WASHINGTON — New Members joined the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and more members co-sponsored the bipartisan Armenian Genocide resolution as a result of successful meetings led by the Armenian Assembly of America.
The Armenian Assembly, along with its state chairs and grassroots activists, met with a host of congressional offices to discuss strengthening US-Armenia relations, co-sponsoring House Resolution 296, and joining the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. As a result of these meetings, Representatives Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Katie Porter (D-CA), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) joined the Armenian Caucus, bringing it to 116 Members, and over 100 Members supporting H.Res.296.
“For years, the Armenian community’s vibrant culture has been an integral presence in Los Angeles and across the country. I’m honored to be a member of the Armenian Caucus and look forward to joining my colleagues in working on issues that matter to Armenian-Americans,” Barragan told the Armenian Assembly.
“As a new member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, I look forward to working with this bipartisan group of lawmakers as we build stronger economic, cultural, and diplomatic ties with the people of Armenia,” Spanberger said to the Armenian Assembly. “I’m also proud to represent many Armenian Americans across Virginia’s 7th district.”
Armenian Assembly Co-Chair Anthony Barsamian, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Armenian Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan, Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, and Armenian Assembly Massachusetts State Chair Herman and his wife Laura Purutyan
Throughout April and May, the Assembly met with numerous offices on Capitol Hill as well as in their districts, including Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Judy Chu (D-CA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Ann Kuster (D-NH), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Mike Levin (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Katie Porter (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Ross Spano (R-FL), Norma Torres (D-CA), and Rob Wittman (R-VA), among others.
Assembly’s State Chairs Herman and his wife Laura Purutyan from Massachusetts, Armineh Ghazarian from Maryland, Paul Sookiasian from Pennsylvania, Meganoosh Avakian from Virginia, along with members and supporters such as Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program participant Armen Kaprelian from Arizona and Drs. Alice and Ara Apkarian from Orange County, Calif. were instrumental in encouraging US Representatives to join the Armenian Caucus and co-sponsor the Armenian Genocide resolution.
Rep. Susie Lee, who also joined the Armenian Caucus earlier this year, stated: “Nevada’s Third District is unique thanks to our diversity and strong ties among different communities that call Southern Nevada home. I’m proud to join the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues so that we can continue advocating for the unique issues facing Armenia and continue to support Nevada’s Third District Armenian people.”
“Thanks to the efforts of our state chairs and activists, we are gaining momentum with more Representatives joining the Armenian Caucus and co-sponsoring the bipartisan Armenian Genocide resolution,” said Mariam Khaloyan, director of Congressional Relations at the Armenian Assembly. “To support the Armenian Assembly’s efforts, we encourage everyone to reach out to their elected officials as well as plan to attend the Armenian Assembly’s National Advocacy Conference this year, set for September 16-17,” she added.
MARGAHOVIT, Armenia — On June 15, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) opened the Charles G. Bilezikian Greenhouse in Margahovit Village, Lori. Attending the opening ceremony were the Bilezikian Family of Boston, ATP Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian and team, the Deputy Governor of Lori, the Head of Margahovit community, Margahovit school principal, and guests.
The greenhouse complex is situated beside the Michael and Virginia Ohanian Center for Environmental Studies, where more than 2,000 students are hosted annually. Features include a 250 square meter experimental greenhouse, a two-story building, and ATP’s first outdoor classroom.
The outdoor classroom will advance ATP’s environmental education programs and enable children to increase their practical knowledge of the environment. As a green space for active learning, it creates the opportunity to experience nature up close and personal so that students may value and come to love it. Students will build new skills, try their hands out at gardening, and actively monitor the progress of their work. They will also be able to do research projects and explore the ecosystems and biodiversity they find in their surroundings.
“Our students are ecstatic about this new space. We envision our outdoor trainings leading to the creation of similar green areas in schools where our students and teachers come from. This will greatly contribute to peer-to-peer education in communities,” says Environmental Education Program Manager Kristine Hovsepyan.
The new experimental greenhouse will enable ATP to grow healthier trees for forestry plantings and increase tree survival rates. The greenhouse has the capacity to produce around 30,000 seedlings annually. It is supported by the adjacent building, which includes a laboratory for seed quality testing, a storage room for seeds and plants, and a third room for staff. The upstairs floor serves as lodging, where visitors can spend the night and enjoy the magic Lori has to offer.
“ATP was one of Chuck’s favorite non-profits. He would be pleased to know that the greenhouse was built and that it is being dedicated to him. He always appreciated a good landscape. He would have been thrilled to participate in greening a country,” said Doreen Bilezikian, wife of the late Charles G. Bilezikian.
The greenhouse complex was gifted to ATP in memory of Charles G. Bilezikian, who was the son of Armenian immigrants from the Boston area. With his wife Doreen, Charles developed a successful business known as The Christmas Tree Shops. He was a generous philanthropist who loved Armenia and had a special place in his heart for Armenia Tree Project’s mission to use trees to improve the standard of living in Armenia. After his death in 2016, Charles’ wife and sons Gregory and Jeffrey decided to honor his commitment to a green Armenia by sponsoring this project in his memory.
“We are so grateful to the Bilezikian Family for funding this project as it will not only create new learning opportunities for our students and help develop Margahovit community, but also enhance the quality of our forests,” said Papelian.
Armenia Tree Project has planted more than 5,700,000 trees since its inception in 1994. It is one of the major tree planting programs in the country and in its 25 years has successfully established four nurseries, two environmental education centers, and has greened community areas in every province of Armenia as well as in Artsakh.
WASHINGTON (Guardian) — Donald Trump has not ruled out asking former White House strategist Steve Bannon to help run his 2020 presidential campaign, according to a new book about the Trump administration.
Bannon has recently been in Europe, seeking to boost populism across the continent. But judging by The Best People: Trump’s Cabinet and the Siege on Washington, a book by Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo News which was published this week, he could soon be on his way back to Washington. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Like Michael Wolff’s pair of books about the Trump campaign and White House, The Best People is heavily reliant on interviews with Bannon, demonstrating the former adviser’s continued influence in crafting public perceptions of Trump and Trumpism.
Last year, Bannon was banished from circles close to Trump after, among other things, he called the president’s eldest daughter “dumb as a brick” and his eldest son “treasonous” in Wolff’s first book, Fire and Fury.
But Nazaryan reveals that just in time for what looks to be a desperate re-election fight, and notwithstanding Bannon’s controversial comments to Wolff for his new book, Siege, Bannon appears to have returned to Trump’s good graces.
In an interview with Trump carried out in February 2019, Nazaryan asks the president if he would rehire Bannon, a former Breitbart News executive who has extolled the political usefulness of anger and fear, for his 2020 campaign.
Trump “almost welcomed” the idea, Nazaryan writes.
“I watched Bannon a few times, four or five times over the last six months,” Trump is quoted as saying. “Nobody says anything better about me right now than Bannon … I will say this. Bannon, there is nobody that has been more respectful of the job I’m doing than Steve Bannon.”
After Fire and Fury, Trump declared Bannon had “lost his mind” and the billionaire Breitbart backer Rebekah Mercer dumped Bannon as a beneficiary, leading to him losing his post at Breitbart. But Trump has also shown an elastic ability to make nice with former antagonists, from Ted Cruz to Kim Jong-un, particularly if they are willing to praise him in public.
In March, Bannon delivered a memorable reaction to special counsel Robert Mueller’s submission of his report on Russian election interference, links between Trump and Moscow and potential obstruction of justice by the president.
“It looks like they have nothing,” Bannon told Yahoo, predicting that Trump was “going to go full animal … come off the chains” and “use it [the Mueller report] to bludgeon” his political enemies.
Alexander Nazaryan
A return by Bannon could be politically significant. He has been credited with helping Trump sell voters on a dark vision of encroaching national apocalypse, an “American carnage” in the phrasing of the inaugural address Bannon co-wrote, deliverance from which only Trump can provide.
In the acknowledgments to Siege, Wolff calls Bannon “the man arguably most responsible for making [Trump] president”, a “Dr. Frankenstein” nursing “deep ambivalence about the monster he created” and “the Virgil anyone might be lucky to have as a guide for a descent into Trumpworld.”
