Following on from news that two basketball games erupted into violence between the teams playing, Lragir has an interesting commentary on what some of us accept and recognize from living in Armenia and various communities worldwide and what others do not. That is, there is considerable friction between communities in the Diaspora as well as between locals and foreign-born Armenians in Armenia itself.

Ironically, however, the paper commends the Yerevan basketball team for attacking its counterpart from Cairo during this week’s Pan-Armenian Games although there’s a twist to the story.

The Pan-Armenian games truly unite the Armenians worldwide with such a force that this unification often causes a clash. For instance, the basketball teams of Yerevan and Cairo united with such a force that some Cairo sportsmen were taken to hospital with injuries. Meanwhile, the team of Yerevan was disqualified for beating the Armenian basketball players of Cairo. It goes without saying that it happened during the game, the Pan-Armenian Games.

The players of Yerevan were disqualified whereas they should be encouraged. Not for the beating, of course. Beating has become part of the routine of Armenians. […] the most outstanding pages of 16 years of our independent history involve beating: reporters are beaten, political figures are beaten, the children of officials beat innocent citizens and foreigners, the government beats peaceful protestors, the bodyguards of oligarchs beat drivers for overtaking, even an officer of national security. So why should the basketball team of Cairo be an exception?

The basketball team of Yerevan should be encouraged for honesty and not the beating. They behaved honestly, and did not surrender to the lyrical digressions of the Pan-Armenian Games, the idea of unity, the tear-jerking pronouncements about their exceptional importance, Armenians are brothers, and other fleshless lyrics. The basketball team of Yerevan displayed an attitude which exists in the real life of Armenians, especially regarding the relation of Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora. They had the courage and did not try to hide it, even though guns are made silent during the Olympics. First of all, a fist is not a gun. Besides, the Pan-Armenian Games are not Olympics. More especially it is not a theater where one has to demonstrate his love for a Diasporan brother. Officially, the basketball team of Yerevan upset this theater but in reality it did a great favor for both Armenia and the Diaspora. Perhaps this incident will make the apologists of Pan-Armenian ideas reflect on the real life and not the vision. Meanwhile, the real life is the major culture gap between the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora, which sometimes mounts to controversies. It is enough to visit any Armenian university where there are Diasporan students and ask them how the other students treat them for their behavior, clothes, hair. Therefore, besides and before holding events which resemble Pan-Armenian manifestations it is necessary to think about real efforts to overcome this problem. The Pan-Armenian events are not helpful to overcoming these controversies, and the evidence to this is that the scandal occurs during the fourth and not the first Pan-Armenian Games.

The organizers might say it shows the games work, and there is real competition. They will say so to shut an eye on the problem because it takes great effort to solve this problem, it takes a lively and practical idea uniting the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora which will affect the life and work of every Armenian. Meanwhile, it takes only money to hold the Pan-Armenian Games, which can be raised. After all, this is not a problem for the tiger any more. Besides, all the sides of the Fatherland should be shown to the Diasporans, not only the sights but also the hospitals.

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Even if media coverage of every sporting event has been lacking to say the least, there has at least been some news items. Yerkir Media TV even has one report available online conveniently subtitled into English for IBCToday.com. As the reporter says, attendance at events has been low, but the teams from the Diaspora as well as their friends and families who have accompanied them here are nonetheless taking the event seriously.

These are the final rehearsals of the Fresno and Beirut basketball teams. Every one of them will fight for the champion’s title.

Beirut resident Narek Avetikian is waiting impatiently for his turn to play; he is nervous as his team has fallen behind the rival team during the first minutes of the game.

“We have practiced well. We have trained in Beirut and then we continued to do so when we arrived in Yerevan on Friday. I hope that we are prepared enough to win.”

Although the stadium is not crowded, an absence of spectator enthusiasm was not felt at all.

These Diasporan Armenian youth have come to encourage their friends, however most of all they are hasty to see their Homeland appropriately, to be in places that they have come to know only from their parents’ stories.

“When the games finish, we will all go sightseeing.”

“The best thing is for everything to go well and for this cheerful atmosphere to continue. Everything is great.”

[…]

“Today, in essence, the Pan-Armenian Games have one goal: to gather all Armenians in one place. And the games are organized for that very reason. There are many teams here that come as tourists; they go sightseeing, explore their Homeland and also to take part in the games.”

During each game, victory, evidently, is important. However every single one of these youth will be returning home with a unique victory. A victory that can not be compared with anything else: to stand on the soil of their Homeland, feel the warmth of their country and its people.

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Doni Rostov vs Istanbul, Pan-Armenian Games, Ararat, Ararat Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

One nice feature of the Pan-Armenian Games has been the holding of events outside of the capital, Yerevan. For example, all the football matches are being played in Ararat, Artashat, Ashtarak and Abovian. Yesterday’s match between Istanbul and Doni Rostov was held in the stadium in Ararat although it was hardly well-attended.

