Armenian News... A Topalian...8 editorials

Aysor, Armenia

March 9 2019

Six-seven candidates wish to participate in elections of Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople: Ara Gochunyan

Forty days after the death of Armenian Patriarch of Turkey Mesrop Mutafyan the preparation phase for the elections of new patriarch will start. As of now there are 6-7 candidates but everything will be clear after the 40-day mourn ends, editor of Istanbul-based Zhamanak paper Ara Gochunyan said, speaking to Aysor.am.

He stressed that the day of elections, the day of crowning and number of candidates as well as all other details are yet to be specified.

He said that today a session will be convened by Aram Ateshyan, who was replacing Mutafyan for these years, to clarify all the issues on funeral and burial procedure of the deceased Patriarch.

“The Patriarchate of Constantinople informed Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin which supposes their participation in the funerals. More probably the funerals will take place on March 17,” he said, adding that after 40-day mourning administrative processes will launch and the process of election of new Patriarch will start.

Gochunyan said for proper organization of elections the Patriarchate will closely cooperate with state bodies.

The editor said today 38 Armenian churches are functioning in the territory of Turkey which means as much electoral precincts will operate in the whole territory of the country.

He said in pre-electoral phase candidates will receive letters and respond to them, noting whether they want to participate in the elections or not.

As to the attitude of the Armenian community toward Aram Ateshyan, considering the dissatisfaction of him, Gochunyan said he would not like to generalize this attitude and said he treats Ateshyan normally.

Mutafyan died on March 8 at the age of 62. He was in hospital for the past 11 years suffering from incurable disease.

Pakistan Christian Post

March 9 2019

IDC Calls for Turkey to Refrain from Interference in Selection of Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

WASHINGTON, D.C: March 9, 2019. (PCP) In Defense of Christians (IDC), the nation's leading advocacy organization for Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East, mourns the passing of Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople composes 40,000 to 80,000 followers and is one of the four hierarchical seats of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Garo Paylan, an Armenian MP in Turkey, tweeted that "Patriarch Mutafyan will remain in our minds as a memorable spiritual leader."

The Armenian Church will undergo a period of mourning for forty days before selecting a new patriarch. Patriarch Mesrob had been incapacitated since 2008 due to an early onset of dementia. The Turkish government prevented the Armenian patriarchate in Turkey from electing a successor to Patriarch Mesrob last year. The Turkish government has historically interfered in the election process of the Armenian Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. 

"IDC is committed to full equality for Christians and Churches in the Middle East. Churches should be able to select their own leaders without state interference." said IDC President Toufic Baaklini. 

News.am, Armenia

March 14 2019

[US] State Department: Term “Armenian” remains common slur in Turkey 

                  

Armenians, Alevis, and other Christians remained the subject of hate speech and discrimination in Turkey, State Department said in its Report on Human Rights Practices for 2018.

According to the report, the term “Armenian” remained a common slur. Attacks on Christian and Jewish places of worship were rare, but on April 29, vandals scrawled nationalist graffiti and dumped trash outside an Armenian church in Istanbul. Government authorities, including Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, condemned the attack and opened an investigation, resulting in the detention of a suspect.

According to the Hrant Dink Foundation’s Media Watch on Hate Speech Report, an analysis of national and local newspapers between January and April, found 3,076 instances of published hate speech that targeted national, ethnic, and religious groups. The most targeted groups were Armenians, Jews, Greeks, and Syrians.

Atheists also remained the subject of intimidation in progovernment media, albeit at a lower level relative to other religious minorities.

The report also mentions that on April 25, Istanbul police briefly detained three human rights activists for using the word “genocide” in their statements and on their banners in an April 24 Armenian Remembrance Day commemoration organized by the HRA in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square.

Aysor, Armenia

March 9 2019

Return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, corridor linking Armenia to NK: OSCE MG releases statement on upcoming Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs release a statement over the upcoming meeting of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.

