Author: Badalian Vardan

California Courier Online, August 12, 2004
1 – Commentary
High-Ranking Azeri Official
Threatens Armenia’s Existence
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
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2 – Armenian in Alaska Strikes Gold with Tomatoes
3 – In Defense of Arshile Gorky’s Armenian Heritage
4 – Blessing of Grapes set
For Riverside Church
5 – Legislators to Honor
Rubina Djansezian
For Leadership
6 – Professional Society Hosts
AUA Law Panel in Pasadena
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1 – Commentary
High-Ranking Azeri Official
Threatens Armenia’s Existence
By Harut Sassounian,
Publisher, The California Courier
The international community does not seem to comprehend the depth of
feelings of distrust between Armenians and Azeris (supported by Turkey),
making the search for a solution to the Karabagh conflict extremely
difficult. The mediating circles naively believe that by pressuring the
Armenians into accepting some territorial concessions, the problem would be
solved, and there would be peace between the two neighboring countries.
Last week, Col. Ramiz Melikov, the chief spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry, made an ominous announcement, proving that any concessions made
by the Armenian side would only whet the appetite of the Azeris, making
them stop at nothing short of the occupation of Armenia. His words should
send alarm bells to the international community and convince the OSCE
mediators that rather than seeking a peaceful solution to the Karabagh
conflict, Azerbaijan is in fact planning to expand the war. After all, how
could the mediators ever hope to contain, let alone solve this limited
conflict, when a high-ranking Azeri official says Azerbaijan is planning to
take over the entire territory of the Republic of Armenia?
According to the Baku daily “Zerkalo,” Colonel Melikov said: “Within the
next 25 years, there will exist no state of Armenia in the South Caucasus.
Those people have done so many nasty things to their neighbors that they
have no right to live in this region. Modern Armenia is built on historical
Azerbaijani lands. I think that in 25-30 years’ time its territory will
again come under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.”
Melikov bragged that Azerbaijan is now militarily much more powerful than
it was 10 years ago. He urged the government of Azerbaijan to promptly
declare war on Armenia to “liberate” Karabagh.
In recent months, President Ilham Aliyev and other Azeri officials have
repeatedly threatened to resume military hostilities with Armenia. Armenian
officials have dismissed these threats believing that Azerbaijan is still
no match for Armenia’s military might. Furthermore, Armenians say that if
Azerbaijan had indeed the ability to attack, it would have done so without
first issuing a warning. Should Azerbaijan attempt such a foolish
adventure, however, most analysts think that it may end up losing even more
territory than it did the last time it tried to use force against
Armenians, not to mention the possible disruption and/or physical
devastation of Azerbaijan’s multi-billion dollar oil industry.
Amazingly, the Armenian government has not issued a reaction to the
bellicose statement of the Azeri Defense official threatening the existence
of Armenia. The Armenian National Committee of America reacted by sending
copies of Col. Melikov’s statement to every Member of Congress and the
White House, asking them “to forcefully and publicly confront the
Azerbaijani government over these patently hateful and destabilizing
threats.”
I hope that the Armenian government takes this Azeri official’s threat of
taking over Armenia very seriously. Armenia should demand that the
government of Azerbaijan retract this war-mongering statement and reprimand
Col. Melikov. Until then, Armenia should announce that it would refrain
from participating in any further peace talks. How could the two countries
get together to discuss peace when one of them is threatening the very
existence of the other?
Azerbaijan is in no position to make any threats or dictate any terms to
Armenia. Karabagh has de facto gained its independence. Unless Azerbaijan
withdraws Melikov’s unacceptable statement, Armenian officials have no
reason to meet with their Azeri counterparts and have nothing to discuss
with them.
An Unfortunate Interview With the Turkish Press
Arsen Avakian, the official representative of the government of Armenia at
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council, headquartered in Istanbul, gave
an interview last week to the Turkish newspaper, “Posta.”
We do not know if Posta has accurately reported Avakian’s words. Given his
official status (the equivalent of an envoy to Turkey in the absence of
diplomatic relations between the two countries), we hope Avakian did not
say some of the things he is quoted as saying.
To begin with, he is quoted as referring to the Armenian Genocide as
“tragic past events.” After drawing a distinction between the positions of
the Armenian government and the Diaspora on Turkey, he says that if Turkey
would take a positive step (meaning the opening of the border), “then the
Diaspora Armenians would also be forced to change their position.”
Avakian says that Armenians have “favorable impressions of Turkey.” Stating
that the “tragic past events cannot be an obstacle to future cooperation,”
he asks the Turkish journalist: “Why should Armenians have negative
thoughts about Turkey?” He says that Armenians in Armenia listen to Turkish
music, watch Turkish TV, and read Turkish books.
