Clarity is the essence of (smart) reporting

VaՀe H Apelian 

All politics is local, but Armenian politics brought to Diaspora is a mess.

Armenia is embarked on a peace process. I support Armenia’s crossroad for peace initiative as well as the peace deal Armenia and Azerbaijan signed on August 8, 2025 and agreed on a passageway through Armenia that would connect Nachichevan with Azerbaijan and beyond. The signatories agreed to call the passage TRIPP – Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. 

Much like war, or any other state relation for that matter, peace is a process that excises a price. There are no handouts there. Armenia will pay a price. But I believe the price Armenia will pay for its peace initiative is much more bearable than otherwise. 

The last few days I came across a confluence of reports in Horizon Daily in Canada that did not make sense to me, let alone make me  more informed in understanding why the opposition is opposing these initiatives and what they are offering in return.  Horizon is an ARF run newspaper. It is well known that ARF is part of the Robert Kocharian led coalition that stands against the Nikol Pashinyan led Armenian government and its initiatives for Armenia. 

I cite the following from the journal.

*

““Armenia should not be a state that reconciles itself with reality, but rather a state that creates reality.”

The statement was the header of a post reporting about the speech Ishkhan Saghatelyan had made on September 21, 2025 at the monument of Aram Manougian, on the occasion of Armenia's Independence Day. Ishkhan Saghatelyanis is the representative of the  ARF Armenia Supreme Body, and is a member of the National Assembly. 

His speech came across to me as a bombastic rhetoric because it is vague in every conceivable way in elaborating on the policies ARF Supreme Body will pursue, assuming the reins of governance of Armenia.

During the past three decades, the ARF Armenia Supreme Body  has cooperated with president Robert Kocharian, became part of the Serzh Sargsyan government whose policies had nothing to do with the ARF socialistic leaning ideology; nor about the political aspirations of the organization in laying claims of Western Armenian lands for a united Armenia, or demanding genocide restitution and reparation as a matter of Armenia state policy.

What is the reality whose making he advocates? I leave it to the reader to decipher as to what ARF Supreme Body / Ishkhan Saghatelyan actually mean by advocating that Armenia, 34 years in its new republic, should be a state that creates its own reality, when he offers no policy towards that vision of that reality, whatever that is. 

*

“Aram Manoukian and our ancestors oblige us to be strong, courageous, and relentlessly fight for national goals.”

Ishkhan Saghatelyan on behalf of the ARF Supreme Body made that statement too during the same speech on September 21, 2025 Armenia Independence Day near the Aram Manukyan monument, invoking the name of Aram Manougian / Manukyan.  Again I found it sentiment raising rhetorical statement devoid of the first republic's historical stand.

On Tuesday May 28, 1918, the Armenian Council in Tiblisi, declared Armenia free and independent Republic. Turkey immediately welcomed the announcement and invited Armenia to formalize the state relations between the two.

Exactly a week after that historical May 28, 1918, we celebrate, on Tuesday June 4, 1918, the Ottoman Empire and the newly independent First Republic of Armenia, signed the Treaty of Batumi. Turkey recognized Armenia's independence but the treaty was a devastating blow, forcing Armenia to cede large territories and submit to a significantly reduced military and restricted sovereignty under duress and overwhelming Ottoman military pressure following the collapse of the Russian Empire. The treaty left Armenia with a severely truncated, landlocked territory of 10,400 square km, that included  Yerevan, Etchmiadzin and their immediate surrounding. 

Ishkhan Saghatelyan / ARF Armenia Supremem body surely opposes the conceptualization of “real” and “historical” Armenia, pm Nikol Pashinyan advocates. Ishkhan Saghatelyan either does not know the pragmatic policies the founders of the First Republic carried on behalf of the Republic they brought forth; or he knows well but considers his audience illiterate and gullible to accept his bombastic rhetorics that invokes Aram Manougian's name but offers no policy clarity. 

Again, I leave it to the reader to decipher as to what is ARF Armenia Supreme Body / Ishkhan Saghatelyan's understanding of the policies the first republic carried in relations with its dealing with Turkey. But more importantly what are the policies they will pursue dealing with Turkey. 

