Author: Frangulian Shushan

AW: In Memory of Lucy Der Manuelian

Frangulian Shushan
 Weekly Staff Obituaries 0

Dr. Lucy Der Manuelian (1928-2021)

The following obituary was written by Christina Maranci, Tufts University Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Professor of Armenian Art.

Lucy Der Manuelian, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Professor of Armenian Art in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Tufts, passed away on September 20, 2021 at her home in Belmont, Massachusetts at the age of 93. Dr. Der Manuelian (fondly referred to by many of us as “Lucy”) was the founder and first occupant of the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Tufts. The Tufts chair is the first and only endowed professorship of Armenian art outside the Republic of Armenia. It was launched in 1984 as a rotating lectureship at Tufts in conjunction with Harvard, McGill, Boston and Northeastern, so that courses in Armenian art could be taught at each institution in succession. In 1989, the lectureship became an endowed position with a permanent home at Tufts. This owes entirely to Lucy’s energies, and the financial support of New Deal attorney Arthur H. Dadian and import/export magnate Ara T. Oztemel, the latter known for bringing Coca-Cola to the Soviet Union. Lucy retired in 2006.

Lucy was educated at Harvard (Radcliffe), and after a 20 year hiatus from academia in which she raised two children, received her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1980. Her dissertation was supported by a fellowship at the Bunting (now the Harvard-Radcliffe) Institute (1971-1973) and an International Research and Exchange Board (IREX) grant in 1977 for travel to the Soviet Union. The project, supervised by noted scholar of Islamic art, Oleg Grabar, concerned the medieval sculptural program of Geghard and was the first serious English-language monograph on that site. Lucy’s project was innovative in its comparative approach to the monument, considering the sculptural program of Geghard in relation not only to Armenian iconography, but also to the artistic traditions of Byzantium and Islam. Her dissertation is also widely considered to be the first American dissertation dedicated to Armenian art.

Lucy lent her expertise in Armenian art and architecture to a range of scholarly projects, authoring articles on major Armenian monuments and artistic themes for Dictionary of the Middle Ages (1982-1989) and Grove Dictionary of Art (now Oxford Art Online). She was an author and researcher for the massive microfiche work known as Armenian Architecture (Zug: Inter Documentation, c. 1980-c.1990). She contributed articles to several important Armenological volumes, including Medieval Armenian Culture (Thomas Samuelian, ed., Chico: Scholars Press, 1984). In addition to work on Armenian architecture and sculpture, Lucy published widely on a variety of topics within Armenian art. Among her most noted projects are her publications on carpets, including the exhibition catalogue, Weavers, Merchants, and Kings: The Inscribed Rugs of Armenia- Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum 1984) which provided a crucial English-language scholarly foundation for the history of Armenian rug weaving. Lucy’s interests also extended to the study of important Armenian-Americans, including Moses Gulesian. In addition to contributing to conventional academic projects, she was remarkably prescient about technology, making use of film and the internet (as early as the 1990s) in her pedagogy and research.

Lucy is best known in the Armenian community as a tireless advocate for Armenian art, lecturing to audiences around the world and educating Armenians in the US about their rich medieval cultural heritage. Almost everyone in the community has a “Lucy story” about the first time they heard her lecture. She was an activist for Armenian cultural heritage long before that concept became familiar to us all.

Lucy was fearless, physically and psychologically. Before the era of drones, she hung out of helicopters to take good aerial shots of monasteries and churches. At the height of the Soviet period, the KGB suspected that she was a spy because of all her travel and photography. One night they visited her in Yerevan, and, to avoid handing over the film, Lucy hid it inside her dress, daring them to manhandle her. Art history won, and we have the photographs.

Dr. Lucy Der Manuelian (1928 – 2021)

As everyone who knew her can attest, Lucy was unconventional and indomitable. An avid tennis player, she had boundless energy. She believed in using every minute: she kept a stack of books in the car and read at every stoplight (often to the consternation of drivers behind her). She kept apples and packets of cheese and crackers in her pockets to eat on the go, but was also a very fine chef, such that Julia Child came to her house for dinner and enjoyed Lucy’s chicken cooked with cherries. Lucy sometimes held office hours in her car if she couldn’t find a parking spot.

