PRESS RELEASE                                                      
November 19, 2007

Embassy of Armenia Hosts Prominent Author Peter Balakian

On November 16, 2007, the Embassy of Armenia hosted a reception in honor of prominent Armenian-American author and educator Peter Balakian, on the occasion of presenting to him the Armenian Medal of Movses Khorenatsi. The medal was awaded to Professor Balakian by President of Armenia Robert Kocharian. Established in 1993, this high government award is presented to individuals for “for their prominent contributions in the fields of culture, arts, literature, education, and humanities.”

Presenting the Movses Khorenatsi Medal to Professor Balakian, Ambassador Tatoul Markarian lauded Prof. Balakian’s literary accomplishments, his active stance and leadership on the Armenian issues, including the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Professor Peter Balakian deserves this award, for his books preserve for us and the entire humanity the record of the tragedies, the challenges, and the perseverance of the Armenian people in the most tragic chapter of our millenniums-old history, noted the Ambassador.

In his remarks, Prof. Balakian thanked President Kocharian and Ambassador Markarian and discussed the remarkable resilience of Armenia and the Armenian people. He also stated that the impact of the Armenian Genocide and its aftermath on world politics, opinion, and ethics is extraordinary and is a sign of Armenian culture’s presence on the planet. Prof. Balakian noted the new “era of the Armenian narrative, a narrative that is founded on solid scholarship, literature, art, film, and other forms of expression, and on good teaching, and pedagogy, on the hard work of the classroom.” He urged the Armenians to support cultural life with their resources and to work together across their differences. “Our obligation must be to fuel that cultural process, to see it as the source of change and growth; our talented politicians, administrators, organizers, philanthropists, professionals, can only move forward with the Armenian project if there is a rich intellectual and cultural foundation at the source.”

The reception was attended by leaders of the Armenian-American organizations, members of the Armenian-American community, academics and former diplomats.