*

“There is only one guarantee for the long-term and real security of Syunik: return to Artsakh.” 

That sentence was the header of a report about an interview the editor of Horizon had with  Dr. Varuzhan Geghamyan, who is an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Armenia and specializes in the domestic politics of modern Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as Middle Eastern geopolitics. The interview lasted for 21 minutes and few seconds. The header is a quote Dr. Varuzhan made  at the very end but making that statement as the header of the report,  easily comes across implying an  out of context message .

To begin the editor of Horizon or, for that matter any edito,r should honor the spelling of an Armenian citizen’s name. Instead, the editor chose to spell his interviewee’s name in western Armenian whose transliteration in English would have made the person’s name unrecognizable. 

         Varuzhan Geghamyan made no policy statement regarding the return of Artsakh Armenians. Nor he recommended any policy for return of the Artskah. He simply made a statement to the undisputable reality, in context of geographical reality that the southern Armenia would be longer and better protected with historical Artsakh at its south eastern border. But alas historical Artsakh is part of modern day Azerbaijan and the crux of the matter for Armenia is to deal of that harsh reality to secure its borders given the harsh geographical reality. The August 8, 2025 attest to the sanctity of Armenia's territory, which only the Armenians can enforce, or may forfeit by their bickering.

*

“A brutally defeated person cannot be a negotiator.”

That is another header in the journal about a piece by Lillit Galstyan who is a member of ARF Bureau and Robert Kocharian led “Armenia Coalition” delegate in the National Assembly.  The actual sentence from the piece is  “A brutally defeated person cannot be a negotiator; it is an axiomatic truth. GO!!!!!”.  

The piece is a rhetorical write-up consisting of  a dozen or so statements through which she raise sentiments and offers condemnation after condemnation, assumes no responsibility and offers no counter policy, when I expected her to lay down ARF Burea's  vision being one of its member and also the vision of the "Armenia" coalitions for being  a delegate on its behalf in the NA. There was no offer for any vision other than condemnations. 

"All politics is local", so is the case with Armenia. It is up to the citizens of Armenia to clarify policies they advocate. The government has laid down its policy.  The opposition opposes it and offers no counter policy. 

 Armenian politics brought to Diaspora makes a mess for Diaspora. Also, Armenian political rhetorics brought to Diaspora,  makes for a murkier mess for Diaspora with no constructive recourse.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Translating "The Last Scion of the Mountaineers"

 Vaհe H. Apelian

  LRADOU, the newsletter  of the Armenian Evangelical College:

"Vahe Apelian has translated to English about Simon Simonian

by  Levon Sharoyan as "The Last Scion of the Mountaineers".

Yesterday, September 30 was International Translation Day.  The designation was adopted by UN General Assembly in 2017, for the role of language professionals play in connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding. The day was chosen because “30 September celebrates the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator, who is considered the patron saint of translators."

I was reminded of a blog I wrote about translating the book about Simon Simonian.

During the war and destruction in Aleppo, Levon Sharoyan wrote a very personal monograph about the eminent man of letters, Simon Simonian. He published it in installments first on his Facebook page, later on in a more expanded version in “Kantsasar” Weekly, the official newsletter of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Aleppo. Levon’s monograph was his tribute to his elder compatriot. Levon’s grandfather, much like Simon Simonian’s father, hailed from Sassoun and was depicted among the stories Simon Simonian’s wrote about the struggles of the Sassountsi mountaineers on the plains of Aleppo.

 The monograph, which since then has been published as a book in Armenia, made for a fascinating reading. I thought that it would be unfair for those who do not read Armenian to remain deprived of such a reading. Consequently, I asked Levon’s permission to have it translated to English. He readily gave it.

I then contacted Sassoun, Simon Simonian's son, who resides in Beirut, for the same purpose. It turned out that Sassoun had also thought of the same. Not only that, coincidentally, having read my published translation of one of Simon Simonian’s most endearing stories titled, “He Was Different”, he had me in mind for the task for a fee. Naturally, I categorically declined the monetary offer while appreciating his trust. Hence the draft of my translation of Levon Sharoyan’s monograph came about. 

