fodh

liferrim

Sod6M

trCIUnGEM/: tr\/tsA tri'rAglRqrnD OAITiE( -____-________-w

Pt€t.E}{.*m

CnElI CAnD N,lH/ E(Pn ION DAIE

FOR FASI SERVICE

AlEilrhUscumqr,hhctilonollrarayoida.Eq.*adli'o.nouildeiho(6A(CanodarSocc.piloo.ASPONSORAVPIric|ts0lon

CAtt Gm) 736-326 e)d. I I

@idd.dEtbb.

book. We slipped out the front door, to where Van had propped aladder againstthe trunkof the oak. Melanie and Iclimbed up and onto the garage roof. Over the peak, on the far side, Van was lying on his back. We stretched out on either side of him, ourfeet braced in the gutter, the sun's rays pricklyon ourfaces,

the heat from the tar shingled roof radiating beneath our clothes.

nCheck this out," I said and flashed the book I had removed fromitshidingplaceinCasard's room, high up on ashelf above Grandpa Vrej's desk. It was a book about the genocide; I had discovered it the week before when taking a nap on Casard's bed. We rolled over on our bellies to have a look. On the back cover, there was a photograph of eight Armenian women, naked and crucified, their long black hair hanging to their waists. Inside, a photograph showed men's heads impaled on sticks, and another, a pyramid of thousands of skulls collected in the desert of Der el Zor. The caption read that at lea$t one million Armenians had been buried in shallow graves in the desert of Der el Zor. There were photographs of the suMvors: emaciated chil-

dren with bloated bellies and deep-set eyes gazing vaguely into the camera. The caption read: "Armenian orphans in Syria." We leaned lnclose, ournoses just inches fromthe page and

turned to a photograph of a beautiful dark-haired Armenian girl standing against a wall, her shirt open to her navel. The tattoos on her forehead, throat and breasts were the names of the Turks who had bought and sold her as a slave. "Jesus Christ-" Van stammered. And then I said what we were all

thinking, "Grandma.' Melanie began to cry, and Van and I each put an arm around her. from the orphaned children to the slave girl, and back

We glanced

grandbloated belly and

again, silently imagining our

mother

with

you, it made me. And, Mayrig, it's made these kids, too. Seta wants to go-now, why shouldn't she?" "Araxie!" Casard boomed, stabbing her finger in the air, "What is this ridiculous I am hearing? They're interested. You let them play with guns, they're interested?" "No-" Momma said firmly, pointing her own finger, "what I'm saying is they have a right. That's all. Mayrig, every kid in that Sunday school of yours knows what happened in 1915. Why shouldn't ours? Here they are: their own Grandma a sur-

vivor."

"That's right, that's right, Araxie. Now you've made a good point. Their own Medz-mayrig lived through it and she is the one to judge. I say, Stay out. Don't give me interested! You let them take drugs, they're interested? You let them read dirty books? I say children have no business poking in filthy Indig-

nities."

Momma, abandoning patience, began to shriek. "Mayrig, listen to me! How many times do we have to go 'round and'round? George and I have discussed this.That's all.Youhearme? Final." "Ho-ho!" Casard bellowed. "So now it's the odar inviting me to my own Indigntties. You tell that Mlster: Look out." Tipping forward in her chair, Casard squinted her eyes at

Momma. "Araxie. I'm looking right into you." Momma nodded. "Mayrig, I know." "I'm looking right into you," Casard said. Momma tucked in her lips and chin, as if suppressing a burp. She nodded solemnly. "So-so-so," Casard said. "So, I already told you," Momma said.

h*J, [ *k*J C*u^rdl

abou[ N[m$.rs' Day, amJl

[["*"

"Jth*[*y

round saucer eyes, with tattoos hidden beneath the bodic ofher house-

gramJlmnotherhateJl

dress.

t[worse

We had been there awhile, a

half

hour maybe, when Casard began looking for us.

"Van-Seta-Melanie," she called, ll summoning us as one person. ll

[h**

n the

end itwas decided thatwe

ll would all attend Martyrs' Day. ll- Casard said she would meet us

at the

church

We entered the church basement and were immediately confronted by Hitler's famous words sewn on an enormous felt banner: Who after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? The banner hung from the ceiling. Beneath Hitler's pronouncement, as if in defiance of the doom

[+[uh.

therein, the basement teemed with living breathing Armenians, every-

"Quiet,"Vanwhispered."Maybe ll just fishing." II "Van-Seta-t tilanie, I see you- ll

she's

one talking all at once.

ontheroof.Showyourfaces,- -:

The women were dressed in

I peered over the peak. Casard was hanging out one ofthe upstairs windows. - "Get down, you. I said Immediately-Now. You too, MisterGrown." We all stood at the same time and stared at her. What we had just seen must have been on our faces, for she looked us over and said nothing. After a few moments she tucked her head gliding slowly back into the house and brought the window down onto the sill.

flf'l ll [

hat evening, Casard came over to our house and sat at the kitchen table, waitingforMommatobring hera cup of tea. "Araxie. Honey," Casardbegan. "Those children. They have no business at Martyrs'Day." Momma stared grimly at the old woman's face and sighed. Momma's face revealed the inner conversation she was having, which went, Will we have to have another fight? Yes, of course. Do I have the strength? Does it matter? Can we get it over quick? With her, is there any such thing as quick? Momma began patiently, her voice soothing, as though she were speaking to a child. "Mayrig, I understand how you feel. I do. But the children-Seta, especially, wants to go. They have brought this request to us out of their own need. They want to

knowwhat happened. I think it's time-this not talking about it doesn't help anyone. Before Pop died, he tookme to Martyrs' Day. Don't look at me that like that, Mayrig! It was my right to know. You, even you, can't wish away the genocide. It made

AtrM

ltAy

navy or gray, the walls draped in black crepe. Bulletin boards with newspaper accounts and photographs ofthe atrocities were set up on easels along the four walls. The bells tolled. The Der Hyre bowed his head, making the sign ofthe cross. One by one, the old people rose to speak on behalf of the martyrs. Amongthe seated congregation they rose like pillars from an ancient ruin: I am Arshag and I speak for my father, who was taken by the soldiers. I lost my mother and four brothers on the road to

Aleppo. I am Sarah and I

stand in honor of my mother, who I remem-

ber baking the bread. The night the Turketa came, they violated her in front of me and my sister. All night they went at it and all night she suffered without a word. In the morning they stabbed my mother in the throat. I am Kevork and I speak for our people. I speak for my family. My mother hid my sister and me in a cupboard in two woven sacks. She told us not to move. When the Turks came and took my mother and father away, we were safe. We stayed in that cupboard until it was very dark, the smell inside the sack making me sick all over myself. I am Ani. I was $rith my mother on the death road when the peasant women came down from the hills. First we heard their cry,"Aayyyyeee! Aayyyeee!" and we thought: At last, they've come to save us. But we were very mistaken. You see, they car-

1994

ried knives for killing Christians and securing themselves a place in Paradise. I watched them put a knife through my mother, but they spared us young ones. I was then in my twenties and still a virgin. Now I am an old, sick woman, who has made her peace with God. But perhaps you have wondered why

ln my mind's eye I saw them lying in rows in the cherry-wood box, their necks curved like those of swans. I wanted them. I stole. I took just the one spoon that I buried in the sack of my pillowwhen I was at school. I reasoned that until the first Mondayof the month noonewould notice, Mommawould not miss it. For a month I awakened from sweat-soaked dreams of faceless men, and the spoon lent me comfort. The strings down inside me pulled, and I painted my lips with silver. Those strings. They pulled me on the bus, and while I watched television, and in the middle of dinner. They pulled and I had to get myself to the nearest empty place where I sat peering into far away, my eyes set on the very particles of air, the buzzing, slipping air, noisy in its aliveness. I rubbed my lips across Casard's spoon, feeling my way like the blind. I was nearly fifteen, nearly a woman. Sometimes, after I had warmed the spoon, I slid it down and held it there against me, rocking slow, just rocking. Afterward the spoon smelled like me and silver. Me and silver. Then I heard my own voice rising within me, always the same words: Kiss me, Kiss me, and I kissed and I kissed my faceless, imaginary him. Once the strings had pulled, the convex side of Casard's silver spoon revealed my ownface, wide and distorted. The strings inside had dropped me untethered, looselimbed. I tripped about the house, unsprung as a colt, thighs knocking into Momma's mahogany end tables, Itwas on such an afternoon that an accident occurred involving the dog. Miss America had spread her-

all these years Ani Baboostian wears a scarf. Now you will know. " Ani untied herorange and crimson scarfand raised herchin so the whole congregation could see the letters that covered her from neck to sternum. The tattoos were in the shape of a cross. "You young ones can't read Turkish," Ani said, her green

eyes opened wide. "Look here, young ones. Look at Ani

Baboostian, slave girl. These letters are the names of her owners. These are the oneswhoviolated her. Looknow and remember what you see." At first Van and I could not believe our eyes, but Ani lifted her chin and gave us time. Later, when the Der Hyre gently guided Ani to her seat, I could still see her in front ofthe altar, the writing on her throat irrevocably linked to the brass candelabras and the velvet curtain and the Cross. Suddenly, it made sense to me why the ancient songs were written in a minor key, why they seemed most true when paired with the sorrowful lament ofthe duduk. The duduk was the keening voice of the slave girl, and the martyred men and children. It was the voice ofCasard, the part that could not speak. At last I un-

derstood that the trouble in my belly was my grandmother calling out to me, and I was miserable and brokenhearted, listening to Casard.

self in the hallway, where it was a patch of sun reaching from the bathroom window. The dog slept, trusting that the people in her house would step around her, protecting her slumber. She warmest, in

WINlIER

ilr" ,nd people rose [o

In the winter of my fourteenth year, Momma and I found grace, which came not from things most

spealk <l,,

abundant-the cold, my kisses-but

manbrrs.

from an apparition we found in the

kh*nf o[ the

A*r*g dr* u**t*J

snow. We were both looking, Momma and I, though I suppose

comgregettrm, [hey

neither of us noticed the other until things had gone too far, the match had been lit and burned. I know now that what we sought was nothing so fine as grace, but something smaller, more immediate, an

rose hke pillflars

assurance or hope we could grow in our bellies, creating a space between us and that alvfulfalling snow, so si-

hr*

was a lazy dog, prematurely old; she moved only for food and the ro-

tation of the sun. Nights Miss America slumbered with Van,

stretched out over his covers; the

their sleep, touching back to back. By day she migrated throughthe house, splaying her body across sunbeams, soaking up the heat, until her fur grew hot and gave off electric two of them humping in

mm amciem[

ruim.

ifyou dared touch it. did not see her. The strings had

sparks I

pulled inside, making my limbs loose; I did not thinkto look down.

lent, so chill.

