THE ARMENIAN QUESTION by Bill Rolleri and Anna Antaramian Time: 1977 Place: Municipal Hall, Paris Characters: Jennifer Goldsmith, UNFRA Committee Chair, 30/40s Rene Pensar, UNFRA Committee Member, late 40s Eric Heinman, UNFRA Committee Member, late 50s Walter Freeman, attorney for the Armenians, African-American, 40s Kazim Yucelen, Turkish General, 60s Armin Wegner, advocate for justice, 91 Anahid Siroonian, Armenian Witness/Activist, 70s, Arpine Garabedian, Armenian Witness, 80s Gerard Mouradian, Armenian Advocate, 80s (Lights up. Large hall or courtroom. Large wall sign: UNFRA. Three separate tables and chairs set out with pads, pencils, carafes and glasses to accommodate Turkish General, three judges or committee members and Freeman with Anahaid; witness chair. Several other empty chairs placed about. Books and files already in place on the three conference tables. Most of the actors enter with audience, stand about chatting with them “in character.” The Turkish table is vacant. Slide projector and screen in place. Much milling about, hum of conversation. The judges enter, chat among themselves, arrange their files and papers, Goldsmith center. Goldsmith raises the gavel, surveys the crowd, taps the gavel for attention. Freeman and Anahid continue to confer.) GOLDSMITH (Taps gavel again.) Mister Freeman, we will begin now with or without the pleasure of your company. (Freeman hurries to his table. Anahid follows.) HEINMAN (Holds up note.) I have a note here that… FREEMAN (Rushes to position at conference table.) Yes, ma’am. (Motions Anahid to table. They sit.) GOLDSMITH Last Friday we had the Ambassador from Turkey here. Please someone tell me he is not late this morning. HEINMAN (Holds up a note.) I picked up this note on the way in, Dr. Goldsmith. It appears… PENSAR What note? Where was it? HEINMAN From the Turkish Consulate. It says… PENSAR The Ambassador? That note was intended for Dr. Goldsmith, n’est-ce pas? GOLDSMITH Dr. Heinman, you picked up a note that was addressed to me? From the Turkish Consulate? (Goldsmith and Pensar stare at Heinman. Heinman places the note in front of Goldsmith. Goldsmith picks up the note and reads it in silence.) HEINMAN In future, I shall leave notes where I find them. GOLDSMITH (Drops the note in front of Pensar.) Food poisoning. Of all things. PENSAR (Picks up the note.) Pardon? GOLDSMITH The Ambassador returned to Turkey to confer with his superiors and it appears he came down with food poisoning and… PENSAR (Returns note to Goldsmith.) He did not fly Air France. GOLDSMITH He will be replaced by General Kazim Yucelen, Deputy Prime Minister. PENSAR (Noting the vacant conference table.) Who is late? I suggest we begin. We can… HEINMAN It would be inappropriate to start without the General… PENSAR I believe Dr. Goldsmith is Chair of this Committee. HEINMAN He probably flew in this morning, I suggest we… GOLDSMITH (Blinks at flashes They cease.) Thank you. And thanks to Mister Freeman, we have with us today more members of the press than usual. (Beat. She checks her notes.) For the sake of those new faces, it makes sense to clarify the role of this agency. You all know that we are in the midst of a catastrophic global drought. Famine runs rampant in many parts of the world. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have placed their grain surpluses at the disposal of UNFRA. The United Nations Food Redistribution Agency. Our mission is to assure that surplus grain gets where it is most needed. While we are running out of grain and time, we are not running out of starving nations. Last Friday the Turkish Ambassador delivered his country’s most recent census report to document the nutritional needs of his country. PENSAR Business as usual. GOLDSMITH But something else happened last Friday that is not business as usual. An American trial attorney, Mister Walter Freeman… (Photographers’ camera flashes as Freeman rises, waves, smiles.) GOLDSMITH (Cont’d. - Annoyed by flashes. To photographers.) That will do. (Flashes stop) Mr. Freeman came here with some of his fellow citizens requesting that they be heard as witnesses. At