Upon Sassoun’s recommendation I sent a copy of my draft to Maria-Eleni Simonian, Simon Simonian’s granddaughter, who read the monograph and pointed out typos and offered suggestions. At the end of her review, she wrote the following to me:  "It was a great pleasure to be able to read and learn more about my grandfather. It is one of my aspirations to learn Armenian and read his work to get a small picture of who he was. I believe you brought justice to your endeavor. Thank you for your time and contribution." Her note validated the undertaking of this task. 

I also sent a copy to my final draft to my maternal cousin Jack Chelebian M.D. who lives on Padre Island, Texas. Jack graciously and ably edited the draft manuscript by painstakingly comparing my translation, line by line, to the original text. Jack spent no less time than I did in finalizing the translation. I can certainly attest that this translated piece is true to the original thanks greatly to Jack’s efforts as well.

Sassoun also read the draft translation and offered valuable suggestions in presenting the titles of Simon Simonian’s books as well as the personal names. He undertook the expense of publishing the book in Amzazon through The Simon Simonian Family Foundation.

Transliteration is an inherent part of translations. There arises a challenging situation because Eastern Armenians and Western Armenians do not necessarily transliterate similarly. Whenever possible I resorted to the Internet search engines to check on the common English transliteration of names and their sounding in Western Armenian. 

I hope that interested readers find the translated piece as enjoyable to read as I did reading the original work. The book is retailed on Amazon.

Last but not the least, the following individuals are acknowledged in the book for their labors of love.

Translating: Vahe H. Apelian, Ph.D.  (Loveland, OH) 

Editing: Jack Chelebian, M.D. (Padre Island, TX)                           

Reviewing: Maria-Ellen Simonian (Huddersfield, England)

Proof reading: Sassoun Simonian (Antelias, Lebanon)

Publishing: Hrach Kalsahakian (Dubai, UAE)

I lived in Eden once

Ara Mekhsian’s description of his immediate Aleppo  neighborhood surely evokes sentimental memories among those who experienced the once close-knit Armenian communities in Lebanon and Syria, made up mostly by the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and its first and second generations. Surely they are dwindling in number by the day taking with them their memories of the way it was once. Attached is my translation of Ara Mekhsian’s take. I took the liberty of changing the title by quoting a passage from his short story he posted on his Facebook page, titling it "My Paradise". Vaհe H Apelian

Ara Mekhsian, on the right, with is friend, Garabed Saghbazarian M.D., in  a Aleppo public garden.

The fog of fifty-six years has largely obscured my memories of Aleppo, but some memories remain indelible to this day. 

In the fifties and sixties, the Armenian-populated Nor Gyugh (New Village) town of Aleppo consisted of four neighborhoods, simply numbered first, second, third, and fourth. I don’t remember whether the streets that made up those neighborhoods had official names or not. I think most of them did not. The main avenues were exceptions. The main road, where the Karen Yeppe National Djemaran and the Sahakian National School were located, was named Yazji. Our house was on a secondary street, and there was no neighborhood or street name. Instead of the name of the neighborhood, there would be a fractional number on the envelopes, and under it in Arabic, Midan (the official name of Nor Gyugh), Halab (Aleppo), Syria would be written. As for the boundaries of the four neighborhoods, where they began and where they ended, I will leave that to a reader who like me was born in Nor Gyugh and lived there for a considerable time, and is more skilled in geography than I.

Although the neighborhoods did not have their own names, that did not mean that they were nameless. For example, our neighborhood was named after Bakhal (grocer) Andranig. It was also referred to by his endearing name, Anto, as Bakhal (grocer) Anto’s neighborhood. The grocer’s shop was located in the northwest corner of the neighborhood and it was run by Andranik and his wife Azniv. They were a diligent couple. 