"In their March 1 statement, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) welcomed the commitment of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to meet soon under the auspices of the Co-Chairs.  The Co-Chairs, working closely with the two foreign ministers, have been making preparations for this important leaders’ meeting, which will be the first direct contact between the two leaders conducted under Co-Chair auspices.

The Co-Chairs underline the importance of maintaining an environment conducive to productive discussions and continue to assess positively the recent lack of casualties on the front lines.  The Co-Chairs also welcome some initial steps being taken in the region to prepare the populations for peace and encourage the sides to intensify such efforts.  At the same time, the Co-Chairs reiterate the critical importance of reducing tensions and minimizing inflammatory rhetoric.  In this context, the Co-Chairs urge the sides to refrain from statements and actions suggesting significant changes to the situation on the ground, prejudging the outcome of or setting conditions for future talks, demanding unilateral changes to the format without agreement of the other party, or indicating readiness to renew active hostilities.

With reference to some contradictory recent public statements on the substance of the Minsk Group process, the Co-Chairs reiterate that a fair and lasting settlement must be based on the core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including in particular the non-use or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples.  It also should embrace additional elements as proposed by the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries in 2009-2012, including: return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance; a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding _expression_ of will; the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.

The Co-Chairs stress their view that these principles and elements must be the foundation of any fair and lasting settlement to the conflict and should be conceived as an integrated whole.  Any attempt to put some principles or elements over others would make it impossible to achieve a balanced solution.

The Co-Chairs are prepared to meet with the leaders and foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan at any time, and call on the leaders to resume negotiations in good faith at the earliest opportunity.  Continuous and direct dialogue between Baku and Yerevan conducted under the auspices of the Co-Chairs remains an essential element in building confidence and advancing the peace process.  The Co-Chairs will also continue to discuss, as appropriate, relevant issues with the interested parties directly affected by the conflict, recognizing that their views and concerns must be taken into account for any negotiated solution to succeed.

The Co-Chairs stress that they remain fully committed, in accordance with their mandate, to helping the sides find a peaceful solution to the conflict.  The Co-Chairs also express their full support for the impartial and critical monitoring work undertaken by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and his team."

Panorama, Armenia

March 9 2019

Tobacco production volumes increased by 11.4% in Armenia

In January 2019, the tobacco production volumes increased by 11.4% in Armenia compared to the same period of 2018, according to the data released by the National Statistical Service (NSS) of Armenia.

As Panorama.am was informed at the NSS, in the first month of the ongoing year, 2 million 727.9 thousand units of cigarettes were produced in Armenia.

The tobacco production share in the general production sphere in Armenia has made up 20.2% due to the registered increase.

To note, surveys indicate that more than 50 percent of Armenia men above 16 and almost 4 percent of women smoke.

JAM News

March 9 2019

Cigarette prices to skyrocket in Armenia

The Armenian minister of health says a 45 per cent price hike in cigarettes will prevent 88,000 early deaths 

Armenia plans to increase the price of cigarettes by 45 per cent.

Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan wrote on his Facebook page that this tax could prevent 88,000 early deaths, including those who stop smoking and those who do not start.

He did not, however, mention a time period in relation to this indicator.

• Armenian social media dazed by public tobacco ban, marijuana promotion rumor

• Armenia’s young men increasingly suffering strokes

How has this approach worked abroad?

Torosyan cites research conducted by Harvard University, the University of Washington and the World Bank as proof of the efficacy of this approach to an anti-smoking campaign.

He argues that the increase in cigarette prices will lead to a rise in the country’s income, and not a reduction, as his opponents claim, referring to the experience of other countries, and promised to present further proof.

Torosyan stated in his post that: “Tobacco use has a much more negative effect on the economy of any country than a reduction in income.”

A dispute between the prime minister and the minister of health

Minister Torosyan wrote the message on Facebook after a government meeting where an anti-tobacco campaign was discussed.

At the meeting, there was a dispute between the Minister of Health and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The minister did not like the fact that, in the bill on changes to the tax code, the excise tax on tobacco products was four times lower than had been previously provided for.

Torosyan said that in general, Armenia should implement a total ban on tobacco use.

