THE LIQUIDATION CONTINUES
Posted on June. 7. 2020
(On the occasion of the shuttering and SALE of ADL-Ramgavar Party’S and TCA-Tekeyan Cultural Association’s Watertown Club)
BY HAGOP VARTIVARIAN
TRANSLATED BY APPO JABARIAN
Editor’s note: – Below article is written by ADL-Ramgavar party leading member Hagop Vartivarian. Written in 1997, the article continues to be relevant today. It reflects a continuing trend that negatively impacts an important segment of Armenian Diaspora. Ongoing counterproductive practices by organizational autocrats such as Armenian General Benevolent Union’s (AGBU’s) Berge Setrakian and ADL-Ramgavar Party/Tekeyan Cultural Association’s (ADL-TCA) Edmond Azadian undermine preservation of Armenian Culture and Heritage in Diaspora. Since the writing of the 1997 article, many more Armenian schools and cultural centers were liquidated and the assets were sold-off without accountability and transparency. Two recent such major Armenian school closures occurred in the last few years: ADL-TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School in Los Angeles in 2015; AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena/Los Angeles in 2019.
For more than two decades, the trio – Edmond Yervand Azadian – Arshavir Geonjian – Haroutiun Arzoumanian that has ‘captured’ the leadership of the East Coast ADL– Ramgavar Party (Armenian Democratic Liberal Party), has been undermining the party’s reputation and liquidating its possessions that were accumulated throughout several decades of hard work and sacrifice.
It is clear that this trio are deliberately liquidating the Ramgavar – Armenian Democratic Liberal Party as follows …
I) ARARAT CAMP (MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS)
For entire decades, the party’s Ararat Camp has served as a recreational park for the Armenians of the Greater Boston region. During the summer season, this camp has served as a meeting place for Armenians, for the Armenian Church, patriotic unions, various national organizations, and parties.
The camp had an important meaning for the community’s patriotic and pro-Etchmiadzin front. In the same state, Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Tashnagtsutyun (ARF) owns the Camp Haiastan (Camp Armenia), which to this day, serves the community’s and the party’s objectives. Every Summer, Tashnagtsutyun brings together in its camp, its young generation of American Armenians and educates them on Tashnag (ARF) principles. We, The Ramgavars, sold our camp. Despite being kept in an account under the name of the (Ararat Camp) Fund, the sales proceeds were squandered over the course of just a few years.
Today, that is already forgotten and an accounting is being demanded out of respect of the memory of those Boston Armenian friends who were opposed to the sale of the camp.
II) RAMGAVAR-ADL’S “THE MERITORIOUS MEMBERS’ FUND”
About ten years ago, ADL’s “The Meritorious Members’ Fund” was closed, and the entire remaining funds were completely surrendered to then-existing party leadership — that is to say, the trio. The funds were misspent in a short period of time. The main purpose of the fund was to help financially our needy party-members who had served the party and its press at the cost of great personal sacrifice. The trio succeeded to yank all the money that was under the control of Fund’s Chairman Dr. Noubar Berberian.
Nowadays, there are no more talks of this charitable fund, which was gathered one cent at a time, and through great sacrifices by our ladies auxiliaries in order to provide financial aid to needy well-known editors and community servants.
III) “BAIKAR” PUBLISHING HOUSE
For the intellectual circles of American Armenians (from New York to Fresno), the “Baikar” Publishing House was known for its publications. During more than half a century, party members and other American-Armenian writers, published their books at “Baikar” Publishing House. At the time, according to a study by a well-known intellectual Dr. Krikor Maksudian, the publishing house had published about two hundred books. On the one hand, the Publishing House was useful to the Armenian writers in facilitating the publication of their works while satisfying the thirst of the readers. On the other, it was an important source of income for the “Baikar” Institution.