However, it often is also happened, that another well-known shopkeeper was also located in the same neighborhood or at one of its corners. In that case, according to the descriptionist’s preference, the neighborhood could be named after that second merchant. In the southwest corner of our neighborhood, opposite the barber's shop, there was a very popular barber who could rival Picasso's skill with his razor and, if he had lived in the eighteenth century, would undoubtedly have aroused the envy of Figaro, the barber of Seville, with his mastery of the scissors. This venerable Armenian's name was Haroutiun; so many in our neighborhood called the immediate vicinity where the barber was located, as Haroutiun’s neighborhood, instead of grocer Anto’s neighborhood. If they wanted to appear a little more educated and refined than ordinary mortals, they referred to it as Mr. Haroutiun’s neighborhood.

So, it went. A neighborhood was named after Haygaz, who was a haberdasher, he sold a little bit of everything in his store. Another neighborhood was named after a baker who hailed from Sassun and hence the neighborhood came to be known as the Sassuntsi’s neighborhood.  Some of the neighborhoods were known by a person’s endearing moniker. Such as, a little further down was Karuch Ammi's – uncle Garouch’s neighborhood. Garouch was his endearing name. His name may have been Garabed. He sold “fool” (fava beans), humus, and licorice syrup. A little to the north was Langher Yaghoup's (he ran a cafe) neighborhood. No one I knew, knew why he was called Langher Yaghoup.  Another neighborhood was called Attar Artin's neighborhood. “Attar” in Turkish mean pharmacy. Although he did not run a pharmacy but ran a bit “upscale” store for general merchandizing, Attar Artin may have rhymed well, hence the name stuck. There also was Leblebuji Seto's neighborhood. He had grocery store selling, nuts, roasted chick peas and the like. There was Ghasab (butcher) Kevork's neighborhood, Postaji's neighborhood. His store also functioned as the post office; hence the person who ran the store came to be known as the postaji. There was Jizmejian's neighborhood. Mr. Jizmejian ran a book store and bound books - (note: my mother-in-law’s bible was bound by Jizmejian as the stamp attests - Vahe).  There was Makhfarin Kovi  - next to the police station - neighborhood. There was also the neighborhood in front of the mosque, the neighborhood behind the mill, the neighborhood of the public bathhouse, the neighborhood of Krikor Lusavorich Church, which was also the neighborhood of Sahakian and Djemaran schools. Opposite the gymnasium was the Zavarian neighborhood. The neighborhood was named after the Zavarian elementary school, located on a small hills, whose dedicates teaching staff educated the children of its immediate neighberhood and instilled in them the pride in being brought up as Armenians. The Nor Gyugh, whose residents had long forgone that its official name is Maidan, was made up of dozens, upon dozens of such neighborhoods, all known by their Armenian designations. They were popular although they were unofficial designations. But  they were more descriptive and much better known than their official names we did not know.

There are many people who believe in the existence of heaven. They pray that the Lord will send them to heaven after death. May God hear their prayers. I, too, believe in the existence of heaven. How can I not believe? I experienced it. Although my paradise was the slightly dusty, had slightly muddy streets and its neighborhoods were known by those strange, yet endearing names and were filled with the aroma of delicious food cooked by mothers and grandmothers. The sounds of craftsmen's tools conveyed vigor and vitality. The roar of cars at times, the sidewalks swaying with the quiet traffic of people, sometimes bustling with the lively chatter, permeated the neighborhood I lived. Along with them were our modest houses built of sundried adobe bricks. Finally, everything I, and everyone else I knew needed: roads, stores, artisan shops, churches, and schools were all there.

That four square kilometer was my Eden, where I lived the first nineteen years of my life without realizing that I was living in a paradise. Fifty-six years ago, I voluntarily and irrevocably exiled myself from the Eden I lived once

Prpor, prpor -Փրփո՜ր, Փրփո՜ր,

Vaհe H. Apelian

Once again it is the Masara season in Kessab. The tradition is alive, in spite of all the trials and tribulations Kessab experienced. 

