Author: Babajanian Karo

HORST HOWLER – FORMER WAR PRISONER OF KIROVAKAN CAMP

Horst Howler

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

Interviews | March 30, 2015 10:08
exclusive

This year will mark the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War.

It has particular significance for our nation as hundreds of thousands
of Armenians fell in that war. If we take into account that in 1945
only 30 years had passed since the Genocide, which took the lives of
1.5 million Armenians, then it becomes clear how heavy the casualties
our nation incurred during 1941-1945 were.

One of the consequences of this war was the emergence of German,
Romanian, and Hungarian prisoners of war in Armenia. They were mainly
engaged in construction works “redeeming” the sins of Nazi Germany.

Mediamax correspondent Anush Petrosyan found 87-year old Horst Howler,
former prisoner of war (POW) of Kirovakan camp, in Berlin and talked
to him.

– When and how did you take part in World War II?

– After I turned 16 in 1944, I was called up for military service as an
assistant to air defense antiaircraft gun operating soldier. Back then
there was lack of soldiers so many teenagers aged 16 were recruited
as assistants to air defense soldiers. We were not even wearing German
army uniform.

Horst Howler

Photo: from Horst Howler’s archive

– How were you taken a war prisoner? It must be hard to be a prisoner
of war, especially in such a remote and unknown country.

– The war had almost ended. It was May 7, 1945. The Soviet Army
launched an offensive toward Germany from the Oder. We were taken
during the escape. We had neither weapons nor any means to defend
ourselves. We surrendered without battle. We first came to Konigsberg
(now Kaliningrad) and in late December, 1945, we were taken to
Kirovakan.

We thought we were being taken home, while it turned out we were
moved far away from home. After three weeks on the road we arrived
in Kirovakan. I know that now the name of the city has been changed
to Vanadzor.

We were taken to Kirovakan camp for prisoners of war. At first we
had no idea where we were.

– Violence and aggression used in the camps against the POWs are much
spoken about. What do you remember?

-The guards was comprised of soldiers from various Soviet Union
republics. They were guarding and accompanying us to work.

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

The guards had varying attitudes to us and it was accounted by the
emotional experiences they went through during the war. They were
older and had their own war memories and practice. They had suffered
much and had lost their family members and it is precisely why there
was certain aggression toward the POWs. But now that I cast a glance
back I realize that it couldn’t be otherwise. The soldiers who had
lost their families and close ones because of the Hitler Army had to
guard the POWs now. Naturally, they couldn’t treat us as nobles. We
should understand that it was quite hard for them as well. There were
lots of opposites. In part, the POWs were also causing troubles – they
were sometimes acting aggressively in their claims and expressions.

Horst Howler

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

Food shortage was a major issue back then; the Soviet Union was unable
to provide food as there were no conditions. The USSR did not have
enough food even for the children of the orphanage next to our camp.

The population was also suffering from food shortage.

– Did you come into contact with the locals?

– I should say that we had good relations with Armenians but they
were purely work-related.

During the first two years we were leaving the camp early in the
morning and going to the building site with the guard. We were
isolated from the population. We were communicating with only the
Armenian builders who were controlling our work.

Besides, Armenians were speaking their own language, which was alien
to us. I remember only a few Russian expressions we used to learn
from the soldiers. I remember one of the most frequently used ones –
“OÑ~GенÑ~L много Ñ~@абоÑ~BÑ~K” (“There is much work”). We
used to hear Armenian but couldn’t get a word of it. I regret it
much. There are few words I remember and one of them is ”Õ~GÕ¸O~BÕ¿
աO~@ա” (Hurry up!).

Horst Howler

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

In 1947-1948 we started getting some money as prisoners of war and
along with that we got a chance to have an afternoon break. I remember
the long street leading out from the camp with small sales outlets
at the end. We used to buy sunflower seeds or tobacco from there. Our
communication with locals was confined to only that.

During construction Armenians working with us used to give us bread
or other things that we needed.

– What did you take with you from Armenia – things, friends, memories?

– I did not manage to take anything material. I was freed unexpectedly,
within just a day. The guards took us to Tbilisi from where we finally
reached home across the Black Sea coast.

I took only memories from Armenia and today they no longer seem to
be holistic…

– Talks with your fellow POWs – don’t they complete your memories?

– Over many years, I tried to find the people with whom I was in the
camp. But in vain, as I did not manage to find them I had only one
friend from back then – he was freed earlier and went home earlier
than me. We remained friends in Germany as well. However, he has
already died.

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

The rest were also gradually being released and were returning home.

We did not manage to keep in touch. We lost each other. I lived in
the German Democratic Republic where we hardly ever spoke about it.

Besides, there was no institution where we could register and find
each other.

