Concert not canceled due to threats, ASA president says

4/10/07
Brown Daily Herald
Campus News
By Debbie Lehmann

Now is it not a shame for the member of Turkish Cultural Society to lead people with unfounded claims? See "The TCS member wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the Armenian musicians and the president of the ASA did their best to resist the "warning messages" they received. However, he wrote that "the situation got serious," and the musicians, followed by the ASA, withdrew from the event. The musicians and the ASA are now "in a very difficult position against some parts of their community," he wrote. " here. In fact as it says below "Izmailyan wrote that the musicians pulled out of the concert because many members of the Armenian community expressed concern about the "potential misuse of the event." The musicians "did not wish to participate in an event that the Armenian community was not united behind," he wrote."

The Turkish-Armenian concert planned for Friday that was canceled last week was not called off because the president of the Armenian Students Association received threats, ASA President Ruben Izmailyan '09 wrote Monday in an e-mail to The Herald. Izmailyan wrote that he was not in any way "threatened, intimidated or even asked to pull out."

The Herald reported Monday that the concert was canceled due to threats, citing an e-mail from a Turkish Cultural Society member. That e-mail, which included a message sent from the TCS president to the group's members, read that the ASA president and musicians received "warning messages" from members of the Armenian community and that as "the situation got serious, warnings turned into threats."

Izmailyan, who declined to explain the cancellation for Monday's article, told The Herald the cancellation was a joint decision between the two groups after the Armenian musicians decided not to participate.

"I have received nothing but encouragement in my handling of the innate complexities involved in such an event," Izmailyan wrote Monday, "including from individuals who believed that this event was inappropriate at this time and with the given circumstances."

Izmailyan wrote that the musicians pulled out of the concert because many members of the Armenian community expressed concern about the "potential misuse of the event." The musicians "did not wish to participate in an event that the Armenian community was not united behind," he wrote.

Izmailyan added that he was the only person who spoke to the musicians about their decision to withdraw from the concert.