The Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund (R2E2) is moving ahead with plans to begin construction on a 55 MW utility-scale photovoltaic solar plant in the Gegharkunik region east of Lake Sevan by 2019.  This month marked an important milestone as 10 consortia were short-listed as part of a prequalification process ahead of final bidding.

The Armenia R2E2 is moving ahead with plans to begin construction on a 55 MW utility-scale photovoltaic solar plant in the Gegharkunik region east of Lake Sevan by 2019. (Photo: Harout Manougian, Ontario, Canada)

Out of 21 applicants, the 10 successful international consortia (and their country of registration) were:

1. TBEA Xinjiang Sunoasis (China) & Subsolar Energy (Netherlands)
2. Phelan Energy (South Africa) & Korea Electric Power (South Korea)
3. Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital (India) & Risen Energy (China)
4. Metka (Greece) & Energy Phoenix (Lebanon)
5. Access Infrastructure Central Asia (UAE), Eren Renewable Energy (France) & TSK Electronica (Spain)
6. Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (Netherlands) & FSL Solar (Spain)
7. Acciona Energia (Spain)
8. Building Energy Development Africa (Italy) & H1 Holdings (South Africa)
9. Sky Power Global (Cayman Islands) & Enerparc Projects (Germany)
10. ContourGlobal (Cayman Islands)

Readers may remember ContourGlobal as the New York-based company that purchased the three hydro plants in Syunik marz (province) composing the Vorotan Cascade in 2015.

The tender process will continue through 2018, at which time the successful candidate to design, finance, build, own, and operate the new plant will be chosen based on price competitiveness.  Financing up to $60 million is being made available by The World Bank as part of an initiative to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

The project is referred to as Masrik-1, after the village of Mets Masrik, near Vardenis, where it is to be located.  It is envisioned as the first and largest of six solar plants to be procured by R2E2.  Although it will be the first utility-scale solar plant in Armenia, smaller roof-top installations have gained popularity in recent years.  The American University of Armenia hosts both photovoltaic panels that generate electricity, as well as solar water heating panels that directly and efficiently heat water, offsetting natural gas demand.

For a country with no oil reserves and an aging nuclear plant, new investment in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro plants is of strategic importance to ensure long-term energy self-sufficiency.

The arts in schools have always been underestimated. Outside the realm of academics, the focus seems to be heavily placed on sports or extracurricular activities that polish résumés for soon to be graduates. What if by narrowing the interests and outlets students have, we’re preventing them from widening their perspectives, insights, and restricting the tools to evolve their critical thinking skills? When students are provided with limited choices on what their interests could be, we’re containing them into smaller vessels, but what happens when the possibilities are endless? What happens when we provide our students new and different outlets?

Levon Shant Demirjian began adapting Vahe Berberian’s play ‘The Pink Elephant’ for Holy Martyrs Ferrahian’s High School students.

Levon Shant Demirjian began adapting Vahe Berberian’s play “The Pink Elephant” for Holy Martyrs Ferrahian’s High School students. With the support of Ferrahian’s principle, Sossi Shanlian, the production soon received a green light and the initiative to establish Ferrahian’s first Theatrical Production was underway.

What Demirjian, now as director, and the faculty couldn’t predict, was the discipline and dedication a group of students would showcase over the coarse of the months ahead.

The cast includes a mix of seniors, juniors, and sophomores. Nareg Kuyumjian, who plays the lead character Simon, graduated this past June and has still devoted his time to rehearsals. Marinor Balouzian (Nina), Alex Kassamanian (Roupen), Hagop Balekhyan (Apo), and Sevoulig Bastilian (Vatche) have all proven their commitment to not only sacrificing their free time over their summer vacation, but to mastering a script in Armenian.  The cast also includes Sarkis Semerjian (Tsolak) and Puzant Berberian (Khoren) who have substantiated the support of the Armenian community through their involvement in the production.

The play takes place in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War as a group of Armenian actors rehearse for a play scheduled to open the following day.  Amidst the turmoil of the outside world that threatens their existence, the actors face an equally dire obstacle of upholding the Armenian language.

This multi-dimensional play highlights both the struggles young Armenians faced forty years ago in Lebanon and the responsibility they face today. Let us continue encouraging our youth and support their efforts of embracing our culture, language, and praise the artists who bare the weight of this crucial role.

“The Pink Elephant” will be performed August 11, 12, and 13 at the ARTN Theatre – 4407 San Fernando Rd. Glendale, Calif. 91402. The production features music written by Ara Dabandjian as well as Stage Design and Artwork created by Sevag Mahserejian.

The Opening Night Gala Premiere – Friday night 7:30 p.m.– will provide an Open Bar and Catering Sponsored by Falafel Arax. The following performances will take place Saturday evening at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.itsmyseat.com/pinkelephant.

WATERTOWN, Mass.—In June 2017, St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School (SSAES) successfully completed its 33^rd academic year. The Graduation Ceremonies were held on June 15 (K) and June 16 (Elementary).

The Elementary graduates with (L to R) Mrs. M. Arthur, Mrs. A. Megerdichian, Principal Houry Boyamian, Rev. Archpriest A. Baljian and Ms. L. Strasser

In her remarks the Principal, Mrs. Houry Boyamian, focused on the 14th graduating class trip to Armenia and the Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Week and the Science Fair.

Principal Houry Boyamian and Preschool Director Maral Orchanian honoring preschool teacher Mrs. Svetlana Vehapetian for her 15 years of service.

She thanked the faculty, the administrative staff, the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), the parent volunteers, the school board and committees, the St. Stephen’s Church board of trustees, Rev. Fr. Archpriest Antranig Baljian, as well as all the organizations and individuals that contribute to the advancement of the school.

the graduating class performing an Armenian dance

On June 15, Mrs. Boyamian honored Mrs. Svetlana Vehapetian with the golden logo of the school for her 15 years of dedicated service in the preschool and on June 16, she honored Mrs. Lili Barsoumian with the Award of Ambassador of Armenia (from the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia) for her 32 years of dedicated service as music teacher.

Grades 4 and 5 students performing

This year, the Preschool-Kindergarten, as well as the Elementary graduation programs were dedicated to Renewal, as His Holiness, Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia declared 2017 the Year of Renewal.

Kindergarten graduates with Principal Houry Boyamian, Rev. Archpriest A. Baljian, Mrs. A. Joubanian and Ms. Diane Chiappinelli.

On both days, Archpriest Antranig Baljian expressed his appreciation to the administration and faculty for their dedication and effort.

Preschool students performing

On June 15, 19 students graduated from Kindergarten: Siran Arakelian, Aiki Arzoumanian, Vatche Balikian, Lila Degermenci, Olivia Dimopoulos, Lori Garabedian, Leanna Iskenderian, Garen Keledjian, Josephine Keumurian, Eva Khalarian, Arda Mahserejian, Fiona Manguikian, Sarina McCarthy, Aline Mikaelian, Arame Minassian, Christian Salibian, Lukas Stamatakis, Anthony Papazian, Gizelle Tarabelsi.

Mrs. Houry Boyamian honoring music teacher Mrs. Lili Barsoumian for her 32 year service, surrounded by Mrs. Maro Arakelian and Mrs. Maral Orchanian

On June 16, 16 students graduated from our Elementary School: Maral Abrahamian, Serena Antoine, Alina Chaparian, George Chapian, Krikor Iskenderian, Michelle Joubanian, Sarah Joubanian, Antrias Kahvejian, Naera Margios, Talar Markarian, Zepure Merdinian, Andre Monreiro, Aren Panian, Sienna Soghomonian, Bianca Tamburrini, Gregory Tinkjian.

