ARARAD - 18 JANAURY 1948 - THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE LOCAL PRESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00415R000800040009-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 15, 2002
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: January 18, 1948
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2002/08/14: CIA-RDP83-00415R000800040009-9
18 January 1948
The Dissolution of the Coipiinist Party and the Local Press
"Al Rawad" writes that the Government has established a differentiation
between the communist movement and the labor unions. The paper con-
gratulates the Government for its decision to respect the principle
of labor unions and for its promles to the workers of a special law
guaranteeing the rights of the unions. It is misery, concludes the
paper, that leads the workers to communism. If the nation's leaders
can better the condition of the workers, the danger of communism can
easily be abolished.
"Telegraph" also appreciates the Government's declaration and invites
the Workers' Syndicates to stay away from politics and from comomuniat
influence, limiting its activities to the Syndicates only. As for
the dissolution of the Communist Party, the paper says that Lebanon,
being a democratic country, should permit the organization of any
party, including the Communist Party, whose dissolution is against
the principle of liberty, without which our country has no right of
existence.
Then the paper refers to the decision of the Arab League, which must
not interfere with the domestic politics of its member states.
"We hope," concludes the paper, "that Parliament will investigate the
decision of the Arab League, which is founded on a wrong principle
for the liberties of Palestine, as well as that of Lebanon.
"Bayrak" advocates political liberties in Lebanon. "By ordering the
dissolution of the Communist Party, Lebanon violated its legendary
mission, which is to remain aside from all social principles and
doctrines", writes the .per. The paper concludes by saying that even
the United States and Great Britain did not dissolve their Communist
Parties, which are working daily and openly.
0 Itinerar and Theirs
By gu an
We =at admit that Armenians in all parts of the world, except in the
Near East, are losing their Armenian characteristics, and that the
few measures now being used are unable to stop this degeneration.
Only the love of their fatherland, and now the dream of immigration
to Soviet Armenia, are keeping them at present. The Tashnaka, and,
in this connection, their partners the Catholic clergymen, are fighting
 ARARAD page 2
against the immigration. This fight is also against Soviet Armenia.
They could not, however, cheat the people, and the second year of
immigration proved that fact.
21 January 1948
After the Dissolution of the Co ist Party in Lebanon
Farajallah HILU, President of the Arab Section of the Communist Party,
published an article in "Nahar:' HILU says
"The principal objective of the Arab Comist
movement is the fight on international grounds
and not on social grounds. The Arab Commranist
movement is one to get rid of foreign imperialism.
The Lebanese Communists as well as Arab Co=mists
do not try to overthrow the domestic regime, but
work for the strengthening of independence and
of a democratic republic, just by bringing certain
changes in the regime. For the Arab countries
which are not yet fully independent, the Com mist
movement pursues the following aim: To free those
countries from military occupation by giving them
full sovereignty."
Referring to the actions against the Communist Party, Farajallah HILU
added:
"It is impossible to take action against this Party
without violating the principle of liberty and
helping dictatorship, as was the casein Germany
and Italy."
22 January 1948
One thousand Armenians will immigrate from Rumania and another thousand
from Bulgaria during the first few months of 1948.
A symphony concert was given recently in the Halls of the "Tchaikowsky
Theater" in Moscow, dedicated to Armenian music. On this occasion,
the piano concerto of the young composer, Apo PARATCHANIAN, and the
"Kayane" ballet of Aram KHATCHADOURIAN, were executed.
 -------------------- -------- -- ------------
A.RARA page 3
24 January 1948
Comrade Asadour ELDJANIAN - 1888-1948 - died on Friday Hard. He was
a veteran member of the Hinshak Party, editor of "ARARAD", teacher
and social worker.
The Assault of Soviet Wheat
(Prom Issue No, 1724 o ommrrce du Levant, January 21, 1948)
Mr. Anastass MIKOYAN, Minister of Soviet Foreign Commerce, seldom
appears on the international horizon. But this Armenian from Tiflis
plays the principle role in the commerce of the Soviet Union. He is
the Vice-President of the Ministers Council of Soviets and at the
same time he is a friend of STALIN.
His activity, which is still secret, is considered to be of greater
importance than that of MOLOTOV. Whatever MOLOTOV tries and cannot
accomplish, MIKOYAN tries in the economic field. As a technician
with great virtues of colloquy and bargaining, he succeeds in the
activities in which other Soviet experts fail.
Lately, he received many foreign delegations who came to Moscow for
now agreements with the Soviet Union. The Chinese and Czechoslovak
delegates and Mr. Wilson, President of British Foreign Commerce,
have already left Moscow after signing important economic agreements.
Talks,with Swedish, Noreregian, Belgian, Holland, and Rumanian experts
are being continued and others will start soon.
