Author: Badalian Vardan

SYSTEM OF A DOWN: GENOCIDE TOUR MORE IMPORTANT THAN NEW MUSIC

Rolling Stone Magazine
April 2 2015

“We want to help prevent what happened to the Armenians happening to
other people,” drummer John Dolmayan says

By Kory Grow April 2, 2015

System of a Down, whose members are all of Armenian descent, will
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide later this
month with their first-ever concert in the country. It’s an event –
along with an international Wake Up the Souls tour that kicks off
Monday in Los Angeles – that means so much to them that drummer John
Dolmayan prioritizes it above making new music.

“This is something that transcends the music,” he said Wednesday on a
media conference call. “This is more important than a next System of
a Down album. This is something that is far-reaching and even bigger
than the Armenian genocide itself….We want to help prevent what
happened to the Armenians happening to other people.”

Dolmayan echoed the sentiments of frontman Serj Tankian, who told
Rolling Stone earlier this year that there was an “openness” to work
on new music. “We do want to get together after the tour and talk
about writing,” Dolmayan said.

The purpose of the teleconference was to raise awareness around
the genocide’s anniversary, since Turkey – whose Ottoman regime
executed around 1.5 million Armenians around 1915 – continues to deny
the incident. Dolmayan and Tankian, who also participated in the
call, underscored how much it meant to them to encourage Turkey to
acknowledge the event. “[The genocide] is still with us,” the singer
said. “The denial is a spit in the face of that every year.”

“It stays with you,” Dolmayan said. “It’s still with me today,
because of the stories that we did hear [from our families].”

The band’s first-ever gig in the country of their ancestors will
take place in capital city Yerevan’s Republic Square on April 23rd,
and it has planned special components to the concert to honor
their countrymen. “We have two songs that are about the genocide,”
Tankian said. “One, from our first release, called ‘P.L.U.C.K.’ and
the other from one of our latest albums, [2005’s] Mezmerize, called
‘Holy Mountains.’ The set will actually start with ‘Holy Mountains,’
and then we have a small video presentation, and ‘P.L.U.C.K.’ will
go into that.”

The singer described the video presentations as a three-part animated
video explaining what happened during the time of the genocide,
how it led to other holocausts throughout the last century and how
it continues to impact people today.

The concert itself – which the band is documenting and hopes to post
online – will be free, an important aspect of the event. “Armenia is
not a wealthy nation,” Dolmayan said. “A lot of people, if we were
to charge even a nominal fee, would not be able to pay the ticket
price….We didn’t want to make a profit off the show. The show has
a greater meaning for us. Sometimes you do things not for profit,
and this is one of those times.”

Dolmayan said he would love to see Turkey acknowledge the genocide
in his lifetime. “It would be a very healing thing for us,” he said.

“We’ve had to carry this weight around for our entire lives. Our
parents carried it for their entire lives, and our grandparents
carried it. It would relieve that weight…and I think in a lot of
ways it would relieve the weight off the people of Turkey’s shoulders
as well. Coming to terms with something that you’ve run away from
for so long is important for your healing process.”

In his previous interview with Rolling Stone, Tankian said that the
band’s Turkish fans have come to their defense when the country’s press
attempted to smear them. “They wrote to the editors of those newspapers
who were planting this misinformation, this disinformation, and fought
for us,” the singer said. “Our jaws dropped. Here we have fans in
Turkey that are protecting System of a Down. No society is unipolar.”

GREEK CYPRUS CRIMINALIZES DENIAL OF ALLEGED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 2 2015

Greek Cyprus on Thursday made it a crime to deny claims that Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire were victims of a genocide campaign a century
ago, a move likely to rile Turkey as peace talks on the ethnically
split island remain stalled.

The Greek Cypriot parliament passed a resolution penalizing denial of
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, modifying existing
legislation, which required a prior decision by an international
court to make denial a crime.

“Today is a historic day,” said Yiannakis Omirou, the speaker of
parliament. “It allows parliament to restore, with unanimous decisions
and resolutions, historical truths.”

The east Mediterranean island, split into a Turkish Cypriot north and
a Greek Cypriot south after a Turkish military intervention in 1974
that followed a Greek-inspired coup, was in 1975 one of the first
countries in the world to recognize the Armenian claims of genocide,
commemorated annually on April 24.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians died during World War I but says
the death toll offered by the Armenians, up to 1.5 million people,
is inflated, further denying that the deaths resulted from an act
of genocide. Ankara says Turks were also killed when Armenians took
up arms in pursuit of an independent state in collaboration with the
Russian forces then invading eastern Anatolia.

Armenia, on the other hand, accuses the Ottoman authorities at the
time of systematically massacring large numbers of Armenians, then
deporting many more, including women, children, the elderly and the
infirm, in terrible conditions on so-called death marches.