Principal Houry Boyamian addressing the attendees

I- Awards for Excellence in Armenian Studies – Gr. 5

• Prelacy Award: Maral Abrahamian, Krikor Iskenderian, Michelle Joubanian, Antrias Kahvejian, Talar Markarian, Zepure Merdinian, Bianca Tamburrini, and Gregory Tinkjian
• Armenian Relief Society Award: Chaparian Alina and Sarah Joubanian
• Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Armenian History: Aren Panian
• Certificate of Recognition for Interest in Armenian Studies: Serena Antoine, George Chapian, Sienna Soghomonian, Naera Margios, and Andre Monteiro

II- President’s Education Award – Gr. 5

• Presidential Award for Academic Excellence: Krikor Iskenderian, Antrias Kahvejian, Gregory Tinkjian, and Bianca Tamburrini
• Presidential Award for Academic Achievement: Talar Markarian, Maral Abrahamian, and Michelle Joubanian

III- American Citizenship Award – Gr. 5: George Chapian

IV-Certificate of Recognition. Gr. 5

– Excellence in Language Arts-Alina Chaparian and Zepure Merdinian

– Excellence in Social Studies-Aren Panian

– Creativity- Sarah Joubanian and Andre Monteiro

– Excellence in Science –Naera Margios

– Excellence in Engineering – Sienna Soghomonian

– Excellence in Math-Serena Antoine

VI-Nishan and Arshalouys Najarian Scholarship Fund for Music and Art: ($200 each) (Gr. 4)

Art: Natalie Tenekedzhyan and Sarine Nigoghosian, Music: Gagik Minasyan and Haig Guzelian

VII-Anahid Kazazian Scholarship for Excellence in Armenian Studies ($100 each)

John Diran Gengozian (Gr. 4) and Vartan Arakelian (Gr. 3)

V- ARS Essay Contest

Grade 4

1^st Place: Taleen Haleblian

2^nd Place: Gagik Minasyan

Grade 5

1^st Place: Zepure Merdinian

3^rd Place: Krikor Iskenderian

Grade 5: English

2^nd place: Serena Antoine

Presidential Award for Educational Excellence: The purpose of this award is to recognize the academic success of students who have excelled in their studies and who have earned high scores in the Standardized Tests.

Presidential Award for Educational Achievement: The purpose of this award is to reward students who work hard and give their best effort in school.

The American Citizenship Award recognizes students who:

. Show a positive attitude toward classmates, school and community

. Display an understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility

. Possess strength of character and the courage to do what is right

By Michael Bahtiarian

Special for the Armenian Weekly 

FRANKLIN, Mass. (A.W.)—On a recent hot Sunday afternoon, Camp Haiastan held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its long-awaited facilities expansion: the new shower, bathroom, and washstand building. The ribbon cutting marked the completion of a five-year Expand & Renew project that cost over one million dollars and resulted in the renewal of nearly all of the Camp’s water and septic infrastructure.

The ribbon cutters were the upcoming generation, current campers and staff members who are related to the principal contributors to the Expand and Renew project. (Photo: Garo Lachinian)

The new building includes bathrooms and showers for boys and girls. It replaces three other buildings, which were at least 50 years old. It is the largest, most expensive, and complicated project in the Camp’s 66-year history.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony began at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and drew more than 150 spectators.

Camp Haiastan Executive Director Dave Hamparian at the podium, addressing the crowd of over 150 people at the ribbon cutting held on July 9. (Photo: Garo Lachinian)

Before the formal program began, a moment of silence was held for Mark Alashaian, who had passed away the previous week. Mark was a longtime Camp Haiastan Board of Directors member or liaison for the past 13 years. Most notably, he was its chairman during the planning, design, and construction of the new shower, bathroom, and washstand building.

“Mark was a father, a husband, a brother, a mentor, and a beloved unger to us all, ” said the current chairman of the camp board, Levon Attarian. “Although there is a physical void, his presence will always be felt on these grounds.”

Current chairman of the camp board, Levon Attarian speaking

The program commenced with a formal welcome by board member Adam Boyajian, and the new building was then blessed by Rev. Antranig Baljian of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church of Watertown, Mass.

The new building was then blessed by Rev. Antranig Baljian.

“What you see…is a nice new shiny building,” Boyajian said, and went on to enumerate “what you don’t see,” listing many of the things (new septic and waterlines), and the work of countless volunteers who helped make the new building a reality. He closed by saying, “What you don’t see is every little step it took for that nice new shiny building to exist.” He also acknowledged many of the in-kind donations for the building, including engineering services, lights, plumbing, and doors.

George Aghjayan, chairperson of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee, offered congratulations from the ARF’s Eastern U.S. Region. “For over 60 years, Camp Haiastan has been a source of inspiration for generations of Armenian youth,” he pointed out. “The founders of the Camp were visionary. Just try to imagine our community today without the thousands who have passed through these gates and been inspired. The Central Committee commends all those who dedicate their time and resources to expanding and renewing this critical institution.”

George Aghjayan, chairperson of the ARF Eastern U.S. Central Committee

MaryAnne Bonjuklian, an Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Eastern U.S. Board member and liaison to Camp Haiastan, spoke on behalf of her organization. “Many of today’s ARS members from the Eastern Region were past campers, and most have children who have attended or are attending Camp Haiastan,” she said. “We [the ARS] have and always have had, and always will have, a vested interest in Camp Haiastan.”

MaryAnne Bonjuklian speaking on behalf of the ARS

Finally, Garo Tashian, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Central Executive chairperson, spoke on behalf of the AYF. “I’d like to thank not only all of the donors who made all of these renovations possible, but the (board) and Baron Dave, who put in the countless hours of work to see these projects through,” Tashian said.

Garo Tashian, the AYF Central Executive chairperson, spoke on behalf of the AYF.

Camp Haiastan invited the principal donors for the new building to make remarks during the ribbon cutting. They included Armen Megeurditchian, Michael Guzelian, and Stepan Kanarian. Armen’s parents, Dikran and Maro Meguerditchian, gave over $300,000 to the project. Later in the program, Executive Director Dave Hamparian noted, “He kept writing checks…his generosity bought me to tears.” Michael Guzelian spoke about his aunt Nancy Guzelian’s support of the bathroom project from Day One. Stepan Kanarian, chairperson of the Armenian Youth Foundation, spoke about all the Camp Haiastan projects the Foundation has supported since the Foundation’s establishment.

The ribbon cutting also celebrated the opening of the Circle of Friends, the newest place at Camp Haiastan for donors to be recognized.

The final speaker of the day was introduced as the person that made this project happen, David Hamparian, Camp Haiastan’s executive director since 2013. Dave was busy this off-season, having completed six significant infrastructure projects, including the new shower, bathroom, washstand building, the new Circle of Friends meeting space, a new sand volleyball court, a new badminton court, installation of a new pool liner, and conversion of some storage space to additional counselor quarters. With those changes, Session 1 of the camping season will have an unprecedented 152 campers—the largest single session attendance in the 66-year history of Camp Haiastan. “All donors, large or small, will always have a special place in my heart as you all believed and trusted the board of directors and me,” Hamparian concluded.

The Circle of Friends holds plaques for the large number of supporters to this $1,200,000 project.

The Expand & Renew Project was started in 2012 with the idea of building a new bathroom-shower-washstand complex housed in one building. However, Expand and Renew is much more than that. In the fall and spring of 2014/2015, Camp Haiastan undertook the replacement of the Camp’s entire septic system, as well as the replacement of the water supply system and the construction of a new water well. The new bath/shower building construction started in September 2016 and was completed in June 2017. The building is now officially open for use.

The ribbon cutting also celebrated the opening of the Circle of Friends, the newest place at Camp Haiastan for donors to be recognized. It holds plaques for the large number of supporters to this $1,200,000 project. Executive Director Hamparian noted, “It will hopefully become a place for campers and visitors to relax and reflect on those who have given generously to Camp Haiastan.”