The worst memory that remains is uncertainty. When we arrived in
Kaliningrad as POWs, we had no clear information as to how long we
would remain in captivity. It was redoubtable and ghastly.

We were taken to Armenia by train. It was cold winter. The road
took three weeks. It was a sad, strained and complicated situation,
which did much harm to the health. We had taken a cold and long road
to uncertainty. We had no idea of where we were going and how long we
would stay there. This uncertainty was scaring. The military officers
of the Soviet Army were telling us that we were to recover all the
losses the fascist war had caused. It was unbearable.

I was 17 back then. I was thinking “but what do I have to do with
the Nazi war and damned Hitler?” I was not even a real soldier. I
was taken a prisoner of war without committing any sin and did not
feel even the slightest guilt for what had happened. I hadn’t done
anything to the Soviet people. I had not fired even a single shot. Why
was I to be a POW for four years, when I was not guilty at all?

But now that I look back over the years I realize that we had to take
part of the guilt on us and claim responsibility and redeem it.

At my 87 I can say for sure that it was our duty as POWs to render
modest support to the Soviet Union. I don’t have a sense of guilt
but I neither find the decision the Soviet Union passed back then
wrong. I think the young years of my life that I spent in captivity
in Kirovakan do not spring up upsetting thoughts.

– Do you remember Kirovakan? Can you describe it?

– I know almost nothing about Kirovakan, We were in a camp in the
center of the city. I remember crossing a river when going down for
work. I think we were working on construction in one of Kirovakan
suburbs to the north. We were building a factory under the supervision
of Armenian specialists. They were dressing the red Armenian stone,
cutting with their small hammers and turning them into squares. We
were then taking the cut stones to the building site where the walls
were being built. I was solely working on construction there and was
helping the building constructors.

I thought quite much about it but never really managed to say where
exactly in Kirovakan it was. We couldn’t go out in the city freely. We
just knew the way to the building site and back “home.” People in
my surrounding also tend to ask me about Kirovakan. Unfortunately,
I don’t have much to say. I just know that our life was monotonous –
camp-building site-camp.

Horst Howler

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

One day in 1948 we were taken to work on a road. We were to make
it wider. The road was stretching to Lake Sevan, people said. We
worked on a mountain for weeks on end. Sometimes I talk to one of
my acquaintances about Armenia. They all confidently say: “You must
have courted many Armenian girls.” The wives of my sons joke saying:
“Admit it. You surely have children in Armenia.” They do not understand
that I really had a very monotonous life as a POW.

– What was your life like after you returned? Was there an adaptation
period?

– Our train arrived in Frankfurt (Oder). My family and relatives were
living in the Soviet territory – in German Democratic Republic (GDR).

I also remained there. I lived with my mother in one of the small
villages in Mecklenburg. At first it was unbearably hard – a curse. I
was 21. Life in Soviet Germany was not easy at all. I jumped out
of the frying pan into the fire where the situation of my relatives
was not any better than mine as a former prisoner of war. The living
conditions were hard and the quality of life was low but I managed to
quickly recuperate. I learned shipbuilding and moved to Warnemunde. I
worked in the shipbuilding sector for many years. I used to feel
good in GDR. I should admit that although the situation was hard,
I feel neither fear, nor fury when recalling the years of my captivity.

– How did that stage of life affect the further course of your life?

– You know, many Germany soldiers felt honored to fight, kill and
struggle for their ideas. Captivity was unacceptable for them –
it was better to be killed than to be taken prisoner. But I do not
share this view.

Being a prisoner of war is not easy but being a POW is way better
for a person’s inner world than having to deal with killing people
on the front every day.

Horst Howler

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

In this case, I personally preferred to be a war prisoner than take
part in battle actions.

– What do you think about your life today and in the past days?

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

– I am happy. I lead a “charmed life.” I live in Berlin with my 85-year
old wife. I have a big family – my four sons, seven grandchildren
and great-grandchildren adorn my life.

– Do you want to visit Armenia?

Horst Howler with his wife

Photo: Nora Erdmann () for Mediamax

– During the GDR I thought less about it. But now that I am much older
and tried to put down my recollections for my family and friends,
I thought that I should have gone to Armenia, Kirovakan. With age
I attached more importance to my visit to Armenia, unfortunately I
cannot fulfill that wish any more. I told my children only about the
good moments of that period. I choose to keep the dark and hard parts
to myself.

Anush Petrosyan talked to Horst Howler

Photos: Nora Erdmann, specially for Mediamax

MARGARITA MKHITARYAN: 100 YEARS OF EXPECTING REPENTANCE (PHOTOS)

11:00, 16.03.2015

By Ani Afyan

Armenian News-NEWS.am continues publishing stories within “Survivors”
project launched ahead of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
perpetrated in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915-23.

