Month: July 2020

BY ZEPYUR KASPARIAN

The past two weeks have had every Armenian glued to their phones, eagerly awaiting updates about the current conflict on Armenia’s borders along with the cruel harassment Diasporan Armenians face from Azeri aggressors.

On the morning of Friday, July 24, I decided to put my phone down and focus on something else. I picked up a book and was well into it when my phone would not stop buzzing. I opened my group chats to see the most unexpected horror: my school and adjacent community center had been vandalized with hate speech written all over its walls.

Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan School, often shortened to K.Z.V. Armenian School, is the only Armenian day-school in Northern California. Around 2:30 in the morning on July 24, a group of suspected Azeri and Turkish thugs vandalized the school walls with racist, misogynistic, and anti-Armenian graffiti. So many young Armenians call K.Z.V. our second home. This racist and cruel incident has left us feeling violated and trespassed.

For Armenians in the Bay Area, this building is more than just a school. The Khachaturian Community Center is the pillar of our Armenian identity. It’s where we gather for plays, school hanteses, celebrations, weddings, commemorations, and everything in between.

However, we are bigger than this and better than this. Our community always has and will continue to stand together to rise above bigotry and hatred. On July 24th, a GoFundMe campaign was created to cover the costs of repairing the school. Within three days, there have already been over 680 donors raising a total amount of almost 80 thousand dollars.

For 40 years, K.Z.V. Armenian School has served the Armenian community in Northern California. It has taught hundreds of students about their language, history, and culture. Our community will not allow terrorists of any kind to destroy that in any way. Armenians are resilient and we will carry on.

When they go low, we go HYE!

Zepyur Kasparian is a proud graduate of K.Z.V. Class Of 2017

BY ARENI PANOSIAN

On a foggy day in San Francisco sometime between 2015 and 2017, my fellow Armenian school students and I sat in Digin Panossian’s (no relation to author) Armenian class at KZV Armenian school to learn about the richness and resilience found in Armenian history. It was in this very class where Digin Panossian would consistently use the pencil metaphor to emphasize how the Armenian people withstood the bigotry and violence of our past. Grabbing a single pencil, she would explain how easy it is to break one pencil, but then she would reach for handful of pencils to demonstrate how difficult it is to break them when they are all together. The main purpose of this lesson was to teach this classroom full of Armenian middle schoolers that the only way Armenian culture can sustain itself and thrive is through unity – those pencils represented the kinship of the Armenian people. We see this metaphor live in our communities today, namely through the bonds we create at Armenian schools, or summer camps, or the numerous yearly events we hold to demonstrate our unified force as a nation.

After spending the past few months in isolation, it took a blatant act of hatred and xenophobia to reunite the Armenian community of San Francisco. The indignation and sadness caused by the horrendous destruction of KZV Armenian School by Azeri aggressors this week resulted in providing this community a sense of consolation in an otherwise desolate time. Though our regular Armenian summer activities like AYC and the Navasartian Games were cancelled due to COVID-19, the San Francisco Armenian community still managed to gather together (with masks, of course) to embrace our culture despite the hateful defacing of the Bay Area’s main Armenian cultural center.

On Friday, July 24th, 2020, due to the rising tensions at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the global anti-Armenian sentiment rising amongst Turks and Azeris, KZV Armenian School was defaced with vulgar, anti-Armenian graffiti, presumably by immature Azerbaijani aggressors. Profane words and images were spray painted over the walls of our beautiful school along with some peculiar statements like “you will pay for LA” and “Kardashian Nation”. Within about six hours of discovering the mess, over $80,000 was raised for the school through a GoFundMe page and a mini rally was held to stand up against this brutal act of hatred, which is quite remarkable to say the least. That evening, current KZV students, parents, teachers, and alumni like myself gathered in the front yard of our loving school to lovingly sing, dance, and laugh to reclaim the school that had been violated just hours prior. Our principal, Mrs. Andonian, led us in songs and it reminded me of the quote we always referred to by Eghishe Charents, “Ով հայ ժողովուրդ, քո միակ փրկութիւնը քո հավաքական ուժի մէջ է:” Rather than thrusting more hostility and bitterness into the situation, we, the San Francisco Armenian community decided to overcome this obstacle through our love for one another and our collective unity, despite the horrific words placed on the building behind us.

This act of consolation amongst the Armenian community is nothing new. The resilient Armenian people have constantly banded together in unity when faced with hatred, injustice, and humiliation throughout history, which is proven true through the existence of vibrant Armenian communities across the diaspora. Actions such as our mini protest on Friday are further proof that the only way to truly console one another after an atrocity occurs is through our collective voices and our ability to grieve together and return stronger than ever. Though the desolation and lack of Armenian events due to quarantine and the added outrage from the temporary destruction of KZV have deflated the spirits of this community, we still managed to transform our struggles into an act of defiance towards racism.