This is not the first time that an Armenian official has been quoted or
misquoted by the Turkish media. Given the sensitivity of relations with
Turkey, particularly on the subject of the Armenian Genocide, and the
proclivity of Turkish journalists to distort the words of those they
interview, the Armenian government may want to issue a directive to all its
officials at home as well as its diplomatic representatives abroad, not to
grant any more interviews to the Turkish media.
The Armenian government should not allow various officials to make
conflicting statements to the Turkish press on the sensitive issue of
Armenian demands from Turkey and, to make matters worse, have their
comments distorted by Turkish journalists.
Should the government of Armenia need to communicate a message to the
Turkish public, the appropriate person for that task is the official
spokesman of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
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2 – Armenian in Alaska Strikes Gold with Tomatoes
By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In the great Alaska gold rush, an Armenian refuge named
Paul Mosesian tried his luck and failed. More than seven decades later, his
great grandson, Mike Mosesian, came north to ski and struck gold in
tomatoes.
“I went to the grocery store (in Anchorage) and I couldn’t believe how
expensive tomatoes were, and they were just horrible,” Mosesian said. “I
thought maybe I can grow tomatoes up here.”
That was the winter of 1972. Today, plump, ripe, tasty tomatoes by the
hundreds from Bell’s Nurseries are snapped up by supermarket customers from
produce bins just a day after being plucked from greenhouse vines.
“The best tomatoes I like are when you pick them of the vine to eat, and
they are warm, hot,” Mosesian said. “You get the full flavor.”
Mosesian, who holds a master’s degree in viticulture from the University of
California at Davis, hails from a family of passionate growers. He was
helping his father farm 1,000 California acres of table and wine grapes
when he came north with his wife, Joanne, to ski and visit with her family
in the winter of 1972. Six months later, he had purchased five acres.
Inspired by a produce convention demonstration on hydroponic tomatoes, he
was ready to try his hand growing them.
“To be honest, I didn’t know anything about growing tomatoes,” he said. “I
thought a greenhouse as a house painted green. But I had a minor in
chemistry and I just started reading about it, and I started learning.”
Getting started wasn’t easy, despite Mosesian’s background in his family’s
California vineyard.
His first crop of tomatoes was “not good,” Mosesian said. “It almost died
in the summer, and I found out I wasn’t feeding them enough. They weren’t
getting enough fertilizer because of the long days.”
Mosesian thought they were deficient in magnesium, so he sprayed them with
magnesium and the plants got worse. Finally he got the plants analyzed by a
Colorado laboratory and learned what they needed was nitrogen. “I fed them
and they came back,” he said.
“I’m still learning,” he said. “I’m doing things today that I didn’t do
last year.”
The 2004 tomato crop, for example, is planted in coconut fiber imported
from India. “This year, the tomatoes are not stressed out and the coconut
fiber seems to work well,” he said. “It’s a replacement for peat moss.”
Once the tomato season has passed, the coconut fiber can be recycled to
grow flowers in pots, he said.
Mosesian is also an optimist in the midst of pending disaster. In the mid
1970s his tomato crop was struck with a root disease. Local agriculture
extension agents told him his plants were finished. “But I just kept
feeding them, and they came back,” he said. “Each year I learn more. It’s
just experience.”
In the early 1980s, Mosesian tried his hand at growing red poinsettias.
First, he grew some 200 poinsettias and gave them away to Catholic churches
for Christmas for decorations.
“Then I grew 1,000, then 5,000,” he said.
The 2004 holiday crop of poinsettias is in varied shades of pink, red and
white. They are already potted and growing. Mosesian figures he will sell
40,000 to 50,000 poinsettias again this year, starting three weeks before
Thanksgiving.
The three Anchorage greenhouses operated by Mosesian also feature, in
season, hanging baskets, bedding plants, trees and shrubs, and garden
supplies, plus upscale gift shops.
“We are successful because we have a market and we cultivate that market by
taking care of you as a customer, by offering a whole spectrum of plants
and an ambiance that you enjoy walking around in,” he said.
Mosesian credits much of his success to America’s passion for gardening.
“Far more money is spent on gardening than any other hobby,” he said.
“There is a lot of joy and satisfaction in planting something and watching
it grow, and harvesting either beautiful flowers in front of your home or a
vegetable garden.”
Mosesian’s real passion these days is his family, and his roots. His
great-grandfather, Paul, in the 1920s, helped found the farmers’ raisin
cooperative known today as SunMaid Raisins.
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3 – In Defense of Arshile Gorky’s Armenian Heritage
By Vartkes Sinanian
One of the first people I met when I arrived in Chicago from Cyprus in l974
was Arshile Gorky’s sister Vartoosh Mooradian and his nephew Karlen
Mooradian. It was at a Christmas party at the home of Dr. Shahan Sarrafian
where I was introduced to them.
