Loussapatz - The Dawn - 32-ՐԴ ՏԱՐԻ, ԹԻՒ 1007 ՇԱԲԱԹ, 9 ՆՈՅԵՄԲԵՐ 2013

32-ՐԴ ՏԱՐԻ, ԹԻՒ 1007 ՇԱԲԱԹ, 9 ՆՈՅԵՄԲԵՐ 2013Notice

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES TO OBSERVE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARMRADIO.am -- The World Council of Churches (WCC) has addressed the issue of the Armenian genocide in international fora on sev- eral occasions. During the 1979 Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) raised the question of the need for recognition of the Armenian genocide by the UN.

The 6th Assembly of the WCC held in Van- couver, recognized the importance of the need to continue to address the effects of the Armenian genocide in appropriate contexts. A minute adopted at the Vancou- ver assembly stated, “The silence of the world community and deliberate efforts to deny even historical facts have been consistent sources of anguish and growing despair to the Armenian people, the Armenian churches and many

others.” The role of the WCC in “enabling the Armenian churches to speak out and work towards the recognition of the

first genocide of the 20th century” was recognized by the Armenian churches over the years. Prior to the 10th Assembly of the WCC the Armenian churches reminded the WCC General Secretary of the historical reality that the 10th Assembly will be held on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015. Requests have been made by the leaders of the Armenian churches for the WCC to initiate pro- grams to observe the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in appropriate ways, the Armenian Catholicosate

of Cilicia reports. Therefore, the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea, from

30 October to 8 November 2013, requests the general secretary to: A. Organize in 2015, around the commemorative 100th anniversary date 24 April 2015, an international con-

ference in Geneva on the recognition of and reparation for the Armenian Genocide with the participation, among others, of WCC member churches, international organizations, jurists, historians and human rights defenders.;

B. Organize an ecumenical prayer service commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the Ca- thedral of Geneva in conjunction with the international conference; and

C. Invite member churches of the WCC to pray for the memory of the Armenian martyrs around the dates of the international conference and also for recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

PROTESTERS AND POLICE CLASH IN YEREVAN: DOZENS ARRESTED

YEREVAN — Police in the Armenian capital, Yere- van, have clashed with dozens of protesters who tried to march to the presidential residence. Policemen used clubs to prevent the protesters from marching from Mashtots Ave- nue to Baghramyan Avenue, particularly toward the Arme- nian president’s residence at 26 Baghramyan Avenue.

Law-enforcement officials say at least 20 protesters were arrested, including the leader of Armenia’s Tzseghakron (Race religion) party, Shant Harutyunyan.

Harutyunyan’s supporters marched along central Mashtots Avenue armed with wooden sticks, stones and homemade stun grenades and flares tried to march through the city center after a sit-in in Liberty Square organized by their leader. The protest swiftly descended into chaos as

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the crowd clashed with police officers as well as several plainclothes men standing in their way on Mashtots Ave- nue, one of Yerevan’s main thoroughfares.

Earlier, Harutyunyan announced that he and his supporters had planned to organize what he called “a revolu- tion,” promising to blow up the presidential residence.

Mashtots Avenue was cordoned off by police units. Officials said many police officers were injured in the clashes.

“The police managed to restore order and clean the street,” the police said. The police reminded that for sev- eral days Shant Harutyunyan came out with statements in Liberty Square calling for violence.

“Law enforcement officers repeatedly told him to stop thoughtless behavior and calls for unlawful action. Today, police called on Harutyunyan and his supporters to refrain from unlawful acts, however, they refused to obey the lawful demands of the police,” the statement said.

First Vice-Chief of Armenia’s Police Hunan Poghosyan urged the people to leave Freedom Square. He said that a policeman received a knife wound during the clashes.

Activist Argishti Kiviryan said that about 20 people had been detained. According to him, it was a well- planned provocation by police. “What are more than 500 policemen doing in the center?”

OSCE MEDIATORS ANNOUNCE SARKISIAN-ALIYEV SUMMIT

YEREVAN -- The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to meet later this month in an effort to revive the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, international mediators announced after ending a fresh tour of the conflict zone in Yerevan on Tuesday.

“The Presidents have confirmed their intention to meet in November 2013 to clarify their positions on a set- tlement and to discuss the way forward,” the U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Groups said in a joint statement issued shortly after their talks with Armenia’s Serzh Sarkisian.

“The Co-Chairs continue to work on arrangements for the forthcoming summit,” added the statement. “The Co-Chairs call upon the sides to exercise restraint on the ground as well as in their public statements. Military ac- tion, particularly at this moment, can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process.”

The mediators met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday. Igor Popov, the Russian co-chair, said afterwards that Aliyev agreed to meet his Armenian counterpart for the first time in nearly two years.

“We’re trying to facilitate the meeting,” James Warlick, the chief U.S. negotiator, told reporters before the meeting with Sarkisian the following day. Warlick spoke of a new “window of opportunity” for a Karabakh set- tlement emerging after recent presidential elections held in the two South Caucasus states.

The mediating troika has repeatedly stated that an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit could break the impasse in its long-running efforts to broker a peace deal.

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Aliyev and Sarkisian to meet soon in separate letters that were handed to them by Warlick in September. “With the outlines of the compromise already well established, now is the time for a renewed effort to bring peace to the region,” Obama wrote.

Obama clearly referred to the Basic Principles of resolving the Karabakh conflict put forward by the three mediating powers. They call for an Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani districts surrounding Karabakh that would be followed by a referendum on the territory’s status.

Yerevan and Baku have so far disagreed on some crucial details of the proposed settlement. The peace pro- cess has been effectively deadlocked since Aliyev and Sarkisian came close to ironing out their difference at a meeting in Russia in June 2011.

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EXPERT SAYS GEORGIA WILL STAY DEPENDENT ON AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net -- Change of power in Georgia won’t be drastically affecting Tbilisi’s ties with Yerevan, though a positive trend is possible, a po- litical analyst said.

