AraManoogian

Visit www.thetruthmustbetold.com for updates on this issue.

UPDATE: I had to change the petition server as it was not recording all the signatures. The new link for the petition is: http://www.gopetition.com/online/35986.html

Time to turn up the heat. For those who would like to help to get Ted Bogosian to come clean and set things right, please sign an online petition addressed to Mr. Bogosian which can be found at: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/request_for_evidence_or_retraction_of_false_statements_by_ted_bogosian_about_monte_melkonian Please pass this information on to all your friends.

Ted Bogosian Loyal To His Untruths About Monte Melkonian By Ara Manoogian "Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute," Josh Billings, a 19th century popular American humorist, once famously said. But no matter how hard it appears to be, I have no other choice but to start a dialogue with a wall of silence, behind which Ted Bogosian the Truth Seeker has opted to hide. One circumstance, however, plays in my favor: the more garrulous your interlocutor has been preceding his avowed silence, the more vulnerable the latter becomes. This point was brilliantly proven by Ted Bogosian himself just a few days ago in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to stand corrected… by silencing the truth. It's been roughly a month since Radio Open Source host Christopher Lydon's infamous interview with Ted Bogosian, an award-winning Armenian-American director, documentarian and journalist, was aired online and reposted throughout the web. The dissemination of the radio interview served the noble agenda of spreading the word about the heart of the Armenian cause - the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish denialism. However, his headlong pursuit of big truths was regrettably marred with loads of misinformation dishonoring Armenian national hero Monte Melkonian, one of the most revered martyrs of modern Armenian history who put his life at stake for the defense of fellow Armenians and their victory in an unequal war. Mr. Bogosian spoke from the viewpoint of a Truth Hound as he was presented at the onset of the interview. He made a number of serious unsupported claims that Monte Melkonian started a terrorist movement, selling arms and drugs, masterminding the Orly Airport attack of July 15, 1983 in Paris, as well as Turkish embassies in Europe and other businesses. When the dead cannot stand up for their own defense, someone alive has to. Having spent over a decade researching the life and death of Monte Melkonian but never once coming across evidence that would support any such claim, I wrote Ted Bogosian an email on April 13, 2010. In my heartfelt message, I kindly asked him to share the supporting evidence I assumed he would have for the claims regarding Monte Melkonian he made in the interview. In expectation of never-before-seen evidence I refrained from repudiating any of his claims based on my own research. Four days of Ted Bogosian's absolute silence and/or complete indifference - thus, lack of supporting evidence for his claims - compelled me to set the record straight based on existing evidence. I wrote an article and submitted it to Hetq, a leading newspaper of investigative journalism in Armenia. At the same time, I wrote Mr. Bogosian another email as a reminder for a response to my previous letter. But no reply followed. As a next step, I posted the whole article as a comment under his interview at Radio Open Source website and Huffington post to make sure he receives my message. Then I embarked on a mission to make sure my refutation of Ted Bogosian's untruths catches up with the speed at which his interview with dubious truths was spreading online. Although a couple of people had already voiced their discontent with Bogosian's inaccurate claims about Monte Melkonian's pre-Artsakh past prior to the posting of my article, it is a bitter truth that the presentation of someone as a Truth Hound is for the majority of people sufficient evidence of the veracity of any statement uttered by him or her. For many people these "truths" become facts, and thus history is unjustly rewritten. I contacted Markar Melkonian, Monte Melkonian's brother, the co-author of My Brother's Road, a biography of Monte Melkonian, to get his commentary regarding Ted Bogosian's latest interview. He had this to say: "By far the most scurrilous of Bogosian's claims is his contention that Monte masterminded attacks such as Orly. Not only was Monte not involved in this attack in any way, but as you [Ara Manoogian - A.M.] quite correctly noted, Orly and similar attacks drove Monte into desperate plans to kill Hagopian [Hagop Hagopian, founder of ASALA - A.M.] and any of his henchmen who got in the way, in order to stop such operations. With each outrage Monte became more desperate, until he resolved to take steps against Hagopian, with the full expectation that he would be killed in the process. Monte abhorred Orly, the Istanbul bazaar attack and the Ankara Airport attack, both because they took innocent lives, and because he believed such attacks harmed the cause to which he had pledged his life." As Ted Bogosian's silence grew more deafening, and I received no confirmation that he had, in fact, received my emails, I implemented a tactic I was certain would repudiate an old Italian proverb: "Silence was never written down." It was, in fact, on April 20, 2010. The tactic was to register tedbogosian.com and tedbogosian.blogspot.com, then upload my article debunking Ted Bogosian's untruths about Monte Melkonian. Immediately after that I sent an email to the address I still believed belonged to Ted Bogosian, notifying him of the registration of tedbogosian.com for exposing his lies about Monte Melkonian. Silence was finally and immediately written down, as mentioned above, on April 20, 2010, as frugal as it was. Ted Bogosian wrote: "I will respond tomorrow, Ara." The next day I received an email from Jeffrey K. Techentin of Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. engaged to represent Ted Bogosian with respect to my registration and use of www.tedbogosian.com and www.tedbogosian.blogspot.com. The content of his email revealed utilization of a more traditional tactic: when you can't answer the core question, you have to cloud the issue. To this effect Mr. Techentin had this to say: "Mr. Bogosian has forwarded me the communications received from you. Please refer any further communications directly to me. Additionally, please note that Mr. Bogosian takes your threats very seriously, and objects to your appropriation of his name for your own purposes." The latter of the concerns is understandable and expected, however, I was baffled by the respectable Truth Hound's perception of my pursuit of truth as a threat. I honestly expected his cooperation in finding the truth wherever it leads. I must have been misled by Mr. Bogosian's bold statement in the same interview in question: "Every single truth that gets revealed leads to another and other and other, and we may never arrive at truth. But we're obligated to try. That's my view." Having had them serve their purpose - making Ted Bogosian speak out - I parked the domains. When it became clear that Bogosian was unwilling to address the issue as seriously as he had taken the non-existent threats his attorney had referred to, I decided to issue a press release uncovering Ted Bogosian's untruths on April 22, 2010. As I had hoped, many media outlets responded to the cause by publishing it. I should also note that I received scores of emails encouraging my efforts. I'll take advantage of this platform and say a big "thank you." Nonetheless, one thing that the launch of the press release revealed for me was the justification of my apprehension that there will never be a shortage of people falling short of transcending stereotypical judgment, such as this: if you are a terrorist, then you kill innocent people, sell drugs and arms. How many people will question this? With this