We looked, Momma and I,

though our methods could not have been more dissimilar. I shotgunned the world, spreading my shiny new lust like a new knowledge, a miracle thatcould savelives. While God unloaded white bombs on the roof, inside I rained silver kisses. I gave kisses to the windows above the radiator, wet kisSes hovering, steeming offthe glass.Inanimate and coarse obiects I fixedwith my new miraculous lust: doorknobs, car upholstery, pillows, the back of my hand (with emphasis on the soft place between the knuckles), a sheet of fresh paper, Momma's silk roses on

the dining table, the inside of my elbow, and my favorite, Casard's sterling spoons, Momma kept the spoons hidden in the dining room hutch. She took them out for special occasions and for polishing on the first Monday of every month. When Momma polished the spoons, she laid them in rows on dish towels, sparkling precious jewels. If ever I hovered near as she soaped away the tarnish that ate the metal, she put a hand out, saying, "Get away. Don't touch." Casard was dead three years, and still on the first Monday of everymonth Momma polished. She tuckedCasard's service into purple felt gloves inside a cherry-wood box, where the air and light would not hasten their ruin. The box contained serving pieces, demitasse spoons and spoons fortea, but my favorite were the round spoons Casard saved for Christmas and kuftah soup.

AXMMAY1994

My foot landed on her front paw, and from out of her dreams Miss America leaped, her tail whisking a vase of cut flowers from the hall table. The dog blinked at the flower-strewn carpet, uncomprehending. She began to whimper-it was mostly pride summoning all ends of the house. Momma's tread came up the stairs fast and accusing. Miss America slipped byher, hertail tucked under, taking the stairs in two bounds. "Who's fooling with the dog?" Momma hissed, rounding the corner. uSeta, that you? Don't you think I have enough to worry about?" I set the vase and flowers back on the table, but the spilled water would make a ring. Had Momma not come so soon, I could have wiped the table, but there she was. I said, "All that dog does is sleep." "Dog can't help it. People should mind where they're going." Mommashookherhead,wipingherhands on adishtowel.

"I'm

it's

tired, Momma."

"You've got no sense, that's your problem. Take a nap." "No." I wormed in my body. "It's my skin. It's too small." "Too small?" "The house, Momma. Howcanapersonbreathe in this place, so

microscopic."

Momma sighed, taking inthe hallway: thebedrooms at one

end, the stairs at the other. "There's outside for somebody wanting room," she said.

In winter, Outside was the universal threat. If the dog cried and would not stop, itwas put Outside; Van returned home late

from a party, and he was forced to shovel snow until the darknessfittedhim like a glove andthewind rose andOutside taught him to regret; youwerefool enough to loseyourkey, theywould find you hours later frozen Outside. "Stupid dog," I said, leaning against the wall. Momma's eyes fell on me, her mouth thin with worry. She was appraising me the way an impatient gardener might who had gone off to fetch a hose and returned to find weeds. I chanced a look at her: sure enough, her mouth was fixed, but something had come up in her eyes, some light. She was running fingers through her blue-black hair, then down the front of her dress, smoothing the folds of fabric, as she mulled me over. "Seta," she said, hervoice soothing, "now I'm going to ask you something and it's all right, you're going to answer." Momma wrapped a finger around a strand of her hair, "What," I said, hiding my hands behind me. "Honey, you doing your dreaming by daylight?" "No," I lied. "Mmm-hmm. Now, take your time." "Don't knowwhatyou're talking about," I snapped. "Seems stupid, you ask me.

"That's all right, now." Momma chuckled, covering her

mouth with fi ngers. "Well, you don't say." "No, Momma, I don't say." "Watch the mouth." I sighed and watched the stairs. "And-" she said, soft as a hum, "you're doing something new with

your hair."

ers she's got to do in her heart. The world's gonna change for her and she's got to get herselfready. You see? She's got to walk through some rooms, inside. Yes she does. She does she does she does." Momma rubbed mybackwith her palm, making big

circles. "Hmm?" I nodded into her shoulder. "There)s mine," she murmured. "You keep on going. You'll make

it."

The way she kept on with the giant circles was making me feel pleasingly small. Her voice made me want to ask about the rooms and confess I had changed my mind, I did not want to go.

Momma kept on making circles, her chin resting on my shoulder. "You know that hunger for touch-well, it iust gets bigger. You thinkit's on account ofbeing young andboycrazy, but it iust gets bigger." I picked my head off her shoulder to ask her what, what got bigger. "Shhh-shh," Momma said quieting. She rubbed my back and spoke to her thoughts. "Someday you'll know. It gets big and

wide as a mouth-" Maybe it was how the windows shivered in their sleeves, or how the cold air raced up the stairs, skirting our ankles, but we felt the wind before we heard the front door. Momma stopped her circles and the two of us froze. Againit my chest I could feel her heart beating fast, faster than my own. "Shhh," Momma said, as if to quiet her own breath, We cocked our heads and listened, Downstairs Miss America arnythtmg

efore n k***

I k***

was performing her welcome

th*U L,, mamrytmg

"I'm just trying it on the side,

muann

"Mmm-hmm. " "Momma, quit." "I'm just looking."

ffather ilmy nmother hadl commnttteJ * t"ooth[" het-*rJ

that's all. Momma, quit staring."

"Well." "Well?" "Well, what do you think?" "Your hair? Nice. Nice change.

Brings out your features." She

reached over and ran a dry palm across my forehead, then down the back of my hair. "My baby's growing, that's what I think. Think that means

I'manoldbroadbefore I turn

nmy

o[ her commnun,ib, aroJ [ha[ my gramJlmoth"n, tm parlttcular,

Juuply resemteJl my mo[her ahJlilcatiom.

around." Momma chuckled and this

dance: moan-crying, tail beating a switch against the wall. "Must be Van." "Shhh-" she said. Then we heaid the closet door. I closedmyeyes and listened as one of the good wooden hangers was removed from the bar and replaced with a heavy coat, I could not make out the muffled sounds that followed, but I knew. He would fold the scarf, placing it on the shelf.

Next he would drop his driving gloves inside the old fedora with the green feather and, reaching upward, set the hat back on the shelf.

time she did not cover her mouth, showing me her white-white smile. "Seta, you think your mother's an old broad?" The air around us was alive, dancing alive air. "I think you're beautiful, Momma," I confessed, the words spilling from my mouth simple and true, they were the truest words I possessed. "You are the most beautiful." "Don't be silly," Momma said, but she pulled me to her anyway. Our arms around each other, we found a comfortable place. It had been a long while, a year, maybe two, since we hugged like this, and in the interim I had grown to her height. I had grown awkward, too. I worried about where to place my head. But Momma's smell softened the worry and I was reminded of past comforts as myheadfoundits nest on hershoulder. "Miss America-the{ummox," I said, making Momma laugh back and forth. "Seta-Sue." I squeezed her tighter. "My Seta-Sue."

as we swayed

"Momma." "You listening to what I'm going to tell you? You ready to listen to your mother?" "Yes."

"Well?There's something Iwantyou to. remember. When a girl finds it's time to become a woman, she's first got to do some things to get herself ready. Some things the body's done. Oth-

,{NM

Momma pushed me away by the shoulders and we watched each other but did not say a word. I knew by her look that my father had come home and spoiled our tirie. I knew then that my mother did not want him in the house and that she was not going to say anything about it, and that I would earn a piece of her wrath if I dared ask why. Momma, silent, peered into my soul, her lovely eyes flat as stones. After a while she nodded, as though she had communicated all there was to say. She wiped her hands on the dish towel. "Wash up before you come set the table." My heart pounded. Dread crept up through my fingers,

making them twitch. Whatever happened now, I was part of it, Momma had made me part. She had talked about rooms and this was one of them. I did not want to go. Slowly, deliberately, Momma descended the stairs, her wedding ring knocking on the wooden rail. Voicestraveled up from the kitihen, butl coutd not make'out any words. Then the voices stopped and there was only buzzing air. What had happened? When did Momma $top wanting him, and why? I reached into my pocket for Casard's spoon. The silver had turned chill; I rubbed it with my thumb to make it warm. Would they make up? Of course they would make up. I held Casardrs spoonbefore me and gazed at my reflection. Kiss me. This is howshesees me. Kissme.This is howhewill see me. Kiss me. Kiss, kiss. Eyes like Chinese, nose wide as a pug. tr

MAY

1994

ANIMALS BELOWTHE POVERTY LINE

The Plight of the Yerevan Zoo By PETER KELEGIAN orty miles from Yerevan rises the

snowy, two-headed massif of Ararat, where it is said the Ark of Noah came to rest, bearing the genetic potential ofthe planet safely through the great deluge. Today, the Yerevan Zoo. logical Garden struggles to survive a similarly fierce, although more localized, catastrophe. [,ess assured ofdivine guidance than its biblical counterpart, it is in peril of splintering upon the shoals of the economic chaos and human need that have come to define

tional conservation effort in the wild; and Przewalski's horse, a native of Mongolia, the only true wild horse left in the world. The cut off in adequate funding for the zoo, after the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, terminated the research and captive breeding programs, halted construction on modern facilities sorely needed to replace cramped and crumbling animal quarters, and reduced the ability of the zoo to care forits animals-the lasta stateof affairsthat reached critical proportions in the winter of 1992-93, when, unable to afford or obtain enough food, watâ&#x201A;Źr, heat, and medical

supplies, the zoo's 30 keepers and assistants watched helplessly as approximately 40 percent of their charges died of starvation, cold and disease. The dead included six lions, two tigers, two leopards (including the last of the zoo's Anatolian leopards), one jaguar, one American mountain lion, three bears, and large numbers of

birds, reptiles and amphibians. Many more animals would have died were it not for the dedication of keepers like Haik

Arzoumanian, curator

of the Reptile

House, who took many of the cold-blooded creatures in his care into the warmth of his own home for the winter (see AIM, June

1993).