Until that date I had known very little of Arshile Gorky who is considered
the most famous painter in U.S. art history. I recall the discussions
of these two art-lovers about Gorky’s art. Karlen Mooradian was a
professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of
Oklahoma with a PhD from Northwestern University in Chicago. An artist
himself, Karlen had studied under his uncle for seven years and had
one-man shows in many parts of the world. He used to come to Chicago often
where his mother lived. From our conversations I learned details of Gorky’s
art and his tragic life.
Gorky’s family like tens of thousands Armenians were driven from their
ancestral lands to the Caucasus after covering the tortuous terrain by
foot. Gorky’s mother died of malnutrition. His sister Vartoosh arrived
at Ellis Island in l920 and moved to Rhode Island with Arshile where
their father lived. Gorky later moved to New York and became the founder
of abstract surrealism. He later commited suicide at a moment of
terrible sense of helplessness in l948.
Karlen Mooradian was an independent thinker who believed in free press and
the importance of dissent in a free society. To prove his point he
established in l978 the Gilgamesh Press as an independent-controlled book
publishing company. He used to say ” This is my battlefield. To
relinquish control of it is to fall prey to the commercialism of the big
publishers and the timidity of the university presses. A serious writer
must maintain higher goals than that.” He was convinced that none of the
publishing houses could match the iron discipline and quality of Gilgamesh.

In l978 he published “Arshile Gorky Adoian” and later Gilgamesh released
his “The Many Worlds of Arshile Gorky” thus becoming the world’s main
publisher on the famous artist. His works provided original material
concentrating on unpublished details of Gorky’s life. His one-man drive to
introduce Armenian culture to a broader segment of the world appeared to be
succeeding through his publishing house. “There is no freedom of the press
unless you own it” he used to say.
Being an immensely opinionated and independent human being, Karlen rejected
authority as he did not want to be swayed by special interests. He
reminisced about his uncle whom he adored and admired. He wanted the world
to recognize Gorky, his rare talent and the tragic life that he endured.
Though physically handicapped and emotionally devastated, Gorky’s art
outshone his contemporaries like a beacon despite the fact that there was
rampant nastiness and viciousness at that time at those who had attained
the pinnacle of fame.
There was also a large section in the artistic world which was either
unaware or deliberately did not acknowledge Gorky’s heritage. This made
Karlen furious and he would fight to the end to ensure that the world
recognized that Gorky was Armenian.
I remember one such episode when Karlen came to me asking for my help. In
l980 Irving Howe and Kenneth Libo published a book entitled “How we lived:
a documentary history of Immigrant Jews in America 1880-1930”. In that
book Gorky was presented as an “Armenian Jew” which was of course not true
but it showed the length to which people would go denying Gorky’s heritage.
This was a blatant distortion of facts. With Karlen’s active
encouragement and support, I conducted a vigorous campaign requesting a
retraction from the publishers who, in a letter addressed to me, expressed
their ” deep concern for any pain or concern this had caused me personally
as well as to the Armenian community of America which is justly proud of
its long and distinguished cultural heritage.”
Karlen was delighted and in a personal note to me he wrote ” If Arshile
Gorky were alive today he would be proud to call you his fellow
countryman.” When he learned that the publishers would correct it in the
next printing he wrote yet another letter to me ” You have the guts and the
courage to stand up for our Armenian rights. In retrospect everything
worked out for the best because many thousands of Armenians in America and
abroad gained a greater consciousness of their origins because of this
Gorky episode”.
I vividly recall our conversations regarding the return of Gorky’s remains
to the homeland. This was his ultimate dream. He wanted this to happen
during his lifetime. He used to emphasize the fact that his uncle had
faced more than his share of tragedies and his soul would only find peace
on the soil of his ancestors. There were moments when you could feel the
vulnerability and the anger that gave his words such power.
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4 – Blessing of Grapes set
For Riverside Church
Press-Enterprise , CA
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Armenian Apostolic Church of Riverside will hold
its annual church picnic and traditional blessing of the grape service
beginning at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 15 at La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra,
Riverside.
The blessing of grapes is part of the Orthodox Christian Feast of the
Assumption of St. Mary, an observance of the death, burial, resurrection
and transfer to heaven of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“Grapes are blessed during the Feast of the Assumption of St. Mary to
symbolize a number of values that are important to life and living,” the
Rev. Dr. Stepanos Dingilian, pastor of the church, said in an e-mail.
Wine comes from grapes and symbolizes the blood shed by Christ, he said.
“This ‘blood’ in turn signifies that no achievement that raises the
standard of human civilization is possible without wholehearted dedication,
total commitment and unselfish perseverance,” he said.
