Author: Arbi Tashjian

Rift widens between Armenian Church, government

Arbi Tashjian
Arshaluis Mgdesyan Jun 30, 2023

The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian government don’t get along. They practically don’t even speak to each other.

The rift between the country’s key institutions has been widening since Armenia’s defeat in the Second Karabakh War in 2020. 

And as Armenia pursues a comprehensive peace agreement with neighbor and rival Azerbaijan, the Church is breaking with past tradition and making bold political demands including for the prime minister’s resignation.

Senior Church figures are accusing the government of surrendering the country’s national interests in the talks and are openly siding with the opposition. 

The authorities have responded by accusing the clergy of meddling in the governance of the secular state and mused about taxing some of the Church’s property. 

Church condemns PM’s position on Karabakh

“Currently there is no relationship as such between the church and the government. It simply does not exist. For the church, the approach of the authorities to resolving the conflict, which boils down to recognizing Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] as part of Azerbaijan, is unacceptable,” Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Church, told Eurasianet.

His remark echoed a statement issued by the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church on May 23, the day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia was ready to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in exchange for security guarantees for the region’s Armenian population. 

In April the head of the Church, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II (aka Garegin II), said the government and clergy had had only “protocol relations” for some time. 

And many have noticed that the prime minister and senior members of his government have been absent from major church events, such as the Christmas liturgy, since at least 2021. Earlier, the political elite occupied a prominent place at such ceremonies. 

Seeds of mistrust

The conflict between the Church and government dates back to the beginning, when Pashinyan and his allies came to power following a wave of street protests in 2018. 

The “velvet revolution” swept away the old guard that had ruled the country for two decades and had enjoyed good relations with the Church. 

For a brief moment, it seemed the revolutionary fervor might bring down the country’s ecclesiastical elite as well. 

A group of disaffected priests launched a campaign under the slogan “New Armenia – New Patriarch” which demanded the ouster of the head of the church, Catholicos Karekin II, and a number of bishops for their alleged involvement in the former government’s corrupt ways. 

At the time the new authorities distanced themselves from the uprising in the Church, which ultimately failed. Many established clerics were convinced that Pashinyan was out to get them, however. 

Political scientist Hrant Mikaelyan agrees. Moving against the church would have been in line with the revolutionary authorities’ fight with the broader entrenched establishment in Armenia, he told Eurasianet. 

“He [Pashinyan] consistently subjugated the government, then the parliament, then the courts and wanted to make a revolution against the church, which did not work,” Mikaleyan said, citing as evidence the fact that one of the leaders of the would-be Church insurrectionists was appointed as rector of Gyumri University.

Later, Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War with Pashinyan as commander-in-chief created an opening for his opponents, who include politicians associated with the old regime and distrustful clerics. 

A month after the war’s end, the Church joined the opposition’s call for Pashinyan’s resignation. Relations between the country’s leading political and spiritual institutions reached their lowest level in the country’s three-decade history. While Armenia is a secular state, its constitution recognizes the “exclusive mission of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the national church in the spiritual life of the Armenian people.”

Spat intensifies

The Church and the government have exchanged sharp barbs over the past few months in particular.

In April, Karekin II, the catholicos, took umbrage at Pashinyan’s earlier remark that “there are clergymen in our country who do not believe in God.”

“A person who does not believe in God cannot be a clergyman,” the top cleric said. 

Pashinyan then doubled down, saying, “If the relationship between the Church and the government is not good, then the Church does not have a good relationship with God.”

The prime minister also clearly puts little stock in Karekin II’s assertion that “the Church is not involved in political processes” and is ready for dialogue with political leaders on “pressing issues.”

In May, the prime minister invited the Church to officially enter the political fray. 

“If the church wants to carry out political activities, Armenia is a democratic country, and it is possible to carry out political activities. Nothing is stopping them from creating a party and launching political activities within this party. This would be more honest: they will be on the same plane with voters and political rivals,” he said at a meeting with schoolchildren.

He also suggested that the paraffin the Church imports for making candles could be subjected to the customs duties it is currently exempt from because of its status as a charity item.

Also in May, the government removed the teaching of “the History of the Armenian Church” as a separate subject from the public school curriculum. Karekin II called that decision “short-sighted”. He invited the authorities to discuss the issue with Chruch representatives but was rebuffed. 