The elephant, a favorite among zoo a slow andpainful death from starvation and cold. Ironically, its huge

visitors, died

body, sectioned and fed to the carnivores, saved many animals from a similar fate. Some animals, including several deer and antelope, were killed to feed hungry locals, who simply scaled poorly guarded compounds and butchered unsuspecting animals on the spot. Most upsetting to zoo staff was the assault upon three Pere

David's Deer, members of a regal species discovered by Westerners grazing in

first

the gardens of a Chinese emperor more than two centuries ago. Located in a spacious outdoor enclosure carved into a hillside at the rear of the zoo, the male, female, and baby were set upon in the dead of night by intruders who pummeled the female half to death and

killed the baby outright before being driven offby keepers. According tq Sergei

the new Armenia.

At one time,

the

Yerevan zoo, considered one of the top ten zoos in the Soviet

Union,

housed more than 1,000

individual animals from 350 species and carried out important scientific studies and breeding programs on some of

i{rmenia's and

the

world's rarest animals, including the Anatolian leopard (Armenia's only

large carnivore);

the

Asia Minor viper (one of the rarest and most poi-

sonous snakes

the

world); Pere David's deer (extinct in the wild,

and found

in only a

handful of zoos world-

wide); the Kulan, orAsiatic wild ass, currently the object of an interna-

The laet ol the llona

AIM,MAY

1994

Gharabedian, thezoo's deputy director, ignorance is as much to blame for such acts

outright hunger. "Many people see zoo animals as livestock simply going to waste and don't understand that they are killing rare or special animals that are kept for the enjoyment of all our people." In aninstanceof simple sadism, wit}t no connection to hunger as a motivating factor, one of the zoo's four Transcaucasian brown bears (a smaller, more peaceful veras is

sion of the American gizzly bear) was beaten severely

in its enclosure by unofits

known assailants and eventually died

injuries.

lntcrnatlonal Rcrcuc Eflort A German television special, aired last August publicizing the plight of the zoo, created an immediate sympathetic reaction among the German public and led to what quickly became an international relief ef-

fort to save the remaining

animals.

Germany's national animal protection or-

ganization, Deutscher Tierschutzbund, and the London-based World Society for the'Protection of Animals (WSPA) soon

Walsh wlth rome ol the zoo'r herlthler resldentg.

made special fund-raising appeals to their

members and joined forces in a coordinated effort to get the animals safely through the winter and to ensure their longterm survival.

John Walsh, WSPA's international

after Armenia's ambassador to the United

projects director, conducted an on-site assessment and set the ground work for the reliefeffort in September oflastyear, right

firmed to WSPA the critical situation at the zoo and the need for immediate interven-

MONTEREY SUMMER LANCUACE

Nations, Alexander Arzoumanian, con-

AGINIA]\T

CfCornpury

:(CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT IL]NE22-AUGUST 17,198,4

ARMENIAN

We'AGet

Tlu

kantospaktlulangwge ofpraartday Antroia

SunrivalSkills

fuIance Riglt

Culture o Politics r Economics

PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING . BOOKKEEPING ANO AUDITING

AramAginian, CPA COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNTING SERVICES ALL YEAR ROUND FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONSULTING SERVICE COMPUTERIZED INCOME TAX-PLANNING AND FILING

MONTEREY INSTITUTE oF

Over lSyean experience

TNTERNATTqNAL STUprES

425 VAN BUREN

STREET,

MONTEREY, CA 93940

2131627 - 8050

TEL (408) 647-41 15 o FAX (4OB) 647-3534

650 SOUTH HILL STREET, SUITE 1 OI7 LOS ANGELES, CA 90014

AIM, MAY 1994

tion to save the animals.

Walsh, in consultation with Yerevan Zoo Director Sahak Abovian, developed a plan to get the zoo through the quickly approaching winter. Arrangements included 12,000liters of diesel fuel to heat the animals' winter quarters; 45 tons of high quality hay for the zoo's grazing and browsing animals; an agreement with a trucking concern for the delivery of potable water (to avoid the possibility of disease from raw river water); and agreements with surrounding farms to purchase dying animals to feed to the carnivores. Arrangements were also made to ship special foods such as "primate chow" and meal worm culture

forthcreptiles. Thus far, WSPA has distributed over $3,000 to Abovian, and is holding several thousands more in reserve should the zoo

require it.

veterinarian

from

Deutscher

Tierschutzbund was sent to examine the animals, and that organization has supplied the zoo with a wide assortment of veterinary pharmaceuticals, including antibi otics, tranquilizers, medication for intemal and external parasites, vaccines and vitamin and mineral supplements.

Money raised from concerned Germans is being distributed through the German Embassy in Yerevan where $8,000 of DeutscherTierschutzbund money is on tap for the zoo. Barbara Beck, a German for-

eign service officer-whose personal commitment to the rescue project was remarked upon by zoo director Abovianreleases money to the zoo as it is needed, upon presentation by zoo officials of receipts for supplies already purchased.

The office of the Vice Mayor of

Yerevan is in charge ofoverseeing the aid effort and monitoring the situation. His office is guaranteeing security for the supplies of diesel fuel and receiving weekly reports on the status of the zoo. The city council, which oversees zoo operations through its cultural affairs office, has put

the zoo on a list of special institutions slated to receive sufficient energy for its needs by this summer.

Because of the assistance of Deutscher Tierschutzbund and WSPA, says Abovian, dl the animals alive last fall have survived the winter. Cautiously optimistic about the future, he has even begun to rebuild the zoo's animal inventory, appealing to the people through newspaper and television advertisements to donate or sell to the zoo wild animals that they may be keeping as pets. Indeed, he has in this way been able to restock the zoo's inventory with several snake and bird species and even acquired a

young male lion that had outgrown its owner's house. Crippled by yean ofpoor care and improper feeding, yet gentle and Eusting, the lion has become an object of special affection for its keepers.

Fund lor Thc

ARMENIAI.I TEEl/X$Ol.I PRODUCf,IONS, D{C.

Anlmelr

Before traveling to Armenia, Walsh had wondered what the reaction of Armenians in Yerevan would be to an effort to help the zoo's animals, at a time when the

average Armenian was barely making ends meetand the numberof human deaths

from the elements, disease and malnutrition was climbing steadily. "When they found outotherwise, and learned that I was

here to help, they were usually very happy," Walsh says he also found that many people knew various animals by name and had been quite upset at the previous winter's deaths. There is no doubt in Walsh's mind that a

small cadre of children and their parents who visited tlte zoo faithfully every weekend to feed the animals get the credit for keeping many of the zoo's animals alive through most of 1993. "The weeds and brush the keepers had been feeding the ani-

mals have no real nutritional value," Walsh said. "It was the kids' scraps-tiny

apples, banana and citrus peels, spoiled food-that kept those animals going." The plight of the Yerevan zoo is, unfor-

tunately, not unique, as captive animal populations are among the first and most vulnerable victims of war and civil unrest and require WSPA's assistance. In addi-

l3{41 Shermcn tllcry CHANiIEL

(

[:t

f.??!fil

Sts.

Vccr Nuyr Cq 91605 PHONE:

(818) 982 1979

FAX:

(8r8) 982 7802

tion to helping the Yerevan zoo, the orga-

nization is currently running emergency aid efforts for the zoo in Tbilisi and several zoos in the former Yugoslavia. A handful of zoos in Russia are in bad shape and may soon be added to the list. After the Gulf

War which devastated the Kuwait City Zoo, Walsh was called upon to manage its

reconstruction. Forthe Yerevan Zoo, itis Walsh's hope that Armenian communities in Europe and the United States will contribute as well, buthe is not optimistic thatsuch will be the case. Abovian estimates that $50,000 a year will be needed to keep the zoo running. A 5,(X)0-letter test mailing by Boston, Massachusetts-based Yerevan Zoo Disaster Relief Fund of the WSPA, introducing the Armenian-American cornmunity to the zoo's predicament and requesting donations yielded only 34 responses and raised $947, not even enough to cover the cost of the

mailing.

"The greatness of a nation...can be judged by the way its animals are treated," said Gandhi. While it is uncertain how Armenia would measure up under such crite-

ria,

it is

clear that many people in Yerevan-zoo keepers and average citizens alike-have the best interests of the

zoo's non-human residents at heart.

Planning to visit

France

to spend some time in the French capital

Paris ?

