Category: 2019

LOS ANGELES—Over 300 guests gathered at the California Club in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to pay tribute to AUA President Emeritus Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, who served as the fourth president of AUA from July 2014 to June 2019. The $350,000 raised at the event will go toward establishing the Armen & Nelly Der Kiureghian Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarships to young veterans returning to AUA to continue their education. The scholarships available through this new fund will add another favorable dimension to the safe environment AUA provides for young veterans to smoothly transition back to student life and continue their studies, build a career, and grow to become responsible citizens of Armenia.

Co-chairs Lori Muncherian and Arsine Phillips welcomed the guests and, following the invocation by Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and Western Prelate Moushegh Mardirossian, Dr. Mary Papazian, President of San Jose State University, gave the opening remarks. Papazian applauded Dr. Der Kiureghian for his tireless efforts in many facets of university administration, making special reference to the memorandum of understanding signed between SJSU and AUA, by which SJSU hosted several AUA students this past summer along with a staff member from student affairs.

The next speaker was Sinan Sinanian, a member of the AGBU Council of Trustees and AUA Board of Trustees. For AGBU — as a founding supporter of the University — he considers AUA to be the most successful investment in Armenia.

A video presentation followed, highlighting the many accomplishments of AUA during Dr. Der Kiureghian’s tenure, including the launch and completion of the 100 Pillars campaign, the creation of the Entrepreneurship & Product Innovation Center, the start of three new degree programs, as well as the establishment of the offices of Student Affairs and Counseling. The video is available below.

A highlight of the evening, Arman Vardanyan, a veteran who is now a senior at AUA majoring in English and Communications, reflected on journey: “Every time I passed by the AUA buildings as a young teenager, I dreamt of becoming a student there one day. Well, dreams come true for those who dream but also take action. I did get admitted to AUA and I am now chasing my dream.”

When he was still a freshman at AUA, Vardanyan received the call of duty and had to put his studies on hold to serve in the military for two years. He was a soldier during the April 2016 Four-Day-War in Artsakh and served his country with dignity and honor. Upon return to AUA, he was grateful for the warm welcome and a full scholarship, which made his transition back to civilian life so much smoother. “That is when I felt the sense of belonging to a community that believes in me and has my back. I set my mind to study hard to become a better citizen of Armenia and also a citizen of the world. AUA has made this possible. I am surrounded and continually inspired by excellent administrators, outstanding faculty and staff at AUA, all of which I attribute to the tremendous leadership of Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian. On behalf of all my fellow students, and particularly in the name of the growing number of returning veterans, I extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Der Kiureghian for always staying focused on students.”

Der Kiureghian’s daughter, Naira, and son, Sebouh, added a personal touch to the evening when they talked about their father’s dedication to AUA. “A defining characteristic of my father has been his readiness to roll up his sleeves and make sacrifices when his homeland needed him,” noted Sebouh. “At the graduation party, I was amazed at how students were competing with each other for an opportunity to take selfies with him. Throughout my years in both undergraduate and graduate schools, I’ve never seen students so excited about their university president,” added Naira.

A surprise guest appearance was made by Armenian jazz pianist Vahagn Hayrapetyan, who entertained the attendees with beautiful musical renditions. Next at the podium was Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Pitts, chairman of the Board of Trustees of AUA. Pitts said that the Velvet Revolution had shifted the country toward a new path and that, “AUA has become the premier university in the region under Dr. Der Kiureghian’s leadership.” Among the many accomplishments of the University during Dr. Der Kiureghian’s tenure, Pitts acknowledged the continued support of those gathered and many other donors that have grown the “AUA endowment from $19.8 million to $61.6 million.”

Dr. Pitts then invited Dr. Der Kiureghian and his wife Nelly on stage, where he presented them with a beautiful sculpture by Michael Aram and a book of testimonies by many AUA faculty, staff, and students.