The issue has long been a source of tension between Turkey and several
Western countries, especially the United States and France, both home
to large populations of the ethnic Armenian diaspora. Greek Cyprus
also has an Armenian population.

The Greek Cypriot government has been at loggerheads with Turkey for
decades. Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations have lived estranged in
the south and north, respectively, since 1974, but seeds of division
were sown earlier when a power-sharing government crumbled amid
violence in 1963.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apost. Church of America and Canada
H.E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan
Prelate, Easter Prelacy and Canada
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
Web:

APRIL 2, 2015

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem

(Kovya Yeroosaghem Uzder)

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Christ is risen from the dead, alleluia!

To Him who is risen from the dead, alleluia!

To him that enlightened the world, alleluia!

Read the Prelate’s Easter Message, `Resurrected Life’ in Armenian
() or English
().

CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIONS

Centennial commemorations of the Armenian Genocide are taking place
throughout the world. The national observance in the United States
includes special events that will take place over a three-day period
(May 7, 8, 9) in Washington, DC, that includes an ecumenical prayer
service, a Pontifical Divine Liturgy, a memorial concert, and an
awards banquet honoring those who helped the survivors. The
Catholicoi, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, will be
present to preside over the events.

For Listing of Events in Washington, DC and New York City click here
()

For more information about the national observances in Washington go
to
()

PONTIFICAL VISIT

May 10-June 4, 2015

The Pontifical Visit National Steering Committee under the presidency
of His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan and chairmanship of Jack Mardoian,
Esq., has
been meeting regularly since last year to plan every detail of the
visit of His Holiness Aram I to the Eastern Prelacy. The pontifical
visit will begin on Sunday, May 10, with the conclusion of the
three-day 100th anniversary commemorations in Washington. His Holiness
will visit parishes in the Eastern Prelacy where he will be warmly
greeted by the faithful of all ages. He will connect with young adults
at seminars in New York (May 16) and Boston (May 30), and he will
visit with the youthful members of the AYF Juniors at their annual
weekend seminar on May 24 at Camp Lutherlyn in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Watch this space for weekly updates. Information about the pontifical
visit is also available on the Prelacy’s web page. To go there now
click here ().

NEW JERSEY HOSTS REGIONAL CONFERENCE

The Prelacy’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference convened last Saturday,
March 28, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New
Jersey. The conference was attended by clergy, members of the boards
of trustees, and
delegates to the National Representative Assembly, as well as members
of the Prelacy’s Religious and Executive Councils.

Archbishop Oshagan addresses the participants in the Mid-Atlantic
Conference.

Archbishop Oshagan and Rev. Fr. Hovnan Bozoian with the participants.

DATEV SUMMER PROGRAM FOR YOUTH 13-18

The 29th annual summer program for youth ages 13-18 is scheduled to be
held at the St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania,
from June
28-July 5, 2015. Sponsored by the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC), the summer program offers a unique weeklong
Christian educational program for youth. It aims to instill and
nurture the
Armenian Christian faith and identity in our youth through a variety
of educational activities, coupled with daily church services and
communal recreational activities. For information and registration,
please visit the Prelacy’s website at armenianprelacy.org/arec/datev
or contact the AREC
office at 212-689-7810 or [email protected].

BIBLE READINGS

Bible readings for Sunday, April 5, Easter Sunday are: Acts 1:15-26;
Mark 16:2-8

Evening Gospels: Luke 24:13-36; John 20:1-18; John 5:24-30; John
19:31-37;
John 20:19-25

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd
numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, `Friends, the
scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David
foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested
Jesus-for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this
ministry.’ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his
wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all
his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of
Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama,
that is, Field of Blood.) For it is written in the book of Psalms,
`Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one to live in
it’; and `Let another take his position of overseers.’ So one of the
men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus
went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the
day when he was taken up from us=80’one of these must become a witness
with us to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called
Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they
prayed and said, `Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one
of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and
apostleship from which Judas turned aside
to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell
on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26)

For a listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here
().

MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY

In the Armenian tradition, the day following each of the five major
feast days, is Memorial Day, or Remembrance of the
Dead. Traditionally, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on this day, and
afterwards the faithful visit the graves of their loved ones that are
blessed by the priest with chants and incense.

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE VIRGIN MARY

This Tuesday, April 7, is the Feast of the Annunciation to the Virgin
Mary. This feast day is always commemorated on April 7, nine months
before the birth of Christ. The Feast celebrates the announcement made
by the archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would bear the Son of God,
as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah (7:1) and as related in the Gospel
of Luke (chapter 1).

Rejoice Mary, holy Mother of God, for the Lord has come suddenly into
your
purified temple; we bless and magnify you. Rejoice closed door through
whom no one has passed except the Lord God of Israel; we bless and
magnify you. Rejoice sealed fountain of the living water giving to you
thirsting nature as drink; we bless and magnify you.