We Offer you accomodations in our furnished studios just off the Ghemp..Ely.co.. Rooms include: kitchen, television,

telephonâ&#x201A;Ź. Monthly rate:

$t,3@ MinimumStay:

I tonth

Contact:

YEZEGUELIAX Armenia lnc.

34 AYcnue dcrGhamps Elyroot Peter Keleglan le a lrcelane wrlter based ln New Yotk. He spont tha vtntcr ln Armenla.

AIM,MAY

1994

PadrTSOO& Francc

Phone: (331 ) 43 59 65 81

Fax:

(331)40740859

WHENTHE GUNS DOTHE TALKING By GEBABD Pholo. by XflOFX

CllALlAl{D

n lilSEZlAx

he house has been hit by a bomb and collapsed. The ruins are at the

level of the cellar, and the remains of two floors and a roof form a gray expanse from which pieces of metal protrude here and there. Somewhere atthebottom of the hole there arethreebodies, a mother and her two children. A crane removes slabs of wall while men are busy lifting whatever can be lifted. But the hope thatsomeonemightbe aliveis less than slender. The bodies must have been crushed. All around there is a crowd, old women dressed inblack are wailing loudly. It is a display of

grief. But is grief, shown discreetly, any more deeply felt? Each culture, like each epoch, has its own way of mourning. Above, thereareotherhouses, intact, despitethe nro

bombs which fell in the garden and failed to explode. An SU-Z got under Karabakh' s airdefenses and unloaded its bombs on the

capital city of Stepanakert. Along with the conflict in former Yugoslavia, at the center

ofinternational attention, the one arising

from the question of

Mountainous

Karabakh is surely the most intense one cunently raging in the world. As evening falls, the bodies of the people

who have disappeared have still not been recovered. Only a child's arm which men wrap in cloth to hide it from the crowd. Slepanakert is situated in a basin and, at

little under 2,500 feet, is possibly the lowest place in a mountainous region which is mostly between 3,300 and 12,000 feet. The center of the town is laid out in straight a

streets and one does not have to go far be-

fore the more spontaneous roads begin. Many buildings are gutted, or have no roofs, with windows giving way to emptiness. Everything points to the area having been heavily bombarded, less by air power than

by Azeri artillery from Shushi which, at 3,960 feet, overlooks Stepanakert.

Atthebeginning of May 1992, afterfive months of incessant shelling, the authorities in Mountainous Karabakh decided to go for

broke. Shushi, anatural fortrress, appearod impregnable given the superiority of Azeri artillery, the existence ofjusta singleroad into the city, and behind it, a canyon some

5fi) feet deep where the Azeris had put hardly any forces. Seventy-odd Armenian volunteers climbed the rocks of the preci-

piceintn oplaces-ittook36 hours,climbing by night and taking advantage of a full moon-and the assault was launched at dawn on May 9, 1992 in liaison with tanks coming up from Stepanakert by road. The

surprise created panic among relatively little battle-hardened troops and turned the situation around. In April, apartfrom the occasional bom-

bardments-trro in 10days, half adozenon villages over the same period-the situation in Stepanakert is, as the inhabitants say us-

ing a Russian word taken straight from French, normal.Thatis, there is electricity all day long, but very few automobilesgas being extremely scarce. People walkin whatis a modest-sizedcity. The few airraid shelters are hardly used. This is not North Vietnam, during the American escalation, when waves of B-52s forced peopleto disperse outside the cities and build underground shelters and even individuals hole.s. In Vietnam, classes continued daspite the frequency and intensity of the bombardments because deep shelters hadbeen dug into which children slipped when the alert

sounded. But the schools in Stepanakert closed for several days for fear that one of the bombs might indeed hit a school. It is a matter of differing traditions. Here, people have never had to dig dikes to survive river flooding. Mountains lend themselves less to team work than to ambush and individual exploits. The capture of Shushi made possibleby two commando groups, is already, for the Caucasus, a fine example of work-

ing together.

The

landscape

Mountainous

Karabakh is very beautiful-mountainous, wooded, not monotonous, with valleys cut by fast flowing sreams and rivers bordercd by Lombardy poplars still leafless at this time of year. This variety of trces can be found right across the Eurasian continent, as far as the last oa-

of the silk routes of China. The traveller fases

miliar with any of the countries from the former

Yugoslavia to Afghanistan is not lost in Moun-

tainous Karabakh. The similarities in the landscape, food, music, the art of living and dying in the countryside-so obvious to the outsider are lost on

the inhabitants who are convinced that they are the best, if not the sole, rePrâ&#x201A;Źsentatives

way

of life.

olt THE

FROIITLII'E3

For the young people at the front, this war is seen as a patriotic epic that is all the more heroic because they have the feeling of having turned an almost desperate situation into victory-provisional though it may prove to be.

"Wehavesuryived,"says

Robert Kocharian,

the

leader of Mountainous Karabakh, "and we have changed the world's image of Armenians as victims of history. No one believed we would hold out." To get to the front, or the various fronts in the central East sector and -Agdam Martakert in the Northeast-a four-wheel drive NEVA travels over unfinished roads, through villages, some inhabited, some abandoned. Although most walls are still standing, roofs are gone and windows are smashed. In the ruins of the Armenian villages, a few old men-past 50 is old in traditional

One of the effects, indeed, if not one of the functions of war, is to empty a piece of land or control a people by relocating it. In Vietnam, the Americans called it "generat-

societies-and sometimes

ing refugees."

a few old

women, cling to their previous existence and tell how it happened, how the others came with tanks, like the one whose damaged shell with acrescentpainted on the side can be seen

lying not too far away. They tell

how many survivors remain and about the

flight. The stories are always similar and the reporter in areas of conflict has already heard them so many times. While the man or woman telling the story spins out his funereal tale, the sun is shining. Not far away a fountain can be heard flowing with water from a spring in the nearby mountain. We shake hands and leave. There are also Azeri villages. Empty. Thae-arealleys of mld bordered by houses

sacked by warin which the victor, whoever he may be, causes people belonging to the other side to flee. In the gardens; there are peach trees with delicate lilac pink blossoms, plumtrcrs with whiteblossoms. Everything is empty. Just a few ironbedsteads here and there rusting away. In a lean-to, a barrel has burst and birnches ofvine leaves

in which rice will never be rolled have tumbled out like dry tobacco.

Back on the road, buildings are transformed into well-kept barracks, with clean kitchens and dormitories and decent toilets. Individual weapons are well maintained, the uniforms are varied. The tnoops of Karabakh make up an army but it is easy to sense that they were, until very recently,just irregulars. No helmets. Are they in short supply? No, they simply don't like wearing them. Too heavy? Not macho enough? That is the down-side of the hcroic style that makes it possibleforthem to face the worstbecause, afterall, itis "libertyordeath."Itis the same with the civilians who remain intheirhouses during the air-raid warning-half lack of concern, half challenge-and refuse to do anything about digging shelters. AIM, MAY 1994

Destroyed tanks. Now, we are leaving territory of Mountainous Karabakh and entering the Republic of Azerbaijan. We can hear artillery fire ever more loudly and frequently, as we enterAgdam, an Azeri village that fell into the hands of Karabakh forces last year. There is a camouflaged truck in a courtyard serving as this front's telecommunications post. Information on the movement of tanks are given and exchanged, short orders heard. "It's like that all day long," says Gregori, a captain who belonged to the Soviet army until 1990. Not faraway, there is a firstaidcenter. Between operations, halfa dozen surgeons are sitting. There are a few men with minor injuries who have been operated on this morning. The seriously wounded receive injections and are moved to Stepanakertor, by helicop!er, to Yerevan where hospital conditions are less out-of-date. the

On both sides, there are tanks (T72s) but, it is said, far feweron the Armenian side. In theway ofindividual anti-tank weapons, on the Armenian side there are RPGTs (SPG7s). The artilleryconsists of BM2ls, known as GRADs, with a range of slightly over 12.5 miles, 122mm and 152 mm shells

(PUSHKA) with ranges of nine and eight miles respectively. And ttrere are only small quantities of all of these. On the other side, according to Mountainous Karabakh 661"33

Azeri artillery starts up again. The tanks beat a disorderly retreat, not

nian military leaders, the Azeri army is betlerequipped and, above all, better trained than in 1992 andl993. "Now, tleirshelters are solid. Before,

inmuch of ahurry. Night falls. Thenext six months-upto the start of another bitter winter-are expected to be hard. Both sides have been securing reinforcements. Meanwhile, Moscow remains the arbiter of the situation, although the mediation efforts of the CSCE are continuing through the consultations of the Minsk group (Sweden,

they had only trenches where they could hardly conceal themselves even

lying down," said one of those in charge ofthe sector. "They are fighting betterbutlthink that we are much more motivated. For us, losing means

losingeverything. ForAzerbaijan, itis just a setback." The morale of the recruits we chat with along the way is excellent. Yet,

Russia, United States, Turkey, France, Germany, Belarus, Hungary, Italy, Armenia, Azerbaijan,

those atthefront, fightup to amonth

at a stretch without being relieved, which is not the case on the other side. The officers are self-assured, although they admit that demography works against the Armenians and, consequently, so does time. Further North, in the Martakert region, we are in an excellent second-line position, as if in a fortress, with an

comprehensive view

of the

plus Mountainous Karabakh). In Azerbaijan, Moscow wants to achieve what she has just accomplished in Georgia where, having

W ffif

ffi Tlfo{,""

occupred by Azer! forcee

States, Russian

five to sixmiles away. We can

point

see

one can

men

done to ensure that Azerbaijan stays in the Russian orbit. In this respect,

the conflict in

only Karabakh terrltorles occupled by Azerl lorces, Summer, 1992

60,fiX)), theratioof deadandwounded given on the Armenian side is 1:10, which seems somewhat far-fetched. But it is guessed that on the other side the estimate is just the reverse. But at least these estimates have the advantage of having solid historical depth since they have always been in the

Mountainous

Karabakh is useful for Moscow. Perhaps circumstances will lead Russia to send a so-called "separation" force. No one can be absolutely certain of who will have to pay the political price-Mountainous Karabakh or Azerbaijan. Another factor which concems Moscow is the route of the future pipeline carrying oil from Baku. Of the two likely options-the direct route to Turkey through Armenia or onepassing North ofthe Black Sea fust-it is the second which Moscow prefers and will promote. ln any case, the independence for which the Armenians of Moun-

tainous Karabakh are fighting seems to be an unrealistic objective. In today's world, generally spaking, the inviolability of borders wins out over the principles of the right to self-determination, even though the example of former Yu-

directionforenemy losses, from the battle of Kadesh through war in same

Vietnam.