Throughout the Armenian people’s long, complex history, our excellence and resilience has been displayed through our loving and comforting solidarity with one another, as opposed to the bigotry and immaturity displayed on the front walls of KZV. While the conflicts and attacks on the Armenian borders are far from over, the Bay Area Armenian community’s opposition to a sad attempt at belittling and intimidating us only enhanced the Armenian cause and further united our people in these trying times. Furthermore, we have consistently used our collective strength, peace, and togetherness to overcome the most bleak and nightmarish times of our past, illustrating howArmenian resilience and strength stems directly from our unity. While the genocide and the Artsakh wars remain etched in our minds as some of the darkest eras of the past, the Armenian schools’ efforts to cultivate the culture that was once threatened serve as proof of the power we posses when we band together in unity. Unfortunately, suffering is human reality and hatred is inevitable in our highly political and messy world. However, by taking a firm, solid stance against it, as exemplified by the KZV community, we Armenians will rise above the occasion as more forceful and empowered people.

Like the pencils in Digin Panossian’s beloved metaphorical lesson, the Bay Area Armenians overcame a hate crime by claiming our presence both on the KZV grounds and on social media, proving once again how it is impossible to break the bunch of pencils that we are. Alone, we couldn’t have stood against this hateful act, nonetheless our gathering confirmed that we’re the furthest thing from alone, especially in our fight against hatred. Perhaps that foggy day in my middle school Armenian history classroom was the most important lesson that I could have learned in the ojakh, the hearth of my dear Armenian school.

Areni Panosian is a Class of 2017 graduate of KZV Armenian School and current student at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.

Key discussions and recommendations outlined in White Paper from ‘Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia’

YEREVAN—The Armenia Tree Project and the American University of Armenia Acopian Center for the Environment have released a White Paper outlining the key discussions and recommendations from “Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia.”

The Acopian Center and ATP convened the inaugural Forest Summit on October 20-23, 2019. Though small in size, Armenia has shown renewed political commitment to protecting and expanding its forest cover. As part of its pledge to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Armenia has committed to double its forest cover by 2050. The Summit brought local and international experts and stakeholders together for the first time to discuss the challenges and opportunities around this ambitious commitment.

The Summit was opened by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who emphasized that forests and environmental issues are a high priority for his administration. “Environmental issues are not isolated problems. They nearly always have a global impact and call for concerted efforts to address them,” declared Prime Minister Pashinyan at the Summit. “Events that provide a platform for exchanging ideas, exploring international experience, and identifying potential partnerships are crucial. I am pleased to see that today’s conference brings together world-class professionals.”

This was followed by a keynote address by Anthony S. Davis, interim dean at the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. Other speakers included David Mathenge from the Green Belt Movement, an organization whose founder won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, Omri Bonneh, Chief Forester at KKL-Jewish National Fund, Glenn Bush, an environmental economist at Woods Hole Research Center, and Maya Nehme, Executive Director of the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative.

“This first-ever Forest Summit included eight panels where local, regional, and international experts exchanged ideas as we point toward a roadmap on how to expand Armenia’s forest cover,” stated ATP Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian. “The world has recognized that forests can play a key role in solving the climate crisis, and ATP is excited to be a part of it after laying the groundwork in Armenia for the past 25 years.”

“This White Paper provides an overview of the Summit proceedings, but more importantly it shares a number of policy recommendations on how to move forward,” explained Acopian Center Director Alen Amirkhanian. “We hope this document will help to advise our colleagues in the Ministry of Environment, as well as and other organizations in this sector, as we develop a long-term plan to expand and conserve Armenia’s forest cover over the next 30 years.”

“One Nation, Two States,” Says Turkey’s Defense Ministry

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was closely monitoring the Turkey-Azerbaijan joint military exercises currently underway on the borders of Armenia and Artsakh.

The exercises, which were announced Monday, are in their second day and come on the heels of Azerbaijan’s brazen attacks on civilian and military targets in Armenia’s Tavush Province, beginning on July 12.

The 13-day drills, involving jets and helicopters, will continue in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir, and Yevlakh until Aug. 10. Ground exercises are scheduled to be held in Baku and Nakhchivan from August 1 to 5 with artillery, armored vehicles, and mortars striking simulated targets.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry Thursday, in a Tweet, shared a video of the military drills, accompanied by the slogan, “One nation, two states,” and emojis of Turkish and Azerbaijani flags.