Hamparian concluded by saying, “You believed in the magic of Camp Haiastan…. You believed our future as Armenians is bright…. You helped us leave Camp Haiastan better than we found it.”

YEREVAN (Asbarez)—The 10th Pan-Homenetmen Games kicked off Saturday with a parade of athletes in the center of the city setting the stage for the centennial celebrations of the founding of the athletic and scouting organization, which was founded in 1918.

The 10th Pan-Homenetmen Games kicked off Saturday with a parade of athletes in the center of the city setting the stage for the centennial celebrations of the founding of the athletic and scouting organization, which was founded in 1918.

Some 1,250 athletes representing 19 Homenetmen chapters from around the world, including Tehran’s Ararat and Nairi organizations, paraded from Liberty Square in Yerevan’s city center to Republic square led by the Homenetmen marching band and athletes carrying the Armenian tricolor, the flags of Homenetmen, the organization’s Armenia division, commonly known as HASK, and the organization’s centennial flag.

Some 1,250 athletes representing 19 Homenetmen chapters from around the world paraded from Liberty Square in Yerevan’s city center to Republic square

Marching in alphabetical order by region, the athletes reached Republic Square where thousands of spectators had gathered to witness the tenth iteration of the event.

With the singing of the Armenian national anthem and the official Homenetmen anthem, the official opening ceremonies of the 2017 games also kicked off the organization’s centennial celebrations, which will go well into 2018 as regional celebrations will mark the momentous occasion of the organization’s establishment.

Marching in alphabetical order by region, the athletes reached Republic Square where thousands of spectators had gathered to witness the tenth iteration of this biennial event.

Attending the opening ceremonies were representatives of the Catholicosates of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin and the Great House of Cilicia; Armenia’s Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakopyan; deputy ministers of youth affairs and defense; the political representative of the Armenian Revolutionary (ARF) Bureau, Armen Rustamian; ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman, Aghvan Vartanyan; the ambassadors of Lebanon and Egypt; a large delegation of the South Korea’s national scouting troupe; the honorary presidents of the 10th Pan-Homenetmen Games, Mr. and Mrs. Sarkis and Alice Der-Bedrossian; Homenetmen Central Executive members, past and present; and representatives of Homenetmen regional executives.

The lighting of the torch

Following remarks by representatives of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, chairman of the Homenetmen Armenia, Davit Hakopyan presented welcoming remarks.

Homenetmen Lebanon Athletes marching

This was followed by remarks by the 10th Pan-Homenetmen Games organizing committee chairperson Manuel Marselian, who is also the chairman of the Homenetmen Western Regional Executive.

Sarkis Der-Bedrossian, the honorary president of the games, said that Homenetmen is that singular organization that does not age and it is that unique movement that has educated generations of Armenians about the importance of being Armenian and advancing our national issues.

Also speaking at the ceremony were ARF Bureau member Armen Rustamian, Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakopyan and chairman of the Homenetmen Central Executive, Karnig Mgrdichian.

Also speaking at the ceremony were ARF Bureau member Armen Rustamian, Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakopyan and chairman of the Homenetmen Central Executive, Karnig Mgrdichian.

Before the parade of athletes, the participants gathered in front of the National Opera to become acquainted with the rules of the Pan-Homenetmen Games and to meet with organizers and leaders of th event. The athletes then marches to Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial, where the Pan-Homenetmen torch was lit from the eternal flame at the memorial complex.

The opening ceremonies concluded with an outdoor concert, featuring many popular Armenian singers and fireworks, which lit up the Yerevan sky.

YEREVAN—On July 25, Armenia’s Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian met the Minister of Regional Cooperation of Israel Tzachi Hanegbi, who arrived in Yerevan on an official visit.

On July 25, Armenia’s Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian met the Minister of Regional Cooperation of Israel Tzachi Hanegbi, who arrived in Yerevan on an official visit.

After the meeting, a signing ceremony took place, during which the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Minister of Regional Cooperation of Israel signed the “Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the State of Israel on Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic Passports”, and the “Convention Between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the State of Israel on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion WIth Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital.”

Armenia’s Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan and Minister Hanegbi then signed the “Program of Cultural, Educational and Scientific, Sports and Youth Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the State of Israel for the years 2017-2020″.

Welcoming Minister Hanegbi, Minister Nalbandian highlighted the importance of the visit of the Israeli Minister to Armenia, underlining that relations between the Armenian and Jewish peoples have deep historical roots, which create a good basis for the development of inter-state cooperation.

Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Yerevan and warm reception, Minister Hanegbi noted that Israel wants to develop friendly relations with Armenia and this is the main message of his visit.

At the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon in details the various issues of the bilateral agenda, discussed urgent regional and international problems.

The Ministers noted with satisfaction the intensification of Armenian-Israeli contacts at the public level, underlining that they contribute to the strengthening of inter-state relations.

“Edward Nalbandian and Tzachi Hanegbi attached an importance to the expansion of the legal framework, holding of consultations between the foreign ministries, enhancing of collaboration in international organizations and intensification of inter-parliamentary exchanges,” read a part of the press statement released by the Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The agenda of negotiations included steps to boost trade and economic ties, both sides highlighted the importance of the full use of tourism potential.

During the conversation issues related to deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation in the spheres of culture, science and education were discussed, while Minister Hanegbi presented the approaches of Israel to regional developments.

At the request of the guest, Edward Nalbandian touched upon the efforts undertaken by Armenia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chair countries aimed at creating conducive conditions for the advancement of the process of peaceful settlement of the Artsakh conflict.

OTTAWA, Canada—The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) said in a statement on July 26 that it is appalled to learn that the Canadian government has granted an export permit for the transfer of highly sophisticated military equipment from the Toronto-based INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing over to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The ANCC said in a statement that it is appalled to learn that the Canadian government has granted an export permit for the transfer of highly sophisticated military equipment from the Toronto-based INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing over to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In a letter addressed to Canada’s Minister of International Trade, the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne on July 24, the ANCC called upon the Canadian government to immediately halt the transfer of weapons to Azerbaijan and take the necessary steps to reverse this wrong decision.

“Such transfers of dangerous weaponry to a rogue states such as Azerbaijan violate the very basic norms of Canada’s arms exports regulations and pose a significant danger to domestic and regional stability,” said Shahen Mirakian, president of the ANCC.

“As has been demonstrated repeatedly thus far, the Azeri regime is adamant on using such equipment not only to perpetuate regional instability by threatening the peace and security of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), but also to crack down on dissent at home,” added Mirakian.

“By allowing this export of military goods to Azerbaijan, Canada is contributing to the hostilities among Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh. Such decisions are contrary to Canada’s commitment and full support of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] Minsk Group negotiation process and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” read a part of the statement.

Azerbaijan has been repeatedly condemned by prominent rights watchdogs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for what is deemed to be a recurring suppression of fundamental freedoms, most notably its continuing assault on independent journalism and human rights advocacy in the country.

“In observance of Canada’s stated priorities regarding arms exports, namely preserving regional peace and stability, and protecting human rights, we urge the government to not allow the interests and motives of hostile nations trump our shared values of justice and democracy,” concluded Mirakian.

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.

WATERTOWN, Mass. (Wicked Local)—The Mosesian Center for the Arts recently announced “Forever Young: Picture Book Art Exhibition,” on view now through Sept. 15, at 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. The exhibition will include works by 29 artists, including Armenian Weekly contributor Alik Arzoumanian.

Alik Arzoumanian

The exhibition, juried in part by Nick Patton from the Picture Booking Podcast and Mela Bolinao of MB Artists, also includes a pop-up picture book shop featuring books and prints of artwork on view.