After the artillery prepares the ground, half a dozen Azeri tanks get underway. Slowly. Is it an attempt to break through or are they feeling out the enemy? Nothing moves along this Aunenianfront line. They waitforthe advance. The tanks cover a few hundred yards. Suddenly, the Armenians open fire. One of the tanks is hit. The others, a little way back, stop. The 34

which

thanks to its oil, its proximity to Turkey and perhaps encouragement from certain Western countries or business circles. But that is ruled out by Russia. At the appropriate moment, everything will be

lapsed one-story building-was itoccupied by soldiers or abandoned? Apart from that, the enemy loss count

u[eliable that

will

was hoping-and still hopes-to avoid a Russian military presence,

working from a remarkably accurate map (1:200,000) and an artillery duel has beenunderway forhalf anhourresulting in four wounded on the Armenian side. On the Azeri side, there is a col-

seems so

bases

Russian troops is Azerbaijan

are

admire the figures cited categorically as if those citing them had done the count themselves. It we take the ratio between Armenian and Azeri military forces to be 1:3 (20,000 versus

military

soonbesetup. The onlycountry in the present CIS where there are no

where Mountainous Karabakh ends and the foothills and plain making up Azerbaijan begin. Using binoculars, it is possible to see the Armenian fortified line below, andbeyondthem, the Azeri lines about walking. Artillery officers

workedto destabilize astate which initially did not want to belong to the Commonwealth of Independent

goslavia is an exception. Butmany other solutions are possible so long as thebalance offorcesremains favorable to the Armenians of Mountainous Karabakh. The attitude of the two regional powers, Turkey and han, diverges

AIM, MAY

1994

overtheconflictinMountainous Karabakh. The time has passed when the Western media-if not states-believed that these two

countries with their ancient rivalries were going to fight over the vacuum in Central Asia and the Caucasus creatcd by the collapse of the USSR. This view overlooked Russian geopolitical interests too easily. Turkey limits its current ambitions to support for Azerbaijan after toying with the twin prospects of influence around the Black Sea and Central Asia. As for Iran, which is a multi-ethnic state where Persians makeup a little less thanhalf theotal population, there are suspicions about Azeri nationalism and where it might lead. In addi-

ONcp You'vr SrnyED \fiTH Us Everything you need for your wedding, social event or meeting in Los Angeles is waiting for you in the heart of the Entertainment District. There's 32,000 square feet of multi-use space, luxurious guest rooms and suites, gardens, terraces and a health club, heated outdoor pool and whirlpool overlooking the Hollywood Hills. We're close to everything that matters, high on the hill and at the very entrance to Universal Studios Hollywood and CiryWalk. Call your travel agent, 8O0-HILTONS, or call us direct.

You'tt Covm Becr AGAIN. ANo Acem. ANn Acemr

tion, any stnengthening of Turkey that might turn that country into a major regional

power worries Tehran. For its part, thanks to a skillful policy ably conducted by President Levon Ter PeEossian, Armenia has accepted the Russian proposal, as it has the CSCE's, thus leading to a negotiated solution ofthe conflict. Aliev, on the

ne of the

effects, indeed, if not one of the functions of war, is to empty a piece of land or control apeople by relocating it. In Vietnam, the Americans called it "generating refugees."

contrary, rejected the possibility of a negotiated solution perhaps because he initially felt that he could seizeamilitaryadvantage, perhaps because it is difficultforhim,fordo-

mestic reasons, to agree to negotiate.

His recently pro-

posed

ceasefire

may simply be a

tactical

move.

555 Univercal Tenace Parkway Universal City, CA 91608 (818)506-2500

If you wantto learn Western Armenian (or just brush up)

Nevertheless, time

is working in Azerbaijan's fa-

Audio-Forunl now in its 22nd year,

vor. Butnot neces-

sarily for Aliev

offen Westem Armenian among its

who can boast ofno successes since he has beeninpower. Thereis theaddedreality ttrat Moscow is not on good terms with Aliev, either. Indeed, the war may still spread. An attack mightcome fromNakhichevanagainst Armenia. Theforces of Karabakhmightenlarge the front North-Eastward. Only Moscow is sure to achieve its end, given time, provided of coune, thatthe central govern-

selection of self-instructional language coluses. This audio+assette program

the language spoken by approximately 2 million people in

teaches

kbanon, Syria, Twkey, and Egypt. You set your own leaming pace with this unique programmatic method. Your cassette player becomes a "tireless

tutor" repeating the words and phrases

you want to hear until you under-

ment is stable.

. Meanwhile, mg.

stand them. it is the guns doing the talk-

Tranelated ftom theFrcnch by fony Bofl?tt

Genrd Challand, who teache, atthe Ecole Suprleurc & Guene ln Parls, has Wo new booke comlng outthls yar:The Mirrors of a Disaster (Blue Cnne Books) rrrdThe Ail of War in World History (Unlwxclty of Calh

lomlaPrc*l

Western Armenlari: 8 cassettes (7hr.) and 319-page textbook, $115. (CT residents please add sales tax.)

Toordercalltoll-freel{00-243-l234,orfax(203)453-9774. Toorderbymail,sendthis adwithyournameandaddress,andacheckormoneyorderinU.S.Funds. Orchargetoany major credit card by enclosing card number, expiration date, and your sigratr:re. Audio-Forum's 56-page Whole l{orld Language Catalog llm.s 264 courses languages. Call or write t3$oPr.

aurlo',io THE

I.ANGIIJACE SC'L'EIEE AIM, MAY 1994

CALL TOLLFREEz l-80L243-l2jj,4 Room G648, 96 Broad St., Guilford, CT 06437 35

PHOTOESSAY

hfte Photor and Text by GHRISTOPII Lll{GG

Indesertedvillagesin A > M ountainous Karabakh, s odie r s speabnore plaihly than

A Many of the childrenwlio were sent to live with r e lativ e s and fri ends in Ye rev an

govemment fficials. "The Azeris have lost Karabakh, but are notwilling to acknowkdge it yet. They even shoot at the gravestones in our cemeteries, trying to kill the dead.

and Moscow to escape the heavy bombing have begun

to return. It's a safe city, ifyou don't consider the occas ional shelling which has stanedup again. With no cars on the streets,

"But even if thewholeworldtums against us, we will not give up," they say, young and old. They are resolute andfar-sighted. " Hiring 10,0N more soldiers will not help them get Karabakh back But as soon as Baku recognizes our independence, we will give back the landthatwe have takcn

childrencan play anywhere.

all

outside of KarabaWt." 36

AIM,MAY

1994

Oil, or "black gold" hard to come by. The gas whic h come s in from Ye revan each day goes tirst to the

.military, then to basic se

rtt ic e s-not t o

c iv

ilians

who have towalkto get

anywhere.

Nofuel andno gas also means that everybody has to look outfor

their ownheating and cooking material.

AIM,MAY

1994

Akxander Arakilian, a 6 l -year-old farmer from the village of Kartn Tah was takcn hosnge in the region of Kubatli while looking for material to rebuild his house which hadbeen severely damagedby GMDmissiles raining down fron Shushi. He was kept and beaten ahnost daily for three months. On the day of his release, a sheep is slaughtered in the tradition of sacritice madagt , and there is no end to the vodl<a. Stores andmarlcets are as good as empty. The little that there isfor sale is too cxpensive to buy*with the exc e ption of me at and fts h,

whichare cheaperin n than in Ye rev an.

Stepanake

The

few factories that hav e

not been bombed attempt to

maintain a re gular schedule, butwithout a constant power supply, nonnal operations are inrpossible. The

silkfactory of

Stepanaken used to employ 200A wornen. Today, 250 work 38

there, some coming from as as 4 miles away every m,orning. Most days they get

far

inafew short hours belore the director sends them home, afi e r Jinal w o rd that there will be no more

electricity that day.

In spite of all the hardare returning to their libemted villages. " My husband has already returned to our land and startedworking onit. As ships they face, fartme rs

ioonas

he hasfixedup one room, I will follow hittt " This, because before they

AIM, MAY 1994

wereforced out of the village, the Azeris burnt down all the houses, atactic usedby both sides in this interminable

contlict.

t Chrlctoph Llngg loa

ficcl,lncephotogt phct

llvlng ln Audrla.

Seventy-five-year old

Arfenia had ltved and worked alone in Shushi all her life. " Everything was

fine until

1988. Then, the

troubles started. In the s tore s, Arme nians w e ren' t sented any more. I couldn' t even buy bread any rnore."