“Survivors” is the stories of common people who lost their childhood
and homeland.

“Survivors” is a hundred years of memories and pain, hundred years
of expecting retribution.

“Survivors” are a diminishing group of people who won’t lose their
hope for acknowledgement of their pain.

“Survivors” is 100-year-old Margarita Mkhitaryan

White and fragile hands are on the table. Tender hands covered
with thin blue veins are indifferent to everything that is going on
(PHOTOS).

The table is clean, and only looking at a faded tablecloth one can
guess that a lot of people used to gather at this table. Now, next
to 100-year-old Margarita Mkhitaryan is her daughter Anahit.

“This house was built by her hands,” Anahit says, adding “they built
it with father-in-law in 1950, many years after fleeing from Turkey.”

But, the story of this family starts from the beginning of the
twentieth century when a young Armenian woman named Targyul was running
away along crowded streets of her native Kars. Her husband and parents
were brutally murdered during a clash with Turkish soldiers.

The woman with 3-year-old son Adibek in her hands is rushing to her
father’s house where seven younger brothers are waiting for her in
fear and confusion.

“Their house was attacked soon. It was looted and burned to the
ground,” Anahit said.

Targyul managed to save her son and younger brother Igit from the
burning house. The rest six brothers were burnt alive in front of
her eyes.

>From that day the picture of red flames, exploding in a blue sky
and desperate calls for help will chase her down to the gray hair …

“Where did she go with her children?”

“Grandma smeared ash on their faces, so that she could say they are
girls and ran with them to Aras River.”

On her way to Aras, she heard rumors that the situation calmed down
in Kars, and Targyul came back. There she met Nerses Nersisyan. He
was a widower and raised three sons – Yeghishe, Avag and Artashes.

Targul and Nerses got married. In 1915 she gave birth to Margarita –
a girl who was like a reward for their sufferings. It was time when
they heard reports about frequent attacks on Armenians in Turkey. Mass
robberies and killings started throughout Turkey. They had to decide
something . In 1915 the Nersesyans decided to leave their house and
took to the road towards an uncertain future…

In 1918 they stopped in Etchmiadzin and settled in a tent, as many
refugees did. Targyul gave birth to their second daughter Seyran.

“Soon grandfather died from a serious illness, and grandmother together
with children moved to the village called Tkhit. She was a very strong
and hard-working woman.”

No wonder that she was chosen chairwoman of the village council.

In 1930s Margarita got married to Artashes Mkhitaryan. In 1950 they
built a house together with her father-in-law Gabriel.

“Grandma passed away in 1952,” Anahit said.

According to her, Targyul died quietly and peacefully. It seemed that
she did not die, but just fell asleep, taking with her the pain and
bitterness of the past.

After sitting in silence, Margarita Mkhitaryan showed her daughter
that she wants to lie down. Anahit brought woolen shawl to cover the
skinny shoulders of her mother and helped her to get on the couch.

“She used to dance wll and to sing folk songs. Now it all depends
on her mood. But lately, she’s really more silent, sometimes she
remembers someone from relatives.”

“How many children did Margarita have?”

“There were eight of us.Spartak, Varazdat and Rimma have died…”

“What has happened to their house in Kars? Do you know something
about it”

“Kurds lived there. Who knows.. maybe they still live there,” Anahit
said with sorrow in her voice.

Mist-covered Mount Ararat is seen from the kitchen window. The mountain
is a symbol of homeland for every Armenian in any corner of the world,
and the mention of it in this story is not accidental.

In 1986, the Armenian and Turkish newspapers made a fuss because of
Hamlet Nersisyan. On August 4, he together with the Barseghyans —
father and son — traveled to Turkey from Los Angeles and climbed
Ararat without permission of Turkish authorities.

“Do you know who he was? Hamlet is a grandson of Yeghishe [son of
Nerses],” Anahit said. “He claimed that he would once climb the
mountain behind which the home of his grandfather was left. Whatever
it may cost him.”

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

The previous articles in “Survivors” project are Khosrov Frangyan:
100 years of expecting repentance , Arevaluys Amalyan: 100 years of
expecting repentance

CAPITAL OF FRANCE WILL HOST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM-INSTITUTE COLLECTION

14:38, 30 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: On April 29, 2015 a temporary exhibition
dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial will be opened in the
Paris Municipality. “Armenia 1915: Paris hosts the collection of the
Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute of Yerevan” exhibition will run
from April 29 until July 4, Armenpress reports, citing the official
website of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

Simultaneously in two halls of Hotel de Ville of Paris Municipality
exhibits and photos presenting shocking fragments of the genocide
committed against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning
of the 20th century will be shown.

