Author: Kalantarian Kevo

22 MILLION WILL BE CONFISCATED FROM EX-MP

Jean Jacques Marie Arthur Gohen claimed 22 million drams and interest
for around two years from the ex-member of parliament Napoleon Azizyan.

On 15 November 2010 Napoleon Azizyan borrowed 22 million drams from
a citizen of France. He committed to repay the debt within a month
and if he failed, he committed to pay a of 4% penalty.

Two years have passed but Napoleon Azizyan has not repaid the debt
or interest. After waiting for two years the French citizen sued the
ex-MP and won the case.

The Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash
communities ruled that the ex-MP must pay 22 million drams and interest
for the period starting from 16 December 2010 and lasting to the day
of actual repayment. The ex-MP appealed the decision but the Court of
Appeals did not change the decision of the first instance court. The
decision is already effective. So, Napoleon Azizyan now has to repay
the debt and interest to the French citizen.

By the way, this is the second scandal involving the ex-MP.

Earlier on 21 August 2011 a group of masked people broke into Napoleon
Azizyan’s house, beat him, his wife and daughter and stole 3 million
drams, 20,000 dollars, gold and 6 valuable pictures.

Pastinfo 15:44 25/11/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

Grim, very grim is our present. Quo Vadimus=85

00:03, November 25, 2013

Seda Gbranian-Melkonian

It’s Monte’s birthday again. A time of accountability and reflection on
what we have and have not done. However, when I think about the past
several months, I hardly find anything positive to report in the Armenian
reality. In an atmosphere where economic interests overshadow everything
else, an empty country looks at us. A country, whose population gradually
seeks conditions of survival wherever it happens to be, since the `Royalty’
does not seem to be very interested in what happens to its `subjects.’
Perhaps the only movement we can see is the few backward steps concerning
migration, the draining of the aquifer and other probable drainage
processes. Grim, very grim is our present. Quo Vadimus=85

On 1.11.88 Monte writes to me `=85The last ten days or so of news about the 3
California Grey Whales has shown us how unbalanced people’s priorities can
be. It’s absolutely true that the 3 million starving people in Sudan, the 2
million in Ethiopia, the 2 million in Mozambique, the millions starving in
the rest of Africa, the 25 million homeless in Bangladesh, the vicious
capitalist exploitation in Brazil (and other counties), the chemical war
against the Kurdish people, and all the other wars and unbearable treatment
of human-beings all over the world-without even mentioning our own
people’s situation- deserve more attention than 3 whales which are unlikely
to survive anyway. It’s incredible how people can be so cold and
indifferent to each other. Nonetheless, ecological problems are extremely
important for the survival of human life, too. Those 3 whales don’t
represent a true ecological problem, so it’s a bad example. The root of the
problem is economic and political, but also demographic. In reality the
root of ecological problems is the same as that of other problems affecting
human-beings such as war, exploitation, unemployment, lack of medical aid,
etc. etc. The source of all of this lies in narrow short term, isolated
economic interests which totally conflicts with the true interests of the
people. People who support such economic policies are true criminals.’

I don’t think anything needs to be added=85

Judicial Nomination Exhumes ADL Fiasco, Councilors Condemn Complicity in Denial

By Nanore Barsoumian // November 24, 2013

Massachusetts Superior Court Nominee Faces Opposition for Failing to
Act in Face of Genocide Denial

BOSTON, Mass. (A.W.) – `I don’t enjoy voting no, but it is the right
thing to do,’ Councilor Marilyn M. Pettito Devaney told the Armenian
Weekly during an interview, as she explained why she opposes a
Superior Court judicial nomination that would put a member of the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on the bench. `They have bullied Congress
into defeating [Armenian] Genocide resolutions, and they continue to
deprive the Armenians of their history,’ she said.