She left Shushi

andfoand

refuge in Stepanakert, in a house with no ranning water, no electricity, broken windows and a ceiling tlwt could come down any time. There are no

relief

organization to care for the

Arfenias.The church es@blished an old age lnme

of sorts inthe schoolhouse, about ayear ago. In that limited space, without beneftt of government funding, live I 3 women and 9 men. Five of the women had beenheldhostage by the Aze ris fo r s ev e ral months.

"We were beaten every

day,"

one remembers. The

Intemational Red Cross succeeded in arranging for a prisoner exchange: 12 Azeris

for4Annenians.

AIM,MAY

1994

ARMENIANS IN IRAN

Between TWo Worlds

By GARlllE ZEITLIAN All pholo. DyABilINEH JOHANIiIES

ears after she left Tehran, Armineh Johannes, now

Paris-

based photographer, returned to her old neighborhood. What she

found distressed cssed her. "What struck me was the constant fear in everyone-fear of being arrested, fear of being questioned by the authorities, fear of being humiliated. Most people are so used to this constant state of fearthatthey don'teven realizethatthey are living in fear. That is the worst part of all." Before the Islamic Revolution of L979, Iran boasted a 250,0(X)-strong Armenian community with a recognized role in the counEy's prosperity. While Iran is not the fatherland, fumenians did feel at home. Is Iran still home for the I 10,000 Armenians who continue to live there? For those who left, has it become a merely nostalgic projection, a past remembered as a Golden Age gone astray? In what ways did the Islamic Revolution shatter the arrangement which the Armenians of Iran had shaped

under the Pahlavi regime? What is the mixed bag that the Islamic Republic of kan offers its largest non-Muslim community? Fifteen years after the Revolution, Arch-

Artak Manukian. Prelate

the

Tehran Diocese of the Armenian Church, prefers a cautious stand. "I was arnong the first to meet with hnam Khomeini after the Revolution andhe assuredme thatthe situation of the Armenians in lran would improve. We are still patiently waiting." Whereas formany of kan's Shiites, the Islamic Revolution marked the return of the Hidden Imam, their spiritual leader, Annenians and others amonghan'sethnic andreligious minorities are still ambivalent about the Revolution's impact on their status. The Armenians, who settled in Iran in large numbers in the early lTth century, had

ity

and has granted us

large

prerogatives through the Church concerning issues such as marriage, divorce and in-

heritance," stated ArchbishopManukian. '"The wills involving Armenians are prepared

and executed by the unique authority of the Prelacy. In the same manner, marriage and divorce are conducoed through the

number of specific rights derived from

services of the Church,"

their official recognition as a religious minority. The 1 906 Constitution retained tlrese rights and guaranteed equality to all Iranian citizens while reserving ministerial posi-

continued the Prelate. Couples still have to officially register marriages

tions for Muslims. The same restriction applied to the judiciary and the high command

and divorces, deaths and inheritance revenue, j ust

like all other kanian citi-

of the armed forces. Armenians were al-

zens. The administration

lowed one representative in the Senate and two representatives in the National Consultative Assembly or Mejlis. By the 1930s, the Armenians, together with the non-Shiite Muslims, the Jews and the Parsis (Zoroastrians) had obtained 0re rightto manage their community affain following their own religious laws. '"The Islamic Republic of kan has also officially recognized Armenians as a religious minor-

of the community's education and charities also falls under thejurisdiction of the Armenian Church. In addition to the Tehran Diocese, there is the Diocese of Nor Jugha near Isfahan (with Prelate Korun Papian), and the Diocese of Tabriz, in nothern kan (headed by Nshan Vardapet Topuzian) and sizable Catholic and Protestant communities. During its heyday, the Armenian community of kan boasted numerous professionals andbusinessmen. In the 1960s, during ShahMuhammadRezaPahlavi's exten-

sive Westernization program known as the 'White Revolution,' anumberofArmenian youth attended American and European colleges and universities and entered government service-a sign of status and apar-

ticularly attractive prospect for religious minorities. According to Hovhannes Pahlivanian, a historian of the Iranian-Armenian community, in the 1960s and 1970s, there was an average of five Armenian deputy ministers

Clockwleetrom left: tn Armenlanpopulated vlllage ol Bluran near lafahan,

gralfltl encourages a vote lor Vardan

Vardanlan lor Mellls; All Savlors' Cathedral ln NorJugha, bullt !n lTth c.; Davld of Sasun mural and ewlmmlng pool enrlch Ararat Cultura! A*oclatlon-domplex.

in the Iranian Cabinet. During the same period, 65 Armenian scholars taught at Iranian universities, 170 Armenian professionals 'i'

workedinthemedicalfield, andover50Armenian artists and directors-a proportionally high number forany of theethnic communities of Iran-played the role of cultural trend-setters. The community alsocounted such absentee landlords as the Tumanian brothers who owned 28 villages. The Diocese of Tabrizitself owned a numberof villages which were registered as tax-exemPt religious endowments. The Iranian-Arme-

nian peasantry-nearly 25 percent of the community in the 1960s-lived mostly in northem Iran as sharecroppers, tenants, and artisans. There was distinctpride in being IranianArmenian Iag av o ri o rov, in the days ofthe Shah.

"The Armenians were

the

cornerstone

the

Pahlavi administration," says Norik Shahbazian, a chefnow living in Glendale. He remembers the days of his military service in the early 1970s, part of which he spent training in northern

Iran. "That is historically

Armenian territory

and

therefore there was a natural sense of belonging," says Shahbazian.

Today, the feeling that

AIM, MAY

1994

plagues the diffbrent layers of the Armenian community is the fear of losing their pre-

rogatives. In addition, Iranian-Armenians are apprehensive about adopting a new and "for-

Clockwise from left: RESILIENCE AND RESTSTANCE: The sign Aghaliat Mazhabi (religious minority) seen here inside a

eign" lifesty le, constitutionally man-

grocery store is required of all Armenian busanesses; A/ik press room; Nairi Bookstore.

dated in accordance with Islamic Law and enforced by the au-

thorities. Such

Decades before

the Islamic Revolu-

tion,

lifestyle is difficult to

accept,

Communism

and its promise of

because

wealth redistribution

throughout its history,

had been seen as a so-

the Armenian commu-

lution to social ineq-

westward looking and saw that

uity. A number of Iranian-Armenians were

as progressive.

instrumental in establishing Tudeh, the Ira-

nity was

Typical of

the many who had ben-

efited from Westernization, and saw the Islamic Revolution as retrogressive, an elderly Iranian-Armenian emigre still refers to Imam Khomeini as "stubborn, stupid, and backward," without comprehending the economic and social imbalance dynastic rule had, in fact, created. There were also many Armenians who neverreally understood Iran's deeply Muslim identification and the roots oflranians' antagonism towards the West, which, as the Shah's prime supporter, was seen as the major cause of mass destitution.

PAFALLELS

11{

ABTENIAT A]ID

nian

Communist

Party, in I 92O, in an attempt both to replace Western influence and promote equality and

justice for all Iranians. In the 1940s, then in the 50s and again in the 60s, the same dream inspired tens of thousands of Iranian-Armenians, mostly peasants and lower middle class artisans, to move to Soviet Armenia. The perception prevalent among most

Iranian-Armenians, that discrimination only followed the Islamic Revolution, simply does not hold true. The Shah temporarily banned repatriation in the 1940s and the

SAVAK or secret police imprisoned many Tudeh members in the 50s and 60s. Moreover, periods ofheavy control which targeted religious minorities abound in Iranian history and reflect the ebb and flow oflranian nationalism and the government's stance toward the West. Armenian schools are a good case in point: Armenian was the language of instruction in the first Armenian schools of Iran, established in the flrst half of the I 9th century. In 1936, Reza Shah decreed their closure and con[iscated community property. When the schools re-opened in 1943, the government establi shed a mandated curriculum, required all non-Armenian subjects to be taught in Farsi; Arabic replaced English as the lbreign language requirement and Armenian language instruction was limited to six or eight hours per week. The issues haven'tchanged much today.

"Our major preoccupation is the Armenian schools," said Archbishop Manukian. "After the Islamic Revolution. the Iranian Parliament adopted a law which implied that all

.-F

'y married. Fearing the draft, he fled kictan with forged documents, riding :b *ross the Afghan desert. Upon his

beth Taylor. In 1987, the Central Bank of han solicited his services for two years in orderto ensure theprotectionoftheCrown

&ther to New Delhi where he was

jewels from Iraqi shelling. George Vardanian, 49, of Glendale, was the owner of the Old Fashion Deli. During the Revolution, his store, like other liquorstores, was burned down. "Oneday,

Karachi, he tumed for assistance {in tlN.He was turned down. He trav-

, .,#y his wife. Again rejected by the I &V crossed the border into Nepal rth 1 I other lranian-Armenian refugees,

a former friend turned fundamentalist

carrying false Portuguese passports. A

came in with 40,000 Tumans offering to completely restore the Deli and asking me to stay. My Persian friends remained faithful till the end," remembers Vardanian. Another gemologist, Harut Tsaturian, talks about the economic advantages of the Revolution in lerms of ensuring economic self-sufficiency. "Before the Revolution, we used to importmany pieces and stones from overseas. But now, we make the majority of ourjewelry pieces which can easily compete in foreign markets." A most noteworthy story of survival is A/i&, Iran's only Armenian-language daily newspaper. Established in l93O, Alik' s circulation has increased by 50 percent since

rponth later, they arrived in Germany and after staying in a Hanover refugee camp for 21 months, they arrived in Los Angeles

in 1990.

In the immediate aftermath of

the

departurefromlranin 1979 andthe establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian-Armenian community Shah's

was depletedof its leadership: thelargeentrepreneurs, the big bankers, the absentee landlords, the upper-level professionals, the government officials-almost one fourth of the community-left or were asked to leave. Today, the lranian-Armenian collmunity is formed by middle and lowermiddle class Armenians, old moneyed people now totally impoverished and destitute, andadiminishing number of peasants. The community has developed new leadership. Its attitude is one ofresilience and resistance.

