The California Courier Online, May 31, 2012
Commentary
1 – Armenians Should Form a United Front
BeforeAny Negotiations With Turkey
ByHarut Sassounian
Publisher, the California Courier
2 – BakuHails NATO Statement Denounced By Yerevan
3- USC Friends of Armenian Music
Present`All-Star Concert,’ June 24
4- GenEdMarks Genocide Anniversary by
ProvidingInformation to USTeachers
5- 41st Annual Armenian Games
To beHeld June 15-17 in Fresno
6- Keyan School Marks Saroyan’s 104th
Birthdaywith Viewing of Kalinian’s Film
***********************************************************************
1 – ArmeniansShould Form a United Front
BeforeAny Negotiations With Turkey
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The CaliforniaCourier
My latest column on Turkish Foreign Minister AhmetDavutoglu’s efforts
to initiate a dialog with the Diaspora generated numerousreactions
from
both Armenians and Turks.
Turkish newspapers, TV stations, and websites gave extensivecoverage
to Davutoglu’s reported overtures to Armenians. The Turkish
medialinked the Foreign Minister’s initiative to Armenian plans for
thecommemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide in 2015.
Armenians posted dozens of comments on websites and facebookin
response to
my column which was circulated worldwide in English, Armenian,Turkish,
French, and Russian. The Armenian reaction was understandablyskeptical
and cautious. Armenian government officials quietly followed
thereports on Davutoglu’s meetings without making any public comment,
while theArmenian press in Istanbulsimply reprinted what the Turkish
media had published on this topic.
Armenian readers raised two key issues: Who would representthe
Diaspora if
and when Armenians start negotiating with Turkey, and what should be
thespecific Armenian demands from the Turkish government?
These are highly complex issues deserving seriousconsideration by
Armenians worldwide. Ideally, Diaspora representatives shouldbe
selected through elections in various countries, as proposed in my
earliercolumns. Those elected would have the right to represent
Diaspora Armenians inany negotiations.
These representatives would have to coordinate theirdecisions and
actions with the Armenian government, particularly on thecritical
issue of negotiating with Turkey, by forming a jointdelegation. As
Armenians learned from the recent fiasco of the
Armenia-TurkeyProtocols, it would be unthinkable to reach a settlement
with Turkey without the participation and agreementof both Armeniaand
the Diaspora.
In the absence of an elected Diasporan structure,representatives of
the three main Armenian political parties, jointly with theArmenian
government, could take the lead in forming a single negotiating
team.To make the delegation more inclusive, several major community
organizationsand prominent individuals could be asked to join,
including representatives ofArmenians in Turkey.
Another critical issue is framing the agenda of negotiationswith
Turkish officials. What are the Armenians’ concrete demands from
Turkey?This
is an extremely serious and sensitive matter that requires in
depthknowledge of the Armenian Cause and expertise in negotiating
strategies andtactics.
It would be instructive for Armenians to review how Israeland 23 major
Jewish organizations came together as the
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, toobtain
restitution
for Holocaust victims; and how these organizationscoordinated their
positions with the State of Israel which signed a separateReparations
Agreement with West Germany? Over the years, as a result of
theircollaborative efforts, the coalition of Jewish Diaspora
organizations and Israel received more than $70 billion dollars
inrestitution from Germany.
Additional lessons could be learned from examples offinancial
settlements resulting from mass torts, asbestos exposure and
productliability, and claims arising from destruction of the World
Trade Center and the Gulf oilspill.
There is, however, a significant difference between theHolocaust and
the Armenian Genocide. While the Jewish people were exterminatedin
European countries under Nazi rule, Armenians were massacred and
forcefullydriven from their ancestral homeland. Therefore, no amount
of monetary paymentwill fully
compensate Armenians for the loss of their historic
lands. Armeniansshould
seek not only compensation for their personal losses, but also
thereturn of Western Armenia as arbitrated by Pres. Woodrow Wilson —
a claim Turkeyhas repeatedly rejected.