Along with her family and friends, the entire Armenian community, the Tufts community, her students and her colleagues, I am intensely sad to know that Lucy is no longer with us. She was a life force for Armenian art. I was so fortunate to learn from and be mentored by her. I think she was happiest standing in front of an audience, sharing her knowledge about Armenian art. I remember her telling me that before beginning a presentation, you should pause and smile at your audience (she had a thousand-watt smile). I hope she is doing that now, giving her “helicopter lecture” (as we affectionately called it) and teaching a whole new audience about Armenian art.

The Armenian Weekly Editorial Board extends its sincere condolences to Dr. Der Manuelian’s family, along with the many others who have expressed sadness on the news of her passing. 

From the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR): In addition to her pioneering role at Tufts she was a longtime trustee of the Armenian Museum of America and an Honorary Lifetime Member of NAASR. Lucy’s many years of almost unfailing attendance at NAASR programs held in Belmont, her kindness and warmth, and her support for Armenian Studies will be missed and will always be remembered. The NAASR Board of Directors and Staff extends its condolences to her family and friends.

From the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS): SAS is sorry to hear the sad news of the passing of the prominent Armenian Studies scholar and SAS member, Prof. Lucy Der Manuelian. Der Manuelian was the leading Armenian Art scholar in the United States and the first holder of the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Professor of Armenian Art at Tufts University. She was an expert of Medieval Armenian architecture, sculpture and illuminated manuscripts. Our hearts go out to her family and beloved ones.

From the Armenian Museum of America: It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Museum Trustee Dr. Lucy Der Manuelian passed away peacefully on September 20 at her home in Belmont. Lucy was the sister of our founder and late Chairman Haig, and John Vigen Manuelian. 

A short memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 23, at 2:00 pm in Story Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge. Memorial gifts may be made to the Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472.




Report on Azerbaijan’s violation of Artsakh-Armenians’ Religious Rights Submitted to UN

Frangulian Shushan
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Arts & Culture, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

The Kataro Monastery in Artsakh’s Dizapayt Mountains

The Armenian Bar Association has submitted its third report to the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, to continue to document the serious and worsening developments in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The Third Report focuses on the numerous ways in which Azerbaijan has curtailed, and continues to curtail, the rights of Armenian-Christians to exercise their religion freely in their ancestral lands which Azerbaijan seized control of less than one year ago. The pattern of Azerbaijan’s conduct documented in this report includes: 

  1. Eliminating physical security for Armenians in Azerbaijani-occupied territories. 
  2. Blocking access of religious sites to Armenian-Christian pilgrims. 
  3. Intimidating clergy by isolating, harassing, and subjecting them to inhumane conditions. 
  4. Inhibiting access to foreign nationals of Armenian descent seeking to conduct religious pilgrimages. 
  5. Changing the character of Armenian religious sites, without seeking participation or input of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 
  6. Continuing destruction of religious sites that connect Armenians to the lands including churches and cemeteries.  

The destruction of cultural heritage which we documented in the previous letters sits squarely within a broader systematic effort and pattern to: (i) deprive Armenians of the right to exercise their fundamental right to freely exercise their religion, (ii) cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh of Armenian people and worshippers, and (iii) erase the record of Armenian history and any evidence of Armenian presence from the region. This amounts to more than the anecdotal destruction of cultural and religious property by individual bad actors – it is part of a broader pattern and strategy orchestrated by Azerbaijan. Each of the human rights violations encompassed by this strategy deserves separate attention and condemnation. 

“We request that the Special Rapporteurs investigate, report, and call broader attention to these issues and similar human rights violations. To the extent possible, we urge the Special Rapporteurs to try to mediate and promote peace-building measures that (i) protect and respect access to religious sites for the performance of religious rites; and (ii) protect and respect the coexistence of multiple religious faiths and cultures,” the Armenian Bar Association said.

This Third Report is also submitted on behalf of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Society for Armenian Studies, National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, and the Association Internationale des Études Arméniennes, the Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation and Save Armenian Monuments.

Photos: Celebrating Armenian traditions and faith in St. Paul

Frangulian Shushan
MPR News
Sept 20 2021
MPR News Staff
5:00 a.m.