One success

story---or survival

story-

Avetian, a native of Tabriz, known throughout Iran as a greatjeweller and a gemologist specializing in gem identification and appraisal. The owner of a workshop on an upscale Tehran street, Avetian boasted a clientele that once included such royalties as Princess Grace of Monaco, King Juan Carlos of Spain and King Hussein of Jordan and such celebrities as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizais that of Manuel

the Revolution, according to Editor-inChiefNorayrElsayan. In 1992alone,finan-

cial contributions by the community allowed the newspaper to purchase new offsetprinting machines and computers. While it reflects the editorial policies of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF),A/*

Glendale, was arrested in 1983 by the Revolutionary Guards while renting a European film at a video store. The Guards confisCated all theforeign videos and tooktheownerand other customers to their headquarters. They werereleased only after signing apledgeto

;"t

boycott all foreign movies.

Islamic Law stops at the gates of Haikashen-a self-contained resort town in the province of Mazandaran, on the Caspian

Sea-where visitors don'thave to abidL by AIM, June 1993). Establisheil

the rules (see

and administered

Father Nerses

Tosunian of the Armenian Catholic Church, Haikashen caters to over 30,000 vacationers every year. During the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, over 15,000 Armenians found refuge here. The Iran-Iraq war presented the Arme-

nian community of lran with an immense test: fighting in the Iranian army over borders andinterests with whichtheyhad nothing to do. Edik Ghahramanian,2g, another resident of Glendale, was 20 when he was called for service against Iraq and sent to Khorramshahr on the Iran-Iraq border. He fought for l8 months and is still amazed. "I was lucky that I came home unharmed. Many of my Armenian friends were killed on this front line." The Armenian community lost over 40 youth and celebrated the return of over 300 prisoners of war. This ultimate sacrifice earned the respect of the ka-

nian authorities. Families of victims were

Jeweler Manuel Avetlan's underground cavern of gold stalactttes coverecl wtth preclous atones often visited by the authorities. Warstories are storiesof survival, deceit, luck and fate. In addition to the casualties, there are hundreds, ifnot thousands, oflra-

nian-Armenian servicemen whose lives

continue to be affected by that war.

A 47-year-old survivor, now living in

Los Angeles, was aconstruction workeion a site near the lraqi border when Iraq invaded Iran. He and otherworkers-some of them Armenians-were taken hostage and

remained in captivity for

eight years. "As Armenians, we were treated much better than were the

Iranian prisoners of war. We were kept in separate compounds," he remembers. Upon his release, as

the United Nations

ar-

ranged for his departure to Pakistan, his family members in lran were harassed by the Hezbollah who had accusedhim, in absentia, of

having betrayed his coun-

try. These tragedies have left

permanent mark. He

suffers from

severe

memory loss and depression. "I walkall nightin the streets. Thepolice know me

well." The story of 3 I -year-old

Era Gevorg Aragi

and

Albrik Artounian is

an incredible account of escape. In 1987, Albrik was 24 and

Clockwlse lrom left: TEHRAN SCHOOLS:

Gulbenklan school yard; Tounlan school entiance and clagsroom. AIM, MAY 1994

the principals of Armenian schools should

be Muslims. Coeducation was forbidden

andtheveilwascompulsoryforallwomen," he continued.

Today, only 13 ofTehran's 26 Armenian schools have Armenian deputy principals. "This is to maintain surveillance and government control over these schools," explainsJohannes, whohadto obtain the writien authorization of the Ministry of Guidance and three different offices ofthe Education Department, in order to take photographs.

Seda,60, was amath teacherfor 3l years in Tehran's Arax Elementary School. "In order to become a teacher in an Armenian school after the Revolution, one had to pass a special Islamic Law test which is very hard and has become a major barrier for Armenian educators. Most think this is intentional," concluded Seda.In 1992, she emigrated to Glendale, the city which has become the Mecca of Iranian-Armenians. In 1982-84, the Islamic Republic of Iran tried to impose the teaching of Armenian religion in Farsi in the country's 40 Armenian schools. The Armenian community contested this vehemently. Archbishop

Manukian immediately met with the authorities and eventually convinced the government to withdraw its decision. "The Archbishop prepared a monograph on the Armenian Apostolic Church, its tenets and history, and submitted it for government approval. Authortzation was finally obtainedto use

in all Armenian schools," said George

this seems to be good news, the offer is not much of a choice. Even private schools must follow the state-mandated curriculum. "Presently, students are expected to contribute about 500 to 1,000 Tumans per school year. The remaining expenses are covered by government subsidies. We are worried about assuming all the expenses if we privatize," said Aghazarian. "The conversion would require 20 million Tumans which is a lot for us," added Aghazarian. "Given the current circumstances, what makes these schools Armenian is that they only enroll Armenians," said Aghazarian. While Iranian students are obliged to be registered at the school in the vicinity of theirresidence, Armenians can choose the school they wish to attend. In addition to the schools, community life has also been affected by the Islamic Revolution. All Armenian markets have to carry the signA ghaliat Mazhabl (religious at the entrance and inside. After 1979, all Armenian associations had to seek

minority)

authorization from the new authorities. "Access forbidden to non-Armenians," reads the small sign posted on the gate of the vast Ararat Cultural Association complex. A presence in Armenian community iife in Iran for 50 years, it was established to consolidate cultural activities. It counts over2,000members throughoutlran today. In I 974, the Association financed the construction of a huge athletic and cultural

complex which has, since then, become a social landmark for the community. "The

Ararat Association provides Armenian teenagers in Iran with an Armenian surrounding where they can meet and maintain the Armenian spirit," said Hrach Zaifian, Deputy Director of the Association. A new construction projectis under way for the expansion of the premises. Vanik Petroian, the director of Ararat Association, takes pride in what he termed the organization's "ex-

cellent relations" with the Iranian authorities and the Ministry of Guidance. "Twice ayeat, an envoy of President Rafsanjani pays us a courtesy visit," boasted Petroian. Beyond community life, personal freedoms and lifestyle choices have been fundamentally affected. The theocratic authorities require that all women wear the veil to covertheir hair and to appear in public only in the presence of a male relative. Make-up and accessories are prohibited. Moreover, the government has outlawed the viewing of foreign videos, listening to music, danc-

ing, and of course, the use of alcohol and drugs. "This feeling ofnever feeling free, never really breathing, always feeling sort of choked. or feeling like you are carrying endlessly a heavy burden on your shoulders is very tiring morally. You feel suffocated amongst all the prohibitions," observed Johannes.

Annik Sargisian, once a United Nations employee in Tehran and now a resident of .nlill

this book

Aghazarian, the SecretarY of Tehran's Prelacy Council. The government designated the Prelacy Council as the party responsible for school expenses, repairs and the salary of instructors teaching Armenianrelated subjects. According to a recent law, Armenians have the right to establish private schools. While

I r.J-:jiirr

---

-a

BONDENS

' i

Wifi Afimnia m mil6s With Azelbaiiil 268 mils Casoian Sea mstlire 459 mibs

poFULAnoil 63,369,8@

ErHtcconEpl{s Persitr 51% 24%

leadership. Its attitude is one ofresilience and resistance.

mainedin captivity foreightyears. "As Armenians, we weretreated much better than were the kanianprisoners of war. We were kept in separate compounds," he remembers. Uponhisrelease, as theUnitedNations arranged for his departure to Pakistan, his family members in Iran were harassed by the Hezbollah who had accused him, in absentia, of having betrayed his country.

One success is

These tragedies have left apermanent mark. He suffers from severe memory loss and depression. "Iwalk allnightinthe streets. The

police know me well."

The story of 3l-year-old Era Gevorg Aragi and Alb,rik Artounian is an incredible account of escape. In 1987, Alb,rik was Z andnewly married. Fearing the draft, he fled to Pakistan with forged documents, riding camels across the Afghan desert. Upon his arrival in Karachi, he tumed for assistance totheUN. He was nmed down. Hetravelled further to New Delhi where he was joined by his wife. Again rejected by the LJN, they crossed the border into Nepal with I I other kanian-Armenian refugeâ&#x201A;Źs, carrying false Portuguese passports. A month later, they arrived in Germany and after staying in a Hanoverrefugee camp for 2l months, they arrived in Los Angeles in 1990. In the immediateafterrnathof theShah's departure from Iran in 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of kan, the

Armenlan ceruelllcr ol thc lran-lreq wer kanian-Armenian community was depleted of its leadenhip: thelargeentre,preneurs, the

big bankers, the absentee landlords, the upper-level professionals, the government one fourth of the commuor were asked to leave. Today, the Iranian-Armenian community is formed bymiddle and lower middle class Armenians, old moneyed people now totally impoverished anddestitute, and a diminishing number of peasants.

officials-almost

nity-left

The community has developed new

lnfhe

Illexl lssue oJ Alffio.o

NUCLEAR POWER FOR ARMENIA The Metsamor nuclear power plant may soon re'open as a

tomporary yet fundamental solution to Armenia's energy crisis. What is the price tag?

ARMENIAN STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA'S PUBLICSCHOOLS Armenian students have become the lastest growing group with limiled English proficiency in California. Are educators and administraiors irepared tb address the needs of these immigrants? INTERVIEW

Archbishop Parkev Martirosian addresses the unique role of a cleric in war-tom Karabakh, where religion and nation' ality coalesce. FASHION At the Untamed Fashion Assembly in Latvia's capital, fashion designer Serge Ganiumian exhibits his avant-garde de-

signs-untamed.