In fact, Bannon remains in professional limbo and his remarks about Trump in Siege, including suggesting the Trump Organization could be described as “criminal”, may have steered his relationship with the president back towards the rocks. But Wolff’s descriptors are suited to Bannon’s grandiose sense of his might and mission.
“I’ve got my hands back on my weapons,” he said after leaving the White House in August 2017. “I built a f****ng machine at Breitbart. And now I’m about to go back, knowing what I know, and we’re about to rev that machine up. And rev it up we will do.”
Bannon left Breitbart but he remains capable of loosing off damaging shots. The Best People presents his version of Chris Christie’s work on the Trump transition, which has been presented favorably by the former New Jersey governor in his own book, Let Me Finish, and by the bestselling writer Michael Lewis.
Famously, Bannon was given the job of firing Christie. Nazarayan quotes Bannon trashing Christie’s transition plans as the work of aides he describes as “the New Jersey mafia” and wondering if the former governor’s aggrieved reaction to being fired shows him to be “psychologically f**ed up”.
“He’s not an adult in the way he thinks about things,” Bannon is quoted as saying. “I don’t know if it’s because he’s so grossly overweight or if it’s something else. There’s something that is psychologically not right with this guy.”
VENICE (Daily Mail) — Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan married Betty Vardanyan in a romantic ceremony in Venice, Italy on Monday, June 17.
The pair, 30, were the picture of true love when they boarded a water taxi to head to their wedding reception.
The newlyweds traveled by a gondola to their reception.
Betty, the daughter of Armenian politician Mikael Vardanyan, was every inch the blushing bride with her stunning ivory dress, glistening tiara and extravagant veil.
With the picturesque backdrop of the floating city, the lovebirds didn’t miss the opportunity to get stunning wedding photographs for the memory book.
Love was well and truly in the air as the newlyweds shared a smooch on the back of the boat, in front of three photographers.
The couple showed their close bond as they entwined their fingers while holding hands at the back of the boat together.
Crowds of people stopped to watch on as the footballer and his new bride enjoyed the ride in the private water taxi underneath the bridges of Venice.
The sports star excitedly posted a picture of the couple at the wedding venue after the ceremony, not wanting to wait long to share the happy news on Facebook.
Holding hands on the boat
Accompanied with a heart emoji, he wrote: “Marry me and stay with me forever.”
The newlyweds have previously kept their romance tightly under wraps and have yet to speak publicly about their love story.
It is known the couple decided to get engaged in November, only tying the knot just seven months later.
Their love story appears to be something of a whirlwind romance, with the pair first being linked in the summer of 2018.
YEREVAN (RFE-RL) — Russia’s ambassador to Armenia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan last week after meeting with the indicted former President Robert Kocharyan, a senior Armenian lawmaker revealed on Monday, June 17.
Ambassador Sergey Kopyrkin and Kocharyan met on Thursday nearly one month after the latter was controversially released from prison pending the outcome of his trial. The ex-president was charged with overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008 shortly after last year’s Armenian “velvet revolution.” He denies the accusations as politically motivated.
The Russian Embassy in Yerevan said Kopyrkin spoke to Kocharyan “within the framework of his regular meetings with representatives of social-political and business circles” of Armenia.
Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan dismissed this explanation on Sunday when he spoke at a congress of the ruling Civil Contract party. Mirzoyan said he does “not welcome” the meeting because Kocharyan is facing coup charges and cannot be considered a politician in these circumstances.
The pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, Ruben Rubinyan, similarly described Kopyrkin’s conversation with Kocharyan as “bewildering.” Rubinyan’s deputy, Hovannes Igityan, went farther, denouncing it as “ludicrous.”
“Look, newspapers write that Kocharyan is backed by Russia’s [ruling] elite,” Igityan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Kocharyan’s entourage is spreading such claims. In this context, the ambassador’s meeting was ludicrous to say the least.”
A pro-Western opposition parliamentarian, Arman Babajanyan, also deplored Kopyrkin’s meeting with Kocharyan at a session of the parliament committee attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigor Hovannisian. The latter insisted that the Russian envoy did not break the diplomatic protocol.
“The ambassador did not do anything wrong within the bounds of the diplomatic protocol and norms,” said Hovannisian. “That [meeting] cannot be deemed condemnable or be the subject of a special examination by our ministry.”
Rubinyan announced later in the day that he has discussed the matter with Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. “The minister informed me that in fact the Russian ambassador was invited on Friday to the Foreign Ministry where a conversation took place with the ambassador in the context of not interfering in Armenia’s internal affairs,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Deputy Minister Hovannisian did not speak about this at the committee meeting because at that point he did not have a permission to publicize the information,” added the lawmaker.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the prosecution of Kocharyan as well as other former Armenian officials shortly after the ex-president was first arrested in July 2018.
Kocharyan was set free in early August two weeks before Russian President Putin telephoned him to congratulate him on his 64th birthday anniversary. A spokesman for Putin said at the time that the two men “have been maintaining warm relations that are not influenced by any events taking place in Armenia.” Kocharyan, who ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, described the phone call as a show of “serious support” for him.
The ex-president was again arrested in December. Three weeks later, he received New Year greetings from Putin.
Kocharyan, his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgyan and two retired generals went on trial last month. The judge presiding over the trial, Davit Grigoryan, ordered Kocharyan released from jail five days later. The decision was strongly condemned by Pashinyan’s political allies and supporters.
GLENDALE — Dr. Hovsep and Hilda Fidanian, together with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Herb Albert School of Music, hosted a salon at their home to present Armenian classical and contemporary music performed by UCLA’s VEM Ensemble, composed of top graduate students at the school.
Prior to this intimate concert, guests enjoyed remarks from event hosts the Fidanians, Prof. Movses Pogossian, director of the Armenian Music Program, Professor of Composition Ian Krouse, former Academic Associate Dean of the UCLA School of Music, and Helen Haig, senior policy adviser for the late Gov. George Deukmejian.
Krouse, composer of Armenian Requiem, the first Armenian requiem ever created, declared: “We at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to host the groundbreaking and important Armenian Music Program, and will do everything we can to ensure it will thrive for many years to come.”
From left, Violinist Aiko Jimena Richter, Violist Morgan O’Shaughnessey, Diana Fidanian, Dr. Moves Pogossian, Mrs. Hilda Fidanian, Dr. Hovsep Fidanian, mezzo-soprano Danielle Segen, violinist Ji Eun Hwang, and cellist Jason Pegis
The guests responded enthusiastically to Pogossian’s vision for the Armenian Music Program, to the superb musical performances, and to UCLA’s strong support of Armenian culture. As one guest said, “I have been proud of being a UCLA Bruin countless times, but today sets a new high, thanks to the Armenian Music Program!”
Since 2013, Pogossian and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music have celebrated Armenian music and culture through the Armenian Music Program, which is dedicated to public outreach through community performances and scholarship opportunities for students. The cornerstone of the program, the VEM Ensemble, includes a group of music students who perform Armenian classical and contemporary music for community audiences.
The School of Music is working to grow the Armenian Music Program with increased class offerings, student scholarships, community performances, academic lectures, and publications.
WASHINGTON – The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mamadyarov, met on June 20 in Washington D.C. under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, following a January meeting in Paris and one in Moscow in April.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on June 14 announced that “Azerbaijan’s continuous deplorable violations of ceasefire and provocative actions in recent days, which caused human irreversible losses and led to a serious escalation of the situation on the Line of Contact, have created an unfavorable environment before the meeting. The actions of Azerbaijan, which are marked by the use of force and threat of use of force, hinder the establishment of an environment conducive to peace and thus undermine the advancement of the peace process.”
The current situation defines the priorities of the agenda of the upcoming meeting in Washington D.C.
DETROIT — Susan Kadian Gopigian was born and raised in Delray, a sprawling “neighborhood” of European immigrants with a large Armenian community. It was the new home for Armenians who survived the Armenian Genocide and the forced marches through Der Zor.
When asked what motivated her to dedicating a lifetime at writing and collecting an image of Armenian folklore and culture published this year in a 207-page hardcover masterpiece accurately titled Armenian Proverbs and Expressions smiled “my love for being an Armenian.”
And encouraged with the love of her late husband, Archie Gopigian, who supported her lifetime at fulfilling a project that came to life in Delray.