Should serious negotiations materialize, the joint Armeniandelegation
could ask Turkeyto take the following preliminary actions to show its
good faith:
— Compensate all Genocide victims;
— Rebuild and return all religious sites to the ArmenianPatriarchate
of Istanbul;
— Return all confiscated private and community propertiesto their
Armenian owners;
— Provide the Republicof Armenia with special access to theTurkish
port of Trabzon for commercial purposes;
— Give Armenians visa-free entry to Ararat, Ani, and otherArmenian
historical sites in Turkey;
— Lift the blockade of Armenia;
— End Turkey’sofficial policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide and
annul Article 301 of theTurkish Penal Code;
— Refrain from all hostile policies directed against Armeniaand
Artsakh (Karabagh).
These measures, if agreed upon, would represent significantprogress in
the
pursuit of Armenian claims from Turkey, whereas the issue
ofterritorial restitution could be addressed separately through
internationallegal action.
***********************************************************************
2 – Baku Hails NATO Statement Denounced by Yerevan
BAKU (Azatutyun.am) – Azerbaijan on Tuesday welcomed a
declarationadopted at the NATO summit in Chicago, sayingthat it
endorsed Baku’sposition on the unresolved Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.
Elman Abdullayev, a spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister,
pointed tothe declaration’s support for the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and otherformer Soviet republics locked in territorial and
ethnic disputes.
`The fact that the statement was signed by major international
playerstestifies to serious [NATO] support for Azerbaijan’s just cause
in theNagorno-Karabakh conflict,’ the Trend news agency quoted
Abdullayev as saying.
The NATO document made no mention of people’s self-determination with
regard tothe Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute, a fact denounced by
Armenia.
Official Yerevan says this is the reason why PresidentSerzh Sarkisian
did not take part in the weekend summit unlike his
Azerbaijanicounterpart Ilham
Aliyev.
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who represented Armeniaat the
summit, argued in Chicago that theexisting international peace
proposals on Karabagh, jointly drafted by the United States, Franceand
Russia,are based on both
internationally recognized principles.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reaction came the day after a senior
aide
toAliyev accused NATO and other international structures of not doing
enough toaccelerate a Karabagh settlement. The official, Ali Hasanov,
claimed that they`lack the will to intervene’ in the conflict in a way
desired by Baku, according toAzerbaijani news agencies.
******************************************************************************
3 – USCFriends of Armenian Music
Present`All-Star Concert,’ June 24
LOS ANGELES – The Board of Directors of the USC Friends ofArmenian
Music announced that plans are underway for an `All Star Concert’ to
be held on June 24, at 3:00 p.m. at theZipper Concert Hall of the
Colburn School, 200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles.
The concert will feature the Armenian professional artistswho are
graduates of the USC Thornton School of Music and were recipients of
USCFriends Scholarship awards.
Many of the performers are well known to the Armeniancommunity and
include
Irene Arutyunyan, Garineh Avakian, SamvelChilingarian, Angela
Cholakian,
SarkisKazarian, Salpi Kerkonian, VatcheMankerian, Marina Manukian,
Lucy Nargizian, Peppron Pilibossian, Marina Ter Kazaryan and Garik
Terzian.
`We are pleased to share our pride in their successfulcareers,’ stated
USC FAM President Lily Balian, `and to provide the Armenian community,
as well as theAmerican community, an opportunity to witness first hand
the outstandingresults of our scholarship recipients.’
Irene Arathoon, member of the Board of Directors, has beenworking
closely with the artists to prepare the repertoire for the
vocalists,instrumentalists, and trio ensemble for the upcoming
performance.
The USC Friends of Armenian Music Endowed Scholarship Fundwas
established in 1984 and through the years has been augmented with
theDaughters of Vartan Scholarship Endowment (1986); Helen Mardigian
ScholarshipAward Endowment (1992); Audrey Babakhanian Gregor
Scholarship Award Endowment(1998); Anne Mills Scholarship Award
Endowment (2005); Seda MarootianScholarship Award Endowment (2007) and
Rose Ketchoyan Scholarship AwardEndowment (2007). The organization
continuesto raise funds to help promising Armenian students studying
at the USC ThorntonSchool of Music to further their education and
careers.
In 2012, approximately $15,000 from the endowment funds wereawarded to
ten
USC Thornton School of Music students. Through the years over
50students have benefited from the endowment funds.
Tickets for the concert are $50, $35, and $15. Sponsorships for the
concert are alsoavailable. For tickets and furtherinformation, please
contact Hilda (818) 249-3330; Rose (818) 788-5138 orDalita (626)
282-5295.
