Turkish Forum

Category: Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian is the Publisher of The California Courier, founded in 1958. His weekly editorials, translated into several languages, are reprinted in scores of U.S. and overseas publications and posted on countless websites.<p>

He is the author of “The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915-2005, Documents and Declarations.”

As President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, he has administered the procurement and delivery of $970 million of humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh during the past 34 years. As Senior Vice President of Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation, he oversaw $240 million of infrastructure projects in Armenia.

From 1978 to 1982, Mr. Sassounian worked as an international marketing executive for Procter & Gamble in Geneva, Switzerland. He was a human rights delegate at the United Nations for 10 years. He played a leading role in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.N. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1985.

Mr. Sassounian has a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

  • Sassounian’s column of Nov. 10, 2011

    Sassounian’s column of Nov. 10, 2011

    Genocide Denier Condoleezza Rice
    Unworthy to Teach at Stanford
     sassounian31
    In her newly published 750-page book, “A Memoir of My Years in Washington: No Higher Honor,” former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice proudly describes her efforts to defeat Armenian Genocide resolutions on two separate occasions. With great relish, she brags about her success in undermining the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. Congress in 1991 and 2007.
    A close scrutiny of Rice’s arguments exposes her flawed judgment and ethical lapses. In her memoir, she relates that her first experience “with this problem” was in 1991, when she worked in the White House as acting special assistant to Pres. George H. W. Bush. Her task was “to mobilize an effort to defeat the resolution in the House of Representatives.” Gloating over her triumph, she depicts herself as battling “the powerful Armenian American lobby” that “has for years pressured Congress to pass a resolution branding the Ottoman Empire’s mass killings of Armenians starting in 1915 as genocide.” In reality, she had no need to counter what had already been acknowledged by the House of Representatives in 1975 and 1984, and by Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1981.
    Rice proceeds to maintain that “there are many historical interpretations of what happened,” which is totally untrue, as there are no historical disputes on the Armenian Genocide — a universally acknowledged fact. Furthermore, Prof. Rice does not seem to realize that when she describes the Armenian “killings” as “clearly a brutal, ethnically motivated massacre,” she in fact is recognizing them as genocide, as defined under Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention.
    In her memoir, Rice attempts to justify her obstructionist maneuvers by explaining that the Turks “were outraged at the prospect of being branded for an event that had taken place almost a century before — under the Ottomans!” Instead of behaving as the spineless official of a banana republic, Rice should have sternly admonished the Turks that the United States would not distort historical facts to appease the paranoid leaders of an autocratic state!
    Boasting about how well she “had succeeded” in her “assigned task,” Rice callously describes her appalling efforts in “fighting off the dreaded Armenian genocide resolution.” She makes a half-hearted attempt to minimize her ethical transgression by stating that no one denies “the awful events or the tragic deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Armenians,” which even Turkish officials acknowledge. If she was aware that no one was denying the mass murder of Armenians, why was Rice so fervently determined to kill the resolution? She then parrots the nonsensical Turkish propaganda that this issue should be left to “historians — not politicians — to decide how best to label what had occurred.” Rice should have known that reputable historians the world over have already declared that the Armenian killings constituted genocide.
    As Secretary of State in 2007, Rice once again battled against the adoption of an Armenian Genocide resolution. She reports that she “begged” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to prevent the House from voting on the resolution, but the Speaker rejected her request. Rice and Defense Secretary Bob Gates then delivered a press statement against the resolution, standing in front of the White House. She also got eight former secretaries of state to sign a joint letter opposing the resolution.
    Rice proudly states in her memoir that she managed to block the vote on the resolution, in keeping with her promise to the Turks. Once again, instead of defending the noble values and high principles on which America was founded, the secretary of state of the most powerful nation on earth caved in to the diktats of a third world bully!
    Concluding her narrative, Rice makes false accusation against Armenia’s leaders, claiming that “the democratically elected Armenian government had little interest in the resolution. In fact, it was engaged in an effort to improve relations with Turkey, and it didn’t need it either.” Rice is contradicting the U.S. government’s public announcement that the 2003 Armenian presidential elections did not meet international standards. Furthermore, the then Pres. Kocharian did not oppose the genocide resolution and was not seeking to improve Armenia’s relations with Turkey. In fact, a State Dept. official reported that during his meeting with Kocharian in Yerevan, the Armenian President was “in a foul mood” because the White House had just blocked the genocide resolution.
    Rice is now a professor at Stanford University. Ironically, another Armenian Genocide denier, former Secretary of State George Shultz, is also at Stanford. Faculty members, students, alumni and donors should advise Stanford University officials that genocide deniers are not welcome at one of America’s most distinguished institutions of higher learning.
    Readers are urged to fax Prof. Rice at             1-650-721-3390      , expressing displeasure at her appalling efforts against U.S. acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide.
  • Azerbaijan Wins Security Council Seat, While Armenians Remain Idle

