LOUSSAPATZ_The Dawn - 2012-961-12-1

ԹԻՒ 961 ՇԱԲԱԹ, 1 ԴԵԿՏԵՄԲԵՐ 2012

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Alexander Tamanian

Ալեքսանդր Թամանեան

March 4, 1878 – February 20, 1936

Armenian neoclassical architect, who is remembered today for his work in the city of Yerevan.

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Alexander Tamanian Armenian: Ալեքսանդր Թամանեան, born in the city of Yekaterinodar in 1878 in the family of a banker. He graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1904. His works

portrayed sensitive and artistic neoclassical trends popular in those years. Some of his early works included the mansion of V. P. Kochubei in Tsarskoye Selo, 1911–1912; the house of Prince S. A. Scherbatov in Novinski Boulevard in Moscow, 1911–1913; the village railway employees housing and the tuberculosis sanatorium at the Prozorovskaya station (now Kratovo) near Moscow, 1913–1923; central workshops of Kazan railway in Lyubertsy, 1916).

He became an Academician of Architecture in 1914, in 1917 he was elected as the Vice-President of the Academy of Arts. In 1923 he moved to Yerevan, heading the new construction effort in the republic. He was the chief engineer of the local Council of People's Commissars and was a member of the CEC of the Armenian SSR (1925–1936), sponsored the construction industry, designed the layouts of towns and villages including Leninakan (now Gyumri) (1925), Nor-Bayazet (now Gavar) and Ahta-ahpara (both in 1927), Echmiadzin (1927–1928), and others. Tamanian created the first general plan of the modern city of Yerevan which was approved in 1924. Tamanian's style was instrumental in transforming what was essentially a small provincial city into the modern Armenian capital, a major industrial and cultural

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center. Neoclassicism dominated his designs but Tamanian also implemented a national flavor (red linings of tuff, traditional decorative carvings on stone etc.). Among his most famous designs in Yerevan are the hydroelectric station (ERGES-1, 1926), the Opera and Ballet house named after A. Spendiarian (1926– 1953), the Republic Square (1926–1941) and others. He also played a major role in the development of restoration projects of historical landmarks in the country, chairing the Committee for the Protection of Historic Monuments in Armenia. He was married to Camilla Edwards, a member of the Benois family. Their sons Georgi and Yulius Tamanian also became respected architects and continued their father's work. Tamanian died in Yerevan on February 20, 1936.

$21.4 Million Raised at Armenia Fund Telethon 2012

LOS ANGELES -- Armenia Fund Telethon 2012 has raised $21,422,477 in pledges to support vital humanitarian and

infrastructure projects in Armenia and Artsakh. The funds will be used to revitalize Armenia's struggling communities, strengthen Artsakh's strategic border villages and assist in Syrian

Armenian relief efforts. This year, fundraisers have been held in the United States, Canada, France, Germany,

Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Greece, Sweden, Great Britain, Austria, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and Russia. Funds raised through all 2012 events have been added to the proceeds of the Telethon, and the grand total was announced prior to the conclusion of the event.

More than half of the sum, $12 million, was contributed by wealthy Russian-Armenian businessmen during a fundraising gala organized by the he Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in Moscow on November 8. One of them, insurance magnate Sergei Sarkisov, donated $4 million during the event attended by Armenian parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian and Karabakh President Bako Sahakian.

The second biggest donor of this year is Levon Hayrapetyan who has promised $2 million for the construction of Suvorov military academy in Nagorno Karabakh. The third biggest donor is Hayk Magakelyan with $1.6 million.

The owner of “Tashir” Group of Companies Samvel Karapetyan has promised to donate $1.5 million.

10 percent of the newly collected funds will be used for providing humanitarian assistance to Syria’s 80,000-strong Armenian community increasingly suffering from the bloody conflict in the Middle Eastern state.

Last year the Fund raised more than $30.9 million.

Armenia Fund has implemented $235 million worth of development projects in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh since its establishment two decades ago. In particular, it has built or renovated about 500 kilometers of roads, hundreds of apartments and houses and dozens of schools, kindergartens and healthcare centers.

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Controversial New Armenian History Textbook “DistortingHistory”

Author of controversial history book Edik Minasian

YEREV AN -- The official version of Armenia’ s bloody 2008 post- election unrest, strongly disputed by opposition leaders and human rights campaigners, has been controversially included in a new history textbook for state-run universities.

