by David Zenian
Greece was one of the first countries in Europe to recognize Armenia's independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and bilateral relations have been flourishing ever since.
But the bond between Greeks and Armenians goes far beyond the boundaries of diplomacy. Few nations in Europe, if any, have gone through the same hardships and suffering in this century as the Greeks and Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. It was Greece which opened its door to these refugees who escaped with little else than the clothes on their backs.
"The Armenians can never forget the Greek hospitality which brought our two people closer together," Armenian Ambassador to Greece Arman Kirakossian said in a September interview. Kirakossian, the first Armenian Ambassador to Greece, arrived in Athens in September 1994. It was his first foreign diplomatic post which he has kept for the past six years, thus becoming Dean of the Foreign Diplomatic Corps in Greece.
"The rank goes to the foreign Ambassador who has served in Greece longer than all other accredited Ambassadors. For this year, that person was me, and it's a great honor for Armenia," he said. In this capacity, Kirakossian welcomes all new Ambassadors before they present their credentials to the Greek authorities, and bids them farewell before their departure. He also leads the foreign diplomatic corps at all state functions.
Born in 1956, Kirakossian holds a Doctorate Degree in history, and will soon move to Washington as Armenia's new Ambassador to the United States, replacing Ambassador Rouben Shugarian.
Heading a small embassy with a handful of accredited diplomats, Kirakossian has negotiated not less than 25 bilateral agreements between Greece and Armenia - the largest number of such accords Armenia has signed with any country in Western Europe. The agreements range from multi-million dollar business deals, including telecommunications and industry, to tourism and the training of young cadets from the Armenian armed forces. "This year alone, we signed 12 bilateral agreements, which is a record number for Armenia and the European countries," Kirakossian said.
It was during Kirakossian's watch over the Armenian Embassy that the Greek government not only recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, but also officially designated April 24 of each year as a day of remembrance in honor of the Genocide victims.
"Unlike most other countries in Europe and elsewhere in the world, the Greek government marks April 24th with special ceremonies, including the placing of a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.," Kirakossian said.
But despite the rapid development in Armenian-Greek relations, the Armenian community remains on the sidelines when it comes to political issues. There are no real lobbying groups, and the Armenians have not joined any of the Greek political organizations. "This is not like the United States where you find many Armenians in the Republican or Democrat parties. We don't see that here," he said.
Now in it's fifth year, the military training program has brought dozens of young Armenian cadets to Greece to attend the Military Academy where 45 of them are still enrolled in a four-year-program. "Twelve of our cadets graduated this year, and the agreement calls for about 10 new students to join the program every year," Kirakossian said.
Overseeing the Armenian side of the program is Military Attaché Lt. Col. Ara Manoukian, a career officer himself and the first military attaché to be posted at an Armenian Embassy overseas.
In an interview, Manoukian said the cost of the program is shared jointly, but the lion's share is shouldered by the Greek government. "We are responsible for all travel arrangements and the medical costs, but the rest is paid for in full by the Greek government. This is a major contribution to the Armenian armed forces. What we are preparing here today is not just officers, but people who could serve as military attachés and administrators in the future," he said.
Explaining the recruitment process, Manoukian said the young cadets are hand-picked from the ranks of the Armenian Army and include only those who have completed one year of basic training and have passed a very strict placement test. "For their first year in Greece, our young cadets learn the Greek language and then move on to the officer training program which not only includes weaponry, but also strategy and management.
"Once they complete the four-year-program, they return to serve as junior officers who one day will be the leaders of our armed forces," Lt. Col. Manoukian said.
But Greece is not only training Armenian officers.
In the civilian field, dozens of young Armenians have been brought to Greece over the past years to study the tourism industry-one of Greece's main sources of income. The visiting Armenians have been placed with not just the Ministry of Tourism, but also various hotels and other institutions, learning from the experts who have made Greece a haven for European tourism.
Working closely with the Armenian Embassy and Ambassador Kirakossian, the Greek Ministry of Tourism recently published a special Armenian information booklet for distribution among travel agents around the world. The glossy 65-page booklet includes a special section of Armenian history, past and present, and lists all hotels, tourist attractions, historical sites, travel, and detailed background reports on major Armenian districts like Ararat, Armavir, Sunik, Lori and many others.
"It's the most comprehensive tourist booklet ever published on Armenia," Ambassador Kirakossian said. "And it was all paid for by the Greek Ministry of Tourism. A very valuable and important gift. It has everything a tourist needs, from hotels, to public transportation, to the telephone number of all foreign embassies, plus information on the government, religion, language, voltage and cuisine."
But tourism is not the only field of cooperation. Bilateral agreements cover almost every other sector from transportation, aviation, education and many others. "It is no secret to say that our relations with Greece are the most comprehensive in Europe, and we owe this to the historic ties between the Armenian and Greek people," Kirakossian said.
But Kirakossian is quick to add that the progress achieved in the past five years was also due to the help and hard work of the Armenian community in Greece. "One small example is this embassy. It was donated free of rent by Bedros Gurunlian, a successful Greek-Armenian businessman. The apartment where I live with my wife and child was given by the Armenian General Benevolent Union," Kirakossian said.
Apart from the financial and material assistance of the community, dozens of individual members have come together in an ad-hoc committee to help out. "Some of the women have become more than mothers to our young army cadets studying in Greece. They have rented several small apartments around Athens where the students often stay when they are on leave from the military.
"These women look after these boys as if they are their own children," Kirakossian said.