Church authority grows

Political analyst Hrant Mikaelyan believes that the Church currently has the upper hand in the rivalry, particularly since the government explicitly stated its willingness to recognize Azerbaijani rule over Karabakh. 

He cited a recent poll that found a narrow majority of Armenians with a positive view of the Church, contrasted with a 14 percent approval rating for Prime Minister Pashinyan (it should be pointed out in fairness that no individual politician had a higher rating). 

“In this situation, Pashinyan does not have the power to delegitimize the church,” Mikaelyan said.

Stepan Danielyan, an analyst and scholar of relations between religious and secular authorities, concurs. 

“Until 2018, I was one of the critics of the church, because it was merged with the authorities. Now the paths of the church and the authorities have diverged, which can be welcomed. This led to the growth of the authority of the church. And this happened for the reason that earlier led to the fall of its authority. Now, the church is perceived as a completely sovereign institution, one that echoes the concerns of the public and one does not share responsibility for the authorities’ mistakes,” Danielyan told Eurasianet.

Arshaluis Mgdesyan is a journalist based in Yerevan.

https://eurasianet.org/rift-widens-between-armenian-church-government

Why does Russia need a consulate in the south of Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan? Opinions

Arbi Tashjian
  • Tigranuhi Martirosyan
  • Yerevan

Russian consulate in Syunik

Russia has decided to open a consulate in the Syunik region of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. Armenian analysts believe that it only at first glance seems to be an important step that can bring relations between the two countries to a new level. They explain that the functions of the consulate are the provision of visas to this country and the solution of the problems of citizens of their country. In Syunik, there is no need for either the first or the second. You do not need visas to travel to Russia, there are no Russian citizens in this area.

Experts believe that the decision to increase the diplomatic presence in the south of Armenia is not at all diplomatic, but political and dangerous for Armenia.

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  • Pashinyan speaks before parliamentary commission on the Karabakh War
  • “There will be no pro-Armenian decisions”: Armenian analysts on Mirzoyan-Bayramov meeting

Russia became interested in the Syunik region after the 44-day war in 2020, when negotiations began on unblocking transport and providing Azerbaijan with a road through the territory of Armenia to connect with Nakhichevan. We are talking about the so-called “Zangezur corridor”, which Armenia declares unacceptable both in terms of terminology and the mechanisms proposed for its activation. The term “corridor” is considered unacceptable here, since it implies the loss of sovereignty in this territory.

Once again, a protest about this was heard when Pashinyan and Aliyev in Moscow began to publicly discuss this term in the presence of Putin.

Yerevan is discussing the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to Moscow, in particular, the moment when the Armenian Prime Minister interrupted the Russian President to react to Aliyev’s speech

The Prime Minister of Armenia once again stated that the corridor will not be provided, but the country is ready to provide roads while maintaining its sovereign control. The President of Azerbaijan declared his right to take the initiative on the issue of the Zangezur corridor. And he added that Russia also supports it.

Armenian political scientists believe that the interests of the Azerbaijani and Russian sides in this matter coincide: Azerbaijan wants to get a corridor, and Russia wants to control it under the pretext of ensuring security.

Moreover, before Russia announced its intention to open a consulate in Syunik, the Iranian Consulate General opened there.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stated that “Iran considers the security of Armenia and the region its security”

Political scientist Hovsep Khurshudyan explains that Syunik attracts the attention of geopolitical centers due to its position at the crossroads. That is why, when negotiations began on the provision of a road through this territory, Russia, Iran and Turkey immediately showed interest.

“Russia, whose influence both in our region and in the world is gradually weakening, is trying to cling to this most important region of Armenia. In particular, the deployment of the EU monitoring mission here, and before that the opening of the Iranian consulate in Kapan, led to the fact that Russia wanted to establish its presence in this important area.

The goal of the West and Iran is to ensure the maximum security of Syunik, that is, the main future trade route between Iran and the European Union, and the goal of Russia is to prevent the creation of this road. Moreover, the Russian consulate, like the Russian military before that, will perform the function of collecting intelligence information for Azerbaijan.”

The director of the Armenian Institute for National Resilience, Gevorg Melikyan, says Russia has been given the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the unblocked roads by a November 9 tripartite statement, although many in Armenia believe that this document does not give Russia such a function.