Grapes grow in clusters, illustrating that people need family and community
to grow spiritually and mentally and to live a meaningful life, he said.
The blessing of the grapes is observed on the Feast of St. Mary, Dingilian
said.
For information, call (951) 684-1722, (951) 522-5172 or (909) 883-1066.
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5- Legislators to Honor
Rubina Djansezian
For Leadership
GLENDALE, Calif. – Rubina Djansezian of Glendale, was named one of 16
winners in “Women in business” by California legislators. She will receive
the “Tami Ginsburg Employee of the Year” award.
State Senator Jack Scott (D-Pasadena), Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer (D-Glendale), and Assemblymember Carol Liu (D-La
Canada-Flintridge), will honor Djansezian, as well as 15 other recipients,
at a Sept. 1 luncheon in Pasadena.
Djansezian, the Executive Director of the Homenetmen, Glendale Chapter, as
well as the other honorees, are being recognized for their contributions
and leadership in their local business communities.
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6 – Professional Society Hosts
AUA Law Panel in Pasadena
LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Professional Society will host a panel of
professors from the American University of Armenia (AUA), to discuss
“Current Legal and Social Issues in Armenia, on Aug. 20, from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m., at the Western Justice Center Foundation, 55 South Grand Ave.,
Pasadena.
The report from and about the AUA includes topics on Education,
Environment & Status of Women.
The panel will consist of the Dean of the AUA, Stephen R. Barnett, LL.B.
Harvard University and Professor of Law Emeritus UC Berkeley; Matthew
Karanian, J.D. McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, LL.M.
Georgetown University, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Law of the
AUA; Sara Anjargolian, J.D. Boalt Hall School of Law UC Berkeley, Assistant
Dean and Associate Professor of Law of the AUA.
Special guests will include Judge Aram Serverian, J.D. Retired Judge of the
California Superior Court, San Mateo County and Dr. Haroutune Armenian,
M.D., Dr. P.H., President of the American University of Armenia (AUA).
Admission is free. Donations are welcome as all proceeds are to benefit the
Law Department of the AUA. Seating is limited and Reservations are
required. RSVP by Aug. 17, to APS by e-mail: [email protected].
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IT IS EXPECTED THAT THREE LARGE-SCALE INVESTMENT PROGRAMS TO BE
IMPLEMENTED AT “MARS” ENTERPRISE
YEREVAN, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). Investments of a total of 200 mln
drams (about 364,000 dollars) were made in the Yerevan “Mars” CJSC
after its assignation to the Russian government within the framework
of the “Property for Debt” program. The sums are mainly directed at
the marketing researches, the reconstruction of the heating system and
the increase of salaries about two-fold. Radik Vanunts, Director
General of “Mars”, reported during the August 5 press conference that
“Mars” is one of 30 enterprises of the military-industrial sphere of
Russia. According to Radik Vanunts, in the past production depended on
orders, that’s why “Mars” hasn’t turned out basic output up to now. At
present the new owners of the company work in this direction. Three
large-scale investment programs will be implemented at the enterprise
in the future. It was noticed that till the end of this year the
company will prepare five experimental models of radio stations worked
up by the Voronezh Institute of Communications. 2.5 years and the
investments of 4.7 mln dollars are necessary for the implementation of
another investment program. The third investment program concerns the
sphere of high technologies. It was also noticed that it is expected
that the certain funds will be allocated to the enterprise by the 2005
state budget of Russia for the performance of the orders. To recap,
“Mars” is the most expensive entity among the five enterprises given
to Russia against the debt. It is estimated at 56 mln dollars. The
Moscow “Radioexport” state-owned enterprise is appointed by the
Russian government plenipotentiary manager of the Yerevan “Mars” CJSC.

armeniannow.com
August 6, 2004
Stop for Green: Activists call on authorities to halt ecological destruction
in Yerevan
By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
A group of environmental activists is taking steps to alert the highest
authorities in Armenia to what they see as a serious and dangerous hazard
concerning “green areas” in Yerevan.
The group has prepared a letter to the Government of Armenia in which it
brings to attention the destruction of several major Yerevan parks that have
been denuded to make space for new cafes.
Trees have become props for the cafe life.
The letter calls upon the Government of Armenia and the Municipality of
Yerevan to stop all “legal” and “illegal” construction in the areas of the
Tsitsernakaberd (Genocide Monument), Circular Park, Hrazdan Canyon, Freedom
Square and some central streets in the capital.
In 1998, there were 197 cafes in the center of Yerevan, serving a population
of about 75,000. As of 2002 the number had increased to 415 and has risen
even higher in the past two years. (ArmeniaNow asks city officials for the
latest number and was told a written request must be submitted.)