    Azerbaijan Wins Security Council Seat, While Armenians Remain Idle

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    Pres. Aliyev was celebrating last week his country’s historic victory at the United Nations. With an overwhelming number of votes, Azerbaijan was elected for the first time to the prestigious UN Security Council for a two-year term.
    This column shall address three questions: 1) how did Azerbaijan manage to get elected to such an elite body? 2) what will Azerbaijan accomplish with its newly-acquired seat? 3) what actions did Armenians take to counter Azerbaijan’s candidacy?
    Azerbaijan, Hungary and Slovenia were competing for a non-permanent seat reserved for the Eastern European region in the Security Council. Normally, Azerbaijan would have no chance of getting elected to such a distinguished body, since it is the least qualified of the three countries in fulfilling the requirements of the UN Charter, due to its failure to contribute to international peace and security, and lack of participation in the work of UN agencies.
    According to knowledgeable sources, Azerbaijan made up for its deficiencies by offering tour packages and monetary incentives to UN delegates, and economic inducements to financially strapped nations in return for their votes at the UN General Assembly which elects the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council. By hook or by crook, Azerbaijan acquired the support of Islamic countries, the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement, and CIS (former Soviet) countries, including Russia. Yet, despite these unusual lobbying tactics, it took Azerbaijan 17 rounds over a two-day period to garner the necessary votes, and only after Slovenia, its main rival, withdrew in protest from the race. Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar complained that his country “did not approve the way this campaign was held.” Although he did not elaborate, he was referring to Azerbaijan’s lavish gift-giving spree.
    Naturally, gaining a seat on the powerful UN Security Council accords Azerbaijan international prestige and a new venue to pursue its incessant Armenophobic campaigns. Nevertheless, there is little chance that Azeri officials will be able to succeed in their announced objective of placing the Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict on the Council’s agenda. The Minsk Group co-Chairs — France, Russia and the United States — as three of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, have made it amply clear that this matter will be handled by the Minsk Group, outside the UN framework. Hence, Azerbaijan’s leaders risk disillusioning their people, having reassured them that the Security Council will take up the Karabagh issue. Azerbaijan could also get entangled in precarious situations, being forced to take sides when voting on confrontational issues involving Iran, Israel, and Syria, among others.
    While the Aliyev regime was turning the world upside down to come up with votes for its Security Council bid, what were Armenians doing to counter Azerbaijan’s efforts?
    Opponents at home criticized the Armenian government for not declaring Armenia’s candidacy for the Security Council, arguing that this would have taken away votes from Azerbaijan. Such a strategy, however, may not have been in Yerevan’s best interest, because Armenia could not compete with Baku’s vote-buying spree, and would have drawn votes away from Slovenia, assuring a bigger victory margin for Azerbaijan.
    In an earlier column, I had suggested that Armenian organizations and prominent individuals in the Diaspora, in consultation with Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, launch a global campaign to counter Azerbaijan’s candidacy. I had urged Armenians around the world to ask their respective governments not to support Azerbaijan’s Security Council bid.
    Regrettably, neither the Armenian Foreign Ministry nor the Diaspora leadership initiated such a coordinated effort. Two months ago, when delegates from 50 countries gathered at a Pan-Armenian Conference in Yerevan, Foreign Ministry officials should have taken the opportunity to strategize with activists and heads of organizations on how to counter Azerbaijan’s candidacy. Ironically, one of the topics on the conference agenda was “mechanisms for the development of Armenia-Diaspora partnership.” Such discussions are only useful if they are followed up by concrete actions.
    Fortunately, a mechanism for global Armenian coordination is in the works for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. For this purpose, a preliminary meeting was held in Yerevan several months ago. Turkey has already announced its UN Security Council candidacy for 2015, at a time when Armenians will be commemorating the centennial of the Genocide. The question is: Will Armenians be better prepared to counter Turkey’s candidacy in four years than they were Azerbaijan’s this year?

