1994_11 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper November 1994

              The Newspaper of CSU, Fresno
Armenian Students Organization &
Armenian Studies Program
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November 1994
Vol. 16, No. 1 (47)
Supplement to The Collegian
Baroness honored for humanitarian aid
Barlow DerMugrdechian
Hye Sharzhoom
"Armenians are fighting for
everything they believe in, for survival, for their homes, language,
families, and their ancient spiritual legacy. They have fought to
defend themselves with incredible
courage. It is a story which should
go down in the history books."
-Lady Caroline Cox
In the words of a farmer from
Getashen in Karabagh who had seen
his family killed and his home de-.
stroyed, "Dignity is a crown of
thorns." "The people of Karabagh
are wearing their crown of thorns
with great dignity," according to
Lady Caroline Cox, Life Peer of
the House of Lords of the British
Parliament. Her personal experiences in Karabagh stirred an overflow audience of students, faculty,
and community members who
crowded the Alice Peters Auditorium on Monday, October 3,1994,
on the CSUF campus.     V
Baroness Cox's talk was co-
sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program, the School of Social
Sciences, and the International Programs Office.
The evening before, the Armenian National Committee, Central Valley, honored Lady Cox with
the Women of the Year award at a
banquet attended by more than 400
people.
"Now is the time to exert pres
sure on the international community to compel the Azerbaijani government to stop its military activities," said Lady Cox. She stated
her concern that once an oil agreement is signed between Azerbaijan
and Western oil companies there
will be apetro-dollar financed final
military solution in Artsakh. "Pressure must be brought to bear to stop
the Azeri aggression. The primary
victims ofthe conflict are the people
of Karabagh. They need your support in every way and above all
your political support to make sure
their human rights are supported
and that their humanitarian needs
are met."
Lady Caroline Cox is a member of the House of Lords of Great
Britain, and a member of numerous
humanitarian and educational organizations.
"Ethnic cleansing" now so
closely associated with the war in
the former Yugoslavia, was first
utilized in regard to the policy of
Azerbaijan in Karabagh, beginning
in 1991 Armenian civilians—men,
women, and children were forcibly
taken from their homes, which were
usually destroyed.
Lady Cox first went to Armenia in May of 1991 and since then
has visited Armenia and Artsakh
(Karabagh) 21 times, the last time
just three weeks ago.
During that three and a half
years she'has grown to "appreciate,
admire and love the Armenians,"
as she abundantly made clear in
Photo By Christine Mirigian
Baroness Caroline Cox spends time answering questions and participating in discussions with
members of the audience following her lecture in the Alice Peters Auditorium.
two presentations in the Fresno area.
Speaking with passion and
dedication, Lady Cox described her
visits to Artsakh and her twofold
mission with Christian Solidarity
International- humanitarian aid and
human rights.
Lady Cox first became involved with the Karabagh issue in
May 1991, while attending a conference ofthe Sakharov Institute in
Moscow. All sorts of human rights
violations in the Soviet Union were
on the agenda, among them reports
ofthe brutality in Karabagh where
the Soviet 4th army and Azeri Interior Ministry troops (OMON), were
using tanks and helicopters against
innocent villagers. Lady Cox led a
delegation to assess independently
what was happening.
She paid tribute to the spirit of
the people of Artsakh, to their courage in the face of danger, and to the
triumph of the human spirit which
rises above the human degradation
imposed by Azeri aggression.
In vivid detail, the Baroness
painted a bleak picture of the
struggle of the Armenians of
Karabagh against the brutal violence of Azeri offensives aimed at
the civilian population of Karabagh.
The last offensive in April
1994, which was particularly severe, caused casualties at the rate of
50-60 per day. Azeris were resorting to aerial bombing ofthe capital
of Stepanakert, spreading destruction at a fearsome level.
The last two years, during which
Lady Cox was visiting Karabagh
See COX, Page 6
Catholicos' funeral draws thousands worldwide
Photo By VartkesBa/sam
The Very Reverend Father Sasoon Vartabed Zumrookhdian of St. Paul
Armenian Apostolic Church of Fresno (center) at the funeral of
Catholicos Vazken I in Yerevan, Armenia.
Barlow DerMugrdechian
Hye Sharzhoom
The spiritual head of the Armenian Church, His Holiness
Vazken I, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, entered his eternal rest on Thursday,
August 18, 1994. Less than three
weeks before his death, President
Levon Ter Petrossian of the Republic of Armenia, bestowed upon
the Catholicos the highest award in
Armenia, naming him as a National
Hero of Armenia.
His Holiness Vazken I was
elected and consecrated as
Catholicos of All Armenians in
Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in 1955,
becoming the 130th spiritual leader
ofthe Armenian Church, since the
time of St. Gregory the Illuminator. His pontificate of more than
thirty-nine years was one of the
longest and most productive in the
history of the Armenian Church.
Born in 1908 in Bucharest,
Levon Garabed Baljian was ordained as Very Rev. Fr. Vazken
Vartabed in 1943. In 1951 he was
consecrated as a bishop of the Armenian Church.
The Catholicos became the
most visible worldwide symbol of
the Armenian people during the
period of communist rule in Armenia. With his diplomatic and political skill he was able to lead the
Armenian Church through a very
difficult period of Armenian history, outlasting the fall of the Soviet Union and welcoming the
newly independent Republic of
Armenia.
He led the movement to prepare clergy for the Armenian
Church. The Catholicos was also a
leader in the ecumenical movement,
especially with the Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Catholicos was also a tireless traveler, visiting the many far-
flung dioceses of the Armenian
church, bringing his message of
unity and fatherly blessings.
The Catholicos last made a
spiritual visit to the United States
See VAZKEN I, Page 8