the discretion of this committee and… HEINMAN And so long as the testimony is relevant to the nutritional needs of Turkey. We can ask Mister Freeman to explain how his clients… PENSAR We can listen to the witnesses for ourselves, n’est-ce pas? GOLDSMITH We can stop bickering, n’est-ce pas? (To Press.) The Turkish Ambassador to France agreed to these conditions Friday. He asked us to give him the weekend to confer with his government. in Ankara. Now he has fallen ill. He has been replaced by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mister , General? -- Kazim Yucelen, is that General? HEINMAN (To the press.) Yes, General, he prefers to be called…. PENSAR (To Heinman.) He is a friend of yours? FREEMAN (Stands) Dr. Goldsmith…can we proceed with the first witness please? PENSAR Of course, it is time. HEINMAN (To Goldsmith.) We should wait for the General. While this is not a court of law… GOLDSMITH (To Press.) It is nevertheless a formal hearing. FREEMAN My first witness is Miss Anahid Siroonian. Just to be ready whenever you… PENSAR (To the Press.) Also we are not judges. I teach Philosophy at the Sorbonne. Dr. Goldsmith is a leader of the feminist movement in America. (Points at Heinman.) He’s the only lawyer here. (General enters, a striking man, conservative civilian clothes, military bearing. He makes his way forward.) HEINMAN I plead guilty as charged. PENSAR (Sees the General.) These military professionals march while the rest of us merely walk. Jennifer? (Goldsmith gets the message, motions to the General to come forward, sit. Anahid to witness chair. Heinman offers bible, “swearing in” is inaudible.) HEINMAN Uh--do you swear to tell the truth… (The General bows to Goldsmith, turns to pose for several more photos.) ANAHID My name is Anahid Siroonian. I was born in Sivas and…perhaps I should wait until the General is finished posing. GOLDSMITH (Acknowledges.) Good morning, General. Please have a seat and… GENERAL Good morning, Dr. Goldsmith, my abject apologies for my late arrival, but… GOLDSMITH (To photographers.) If your cameras are a disturbance, I will bar them. (To Anahid.) Madame, please go on, briefly. GENERAL (Removes leather folder from attaché case.) Ah, Dr. Goldsmith, if I may, before we, ah, I have here an official statement from my government, may I… GOLDSMITH All in due time, General. Right now we have a witness on… ANAHID We lived on a farm. I was one of five children, we were a very large family of… GENERAL (Puts down leather folder.) I do beg your pardon but, with all due respect, the witness, Ms. Siroonian, certainly, given her age, she must be treated with respect, but…. FREEMAN She said later. GENERAL In all sincerity, I ask is it prudent to assume that everyone is here for humanitarian reasons? She is a lifelong political activist and I am obliged to question the relevance… HEINMAN I join the General in raising that question, Dr. Goldsmith. FREEMAN She has not even begun to… PENSAR I suggest that the sooner we hear what these people have to say, the sooner we can… GENERAL Truthfully, Dr. Goldsmith, it was most disheartening to learn that you would be taking testimony from Armenians when the rightful concern of… PENSAR General, your Ambassador agreed to… GENERAL Yes, a good man, a very fine man, David Havig, I have known him for years, highly respected, but, ah, I must say, he simply should not have authorized this. PENSAR Nevertheless he did agree. GENERAL Yes, and his word will be honored but we implore you to reconsider your decision to… PENSAR General, the charter of this agency allows for testimony from any source and provides discretionary authority to…(Begins to rise.) I have a copy here for… HEINMAN I’m confident the General already knows… GOLDSMITH (Touches his arm.) Rene, please. (He sits.) PENSAR The Ambassador was quite articulate in conveying his lack of joy at the prospect of... FREEMAN Dr. Goldsmith, I have a witness on the… GOLDSMITH General Yucelen, our decision has been made. It will not be reversed. GENERAL All the same, we are not persuaded that he was sufficiently assertive regarding the severity of…I