  • 96 Years Later, Turkey Still Pays A Price for Genocide Denial

    96 Years Later, Turkey Still Pays A Price for Genocide Denial

     sassounian33
    Almost a century after the fact, the Republic of Turkey continues to be disgraced for its persistent denial of the Armenian Genocide.
    During his visit to Armenia earlier this month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned Turkey by declaring that 96 years is long enough for Ankara to come to terms with its genocidal crimes. He also threatened to pass a law punishing denial of the Armenian Genocide, unless Turkey recognized it in the near future.
    Rather than heeding Pres. Sarkozy’s sound advice, Turkish leaders retaliated by attacking him and insulting his country. Here are some of their rejectionist statements:
    — Prime Minister Erdogan: “He should first listen to his own advice. He is different in France, different in Armenia, and more different in Turkey. There cannot be a political leader with so many faces. Politics requires honesty…. You should know that Turkey is not an easy bite to swallow.”
    — Foreign Minister Davutoglu: “France should confront its own history. I consider such remarks as political opportunism.”
    — Turkey’s European Union Minister Egemen Bagis: “If Sarkozy worked on how his country could come out of economic turbulence instead of assuming the role of a historian, it would be more meaningful for France and Europe.”
    — Devlet Bahceli, leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP): The French President is a “rude and ill-mannered” man. “Our advice to Sarkozy is that if he wants to see an example of genocide, he should look back at his history. He will clearly see the atrocities committed in Algeria and will notice explicit or implicit massacres in North Africa.”
    The Turkish attacks on France included demonstrations in front of the French Consulate in Istanbul last week, where protesters carried portraits of Pres. Sarkozy with Adolph Hitler’s mustache and denounced alleged crimes committed by France in the Algerian war.
    Uncharacteristically, Turkish officials did not go beyond mere words to denounce Pres. Sarkozy’s statements on the Armenian Genocide. Missing were the customary recall of the Turkish Ambassador and threats to boycott French goods. There was no bite in their bark!
    The French President was unfazed by the Turkish outbursts. Upon returning to Paris, he sent a letter to Pres. Serzh Sargsyan reconfirming his earlier statements in Armenia: “Rest assured that France will not cease its commitment, as long as the massacres have not been properly recognized by the descendents of the perpetrators.” Pres. Sarkozy went on to state that he was “most of all deeply moved at the Genocide Memorial Monument while paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the death sentence carried out against your people on April 24, 1915.” When the French President learned of the angry Turkish reaction to his statements in Yerevan, he told his aides that he had no regrets: “The Turks have always hated me, so it’s no problem.”
    Some French Parliamentarians were incensed, however, upon hearing that Prime Minister Erdogan had accused Pres. Sarkozy of being two-faced. They greeted the Turkish leader’s insulting words with loud and derisive exclamations in the French Parliament.
    Former Ambassador Omer Engin Lutem expressed his concern that if France were to ban denial of the Armenian Genocide, it would trigger other European countries to follow suit. He cautioned the Turkish public that such a development on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide would constitute a significant victory for Armenians.
    Murat Belge, an outspoken Turkish human rights activist, took issue with the negative reaction of his country’s leaders. He boldly condemned all those who claimed that “Turks are good people; we do not kill or commit genocide.” Such statements are “slanderous,” Belge stated.
    Another prominent scholar and columnist, Ahmet Insel, rebuked Prime Minister Erdogan for telling Pres. Sarkozy to look at France’s own colonial past. Insel wondered if Erdogan would indeed recognize the Armenian Genocide if France faced its own history? And what would Turkey do if the same suggestion came from a country that did not have dark pages in its history? Insel observed that this is the same Prime Minister who was claiming that all Ottoman archives are open, as his government was blocking the posting of these documents on the Internet.
    As an Iranian diplomat recently noted: “The Armenian Genocide is a Damoclean Sword hanging over Turkey’s head.” Sooner or later, a wise Turkish leader would come to realize that acknowledging the Armenian Genocide is more beneficial to Turkey than its continued denial.

