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PRESS RELEASE
April 2, 2015

Contact: Vasken Yardemian
[email protected]
[email protected]
AESA Office: (818) 547-3372

Los Angeles Area Armenian Students Present Their Findings at the
14^th AESA Science Olympiad

(Northridge, CA) – 105 Armenian young `scientists’ from 6^th through
12^th grade presented their science projects at the 14^th Armenian
Engineers and Scientists of America’s (AESA) Science Olympiad on
Sunday March 15, 2015. The Grand Salon of California State University
Northridge had an eclectic mix of 85 science projects in the
categories of life sciences and physical sciences in two levels of
middle school and high school. As the 105 excited students began
arriving with their log books and science equipment they had used for
preparing their science projects, the room took a life of its own
abuzz with the chatter of students meeting classmates and other
likeminded peers who were just as passionate about science. At ten
o’clock, once the professional scientist and engineer judges entered
with their notebooks in hand, the students were ready to hone their
presentation skills as they began explaining their work and answering
the questions of the AESA’s seasoned judges. AESA judges had not only
judged at previous AESA Science Olympiads and numerous school science
fairs, they also had been judges at the Los Angeles County and
California State Science Fairs. In addition, some of them have had the
opportunity to be a judge at the Intel’s International Science and
Engineering Fair that took place last year in Los Angeles.

The following nine schools had student representation: AGBU
Manoogian-Demirdjian School, AGBU Vatche Tamar Manoukian High School,
Armenian Sisters Academy, Charlotte and Elise Merdinian Armenian
Evangelical School, Holy Martyrs Ferrahian School, Ribet Academy, Rose
and Alex Pilibos School, St. Gregory Alfred and Marguerite Hovsepian
School, and Vahan and Anoush Chamlian School. This year’s keynote
speaker, Dr. Patrick Sislian, co-founder and CEO of Deton Corporation,
an early clinical stage diagnostics company, focused on respiratory
infectious disease diagnosis, delivered a PowerPoint presentation to
the audience and especially to the students on how, by choosing to
follow the Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM)
education route they could combine different professions such as
medicine, engineering, science and business, for their future careers
depending on their interests. This year’s Olympiad theme was
`research’, which in science, is like setting out on an adventure. In
her address to the students, Mrs. Jenik Gharabegian Chair of Science
Olympiad Committee stated `In the end as adventurers you are going
away from this experience with three things: 1) a sense of curiosity,
2) ability to meet challenges and 3) perseverance to reach your goal.
The road ahead can be an exciting one filled with rewards, now that
you have seen what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it.’
Parents, science teachers, schools, judges and mentors, sponsors of
the endowment fund, auxiliary committee members and the Science
Olympiad Committee members each received recognition for their role in
making this year’s Science Olympiad and the tradition of science fairs
a reality.

This year the science Olympiad committee was very grateful for the
donations received towards the Science Olympiad Endowment Fund. This
fund provides funding for approximately $4,000 awards each year. Two
of our donors, Mr. & Mrs. Zaven and Sonia Akian and Dr. & Mrs. Vaughn
and Audrey Gregor donated $1000 each. In addition $10,000 was
bequeathed by Helen Dabaghian. Helen was a charter member of Science
Olympiad Committee. She was very passionate to see Armenian youth
excel in sciences. Dr. Marina Guevrekian, the 2015 President of AESA
and founding member of Science Olympiad Program who organized the
first 11 successful Science Olympiads addressed the audience prior to
joining the committee members and sponsors in giving out the obsidian
medallions made in Armenia to the student award recipients.

The prize for 1^st place $500, 2^nd place $250, 3^rd place $100 and
honorable mention $50. In addition to the awards given to the
students, the Science Olympiad Committee awards three additional
awards: The School Award, Teacher Appreciation Award and Judge
Award. The criteria for the school and the teacher appreciation awards
are based on number of students’ participants, total number of
participating projects in each category and level and the point value
of each award. School Award is presented with a trophy and $300 to go
towards the purchase of equipment for their school’s science
laboratory. This year the School Award went to St. Gregory Alfred and
Marguerite Hovsepian School. The Teacher award is presented with a
plaque and a $300 check. This year the Teacher Appreciation Award went
to Mrs. Lida Gevorkian of Vahan and Anoush Chamlian School. The Helen
Dabaghian Judge Award criteria are based on the most total number of
schools and Olympiad judged. The judge is awarded with a plaque. This
year the Helen Dabaghian Judge Award went to Mr. Sarkis Barkhoudarian.