“If the roads in Syunik open, then, unfortunately, they will be controlled by the Russian Federation, so Moscow’s representation in the Syunik region is increasing. The question will arise whether it is possible to control these roads from Yerevan. Of course it is possible. Just the opening of the consulate shows their attitude to the issue.

The Armenian side constantly states that no, Russia will not control these routes. They maneuver, they say, Armenia will control its roads, but the November 2020 statement is different. And the Russian Federation is taking active steps to show that this is its function.”

Frank answers from the Prime Minister of Armenia in the Prima News program about the geographical and geopolitical problems of the country, relations with neighbors and even personal questions

Armenia is turning into a stage of conflict between geopolitical centers, political scientist Benyamin Matevosyan believes: by gaining a foothold in Syunik, Iran, Russia and the EU do not solve the issue of the region’s security, but create new threats:

“EU monitors will monitor the movements of Russian and Iranian troops, Russian troops will monitor the monitors and Iranian troops, and Iran will monitor the other two. That says it all”.

Director of the Democratic Platform Foundation Garegin Miskaryan believes that the consulate will have another important mission: to change the mood of local residents, to spread pro-Russian sentiment through cultural and educational events:

“It’s a soft instrument. Russia has lost its positions, in the Russian Federation they see that there are no allied relations and are now trying to restore their reputation and position. And they decided to start from Syunik, where they also have plans for the roads.”

According to Miskaryan, Russia is thus trying to show the West that Armenia is allegedly in full solidarity with it.

If the consulate will not serve its main purpose and, as political scientists say, will only deal with the issue of political positioning, then why did the Armenian authorities agree to its opening?

Hovsep Khurshudyan wants the authorities to weigh in on this. He believes that the government, although it has chosen the right path of closer cooperation with the West, is slow on many issues. In some cases, he says, risks are miscalculated, as may be the case with this decision.

https://jam-news.net/russian-consulate-in-syunik/

Addressing Armenian Genocide denial within Holocaust education programs

Arbi Tashjian
 Sara Cohan Opinion 0

Holocaust education commissions, museums and nonprofit organizations that receive federal and/or state-level funding have played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the horrors of the Holocaust but sometimes overlook other genocides, treating them as mere afterthoughts. Only a few states, such as Rhode Island, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan and California, are truly engaged in conversations about including the study of genocides outside of the Holocaust within state and federally-funded curriculum development and teacher training programs. Moreover, while these commissions and federally-supported institutions focus on Holocaust education, some of them continue to fund and promote deniers of the Armenian Genocide.

Concerns in Tennessee

During a conference I attended this summer in Nashville, Tennessee, I witnessed the misuse of funds allocated to an Armenian Genocide denier. It is worth noting that Tennessee officially acknowledged the Armenian Genocide in 2004 when the governor declared April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Despite this, the Holocaust Commission of Tennessee repeatedly used state funding to pay for an Armenian Genocide denier to speak at local events and engage with Tennessee educators. Although the individual in question is not widely known as a denier like Guenther Lewy or Justin McCarthy, the commission in Tennessee continues to include her in educational and community programming without showing any remorse.

Personal Encounter

My first encounter with this denier, a Holocaust educator and survivor from Miami, occurred at an event sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Miami in 2012. During a small group discussion, she announced that while she recognized the suffering my family had endured, she did not consider it genocide. Appalled by her statement, I promptly notified the program leader and followed up with a letter expressing my concerns. Unfortunately, I received no apologies for the inclusion of a denier in what should have been a safe space. When I later discovered that the same denier from Miami was speaking on behalf of the Holocaust Commission of Tennessee in Nashville, I wrote to the commission and the USHMM expressing my concerns, but I received no response. It filled me with rage that I could not attend a workshop about the Holocaust, an event that resonated with my own family history, without being confronted by Armenian Genocide denial. In a city that witnessed the birth of the Ku Klux Klan, we should have already learned the lesson of not propagating hate.