Belgium will furnish the Soviets with industrial apparatus and oil
pipes, and Holland will furnish vessels, machinery and motors in
exchange for Russian wheat*
Is it possible that economics and politics are separate and inde-
pendent spheres, or shall we conclude that this is a machination in
the commercial field in order to bring about the failure of the
diplomacy of the Occidental powers. The monetary changes of December
16 makes it logical to think that the second part seems to be the
objective.
 Approved For Release 2002/08/14: CIA-RDP83-00415R000800
21 December 1947
According to "Nazir't, the Syrian Government has decided to dissolve
the Communist Party and organizations in Syria. The Ministry of the
Interior has sent the following official notice to all chiefs of
provinces:
"Considering that the Syrian Government has never
accepted the existence of the Communist Party
in Syria, and has at no time permitted the
organization of the Communist Party, you are
requested to order the local authorities in your
district to close all communist clubs and offices."
"Nazir" says also that this decision is not only for Syria. All
the Arab World will follow this example, considering that the
Arab League decided, by a unanimous decision, to close all communist
party clubs and organizations.
25 December 1947
Yesterday, the Council of Ministers held a meeting in the Residence
of the President and examined the new rental laws. It was decided
to increase by 10% the rent of the houses rented before 1939. The
increase will be 15% for places not used for residence. Those
rented after 1943 will be decreased by 15-200. The new law is not
valid for houses built during 1948.
1 January 1948
There are several articles, all with the idea of making a balance
sheet for 1947. The general opinion is that the past year has not
been a good one for Armenians life in general and for the Armenian
Question, in particular, with special emphasis on the Vishinsky
declaration that "Kars and Ardahan are Georgian and must be returned
to Georgia." (The Anti-Tashnak newspapers say, however, that
Vishinsky has not mentioned Kars and Ardahan, that it was for the
land claimed by Georgians that he said so.) Even the opinion for
immigration is that it is not for the good of Armenians but just
for dirty reasons of their own, for ruining the financial position
of the Armenians, thus opening a new opportunity for communism.
The Armenians out of Soviet Armenia need cooperation and unity for
their own prosperity and happiness. There is one thing they don't
need - that is communism.
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6 January 1948
How the Soviet Government wants to Solve the Armenian Question
The main thought of the article is that there is no doubt that the
Soviet Government has decided to bury forever the Armenian Question
giving as.proof the Vishinsky declaration about KarB:.:~and Ardahan
and the fact that the Soviet Union is fighting the Tashnaks, thus
preventing a united front.
10 January 1948
Lebanon Dissolved the Communist Party
General Security made 9-13 hour searches yesterday in the head-
quarters of the Communist Party, in the offices of the Lebanese
Labor Syndicate and in the offices of the Friends of the Soviet
Union in Beirut. Weapons and documents were confiscated. Searches
were also made in the houses of certain members of the Party. No
opposition was met. According to rumors, warrants were signed for
the arrest of leaders of the Communist Party and communist organiza.
tions.
0---------
were made before the Government building.
According to information received from Damascus, students in Damascus
organized on Wednesday anti-communist demonstrations demalding the
Government to arrest communist leaders. Many anti-communist speeches
citizenship."
Security Officers. Even the Patriarchate of Istanbul cannot help
them as the "Layic Democracy" of Turkey protects them "with equal
that hell, as we well know the terror of the Turkish police and
We cannot blame these fragments for not trying to save themselves from
more than 20,000 Armenians are living in various places in Anatolia.
that of the slaves who built the pyramids. According to the report,
Turle Y )j, the condition of Armenians in Anatolia is much worse than
According to a report prepared by the Priest of Kayseri (Cesarea in
Farajallah HILU, General Secretary of the Communist Party.
Syndicates, of Nicola SHAWL, Editor of "Saut ash SHAIB" an d of
the residences of Mustafa ARIS, President of the Laborers and Employees
time. We are also informed that -the Security Officers have searched
wont will close the "Saut al SHA'B" which has been suspended for a long
declares Premier Riad Bey SULH. It is also believed that the Govern-
to end them. The Government does not recognize a communist party,"
"The Activity of the Communists is unlawful and all means will be used
11 January 1948
 Approved For Release 2002/08/14: CIA-RDP83-00415R0008
A R A R A D
An interesting Lawsuit in New York
Catholics break up an Armenian family by prohibiting the departure
of two children of the family. The case has been handed to the law
and the Armenian Bishop of America has taken up the case against the
Catholics, who refuse to return the two children to their father on
the grounds that there is no freedom of religion in Soviet Armenia.
during the General Assembly in Brussels.
lately elected as Vice-President of the World Engineering Association
Vice-President of Engineering Academy of the Soviet Union and was
HALAPIAN, the most famous engineer in the Soviet Union. He is the
News from Armenia and Abroad
The Soviet Government has granted the medal of Red Flag to Garo.