In the past twenty years, as a result of various developments in the Armenian Diaspora, a large number of Armenian writers came from many communities in the Middle East to settle in America and continue their literary work. Unfortunately, when we could make more use of such publishing operations, we neglected the Publishing House. The well-paid director of the “Baikar” Institution, who was allegedly responsible for the publishing operation, later “morally” compensated the trio tenfold … for the ‘special’ ‘appreciation’ that he had received from them.
IV) YOUSOUFIAN CENTER OF NEW YORK
Another sad page in our party chronicles in America is the sale of the Yousoufian Center. A New York-based loyal party member, Ms. Nevart Yousoufian, while still alive, donated her estate and property in Manhattan to the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA). The late party member knew how essential it was for the organization to have a gathering place for the great family of Tekeyan and Ramgavar-ADL members.
For nearly ten years, New York’s Ramgavars have had a period of revitalization thanks to the Yousoufian Center. Plans were being developed to modernize the building to meet current needs.
Having witnessed the misdeeds of this trio, New York and New Jersey Ramgavars became increasingly critical of them. During the general meetings by party delegates, the delegates expressed anger, doubt and condemnation against the trio.
Finally, in order to liquidate the party’s vibrant New York District Chapter, the Yousoufian Center was sold three years ago in broad daylight. Thus, the trio wearing the hat of Tekeyan Cultural Association Central Board leaders, has deprived the Ramgavar Party from its most active and vibrant center in Eastern U.S.
V) “BAIKAR” OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
Three years ago, the 90-year-old “Baikar” newspaper was closed. The pioneer of American-Armenian journalism since 1899 has been silenced by the Azatian-Geonjian-Arzoumanian Troika. Besides being a party official, “Baikar” served an entire flank. With the closure of “Baikar,” the most respected Armenian-American newspaper, the existence of the Ramgavar Party on these shores had even become shaky. The intellectuals who had gathered around it, were dispersed. The readers who had received intellectual nutrition for many decades, have become disillusioned. With the demise of “Baikar” the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun’s Armenian-language official newspaper became the arena’s sole player.
VI) THE ARMENIAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
In order to boost the pursuit of the Armenian Cause, especially when the terrain in American political circles was fertile, the ADL committee on the Cause for the Armenian territories, headed by Dikran Smsarian, changed its name to the Armenian Rights Council of America (ARCA). In those days, having just joined the Ramgavar Party, Noubar Dorian moved from Boston to New Jersey and assumed the leadership of the group.
The Council established an impressive track record through its political activities, but for the trio its existence in New Jersey was unimportant. That also was subjected to the trio’s intrigues.
VII) CLOSURE OF THE ADL/TCA CHAPTERS
One by one, the Ramgavar chapters which had 50-60 years of tradition, were shut down. The closures of Lawrence, Lowell, Whitinsville, Worcester, MA and Providence, RI chapters were followed by Boston’s Chelsea area Svazlian Chapter, Shushan Varterni Women’s Chapter of Watertown, Hrach Yervand Women’s Chapter and A. N. Nazar Men’s Chapter. New Briton, Cleveland and Philadelphia chapters have been at risk of closure because of many years of inactivity.
Boston’s Tarpinian Youth Chapter which was established some twenty years ago, was shut down in a short time to help the trio get rid of potential future headaches (young thinkers) … Most of these chapters could have been saved for sure through the injection of fresh blood arriving from the Middle East during recent years. But no work was done in this regard. The top trio were only concerned about clinging to their chair …. And, as such, the liquidation goes on and on.
VIII) WATERTOWN ADL CHAPTER CENTER
We know from our acquaintances and friends in Boston that the center on Mount Auburn across from St. James Armenian Apostolic Church has been put up for sale. For several years, that center had served as a meeting place for party assemblies. For the past two decades, its hall had served as a community gathering center generating income for the Baikar Establishment.
And here goes this center! It has now been put up for sale on the initiative of the trio. Imagine if Azadian-Geonjian-Arzumanian were not thrown out of the ADL Party. How much more destruction these people would be able to cause if they were not expelled from the organization?
