FAIR LAWN, NJ—On Saturday, March 27 at 5:30 PM, St. Leon Armenian Church will host its first hybrid event with an in-person and virtual audience.
Journalist and author Tatul Hakobyan will deconstruct events leading up to and following the 44-Day War. The discussion will be in English.
Hakobyan, a conflict specialist, will also examine why the war started; what transpired on the ground; what were the surprises, if any; and why events unfolded along a trajectory of seemingly endless calamities.
Hakobyan has memorialized his observation and analysis in a 360-page war diary—Valley of Death: A 44-Day Catastrophe. The book, which includes related writings from before and after the war, is in Armenian and will be available for sale along with his previously authored Karabakh Diary: Green and Black and Armenians and Turks: From War to Cold War to Diplomacy. The latter two are in English and Armenian.
Hakobyan is the coordinator of the ANI Armenian Research Center, which focuses on contemporary Armenian issues. Between 2009 and 2021, he was an analyst at the Civilitas Foundation and a correspondent for its online CivilNet broadcasts. Hakobyan has also contributed to other media outlets including The Armenian Reporter, Public Radio of Armenia, Azk, Yerkier and Ankakhutyun.
This event is jointly sponsored by AGBU Ararat, Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar), Armenian Network of America—Greater NY, Justice Armenia, Knights of Vartan-Bakradouny Lodge, National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Topics and Saint Leon Armenian Church.
Limited seating will be available for those who would like to attend in-person at St. Leon’s Abajian Hall (12-61 Saddle River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ). Masks and registration are required. The event will also be live-streamed on YouTube. For more information, call Ara Araz at 917.837.1297 or email ara@edrcorp.net.
Saturday’s discussion is part of a multi-city tour. Hakobyan is also planning to meet with audiences in the following cities:
- Sunday, March 28, in Richmond Heights, Ohio at the Jubilee Armenian Restaurant at 4 PM,
- Wednesday, March 31 in Las Vegas at St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church at 7 PM,
- Friday, April 2 in Pasadena at the Armenian Educational Benevolent Union at 7:30 PM, and
- Saturday, April 3 in Fresno at the home of Vatche Vassilian at 8635 N. Paula Avenue at 7:00; to RSVP, please call (559) 801-1825.
Additional talks are also being planned in Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles. For more information, email aniarcf@gmail.com.