The minister’s remarks did not please Nikol Pashinyan:

“We are also moving in this direction, but you want a time machine. You say, ‘let’s do it the right away’, but this will not happen. This path leads to disaster.”

Social media reaction

The dispute between the minister and the prime minister was continued by users on social networks who also divided into two camps. Those who support Arsen Torosyan believe that the Minister cares about the health of the people:

“Arsen Torosyan, do not listen to the prime minister. Do what you must.”

“Your thoughts and steps are valuable. Every citizen feels your goals and your work. We haven’t had such a minister of health for a long time.”

But there is also the opinion that Arsen Torosyan is taking too hard a position:

“No one questions the harm of smoking. However, anti-smoking methods must be such that they do not lead to a hundredfold harm.”

Not just a price increase 

The anti-tobacco campaign of the Armenian authorities is not limited to just raising cigarette prices. The need for urgent action is due to the fact that Armenia has the highest number of smokers among European countries.

A study by the World Health Organization says that 51.5 per cent of Armenian men smoke.

The Armenian government previously published a draft bill that would restrict smoking in public places and put it up for public discussion.

Even then, many were outraged by the large fines that violators could face.

The amount of the estimated fines will vary depending on where the action took place:

250 thousand drams [about $520] in an elevator, cafe or office;

50 thousand drams [about $104] in a car;

in public transport, such as a taxi: 100 thousand drams [about $208].

According to the bill, it would only be possible to smoke in specially designated places which must be properly equipped.

The new strategy to combat smoking, according to the authors, should reduce the number of smokers by 30-40 per cent.

Plus Company Updates(PCU)

March 8, 2019 Friday

New Memoir on Armenians Saved by Mormon Missioners 1902-1914 and Their Lives in Utah and Beyond

SALT LAKE CITY: Isabel-Rose Kulski has issued the following news release: - 

Author : Isabel-Rose Kulski 

Title: The Saints of Zara 

subtitle: An Intimate Memoir 

ISBN 978-1-4808-6898-4 

Non-Fiction trade paperback 

128 pages 

30 b/w photos 

$11.95 

The Isabel Kulski begins this family saga by describing her father Nishan, a nineteen year old Armenian fruit and vegetable farmer, living near Zara, Armenia--now part of modern Turkish Anatolia--at the turn of the 20th century. The Ottoman government of the day is increasingly violent and lawless as the Turkish empire ebbs in power and influence. To this ravaged country side come Mormon missionaries from Utah.

 

Nishan not only coverts to the new faith he encourages his neighbors--30 0f them-- to seek fulfillment and peace in the newly admitted state of Utah. Nishan and his family struggled to make a place for themselves not as refugees forever awaiting a return to Asia Minor nor as immigrants simply trying to adjust and prosper but as american citizens proud to be in a community and a state that put self reliance and community cohesion. The drama of contending clans continued as it had in Armenia but in Utah there was the aspirational possibility of advancement and recognition. Isabel herself a trusted US State Department official with a role in the founding of the UN and preparing intelligence data and direct source information for decades in Washington, DC. Interestingly she married a Polish resistance leader in the Polish Home Army after World War 11 and eventually went to Zara for a reunion with her past. "...a wonderfully told story of three generations and two continents (and two major wars as well)...all the photographs are well chosen with some absolutely heart breaking. I am so happy the author is a centenarian and still writing with wit, charm and energy. This book is not only a tribute to the Armenians who came to Utah but to the Mormon community that helped and encouraged them to make their way in America. Recommended for libraries and especially for those interested in collecting and assessing the Mormon historical record." Robert Redfern-West bookswest.london 

For librarians areas covered: Armenia, early 20th century, Turkish-Armenian conflicts pre WW1, Armenian language and culture, Mormon missionary effort in Turkey, Red Cross in Turkey prior to WW1, Utah--migration of converts to Salt Lake City - Provo areas, Mormon religious infrastructure and policies 1900-1941, gentiles and industrial growth 1917-1945, State Department WW11, Founding of the UN in San Francisco 1945(author is last living member of the american delegation);Turkey 1960s (reunion)Zara book available vis Amazon and direct purchase 1-888-242-5904

University of Leeds, UK

March 9 2019

Swallows and Armenians – reappraising a children’s classic

John, Susan, Titty, Roger. The fictional Walker children are much-loved characters in Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons – a quintessentially English family in an archetypal children’s classic.

