Message of Fr. Vazken Movsesian, parish priest of St. Andrew Armenian Church, Cupertino, from the Nakhagoch Newsletter. Electronic version archived on: SAIN-- St. Andrew Information Network -------------------------------------- c. 1986 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org -------------------------------------- Watchdogs of the Press Undoubtedly the media plays a strong role in shaping the feelings of the people here in the United States. Two incidents with the press took place over the past few months which I wish to bring to your attention. Last month, the Catholicos visited the Bay Area. Upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport His Holiness held a press conference. Television, radio and newspaper reporters were in attendance. After a brief statement, the press began their questions which lasted some 15 minutes. A question was asked by one of the newspaper men regarding the genocide as to whether or not the Armenians were willing to forgive the Turks for the 1915 massacre. His Holiness answered, "It is not a question of forgiving but a question of remembrance. We can never forget those autrocities committed against our people." Some six hours after the press conference, in my car, on my way to Grace Cathedral for the Pontifical Divine Liturgy, on one of the major San Francisco radio stations I heard the following report: Armenian pontif arrives in the Bay Area today. At a press confrence, the pontif stated there will be no church forgiveness for the massacre of Armenians by the Turks during the Second World War! Without a doubt I was outragged. Not only had they misquoted His Holiness but they had made a gross factual error (i.e., refrence to WWII) and painted a very negative picture of our ancient Armenian Church. After conferring with our Primate, Archbishop Vatche, I called the radio station and had them retract the statement and gave them the correct quote. The second incident I wish to bring to your attention was a quarter page ad in the San Jose Mercury News placed by the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations titled, "Teach the Children Well." (Sept. 27, 1987) The article/ad criticized California secondary school curriculum planners accusing them of being "under the political pressure of the Governor's Office and a hate motivated lobby by Armenian extremistsÉ" The article continues, "This program promoted by Armenian activists at the taxpayer's expense, will teach 'War time tragedies during WWI in the Ottoman Empire' as 'planned genocide' turning a deaf ear to what we Turkish Americans and over sixty highly regarded American academicians specializing in Turkic studies, have to say about their reckless labeling of Turks." Fortunately their absurd arguments did not go unanswered. Some days after the ad appeared, there appeared a Letter to the Editor by church member Jacob Hagopian. I would like to think that others also took the time to write the Mercury. Mr. Hagopian should truly be complimented for his actions. The point of all this is that we are a small people. True, we have lobbiest such as the Armenian Assembly but we should not and must not be content with their work. Each of us must use our resources to also lobby. It's as simple as writing a letter or placing a call. We as Armenian people, wherever we may be must be willing to be the "Watch-dogs of the Press." Money buys space and time. Ultimately it can even buy truth and replace it with distorted fiction. As Christians we have a responsibility to insist on the truth. As Armenians we have an obligation to our grand-parents, parents and our selves to never forget, so long as justice has not been served. Be attentive. The freedom of the press is guaranteed by the constitution. This right should not be a license for irresponsibilty nor a license to distort. --Fr. Vazken -------------------------------------- c. 1986 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org --------------------------------------