Probably there were only about 100 people in the crowd which is kind of strange given that entry was free and there’s really not much to do in places out in the regions. Anyway, Istanbul beat Doni Rostov 3-0 and the match passed peacefully although one local man did curse the Diaspora Armenians he came across.

Armenians from Germany were speaking German to each other, he said, and the Turkish and Russian Armenians were also not speaking in Armenian. I asked him if he would speak in English to any Armenians he knew from Armenia if he lived in the United States or England.

No, he said. He’d speak in Armenian so it’s one rule for one group of people and another for everyone else, I suppose. On the other hand, the local kids who did constitute the bulk of the audience did appear to be very vocal in their support for Istanbul so that’s positive at least.

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While the Pan Armenian Games continue and as Yerevan prepares to host a match between Armenia and Portugal tomorrow, sports seem to be in the news this week. For example, ArmenPress reports that MP, Oligarch and founder of the Prosperous Armenia political party Gagik Tsarukian has met with representatives from the Diaspora in town for the 4th Pan Armenian Games.

Tsarukian said the Games, since their inception in 1999, have been a very good event for young people from Diaspora and Armenia-proper to build close ties.

He urged Diaspora Armenian organizations to work hard for a better and stronger representation in the Games. He said he could not understand why a very small Armenian community of Jerusalem has sent 12 athletes to the Games, while the multi-thousand community in Moscow only 3 people.

Tsarukian also spoke about plans to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games saying he expects some 20-25 athletes of Armenia to travel to China.

He said an Armenian athletes winning a gold medal in Beijing will get a $700,000 reward.

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Glendale vs Istanbul, Pan-Armenian Games, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

Today’s basketball match between ethnic Armenians from Glendale and Istanbul was tense, there was no doubt about it. You could feel it in the air. However, I don’t think anybody expected the teams to come to blows and for the police to have to enter the court to separate the two sides. The incident which lasted for about 15 minutes certainly took me by surprise.

Reliable information as to what started the clash is lacking, unfortunately, but the Istanbul team says that a player from the Glendale team called one of them a “dirty Turkish dog.” As some of you might be aware, some Armenians discriminate against or feel animosity towards those still living in Turkey. This dislike even extended to Turkish Armenians such as Hrant Dink.

The Glendale team, however, says that the Istanbul Armenians started the fight by lashing out without provocation at one of their players. When asked if nothing was said referring to them coming from Turkey, one player from Glendale denied that he or any of his teammates said anything that could have been considered provocative or racist. “They’re half-Armenian, after all,” he said. “They have some Armenian blood in them.”

Sorry, half-Armenian? Actually, most if not all are as pure blooded Armenian as any of the Glendale team regardless of where they live. Hard to say for sure who is telling the truth, but I did hear one of the Glendale players say to a spectator in the audience, “They don’t understand. They’re from Turkey.”

However, I have no idea in what context this was said. Even so, illustrating the kind of prejudice Armenians from Turkey have to contend with from their ethnic counterparts in other countries, when told about this story later in the evening, a Yerevan taxi driver responded by saying that “they’re not real Armenians.” Interestingly, the same attitude exists against other Armenian communities elsewhere.

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Nice vs Fresno, Pan-Armenian Games, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

There were also some other basketball games played yesterday. Unfortunately, I only caught part of the Nice-Fresno and Montreal-Glendale games so don’t know the final score, but have at least managed to find an article about Glendale’s participation in the Pan-Armenian Games.

Over the last eight months, the players — ranging in age from recent high school graduates to seasoned veterans in their 30s — selected to represent Glendale in the fourth Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan, Armenia have made time in their busy lives to prepare for an honored and rare opportunity.

[…]

“This year, we’ve assembled a better team with more physicality, height and talent,” said Gharib, a veteran of the past three Pan-Armenian games, including the most recent tournament in which Homentmen Ararat posted an overtime victory in the championship game. “Coming from the Los Angeles region, [other teams] expect us to be the best most talented players [in the tournament], and they want to give us their best effort.

[…]

“We are lacking a little bit of height, but I think we make up for that with our guard play,” said women’s Coach Menooa Aboolian. “We look forward to just the entire trip as an experience. Hopefully, we can duplicate some of the same results [the last women’s team had] and maybe even do a little better.”

The bracket-style tournament featuring championship playoffs begins Sunday, following Saturday’s opening ceremony, which is expected to draw upwards of 30,000 people.

“I’ve told the players since day one, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Aboolian said. “That they get to go on a trip of this magnitude, where they’re going to be involved in something so much bigger than basketball.”

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Istanbul vs Gyumri, Pan-Armenian Games, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

Now that the Pan-Armenian Games has begun, there’s pretty much sporting events scheduled to be held every day for the next week. However, despite that and free entrance, the basketball games I attended today were poorly attended although I suspect that’s because no real information about what games are being played where and when appears to be available.

