Author: Vardanian Garo

A1plus

| 16:17:06 | 24-04-2005 | Politics |

1.5 MILLION FLOWERS IN MEMORY OF 1.5 VICTIMS

90 years ago this day became one of the most tragic days in the history of
the Armenian people. 1.5 million of Armenians residing in Western Armenia
fell victims to the plan of Young Turks who deliberately set to eliminating
the Armenian people. About 800 thousand Armenians could escape. They found
shelter in Eastern Armenia and wandered off all over the world.

Today the Armenian Diaspora serves as an indelible evidence of the crime
against humanity perpetrated at the beginning of last century. The crime the
descendants of the Ottoman government deny till today.

Recognition and condemnation of the Genocide by Turkey is not only the issue
of moral and spiritual satisfaction for Armenians, but also a security issue
for today’s Armenia.

Every year this day Armenians all over the world visit the monuments to the
Genocide victims.

Today delegations from about 20 countries arrived in Armenia to take part in
the commemoration event.

Today 1.5 million people will go to Tsitsernakaberd to pay a tribute to the
memory of the Genocide victims.

1.5 million flowers will be laid to the eternal fire of memory.

1.5 million prayers will reach the sky.

1.5 million candles will be lighted.

And the heirs of 1.5 killed will remember the tragedy of their ancestors.

CHAIRWOMAN OF COMMISSION FOR INTER-PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
EU-AZERBAIJAN REFUTES INFORMATION THAT SESSION OF COMMISSION IN BAKU
WAS BROKEN

YEREVAN, APRIL 23. ARMINFO. Chairwoman of the Commission for
Inter-parliamentary Cooperation EU-South Caucasus Marie Anne Isler
Beguin has refuted the information of Azerbaijani Mass media that the
session of the Commission for Inter-parliamentary Cooperation
EU-Azerbaijan in Baku was broken and no final resolution was adopted.

Talking to ARMINFO, Marie Anne Isler Begiun has stated that the
session of the commission passed in a normal working atmosphere and a
relevant resolution was adopted. She promised to provide ARMINFO news
agency the text of the resolution within the nearest future for its
comparison with the resolution on Armenia adopted by the Commission on
April 14 in Strasbourg. To note, according to the Azerbaijani mass
media the resolution on Armenia adopted by the commission aroused
dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani party, which accused the commission
of pro-Armenian position. The resolution, in particular says, that the
South Caucasian states should refrain themselves from statements
contradicting to the policy of the EU and to exert maximum efforts for
peaceful resolution of the regional conflicts within the nearest
future. The document also says that Karabakh problem must be settled
taking into account international legal norms, including the principle
of peoples’ rights to self- determination. According to the document,
determination of the status of Nagorny Karabakh and provision of
guarantees of security to Nagorny Karabakh people must be pledge of
the Karabakh conflict’s settlement. The authors of the document also
express gratitude to the Armenian and Nagorny Karabakh authorities for
contribution to OSCE experts mission to the territories nearing
Nagorny Karabakh. The document also calls Turkey to lift the blockade
of the borders with Armenia and to recognize the facts of its
history. The authors also express satisfaction with the effective
economic policy of the Armenian authorities.

SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RECEIVES DELEGATION OF CANADIAN PARLIAMENT

YEREVAN, APRIL 23. ARMINFO. Issues of activation of bilateral
interstate and trade-economic relations between Armenia and Canada
were discussed during the meeting of Speaker of Armenian parliament
Arthur Baghdasarian with representatives of the delegation of the
parliament of Canada.

ARMINFO was informed in the press office of National Assembly of
Armenia, during the meeting the parties considered necessary to open
embassy of Canada in Armenia, which will promote the deepening of the
Armenian-Canadian relations. During the meeting Arthur Baghdasarian
expressed gratitude to the Canadian deputies for the Canadian
parliament’s adopting the resolution condemning Armenian Genocide in
Ottoman Turkey in 1915. It should be noted that the delegation of the
parliament of Canada is in Armenia to take part in the arrangements
dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

Agence France Presse
April 23 2005

Armenia to mark Ottoman slayings, pressure on Turkey to admit ‘genocide’

YEREVAN, April 23 (AFP) – 13h35 – Huge crowds of Armenians were
expected to descend on the capital Yerevan on Sunday to commemorate
the 90th anniversary of mass killings by Ottoman Turks, as pressure
mounted on Turkey to recognise the episode as genocide.