Kadi Kadian Gopigian an spent the 60 years collecting the Armenian proverbs starting in her early childhood and continued as a student at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Many of the proverbs heard on the porches of Cottrell, Harrington, Gould and Solvay streets. It was no easy project, but expressed the folklore history of Armenia and it was a child’s wish.
Why would an academically-talented Detroit public school teacher dedicate nearly a lifetime to a project that grew from its roots in Delray?
Kadian Gopigian’s answer needs to be shared with every Armenian from Delray to early Armenian neighborhoods in Fresno, Boston, Chicago, Racine, Granite City, Cleveland, Worcester, Watertown and New York. What unfolded in Delray, Kadian Gopigian etched into her gift to future generations in tracing their family history from the ancestral homeland to the New World.
In words which cloak every living Armenian across North America, a teary-eyed Kadian Gopigian said “I’m haunted by the experiences of my family members who lived through this and those who perished as victims of the 1915 genocide. We the children and grandchildren are their voices that though buried in the desert sand of Der Zor Desert. . . It’s as if their soundless voices rise up and remind me never to forget.”
Kadian Gopigian warmly said that “my love for Armenian folklore stems from my exposure to those immigrants.”
She also describes how West Jefferson was the hub of Delray — like Main Street USA. And Armenians toiled at Ford’s Rouge Plant, GM’s Ternstedt-Fleetwood plants, and Solvay Process and Zug Island in raising their families. In her opening prologue on the Delray community, she informs readers that the old Village of Delray was annexed to Detroit in 1905 after being named Delray. In 1930 the southwest section of Detroit boasted a population of 23,000 residents according to the federal census. In 2016 it was down to 2,763.
In addition to the hundreds of Armenian proverbs and expressions, Kadian Gopigian seeped into her masterpiece some folklore and oral Armenian history. It has been said proverbs are part of a people’s social glue.
The top quality book also features pictorial scenes of Delray landmarks from the Armenian Zavarian Hall, Delray Community Center to McMillan and Cary schools and a host of other scenes including Southwestern High School.
As you walk into Kadian Gopigian’s lifetime you are also taken back to the days Delray was also home for newcomers from Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Germany. She opens the Armenian Community Prologue with an inspiring Armenian proverb: “A tree stands taller when it knows its roots.” And followed by hundreds of Proverbs from genocide survivors from Sepasta, Keghi, Erzeroom, Mush, Van, Bitlis, Kharpet, Malatya and Cilicia.
But Detroiters called the southwest portion “Delray Armenia . . . Like so many other ethnic conclaves.
Delray has become forgotten. In a few years, Delray will get a new chapter in history — the new Gordy Howe Detroit -Windsor International Bridge.
Hopefully a bronze marker will be attached to advise that its American side is anchored in old Delray — or as Susan Kadian Gopigian says her Armenian Delray.
(Mitch Kehetian is a retired editor of The Macomb Daily and former board trustee at Central Michigan University. The book is being distributed by Michigan State University Press with a Special Offer if ordered by December 31.)
NEW YORK – Manuel “Manny” Hagopian and Bryan Blaskie have written the book, lyrics and music to a one-act musical comedy called “Assistants,” which previewed on June 20 and is running from June 22 to July 21 at the Players Theater in Greenwich Village.
The show originally premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2015, where it won Best Full-Length Musical of the Fringe from StageSceneLA.com, while being listed by Time Out Los Angeles as the Number One Can’t-Miss Show at the Fringe and named as one of the top five musicals at the Fringe by the LA Music Blog. However, Hagopian said, it has been reworked over the past few years and workshopped in Los Angeles and Philadelphia before its Off Broadway debut.
Dress rehearsal of “Assistants”
Hagopian said the show, looking at the lives of Hollywood assistants, was basically about “that balance between trying to do something for yourself while doing everything for someone else and the sacrifices you make to accomplish those goals.” It is not primarily based on his own experiences because he became friends with his boss, Jesse Stern, while an assistant, and that boss now is the executive producer of this show. However, many of his friends had grueling jobs while assistants trying to manage their bosses’ lives.
Scene from “Assistants”‘ dress rehearsal
Hagopian and his cowriter are also both producers and wear a lot of different hats. Hagopian also deals with some of the marketing, video editing and raising money for the show. He pointed out that “doing these shows is not an easy task.”
(Perfect, a song from “Assistants” composed by Hagopian)
Hagopian is well known as a writer for an award-winning series of video games from Respawn Entertainment and EA, including Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Battle Royale Apex Legends and soon a Star Wars game called Jedi: The Fallen Order. He writes the story, characters and dialogue.
Titanfall 2, for example, Hagopian explained, was basically “a story between a guy and a giant robot, and their adventure as they try to escape a planet after a mission gone wrong. Anything can happen.” The designers create the broader structure, which can include elements like time travel or fighting, while Hagopian focuses on the story between this boy and the robot.
Background
Hagopian, 32-years-old, grew up in Lexington, Mass., and after going to community college a short while he decided to go straight to work and moved to Los Angeles to be a writer. Within a month, he said, he got a job on a television show and then climbed the career ladder. As an assistant to a writer himself, he learned a lot.
Manny Hagopian
Hagopian’s father Roger Hagopian, well known to Armenians as a documentary film maker, is a musician too, and Manny and his brother were in a band growing up, for about ten years. Hagopian ran rock festivals in Waltham, Mass., for three or four years.
In Los Angeles, he combined his knowledge of music with his writing skills to create four or five musicals before this one. While he sometimes works alone (e.g. “Earhart: A Musical Flight”), his collaborator for this one has been working with him for five or six years. Among their creations was “Tonya Harding: The Musical.”
Hagopian’s storywriting, he said, derives inspiration from filmmakers like Billy Wilder, while as a musician, he said, he comes from a rock’n roll and punk rock background. Consequently, he said, “my sort of songwriting is a mix between punk rock and pop rock.” His collaborator Blaskie comes from a full musical theater background so together they produce something unique, including some jazzy blues songs in the present show.
Hagopian left Hollywood to move to New York City in February of this year because his fiancé got a job for the “Daily Show with Trevor Noah” last year.
While so far none of his musicals deal with Armenian themes or have Armenian characters, Hagopian is working on developing a character of Armenian or Armenian/Middle Eastern descent for a game called Apex Legends, for which he is a senior writer. He said that the character will be given context so his/her appearance will not come as a shock but as something natural. He pointed out that “There are people who have never even met an Armenian,” so this will have a type of educative effect.
He learned some Armenian from his father, and intends to visit Armenia with the latter. One of Hagopian’s biggest supporters in Los Angeles has been Rev. Ron Tovmassian, senior pastor at the United Armenian Congregational Church, who is a good friend of Hagopian’s parents and will conduct his marriage ceremony soon.
The show must go on
After “Assistants” completes its run, the show will be published, which will allow local theater to license the show and thus both encourage its distribution as well as produce some revenue. Its visibility may also lead to new writing jobs for Hagopian and Blaskie.
In the meanwhile, for those in New York, performances at the Players Theater (115 Macdougal Street) are Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (July 5 instead of July 4). To obtain tickets, visit www.assistantsthemusical.com.
YEREVAN — The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Supreme Council of Armenia continued its discussions with Armenia’s parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces, with whom issues related to the country’s socio-political situation are deliberated.
To that end, the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia members met with leaders of the Central Executive of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party—the Ramgavar party at the latter’s headquarters on Monday, June 24.
During the meeting the parties discussed a broad range of issues related to the political situation in Armenia, particularly recommendations on certain legislative initiatives, revitalization of networking of the two political parties abroad, preservation of national values, as well as issues on changes in Armenia’s judiciary, which has been in the spotlight recently.
The meeting concluded with both sides agreeing to meet on a regular basis and to advance the cooperation between the two party by creating professional task forces that would target items of the agenda that were discussed on Monday.
The ADL was represented by Central Executive Chairman Hakop Avetikyan; secretary, Souren Sarksyan; member Vahe Darbinyan; and the chairman of the ADL Alex Manougian Center, Armen Sakapetoyan. The ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Ishkhan Saghatelyan was accompanied by the body’s professional network coordinator Artsvik Minasyan and member Shaghik Maroukhian.
YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — The Yerevan Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday, June 25, to arrest ex-president Robert Kocharyan, granting the prosecutors’ appeals against a lower court’s decisions to release Kocharyan from custody.
Judge Armen Danielyan, presiding over the high-profile trial, announced the decision in the absence of Kocharyan and the members of his defense team.
In a statement released later, the defense lawyers claimed Danielyan did not allow them to present their arguments in the previous hearing and immediately left for the deliberation room to decide on the matter in a “gross violation” of the adversarial trial principle.
On 18 May, Davit Grigoryan, a Yerevan first instance court judge presiding over the ex-president’s case, had suspended Kocharyan’s trial citing a “suspicion of discrepancy” between the Armenian Constitution and the charges brought against him two days after ordering his release from custody and forwarded the case to the Constitutional Court for a review.
The judge’s decisions were appealed by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the representatives of the legal successors of the victims of March 2008 post-election events Kocharyan is standing trial for.
TBILISI (Euronews and Reuters) — Georgia and Russia have blamed each other for the outbreak of protests and unrest in Tbilisi which was sparked by the visit of a Russian member of parliament to Georgia’s parliament.
And in an exclusive interview with Euronews on Monday, June 24, Georgia’s president Salome Zurabichvili called for a “de-escalation” in the protesters’ standoff with her government.
The call came as protesters gathered for a third night in the capital.
Zurabichvili had earlier blamed Russia for the unrest, suggesting a “fifth column” loyal to Moscow had stirred up trouble.
But Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed her claim as a distortion of reality.
“What this country needs more than anything else is quietness and internal stability because that’s our real strength. There is a political problem with Russia and everybody hopes that this will be solved one day,” Zurabichvili told Euronews.
Violence flared in the Georgian capital late on Thursday, where police used tear gas and rubber bullets to stop crowds furious about the visit of a Russian delegation from storming parliament.
Hundreds of people were injured, some seriously, as demonstrators pushed against lines of riot police, threw bottles and stones, and grabbed shields, drawing a tough response.
Though the protests began over Georgia’s diplomatic relationship with Russia, opposition parties have also begun to call for wider reform.
Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008. The provinces remain under Russian military control even though the international community recognizes them as part of Georgia.
Thousands gathered outside parliament where opposition leaders gave the floor to young activists and students.
Zurabichvili also hinted that the unrest was an attempt at destabilizing her country.
“There are attempts for destabilization and that is something that we should be very wary about and be careful. It is very easy in a country like this to play on the feelings of the population and to agitate those feelings,” she told Euronews.
Asparagus is a versatile spring and summer vegetable that can be cooked and served in a variety of ways. But asparagus is also perfect when cooked on its own, with just a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast, broil, braise, grill, stir-fry, there’s really no end to the creative ways you can cook asparagus.
Asparagus Parmesan
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus
1 cup dry California white wine
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted butter (or a little more)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon za’atar spice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Preparation:
Wash asparagus and snap off less tender ends of stalks. Simmer asparagus in a pot covered in wine, water, and 2 tablespoons olive oil until tender, 8-10 minutes, and drain.
Place asparagus on a heat-proof serving platter. Pour melted butter over asparagus, and toss with seasonings. Sprinkle with cheese and place under a broiler for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with lemon zest and lemon juice, or drizzle with olive oil.
*If you are grilling asparagus: heat grill (or grill pan) to medium-high. In a large bowl, toss asparagus lightly in oil, then season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender and charred on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. If roasting asparagus, preheat oven to 400º. On a large baking sheet, toss asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and slightly charred, 20-25 minutes.
Kosher salt, coarse black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
Crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and black olives
1 lemon, cut in wedges
Preparation:
Sauté the garlic and onions in a few tablespoons of oil until onions are translucent.
Add asparagus, toss, and cook until tender, for about 5-8 minutes. Add tomatoes and toss, cook over medium heat, stirring, until tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape. Add seasonings, and toss again.
Garnish with cheese, parsley, black olives, or lemon wedges. Also serve this asparagus dish over hot cooked pasta or rice.
Serves 4.
Christine’s recipes have been published in the Fresno Bee newspaper, Sunset magazine, Cooking Light magazine, and at http://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — On June 12, the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum and Richard Manoogian, chairman of the Board of the Armenian Apostolic Society, hosted a special event at the St. John Armenian Church Cultural Hall featuring Dr. Helen Evans, curator of the “Armenia! “exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Elizabeth Brazilian, a member of the organizing committee for the event, was master of ceremonies for the evening and identified the committee members: “Lucy Ardash [Director of the Manoogian Museum], Edmond Azadian [Advisor to the Museum, author, and journalist], and Alice Nigoghosian [public relations and publishing consultant]; Mike Savitski [graphic designer and photographer]; and Steven Volk [videographer].”
Dr. Sylvie merian
The Very Rev. Aren Jebejian welcomed everyone to the “The Holy Land” — recalling the expression he heard first from the late Dyana Kezelian when he first visited the Manoogian School. “Over the past three years I have come to know the true value and the legacy we have inherited in a place that we call ‘The Holy Land.’ Other than the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin in our ancestral homeland, it is going to be difficult to find a sanctuary, a pre-K to 12 school, and an Armenian museum in one complex.”
The St. John Armenian Church complex includes the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School, the Edward and Helen Mardigian Library, the Veterans Recreation Building, and the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum.
Brazilian acknowledged the presence of special guests, including Detroit Institute of Arts Director Salvador Salort-Pons and his wife Alex May, Eugene A. Gargaro, Jr. [Chairman of the Board, Detroit Institute of Arts], Dr. Richard Marburger [President of the AGBU Manoogian School Board], members of the School Board, and the 2019 Fall Senior Class.
The Manoogian School will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall.
Brazilian then introduced Dr. Sylvie Merian from the Morgan Library and Museum, and a contributor to the exhibit catalog. Merian received her PhD in Armenian studies from Columbia University. She has published and lectured on Armenian codicology, book bindings, manuscript illumination, and the history of the book. She also contributed to the Manoogian Museum book, A Legacy of Armenian Treasures.
Merian read a specially-written colophon in honor of Evans and also introduced her. From the colophon: “This so-called Colophon was written in the year of the Armenians, 1468, and the year of our Lord 2019, by the miserable and untalented scribe Sylvie, to introduce and honor Dr. Helen Evans, whose tireless efforts . . . innate intelligence . . . profound knowledge . . . enabled her to create the spectacular exhibition, ‘Armenia!’ at that great temple of world art and culture, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.”
Evans is well-known in the world of art history, museums, and Armenian studies as she has produced many spectacular exhibitions. Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians presented Evans with the Order of Saint Sahak-St. Mesrob Award at the opening of the exhibition and the Great House of Cilicia presented her with the Mesrob Mashtots and Queen Zabel Award and also with the Spirit of Armenia. Evans received the 2019 Friend of the Armenians Award at the Diocesan Assembly in May.
Edmond Y. Azadian (Mike Savitski Photo)
Evans began her talk by referring to “a Met survey taken during the event which indicated that 93 percent of those people surveyed said that they learned so much from the art and from the labels. So our goal to make the world know of the importance of Armenian art and culture is at least to a degree started.
“We opened the show with Gregory, the Illuminator, the converter of the Armenians as a people to Christianity, then the Middle Ages, and merchants and traders. One way we can tell how really impressive you [Armenians] were —in Amsterdam in 1695 one of the popular luxury goods was gigantic maps of the world in the language of the people who are rich enough to pay for them. And one of the languages those maps are published in is Armenian. There is a world map that looks like everybody else’s world map, but every word on it is in Armenian and it’s altogether up to date including the fact that California is an island!
“Three of the works came from the Manoogian Museum — a hexagonal tile and the large ceramic egg [mid-to late 18th century]. Armenians were important at the ceramic manufacturing center of Kütaya by 1501. The third work came to be one of my favorite works in the entire exhibition is the reliquary container and the hand relic [from the eighth century] of St. Abulmuse. People mentioned that reliquaries were most meaningful to them. … what I was trying to do in this gallery was to give people a sense of the Church in which we played liturgical music and then the objects that would fit within the Church. The music which came out from around the photographs was described as ‘incredibly moving’ by a number of people in their survey of the show.”