Devaney is leading the opposition in the Governor’s Council against
Gov. Deval Patrick’s nomination of attorney Joseph S. Berman to the
position of Associate Justice of the Superior Court. Devaney deems
problematic Berman’s involvement with ADL – an organization that claims
to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination but refuses to
unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide – and his failure to
resign from the organization’s Board when it became clear that ADL had
been lobbying Congress against the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

Berman would need the support of five of the eight councilors to be
confirmed for the judgeship. Berman’s public hearing took place on
Nov. 13, during which he was questioned for a span of four hours. On
Nov. 20, the vote was postponed by an eager Governor, after it became
clear that five councilors would instead oppose Berman’s nomination.
The ADL fiasco took center stage in arguments against his nomination.

`I received a letter asking, what does a 100-year-old Armenian
Genocide by the Turks have to do with the nomination of a Justice for
the Superior Court? Simple answer: Justice for all,’ Devaney told the
panel.

Devaney was referring to the ADL’s refusal to recognize the Armenian
Genocide, and the organization’s lobbying efforts against
Congressional resolutions recognizing the Genocide.

Berman, a partner at the Looney & Grossman law firm in Boston, has
been a national commissioner for ADL since 2006, and a member of its
New England Board and Executive Committee.

Devaney told the panel that when she was a Watertown Councilor At
Large, she urged towns to cut ties with the ADL’s `No Place for Hate’
program in 2007. That year, she also authored a Watertown Town Council
proclamation that was passed unanimously, severing ties with the
organization. Watertown was followed by eleven other Massachusetts
municipalities (Belmont, Newton, Arlington, Northampton, Bedford,
Lexington, Westwood, Medford, Needham, Newburyport, and Peabody) in
severing ties with the ADL program, following broad-based community
opposition as part of the `No Place for Denial’ Campaign lead by the
Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts.

Berman

ADL’s New England Regional Director Andrew Tarsy then called on the
organization to recognize the Armenian Genocide; ADL responded by
firing him.

`At the Governor’s Council hearing, when Councilor Jubinville asked
why he didn’t withdraw his membership from ADL, Mr. Berman answered:
`I wrote a resignation letter in my head but didn’t write it because
of all the good things the ADL does,” recounted Devaney before the
Council on Nov. 20.

`I asked Mr. Berman if he belonged to an organization who denied the
Holocaust, would he remain as a member because of all the other good
things they do. I said I would resign,’ added Devaney.

`The refusal of the ADL to properly acknowledge the Armenian Genocide
and its long-time opposition to Armenian Genocide resolutions in
Congress is deeply offensive to the Armenian-American community and
discredits an organization that claims to defend human rights,’ Dikran
Kaligian, Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern
Massachusetts, told the Armenian Weekly. `Complicity in the Turkish
Government’s international denial campaign must be condemned by those
who believe in justice for those subjected to crimes against humanity.
Press statements by ADL officials this week show that they still don’t
get it.’

In 2007, once the scandal around ADL’s policy on the Armenian Genocide
had erupted, the organization issued a `Statement on the Armenian
Genocide,’ declaring that `The consequencesof those actions were
indeed tantamount to genocide.’ Many found the statement
unsatisfactory, as the wording placed the issue of intent under
question – a main factor in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention
definition – and sneaked a qualifier before the word genocide.

Armenian Weekly contributor Michael Mensoian was one such critic. he
wrote: `The belated backtracking of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
in acknowledging the planned, systematic massacre of 1,500,000
Armenian men, women and children as `tantamount to genocide’ is
discouraging. Tantamount means something is equivalent. If it’s
equivalent, why avoid using the term? For the ADL to justify its newly
adopted statement because the word genocide did not exist at the time
indicates a halfhearted attempt to placate Armenians while not
offending Turkey.’

Later, when ADL National Director Abe Foxman was confronted, he
reportedly retorted, `No one can dictate to you to use the word that
you want us to use. We will use the words that we feel comfortable
with.’