ABRESSIAN, to 500 representatives of the press in Lake Success.
Union, has lately presented the new Soviet Press Attache, Stepan
Mr. VISHINSKY, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Soviet
phone needlese
of lyric, cowboy, sailor and American jazz tune records, and gramo-
Armenian Conservatory in Erivan a collection of about forty albums
The Armenian Young Mens' Union of America recently sent to the
BOJIAN.
Boston. They were: Kourken KOURTHOYAN, Mathew KALENJIAN, and Otiv
Three Armenians attended the American Electrical General Meeting in
23 December 1947
everyone look at it open-mindedly, and he blessed the people and
cultural progress made by Soviet.Armenia. He also suggested that
he emphasized the values saved by November 29 and the financial and
Armenians in Jerusalem gave a sermon in St. Jacob's Church, in which
On the anniversary of November 29, the Rev. Father Patriarch of
leaders of Soviet Armenia for their efforts.
 Ararad ?? page 2
The French authorities prohibit the immigration of six hundred
Armenians to Soviet Armenia. The Soviet Government protests against
these obstacles and requests that these Armenians be permitted to
immigrate.
The Soviet Armenian theater is one of the best in the whole Soviet
Union. There are theaters in Erivan and in twenty eight other
districts of the country.
The Kumushkess hydro-electric center is the greatest in the Sevan-
Zankou center. It will have 214,000 KW production at the end of 1950.
The "GAIDZ" monthly magazine, organ of Armenian Sportive Union, has
Just been published. This issue is a special one for November 19
and contains 80 pages of writings, photos, etc. about officials of
Soviet Armenia, about its cultural ascension, and historical places.
Ankara-Athens-Teheran Axis
By A. ELDJANIAN
The United States is spending a lot of dollars in these three
countries in order to replace British influence for economic penetra-
tion, for the monopoly of Middle East oil, to gain political influence
in the Near and Middle East countries, and to rule the eastern side
of the Mediterranean, thus building a wall against the Soviet Union.
26 December 1947
The rug-making industry is progressing in Soviet Armenia. New
ornaments of old Armenian rugs are being discovered, dating back to
the 11th and 12th centuries. The famous rugs made in Armenia are
"Shirvani" and "Kazakhi." In 1929, the Armenian style of rug-making
was started and these rugs were shown and praised in the expositions
of London in 1929, Paris in 1937, Munich in 1939, and in Moscow in
1940. In the 1937 Paris Exposition, the Armenian rugs were one of
the best and they were given a gold medal.
 Ararad page 3
The Catholicos of Cilicia (Antilias) has informed Armenian newspaper-
men that he has found some new unpublished songs from Komitas VARTABED
(most famous Armenian folklore, composer, now dead).
"Komitas had composed or collected about 2000 songs, but most of them
are not known or published, some are even lost. This is a great
treasure and I am sending them to Soviet Armenia." The Catholicos said
that his visit to Jerusalem was also useful in examining old manu-
scripts, studying old ministerial works and photographing some
colored samples.
Leon SURMELIAN, a young writer in the United States, whose fiction
in English "I ask you, Ladies and Gentlemen" has been translated in
Swedish and will soon be published in Stockholm. The American
Government has purchased many copies of the book, and the Military
authorities will publish a chapter of the book to give to the army,
as a valuable writing.
Anasdass MIKOYAN
Short biography of MIKOYAN, the Soviet diplomat of Economy. He is
a very clever and cunning fellow, has all the characteristics of an
oriental. He is as much of a diplomat as an economist. He is the
representative of Erivan in the Council of Nations, which is the
second parliament of the Soviet Union. He has the full confidence
of Stalin and his allegiance to the Revolution has been proved.
He is also the most elegant high official of the party.
Numbers Protest
According to the official statistics of the Ankara Government, the
vast country adjacent to Soviet Armenia has 1,244,181 people on
124,200 square kilometers or 10 persons per square kilometer.
On Soviet Armenian territory, near the above, 1,350,000 people live
on 29,000 square kilometers or 48 persons per square kilometer. More
than one million Armenians out of Armenia expressed their desire in
the World Armenian Congress to return to their country, but without
Turkish rule, as they know very well what Turkish rule really means.
It remains to be seen if these points will be considered seriously
by the Great Powers.
The Real Source of Armenian Culture
Paragraph from the article of H. SIRASSI, Secretary of the Soviet
Armenian Writer's Union.
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"Today we have more important problems. Armenians outside of Armenia
also await our word. Gone are the days when Armenians had many
cultural centers in all parts of the world. Now these are all
centered in Soviet Armenia; it is from Armenia that the rays of
culture shine and where the readers and writers all turn their eyes.