Noticeably overwhelmed, Dr. Der Kureghian thanked members of the organizing committee and the AUA Development team for putting together such a lovely evening. “It’s hard to put into words what I am feeling tonight,” he said. “I want to thank the Board of Trustees and all my colleagues at AUA for the amazing five years. We accomplished so much. But, I must say, that my greatest joy came from the interaction I had with the students and alumni.” He proceeded to give a brief history of when he and Dr. Mihran Agbabian visited Armenia after the 1988 earthquake and met with Yuri Sargsyan, Rector of Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, who said the best thing the diaspora could do for Armenia was to establish an American-style university in Armenia.

“With the help of many people, including Louise Manoogian Simone and later Stepan Karamardian, we requested assistance from UC’s President David Gardner. The affiliation with UC provided vital academic and administrative guidance including management of our endowment. I am proud to be a co-founder of AUA as well as its fourth president,” he said. “AUA is now internationally known and has students from 25 countries.”

Dr. Karin Markides, the new president of AUA concluded the evening by saying that she was honored to take on the role, and thanked everyone for attending the banquet and supporting AUA, especially the Veteran’s Campaign. “I am deeply honored to take on this torch, to lead the university to have the greatest impact in Armenia we possibly can. I want to thank Armen for doing everything possible to make this a smooth transition, so valuable for me but even more valuable for the students.”

Contributions to “Honoring Those Who Served: Investing in our Veterans Education” endowed scholarship fund can be made through the website or by email.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values. For more information about AUA and its donor opportunities, please visit the website.

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN
Part II

This is the continuation of the letter written by Armin T. Wegner to Franz Werfel in 1932, which is being published for the first time:

“Already in 1915 I became friends with Johannes Lepsius. As I traveled by train, from Constantinople through Asia Minor to Baghdad, I witnessed the entire deportation. I repeatedly sent material to Lepsius for his collection. I have lived in close relationship with Armenians and Turks for several years, and have spoken their language, albeit very imperfectly. Hiding under my stomach bandage, I smuggled the pictures that I had taken of the horror scenes in the desert. I transported them, at the risk of death, across the border along with the refugees’ letters to the American embassies.
In 1919, in a public event in Urania [a scientific society in Berlin], with the help of Johannes Lepsius, I showed the pictures in a sensational lecture. As a result, almost a pogrom broke out between the immigrant Armenians and Turks. Soon afterwards I published my book, ‘The Road of No Return’ (‘Der Weg Ohne Heimkehr’), revealing personal experiences from that time. I related most of the experiences from the days of the deportation, for my Armenian novel.

At short intervals, two more books were published — ‘In the House of Happiness,’ (‘Im Hause der Glückselligkeit’) and my ‘Turkish Novels,’ (‘Türkische Novellen’) which also include two stories from the persecution of Armenians. At about the same time, in 1921, my novella ‘The Storm on the Women’s Bath’ (‘Der Sturm auf das Frauenbad’) – the description of an Armenian massacre – appeared in the Berliner Tageblatt. In the same year I published the stenographic report ‘The Court Case of Talaat Pasha’ (‘Der Prozess Talaat Pascha’), to which I was invited, along with Johannes Lepsius and others, as a witness.

In 1925, I began to write my Armenian novel, which I had already planned during the war. The first announcements of the work can be found around the same time in the Kirschner, and in Albert Sörgel’s history of literature, where the book had been announced with the title ‘The Expulsion’ (‘Die Austreibung’). But, as I set out to portray the vast epic of deportation and extermination of an entire race of people, I soon realized that my work would be piecemeal if I confined myself to describing only the end of this tragedy.

So the work grew under my hand, more and more, beyond what I originally had planned. The entire fate of the people, and the struggles of the peoples of the Middle East, should be presented in it. The antagonism of races, religions and classes were laid bare. It was not my will, but the inner nature of that work, which became a four-volume novel. I’ll give you a short outline of the blueprint that I shared with the academy two years ago.