Attendees can meet the artists from the exhibition at a free, family-friendly opening reception party on July 27. Visitors can take part in book readings, giveaways, and art activities 3-5 p.m., followed by a more traditional opening reception with free food and cash bar 5-7 p.m.

The Mosesian Center for the Arts recently announced “Forever Young: Picture Book Art Exhibition,” on view now through Sept. 15, at 321 Arsenal St., Watertown.

The exhibition includes works from Arzoumanian, Rob Bolster, Robin Brickman, Emily Brodrick, Calef Brown, Melissa Chaney, Susanna Chapman, Melanie Christopher, Cara Coleman, Jef Czekaj, Mary DePalma, Leslie Evans, Maddie Frost, Jennifer Goldfinger, Jannie Ho, Donna Howard, Anne Hunter, Grace Julian Murthy, Jennifer Morgan, Jerry Pallotta, Leslie Patricelli, Kari Percival, Kirk Reedstrom, Dawn Scaltreto, Kimberly Thompson, Brendan Totten, Amy Young, Lei Zhang, and Annie Zygarowicz.

“Forever Young: Picture Book Exhibition” is on view and open to the public from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Sept.15, and during evening theater performances and special events. For information: http://mosesianarts.org.

OTTAWA—The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), in collaboration with the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) of Canada, recently launched an online action alert, calling on the Canadian government to immediately halt the export of Canadian manufactured weapons to Azerbaijan. The action alert is live on the AYF Canada website and could be accessed via the following link: https://www.ayfcanada.org/category/action-alerts/.

A photo of a Canadian-made armored personnel carrier that are being delivered to Azerbaijan. (Levon Sevunts/Radio Canada International)

The ANCC urges members and grassroots activist to take immediate action and demand the cancellation of this highly controversial arms deal. Recently, the ANCC learned that the Canadian government had granted an export permit for the transfer of highly sophisticated military equipment from the Toronto-based INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing over to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In a July 24 letter addressed to Canada’s Minister of International Trade, François-Philippe Champagne, ANCC President, Shahen Mirakian said that transfers of dangerous weaponry to a rogue states such as Azerbaijan “violate the very basic norms of Canada’s arms exports regulations and pose a significant danger to domestic and regional stability.”

“By allowing this export of military goods to Azerbaijan, Canada is contributing to the hostilities among Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh. Such decisions are contrary to Canada’s commitment and full support of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] Minsk Group negotiation process and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” read a part of the ANCC statement.

PARAMUS, N.J.—“The AMAA (Armenian Missionary Association of America) has been in my blood from an early age,” stated Dr. Raffy Hovanessian in a telephone conversation with this writer.   The eminent community activist will be the master of ceremonies for the AMAA Centennial Banquet. He will be sharing the honors with AMAA leaders and banquet co-chairs Drs. Nurhan and Celeste Telfeyan Helvacian.

(L to R) Drs. Raffy Hovanessian and Nurhan and Celeste Helvacian

The banquet on the East Coast will take place on Saturday evening, Oct. 21, at the elegant Glenpointe Marriott in Teaneck, N.J. In Oct. 2018, the AMAA will crown its centennial anniversary celebrations with a banquet in California.

Dr. Hovanessian, who has been intimately associated with the AMAA since childhood, was born in Jerusalem to parents who were orphans, and he was baptized in the St. Hreshdagabed Armenian Apostolic church. His mother hailed from Yozgat, and his father’s family was from Arapgir, where they lost more than 30 family members during the Genocide.

His family, forced to leave his birthplace during the Arab-Israeli war, went to Aleppo, Syria, where he received his secondary education and the first two years of his college education in schools run by the Evangelical church. His mother, who was a nurse, took care of the survivors of the Genocide in Aleppo, giving injections, doing home deliveries, and “charging nothing,” Dr. Hovanessian pointed out.

“My father was a shoemaker and made a decent living,” he related, and revealed that his father in the orphanage did not know his family name, but because Dr. Raffy’s paternal grandfather’s name was Hovaness, the family name became Hovanessian. However, he found out later that he was really a Hamalian.

Wanted to be a Missionary

“It was in Aleppo that I received my basic Christian education in the Sunday school and Junior Youth Group of the Evangelical church, which welcomed us with very open arms,” he recalled, relating that his father became a close friend with the father of Zaven Khanjian (currently AMAA Executive Director and CEO). “Our families always celebrated Easter and New Year together.    And even before going into the medical field, my ambition was to become a missionary like Albert Schweitzer.”

Inspired by his mother to become a doctor, the young Raffy continued his medical studies at the renowned American University of Beirut (AUB), where he specialized in internal medicine and gastroenterology, finally concluding his instruction at Johns Hopkins University. Eleven members of his family became doctors.

While he was at AUB, the AMAA established Haigazian College. The founding president was Rev. Dr. John Markarian, now 100 years old. In medical school, Hovanessian recalled, his “good friends and classmates were Evangelicals,” like Dr. Missak Abdulian, Dr. Sarkis Tilkian, and Dr. Hrair Gulesserian. Many of the AMAA-sponsored and supported minsters came from Beirut’s Near East School of Theology, he added.

Drafted into the U.S. army as a major, Hovanessian put his medical education to good use during the Vietnam War, focusing on infectious diseases of the stomach and colon during his assignment at the Fort Knox, Kentucky, army camp. Following one year in group practice in Munster, Indiana, Dr. Hovanessian went into private practice from 1970 to 2005.  During that period, he and his family attended Sts. Joachim and Ann Apostolic church. His immediate family includes art curator wife Victoria Shoghag (nee Varjabedian), a son, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.

Attachment Never Severed

“My attachment to the Evangelical church has never been severed,” Dr. Hovanessian stated definitively. “As a Christian, I have been educated in its school system. Most of the students in Aleppo and Beirut who attended the Evangelical schools were not Evangelicals, and the schools survived because of the AMAA support.

“I am an Armenian Christian who belongs to any Armenian church,” he stated, revealing that his wife’s family from Marash included 23 archpriests. “However, I am a good Christian today because of the Evangelical education I received. They are for the service that Christ was speaking about,” Dr. Hovanessian declared.

Dr. Raffy A. Hovanessian has been president of the medical staff at Mercy Hospital, of the Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society, and of the Asian American Medical Society. He has also served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at both Mercy Hospital and Methodist Hospital, and chairman of Methodist Hospital’s credentials committee.

In the Armenian community, he has been a Board member of the Armenian Assembly, the AGBU, and the American University of Armenia. He has served as a vice chair and delegate to the Armenian National Assembly at Etchmiadzin for the election of the Catholicoses in 1995 and 1999, vice chair of the Diocesan Council, and member of the Knights of Vartan.

In 2014, Dr. Hovanessian was honored as the Diocesan Armenian Church Member of the Year. In 2000, he received the Ellis Island Award, Etchmiadzin’s St. Gregory Medal in 1996, and Antelias’s Prince of Cilicia medallion in 1983.

AMAA Mission Comes from the Bible

For both Drs. Nurhan and Celeste Telfeyan Helvacian, the message that the AMAA lives up to is the word of Christ, “to love and help one another.” Dr. Nurhan Helvacian grew up in the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church in New York, and started attending the Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, N.J., in 1992. In 2006, he started serving as a board member of the AMAA, and since 2007 as the Treasurer of the Association.

Dr. Celeste hails from the well-known and dedicated Telfeyan family. She was baptized by Rev. Antranig Bedikian, the much-admired and prolific writer of books. Her great uncle and grandfather were among the deeply involved founders and dedicated philanthropists of both the Telfeyan Evangelical Fund and of the AMAA. The goal of the Telfeyan Evangelical Fund was initially to help young Armenian ministers. Much of the Telfeyan Fund donations, which allocate funds for various Armenian causes, go through the AMAA. She is currently a board member of this Fund; since 2010, Nurhan is the treasurer.