Now we gre the teachers of all progressive intellectuals. This is
the iron logic of history, no matter what our enemies say or write.
The New Sivaz Facto
Manager
B y Aramay ss A 'Manager
This factory for piece-goods was founded in 1933 by Armenians who
immigrated from Greece and France. At first, ,t he factory was very
small and most of the work was done by hand. Then the Soviet Govern-
ment came to our assistance and furnished us with necessary finances,
so we could construct new buildings and purchase new machines. The
production was increased from 300,000 meters of silk and half-silk
piece goods in 1941 to one half million meters in 1946.
Until recently we did not have a dye-shop and all our dyeing was
done in Tiflis. This year, we have our own dye shop which fully
satisfies our needs. We now have automatic drying machines.
Our future is brighter. At the end of 1950, we will produce 2,600,000
meters of piece goods, or 5 times more than what we are producing
today. We are constructing residence quarters for five hundred
families. Next year, we shall have "Jagart" machines and will be
able to produce the finest piece-goods.
We are satisfied that our factory is progressing by 2s aps and bounds
and is able to receive laborers who are immigrating from other
countries and help them to be happy and satisfied.
The telegram of the Syrian Premier to His Holiness Karekin Catholicos
(of Antilias), on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.
"On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, please receive my hearty
wishes for the happiness and success of your Holiness for glory to
you and to your kind community."
4 January 1947
Famous Academicians of Soviet Armenia
1. Manouk APEGHIAN. Famous literary man and linquist, Doctor of
Philosophy. Has many work s and studies.
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Ararad page S
2. Leon Apkari ORPELI. Is Vice-President of the Soviet Academy
of Sciences. He is a Doctor of Medical Sciences. ORPELI is
a man of original conceptions about certain physiological
problems and is highly praised in Soviet Armenia and in the
Soviet Union.
3. Victor HAMPARSUMIAN. Is an authority in astro-physical sciences
and has made some very important and original studies about the
solar system. He is a holder of the Stalinian prize.
Two articles against Armenian Catholics and the Head of Armenian
Catholics in Lebanon (Most Rev. AGHAJANIAN) blaming them for their
anti-immigration campaign and confirming that contrary to their
propaganda and their fight against immigration, the Armenians are
and will be in favor of immigration to Soviet Armenia.
6 January 1948
Erivan our Ca itol
Before the Soviet regime, Erivan was considered as a district town
or big village, with a small population and small huts. The Soviet
regime has changed the character of Erivan. In place of narrow
streets, there are now wide avenues and large squares with marvellous
statues and beautiful residential and social buildings. The popula-
tion is now about ten times larger. Erivan has a high rate of
production, with more than ten factories equipped with the latest
scientific and technical machinery. There are factories for glass,
watches, precision instruments, leather, clothing, dried fruits, wine,
brandy, Armenian rugs, etc. etc.
Before the Revolution, there was not even a high school, while at
present it has twelve high schools and twenty nine technical schools.
There are also art and drama institutes. It has its own Scientific
Academy in which more than 5000 scientists are working in various
branches. It has nine theaters, opera houses, and ballet buildings.
It also has a Philharmonic.
The new Five-Year Plan enriches the city with a residential area of
150,000 square meters.
We have received the first. issue of the "Student's magazine published
by Sahaguian National High School. This magazine has 32 pages of
articles, most of which were written by the students.
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9 January 1948
The whole Soviet Union will make the 100th Anniversary of the death
of Khachadour APOVIAN, the founder of the modern Armenian language
(literary). On this occasion, the masterpiece of the author "Wound
of Armenia" will be published in the Russian language. Biographical
and literary studies of the author and a statue of him will be set
up in Erivan, and other meetings will be held in Soviet Armenia.
News from Soviet Armenia
The Erivan Congress of the composers of Soviet Armenia has ended.
The works of Zakarian "The March of Victory"; KHATCHADOURIAN's
"Kayane"; and Vano MOURADELLI's "'The Great Friendship" were noted
and praised. Ashod SATIAN was elected President of the Composer's Union.
The Electric Apparatus Factory will produce 120,000 lamps, lamp-
shades, etc, during 1948.
Tile factories were built in Ardashad, Echmiadsin and Allahuerdi,
each with a productive capacity of 200-300,000 tiles yearly.
In the Goris city of Soviet Armenia, there .:is. being constructed a.
fertory for metal tools which will start being produced in the fourth
Five Year Plan.
10 January 1948
Seven kilometers from Erivan, a shoe factory has been constructed,
and is producing shoes. The personnel of the factory are all
immigrants from France.
The Second Caravan of immigrating Armenians from France has arrived
in Erivan, according to Erivan Radio.