Ohio’s Inclusive Approach

The following week, I spoke at a two-day conference for educators in Dayton, Ohio. This conference shared some similarities with the one in Nashville, as the organizers attempted to be more inclusive. However, I was the only speaker addressing the Armenian Genocide, and other genocides were not discussed in depth. It was evident that there was some trepidation among the organizers about broaching the topic of the Armenian Genocide. I arrived in Dayton with a sense of anxiety about what to expect.

To my relief, the overall attitude among the organizations involved in the Dayton conference was accepting and gracious. When I spoke about the Armenian Genocide and the importance of being inclusive about human rights atrocities and genocides beyond European borders, I received a positive response from the organizers. They expressed their appreciation for my talk and assured me that next year’s conference would include more discussions about the Armenian Genocide. This experience instilled a sense of hope in me and led me to reflect on the disparity between the indifference of the USHMM and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission towards denial and the willingness of the Ohio groups to engage in a conversation about inclusion.

Collaborative Efforts in Ohio

The positive reception I received in Ohio was not solely due to my lecture but was the result of years of positive relationship building led by Armenian community members, including Ara Bagdasarian and Raz Pounardjian in Cleveland, Ohio. They have collaborated with existing groups to develop and support Armenian Genocide and Holocaust educational initiatives. Through goodwill, funding and collaboration, they have successfully integrated the Armenian Genocide into the work of organizations such as the Holocaust & Genocide Education Network (HGEN), on whose board one Armenian member, Pounardjian, serves. This model has proven effective in Ohio, demonstrating that working in harmony with Holocaust education programs can yield positive outcomes.

Ethical Implications and the Importance of Truth

It is important to remember that Holocaust programs that deny the Armenian Genocide present significant ethical dilemmas. Programs like these undermine the principles of truth, justice and the recognition of historical atrocities. It is ethically unjustifiable to use Holocaust education as a platform for promoting denialism of another genocide. Such actions erode the credibility of Holocaust programs and compromise their moral purpose of combating hatred, discrimination and genocide denial. These programs distort historical truth and perpetuate an environment of misinformation. They hinder the pursuit of accuracy and reconciliation by perpetuating a false narrative that contradicts the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide. By blurring the lines between fact and fiction, these denialist programs contribute to the erosion of historical integrity and impede the development of critical thinking among participants. Finally, Holocaust programs encourage individuals to relate to the experiences of Holocaust victims to foster empathy and understanding among participants. However, by denying the Armenian Genocide, these programs disrupt the empathetic bridge that should exist between victims of different genocides.

By ignoring or denying the Armenian Genocide, these programs perpetuate a selective approach to empathy, reinforcing a hierarchy of suffering and undermining the universality of the human experience in the face of genocide.

A Proactive Approach

Addressing the denial of the Armenian Genocide within Holocaust programs requires a proactive and principled approach. Organizers and educators must confront the ethical implications of denialism and reject any form of genocide denial. Holocaust education should be expanded to include a comprehensive understanding of other genocides, such as the Armenian Genocide, fostering a more inclusive and historically accurate narrative. Collaboration between Holocaust and genocide education groups, as well as scholars and educators, can facilitate the development of joint educational initiatives that acknowledge both genocides.

Conclusion

The presence of Holocaust programs that deny the Armenian Genocide reveals a disheartening disconnect between the intended goals of Holocaust education and the reality of denialism. By denying the Armenian Genocide within these programs, we undermine historical truth, perpetuate misinformation, and erode the empathy and understanding that should be at the core of Holocaust education. It is imperative to confront this issue, rectify the historical narrative and ensure that Holocaust education programs promote truth, justice and empathy for all victims of genocide. The good news is that while some states and national institutions have thus far shown an unwillingness to seek historical truths and promote denialism, other states like Ohio, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Michigan and California are demonstrating clear signs of progress towards inclusion and serve as symbols of hope as we continue to battle the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide and its insipid corrosion of educational institutions in the US.

  •  Bio
  •  Latest Posts
Sara Cohan is a human rights and genocide education consultant. She worked for The Genocide Education Project for seventeen years as their education director. Her background combines research, study, curriculum development and teaching. She is a museum teacher fellow for the US Holocaust Museum and Memorial and worked extensively with the USC Shoah Foundation. In 2001, Cohan was named the research fellow for Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and later she served on their advisory board in 2012. She also studied in Mexico as a recipient of a Fulbright-Hays scholarship and studied Islamic influences in Europe as a fellow for the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was an expert lecturer at the Council of Europe’s European Youth Centre in Budapest in 2009 and has worked with the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute in Yerevan. Cohan has written articles and designed educational materials for a variety of organizations and publications. She is the granddaughter of an Armenian Genocide survivor.