Devaney said she expected Berman, who had held a prominent position in
the organization, to have done more. `Joseph Berman could have made
the difference by collecting signatures of all the members of the New
England ADL chapter and presenting them to the National ADL to support
the recognition of the Genocide,’ she told the Council.

At his hearing, Berman had said he had chosen to stay, since he was
in agreement with ADL on all issues except for the Armenian Genocide,
and he believed that it would be more effective to change the
organization from within.

During her interview with the Armenian Weekly on Nov. 22, Devaney said
the issue was important to her especially since she had heard about
the atrocities that took place during the Genocide from survivors
themselves. She remembered how in 2007, Genocide survivor Areka
Derkazarian, whom she calls a friend, accompanied her as she appeared
before the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) to urge them to
withdraw sponsorship from ADL’s program. The MMA unanimously voted to
end its affiliation with the ADL program in April 2008, following the
`No Place for Denial’ action campaign and a petition signed by over 30
local churches and organizations.

The statement signed by five councilors, declaring that if the vote
had taken place as expected on Nov. 20, the undersigned would have
voted `No.’

Devaney said that soon after news of her opposition to Berman got out,
she began getting hate mail from Berman supporters. `I’ve never
experienced in my tenure getting hate mail for doing the right thing,’
she said, shaking her head. Then, leaning forward, she added, `This
has been really misunderstood… The ADL has been working hard to
prevent the Armenians from having their history.’

Earlier, at Berman’s hearing on Nov. 13, councilors also criticized
ADL for sending letters to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committees before
candidate hearings, which according to Councilor Jennie Caissie,
amount to `bona fide litmus tests.’ `I don’t want ideologues on the
bench,’ added Cassie. Councilor Jubinville, too, had noted that
Berman’s involvement with ADL raised concerns regarding his ideology.
In response, Berman said that he was not going to assume the position
of an `ADL judge,’ and that he would `decide cases based on the
facts.’

Berman’s `Contributions campaign’

Berman’s campaign contributions were another sore point during the
hearing on Nov. 13. After his 2004 bid to a judgeship were rejected by
the Judicial Nomination Committee – a body appointed by the Governor to
oversee judicial nominations – Berman’s campaign contributions
increased, surpassing $110,000 in ten years.

Among the state candidates receiving Berman’s donations were Gov.
Patrick, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Attorney General Martha
Coakley, State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Senator Elizabeth Warren,
and others. All the recipients were Democratic candidates.

When grilled about whether he contacted any of those elected officials
on behalf of his judicial nomination, Berman acknowledged that he had
contacted Katherine Clark that morning and asked her to call
Councilors Albano and Jubinville.

`After he applied for a judicial appointment in 2004 and was rejected,
he started his contribution campaign and donated $110,000 total,
giving the appearance he was going to buy his way to a judgeship,’
Devaney later told the Weekly, adding, `In my tenure, I’ve never seen
any nominee contributing so much.’

`I don’t look for a political activist/fundraiser as a quality in a
judge,’ Devaney told the panel on Nov. 20.

Berman’s `demeanor’ and `behavior’ were also bothersome to Devaney,
who found some of the attorney’s responses arrogant and short.

In addition, Berman’s lack of criminal trial experience – he specializes
in commercial litigation – and his interest in `time standards’ in the
courtroom were also raised as points of concern.

Vote postponed

Only one of the councilors, Terrence W. Kennedy, voiced his support of
the attorney.

Disappointed with the councilors’ position vis-à-vis his nominee, Gov.
Patrick said he would postpone the vote, indicating that in the coming
days he would work to sway the votes in favor of Berman.

`This Council will have the opportunity… to vote on this nominee. I am
going to work hard to get the votes. I have not had an opportunity to
do that, and I am not ready today,’ said the Governor, adding, `I
appreciate that some of you have views that had been hardened. But I
think that this is a candidate who is more than ready to serve…’

`We are not going to change our minds,’ said Devaney. `We are going to
stand by the vote. I want you to know that.’