*****************************************************************************
4 – GenEd Marks Genocide Anniversary by
ProvidingInformation to USTeachers
SAN FRANCISCO- Marking the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
The Genocide EducationProject (GenEd) reached out to teachers and
community members, reminding themof the importance of expanding
instruction about the first genocide of the 20thcentury into more
school classrooms.
GenEd’s commemorative initiatives culminated in hostingthe April 30
presentation by Prof. UÄ=9Fur Ã=9Cngör on Turkey’s seizure of
Armenianproperty during and after the Armenian Genocide (see below for
online link tovideo.)
GenEd contacted thousands of teachers, offering lessonplans and a
variety of teaching resources, noting the opportunity to tie
thecoursework to the anniversary of the beginning of the Genocide.
Shant Hogopian, representing GenEd, spoke to students atUC Riverside,
and GenEd Southern California Regional Director, SuzanneDouzmanian,
spoke to members of the Pasadena Armenia Relief Society and membersof
the Knights of Vartan, about the scope of GenEd’s work, making
ArmenianGenocide education part of school curriculums.
GenEd Executive Director, Raffi Momjian, was keynotespeaker at the Bay
Area Armenian Genocide Commemoration at Mt. Davidson Crossin San
Francisco.
`By bringing the lessons of the Armenian Genocide into
America’sclassrooms, we feel we commemorate the Armenian Genocide in a
practical andlasting way every day of the year,’ said Momjian. `With
every high schoolteacher that teaches the Armenian Genocide, we reach
at least 100 students eachyear. We work towards the day when
everystudent in the country will graduate from high school with an
understanding ofthe Armenian Genocide and the pattern of genocides
that followed.’
Quoting former United States president JamesGarfield, Momjian said,
=80=9CNext in importance to freedom and justice is populareducation,
without which neither freedom nor justice can be maintained.’
GenEd hosted a presentation in San Francisco by Prof. UÄ=9Fur
Ã=9Cngör about theTurkish government’s confiscation of properties
during and after the ArmenianGenocide.
Ã=9Cngör’s lecture was based on his two recent books,”The Making of
Modern Turkey”, which addresses how Western Armeniabecame part of the
Turkish state, and “Confiscation and Destruction”,about
Turkey’sseizure of Armenian Property.
Based on a decade of research on a range of unexaminedrecords,
Ã=9Cngör argued that the Armenian Genocide was not one process
ofdeportations and massacres, but that it encompassed a range of at
least eightdestruction
policies. He offered insights into the economic ramifications ofthe
genocide and how the plunder was organized and carried out. He also
showedhow this systematic destruction of the Armenian nation on its
historic homelandalso paved the way for the modern Turkish nation
state.
Ã=9Cngör described how the Turkish government carried outvery
elaborate and labor intensive methods to confiscate Armenian
propertiesand businesses, enriching members of the Turkish government
and military elite.He said properties were also given to Muslim
refugees brought to resettleArmenian lands. The properties also served
to finance the government’s needs,including the costs of the
deportations of Armenians during the Genocide.
Ã=9Cngör spoke about particular families, like thePirincczade family
of Diyarbekir, who benefited enormously from confiscationsof Armenian
properties, especially those of previously Armenian-ownedsuccessful
copper factories. He pointedout how the list of the members of the
Diyarbekir chamber of commerce in 1935there was a `completoverlap with
genocide perpetrators.’ He said, `So, thisreally is the Turkish
national
economy in a way. This was the project thatTalaat Pasha had in mind,
and he succeeded.’
Prof. Ã=9Cngör is assistant professor of history at Utrecht
Universityin the Netherlands.He is also a researcher at the
university’s Center for Holocaust and GenocideStudies and is a regular
contributor to the
Armenian Weekly newspaper. Ã=9Cngör received his PhD in Holocaust
andGenocide Studies in 2009 from the University of Amsterdam. He is
of Turkish descent, born in Turkey and raised in Europe.
The entire presentation with slides can be viewed at:
***************************************************************************
5 – 41stAnnual Armenian Games
To beHeld June 15-17 in Fresno
FRESNO, CA – Armenian athletes of all ages aregetting ready to
participate
in the 41st Annual Armenian SummerGames. The 2012 Games will include
basketball and volleyball, exhibitionsoftball, tennis and track &
field. All events will be held the weekend of June 15-17 at Clovis
NorthHigh School in Fresno, CA. Registration and details areavailable
on the website: armeniansummergames.com.