Celeste’s grandmother was raised in a “very American Protestant church in a very Protestant American town” in Oklahoma. Celeste grew up in Manhasset, Long Island, and attended the local Congregational Church.

Her father’s family came to America in the late 1800s from Kayseri, and went into the oriental rug importing and rug sale business. Her mother’s family had migrated in 1918 from Istanbul. She remembers that her maternal grandfather, whose family hailed from Kharpert, had had a large scar on his neck. “During the Genocide, they had tried to slit his throat, but he pretended to be dead so he would not be killed.”

Nurhan, who was born in Istanbul, and whose maternal grandmother from Kayseri died of disease in the Genocide, commented that since joining the Evangelical church, spiritually he feels “more gratified and fulfilled in my Christian faith. I see our people express our faith in action, and feel that I am serving the Lord.” He said the basic principles of the Protestants are following the Gospels with an emphasis on Christ’s message.

Visiting Armenia twice, in 2008, and in 2014 for the dedication of the new Avedisian School, Celeste remarked, “Everyone in Armenia looked like somebody I knew.” Nurhan praised the AMAA programs and schools, day care centers, camps, and the AMAA medical mission trips to Armenia, which began in 2009.

Nurhan and Celeste have two daughters and one grandson.

Dr. Celeste Ann Telfeyan Helvacian received a Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and she is an anesthesiologist in The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. She has previously been an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and director of obstetric anesthesiology at Weiler Hospital and at Mount Sinai Services.

Dr. Nurhan “Mike” Helvacian, a PH.D. in economics from City University, NY, is an adjunct professor of economics at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and provides economic consulting and statistical data analysis services. He has directed research and economic programs at IBM, AT&T, NCCI, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has written extensively in his specialized fields, and is published in several professional booklets and journals.

The AMAA centennial celebration banquet honoring benefactors Edward and Pamela Avedisian and Charles (posthumously) and Doreen Bilezikian will take place on October 21, 2017, at the Glenpointe Marriott in Teaneck, N.J. For information about the banquet, please call the AMAA offices in Paramus, N.J., at 201-265-2607, or email info@amaa.org.

By Gilda Buchakjian (Kupelian)

PARAMUS, N.J.—On the occasion of the upcoming centennial of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), a splendid program organized by the development committee of Haigazian University (HU) of Beirut was a fitting occasion to celebrate the centenary of Rev. Dr. John Markarian, the founding president of the University. The elegant gala, attended by alumni and supporters of the university, was graciously hosted on July 22 at the residence of alumnus Andreas Roubian, in Saddle River, N.J.

(L to R) Rev. Dr. John Markarian, Inge Markarian, and Andreas Roubian

Describing the only Armenian university in the Diaspora as the “jewel” of the Middle East, the master of ceremonies, alumnus Serge Buchakjian, spoke of the culture of “academic excellence inspired by our heritage” that HU has fostered over the years. The unwritten mission of the institution, as the MC deftly qualified, was being a “bridge linking students of diverse backgrounds, a beacon of hope and peace, reflecting the cosmopolitan pluralistic society where it is located.” Poignant testimonials from HU graduates spoke volumes about the significance of this unique institution of higher learning.

The opening prayer was delivered by AMAA West Coast Executive Director Levon Filian. As he described how a painting differs from a masterpiece, Filian drew from the Biblical narrative, and likened the attendees to masterpieces in the image of the Creator.

AMAA Executive Director/CEO Zaven Khanjian spoke of the achievements of the AMAA in the Diaspora and in Armenia, and Haigazian University as “the product of vision, and sacrifice,” which inspired the present. And looking into the impending future, Khanjian said, “those who make up the AMAA with their talents, resources, and contribution will guarantee the future.”

On this most auspicious occasion, Khanjian presented a special congratulatory letter to Dr. Markarian from HH Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, a former student of Dr. Markarian’s at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut during the latter’s tenure in the early 1970s.

(L to r) Andreas Roubian, Priya Katra, Rev. Dr. John Markarian, Inge Markarian, Serge Buchakjian, Ani Darakjian, and Dr. Nazareth Darakjian

Joyce Stein, the daughter of Stephen Philibosian, one of the visionary founders of HU, a member of the board of the AMAA, and of the HU Trustees, and herself a loyal and unwavering supporter of the university, introduced the honoree Rev. Dr. John Markarian. Mrs. Stein recounted how her father and Steven Mehakian approached John Markarian, then a member of the faculty at Lafayette College, with the proposal to “change the face of education in the Middle East.” Markarian, “the very fitting, unflappable, intrepid academic, with a sense of humor,” took on the challenge, thus launching HU. He created an environment for academic excellence, which continues to this day under the capable presidency of Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian. She then awarded the honoree a rare photo from his early years in Beirut.

Prior to the heartwarming celebration of his 100^th birthday with cakes and communal wishes, Dr. John Markarian thanked all those instrumental in the success of HU. And in characteristic humility, he said his work has “been a privilege rather than a chore.” He highly praised the current administration at HU under the leadership of Dr. Haidostian. He credited his family for joining him on his initial venture in Beirut, and his wife Inge for his youthful life. With his unique sense of humor, he imparted a gem of wisdom about longevity that centered on posnology, “the science and the art of joyful living.”

(L to R) Anita and Serge Buchakjian and Dr. Ani Darakjian

The museum-like residence of host Andreas Roubian, a connoisseur and expert on the painter Ivan Aivazovsky, was replete with many paintings by the Armenian artist, an impressive representation of Russian and Napoleonic art. Roubian has spent his life researching and collecting Aivazovsky’s paintings, and some consider his collection the world’s most important outside of Russia.

Sotheby’s Americas chairman and a senior auctioneer, Mr. Benjamin Doller, an expert in 19th century European Art, focused on Aivazovsky’s legacy and how Andy Warhol was mesmerized with Aivazovsky’s art. Mr Doller, who is also involved in charitable causes to benefit education, expressed his appreciation for Roubian’s involvement in philanthropy, and credited the host with being a true collector, acquiring art because he primarily loved and appreciated its beauty.

Dr. Ani Darakjian, the dedicated chairperson of the Haigazian University Board of Trustees, and granddaughter of Rev. Dikran Antreassian, chair of the Musa Dagh defense council during the Armenian Genocide (the real-life clergyman portrayed in the film “The Promise”), congratulated Dr. Markarian for his two tenures as the proficient president of the University. She commended the academic contribution of the university to all learners of the region, and especially for “providing a chance to those who cannot afford it.”

The current HU president, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidotsian, forwarded his heartfelt appreciation and congratulations to Dr. Markarian for his pioneering role and innovative work, and to the AMAA for its momentous and far-reaching accomplishments.

A welcome surprise announcement was the generous contribution of Tina and David Segel to underwrite the cost of updating the HU website.

The enchanting musical interlude, interspersed with enthusiastic applause, was provided by the talented soloist Liliana Natalie Buickians and pianist Kurt Eric Galvan, who played expertly on a 19th century Steinway. The well-selected repertoire included renditions by Italian and French composers and culminated in much appreciated Armenian songs composed by Komitas.

Warm words of appreciation were addressed to the guests and supporters of Haigazian University; to the co-chairs of the development committee, Serge Buchakjian and Tina Segel;to the hosts, Andreas and Priya for their superb hospitality and home-prepared delectable buffet; to the AMAA leadership, Dr. Nazareth Darakjian, and AMAA staff; to all the speakers; to Anita Buchakjian for her indispensable assistance at the gala; and to Dro Abrahamian and Maria Bakalian at HU for their support; and to Dr. Haidostian for his remarkable work at HU.