“This is really a unique event for the museum. Realizing the importance
to be represented with such unparalleled exhibition in Paris, we have
decided to present unique exhibits in the capital of France, which
I am sure, will trigger great interest. I want to express my deepest
gratitude to the Paris Municipality for such opportunity, as well as
to the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in France for assisting in
organizational matters”, – the AGMI director Hayk Demoyan notes.

Nearly 150 exhibits form the Collection of the AGMI are involved in
this exhibition and each of them contains unique information about
different fragments of human tragedy. These exhibits, the majority
of which are being displayed for the first time out of Armenia,
involves personal belongings of genocide victims and survivors,
documents, diaries, photos, newspapers, memorabilia of foreign relief
organizations for fundraising and other original material.

“This is for the first time that so many exhibits of the Armenian
Genocide Museum will be displayed out of Armenia, which is an important
event for raising the awareness about the topic of the Armenian
Genocide in foreign countries, as well as presenting the museum’s
unique exhibits to the wide audience”, – mentions Gohar Khanumyan,
the head of the library of the AGMI.

A collection of the Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian has
a unique place in the exhibits presented by the AGMI, the originals
of which will be displayed for the first time namely during Paris
exhibition. The exhibition involves the posters of the silent film
“Auction of Souls” where Aurora Mardiganian played herself, as well
as photos, personal belongings, releases and other unique items. The
film was screened at Salle Gaveau hall of Paris in 1919.

“The French premiere of the film was a part of an artistic matinee
organized by Armenophile Duchess de Rohan and Baroness Cochen. The
entire income generated from the screening was allocated to the orphan
care work”, – the deputy director of the AGMI Lousine Abrahamyan notes.

Documents and photos from the Paris Nubarian Library are also included
in this exhibition.

The Paris exhibition was assisted by benefactor Jevan Cheloyants.

The expenses associated with the translation and publication of
exhibition related four books were covered by ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE
bank.

PARIS, CALIFORNIA, MEXICO TO HOST EXHIBITIONS COMMEMORATING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

17:21 * 30.03.15

Large exhibitions commemorating the Armenian Genocide will take place
in Paris, France, California, USA, and Mexico.

Exhibits – belongings of victims and survivors of the Armenian
Genocide, pictures and other things – will be displayed at the
exhibition, Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute, told reporters on Monday.

The Paris Municipality will host a temporary exhibition dedicated to
the Armenian Genocide Centennial, on April 29.

The “Armenia 1915: Paris hosts the collection of the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute of Yerevan” exhibition will run April 29 to July 4.

“We are grateful to the Paris municipality for affording us such a
unique opportunity to present a special collection in the heart of
Europe. Europeans will be able to see the exhibition for two months.

The collection includes about 150 exhibits, which contain unique
information on each human tragedy. A collection of the Armenian
Genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian has a unique place in the exhibits
presented by the AGMI, the originals of which will be displayed for the
first time namely during Paris exhibition. The exhibition involves the
posters of the silent film “Auction of Souls” where Aurora Mardiganian
played herself, as well as photos, personal belongings, releases and
other unique items. The film was screened at Salle Gaveau hall of
Paris in 1919,” Mr Demoyan said.

The expenses associated with the translation and publication of
exhibition related four books were covered by ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE
bank.

The Jewish Cultural Center of California will host the exhibition on
April 8-10, and the Museo Memoria y Tolerancia in Mexico will host
it on April 16.

“But we also plan to hold exhibitions in New York and Washington. A
large exhibition entitled ‘The Armenian Genocide and Russia’s
reaction’ will take place in Moscow, on April 20-23. I should note
that exhibitions have been held in dozens of halls throughout Russia,”
Mr Demoyan said.

ONU/LE CONSEIL DES DROITS DE L’HOMME : UNE RESOLUTION SUR LA PREVENTION DU GENOCIDE

Publie le : 30-03-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
propose cette information publiee sur le site du Haut-Commissariat
des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme (HCDH) le 27 mars 2015.

HCDH

Le Conseil des droits de l’homme termine ses travaux en adoptant des
resolutions sur la prevention du genocide, le problème de la drogue, la
violence fondee sur la religion et la nomme quatre titulaires de mandat

27 mars 2015

Le Conseil des droits de l’homme a adopte, le 27 mars, les huit
derniers textes qui lui etaient soumis, dont cinq au titre de
l’assistance technique et au renforcement des capacites s’agissant de
la Libye, du Mali, de L’Iraq, de la Guinee et d’Haïti. Des resolutions
ont egalement porte sur la violence fondee sur la religion, la
prevention du genocide et le problème de la drogue. Aucun de ces
textes n’a dû etre soumis a un vote. Le Conseil a egalement procede
a la nomination de quatre titulaires de mandat. Il a aussi adopte
son rapport de session ad referendum.