Ecologists argue that the constrction of cafes robs the city of its
aesthetic value and leaves citizens with no place for solitude.
The activists are demanding that officials (many of the cafes are owned by
various ministers and government authorities) who are responsible for the
destruction of green areas be held to account. And they say they are ready
to bring a lawsuit against the President of Armenia, the Prime Minister,
present and former mayors, city architects and others, if appropriate action
is not taken.
But even the activists aren’t optimistic about Yerevan’s future ecological
situation.
“It is a hopeless situation,” says Armen Dovlatyan, president of Armenian
Ecological Benevolent Union. “If the destruction of green zones will
continue, soon Yerevan will become a desert zone” .
According to Dovlatyan, beginning from the 1990s Yerevan lost more than
1,500 hectares from 2,000 hectares of its green zone.
“Everybody tries to blame war and energyc problems in 1990-1995, when people
in order do get warmth in winter cut trees,” he says. “But according to our
investigations, the cut area was only 430 hectares in 1990-1995, and between
1995-2003, 1,000 hectares of green zone.”
Today in Yerevan, ecologists claim, there are less than 500 hectares of
green zone left, due, they say, which are also endangered due to to
political wrongdoing and ignorance.
Concrete replaces greenery.
Dovlatyan says that every official of Yerevan guarantees that there will be
no permission to build new buildings and cafes. But the promises are broken
and green zones are destroyed especially by the officials and their
relatives, in order to build personal homes or entertainment businesses.
ArmeniaNow asked Former Yerevan City Chief Architect, Narek Sargsyan (under
whose adminstration most cafes were built) if he was aware of a potential
lawsuit against the city.
“Yes, when you build something in this town, at the end you will be sued,”
Sargsyan said.
The Chief Architect would not say whether he had issued permits for the
structures which the ecologists say are illegal.
“For the last few years the summer heat became awful, which is also the
result of the green zones destruction. There is no air for breathing,” says
the leader of the Armenian Aryan Community Armen Avetisyan, who also joined
the ecologists. “This is a cultural-historical massacre, which needs to be
stopped.”
Dovlatyan says, that besides the heat, the destruction of the green zones in
the capital became the reason for strong winds as well as the rise of heart
and respiratory diseases.
“I can give you an example from Nork Forest, next to which I live,” says
National Assembly deputy Arshak Sadoyan, citing a green area scheduled to be
reduced by 80 percent for construction. “When I look at the forest it hurts
me and I start to think: ‘What are we doing to the future of our children?
Yerevan has to have lungs, but we have already lost those lungs. And by this
action (the letter) we will try to protect our citizens and give back lungs
to Yerevan.”
The coalition of ecologists is starting a signature campaign to collect
endorsements by citizens who share their concern. Since it started a week
ago, some 2,500 signatures have been collected. The group hopes to gather
10,000 signatures, and, if demands are not met, plans to sue the Government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

1919 A SUMMER OF INSURGENCY
The Sounds of August
General Corey dared no longer risk the safety of his agents. Plowden had
recently been the victim of Halil Bey’s taunts. Rawlinson had beern recalled
from Erzerum, and Prosser had failed in efforts to arrange a modus vivendi
at Kars. Prosser, in his last reports to division headquarters, described
the Armenians as so distressed that they tried to prevent his departure; it
was only with much difficulty that he obtained transportation on the evening
of August 30. His evaluation of the situation was grim. All available
Armenian troops had been dispatched to Sarikamish and Kaghisman, and many
wounded were being carried back from those fronts. Civilians had been
forbidden to evacuate Kars, but some were fleeing by night. Prosser added: ”
The Armenians are undoubtedly depressed at the withdrawal of the British to
whom in spite of frequent assurances to the contrary they had looked to the
last for assistance on behalf of the Allies. They talk about fighting to the
death, etc., but I think most of the fight in them went out with our
departure.” He ended with the following ominous prediction: “Taken all round
the position of the Armenians in Kars province is not a happy one at the
present moment.. They are surrounded by a hostile population and with the
advent of the Turk, Kars as a portion of Armenia will most likely cease to
exist.”
Colonel Plowden, taking leave of a tearful Armenian premier, departed from
Erevan on August 28 as instructed. His final appraisal reflected the views
of most British officers involved with the Armenians. Describing the tragic
state of affairs, Plowden suggested that part of the trouble was the
dominance of the Dashnaksutiun’s Bureau, which prevailed over the moderates
in government. The Dashnakists had led the bloody struggle for Armenian
freedom and “as soldiers and patriots no praise is too high for them, but as
politicians and administrators, they are grotesque and responsible for the
hopeless condition of Armenian foreign and internal politics today.” The
educated and wealthy bourgeois classes of Baku, Tiflis, Rostov-on-Don, and
other regions of the former Russian Empire were scarcely represented because
of financial disorder, incessant warfare, and political pressure tactics.