     

  • Pres. Sarkozy Says ‘Tseghasbanoutyoun’ A Word Obama has yet to Utter

    Pres. Sarkozy Says ‘Tseghasbanoutyoun’ A Word Obama has yet to Utter

     sassounian32
    Flying to Armenia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy confided to his top aides last week: “I am going to toss a live grenade!” He was revealing his readiness to act firmly if Turkey continued to deny the Armenian Genocide.
    Shortly after arriving in Yerevan, Pres. Sarkozy courageously declared before journalists assembled at the Armenian Genocide Monument: “The Armenian Genocide is a historic reality that was recognized by France. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial.” When asked if France would adopt a law to prosecute those who deny the Genocide, the French President stated: “If Turkey revisited its history, faced its bright and dark sides, this recognition of the Genocide would be sufficient. But if Turkey will not do that, then without a doubt it would be necessary to go further.”
    As presidential candidate in 2007, Sarkozy promised to support the Senate’s adoption of a law criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide. The French Parliament had already approved such a bill in 2006. Yet, despite his pledge, Pres. Sarkozy’s ruling party blocked the bill’s adoption last May. While the French government banned denial of the Holocaust in 1990, it did take a similar action on the Armenian Genocide, even though France had recognized it in 2001.
    French-Armenians were incensed by Sarkozy’s betrayal. Singer Charles Aznavour publicly warned him that he would lose the support of 500,000 French-Armenians in next year’s presidential elections. Last month, the ARF of France endorsed the probable presidential candidacy of Socialist Francois Hollande after he promised that his party, which had recently gained majority of seats in the Senate, would vote for the bill banning denial of the Armenian Genocide. Hollande is currently far ahead of Sarkozy in opinion polls.
    During his visit to Armenia last week, Pres. Sarkozy conveyed several important messages: He reassured Armenians of his intent to keep his initial pledge on the Genocide denial bill; warned Turkey to stop denying the Armenian Genocide; and indicated his clear sympathy for the Armenian position on Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh).
    The French President’s trip to the three Republics of the Caucasus was clearly lopsided in favor of Armenia — where he stayed overnight, while spending only three hours in Azerbaijan and Georgia. His brief stops in these two countries were simply an attempt to display a semblance of impartiality. Sarkozy’s first ever visit to Armenia was filled with festive events and dramatic gestures of friendship — planting a tree in memory of Armenian Genocide victims; laying a wreath at the Genocide Memorial, where he wrote in the Book of Remembrance — “France does not forget;” warning Turkey to acknowledge the Genocide by the year’s end; uttering the Armenian word “tseghasbanoutyoun” (genocide) which Pres. Obama has declined to use; lighting a candle in Etchmiadzin; rejecting Turkey’s membership in the European Union; opening the Aznavour Museum overlooking Mt. Ararat; and donating a priceless Rodin statue to the Republic of Armenia.
    Finally, a world leader has dared to put Turkey’s bullying rulers in their place! Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reacted angrily by telling the French President to confront his country’s colonial past and not to teach Turkey a history lesson. Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, gave a cold shoulder to the French leader during his visit to Baku. An aide to Aliyev declared that his country does not share Sarkozy’s views on the Armenian Genocide. Davutoglu’s condescending words against France could well incite the French Senate into adopting the new Genocide law.
    French Armenians are now in a win-win situation. Both leading presidential candidates are committed to supporting not only the law criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide, but also backing other pro-Armenian initiatives. No matter which one of the two candidates wins in next year’s French presidential elections, Armenians stand to gain!
    However, given politicians’ long trail of broken promises, French-Armenians should not trust their word. They should make it clear to both candidates that Armenians would support whoever helps pass the genocide denial bill BEFORE next April’s presidential elections. It would be ideal if both candidates instructed their party’s Senators to vote for the bill now, leaving the French Armenian community with the pleasant dilemma of choosing between two supportive candidates in the presidential elections.
    French-Armenians and American-Armenians may want to reverse the long-established but failed approach of supporting candidates first by trusting their promises, hoping that they would come through after the election. The new strategy should be: Once the President is elected and carries out his promises, only then the community would reward him with its support.
  • Dr. Charny Deserves Much Credit Should Israel Recognize the Armenian Genocide

    Dr. Charny Deserves Much Credit Should Israel Recognize the Armenian Genocide

    sassounian31
      

    Armenians have good reason to be offended by the Israeli government’s failure to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. It is unconscionable that some victims of the Holocaust can be so insensitive about those who have suffered a similar fate. Israel’s callous denial has been motivated by its unethical desire to appease Turkey — its “strategic ally.”