BTA. European Parliament to Vote on New Call for Bulgaria, Romania’s Accession to Schengen

Arbi Tashjian

 14:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS/BTA. At its last sitting in Strasbourg before the summer recess, the European Parliament will vote in early July on a new call for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. This was decided on Tuesday by the parliamentary committee on petitions.

The decision was adopted with 25 votes in favour, no votes against and no abstentions. MEPs are expected to call on the EU Council to approve the accession of the two countries to Schengen by the end of the year.

Bulgaria and Romania have met the requirements, the draft resolution states, expressing regret that on December 8, 2022 EU countries did not reach unanimity. It adds that Schengen enlargement would have made the EU stronger.

The fact that Romania and Bulgaria are still outside Schengen creates a significant social and economic burden for businesses and citizens in both countries, the document states. Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania are discriminated against as they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and extra costs when travelling or doing work abroad compared to their counterparts from other EU countries. Delays due to waiting at borders by Romanians and Bulgarians can last from several hours to days, compared to the 10 minutes it takes to cross EU internal borders without checks, and this further worsens working conditions for freight drivers, the text reports.

It adds that the restrictions affect the single market and impede the free movement of goods between EU countries, cause damage to the environment and run counter to environmental protection objectives. The health of drivers, customs officers and people living near border crossings is threatened by increased pollution from the thousands of vehicles waiting to cross the border every day. Every year, 46 000 tons of carbon dioxide are released because of this, the document says.

It calls on the European Commission to assess the additional costs and environmental damage that Romania and Bulgaria have suffered since June 2011 because of their refused Schengen entry. According to the document, the Commission should assess the possibilities for financial compensation. It explains that the issue is being used for anti-European propaganda, including Russian propaganda, and is undermining the EU’s ability to promote its values and good governance abroad.

According to the Commission’s assessment, Bulgaria and Romania are ready to join Schengen, and the European Parliament has repeatedly supported their accession, most recently in a resolution on 5 October 2022 and a debate on December 14, 2022, the European Parliament said in a statement.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)




Team Telecom Armenia launches reserve cable after disruption in Georgia internet cables

Arbi Tashjian

 15:01,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Team Telecom Armenia said on Friday that it has launched reserve internet cables after cables in Georgia experienced “disruptions.”

“Our Georgian colleagues are carrying our works to re-launch our primary cables. We’ve now launched a reserve cable which ensures internet access, but some limitations could happen,” the internet provider said in a statement.

“Azerbaijan is better seen and heard in Brussels” – Armenian political scientist

Arbi Tashjian
June 12 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenia and the EU

“Azerbaijan and Georgia are much more visible, they are better seen and heard in Brussels than Armenia,” the head of the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, political scientist Tigran Grigoryan, said on returning from Brussels. According to him, Armenia is absent from many important EU projects, and the country is mentioned mainly in the context of the conflict with Azerbaijan and to some extent in the context of promoting the reform process.

The political scientist dwelled in detail on the approaches of various EU actors and structures to the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations, the problems that he noticed in the position of the European Union, in Armenia-EU relations.

From June 4 to 8 a small group of Armenian experts visited Brussels with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. During the visit meetings were held in various structures of the European Union, including with members of the European Parliament. There was also a closed discussion with European experts.

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The political scientist came to the conclusion that the EU does not intend to take responsibility for the settlement of the conflict. Grigoryan stated that among high-ranking actors and in general in EU structures there is an understanding of the realities in the context of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and awareness of the seriousness and complexity of the existing problems:

“Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it has been constantly emphasized that the EU is not a mediator of negotiations, but their facilitator. More active involvement in negotiations will also mean greater responsibility for the possible negative consequences that may arise as a result of this process.”

The head of the EU monitoring mission announced his intention to open three new points for monitoring the border with Azerbaijan. Commentary by an Armenian political scientist

The analyst believes that Yerevan made many “painful concessions” but received nothing in return:

“And all this in the conditions of the policy of creeping military aggression pursued by Azerbaijan.”