To conclude in the words of Serge Buchakjian, “After 62 years of existence, resilience, and excellence,” the hope is to continue to support Haigazian University. The quote from Winston Churchill sums it all: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

WATERTOWN, Mass.—Yervand Ter-Khachatryan, a prominent literary critic from Armenia, will be in the United States on a book tour sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) of the United States and Canada. The tour will focus on the memoirs of painter and political activist Panos Terlemezian of Van, edited and annotated by Ter-Khachatryan.

He will speak in New Jersey on Aug. 4, Watertown on Aug. 6, and Glendale, Calif., on Aug. 16, hosted by local Tekeyan chapters. The Watertown event is cosponsored by St. James Armenian Church.

Panos Terlemezian

Terlemezian’s newly published memoirs constitute a treasure-trove. They were only recently discovered in manuscript form in the archives of the State Art Museum of Armenia. Terlemezian was a prominent painter after whom the Terlemezian School of the Arts in Yerevan has been named. He was a multitalented historical figure who is also known as a freedom fighter and one of the leaders of the battles Van waged for self-defense in 1915. He was one of the founders of the Armenagan party.

Van Armenians were among the few groups to survive the Armenian Genocide, thanks to their successful battles for self-defense, after which they withdrew into the territory of the present Republic of Armenia. Terlemezian was among these refugees.

Terlemezian’s newly published memoirs

At a mature age, Terlemezian developed his artistic talents, studying in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Paris, and attained undisputed fame. The discovery of Terlemezian’s memoirs proves that he was an equally talented prose writer. He depicts his early life in Van, its historic insurrection, and his subsequent life as a refugee in Armenia.

In addition to bringing to life Terlemezian’s manuscript, Ter-Khachatryan has conducted pioneering work in discovering, re-evaluating, and publishing masterpieces of Western Armenian literature that are not very well known in the Republic of Armenia. There are few literary scholars knowledgeable in this field in which he is breathing new life, despite scanty resources.

Yervand Ter-Khachatryan (Yuri Khachatryan) was born on April 25, 1949, in the village of Karakhach in the Vedi district of Armenia (today Ararat Province). In 1971, he graduated the philological division of Yerevan State University and finished his graduate work two years later on contemporary Armenian literature, with a thesis on the lyric poetry of Paruyr Sevak.

He worked at the Martiros Saryan Museum as a scholar from 1972 to 1979, and then as assistant research director at the State Art Museum of Armenia, from 1979 to 1982. From 1979 to 2000, he taught the history of Russian literature at Yerevan State University.

He studied in detail the literary corpus of authors such as Paruyr Sevak, Kostan Zarian, Hrant Nazariants, Indra (Diran Chrakian), Garbis Surenian, Albert Kostanian, and Abraham Alikian, and he assembled, edited, and published 10 books and anthologies of their works. He has published many articles and studies in the press dedicated to Armenian literature and various issues related to art and culture. He has edited books of art criticism and albums.

The major portion of Ter-Khachatryan’s literary and philological work is dedicated to Western Armenian and diasporan Armenian literature.

He has assembled and published the only complete collection of the works of the famous Western Armenian poet and translator Hrant Nazariants (1884-1962) under the title Asteghahev menutiun [Starry-Breathed Solitude] (Yerevan, 2008) with a foreword and 100 pages of extensive annotations.

After Indra’s death, only two collections of his works were published. The first was in 1974, in Beirut, and the second in Yerevan, in 1980. There is no archive on Indra, and his writings are scattered in various Western Armenian and diasporan Armenian periodicals and publications. Ter-Khachatryan has put together two volumes of his works, called Hovin dzayne (The Sound of the Wind), with a long preface and scholarly footnotes. A third volume is ready but has not yet be published for lack of a sponsor.

Yervand Ter-Khachatryan

From 1999 to 2016, Ter-Khachatryan published eight volumes of Kostan Zarian’s works, together with copious introductions and notes, and Karik Pasmachian’s anthology, called Avartakhagh (Endgame), in 2005. He published two annotated volumes of Abraham Alikian’s poetry and translations, called Hez irikun (Mild Evening) and Handipakats aper (Facing Shores) in 2008 and 2009, respectively, with long forewords. He prepared and published the collection Gevorg Gantaharian: Amenun usutsiche (Gevorg Gantaharian: Everyone’s Teacher) in 2011, in Yerevan, Zhirayr Tanielian’s Panasirutean pavighnerun mech (In the Labyrinths of Poetry) in 2011, in Beirut, and Bebo Simonian’s Kraganutean jampun vra (On the Path of Literature) in 2016, in Beirut—all, as always, with lengthy introductions and annotations.

At the same time that he was teaching, he edited the literary and cultural monthly Varuzhan, from 1992 to 1994, worked as part of the editorial staff of Nork monthly, from 1996 to 1998, and served as chief editor of Grakan tert from 1998 to 1999.

At present, Ter-Khachatryan works as the lecturer of the Chair of Diasporan [Armenian] Literature at Yerevan State University. He is a member of the Writers Union of Armenia, the Journalists Union of Armenia, and the International Federation of Journalists.

Ter-Khachatryan will speak in New Jersey on Aug. 4, at 8 p.m. at the TCA Center, 560 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Original paintings will be displayed at the Center. RSVP Helen Misk at 347-368-6993.

The lecture in Watertown will take place on Aug. 6 ,at 12:30 p.m., after the Divine Liturgy at St. James Armenian Church, in Watertown. For more information, email tcadirector@aol.com or call 617 924-4455.

The lecture in Glendale, hosted by the Los Angeles TCA chapter, will take place at 7:30 p.m., at St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church, Kouyoumjian Hall (1510 E. Mountain Street, Glendale), and will include as additional speakers Lilit Keheyan and Edmond Y. Azadian.

All events include receptions, and admission is complimentary.

LOS ANGELES—Leaders and supporters of the Armenian National Committee of America—Western Region (ANCA-WR) joined together to meet with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D- Hawaii), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a maverick who has challenged the status quo with respect to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Leaders and supporters of the ANCA-WR joined together to meet with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D- Hawaii). (Photo: ANCA-WR)

In addition to ANCA-WR leaders, the meeting with Congresswoman Gabbard included several local government officials and religious leaders who shared their personal insights on the plight of Armenians in Syria and Iraq, as well as the ways U.S. actions in the region in support of “moderate rebels” has yielded disastrous results for Christians and other ethnic minorities, such as Yazidis and Kurds, across the Middle East.

“It was refreshing to hear such a clear and cogent perspective from Congresswoman Gabbard on what is really going in the Middle East and how America’s foreign policy in that region is failing to reflect our very own American values,” shared ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian. “Congresswoman Gabbard’s voice on foreign policy is an important one because she is asking many questions that need to be asked—like why Turkey was permitted by the United States to aid and abet ISIS and how the U.S. Department of State continues to make America beholden to an autocratic leader like Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” Hovsepian added.

Although Congresswoman Gabbard does not have a large Armenian American constituency in Hawaii, she has taken an interest in Armenian issues. She shared with ANCA-WR leaders and community representatives that she will be co-sponsoring the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Con.Res. 220) being advanced by her Republican colleague from the State of Michigan, Congressman David Trott.

The meeting with the ANCA-WR and community leaders was arranged by Glendale City Councilmember Zareh Sinanyan and included the participation of His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy, Reverend Berdj Djambazian of the Armenian Evangelical Union, Father Armenag Bedrossian of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy, and Raffi Kendirjian of the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund.