The textbook approved by the Ministry of Education and published this year blames opposition groups for the March 1-2, 2008 violence in Yerevan, which left ten people dead and more than 150 others injured.

It contends that the violence erupted after “demonstrators started attacking police forces” and that both sides used firearms in vicious clashes in downtown Yerevan. In an apparent reference to Levon Ter- Petrosian, the main opposition candidate in the February 2008 presidential election, it says “the leader and organizers of the riots” urged the protesters to loot shops and set cars on fire.

The book, which traces the history of Armenia from ancient to modern times, also slams the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition for “blatantly rejecting” the official vote results that gave victory to Serzh Sarkisian.

At the same time, the book states that the Armenian authorities “have their share of the blame” for what was the worst street violence in the country’s history. “Having not exhausted peaceful means of solving the crisis, they resorted to the use of police force,” it says.

The authorities have said all along that the violence resulted from Ter-Petrosian’s attempt to forcibly seize power after the disputed election. Ter-Petrosian and his associates insist, however, that the authorities deliberately used lethal force to enforce the results of what they call a rigged ballot.

Not surprisingly, Ter-Petrosian loyalists and other opposition supporters have condemned the book’s conclusions, saying that they mirror criminal cases opened against more than a hundred oppositionists in the wake of the unrest. Ashot Sargsian, a historian affiliated with Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress, on Monday accused the book’s authors of “distorting history” on government orders.

Edik Minasian, the main author who heads the History Department at Yerevan State University, dismissed the criticism. “I only presented proven facts,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Minasian said the book’s controversial passages are based on the findings of an Armenian parliamentary commission that investigated the 2008 unrest. The ad hoc commission, boycotted by opposition lawmakers, concluded in September 2009 that the use of force against the protesters, who barricaded themselves in the city center, was “by and large legitimate and adequate.”

Mexico City Committee Recomends

Removal of Heydar Aliyev Monument

Azerbaijan Threatens to Suspend Diplomatic Relations

MEXICO CITY -- A three-member commission of intellectuals recommended Friday that Mexico City’s government remove a life-size bronze statue of Azerbaijan’s former president Heydar Aliyev that provoked a storm of criticism after it was installed on the capital’s main boulevard.

Critics said a dictator like Aliyev did not deserve a statue in a park where monuments have long honored the likes of Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln.

Azeri Ambassador to Mexico Ilgar Mukhtarov has declared that in case of dismantling Heydar Aliyev’s monument in Mexico Azerbaijan will apply to the court. “If Mexican Municipality decides to remove the monument Azerbaijan will suspend its diplomatic relations, close the Embassy and stop 4 billion dollar

investment” which according to him “will be shameful for Mexicans”.

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Mukhtarov charged that the government of Armenia, with which Azerbaijan has tense relations, and local Armenians were behind the campaign to remove Aliyev’s statue.

“We are aware that the current situation was driven by the Armenian government and the Armenian local diaspora in an attempt to discredit the work, life and dedication of Azerbaijan’s national leader,” Mukhtarov said a news conference.

Azerbaijan paid as much as $10 million to erect the statue, clean up the section of park where it sits and make similar repairs at a second site downtown.

The commission of three writers and analysts appointed by the city government said authorities erred by accepting money to allow a foreign government to essentially decide which political figures or historic events should be commemorated in the capital’s public spaces.

“In view of the majority opinions of the citizens and neighbors, the sculpture of Heydar Aliyev should be removed from the emblematic spot” on the Reforma boulevard, commission member Guillermo Osorno said.

The panel suggested that a citizen board be set up to review such proposals in the future.

Protesters have said they are offended by a monument to an authoritarian figure like Aliyev, who led Azerbaijan first as Communist Party boss during Soviet times and then as president from 1993 until his death in 2003.

Critics’ anger has been amplified by a plaque on Aliyev’s statue that describes him as “a brilliant example of infinite devotion to the motherland, loyal to the universal ideals of world peace” and by the location of the statue not far from monuments to Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Mexico’s national heroes.

Rep. Ed Royce Selected as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Representative Edward Royce

W ASHINGTON DC -- Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Representative Edward Royce (R-CA) was selected to serve as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 113th Congress, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). Rep. Royce will succeed Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who stepped down as Chair due to term limits.

