Harut Sassounian
Watch
Harut Sassounian's speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VOL2HjQzjk
Appo Jabarian
Watch
Appo Jabarian's speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHO5xzX3KjA
Paris, France -- Recently, Harut Sassounian and Appo Jabarian delivered remarks in commemoration of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
To watch click on the above links.
We would like to express our gratitude to Jean ECKIAN, Gary BEDIAN, Brian JABARIAN, Franck MOURADIAN, Nishan HAGOP PAPARIAN and Chris BEDIAN for their invaluable artistic and technical assistance in making both video documentaries possible.
Editorial Staff
USA Armenian Life Magazine
| Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir:
What a factually driven, politically savvy, and diplomatically expressed elaborate scrutiny is recommended by Mr. Harut Sassounian in his May 27 column: "Senate should scrutinize Bryza before
confirming him as Ambassador to Baku."
I hope Mr. Bryza's nomination proceedings will be conducted openly and critically, following the line of questioning suggested by Mr. Sassounian.
Just like the L.A. Times and the New York Times editorials help shape American policies, The California Courier helps define sound perspectives for the Armenian Diaspora, regarding issues pertaining to Armenia and the Armenians.
Hovannes Havoonjian
Yorba Linda, CA |
The Bancroft Library's new archival material on William Saroyan includes (left to right) a sketch "from a Turkish admirer," a photo of the author in his youth, and a framed drawing of Saroyan with a passage of his writing on Armenia. (Images courtesy of the Bancroft Library)
The Bancroft Library accepts gift of William Saroyan archives
By Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations
19 May 2010
BERKELEY - The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, has received a spectacular gift of hundreds of books, drawings, correspondence and other personal communications to and from one of America's best-known writers, the Armenian-American author and playwright William Saroyan.
William Saroyan (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)
The rich collection includes approximately 48 cartons with 1,200 books and other archival materials assembled by his niece, Jacqueline Kazarian, of San Francisco, who also is the founder of the William Saroyan Literary Foundation International. A celebration of the gift is set for noon on Friday (May 21) at The Faculty Club on campus.
"UC Berkeley is such an incredible place of learning and growing and intellectual exploration," said Kazarian, who earned degrees in communication and decorative arts at UC Berkeley in the early 1950s. "I know that my uncle wanted his library, manuscripts and galleys to go to Berkeley. Students will be inspired by the collection."
Apart from this gift, The Bancroft Library already retains significant holdings of Saroyan's work that it collected over the course of his life and career, and it continues to add to that collection. Most of the latest materials come from Saroyan's home on San Francisco's 15th Avenue that is now a Saroyan museum directed by Kazarian. Those materials were supplemented by Kazarian's extensive personal collection, as well as by items of Saroyan's that she acquired through a prominent Boston archivist and via a Saroyan friend.
"Jacqueline Kazarian's new gift is the largest and most substantial augmentation to the Saroyan collections at Bancroft that we have ever received," said Peter Hanff, Bancroft's deputy director.
Saroyan, born in Fresno, Calif., in 1908, drew extensively on his Armenian-American heritage and childhood experiences for his books, plays and short stories. Much of his writing was considered impressionistic and reflected a hearty optimism often hard to find during the gritty Great Depression. He died in 1981 at the age of 72, with his niece at his side.
The author's classic manual typewriter, as
displayed at his San Francisco home.
(Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)
When Story magazine editors Martha Foley and Whit Burnett printed Saroyan's "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" in 1934, it was an immediate success, triggering Saroyan's fame and standing as one of his many literary achievements.
"Uncle Bill's writing revolutionized the short story," said Kazarian, adding that she has always found his work "almost spiritual and fable-like."
His five-act play, "The Time of Your Life," is the only American play to have won both the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Saroyan's work as a screenwriter with Hollywood director Louis B. Mayer on the film "The Human Comedy" won an Academy Award in 1943, and Saroyan later wrote a widely acclaimed book with the same title.