dread to think of the Turkish people who died of starvation in the last two days simply because…and that is to say nothing of all the other nations in dire need of relief that has been delayed by this…this lawyer who…well…There are other nations in great need. They are waiting on line, so to speak, no? PENSAR (To Goldsmith.) Perhaps we can postpone this hearing to attend those other nations? GENERAL Good heavens, I have simply made a point of order. FREEMAN Madame. GENERAL In view of the suffering in my country even as we speak, I must . . . FREEMAN Madame, this woman traveled all the way from California to be here today, and... GENERAL Yes we know of her, and I must question the credibility of her… MOURADIAN (On his feet, waves cane.) No, she not lie! You lie! GENERAL (Points at Mouradian.) Aha! You see, Madame? This old man, he… GOLDSMITH (Gavel.) Mr. Freeman, does he belong with you? ANAHID Gerard! Sit down! MORADIAN (Sits.) He lies. (Mumbles.) That one over there, he lies. ANAHID He is a friend, he is…Armenian, but he is not going to… GENERAL (Rises.) Madame, you see here, this old man, a remnant of the past from a time of… MOURADIAN Yah? Me? What he say? GENERAL This old man is tragically the essence of what is Armenia today: Hatred for Turkey. ANAHID We hate no one. GENERAL (To Mouradian.) I assure you, Sir, we hold no hatred for you, only sorrow. (To Goldsmith.) And please believe me, I do not question their sincerity. But they have been led to believe that terrible inhumanities were committed by my government against … GOLDSMITH General, please be seated. PENSAR Unless you wish to postpone? GENERAL (Sits.) I wish to remind us all that we are here to relieve the suffering of starving people, not… FREEMAN Miss Siroonian, what can you tell us about that year, 1915, in Turkey? The government? ANAHID The government? GENERAL Of course, at that age, ten were you, how could you know about… ANAHID I know everything was peaceful and loving before they… We were not wealthy, but there was always enough food, warm clothing, shoes. Then the Turks came, with their guns. They said the men had to leave right away to join the Turkish Army. They were waving this piece of paper, and they kept on saying that the three men had to come immediately. GENERAL It was the war. My own father was given four hours’ notice. One week later he was at the Russian border with a rifle and six bullets. A month later he was… ANAHID My father and my uncles, they protested. GENERAL He has no grave. ANAHID They said what are you doing? You can’t just take us away like this, we have family… GENERAL Please, in all fairness, do consider the inequity of discussing these matters without acknowledging the revolution at a time of profound international pressure on Turkey in 1915. Armenians, most unfortunately traitors, there is no way to soften the word, and… FREEMAN (To Goldsmith.) There was no revolution. GENERAL And the sovereign government was forced to suppress a revolutionary uprising in which thousands of innocent Muslims were being… and you, Sir, are far too young to speak authoritatively of the revolution of 1915. (Only elderly Armenians respond to Freeman’s following requests.) FREEMAN Excellent point, Sir, which applies to you as well. (To Goldsmith.) Madame Chair, with your permission…(To all.) May I see a show of hands of people present today who are old enough to remember the year 1915 in Turkey? (A number of elderly people raise their hands.) Now, General, how much would you like to bet that most of them are Armenian survivors of the blood bath you… HEINMAN This is not a classroom! GOLDSMITH (Slams gavel. To the people.) Put your hands down! (To Freeman.) That was a mistake, Sir, one that I trust you will not repeat. Miss Siroonian, we don’t have much time. ANAHID The Turks forced the men to get ready. We protested…began to cry. My father…he picked me up and held me. I can still…he said not to worry. God would protect them. FREEMAN And – at gunpoint -- the Turkish soldiers took them away? ANAHID I never saw my father again. One week later, Turkish soldiers came again. They rounded up all the