A long-time advocate of U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, Congressman Royce has consistently demonstrated his strong support on a variety of key issues concerning the Armenian-American community: spearheading H.Res. 306 urging the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and to return confiscated church properties to their rightful owners; maintaining Section 907 of the Freedom

Support Act, which was adopted into law as a result of Azerbaijan's hostile actions against Armenia; cosponsoring Armenian Genocide resolutions; and taking many other actions supportive of Armenian issues.

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Raffi Hovannisian Calls ICAPP Baku Declaration as ‘Sham’

YEREV AN -- Armenian opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian’s landmark visit to Azerbaijan ended in scandal on Friday as he was reportedly barred from addressing an international forum held in Baku.

News reports from the Azerbaijani capital said the chairman of the opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party attempted to protest against a declaration adopted at the session of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP). The declaration upheld Azerbaijan’ s territorial integrity in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Upon his return to Armenia Hovannisian addressed a letter to the co-chairmen of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties,

the 7th General Assembly of which Hovannisian had addressed in Baku on Nov 23. “The “Baku declaration” is a sham and a forgery. It was imposed upon the delegates to the Assembly in flagrant disrespect of their rights and dignity; in intentional violation of the procedures of the organization which required a) adoption by consensus (at least I opposed it publicly and in no uncertain terms) and b) distribution of its final draft to all delegates before the closing session (which was purposefully not done); and in what appeared to be a premeditated conspiracy of commission (at least by the distinguished senator from Pakistan who headed the drafting committee and was informed in advance that I demanded, in accordance with the aforementioned procedural preconditions, to see the draft declaration and to speak in reference to it if it turned out to be one-sided, partisan and/or untruthful) and of silence (both of you sat quietly by as the ICAPP rules and regulations were being railroaded by the Azerbaijani delegation and the senator in charge of drafting the resolution),” Mr.

Hovannisian said. “As you well know, not only was I denied the right to reply when during the 4th plenary session

at least five Azerbaijani delegates attacked me by name with slanderous falsehoods and calls to arms, but I was expressly refused my fundamental prerogative to express my position on participating in, or opposing, the consensus required for adoption of the declaration.”

“In short, there was no consensus; the rule of law was mocked in broad daylight; and, what is worse, the text of the “final” document included a section on Nagorno Karabakh which was stealthily added at the last moment, hence rendering it a declaration of standard Azerbaijani propaganda which not only was spurious and self-serving but effectively supported their war rhetoric and incitement to violence (as manifested in the most uncivil banging of fists to which all of us can testify) instead of the cause of peace, security, and reconciliation. How ironic. I do not know if this was the price the ICAPP leadership had to pay in exchange for the arrangements and other undisclosed benefits delivered by the host state and its ruling party. Frankly, that is not my concern, but rather a matter for your conscience and of your own fidelity to the high principles and values of ICAPP,” the Armenian politician said.

“I hereby demand that you do the right thing, correct your misconduct, and cancel the corruption called the “Baku declaration,” as well as its publication, forthwith and in toto. That failing — and even if no other delegate of good conscience registers his or her protest in formal Fashion — I demand that you remove the word “Armenia” from that falsified piece of paper. If the ICAPP leadership wishes to remain complicit in this deceitful, bellicose affair, and wants to associate itself with war and not pacific settlement, that is your choice. I will not be a part of it,” he said.

While in Baku Hovannisian called on Azerbaijan to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state during his visit to Baku.

“I think the territorial integrity of all states should be respected, including the territorial integrity of the Mountainous Karabakh Republic,” Hovannisian said. “They are all new states. Azerbaijan is a new state. And I think that in the post-Soviet space it is still under question what is the extent of the territorial integrity of the states in the region.”

“It is very clear to me that whether old or new, recognized or not, the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh has a right of recognition. Azerbaijan would do very well to be the first to recognize. I understand that’s a difficult issue,” he said, according to Azerbaijani news agencies.

Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian

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Speaker of Artsakh's Parliament Visits LA City Council

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan,Councilmember Paul Krekorian and NKR Speaker AshotGhulyan

LOS ANGELES -- On November 21st National Assembly Speaker of NKR Ashot Ghulyan visited Los Angeles City Council where council members presented a proclamation declaring the City of Los Angeles and the City of Shushi as “friendship cities.” Councilmember Paul Krekorian, along with Councilmember Garcetti welcomed the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic delegation.