Gabbard has made national headlines over the past several years with respect to her outspoken criticism of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and her strident support for then-Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. In a colorful moment during the last presidential campaign, the congresswoman was, as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, disinvited to the first Democratic presidential primary debate in Nevada for having urged that Senator Sanders and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hold more debates.  The decision to disinvite her was reportedly made by the then-chair of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).  Gabbard also made national headlines when she recently visited Syria and continued her effort to inform her congressional colleagues of the dangers posed with America’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries that are flooding the Middle East with arms and radicalized terrorists.

Following the meeting with community leaders, Congresswoman Gabbard was graciously hosted by ANCA National Board member Aida Dimejian and her husband, Hovig, at their home, where attendees had the opportunity to meet the Congresswoman and discuss issues of mutual concern.

Tulsi Gabbard is a native of Hawaii and was elected to the Hawaii State Legislature in 2002, when she was just 21 years old, becoming the youngest person ever elected to the state legislature. A year later, she joined the Hawaii Army National Guard. In 2004, she volunteered to deploy with her fellow soldiers, becoming the first state official to voluntarily step down from public office to serve in a war zone. She served two tours of duty in the Middle East, and she continues her service as a major in the Army National Guard. In between her two tours, she served in the U.S. Senate as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel Akaka (D- Hawaii), advising him on energy independence, homeland security, the environment, and veteran issues. While working for Senator Akaka, in 2007, Gabbard graduated from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy, where she was the first woman to finish as the distinguished honor graduate in the Academy’s 50-year history. She was commissioned as a second lieutenant and again assigned to the 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion of the Hawaii Army National Guard—this time to serve as the military police platoon leader.

In 2010, Gabbard was elected to the Honolulu City Council, serving as chair of the Safety, Economic Development, and Government Affairs Committee, and Vice Chair of the Budget Committee. In 2011, she visited Indonesia as part of a peacekeeping training effort with the Indonesian Army. She was elected in 2012 to the United States House of Representatives, serving Hawaii’s 2nd District. She is one of the first two female combat veterans to ever serve in the U.S. Congress, and its first Hindu member.

Now in her third term in Congress, Gabbard serves on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The ANCA-WR Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices and supporters around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.

YEREVAN—Earlier this year, the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation approached ONEArmenia about accelerating investment into HIKEArmenia to scale the program more quickly and to enhance its impact. In February, the two organizations signed an agreement that ultimately establishes full Hovnanian Foundation support for the creation of HIKEArmenia as a separate operating foundation in Armenia with the goal of developing the hiking infrastructure and resources throughout Armenia to world-class standards.

The Hovnanian Foundation, ONEArmenia, and local stakeholders on the ground already involved in hiking, adventure travel, and ecotourism in Armenia will work together to accomplish this goal with a strong commitment to promoting sustainable ecotourism as well as ensuring rural economic development in Armenia.

HIKEArmenia’s priorities include designing a state-of-the-art hiking resource center in downtown Yerevan, creating a one-stop-shop website for hiking and ecotourism, building on the pilot release of the mobile app, further developing and investing in quality trail design and necessary hiking infrastructure, and promoting Armenia as a hiking destination.

“I think adventure travel can be a huge economic driver in Armenia. Everyone talks about it, but very little has been done on a large scale; and what efforts we’ve seen are disconnected and piecemeal. I am hoping with our funding we can make HIKEArmenia just the beginning of our Foundation’s commitment to building the tourism industry in Armenia,” said Edele Hovnanian.

The initial phase of HIKEArmenia was incubated in Nov. 2016 and funded via a crowdfunding campaign supported by more than 200 people from ONEArmenia’s global community in 2016.  That enabled the organization to create a hiking app focused on promoting the natural assets of Armenia as well as to scout and mark several hiking trails throughout the country.

“This project is an opportunity to improve the lives of local Armenians by bolstering tourism and thus their monthly income. It’s a solid representation of the power of collaboration between an engaged, global community and organizations that understand how to accelerate the economic interests of those living in the country,” said Patrick Sarkissian, Founder of ONEArmenia.

With Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation funding, HIKEArmenia’s priorities include designing a state-of-the art hiking resource center in downtown Yerevan, creating a one-stop-shop website for hiking and ecotourism, building on the pilot release of the mobile app, further developing and investing in quality trail design and necessary hiking infrastructure, and promoting Armenia as a hiking destination.

By Ned Apigian

Larry Avedesian (1939-2017)

Larry and I are both graduates of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) “University,” from the “College” of the AYF, the ARF’s youth organization. It was there that we first meet, in 1959, he as a member of the Detroit Christopher chapter, and I as a member of the combined Detroit Mourad-Zavarian chapter.

The AYF program then was—as it is now—in Armenian history and culture. We majored in the loss of our political rights in the Ottoman Empire and the USSR, and the injustice of the forgotten genocide of the Armenian people. There, in the AYF, all of us become servants for the Armenian community, in whichever one we may have resided. Larry learned that lesson well, going on to serve as both a leader and a participant in community life.

Larry never joined the ARF (certainly, many did not); however, he subscribed to all of its many goals and aspirations, and he was an avid supporter. Based on my 50-year observation of him, he was a better non-member than most, having managed the ARF property in Detroit for years without compensation. Larry chose the community service route, which was the second goal of the AYF “College” of the ARF “University.” In this mission, he succeeded greatly; we were to go on to lead work, or to follow, or at least to be present—all of which he did successfully for 60 long years.

As I see it, Larry was part of a great patriotic Armenian parade of AYF graduates who were and are the backbone of our collective U.S. Armenian community life. Larry was a shining example in Detroit. He was not the usual MC at our functions, he was not the speaker of the day, he did not write articles for publication or write a book. In short, he did not lead the parade as the drum major. But as a worker and a doer, he played most of the instruments in the band and proudly marched in the parade.

Time and time again, when the strutting drum major turned around to change the tune, he would find Larry playing “tuba” (as a Church Board member). When he turned around again to change the tune, Larry was playing the “trombone” (as a Golf Committee Member). The next time he turned to change the song, Larry was playing the “saxophone” (as a AYF Booster Club leader). And when the drum major turned for the last song, Larry was playing the “trumpet” (as manager of the Armenian Community Center).

When he was not playing his many instruments in the band, Larry also marched in the section of workers and doers behind the band. Unfortunately, the band is not large. And though the marchers section, consisting of workers, is larger, it not large enough…

Then, there are the observers of the parade, and they are important too. They are the Armenian community for which we are marching. Without them, there would be no need for the parade, because, after all, the purpose of the parade is to motivate the community into action. There could be a lot more of them. They do not have to play an instrument, or march in the great patriotic parade as Larry did, but they could learn to march in the parade, too…

We, the Armenian community, need all major categories: the drum majors (central leadership) the band (local leadership); the marchers (the workers and doers); and, finally, the observers (the community at-large).

Later in life, with his health declining, Larry could not play in the band anymore, or march in the parade, but he always attended and was a loyal observer, watching the parade go by, cheering the band leaders and the march of workers and doers as they passed by in quickstep.

Larry had many achievements in life, too many to list, including outside of the Armenian Community, except in this allegorical way.

You can be sure Larry is marching up above and playing in the band with all the other ARF/AYF deceased members who had passed before him—including, and especially, his wife, Alice, with whom he is finally reunited.

SHUSHI, Artsakh—The Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI) Shushi Center recently announced the formation of the Armenian folk instrumental Naregatsi Shushi Orchestra.

The Naregatsi Art Institute (NAI) Shushi Center recently announced the formation of the Armenian folk instrumental Naregatsi Shushi Orchestra.

Named after Saint Gregory of Narek, NAI is a nonprofit arts organization established in 2000, with headquarters in Yerevan and an educational art center in Shushi. It was founded by philanthropist Nareg Hartounian with the essential assistance of his brother, Saro Hartounian, and their beloved and now late father, Garabed Hartounian. The NAI’s main mission is to preserve and promote Armenian art, culture, and spiritual values.