As part of Evans’ commentary about the Khatchkar [cross-stone] in the exhibit, she mentioned that “when the Armenian government decided to gift one to the United Nations, Archbishop [Khajag] Barsamian made a special trip to Armenia to help select a Khatchkar.”
Richard Manoogian (Mike Savitski Photo)
Evans spoke at the special ceremony at the UN when the Khatchkar was officially blessed and installed at the UN Headquarters in New York on April 17, 2015.
“So I’ve come to the end of my talk and I didn’t have any fantastic conclusion for you, but I wanted to make a point that matters a great deal to me and to people like Sylvie—that you [Armenians] are relevant in many ways that are not yet fully understood.
“There is so much to learn about our medium and so many people were moved by the show and what they learned. I would encourage a lot more scholarship, a lot more support, a lot more Armenian exhibitions and a lot more supportive Armenian objects going into museums so that people can know about your art and culture. I think that as a non-Armenian it is a great honor to be able to study — what for most of you in this room is your own historical background. I thank you for having me here today to tell you what we hope we’ve done for it with our media.”
Brazilian then introduced Richard Manoogian, chairman of the Board of the Armenian Apostolic Society. Manoogian praised Evans for her touching speech.
“My father, Alex, believed that to inspire pride and respect among the next generation of those of Armenian heritage, they must be exposed to the best of their history and traditions. What can inspire the next generation and all generations for that matter is to read at the main entrance of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art — the word ‘Armenia!’ on the facade of the recent landmark exhibition. … Many thousands of Armenians and non-Armenians were treated to the marvels of Armenian medieval art on beautiful display at the MET. Despite many adversities in history, the creative impulse of the Armenian people has always been active. As a consequence of the sad destiny of the Armenians, many manuscripts and artifacts have been scattered around the world, making it a daunting task to build a museum or to organize even a single exhibition.
“That is why it was a painstaking challenge and endeavor to venture into the organization of the magnificent Met display, bringing together the resources of many museums and monasteries in Armenia, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Venice, and the United States. This beautiful exhibition entitled Armenia! was planned, developed and executed by a learned scholar, our guest speaker — Dr. Helen Evans — and her colleagues.
“It takes thoughtful and sensitive diplomatic skills to convince the directors of leading institutions to loan their valuable artifacts to other museums, no matter how reputable those museums may be. Then it takes the knowledge of an academic coupled with an artistic taste to give it a coherent face, an identity to the exhibition. We are very proud that the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum participated in the exhibition at the Met by loaning three significant items from our collection.”
He continued, “We are privileged that she graciously accepted our invitation to afford us this evening an opportunity to offer her our own share of gratitude for elevating and placing the Armenian cultural heritage on so visible and revered a venue as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.”
He then presented her with a memento in honor of her achievements.
The presentation was greeted by a standing ovation. Brazilian thanked Richard Manoogian for hosting the evening and stated “This presentation was filmed and will be available for viewing on our website—manoogianmuseum.org.”
Prior to blessing the food for the reception, the Very Rev. Aren Jebejian addressed Dr. Evans: “Everything you said in your presentation was 100-percent true except for the fact that ‘you are not Armenian.’ You are Armenian by choice. We claim you, you are ours. When I first walked in, you came up to me and gave me a kiss on both cheeks. You are Armenian!”
All the guests were treated to a complimentary reception that included Armenian wine and Armenian hors d’oeuvres.
(Alice Nigoghosian is a publishing consultant to the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum.)
NEW YORK — Armenia and Artsakh have a long history when it comes to wine; in fact, the oldest winery in the world, dating back more than 6,000 years, was found in Areni, Armenia. However, until the past decade, Armenia did have much success with wine, unlike its brandy, which has gained famed the world over.
Now, however, a new crop of wineries are pushing Armenia and Artsakh to be regional producers of top-notch wines.
The newest entrant in this field is Aran Winery, founded by New Jersey native Alex Sarafian and his wife, Talar Sesetyan Sarafian. Come fall, he is going to release his first batch of red and rosé wines.
Sarafian and his wife had owned Sarafian Vineyard for 14 years in Artsakh, and they sold their grapes to other wineries.
He explained, “While our vineyards produced tons of grape in the ensuing years since the vineyard’s founding, at the time the Armenian wine industry wasn’t well developed and we decided to sell the crop to other wineries or distilleries. It wasn’t until 2018 that we recognized the enormous progress that the Armenian wine industry had made over the prior 5 or so years. During a family trip to Armenia that year, we decided that the time was right to launch our own wine brand: Aran Wines.”
“Both my wife Talar and I are wine lovers,” he said.
Sarafian Vineyards is now 15 acres of lush Sireni (also known as Khndoghni) vines. The Sireni grape is only found in Artsakh and makes a full-bodied red wine. This will be the first-ever rosé wine with the grape.
Alex and Talar Sarafian
The name of the winery is symbolic. As he explained, according to local legend, the two river valleys (Kur and Arax) in Artsakh were among the first to be settled by Noah’s descendants. A local chieftain named Aran was appointed by Armenian King Vagharsh I in the second-century AD to be the first governor of this province.
“Folk etymology holds that the name Artsakh is derived from ‘Ar’ (Aran) and ‘tsakh’ (woods, garden),” he added. “We decided to name our wine ‘Aran’ in honor of the Armenian heritage of this region.”
The vintage will include a rosé, a red and a reserve red.
“We produced approximately 13,000 bottles in 2018 and intend to double our production in 2019. We are actively working to bring these wines to market in both Armenia and the US and expect availability in Fall 2019,” he added.
IT and Economy
The third-generation Armenian-American is the founder of the Sarafian Group, specializing in software and IT.
He and his wife, Talar, live with their three children, a son, 16, and two daughters, 15 and 13.
He and his wife have been involved in helping Armenia’s economy for many years. In fact, he first went to Armenia in the early 1990s and continued in the subsequent years, as part of and later the co-director of the Armenian Youth Federation summer internship program in Armenia.
“It was during these years that I got the opportunity to experience life in Armenia, along with the hardships experienced by the local population during those transitional years,” he explained.
“Both my wife and I have been actively involved in the Armenian community in the US for years, volunteering in a broad range of Armenian organizations spanning the entire community,” he added.
“We certainly intend to spend more time in Armenia as our business ties increase. One day, we hope our children can get involved in the winery and take the reins from us,” he noted.
The Grand Shushi Hotel
Their Artsakh ventures came about in 2005. “My business background is in IT, but our first investment was to establish a vineyard in the liberated territories, at a time when there was little foreign investment in the region. The vineyard was founded on barren land in the village of Ughtasar (Camelback Mountain) in the Askeran region.”
Sarafian noted that the various sectors, such as wine and tourism, have helped Armenia’s economy. “We are both extremely excited to be able to be part of the revival of Armenia’s 6,200-year-old wine tradition. The wine industry, along with tourism and IT, has really taken off and will play a growing role in Armenia’s economy. Since the Velvet Revolution, there is new optimism in Armenia that the business climate will improve and we’re excited to see how this develops.”
Sarafian expressed his joy that many Armenians have repatriated to Armenia, though he said for the time being, he and his family will continue living in New Jersey.
Investments in Artsakh
But the vineyards were only the start. “Soon after, we embarked on other investments. Along with three other partners, we built the Shushi Grand Hotel in the historic Armenian city of Shushi.”
At the time, Shushi was a shell of its former self, bearing the marks of a brutal war. “The infrastructure at the time was still in shambles, as Shushi had seen little reconstruction back then since being liberated on May 9, 1992, a day that will always be remembered as a great Armenian victory and turning point in the Artsakh liberation struggle,” Sarafian noted.
“We faced enormous challenges in building the hotel, from clearing the rubble of the previous ruins, to assembling teams of experts to complete the construction. The Government of Artsakh was extremely supportive, as the reconstruction of Shushi was considered a national priority at the time.”
Alex and Talar Sarafian
Priority was given to making the structure as organic as possible, and therefore local materials were used, marble from the Hrav region of Artsakh and felsite stone from quarries in Ijevan, Armenia.
And he noted, “We opened on September 2, 2011 on the same day as Artsakh’s Independence Day.”