The following are the award recipients:
JUNIOR PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Award Name and Place Student Name School
Guevrekian Family First Place Award Karoune Kossayan C & E Merdinian
Armenian Evangelical School
Barkhoudarian Family Second Place Award Soseh Hovasapian Vahan &
Anoush Chamlian School
Friends of Helen Dabaghian, in the memory of Helen, Third Place Award
Narek Daduryan St. Gregory A & M Hovsepian School
Sarafian and Ookhtens Families Third Place Award Kaitlyn Marcarian
Vahan & Anoush Chamlian School
Dr. Chahen Khandjarian Honorable Mention Award Natalia Opel C & E
Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School
Mrs. Amalia Guevrekian Honorable Mention Award Sevag Avedissian
Shirag Istanboulina Armenian Sisters Academy
Prof. Harotune and Berjouhi Kallayan and Mrs. Hovnanian Honorable
Mention Award Levon Babayan
Aram Apanian Vahan & Anoush Chamlian School

SENIOR PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Award Name and Place Student Name School
Helen Dabaghian First Place Award Taniel Keosseian Rose And Alex
Pilibos Armenian High School
Dabaghian and Agbabian Families Third Place Award Michael Gyadukyan
Ribet Academy
Dr. Darian and Nazeri
Family Honorable Mention Award Ashley Pezikian AGBU
Manoogian-Demirdjian School
Mr. Krikor Vahan Bezdikian Honorable Mention Award David Galumashvili
Narek Kltchian Rose And Alex Pilibos Armenian High School
Mr. Simon Guevrekian, in the memory of George Guevrekian, Honorable
Mention Award Vahe Yacoubian
Daniel Yacoubian AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School

JUNIOR LIFE SCIENCES
Award Name and Place Student Name School
Dr. Emmanuel Aaron Shirajian First Place Award Larisa Assadourian
St. Gregory A & M Hovsepian School
Mr. & Mrs. Zaven and Sonia Akian Second Place Award Katia Khanlian
St. Gregory A & M Hovsepian School
Abrahamian and Gregor Families Third Place Award Shant Suakhtchyan
Vahan & Anoush Chamlian School
Atoian & Minaskanian Families Third Place Award Hagop Chinchinian AGBU
Manoogian-Demirdjian School

SENIOR LIFE SCIENCES
Award Name and Place Student Name School
Dr. and Mrs. Alexander Grigorian and Mr. Godoshian Second Place Award
Ani Boyadjian AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School

==========================================================®SA Science
Olympiad Committee Members and 14^th SO Judges
14th AESA Science Olympiad Award Recipients
14^th AESA Science Olympiad Award Recipients (not all pictured)
Established in 1983 in Glendale, California, AESA is a non-partisan
and non-sectarian philanthropic organization focused primarily on
addressing the professional, technical and scientific needs of fellow
Armenian engineers, scientists, industrialists and architects
throughout the world. For more information, check AESA’s website at **

Copyright © 2015 Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America (AESA),
All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America (AESA)
117 S. Louise St #306
Glendale, CA 91205
USA

FILATOV – IT POTENTIAL HIGH IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. The IT potential is high in Armenia, sales
manager of IBM Russia Andrey Filatov told ARKA.

Representatives of Russian IT companies are currently in Armenia for
the “IT Summit-2015: IT Industry Leaders’ Meeting”. The summit is held
by the Russian association of computer and information technologies
in the Armenian capital on April 1-3. On Wednesday April 1 the
participants discussed how to form a new generation of specialists
and to prevent the “brain drain” at the Ayb High School in Yerevan.

General educational level is high in Armenia, and IT is a promising
sector, if the required support is provided by the government,
Filatov said.

The IBM is well aware of the Armenian IT, has partners in the country
and cooperates both with private and government sectors, he said.

Presentation of new technologies in the Armenian market and development
of the business here is a priority to IBM, the sales manager said.