Aleksey Zaytsev, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said that Russia is closely monitoring the drills.

“We are closely following follow the regional situation, particularly considering the recent confrontation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. We strongly urge the sides to demonstrate restraint, including in their ongoing military activities,” Zaytsev said, reported the TASS news agency.

He also said that the Russian authorities have taken all necessary measures for preventing further escalation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

“Russia was greatly concerned about the border escalation between two of our allies—Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Zaytsev said during a daily briefing.

“We are confident that the long-lasting Karabakh conflict, as well as any other conflict will be solved exclusively peacefully through diplomatic talks. Our position is shared also by the other OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries, the U.S. and France, as well as the United Nations, the CIS and other international organizations,’’ added Zaytsev.

He added that Russian authorities have taken all the necessary measures for preventing future escalation, recalling that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has had conversations with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts. ‘

“We are ready to continue efforts for establishing political dialogue between Yerevan and Baku,” he said.

After Azerbaijan announced the joint military drills with Turkey, President Vladimir Putin of Russian phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and stressed the importance of avoiding any actions that would escalate tensions.

BY S. MAHSEREJIAN

When I was a university student, I attended a history course that covered World War II. After presenting the details of the six years of devastation, our professor introduced some analysis that shed light on the infestation of “Hitlerism,” meaning the rise of Hitler and the spread of his Nazi ideology that engulfed Germany and her allies as well under similar names.

I don’t intend to go into the details of his analysis, but I want to stress upon one point that he made very fervently: He explained that Adolf Hitler was the main axis around whom the war revolved, and lead humanity into the eminent apocalyptic disasters. He went on to explain the causes of the infestation of “Hitlerism,” pointing out that Hitler was the torch bearer of German imperialism. Indeed, the Germans felt frustrated after World War I and would not yield to the restrictions and “suppressions” imposed upon them by the Allies. So, “The Fuhrer” and Nazism rose rapidly. The Allies witnessed all the developments but would not take preventive action, because they were, among many other reasons, tired of wars. To make a long story short, they preferred to tolerate Hitler’s extremism and did not refrain his ambitions (of course one can not ignore the fact, that some of Germany’s previous competitors and rivals had set favorable trading bridges with Hitler, thus, they directly or indirectly aided the nourishment of Nazism). The rest is history, but the debate goes on: If the Allies had taken some action to restrain Hitler, the apocalypse of the war would have been prevented most probably!

The negligence of Hitler’s rise to power and spread of Nazism is not a unique phenomenon in World History, but I prefer to stress upon this case in order to shed light on my concerns regarding a similar threat that the world is facing presently. And that threat can be summarized in few words: Turkey’s Erdogan and his tendencies to re-create the Ottoman Empire.

Exactly one hundred years ago, following WW I, the Treaty of Sevres brought an end to the Ottoman Empire. Turkey had fought the war alongside Imperial Germany and had lost to the allies. “The Sick man of Europe” disintegrated and new nations won their independence and rightful places on the world map. Europe and the civilized world had realized at last that keeping the Ottoman Empire on life support would mean the prolongation of the hazardous consequences of the policies of the Sultans. Turkey had become synonymous to dictatorship, bloodbaths, and disaster. The disintegration of the corrupt empire was overdue; the civilized world was fed up with the blood-baths that the Sultans and their inheritors dwelt on. They said: Enough is enough!

The ideology of imperialism did not diminish in the minds and psyche of the inheritors of the failed empire. Mustafa Kemal, the “Father of the Republic of Turkey” and his successors doggedly kept the idea of the empire alive in their souls and political schema, moreover, they have not resigned from the ideology of Pan-Turkism, which is a culmination of imperialism, racism, extremisms with so many ugly faces, and the intent to annihilate all those who would stand as obstacles against this murderous gamble.
The Armenian nation, a major victim of this criminal policy, was not alone in its peril, because many other nations, Christian, Muslim and others were also preys to this illicit dream. Today, and for over a decade now, Erdogan has declared himself as an heir of the imperial tradition. His intentions are no secret; he has invaded Syria, Iraq, has sent troops to Libya and other hotspots of the world. He has extended a helping hand to Azerbaijan who has devastated Artsakh – Republic of Mountainous Karabakh – and has lately extended its adventurism directly against the Republic of Armenia. Turkey and Azerbaijan are speaking openly about invading Armenia and other neighbors, they boss about the genocidal actions of their ancestors and indirectly threaten to complete the unfinished assignment. Threatening the Nuclear generator in Armenia’s Metsamor is another vivid example of Turko-Azeri intentions.