Anticipating the Governor’s move, Councilor Robert L. Jubinville had
prepared a typed statement declaring that if the vote had taken place
as expected on Nov. 20, the undersigned would have voted `No.’ The
document was signed by Jubinville, Devaney, Oliver P. Cipollini, Jr.,
Jennie L. Caissie, and Christopher A. Iannella, Jr.

`We put on the record our objection to continuing the vote on Mr.
Berman’s confirmation,’ further read the statement.

The vote is expected to take place on Dec. 4. However, it is also
possible that the nomination would be withdrawn before that date.

Problem Solving, Armenian Style – Part 2

November 22, 2013 | 21:09
Click here to read part 1

My phone is still abuzz with the cry to connect. And I don’t mean
`connect’ in the Facebook kind of way – that’s just too easy. That’s
like taking a stroll down the white sand of some beach near the Great
Barrier Reef without taking a swim, and saying that you `visited’ one
of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Nonsense! Take a swim, even
if it’s a little chilly, get your snorkels out and take a dive. The
deeper you go, the more you meet the weird and wonderful: corals with
more colors than Avetisyan’s painting palette, and sharks too, along
with fear, warmth, beauty, and risk. That’s what it is like with real
human connection. It requires a surrender of your pride, shame,
prejudice, and fear.

It is said that perfect love casts out all fear and releases us to be
able to connect with others in a sincere way – and perhaps that’s
true. But having one mobile phone in Armenia is far quicker than deep
soul change. It treats you like a three year old learning to swim from
his parents: your pajamas are off and you’re thrown in the deep end of
the pool (at least, that’s how many Australians learn). My mobile
phone reminds me every hour that I don’t have a choice: I must connect
with people. I’m forced into a crowd of Armenian friends solving each
other’s problems. And more often than not that means visiting people’s
home for dinner (I estimate that I could survive several months here
without any cooking. I just need to book a different friend to visit
each evening).

Armenian hospitality is simultaneously heartfelt and embarrassing:
entering an Armenian home means being welcomed in the warmest way
possible. Plates of colorful fruit, candy, and of course, coffee,
incessantly beckons. Image and impression are all-important factors in
this social construct: what ensues is an artfully done pre-meditated
social ritual. When you enter the home as a guest, you give the
impression that says `I won’t sit; no coffee or khorovatz for me, but
thank you very much for your kindness’.And then, like following a
predetermined script, the host beckons again to sit, drink a little,
and take some cherries, to which of course you must further decline.
And for the final scene, in what is an end to the verbal tennis, is a
concluding summon to sit and eat, and to sink your teeth into the
fresh peaches the host’s relative just brought from Noyemberyan – a
resolution to which you must, of course, finally accept. I have been
told that Armenians avoid complimenting one another, but when sitting
around a table they are somehow released to exchange kind accolades
unreservedly.

Then the next wave of invitations – no, demands – to stay for dinner,
another cognac, and then some, washes over you like a massage that
starts off a little uncomfortable but then begins soothing your nerves
into such a relaxed state, that you can’t make yourself leave the
table. Nor does the host allow you to. Although initially arriving
resolute to leave early and have a single coffee, you have once again
succumbed to the warm embrace of Armenian hospitality.

The awkwardness begins when it’s your turn to be hospitable – because
you know you can’t do it like them. I, for one, am a terrible host on
my best days; but on Armenian (and for that matter, Filipino)
standards, I’m an absolute disgrace. But I’m learning. To borrow from
the New Testament, my vine branches are being pruned.

Filipinos are world-renowned for their warm disposition to guests and
foreigners. Their hospitality is truly the Pearl of the Orient. In the
provinces outside of the major urban hubs, people are tremendously
gracious, with the attitude that they would `kill their last cow for
you’ and spill open their very last sachet of American coffee brought
from overseas by a relative, which has been treasured for months (and
possibly years). Even if the cow is a little malnourished and the
coffee a little stale, their attitude in absolute poverty is certainly
something to learn from.