Organizers of a march predict that 1.5 million people, including
thousands of diaspora Armenians, will attend — getting on for half
of the population in this tiny Caucasus country on the eastern border
of Turkey.

The events being commemorated are the mass expulsion and mass deaths
of Christian Armenians in what was then the Ottoman Empire at the
time of World War I.

It was on April 24, 1915 that the Ottoman Turkish authorities
arrested some 200 Armenian community leaders in the start of what
Armenia and many other countries say was an organized genocidal
campaign to eliminate ethnic Armenians from the Ottoman Empire during
World War I.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of modern Turkey, was falling apart.

Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in “civil strife” during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

But this is not simply a debate over history.

The row over whether or not to call the killings genocide has
embarrassed Turkey as it readies for the start of European Union
accession talks later this year.

Armenian hopes that their mass march on Sunday will increase the
pressure seem to be bearing fruit.

On Saturday, the Conference of European Churches called on Turkey to
recognise the genocide claim.

The previous day, French President Jacques Chirac accompanied
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to a Paris monument for victims
of the massacre.

And in Germany, members of parliament from across the political
spectrum appealed to Turkey to accept the massacre of Armenians as
part of its history, saying this would help its EU aspirations.

Polish Nobel laureate and former president Lech Walesa went further,
saying Armenians had the right to demand that the European Union bar
Turkey from joining the bloc unless it admitted to genocide. “It is a
just claim of the Armenians,” he said.

Ankara responded to this week’s run-up to the anniversary with
apparently greater willingness to review its history.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed recently the
creation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to review the issue,
though officials expressed confidence that the study would confirm
Turkey’s current position.

“Turkey is ready to face its history, Turkey has no problem with its
history,” Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said.

The killings have already been acknowledged as genocide by a number
of countries, including France, Canada and Switzerland, but not by
Israel and the United States, which enjoy strong strategic relations
with Turkey.

Ankara recognized Armenia’s independence when it broke away from the
Soviet Union in 1991 but has refused to establish diplomatic
relations because of the genocide row.

In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with its close ally Azerbaijan, another ex-Soviet republic in the
Caucasus, which was at war with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave.

AZG Armenian Daily #073, 23/04/2005

Region

SAAKASHVILI TALKS OF WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES FROM GEORGIA

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian President, stated at the congress of the GUUAM
regional organization that Tbilisi and Kishinev should demand the withdrawal
of the Russian military stations from their countries.

“We have stopped being a part of the empire long ago. The forces of other
states can be located in the territory of other states only if the people of
those countries agree. I state that the people of Georgia are against the
military presence of Russia in our country,” Interfax cited the words of
Saakashvili.

The Russian military base 62 is located mainly in Akhalqalaki that is
inhabited by Armenians. While the 12th base is in Batumi. A part of Russian
forces is in Transdniestria that was separated from Moldova in the 90s after
an armed conflict. Recently Saakashvili didn’t exclude that the Russian
forces can be withdrawn from Georgia already in 2005.

Saakashvili voiced an opinion that “the member-states of the organization
should head for the US and EU,” as well as deepen the democratic processes
and make economic reforms.

Vladimir Woronin, President of Moldova, also expressed the hope that the
organization will more actively cooperate with the US and Europe.

The GUUAM was established in 1997. When the pro-western authorities came to
power in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova during the last few years, the
activities of the organization became more actual.

Obviously, the creation of the GUUAM within the framework of the CE aimed to
set it off against the CIS. When in Yerevan Russian President Vladimir Putin
called this organization “a useful club” that was established for “a
civilized divorce,” the presidents of the GUUAM member-states as well as the
West began strengthening the organization and increasing the efficiency of
its activities in the region.

This time the presidents of other, non-member states also participated at
the GUUAM Congress. Thus, the presidents of Lithuania and Romania arrived in
Kishinev. Steven Mann, special representative of the US State Department on
Eurasian Issues, and Jan Kubish, the OSCE Secretary General, were present at
GUUAM congress as well. Ilham Karimov, President of Uzbekistan, didn’t
arrive in Kishinev, while Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Moldova.

The membership of Uzbekistan in GUUAM is rather symbolic. Ilham Karimov is
more concerned about keeping his power than about cooperating with such
organizations, the member-sates of which faced “colorful revolutions”.

The warm relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, observed during the last
years, keeps Ilham Aliyev away from GUUAM, in some respect. Thus, if
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova openly speak of integrating into Europe,
Azerbaijan doesn’t consider GUUAM an opponent for the CIS.