Le Conseil a notamment condamne dans les termes les plus forts les
actes terroristes et les violences contre les civils perpetres par le
pretendu Etat islamique d’Iraq et du Levant et d’autres organisations
terroristes en Libye et prie le Haut-Commissaire aux droits de
l’homme de depecher d’urgence une mission chargee d’enqueter sur ces
violation et autres atteintes au droit international des droits de
l’homme commises en Libye depuis le debut de 2014, et d’etablir les
faits, afin d’eviter l’impunite et d’assurer la pleine mise en cause
des responsables.

Le Conseil a egalement condamne les atteintes systematiques,
generalisees et graves aux droits de l’homme et les violations du
droit international humanitaire commises par Daesh en Iraq contre des
populations civiles. Il a dans ce contexte demande que la communaute
internationale aide l’Iraq a apporter une assistance humanitaire aux
personnes deplacees qui fuient les zones touchees par la violence,
et a mettre en place des mesures visant a proteger les sites où se
trouvent des charniers de personnes tuees par Daesh.

Le Conseil a aussi appele le Gouvernement guineen a s’assurer que
les elections qui seront organisees en 2015 se deroulent dans un
cadre pacifique, transparent, de securite et respectant pleinement
les droits de l’homme et les principes democratiques.

Le Conseil a egalement decide de proroger pour une periode d’un an
les mandats des Experts independants charges, respectivement, de
la situation des droits de l’homme en Haïti et au Mali. S’agissant
du Mali, il a fermement condamne les attaques armees et toutes les
violences perpetrees dans ce pays, en particulier dans les regions
du nord du pays.

Au titre de la promotion et de la protection des droits de l’homme,
le Conseil a adopte une resolution sur la prevention du genocide dans
laquelle il rappelle la responsabilite de chaque Etat de proteger
sa population contre le genocide et de faire face aux situations
complexes qui comportent un risque de genocide. Il invite par ailleurs
le Conseiller special du Secretaire general sur la prevention du
genocide a participer, a sa session de mars 2016, a un dialogue sur
les progrès realises dans l’execution de son mandat.

Le Conseil a egalement adopte des textes concernant sa contribution a
la session extraordinaire de l’Assemblee generale consacree au problème
mondial de la drogue prevue pour 2016, ainsi que sur sur la lutte
contre l’intolerance, les stereotypes negatifs, la stigmatisation,
la discrimination, l’incitation a la violence et la violence visant
certaines personnes en raison de leur religion ou de leurs convictions.

Le Conseil a par ailleurs procede a la nomination de la nouvelle
Rapporteuse speciale sur la situation des droits de l’homme au Cambodge
et du nouveau Rapporteur special sur les effets negatifs des mesures
coercitives unilaterales sur l’exercice des droits de l’homme,
ainsi que de deux experts en tant que membres, respectivement,
du Mecanisme d’experts sur les droits des peuples autochtones et
du Groupe de travail sur la question des droits de l’homme et des
societes transnationales et autres entreprises.

Outre les interventions des Etats membres du Conseil dans le cadre
de l’examen des projets soumis pour adoption, le Conseil a entendu en
fin de seance les declarations de plusieurs delegations observatrices
s’agissant des textes adoptes au cours de la session.

Dans une declaration de clôture, le President du Conseil, M. Joachim
Rucker, a juge encourageant de constater que de nombreux Etats
jouent un rôle actif et positif dans le soutien aux organisations
non gouvernementales et aux defenseurs des droits de l’homme, mais
a regrette qu’il y a encore loin de la coupe aux lèvres et il s’est
dit a la fois alarme et attriste par les nombreux cas d’intimidation
et d’attaques contre les militants qui entendent cooperer avec le
Conseil des droits de l’homme.

Le Conseil des droits de l’homme tiendra, le mercredi 1er avril,
une session speciale

GAZPROM ARMENIA TO SPEND 11 BILLION DRAMS THIS YEAR ON MODERNIZATION OF FACILITY

YEREVAN, March 30. / ARKA /. The investment program of Armenia’s
Russia-owned natural gas distribution company Gazprom Armenia for
2015 is worth 11 billion drams, Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory
Commission (PSRC) said today.

It said the company is going to channel 1.3 billion drams of that
amount into the renovation and expansion of the Abovyan underground
gas storage facility. Another 3.87 billion drams will be used to
reconstruct the gas transportation system.

The Russian Gazprom-owned distributor plans to spend also 392 million
drams on connecting new subscribers to the network. It will also
spend about 5.7 billion drams on the reconstruction of the gas
distribution system.

The regulator said Gazprom-Armenia should present its investment
program for 2016-2018 until October 15 this year.