But it was an Anglo-Armenian family that provided the inspiration for the Walkers, and now a fellow Anglo-Armenian artist has embarked on a mission to firmly re-establish the connection, using correspondence found in a University of Leeds archive.

Taqui, Susan, Mavis (known to her family as Titty), Roger and Brigit Altounyan lived in Aleppo in Syria. They met Ransome during a summer holiday of sailing, fishing and camping in the Lake District in 1928. Their experiences of learning to sail on Coniston Water inspired the author to write a book for children.

Eldest daughter Taqui recalled how "Uncle Arthur" helped their Northern Irish-Armenian father Ernest buy two dinghies, naming them Swallow and Mavis.

Ernest helped run his family’s renowned hospital in Aleppo, but the children knew the Lake District well, spending summer holidays at the home of their maternal grandfather William G Collingwood, a notable artist.

Leeds-born Ransome was himself a close family friend of the Collingwoods and had visited them in the Lakes from childhood. He learned to sail in their boat – also called Swallow.

Two years after that idyllic summer of 1928, the first edition of Swallows and Amazons was published. It bore the dedication: "To the six for whom it was written in exchange for a pair of slippers", referring to a pair of Turkish slippers the Altounyans had given Ransome as a parting gift.

But Ransome went on to distance his characters and the Altounyan children, excising that dedication and emphasising the inspiration of his own childhood visits to Nibthwaite in the Lake District.

Arthur Ransome with four of the five Altounyan children and their mother, Dora. Date unknown. © Arthur Ransome Literary Estate

Now Cumbrian-based artist Karen Babayan, who herself left Iran as a teenager after the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago, wants to redress the balance.

“Swallows and Amazons is the first of a series of masterpieces of childrens’ literature,” she said. “But what is not widely enough known is the part that Altounyan family played as the catalyst for the books, which are such an integral part of Lake District mythology.

“I want the contribution of the Altounyan family to be more widely acknowledged and celebrated, bringing positive awareness of different cultures in the area,” she said.

“In knowing the identity and ethnicity of the children, I believe young British readers of all cultural backgrounds would feel more connected to and excited by the works of Arthur Ransome and the timeless landscape of the Lake District.”

“I want the contribution of the Altounyan family to be more widely acknowledged and celebrated, bringing positive awareness of different cultures in the Lake District.”

KAREN BABAYAN, ARTIST

Ms Babayan’s Art Council England-funded project includes:

A book of short stories, launched at Words by the Water, Keswick’s literature festival (9 March);

An exhibition of paintings, text works, sculptures, artists’ books and film on two floors at Theatre by the Lake (6 March-10 April);

A participatory Armenian circle dance event on the shores of Derwentwater with dancer Shakeh Major; Tchilingirian, in honour of Ernerst Altounyan – who loved to dance and in celebration of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide who were treated, employed and supported by the Altounyan family in Aleppo (9 March);

A talk at the University of Leeds (21 March);

A talk for the Armenian Institute (30 March) Nevarte Gulbenkian Hall, Iverna Gardens, London W8 6TP.

The book – Swallows and Armenians – explores the Altounyans’ lives in Coniston and Aleppo, bringing to life their cultural history, traditions and their relationship with the Ransomes.

Interviews with family members, curators and authors further inform the book, which reasserts the Middle Eastern cultural context, with links to the current war in Syria and the migrant crisis.

Another element of the project by this multi-disciplinary artist was a performance of children aged 8-13, working with Ms Babayan’s daughter, actor and director Persia Babayan-Taylor. They devised a performance based on the book of short stories and performed it at the Theatre by the Lake in February.