According to Filatov, the IT Summit-2015 will lead to expansion of
ties and new projects. -0–

OBSOLETE EQUIPMENT: IS THE FREE MEDICAL TREATMENT AT YEREVAN’S POLYCLINICS WORTH THE RISK? – VIDEOS – PHOTOS

19:50, March 31, 2015

Marine Madatyan, Ani Hovhannisyan

50% of all the medical equipment now being used in Yerevan polyclinics
is at least 25 years old.

This troubling fact is evidenced by a list of the equipment that
Hetq has received from the Yerevan Municipality. It shows that half
the equipment now in use at the state run clinics was manufactured
between the 1950s and the 1980s.

The situation is even worse when it comes to x-ray machines. Over 70%
were built in the 1970s and 1980s.

Copy: | Create infographics

These Soviet leftovers periodically die off and are resuscitated. As
a result, citizens are often not able to avail themselves of the
free medical treatment at municipal polyclinics since the equipment
isn’t working.

When Hetq asked the municipality for permission to photography these
machines, we were told that we would only be allowed to visit six
polyclinics in Yerevan. The municipality argued that it wasn’t
convenient for us to visit the other clinics because they were
backlogged as a result of various medical promotions and discounts
launched by the municipality linked to the ongoing Women’s Month
in Armenia.

Hetq then went out and photographed x-ray machines being used at
Polyclinics # 15, 17, 19 and 20; at the Grigor Narekatsi Medical
Center; and the Karmir Blour Polyclinic.

Prior to the day of our visit, the Yerevan Municipality had forewarned
polyclinic heads not to provide additional information regarding the
working status of their equipment. Unfortunately, the municipality
does not provide such vital information to patients visiting these
polyclinics.

The Czech manufactured x-ray machine at Polyclinic 17, which serves
the Kentron and Erebouni districts of Yerevan, was working overtime
when we visited.

A patient who was about to get x-rayed told Hetq that he had broken
his foot months ago and had periodically arrived to get treated
but that the machine hadn’t been working on several occasions. The
lab assistant and radiologist Moushegh Stepanyan confirmed that the
25 year-old machine often broke down when used too much or due to
electricity fluctuations.

Polyclinic 17 Director Satenik Badalyan refused to comment. “They
told us just to let you take photos of the machine and nothing more,”
she said. According to the x-ray register, the machine services 15-20
patients on a daily average. It can reach forty when servicing military
conscripts or other state programs.

We photographed the oldest x-ray machine, built in 1976, at Polyclinic
15. This medical center services the Ajapnyak and Malatya-Sebastia
districts of Yerevan. Director Hakob Haroutyunyan told us the
municipality had promised to replace the machine.

“It’s not just a question of the machine, Haroutyunyan said. “We
must also have the conditions. I have taken out a loan to renovate
the unit a bit to accommodate a new one. Let’s see.”

Despite the machine’s age it is still in use. When Hetq asked about
the possibility that the machine might provide a wrong diagnosis,
Director Haroutyunyan answered that we were barking up the wrong tree
and that there were more important issues to be dealt with. He said
the government couldn’t resolve all of them at once.

We heard the same advice from Polyclinic 20 Director Edouard
Barseghyan. He too refused to comment on the equipment, arguing that
he is a Russian speaker. Despite this, he spoke to us at length on
the sidelines, but made it clear that he was doing so in a private
capacity. He wouldn’t speak on the record as the polyclinic’s director.

Given that the Yerevan Municipality only allowed us to photograph six
of the city’s 22 polyclinics, we were forced to find out something
about the remaining x-ray machines via the telephone.

It turns out that a majority of the machines registered at these
polyclinics only partially work. Others do not work at all. They have
broken down but are still listed as operating on the books.

For example, one of the two x-ray machines at Polyclinic 20 is just
taking up space. The only x-ray machine at Karmir Blour Polyclinic
doesn’t work either. When we visited Karmir Blour, Director Nouneh
Avanesyan convened an emergency meeting of the staff. Neither Avanesyan
nor any of the doctors wished to respond to our questions.

The old machines that are still ‘breathing’ do not perform all medical
examinations. Examinations of spinal abnormalities in the waist area
are impossible with such equipment and patients must travel to private
clinics or hospitals.