The first volume deals with the prehistory of the novel – the youth of the main hero, who was born in a small Asian town in 1890. In 1896, during the massacres of Abdul Hamid, he loses his parents and grows up an orphan in the Syrian orphanage in Jerusalem. The actual content of the first volume, then, describes life in a small Asian city, the contrast of the Turks and Armenians, their conflicting as well as common revolutionary activities, and it finally leads to Constantinople in the court of Abdul Hamid. This volume will be titled ‘In the Shadow of God.’

The second volume, titled ‘Eternal Hatred,’ leads first into the mountains of an Armenian village. It shows the differences between Kurds and Armenians, and finally depicts the outbreak of the revolution of 1908 in Asia Minor and Constantinople, the removal of Abdul Hamid and the victory of the Young Turks, and ends in a general fraternization and reconciliation of Turks and Armenians in the age of the Constitution.

The third volume, which will probably carry the title ‘The Scream of Ararat,’ begins with the outbreak of the World War. This volume will also contain the conversation between Lepsius and Enver Pasha, which Lepsius himself has so impressively recorded. The novel always shifts between the ruling classes, the leading authorities, and the people. The Young Turkish leaders, and the whole diplomacy of Europe, play their part. The book ends with the actual beginning of the deportation.

The fourth volume, titled ‘The Desert,’ then brings the extermination of the Armenian people in the steppes of Mesopotamia. This part also contains the scenes of those two thousand refugees who had rescued themselves on a mountain and were then brought to Egypt by a ship of the Entente – scenes that I suppose to be the inspiration for the title of your planned book, ‘The Forty Days Musa Dagh.’ An epilogue to the last volume describes the murder of Talaat Pasha in the streets of Berlin.

The entire work is expected to retain the repeatedly announced title ‘The Expulsion.’

Although I began writing the Novel as early as 1924, it was interrupted by my other poetic and journalistic works. In the years 1925 to 1927, the project matured to its full extent, and from the beginning of 1930, I had to start the whole work once again. In 1928 my novel ‘Moni’ (the novel of a two-year-old child) was published in the ‘Berliner Tageblatt.’ At the same time, I offered the book to the publishing house Zsolnay in Vienna (in March 1928), and declared my readiness for a contractual bond for my planned work in progress, the Armenian novel, as a great portrayal of people. But Zsolnay refused. I then signed a contract with the Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt in Stuttgart (in the spring of 1928), for my multi-volume novel on the Armenian deportation, and at that time I received a considerable advance.

The great economic hardship, the pressure to feed a family and the not quite satisfactory sales of my other books, slowed down my work. Driven by financial obligations, I had to accept extensive journalistic work, again and again, which required long trips to foreign countries. In 1930, Thomas Mann applied on my behalf to the Prussian Academy of the Arts (Section of Poetry), referring to my work. At his instigation, I submitted to the Academy a more detailed plan of my great Armenian novel. I enumerated the various stations of the above listed individual volumes. Fortunately, the academy gave me considerable support for this work. But unfortunately, all of these sums were not enough to allow me to labor on the huge work with peace of mind.”

“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave and eats a bread it does not harvest.” ― Gibran Kahlil Gibran, from “The Garden of The Prophet”

On the 30th anniversary of its founding in Fresno, California, the Armenian Technology Group, Inc., through its office in Armenia, officially registered its latest high yielding, high quality wheat seed variety with Armenia’s Seed Inspection and Quality Control Service. The seed was bestowed the name Arthazar, in memory of the founding chairman of the group, Dr. Arthur O. Hazarabedian, D.V.M. (1930 – 2003).

The selection of the seed is the result of years of research, during which A.T.G.’s staff set up trial plots in numerous locations throughout Armenia. The idea was to ensure that each wheat seed variety was suitable for planting in the various growing or climate zones of Armenia and, most importantly, would secure larger quantities of harvest per acre, while generating higher incomes for the growers.

“This is simply our gesture to express our gratitude to Dr. Hazarabedian and his group, who, despite having their own different professions, focused their attention on the most vulnerable segment of our economy,” stated the originator of the seed-naming concept, Gagik Mkerchyan, director of the A.T.G. Foundation in Armenia, who spearheaded the project. “The notion that Dr. Hazarabedian initiated in Armenia saved thousands of lives during the early years of independence, to say the least, and which continues to re-building the country’s Seed Bank,” he added.

