1990_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 1990

              EDITORIALS, Page 2
Hye Sharzhoom
October 1990
Fresno vs. Watertown: A Comparison of Two Cities
by Jeff Ahronian
Editor
Fresno, California, population
350,750, is known throughout this
country for many a splendid thing. Its
rich, vast agricultural land regions. Its
raisins. Its degrading mini-series.
Watertown, Massachusetts, on the
other hand, approximately five miles
away from downtown Boston, with a
population of roughly 36,000, isn't
known for much.
Yet, why would the author of this
piece mention Fresno and Watertown in
the same breath and what possibly could
these two juxtaposed cities have in
common? Their stylish downtown skylines? Their zest for more Cadillac
dealerships?
Human Rights
and Armenians
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Advisor |  '
Human rights is a slogan which has
become trite and insincere when used by
governments; but when a concern about
human rights comes from individuals it
can be powerful. The declaration issued
by over one hundred scholars and leaders,
"An Open Letter on anti-Armenian
Pogroms in the Soviet Union" (New
York Review of Books, September 27,
1990) (see accompanying box) is
perhaps the most eloquent testimony to
the continuing tragedy of Armenia
today.
These actions are part of a larger
context of anti-Armenian activities,
including the shutting off of oil and gas
supplies to Armenia and the
continuation of a blockade which, as the
open letter states, "amounts to a
strangulation" of the country.
Elena Bonner, wife of the late Andrei
Sakharov, wrote a moving piece en-
tided, "The Shame of Armenia" (New
York Review of Books, October 11,
1990) which very precisely and
accurately portrays the events which
have taken place in Armenia over the
last two years.
See HUMAN RIGHTS, pg.8
On the contrary .Each is supported by
a strongArmenian-American population.
Fresno boasts over 35,000 Armenians
while Watertown approximately 3,600.
Hence, nearly 10% of each city's
population is of Armenian descent
Therefore, one in every ten people you
pass on the street can understand the
word parev (that is, if spoken slowly).
And one in every ten people you pass on
the street has eaten keyma at least once
(well, maybe keyma is a bad
example).
They are two entirely different cities
on opposite coasts of the United States-
thousands of miles away from each
other.
Yet upon first glance, the people
appear to be nearly the same. The
churches, though not as abundent in
Watertown,  are  relatively   the   same.
The names, the faces, the clothes...
Armenian grocery stores, butchershops,
funeral homes...
All the same...
I had the pleasure of visiting
Watertown this summer. Much to my
surprise, the people I met.were very
much like your typical Armenian you'd
find anywhere. They spoke Armenian,
ate Armenian food (including cracker-
bread imported from Fresno), listened to
Armenian kef-time music (also imported from Fresno), and even had their
own gardens (which, by far, was their
own pride and joy).
Was it a coincidence that the very
same week I was in Watertown, its Holy
Trinity Church was having their annual
grape blessing picnic- the same week
the Fresno Holy Trinity 'Church was
having theirs?
Was it a coincidence that the very
night before I had a bountiful "keyma
and lamajoon" dinner with friends in
Watertown, I was having a "keyma and
lamajoon" meal with family in Fresno?
And was it a coincidence that I just
started my last three paragraphs with
"was it a coincidence"?
It is a known fact that before settling
down in Fresno, many Armenians came
through Watertown first, or Boston for
that matter. To many, Fresno is often
viewed as the most important and most
prosperous Armenian-American community of all time. If this holds true,
then Watertown, Massachusetts, can
perhaps be thought of as a microcosm of
its distant neighbor, a city waiting in
the wings- anxiously anticipating the
actions of its faraway counterpart
An open letter on Anti-Armenian pogroms in the Soviet Union
An era which we all thought had
ended, the era of pogroms, has
resurfaced. Once again this year, the
Armenian community of Azerbaijan has
been the victim of atrocious and
intolerable premeditated massacres.
As scholars, writers, scientists,
political leaders and artists, we wish,
first of all, to express our profound
indignation over such barbaric acts,
which we wanted to believe belonged to
humanity's past
We intend this statement as more than
an after-the-fact condemnation. We want
to alert international public opinion to
the continuing danger that racism
represents to the future of humanity. It
forebodes ill that we are experiencing the
same powerlessness when faced with
such flagrant violations of human rights
a half century after the genocide of the
Jewish people in Nazi concentration
camps and forty years after the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
It would be inexcusable if, because of
our silence now, we contributed to the
suffering of new victims.
The situation of Armenians in the
Caucasus is, in fact too serious for us
to remain silent. There are moments
when we must assume the moral
obligation to assist a people in peril.
Our sense of obligation leads us today to
appeal to the international community
and to public opinion.