He argues that the policy of the Armenian authorities over the past year, the purpose of which was to ensure international consolidation around Armenia, has obviously failed. As a justification for his opinion, Grigoryan said that in various EU structures, the responsibility for all the failures in the negotiation process is laid on the Armenian side:

“We are also talking about the problems that have recently arisen within the framework of the format operating through the mediation of the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the failure to comply with previously reached agreements regarding the unblocking of regional communications.”

According to the political scientist, there is no such question even at the level of “theoretical discussions”.

Grigoryan says that the approach of various EU structures in relations with Azerbaijan is mostly too pragmatic, despite the fact that behind closed doors many speak negatively about Baku’s policy and the situation in this country as a whole.

A regular meeting between the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia took place in Chisinau. In the end, only the date of the next negotiation was reported

According to Grigoryan, at least two of the officials who are to some extent involved in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations and who have relevant information share this opinion.

The political scientist emphasizes that this assessment of the realities differs significantly from the optimistic statements that have been heard recently from high-ranking mediators:

“There is an awareness in Brussels that it will be an extremely difficult task to reach agreements on the most important issues in a short period of time.”

The analyst says that various EU structures and officials focus on the issue of protecting the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, but find it difficult to talk about specific mechanisms:

“In particular, there are no substantive ideas in Brussels, no substantive vision regarding a possible new format of negotiations between Baku and Stepanakert.”

According to Grigoryan’s view, the officials involved in the process are sure that without active international participation, it is pointless to talk about the security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, in a conversation with Armenian experts, they admitted:

  • “Baku is unlikely to agree to serious international interference in issues related to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
  • “The EU does not have serious levers of influence on Azerbaijan.”

What is known about the upcoming talks in Chisinau between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan, the expectations of Western mediators, as well as the opinion of a political scientist

High-ranking European officials were unable to give a clear answer to this question.

“Only one of them suggested that in the event of such a scenario, the EU mediation mission would most likely end,” Grigoryan said.

EU officials have no serious concerns about the possible export of Russian gas to Europe through Azerbaijan. The opinions expressed by them on this issue differed from each other, but Grigoryan classifies them in this way:

  • “This statement is not true.”
  • “Even if some amount of Russian gas is exported to the EU through Azerbaijani infrastructure, its share is small. In this sense, the possibility of exporting Russian gas to the EU through Turkey is more worrying.”
  • “There are no sanctions against Russian gas, even the EU continues to buy Russian gas.”

https://jam-news.net/armenia-and-the-eu/

AW: Goodnight, Providence

Arbi Tashjian
June 12, 2023 John Dekhane History, Diaspora 1

John Bejian in high school

In 1938, in Providence, Rhode Island, John “Johnny” Bejian was a 17-year-old with a very specific dream. Most of his friends wanted to be as talented as the phenomenal baseball player Joe DiMaggio, as famous as the legendary dancer Fred Astaire, or as popular as the iconic entertainer Bing Crosby, but Bejian wanted to live his passion for sports by becoming a sports announcer.

Born on June 12, 1921, in Providence, Bejian was the pride and joy of his parents Charles and Margaret Bejian. They were both born in Armenia, and like so many Armenians, they were forced to leave their beautiful homeland, forced to leave everything they had, forced to leave everything they loved. Bejian had two sisters, Peggy and Valencia, who adored their brother and were always there for him. 

By the age of eight, Bejian was already interested in sports. At the time, the “Providence Grays” were playing in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), and the “Providence Steam Rollers” were playing in the National Football League (NFL). In 1928, the Steam Rollers won the NFL Championship, and in 1929, the Steam Rollers made history by being the first team to host an NFL game at night, under floodlights. Like most kids, Bejian would sometimes dream about the future and picture himself commentating a baseball game. Someday, somewhere, somehow, the world would hear his voice ending a live broadcast with a traditional: “Thanks for listening. Goodnight, Providence.”

Bejian later attended Central High School in Providence and was a remarkable student. He was always eager to learn, loved playing baseball and was one of the most popular students. According to all, Bejian was a born leader; he was the class president and president of the student council. Following his graduation in 1939, he worked for a jewelry manufacturing company and was then employed by the Nicholson File Company on Acorn Street, Providence. That’s when Bejian made a decision that changed the course of his life. Knowing that freedom was in great danger and knowing that an entire generation would be needed to stop the forces of evil, Bejian decided to join the US Army Air Corps and said goodbye to his beloved family.