The company’s investment program for 2014-2016 is worth 37.3 billion
drams. Some 25 billion drams of that amount is to be spent on the
upgrading of the gas transportation system and another 12 billion
drams on the modernization of the gas distribution system.

In December 2013, Gazprom signed a contract with Gazprom Armenia on
natural gas supplies in 2014-2018. According to it, Gazprom will
deliver up to 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas every year. The gas
price will be determined by a formula linked to the Russian gas
pricing scheme. ($1 – 471.63 drams). -0-

AHARON MANUKYAN: 100 YEARS OF EXPECTING REPENTANCE (PHOTOS)

11:00, 23.03.2015

By Ani Afyan

Armenian News-NEWS.am continues publishing stories within “Survivors”
project launched ahead of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
perpetrated in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915-23.

“Survivors” is the stories of common people who lost their childhood
and homeland.

“Survivors” is a hundred years of memories and pain, hundred years
of expecting retribution.

“Survivors” are a diminishing group of people who won’t lose their
hope for acknowledgement of their pain.

“Survivors” is 101-year-old Aharon Manukyan

Speaking about his mother, 101-yer-old Aharon closes his eyes. Much has
been erased from his memory behind the haze of years, but recollections
of that time are still alive and sadden his old heart (PHOTOS).

“Dad loved his mom very much,” his daughter Ruzanna said showing to
the yellowed photo of a young woman with the imprint of courage and
hidden suffering on her face.

The third son – Aharon – was born in the Manukyan family on March
20, 1914.

In 1915, his father Khachik was killed in a fight for defense of Van.

Learning about the death of her beloved husband, young Mariam hastily
dressed children and came out of the house where she never came back.

“Mom was carrying me in her arms, while Melikset and Vahram were
holding her skirt,” Aharon said.

Days and nights they were running away from death, from their past and
warmth of the native home, struggling with hunger and fatigue. They
could not stop, as Turkish soldiers, who were watching the Armenians
who survived the massacres, could find them at every step.

One day in 1915, being exhausted and confused they reached Etchmiadzin.

“Mom went door-to-door begging food for us,” Aharon grandpa said,
reverting the eyes and trying to hide the emotions.

Awkward silence hangs in the room. Minute, two or three… the silence
is broken only by a knock of clock and grandfather’s breath.

“What happened next?”

“Granma Mariam took away her children to Leninakan and left them at an
orphanage that was founded by an American couple. Dad called them Mr.

Yaro and Mrs. Limin. They lost their son and dedicated their life
to orphans to survive loss after the death of their child,” Ruzanna
explained.

She said since orphanage Aharon has a childish habit of keeping sweets
and candy under his pillow.

In 1920-21 the couple decided to come back to U.S. By that time
Mariam found job in a laundry and took the sons home. Once Mrs. Limin
came round.

“She wanted to adopt Dad and take him to America, she promised he
would have everything he needed.”

“Why him?”

“Dad resembled her dead son, and she wanted to give him warmth and
attention that she did not manage to give her own child.”

But no arguments and promises could make Mariam give her son. Mrs.

Limin put gold jewelry on the table, but Mariam was unwavering although
she was very much in need of money.

In 1945, Aharon entered the Yerevan State University to study history.

He was invited to give lectures in different universities and worked
for zoology institute at the Academy of Sciences. It seemed the
hardships were left in the past.

In 1952, he got married to Ripsik Tadevosyan.

“Mariam grandma died that year. Dad took Mariam’s death hard. One
photo is the only thing that she left,” Ruzanna said.

The first girl was named after grandma – Mariam. Ripsik gave birth
to Lusine, Aram and Ruzanna.

“Dad never misses an opportunity to mention Van. Whenever we eat fish,
he says:’You have to try tareh (herring) from Lake Van.’ We know that
he himself had never eaten this fish, but we understand how important
for him is to talk about his native land.”

Grandpa Aharon is sitting silently with his eyes closed. I do not
know whether he is asleep. The last rays of the setting sun slide on
the walls of the apartment which had not been repaired for a long time.

Grandma Ripsik is sitting in an old armchair in the corner of the room.

Ruzanna carries the burden of caring for elderly parents.

“It is very difficult to do everything alone. Sometimes to dress,
bathe and shave them is a big problem,” she said while seeing me off.

A few minutes later the door shut with a swam and left behind another
story of people who once faced unspeakable cruelty, but managed to
survive with a sense of dignity.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan

Demanded to remove “Centennial without the regime” poster

15:34 | March 28,2015 | Politics

Shortly before information has been received that a person, who
introduced himself as Chief of Yeghegnadzor Police Department Criminal
Investigation Division, visited Yeghegnadzor office of “Centennial
without the regime” movement and demanded to remove “Centennial
without the regime” poster hung on the building by explaining that
there was no permission of the municipality. Office employee urged to
speak to the person responsible for the office, but the latter
refused. To inform, the office is situated in the private area.