In a letter dated Oct. 20, 1906, Kessab American missionary from Iowa, Miss Effie Chambers alluded to masara to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) on whose behalf she was doing mission work among the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The letter pertained to the schools in Kessab. She wrote: Miss Chambers also noted in her letter that Kessabtsis have been supportive to her. However, she also voiced a complaint that getting the students to attend school in the fall was difficult. She wrote: “The first part of the term is greatly interrupted by gathering in the vineyard products and the making of molasses, which is a sort of general good time for everybody, makes it difficult.”Not being a Kessabtsi, Miss Chambers did not know that Kessabtsis call “making of (grape) molasses”, masara. Then and to this day it's “sort of general good time for everybody”.

What is a masara?

It seems impossible to find a Kessabtsi who does not know what masara is, although the origin of the word seems to have been lost in obscurity. And yet many among the new generation born to expatriated Kessabtsi parents may not have heard the word, let alone attended its preparation. Masara remains one of the major social events that binds Kessabtsis together.

Masara is “making (grape) molasses”, but it is not a chore, however tedious the preparation is. It is a time for merrymaking. The process obviously starts with the harvesting of the grapes. I would not be surprised if parents looked for the help of their agile children who would climb and reach the grapes on vines wrapped on tree branches high above. There were no vineyards in Kessab the way we envision vineyards these days. It would not surprise me that the kids, in turn, surely made ample use of their parents’ masara disposition and skipped school. I would have been tempted to do the same.

The grapes are then piled and sprinkled with a clay-like material, covered and left standing for a few days until the grapes are ripened for the juicing process to start. Juicing consists of stepping over them bare-footed. Young men wash their feet and get into the troughs and start tramping on the grapes until the grapes are juiced. The juice flowing from the trough is collected while the remaining pulp would become a source of nutrition for the animals.

The grape juice that contains the clay-like dirt is placed in a deep container and the dirt is allowed to settle down taking with it all the insoluble components in the grape juice and leaving a clear supernatant solution above. The latter is collected and placed in a large shallow pot and heated on ovens specially constructed for the process. The supernatant is heated until it attains a syrupy consistency. The process, which takes hours, provides the people with time to sit by the fire, relax, converse while periodically replenishing the wood to keep the fire going and making sure that the juice is heated no longer than needed.

Once it is determined that the molasses, which Kessabtsis call eroup, is formed it is transferred to a holding container. That transfer is the climax of the process and all would be waiting to savor its exquisite tasting foam, prpor. The person who transfers the warm syrup to start its foaming breaks the stillness of the evening or the night by shouting loudly "prpor, prpor", inviting everyone to savor the exquisite foam. To maximize the foaming of the warm syrup it is scooped with ladle made of gourd and poured from a distance through a perforated metal plate attached to a wooden handle back into the container thus creating a yellowish thick foam over the warm syrup.

The best way to taste the prpoor – the foam -- is by scooping it with laurel (gasli) tree leaves. Some would simply snatch a leaf from a gasli branch and fold it to taste the prpor. Others, especially the kids, would be more inventive and shape different kinds of wooden spoons with the gasli leaves.

Oct. 20, 1906, the day Miss Chambers dated her letter, turns out to be a Saturday, much like this year, in the fall in Kessab--a time when masara would have already commenced or would be commencing soon, depending on the ripening of the grapes. The world has changed much since, especially for the Armenians who would experience the Genocide nine years later. Two-thirds of the Kessabtsis would vanish in the Genocide. Amidst all these changes, masara has remained the way it was. 

To this very day, in spite of the March 21, 2014 sacking of Kessab by extremists who assaulted the villages from Syria, the Kessabtsis held masara after their return in early autumn.

Nowadays Kessabtsis hold masara not so much as to prepare a rich source of nutrition for the long winter ahead (as it was done once), nor for commercial reasons, as it was also done once with the surplus. Masara nowadays is done to keep the tradition and the social bonds alive among the Kessabtsis in and outside Kessab.

*

 As to the schools in Kessab Miss Chambers wrote, pertained to the following.

Miss Chambers said that there were six schools in Kessab. The Kessabtsis supported four schools. The Kessabtsis and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) jointly supported another to prepare students to further their education in Aintab Central College. Many students became beneficiaries of this joint venture and charted their courses in life. Among them, Dr. Avedis Injejikian, as his son Gabriel attests. Dr. Soghomon Apelian and his brother Rev. Bedros were also beneficiaries of this college-level preparatory school. 