stereotype, one will perhaps be right nine times out of ten. However, Monte Melkonian, an exceptionally gifted person who preferred standing up and dying for the rights of his nation at any cost over a brilliant academic career awaiting him at one of the most prestigious European universities, deserves to be more than just a negligible statistical error differing from the expected value. This is my chief concern that has been fueling my active stance on inhibiting public dissemination of Ted Bogosian's inaccuracies purported to be facts. Later that day, Ted Bogosian, as confirmed by Radio Open Source host Christopher Lydon, his friend of 35 years, posted a comment under the interview on Huffington Post: "I am pleased that my conversation with Christopher Lydon has inspired such informed comments. […] Finally, I pledge to correct any inadvertent errors and omissions I may have made at Brown, as always. That is a Truth Hound's obligation. Thanks to everyone for listening." Mr. Bogosian fulfilled his promise the next day by posting "corrections and amplifications" in the form of a comment at the Radio Open Source and, with some minor difference, at Huffington Post, which reads as follows: "CORRECTIONS & AMPLIFICATIONS: Everything I told Open Source about Monte Melkonian related to the period ending in April 1988, when “An Armenian Journey” premiered on PBS. I did not reference Monte’s exploits after he left prison. While I still consider Monte and myself to be the “same age”, he was, in fact, 6 years younger. Monte was an undergraduate at UC-Berkeley, not a graduate student there. I could have named the terrorist movement he started: ASALA-Revolutionary Movement. Finally, while Monte was convicted of illegal weapons possession, he was not charged with selling arms or illegal drugs. (I knew him to practice healthful living habits during his imprisonment.) I stand corrected and regret these errors and omissions." How can Ted Bogosian "stand corrected" if he has provided elusive responses to most of my questions and ignored the others. Isn't there anything to correct in the following statement he made in the interview to Radio Open Source: "[Monte Melkonian] having masterminded several bombings in Europe, at Orly Airport"? I wrote as many as five paragraphs to tell the story behind this bombing as I know it in an attempt to set the record straight that Monte Melkonian not only was not involved in that attack but also did his utmost to prevent it (for more details read claim #5 in "Ted Bogosian And His Untruths About Armenian National Hero Monte Melkonian"). At the same time, I requested evidence from Mr. Bogosian to back up that claim. But instead of providing supporting evidence or retracting the false statement, he has shrouded the issue with silence. However, I'll try to analyze each of Ted Bogosian's responses pertaining to the matter. • "Monte was an undergraduate at UC-Berkeley, not a graduate student there. What Mr. Bogosian had stated in the original interview was as follows: "And while I was at Duke, he was at Berkley, and when I went to graduate school, he went to graduate school in Beirut." Monte never went to graduate school in Beirut, he was admitted to graduate school at Oxford but he never went there. Mr. Bogosian's latest response is simply inadequate. • "I could have named the terrorist movement he started: ASALA-Revolutionary Movement." This correction refers to the following statement in the original interview: "[Monte Melkonian] started an Armenian terrorist movement." I had identified this terrorist movement with ASALA, which was founded by Hagop Hagopian in 1975 and Monte Melkonian was recruited in 1980 (for more details read claim #4 in "Ted Bogosian And His Untruths About Armenian National Hero Monte Melkonian"). In his attempt to clarify this statement, Mr. Bogosian identified that terrorist movement as ASALA-Revolutionary Movement (ASALA-RM). I wonder what exactly made him conclude that ASALA-RM is a terrorist movement. ASALA fell apart at Monte Melkonian's initiative exactly because of the murderous deviation of Hagop Hagopian. The Orly Airport attack masterminded by Hagopian was the final blow to the unity of ASALA and the finishing touch to the split spearheaded by Monte Melkonian. ASALA-RM, the resulting splinter, in its early stage is best represented through the following collectively written statement: "We do not believe in benevolent friends, the inevitable triumph of justice, or covertly and cleverly manipulating the superpowers. If we are to achieve national self-determination, then we ourselves, the Armenian people, will have to fight for it. We believe in the power of organized masses and in the capacity of our people to determine their own future. We believe in revolution." This movement that had no real members but quite a few sympathizers became the personification of Monte Melkonian who concentrated on raising awareness about the Armenian cause mainly through writing. In the times when there's no definitive international consensus on a legally binding definition of terrorism and terrorist organizations, Mr. Bogosian is making hasty conclusions. Personally, I am more inclined towards this viewpoint of a terrorist and counter-insurgency expert Bruce Hoffman: "Terrorism is a pejorative term. It is a word with intrinsically negative connotations that is generally applied to one's enemies and opponents, or to those with whom one disagrees and would otherwise prefer to ignore." Labeling a revolutionary movement as terrorist, while it seeks to unite the nation to struggle for self-determination, is usually the signature of governments targeted by such movements. • "Finally, while Monte was convicted of illegal weapons possession, he was not charged with selling arms or illegal drugs." This correction refers to my criticism targeting the following passage in his original interview: “…and [Monte Melkonian] started selling arms and started selling drugs…” None of the abundant evidence I have researched about Monte Melkonian maintains this claim. On the contrary, there are plenty of stories about Monte Melkonian being a fierce opponent to drug use or sale (for more details read claim #3 in "Ted Bogosian And His Untruths About Armenian National Hero Monte Melkonian"). Ted Bogosian's response to my question is a cunning way to steer away from the main point. His statement clearly implies that not being charged with selling arms or illegal drugs does not necessarily exclude the possibility of being involved in such activity. It is neither a retraction nor a clarification, but rather a fragile exit strategy due to lack of supporting evidence. I was not questioning only the validity of the charges Mr. Bogosian ascribed to Monte Melkonian's case in the interview, but also his assertion that Monte Melkonian was involved in such activity. I'm still waiting for supporting evidence or unconditional retraction of these false statements. Silence is a text easy to misread, as science-fiction writer Alfred Attanasio once said. Nevertheless, I want to believe that Mr. Bogosian had no malice in ascribing all of the aforementioned inaccuracies to Monte Melkonian, and I believe that his good will may well be manifested by a full-fledged direct response to each of the questions I singled out and any others he might be enthused to enlarge on. If Ted Bogosian is a man of his word and believes "we're obligated to try" to "arrive at truth," he must then fulfill his "pledge to correct any inadvertent errors and omissions" more elaborately with the following options as guidelines: a) present evidence to support his claims; retract the claims, for which he cannot provide supporting evidence; c) make corresponding arrangements to have the parts of radio interview that include the abovementioned misinformation about Monte Melkonian removed. Ara Manoogian is a human rights activist representing the Shahan Natalie Family Foundation in Artsakh and Armenia, as well as a member of the Washington-based Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)