(Canon for the Annunciation to the Holy Mother of God from the
Liturgical Canons of the Armenian Church)

WITH OUR PARISHES AND COMMUNITY

St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown

Archbishop Oshagan celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered the
sermon on Palm Sunday at St. Stephen’s Church in Watertown,
Massachusetts.

Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield

Bishop Anoushavan celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered the
sermon on Palm Sunday at Sts. Vartanantz Church in Ridgefield, New
Jersey.

All Saints Church, Glenview

Archpriest Fr. Zareh Sahakian, pastor of All Saints Church in
Glenview, Illinois, with altar servers and members of the Angels
Choir.

St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston

Bishop Anoushavan presided at the Remembrance of the ten virgins
service at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.

Hovnanian School, New Milford

Archbishop Oshagan, Bishop Anoushavan, and Rev. Fr. Hovnan with the
upper grade students at the Hovnanian School in New Milford, New
Jersey, and administrators and faculty.

The children perform for their guests.

Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Emerson

Archbishop Oshagan, Bishop Anoushavan, and Rev. Fr. Hovnan conduct a
prayer service for the residents of the Armenian Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center in Emerson, New Jersey.

The clergymen with Andrew Torigian, chairman of the Board, and Matthew
Russo (right), administrator of the Emerson Home.

THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE CORNER

Prepared by the Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC)

A Very Public Word

The Armenian word enthanoor (Õ¨Õ¶Õ¤Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö=82Ö=80) has quite a
ubiquitous meaning. It is an adjective that usually
means `general,’ as it appears in the name of various Armenian
organizations. For instance, such is the case of the Armenian General
Athletic Union (Hay Marmnagrtagan Enthanoor Miootioon, Õ=80Õ¡Õµ
Õ=84Õ¡Ö=80Õ´Õ¶Õ¡Õ¯Ö=80Õ©Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Ô¸Õ¶Õ¤Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö=82Ö=80
Õ=84Õ«Õ¸Ö=82Õ©Õ«Ö=82Õ¶), usually known by its acronym Õ=80Õ=84Ô¸Õ=84
(Homenetmen).

Now, we know that the English word general comes from the Latin
generalis,
meaning `relating to all, of a whole class, generic’ (from
genus `stock, kind’). The Armenian word enthanoor has a meaning quite
close to Latin generalis, and it comes from Classical Armenian or
krapar (Yeznik Koghbatsi used it in his Refutation of the
Sects). Every Sunday, the faithful join to recite the Credo of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, written in Classical Armenian, where it is
said: `We also believe in only one, universal, and apostolic holy
Church.’ Here, the word for `universal’ is enthanragan
(Õ¨Õ¶Õ¤Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶).

Now, the word enthanoor is actually a compound of an adverb and an
adjective: ent + hanoor (Õ¨Õ¶Õ¤ + Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö=82Ö=80), where ent means
`together, under’ and hanoor (`all, every’). Literally, it would mean
`altogether.’
Ent is an adverb that did not enter modern usage, but hanoor has been
used
at times, and one can find it here and there, for instance in the
expression hanoor martgootioone (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö=82Ö=80
Õ´Õ¡Ö=80Õ¤Õ¯Õ¸Ö=82Õ©Õ«Ö=82Õ¶Õ¨ `the entire humankind’).

Hanoor, composed by the prefix han, more commonly used as ham
(Õ°Õ¡Õ´), which means `all,’ and the familiar adverb oor (Õ¸Ö=82Ö=80
`where’), is particularly interesting for its many derivations. For
instance, the same as the English public (from
the Latin publicus, meaning `of the people; general’), the
Armenian language created the noun hanrootioon
(Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¸Ö=82Õ©Õ«Ö=82Õ¶ `public’) and the adjective hanrayin
(Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ¶ `public’). Consequently, republic (from Latin res
publica `public affair, the state’) became hanrabedootioon
(Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö=82Õ©Õ«Ö=82Õ¶, which literally means `the state
of all’).

Another example is omnibus, from the same Latin word that means `for
all.’ The English word came from the French voiture omnibus
(=80=9Ccarriage for all’), which was probably the inspiration for the
Armenian version: hanragark (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¼Ö=84 `carriage, vehicle
for all’).

In the end, here are a few more usual terms that come from the very
prolific hanoor, despite being a word that has fallen from usage in
colloquial language:

Hanrakidaran (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¡Ö=80Õ¡Õ¶ `encyclopedia’)

Hanrahashiv (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Õ°Õ¡Õ·Õ«Ö=82
`algebra’)

Hanrakve (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Ö=84Õ¸Ö=82Õ§ `referendum’)

Hanrakoomar (Õ°Õ¡Õ¶Ö=80Õ¡Õ£Õ¸Ö=82Õ´Õ¡Ö=80 `grand total’)

Previous entries in `The Armenian Language Corner’ are on the
Prelacy’s web site ()

SYRIAN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY NEEDS OUR HELP MORE THAN EVER

The crisis in Syria requires our financial assistance.