“We now germinate the seed in our country and supply local grain growers with the highest quality seed available for Armenia’s climate. Needless to say, over the years we experimented with some 250 seed varieties, several of which already have been registered and start with A.T.G. acronyms. These are in circulation but, certainly, we had to select the best seed for the legacy of Dr. Hazarabedian,” said Mekhitar Grigoryan, head agronomist of the group.

“This is homage to the vision that Art and his colleagues had for the people of Armenia. By sharing Arthazar wheat seed with the grain growers we are spreading Art’s spirit and hope in Armenia’s heartland. We congratulate our staff for their dedication in continuing the organization’s mission,” stated Varoujan Der Simonian, Executive Director of A.T.G.

For a landlocked country like Armenia, food security is an integral part of national security. This vital issue becomes more apparent when Armenia’s geo-economic situation is taken into account. Since its inception in 1989, the founding members of the California based non-profit organization rebuilt Armenia’s agricultural infrastructure by focusing on the country’s wheat consumption needs.

While Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, some 80 percent of its grain consumption was being imported from Ukraine and Russia. Since then, Independence and the economic blockade made such transactions much more difficult and costly. Dependence on other countries for grain to feed its own people made Armenia much more vulnerable, while affecting, at the same time, its overall economic and political bargaining strength.

Reflecting on 30 years of service to the people of Armenia, Der Simonian said, “We give homage to all the A.T.G. board members and technical advisors — Dr. Arthur Hazarabedian, D.V.M., Dr. Robert Bushnell, Dr. Leon Garoyan, Dr. Jack Morse, Don Tounjes, Monte Bell, Roger Benton with an onlooker, and the local agronomist, Mekhitar Grigoryan, who planted the first wheat and alfalfa seed fields and trial plots near the epicenter of the earthquake-devastated city of Spitak.”

The supports of the U.S. Government entities were substantial during the following years. Through their means, in 1995 world experts in the wheat seed production, Dr. Warren Kronstad, Curt De Louche, Ph.D. and Dr. Richard Newberg, who had significant contribution in India’s Green Revolution, drafted the strategic map for A.T.G. to follow in increasing wheat production in Armenia. One of the key components is to insure the sustainability of the program was to propagate the breeder seed in consecutive years and thereby germinating foundation, registered, certified followed by common seed prior to making the harvest available to grain growers to be sown for milling or general consumption.

Certainly, the people of Armenia appreciate the support that they receive from friendly countries during natural disasters or economic blockade. However, in order for a country to sustain economic and social stability, particularly during crisis, it must be in position of producing substantial amount of its main food supply and be capable of feeding her population.

Subsequently, establishing a Seed bank is a vitally important component of having sustainable domestic seed production that could meet local climatic requirements and planting needs. Over the past two decades, A.T.G. had built its seed inventory reserve. However, several times, due to seed shortage or drought, A.T.G. distributed its seed supplies to the growers to sow their farms Currently, A.T.G., again, is in the process of re-building Armenia’s Seed Bank with locally generated seeds.

As the project evolved with technical advisors James Bouder, Ph.D., Mark Goodson and Roger Culver joining the group, the organization embarked on applied science methodology in setting up trial plots in seven growing zones in Armenia and Artsakh. A.T.G. took it on its own in carrying out the Research & Development process to select the most suitable and high yielding seed varieties with the potential of securing highest economic return on investment. These trial plots were scattered up to 30 locations each year. Over the past 30 years some 300 selected wheat, alfalfa, corn and other seed varieties obtained from International Maze and Wheat Improvement Organization, ICARDA, and other entities, were tested and only upon selecting the most suitable ones, made these varieties available to the grain growers.

The trial plots became the foundation upon which the Seed Multiplication Program was launched. The USDA Foreign Agricultural Services was a major contributor in this endeavor. The seed producers association was formed composed of A.T.G. affiliated farmers. These association members were trained by A.T.G. technical advisors to become specialized in propagating seed. Their continuous education included participating in more the 285 training seminars and field demonstration that A.T.G. had carried over the past 30 years.