The other school was for girls. It was entirely supported by the ABCFM. The school's existence is telling as to how open Kessabtsis were in matters of gender and education and that over a century ago they let a foreign mission run a school to educate their daughters. Not every community in the Ottoman Empire, whether Armenian or not, would have been so open as to trust their daughters to be educated by foreigners. Kessabtsis have been exceptionally receptive to education.

 

 

The exodus from Artsakh – Part I

The attached is my aided translation of Tatul Hakopyan’s posting on his Facebook page today, September 24, 2025. His posting was titled: “Arrest and transfer of Arayik Harutyunyan to Baku: details from the Yevlakh meeting - Արայիկ Հարությունյանի ձերբակալությունը և տեղափոխումը Բաքու. մանրամասներ Եվլախի հանդիպումից;” (ANI Reseach Center, March 12, 2025).  I do not claim it to be an unbiased historical presentation. I have added my comments in red, to Tatul Hakobyan's posting. Vaհe H Apelian

“To fully understand the history of the Armenian exodus from Artsakh and the last days, it is necessary to be aware of the details of the Armenian-Azerbaijani meeting held in Yevlakh on September 21, 2023, and the subsequent contacts.

Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Sergey Martirosyan and MP David Melkumyan, who participated in the Yevlakh meeting from the Artsakh side, have not given any interviews or explanations to date. Only they and the last President of Artsakh Samvel Shahramanyan can fully present the reality, since they were the last negotiators.

Several areas of issues were discussed at the Yevlakh meeting, which can be conditionally divided into several groups: a/ military, b/ economic, and c/ political.

The dissolution of the Artsakh Defense Army was only a matter of time. After the September 19 attack and nine months of inhuman blockade, Artsakh could not resist the enemy's tenfold forces. In fact, Armenia, which for decades was the guarantor of Artsakh’s security, and Russia, as a peacekeeping force, were unable and unwilling to keep Artsakh Armenian.” (see my note)

Note: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, on November 9, 2020, signed a trilateral ceasefire statement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The agreement went into effect on November 10, 2020, and sealed Azerbaijan's military victory and established a Russian peacekeeping presence in the region.

As a result, Armenian forces withdrew from the districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh by December 1, 2020, formalizing Azerbaijan's control over these areas and other territory gained during the 44-day war.

A Russian peacekeeping force was deployed to the region for a minimum of five years. Their mandate included monitoring the contact line and controlling the Lachin Corridor.

Karabakh, was placed under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijan guaranteed the security of movement through the corridor.

When on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a major military offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian peacekeepers, distracted by the war in Ukraine, were unable or unwilling to intervene. Armenia, capitulated and its forces withdrawn, was in no position to act on behalf Artsaskh, which would have been an act of war, Armenia could not afford.

“Baku had also previously set an ultimatum-demand to disband the Artsakh Defense Army. After the Yevlakh meeting and subsequent contacts, Baku set the condition for the safe departure of Armenians from Artsakh to be the arrest of five Armenians, to which a positive response was given. These five Armenians were former presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan, Minister of Defense Kamo Vardanyan, former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, and former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan.

Yevlakh is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of the capital city of Baku

"As we can see, the name of Arayik Harutyunyan is not on the list. Moreover, the Deputy Director of the National Security Service of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Shidlinsky, who had moved and was working in Shushi, personally told Harutyunyan that he could leave to Armenia.

Harutyunyan, who had been in contact with Azerbaijanis from February 2021 until his arrest on October 3, 2023, told the Artsakh leadership that he could not leave the former presidents alone and that they should leave Stepanakert together.

The second set of issues discussed in Yevlakh concerned economic issues. The exodus of Armenians from Artsakh was already inevitable, and no one wanted to stay and live under the Azerbaijani flag. However, it turned out that there was not enough fuel in Artsakh for 120 thousand Armenians to leave Stepanakert. During the Yevlakh meeting, Azerbaijan promised 120 tons of gasoline, and later also three cars of first aid supplies for the victims of the Stepanakert explosion.