Sarafian explained that he and his wife go to Armenia and Artsakh three to four times a year and spend increasing amounts of time there.
Sarafian said he was pleased with the “development of the nice scene” with regard to wine culture in Yerevan. “Armenian wine during the Soviet days was not particularly good. It started to gradually change and it is growing and exciting.”
He added, “It is a burgeoning industry. I am really pleased that the market is big enough for everyone.
So far, Sarafian said, the reaction to the wine has been great. “Not a lot of people have been able to try it but those who have really like it,” he said.
“We are likely to expand the vineyard and plant other grape varieties,” he added, while noting specific plans are not in motion yet.
Next is creating a website for Aran wines. We can drink to that.
YEREVAN — The fourth Aurora Prize Ceremony will take place in Yerevan on October 20, and will be divided into a two-part ceremony, featuring the Aurora Prize itself and a concert by the remarkable Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev. This unique global humanitarian Prize is awarded annually by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors. The ceremony will showcase Aurora Humanitarians – individuals who have done extraordinary work and had exceptional impact on human life by saving the desperate and abandoned and advancing the cause of humanitarianism in the face of adversity. One of these three Aurora Humanitarians will receive a $1 million grant to continue the cycle of giving by supporting the organizations they have chosen.
The novel structure of this year’s event has two parts: the 2019 Aurora Prize Ceremony itself and the charity concert of Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra’s conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Gergiev is a prominent Russian conductor and a representative of the St. Petersburg conducting school, as well as the founder and director of several prestigious international festivals. In the early 1980s, Gergiev worked in Armenia where he was the chief conductor of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1988, he was appointed music director of the Mariinsky Theatre, and in 1996 he became its artistic and general director. Since 2015, he has also headed the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
“I am deeply grateful to Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra for their participation in this year’s Aurora Prize Ceremony, and delighted that on October 20, in Yerevan, we will honor not only the best of human courage and commitment, but also the splendor of musical genius,” said Aurora Forum Co-Founder Ruben Vardanyan.
The Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Russia. It dates back to the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera Orchestra that was created at the turn of the 19th century. Under Gergiev’s direction, the orchestra has reached new heights, and its repertoire expanded significantly to include symphonic works, in addition to operas and ballet. In 2008, the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra was ranked 14th among top orchestras in the world, according to Gramophone magazine (UK).
On May 6, 2016, the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev, held a unique concert in Syria, titled “Pray for Palmyra. Music Revives Ancient Ruins.” The event took place on the stage of historic amphitheater in Palmyra, one of the world’s most ancient centers of civilization, liberated from ISIS only a few days before the concert.
“To me, Armenia is a special country, and I whole-heartedly salute the diverse, interesting and valuable activity of the Aurora humanitarian award that takes place worldwide. I would like to encourage those who want their children and grandchildren to have a better life to take a more proactive approach to their ideas. What we need right now are people who tell the truth – they are the real heroes who can really make a difference. I urge you to help the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative become a success in any way you can,” said Gergiev.
Gergiev is also a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee, which includes Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo; Médecins Sans Frontières co-founder and former foreign minister of France Bernard Kouchner; human rights activist and Founding Director of Enough Project John Prendergast; Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London Professor the Lord Ara Darzi; former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney.
This year’s ceremony will take place during the inaugural Aurora Forum to be held in Armenia on October 14–21.
Further information is available at www.auroraprize.com.
ARLINGTON, Mass. – Sargis Gavlakian’s book Moruk-Tzuki hekiatnere: hekiatner bolori hamar [Tales of Beardo: Tales for All] was celebrated on June 15 in a program presented by the Tekeyan Cultural Association [TCA] Greater Boston Chapter and cosponsored by the Armenian Cultural Foundation at the latter’s Arlington building. It was an emotional evening, as the publication of this book represents the triumph of Gavlakian’s will, and the creative will in general, over prolonged adversity, with the ongoing support of Gavlakian’s family and friends.
Sargis Gavlakian, left, with Avik Derentz Deirmenjian
Aram Arkun, TCA Executive Director, served as master of ceremonies and presented the biographies of the author as well as keynote speaker Avik Derentz Deirmenjian.
Author Gavlakian, born in Yerevan in 1962, graduated High School No. 139 and received his higher education at the Valery Bryusov Pedagogical Institute for Foreign Languages. He worked in Nerkin Sasnashen village in the region of Talin as an English teacher in high school from 1986 to 1989, but in 1990 moved to the United States with his family. He taught Armenian in Boston at the Armenian General Benevolent Union school, and published two books of his poems, Karkarot erkri aghotknere [The Prayers of a Rocky Land] (1991) and Inch sarn es lusin [How Cold You Are, Moon] (1993).
In 1996 he moved to Fresno, California, where he published through his own means the monthly Yergink from 1997 to 1998, and initiated a radio program called “Arpy,” while working from 2001 to 2007 in the state welfare department in Fresno. In 2004, he completed a master’s degree at Fresno National University in public administration. He moved back to Boston in 2010. He was a member of the TCA executive in Boston in the 1990s and is again an active member in the reorganized Boston chapter today.
Arkun praised his devotion to Armenian literature and his perseverance in the face of all types of obstacles over many years to continue to write and promote his literary vision. He did what he had to in order to support his family, but never gave up on literature.
The three Gavlakian children proudly holding their father’s work.
Derentz, the owner of Deirmenjian Real Estate LLC, lives in Bedford, Mass. and is a well known figure in the Armenian community. He is a prolific author, having published 15 collections of poetry. His works have been translated into English, Russian and Georgian. He has been published in many periodicals, including Grakan tert of Armenia, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator, the Armenian Weekly, and many periodicals in the Near East. He has prepared CDs which contain recitations by Nvard Mnatsakanyan and Nune Avetisyan, and a CD with songs. Derentz is a member of the Writers Union of Armenia, the Journalists Union of Armenia, Boston’s Armenian Independent Radio Hour board and the Writers Union of California. He has received a medal for faithful participation from the Journalists Union of Armenia and an honorary certificate from the Pan-Armenian Convention of Journalists for aiding in the preservation of Armenian identity in the Diaspora and the development of Armenia-diaspora relations.
Derentz said that Gavlakian’s motto was to live not to survive but to create. He read sections from the poetic stories of Moruk-Tzuk and interpreted their morals.
A series of video messages from various places around the world were played wishing Gavlakian well, including from his cousin Vatche Kavlakyan, CEO of NDigitec, who published Moruk-Tzuk in Dubai. Margarit Dumanyan, teacher of Armenian language and literature at the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School and principal of the St. Paul Armenian Church Saturday School, both in Fresno, worked on Yergink monthly with Gavlakian when Moruk-Tzuk was being written. Tigran Nikoghosyan, editor-in-chief of Hayastan newspaper, knew Gavlakian when he was a teacher in Talin and was present in Boston at the presentation of Gavlakian’s first book. Khachik Melekyan was a childhood friend who now is a teacher in Los Angeles, journalist in Asbarez and a former editor of Yerevan monthly. Melekyan pointed out that Moruk-Tzuk is for adults as well as for children. Samvel Yervinyan, a violinist living in Las Vegas, also spoke words of congratulation via video.
A written message from Edmond Y. Azadian, the president of the TCA Central Board and a well known literary critic, was read by TCA Boston executive member Masis Parunyan. Azadian wrote, “Sargis Gavlakian in this volume of his successfully enters into the world of children and by means of his rich imagination leads them to remote places. His language has a Toumanian-like fluidity and his rhymes and versification are simply wonderful. Moruk-Tzuk is a new treasure in our children’s literature, where masters are few.”
Gavlakian’s wife, Vardouhi Karajian, thanked her husband not only for educating his own children but also the children of many other families. He was tormented by his desire to promote Armenian culture on foreign shores and among other Armenians living in the US. She promised to remain by his side for all his future labors for this goal. She called Moruk-Tzuk his spiritual child, and then read an excerpt, to the piano accompaniment of Gegham Markarian.
Emma Arwen, a talented young singer who also happens to be a dentist by profession, only arrived two hours prior to the event from Armenia in order to sing two songs with lyrics by Gavlakian. The music of the first song was written by Artem Arpinyan and the second by Gavlakian himself. Arwen is a graduate of Yerevan State Medical University who furthered her education in Germany and has also studied psychology.