Services are held at St. Sahag Armenian Church in St. Paul on Sunday. The church hosted its annual Armenian Festival over the weekend.
Kerem Yücel for MPR News


The St. Sahag Armenian Church community in St. Paul gathered over the weekend to celebrate their Armenian heritage and faith — and to share those traditions with their friends and neighbors.

The church’s annual Armenian Festival featured dancing, music and presentations on Armenian history — along with traditional Armenian food and Armenian coffee.

St. Sahag Armenian Festival

As with so many community events, this year’s Armenian Festival marked a return to an in-person celebration after the pandemic forced changes to last year’s festival. In 2020 the church offered Armenian food to-go, and hosted virtual presentations on Armenian heritage.

But this year’s in-person celebration was a go, under sunny skies and amid summer-like conditions. The festival took place just ahead of another Armenian celebration — Armenia Independence Day on Tuesday.

Armenian community members practice their dance performance during the annual St. Sahag Armenian Festival at St. Sahag Armenian Church in St. Paul on Saturday.
Kerem Yücel for MPR News

Aircompany Armenia carried out 536 evacuation flights in 2020 because of COVID-19

Frangulian Shushan

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 14:10, 9 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESSS. In May-December 2020, because of the closed air borders, Aircompany Armenia carried out 536 evacuation flights, thanks to which nearly 38,000 citizens of Armenia were evacuated from different countries and transported to the homeland, the company’s Deputy Director General for the commercial Gevorg Khachatryan said at a press conference in Armenpress.

He stated that at that period the company has used almost 10% of its entire resource.

“Armenia’s airspace was closed on March 15, 2020 because of the coronavirus disease. For about 2-3 months the Aircompany Armenia, as well as many more other airlines in the world have suspended their operation and were not operating flights. But from May the Aircompany Armenia has gradually resumed its flights. We were using almost 10% of our entire resource that time. We have carried out nearly 536 evacuation flights from May to December 2020. It means that we have transported those citizens to Armenia who were left abroad at that period. A total of 38,000 citizens have been transported to Armenia”, he said.

He informed that the main directions of those evacuation flights have been the cities of Russia, such as Moscow, Voronezh, Mineralnye Vody, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, as well as the French city of Lyon and the city of Dubai of the United Arab Emirates.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Chess: Champions Showdown: Levon Aronian defeated by Garry Kasparov

Frangulian Shushan
News.am, Armenia
Sept 10 2021

In the fifth round of Champions Showdown Chess 9LX in St. Louis, Levon Aronian competed with world’s 13th champion, 58-year-old Russia-based Garry Kasparov, who played with black figures and won in the 66th step.

In the first four rounds, the 38-year-old Armenian chess grandmaster defeated Hikaru Nakamura, was defeated by Peter Svidler, tied the match with Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

With 2 points, Aronian shares the 7th-8th places with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

In the remaining 4 rounds, Aronian’s opponents will be Wesley So, Sam Shankland and Leinier Dominguez.

The tournament will end on September 11. The prize fund is $150,000, and the winner will receive $37,500.

Aliyev Administration says “some debates” ongoing over legal mechanisms for Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh

Frangulian Shushan

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 12:46, 6 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s assistant Hikmet Hajiyev says there are ongoing discussions over additional legal mechanisms regarding the Russian peacekeeping mandate in Nagorno Karabakh.

Around 2000 Russian peacekeepers are deployed in Nagorno Karabakh in accordance with the Russia-brokered 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Hajiyev, who is also the Aliyev Administration’s Head of Foreign Policy, told BBC that the ceasefire agreement defined “a political and in some sense also a legal framework” for the peacekeeping forces. “As far as the additional agreements and additional legal mechanisms regarding the peacekeepers’ mandate, the sides have had initial contacts over this issue and some debates are still ongoing,” Hajiyev said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Turkish press: Turkey, UK to start talks on more comprehensive free trade deal

Frangulian Shushan
 ISTANBUL BUSINESS 
AUG 26, 2021 3:37 PM GMT+


Containers are seen at a port in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, Turkey, Aug. 23, 2021. (AA Photo)

London and Ankara will start negotiations on a more comprehensive trade pact next year, a British minister said Thursday, in a move designed to add new areas for stronger bilateral commercial cooperation.