Thank you everyone for your kind words of support. By all means, please keep the pressure on Ted. On the Huffington Post (see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-lydon/ted-bogosian-confessions_b_523557.html) a couple of comments were posted by someone going by the name of "Bogosian." I can't be certain if this is in fact Ted Bogosian, but will just re-post them here for you to read and comment if you would like (any input from you may be used in the next article that should come out in a few days). For now I will not reply to these post other than say to you here that in my opinion the comments fall miles short of an explanation or acceptable apology. You be the judge. Oh and if anyone writes to Ted, ask him if these are his comments or those of some else? "I am pleased that my conversation with Christopher Lydon has inspired such informed comments. The FARA database is in desperate need of reform. There is not enough transparency or timeliness now, as JustineH, FirstTimeVoter and others indicate. Finally, I pledge to correct any inadvertent errors and omissions I may have made at Brown, as always. That is a Truth Hound's obligation. Thanks to everyone for listening." - Posted by Bogosian at 11:40 AM on 4/21/2010 "CORRECTIONS & AMPLIFICATIONS: While I still consider Monte Melkonian and myself to be the "same age" (as I told Chris Lydon in this podcast), Monte was, in fact, 6 years younger. Monte was an undergraduate at UC-Berkeley, not a graduate student there. I could have identified the terrorist movement he started: ASALA-Revolutionary Movement. Finally, while Monte was convicted of illegal weapons possession, he was not charged with selling arms or illegal drugs. (I knew him to practice healthful living habits during his imprisonment.) I stand corrected and regret these errors." - Posted by Bogosian at 06:12 PM on 4/22/2010

I don’t know about anyone else, but I received a response from Ted Bogosian telling me “I will respond tomorrow, Ara.” He sent the message via Cingular Xpress Mail with a Blackberry. Well tomorrow came and he responded to me alright, but instead of an email from Ted explaining his statements or offering an apology, I received an email from his legal counsel Jeffrey K. Techentin of ADLER POLLOCK & SHEEHAN P.C. I won’t get into the details of the message at this time, but will just say that instead of addressing the issue of Ted making defaming statements about Armenian National Hero Monte Melkonian, the email was one of those I will sue you Ara if you don’t back off letters that I usually get from those people who know they are up the creak without a paddle and are going to fall very hard. From the emails, I can conclude that Ted is going to be hard nut to crack, but as Monte stated in one of the youtube videos I’ve posted of him, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. If my perfect score of bringing corrupt mafia/government figures to terms with the truth means anything, I can tell you that it will be just a matter of time that Ted will cave in and do right by everyone and would like to add that there is a good chance it will be much sooner rather than later. One good thing came of this so far and that is that Ted knows that we are not happy about his defaming an Armenian national hero and that we also know that the email address I have posted is accurate, which you can feel free to send your messages to and Ted will get them on his Blackberry. For those of you who have written to Ted and not heard back from him, you may want to try sending a copy of your message to Ted’s attorney Jeffrey K. Techentin at: Jtechentin @ apslaw (dot) com or you can telephone Jeff at (401) 427-6147. Alternatively feel free to send Jeff a fax to (401) 351-4607. According to Jeff, any further communication from me should be directed to him (for I’m sure for a hefty fee to Ted).

I believe you can email him at tedbogosian @ mac(dot)com though I have not yet heard back from him, though that does not mean he will not be getting back to me. If you live in the Boston area, you could always go down to Duke on Monday to ask him face to face. His office phone number is on the internet as well as the classes he is teaching.

Try http://babelfish.altavista.com/ which will kind of translation the site.

ARMENIA'S AMENDED CONSTITUTION ENTERS INTO FORCE Armenpress Dec 8 2005 YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS: Armenian authorities announced on December 7 that the revised constitution, which according to official figures of the Central Election Commission (CEC), received the sweeping support of voters in the November 27 referendum, entered into force. The amended text of the constitution was published a day before by the official bulletin of the government and under the Armenian law the revised constitution enters into force the next day. Volodya Hovhanesian, the deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court, said, "since the results of the referendum were not protested within 7 days after the referendum date, the amended constitution enters into force after it is published by the bulletin." According to the CEC, around 1.5 million Armenian voters participated in the referendum of whom 93.3 percent backed the proposed amendments. The Armenian opposition that boycotted the referendum, however, claims the ballot was marred with serious breaches. It also claims that actually some 375,000 voters went to the polls which is not enough to meet the required threshold of voter turnout to consider the referendum valid.

Eloren, though I have witnessed people who complain and act as if there is no hope and they are defeated, the one thing that I’ve recently seen at the last demonstration were young people. Not just a couple, but a bunch of them (and expect many more on the 9th). They were not bitching and complaining, but were listening and measuring what has gone on. I got the feeling that the new generation after this last election has had enough and are ready possibly stand up for what is rightfully theirs. This is where we should concentrate our energy since there is a good chance that the young people could finally stand up and demand justice.

Eloren, you say that the referendum was not very “democratic” but you find it a good step in the right direction? First let me say that it was not “democratic” at all. It was a blatant violation of the rights of the citizens of Armenia, who didn’t go to vote, not because they didn’t want to go and vote “NO” to the referendum, but because from past experiences, they knew good and well that their “NO” vote would somehow be reported as a “YES” vote. I think for those that wanted to vote “NO” this was a very clever strategy and the Kocharian government has been finally caught. You talk about the actual president. Put the opposition that you speak of aside and there is a large part of the population today that does not consider Kocharian as the actual president. Everyone agrees that his re-election was also done fraudulently. And thought there has been very little turnout to the opposition demonstrations (though they have been growing), the fact that so many people didn’t go out and actually vote should tell us the desires of the people. Eloren, your wish was that this constitution would pass, not only because it is a good step towards democracy and European integration, but also because it lifts the ban on dual citizenship? First of all like I said before, there was nothing democratic as to the way it passed, so it has so far been a very bad step towards democracy. If we accept the passing in this way, then we set the example of what democracy in Armenia will be, which is of course not democracy at all. As for the ban on dual citizenship being lifted, don’t be fooled. There are going to be so many conditions set for dual citizens, that the present day 10-year “special residency status” passport that everyone is entitled to now, will give you probably the same rights. Most will still not have the right to vote or run for political office until they move to Armenia fulltime and that only after probably 5 years. If you think that you are not considered to be Armenian by the native Armenians because you live outside of Armenia, you’re wrong. The ones that don’t consider you “Armenian” in most cases are the same people who fix elections. Believe me, I am from America and live here and the native Armenians consider me to be Armenian. If you ask me, people who will only move to Armenia only if they get dual citizenship will not move to Armenia even if they do get it. I don’t have dual citizenship and have moved here. I feel just as secure as an Armenian here without it. Anoushik, tell your dad that what we don’t like about the constitutional amendments is that with them, the president is immune to prosecution from acts of the past, present and future that he has and will commit against the Armenian nation. This not only would include human rights offenses, but economic offenses. I think this would also give past presidents this same immunity. The other that bothers us is that the president has the right without a referendum to redraw our boarders. No president should have or need this kind of power if they are a good president. The long and short of it all is that the constitutional referendum was passed fraudulently (and well documented) and only for this and no other reason, it should be deemed null and void.