Singer Emma Arwen pouring wine on Gavlakian’s new book
The second musical portion of the program was provided by Gegham Margarian, a graduate of Yerevan’s Polytechnic Institute, and an accomplished musician. He performed pieces by Arno Babajanian and Tigran Mansurian.
Gavlakian took to the podium and began by thanking his wife and three children for their support and understanding of his poetic calling. His eldest son Hovik together with his wife Lusine initiated the publication of this book. He spoke of the difficulties of a writer in Armenian of poetry living in the United States, which makes the circle of readers extremely narrow and small. Nonetheless, Gavlakian said he continues in this work of “holy crazymen.” He thanked TCA and Ara Ghazarians of the Armenian Cultural Foundation for making the evening possible along with all the participants of the program, and Sarkis Antreassian and Mihran Minassian for giving him the idea of the book presentation.
Gavlakian then surprised the crowd by reciting a new poem, “The Light of Existence,” which he recently wrote. This was the first poem he had been able to write since 2015. He then read several of his older poems, with Margarian softly providing the accompaniment of piano music.
After he finished speaking, he answered questions from the audience. In response to how he started writing, he said that his mother’s father was a writer, but not of poetry. He began to write poems from the sixth grade. He declared, “I felt there was a world in me where I felt good….It was not by choice. God put this candle in me.”
He said that this August for the first time in over 31 years he will go to Armenia, and hopefully will have meetings with literary circles there, including with the Writers Union. He hopes to publish several more volumes of his poetry in the future.
The formal program concluded with the baptism with wine of the book. Gavlakian called up his family members, program participants, TCA executive members and Ara Ghazarians to participate. Afterwards, guests enjoyed a reception.
We have always characterized Armenia’s neighbor, Georgia, as a “friendly foe,” which Armenia has to treat with kid gloves.
Historically the two nations share many traits and experiences; at times, they have been ruled by the same king and at other times, they have both been colonized by the same empires.
Armenians have the propensity to build other countries and Georgia has been one of the major beneficiaries of that trait. Throughout the 19th century, Armenians turned the sleepy Georgian capital of Tbilisi (Tiflis) into a major cosmopolitan cultural hub. With the Bolshevik takeover, the Georgians were all too happy to seize the properties of wealthy Armenians under the guise of a proletarian revolution.
Ever since, they have treated Armenians there as an underclass, even during the Soviet period which preached egalitarianism.
In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire, the Armenian minority has experienced discrimination and repression in Georgia, despite the fact that the regime aspires to join the European Union and NATO, which require different standards of governance from their members.
Armenia’s major trading partner is Russia and goods and people traveling between Armenia and Russia have to traverse Georgian territory. In addition, any trade with Europe needs access through Georgian seaports. The Georgian authorities know how to implement subtle methods to stifle the trade, particularly with Russia.
When Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assumed power, his first official visit was to Georgia. He also held friendly meetings with Georgian leaders on border towns. During his last visit, Pashinyan reminded his Georgian counterparts that Armenia and Georgia are the only Christian nations to exercise and preserve Christian values in the region. But Georgia’s antagonism toward Russia places the country at odds with Armenia, the latter being a strategic ally of Moscow.
Georgia almost always has voted against Armenia at the United Nations. However, during a recent vote at the UN about Georgian refugee rights to return to their historic habitat, Armenia abstained as a friendly gesture to Georgia. In addition, Armenia has recognized the Crimean annexation by Russia but not the occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose independence was recognized by Russia, of course, and also Syria, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru and Artsakh.
Armenia’s trade and much of its regional politics are affected by Georgian-Armenian relations.
On June 20, massive protest rallies took place in Tbilisi as a result of Russian presence at a parliamentary session. Indeed, a Russian member of parliament, Sergei Gavrilov, took the podium and spoke in Russian at an Orthodox interparliamentary session. That triggered violent protests resulting in 240 injured people, 80 of them police officers.
That is how deep anti-Russian sentiments run in Georgia.
The disturbance also cost the speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, his job, as he was forced to resign.
President Salome Zurabishvili, handpicked by the billionaire former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who still controls the levers of power behind the scenes, has blamed the disturbance on Russia, claiming that it is in the interest of Moscow to see these destabilizing developments in Georgia “because Russia is an occupying power and our enemy.”
Russia has not been oblivious to the developments there; President Vladimir Putin, in response to the violent outburst of anti-Russian sentiments, has ordered the cancellation of Russian flights to Georgia.
President Zurabishvili’s anger is equally directed toward Azerbaijan, which supported by Turkey, has laid territorial claims on land in Georgia, however, she has not verbalized that sentiment.
Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party, is the power behind the throne in Georgia. He has realized that in its drive towards the west and NATO, Tbilisi has yielded too much political influence to Turkey and Azerbaijan, so much so that the friendship between the parties has hurt rather than help his country. Turkey has all but monopolized Georgia’s economy and Azerbaijan now has been raising territorial claims.
The showdown between Georgia and Russia also has benefitted the Turkish-Azeri axis, because they disrupted low-level negotiations between Tbilisi and Moscow. One of the outcomes of those negotiations was to be the resumption of rail traffic between Armenia and Russia over the Abkhazian territory.
As Armenia is beholden to Georgia for its traffic with Russia over the border passage of Lars, the Abkhazian alternative would have loosened the Azeri-Turkish stranglehold over Armenia’s regional trade.
Now the government in Tbilisi is in a bind. Despite the stifling bearhug from the Turkish-Azeri forces, some in the country pushing toward the West still support close relations with the two, despite the obvious damage that the country has suffered thus far.
One such proponent is the foreign minister, David Zalkaliani, who announced recently that the joint military exercises carried out between Georgia and Azerbaijan are in line with the interests of the US, the European Union and Turkey. He has stated that Azerbaijan is Georgia’s strategic partner, adding: “At the moment, when our territories have been occupied by Russia, we cannot jeopardize our relations with our major strategic partner.”
Policy planners in Tbilisi are well aware of Armenia’s predicament and vulnerability, and therefore, they do not expect any dramatic reaction from Armenia.
Last week’s meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, did not yield much of a result except for the usual generic statements from both sides to keep the negotiation process going and resolving the conflict through peaceful means.
However, despite those statements, the threat of war is gaining momentum. The Georgians clearly seem to expect a war and have pegged Armenia to be on the losing side, and as weaklings. Last week, they denied an entry visa to an Armenian scholar, Ashod Melkonyan. In the past they have denied entry to Shirak Torossyan, an MP in Armenia. All those provocative actions have gone without any reaction from the Armenian side, as have their repressive measures against Javakhk Armenians.
Responding to a journalist from Aysor.am, an academic specializing in Georgian studies, Alik Eroyantz, stated: “In light of the situation in the Caucasus region and the delicate nature of Armenian-Georgian relations, the military cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia must serve as a cause for concern. … However, Armenia’s reaction must be a measured one.”
The Armenian government must therefore calibrate its policy towards Georgia with extreme caution, first to secure its trade routes to the outside world open and not to provide any cause or excuse to the Tbilisi government to further veer towards the Turkish-Azeri axis.
With “friends” like Georgia in the region, Armenia does not need any enemies.
YEREVAN — Many consider Gayane Khachaturian the greatest of Armenian female artist ever. The late painter and graphic artist, who was born and lived all her life in Georgia, remained an Armenian artist (even if there is nothing particularly Armenian in her works), being a part of the Armenian fine art family and signing her paintings in Armenian.
Armenia and Armenians have appreciated Gayane Khachaturian from the very beginning of her career. She was just 20 when another noted Armenian artist from Georgia, Alexander Bazhbeuk-Melikyan, supported her endeavors, while the patriarch of Armenian painting, Martiros Saryan, appreciated her works very much.
Meeting Sergei Paradjanov was a turning point in Gayane’s life. Two extraordinary Tiflis-Armenians, both unusually talented and “alien,” were kindred souls. “Gayane is a shamaness, who creates her amazing world of magic,” Paradjanov said.
At his initiative, in 1967, her first non-official exhibition was opened in Yerevan, followed by official exhibitions in Moscow and Tbilisi. Outside the USSR, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation organized her personal and group exhibitions in Lisbon, Beirut and cities of France.
