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The Fresno Bee, CA
April 19 2014
Debate over Armenian museum will continue at D.C. hearing
By Michael Doyle
The bitter wrangling over a proposed Armenian Genocide Museum and
Memorial will soon reach a crucial crossroads.
On Monday, in a courthouse about 10 blocks from the site of the
proposed museum, three appellate judges will sort through the dispute,
which has outlasted several of the key parties. The museum's future
might hang in the balance.
"There is no doubt we are committed to building the museum in
Washington, D.C.," says Edele Hovnanian, the treasurer of the Armenian
Assembly of America's board of trustees.
The case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit is still called Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial v.
Gerard L. Cafesjian, though this has become a misnomer. Cafesjian, the
businessman and philanthropist who won an earlier round, died last
year in Naples, Fla., at the age of 88.
Another man once at the center of the dispute, former Cafesjian
lieutenant John J. Waters Jr., was convicted last month in Minneapolis
of 25 felony counts relating to embezzlement from Cafesjian. Waters is
awaiting sentencing.
Years ago, Cafesjian, Waters and the Armenian Assembly of America
leadership were allies. They wanted to build a center marking the
period from 1915 to 1923, when by some estimates upward of 1.5 million
Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
In downtown Washington, project supporters bought a four-story
National Bank of Washington building in 2000. Cafesjian provided
funding and bought adjacent properties, with a clause that the
properties would revert to his control if the project wasn't finished
by Dec. 31, 2010.
Relations eventually collapsed and the first in a series of suits and
countersuits was filed in 2007. In 2011, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the property belonged to Cafesjian's
foundation, of which Waters once served as vice president.
"The court sincerely hopes that after years of fighting legal battles,
the parties can put aside their differences and accomplish the
laudable goal of creating an Armenian genocide museum and memorial,"
Kollar-Kotelly wrote in January 2011.
That hasn't happened.
Instead, the fight that Kollar-Kotelly said "quickly escalated into an
unfortunate exchange of accusations and allegations grounded in
suspicion and mistrust" has ground ever onward. Though the museum has
plans prepared and an online exhibit posted, the litigation has
hindered efforts to raise the $100 million or so needed for
construction and operations.
The Armenian Assembly of America has appealed its trial-court loss,
contending in part that Kollar-Kotelly had previously undisclosed
"ties" to the Cafesjian side. Kollar-Kotelly had contributed, as had
Cafesjian, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's purchase of expensive
modern glass art by an artist whom Cafesjian also sought for the
Armenian genocide museum.
"If the assembly had known of the shared and beneficial interest
between Judge Kollar-Kotelly and Cafesjian as investors in
contemporary studio glass art, it would have moved for Judge
Kollar-Kotelly's disqualification," attorneys for the Armenian
Assembly of America declared in an appellate brief.
Attorneys for the Cafesjian Family Foundation didn't address the
judicial recusal question in their appellate brief, which focused on
other parts of the dispute.
"I hope that the (appellate) decision will finally resolve the case,"
the foundation's attorney, John B. Williams, said Friday, while noting
that "there is always the Supreme Court."
The 30-minute oral argument Monday comes three days before the events
that traditionally recognize the genocide. In this, Congress has
likewise continued to struggle.
By a 12-5 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a
resolution April 10 that's intended to "remember and observe the
anniversary of the Armenian genocide." That may be the resolution's
high-water mark.
Vigorously opposed by the Turkish government, and historically viewed
skeptically within the State Department and the Pentagon, this
genocide resolution has an uncertain future. Senate rules will make it
easy for a single lawmaker to block the measure.
Turkey questions the casualty count and denies there was a systematic
effort to exterminate the Armenian people. Some American diplomats and
military professionals fear antagonizing Turkey, a key NATO ally.
A like-minded resolution in the House of Representatives, authored by
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, and backed by 50 co-sponsors, hasn't
moved since it was introduced last year. Visiting Turkey this month,
House Speaker John Boehner effectively called the measure dead.