But what, really, is hospitality? Broken down, does it just mean a
collection of little actions to make your guest feel fuller and
merrier? No, it is far more profound: true hospitality knows no
boundaries. An a barekam implies a close relationship with friends,
certain people from the same village, and even business partners, who
are extended the typical favoritism normally accorded to a close
relative.

Unlike in the West (if you permit me to abuse such generalizations), I
find that in Armenia, nothing is ever too much. It can be from the
smallest detail to a large favor – true Armenian friendship knows no
bounds, and once you are `in’ the akhperutsyun, there isn’t much you
can ask for or say that will exclude you from the group. Forgiveness
abounds, but so does responsibility.

Even with some of my closest of friends, I would think twice about
asking for certain things or bothering them at particular times – one
must always have sensitivity to the boundaries of what is private and
what might be an imposing irritant. Not so in Armenia.

Perhaps written into the DNA of most Armenians is the ability to
(reluctantly?) bind together in order to survive. Armenians excel when
they work together. It is no coincidence that the Armenian chess team
are the reigning chess world champions – a title they have won several
times. As a team, they flourish – their sum is certainly greater than
the individual achievements of their parts. They have a special
ingredient that other teams don’t have: the ability to come together
in unison in a sport that is essentially an individual battle.

There is a very strong sense of solidarity here, and it posits a
strong case for the sociological tradition of mending the individual
via fixing social relationships (Durkheim would nod approvingly). For
as much as my phone’s high-pitched nagging takes some getting used to,
its frequent, trusty rhythm is the solution of choice by Armenian
society, which declares that there is no challenge, however small and
insignificant, to be met alone. As the great W.B. Yeats once wrote,
`Think where a man’s glory most begins and ends, And say my glory was
I had such friends’.

Click here to read part 1

Arianne Caoili

Armenia’s poverty rates kept confidential? – newspaper

November 21, 2013 | 08:09

YEREVAN. – The incumbent authorities of Armenia continue to hide the
poverty indicators of the country, Zhoghovurd daily reports.

`The Armenian NSS [i.e., the National Statistical Service] issued the
`Food Security and Poverty: January-September 2013′ report.

`Data are presented there on food availability, access and
utilization, but there is no fact on the specific level of poverty.

`Perhaps, this is not accidental. Even according to official
statistics, the poverty rate in Armenia is not decreasing [and it]
remains near 35 percent.

`To note, Armenia is the poorest country in the region. In Georgia,
this figure is 27, in Azerbaijan, 15 percent,’ Zhoghovurd writes.

Against the cancer stick: Armenian government set to step up
anti-smoking campaign

Health | 22.11.13 | 14:05
Photolure

The Armenian government is going to toughen anti-smoking measures by
adopting amendments to the law on advertisement which will stipulate
the further restrictions on advertisement of tobacco and tobacco
products.

Under the existing law, the ads of tobacco products are prohibited by
television, radio, electronic and print media.
During the government session on Thursday, Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan accused the non-governmental organizations of inadequate
efforts in fighting against smoking, despite the high rate of death
caused by smoking in Armenia. He said smoking is a serious problem for
the society and urged the organizations to make their voice heard.

`We hear the concerns of environmental activists every day, while if
we compare the risks, the harm from smoking is much more serious. But
they don’t raise concerns in this regard,’ said the prime minister.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Defense Ministry has also started an anti-
smoking campaign. Last week, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan
instructed the ministry to set up a working group to develop a program
on combating smoking in Armenia’s armed forces.

Air pollution in Yerevan: environmentalist concerned

13:47 * 24.11.13

According to Armenia’s Ministry of Nature Protection, Yerevan’s
atmosphere is clean, but smoke can be seen with a naked eye in the
city’s neighborhoods located at higher areas, Inga Zarafyan, President
of EcoLur NGO, told Tert.am.