2nd Lt John Bejian

Second Lieutenant John “Johnny” Bejian became a proud member of the 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force and served his country as a B-24 navigator. Mission after mission, this true Armenian American hero put his life on the line to liberate Europe. Being assigned to a bomber crew was basically a death sentence during World War II. More than 26,000 members of the 8th Air Force were killed during the war, and more than 20,000 were wounded. The average life expectancy of a bomber crew rarely exceeded 15 missions. Bejian knew that every mission could be his last one, but like so many brave young men, he did what he had to do.

On June 20, 1944, Bejian and his crewmates took off from England and headed toward Germany. Their mission was to travel deep into enemy territory and destroy an oil refinery near Hanover. Everything was going according to plan, but suddenly, all hell broke loose. German anti-aircraft fire struck the American bomber, perforating its fuselage and killing Bejian instantly. He was only 23 years old. On that fateful day, Providence lost one of its true heroes, but heaven gained an angel. Bejian was initially buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England, but in 1948, he was repatriated to Rhode Island and is now resting in peace next to his parents at North Burial Ground in Providence.

John’s gravestone at North Burial Ground, Providence, RI

To honor this true Armenian American hero in a meaningful way, I contacted three Major League Baseball teams—the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians—all of which displayed a tribute message on their scoreboards during their respective games against the Atlanta Braves on April 3, the Chicago White Sox on April 9 and the New York Yankees on April 11. I don’t know how many spectators at Busch Stadium, PNC Park and Progressive Field saw these special tributes, but I’m sure Bejian saw them, and that’s the most important.

The scoreboard tribute displayed on April 11, 2023 at Progressive Field, stadium of the Cleveland Guardians

So many years have gone by since that fateful mission over Germany, but here we are Johnny, still missing you, still thinking about you, still talking about you, and still honoring you. Happy Birthday, Johnny. Rest assured that your legacy and memory will live on forever.

  •  Bio
  •  Latest Posts
John Dekhane grew up in Paris before moving to the South of France. He works for a sport organization in Monaco. Since he was a child, he has always been interested in World War II with particular emphasis on American soldiers. In order to honor them, over the past years, he has located and purchased WWII U.S. artifacts in Europe and donated these items to more than a hundred museums in the United States.


Iran, Armenia officials discuss regional security

Arbi Tashjian
MEHR News Agency, Iran
June 14 2023

TEHRAN, Jun. 14 (MNA) – The Iranian ambassador to Yerevan and the Armenian Minister of Defense met and held talks on bilateral issues on Wednesday.

Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri and Suren Papikyan discussed the progress and prospects of Armenian-Iranian cooperation and exchanged views on regional security issues, Armen Press reported. 

At the end of the meeting, Papikyan thanked the Iranian ambassador for strengthening Armenian-Iranian relations and increasing the efficiency of cooperation during his tenure in Armenia, wishing him success in his future work.

Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri started his work as Iran’s ambassador to Armenia earlier in March. 

SKH/PR

Indian nationals wounded in Azeri cross-border shooting in Yeraskh undergo surgery

Arbi Tashjian

 15:29, 14 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Doctors have successfully completed the surgeries on the two victims of the Azerbaijani cross-border shooting in the Armenian village of Yeraskh.

The Ministry of Healthcare said the surgeries passed successfully and the victims are in a moderate condition.

The two victims, nationals of India, were wounded when Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire at a construction site in Yeraskh.

The Indian nationals are construction workers employed at the construction site of a steel plant in Yeraskh.

BTA. Annual Inflation Slows Down to 8.6% in Bulgaria, 7.1% in EU

Arbi Tashjian

 14:55,

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Consumer prices in Bulgaria were up by 8.6% in May on annual basis, while on a monthly basis – in May compared to April – they fell by 0.2%, the latest Eurostat data, published on Friday, show.

The annual rate of change of consumer prices in the European Union eased to 7.1% and in the euro area it declined to 6.1%

In May, relative to April this year, consumer prices in both areas remained unchanged.