If a state polyclinic cannot adequately examine patients due to a lack
of equipment they are obligated to send them to another polyclinic
in the network. This was confirmed by Knar Ghonyan, chief expert at
the Ministry of Health’s Outpatient Health Policy Division.

Russia has long since retired Soviet equipment still used in Armenia

In Russia, two government orders (1996, 1998) have retired medical
equipment manufactured in the 1970s to 1990s from operating in Moscow
polyclinics.

All components and parts, including precious metals, have been
handed over the Russian State Fund. The value of equipment retired
by the first decision was 12 billion rubles and 9 million rubles for
the second.

New medical equipment for Yerevan’s polyclinics

A total of 14 pieces of new medical equipment (including 2 x-rays,
5 ultrasounds, 2 colposcopy machines and 4 immunoferment analyzers)
were purchased last year by the municipality for Yerevan’s polyclinics
at a cost of 75.886 million AMD (US$161,000). 100 million AMD had been
outlaid for expenditure but, according to the Yerevan Municipality,
some 24 million was held back.

This year the municipality plans to purchase five ultrasound machines,
ten blood analyzers, ten slit lamps and five colposcopy machines;
among others.

Five Yerevan polyclinics have received the new equipment in the first
quarter. According to a statement issued by the Yerevan municipality
Polyclinics 1, 8 and 17, in addition to the Nor Arabkir Health
Center and the Sourb Astvatzatzin Medical Center have received modern
ultrasound machines.

Hetq has written to the municipality, asking what options are open
to patients who cannot receive free treatment at polyclinics due
to non-working equipment and who haven’t been directed to another
facility.

In the next installment of this series, Hetq will cover the radiation
risks posed by the old x-ray machines operating at Yerevan’s
polyclinics.

ARMENIA WELCOMES CYPRUS LAW CRIMINALIZING THE DENIAL OF GENOCIDE

14:53, 02 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenia has welcomed the criminalization of the Armenian Genocide
denial by Cyprus.

“Armenia welcomes the unanimous adoption of a bill criminalizing
the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Cyprus Parliament. This
is a symbolic event on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said
in a statement.

“By adopting this law, Cyprus made an important contribution to the
high mission of prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity,”
Minister Nalbandian stated.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND ITS RESPONSES IN RUSSIA: EXPO IN ST. PETERSBURG

11:23, 2 April, 2015

SAINT PETERSBURG, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: The exhibition “Armenian
Genocide and Russia’s cooperation” was held at the National Library of
the Russian Federation in Saint Petersburg, devoted to the centenary
of the Armenian Genocide. Armenpress correspondent in Saint Petersburg
informs that the exhibited materials tell about the wide response,
emerged by the crime of the century, committed by Turkey against
the Armenians.

During the years of the Genocide, the progressive intelligentsia of
Russia, expressing their anger, called to the Government, demanding
to condemn the crime, committed by Turkey, and provide material
assistance to thousands of victims and refugees. Around the country
relief unions, committees and councils are organized, the activists of
which start collecting and sending material assistance to the needy
Armenians. The activities of the Red Cross of Russia was especially
efficient for the Armenian refugees.

LOCAL POULTRY FACTORIES TO CATER FOR DOMESTIC MARKET DEMAND FOR EGGS AHEAD OF EASTER – ARMENIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTRY

YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. Armenia’s agriculture ministry released a
statement today saying that local poultry factories are able to cater
for domestic market demand for eggs ahead of Easter.

This year Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the holiday on April 5.

“Some 960,000 eggs, on average, are produced in the country every
day, and this is enough to satisfy consumer demand ahead of Easter,”
the ministry says in its statement.

According to the agriculture ministry, 730,000 eggs are consumed
every day in Armenia.

The ministry also says that no eggs were imported in the country in
recent days and no significant changes in prices are expected. –0—-

AZERBAIJAN GROSSLY VIOLATES THE NORMS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: KARABAKH MFA

16:35, 02 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Arsakh Foreign Ministry says the dissemination of the video message
of NKR Defense Army serviceman Andranik Grigoryan, who is in the
Azerbaijani captivity, is a violation of international humanitarian
law.