Generally, Armenians were not indifferent to their talented compatriot. Two documentaries about Khachaturian were filmed at Hayfilm Studio. One documentary about the then-29-year-old artist, titled “Gayane,” was shot in 1971 by Yuri Yerznkyan, and seven years later, Ruben Gevorgyants screened “Blue Wind, Almond’s Aroma” about the artist. In 2006 Levon Grigoryan made a third documentary about the artist, “I, Gayane from Tiflis.”
She was recognized and loved, but was out of official Soviet art. It is not a coincidence that Khachaturian’s supporters were mostly the young Soviet-era population that felt outside the mainstream. Paradjanov had introduced many of his friends to Khachaturian, and also thanks to him, Gayane was recognized and appreciated by Marc Chagall, Andrey Tarkovsky, Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Lyubimov, Eldar Ryazanov, Françoise Sagan, Yves Saint Laurent, Bella Akhmadulina, Otar Iosseliani, Gia Kancelli, Alla Demidova, Yevgeny Primakov and Mikhail Tumanishvili. Many bought works by Khachaturian.
Like another great Khachaturian, born in Tiflis — Aram — Gayane Khachaturian’s roots also go back to the historical Armenian Goghtn province (now in Azerbaijan), the city of Agulis.
Gayane was named in honor of her grandmother, whose piety was revered by all of Goghtn. Having gained a brilliant education in Tbilisi, Gayane led an intensely productive life. She had almost no other interests. The tiny payments she received for her paintings she often distributed to needy families, continuing to live more than an ascetic life, never thinking about material goods, sleeping on the floor. And in such conditions she used to create her colorful, vivid, imaginary worlds, the street masquerades with the colorings of Agulis and Tiflis, her mysterious, yet simultaneously simple and ordinary characters. Art specialists catagorize Khachaturian’s painting style as “magical realism,” rarely seen in painting, the few representatives of which are Belgian René Magritte, Mexican Frieda Kahlo, French-Jewish Marc Chagal and English Peter Doig.
Paradjanov’s friend, Russian-Armenian documentarian Vasily Katanyan, wrote in his memoirs: “On the first day he [Paradjanov] took us to her protégée, Gayane Khachaturian. We met her on the street; she was going to the empty shop with an empty bag. Seeing Seryozha [Paradjanov], she suddenly turned back and took us to her poor room/studio and showed the paintings that Sergei asked her to show. We saw marvelous paintings from which we could not move away. In general, Gayane Khachaturian has been officially recognized only recently, but Seryozha had discovered her long time ago. The artist argued that ‘if it were not Sergei Iosifovich, I could not do anything; he helped me, and I listened to him very much.’ Seryozha was sitting importantly. Today, Gayane’s paintings cost thousands, they are shown in the museums, but it does not matter for her. She is a little bit not from this world and is like Novella Matveeva [Russian poet]. She speaks with a bass voice, loves singing psalms, but, alas, never became a singer.” (Vasily Katanyan, Touching the Idols, Moscow, 1997, p. 227, in Russian).
Khachaturian was also remembered this way by Russian writer Vladimir Moshchenko. “She was not from this world. She was living in poor conditions, but was not complaining. They say, Tarkovsky devoted poems to Gayane. We should find them. She was poetry herself. Her paintings mesmerize. “Veil of Wine,” “Elephant – A Purple Bow,” “The Procession of Orange’s Day,” “Morning: the Violet’s Whisper,” “In the Evening: the Harp Night of Blue Night” (Vladimir Moshchenko, The Voices Disappear, the Music Remains, Moscow, 2015, p. 112, in Russian).
Gayane Khachaturian and Sergei Paradjanov
In 2009, the Armenian pavilion in Venice International Biennale was presented only by Gayane Khachaturian’s 15 works. Unfortunately, the painter passed away two months before the Biennale. On April 14, 2009, the artist said in a conversation with Moscow curator and collector Valery Khanukayev at the Tbilisi Oncology Hospital: “I have always wanted to show my world, the world of magic realism, but the illness and the nerves have exhausted my strength and my health. Soon it is Venice Biennale, I know, and when my paintings and drawings will be exposed, they will have great success, the late success that I earned before my death, but I don’t care, as I do not consider my paintings masterpieces…”
Ten years ago, at the Venice Biennale, I was watching Gayane’s magical paintings and seeing the admiration of visitors of different nationalities, remembering my only meeting with the artist a few years ago in front of the Contemporary Art Museum in Yerevan. I have taken her hands that created so many wonderful canvasses and said that we are always waiting for her in Armenia and expect her constant return, which, unfortunately, did not happen…
In 2008 Khanukayev with the artist’s consent and her personal leadership, founded and chaired the Gayane Khachaturian International Foundation, which organizes exhibitions, creates an archive and studies the heritage of the artist. By the way, by Khanukayev’s initiative Austrian ballet master Michael Fichtenbaum has staged in Moscow one action ballet titled “Gayane,” devoted to the life of the artist…
Certainly, we are grateful to this non-Armenian collector and curator who take care of the heritage of the Armenian artist, but we also regret that Paradjanov’s kin friend, unlike him, does not have her own museum in Yerevan…
In the Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi (Khojivank), mostly destroyed during the Stalin era, 10 years ago a new, humble gravestone appeared. The great Armenian female painter has been lying near the tombs of our great writers: Raffi, Sundukyan, Tumanyan… And as the signature of her canvases, the gravestone is also Armenian, something rare in modern Georgia, which is actively erasing Armenian traces.
HAVERHILL, Mass. — A brand-new Armenian Church in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley now has a brand-new cross to adorn its steeple. The cross was consecrated on Thursday, June 20, the gift of the Boston-based Knights of Vartan Ararat Tahlij No. 1 and the Daughters of Vartan Arpie Otyag No. 9. Many of the lodge and Otyag members were on hand with their families as Bishop Daniel Findikyan, Primate of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), consecrated the large gold cross which now stands atop the Haverhill church.
The cross arrives at the church. (Kenneth Martin photo)
The occasion marked Findikyan’s first visit to the church since recently being elected Primate of the Armenian Church of America’s Eastern Diocese. Also participating in the consecration service were Armenian Church pastors from across Massachusetts as well as the dean of the Saint Nersess Armenian Seminary in New York.
Bishop Daniel Findikyan blessing the cross (David Medzorian photo)
During the early evening service, the cross was held upright by a former lodge leader together with the current leader of Ararat Tahlij No. 1 Argishti Chaparian. In his remarks following the service, Chaparian described how, as plans were announced to construct an Armenian Church in Haverhill, Ararat Lodge formed a committee to investigate the plans to determine how best it could help. Chaparian said that once construction on the church began, lodge members saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a significant contribution to the new structure. He cited the many personal sacrifices made by members during the fundraising process, including time away from their families and jobs. Ararat Lodge, along with its sister Arpie Otyag lodge, raised the $50,000 needed to cover the cost of the cross that now stands atop the church which overlooks Merrimack Valley.
Members of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan, with Bishop Daniel Findikyan at the consecration (David Medzorian photo)
It was Chaparian who, after thanking the Knights and Daughters for their support and sacrifice, presented the check to the Hye Point Church’s pastor, Rev. Vart Gyozalyan. Father Vart, as he is lovingly known by friends and parishioners, thanked Ararat Tahlij No. 1 as well as Arpie Otyag No. 9 for their generosity and their continued dedication to the Armenian Church.
The Knights of Vartan’s Argishti Chaparian (David Medzorian photo)
Those sentiments toward the Ararat Lodge and Arpie Otyag were echoed by Findikyan. During a dinner and reception that followed the consecration ceremony, the Primate reminded the guests that the cross is a unifying symbol of the Armenian church.
Among the scores that came together for the consecration service and dinner were parishioners of the Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Pointe, Saint Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in North Andover, and other surrounding churches, Knights and Daughters from Ararat Tahlij and Arpie Otyag in Boston as well as Knights from Arakadz Tahlij No. 35 in North Andover. Following the dinner, the guests were treated to a performance by the Erebuni Dance Ensemble.
(David Medzorian is an asbed at the Ararat Tahlij No. 1, Boston.)