Moreover, Erdogan’s troops together with the extremist bandits acting under the watchful eyes of Erdogan’s regime and enjoying its support have openly massacred Kurds, Yezidis and other ethnic groups, repeating the criminal activities of their predecessors; the Sultans and the Young Turks who persecuted and massacred Armenians, Assyrians, Arabs and other ethnic groups over a century ago. Last but not least, turning the Hagia Sophia Cathedral into a mosque is yet one of the minor but outstanding expressions of Erdogan’s imperialism and trashing of the world opinion!

All of these are being carried out in open daylight and in front of the watchful eyes of the world; a world that has rejected imperialism, despotism, occupation by force and so on. Whatever Hitler did in the late 20’s and 30’s of the 20th century, is being carried out by Turkey’s “Sultan” Erdogan today as a comparable tinge.

The civilized world should not stay idle and inactive towards Erdogan’s advances. The world must prevent the rise of another Hitler, because inaction will directly or indirectly yield to the recurrence of the global disaster. This alarm must not be watched upon as an exaggeration! Alarms that rang against Hitler almost a century ago were also considered as exaggerations, but we are well aware of what followed starting 1939.

Yes, we the Armenians have experienced the most cruel crimes of Ottoman Turkey and its descendants; we were the victim of the first Genocide of the 20th Century, but we were not left alone in this perilous path. Other nations were also targeted by the same policies, regardless of their national belonging and religious affiliations; Christians and Muslims have equally been victimized by the crimes committed by the state of Turkey.

The whole world is well-informed of the historic facts, and should not turn a blind eye to the current crimes of Erdogan’s Turkey and its ally; Aliyev’s Azerbaijan. Moreover, we the Armenians and all those who share the same gloomy destiny, namely the Greeks, the Cypriots, Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and others should stand in the same trench to face and prevent the resurgence of the Ottoman Empire by the initiation of Erdogan and his hordes. The world must sustain our efforts to terminate the imperial dreams of Turkey. The human race and the civilized world must be spared the repetition of the mistakes committed towards Hitler, and defend itself from the resurrection of bloodbaths incurred by the Turks through the Pan-Turkic policy. Indeed, the European allies of Turkey should be fed up by the abuses of Erdogan, as he threatens to send millions of refugees he has help create and levies billions of dollars from the European tax-payers year after year under the pretext of taking care of the refugees.
Wake up, world! Take action against the revival of the criminal empire by all means. Humanity must prevent the repetition of Hitler’s legacy and stop encouraging “Sultan” Erdogan. It will be meaningless to shed tears after a new calamity that may be eminent.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed hope on Thursday that Armenia will practically overcome its coronavirus crisis by September, citing a “substantial” drop in daily infections recorded by the health authorities over the last two weeks.

“As of yesterday, we had less than 9,000 active [coronavirus] cases for the first time since June 11,” Pashinyan argued during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan.

“We had 259 new infections yesterday,” he said. “We had less than 400 daily cases for the sixth consecutive day. We previously had such a situation … on May 24.”

The Armenian Ministry of Health reported an average of 550-600 cases a day in the first half of July. The daily numbers of new cases exceeded 730 at one point in late June.

Deaths directly or indirectly caused by COVID-19 have also fallen in recent days. The ministry said on Thursday morning that 5 more people died from the disease in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s official death toll to 728. It reported approximately 15 fatalities a day from July 6 through the end of last week.

Pashinyan attributed the decreased numbers to a stricter enforcement of anti-epidemic rules set by his government and people’s greater compliance with them. “We all must continue to follow the rules just as strictly no matter how uncomfortable and unpleasant they are for us,” he said.

The prime minister urged Armenians to continue to wear mandatory face masks in all public spaces, practice social distancing and frequently wash hands. “We hope that each of you will take this responsibility and confront this challenge so that we can declare the end of the crisis in September,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan told the Armenian parliament on July 14 that the government hopes to cut the daily number of new cases to roughly 140 by the beginning of September. He said this would allow the government to reopen the country’s schools shut down by it in March.

Avinyan, who coordinates the government’s response to the pandemic, announced on Wednesday that his office is now working on detailed safety guidelines that should allow libraries, museums, theaters and other cultural institutions to also reopen soon.

A total of 38,196 coronavirus cases have been registered in Armenia to date, making it one of the hardest hit counties worldwide.

Armenian opposition groups have for months criticized the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. Some of them say that the authorities never properly enforced a nationwide lockdown imposed in late March and lifted it too soon.

Pashinyan and other senior government officials have dismissed the criticism. They insist that their strategy of tackling the pandemic has largely worked and spared Armenia more severe economic consequences.