older boys, 10 years and older. They tied their wrists to each other. Then they marched them out of town. Into the fields, about 200 yards away… GENERAL Is it not reasonable to ask if a ten-year-old can judge 200 yards? ANAHID We heard gunfire! We climbed up onto the rooftops. We could see…we could see them! Shooting right into the boys. They were falling down, bouncing on the ground, writhing. The soldiers stood over them, shooting. Then they didn’t move anymore. Two of them were my brothers, Gabi, eleven, Hirant, twelve! GENERAL There cannot be any question this was tragic. So young, so…but Madame, we must acknowledge that youngsters have been soldiers in all wars, and that is the true tragedy. Korea, Vietnam. The Americans used them in Vietnam, I saw this, as did you, Lieutenant Freeman, yes? FREEMAN I don’t know what you’re talking about and Turks did not fight in Nam. GENERAL Ah, those operations are still highly classified, very understandable, Delta Force, was it? Yes, the things the Americans did, yes, I was there as an observer. You were… FREEMAN (To Anahid.) Your brothers, Anahid. How many Turks did they kill? ANAHID (Confused.) They did not kill anyone. (Beat.) We were alone now, the babies, old people, young girls. The Turks ordered us to get ready to move out. Some of us had ox carts. We packed as much food and clothing as we could. They drove us out onto the road. I never saw my home again. There were beautiful flowers in the front garden, my mother called it her rainbow , all the different colors, and…and… FREEMAN Anahid? What happened after. After you left… ANAHID We were on the road…the soldiers stopped us near a town. They let the people come and take everything. The ox carts, our food, clothing. The people beat us with clubs and stoned us. They took the young girls, they… FREEMAN Your family? ANAHID One of my aunts had a gold watch. A wedding present. She wouldn’t let a soldier have it, so he just put a gun to her chest and pulled the trigger. GENERAL (Holds up a file.) Wartime, these things happen…you men, you all served as soldiers, you know how…(To Pensar.) Sir, you were, I believe, a resistance fighter in France…a very courageous little boy at the age of 15. So you know the horror I speak of, you know that in war one cannot control random acts of cruelty. And without question…(To Anahid.) this woman lost her beloved aunt in a terrifying manner, a deeply painful experience that cannot be… PENSAR (Notes file.) Tres bien, your files, you know so much. Do you know that I was born in Le Chambon? A beautiful little village in southern France? When the Nazis came they… HEINMAN GOLDSMITH What benefit in digging up old… Rene…must you? PENSAR Yes, the Nazis. We saved the lives of 5,000 Jews by taking them into our homes. For this, people were shot. The little boy who lived in my basement for two years. Little Andre. In the darkness. Do you have also a file on my friend Andre? FREEMAN May I finish with this witness, or…? GENERAL Thank you for sharing this about yourself, you must feel a special compassion for the downtrodden. As well do we know that Dr. Heinman was a tank commander in a Panzer Division. Your enemy. Yet you serve together now, that is all in the past, just as it should be. Sergeant Eric Heinman, highly decorated, for valor. Not what one would call a Nazi. HEINMAN I was a simple soldier. I fought for my…war is a wild beast. GOLDSMITH We stray, gentlemen. GENERAL (To Pensar.) And there is hardly anything in the human experience that is more of a wild beast than starvation. (He picks up Turkish paper and holds it aloft.) Speaking of which, my people are dying in frightening numbers, they… I have statistics. Time is… PENSAR We cannot read Turkish. And Mr. Freeman would like to… GENERAL (Lowers newspaper. To Goldsmith.) You yourself have two young children in Chicago, Madame. GOLDSMITH You know about my children? GENERAL Imagine if they were… ANAHID (To Freeman.) She has children. GENERAL Madame, have you ever gone hungry? FREEMAN (Stands.) Is he finished? GENERAL I tell you, Madame, we become less human when we are starving. I have seen