Please keep this community in your prayers, your hearts, and your
pocketbooks.

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET OUR ONGOING RELIEF EFFORTS FOR THE ARMENIAN
COMMUNITY
IN SYRIA WHERE CONDITIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE DIFFICULT.

THE NEED IS REAL.

THE NEED IS GREAT.

DONATIONS TO THE FUND FOR SYRIAN ARMENIAN RELIEF CAN BE MADE ON
LINE. TO DONATE NOW CLICK HERE
() AND SELECT SYRIAN
ARMENIAN RELIEF IN THE MENU. OR IF YOU PREFER YOU MAY MAIL YOUR
DONATION TO:

Armenian Prelacy

138 E. 39th Street

New York, NY 10016

Checks payable to: Fund for Syrian Armenian Relief

Thank you for your help

THIS WEEK IN ARMENIAN HISTORY

Prepared by the Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC)

Birth of Ara Sarkisian (April 4, 1902)

One of the familiar views around the Opera of Yerevan is that of the
statues of Hovhannes Tumanian and Alexander Spentiarian. Those two
works were co-authored by Ghazar Chubarian and Ara Sarkisian in 1957.

Sculptor Ara Sarkisian was born in Makriköy (now Bakirköy), in the
outskirts of Constantinople, on April 4, 1902. He studied in the local
Dadian School. His family moved to the suburb of Pera (Beyoglu) in
1914 and he continued his studies in the Essayan School. His uncle
Sarkis Sarkisian was a well-known architect, and advised his nephew to
deepen his knowledge of art.

The sculptor at work in his studio.

During the war years, Sarkisian abandoned his studies and pursued
menial jobs to make ends meet. Afterwards, he studied in the School of
Fine Arts of
Constantinople from 1919-1921, where he produced original busts, as
well as compositions of tragic subjects inspired by the Armenian
massacres and the war.

He finished the four-year program in two years and continued his
studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna (1921-1924), where he
participated in local exhibitions.

However, it remained secret for decades that Sarkisian had been an
assistant to Arshavir Shiragian both in his operations in Rome
(December 1921) and
Berlin (April 1922). He had helped chase the targets with his
excellent command of Turkish and his photographic memory.

After graduation, he took Soviet citizenship and arrived in Yerevan on
April 26, 1925, where he spent the rest of his life. He set the
grounds of Armenian professional sculpture and he specialized in bust
sculptures, creating works inspired by Armenian writers, scholars,
artists, and historical figures. One of his most important works, the
statue `Mesrob Mashdots and Sahak Bartev’ (1943) is placed near the
main building of Yerevan State University.

Sarkisian’s statue of Hovhannes Tumanian located in Freedom Square,
adjacent to the Yerevan Opera.

Sarkisian opened the section of sculpture at the technical school of
art and production of Yerevan where he taught from 1925-1930. At the
same time, he organized the Armenian branch of the Society of Painters
of Revolutionary Russia and became its president. He tried to bring
together the Armenian painters in the early 1930s and succeeded in the
foundation of the Painters
Union of Armenia in 1932, together with Gabriel Gurjian and Mikayel
Arutchian. He became the first secretary of the Union until 1937 and
was instrumental in the foundation of the Art Institute (now Academy
of Fine Arts) of Yerevan in 1945, which he directed until 1959. Later,
he became chair holder
and head of the art studio at the Institute.

In 1959 Ara Sarkisian left for Brussels to participate in `Expo-59′
with his works. There, by chance he met his brother Patrick, whose
existence he had hidden from the Soviet authorities for almost four
decades. His brother worked for USAID and was a leader of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation in Athens. These two facts did not go
unnoticed by the KGB. Sarkisian returned to Yerevan and was forced to
resign as director of the
Art Institute.

A memorial monument to the sculptor in Yerevan created in his style.

He remained under surveillance for the rest of his life. The memoirs
of the participants in the Nemesis Operation started to appear in the
1960s, such as Shiragian’s memoirs, but Sarkisian’s name was never
mentioned, except as A.S. when needed. However, apparently a newspaper
in Beirut mentioned his complete name and this did not escape the
attention of the secret police.

In 1969 Sarkisian suffered a fracture in a leg and was admitted in the
hospital, where he was writing his memoirs. He also wrote his
will. The Nemesis Operation and any activity related to the A.R.F.,
together with the existence of a former member of the party, now a
prominent Soviet artist, were problematic issues for the Soviet
intelligence. It appears that this was enough reason to make both the
memoirs and author disappear.

The sculptor left the hospital, totally cured. The same day, he had a
violent fever and died two days later, on June 6, 1969. His death is
still surrounded with mystery.