New Jersey, September 4, 1997
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Communique
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BY THE TEKEYAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION
Arshag Dickranian School in LA
Concludes Its Mission
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It is a sign of the times that any project or mission in the diaspora tasked to preserve the Armenian heritage gradually will face harder challenges, the school mission being perhaps the most taxing one among them.
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In 1981, encouraged by the leadership and the generosity of the late benefactor Arshag Dickranian, the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) embarked on an educational
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mission by laying the foundations of the Arshag Dickranian School in Hollywood, Calif. Over time, the school expanded to become a K-12 educational institution, eminently serving generations of students by offering a solid academic program along with a core curriculum of Armenian Studies. Today, over 500 graduates look back with pride to the instruction, care and inspiration which the school provided to them. It also helped them to become responsible and productive citizens and members of our community.
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The combination of the efforts of the farsighted school board and the dedicated professional faculty and administration, compounded with the care and love of the families, turned the saga of the school into a successful educational mission.
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However, during recent years, demographic changes in the area where the school is located, combined with the increasingly alarming scarcity of funding resources, negatively impacted the mission of the school. Community-wide appeals by the school’s Board of Trustees and good faith efforts by the TCA Central Board proved to be insufficient to continue the operation of the school at the level of academic performance which the parents had come to expect from the school.
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In consultation with the School Board and prominent community leaders, the TCA Central Board realized that it had no other choice but to terminate the operation of the school. On June 30, 2015, the TCA closed the school with a heavy heart. The closure of the Dickranian School is not a unique phenomenon under Diasporan conditions, which have imposed the same fate on several other schools already.
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With the utmost sense of its fiduciary responsibility, the Central Board was duty-bound to judiciously preserve its decades-long investment. Consequently, with the advice and the participation of competent real estate experts, the property on 1200 Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood, California was disposed of at the highest possible market value.
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The closure of the Dickranian School does not terminate the educational mission of our organization. Soon a task force will be charged with conducting a feasibility study and coming up with a series of recommendations for investments in educational projects with viable and sustainable potentials in various Southern Californian communities. In the meantime, the TCA Central Board, continuing to act within the framework of its mission, will maintain its sponsorship of Tekeyan schools in Lebanon, Armenia and Artsakh, as well as pursue its other educational and cultural programs Grateful Acknowledgements Whereas the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the US and Canada, for the past 34 years, has dedicated a very large proportion of its human and financial resources to the founding, development and maintenance of the Arshag Dickranian School in Hollywood, Calif., at this critical juncture of our educational mission, we feel duty-bound to
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gratefully acknowledge and express our heartfelt appreciation to the individuals and institutions which supported the operation of the TCA Arshag Dickranian School over the past 34 years. Our thanks and appreciation particularly go to:
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– The members of the School Board of Trustees, who shouldered the heaviest burden in steering the day-to-day operations of the school for 34 years.
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– The past and present members of the administration and faculty for maintaining the high academic level of the school’s programs and for inspiring the students with pride in their Armenian heritage.
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– The parents, for entrusting their children to the school, and supporting it unconditionally throughout its history.
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– The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, under the leadership of Archbishops Vatche Hovsepian and Hovnan Derderian, for lending their unwavering support and for conferring the auspices of the Diocese to the school.
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– A long list of individual benefactors for providing the resources and support without which the school could not have existed. The TCA Central Board, families, graduates and students will bear in their minds and hearts the contributions and the memory of the late benefactor Arshag Dickranian, whose family continued the tradition of giving until the last day the school was in operation
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– The Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Lincy Foundation, and the George Ignatius Foundation for their continued annual contributions through the years.
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All the above-mentioned individuals, organizations and foundations made history through their conscientious contributions to the school and they all deserve our commendation and sincere gratitude.
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Tekeyan Cultural Association
Central Board of Directors
October 8, 2015 Boston, Mass.