According to Alexander Skakov, Georgia’s foreign policy as well as na- tional minorities-oriented internal policy will become more predictable, bal- anced and realistic. “Possibly, the issues related to transit, church buildings and specific personalities will be resolved faster; however, no dramatic change is to be expected in view of Georgia’s continuing dependence on Azerbaijan,” the expert said.

“Baku will take every effort to prevent Armenia from gaining another link to the outside world through Geor- gia. This is the reason why Abkhazia railway won’t open, Vladikavkaz-Tbilisi road modernization will be ham- pered, and no communications to boost Russia-Georgia ties will be established. In reality, Georgia fell victim to its own policy, turning into a mere satellite for U.S. and Azerbaijan. The country became a “courtyard” rather than a transportation route,” the expert said, expressing hope for the situation to change.

An ally of the Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili won the presidential election. Giorgi Margve- lashvili won 64%. The election marks an end to a decade in power for pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili.

RIZHKOV ADVISES LUKASHENKO NOT TO POKE HIS NOSE INTO KARABAKH CONFLICT AND TO GO ABOUT HIS BUSINESS

YEREVAN, November 6. /ARKA/. Nikolay Rizhkov, co-chair of the Arme- nian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission, speaking at a briefing today after the 23rd session of the commission in Yerevan, advised Belarusian President Al- exander Lukashenko not to interfere in Karabakh conflict, Novosti-Armenia re- ports.

“He had better go about his business instead of poking his nose into other people’s affairs,” Rizhkov said.

The thing is that Alexander Lukashenko said at his meeting with representa- tives of CIS member countries’ media outlets in October that Azerbaijani authori- ties’ opinion should be taken into account before accepting Armenia into the Customs Union, since there are many unsolved problems between the two countries.

Rizhkov said that everybody understands that Karabakh conflict would not be settled soon.

RUSSIA TO HELP EXTEND LIFE OF ARMENIAN NUCLEAR PLANT

Russia will help Armenia to extend the life of the aging nuclear power plant at Metsamor with an intergov- ernmental loan to be disbursed soon, a senior Armenian official announced on Wednesday.

Vahram Petrosian, the secretary of a body advising President Serzh Sarkisian on nuclear safety, said the loan will finance additional safety measures needed for keeping the plant operational for ten years longer than had been planned. “That work will mainly be done by Russian companies and involve specialized Armenian firms,” he told journalists.

Petrosian said that the amount of Russian government funding will be ascertained by the end of this year. He noted that similar work done at several Russian nuclear plants in recent years cost around $160 million.

Metsamor was due to be decommissioned by September 2016 in accordance with the 30-year design lifespan of its sole functioning reactor generating around 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity. The Armenian government made clear last year that the Soviet-era facility will operate until 2026 despite long-standing concerns in the West about its safety. Officials attributed this decision to a delay in the construction of a new and more powerful nuclear plant planned by the government.

Petrosian announced the imminent Russian loan following a meeting of the presidential council headed by Adolf Berghoffer, a German nuclear scientist.

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RUSSIAN BASE IN ARMENIA SIGNALS ROLE IN POSSIBLE KARABAKH WAR

GYUMRI -- Russian troops stationed in Armenia could openly side with it in case of a renewed Armenian-Azerbaijani war for Nagor- no-Karabakh, according to their top command- er, Colonel Andrey Ruzinsky.

“If Azerbaijan decides to restore jurisdic- tion over Nagorno-Karabakh by force the [Rus- sian] military base may join in the armed con- flict in accordance with the Russian Federa- tion’s obligations within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),” Ruzinksy told the Russian Defense Ministry’s “Krasnaya Zvezda” newspaper in a recent interview.

Ruzinksy answered a question about the mission of the Russian base headquartered in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri.

That mission was upgraded by a Russian-Armenian defense agreement signed in 2010. The agreement extend- ed Russia’s basing rights in Armenia until 2044. It also committed Moscow to supplying its South Caucasus ally with more weapons and military hardware.

The Russian base, which numbers between 4,000 and 5,000 soldiers, has since been bolstered with modern weaponry, reportedly including Iskander-M tactical ballistic missiles. The Russian military also plans to deploy combat helicopters there soon. The Russian air force unit in Armenia currently has 16 MiG-29 fighter jets.

The Russian troops in Armenia hold joint exercises and trainings with Armenian army units on a regular basis. Around a thousand soldiers from the two armies, backed up tanks, helicopters and artillery systems, practiced a joint military operation as recently as in August.

According to Ruzinsky, more such war games are planned for next year. “I believe that we need to further de- velop our field cooperation, if I may put it way,” he said.

The Russian base commander also revealed to “Krasnaya Zvezda” that a group of his senior officers and their Armenian colleagues recently jointly toured “areas of combat engagement.” “We plan to increase such activities next year,” he said without elaborating.

ARMENIAN MILITARY TEAM HOLDS INSPECTIONS IN TURKEY

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- An inspection group from the Armenian Armed Forces is carrying out inspections, from Tuesday to November 12, at the declared sites in Turkey.

The inspections are conducted along the lines of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). Two inspections will be carried out in one visit, informs the Armenian MOD press service. The Turkish Armed Forces brigades that are stationed in the eastern cities of Ardahan and Sarikamis are the

control facilities of the inspection. The inspection will check the quantity of the battle tanks, armored combat vehicles and artillery—which are

limited by the CFE Treaty—and their presence at the control facilities.

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AIR ARMENIA OBTAINS SECOND PLANE

ArmInfo.am -- The second plane of the Air Armenia company arrived at Zvartnots Airport on Tuesday.

The A-320 liner can carry 150 passengers and is supposed to fly to Moscow on a daily basis.

Marketing Manager of Air Armenia Sirak Hambartsumyan told ArmInfo that on Nov 17 the company will redouble the number of flights to Moscow.

He said that this year the company will lease on more A-320.

Used for flights to Moscow until now, Air Armenia's Boeing 737-500 will now fly to Samara, Sochi, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don.

The first charter flight Yerevan-Rostov-on-Don-Yerevan was carried out on Oct 23, the first regular flight to Moscow on Oct 27. Air Armenia is also licensed to fly to St. Petersburg.