With best regards,

“Centennial without the regime” movement

“Nairit” employees gathered near Baghramyan 26: 7or

15:56 | March 28,2015 | Politics

Today “Nairit” plant employees have again held a protest action near
Baghramyan 26 demanding to provide a schedule of salaries’ repayment.
This time again “Nairit” plant employees left without any information.

The days of protest actions remain unchanged- Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2015

>From Samsun to Cappadocia and Beyond with Henry Fanshawe Tozer. Part 1

by TERRY RICHARDSON

When Henry Fanshawe Tozer embarked on a long journey across Anatolia
in the spring of 1879, the fascinating region that was then the
heartland of the Ottoman Empire was on the edge of crisis.

Muslim refugees had flooded in from the Balkans and Caucasus, victims
of the expansionist policies of imperialist Russia. Their arrival
upset the natural balance of the longer-established Anatolian people
— Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Kurds and other ethno-religious groups.
In 1874 a major famine had decimated the population, state taxes went
uncollected.

The sultanate was in disarray with Abdul Aziz forced to step down in
1876. His successor, Murad V, had a nervous breakdown and was deposed
later the same year, paving the way for the paranoid Abdul Hamid II to
take over the ailing empire. The war with Russia, which began in 1877,
was to have disastrous consequences as well. Faced with the loss of
vast swathes of territory, the Ottomans had no choice but to accept
the help of Britain, who in 1878 obtained the island of Cyprus in
return. The sultan also agreed to respect the rights of the empire’s
substantial Christian population and British officials penetrated the
remotest parts of Anatolia to supervise the implementation of the
agreement.

Over the mountains from Samsun to Amasya

Given the parlous state of Anatolia in the 1870s, it’s no wonder that
Tozer cancelled his original trip, scheduled for 1874, and waited
until the final year of the decade to set out into Anatolia. Like so
many travellers’ before him, he made the first part of the journey —
from Constantinople (Ä°stanbul) to Samsun — by boat. Tozer’s
travelling companions were TM Crowder, the bursar of Corpus Christi,
Oxford, and a Greek dragoman whom Tozer noted with faint praise as `a
rough and far from first-rate travelling servant, but hardy and
healthy, and possessing a thorough knowledge of Turkey.’

Tozer was less than enthusiastic about the Black Sea port of city
Samsun when his ship docked, writing: `Samsun is inconsiderable in
size and by no means imposing in appearance. ¦ There are few minarets
and the most conspicuous building is a church of recent construction.’
Rather like a backpacker today setting off for some less visited part
of Turkey, Tozer sought information about the lay of the land from
other foreigners who had been there before, in his case the French
consul in Samsun. His words were a stark warning: `You must not think
of starting for several days; you must wait until a caravan is formed.
¦ The roads are thoroughly unsafe owing to Circassians and other
brigands.’

Undeterred, Tozer eventually managed to scrape together five horses
for the journey and set-off at three o’clock that afternoon.
`Fortified by a firman from the sultan,’ Tozer and his companions were
officially sanctioned to roam across Anatolia and were able to enlist
a couple of military guards, one Turk and one Circassian to accompany
them. A `post boy’ also accompanied them to care for the steeds as
Tozer had persuaded the official postmaster in town to provide him
with horses — Samsun then being the last stop before Constantinople
on the postal route between the Baghdad and the Ottoman capital.

Four mountain chains and one `verminous inn’ later the party reached
Amasya. They stayed in a caravanserai right by the turbid Yesilırmak
river, opposite the chief draw of the town even today, the `famous
`Tombs of the Kings,’ which were the principal object of our visit.’
Equally exciting to the Oxford-educated geographer Tozer was that he
was now in the birthplace of one of the most famous geographers in
antiquity, Strabo (63 BC-AD 24), `to whom everyone who is interested
in ancient geography is so much indebted.’

En route to visit another foreign consul stationed in Anatolia high up
above the river, Tozer `stopped to admire the magnificent view¦ the
town lying beneath you, with its trees and minarets, the river spanned
by several bridges, the rocky heights on both sides.’ For the British
academic this was heady prose and praise indeed, as rarely did the
phlegmatic Tozer allow romance to colour his descriptions.

>From the land of the Hittites to Kayseri

Next the party rode across yet more mountains to Çorum and then onto
Alaca. Today the impressive pair of Hittite-era sphinxes flanking a
gateway there are replicas, while the originals are on display in
Ankara’s splendid and recently renovated Museum of Anatolian
Civilisations. Tozer was privileged to see the originals still in
situ, noting, `It was impossible not to feel astonishment at these
strange objects lying in such a remote place.’ Archaeology was very
much in the embryonic stage at the time of Tozer’s travels, so it is
not surprising that at the party’s next goal, BoÄ?azkale, there is
virtually no description of the extensive remains of the former
Hittite capital of HattuÃ…?a. It had simply not been uncovered. Tozer
did manage, however, to view the delightful relief-carved scenes of
Hittite warriors and deities at nearby Yazılıkaya.