In his welcoming remarks, Los Angeles City Council Member, Eric Garcetti called for justice and self-determination for Nagorno-Karabakh.

“It’s a great honor to receive you, Mr. Ghulian. We see Los Angeles as a place where self-determination is critical for so many people, who come here from around the world fleeing war

and conflict and the lack of human rights. We really see this as a great beacon and whatever we can do for our friendships not only for the Armenian-American community— but all of us here in Los Angeles, to ensure that Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), will receive justice and self- determination; but we are very honored to have you here." Garcetti stated .

The Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia to Los Angles Grigor Hovhannisyan, the Permanent Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States of America and Canada Robert Avetisyan and the Head of Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Armine Aleksanyan took part in the event.

Aliyev Lashes Out Anti-Armenia Attack on Twitter

BAKU -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has used the online social network to unleash a barrage of disparaging tweets against Armenia.

“Armenia as a country is of no value,” Aliyev, in particular, tweeted on Tuesday in what was excerpts of his original November 16 speech at a meeting of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, celebrating its 20th anniversary.

“It [Armenia] is actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani lands,” he added, according to RIA Novosti.

The Azeri leader said his country would “continue to expose Armenia’s aggressive policy in all international organizations” and repeated his earlier controversial comments regarding the Armenian Diaspora.

“I have often talked about it, I want to say it again without fearing anyone – our enemy is the Armenian lobby,” said Aliyev.

“We are conducting talks and at the same time building up our military strength,” Aliyev said in another tweet, adding that Baku would continue its efforts to isolate its neighbor, according to Reuters.

“Azerbaijan grows stronger and more powerful by the year, while Armenia weakens and declines every year ... We will continue our efforts to isolate Armenia.”

Aliyev and his government have tried to boost their presence online, where dissident Azeri bloggers and members of the Armenian diaspora regularly attack Azerbaijan's human rights record.

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Armenian Defense Chief Visits Afghanistan

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian flew to Afghanistan on Monday to discuss the future of Armenia’s military presence there with Afghan military leaders and NATO commanders on the ground.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said Ohanian will meet with Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, General Nick Carter, the British deputy commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan, and General Erich Pfeffer, the commander of ISAF’s German-led Regional Command North.

“Issues of mutual interest related to Armenia’s involvement in ISAF and further programs will be discussed during the meetings,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added that Ohanian will also visit the northern Afghan cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif to inspect 130 Armenian soldiers serving there under German command.

With the United States planning end combat operations in Afghanistan next year, the NATO-led international military force there is due to be withdrawn the end of 2014.

Armenian troops were first deployed in Afghanistan in early 2010. Ohanian visited them shortly afterwards.

Voyage to Amasia, Wins Jury Prize at Alexandria Film Festival

Armenian Genocide Documentary to have its West Coast Premiere

LOS ANGELES -- V oyage to Amasia, a new documentary film by Randy Bell and Eric V. Hachikian, won the Special Jury Award at the Alexandria Film Festival in Alexandria, Virgina this past weekend. A yearly tribute to cinema, the Alexandria Film Festival presents feature-length films, documentaries, animation, and shorts by emerging and established filmmakers to an engaged audience seeking new or rarely seen films. In its sixth year, the mission of the Alexandria Film Festival is to promote cinema as an important cultural and educational asset and market Alexandria as a dynamic venue for creating, exhibiting, and experiencing film.

Voyage to Amasia will have its West Coast premiere on Saturday, December 1 at 10:00pm at the Arpa International Film Festival, where it is screening at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, CA. More information is at www.itsmyseat.com//events/406705.html. The film had its world premiere at the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto in December 2011, where it won the prize for Best Documentary. It has also screened at the 2012 Golden Apricot International Film Festival (Yerevan, Armenia), the Minneapolis International Film Festival, the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Voyage to Amasia documents composer Eric Hachikian’s return to his ancestral home - Amasia, Turkey - nearly 100 years after Ottoman soldiers deported his grandmother during the Armenian Genocide. The film is set to Eric's piano trio of the same name, which provided the initial inspiration for the documentary. Voyage to Amasia traces a path through the past, honoring Eric's relationship with his grandmother and uncovering what her family's life in Turkey might have been like. It also explores how the events of nearly a century ago continue to strain the relationship between Armenians and Turks today. Inspired by one family's story, the filmmakers embark on their own journey in the hopes of finding a greater understanding between two peoples still at odds. More information on the film can be found at www.voyagetoamasia.com.

