Professor of the Practice of Governance and Director of Executive Education at the University of Southern California (USCU) Vramshapuh (Frank) Zerunyan was recently in Armenia where he gave a lecture on the practice of governance for the employees of the RA Ministry of Diaspora and gave an interview to Hayern Aysor.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Zerunyan, you are an expert in the practice of governance. You present your innovative projects and share your experience with lectures in Armenia, particularly for the employees of Armenia’s government agencies, as well as at schools and academic institutions. Have there been cases when your programs have already been carried out during the subsequent visit to the homeland?

Frank Zerunyan: I haven’t noticed that yet. I hope I’ll see some progress in two years. I’ve always been well received wherever I have given lectures, be it the Ministry of Defense or the American University of Armenia. I’m certain that there will definitely be progress in regard to what you mentioned. It’s impossible for a country that declared its independence 24 years ago to be like a country that has been independent for the past 240 years.

Hayern Aysor: How many times have you come to Armenia with this mission?

F. Z.: This is my third visit to the Homeland. I first visited in 2007 as chairman of the association of all Armenian lawyers around the world. My second visit was about 7 months ago. The United Nations wanted me to visit Armenia as a mayor and as a professor of the University of Southern California. Established in the 1880s, the University of Southern California is one of the first 25 quite advanced universities in America. The Armenians also played a huge role in the construction, development and long duration of that university. We have centers and buildings named after notable Armenians like architect, Dr. Gabrielyan, who was the head of the Department of Engineering. My department has the Bedrosian Center for Academic Studies and Lectures that was established by John and Judy Bedrosian several years ago.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Zerunyan, are you a lawyer or political scientist by profession?

F. Z.: It’s safe to say that I’m both a lawyer and a political scientist since I defended my PhD in law, but law has several branches and, of course, in the beginning, I started working as a lawyer and worked more on practice of governance. Twenty years later, I entered the Academy and am elected mayor of the small city of Rolling Hills and a member of the city council.

Hayern Aysor: There are mayors of Armenian descent in the United States of America. That’s truly something to be proud of. Did Rolling Hills have a mayor of Armenian descent prior to your election?

F. Z.: That small and honorary city was established in 1957 and is located at an almost 22 mile distance from Los Angeles. I’m the first Armenian mayor of the city. I was first elected in 2003 (mayors serve for four years), and was reelected in 2007 and in 2011.

Hayern Aysor: Are there Armenians in that small city?

F. Z.: There are few Armenians. There are only 5 to 10 Armenian families. It’s not like Glendale that seems to be an Armenian city.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Zerunyan, you speak Armenian quite well. From whom did you learn our great language and how did you manage to preserve the language abroad?

F. Z.: I was born in Istanbul. When I was 11, my parents sent me to study at the Mekhitarist School in Paris. I owe it to my roots and the Mekhitarist School for my knowledge of Armenian. When I was 18, I went to the United States to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree and to work on my PhD in law.

Hayern Aysor: Have you always made business trips to Armenia?

F. Z. I’ve always been invited. I make business trips, but I also have the chance to visit my Homeland, our monasteries and take photos of them. I love Komitas and his songs. Over the past 24 months, I’ve been to India, Brazil, South Africa, Dubai, Ethiopia and Armenia and have given lectures devoted to practice of governance. Today, I’ll be giving a lecture for the employees of the RA Ministry of Diaspora upon the request of the ministry.

Hayern Aysor: Since you are a descendant of an Armenian from Constantinople, do you remember anything about the Armenian Genocide that your grandparents told you?

F. Z.: The topic of the Armenian Genocide is close to my heart and I’ve always examined the history of that tragedy. When I became a lawyer, I immediately began to work as a lawyer and defend the Armenian Cause.  I wrote about it, fought for it and will fight for it until the day I die. As an American and a person representing the U.S. government, I feel great pain to see that my government still hasn’t recognized the Armenian Genocide. I’m part of the third generation of Armenians who survived that tragedy, and I have a story to tell. I exist today because my maternal and paternal grandfathers survived that massacre.

Hayern Aysor: Do you view the day of restitution as a dream and an illusion, or do you believe in it and in the fair solution to the Armenian Cause?

F. Z.: A U.S. journalist asked me the same question, and I said ��?It’s not a matter of ��?if’, but a matter of ��?when’… I’m telling you the same thing-it’s a matter of ��?when’. My good friend Hrant Dink would say that it has to happen within Turkey. Out of all the Turks living in modern-day Turkey, 7-10 million of them might be Armenians. They’ll revisit their identities someday, just like the Armenians of Dersim. But this doesn’t mean that the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora shouldn’t continue with their claims. We must continue the struggle, be it on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary, the 101^st, 102^nd or 103^rd. We must continue the struggle until we achieve our goal. It will be rather difficult to have our lands returned to us, but we will see the return of personal and inherited lands and the restitution of lost values.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Zerunyan, you live in the United States of America where there are laws, and you come to Armenia and give lectures. Do you give courses on laws that can later be integrated in Armenia’s legislation and in society? Does Armenian society accept and perceive that?

F. Z.: That’s a very important question. Thank you. The major part of my mission is to see if I can contribute to Armenia’s public administration laws and mechanisms, but my mission is not to force people to accept my innovation. The leadership of the Republic of Armenia must decide and accept. My duty is to share my knowledge. As to how they’ll carry out their actions, that’s not my problem.

Hayern Aysor: What do you feel when you utter the words ��?Armenia’ and ��?Homeland’?

F. Z.: You can feel at ease in one or two cities, and one of them is Yerevan. I feel so much at ease that I don’t see the difference between being at home and being in Yerevan. It’s great to be in Yerevan. For me, the Homeland has nothing to do with the geographical Homeland at all. My roots trace back to Western Armenia, you know…The precious Homeland that we have today is in our hearts, and we need to defend it with knowledge.

Karine Avagyan