"Don't worry," the Ohio Republican said, according to Turkish news
accounts. "Our Congress will not get involved in this issue."
In the meantime, lawmakers are participating in Armenian-American
community events, with Valadao and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, expected
at a flag-raising ceremony Thursday at Fresno City Hall and Rep. Adam
Schiff, D-Burbank, joining the annual march through the Los
Angeles-area Little Armenia.
Armenian genocide commemoration events planned in Fresno area
A series of events are planned this week in the Valley to mark the
99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide:
* Two showings of the movie, "Music to Madness: The Story of Komitas,"
will be held Monday at the Tower Theater, 815 E. Olive Ave. in Fresno.
One showing is at 2:30 p.m., the second at 7:30 p.m. The movie
portrays an Armenian boy with a perfect singing voice who becomes a
great performer as an adult, but who gets caught up in the genocide
and ultimately falls into madness.
* On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ararat Cemetery, 1925 W. Belmont Ave.
in Fresno, wreaths and flowers can be laid at the monument of the
Remains of the Unknown Martyr of the Armenian Genocide. A requiem
service will be officiated by Armenian clergy from throughout the San
Joaquin Valley.
* At 9:30 a.m. Thursday, there will be a commemoration and flag
raising at Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St. Among the speakers will
be Mayor Ashley Swearengin and Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and David
Valadao, R-Hanford. Special attention will be paid to recent attacks
by Syrian rebels on the city of Kessab, where many Armenians were
living and have been uprooted in the fighting.
* A commemoration of the genocide will start at 7 p.m. Thursday at St.
Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church, 220 Third St. in Fowler.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Debra Kazanjian will be the
featured speaker.
* And for the months of April and May, there is a photo exhibition at
the UC Merced Center, 550 E. Shaw Ave. in Fresno, called "The Living
Martyrs," which shows children who survived the genocide.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/04/18/3884235/debate-over-armenian-museum-will.html
April 19 2014
Debate over Armenian museum will continue at D.C. hearing
By Michael Doyle
The bitter wrangling over a proposed Armenian Genocide Museum and
Memorial will soon reach a crucial crossroads.
On Monday, in a courthouse about 10 blocks from the site of the
proposed museum, three appellate judges will sort through the dispute,
which has outlasted several of the key parties. The museum's future
might hang in the balance.
"There is no doubt we are committed to building the museum in
Washington, D.C.," says Edele Hovnanian, the treasurer of the Armenian
Assembly of America's board of trustees.
The case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit is still called Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial v.
Gerard L. Cafesjian, though this has become a misnomer. Cafesjian, the
businessman and philanthropist who won an earlier round, died last
year in Naples, Fla., at the age of 88.
Another man once at the center of the dispute, former Cafesjian
lieutenant John J. Waters Jr., was convicted last month in Minneapolis
of 25 felony counts relating to embezzlement from Cafesjian. Waters is
awaiting sentencing.
Years ago, Cafesjian, Waters and the Armenian Assembly of America
leadership were allies. They wanted to build a center marking the
period from 1915 to 1923, when by some estimates upward of 1.5 million
Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
In downtown Washington, project supporters bought a four-story
National Bank of Washington building in 2000. Cafesjian provided
funding and bought adjacent properties, with a clause that the
properties would revert to his control if the project wasn't finished
by Dec. 31, 2010.
Relations eventually collapsed and the first in a series of suits and
countersuits was filed in 2007. In 2011, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the property belonged to Cafesjian's
foundation, of which Waters once served as vice president.
"The court sincerely hopes that after years of fighting legal battles,
the parties can put aside their differences and accomplish the
laudable goal of creating an Armenian genocide museum and memorial,"
Kollar-Kotelly wrote in January 2011.
That hasn't happened.