Not only Åxhaust gas, but also a number of plants are polluting Yerevan’s air.

“Such discharge into the air seriously affects human health. People
breathe in exhaust gas in the streets every day,” she said.

The Yerevan Municipality is covering up the facts because the city
authorities are supposed to pay emission fees to the state budget.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Oppositionist speaks of political, economic monopolies and `serfdom’ in Armenia

11:35 – 24.11.13

Economist Vahagn Khachatryan, an Armenian National Congress (ANC)
member, notes that, after supermarkets have gained a monopoly over the
food market, it is now the turn of the clothing market.

Evidence thereof is the closing clothing shops. The reason is placing
the market at individuals’ disposal by granting them tax and customs
benefits.

In interview with Tert.am, Mr Khachatryan addressed the mechanism
making Armenia’s political arena and economy `empty’ and turning
people into slaves.

`They are enjoying political and economic monopolies. They are well
aware that economy cannot be different in an authoritarian state.

They have not the courage to implement a different policy. How can
people be independent of them? When they are economically and
financially independent,’ he said.

`Our country needs slaves. Friedrich August Hayek, a winner of the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and one of the fathers of
liberalism has a book entitled The Road to Serfdom. The idea of the
book is how people are stripped of their freedom. Private ownership is
the best way to freedom. But they are now robbing people of their
property. People have to give up their land because they say `we will
do better than you.”

Such concept as `sharing’ is no more. `They allow you to start up a
business to rob you of it later,’ Mr Khachatryan said.

`The mechanism brings wealthy people to ruin as well. [Armenia’s first
president] Levon Ter-Petrosyan used to say they would turn into
`beggars,’ and they felt hurt. But we can see this tendency. Samvel
Alexanyan (a businessman and MP affiliated with the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia) will be the next, followed by someone else,’ he
said.

`Oligarchs must realize that the system is ruining their life as well.
So we need a change of power by means of political movements.
Unfortunately, many forces, including our proponents, failed to
understand us,’ Mr Khachatryan said.

Asked about the next stage, he said: `An authoritarian system is
operating now to be followed by dictatorship. The government and the
National Assembly are of secondary importance. Law is not working in
the country, but one man’s desires are.’

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIE-URUGUAY
Le président de l’Assemblée nationale arménienne a dansé sur la place
Arménia à Montevideo (Uruguay)

Dans le cadre de sa tournée en Amérique du Sud, après le Brésil, le
passage de Hovig Abrahamian, le Président de l’Assemblée nationale en
Uruguay fut marqué par une danse… Après les rencontres officielles
avec le monde politique uruguayen, Hovig Abrahamian a réalisé quelques
pas de danse sur la place Arménia à Montevideo où il fut accueilli
selon la tradition arménienne avec du pain et du sel. Cette rencontre
qu’il fit avec les représentants de la communauté arménienne de
Montevideo n’était pas programmée. Mais très ému de trouver une
communauté arménienne dynamique à des milliers de kilomètres de
l’Arménie, Hovig Abrahamian n’a pu s’empêcher de faire quelques pas de
danse sur cette place Arménia de Montevideo.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 24 novembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Burma
Nov 23 2013

Tracing the Last of Burma’s Once Influential Armenians

By ALICE FOSTER / THE IRRAWADDY

RANGOON – A hand-drawn map showed the way to the colonial teak house
that my Armenian grandmother’s family left behind when the Japanese
captured Rangoon in 1942.

My relatives are thought to have hidden jewels in the well before
fleeing the family home that was reportedly turned into a brothel
during the Japanese occupation.

Last month, more than 70 years later, I took up the map drawn by my
great-uncle from memory and returned to the house down by the railway
lines near Lanmadaw station in Rangoon.

The street names have changed and a high-ranking government official
has taken up residence in the large house, which was confiscated by
the military sometime after the 1962 coup that marked the beginning of
nearly a half century of authoritarian rule.