The people, weary and hungry, would welcome anybody who could bring peace
and return them to their fields.
A major source of Armenia’s agony, wrote Plowden, was “the hope that some
at least of all the outstanding promises that have been made her by the
Allies, before, and since the war will be fulfilled.” President Wilson’s
“self-determination” had given the Armenians reason to believe that the
Allies, especially the United states, would send aid required to make their
dreams become reality. Plowden felt that the Armenians were so desperate
that they would have to sign a treaty with a nearby power, even if it meant
the loss of their hard-won-independence, or else disappear.
Only Armenia, Plowden continued, had remained loyal to the Allied cause,
suffering terribly, whereas Azerbaijan had embraced the Turks and Georgia
has assumed a pro-German and anti-Allied stance in 1918. These irrefutable
facts made it all the more difficult for the Armenians to comprehend why
they were not accorded equal treatment, since British regiments remained in
Tiflis and Baku even as Erevan was being strangled. It was common knowledge
that the Turks were supplying the insurgents with officers and arms, yet
then British refused to provide the Armenians with rifles and ammunition for
self-defense. And the award of Karabagh to Azerbaijan was the hardest blow
of all; “Karabagh means more to the Armenians than their religion even,
being the cradle of their race, and their traditional last sanctuary when
their country has been invaded. It is Armenian in every particular and the
strongest part of Armenia, both financially, militarily, and socially.”
In contrast with Rawlinson’s denigration of the Armenian army, Colonel
Plowden’s description was glowing: “The morale of the troops is wonderful.
Although practically completely without boots, no suitable clothing, no
ammunition and no bayonets, they have fought against very considerably
superior numbers, better fed, better clothed and with unlimited S.A.A.
[small arms ammunition] against troops trenched behind wall and trenches,
with a bravery equal to the best European troops.” Given ammunition and
equipment, “Armenia could hold off the Turks and Tartars until winter makes
fighting impossible.” The officers, he continued, “have behaved with great
gallantry all through the operations, sacrificing themselves for their men
in a manner up to the best traditions of any army.” Any country willing to
supply Armenia with critically needed armaments, transport facilities, and
medical supplies “would make a friend who in time may be a sufficiently
powerful one.” But time was running short. A Turkish advance would be
accompanied by organized massacres, and even without that disaster thousands
of refugees would die during the coming winter if housing were not found for
them. Plowden concluded that the Armenians should abandon their hopes for a
large state and turn from the Dashnaksutiun to the sound leadership offered
by the cultured elements in Armenian intellectual and commercial centers in
the former Russian Empire. “I consider that as a Nation they are much
maligned. Given a good Government, the country will develop very quickly.
The people are industrious and good farmers and very docile, and the
soldiers are really fine material.”
Protests and Appeals
In seeking to attenuate the disappointment of Armenian officials, Colonel
Plowden had explained that Great Britain, although never an enthusiastic
proponent of self-determination, was the only world power to have the
principle applicable to many regions. Britain alone had sent troops to the
Caucasus, an enormously expensive operation, and had assisted the local
governments: “I compared this with the other Nations who had come into the
war late; had forwarded their theories and ideals, but had taken no steps
whatever to send troops to help the small nations, but had, on the contrary,
demobilized their troops first of all and had declined further
responsibility.” Plowden’s jibe was aimed at the Americans, who deplored the
British retreat yet were unwilling to send their own troops to the Caucasus.
In hundreds of messages, American consular, relief, and intelligence
officials stressed the crisis in Armenia: a Turco-Tartar campaign was
underway to annihilate Armenia and continue wartime massacres; it was
questionable whether Armenian survivors could endure another winter; relief
efforts without adequate military protection were futile; the Armenian army
was denied weapons to defend the Republic while enemy forces were being
armed to the teeth; the indecision of the Allies and the peace conference
had emboldened conspiratorial elements and prevented the industrious
Armenians from concentrating on reconstruction; the abrupt British
withdrawal from Kars and Nakhichevan could not be justified either
politically or militarily; the Armenians had become pawns in the designs of
imperial powers which coveted lands with quickly exploitable economic wealth
and which courted so-called Muslim opinion by showing partiality to
Azerbaijan and declining to enforce the armistice terms in Anatolia and
Transcuacasia.