Randy Bell is a Washington, DC-based independent filmmaker. His documentary films, which explore subjects as diverse as American popular music, mid-century European modernist architecture, and the AIDS orphan crisis in Kenya, have won awards from the Cleveland International Film Festival, the New England Film and Video Festival, and the Ivy Film Festival. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 2000, and his Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010.

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Eric V. Hachikian is an Armenian-American composer whose music has been hailed by the New York Times as "lovely and original." His compositions and orchestrations can be heard in a variety of major motion pictures, network television shows, and national and international ad campaigns. They have been performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, at Boston's Symphony Hall, at The Getty in Los Angeles, and Off-Broadway in New York City. A classically-trained composer, as well as a self-taught DJ and perpetual student of world music, Eric's musical style has no boundaries, and his multi-genre interests result in a unique and personal sound.

Armenian Treasures on Show in the British Library

LONDON -- A display of Armenian treasures celebrating the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing, the designation of Yerevan as 2012-2013 World Book Capital and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the United Kingdom, is on show in the Ritblat Treasures Gallery of the British Library until the end of January 2013.

On view are a number of exquisitely illuminated manuscripts

and rare specimen of the earliest Armenian printed books the Library holds, the Library’s official website informs. Printing in Armenian began in 1512 in Venice, spreading to other European cities, the Near and Middle East and

India in the centuries that followed. In Armenia itself printing was introduced in 1771.

The Hayastan Fund Annual Telethon:

A Constructive Critique

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier A few thoughts may be in order on the occasion of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 20th anniversary

and its 15th annual telethon. The intent is not to intrude into the Fund’s internal affairs, but offer constructive criticism and suggestions that could help improve its humanitarian mission and public image.

In the absence of an elected structure representing Armenians worldwide, Hayastan Fund is the only pan-Armenian body that brings together under a single umbrella all major Armenian political, religious and community entities. The Fund’s Board of Trustees is comprised of leaders of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, heads of large Diaspora Armenian organizations, and prominent benefactors. As such, the Fund serves as a unique platform where all segments of the Armenian world can address their common concerns. In view of this globally singular role, the Board may wish to consider expanding the organization’s functions beyond its philanthropic activities.

The most urgent Armenian issue at this moment is the tragic condition of Syrian Armenians whose very survival is at stake, as their situation worsens on a daily basis. Hayastan Fund and its 25 affiliates worldwide should have acted much sooner by organizing an emergency telethon and donating all the proceeds to alleviate the dire needs of Syrian Armenians, be they in Syria, Armenia or elsewhere.

After much delay, the Fund decided to allocate 10% of the amount it would collect to Syrian Armenians. This small percentage, compared to the vast needs of that threatened community, disappointed many potential donors. Instead of assuming collective responsibility for this unwise decision and reversing it, the Fund’s representatives engaged in unnecessary finger pointing. When complaints from the public grew louder, some of the Fund’s affiliates grudgingly revised the 10% quota to an unspecified portion of the total amount raised, after setting aside the funds earmarked for other projects. Also, the Fund allowed donors the option of designating 100% of their contributions to Syrian relief. Of course, it would have been preferable if Hayastan Fund had designated all donations to Syrian Armenians, except those earmarked by donors for other

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projects. The situation became more confusing when Bedros Terzian, Chairman of Armenia Fund in France,

made a surprising announcement at the conclusion of the Fund’s European phonethon (fundraising by telephone) on November 18. In an euphoric mood, he promised to allocate a portion of the $1.8 million raised to reconstruct housing for Armenians in Aleppo after the war! Mr. Terzian, a distinguished corporate executive, may not have realized that Syrian Armenians need food, medicine and other basic necessities for survival right now, rather than after the war, at which time the Armenian community may have dwindled along with its housing needs!

`Now that the telethon and phonethon are over, one can take note of some interesting numbers in the announced results. Amazingly, Armenians in Armenia and Artsakh contributed $2.5 million, whereas Armenian-Americans donated only $2.1 million ($1.5 million from the West Coast and $600,000 from the East Coast). The $21.4 million announced at the end of the telethon includes all the amounts pledged or actually raised throughout the year at different fundraising events in over a dozen countries, such as the $12 million pledged by Armenian businessmen in Moscow on November 8. Another surprising number is the substantial contribution of $600,000 received from India. Since there are only a handful of Armenians in that country, there must be an interesting explanation as to the source(s) of such a large sum!

To avoid further confusion regarding the disposition of the raised funds, Hayastan Fund’s Lebanon affiliate may consider allocating the entire proceeds of its December 8 radiothon fundraiser to the thousands of Syrian Armenians refugees. The displaced Syrian Armenian families in Lebanon are in desperate need of financial assistance to pay for basic necessities as well as their children’s schooling. Lebanese Armenian schools, which are in dire financial need, are now additionally burdened with hundreds of Syrian Armenian students whose parents cannot afford to pay tuition. Keeping its collected funds in Lebanon would enable Hayastan Fund to simultaneously help the Syrian Armenian refugees, while ensuring the survival of Armenian educational institutions.

In the coming days, as Hayastan All Armenian Fund sums up the fundraising results of its worldwide affiliates, it should announce: 1) the final amount raised, 2) the breakdown of the amounts allocated to specific projects, and 3) its plans to extend immediate assistance to Syrian Armenians.

The Exodus of Musa Dagh Armenians From the Sanjak of

Alexandretta to Anjar, Lebanon, in 1939 By Vahram L. Shemmassian

The Sanjak of Alexandretta/Iskenderun was an autonomous province within Syria during the interwar years. Its inhabitants included a significant number of Armenian natives and refugees, among them the indigenous population of Musa Dagh near Antioch. A political crisis beginning in 1936 shook Sanjak society to its core, as winds of change from French mandate to Turkish suzerainty increasingly caused panic. The turmoil grew to alarming proportions for the Arabs, Alawites, and Christians when a farcical “election” in the summer of 1938 installed a Turkish majority in the Sanjak’s legislature. A year later Turkey annexed the area. This was the final straw that compelled the overwhelming majority of Armenians, among other groups, to seek refuge in other parts of Syria as well as Lebanon, refusing to live under Turkish rule.

During the period between summer 1938 and summer 1939, socioeconomic life in Musa Dagh deteriorated rapidly. Exports-imports from and into the Sanjak were drastically reduced. Merchants conducting business with Aleppo were obliged to deposit with the Hatay government a sum equal to the value of their merchandise as collateral. After selling the goods the merchants had to convert the Syrian lira to the Turkish lira in order to be able to carry their money back into the Sanjak. Besides, the merchants were able to regain only 70 percent of the collateral they had deposited at the time of export,

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that is to say, the government kept 30 percent as tax on profits, in addition to customs fees. As a result unemployment in Musa Dagh rose to 90 percent. Construction was halted. Artisans sold their merchandize for 25 percent less and bought other necessities for 25 percent more. Poverty and misery became rampant.

What was more, beginning in late spring 1939 Turkish police posts were set up in and near the Armenian villages. There was also an attempt to establish Turkish Halkevleri (nationalistic people’s houses, i.e., clubs) with the help of Armenian collaborators, described as “paid enthusiastic Kemalist propagandist agents.” They reported regularly on compatriots who remained opposed to the emergent Turkish regime, and even sent representatives to propagandize about the Sanjak (then called Hatay Republic) among Musa Dagh expatriates in Aleppo, Damascus, and Beirut.