A museum dedicated to the works of Ara Sarkisian and Hakob Kojoyan was
opened in 1993, located on Pushkin Street in Yerevan, near the church
of Surp Zoravor. The museum was last renovated in 1980. Recently, the
Armenian Students Association raised funds to help catalogue and
digitize the important documents and manuscripts housed there, which
are in poor condition. The project is being carried out by the
Johannissyan Institute, a newly formed research institute in Yerevan.

Previous entries in `This Week in Armenian History’ are on
the Prelacy’s web site ()

()

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WITH FR. NAREG TERTERIAN

(Pastor of St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York)

This week’s podcast: Holy Week Special. Click the image above to
listen.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 1-30-Photography exhibit by Tom Vartabedian commemorating the
Centennial at Haverhill Public Library, 99 Main Street, showing images
of
the country and its people, including scenes of the eternal flame at
Tzizernagapert. The exhibit is next to the Children’s Room in the
upstairs gallery.

April 7-`The Centenary of the Armenian Genocide: What have
we learned?’ lecture by Dr. Richard Hovannisian, sponsored by
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Kean University, Union, New Jersey,
Kean Hall at 7 pm. Admission is free.

April 11-Concert by the Armenian Society Areni Choir, conducted by
Armine Vardanyan, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, 6 pm, at The Queens Theater in the Park, 14 United Nations
Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Park, Corona. Also featuring renowned
guest singers and musicians, as well as the Antranig Dance
Ensemble. For tickets ($40 and $50): 732-982-7364.

April 12-`A Tribute to Survival,’ concert, sponsored by the Armenian
Martyrs’ Memorial Committee of Rhode Island, featuring The Armenian
Chorale of Rhode Island, directed by Maestro Konstantin
Petrossian, accompanied by Mari Panosian and symphony orchestra. Guest
artists: Gohar Manjelikian, Joanne Mouradjian, Kate Norigian, Debra
Takian Pjojian, Elizabeth Souin, Vagharshag Ohanian. Musical
instrumental selections by David Ayriyan on Kemancha and David
Gevorkian on Duduk. The Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston, directed
by Apo Ashjian will perform. Park Theatre,
848 Park Avenue, Cranston, Rhode Island, at 3 pm. Free admission and
parking. Valet parking available. For information:

April 21-The Armenian Poetry Project Presents, `Commemorating the
Centenary of the Armenian Genocide: A Reading in Remembrance,’ Holy
Cross Church, 580 West 187th Street, New York City, 7 pm. For
information: Lola Koundakjian, [email protected].

April 23-Canonization of the Armenian Martyrs of 1915 in Holy
Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

April 24-Centennial Memorial Dinner, sponsored by Providence ARF,
hosted by the Armenian Cultural Association of America, Inc., Omni
Providence Hotel, One West Exchange Street, Providence, Rhode
Island. Cocktails 6 pm; dinner 7 pm. Emcee: Honorable Scott Avedisian,
Mayor of Warwick; guest speaker, Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy, author of
`Sacred Justice: The Voices and Legacy of the Armenian Operation
Nemesis.’ $50 per person. Reserve by email: [email protected] or
by phone: Raffi Rachdouni 401-226-2305; Paula Burke 401-282-0459.

April 25-Connecticut Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day at the
Connecticut State Capitol at 11 am. Keynote speaker: Noted author
Chris Bohjalian.

April 25-Armenian Genocide Centennial commemoration sponsored by the
Armenian National Committee of Merrimack Valley (Massachusetts), 10 am
at Lowell City Hall, following a procession from John Street, led by
the Armenian American Veterans. Participants are asked to gather at
9:30 am. Luncheon buffet to follow with the showing of a film.

April 26-Centennial commemoration of Genocide. Joint united Divine
Liturgy at St. Vartan Cathedral, New York City. Celebrant, Archbishop
Khajag Barsamian; homilist, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. To be
followed by Times Square gathering `100 Years to Remember.’

April 27-`Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide,’ by Drew University Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study in
Madison, New Jersey at 7 pm. Testimony of Andranik Vartanian
(1900-2007), presented by his daughter Susan Vartanian Barba; `Undoing
Denial: The Armenian Genocide and Art’ presented by Neery
E. Melkonian;
Concert by the Armenian folk group, Zulal, an a cappella trio will
present
Armenian village folk melodies. Free and open to the public. RSVP
encouraged: (973) 408-3600 or [email protected].

May 7, 8, 9-National Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration in
Washington, DC, organized under the patronage of the Diocese and the
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Presided by His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of the Great House of
Cilicia. May 7, Ecumenical
Service at the National Cathedral, 7 pm; May 8, A Journey Through
Armenian
Music at the Music Center at Strathmore, 7:30 pm; May 8 & 9, Exhibits,
Films, and Events at various venues; May 9, Divine Liturgy at the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 10 am;
May 9, A Time to Give Thanks, banquet, 5:30 pm, Marriott Marquis.

May 10 to June 4-Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Aram I to the
Eastern Prelacy.