Turkey and the U.K. signed a post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) in December last year to support a trade partnership worth over $25 billion (TL 209.42 billion). The deal became effective as of Jan. 1, when Britain formally left the European Union. It was Turkey’s most important trade deal since its 1995 Customs Union with the EU.

“Both the Turkish government and we believe that there is great potential to develop new areas to strengthen commercial cooperation,” said Graham Stuart, U.K.’s minister for exports.

“That’s why we will be negotiating a more comprehensive FTA next year,” Stuart told Anadolu Agency (AA), stressing the importance of the current deal for the ongoing bilateral trade.

Turkey’s post-Brexit exports to the U.K. surged 36.5% from January through July of this year, according to Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) data.

They amounted to more than $6.95 billion, versus nearly $5.1 billion a year ago.

Stuart said the shipment among the two nations increased 70% over the last decade until 2019, pushing the volume to nearly 20 billion pounds ($27.48 billion).

Yet, the officials have been stressing an aim for a new and more ambitious agreement in the period to come. The current pact is expected to be expanded to include areas such as investments and services.

The post-Brexit FTA has been important in order to take the ongoing bilateral trade under guarantee, said Stuart. He noted the two governments would hold negotiations for a more comprehensive deal next year “because we believe the U.K. and Turkey can do more in cooperation.”

Stuart stressed the increasing appetite of Turkish companies for investment in Britain. “As the U.K., we are opening to global markets that were not possible while in the EU. This is why I think we are a unique base where Turkish companies can go global,” he noted.

Add to global markets “the access to the world’s leading cross-border financial centers and the best university system in Europe,” he noted.

“We are also seeing more startups and technology ventures looking to launch or expand their operations in the U.K. compared to other European countries.”

Stating that technological progress is needed in many areas to cope with problems such as climate change, aging populations, and the future of mobility, Stuart said that venture capital investments grew in the U.K. even during the pandemic period.

He also stressed Turkey was an “important power,” noting its exports performance and what he said was a resolution of the Turkish people.

“It is getting richer and more international in all areas. Turkey is a very attractive market. That’s why we see so many great British players investing in Turkey, and I will encourage them to do more in the future,” the minister said.

There is still much work Britain and the companies can do with Turkey, he noted, stressing among other things Turkey’s expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and autonomous systems.

Therefore, according to Stuart, “cooperation should be encouraged not only at the government level but between institutions as well.”

Among others, Turkey and the U.K. can do a lot together on issues related to climate change, especially in areas like clean growth technology and electric cars, according to Stuart.

He even said working together to address climate change can help level up trade ties between the two countries.

Stuart noted that the British government has been focusing on one of the biggest challenges facing humanity, namely climate change, and seeking to stop the earth from warming too much.

“That is why the U.K. government will host the U.N. climate conference” known as COP26, set for this Nov. 1-12, he said.

Pointing to the many highly educated Turks working in engineering and manufacturing who are tackling things like clean growth technology and electric cars, he said British know-how can bring a lot to the table to help their Turkish colleagues.

“Our experience installing electric vehicle charging for instance, will be crucial to deliver climate targets in Istanbul and beyond,” he explained.

“And of course, to create a market for companies like TOGG here in in Turkey producing electric vehicles,” he added, referring to Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group, developing Turkey’s first homegrown car.

“I see that very good work has been done in the field of advanced engineering in Turkey. I visited TOGG, I met the team there,” he explained.

“I also met the head of a rocket company called Delta V that uses hybrid technology in a way that could be world leading,” he added, referring to Istanbul-based Delta V Space Technologies.

According to Stuart, there are a great many areas of current production and future technology where the combination of the U.K.’s high-tech capacity with Turkish entrepreneurship can lead to further investment.

Azerbaijan discusses legitimacy of Russian peacekeepers’ presence in Karabakh

Frangulian Shushan

Sept 6 2021


    JAMnews, Baku-Yerevan

Azerbaijan discusses additional legal mechanisms in connection with the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. Armenia is closely following these discussions while officials and experts in the two countries have very different views on this issue.

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Exactly 300 days have passed since the signing of the trilateral ceasefire agreement by the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, as well as the Prime Minister of Armenia. Immediately after the signing of this document, Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the part of Karabakh that remained under the control of Armenia.

Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Azerbaijani political scientists and experts have repeatedly stated over the past months that there is no legal basis for the presence of Russian military personnel in the internationally recognized territories of the country. It is indicated that the issue has not been ratified by the Azerbaijani parliament or addressed by the Azerbaijani legislative authorities.

The day before, the Azerbaijani authorities first spoke about this. In an interview with the BBC, Assistant to the President of the country Hikmet Hajiyev noted that at present “certain discussions are continuing on additional legal mechanisms in connection with the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers”.

According to Hajiyev, the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 established a “political and, to a certain extent, legal framework” for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the territory of Azerbaijan.

“The whole of Karabakh is the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, the international community recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and, according to a statement dated November 10, 2020, peacekeeping forces are temporarily deployed in a certain part of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan”, Hajiyev said.

“The main issue we are facing is working on the restoration, reconstruction of the territories liberated from the occupation. Over the past 30-40 years, no country in the world has faced such an issue on such a large scale”, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan added.

According to the Azerbaijani political observer Agshin Kerimov, with the statement of Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijan in a diplomatic form expressed its dissatisfaction with the actions of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh.

Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

“At times, peacekeepers go beyond the functions and mandates that they were given by the November 10, 2020 statement. They seem to create additional service obligations for themselves and fulfill them, or try to fulfill them.

Baku is worried about these actions and has so far expressed its discontent in various forms.

Hikmet Hajiyev’s statement coincided with the protest of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in connection with the placement of a tender announcement on the state portal of the Russian Federation regarding the provision of the necessary services to the Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh. In that announcement, their place of deployment was indicated as “the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Apparently, this overflowed the patience of the Azerbaijani authorities and therefore they started talking about the legal aspects of the deployment of peacekeepers in order to show them their place” Kerimov said.

According to the observer, it is no coincidence that Hajiyev in his interview pointed out the temporary nature of the stay of Russian military personnel in Karabakh.

“Additional legal obligations of the peacekeepers, which official Baku spoke about, include specifying the types of actions of military personnel in Karabakh, as well as excluding the possibility of the peacekeeping contingent stimulating the actions of illegal Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan.

Thus, Azerbaijan will bring the responsibilities of the Russian peacekeepers into the international legal framework. And this will speed up the solution of other issues that still remain open”, the expert concluded.

According to political observer Hakob Badalyan, the President of Azerbaijan is most worried about the fact that the Russians can legitimize their military presence in NK by an agreement with the United States and France:

“The fact that Azerbaijan does not sign the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers has a legal, legal weight, but the efficiency of this legal weight depends on the actual political weight. And this decision could carry de facto political weight if the US and France reject the legitimacy of the Russian presence. But there are processes and signs that the trend is now the opposite. This is what worries Baku.

And then, whether the Russians wrote the NKR or not, it is not essential. They could have written, there could have been a technical error. For several weeks and even months, I have been talking about Baku’s concern about discussions among the three co-chairs”.

At the same time, Hakob Badalyan notes that Turkey, Azerbaijan’s main ally, may have significantly lost its “motivation” on the Karabakh issue and may not interfere with the agreement of the co-chairs, if it can receive certain “bonuses” instead of “non-interference”, including issues beyond the Caucasus:

“Turkey has achieved the solution of key issues for itself on the problems in the Caucasus through the war, it took Azerbaijan, established itself militarily and politically. At the same time, it is noticeable that Erdogan can “take a break” in a broad sense because the gap between economic potential and geopolitical ambitions is growing significantly. By the way, the recent statements about Armenia [about the normalization of relations] should also be considered in this context.

These realities worry Aliyev greatly because at some point they can manifest themselves so strongly as to cause serious problems within Azerbaijan – from the point of view of [maintaining] power. At the same time, Aliyev, who found himself in such a situation, should be the basis for Armenia to be more vigilant”.

Artsakh will stand firmly, will be free and independent – Armenian Speaker of Parliament

Frangulian Shushan

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 13:28, 2 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan congratulated Artsakh on the 30th anniversary of the declaration of its independence.

“This independence has been gained with the life and blood of our heroes, with the belief of our mothers. Artsakh will stand firmly, will be free and independent”, the Speaker said in his address.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan