The first English Language Armenian Weekly In The United States
Acting Editor Alin K.Gregorian   Assistant Editors Daphne Abeel
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Mirror-Spectator On-Line  May 3, 2001

1) New Harvard Armenian Society Blazes Impressive Trail
2) Genocide Commemoration —a Post Mortem
3) Tekeyan Presents Musical Tribute to 1,700th Anniversary of Armenian
Christianity
4) Harvard University Genocide Symposium Draws Overflow Crowd
Dadrian Offers New Insight
5) Tree Dedicated to Genocide Victims
6) Flora Gopoian, A Founding Member of Tekeyan Passes Away
7) Merrimack Valley Honors Armenian Survivors

1) New Harvard Armenian Society Blazes Impressive Trail

By Daphne Abeel
Mirror-Spectator Staff

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — With the success of the Harvard Armenian Society’s
"Symposium on the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians," last week, freshman Lara
Setrakian, founder and co-president, is barely resting on her laurels and
already looking to the future.
Setrakian, who provided the spark to form the society, grew up in Englewood,
NJ, a member of an extended Armenian family that included many cousins. When
she arrived at Harvard, last fall, she was interested in connecting with the
Armenian community at the university.
Said Setrakian, "When I got here, I heard that, for years, there had been an
Armenian presence on campus, but there were never enough students in the
various schools to apply for official standing. I was keen on having a
community, and I wanted to build one. It was in the oral history here.
. We just needed to find the people."
Electronic communication played an important part in getting individuals
connected Setrakian said. "I got hold of a freshman directory and looked up
all the Armenian names. I e-mailed all the freshmen and invited them over. A
bunch of us went out to dinner."
Later, Setrakian obtained a copy of the university-wide directory, and using
the same method, began contacting every Armenian she could find in the
academic community. "I just did a little bit every day, going through it
looking for ‘ian’ or ‘yan’ names, and I got in touch with them. There had
always been a few graduate students in each of the schools, but never enough
to qualify for an official organization. At Harvard, you have to have 10
students to qualify. The first time we all met, there were 48 people, so I
knew there was interest."
Setrakian, now thinking of concentrating in economic development of
government, had originally considered majoring in linguistics. Her meeting
with linguistics professor, Bert Vaux,, proved instrumental in furthering the
organization of the society.
"I made an appointment with him," said Setrakian, "and just before I was due
to meet him in his office, I had this realization that I didn’t want to have
anything to do with linguistics. But when I got there, it was like a sign. He
had all these books in Armenian in his office."
Vaux, who is a specialist in Armenian dialects, had written an article about
the Armenians of Aintab, the town from which Setrakian’s mother comes. "There
just was an instant communication. He’s been recording the voices of
survivors of the Genocide on tape, to study the dialects. He was enthusiastic
about the idea of an Armenian society."
Encouraged by the student response and faculty support, Setrakian also began
to make contact with Armenians in the local Boston and Cambridge communities.
"I began to go to services at Holy Trinity, and I meet people like Ellen
Sarkissian at the university, who was working to help bring Armenians here."
The next step was to complete the paperwork and work through the bureaucratic
process at Harvard for the establishment of a new student organization. "We
knew our first event would have to have something to do with April 24. It was
the obvious time to hold our first public event." In the course of planning
the symposium to honor the Genocide, an executive committee was formed that
includes Vaux, Mr. and Mrs. Nazar Nazarian, the Guleserian family, the
Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, Anita Anserian, Hrag
Vartanian and Kevork Marashlian.
Using the alumni/ae database, Setrakian wants to contact Armenians who have
graduated and also to encourage the university toh recruit students from
Armenia. "The Society of Arabs puts pressure on the admissions office to
recruit in the Middle East. We’d like to see more Armenians at Harvard," she
said.
Although the Genocide symposium drew a large audience both from within and
outside the university, Setrakian said, "We don’t want the Genocide to be our
raison d’etre. We’re happy about the success of this event. Harvard is a
powerful soapbox, and I’m happy to be here. In this case, even the Turkish
students couldn’t object, and some of them were definitely there. We don’t
want fights; we want to be on good terms with them. But next year, I think
we’ll do something entirely different. There are so many facets to the
Armenian community, It’s like a diamond, there are so many stories and so
many facets of the Armenian experience that have not been explored."
One of the strengths of the society, said Setrakian, is that it is drawing
people who haven’t connected with the Armenian community previously. She
said, "I think of someone like Katie Zacarian, who came to Harvard really not
knowing any Armenians other than her cousins and her father. She has been so
enthusiastic and involved, and now she’s our vice president and treasurer."
Zareh Ekmekjian, co-president of the society with Setrakian, is one of those
who is connecting with the Armenian community through the society. "I grew up
in South Florida," he said, "where there was really no Armenian community. I
have some family in California, but when Lara contacted me, I was glad,
because I’ve started to discover my Armenian culture."
Zareh, whose middle name is Anthony, said he has only recently begun to use
his Armenian name. "Now, I really like it. Before, all I knew was that I was
named for an uncle and Anthony was easier for most people to say, but now I
am using Zareh more and more."
Ekmekjian credited the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) for much of
the April 24 event’s success. "They promoted it to their membership and that
helped a lot. We also spent money to put a full-page ad in The Harvard Crimson
and the Harvard Independent. I’m not sure we necessarily drew a lot of
students to the event this way, but we definitely increased awareness of the
Armenian presence at Harvard. More people might come to our next event."
Ekmekjian is off to Greece for the summer to visit family, while Setrakian is
trying to decide between a language program at Middlebury College and
visiting Armenia. But come fall, there is no doubt that when they return to
Harvard, they will be full of plans for this new organization that has
already made a significant impact on the university and surrounding community.