New programs aimed to activization of the organization’s activities will be
represented at the Kishinev Congress. In particular, Givi Targamadze,
chairman of Defence and Security Committee at the Georgian parliament,
stated recently that the armed forces of the GUUAM member states can soon
replace the Russian peacekeepers in the conflict areas. It’s worth reminding
that the Russian peacekeepers are located in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict
territory, as well.

Although Moscow pretends that the activization of GUUAM doesn’t bother them,
it’s obvious that Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, three leading states of this
pro-Western organization, continue their efforts directed to weakening the
political, economic and military influence of Russia in their countries.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Skinheads took up arms

A1plus
| 15:29:47 | 21-04-2005 | Politics |

No incidents take place during the rallies of the opposition parties,
while the rallies organized by New Times party are rich with
instigations. When commenting on the fact leader of New Times Aram
Karapetyan said, “Let the oppositionists explain”. He is convinced
that the rallies organized by him in the regions are attended more
than those organized by other parties.

New Times members consider that yesterday’s incident in Sevan was
ordered by authorities however do not go into detail. Member of the
youth wing of the party, YSU student Gagik Petrosyan, who received
a gunshot wound, is in the medical center of Erebuni at the moment
and his health state is normal.

The party members have taken pictures of the instigators and assure
that they have nothing in common with the town of Sevan. Aram
Karapetyan considers that yesterday’s events are directly connected
with the shot at Hayk Babukhanian before the presidential election
in 2003. The offenders were not punished at that time, what caused
another series of violence. «Use of force does not testify of strong
power”, Aram Karapetyan resumed.

To note, before the meeting police officers paid a visit to some of the
party leaders while some employees of the local self-government bodies
called on people to warn them against participating in the rally.

–Boundary_(ID_f7dRYwiXz3AW5ZwnU8XLNg)–

Turkey, Armenia and the heavy burden of memories
By Charles Tannock

Taipei Times, Taiwan
April 23 2005

Saturday, Apr 23, 2005,Page 9

All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to
fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots now taking place
in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres
of 1915, ordered by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and
carried out by the Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but
one that must be treated if Turkey’s progress toward EU membership
is to proceed smoothly.

It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their
plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the
Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.

Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering
and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral
homelands. But many members of today’s thriving global Armenian
Diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral
historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.

It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey’s southeastern
provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed
place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in
the genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a
long history of violence between their own separatist forces and
the Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of
discrimination and forced assimilation.

Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most
progressive people in the East, but in the 19th century Armenia was
divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit
II organized the massacres of 1895 to 1897 but it was not until the
spring of 1915, under the cover of World War I, that the Young Turks’
nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true
genocide.

Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in
public hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus
deprived of their leaders, and soon after were massacred, with many
burned alive.

Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven months of 1915,
with the majority of the survivors deported to desert areas in Syria,
where they died from either starvation or disease. It is estimated
that 1.5 million people perished.

Recently, the Armenian Diaspora has been calling on Turkey to
face-up to its past and recognize its historic crime. Turkey’s
official line remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or
exaggerated claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from
combat against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces
during World War I, or as a result of disease and hunger during the
forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly
suffered similar casualties.

Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to besmirch
Turkey’s honor and impede its progress towards EU accession. There are
also understandable fears that diverging from the official line would
trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred against Germany.

For many politicians, particularly in the US, there is an unwillingness
to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its record as a
loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country.

But, despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of
Europe — ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom
of speech and conscience — Turkey still punishes as a crime against
national honor any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic
truth. Fortunately, this article of Turkey’s penal code is now due
for review and possible repeal.

Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and government,
mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally opening
the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession negotiations
are due to begin this October, has agreed to an impartial study by
academic historians, although he has reiterated his belief that the
genocide never occurred.

In France, the historical occurrence of the Armenian genocide is
enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence is regarded in the
same way as Holocaust denial.

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of
the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade
embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic
of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity.

Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on
continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined
the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This
is not healthy for the development of Armenia’s democracy and weak
economy. Nor does Armenia’s continued dependence on Russia bode well
for regional co-operation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling
in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan.

There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia, and the region.
The future will begin only when Turkey — like Germany in the past and
Serbia and Croatia now — repudiates its policy of denial and faces up
to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.

Charles Tannock is chairman of the European Parliament’s Human Rights
Committee.

