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SHARZHOOM
Armenian Action
22
nd
Year
.
.■■.■■
March 2001
Vol. 22, No. 3 (73)
Supplement to the Collegian
Britain and the Armenian Genocide
John Jabagchourian
Editor
Following the recent news of
the French government's
official recognition of the
Armenian Genocide and the adoption of similar resolutions in other
European nations, British archival
historian, Ara Sarafian, visited California State University, Fresno to
speak about "Britain and the Armenian Genocide" in an evening
lecture on February 20.
Sarafian spoke on the British
government's role in acknowledging and publicizing the Genocide
while it was occurring in 1915 but
their reluctance to recognize the
Genocide today.
"England is both a primary
witness as well as a denier,"
Sarafian said.
In 1916, the British Parliament
published The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-
16. Known as the British Blue
Book, it was a series of regional
eyewitness narratives that document the violations of human rights
by the Ottoman Turkish govern-
Ara Sarafian, front row, second from left, with Armenian
Students Organization members after the lecture.
ment and demonstrate a common
sequence of events that uncovers
the plan to exterminate Armenians
within the region.
Compiled by James Bryce and
Arnold Toynbee, The Treatment of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
1915-16 was the first systematic
thesis to articulate that the Armenian Genocide was planned and
organized by the Ottoman Turkish
government.
However, in a position paper
by the British Government establishing a Genocide and Holocaust
day, the government did not want
to consider genocides before 1939,
only the Holocaust. Year after year
there had been no mention of the
Armenian Genocide during the
See Sarafian, Page 7
Kouymjian Chosen to Serve on Jury
of Prestigious Scientific Prize
Just as Sweden has its Nobel
Prizes and the United States
its Pulitzer, Belgium has its
annual Francqui Scientific Prize
given to the outstanding young (under fifty) Belgian scholar. The
yearly prize of some four million
Belgian francs is the country' s most
coveted academic distinction and
its most famous award of any kind.
It is the only honor given personally by the King of Belgium during
a special ceremony in Brussels.
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Director ofFresno State's Armenian
Studies Program, has been invited
to serve on this year's selection
committee. The jury is made up of
internationally recognized non-
Belgium scholars, who after reviewing the elaborate files of each
candidate meet for two days in the
Belgian capital to choose the winner out of a field of some dozen
candidates. This year's jury is made
up of scholars from the U.S., United
Kingdom, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, Sweden, and Taiwan.
The prize is named after Emile
Francqui, a banker and sometime
cabinet minister of Belgium who
greatly aided his countrymen during the famine conditions of WWI.
Francqui was a business rival of
Herbert Hoover, but later a close
friend of the American President.
They worked closely together in a
massive Belgian relief project at
the end of the First World War,
which eventually became the Belgian American Educational Foundation. This in turn, together with
Francqui's own funds, helped establish the Francqui Foundation in
1932. Like the Rockefeller and
Carnegie Foundations in this country, the Francqui Foundation
touches every sector of Belgian
scientific and educational life.
In most years the prize is
awarded to scholars in the physical
sciences, but this year it will go to
a scholar in the humanities or so-
See Kouymjian, Page 7
His Holiness Karekin II to
Visit Fresno State in May
His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch
and Catholicos of All Armenians, will be making
his first Pontifical visit to
Fresno and the San Joaquin
Valley, May 7-10, 2001.
His visit to the United
States is part of the celebration surrounding the
1700th Anniversary of the
Proclamation of Christianity as the State Religion of
Armenia.
By invitation of the
Armenian Studies Program, His Holiness will speak to
faculty and students on the Fresno State campus. Details of
the speech and of the visit will be made available shortly.
His Holiness Karekin II
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
Wednesday, May 9,2001
12:00 noon
Fresno State campus
Der Mugrdechian Scholarship Endowment
Staff Report
His Holiness Karekin II
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
Haig and Isabel Berberian
Professor of Armenian
Studies at California State University, Fresno and Director of the
Armenian Studies Program, announced the establishment of the
Norma and Bob Der Mugrdechian
Armenian Studies Endowed Scholarship Fund at Fresno State.
Bob Der Mugrdechian of
Clovis, California established the
Scholarship Fund in memory of his
late wife Norma Der Mugrdechian,
who was a 1987 graduate ofFresno
State and had taken courses in Armenian Studies. Mrs. Der
Mugrdechian also taught the Armenian Studies Program's popular
weekend Armenian cooking course,
which was always a favorite among
students and adults.
The fund will provide scholarships for students who have declared a major in Armenian Studies
at Fresno State or who are studying
in the area of Armenian Studies.
"This scholarship fund will
enable students who declare a Special Major in Armenian Studies the
opportunity to be recognized for
Bob Der Mugrdechian, left, with Dr. Dickran Kouymjian.
their achievements," said Dr.
Kouymjian. "Generous donations
such as this once again demonstrate the interest that the Armenian community has in strengthening our Program."
Norma Der Mugrdechian was
the daughter of Charles and
Siranouche Tavookjian, immigrants to Fresno from Tokat, Armenia. She was an active home-
maker and Sunday Church-school
teacher for more than 50 years.
Bob Der Mugrdechian is the
son of Anooshavan and Rakel Der
Mugrdechian, who immigrated to
Fresno from Van, Armenia in 1917.
He has been a frequent contributor
to Armenian newspapers and has
been active in the AGBU and the
William Saroyan Society.
Armenians and the Internet, Page 3
• Armenia Exchange Students, Page 4
Food Review, Page 5
ASO, Page 5