A decade ago the house was tightly guarded and photographs were
prohibited, but now the restrictions have eased.

The official’s sister and a maid gingerly let me into the locked
garden, but not the house because the government official, said to be
a director for education, was out. Looking at my black and white
family photographs, his sister said: `I’m amazed. There are still
people very much interested in this old house.’

The maid, standing by the overgrown well, said the previous occupants
did not eat beef inside the house because they were superstitious.
Some people have said it is haunted.

But she said: `I have never had any experience of ghosts.’

My late grandmother, Norma Gregory, grew up in Rangoon and lived with
her mother and father, who was a barrister, together with three older
brothers and several dogs.

The Gregorys were among a number of Armenians who had professions and
commercial interests in Burma under British rule but fled before the
Japanese captured Rangoon during World War II.

As part of the evacuation Norma, just 18, traveled to India, joined
the army and later moved to London where she met my grandfather at a
dance. She never returned to Burma.

Her parents did go back to the house in Rangoon but left for good when
the military, led by former dictator Gen Ne Win, confiscated it.

Last month, in an attempt to trace my family history, I went to the
150-year-old Armenian Apostolic Church of St John the Baptist on Bo
Aung Kyaw Street in Rangoon.

Its priest, Reverend John Felix, who invited me for tea, said there
used to be hundreds of Armenian families in Burma but there are now
very few left, as a result of the upheavals in the country over the
decades. When he took over the church in 2011, he only knew two
Armenian families.

`I said, I must do something,’ the Rev Felix told me. `I started to
search and talk to people as much as I can. I learned that Armenians
used to have positions with official status.’

In the 17th century, a Persian shah uprooted many thousands of
Armenians from the region of Julfa in their homeland and deported them
to his new capital in modern day Isfahan, Iran. Ambitious young
traders from the diaspora then traveled to India and Southeast Asia.

As the Armenian community established itself in Burma, a few of the
most powerful merchants became advisors to Burmese kings and acted as
go-betweens with the British.

After the British colonized Burma, my great-great-grandfather Chater
Gregory moved to Rangoon from Calcutta in India, where Anglo-Armenian
relations were traditionally close.

Rev Felix said that a number of Armenians ran large companies and
built monuments, an airport and a fire brigade tower in Rangoon.

`When the British ruled, they were very much trusted,’ he said. `They
got major building contracts and positions in customs. They
contributed to the development of Myanmar.’

In 1901, Armenian brothers Aviet and Tigran Sarkies opened the Strand
Hotel as part of a luxury hotel chain including the Raffles Hotel in
Singapore.

My great-grandfather is said to have drunk there after a day’s work at
the courtroom nearby.

Rev Felix took me to visit Armenian Ralf Gregory, 94, who was once a
signaler in the British Army, got the last train out of Rangoon before
its capture in 1942 and was later taken hostage by the Japanese.

Gregory, a frail man with the same surname and accent as my
great-uncle, was born just four years before my grandmother but said
he did not know my family.

At his home in Rangoon, he said that he is proud to be one of the few
people with Armenian heritage left in Burma, where sometimes he is
mistaken for a Jew.

He said: `I don’t feel lonely, I depend on God. I pray morning and
night, I pray for everybody, I leave nobody out.’

When invited to celebrate the church’s 150th anniversary, he said: `If
I am in good health I will go. I am almost blind and I have to wear
this [visor] to keep away the light.’

Rev Felix said that Gregory’s Armenian school friend Basil Martin,
chairman of the board of trustees at the church and a respected figure
whose family ran a company, died in May.

At the start of the year, Burma established diplomatic ties with
Armenia and more Armenians could soon begin to arrive as the country
opens up.

If nothing else, Rev Felix hopes the changes will bolster the
congregation of his church, which sees about 10 people attend its
weekly Sunday morning service.