“We follow the process by extensive trial of those varieties over a two years period. We carry all the risks, and only after ensuring the best seed varieties suitable for producing results at a given region, only then we make the seeds available to seed producing association members.” states Grigoryan, who remembers fondly working with the founding members in planting the first fields.

The lack of appreciation for the advantage of securing Armenia with its own domestically produced high yielding seeds moved the staff of Tigran Sargsyan’s administration to import and distribut large quantities of non-tested and poor quality wheat seed varieties from abroad to Armenian grain growers, which subsequently caused a major economic loss to the farmers and the country. (Please see A.T.G.’s statement dated July 12, 2010).

Maintaining quality control and industry standard are crucial for the growth of a healthy and sustainable seed being produced in the republic. Hence, in 2002 A.T.G. initiated and funded an independent quasi-government body of Seed Inspection and Quality Control purposes. The idea was twofold, first to create a systemic structure that will oversee the seed production in the country and thereby insure that industry standards are met, where the grain growers are offered quality seeds suitable for planting in their growing zones. Second, a functional seed inspection services will enhance the country’s standing in international market, by building trust and credibility, by issuing phytosenitary certificates for domestically produced products, and thereby adhere with international regulations and standards. This will help in opening new market opportunities for Armenian products.

“With the official registration of the new Arthazar wheat seed variety, we are pleased the Seed Inspection and Quality Control is functioning. Once our office makes the new variety available to the local grain growers, we anticipate it will generate higher production yield and increased of farm family income,” noted Dr. James Reynolds, President of A.T.G.

VEDI, Armenia (phys.org)—This summer, a team of researchers and students from the University of Hong Kong unearthed 3,000-year-old storage jars, animal bones, and fortress walls as they initiated the Ararat Plain Southeast Archaeological Project.

APSAP is a collaborative research project between HKU and the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Republic of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Peter J. Cobb, assistant professor in the Faculties of Education and Arts, directs the project in collaboration with Artur Petrosyan and Boris Gasparyan of the Armenian Institute. The Institute’s Hayk Azizbekyan helped coordinate all aspects of the project.

The project, expected to last for at least five years, aims at understanding human life and mobility in the ancient landscapes of the Near East. It investigates the area around Vedi, Armenia, at the southeast edge of the wide and fertile Ararat Plain.

This area has been a contact point between Turkey, Iran (Persia), and Russia over the past few centuries. It has always been an important transportation node, including on the famous Silk Road. Today, Armenia is one of the countries on the Belt and Road initiative.

“The Vedi river valley has formed an important transportation corridor throughout history, and we want to understand how people lived in and moved through this landscape in the past,” said Dr. Cobb.

HKU is one of the first universities from East Asia to help lead a major archaeological excavation in the Near East, a region traditionally receiving foreign research attention from only European and North American institutions. The international team this summer consisted of 15 researchers and students from Armenia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the United States.

The main focus was a major excavation at a site in the middle of the valley, called the Vedi Fortress. The site preserves huge ruined fortification walls up to 13 feet high, with a central rectangular defensive tower. Two long series of fortification walls protected an inner “keep” of a citadel. The walls date to the late Bronze and Iron Ages of 1500 to 500 BC. The site has been reused multiple times, including during the Medieval period 800 years ago.

The research team dug three trenches on the site, making exciting finds of huge storage jars, walls of buildings, and a variety of fascinating artifacts including animal bones discarded from meals.

Ivi Fung, studying history, said: “When I was identifying a pottery fragment in the sieve, I imagined what Bronze Age people put into the potteries, when I was surprised by a large skeleton of an animal head. I imagined how they got their food. When I brushed the stone wall, I imagined who they were defending against.”

Her professor, Dr. Cobb, added: “Archaeology allows us to learn about the daily life of humans in this region as we study everyday items like the bowls and cups used during meals. The trip also provided the opportunity for HKU students to have new experiences and adventures. As one example — some HKU students had never climbed a tree before, but they had an opportunity in this rural part of the world.”

Students from HKU and other universities visited the site from late May to late July, and worked together with Armenian archaeologists. They hiked to discover new sites, excavated some of them, and studied the ancient pottery and other objects found at the sites.

In the summer of 2020, the archaeological expedition to Armenia will be an official HKU experimental learning class: Cultural Heritage and Information in the Field (BBED6796). A collaborative teaching project with Ani Avagyan of the Education Department of the Armenian National Gallery will provide opportunities for HKU students to introduce archaeology to local schoolchildren.

LA CAÑADA, Calif.,—Sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America Greater Crescenta Valley Chapter, the musical performance “A Journey of Angels,” based on Dr. Kay Mouradian’s genocide memoir “My Mother’s Voice,” will take place at La Canada’s Lanterman Auditorium. The performance will be staged on Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m., at 4491 Cornishon Ave, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011. It is produced by an American creative team composed of book writer Brent Beerman, composer and lyricist Kathi Chaplar, and director Kay Cole.

The memoir tells a story of horrors experienced by a 14-year-old Armenian girl during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. By telling one family’s story about the tragedy of the Armenian nation, the author emphasizes that the tragedies of the past must never be forgotten for the sake of the future.

“Flora’s story is a symbol of hope. We all find hope in the struggle against all oppression and intolerance,” said book-writer Brent Beerman. “Her story, however, is more than a historical marker; it chronicles the life and journey of one Armenian town, focusing on one family, chronicling the persistence of one girl’s dream and the face of unspeakable atrocities. If we are to overcome future despots, then we must never forget what happened to Flora and to the Armenian people through the horror of genocide.”

Tickets can be purchased online, via email, or by texting 818.275.4897.

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

While it is not clear who will replace the abruptly fired John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, it can be said that his departure presents a reprieve for countries like Armenia, which were pressured by Bolton to change course to satisfy the United States agenda in the region.

Bolton famously visited Yerevan last year to impress upon Yerevan that the United States intended to strangle Iran with sanctions, pressured Armenia essentially to take sides, knowing full-well the importance of Yerevan’s unique and strategically important relations with Iran, its neighbor to the south.

He told Armenian authorities at the time to decisively resolve the Karabakh conflict, offering to sell arms directly to Yerevan, while telling Baku that the U.S. would repeal Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act—an amendment to the post-Soviet US assistance effort advanced by the Armenian National Committee of America and its wide grassroots network, restricting aid to Azerbaijan and Turkey until they lifted their blockades of Armenia.

What the new Armenian government was seeking from the United States was renewed dialogue on American investment in Armenia and ways to bolster the strategic U.S.-Armenia relations. Instead what Yerevan got from Bolton was an ultimatum. Bolton was also outspoken, and expressed his dismay about Yerevan’s assistance to Syria via the dispatch of a group of experts to Aleppo to primarily aid in demining efforts in that heavily Armenian-populated city.

At the time of Bolton’s visit to Yerevan, the ANCA spoke out against the U.S. priorities as set out by Bolton, especially as it concerned Azerbaijan and bolstering that military dictatorship to have an upper hand in regional politics.

“The ANCA will continue to press for strict enforcement of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which – as a matter of law, currently waived by the Administration – restricts certain forms of direct U.S. assistance, including offensive military hardware, to the Azerbaijani government. In light of Baku’s escalating aggression, the ANCA calls upon the White House to discontinue its Section 907 waivers and urges Congress to roll back its waiver authority for this law. Parallel to Section 907 enforcement issues, the ANCA is carefully tracking potential arms export control violations related to Azerbaijan, including the third-party sourcing of sensitive U.S. equipment, software, and services for drones and other weapons systems,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian immediately following Bolton’s remarks in Armenia last fall.

Good riddance to Bolton and his war-mongering agenda that has placed the men and women of the U.S. military in harm’s way and has threatened the security around the world and specifically in Armenia and the region.