In 2005, thanks to the efforts of Nareg Hartounian, the Naregatsi Folk Ensemble was created. From the very beginning, all pedagogical and concert-related work and activities were financed by him, with concert tours so far including different provinces of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as countries in Europe.

The following year, the Naregatsi Art Center was established in Shushi. The center hosts 12 art classes specializing in a variety of subjects, attended by more than 100 children at no cost. The center’s objective is to contribute to the cultural recovery of the city, which was destroyed during the Karabagh war and faces enormous difficulties.

The center aims to be a link between all artists and art lovers in the region by implementing educational programs designed bring up a new generation with the Armenian spirit as well as awareness and appreciation of cultural and national values; it enables young people to create freely and to benefit from a professional orientation in the arts.

The orchestra is in need of the following instruments: santur, qanun, tar, duduk, shvi, blul, dhol, kopal dhol, dap, oud, bambir (big), bambir (small), tympani and music stands.

NAI would be grateful for any kind of assistance in obtaining the necessary folk instruments.

Donate to Naregatsi Art Institute today!

YEREVAN—Already in its sixth year, the 2017 Armenian Higher Education Initiative Summer Program brought together 20 leading young scholars and practitioners for a multifaceted look at the subject of diasporas, their histories, and their relations to homelands. The program took place at the American University of Armenia and was funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The 2017 Armenian Higher Education Initiative Summer Program brought together 20 leading young scholars and practitioners for a multifaceted look at the subject of diasporas, their histories, and their relations to homelands.

Participants came together from a variety of leading universities in Armenia, Russia, and Hungary, as well as the Ministry of the Diaspora, the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, and the State Migration Service of Armenia.

The program included several of the wider Armenian world’s leading experts on the subject—Jirayr Libaridian, Razmik Panossian, Vahe Sahakyan, Tigran Paskevishyan, and others—and enabled participants to explore the concept of diasporas from a variety of perspectives, using diverse methodologies.

Sub-themes of the project included “Nationalism, Ethnicity, and the Diaspora”; “Diaspora-Armenia Relations”; discussions on specific case studies, including relations between different groups of Middle Eastern Armenians; a comparative look at the Jewish and Armenian diasporas; the Armenian community in India; and others.

Participants were formed into groups in advance of the program based on specific research interests. During the second week of the program, they gave presentations on topics such as “Traumatic Memories as an Element of National Self-consciousness and Their Role in the Process of Consolidating the Diaspora,” “Armenia-Diaspora Perspectives for the Development of Economic Relations in the Context of Modern Technology Development,” and “Lebanese and Iranian Diasporas: Migration Processes, Particularities of Community Formation.”

The AHEI looks forward to continuing its tradition of helping to shape the futures of the most promising young academics in Armenia and across the Armenian world.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—Turkish authorities have decided to demolish the Nişanyan House hotel complex owned by Turkish-Armenian intellectual, travel writer, entrepreneur, and researcher Sevan Nişanyan, according to a report by Turkey’s Gazete Vatan news outlet.

One of the buildings cited in the report on the Nişanyan House hotel complex

The report cites that 22 buildings, which were “illegally constructed in the environmental zone” in Şirince (Izmir province), are slated for demolition. Two other buildings, belonging to the Nesin Fund, established by Nişanyan and his friend Ali Nesin, are also set to be demolished.

The report notes that the original decision to demolish buildings was made in 2011; however, those plans were postponed due to the resistance of local residents.

In a recent interview with Armenian Weekly correspondent Gulisor Akkum, Sevan Nişanyan, who escaped prison and fled Turkey on July 14, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime’s days are numbered and that he will eventually return to his home country.

“I am sad that I will be away from my village and my home for a period of time. But I do not believe this political insanity in Turkey will continue for too long. This regime is going to go, and we will return!” Nişanyan told Akkum.

Nişanyan was jailed on Dec. 2, 2014, for “construction infractions.” The charges that had him locked up stemmed from the renovations and additions to his hotels in Şirince, an old Greek village in Izmir that has become a tourist destination thanks to Nişanyan and his rustic hotel business.

“The bird has flown. Wish the same for 80 million left behind,” Nişanyan said in a Tweet on July 14 upon fleeing the country. He also changed his profile photo on Twitter in the evening hours of July 14 and replaced it with a photo of a flying bird.

The Second Installment of ‘Jazz in the Courtyard’ to Take Place on Aug. 4, at 7:30 p.m.

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—The second installment of the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center’s and Hamazkayin Boston’s summer jazz concert series, “Jazz in the Courtyard,” will feature the critically acclaimed folk-jazz ensemble Musaner on Aug. 4.

Musaner

Led by composer and pianist Ara Sarkissian, Musaner has performed widely at top venues in Boston and New York, and in Italy and Switzerland. The New York Music Daily referred to ensemble’s most recent recording, “Once Upon a Time,” as “one of the most picturesque, intensely vivid albums of the year,” while Boston’s own WBUR referred to Musaner’s sound as “something that bridges East and West, that’s both familiar and exotic, delicate and powerfully high-energy.”

More information on Musaner is available at http://musaner.com. The ensemble will appear in its five-person lineup for an evening that promises to be memorable.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at http://hamazkayinboston.org or by calling 617-926- 6067. Refreshments, drinks, and snacks will be available for purchase. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m.

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The series of three events, held on alternating Fridays in July and August, will bring acclaimed, modern interpretations of jazz to the center’s outdoor courtyard space in Watertown.

The third concert, to be held on Aug. 18, will feature theyoung guitarist Shahan Nercessian and his new trio, SMB-3. This latest project of Shahan’s is a jazz trio with subtle Armenian folk undertones. The group is composed of musicians who met while studying jazz at Tufts University and who have played extensively in the Boston area in various musical settings.

The band plays original compositions drawing influences from jazz, rock, world music, and beyond. They will be releasing their first full-length album, “Echoes from a Distant Past,” in the summer of 2017.

All three concerts will be held in the outdoor courtyard at the ACEC, located at 47 Nichols Ave., Watertown. In case of rain, the event will be held indoors.

YEREVAN—The government of Armenia approved a proposed anti-smoking strategy on Aug. 3. Health Minister Levon Altunyan said strategy aims to implement various programs to help decrease tobacco use in the country.

An Armenian advertisement discouraging smoking

“The programs will aim at ensuring active cooperation among all concerned parties on the fight against smoking, reviewing and amending current legislation, developing the capacities of healthcare organizations, as well as taking measures on eliminating smoking among teenagers,” the Minister told reporters according to Yerevan-based ArmenPress.

According to Minister Altunyan, the anti-smoking measures are expected to give the following results: smoking-rate reduction by 1.5-2 percent annually; relative reduction of the current tobacco use prevalence among men age 15 and above to 10 percent; and a decrease in secondhand smoke health effects, which will lead to a 5 percent reduction in cases of death caused by cardiovascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and diabetes.

Altunyan made an announcement on May 31 that he had received instructions from the country’s leadership to declare a war on tobacco and to reduce the number of smokers in Armenia by 30-40 percent. Altunyan said smoking will be banned in public spaces, including restaurants and bars, with no separate closed rooms for smokers. Taxes on tobacco products will be raised as well, according to the Health Minister.

During a press conference at the United Nations Yerevan Office on World No Tobacco Day (May 31), Alexander Bazarchyan, the director of Armenia’s National Healthcare Institute, said the new program for the fight against tobacco included legislative changes, the improvement of healthcare services, better informing of citizens, and international cooperation.

The changes would also prohibit advertising tobacco products and would compel companies to include photographs on their warning labels, Bazarchyan said.