`Planning is well underway for another great year ofcompetition’
proclaims Van Der Mugrdechian, President of the Western
ArmenianAthletic Association, `many people who participated as
youngsters are nowcoming back along with their kids to compete and
enjoy the fellowship.’
One of these former participants is Lance Hairabedian, whosefather,
the late Dr. Ara Hairabedian, was a participant and
enthusiasticsupporter of what
started out as the Armenian Olympics in Hayward, CA. Lance explains
that “the Armenian SummerGames provided me with an opportunity to
compete in track and field at youngage. It combined a healthy
competition against other Armenian athletes andfellowship that has
lasted a lifetime.”
Since its formation in 1969, the Armenian Summer Games hasestablished
a fun-filled tradition of providing athletic competition forArmenian
athletes young and old. It isopen to individuals who have at least
one parent who is
of Armenian descent orwhose spouse is Armenian. Teams can represent
any Armenian organization.
As part of their registration fee all athletes will receiveand
official Armenian Summer Games t-shirt and a delicious meal at the
SummerGames picnic.
First through third place finishers will receive a uniqueArmenian
Summer Games medallion. Family and friends are welcome to attend
thecompetition at no charge and can purchase picnic tickets on site.
The Armenian Summer Games continues to provide a uniqueopportunity to
see talented Armenian athletes ranging from young children toenergetic
seniors.
As Rena Rutledge, who has been bringing her three childrento the games
explains, `It strengthened interestin our Armenian culture & faith,
created bonds of friendships that can lasta lifetime, created a true
sense of
pride of our heritage and left us with agreater attachment to our
Armenian
Community, and just plain ol’ fun!
The Armenian Summer Games are a great union of sports andthe Armenian
spirit. Contact them at [email protected]
***************************************************************************
6 – KeyanSchool Marks Saroyan’s 104th
Birthdaywith Viewing of Kalinian’s Film
CLOVIS/FRESNO—The Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School celebrated
the
104thbirthday of acclaimed writer and native son of Fresno William
Saroyan
with aviewing of the award winning documentary Saroyan,the Man, the
Writer. CKACS students and families welcomed the film’swriter/director
Paul Kalinian and his daughter and producer Dr. SusieKalinian.
As described in his essay How I Shot Saroyan, photographer Paul
Kalinian remembered how in1976 he first met Saroyan at the studio of
the Varaz Samuelian, the notedsculptor of Fresno’sDavid of Sassoon
statue. Saroyan
atfirst refused to be photographed, telling Kalinian to `get lost.’
In the end, the photographer’s persistencewon out. Kalinian gained
Saroyan’s trustand, with his camera, captured the essence of the 67
year old author in aseries of portraits. In 1991, one of
thephotographs from this collection was adapted into commemorative
stamps in boththe United States and Soviet Union.
The evening program included a translated recitation inArmenian of
Saroyan’s short story TheArmenian and the Armenian by CKACS 5th and
6thgraders. Younger students also readtheir own stories about Saroyan
and their
aspirations of becoming writers.
Winner of the 1995 Gold Award, Saroyan, the Man,The Writer is an
excellent
biographical accountfor both Saroyan aficionados and those unfamiliar
with
the life of the author,playwright, and humanitarian. Increating the
film,
the Kalinians gathered numerous photos and memorabilia ofhistorical
Fresnoand Saroyan’s career. These still imagesare complimented by
home movies clips from his family life and travels to Armeniaas well
as by Susie Kalinian’s touching recreations of Saroyan’schildhood.
Actor Mike Connor narratesthe documentary, although a good portion of
the film’s audio is Saroyanhimself-speaking in both English and
Armenian in recorded interviews.
Following the film, the Kalinians entertained questionsfrom the
students and parents and presented the school with one of the
originalSaroyan portraits from the 1976 album. .
******************************************************************
The California Courier Online provides viewers of the GroongNews
Service with a few of the articles on that week’s issue of The
CaliforniaCourier. Letters to the editor areencouraged. However,
authors are requested to provide their names, addresses,and/or
telephone numbers to verify identity, if any question
arises. CaliforniaCourier subscribers are requested not to use this
service to change, or modifymailing addresses. Those changes can be
made through our e-mail, [email protected], by phone,
(818)409-0949. Thank you.
******************************************************************
www.facebook.com/genedpro