Kazarian's gift to The Bancroft Library includes multiple first editions of Saroyan's works, such as "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze," "My Name is Aram" (1940), "The Human Comedy" and "Obituaries" (1979), and many materials personally inscribed by the writer. Also among the new items according to Steven Black, the head of acquisitions for Bancroft, are letters, telegrams and notes written by Saroyan to relatives and others close to him, mostly during the 1930s and 1940s.
"He personalized a lot of what passed through his hands," Black said, noting that much of the material features marginalia reflecting Saroyan's thoughts and interests.
Antiquarian book dealer Peter Howard of Berkeley,
poring through Saroyan materials.
(Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)
There also is a copy of Henry Miller's "Aller Retour New York," an 80-page journal about a 1935 visit by Miller to New York City and his journey aboard a Dutch ship back to Europe. It is inscribed by Miller to Saroyan.
And a Saroyan scrapbook in the collection contains press announcements about the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "The Time of Your Life." He scoffed at the award, contending that the arts should not be judged by commerce.
The new Bancroft collection also contains a pre-publication proof of "Burnt Norton," the first poem of T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets," which Black said the publisher may have given to Saroyan "when he crossed the pond" on a trip from his temporary home in France to England.
There also is a wide range of magazines, including issues of Horizon and the Partisan Review, a leading publication of the Anglo-American intelligentsia during the 1930s and '40s, Black said.
The first major deposit at The Bancroft Library of Saroyan's papers was recorded in October 1980, and the library agreed to organize the collection and give Saroyan a general description and an index. After Saroyan died in 1981, the Saroyan Foundation paid the library to continue assembling the papers for official archives, which the foundation ultimately decided to place at Stanford University. That happened in 1996.
Kazarian's donation is in honor of Berkeley antiquarian book dealer Peter Howard, who has provided appraisal assistance to Bancroft on Saroyan materials and other collections for decades. While director of The Bancroft Library, the late James D. Hart also developed strong professional and personal ties to Saroyan over the years, according to Kazarian and Black.
William Saroyan's niece, Jacqueline Kazarian,
surveys materials in his home. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)
"Now, the Saroyan family materials come to a place that Saroyan himself would have been happy to see accepting them," Black said, noting that Bancroft is proud to have so much of Saroyan's "intellectual remains" to be able to share with the public.
Scheduled to speak about the acquisition at Friday's event are Jacqueline Kazarian; David Calonne, vice president of education for the Saroyan Literary Foundation International and a Saroyan scholar; San Francisco novelist Herbert Gold; theater director Val Hendrickson reading Saroyan's short story, "Common Prayer," and the credo to "The Time of Your Life"; and Charles Faulhaber, director of The Bancroft Library.
UC Berkeley already is home to an Armenian Studies Program, which is focused on contemporary Armenian history, politics, language and culture. And Bancroft, a rich, special collections library containing historical and literary documents and other materials relating to California, the West, Mexico and Latin America, is known for its strong collections on California writers, including Jack London, Robinson Jeffers, Bret Harte, Frank Norris and others.
More information about The Bancroft Library is online.. Bancroft is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
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Cavusoglu: A Turkish
Denialist Pinocchio
Invades Armenia
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By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
 Ankara was proud to have propelled its own version of Turkish Denialist Pinocchio into international infamy, last week. Turkish President of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlut Cavusoglu's denialist Pinocchio nose even grew longer.
In Yerevan, the length of Mr. Cavusoglu's nose out-performed its previous status, thanks to his ability to hurl so many lies in so few words.
Thank goodness, his visit, originally branded as "official," was downgraded to "working" visit by Armenian officials. The reason was his refusal to pay an official visit to the Genocide Monument.
"When the Armenian media questioned him about his refusal, Cavusoglu lied by saying that his predecessors had not done so either. Armenian journalists corrected him by pointing out that his predecessors had in fact visited the Genocide Monument," revealed Harut Sassounian, Publisher of The California Courier.
Mr. Cavusoglu is a career liar about historic facts.
This week, because of his misdeeds, he was "granted" by USA Armenian Life Magazine with the coveted "Genocide Denialist Pinocchio Award." The graphic artists at the Los Angeles-based Armenian American weekly went fast to work to mount a Pinocchio nose on Mr. Cavusoglu's face.
The pre-press news about USA Armenian Life Magazine's "Genocide Denialist Pinocchio Award" must have been leaked out even before the graphic work on the front cover was completed. As a result, the editorial offices were bombarded by telephone calls by representatives of other candidates vying for the same "award."
The first caller was a lady claiming to be calling from the White House. She begged to have President Obama be granted a similar award.
We asked: "Why shall we grant her wishes?" She said that Pres. Obama already earned that right because he lied in his first year in office by failing t o keep his campaign promise to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide. Her wish was granted.
The second caller was a male who was supposedly an aid to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. His reasoning was that his boss Hilary turned to be a big liar by merely agreeing with and cheer-leading for the Zurich-signed Turkish Protocols that force Yerevan to recognize the current borders between Armenia and Turkey. His wish was immediately granted.
The third caller was a man who claimed to be an assistant to Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. His reasoning was that Mr. Davutoglu is a gross liar. His "zero problems with neighbors" policy not only failed but also increased Turkey's problems, and mushroomed into a worldwide opposition. The man also complained that Mr. Davutoglu's policy to weaken Armenia and Armenians worldwide backfired. The opposite happened. World Armenians are now even more energized, lamented he.
Similar requests came from the offices of Turkey's President Gul, and Prime Minister Erdogan. The requests were granted without further ado.
Since there is only one front cover in this issue, and since the field of "Genocide Denialist Pinocchio Award" recipients became so crowded so fast, USA Armenian Life's staff decided to "put all genocide deniers in one basket."
Our graphic artists somehow managed to fit them all in. Secretary Clinton ended up sitting on Cavusoglu's nose along with Pres. Obama. Turkey's Pres. Abdullah Gul, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hung from it. While Foreign Minister Davutoglu was set next to his boss, Erdogan.
Finally, I asked if the original Mr. Pinocchio would be willing to join the group. He said that he was vehemently opposed to the idea. He stressed that he would be deeply hurt if by mistake we included him. He underlined that it would be an insult for him to join these infamous liars. He explained that while his elongated nose makes people laugh, the infamous genocide denying Pinocchios' noses make people cry. He begged us to keep him out and we obliged.
But seriously, refusal by any foreign official visitor of Armenia to lay a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Monument during a visit to Yerevan is an insult to the 95-year-old injury that continues to bleed the hearts of millions of victims worldwide.
"By refusing to follow protocol, Cavusoglu not only insulted the Armenian nation, but also violated the long-standing recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the European Parliament. In the end, by his words and deeds, the Turkish diplomat managed to embarrass himself and undermine his own credibility as a political figure unworthy of representing a prominent European institution and its values," wrote Sassounian.
On May 18, responding to Sassounian's article, a reader called "Informed Turkish American citizen" wrote on www.armenianweekly.com: "When will Armenian officials stop accommodating deranged genocide denying propagandists in their own country? When are Yerevan officials going to grow a pair and stand up like men to rightly defend their nation's dignity, history and their own family's martyrs? How pathetic can the enslaved cowards in Yerevan be? How many times will the Republic of Armenia continue to accommodate the likes of genocide deniers Robert, Ahmet and Murat, before realizing their only intention is to deface the memory of genocide victims anew and incite hatred against those who seek justice and reconciliation? Shame on them and shame on Cavusoglu."
Another reader, Mike Mirakian wrote: "Try going to a synagogue and NOT wearing a yarmulka and see how far you'll get past the doors. I'm not Jewish but I'll wear a yarmulka out of respect. Visitors to Armenia should do nothing less. If you won't respect our most sacred of places, stay the hell out of the country! What kind of Mickey Mouse leaders do we have running Armenia? If you don't respect yourself how do you expect anyone else to respect you? ... No disrespect meant to Mickey Mouse.... Try disrespecting old Mickey at a Disney venue and you'll be hustled out of the Magic Kingdom post haste!"