President of Air Armenia Vahan Harutyunyan said earlier that the company was going to enlarge the geogra- phy of its flights and was planning to lease additional liners to that end.

Air Armenia was set up in April 2003 and was a cargo carrier before 2013.

20,000 TREES TO BE PLANTED IN YEREVAN IN NOVEMBER

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- The period between November 1 and 20 has been decided as the favorable autumn planting time in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.

Around 20,000 trees will be planted in the capital city during that time, informs the Yerevan Municipality Information and Public Relations Department.

But aside from the annual tree-planting, and at the proposal by Yere- van Mayor Taron Margaryan, each of the city’s businesses will plant at least one evergreen in the areas adjacent to their offices and operation facil- ities.

The planting of the evergreens has begun in all of Yerevan’s districts.

ARMENIAN OLIGARCHS MAKE BODYGUARDS WORK 24 HOURS BUT PAY LITTLE

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- Although bodyguards are entitled to work up to 12 hours a day, they work up to 24 hours in Armenia, and with little pay.

Vahe Darbinyan, who heads a security agency, noted the aforesaid during a press conference on Friday.

“They walk behind an oligarch every day, but they [i.e., their em- ployers] don’t comprehend that these guys are not robots; they are hu- man, and they get tired.

“And the oligarchs do not comprehend that a bodyguard has the right to rest, eat, go home, see family members, [and] take [home] mon- ey.

“But no, and they give very little money to our bodyguards and se- curity guards, so they can just make ends meet,” Darbinyan added.

In his words, the security guards receive a monthly salary of 60,000 drams (approx. $147) in Armenia, $1,500 in Russia, and €1,500 in Europe.

As a result, the Armenian security guards and bodyguards likewise wish to leave Armenia. “I worked in Europe, and the minimum salary [there] was €3,000,” Vahe Darbinyan noted.

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FORBES ARMENIA LAUNCHES WITH KIRK KERKORIAN

Steve Cohn / www.minonline.com -- The November launch of the Armenian edi- tion of Forbes is the biweekly's 30th overseas, and if the nation's ancient alphabet is dif- ficult to read, the face is easy. Kirk Kerkorian is recognizable in Forbes circles because his investments present and past in movie studios, automobile companies and nearly everything "Las Vegas" gave the 96-year-old a Forbes-calculated 2013 net worth of $3.9 billion. He ranks 118th in the magazine's "400 Richest Americans."

Technically, the Fresno, Calif.-born Kerkorian is not among the richest Armenians. But his being on Forbes Armenia's debut is indicative of the reverence towards a man who has donated millions of dollars to his family's homeland, which lies in the Cauca- sus mountains and was unhappily part of the former Soviet Union during much of the 20th century.

Forbes Armenia editor-in-chief is entrepreneur and Harvard University graduate Gagik Yeghiazarian. Licensee is Media Partners, Armenia, which also publishes the

two-year old Forbes Georgia. Forbes becomes the second U.S. magazine export to Armenia after Cosmopolitan (March 2011). That was per-

sonally important to publishing director (since Aug. 1995) Donna Kalajian Lagani, whose four grandparents were born in the country.

ARMENIAN JUICE PRODUCER SIGNS EXPORT AGREEMENT

WITH CANADA YEREVAN/NEWS.am – Armenia’s Yerevan Beer Company, which also

produces fruit juices and jams, has signed an export agreement with its Canadi- an partner.

Company Export Manager Aleksandr Akopov told the aforesaid to Ar- menian News-NEWS.am.

In Akopov’s words, this year they sent two quantities—totaling 40 tons— of juices and jams to Canada.

ket.

The company’s partner in Canada will sell the products in the broad mar-

“[But] our sales market is not limited to Armenian stores only,” Akopov added.

To note, the Armenian Development Agency (ADA) assisted Yerevan Beer Company in this venture. ADA Director Robert Harutyunyan informs that, in 2013, another Armenian company, Borodino, exported fruit jams and compotes to Canada.

VATICAN AWARDS AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT, WHO DEMOLISHES CHRISTIAN VALUES

TIMES.am -- President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the delegation led by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture of the Vatican. Azerbaijani media informs about this. This could be just the next meeting by Azerbai- jani President and we wouldn't pay any attention to this meeting if there weren't one but...

Azerbaijani President was awarded with “Medalla Sede Va- cante”, one of the highest medals of the Holy See, and presented it to Ilham Aliyev.

Cardinal Ravasi especially underlined the merits of Mehriban Aliyeva, First Lady of Azerbaijan, in the enhancement of the rela-

tions between the countries.

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It's a real pity that Vatican accepted the next lie of Azerbaijani propaganda according which Azerbaijan is one of the most tolerant countries in the world, where various nations and cultures co-exist with each other peacefully.

Really, Azerbaijan is a country where thousands of Christians were killed and their works of art have been demolished.

Has Vatican thought just for a moment about Armenians cross-stones in Jugha before awarding this medal? It's a pity, that Azerbaijani President manages to pay for the world's morality.

NEW DEFENSE MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN IS A NATIVE OF ARMENIA

PANORAMA.am -- Asker Hasanov, the father of the new Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Zakir Hasanov, was born in Armenia, in the city of Echmiatsin, afterwards their family moved to Yerevan, where he lived for many years, newspaper "Yeni Musavat" found out as a result of its own investigation.

The newspaper began investigating the roots of the new minister, as soon as the media started to spread information that he is from Nakhijevan, despite the fact that in his official biography Astara was recorded as his birthplace. Also, there were some reports that he was a native of Armenia.

The newspaper found out that Hasanov’s father served in the frontier troops as an officer during the Soviet time. And Zakir Hasanov was truly born in the Astara region in Azerbaijan, where his father was sent rom Yerevan.

On 22 October 2013 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on appointing a new government. Zakir Hasanov was appointed the new Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. He previously held the position of commander of the Interior Troops of the Interior Ministry. Former Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, who held that post since 1995, was not included into the new government. After the appointment Hasanov replaced several high-ranking military officers.