While the Armenians in Transcaucasia waited in vain for a satisfactory
response from Washington, a loud dissenting voice was heard from
Constantinople. Acting Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, senior American
representative in the Ottoman capital, expressed vehement opposition to the
formation of a united Armenian state and to American political involvement
with the Armenians in communications to naval colleagues, government
departments, the American peace delegation, and to businessmen,
philanthropists, missionaries, and politicians of many hues. Bristol,
scornful of all minorities, hoped to reeducate responsible Americans who had
been taken in by the popular portrayal of the “terrible Turk” and the
torments suffered by the Oriental Christians. He protested to the naval
adviser of the American delegation: “There is no doubt in my mind of an
influence continually exerted to involve America with Armenia and divert our
attention from the big question of the whole Near East.” The Armenians had
brought many of their woes upon themselves, and the encouragement of the
British authorities and American missionary-relief interests had emboldened
the unscrupulous Armenian leaders to employ aggressive tactics. The United
States should not let itself be maneuvered into Armenia. “England should be
compelled to remain in the Caucasus. She went to the Caucasus for selfish
reasons and she is leaving now for selfish reasons.” Bristol denied being
pro-Turkish: “I do not believe I am pro-anything except what I believe is
absolutely right and I try to follow that road and not give a damn for
anybody else that don’t agree with me. If I am considered pro-Turk because I
believe there are 20 million of Moslems out there that should be helped to
gain modern civilization as well as 2 millions or so Armenians, I would like
this fact to be known and then I am willing to stand on that basis. The Turk
has been a devilish brute and he has not changed his spots, but you cannot
change his spots by making a martyr of him, whereas, you can do something
for him by giving a proper assistance.”
Excerpted from “The Republic of Armenia”
Volume ll
>From Versailles to London
1919-1920
Richard G. Hovannisian
Copyright 1982

Investment Opportunities in Armenia & Georgia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
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IDA credit to Armenia Government for the Center for Education Projects
– Tender for Supply of Computer Equipment for School Learning Centers
For more information on the Computer Hardware and Peripherals Sector
in the NIS, please contact Chris Christov at BISNIS at
[email protected]
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Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 3 2004
KARABAKH ARMENIAN ARMY TO HOLD ANNUAL MANEUVERS
STEPANAKERT, 03.08.04. Nagorno-Karabakh’s armed forces will start on
Tuesday annual exercises which the leadership of the
Armenian-populated disputed region says are aimed at testing and
improving their strength.
In a statement on Monday, the Defense Ministry of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said the ten-day war games will take place
to `ascertain the combat readiness of the Defense Army when it is
brought to a state of highest alert.’ They are also meant to improve
`the process of troops’ inter-operability during defensive and
counter-offensive operations,’ the statement said.
The Karabakh military also said that the exercises are part of its
regular training plan for this year, implying that they are not
related to the recent series of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks or
clashes along the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Officials in
Stepanakert told RFE/RL separately that they will be attended by army
reservists and involve the use of live ammunition by light and heavy
weapons.
Although the precise venue of the drills was not specified, they are
likely to take place near the main Armenian-Azerbaijani line of
contact east of Karabakh. The decade-long regime of ceasefire has
largely held there, but sporadic skirmishes continue to claim lives
on both sides of the frontline.
By Emil Danielyan

CENTER AFTER SAKHAROV JOINED COLLECTION OF SIGNATURED FOR PROTECTION
OF YEREVAN GREEN ZONES
YEREVAN, August 2 (Noyan Tapan). The Armenian Center of Human Rights
Protection after Andrey Sakharov also joined the collection of
signatures organized for protection of the green zones of Yerevan by
the Armenian Ecological Benevolent Foundation. According to the
Center, “besides the RA government, the current and former Mayors, the
Head Architect, who are responsible for the formed situation, all the
Yerevan population should be responsible, as they let apology for
rulers cripple our city owing to their silence and indifference.” The
Center of Human Rights Protection thinks that “all the guilty persons
should be called to account for the formed situation.”

Associated Press Worldstream
August 2, 2004 Monday 7:34 AM Eastern Time
Armenia expected to name ex-Marseille coach to head national team
YEREVAN, Armenia
Armenia is likely to name former Marseille coach Bernard Casoni to
head its national soccer team, a spokesman for the national soccer
federation said Monday.
Casoni “in all likelihood” will be appointed at the federation’s next
meeting, said spokesman Araik Manukian. However, he said the
federation also could consider other candidates, whom he did not
identify.
National team coach Mihai Stoichita resigned in late June, less than
two months before World Cup qualifying begins. Armenia plays its
first qualifier on Aug. 18, against Macedonia.

Guardian/Observer, UK
Aug 1 2004
Iraq violence as puritans ban alcohol
Radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his army of devotees blamed
for campaign of intimidation
Rory McCarthy in Baghdad
First came the warning: a sheet of paper stuck to the door of Na’aman
Khalil’s shop ordering him to close his off-licence. ‘You are
corrupting the people of the Earth and you should stop,’ said the
message, signed by a group calling itself the Monotheistic Movement
of Jihad.