An exhibition using film, artists’ books, photography, painting, prints and objects, will explore the Altounyans in the context of Ms Babayan’s own family history. A limited edition map book produced by the University’s Wild Pansy Press, will link Aleppo to Coniston and the Altounyans to Ransome through the Leeds archive’s rich photographic history. Workshops with Leeds primary school children also fed into its creation.

A selection of family portraits by Dora Altounyan will also go on public show for the first time – including an iconic portrait of Titty as a child, which was in Ransome’s possession for many years.

Frosty exchange

Mystery has surrounded the reasons why the relationship between Ernest Altounyan and Ransome and his Russian wife Evgenia cooled after the publication of his most famous book.

It was thought the seeds for this were planted during a three month visit by the Ransomes to Aleppo in 1932, when it is suggested they offered to adopt Titty and give her a better life in England; an offer which would surely have caused offence to a distinguished family of doctors.

But while Ms Babayan points out that there is no evidence to confirm or refute this claim, clues to what happened lie in the boxes of letters and diaries that form part of the Arthur Ransome Archive held in Leeds University Library’s Special Collections.

She has drawn on this partially-unpublished material, which includes an emotionally-charged letter from Ernest Altounyan to Arthur Ransome, sent following the hasty departure of the couple from Aleppo.

In his autobiography, the reasons given for their departure are mainly put down to Ransome’s ongoing health problems, exacerbated by life in Aleppo. But Ernest’s letter suggests that Ransome accused him of “managing” his wife Dora (née Collingwood) and of “keeping her out in the East for too long”.

Ms Babayan believes that an element of jealousy – perhaps regret – may have fuelled this argument on Arthur Ransome’s part: as a young man he had proposed to Dora. 

“It was also a painful realisation by Ernest that his long friendship with Arthur, previously assumed to be on an equal footing, was in fact nothing of the sort,” she added.

The same revealing correspondence between author and doctor also claimed Ransome had suggested that the children would be “so out of it as to feel like savages”. The Ransomes were keen for the Altounyan children to receive a British education as they got older.

The shadow of genocide

Ms Babayan asserts that the Ransomes underestimated the strength of, and pride in, the Armenian family bond.

“The prospect of being separated from his family was too painful for Ernest to contemplate,” she said. “Members of his family had died in the Armenian genocide, which began in 1915.

“They were unable to return to their home town of Sivas in Ottoman Turkey and lost their farms and house in the area of Souookolook in the Syrian mountains. The family were instrumental in the relief of Armenian refugees who flooded into Aleppo during this time and were living amongst, treating and employing orphans and survivors.”

But the relationship between the two families was patched up and correspondence continued, mainly between Dora and Arthur, right up to her death in 1964. When the three eldest girls were eventually sent to a school in Bowness-on-Windermere, Arthur and Evgenia assisted by hosting the girls and taking them for trips.

“The girls found they were not at all behind their peers, but boarding school in England was an inevitable shock to the children, used as they were to a more unstructured education,” added Ms Babayan.

“They also suffered from the kind of name-calling endemic in schools and were cruelly nicknamed the ‘Three Zulus’ by their classmates.

“As the Altounyan children matured they remained very fond of Arthur and Evgenia, often sailing with them on the Norfolk Broads. But whether it was the initial disagreement in Aleppo or Ransome’s irritation with Ernest – who enjoyed and boasted of their family’s link to the books – which prompted the author to deny the children’s role in the inspiration for Swallows and Amazons in his autobiography, we will never know.”

The four older Altounyan children in Aleppo. Date unknown. © Arthur Ransome Literary Estate

Further information

Karen Babayan was born in Iran to Armenian/British parents, moving to Leeds in 1978 just prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Latterly she lived in the city’s Hyde Park area – a stone’s throw from the house in which Arthur Ransome was born. She has lived in Appleby, Cumbria since 2009. An established artist, Babayan has had more than 20 solo shows and participated in more than 50 group exhibitions since 1990, including The Tetley contemporary art gallery in Leeds and The Harris Art Gallery, Preston.