TANER AKÇAM: ISLAMIZATION OF ARMENIANS THE PRODUCT OF SYSTEMATIC POLITICAL STRATEGY OF ASSIMILATION

ISTANBUL — The Islamization of Arme- nians in Turkey is the product of a long-term and systematic political strategy of assimilating and Turkifying the Armenian community, according to documents from the late Ottoman era, said Taner Akçam, a Turkish-German historian and sociologist, at the Conference on Islamized Ar- menians held in Istanbul over the weekend, To- day’s Zaman reports.

“The term ‘genocide’ has always been de- fined in relation to the Holocaust. The genocide of European Jews has always been at the center of discussions. Whether a mass killing should be called genocide or not has always been decided by comparison with the Holocaust. If the case resembles the Holocaust it is a genocide; if not, it cannot be a genocide,” said Akçam on Saturday, adding that the same applies to the mass killing of Armenians that some call the Armenian genocide. The Conference on Islamized Armenians was held by the Hrant Dink Foundation, which is named after the Turkish-Armenian journalist who was fatally shot outside his office by an extremist in 2007.

Many academics and analysts came together at Istanbul’s Bogaziçi University for a three-day conference or-

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ganized by the Hrant Dink Foundation, which addressed the overlooked and unknown stories of Armenians who converted to Islam since 1915.

Speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony, Rakel Dink, the widow of Hrant Dink, illuminated the con- ference’s purpose, saying, “We are going to open the pages of history that have so far never been questioned and hear and witness the riddles that have never been put into words.”

“We never want to hear what they have done. We never talk about what has happened to them and how it oc- curred. Our conscience was only able to deny the genocide,” Dink said in her opening speech, adding that the facts should not be kept hidden in the dark

Dink’s widow emphasized that Dink was paying special attention to the issue of Islamized Armenians, saying, “Hrant wanted this issue to be discussed, not only for the ones who passed away but for the ones who are alive.” There is a claim that Dink was killed because he began to research Islamized Armenians across the Ottoman Em- pire.

Addressing the conference, Akçam said that as the Armenian genocide had for a long time been researched and defined in connection with the Holocaust, the very important issue of assimilation was disregarded and the events were understood only in terms of the number of dead and exiled Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Akçam, who is the first Turkish academic to acknowledge and openly discuss the topic, said that the Armenian community has been crushed by the denial of the “genocide” by the Turkish government, and that for quite a while Armenian academics have studied the issue by drawing parallels between the Armenian genocide and the Holo- caust. “And thus they have ignored and separated some parts of the genocide such as forcible conversions to Islam, forced relocation of Armenian kids into the orphanages and accommodation of Armenians in certain regions of the country, as they did not fit into the framework of the Holocaust,” Akçam said.

He also added that the Turkish policies of assimilation for Armenians were not considered systematic for a long time, as Armenians who converted from Christianity to Islam were even moved from modern Turkey to other parts of the empire. “However, assimilation was an integral part of the genocide since its start,” he underlined.

Saying that the history of Armenians has been a “history of victimization,” Sergey Vardanian, an Armenian scholar from Yerevan, told the audience about the Islamized Armenians of Hamshen, a town in Rize province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. He said that Hamshen Armenians were forcibly converted to Islam, and that they con- verted “in order to survive.” However, “they have never forgotten that they are Armenian, and they never married with other Muslim groups,” according to Vardanian.

ISTANBUL COURT COMMENCES TRIAL

OVER ARMENIAN WOMEN’S ASSAULT

An Istanbul court has opened the hearings against the man suspected of violent assaults against ethnic Armenian women.

TERT.am -- According to the Turkish-Armenian publication Agos, the sus- pect, Murad Nazaryan, on Monday added new facts to his earlier evidence, saying that he had been blackmailed into assaulting and beating the victims. He told the court that three men had pushed him to the crime, threatening otherwise to cause harm to his family members.

He said that the unknown man, who carried arms, had taken him to the house of Maritsa Kucuk and started stabbing the woman.

“When they stabbed her first, I ran away. They had cut my finger before that to spread the blood on the material evidence. If I see those people’s pictures, I will recognize them,” Nazaryan told the court.

He further complained about pressures by the police.

“I told them that because I am afraid and have nothing more to do. So, I recounted everything the way as it had been. I don’t feel safe in prison. I cannot sleep and have to use pills,” said the suspect.

Four elderly Armenian women were subjected to violence in Istanbul in November-December last year. The 85-year-old Maritsa Kucuk, who was one of the victims, later died. Nazaryan was detained as a suspect months lat- er.

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TURKEY AND EU RESTART MEMBERSHIP TALKS

BRUSSELS / Andrew Rettman / euobserver.com -- Turkey and the EU have restarted accession talks three and a half years after their last meeting and five months after Turkey's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Istanbul.

The talks resumed in Brussels on Tuesday (5 Novem- ber) with the opening of a "chapter" on regional policy.

The Turkish negotiator, Egemen Bagis, said "it felt good." But he added: "We have a saying in Turkey: 'You can't have spring with only one flower' and this is only the beginning."

EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele said three more chapters - on public procurement, competition and social policy - could soon follow.

But despite the upbeat mood, the talks remain hobbled by vetoes.

Out of the 35 chapters in the EU rulebook, Cyprus, which remains locked in a frozen conflict with Turkey, is blocking the opening of six.

The European Commission is blocking eight because of Turkey's trade ban on Cyprus and France is blocking another four.

For his part, Bagis noted that French President Francois Hollande is expected to visit Turkey in the near future. "We hope he will announce the unblocking of the remaining four chapters as well," he said. He added the UN is working on a new Cyprus conflict resolution deal, which could be put to a vote by Greek

Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots next year. Fuele said the commission is ready to lift its eight-chapter veto if Turkey opens its airports and sea ports to

Cypriot vessels. Amid EU criticism of Turkey's crackdown on the Istanbul demonstrators and on Turkey's lack of press free-

dom, Fuele said he is trying to get Cyprus to lift its veto on chapters 22 and 23, which cover EU values, even if there is no UN breakthrough.