Visit http://www.oneworld.am/blog/ to see what the OSEC reported on the election and also photographs of how things have gone down, as well as related news stories.

I’m not sure if anyone on this board is following the recent developments in terms of the recent election on November 27th, but for those of you who don’t know, Armenia had another election which I am 100% convinced was not done in a democratic fashion. What are the feelings of the people on this board? what do you think should be done and what do you think in fact will happen? As for me, what should be done is that the election should be voided for no other reason than it was no done improperly and clearly violated the will of the majority of the people. The Constitution is a document that reflects the will of the people and not the government. What will be done is that the government will continue to lie and say that everything was on the up and up, stonewalling any efforts to set things straight. Sadly, our only hope now is on the opposition, which I really don’t think is capable of setting things straight, nor do I think they really care all that much about anything but a chance to bitch, complain and campaign for the 2007 parliament election (I could be wrong). I went to one of their meetings at the manuscript library and other than name calling and demanding the Kocharian to resign, they didn’t present any real solution, just very vague actions that should be taken. The meeting of 3 days ago (the 2nd meeting, which I didn’t attend) had more people in attendance than the first (maybe 10,000 people). In 13 hours will be what I would guess is the final meeting, as the opposition had given the government an ultimatum. What will happen next I’m not sure, but if the government does not comply with the demands of the ultimatum, which is to void the results of the elections, then the people will have to march on the Presidential palace and maybe storm some building to show the government that enough is enough. Let’s hope it does not come down to this.

When I was in Dubai, I looked into Armenians that were working in the UAE and sadly many of those who make $1,000 a month are said to send only a small amount back to Armenia to their families. I was told that a large portion of that is spent on having “fun”, meaning on visiting prostitutes. This information came from what I found to be a reliable person and knowing the present day Armenian way of thinking, I have to believe that this is an accurate assessment.

Here is another question. What can the Diaspora do to prevent trafficking and to be part of the overall solution? I know this is a loaded question, but it has to be asked.

It seems that Bulgaria and Armenia have a lot in common. Other than trafficking, the people here in Armenia, as well in Bulgaria, for the most part believe that the victims knew what they were getting into when they left and became “prostitutes”. Since my return from Dubai and news of our work coming out, I’ve had heated arguments with quite a few individuals who keep saying that the girls we spoke to are lying to us and our figure of 80% tricked and 20% being volunteers is not accurate. This is coming from people who have never met, let alone talked face to face with a trafficking victim and don’t have a shred of evidence to support their claims. The reality is and like the story titled “Bulgarian Trafficking Victims Face Hard Homecoming” (see: http://www.stopvaw.org/30Sep20044.html), most trafficking victims were hoping for a kind of Cinderella Dream, or at most a legitimate job and in the end were enslaved into working as prostitutes. It seems that not only will our work in bringing back and rehabilitating the victims be hard, but even more difficult will be teaching the general public that victims are victims and for all of us to heal, we have treat the victims with the same respect we treat any other living being. Any ideas on how we can change this way of thinking?

In Artsakh, the word "kash" means "low" and "taghamas" means "neighborhood". In Western-Armenian, "kash" means "weight" and "taghel" means to bury. Gino, you may want to find yourself a dictionary published in Stepanagert, so you can better understand our Armenian.

Caucasus Journalists Network South Caucasus Monthly Analytical Magazine Criminals aspire mandates of legislators Edik Baghdasaryan It is already noticeable that in Armenia there is a group of people, for whom laws do not exist. They are not high ranked officials but they travel throughout the city, accompanied by a cortege of cars with darkened windows. The road police salute them, when they are passing. These cars are not difficult to recognize, because, as a rule, they have similar car plates showing their belonging to a team of this or that oligarch. These groups of people-clans- have monopoly in different spheres of economy. They intend to keep on their positions at any price. People, who became rich by illegal means, intersected with the government, including the law enforcement bodies. Some of them during the last Parliamentary elections "conquered" the National Assembly: they managed to buy the required number of votes and obtain the deputy immunity (according to legislation of the Republic of Armenia, deputies of the National Assembly have a right to immunity). Almost all political parties during the last parliamentary elections in their election campaigns mentioned about the necessity to remove this privilege. Today, several months after elections, nobody talks about it. Habits and practice of people spending their time in casinos, restaurants and saunas and whom the public recognizes not by names but nicknames, entered the legislative body. Someone in a conversation called this process "a criminal revolution". In Armenia a new system of values is forming, dictated by those who became rich by illegal means. Sometimes as in Sicily Mafia structures, clans, continuously conduct internal wars, assured that they will not be punished. They kill because it is possible and because it is profitable for their business. The struggle between the clan groupings sometimes becomes furious. This is noticeable in the information provided by the national police. President of the party "National Security" Garnik Isagulyan, in an interview to "Haykakan Zhamanak", commented on the current situation in the country and mentioned that "there are people who through criminal means could become owners of big sums of money and though the same course, obtained power and, finally, obsessed wide economic means. These means they transferred into political arena and now they possess political power too. They don't act alone, they have own clans and with clans' assistance they get even with their opponents-competitors." To understand the situation of the period prior this interview (summer 2003, when another flame of the inter-clan war started), let us cite some information disseminated by informational agencies. Near the Autoservice hotel in Yerevan city, Mushegh Ayvazian (nickname Mushegh Leningadian-E.B.) was killed with a fire gun. He was once an owner of one of wine factories of Armenia and was recognized as "authority". On the territory of the Noubarashen disposal tip, Arkadii Gevorkyan, a nephew of the former deputy of the National Assembly Rouben Gevorkian (Tsaghik Roubo), deputy administrator of the Health Department of the Ministry of Defense of the RA Arik Haroutyunian and a car driver were assassinated. These killings are just one episode of the adversary resistance, continuing already a year. In the other rival group is the deputy of the National Assembly Samvel Alexanian (Lfik Samo). He possesses huge wealth and controls 98% of sugar import into Armenia, as well as significant amount of import of flour and medicine. The fight between both sides has an economic ground. Dozens people from both sides were arrested. In opinion of some people, this fight will not end until the sides do not ruin each other. As our informant from the National Assembly states, until recent killings, twice attempts of killing of Samvel Alexanian took place. He is perceived as a member of a team of Robert Kocharian. During presidential elections, Samvel Alexanian supported Kocharian's candidacy. In Gyumri a fight between two armed groups took place. Leaders of two sides-Serob Grigoryan, director of Gyumri Trans Llc, a transportation service on the road Yerevan-Gyumri, and Zhirayr Haroutyunian, the former rector of the Gyumri State Pedagogical Institute -were assassinated. About a dozen people were wounded. Among victims are occasional passengers. All this happened 50 meters from the Prosecutor's office. The reasons for the fight are economic interests. On this background the following fact is interesting. In the beginning of June 2003, a group of the most famous on the territory of the former Soviet Union criminals arrived in Yerevan. They came to the anniversary of one of the most reputable criminal of Soviet time "Svoi Raf". Among the criminals was also their "Godfather" Hasan. Recently nowhere in the NIS such a big amount of criminals (31 persons) was not assembled together simultaneously. There was a statement in the Armenian press that the criminals were met by the Chief of Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of RA at the Yerevan airport. In fact, the criminals' security was provided at the state level. President Robert Kocharian expressed his concerns on the situation in the country at the grand session devoted to 85th anniversary of the Prosecutor's office of the country. "We should not permit a medieval vendetta and criminal thinking. In Armenia racket and blackmailing, criminal revenges and unclean competition should not take place. Recent fight between criminal groups-shootings and killings- raised many questions, answers to which I have not received yet from the prosecutors and the police. The society waits for quick and adequate reaction from the law enforcement bodies", he said. Many people started to perceive this statement adequately, namely, as a concrete course for the law enforcement bodies to "recreate" in the society the feeling of protection and justice. After the speech of the president, information about the forces and efforts of the law enforcement bodies of the country on criminal investigations was provided to the society more often than usually. The structures, implementing campaign for the force ministries, were given special directives and undergone staff changes. Criminals and the "shadow" of economy. By the time, the criminal structures in Armenia become more organized and professional. It is already obvious that such a criminal situation is not a heritage, as some public officers like to repeat, but a consequence of difficult social situation and atmosphere of impunity in the country. About the pattern of this criminal "evolution" said the first Minister of the Internal Affairs Levon Galstyan in the interview to "Haykakan Zhamanak" newspaper. He stated that he is not surprised by the unlawful atmosphere as persons who, by their positions, are responsible for prevention of homicides and crime in general, are busy with advancing their own businesses. In opinion of L. Galstyan, even the president is not able to "curb" criminal elements, as he was elected to his post due to assistance of these elements. Interests of the criminal structures towards financial sphere are increasing. The criminal lawyer endeavors to enter the power structures. In this term, the strong attention of the law enforcement bodies to economic crimes becomes clear. However, all this cannot bring any results, as representatives of the law enforcement bodies themselves are involved in business structures. Employees of these bodies have their share in joint business with different entrepreneurs. To hide it, they register their wealth on the names of their mother-in-laws, friends and relatives. Powers and supporting parties, especially during election campaigns, promised to struggle against corruption. Today President of the RA has even an advisor on these questions. Nevertheless, all this is fiction, as corruption is legalized with support of these powers. Facts published in the mass media in some cases become matters of investigation by the law enforcement bodies and the Control Service of the President. However, each time, when involvement of a high-ranked officer becomes apparent, the process stops. According to unofficial data, and estimation of different specialists, a "shadow economy" in Armenia makes from 50% to 70%. In which spheres of production more "shadow" is, the powers know the best. The law enforcement bodies, service of the national security have safeguarded all documents about shadow enterprises. Lack of political will or feeling of danger prevents the government to act decisively. In 1999, a plan to combat corruption was developing with support of the Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, and he attempted to take serious measures in this direction. On October 27th of the same year he was assassinated in the Parliament. By the way, before taking the post of the Prime Minister, he was sponsoring significant re-allocations in the economy. Taking over the government of the country, he understood how continuation of this process can turn around. There are political activists who believe this circumstance was the main reason for his liquidation. In general, people, who suffer from corruption in the government and from pushing the economy into the "shadow", i.e. average citizens do not talk about necessity to fight corruption. As always, this becomes a common talk for those who have real opportunities to prevent and punish corruption and crime, i.e. high ranked officials. --- http://www.caucasusjournalists.net/

Not that the subject is about how to determine if someone is a virgin or not, but here it’s not so much a matter of if one can produce a Japanese flag or not. It’s about if someone has had sex with a guy or not and when you live in such a small place as Karabagh, you could have sex in the morning in Martuni and by lunchtime word has reach Shushi. Another thing that people think here is if your going to be the mother of ones children, you want that girl to be “clean” and “moral”. Not to say the guy is not sleeping around with every girl he can get his hands on even after the new wife is pregnant, since this is a mans world and supposedly it’s natural and acceptable to act this way. As for if there will be a painful sensation and blood the first time to prove ones virginity. Here that really does not prove anything since I have heard from quite a few people that there is a doctor in Mardakert that does a stitching job that can transform a women back into a girl.

Not to defend guys here, since there is no excuse or logic behind raping someone that you are going to grow old with and they are going to raise your children, but the economic situation, lack of a decent educational system, makes guys much less attractive to girls. On top of this you add that our Armenian culture here expects that the boy child will care for the parents when they become old and a general attitude, thus they are all kings and can do as they please. You add the fact that you can pay your way out of rape charges if the girl in the end still does not agree to marriage, thus you can’t expect anything less. Unfortunately this one the bad effect of our Armenian culture and you can’t imagine how bad I feel every time I learn that someone committed this act and I’m invited over for dinner to meet the happy couple. One time the dirty deed was done and the father pled that his daughter be returned home so they could at least have a proper wedding, since it was their eldest daughter. If you want to read what happened that day you can read my journal entry of August 18, 2003 at: http://www.aramanoogian.blogspot.com/2003_...115185802207722

I was born in America, but am now living in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh). Skittles, is it that bad here?

All you girls should feel lucky that you only get approached and can decline the offer. If you were living in Armenia and more so in Karabagh, if a guy wants you and you turn him down, his friends and even with the approval of his parents he could abduct you and keep you for as long as it takes to break you down to agree and if need be force you to loose your virginity, thus you are no longer a girl and no one here would want you. In the states, they would categorized this method of forcing someone to marry you in this way as rape. By law here it is illegal, but unfortunately, the law here in these cases, seldom work. As for me and my experience with pressure of marriage, I’ve been getting it on a daily basis for the last 7 years from every stranger I meet and from ages 14 to 100. It seems to be a very Armenian thing. From what I understand, wealth here is measured in how many children you have and to have children, you need to be married.

I’m really not sure your definition of “modern day fedayee” is all that accurate. I for one have been doing what you state, have been doing it successfully for 4 years and am still alive. I’ve never really been challenged by any of those powerful, corrupt or inept persons who have been adversely effected by what I do. I also don’t consider myself a fedayee of any kind as a fedayee is what they call a prisoner condemned to death, which if I was being attacked by those I pursue, then maybe I would see things different. In short your statement paints an inaccurate picture of the reality of what Armenia really is. As for this poor man, the story paints a picture of him being on his own with no one backing him and further comments claim he is fighting people who attack the Armenian Church which he defends. If everything said is accurate, I would think he could be viewed as a fedayee. Just my 2 Drams.

I’m not sure what you want to do as far as helping children on the outskirts and what resources you have, but if your interested in helping children in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), I’m here on the ground and have a registered organization that can help you get what you want to where it needs to get with very low administrative costs. As for statistics, you may want to visit www.oneworld.am and contact Onnik, the webmaster, who is also working on a project to document the condition of families in need and should have the information you are looking for. As for sending large quantities of clothes and goods, if you are sending them where they have to pass customs (which a container would defiantly have to pass customs), they could be subject to import tax, that is if you send them to an individual. I’m always of the mind that we need to implement programs that will create long-term solutions to the problem that is causing so much poverty and hardship. If we do this, then the rest will be up to the natives. Could you have something like this in mind to do?