2) Genocide Commemoration —a Post Mortem

Armenians around the world commemorated the 86th anniversary of the Genocide
with growing fervor and commitment, only with added political overtones. The
fervor is mostly generated by the frustration Armenians have experienced over
the years in view of the indifference of a world which prefers to mind its
own business, rather than dwell on a tragedy befallen to a small nation some
86 years ago.
This year anticipation was high because a momentum was created by the passage
of the law at the French Parliament and by the hopes built on President
Bush's pre-election written commitment to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
But the hopes were dampened because the president failed to make good on his
pledge and because of some other negative developments, especially on the
Israeli front, which should have been the last ones to join the ranks of
genocide deniers.
Many Armenians were skeptical when candidate George W. Bush stated in a
widely circulated letter, dated March 2, 2000: "Armenians were subjected to a
genocidal campaign that defies comprehension. If elected President, I would
ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people."
The skeptics believed that like any other politician, once elected, Mr. Bush
would renege on his campaign promise. Other Armenians, somewhat naive
politically, began counting the votes and the chads when Mr. Bush's fortunes
were still in limbo in Florida voting machines; they believed that such a
firm and written pledge could not be forgotten easily. But with Mr. Bush's
choice of word, the skeptics were vindicated.
Mr. Bush came closer to the word "genocide" than his predecessors, but not
close enough, when he wrote in his statement: "Today marks the commemoration
of one of the great tragedies of history: the forced exile and annihilation
of approximately 1.5 million Armenians in the closing years of the Ottoman
Empire." One may rightfully ask, after reading President Bush's statement:
"The statement is so powerful, what difference does it make if the word
‘genocide’ is not used?" The answer: legal consequences!
Of course, the Turks expressed a sigh of relief that the US government did
not join the ranks of European governments to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. On the other hand, the Armenians were disappointed as they were
slighted.
We are not certain what may have happened behind the scenes; we can only make
some educated guesses.
Any time an administration changes hands, the bureaucrats who man the Turkish
and Armenian desks at the State Department maintain their posts, and
certainly their positions and convictions. And they will provide the same
kind of advice to their superiors that they had been providing in the
previous administration. Secretary of State Colin Powell's letter to the
Maryland legislator Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County) was an early indication
as to what to expect from the White House. The Secretary of State wrote in
his letter: "The international community has a responsibility to recognize
this history and ensure that it is not repeated. However, despite the best
intentions, legislation is not the best way to do this."
In addition to the bureaucratic atrophy at the State Department, other
political considerations have come to play a role in Mr. Bush's change of
heart.
We all remember that the passage of the Genocide resolution was a sure bet
when President Clinton took the extraordinary step of intervening with the
legislative process to stop the voting, by a letter sent to the Speaker of
the House, Dennis Hastert. We later learned that Mr. Clinton had resorted to
that measure at the request of the Israeli government, acting at the behest
of Turkey.
Unfortunately, this is a very credible scenario, because in an unrelated
incident, Mr. Clinton inadvertently confessed that he gave precedence to the
Israeli government's wishes over the interests or laws of this country.
Indeed, that was his justification when questioned on his motives in
pardoning fugitive financier Marc Rich.
President Clinton bluntly stated that he pardoned Rich because high ranking
government officials in Israel approached him.
Today, on behalf of the Israeli government, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
emerges as the villain in denying the Armenian Genocide.
On the eve of his one-day visit to Ankara, Turkey, Mr. Peres has made a
statement to the Anatolian News Agency in which he has said: "We reject
attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian
allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred. It is a tragedy what
the Armenians went through, but not a genocide."
This was Mr. Peres' "gift" to the Turks at the expense of the 1.5 million
Armenian martyrs.
This is not a new position with the Israeli government — a government that
seeks — and obtains — apologies even from bystanders, like the Pope, for the
Holocaust, and has the temerity to deny the Armenian Genocide. The fact that
Israel, to this date, has failed to recognize the Armenian Genocide speaks
for itself.
In 1982, the Israeli government dropped its sponsorship to the Tel Aviv
Conference on the Jewish Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, when threatened
by the Turks. Later on, a reference to the Armenian Genocide was deleted from
school textbooks in Israel, touching off a national controversy and debate.
Today, Mr. Peres continues that official line of denial. Although, we must
admit, Jewish scholars have been the first ones to courageously criticize
their foreign minister for the misguided statements. The first reaction came
from the Director of the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem Dr. Israel Charny, who
admonished Peres for having "crossed a line, which no Jew has a right to
cross."
Another courageous voice from the Israeli academia is that of Prof. Yair
Auron, of Tel Aviv University. Prof. Auron questions Mr. Peres: "Imagine,
what would have been our reaction if the foreign minister of another country
had made similar pronouncements about the Holocaust?"
The sad commentary is that Mr. Peres represents official Israel, while the oth
er reactions remain individual voices, with no official capacity.
It is ironic, to say the least, that the survivors of the Holocaust, would
put aside the moral mantle to be carried away by political expediency of
denying the Armenian Genocide.
What should the Armenians do in retaliation: deny or discredit the Holocaust?
Never! We should hold ourselves to a higher moral code of conduct because
politicians come and go, but historic truth remains.