Five days later, a parcel of explosives detonated just outside the
building, smashing the windows and gutting the shop. Four other
alcohol stores along the same street in Baghdad’s largely Christian
al-Ghadir district were bombed that same night.
No one was injured, but the message was clear. After the bombings and
a spate of other attacks across Baghdad, most of the city’s alcohol
shops closed.
‘They have achieved their aim. Whatever they wanted, they have got
it,’ said Khalil, 24, who says the bombing cost him seven million
dinars (around £2,600) in destroyed stock. ‘If I open the shop again
I don’t know what action they would take. Probably they would kill
me.’
There have been no arrests, but police and many Iraqis blame the
attacks and explosions on supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical
Shia cleric. A few days before the warning letter arrived, several of
al-Sadr’s followers met around 30 Shia tribal leaders in the al-Hekma
mosque in Sadr City, the slum area in eastern Baghdad which forms the
cleric’s powerbase.
They produced an edict, obtained by The Observer, in which they
listed nine crimes punishable by death. These included theft,
kidnapping, robbery, spying ‘for the Wahabis, al-Qaeda and
Saddamists’, trafficking in women, and selling alcohol, pornographic
CDs and drugs.
The edict, it states, was drawn up because of the ‘critical and
sorrowful situation and lack of security and to serve the common
good’. Most of the tribal leaders who signed were from Amara, Kut and
Nasiriyah, towns in southern Iraq where a Shia uprising in April was
strongest.
‘After the end of the dispute between our army and the Americans, our
army is working on stability and controlling the looters and other
violent groups,’ said Sheikh Raed al-Kadhimi, one of al-Sadr’s aides
in Baghdad. He boasted of a number of checkpoints and patrols in Sadr
City, and said one had captured several hundred tonnes of stolen
sugar, which he said were returned to the government.
The movement, made up largely of young, unemployed urban men, has
easily moved into the power vacuum left by the absence of properly
trained and equipped Iraqi police and security forces.
‘Neither the government nor the police are controlling the
situation,’ said al-Kadhimi. ‘The al-Sadr tide is the only active
tide in the country.’ He denied that his men took part in the attacks
on alcohol shops: ‘We have never taken such action. All this has been
done by fanatical individuals.’
Much of the movement’s strength is in its organisation. The group has
its own religious police, the al-Amur bil Ma’arouf, or Promotion of
Virtue. They have divided Baghdad into three areas: east, west and
the central Kadhimiya area, home to the biggest Shia shrine in the
city. Each area has its own unit. In Kadhimiya it numbers around 40;
in the eastern sector, around Sadr City, it is at least 100 according
to Sayed Adnan al-Safi, an al-Sadr official and editor of one of the
movement’s newspapers. He said the groups are unarmed and co-operate
on patrols with the regular police, although the Interior Ministry
has denied any involvement.
‘In Kadhimiya we have minimised and controlled places where alcohol
is sold. We have controlled the sale of immoral CDs and we have
stopped fraud,’ said al-Safi. ‘People have begun to understand and
are co-operating with us to control the general violence. We are not
issuing any punishments ourselves, otherwise we would be considered a
state within a state. We pass cases on to the police for punishment.’
There is little doubt that the movement is about more than
controlling crime. In the past week al-Sadr’s followers have
proselytised among Iraq’s minority faiths. A group of them delivered
a video of speeches by al-Sadr to the Armenian Orthodox church in
Baghdad. A priest, who asked not to be named, said the speeches
criticised the Christian faith. ‘We have been living in Iraq for 100
years and have never had a problem between Muslim and Christian,’ he
said. ‘These people are explaining the Koran in the wrong way. Islam
is a religion of peace and humanity.’
Until now al-Sadr has boycotted the political process in Iraq,
reviling the government as ‘illegitimate’. But according to
al-Kadhimi, the movement could develop a political dimension if its
leader ordered one. ‘From the beginning we have been asking for fair
and honest elections,’ he said. ‘We will have to see what happens [at
general elections] in January.’

MUSEUM OF HISTORY OF ARMENIA TO EXHIBIT ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS
YEREVAN, JULY 27. ARMINFO. An exhibition of archaeological finds of
the last decade will be held in the State Museum of Armenian History
in the next few days, says the director of the Archaeology and
Ethnography Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
Aram Kalantaryan.
The exhibition will present materials dating back from the paleolite,
early Iron Age, Urartu, Ahemenid Persia ancient Armenia. Kalantaryan
says that there is much to be shown. Found Agarak, Aragatsotn region,
in the last years was a unique columbary – the grave of a Urartu
prince (preliminarily VIII BC) which was unfortunately robbed in the
following centuries. Also exposed will be fossilized traces of animals
and plants living in the area 100,000-1 mln years ago as well as
obsidian arms of ancient hunters.