An Open Letter to Mr. Vartan Oskanian Dear Mr. Oskanian, Two interviews I saw recently—yours and Mr. Hatspanyan's—focused my attention on you and the Civilitas Foundation. As you can imagine, Mr. Hatspanyan's revelations have alarmed many Armenians. But I refused to believe that a man like you, a paragon of absolute dedication to our country, could be involved in such a dastardly plot. Until, that is, you explained the reason you established Civilitas: to build a civil society in Armenia. Have you not noticed a civil society developing right before your very eyes, Mr. Oskanian? Not even on Northern Avenue, under your office window? It is no wonder you have taken the path you have, as you have chosen to blind yourself to the commitment to Truth, Justice and Equality, which has and is pouring forth from the citizens of Armenia.You have yet to tell us what you mean by 'civil society.' What should the hundreds of thousands of citizens have done to have qualified for membership in your 'civil society?' Rather then the pictures of their imprisoned fathers, should the boats made by children have carried the pictures of Tigran Torosyan, Eduard Sharmazanov, Aghvan Hovsepyan, Hovik Abrahamyan, Robert Kocharyan and Vartan Oskanian?Should the women peacefully demonstrating on Northern Avenue have politely thanked the policemen for abusing them? Should the citizens of Armenia have sent Thank You cards to then President Kocharyan for the calculated slaughter of Armenian citizens? You may also want to reconsider the use of the term Civilitas, for grammatical and contextual reasons. It may sound good for PR purposes, Mr. Oskanian, but it does not mean, in your own words, 'to be a citizen,' Roman or otherwise. Nor does the Roman usage accommodate your foundation's epic blueprint for the 'salvation' of Armenian society. The ambitious undertaking you have set for your Civilitas may come close to Dante's view of rebuilding human society, but, alas, without Dante's Humanitas and Civilitas. I would strongly suggest a second reading of Dante to understand what true Civilitas means, Mr. Oskanian. Pay special attention to the part about the right of citizens to make their own choices, and their right to exist for their own sake and not for the sake of someone else. Stated differently, to be members of a civil society, human beings don't need to have a blueprint of civil society imposed on them. After all, that would only pave the way to totalitarianism, would it not, Mr. Oskanian? By far the most famous of Dante's works is The Divine Comedy, where he journeys through Hell, Purgatory and finally Paradise. The Roman poet Virgil guides Dante through Hell and Purgatory. Who will be your guide as you try to find a way out of your Hell and Purgatory, Mr. Oskanian? Muk? Lefik Samo? Nemetz Rubo? Dodi Gago? Or, will it be Rob? Sincerely, Penelope Morrison San Francisco, California