     

    Dr. Israel Charny, like so many Israeli citizens, vehemently opposes his government’s shameful stand on the Armenian Genocide. He is the longtime Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. On numerous occasions, Dr. Charny has taken a strong stand against Israeli officials, rebuking them for their deplorable position on the Armenian Genocide.

     

    Earlier this year, the President of Armenia awarded Dr. Charny a Presidential medal and a $10,000 prize for his lifelong efforts to champion recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

     

    Since Dr. Charny did not have the opportunity to make a speech during the award ceremony in Yerevan, I wish to present key excerpts from his prepared remarks:

     

    “Denials of genocide are very unfair, unjust and ugly. They are also extremely dangerous not only to the victim people, but to our human civilization. Denials of genocide are disgusting attempts to humiliate the victim people once more, and hurtful reopening of wounds of stigmatizing and persecuting the victim people once again.

     

    “Moreover, denials of genocide are also loud and clear affirmations of the legitimacy of violence; they are retroactive justifications of the specific violent killing that was done in the genocide; and they are warnings and calls for renewal of violence — whether towards the same victim people or to other peoples. In fact, it has become clear that denials of genocide often are messages from the deniers that they are already engaged in or preparing to be violent once again.

     

    “It is not at all by chance that [Turkish Prime Minister] Erdogan in the last year twice has threatened to expel 100,000 Armenians from Turkey; and it is not at all by chance that Erdogan’s Turkey — a regime that is bizarrely devoted to denials of the Armenian Genocide — continues to be violent towards the Kurdish people who have suffered thousands of destroyed villages, tens of thousands of dead, and who are frequently not allowed by the Turkish government to use their language or celebrate their culture.

     

    “Israel has been attempting to have a good relationship with Turkey very much at the expense of the truth of the Armenian Genocide. I am convinced this policy has been deeply wrong. Of course, I do not believe that nations — especially small ones — can afford not to evaluate political realities and security risks, but I think that in the long run there must be limits to the extent of realpolitik and that denials of the history of a genocide are beyond the limit that should be acceptable.

     

    “I cannot take leave without a further reference to the State of Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Israel has been entirely wrong in not recognizing the Armenian Genocide. At the same time, thank heaven I have been able to say now for many years that we have won the battle for recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Israeli culture, our media, and in our public. When a few years ago a delegation of four of us — Prof. Yair Auron, Prof. Yehuda Bauer, Former Minister Yossi Sarid, and myself — came to lay wreaths at the Armenian Genocide Memorial [in Yerevan], we indeed represented our larger Israeli society.

     

    “At this very writing we have been informed that the Knesset will hold a major hearing on recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The overall Knesset has already voted — now for the third time in Israeli history — to hold hearings on possible recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Each of these votes has represented some progress towards our goal. In the Israeli system a proposal then has to be reviewed and decided by a major committee of the Knesset. Politics are not simple, as you know, and our opponents have succeeded in the past in defeating the recognition at this level.

     

    “This time the proposal will go to the Committee on Education where, unlike proceedings in the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security where a proposal even can be buried without any discussion at all and no one knows what happened, discussion and voting in the Education Committee will be publicly known to us. My closest colleagues and I have not been too hopeful of success, but now there is more possibility of success than we previously estimated. In truth, the possibility of recognition is greater now that Turkey has shown its vicious side to Israel, and there are many of us who will be ashamed if we now achieve recognition for this reason rather than on the basis of a real correction of Israel’s error all these years.”