The third set of issues concerned the reintegration of Artsakh, which was unacceptable for the Armenians of Artsakh.

As we have noted in our previous publications in this series, since September 30, 2023, the Artsakh leadership has been transferred to the Stepanakert airport, to the hospital of the Russian peacekeeping mission.

After the second half of October 3, Russian peacekeepers deliver Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Davit Ishkhanyan from the airport to Karen Sargsyan’s private house and, thus, transfer them to the Azerbaijani special services, which were keeping the area under blockade.

During this time, Arayik Harutyunyan, along with two security officers of the Artsakh president, left for the brandy factory he owned, located on Tumanyan Street in Stepanakert, and called Jeyhun Shidlinsky. Harutyunyan informed that he wants to show the factory. Shidlinsky replied from Shushi that they will be at the factory soon. A short time later, Shidlinsky’s assistant arrived at the factory premises with representatives of the Azerbaijani special services and arrested Arayik Harutyunyan on the spot. He was transported directly from the brandy factory to Baku.

The views on Arayik Harutyunyan’s resignation from the post of Artsakh President are contradictory. The Armenian authorities and the media and influencers expressing their views claim that Harutyunyan resigned as a result of the coup in Artsakh. 

In fact, Harutyunyan had repeatedly expressed his desire to resign from the post of president in meetings with the military-political leadership of Artsakh. He first expressed this desire in Yerevan in March 2023 after the joint session of the Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh.

That was the last joint session of the Security Councils of the two republics and took place amid accusations and scoldings by Nikol Pashinyan against the Artsakh authorities. We will write about all this on another convenient occasion”. (see my note)

It appeared that the PM was against Artsakh Armenians leaving Artsakh. It was reported that “The Armenian PM said that, while Armenia was prepared to accommodate those leaving Karabakh, they would not be under direct threat if they stayed put, under Azerbaijani rule.

 

Almost don't know what it means to have their own country

The attached quote is from an odar friend, who out of personal interest became expertly knowledgeable of Armenian history. I withheld his name.  Odar is an Armenian word. Its literal translation per Mesrob G. Kouyoumdjian, “A Comprehensive Dictionary Armenian-English”, dictionary, Beirut, Atlas Press (1970), is: Strange, foreign, unknown, remote, alien, distant, exotic, outlandish. It also is used to denote a person who is not an Armenian but is used as a deference to the person. Vaհe H Apelian 

To emulate the founder of the first republic, his namesake delegate Aram Manougian 
declares in the national assembly, Armenia is independent

The quote: "Today is the 30th anniversary of Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union, only the second time in modern history when Armenians had an independent country (after a brief 2.5 year period at the end of World War I). Three years ago I photographed the Armenian Independence Day celebrations in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. It was one of my greatest street photography experiences and I was so excited that I shared these photos with basically every Armenian I knew. Today's celebrations were very muted, as Armenians are still mourning their losses in the Second Karabakh War last fall. I have seen several Armenians suggest that forgoing a celebration was the right thing to do. It reminds me of an Armenian I know who is always saying that Armenians almost don't know what it means to have their own country. They would rather mourn their past losses and feel pride about their ability to survive future losses, than to celebrate what they have now and do whatever is necessary to build a stronger country (thereby reducing their chances of future losses). 

I post these celebratory photos in honor of the Armenians who worked hard for their independence and who are committed to building a prosperous, stronger, and peaceful Armenia that fully realizes its independence." September 21, 2021

                                                        *

My odor friend's remarks should give us pause to reflect and  appreciate  what we have achieved, a state of our own, a country of our own that we  need to safeguard at all cost.

On September 21, 1991, Armenia held an independence referendum in which its citizens voted to secede from the Soviet Union. The referendum saw a 95% turnout, with 99% of voters casting a "yes" ballot to leave the USSR. Based on the results, the Armenian parliament formally declared the country's independence on September 23, 1991.

This democratic vote marked the establishment of the modern Republic of Armenia after nearly 70 years of Soviet rule.

 The day, September 21, is now celebrated as Armenia's Independence Day.