More than two years ago, active
persecution against Armenians began in
Azerbaijan. The pogroms of Sumgait in
Hye Sharzhoom
Editor:
Jeff Ahronian
Staff Writers:
Armen Aghishian
Scotty Abajian Asmar
Cynthia D.Baxter
Janice Caprelian
Sonia Devejian
Jonelle Garo
Vina Kochounian
Satenig Ohannessian
M. Leon Peters
Armenian Page Editor:
Serop Torossian
Armenian Page Writers:
Matthew Jendian
Armen Aghishian
Layout:
Jeff Ahronian
Cynthia D. Baxter
Photo Editor:
Jon Philip Maroot
Photographers:
Philippe Markarian
Advertising Manager:
Vina Kochounian
Circulation Manager:
Matthew Jendian
Advisor:
Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Hye Sharzhoom is a supplement of the Daily Collegian and the newspaper of the CSUF
Armenian Students Organization and the Armenian Studies Program and is funded by the
Associated Students.
Articles may be reprinted provided that Hye Sharzhoom is acknowledged.
Hye Sharzhoom welcomes prose, poetry, articles, manuscripts, and other material from
its readers. For further information concerning the newspaper or the Armenian Studies
Program, call the ASP office (209) 278-2669.
February 1988 were followed by
massacres in Kirovapat and Baku in
November 1988. As recendy as January
1990, the pogroms continued in Baku
and other parts of Azerbaijan. The mere
fact that the pogroms were repeated and
the fact that they followed the same
pattern lead us to think that these tragic
events are not accidents or spontaneous
outbursts.
Rather, we are compelled to recognize
that crimes against the Armenian
minority have become consistent
practice-if not official policy-in Soviet
Azerbaijan. According to the late Andrei
Sakharov (New York Times, November
26, 1988), these pogroms constitute "a
real threat of extermination" to the
indigenous Armenian community in
Azerbaijan and in the autonomous
region of mountainous Karabagh, whose
inhabitants are 80 per cent Armenian.
Horror has not limits, especially
when we remember that, the. threat is
against Armenian people, wha in 1915
paid dearly for their right to be different
in the Ottoman Empire. There, the
Armenians lost half their population to
genocide, the worst consequence of
racism. Furthermore, if the recent
pogroms have revived nightmares of
extermination not yet overcome, the
current total blockade of Armenia and
Mountainous Karabagh and 85 per cent
of those into Armenia pass through
Azerbaijan; it would not be an
exaggeration to maintain such a
blockade amounts to the strangulation of
Armenia. In a land devastated by the
earthquake of December 7, 1988, the
blockade has paralyzed the economy and
dealt a mortal blow to the reconstruction
efforts.
It is our sincere hope that perestroika
will succeed. But we also hope for the
success of glasnost and democratization.
We recognize that the passage from a
totalitarian state to a rule of law can not
be achieved overnight It is nonetheless
necessary that in the process of
transition, the government of the Soviet
Union promote, legalize and
institutionalize such critical forces for
democracy as human rights, the
principle of toleration, and democratic
movements. There is no better defense
and demonstration of democracy. At any
rate, that is the only way to avoid the
worst In the case of a multi-national
state, the worst may mean threats to the
right of a people or a minority to exist
It is during periods of transition and
uncertainty that rights of people-today
Armenians, tomorrow another people or
minority-are threatened or denied. In this
respect the ease with 'we see today the
development of the USSR of racist
movements, especially the anti-semitic
movement known as Pamyat, is for us
cause for grave concern.
In the name of our duty of vigilance,
we demand that Soviet authorities as
well as the international community
condemn unequivocally these anti-
Armenian pogroms and that they
denounce especially the racist ideology
which has been used by the perpetrators
of these crimes as justification.
We ask from the Soviet authorities
, and the international community that all
,necessary measures bt taken
immediately .to ensure the protection and
security of Armenians in the Caucasus
and other parts of the Soviet Union.
This can begin by bringing about the
definitive lifting of the Azerbaijani
blockade.
It should be clear that the forceful
deportation of Armenians is not the
solution to the problem of Mountainous
Karabagh which, in essence, is a
problem of human rights.
Because the genocide of 1915 began
with pogroms and massive deportations,
and because that painful memory still
endures, Armenia lives today in anguish
and despair.
It is in such circumstances that the
international community of states under
the rule of law must prove the
authenticity of its commitment to
human rights in order to ensure that, due
to indifference and silence bordering on
complicity, a second genocide does not
occur.
*This is a joint initiative of the
Helsinki Treaty Watchdog Committee of
France and intellectuals from the
College International de Philosophie,
Paris, signed by over 130 writers,
scholars, artists, and scientists.
Inside This Issue
Page Three: Simon the
Mouse
Page Three: A.S.O. Corner
Page Four: Hye Profile
Page Five: Trip to Armenia:
Students Reactions
Page Six: Varaz Constructs
Monument
Varaz Samuelian
Photo by Jon Philip Maroot