     

    As Israeli journalist Raphael Ahren accurately pointed out in a recent Haaretz article: “If Israel recognizes the Turkish genocide of over 1 million Armenians in the near future, it may be largely due to the decades long efforts of American-born scholar Israel Charny.”
  • Armenia’s 20th Anniversary: A Young Republic; an Ancient Nation

    Armenia’s 20th Anniversary: A Young Republic; an Ancient Nation

     

    sassounian33
    Armenians worldwide had many reasons to celebrate the month of September, as they observed the 20th anniversary of the twin Republics of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh).
    Two decades ago, Armenians did not have a single independent Republic. Now they have two, and look forward to the day when the two republics are joined by a third — Western Armenia — to form the Republic of United Armenia!
    On Sept. 19-20, the Diaspora Ministry organized a Pan-Armenian conference in Yerevan that drew over 500 participants from 50 countries, along with political and religious leaders from Armenia and Artsakh. It was a reunion of Who’s Who of the Armenian world.
    The conference had four main themes: language and education, youth issues, commemorating the centennial of the Genocide, and strengthening Armenia-Diaspora relations. Some speakers took this opportunity to point out the serious shortcomings that continue to plague Armenia 20 years after independence.
    His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, singled out emigration from Armenia as the greatest national crisis. “Our enemies wished to see an Armenia devoid of Armenians,” he stated. “Today, we are emptying Armenia with our own hands!” His Holiness also condemned the prevalent “corruption” in the country that protects “a prosperous minority.”
    Tashnag Party leader, Hrant Markarian, chided government officials for the persistence of poverty, joblessness, stagnant economy, social insecurity, injustice, criminal behavior, corruption, and emigration. He also criticized them for not withdrawing their signature from the “infamous Armenia-Turkey Protocols.”
    During the panel on the Armenian Genocide — I was one of the moderators — the participants suggested training a new generation of Genocide scholars, Ottoman language specialists, Turkologists, and international law experts. They emphasized that the time had come to demand reparations from Turkey rather than mere genocide recognition and urged filing lawsuits against Turkey in international and national courts.
    While in Armenia, I experienced many exhilarating moments as well as a few disappointing ones. The military parade on Independence Day was the highlight for all Armenians worldwide — watching it at Yerevan’s Republic Square or on television! The goose-step march of highly disciplined soldiers and display of sophisticated tanks, missiles, warplanes and helicopter gunships filled every Armenian with pride and a sense of security from menacing neighbors! Later that evening, hundreds of thousands of spectators were captivated by a special high-tech laser show that projected scenes from Armenian history on the facade of buildings overlooking Republic Square.
    The four locally-manufactured Armenian drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), displayed for the first time during this year’s military parade, drew the most attention, especially since the Artsakh forces had just downed a drone Azerbaijan had purchased from Israel! The parade held yet another surprise — a contingent of women soldiers with machine guns who had volunteered to join the exclusively male Armenian armed forces! Also marching was a contingent of military chaplains in clerical garb.
    Two other developments added a special luster to the celebrations of independence. The Mesrob Mashdots Madenataran in Yerevan, the depository of ancient manuscripts, unveiled a massive new wing, funded mostly by Russian-Armenian entrepreneur Sergei Hampartsoumian. On this occasion, Mihran Minassian, a humble man of limited means from Aleppo, Syria, donated to the Madenataran over 10,000 priceless manuscripts and fragments he had collected through his life-long efforts.
    A second momentous event in September was the opening of a state of the art terminal at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. The new complex can serve up to 3.5 million passengers annually, doubling the airport’s capacity. This important project was brought to fruition by industrialist Eduardo Eurnekian of Argentina who controls “Armenia International Airports,” the concessional management firm overseeing the airport.
    Two sour notes: Some of the Independence Day t-shirts handed out to participants of the Pan-Armenian Conference carried a surprising “Made in Turkey” label! The t-shirts were embossed with the following slogan in Armenian: “2011: Armenia is You!” Embarrassed officials explained that the t-shirts were donated by a local businessman!
    More embarrassing was the no-show of the two former Presidents of Armenia at any of the Independence Day celebrations. Regardless of the reasons for their absence, this was a serious mistake by the two heads of state who had led the Republic of Armenia for 17 of its 20 years of independence!
    Despite all of its shortcomings, all Armenians fervently embrace their homeland with a solemn pledge to defend and protect it, and do their utmost to secure the well-being and prosperity of their compatriots in Armenia and Artsakh!