"I do hope we will be able to find a consensus ... on this issue," he said. In terms of broader relations, the two sides indicated they are close to starting talks on EU visa-free travel. Fuele said his fellow commissioner, home affairs chief Cecilia Malmstrom, is ready to go to Ankara "at any

moment" to launch the process if Turkey agrees to sign a "readmission agreement" on taking back irregular mi- grants.

Meanwhile, Bagis noted that Turkish people are annoyed by EU foreign policy on Egypt and Syria.

He said Turks feel the West has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a free hand to "kill [his] own people ... so long as [he] does not use chemical weapons."

He added that Turks want to know "how come [EU countries] are not raising their voices strongly when an elected President [Egypt's Mohammed Morsi] is in prison and the dictator of the last four decades [former president Hosni Mubarak] is freed by a military junta?"

"It is unfortunately creating a negative image via-a-vis the EU in Turkey," he said.

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TURKEY'S LOST ILLUSIONS By Dominique Moïsi - www.europeanvoice.com Turkey's struggle to find a place in the world

Egemen Bagis, Turkey's minister for European Union affairs, declared in mid-October: “Day by day, Europe is moving further away from Turkey.” But the reverse is equally true: with a mixture of disillusion and defiance, Tur- key has been distancing itself from Europe in recent years. ‘If you do not want us,' the Turks appear to be saying, ‘we really do not want you.'

In reality, Turkey is more in search of itself than it is of Europe, even if Turkey needs Europe more than Turks are willing to admit.

The ‘Arab Spring' was initially seen as a great opportunity for Turkey to highlight the country's economic suc- cess, democratic political model, and indispensable strategic role in the region. The inheritors of a great empire were proving that Islam and modernity were perfectly compatible – an inspiring example for Arabs.

Instead, Turkey's role inspired reservations among Egyptians; after all, the Ottoman Empire had ruled over Egypt. And, on the Turkish side, there was a sense of superiority.

The collapse of the Soviet Union awakened ‘neo-Ottoman' Turkish ambitions in the Caucasus and central Asia, and revolution in the Middle East seemed to offer the heirs of a long-dead empire an opportunity to avenge its loss. If a lazy and fearful Europe did not want Turkey, so much the worse for Europe; history was offering Turks more glorious alternatives.

Whereas Turkey could appear too Oriental and too religious in Brussels or Paris, when viewed from Cairo or Tunis, it looked like an ideal Muslim bridge to the democratic West and economically dynamic Asia. Moreover, Turkey could play some powerful cards, owing to its ‘good neighbor' policy with two partners and rivals, Iran and Syria, as well as its support for the short-lived presidency of Muhammad Morsi in Egypt.

Unfortunately, Turkish elites' hopes (if not expectations) were not realized. The Arab revolutions exposed Turkey's own weaknesses and contradictions, further aggravated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's repres- sive policies and overweening political style. This became clear in the demonstrations that spread this spring from Istanbul's Taksim Square to much of the rest of the country.

What characterizes Turks today is not so much pride and hope in their country's expanding influence as fear of its disintegration. The Kurdish problem preoccupies Turks, as does a sense that they are losing control of two es- sential issues – the Syrian and Iranian crises.

Turkey's government has toughened its stance toward Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, convinced that it can only fall. The agreement recently reached by the United States and Russia is, from this standpoint, frustrating: for the price of destroying its chemical arsenal, the regime may have saved itself.

So Turkey must wonder what purpose is served by courting the West. Why resume, under US pressure, a near- ly normal dialogue with Israel if the outcome is to be abandoned, if not betrayed, by American policy?

Similarly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's moderate rhetoric, together with possible progress toward re- solving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, has left Turkey with a sense of uselessness. How can a country per- ceive itself, and be perceived by others, as a key regional actor if it finds itself marginalized at the critical moment?

History is moving in the Middle East, but not in the direction that Turkey would prefer. And, with the coun- try's economic growth faltering, the government hardening, and Turkey's diplomatic performance a source of dis- appointment, many Turks now openly wonder what happened. But too often they retreat into a strident nationalism that reflects a growing lack of self-confidence.

Turkey's current challenge is to overcome lost illusions. And that means that Turks may need Europe more than they are willing to admit, even to themselves. But is Europe today any more ready and willing than it was yes- terday to engage in serious talks with Turkey?

Dominique Moïsi, a professor at L'Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), is senior adviser at the French Institute for International Affairs (IFRI). He is currently a visiting professor at King's College London.

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TURKISH FM REJECTS CLAIMS OF COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has rejected allegations that Turkey gave intelligence to Israel during an attack against a military base near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia early Oct. 31, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“There is an attempt to give the impression that Turkey has coordinated with Israel. We have issues with Syria, an issue based on a principle. But let me say it clearly: The Turkish government has never cooperated with Israel against any Muslim country, and it never will,” Davutoğlu told reporters during a joint press conference in Istanbul Nov. 1 with his visiting Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.

Several reports said, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that Israel targeted a missile storage center with Russian- made SA-125 missiles, likely to be supplied to Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese militant group.

Reports relayed by Israeli media claimed that Turkey was behind the attack in Latakia by critical information to Israel.

Davutoglu slammed the reports, describing them as “black propaganda.” “Those [reports] are attempts to cast a shadow on the Syrian people’s rightful struggle and Turkey’s attitude with principles. It is out of the question for us to participate in any common operation,” he said.

Davutoğlu also added that Turkey would stand against such Israeli operation, but emphasized that the infor- mation on the strikes was not confirmed yet.

TURKEY SEEKS ISRAELI GAS, BUT POLITICS ARE IN THE WAY GAS PIPELINE PROJECT BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES SAID TO BE WORTH $3.5 BILLION

REUTERS -- Turkey’s Zorlu Energy is in talks with Israeli firms over the potential for a pipeline to carry Israeli natural gas to Turkey, industry sources say, but the political rift between the two former allies is holding up progress.

Israel could become a gas exporter by the end of the decade after the discovery of two major offshore fields off its Mediterra- nean coast - Leviathan and Tamar.