May 12-`Anatolia, Land of Armenians Until the 1915 Armenian Genocide,’
presentation by Margaret Tellalian-Kyrkostas, executive director of
the Anthropology Museum of the People of New York and the Armenian
Cultural Educational Resource Center Gallery at Queens College, 7 pm
in the Lapham Meeting Room at the Port Washington Public Library.

June 3-6-National Representative Assembly hosted by St. Stephen’s
Church, Watertown, Massachusetts.

June 18-Annual Cigar Night and Dinner, Men’s Club of St. Gregory
Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts. Drawing of
Super Raffle of 2015 Mercedes Benz-CLA 250 will take place. Raffle
tickets
can be purchased online (saintgregory.org/organizations/mens-club).

June 28-July 5-29th annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute Summer
Program for youth ages 13-18 at the St. Mary of Providence Center in
Elverson, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC). For information and registration, please
visit the Prelacy’s website at armenianprelacy.org/arec/datev or
contact the AREC office at 212-689-7810 or [email protected].

July 18-Blessing of the Holy Muron (Oil) by His Holiness Aram I, at
the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias,
Lebanon. For
details click here.

October 5-9-Clergy gathering of Eastern, Western, and Canadian
Prelacies.

November 15-90th Anniversary Banquet, St. Stephen’s Church, 167
Tremont Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Watch for details.

Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacy’s web
site.

To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox,
add
[email protected] to your address book.

Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please
credit Crossroads as the source.

Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about
their major events to be included in the calendar. Send to:
[email protected]

NEVER AGAIN: FAMILY’S STORIES RECALL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

MPR News, Minnesota
April 2 2015

People & Places Dan Olson · Apr 2, 2015

Bedros Keljik escaped his homeland amid a rising tide of Turkish
nationalism. He managed to save his parents and most — but not all —
of his siblings from what would become the Armenian genocide.

He found his way to St. Paul in 1899 where he and a partner opened
a rug store downtown at 4th and Market streets near Rice Park.

More than a century later, the business thrives in south Minneapolis
in a shop run by his grandson Mark. Even in prosperity, though, the
family has never lost sight of what Bedros and other Armenians endured.

April marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. As many as
1.5 million perished at the hands of Turkish forces. To commemorate,
the Keljiks are sharing some of their family’s stories. That
includes one about a French captain who told police that his boat
was essentially French soil, a declaration that saved Bedros and
his brother.

Bedros later lectured widely on what was happening in his homeland
to sound the alarm. Mark hopes remembering atrocities from a century
ago will help avert future genocide.

Click here < > to
hear more from the Keljik family.

They walked for you and me: Armenian Genocide remembered at the Art
Space Gallery
Angela Tuttle, Reporter

March 19, 2015
The Rampage

April 24 is marked as Remembrance Day of the Armenian Genocide. 2015
particularly stands out because it’s been 100 years since the genocide.

The art space gallery at Fresno City College is one of the many venues
in Fresno that will have events to remember those lost to the genocide.

Artist Joyce Gostanian Kierejczyk hosted an Art Hop event on March 5.
Guests were greeted at the entrance with a mound of forget-me-nots.
Guests then could write the name of a loved one who died in the
Armenian genocide on a piece of paper, slip it on the flower and place
it in the exhibit itself.

The actual exhibit consisted of paper sculptures that represented those
lost in the Armenian Genocide as well as photography pieces of Armenia
by Peter Carapetian.

Under the hanging sculptures were piles of raisins made to look like
graves, where guests then placed their flowers.

The exhibit contained 937.5 pounds of raisins that was donated by the
Caruthers Raisin Packing Company and Dennis Housepan.

`This half ton of raisins signifies the 1.5 million people that died
during the Armenian Genocide,’ said by Joyce Gostanian Kierejczyk.

Everything in this exhibit is completely symbolic by nature, but the
artist goes the extra mile. During Art Hop, Joyce Gostanian was there
with her art, mingling with guests and telling her stories.

Not only is she undeniably talented, but she so flawlessly preserves
history so those of the present and future can remember what happened
to their ancestors.

Also posted on the wall were quotes by Joyce Gostanian.

`The stories that I heard many times were of the Armenian families
that were tortured and killed and sent off to march into the desert.
Although this story ther would repeat it throughout her life as the
story she heard as a child. The same story is repeated by many
generations of Armenians of the Armenian Genocide.’

These stories, although so shocking they may have sounded unreal, were
very real and stressed the importance of remembering the past and
those who were lost, no matter how dark and tragic.

This exhibit will be running until April 9 in Fresno City College’s Art
Space Gallery.

The New Argentine Ambassador to Armenia was Presented to the Community

Agencia Prensa Armenia

On Tuesday night the new Argentine Ambassador to Armenia, Dr. Gonzalo
Urriolabeitia, was presented to the representatives of the
institutions of the Armenian community in the country, along with the
Armenian Ambassador to Argentina Alexan Harutiunian and the Consul of
the Embassy of Armenia Ester Mkrtumyan.