“By disseminating the video messages of Andranik Grigoryan, the first
of which was made public the next day after he was taken prisoner,
Azerbaijan grossly violates the norms of the international humanitarian
law, in particular, Article 13 of the Geneva Convention relative
to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, adopted on 12 August 1949,
protecting the prisoners of war from public curiosity,” the Ministry
said in comments toNews.am.

“Participating States of the Geneva conventions undertake to
respect and to ensure respect for the provisions of the Convention
in all circumstances. In the case of Azerbaijan, this provision is
particularly relevant, given the fact that violation of international
humanitarian law by the Azerbaijani side has already become
systematic,” the Ministry said.

“Outright disregard of the norms of international humanitarian law
by the Azerbaijani side is a challenge for the entire international
community, as abiding to them is the responsibility of the
international community as a whole,” it stated.

ARMENIA’S BRANDY PRODUCTION SLASHES BY 31.3% IN TWO MONTHS TO ABOUT 1.6 MILLION LITERS – NSS

YEREVAN, April 2. / ARKA /. Armenia’s brandy production slashed by
31.3% in the first two months of 2015 from the year before to about 1.6
million liters, according to the National Statistical Service (NSS).

According to official numbers, wine production increased by 31.2%
to 890,700 liters; vodka production increased by 12% to 1.6 million
liters, while production of champagne fell to 27,300 liters form
50,600 liters in January-February 2014.

Production of beer in the first two months of this year was said to
have fallen by 15 percent to about 1.5 million liters. Production of
non-alcoholic beverages grew by 25.4% to 8.4 million liters. -0-

ARMENIA’S EXPORTS DECLINED BY ABOUT 25 PERCENT – VAZGEN SAFARYAN

17:14 02/04/2015 >> ECONOMY

Armenia’s exports have declined by about 25 percent and imports by
26 percent, and this is a cause for concern, Vazgen Safaryan, head
of the Union of Native Producers of Armenia, told a news conference
on Thursday.

According to him, this situation is due to the depreciation of the
Russian ruble.

“Our union together with the Public Council has initiated measures to
find ways out of this situation. A meeting will be held tomorrow with
the participation of Armenian businessmen to discuss matters related
to tax and credit sectors,” Safaryan said, adding that subsequently,
all the views will be presented to the government and, if necessary,
also to the President.

Source: Panorama.am

SPARKS FLY WHEN TURKISH PROTESTORS INTERRUPT PROGRAM ON GENOCIDE

NEWS | APRIL 2, 2015 1:01 PM
________________________________

>From left, Prof. Simon Payaslian, Marc A. Mamigonian and Prof. James
R. Russell with protestors

Prof. James R. Russell

Sparks Fly When Turkish Protestors Interrupt Program on Armenian
Genocide By Alin K. Gregorian Mirror-Spectator Staff

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School
of Government on March 25 on the links between the Armenian Genocide
and the Holocaust became uncharacteristically boisterous after about
a dozen protestors held up anti-Armenian signs.

The program, titled “Armenia 1915-Auschwitz 1945: Small Nations and
Great Powers,” featured Dr. Simon Payaslian, Charles K. and Elisabeth
M. Kenosian Professor of Modern Armenian History and Literature,
Department of History, Boston University; Marc A. Mamigonian, director
of Academic Affairs at National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research; and Dr. James R. Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian
Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations,
Harvard University.

Russell, though not a historian, approached the issue of the Armenian
Genocide as a Jewish American who had lost many family members in the
Holocaust in Salonika and Ukraine, as well as the foremost scholar
of modern and classical Armenian in the US.

He spoke poetically and with deep and touching emotion about
his current project, a translation of poems by Misak Medzarents,
a Western-Armenian poet who had died at age 22 in 1908 before the
Genocide was launched. He compared the young poet’s works to Edgar
Allen Poe, among others. He died from tuberculosis, brought on by
a serious injury he had suffered earlier in his life. This talented
young poet was also a translator of the works of Emerson and Oscar
Wilde in his native village of Pingian.

With passion and delicacy, he described the horrors visited upon
Armenians on April 24, 1915 and lamented the passing of an entire
generation of musicians, playwrights, poets and novelists.

“Misak was lucky,” he noted.

He said it is unbelievable that he is grateful that this talented young
artist died before suffering from the indignities and cruelties that
befell other Armenian artists and leaders in 1915, such as Komitas
Vartabed, the composer and ethnomusicologist who survived the Genocide
but went mad after seeing the results and never played another note.