Instead, the fight that Kollar-Kotelly said "quickly escalated into an
unfortunate exchange of accusations and allegations grounded in
suspicion and mistrust" has ground ever onward. Though the museum has
plans prepared and an online exhibit posted, the litigation has
hindered efforts to raise the $100 million or so needed for
construction and operations.
The Armenian Assembly of America has appealed its trial-court loss,
contending in part that Kollar-Kotelly had previously undisclosed
"ties" to the Cafesjian side. Kollar-Kotelly had contributed, as had
Cafesjian, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's purchase of expensive
modern glass art by an artist whom Cafesjian also sought for the
Armenian genocide museum.
"If the assembly had known of the shared and beneficial interest
between Judge Kollar-Kotelly and Cafesjian as investors in
contemporary studio glass art, it would have moved for Judge
Kollar-Kotelly's disqualification," attorneys for the Armenian
Assembly of America declared in an appellate brief.
Attorneys for the Cafesjian Family Foundation didn't address the
judicial recusal question in their appellate brief, which focused on
other parts of the dispute.
"I hope that the (appellate) decision will finally resolve the case,"
the foundation's attorney, John B. Williams, said Friday, while noting
that "there is always the Supreme Court."
The 30-minute oral argument Monday comes three days before the events
that traditionally recognize the genocide. In this, Congress has
likewise continued to struggle.
By a 12-5 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a
resolution April 10 that's intended to "remember and observe the
anniversary of the Armenian genocide." That may be the resolution's
high-water mark.
Vigorously opposed by the Turkish government, and historically viewed
skeptically within the State Department and the Pentagon, this
genocide resolution has an uncertain future. Senate rules will make it
easy for a single lawmaker to block the measure.
Turkey questions the casualty count and denies there was a systematic
effort to exterminate the Armenian people. Some American diplomats and
military professionals fear antagonizing Turkey, a key NATO ally.
A like-minded resolution in the House of Representatives, authored by
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, and backed by 50 co-sponsors, hasn't
moved since it was introduced last year. Visiting Turkey this month,
House Speaker John Boehner effectively called the measure dead.
"Don't worry," the Ohio Republican said, according to Turkish news
accounts. "Our Congress will not get involved in this issue."
In the meantime, lawmakers are participating in Armenian-American
community events, with Valadao and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, expected
at a flag-raising ceremony Thursday at Fresno City Hall and Rep. Adam
Schiff, D-Burbank, joining the annual march through the Los
Angeles-area Little Armenia.
Armenian genocide commemoration events planned in Fresno area
A series of events are planned this week in the Valley to mark the
99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide:
* Two showings of the movie, "Music to Madness: The Story of Komitas,"
will be held Monday at the Tower Theater, 815 E. Olive Ave. in Fresno.
One showing is at 2:30 p.m., the second at 7:30 p.m. The movie
portrays an Armenian boy with a perfect singing voice who becomes a
great performer as an adult, but who gets caught up in the genocide
and ultimately falls into madness.
* On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Ararat Cemetery, 1925 W. Belmont Ave.
in Fresno, wreaths and flowers can be laid at the monument of the
Remains of the Unknown Martyr of the Armenian Genocide. A requiem
service will be officiated by Armenian clergy from throughout the San
Joaquin Valley.
* At 9:30 a.m. Thursday, there will be a commemoration and flag
raising at Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St. Among the speakers will
be Mayor Ashley Swearengin and Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and David
Valadao, R-Hanford. Special attention will be paid to recent attacks
by Syrian rebels on the city of Kessab, where many Armenians were
living and have been uprooted in the fighting.
* A commemoration of the genocide will start at 7 p.m. Thursday at St.
Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church, 220 Third St. in Fowler.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Debra Kazanjian will be the
featured speaker.
* And for the months of April and May, there is a photo exhibition at
the UC Merced Center, 550 E. Shaw Ave. in Fresno, called "The Living
Martyrs," which shows children who survived the genocide.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/04/18/3884235/debate-over-armenian-museum-will.html