March marks Armenian genocide
By Brooke Bryant

CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Posted on Thu, Apr. 21, 2005

FLORIN – Zabel Ekmekjian will finish her 215-mile trek on the steps
of the state Capitol today, but the 90-year-old quest that inspires
her is far from over.

The 63-year-old Moraga grandmother and more than a dozen
Armenian-American youths from across the state are on the last leg
of their 20-day march from Fresno to Sacramento to draw attention
to the 90th anniversary of what they say was a campaign of genocide
against Armenians.

At 11 a.m., they plan to end up at the Capitol to join a larger rally
with a dual purpose: to thank California legislators for officially
acknowledging the mass killings that began in April 1915 as genocide,
and to urge the U.S. government to do the same.

As many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Turkish authorities
during World War I in a campaign that many countries, including France
and Canada, recognize as genocide, but which Turkey denies. The United
States officially refers to the killings as a massacre.

Tuesday, as the group marched past sandwich shops and gas stations
in the suburban shopping centers of Florin, just a few miles from
their Sacramento destination, Ekmekjian struggled with her limited
English to find the words to describe how important it is for the
United States to recognize what happened to her people as genocide.

She held up one finger. “It is the most important thing,” march
coordinator Serouj Aprahamian, 23, translated for her. “We need to
feel as a community that this is recognized.”

Ekmekjian’s father saw his parents taken by Turkish soldiers and
his sisters adopted by a Muslim family and forced to convert. He
watched from a hiding place as soldiers shot his brother, who had
gone searching for food.

The killings stayed with her father his whole life. He was always
serious, always grieving for his family, Ekmekjian said. But he didn’t
talk much about those years, because he didn’t want his children
to grow up with the same memories that he had. “You stay happy,”
he told Ekmekjian.

When she saw a flier for the march, she knew at once she had to
take part. “Because … inside me, I have something I need to give,”
she said.

Organizers were dubious that Ekmekjian could get the requisite doctor’s
permission, Aprahamian said.

But she did. In fact, she has stayed hale and hearty the whole trip;
she hasn’t taken so much as an aspirin to relieve aching muscles,
she said proudly. “I think God help me.”

The march was organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, under the
auspices of a coalition created to plan commemorative activities for
the 90th anniversary.

The core group of 14 marchers, joined occasionally by others, has
walked along rural roads and through Central Valley cities since
setting out April 2. At night, marchers sleep in churches and
community centers.

The marchers try to stay in a straight line. At the head, one person
carries an Armenian flag, another an American flag. Farther back,
two more marchers carry a yellow banner that reads: “Turkey Tell The
Truth. Acknowledge The Genocide.”

The Turkish denial is “in a way, a continuation of the genocide,”
said Aprahamian, a recent Cal Poly Pomona graduate who said he is
marching in solidarity with his grandfather, who survived the killings
and was forced to march through the deserts to Syria as a young child.

“I always grew up hearing those stories,” Aprahamian said. The fact
that after all this time, there is “still no justice, it impels you
to do something. … It’s a big wound in the Armenian community.”

Across most of the world, that the Armenian people were subjected
to genocide isn’t a matter of debate, said Margaret Lavinia, a UC
Berkeley history professor who has researched the period extensively.

“It definitely falls under the United Nation’s definition of genocide,”
she said.

Congress debated a resolution to recognize the genocide in 2000,
but pulled it at the request of President Clinton, who was under
pressure from the Turkish government, she said.

Turkey concedes merely that some Armenians died when they were deported
to Syria by Turkish authorities, who feared they were collaborating
with invaders. Turkey also continues to put pressure on governments
that do acknowledge the genocide, Lavinia said, perhaps out of concern
that the government could be held liable for reparations.

Across the Bay Area this weekend, ceremonies commemorating the
killings will take place at several churches, and at San Francisco’s
Mt. Davidson Cross, now a memorial to the Armenian victims.

It’s an important anniversary for the Armenian community, a chance to
both remember and remind others of the “forgotten genocide, that’s
what we call it,” said Moraga resident Ed Minasian, whose parents
met and married in the United States after they both lost their first
spouses to the killings.

“There’s just a small, infinitesimal number of survivors. That’s why
this is such a big deal,” he said of the 90th anniversary. “Some of
us know we’re not going to be around for the 100th.”

For Ekmekjian, the march has meant more than just remembering the
previous generation. She said she has been inspired by the young
people around her.

“It makes her more confident that the new generation will carry the
torch,” Aprahamian said.