He recited a Hebrew poem on sorrow and loss. He also recited a quote
from Avedis Aharonian, suggesting that the future generations cannot
be permitted to forget the evil which befell the Armenians.

Again, speaking of his personal experiences, he said he had been
visiting Poland as a young student when a local man spit on him and
called him a hateful name. He ended up visiting the Soviet Union
and the Soviet Republic of Armenia and fell in love with its history
and language.

He led the audience in “Hayr Mer,” or The Lord’s Prayer, in immaculate
Armenian, “in the language of Toumanian, Abovian and Misak Medzarents,
in memory of the Holy Martyrs.”

Upon the conclusion of his speech, the floor was opened to questions
and that is when a question on the veracity of the Genocide was posed
and all of a sudden about a dozen anti-Armenian signs went up. The
protestors, scattered throughout the room, would not put down the
signs, despite repeated requests from panelists and audience members.

While the Armenians and their supporters were shocked at the protest,
they kept the dialogue civil.

Again, Russell came out swinging, to the delight of the audience.

“Turkey today is like Nazi-Germany Light, if Nazi Germany had
survived,” he said. “It is beneath human contempt that you do this
at my university.”

He said that Germany admitted to the Holocaust “while it was dragged
kicking and screaming” to the Nuremberg Trials by the Allies after
World War II and now they are free to truly come to terms with
their past.

He suggested that those Turks protesting the event should “research
your heroes that helped the Armenians. Free yourselves and learn about
your history. Go to the Turkish interior and ask pious Muslims what
happened to the Armenians.”

Payaslian started off the program, speaking about the history of
Germany in the Ottoman Empire and rattling off information comparing
and contrasting the case of the Armenians and the Jews. He noted that
while several future Nazi leaders had served as military leaders in
the Ottoman Empire, and that they knew about the coordinated assault
on the population, it did not follow necessarily that the event served
as an example to future Nazi leaders.

He asked rhetorically, “Did Hitler really need a model to launch the
Final Solution?”

The answer seemed to be “no,” he concluded.

For Germany, he explained, Turkey was important as a gateway to the
Middle East.

While he noted the popular quote about Hitler, in which he said
that “Who today remembers the Armenians,” it is possible, he said,
that Hitler was along the line of leaders such as Pol Pot, Mao and
Stalin, who hit upon the idea for a “final solution” based on their
“previous military bureaucratic capabilities.” For such leaders,
he added, consequences were not taken into consideration and they
needed no examples for such measures.

Mamigonian took a more personal approach to the Armenian Genocide,
speaking about his own family history, including many members who were
slaughtered in Kharpert. “Denial says [they] never existed,” he said.

“The goal [of deniers] is to get the debate as if there are two sides.

They are building a Potemkin village of denial,” he added.

He compared the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the government
of Turkey and its allies and hired guns to the deniers hired by
tobacco firms in the 1950s to combat the findings of scientists who
had established links between smoking and cancer.

He said that deniers in both cases benefited from their liberal-minded
proponents of truth who were open to debating the situation, thus
sowing doubts in the minds of those unfamiliar with the issues. He
specifically referred to a new brand of historians for hire who are
paid to publish neutral-sounding literature on the subject. One
particular example he cited was Guenter Lewy, whose book by the
University of Utah Press, The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey:
A Disputed Genocide, makes it seem as if he is a fair arbiter, rather
than a denier, thus creating a “scholarly pseudo-debate.”

Mamigonian added, “The University of Utah is ground zero of Turkish
denial.” Their preferred line of argument is that the Armenians
suffered “a great disaster yet they were not wholly innocent victims.”

He stressed, “Academic integrity ought to be stressed and cherished.”

One audience member, a history professor at Salem State College, said,
“I did not think I would be a witness to genocide. Denial is the final
stage of genocide. It should weight very heavily on your conscience.

History is in the making at a very local level.”

Hovhannes Ghazaryan, a graduate student in the Mid-Career Master
in Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government,
served as moderator.

The event was co-sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School European Club,
the Harvard College Armenian Students Association, the Mashtots Chair
in Armenian Studies at Harvard and NAASR.