3) Tekeyan Presents Musical Tribute to 1,700th Anniversary of Armenian
Christianity

By Missak Kharmanjian

CHICAGO, Ill. — As a part of a seven-city tour through the United States and
Canada, Chicago Armenians enjoyed a unique musical presentation on March 31,
"Rebirth," in celebration of the 1,700th Anniversary of Christianity in
Armenia, presented by professional artists, Noune Avetisyan, Anahit
Nersisyan, Salbi Mailyan and Tatiana Chakmakjian.
After welcoming the artists to Chicago, and the audience to this unique
musical presentation, Master of Ceremonies, Oscar Tatosian, drew parallel
between the life of the Armenian Nation and the life of Christ. "Indeed, over
the last 1,700 years, Armenia has borne the cross of its destiny in the face
of invasions, wars, catastrophes, and threats to its very existence. But the
testimony to the power of Armenian’s determined faith are the independence of
Armenia and the re-establishment of Armenian statehood, along with prospering
Armenian communities throughout the world," he concluded. He then introduced
the artists.
Noune Avetisyan, born in Yerevan, and a graduate of the Dramatic Arts
Institute of the University of Yerevan, presented the significant events in
our history. She wove the musical presentation together with poems written by
poets Daniel Varoujan, Gevorg Emin, Parouyr Sevak, Vahan Tekeyan, Yeghishe
Charents and Krikor Naregatzi. Avetisyan is an expert in interpreting and
reciting Armenian poems. She worked at the State Television of Yerevan and
currently is with the Armenian Radio in Los Angeles.
Lyric soprano Anahit Nersisyan, a graduate of both the Romanos Melikyan and
Gomidas Conservatories of Music in Yerevan, captivated the audience with her
powerful voice in her ‘Sourp Sourp," "The Swallow," and "The Crane."
Nersesian has portrayed leading roles in Puccini’s ‘La Boheme;’ Verdi’s
‘Requiem,’ Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’ and Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro,’
among others.
Mezzo-soprano Salbi Mailyan’s interpreted the folk songs, "The Lament of
Adana," "Father, Father," and "Yes Ku Ghimentan Chem Kidi." Mailyan, a
graduate of Gomidas Conservatory of Music in Yerevan, is currently advancing
her studies under Professor Limonick, a well-respected authority in American
musical circles.
Tatiana Chakmakjan, with her solo play of Aram Khachatourian’s "Tokata" and
Komitas’s "Karoun A," as well as with her accompaniments, once again showed
her artistry. Chakmakjian, a graduate of Gomidas Conservatory of Music in
Yerevan, has been featured as a concert pianist on many occasions. The
Tekeyan Cultural Association organized a 90-minute high caliber program. AGBU
Krikor Terzian Hall was capacity full. The program came to its close with a
prolonged ovation.
Mrs. Maro Bedrosian, chair