Not coy, nor timid: Depicting Mount Ararat

Vaհe H Apelian 

Painted by my cousin Annie Hoglind

I do not think that there is an Armenian household that does not have a sentimental display of Armenian national symbols, such as the Armenian tricolor flag, or the Armenian Coat-of-Arms, or of course Mount Ararat. The attached picture depicts my maternal cousin Annie Chelebian Hoglind’s painting of Mount Ararat. She painted it for us and gifted it decades ago. 

But that is a sentimental display. The government of Armenia recently let it be known that it has designed a new entry stamp in which Mount Ararat will not be depicted. The government’s decision precipitated unusual backlash, laden with contradictions

First and foremost, those who vehemently oppose the removal of that Mount Ararat drawing from the Armenia entry stamp, tend to be those who vouch for the sanctity of the Declaration of Independence and oppose amending it. They are in fact, vouching to the argument that the PM Nikol Pashinyan is putting forth. The Armenian Declaration of Independence states that the Republic of Armenia is declaring the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia, that had long accepted that Mount Ararat is not part of it, independent. In fact, Nikol Pashinyan is dwelling on that very argument, that Mount Ararat is not part of Armenia and that it is his job to tend to the interest of the Republic, and not have anything to do or promote anything that is not part of the Republic.

But, let alone of our centuries old association with the mountain, depicting Mount Ararat is in the Armenian Constitution since its inception in 1995. However, Mount Ararat is depicted in the constitution with a caveat; with Noah’s Ark sitting on it  and not the mountain by itself. Section 21 of the constitution, in part, reads as follows – “The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia shall depict, in the center on a shield, Mount Ararat with Noah’s ark and the coats of arms of the four kingdoms of historical Armenia...” Naturally, the wording in the constitution has come about to send the following message, that the depiction of Mount Ararat stands for its  ethnic symbolism. Our patriarch historian Movses Khorenatsi claims that the Armenians are descendents of Noah’s great grandson. Depicting Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat, symbolizes the provervial lineage. Naturally depicting Noah's ark on Mount Ararat attests also for it being a biblical symbol. Armenians are the first to accept the Christian faith as its state religion.

Depicting Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat makes for a weird drawing. Case in point the depiction of Mount Ararat with Noah’s Ark on Armenia’s Coat-of- Arms. There is nothing remotely Mount Ararat like on the coat-of-arms. The infantile drawing of Mount Ararat on the Armenia entry stamp did not depict Noah’s Ark on it, for good reason. It would have made for a weird, crowded drawing. But, as it stands, it is not a constitutional depiction. Simply said, depicting Mount Ararat by itself on state documents without a visible depiction of Noah’s Ark on the mountain, is simply unconstitutional.

At the cost of repeating myself, let us face it. depicting Noah’s ark on Mount Ararat makes for an awkward drawing. 

Best we relegate Ararat with its imposing appeal to our literature, art and remove it from official documents. For Mount Ararat, these arguments are a tempest in a tea pot. Avedik Isahakyan captured the essence of the old glory, when he wrote:

To the old peak of Ararat, 

centuries have come like a second, 

and passed away.

Countless flashing swords have been dulled

 by the diamond hard mountain, 

and left.

Generations at its brink, 

have gazed the light on its summit, 

and moved on.

It's your turn now, 

look for a moment at its furrowed forehead, 

and move on. 

(see the note below for the original text)

Yes, move on to create at the foot of the old glory Mount Ararat, an orderly, law abiding, flourishing, and prosperous state, in peace with its neighbors; for it is the peace of the brave and the enduring and not of the coy, or of the timid.

 

Բնգիրը՝

Արարատի ծեր կատարին

Դար է եկել, վայրկյանի պես ,

Ու անցել:

Անհուն թվով կայծակների

Սուրն է բեկվել ադամանդին,

Ու անցել:

Մահախուճապ սերունդների

Աչքն է դիպել լույս գագաթին,

Ու անցել:

Հերթը մի պահ քոնն է հիմա .

Դո´ւ էլ նայիր սեգ ճակատին,

Ու անցի´ր…

ԱՎԵՏԻՔ ԻՍԱՀԱԿՅԱՆ