Nevertheless, I caught Nice-Fresno, Montreal-Glendale and also Gyumri-Istanbul. Interestingly, in all cases, players communicated with each other in their own native language while playing — English for Fresno, Montreal and Glendale, for example, and Turkish for Istanbul. Hardly surprising, I suppose, but interesting nonetheless.

Anyway, the matches were all exciting even with a tiny audience, and Istanbul beat Gyumri 73-60. The match was great whichever way it went which is pretty much the point of the games, I suppose. I’ll try to post some photos from the other matches later.

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Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony, Vazgen Sarkisyan Stadium, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

As I mentioned in the previous post, there are some issues that many of us have raised about the organization for the Pan-Armenian Games. In terms of tonight, however, what irritated photographers, including those from the two main agencies, was that Public TV H1 were the only media outlet allowed past the crowd barriers and onto the track.

At the very least the organizers could have set up some media areas and anyway, why on earth did we all bother applying for accreditation when it didn’t get us access to where the action really was. Stuck far from the main stage, it’s almost as if the organizers really didn’t want us to get any good pictures.

Also, only Kocharian’s personal photographer was allowed to get within 10 meters of him. Security was heavy to say the least. Anyway, some more pics.

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Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony, Vazgen Sarkisyan Stadium, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

Today saw the official opening of the 4th Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan. Over 2,500 competitors from communities in Armenia and the Diaspora will take part in sporting events scheduled for the next week. Lots to say about the event, including some criticism of the way it was organized, but it has to be said that today’s opening ceremony was nonetheless quite refreshing and enjoyable. I was there covering the event for EurasiaNet.

Anyway, if there was any event that truly illustrated how far flung Armenians are in the world, this was it. Pretty much every country and community, including Armenians from Istanbul were represented. I also found the fact that Armenians from Georgia quite proudly wore their countries flag positive, especially at a time when some forces are trying to stir up trouble between Armenians and Georgians.

Everybody without exception had a good time, with the Argentinian-Armenian team proving to be the loudest and most excitable. The Lebanese Armenians came in a close second, and even a a brief but heavy downpour of rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Here is the first batch of many photos taken tonight and there are plenty more to come.

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As I’ve just walked in the door after picking up my accreditation for the 4th Pan-Armenian Games due to start tomorrow in Garni and Yerevan, it’s probably worth posting about the event. Although the official site of the games, which will involve around 2,500 competitors from 26 countries, has not been updated for this year’s event, I’m at least impressed to see that Wikipedia has an interesting page detailing its history.

The idea of holding a Pan-Armenians Games was first thought by Soviet diplomat Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan. He first thought of the idea of organizing universal games for all Armenians while he was on a business trip in 1965 to Brazzaville, Congo, that was getting ready to participate in the first Pan-African Games. But because Armenia was a Soviet republic and that such an idea was considered by Moscow to be nationalistic, Shahnazaryan had to wait until Armenia attained independence to try and put forth his brainchild.

In 1995, Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan for the first time publicly announced his intentions to create the Pan-Armenians Games while he was in Paris as a guest for World Games of AGBU. He quickly gained the support of the Armenian diaspora with whom he did not have any contact during Soviet times. The idea of organizing sporting events for all Armenians and the motto of the future World Committee “Unity through Sport” was highly supported by representatives of Homenetmen, AGBU and Homenmen in diasporan cities such as Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Beirut, Paris and many others.

During the founding meeting on April 30, 1997 in Yerevan, World Committee of Pan-Armenian Games (WCPAG) was created, with the help of traditional Armenian unions of the Diaspora and the Iranian-Armenian cultural-sport organization “Ararat”. Representatives of state and public organizations of Armenia, NKR and also Armenian communities from Iran, Argentina, Turkey, Australia, Germany, Canada, Cyprus, France and other countries became members. Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan was elected the first president of WCPAG. He also became the creator of the emblem, cup, medals, almost all the symbols of the organization and also the official anthem and the farewell song of the games.

Today, the WCPAG is a non-governmental, international organization that collaborates with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other international sport units and contributes in developing sport in Armenia. The current president is Vartan Oskanian, foreign minister of the republic of Armenia.

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Via Blogrel, A1 Plus reports that the body of a 18-year-old football fan has been found in the boiler room of the Vazgen Sargsyan Sports Stadium after last week’s Armenia-Belgium match.

A dead body has been found in the old boiler-house near the Republic stadium after Vazgen Sargsyan.

According to preliminary data, it was the body of Vahe Ghazaryan (b. 1988) who went to the stadium on September 6, at about 07:00 p.m. in order to watch the match Armenia-Belgium and never returned home. Yesterday his body was found by rescuers and taken to police.

According to the informational service of the Emergency Administration, the rescuers arrived at the site after the alarm of the police. No more details are known.

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