“Being Ambassador to Armenia is something very special because I will
represent not only the Argentine people, but also the Armenians living
in Argentina, which are also Argentines,” said Urriolabeitia.

The lawyer Gonzalo Urriolabeitia had been appointed by Decree
307/2015, signed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and
Foreign Minister Hector Timerman. Urriolabeitia was press officer at
the Embassy of Brazil between 2002 and 2008, and then worked in the
Argentina Foreign Ministry from 2010 in the Department of
Parliamentary Affairs. He studied at the Foreign Service Institute of
the Nation and became a lawyer at the Catholic University of La Plata.

Agencia de Noticias Prensa Armenia
Armenia 1366, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel. (5411) 4775-7595
[email protected]
twitter.com/PrensaArmenia

RICHARD YOUNGS: NEW WAY AHEAD OF ARMENIA AND EU WON’T BE SMOOTH

April 2, 2015 17:15

Richard Youngs

Photo: ytimg.com

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Senior associate at Carnegie Endowment Richard
Youngs believes that the democracy in Armenia is moving backward,
and the way ahead of Armenia and EU is unlikely to be smooth.

Youngs wrote about it in his article entitled “Armenia as a Showcase
for the New European Neighborhood Policy?”

According to the expert, the case of Armenia shows the EU’s willingness
to be flexible and adjust its standard neighborhood model.

But it also shows how this incipient adjustment does not in itself
solve the problem of how the EU can and should fashion a more effective
geostrategic identity in its East.

“The EU’s current Eastern crisis started in Armenia. After more than
three years of negotiations, on September 3, 2013, Armenia pulled
out of its just-concluded Association Agreement with the EU. Instead,
Yerevan joined the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The EU appears to have learned some important lessons from that jolt.

For some months after September 2013, the EU was understandably
frosty toward Armenia. More recently, however, the EU’s response has
been pragmatic. Most forms of cooperation have continued,” noted the
author of the article.

Recalling that the EU invited Armenia to identify those elements of
the Association Agreement in which it is still interested and that
are compatible with the country’s EEU commitment, Richard Youngs
believes that the way ahead is unlikely to be smooth.

“The EU might espouse demand-driven flexibility in its new approach
to the Eastern Partnership, but this does not prevent the union from
getting caught up in some very tense domestic politics in places
like Armenia.

The Armenian government seeks pragmatic areas of EU funding from
the new agreement and some areas of technical alignment. Government
officials in Yerevan are once again keener on some kind of economic
agreement with the EU, in part because Russia’s financial troubles
have had a serious impact on the Armenian economy,” noted the European
expert.

According to Youngs, civil society leaders argue that the replacement
agreement represents an opportunity for the EU to make democracy
support its niche priority in Armenia.

“The EU has been admirably inclusive in consulting with Armenian
civil society organizations over the new agreement. But with the union
having only just finished a preparatory scoping exercise to look at
what could feasibly be included in the agreement, many civil society
organizations criticize the EU for moving extremely slowly. The texts
of the original accord were, after all, finalized two years ago,
and it should be possible simply to take out the free trade elements
and move ahead with the new package. Civil society leaders in Yerevan
suspect that the Russia factor is once again holding several member
states (and, indeed, Armenia) back,” wrote the expert.

He believes democracy in Armenia is moving backward.

“The government effectively decimated one of the main political
parties, weakening a potential counterweight to executive power.

Constitutional reforms are stalled. Civic protests have grown in
strength over the last year. The government is planning a restrictive
new NGO law, and executive control over the media and judiciary has
tightened – all concerns noted in the EU’s latest progress report on
Armenia released on March 25,” reads the article.

According to Richard Youngs, so the strategic dilemma remains which
kind of more flexible and tailored agreement the EU will favor and
whether the union will indulge Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s
creeping soft authoritarianism?

“A new accord will be valuable but will not in itself significantly
reinforce the EU’s political influence. This will require member states
to invest more political weight through their diplomacy in Armenia, by
engaging directly on high-level security issues,” wrote Richard Youngs.

On the other hand, he thinks the replacement agreement is unlikely to
give the EU any role in Armenia’s security dynamics. And this matters,
because the security context looks increasingly precarious.

AZERBAIJAN TO EXPAND ITS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

April 2 2015

Politician Tigran Abrahamyan arrived at this conclusion after the
latest border incidents –

Border incidents are continued since August of last year and this
year more intensively. Do you also think that the only reason for it
is the centennial of the Genocide? Aren’t there any political
interests of great powers, which resulted in the creation of this
situation? Especially since the president of Azerbaijan calls the
international agreements a “scrap of paper”.

– I do not connect the border incidents with Genocide centennial.

Surely, in terms of combat duty, April is expected to be a difficult
month, truly, there are rapid activation risks by the opponent.