Turkey, dependent on imports for almost all of its energy, is looking to diversify away from expensive Russian gas and could become a customer as well as providing a transit route to other markets, particularly Europe.

“Turkey is a very suitable route for Israeli gas. I can even say it is the most suitable,” said Omer Yungul, chief executive of Zorlu Holding, the owner of Zorlu Enerji.

But relations between the two countries have been scarred since May 2010 when Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists while storming the Mavi Marmara, a ship in a convoy seeking to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

Industry and diplomatic sources said the Zorlu Group, which already holds an indirect stake in an Israeli power plant, is in talks with private Israeli companies over a possible pipeline deal.

Yungul did not confirm the talks, but said Zorlu Energy’s existing investments in Israel have given it a head start.

Zorlu Energy holds a 25% stake in Dorad Energy, which is building a 875-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Ashkelon. Yungul said the first unit of the plant would come on line by February 2014.

Other Turkish companies including Turcas Petrol are also interested in a pipeline project, officials on both sides have said.

Such a project could be worth $3.5 billion, according to Amit Mor, an Israel-based consultant who is familiar with the talks. It would entail construction of an undersea section to Turkey’s southern coast and a link to central Turkey.

Israel’s huge offshore Leviathan field contains an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to almost a

The drilling rig at the Leviathan offshore natural gas field. (Photo by Albatross)

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year’s worth of European gas demand and enough to cover Israel’s gas needs for generations. Tamar, discovered in 2009, holds an estimated 280 billion cubic meters.

“The export of Israeli gas to Turkey via a pipeline or in compressed natural gas form in marine tankers are the most economically viable options for exporting large gas volumes from the region,” said Mor, chief executive of Eco Energy Financial and Strategic Consulting.

He added that it would be possible to allocate about 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year to supply growing demand in the Turkish market. Zorlu’s Yungul and industry sources say the quantity could go up to 10 billion bcm in the event of a deal.

As much economic sense as it would make, a pipeline through Turkey is still at the mercy of politics.

“Of course the most feasible route for Israel to export its gas is Turkey. The private sector is holding talks about this, but political steps must be taken,” a government source said.

“We are aware of the talks, but these issues cannot be resolved in a couple of months, and such a project could not go through without the government’s consent,” he added.

Turkey has set precise conditions for Israel if it wants to return to their former extensive ties - an apology, compensation and a lifting of its embargo on Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April apologized to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the killings and pledged compensation to the bereaved, but Israel has so far made no compensation payments.

Israel has made no promises to lift the embargo, although Turkey has given indications it could backtrack on that demand.

An Ankara-based diplomatic source said Turkey was not likely to move ahead with the talks until Israel pays compensation.

“The problem is not only Mavi Marmara, though. Erdogan has upset the Israelis with his strong rhetoric as well,” the source said.

Earlier this year, Erdogan called Zionism “a crime against humanity,” prompting objections from U.S. Secre- tary of State John Kerry.

TURKS SEARCH FOR BURIED GOLD UNDER ARMENIAN HOUSE IN BURSA VILLAGE

ISTANBUL — A small village in the Western province of Bursa has become the centre of a modern tale of treasure hunt as officials search for gold and other personal belongings of Armenian families who left their homeland after the Turkish war of independence.

Officials have formed a commission headed by an archeologist to perform the excavations at the Keramet village under one of the hamlet’s houses where the valuable items of the Armenian families are believed to be buried.

“According to the recounting of the village’s elders, many Armeni- an families settled at the Keramet village. They have all migrated except for one after the war of independence. The family that remained apparently said that those Armenians who had es- caped hid their gold and other belongings under our house,” said the owner of the house, Efkan Ari.

“This rumor circulated for years. So when the muhtar [village administrator] became concerned that the aban- doned house could collapse at any moment and ordered its destruction, we wanted to gain permission and have the excavation begun,” Ari added.

However, gaining that permission has not been easy and it took officials more than a year to process the claims. The excavations, carried out under the surveillance of Gendarmerie Forces, started on Nov. 1 and could le- gally be continued for a month longer.

Any gold that might be unearthed will be split between the state and the owner while antiquities have to be transferred to the state treasury, according to the laws.

Information or rumors with regards to the Armenian families who used to live in the village are more scarce, it is even unknown if they managed to complete their hazardous journey unharmed.

However the treasure tale at the Keramet village – a name that could not bode better omen as it means ‘proph- ecy’ – may one day enlighten their stories and their old life in Anatolia.

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NADEM KARAEL, AN ISLAMIZED ARMENIAN FROM THE TURKISH TOWN OF TRABZON, HAS SHARED HIS IMPRESSIONS OF A RECENT VISIT TO ARMENIA.

He has talked about his feelings and thoughts, and the sights he has seen in the country. Below are Karael's impressions of the visit, as presented by the Turkish-Armenian publication Agos.

“It was quite a long time I wanted to visit Armenia. And I finally managed that this summer. My friend Serhat and I would often visit Georgia. Serhat has a Greek mother and an Armenian father. He knows Armenia perfectly well and had been to Armenia many times before. When he suggested that we leave for Armenia to- gether, I didn’t even take a minute’s time to think. The way from Batumi to Tbilisi and to Yerevan is 650 m.

“Everything completely changed as we entered Armenia. We reached Yerevan at 21:00. The atmosphere there was that of a capital, with the city meeting us with shining lights.

“The traffic in the capital city is regular; the respect for the pedestrian and the way people are dressed (es- pecially women are stylish and well-groomed) produced the impression of a European capital.

“Reaching the hotel, we felt that we were both hungry; after having a soup with buttermilk and a meat dish, we took a seat at a café near the hotel to think about a place to visit the next day.

“The first thing I wanted to see was Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide monument.

“With its inextinguishable light, Tsitsernakaberd is a 44 m monument which symbolizes Western Arme- nia. It is quite an imposing construction symbolizing the rebirth of the Armenians.

“Yerevan, which is geographically similar to Istanbul and Rome, has flat surfaces in certain parts and hills in others.

