1985_02 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper February 1985

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Permit No. 262
Armenian Studies Program
CSUF, Fresno, CA 93740
Volume 6, No. 2  The newspaper of the California State University, Fresno Armenian Students Organization
February  1985    an(* Armenian Studies Program.
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Saroyan archives moved to CSUF
By Randy Baloian
For more than three years after the
death of the famed novelist and playwrite
William Saroyan, the bulk of the author's
personal library, drawings, and other
miscellaneous belongings has remained
warehoused in Saroyan's two Fresno
homes.
It was not until late December that this
material was turned over to the Special
Collections Department of the Henry
Madden Library at California State University, Fresno (CSUF) and the Armenian
Studies Program.
The contents of Saroyan's homes,
packed up in nearly 650 boxes, were
moved to Special Collections by members
of the Armenian Students Organization.
Special Collections Director Ron Mahoney has since devoted most of his time to
organizing the cartons and indexing the
material. Those items pertaining to
Saroyan's Armenian background (such as
Armenian newspapers, books, and
periodicals) will be transfered to the
Armenian Studies Program. The remainder will be examined in greater detail by
Mahoney.
Although the Bancroft Library at UC-
Berkeley holds Saroyan's unpublished
letters, most of Saroyan's collection is
now at CSUF.
If it is possible to learn a little about
someone by the books they read, then
Mahoney has done just that in his survey
of Saroyan's books.
"He had a wide interest," said the
Special Collections director. "There are
many different kinds of books."
Indeed, Saroyan's collection ranges
from Armenian cookbooks to translations of his own novels. Although curiosity did not center on any one topic,
Mahoney noted that he seemed to have to
a peculiar fancy for how-to-learn English
books printed in various languages.
Also included are Saroyan's abstract
paintings. In the past some of these works
have been displayed at the Conley Art
Building. Among the more interesting
aspects of Saroyan's artistry are his
Cyprus: Ten years after
the Turkish invasion
By Marietta Famellou
Contributing Writer
Dr. Anastassios Simonidis, Consulate
General of the Republic of Cyprus, spoke
at California State University, Fresno
about the human rights issue in Cyprus
during the ten years since the Turkish
invasion of the island.
In a lecture attended largely by the
Greek and Armenian communities of
Fresno, Simonidis talked about the role
that the United States played in the
invasion.
"The invasion of Cyprus by the Turks
was rffade possible with the use of American-made arms," Simonidis stated. "The
arms were given to Turkey to be used for
defensive purposes only, according to the
1961 Foreign Assistance Act. Since then,
the aid to Turkey has been steadily on the
rise—it reached one billion dollars during
1984. Thus, the American taxpayer is
fully subsidizing the Turkish occupation
of Cyprus, whose yearly loss is estimated
"The invasion of Cyprus
by the Turks was made
possible with the use
of American-made arms."
at 500 million."
Simonidis, whose appearance at CSUF
was sponsored by the Hellenic Student
Association, said that Turkey invaded
Cyprus in July, 1974. Turkish troops
occupied 37% of Cyprus, drove out the
resident Greek-Cypriot population, and
concentrated all the Turkish-Cypriots,
who constitute 18% of the population, in
the occupied northern part of the country.
Six-thousand lives were lost in the
invasion, and 2,200 Cypriots are still
missing.
"Turkey declared at the time that her
troops were invading Cyprus as a guaran
tor power, with the sole purpose of
restoring constitutional order after the
short-lived coup which had attempted to
bring down the government of President
Makarios," Simonidis said. "The invasion,
described by Ankara as a 'peace-keeping
operation,' was accompanied by massive
violation of human rights, including mass
killings, rape, and abuse of prisoners.
Two-hundred thousand Greek-Cypriots
(40% of the population) were evicted from
their homes and land, while the Turkish
army drew what it called 'the Attila line'
across the island."
"The true motives of the invasion are
Turkey's partitionist and expansionist
plans," said Simonidis, adding that Fazil
Kuchuk's 1957 book, Cyprus—A Permanent Solution, shows on its cover the
Republic divided along the "Attila line."
"What they did to the Armenians, they
did to the Greeks—it is exactly the same
thing," the Consulate General claimed,
comparing the invasion of Cyprus to, the
Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Following the lecture, Simonidis held a
question and answer period. To a question
posed by a member of the audience as to
what Americans can do to help the Cyprus
situation, Simonidis suggested that the
United States has the capacity to pressure
Turkey into withdrawing its troops from
Cyprus. He said, "Americans must
pressure their congressmen to get the
government moving against Turkey."
"U.S. should help Cyprus for the sake
of peace, freedom, and democracy, because America is a benevolent country,"
he said. Extensive debate arose on this
matter because members of the audience
felt that America did not take an active
part in condemning Turkey for the Armenian Genocide. It was thought by some
that by due process of law and working
with the system, the United States would
not take any action regarding the situation
in Cyprus.
Although there was considerable argument on this issue, the question remains:
What about Cyprus?
The weapons that hold the Turkish
troops on the island are still labeled
"Made in America."
drawings on the covers of some of his
books. The drawings are untitled and
include dates, times, and short comments.
Lastly, there is an assortment of everyday personal effects accumulated over
time: plastic spoons, golf balls, opened
envelopes, etc. Saroyan, who won the
Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for his play The
Time of Your Life, kept residences in both
Fresno and Paris. He was an obsessive
collector during his later years, stashing
See Saroyan Archives, Back Page
RETURN TRIP TO FRESNO
His Holiness Karekin II visited the Armenian community in Fresno for the
second time since his last visit in 1980. Included in his brief stay was a meeting
with CSUF students. Story on Page 5.
Setian fills in as
ASP Coordinator
By Sharon Toroian
Staff Writer
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Coordinator
and Professor of the Armenian Studies
Program at California State University,
Fresno, will be on leave during the spring,
1985 semester.
Replacing Kouymjian this semester will
be Professor Ralph Setian. Setian previously held the position of coordinator of
English Language Programs and Director
of Student Life at Haigazian College from
1981 to 1984.
Kouymjian is in Paris to finish writing a
memorial volume for the late Haig Ber-
berian, editor of the Revue des Etudes
Armeniennes. He is also preparing a work
on the Armenian historian
Ghazar Pharpetzi and a Saroyan trilogy.
Professor Setian has taught English
and Armenian courses, both language and
literature, at numerous universities, including University of Pennsylvania, UC
Riverside, Aleppo University, Lebanese
University, Boston University, Columbia
University, and UCLA.
Setian has earned an M. Phil, in
Armenian Studies and Linguistics
from Columbia, an M.A. in Teaching
English as a Foreign Language from the
American University in Cairo, certificates
in the French language from the University
of Paris (Sorbonne), and an M.A. from
UCLA in English Literature.
He is the published author of a variety
of works, including articles, books, short
stories and poems (in both English and
Armenian). His work has been published
frequently in the Armenian literary magazine Ararat.
Although Professor Setian has been in
Fresno before, he has not visited the city
in over a decade.   He remarked that the
See Setian, Back Page
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Inside
Action:
Letters
. . . Page 2
"A New Kind of War"
. . . Page 3
Hye Culture
. . . Page 8
Fresno's "Little Armenia"
. . . Page 10
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