When in April 1939 two French senators who were also members of the French Mediterranean Committee opposed to the Sanjak’s annexation to Turkey visited Musa Dagh, they received an immense popular reception. After their departure, a number of Armenians were arrested. Serop Sherbetjian was sacked of his Musa Dagh governorship. Tateos Babigian from Vakef replaced him as an appointee of the Turkish regime in Antioch. On June 30, 1939 the Armenian National Union (ANU) in Beirut sent High Commissioner Gabriel Puaux a letter, signed by the political and religious leaders including the Primate of the Aleppo Ardavazt Surmeyian. They expressed with sadness the fact that efforts in Paris had failed to save the Sanjak; that the Armenians and especially those of Musa Dagh would be the biggest losers; that they wanted to leave under French protection given Turkey’s record of persecutions and massacres; that the Musa Daghians must be settled as a group in a mountainous area in Lebanon reminiscent of Musa Dagh and affording agricultural opportunities; and that France should assume the transportation expenses. Four days later, on July 4, Bishop Surmeiyan sent Puaux a letter to the effect that, since “the question of selling their [the Musa Daghians’] houses is dead,” they should at least be allowed to carry their movable belongings. He similarly asked that the goods be inspected when packed in the villages rather than at the border customs to avoid long lines and undue delays, that laissez-passers be issued free of charge, and so on. When rumors reached Col. Philibert Collet, the French officer in charge of the Armenians’ exodus, that the Musa Daghians were contemplating to burn their homes before departure, he issued a call for them to leave their doors open and their homes and orchards intact. Those rumors proved unfounded. Collet similarly instructed Prelate Khat Achabahian of Sanjak Armenians to form special committees to determine the number of persons, livestock, and the weight of movable belongings that would be transported. The Musa Dagh survey revealed the following results: 1,272 families or 7,888 persons, 3,232 animals, and 781 tons of luggage. These figures were later adjusted at the Ras al-Basit encampment as follows: 1,204 families (68 families less), 5,125 persons (2,763 persons less), approximately 1,850 tons of goods (nearly 2.5 times more than the initial amount). The reasons for these changes will be discussed in a more comprehensive study.

Those Who Stayed Behind

Not all Armenians elected to leave Musa Dagh. Such cases numbered 68 families or 384 persons, constituting about 6 percent of Musa Dagh’s total population. The breakdown was as follows: 4 families/12 persons in Bitias; 1 family/8 persons in Haji Habibli; 4 families/28 persons in Yoghunoluk; 4 families/27 persons in Kheder Beg; 3 families/15 persons in Kabusiye; 11 families/64 persons in Zeituniye in the nearby plain of Svedia; and 41 families/232 persons in Vakef. Most of these lived together as a group in Vakef. Presently Vakef is showcased as the sole Armenian village left in Turkey. Several reasons existed for their staying behind. To begin with, those Armenians believed that they could live peacefully and harmoniously in republican Turkey; intense Turkish propaganda aided in shaping this favorable opinion. Second, it was emotionally and psychologically difficult for them to abandon their ancestral lands, which torment certainly applied equally to those who elected to depart. Third, the stayers also entertained the false hope that they would be able to acquire the fixed properties abandoned by the

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goers. Fourth, those who stayed behind belonged to that political faction—mainly members and sympathizers of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party—which had failed to break the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s hold on the governance of Musa Dagh during the interwar years. Therefore, by staying they would be able to rid themselves of the ARF’s dominance. That being said, most others with similar anti-ARF sentiments still decided to leave the area.

The Exodus

The exodus from Musa Dagh took place from July 15-20. The goods were shipped by boat to Ras al- Basit, between Kesab and Latakia, the women, children, and the elderly rode trucks and buses, and the men walked, some of them accompanying the animals. Turkish soldiers manning border checkpoints inspected the goods strictly in search of weapons especially. Some Turkish civilians attacked the caravans and stole about 340 animals and killed 4 pigs. They also took 330 Syrian liras. Turkish gendarmes succeeded in retrieving just 63 animals, and only a fraction of the money.

When the refugees arrived at the Armenian enclave of Kesab, the locals welcomed them in open arms by offering food, water, and tan (yogurt juice). Then, at Qastal Muaf, en route to Ras al-Basit, they were vaccinated against typhoid.