“The next day of our arrival we were climbing up one of those hills. The eternal fire, the voices of a woman and crying children and the music that followed moves you back to the dark pages of history.

“We left the museum, unable to withstand the sight of the pictures on display, the images reminding one of the 1915 [events] and the voices of the children still crying. We spent the rest of the days talking to passers- by. What I am most of all interested in is what they think about the Turks. One remembers the murder of Hrant Dink, the other – 1915. There are also people believing in the friendship of nations, as well as those who say ‘this will never heal over’.

“The next day, while Yerevan was still asleep, we headed to Khor Virap. The reason I travelled there was to see the sight of [Mount] Ararat ... It looked as though you were about to reach it once you stretched your hand.

“As we reached Khor Virap, the green valleys, which we had seen only in pictures, evoked even deeper emotions. There seemed to be a chance to get to the foot of Ararat ... with friendship being too far away.

“The villages we visited had people who were poor but quite hospitable. A family whose ancestors were from Van was recounting the story of the loss. A woman was treating us with yoghurt; and we all were laugh- ing. Then we were talking very, very long about Anatolia.

“During my six days in Armenia, we also had the chance to visit the towns of Vanadzor, Echmiadzin, Gavar and Kapan. And we were met with respect everywhere.

“I understand hostility is not among the people; it is just an argument used in politics by certain groups.

“Whatever corner of the world you go, all the grieves are close to one another, with the wounds being so much alike... I had heard many stories about massacres since childhood. I would listen to them with such a feeling of fear and terror, but now I can no longer stand them. We all are, in a sense, the children of rape and massacres. Those massacres pertain to everybody, so we all come from the same place. The unhealed wounds belong to us. They bleed from the same source ...”

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true!

LAND OF THE RISING SUN:

FERTILE GROUND FOR ARMENIANS

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier

I visited the amazing land of Japan for the first time last month. The minute I set foot on Tokyo’s Narita Airport, it felt like entering a surreal country -- almost too good to be

The first thing that one notices is the extreme politeness of the Japanese people. Their repeated bowing to greet guests is incomparably more respectful than our customary casual handshake. I was amazed to find out that every- one gets the same excellent service, at no extra charge! No one gets tips, including waiters and parking attendants.

Japan is impeccably clean. No litter can be found anywhere. Piles of dirt or garbage are nowhere to be seen. You cannot find a single car in the streets with a dent or speck of dust. Even trucks hauling construction materials are covered with a net and hosed down before leaving the loading site, not to scatter dirt on city streets. Amazingly, after a typhoon directly hit Tokyo, there was no debris in the streets.

To top it all, there is very little crime in Japan due to the calm demeanor of the population and absence of guns. Despite Tokyo’s crowded sidewalks, everyone goes about their business, without pushing or shoving, arguing or raising their voices. Drivers respect traffic laws and conduct their cars in an orderly manner, without cutting in front of others or honking horns.

Many people are seen in the streets wearing medical masks. One would think that they were protecting them- selves from catching the flu or some other disease from passersby. It turns out that the mask wearers were the ones who had the flu. They were being exceedingly considerate, not wishing to pass their germs onto others!

Besides visiting Japanese shrines and ancient palaces, I had the opportunity to engage in Armenian-related ac- tivities in this far away land. I was pleased to learn that the Republic of Armenia had an Embassy in Tokyo. Amb. Hrant Pogosyan and Attache Monica Simonyan received me graciously and briefed me about their relentless efforts to foster friendly relations between the two countries. We discussed opportunities for collaboration between the Armenian community in the United States and the Embassy of Armenia in Japan, particularly during the upcoming Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

A totally unexpected treat was the concert organized by the Armenian Embassy, celebrating the 110th anniver- sary of Aram Khachaturian’s birth. Three top musicians, pianists Armen Babakhanian and Julietta Vardanyan, and cellist Aram Talalyan, had flown from Armenia especially for this one night performance. The Japanese audience, foreign diplomats, and a handful of Armenian students and businessmen were highly impressed with Khachaturi- an’s music and the virtuosity of the performers. I even met a Japanese scholar who spoke Armenian fluently. I had never heard Armenian spoken with a Japanese accent!

Japanese friends had kindly arranged that I meet CEO’s of several major corporations in Tokyo and Kyoto and discuss investment possibilities in Armenia. I was highly impressed by state of the art stem-cell research laboratory at Kyoto University.

Later that day I had the unique opportunity to give a lecture to a group of bright university students and their professors. They spoke English quite well and asked numerous questions, even though I was told that Japanese stu- dents normally do not ask questions. My talk covered the Armenian Genocide, the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict, Syria’s civil war, the Arab Spring, the controversial issue of Comfort Women, and the necessity of peaceful resolu- tion of conflicts.

After returning to Tokyo, my hosts surprised me by presenting me from the archives of The Japan Times newspaper, a copy of the issue dated Oct. 4, 1998, which had a half-page article about my humanitarian efforts for Armenia on behalf of the United Armenian Fund.

My final meeting was with three high-ranking Japanese government officials with whom I discussed at length Japan’s relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, Russia, and South Korea.

My conversations with Japanese university students and government leaders made me realize that Armenians have made a habit of concentrating all of their political efforts on the Middle East, Europe, North and South Ameri- ca, and totally ignoring the large number of strategically important countries in Asia.

It may be politically and economically more productive to extend the span of our attention to countries whose citizens know hardly anything about Armenia and Armenians.