Azerbaijan’s military-political elite solves tactical problems
with the help of border incidents, which occur at different times
in different forms. And the statement by the President of Azerbaijan
regarding qualifying the international agreements as a “scrap
of paper”, the best demonstrates the attitude that Azerbaijan
displays towards the agreements reached during bipartite or
multipartite meetings.

– Looking back to the border incidents starting from the cease-fire
up to the recent days, Azerbaijan has passed from random actions to
subversive war. What does this suggest? Which will be the next step?

– Currently, Azerbaijan had adopted the line of
“sniper-subversive war”, aiming at possibly causing
great damage to the Armenian side, both material, human and
moral-psychological. As to the sequence of steps, the situation is as
follows: firstly, Azerbaijan was breaking the ceasefire with irregular
fires, later on, the snipers and subversive and intelligence forces
were actively engaged in the game, afterwards, after the changes
in tactics, the penetrations of subversive and intelligence forces
turned into diversion and special detachment actions implemented
in the direction of the Armenian combat positions. Simultaneously,
Azerbaijan employs weapons, which are long-ranged and quite big in
size. Today, mines and grenade launchers are “working”
in the front line, and, unfortunately, the official reports cover the
use of it more frequently. Next, Azerbaijan will expand the weapons
used against the Armenian positions and units, the foundations of
which are visible today.

– Should Armenia’s approach be only defensive? Recently, in one
of his speeches, the President clearly mentioned that the Armenian
side from now on would not only be protective but also offensive.

– The opponent’s actions compel us to be attacking. It is an
effective way to prevent provocations.

– How would interpret Serzh Sargsyan’s recently voiced concern
about arming Azerbaijan? Wasn’t it belated? And why there were
no responds from Russia? The next day after the statement, Azerbaijan
conducted subversive activities. Was it Russia’s response?

– I do not think that President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement is
directly associated with the followed by incident, because still a few
days prior to this incident, Azerbaijan was already active in different
directions of the front line, by creating risks for penetration of
subversive groups. And the President’s statement was not new,
moreover belated, as such kind of statements were voiced by the
President also during the CSTO meetings, to the point, at that time
Serzh Sargsyan did not only talk about the risks of supplying arms
to Azerbaijan, but also the need to agreed actions in international
organizations by the CSTO member states.

– For a long time, Azerbaijan is building new footholds on the
border. What are the Azerbaijanis preparing for? Why the Armenian
armed forces do not prevent those activities?

– The engineering works in the front line are ongoing processes that
are carried out on both sides. Azerbaijan suffers many casualties
in the result of punitive actions by Armenian troops, therefore it
is trying to strengthen the sections on the border line that are
considered to be weak. Establishment of engineering buildings is also
a way to achieve positional advantages. What comes to the response
activities by the Armenian armed forces under these situations, then
the military sector, especially in the case of unfinished war, do
not always enable receiving details about the carried out operations.

Interviewed by Nelly GRIGORYAN

Read more at:

ARMENIAN FM ATTENDS THE SITTING OF CSTO FOREIGN MINISTERS’ COUNCIL

18:00, 02 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On April 2, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian
participated in the session of Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) Foreign Ministers’ Council.

Ministers exchanged thoughts on the issues impacting global and
regional security, current situation in Central Asia, South Caucasus,
as well as developments unfolding in the Middle East, reflected on
efforts towards establishment of stability in Afghanistan. Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian delivered a speech on those issues.

During the meeting, issues of coordination of CSTO member-states’
foreign policy were discussed, the development of military and
military-technical cooperation, fight against terrorism and illegal
drug trafficking were reflected on.

The Ministers touched upon the process of implementation of decisions
adopted at Collective Security Council session held in December 2014.

At the session, the Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirodjidin Aslov
presented the process of implementation of Tajikistan Chairmanship
priorities.

Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
Nikolay Bordyuzha reported about the current activities of the
Organization, results reached in the framework of cooperation.

Chairperson-in Office of the OSCE, First Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica DaÄ~MiÄ~G
was invited to the CSTO Foreign Ministers’ Council.

During the session views were exchanged on cooperation between CSTO,
the UN, OSCE and other international and regional organizations.

The Ministers decided on the 10 subjects of statements to be made on
the behalf of CSTO in 2015, three of which on Armenia’s initiative.

The Ministers adopted joint statement on the 70th anniversary of the
Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

GERMAN BUNDESTAG HOLDS DISCUSSIONS ON USAGE OF “GENOCIDE” TERM

16:52, 2 April, 2015

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. The German Bundestag will hold a one-hour
discussion on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day marked on April
24. As reports “Armenpress”, the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle
stated this noting that while the day of the anniversary approaches,
the discussions dedicated to the issue of usage of “genocide” term
have been activated in the parliament.

It is considered to introduce a resolution to voting at the course
of the April 24 session. An unofficial working group including the
representatives of the four parties participated in the completion
of the resolution.