The Camp at Ras al-Basit

The first batch of refugees arrived at Ras al-Basit on July 18 and camped in the open, no shelter whatsoever being available. As the rest joined them, they congregated as groups according to their villages. Families built sheds with branches and whatever they could muster, hoisting the French flags on them. They similarly made water sources in the immediate vicinity operational with pumps, and opened ditches just 50 meters away from the camp to be used as restrooms. This unsanitary arrangement attracted “millions” of flies, which caused serious health problems. The women cooked food outdoors, while the men herded the animals and opened makeshift stores. People commuted to Latakia to purchase necessities. The French government paid 25 Syrian liras per adult and 10 liras per child under ten beginning on August 7. Social life resumed to some degree. The various denominations from each village grouping worshipped in their respective “churches.” The political parties held their own meetings. Some voluntary associations likewise tried to keep a semblance of normalcy. For example, the annual meeting of the Union of Former Légion Arménienne Combatants took place on August 24 in the presence of 173 members. An executive committee was elected unanimously. A report of activities read revealed the type and amount of donations that the Union had received beginning in the second half of 1938 from the Syrian Armenian Relief Cross in Aleppo (one box of medicines) and Union affiliates in France (1,600 FF) and the United States ($240). A Central Relief Committee approved by the French and Vicar General Bedros Sarajian of the Catholicosate of Cilicia at Antelias, Lebanon, managed all refugee affairs. The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Central Executive in Paris cooperated by forming an Extraordinary Central Fundraising Committee on July 21. In turn, the Harach (forward) newspaper in Paris made its front pages available to publish the lists of donors from Armenians in Europe and North Africa. Compatriots from the United States likewise contributed. Due to exposure and unsanitary living conditions diseases increased to an alarming degree, afflicting children especially. Torrential rains from August 22-24 soaked the campers wet, exacerbating the situation by causing untold misery. Col. Collet sent twelve tents to shelter the children. A French military doctor established a six-bed infirmary. An Armenian pharmacist from Aleppo donated 100 Syrian liras worth of medicines. A maternity with twenty beds was likewise opened in Latakia with a midwife sent by the Syrian Armenian Relief Cross. By August 30 some180 sick and elderly people were admitted. A French military health inspector, upon visiting Ras al-Basit, ordered the transfer of some sixty sick children together with their mothers to Beirut to be placed under the care of the Armenian National Union (ANU). The government-run trade school building was placed under the ANU’s disposal, with its chair and Lebanese Armenian Relief Cross representative Dr. Onnig Gergerian managing it.

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In Search of A Final Settlement Site

The Turkish Government asked the French not to install the Armenians near the Syrian-Turkish border. The French obliged, and initially considered four possible sites in Lebanon: 1) in the mountains overlooking Tripoli, especially around the villages of Sir and Bakhune; 2) in the district of Hermel, along the Orontes River; 3) in the west of Baalbek, around the villages of Shemestar, Hadith, and Budaye; 4) in south Lebanon, in the foothills of Hermon, between the cities of Marjayun and Rashaya. Among those places Hermel was regarded as the most suitable one not only because of the available land, but also because the Armenians “would constitute a moderating element and a factor of appeasement, in a corner which troubles, permanently, the dissentions between Christians and non-Christians.” For various reasons, none of these places were selected.

The High Commission ultimately negotiated with a retired Turkish military officer named Rushdi Hoja Tuma, who owned a 1,540 hectare domain at a place called Anjar in the Bekaa valley. Although Rushdi Bey asked for 10 million FF, he was willing to accept, out of “patriotic sentiments,” an “important reduction” if the Turkish government asked him to. The land was purchased at a reduced price.

To Anjar

Relocation from Ras al-Basit to Anjar took place from September 3-16. The refugees were shipped to Tripoli and thence entrained to Riyaq, where they received food, fruit, and refreshments on the part of a local Armenian reception team. From Riyaq they were transported aboard trucks to their final destination of Anjar. This was a rocky and thorny terrain with no dwellings whatsoever. Because the refugees received an inadequate number of tents (that could accommodate twelve persons each), ordinary linen was additionally distributed for the uprooted to make their own shelters. As in Ras al-Basit, here too the population stuck together in compact groups according to their villages of origin. Given the inhospitable geographical milieu, scores fell ill and/or died. With the cold winter fast approaching, some 1,778 women and children were dispersed among fourteen villages and towns in the general vicinity and housed in vacant buildings or among Christian families with accommodation possibilities. The men in turn stayed at Anjar to construct stone dwellings that the French had planned. The original project would give each family a house consisting of two rooms, a kitchen, and a restroom on a 400 sq. meter lot. But as France entered World War II with its finances earmarked for that effort, the original plan was reduced to a single room with an outdoor restroom. Each adult male received an addition parcel of land for farming. By spring 1940 the Armenians occupied their new houses. The three religious communities (Apostolic, Evangelical, and Catholic) in turn received specific plots within the village to build their churches and schools on. A new life in a new country thus began to take shape for the Armenians from Musa Dagh. Today Anjar is a 73-years-old beautiful, thriving town with all kinds of community facilities and businesses. Notwithstanding, given the political turmoil in the Middle East, its future status and that of the Armenian communities in the region as a whole remain tenuous at best.

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