This Turkish Denialist Pinocchio known as Mr. Cavusoglu invaded Armenia, and snuck up on one of Europe's highest institutions (PACE), unchecked. That's a shame! European officials should come clean and immediately demand his resignation.
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Turkish President of European Council Should be Barred from Armenia
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By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
 Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish President of PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), offended his hosts by refusing to lay a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Monument during his visit to Yerevan last week.
When the Armenian media questioned him about his refusal, Cavusoglu lied by saying that his predecessors had not done so either. Armenian journalists corrected him by pointing out that his predecessors had in fact visited the Genocide Monument.
After getting caught, he changed his tune and confessed that it was his personal decision not to visit the Monument and asked that Armenians respect his wishes.
Why should Armenians respect a genocide denier and a liar? Although a founder of the ruling Justice and Development Party and member of the Turkish Parliament, Cavusoglu was not visiting Armenia as a Turkish official, but as President of PACE. It is regrettable that earlier this year Armenia 's delegates to PACE were not successful in blocking his election to the Presidency of this influential European institution.
The real issue is not Cavusoglu's ethnic background. No one should be disqualified from any post due to his or her ethnicity. The objections are based on his long-standing opposition to Armenian issues, including denials of the Armenian Genocide and support for Azerbaijan in the Artsakh conflict.
Upon learning that Cavusoglu would not visit the Genocide Memorial -- a standard protocol for all high-ranking dignitaries visiting Yerevan -- the Armenian government decided to downgrade the status of his visit from "official" to that of a "working" one. Needless to say, this was just a slap on the wrist, given the gravity of his offense. Regrettably, Armenian officials did not issue a single word of criticism or condemnation. They should have taken a harsher measure against Cavusoglu and cancelled his trip to Yerevan . By not enforcing the country's long established protocol, Armenian officials are simply encouraging future visiting dignitaries not to respect the memory of Armenian Genocide victims.
A bad precedent was already set in September 2008, when Pres. Gul was invited to Yerevan . I wrote a column then urging Armenian authorities to ask the Turkish President to lay a wreath at the Genocide Monument . Unfortunately, no such request was made of Pres. Gul, and he was more than happy to sidestep the issue!
I must commend the Armenian Revolutionary Federation for refusing to meet with Cavusoglu during his Yerevan visit, because of his disrespect for Armenian Genocide victims. His visit was also condemned by the local Student Union of the Hnchag Party.
Unfortunately, officials of an opposition party met Cavusoglu in Yerevan to pursue their own agenda, asking him -- a Turk -- to condemn the Armenian government's human rights record. Meanwhile, pro-government parties met Cavusoglu to familiarize him with Armenia 's position on major regional issues, as if he would be willing to change his views on the Armenian Genocide, Artsakh and Armenian-Turkish relations.
Regardless of his own and his government's denialist position on the Armenian Genocide, Cavusoglu should not be excused for not having visited the Genocide Monument .. Even Ambassadors of countries that do not formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide take part in the solemn procession on April 24 and lay a wreath at the Genocide Monument ..
By refusing to follow protocol, Cavusoglu not only insulted the Armenian nation, but also violated the long-standing recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the European Parliament.
In the end, by his words and deeds, the Turkish diplomat managed to embarrass himself and undermine his own credibility as a political figure unworthy of representing a prominent European institution and its values.
To avoid similar scandals in the future, Armenian officials must contact foreign dignitaries in advance of their planned visits and impress upon them the importance of respecting Armenia 's established protocol on laying a wreath at the Genocide Monument . Should they refuse, their visit should be promptly canceled. Can anyone imagine a foreign dignitary visiting Jerusalem and refusing to lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem memorial for Holocaust victims? He or she would not be allowed to set foot in Israel again. The Armenian government should take a similar stand vis-à-vis the Armenian Genocide Memorial!