Shahan Natalie (A Concise Biography) http://www.cilicia.com/pics/life/natalie.jpg Shahan Natalie (né Hagop Der Hagopian) was born in 1884, in the village of Husenik, Kharberd province, the only son of the seven-member family, along with four sisters. He received his primary education in the local Armenian school. More than 300,000 Armenians fell victim during the 1895 to 1897 massacres in Western Armenia. At the beginning of the massacres, his father, mother's brother, and numerous other relatives were killed. He was separated from his family during the slaughter. Hagop's life was spared thanks to a neighboring Greek family, who hid him for several days, knowing that he too would be slaughtered. The 11-year-old orphaned wandered for three days before being reunited with the surviving members of his family. He found his mother mourning over his father's lifeless corpse, which they dragged together and buried under a walnut tree. He would write about this event later, adding, "The living began to bury the dead." The scene of his mother, prostrate on her husband's body, left a deep and indelible impression on the young boy's subconscious and conscious being. After studying for a year at the famed Euphrates College in Kharberd, together with other orphans, he was sent to the St. James Orphanage in Constantinople, where he did not want to stay, so he himself found an Armenian rug merchant living in New York to adopt him so he cold attend the famed Berberian Academy, which he did the following year, and studied there until 1900. His teacher in the Academy was the noted pedagogue and philosopher, Reteos Berberian, out of respect for whom he chose the latter's son's first name, Shahan, as his own (the choice of Natalie as a surname is yet unknown to us). The young Hagop's love of culture, art, beauty, goodness, and truth and the concept of justice were imprinted in his very being. In 1901, he returned to his birthplace, where for three years he served on the local school's teaching staff, at the same time studying the provincial dialect of Kharberd. This philological study earned special honor in Patriarch Izmirlian's literary competition. In 1904, in Kharberd, he joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in whose ranks he would serve with true patriotic spirit for a quarter century. The same year, he immigrated to the United States, where for three years he worked as a laborer in a shoe factory. In 1908, after the proclamation of the Ottoman Constitution, he returned home to Husenik, where he remained barely one year. The 1909 massacres of Armenians in Cilicia drove him back into exile in America. From 1910 to 1912, he attended Boston University, where he studied literature, philosophy (particularly Plato), and theatre (particularly Shakespeare). In 1912, he decided to return home and boarded a ship headed for Turkey. However, during that period the war had erupted in the Balkans and the Turkish passport-bearing Shahan Natalie was ejected from the ship by Greek authorities as a citizen of an enemy nation. His attempts to explain his Armenian identity proved fruitless. He was put aboard a ship leaving for the United States and was deported from the country. An unwilling returnee to America, he undertook responsible work within the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's United States district. He became a member of the party's "Hairenik" monthly editorial staff and was elected a member of the party's United States Central Committee, participating in the latter's Executive Body. During this period, the First World War began, providing the opportunity for the criminal Turk hand to finally and totally exterminate the Armenian people. Receiving the news of the Great Atrocity(2), like all exiles, Shahan Natalie experienced nightmarish moments of anguish and rage. And he, the orphaned boy and vengeful youth, made "his vow" not to leave the Genocide perpetrators unpunished, if the world should choose to ignore their crime. Shahan Natalie's doubts became reality after the War. The Ottoman military tribunal convened in Constantinople condemned to death the principal perpetrators who had been extradited to Malta by British authorities. The British placed no value whatsoever on the sentence and secretly released the enemies of Armenians and humanity. From September 27 to the end of October 1919, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's 9th General Congress was convened in Yerevan. Shahan Natalie participated as the United States District delegate. On the Congress agenda was also placed the issue of retribution against those principally responsible for the Great Atrocity. Shahan Natalie experienced here the first serious embitterment of his political life, when some of the delegates deemed this policy wrong, rationalizing that the newly created Armenian Republic needed Turkey's friendship (such justifications have proliferated today also, within the new Armenian Republic). Contrary to many of the Eastern Armenian delegates' vociferous objections, it was decided by Armenian force to deem the Armenian nation as reconciled with the Turk monsters. It is assumed that at this meeting the Responsible Body was also organized to realize the work, whose primary motivator, planner and spirit was Shahan Natalie, with Grigor Merjanov as principal collaborator. ARF Bureau members, specifically Simon Vratsian, Ruben Ter Minasian, and Ruben Darbinian, decided to prevent Shahan Natalie's determined efforts, but Natalie had given the verdict, which was the demand of more than one and a half million victims. Under the most clandestine circumstances the work of eliminating the Turk executioners was organized and the preliminary steps (surveillance, arms-gathering and transport, etc.) were carried out. A "black list" of marked executioners, contained the names of approximately 200 beasts in human form. The executioners of the Armenian people were moving freely and boldly in Berlin, Rome, Baku, Tbilisi and other city streets, and still posing a threat as they had regrouped and were planning their next move to finish the work they began and once and for all put an end to the Armenian question with their next target being the Armenian population of Nargorno-Karabagh and then subsequently Armenia, thus realizing their dream of the greater Turkish state. Some among them were enjoying local secret and overt police protection. For Shahan Natalie, the primary target was the Armenophobe Talaat *****, whom Shahan called "Number One." The mission of felling this animal was entrusted to Soghomon Tehlirian. In the Beirut-based "Nayiri" weekly, v. 12, nos. 1-6 were published Shahan's memoirs about Talaat's assassination. There, Shahan revealed his orders to Tehlirian: "You blow up the skull of the Number 1 nation-murderer and you don't try to flee. You stand there, your foot on the corpse and surrender to the police, who will come and handcuff you." Shahan Natalie's purpose was to turn Soghomon Tehlirian's trial into the political trial of those responsible for the Great Tragedy, which was realized in part. However, there were those in the ARF leadership, Simon Vratsian in particular, who had two chapters deleted from Tehlirian's memoirs - before their printing - which dealt with Shahan Natalie's key role in the assassination of Talaat. The fruits of Shahan Natalie's planning mind were successive assassinations as follow: · Talaat *****, member of the Ittihadist triumvirate and former prime minister, 15 March 1921, Berlin. Executor, Soghomon Tehlirian. · Pipit Jivanshir Khan, former internal affairs minister of Azerbaijan, rabid pan-Turanian, organizer of Armenian massacres, 18 July 1921, Constantinople. Executor, Misak Torlakian. · Said Halim *****, former primer minister, 5 December 1921, Berlin. Organizer, Grigor Merjanov; executor, Arshavir Shiragian. · Behaeddin Shakir Bey, principally responsible organizer and executor of the Ittahadist "Special Committee," 17 April 1922, Berlin. Executor, Aram Yerganian, who in 1919, Tbilisi, had slain Azeri beasts Ghasik Bekov, and the following year, Sarafov and Khan Khuysk, also in Tbilisi. · Jemal Azmi, Ittihadist Armenophobe chief, 17 April 1922, Berlin. Executive, T.; collaborator, Aram Yerganian. · Jemal *****, Ittihadist triumvirate member and defense minister, 25 July 1922, Tbilisi. Executors, decoys, Stepan Dzaghigian and Bedros D. Boghosian; collaborators, Zareh MelikShahnazarian of Artsakh and others. · The third member of the triumvirate, Enver *****, was killed in 1922 in Turkmenistan (Central Asia) when he was leading the Basmaji-Hrosakayin -Pan-Turanian movement. It is assumed that the killer of this beast was an Armenian soldier in the Red Army. Shahan Natalie's avengers executed also several Armenian spies and traitors, who, by denouncing their kinsmen to Turkish authorities, were responsible for their deaths. The ARF Bureau was against these assassinations because the Bureau, ousted from the homeland, filled with anti-Soviet addiction, was playing Turkish-spirited politics, which this campaign of assassination hindered. And finally, the Bureau succeeded in silencing the sound of the explosive Armenian bullet. The Bureau, subsequently, when the assassination of Turks proved "profitable" to revitalize party ranks, did not hesitate to credit itself alone for the just assassinations organized by the Armenian Nemesis, Shahan Natalie. After the Sovietization of Armenia, many of the Armenian Republic's expatriate revolutionary activists did not hesitate to collaborate with Azeri and Turk Armenophobe activists to regain governmental control. This policy was contrary to Shahan Natalie's conviction that "Over and above the Turk, the Armenian has no enemy, and Armenian revenge is just and godly." There were