AIM, MAY

1994

story-or suryival story-

thatof Manuel Avetiarl anative of Tabriz,

known throughout Iran as a greatjeweller and a gemologist specializing in gem identification and appraisal. The owner of a workshop on an upscale Tehran street, Avetian boasted a clientele that once includcd such royalties as Princess Grace of Monaco, King Juan Carlos of Spain and King HusseinofJqdan and suchceleb,rities as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1987, the Central Bank of kan solicited his services fo,r two years in order to ensure the protection of the Crown jewels from Iraqi shelling. George Vardanian,49, of Gle'lrdale, was the owner of the Old Fashion Deli. During the Revolution, his store, like other liquor stores, was burned down. "One day, a former friend turned fundamentalist came in with 40,fi)0 Tumans offering to completely restore the Deli and asking me to stay. My Persian friends remained faitMul till the end," remembers Vardanian. Another gemologist, Harut Tsarurian, talks about the economic advantages of the

Revolution in terms of ensuring economic self-sufficiency. "Before the Revolution, we used to import many pieces 8nd stones from overseas. Butnow, we make the ma-

annf EN lA AND IRAN [?ffi,il*H1i,i;ffi:i*::H,HH,i;; I WALKI NG TH E TIG HTROPE l:#:f#l;3:*"H;&Hn,"tr,uttr," I

the country's regulations and we Eeat the regime with respect," boasted Elsayan.

| ,l1f freedomofspeechfolAlmenjalthT3n-ln

rmeniaistheonlynon-Muslim flictregardlessofwhose itis. Ongoffiil6ffffH.i""I#Hlil I| iff';i,','T,i"T"",lY,l"l"rfrTiljL'.tt":;

creased in Iran since the Revolution.

figion isn't the only differanc"

-Accordi.ng,,ip"6ri,r,"11iL?ijJ#-,

'lr" |

ShahhadanumberofagreementswithTur-

llrucRepybficoflran.Andre-lwiuldbeaseriousriationalsecgrityissue iffi#i+ii:Titll,Jfr{, *l*tx"1+i**t'l *y country, but even more so for Iran. II for

| betweentheselwoneighbors.'ilereiscut- | ltso*', fOmiliionethnicAzerislafu112a keyandadoptedavigilantandconservativelture,worldview,historicalexperienceandlpercentofkan'stotalpopulation;iiveconpositionwithregardstoallmattersthat lgeography.Butnoneoftheseadduptofun- lientrated in what'ij cafled Iranian

rela- | I9qI was reserved about the commemoration of I the Genocide, the new authorities_allow for I could-,- rn.any in.any. way, couro.' way' jeop_ardize those Jeoparolze .tnose

tions," saidAjemian.Infact,whiletheShah

damental polrtical political

differences. dit-terences.

9, the contrary, diplomatic and economic relations beiweeir the two countries have been rn place since Armenia's inde-

immediately across the border I Azerbaijan, 'former tfie So'viet iipuutic or | rrom is - r --I Azerbaijan, where the total rpoiulation | less thari eight million. I tne posiibility of lranian-Azeris get-

mass demonstrations on April24, so long nendence.fa$gountrylrasanembassyand asprotestorscarryanti-Westernplacards. I l19harg6d'affairesintheother'scaiitat. ltingfrredupindifenseoftheirbiethrenin Thefactremains,however,thatcaution Weekly flights between Yerevan- ana t-erUaiian hasbeenheldincheckrather is.no longer.an o_ption but a necessily. successfu[ysofar.Iran'sattemptstomainBishop Haik th." Indeed, suih lints-- rvithout political tain a neutril position in the orfooirg 18:. . -Hovsepian, Superintendantof the Pentecostal Church I pricetags-areessentialforArmeiia,land- | flictsometimeigetstheTehrans-overnment "onof Iran and the Middle East which counts I lockedind under blockade, seeking eco- | in t ouble with iis own citizens"who do not 10,000 members in Iran nomic and politiial in- | understand the unwillingniss 1o .ona"-n alone, was abducted last Karabakh's military rr"Z"s"" und th" r"'Sofar,Iran has presurting iapture of dzerbai.;ariieoitory, Ipu"ty' Ten days later, his man_g1ed corPse was sented no such piice rr,i pol"ntially explosilve potiiicatiitufound. His crime? RetagstoArmenia,which ationcrlateauytinsoftrrousindsofAzeri fusal to sign a gov_erna strategic I refugees who have utt"-pt"o to reek asy| itionsiders mentdocumentconfirm- | ^economicandpolitiialllumintranturthercompotinosGpiourem.

I I TehralrunrEguhrly. |

I I I

l I I aepenaence. l | I I I 'lI I I I | I I I mI I ingreligioustolerationinIDpartner.|.rn"'i""ntdowningofanIranianplane

thecounfiry,draftedinre-lm-Iranbelievesthatan|flyingoverKarabakhfrdcarryingcivitians

sponsetoarequestuvlffiArmeniawithtiesto|ljan6ttrerexampleofwhatcLulihavere.

Amnestylnternational. pr r-rot signing,

b_oth Russia and

the

sultedinadiplomaticcrisis,butdidn't.AlI thoughnoco'nclusivereporiiiirtr'astottre HovsepianwasprotestI reasJn for the accidint, Iran blames ingtheimprisonmentEtheregion.Thisiscriti.|KarabakhandYerevanhasfeltthefallout. and torture of Muslims cal, f6r not only does I Nevertheless, even as kanian demonstrawhohadconvertedtothe Pentecostal Church, the :iil" ;:",*," il*\;,",? I :m*:**:|J*'l;*rtm:T';il* officialbanonthepubli-M;lt,'H,,[ifrill[?li:|-'T;,.[frT:f':ffi:*Jifi3T:'^," cation or import of Bibles, ano Sloles, and me the Armenlan Embarey ln Tehran *'ii: a^r,a6hani,6 6*a'.nii^ gove_rnment,sattemprto

West can neutralize Turkey'sinfluenceln

ffi

inlerfereintheinstmctionofreligioninnon-

| Muslim lvlusllm schools. scnools. The r ne fact ract that the govern- | - of his fu- | ment confiscated the videotape neral raises questions about- the abductors. I "Yuly rvrany ArrneDrans Armenians lerl left- rran Iran alter m_e I _ lfter the Revolutionthinkingthattherewouldbedif- the most im- || ficulties for them. However,

:;Jf*t':t"

siderationsbeginwithlran'shopesforanoil

I :ml?t:ffi:#Xtl,tJ,i:tffi:tlil,*#:

I pipeline E can bypass Turkey I Pipeline to Europe lrgpe that can _bypass andgo through Armenia. l99j saw $30 mil- | lion in rade between these neighbors-de- | spite tlte splte the abselce absence of supportive supportivi infrastruc- I gre.-fhe bridge that is used to cross from I Southern Armenia into Northern Iran, is ii';J;;:: | fi

eermission to hold massive Aprii Z4 demonstrations in Tehran was denied this vear year and commemoration of the Genocide was

timitea to church services.

ro avoid such problems and more, Iran To hasexpresseditswillingnesstosupportboth *re nussian and the 6SCn plu'.'" initiu-

l ;ii"",TU:l lli,

;JJ#

"111",i:'J,lI I venis more trucks from mdling the some- | in XaraUa[tr. Iran's other concern I times l0hourridefromyerevaitoTehran. "ffi is Armenia's reladespiteeverything,whenwelgolargyg.lo ,t r vo^lllrp o[-t1ad9 is expected to in- tions withtheUS andthe-Wett. rftn"u".y otherArmeniancommunitiesintheMi,ldle I crease to $100 million in 1994. Construc- | natu.e of the Islamic Revolutio'n, our schools, our churches and our cultural institutions and activities. And even now,

Iran is

East, we can see that, we are .f3ring I tion of a permanentbridge, to be comptgqeA I opposed to any state in the region'becomwell,"concludedArchbishopManukian. lwjt\inayear,hasjustbegunonlotlisides lil!annmericin--orRussianaolony.So 9pot, these words, the loudspeakers at I of the bbrder. C6nsumir and industrial I toig as Armenia does not become a blitant of the Guardians of the IsSoods-mactringrf , hi-tech ard chemical nm-erican ally, or a US base in the region $e lealquarters lamic Revolution, located next door-to | products-whichtaneasilybemanufac- I lkelsraelorTurkey,thenhanrestsassured. I | Tehran's Saint Sargis Church,.start the turedinArmenia,canbeshippedtolran. ThebalancedcoolpirationwiththeWest I I broadcast of prayers, just as the Armenian I But all is not rosy. There irc two funda- | that Yerevan advoiates can even be useful bells ring inviting the Armenian I mentalproblemsobitructingrhefulldevel- | tolran. th]-.gh faithful. I opmentotrelationsbetween-lranandArme- | It is the awareness of a more solid I nia,andnotsurprisingly,theKarabakhcon- | partnership in the future that sustains

andArmlnehJohenncc. 46

IrariwantsapeacefulsolutiontotheconAIM, MAY 1994

lti"r.'

CELTUUIR ONE BUTT(,N GALT-S IN THE G(X'D GIIrS.

Offering

911 Emergency Senrices are dialed directly rarith One Touch Dialing.

AnToucH Cellular Seruices

Ihe new noma for

kc-Tel (ellulor

NEKIP CounrcrrNo People

NOI<IA

lU)

SALES SERVIGE ACCESSORTES INSTALLATION { . 8OO - 522 q[."qq llo3 sourll cEllrRAL AvEllUE,

GLEI{DALE, CA

glmr

PHONE

Ata - Zt4 3|g44t FAX

A1A -

2/n2655