Continuing their journey southward, the party reached Yozgat, then a
settlement of `3,000 families, 50 of whom are Greek, 1,000 Armenian,
the rest Turkish’ and were struck by `the unusual cleanness of the
town.’ Tozer attributed this to the wealth generated by Yozgat’s
principal product — Angora wool. Their next destination was Kayseri,
a four days ride away. There they lodged in the Armenian quarter,
hosted by Kerope Yakobian, a protestant pastor who had spent two years
undergoing training for his ministry in Scotland. Today booming
Kayseri has a population of well over 1 million. According to Tozer,
in 1879 it comprised just 60,000 souls of which 16,000 of were
Armenian, 4,000 Greek and the remainder Turkish.

Like many visitors to Kayseri both before and after him, Tozer was
fascinated by the spectacular volcanic peak of Mount Erciyes, rising
above the city in unearthly, snow-capped splendour. Unlike the vast
majority of travellers, however, Tozer was determined to climb this
3,916 meter high-peak. Guided by an elderly Armenian called Stephan
the party camped at 2,700 meters. The next day they rose at 2 a.m. and
carrying only `a piece of meat and some bread each’ made their way up
a snow-filled gully to the summit ridge, which they reached at 6 a.m.
They reached the actual summit well ahead of their guide, who
struggled up manfully behind them. The spectacular views were `as
wonderful a sight as can be conceived,’ allowed the normally guarded
geographer.

>From Cappadocia to Sivas

The next day they headed west to Cappadocia. Today this unique and
beautiful region is so rammed with boutique cave hotels and overflown
by squadrons of hot-air balloons that it’s hard to imagine it as the
little-visited backwater it was at the time of Tozer’s expedition.
They lodged in Ã`rgüp with a Greek called `Capitan Oglu’ who took them
to Göreme the next day. Tozer described the area as `a valley, perhaps
three-quarters of a mile in length, which has been scooped out to a
depth of five hundred feet. ¦ The cliffs fall steeply on both sides,
sometimes with sheer descent, sometimes in a succession of terraces¦
and about these terraces¦ were pinnacles, obelisks, pyramids and
broken towers of tufa, presenting the wildest scene of confusion.’ At
least Cappadocia’s topography has changed but little since Tozer’s
day.

The party returned to Kayseri before setting out on the four day ride
northeast to Sivas. En route they visited the Armenian monastery of
Surp Garabed, passed a salt lake and explored the famous caravanserai
at Sultanhanı. The village surrounding it is still a scruffy sort of
place, out of keeping with the grandness of the remains of the
caravanserai. Even back then it was `a small, poverty-stricken
village.’ Of Sivas itself Tozer had little to say, but he used the
time he spent there to talk to the locals and reflect on what they
thought of the current state of affairs in Anatolia. `The opinion
prevailed that the present regime was intolerable. On this subject
there was no difference; Mahometans and Christians, natives and
foreign residents, all thought alike.’

Across the Euphrates to Harput

Tozer and his entourage left Sivas on Aug. 12 and after a further four
days riding they reached the Euphrates, always a thrilling moment for
the traveller, especially a geographer. The famed river presented `a
wild but most impressive scene’ being `about 300 feet wide¦the current
strong.’ Tozer wasn’t so impressed by the craft that would take them
to the eastern shores of the biblical river for `it was of extremely
crude and primitive construction¦ 30 feet long by 15 feet wide, flat
bottomed¦had it been roofed over, it would not have made a bad Noah’s
Ark.’

They overnighted at Keban, today best known for its dam. Even then the
silver mines, which had previously brought much prosperity to the
settlement, were exhausted. They lodged at the house of a wealthy
Armenian before riding on to Harput. Today a rather forlorn collection
of ruins outside ElazıÄ?, Harput was then a flourishing Armenian town
and a centre of American protestant missionary activity in Eastern
Anatolia, well-known for its theological seminary and English language
school (renamed Euphrates College not long after Tozer’s visit), but
is now completely destroyed.

Tozer was enchanted by Harput, writing of the panorama from the ruined
castle at its heart. `After the dreary scenery of the Anti-Taurus, I
hailed with delight the change to bold, sharply cut mountain outlines
and brighter colouring¦ we now seem to have reached a new and more
romantic land.’
For Tozer, the real adventure was about to begin.

Henry Fanshawe Tozer’s `Turkish Armenia and Eastern Asia Minor’ can be
read online at