Armenian National Committee of Illinois
1701 North Greenwood Road
Glenview, IL 60026
Contact: Greg Bedian
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2005

Illinois Governor Blagojevich Designates April 24
“Armenian Martyrs Day”

Chicago, IL – On the occasion of the 90th anniversary
of the genocide of over 1.5 million Armenians at the
hands of the Ottoman Turks, Illinois Governor Rod
Blagojevich has issued a proclamation naming April 24,
2005, “Armenian Martyrs Day” in the state of Illinois.

“Armenian Americans across Illinois, from Chicago to
Granite City, deeply appreciate the Governor’s efforts
to mark the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide,” stated Greg Bedian, Chairperson of the
Armenian National Committee of Illinois. “It is
especially important to know that the people of
Illinois will be joining with Armenians and others
worldwide as we pause to remember this horrible
tragedy.”

Under the cover of WWI, the Turkish government
implemented a systematic plan to annihilate the
indigenous Armenian population of Turkey. From 1915
to 1923, over 1.5 million Armenians perished as a
result of massacre and deportation, resulting in the
complete erasure of over 3000 years of Armenian
existence an area which is now located in eastern
Turkey. Armenians traditionally commemorate the
Armenian Genocide on April 24 as it was the day when
the Turkish government set its plans into motion in
1915 by arresting several hundred prominent Armenians
including members of the Turkish parliament, newspaper
editors and political party leaders.

Blagojevich is the most recent in a long line of
Illinois governors who have issues similar
proclamations. Various other Illinois public figures
have also joined the Armenian community in remembering
the victims of the Armenian Genocide, including
Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Archdiocese and
Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas.

The proclamation will be officially presented to the
Armenian community on Saturday, April 23, 2005, at a
commemorative event held in Glenview, IL, honoring
genocide victims and survivors. Armenian Americans in
Illinois have organized a series of events throughout
the state to mark the date when the Turkish government
began its systematic annihilation of the indigenous
Armenian population of Turkey. Numerous events are
scheduled in Chicago, Glenview, Waukegan, Evanston,
Palos Heights as well as in Champaign-Urbana, Granite
City, and Fairview Heights in southern Illinois.

The Armenian National Committee of Illinois is a
grassroots public affairs organization serving to
inform, educate, and act on a wide range of issues
concerning Armenian Americans throughout the state of
Illinois.

———————————————
Text of Proclamation
———————————————

WHEREAS, the Armenian community, as well as the
global community, remembers the Armenian Genocide,
which occurred 90 years ago; and

WHEREAS, during this tragic historical period between
the years of 1915 and 1923, Armenians were forced to
witness the genocide of their loved ones, and the loss
of their ancestral homelands; and

WHEREAS, this extermination and forced relocation of
over 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks is
recognized every year; and

WHEREAS, Armenians continue to be a people full of
hope, courage, faith and pride in their heritage,
working together to rebuild a firm foundation for
Armenia; and

WHEREAS, many of the fifteen-thousand
Armenian-Americans in Illinois are descendents or
survivors of the Armenian genocide, and have been
forthright in their efforts to preserve their culture,
heritage and language, while contributing much to our
state and our nation ‘s diverse society and economy;
and

WHEREAS, both recognition and education concerning
past atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide is
crucial in the prevention of future crimes against
humanity:

THEREFORE, I, Rod Blagojevich, Governor of the State
of Illinois, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2005 as
ARMENIAN MARTYRS DAY in Illinois, in honor of the 90th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the Great Seal of the State of Illinois to be
affixed. Done at the Capitol, in the City of
Springfield, this eleventh day of March, in the Year
of Our Lord two thousand and five, and of the State of
Illinois the one hundred and eighty-seventh.

Rod Blagojevich
GOVERNOR

Jesse White
SECRETARY OF STATE

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 21, 2005

AGBU HONORS ANTRANIG DANCE ENSEMBLE AND ARMENINE SAPAH-GULIAN
Generation of Performers Gather to Pay Tribute to Founding Member

New York, NY – Close to 150 former and current dancers, as well as
supporters and friends came together on April 1, 2005, at the Rockleigh
Country Club in New Jersey to honor the AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble
and Mrs. Armenine Sapah-Gulian, a founding member of the Ensemble
and an AGBU Life Member. In addition to a festive evening of dinner
and dancing, guests enjoyed a special program that paid tribute to
the Ensemble’s 35th Anniversary and Mrs. Sapah-Gulian’s 70 years of
service to both the Union and Antranig.