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“KARABAGH: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE”

FRESNO -- Dr. Arsen Saparov (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) and Dr. Ara Sanjian (University of Mich- igan-Dearborn), will speak on Karabagh at 7:30 PM on Friday, November 15, 2013, in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus. Dr. Saparov will speak on “Drawing Borders in the Caucasus the Early 1920’s” and Dr. Sanjian will speak on the topic of “Irredentism at the Crossroads of Nationalism, Communism and Diverging Interpretations of the Soviet Experience: The Armenian Diasporan Press on Mountainous Karabagh, 1923-1985”

The lecture is part of the Armenian Studies Program Fall Lecture Series and is co-sponsored by the Armenian Students Organization at Fresno State and is supported by the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

The Soviet leadership often stands accused of deliberately drawing internal frontiers in the Caucasus as to cre- ate leverage against union republics. Violent conflicts that broke out in the 1990s in Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia seem to prove this perception. In his presentation, Dr. Saparov will discuss the logic of the Bol- shevik boundary-making in the South Caucasus. Dr. Saparov was educated at Central European University in Bu- dapest and received his Ph.D in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

The formation of the Mountainous Karabagh Autonomous Region within the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan in 1923 coincided with the emergence of the post-genocide Armenian Diaspora. The vast majority of political organi- zations and political-minded activists in the Diaspora envisaged a future Armenian state, which would encompass within its borders not only Western Armenia but also the Armenian-inhabited regions of Nagorno-Karabakh, Nakhichevan, and Akhalkalak, which had become recently part of Soviet Azerbaijan and Soviet Georgia. In this latter case, the political realities exacted that the demand should be focused on their immediate annexation to Soviet Armenia.

However, because there was a sharp divergence among the Diasporans in the attitude toward Communism as an ideology and in evaluating the Soviet experience in Armenia, the demands for the annexation of Mountainous Karabagh to Soviet Armenia raised in different Diasporan periodicals were pursued at varying degrees of frequency and intensity, and the arguments put forward by these periodicals were at times different.

Dr. Sanjian, Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, will discuss the differing approaches of the news media to the Karabagh issue.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Free parking is available after 7:00PM in Lots A and J, near the University Business Center. For more infor- mation on the lecture please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669.

A FOCUS ON ARMENIA'S YOUTH By Florence Avakian

For Randy Sapah-Gulian, the future of Ar- menia depends on assisting young people. “The plan of our foundation is to build a broad yet inter-locking range of programs directly focused on the Armenian youth. We believe that the youth in all societies are the foundation from which you can develop something of substance that endures,” said entrepreneur and benefactor Sapah-Gulian during a recent phone conversa- tion with this writer.

Sapah-Gulian founded his family’s Sapah- Gulian Foundation in 2012, which works through the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR). He explained that programs supported by the foundation would emphasize several youth- oriented initiatives, such as the Pediatric Critical Care Program, promoted by his brother-in-law Dr. Edward Seferian of Cedar Sinai Hospital. “This Medical Train-

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ing Program – Pediatric Critical Care, which is an international program in scope, will emphasize the healthy growth of children so they may become productive members of society,” he said.

Complete Life Cycle

The Sapah-Gulian Foundation focuses on children from an “early age on having the right kinds of care, such as what the pediatric care program provides all the way through the educational process, ultimately leading to job training and employment. It is the life cycle from birth through to their early 20’s,” stressed Sapah-Gulian. “Fur- ther, the challenge, of course, with developing these types of programs is to maintain a high level of quality and to not lose focus. Better to do three or four things really well rather than 10-20 things adequately. The Pediatric Care program is an international program with the highest training and certification standards run by leading pediatric doctors from around the world. To be perfectly frank, when Ed suggested bringing it to Armenia to my wife Corinne, it probably took me 30 seconds to agree.”

A generous benefactor who has been to Armenia more than 40 times, Sapah-Gulian is Chairman of FAR, which since the 1988 earthquake has been deeply committed to assisting, rebuilding and providing educational and training programs for Armenia’s population. His expertise as a CEO and President in the world of providing human capital solutions to large corporations around the world makes him a seasoned and dedicated team player for the FAR’s ambitious programs in Armenia. “In the world outside of what I do for Armenia, through my company we now have large-scale Human Capital Programs running in 62 countries for our clients. We should be able to use those learnings to benefit the people of Armenia.”

On his last visit to Armenia in July, Sapah-Gulian met with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern to explain and promote the goals of his foundation. With him were his wife Corinne (nee Seferian), his two younger daughters and his niece.

His daughters, Alexa, 20, Olivia, 16, and Gabrielle, 15, have all been to Armenia and volunteered at the FAR Children’s Center in Yerevan – one of FAR’s most important projects. “Our three daughters will one day be the trustees of our foundation,” he emphasized, “and they know they have a large responsibility.” He then quoted Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese (eastern), and President of FAR who has often said, “one of the greatest gifts that a parent can give a child is to teach them how to give.”

Doctors from Around the World

Dr. Seferian and the team of medical doctors from around the world that are part of the Pediatric Critical Care Association were also in Armenia in July. This group meets once a year for training and education. During last year’s meeting they decided to make this training available to doctors and nurses in Armenia. Five doctors from the U.S., Seferian and four non-Armenians from different hospitals made this trip to Armenia. Seferian headed the team. A pediatric critical care specialist, Seferian worked at the Mayo Clinic for eight years, and has been with at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for the last four.

US Ambassador John Heffern visited the Muratsan hospital where the team’s program was housed to observe the training and make a presentation to the doctors. The 30 local doctors and nurses who took part will be involved in the follow-up training that will take place every year with the help from a grant from the Sapah-Gulian Founda- tion. While in Armenia these five “very eager” doctors visited other hospitals, demonstrating the commitment and energy with which they pursued their work, commented Sapah-Gulian.

The July trip was Seferian’s first visit to Armenia. “We were all engaged to provide better care and train the trainers, especially outside of Yerevan which was the center of the training,” he explained. “We taught didactically, using hands-on simulation equipment to mimic real life situations.” In Yerevan, the five-person team worked with 20 local doctors and four nurses, including two medical translators. Their plan is to continue this project in Armenia so they can educate local physicians and others who provide help to critically ill children.

For Seferian, it was also “breathtaking to stand on the soil of our homeland, and to see the snow-capped moun- tains, especially Mt. Ararat, the strong symbol of Armenia. This trip is the beginning of an ongoing and long-term relationship. It was very rewarding to give back to Armenia, and it will definitely continue.”

And for Sapah-Gulian and his family establishing this crucial program in Armenia through his foundation ac- centuates his life-long belief that “everyone has to have something that speaks to them. For our family, it is chil- dren, Armenia, and Armenians.” he said.

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