At the end of his first visit to Armenia , Cavusoglu announced that he would be back in Yerevan in October. I hope Armenian officials do not let him into the country, unless he is prepared to respect Armenia 's established protocols for all foreign dignitaries.
If Armenian officials do not insist on applying their own rules and regulations, foreign dignitaries would have no reason to comply!
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Armenian apricot stone becomes a tree
 Oslo, Norway - The tall Armenian beauty Eva Rivas had her first rehearsal today, and she was not only singing about an Apricot Stone, it even appeared next to her on stage! Warm feelings surrounded her performance, which is a musical blend of ethnic and modern sounds.
The Armenian entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will feature one of the national symbols of Armenia: an apricot. It is not only part of many myths and legends, but it also gave the colour to the lower stripe of the Armenian flag. On stage, an apricot stone was placed behind Eva, and there was also an artificial waterfall. During the performance, a dancer approached the waterfall with a vase and then watered the apricot stone. It then opened up and made a small apricot tree appear, which kept growing till the end of the stage act.
Armenia will be setting a new record in this year's Eurovision Song Contest: Eva Rivas will be accompanied on stage by Jivan Gasparyan, a 83-year-old musician - he will be the oldest ever person to feature in an Eurovision Song Contest performance. He will be seated on a stone, playing a duduk, a traditional Armenian flute. Apart from him, Eva has three female backing vocalists to support her.
The tall Armenian singer performed in casual clothes today, but she showed her dress for the Semi-Final to the cameras - it will be a long dress in the colour of apricots. The stage was also lit in orange colour, and it was surrounded by dark curtains. Smoke effects were used, fitting the soft and mystic atmosphere of the song. In the last run of the rehearsal, the pyrotechnical effects were also rehearsed. They consisted of single flames appearing along the edges of the stage. | | ________________________________________________________
Ombudsman Sees Continued Restriction of Freedom of
Assembly in Armenia
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Armenia's human rights defender has criticized the authorities for failing to show full commitment to the principles of freedom of assembly. In an ad hoc report unveiled in Yerevan on Tuesday, Ombudsman Armen Harutiunian also blamed certain vague provisions in the current legislation for the situation.
The report reviews the situation with the freedom of assembly in Armenia since the 2008 presidential election till today. It concludes that the principles of "state obligation to protect peaceful rallies, exclusion of discrimination and other principles" have been violated.
"The conduct of public authorities in many cases gives reasons to assume that they fail to fully appreciate the importance of freedom of assembly," Harutiunian said during the presentation of the report.
According to the data published in the report, the Yerevan authorities rejected more than 80 requests for holding public rallies in the city in 2008.
"There were not that many requests for public rallies in 2009 and particularly so far this year and the number of rejections isn't that large correspondingly, because it is not a pre-election period now. The same problems, however, may recur during pre-election periods, as the legislation remains the same," he said.
The Armenian parliament introduced drastic changes in the freedom of assembly legislation shortly after nonstop rallies staged by the opposition after the disputed 2008 presidential election led to the country's worst political crisis. The changes severely restricted the rights to hold rallies and demonstrations and gave local authorities sweeping powers to reject requests for holding protest events based on vague conclusions of law-enforcement agencies. The Armenian lawmakers later removed some of the restrictions under pressure from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, but did not fully revert to the version of the law that existed before March 2008.
The ombudsman's latest report does not refer to cases of violence, police detentions and criminal prosecution applied against oppositionists participating in marches of protest in 2009. It only says that citizens' right to hold marches appeared to be 'less protected' than the right to stage rallies.
Harutiunian said he planned to come up with a new draft law to try to fill in the gaps in the existing legislation.
The ombudsman acknowledged the existence of violations in the practice of applying laws, but would not be drawn into a discussion of the 'democratic credentials' of the current government.
"An ombudsman is not a politician and this is not a political report," Harutiunian underscored.
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