Mr. Robert Doramajian, Chairperson of the Ensemble Committee, acted
as Master of Ceremonies. Starting the program off on a high note,
he presented a recording of the voice of Mr. Gagik Karapetian
from Armenia, the Ensemble Choreographer, who congratulated
Mrs. Sapah-Gulian on this momentous occasion.

In her address to guests, Artistic Director of the Ensemble,
Mrs. Joyce Tamesian-Shenloogian, recalled wonderful memories with
Mrs. Sapah-Gulian. Beginning as a back row dancer in the early 1970s
and progressing on to become a soloist, then Assistant Dance Director
and now Artistic Director, Mrs. Shenloogian has continued to work
with Mrs. Sapah-Gulian for over thirty years, longer than anyone in
the group. She also highlighted the many different generations of
dancers that have participated in the Ensemble and recognized several
performers from each era who were present that night.

Mr. Randy Sapah-Gulian, son of Mrs. Sapah-Gulian, remarked on his
mother’s tireless efforts and countless sacrifices over the decades
to assist the Ensemble as it moved forward, addressing any obstacle
they encountered, no matter how large or small. He emphasized that
his mother believed in working on behalf of the youth and making a
difference in their lives. Mr. Sapah-Gulian also commented that the
Antranig Dance Ensemble has been a catalyst “that binds us to AGBU”
and recalled his first days as a dancer attending weekly rehearsals.

Surrounded by several members of her family including her son,
daughter-in-law and three granddaughters, in addition to Mrs. Vera
Setrakian, Mrs. Anita Anserian, AGBU Director of Central Board Programs
and other AGBU friends, Mrs. Sapah-Gulian stepped onto the podium
with a standing ovation. She thanked AGBU and its President, Mr. Berge
Setrakian, for recognizing the Ensemble’s milestone anniversary.

She went on to share with guests a few anecdotes about how she
became a member of the AGBU Executive Central Committee of America
and was chosen to chair the Youth Activities Committee in the United
States. This youth-oriented position led her, along with a few other
dedicated AGBU members, to the founding of the AGBU Antranig Dance
Ensemble. She noted that one of the primary reasons for starting
the Ensemble was due to her forte in dance, and her dedication
and love for the group was evident among the guests present, even
after thirty-five years. Mrs. Sapah-Gulian also remembered her late
husband, Vart, who was like an uncle to all the dancers. He joined
her at hundreds of rehearsals and never missed a major performance,
regardless of where it took place.

Going back to the year 1971, AGBU President, Mr. Berge Setrakian,
recounted his first meeting Mrs. Sapah-Gulian in Beirut, Lebanon, at
the AGBU Regional Games. He recounted how impressed he was with her
vitality and commitment to the organization at that time and how he is
even more impressed with her voluntary devotion to the Ensemble today.

After presenting Mrs. Sapah-Gulian with a token of appreciation from
AGBU, Mr. Setrakian addressed guests by thanking them for their
dedication not only to the Ensemble, but also to their Armenian
culture. He noted that Antranig has been one of the pioneer AGBU
programs that attracted large numbers of youth to the Union and
this is an important factor in judging the success of the dance
group. Hundreds of young Armenians believe in their heritage and this
is why the Ensemble is where it is today. Moreover, Mr. Setrakian
stressed the importance of all programs within AGBU working together
to further the organization’s mission and ensure the preservation of
the Armenian identity among young Armenians throughout the world.

Before concluding the evening’s program, Mr. Doramajian announced
that the Ensemble wanted to demonstrate its appreciation to
Mrs. Sapah-Gulian and her endless efforts “through what we do best,
and that is dance”. In a matter of moments, dozens of Antranig
dancers from every generation took over the dance floor for a surprise
performance. With their energy and fervor still intact, they presented
one of their classic line dances to delighted guests, who applauded
their efforts with sincere enthusiasm.

For over thirty-five years, the AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble
() has dazzled thousands upon thousands of audiences
around the world with its full-length productions, exemplifying
the rich Armenian dance culture. Through a variety of folk dances
from different regions in Armenia, vibrant costumes and exceptional
choreography, the Ensemble continues to perpetuate the Armenian
heritage in support of AGBU’s mission.

AGBU is the largest Armenian non-profit organization in the world,
reaching out annually to 400,000 Armenians. For more information on
AGBU and its programs, please visit