deep dissensions on both sides, but not yet to the point of separation. In 1924, in Paris, the ARF's 10th General Congress was convened. The revered Western Armenian delegate, Shahan Natalie, was elected as a new Bureau member, alongside Shavarsh Misakian and the Jewish son-in-laws [their wives were Jews], Ruben Der Minasian and Aram Jamalian. Bureau member Shahan in vain strove to change the party's Turkish-spirited mindset, but failed, due to the trio's opposition. The ultimate collision of these divergent directions became inevitable. In 1925, a group of nationalistic revolutionaries applied to the Bureau to establish relationships with Soviet governments in order to try to find ways of helping the homeland. The leadership delayed the examination and response to this issue. On 29 December 1926, the ARF Bureau, with four votes in favor and one against (Shahan) decided to join the Promethean Alliance, which declared the Turk as defender of the Caucasian people. Shahan Natalie's cup of patience had overflowed. The party's internal struggle became evident in 1928. From 1920 to 1929, in Paris, "Azadamard" (Freedom Fighter) was published under the editorship of Haig Kntouni and Shahan Natalie. "Azadamard" was the expression of outrage of noble revolutionaries toward the anti-national sentiment of the leadership. Shahan Natalie defined the "Freedom Fighter" movement thus: "In Yerevan in 1919 during the Federation's 9th General Congress, many monuments were going to be destroyed and statues were to crumble within innocent and clean souls ... Before the eyes of the "Freedom Fighters, not only was the Revolutionary Federation being horribly transformed, it was also becoming an accomplice against Armenian Revolution. Not only had the Federation, in the person of its leadership, denied the Federation, but by the boorish expression of its traditional feudalism, it had assumed the right to ally itself with the Turk, to plot against Armenian Revolution." To forestall the probable victory of the "Freedom Fighters" at the upcoming 11th General Congress (27 March to 2 May 1929), on the eve of the meeting, the Bureau began a "cleansing campaign." The first to be "removed"(3) from the party was Bureau member, Shahan Natalie. "Knowingly" (by his definition) having joined the ARF and unjustly separated from it, Shahan Natalie wrote about this: "With Shahan began again that which had begun with Antranig; Bureau member, Shahan, was 'ousted'" After Shahan were successively ousted Haig Kntouni, Armenian Republic army officer Bagrevandian with his group, Glejian and Tartizian with their partisans, General Smbad, Ferrahian with his group, future "Mardgots" (Bastion)-ists Mgrdich Yeretziants, Levon Mozian, Vazgen Shoushanian, Mesrob Kouyoumjian, Levon Kevonian and many others. As a protest to this "cleansing" by the Bureau, some members of the ARF French Central Committee also resigned. "Freedom Fight" having ceased publication, the "ousted" revolutionaries of France established "Mardgots" (Bastion), a semi-weekly newspaper, under the editorship of Mesrob Kouyoumjian and Mgrdich Yeritziants. Contrary to popular belief, Shahan Natalie did not establish or leader the "Bastion"-ist movement, because at that time he had returned to America. He learned about the movement from reading the "Mardgots" newspaper and acknowledged this Reconstructionist movement. In issues of "Mardgots" are published Shahan's analytical articles, "Who Ousts Whom?", "Mine and Yours", "Curse, but Listen," and "I Am Inexperienced." Generals Dro and Nzhdeh came to Paris for the purpose of defusing the disunion of the party, but they failed. Gradually realizing their inability to control the expanding movement, the Bureau relocated its headquarters from Paris to Cairo. However, the "Bastion"-ist movement was attacked from within. The collaboration of editor Mesrob Kouyoumjian with the Soviet Secret Service was revealed. General Smpad and Shahan Natalie went to Paris to forestall the break-up of the movement. Revolutionaries who had remained loyal to the "Bastion"-ists in 1934 established the "Western Armenian Liberation Alliance" in Paris and began to publish the "Amrots" (Fortress) weekly. "Alliance" members were relentlessly persecuted by Bureau killer bandits and by the Secret Service of foreign countries, which wanted to see the ARF as an anti-Soviet tool in their hands. Shahan Natalie relocated "Amrots" to Athens, where it was published from 1936 to 1937. ARF Bureau-hired hit men arrived there and with their bullets killed many loyal revolutionaries. The situation in Europe within the environment of impending war and Bureau-ordered assassinations little by little eroded the "Amrots"-ist movement.(4) At the eve of the Second World War, Shahan returned to America and, embittered toward Armenian political life, he took up community activism within the Armenian General Benevolent Union. From 1943 to 1953, he directed the Armenian General Benevolent Union's New England District Office Secretariat.(5) In 1958, for the first time since the Sovietization of Armenia, he visited the homeland, regaining his voice, which had begun to diminish. He experienced spiritual enrichment upon seeing the flowering of Armenia. In Dzaghgadzor, he met schoolchildren at a campground and in them he saw the promise of a new dawn for the Armenian people. Since the 1960's, Shahan Natalie lived almost in seclusion. He preferred to be silent rather than to talk, to remain within the confines of his home, rather than to appear in public. Shahan Natalie has bequeathed us a rich literary legacy. Shahan's literary talents were refined under the canopy of the Berberian Academy. He wrote verses, short stories, dramatic works, as well as national, political analyses and oratorical pages. He used the noms de plume Nemesis and Shahan (Nemesis was the goddess of "just anger," [retributive justice], in ancient Greek mythology). In private life he used another alias, John Mahy, which he translated as "the spirit of death." Shahan Natalie's published works include: 1. úñ¿ÝùÇ ¨ ÀÝÏ»ñáõû³Ý ¼áÑ»ñ¿Ý (From the Martyrs of Law and Society). Boston: Hayrenik, 1909. 63 pages. Short stories 2. ²Ùå»ñ (Clouds). Boston: Hayrenik, 1909. Verses 3. ø³õáõû³Ý »ñ·»ñ (Songs of Expiation). Boston: Hayrenik, 1915. 31 pages. Verses 4. ê¿ñÇ ¨ ³ï»Éáõû³Ý »ñ·»ñ (Songs of Love and Hate). Boston: Hayrenik, 1915. 165 pages. Verses 5. ìñ¿ÅÇ ³õ»ï³ñ³Ý (Gospel of Revenge). New York: Armenia, 1918. 39 pages. Verses 6. ²ëÉ³Ý ´»Ï (Aslan Bek). Boston: Hayrenik, 1918. 62 pages. Tragedy in three acts 7. ø»½Ç (To Thee). Boston: 1920. 116 pages. Verses His national-political works of public address are: 1. ÂáõñùǽÙÁ ²Ý·áñ³Û¿Ý ´³·áõ ¨ Âñù³Ï³Ý úñÇ¿ÝóëÇáÝ (Turkism from Angora to Baku and Turkish Orientation). Athens: Nor Or, 1928. 172 pages. 2. Âáõñù»ñÁ ¨ Ø»Ýù (The Turks and Us). Athens: Nor Or, 1928. 70 pages. Second printing, 1931 - 93 pages 3. ²É»ùë³Ý¹ñ³åûÉÇ ¸³ßݳ·ñ¿Ý 1930-Ç ÎáíÏ³ë»³Ý ²åëï³ÙµáõÃÇõÝÝ»ñÁ (From the Treaty of Alexandrapol to the 1930 Caucasian Insurgences). Volumes 1 and 2. Marseilles: Tp. Arabian, 1934-35 4. ºñ»õ³ÝÇ Ð³Ù³Ó³Ûݳ·ÇñÁ (The Yerevan Agreement). Boston: 1941. 112 pages. 5. Çñù سïáõóÙ³Ý ¨ гïáõóÙ³Ý (Book of Dedication and Compensation). Contents: ²Ûëå¿ë êå³ÝÝ»óÇÝù (How We Killed); Ú³õ»Éáõ³Í (Addendum), illustrated. Beirut: Tp. Onipar, 1949 (first printing). 160 pages. Beirut: Tp Azdarar, 1954 (second printing). 134 pages 6. ì»ñëïÇÝ Ú³õ»Éáõ³Í -- ²É»ùë³Ýïñ³åûÉÇ ¸³ßݳ·ñÇ §ÆÝñ忱ëÝ áõ ÇÝãá±õݦ (Re-Addendum - The Why and How of the Treaty of Alexandrapol). Boston: Baikar, 1955. 144 pages. He has literary and national-political unpublished works and papers, of which ¸³É¿³ÃÇ ¸³ï³ëï³ÝÁ ä»ñÉÇÝÇ Ø¿ç (The Trial of Talaat in Berlin) and his Úáõß»ñ (Memoirs) have special significance. All of Shahan Natalie's publications are out of print and hard to find. The printing facilities of the period, the small print runs, the harassment of being the "sought after" of true patriots, and the Bureau clique have worked their ruin and rendered these books unfindable remnants. Shahan Natalie did not succeed in celebrating his hundredth birthday. The 99-year-old hero closed his eyes forever on 19 April 1983 in the morning, in his home in Watertown, Massachusetss. The funeral rites took place on 22 April in Watertown, in the St. James Armenian Church, with the Primate of the Armenian Church of North America, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian (presently the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem) officiating. After the reading of the eulogies, the body of the tormented hero was laid to rest in the nearby Mount Auburn Cemetery. (2) On March 23, 1915, one month before the gathering and slaughter of the Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, S.N. became a citizen of the United States, assuming "John Mahy" as his official name. (3) This was the contention of the ARF. In fact, Natalie resigned the Bureau and the Federation because of his outrage at the leadership's decision to strike a pact with Turkey in an attempt to regain possession of the Anatolian lands seized by the Turks. (4) Shahan Natalie was one of those targeted by the ARF. An unsuccessful attempt was made on his life in Boston, in 1929. In the early years of World War II, rumors of subsequent attempts were spread in an effort to harass and disarm his adherents. (5) In 1954, the Armenian communities in the United States celebrated the 50th Jubilee of Shahan Natalie's community activism and literary career. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TURKS AND US. Copyright © 2002 by Punik Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed in Nagorno-Karabagh. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Copies of The Turks and Us can be obtained at www.abrilbooks.com.