parents eat while their children died. Unimaginable? Yes. I appeal to your best nature as a human being, Madame, to conclude this hearing as quickly as… GOLDSMITH Mister Freeman, the point is that lost time could be lost lives. ANAHID (To Freeman.) We do not wish to see innocent people suffer, least of all the children…. FREEMAN On the road, Anahid. Anahid? How did they keep you moving on the… ANAHID Bayonets. Clubs. Stragglers were shot, even children. Yes, even the children. My infant brother, Adam. I screamed at one of the beasts and he laughed at me. He said, “If you survive this, little girl, you will tell people about it till the day you die. But nobody will ever believe you.” Nobody. He was right. FREEMAN You told me there were 2,000 people in your group when you left. Six months later… GENERAL Again, a 10-year-old who can count that high? ANAHID Two hundred arrived in Aleppo. (Beat.) Out of 2,000. GENERAL (Picks up the leather-bound folder.) Dr. Goldsmith, I truly wish you would permit me to present this governmental statement of policy, a formal pronouncement by my prime minister and… FREEMAN Is my client to be continually interrupted? GENERAL I do apologize, Mr. Freeman, if the situation were not so desperate… HEINMAN This hearing allows for informality, Sir, if the statement is… GENERAL Thank you, yes, did Armenians suffer? Did they die? Yes, as did the many thousands of Muslims who died at the hands of the traitors. It is merely a matter of historical fact that the government had to relocate some 400,000 people, you can imagine…. FREEMAN The number of deportations we have is 2 million. GENERAL The logistical challenge, to move 400,000 people over major highways, through cities and towns where people feared them, even despised them for what their friends and relatives were doing to innocent Muslims. ANAHID We did nothing to Muslims. Our people were attacked by the Turks in all the major cities in the east, they tried to protect themselves. GENERAL Our soldiers tried to protect the Armenians from angry citizens and Russian artillery, which accounted for 15,000 of these poor people. Disease took another 25,000, even our own troops had no medical supplies. It’s true that as many as 40,000 died but what else could we do? That is why this woman’s statistics are fraudulent. Based on the facts, if 2,000 people left Sivas, 1,800 arrived in Aleppo. Unharmed and protected. FREEMAN Ma’am, we’ll be more than happy to play the numbers game a little later, right now I would like to continue with…Anahid, please just tell your… GOLDSMITH General, let’s finish with this witness now. And then… GENERAL Did he say game? ANAHID Before we passed out of Sivas, I was sold to an Arab as a slave. My cousin told the Arab we had wealthy relatives in Marsovan, and he could… GENERAL This is no game, Sir, this…may I question this woman? ANAHID He could make a lot of money by taking me there. He sold me to my Uncle Raffi. I got word later in Fresno… GENERAL (Rises.) I see you wear a cross, do you go to church on Sundays as a rule? ANAHID Crucifix. (Beat.) Every Sunday. Except when… GENERAL (Approaches her.) Except when you’re ill, wonderful, every Sunday, my mother was very religious as well, also my wife, you do this even when you travel? Away from home, you… ANAHID Yes. GENERAL So, you were in church just yesterday, no? Here in Paris? There is a church…? ANAHID Saint Marie’s. GENERAL (Stands close to her.) Good, very good. Perhaps you can tell me how many people were in the church with you. Just 24 hours ago, remember now, God is listening, so how many people … FREEMAN God might agree it’s a dumb question. GENERAL How many? ANAHID I don’t know. Maybe … GENERAL (Stands over her.) You do not know. I would like to most respectfully remind you, Madame, you took an oath here, you… ANAHID When I am in church I pray, I do not count people! GENERAL You called God as your witness and you… FREEMAN No need to badger the witness, General. GENERAL You can smear the good name of Turkey, but we are not permitted to make a point? I must ask: (To Anahid.) Why this man? ANAHID He’s an attorney. GENERAL (Picks up another file.) And his clients? The highly regarded leaders of the civil rights movement? No. They are the dope peddlers of New York, the scum of the…he collects his fees from people who keep their entire estates in their socks, he has often faced ethics charges… FREEMAN I was cleared of all such charges. GENERAL (To Anahid.) Believe me, Madame, you get what you pay for, and you pay for what you get. ANAHID It’s true he may have set criminals free, he is very… FREEMAN It’s called due process. Presumed innocence? We find that more humane than wiping out an entire culture just because… GENERAL How much are you stealing from these Armenians? ANAHID Nothing. GENERAL Ah, pro bono? Altruism? You are here on principle? Because in your own country your kind are oppressed by those in power? GOLDSMITH General, that is not germane. GENERAL Good law school, top of the class, why was he rejected by the prestigious law firms? GOLDSMITH General. GENERAL I apologize, Madame, but no reputable attorney would have accepted this… ANAHID He defends the indefensible. And he wins. GENERAL Are you saying your own cause is indefensible? ANAHID No. Yours is. GENERAL All he wants is his name in the newspapers. (To Freeman.) You advance your career over the bodies of dying children, and you put their blood on the hands of your clients. (To Anahid.) I ask you to answer from your heart now: If you thought for one moment that you were killing little children, would you leave here? (Pause.) I said would you… ANAHID FREEMAN Yes! No! That is not… GENERAL (To Anahid.) Tragically, he does not care one whit about the suffering children of Turkey. ANAHID Tell him he’s wrong. GOLDSMITH People, you will get back to the matter at hand or… GENERAL (To Goldsmith.) Of course, Madame. Were there tragic events in Turkey in 1915? Undeniably, it’s in all our history books. The Young Turks, before the war. Talaat, Enver and Jemal, Talaat chief among them. Young. Idealistic. They wanted religious and ethnic equality for all. At a time when black Americans were being hanged from trees just for trying to…. FREEMAN This is not about American history. GENERAL Very well, but there was a festering hatred among the Armenians because they had not been well treated, historically. Can you blame them for feeling like second-class citizens? I do not. But their hatred was so deeply rooted that when Talaat held out the hand of compassion, the opportunity for a better life in a more unified nation… FREEMAN The home of the free and the brave. GENERAL (Picks up Turkish newspaper.) Before those hatreds could be resolved, we were at war. The opportunity fell from our hands. (To Goldsmith.) And now you have an opportunity that may slip through your fingers. In Turkey eighty dead every day. (Drops the newspaper near Anahid.) And how many of them do you think are innocent Muslim children? I beg of you, with every ounce of my heart and soul, do not let the children continue to suffer. ANAHID We mean no harm to any child, Muslim or Christian. PENSAR Nor does anyone here. FREEMAN Madame, we are supposed to be hearing from this witness about… GENERAL (To Anahid.) And for what purpose? In the name of Allah, why are you here, what do you want? ANAHID Acknowledgment. Justice! GENERAL And what do you call justice? FREEMAN The concept is both simple and universal. GENERAL Regrettably, your client mistakes vengeance for justice, and you encourage her. HEINMAN Mr. Freeman, again, will you please make the necessary connections now. GOLDSMITH Mr. Freeman, do you understand? FREEMAN Dr. Heinman, it is as an attorney that I appeal to you, that I ask your forbearance…I will make those connections, but please permit me to. uh… GENERAL To bury children. GOLDSMITH I caution you, Sir. You will not use this agency to achieve unrelated political… FREEMAN Madame, I just need a little time to structure the sense of relevance Dr. Heinman requires, I need to bring us all to a place where… PENSAR Ah, Dr. Goldsmith, perhaps he wishes merely to lay the, uh, foundation. The, uh… FREEMAN Exactly. PENSAR (To colleagues.) Perhaps we can be patient for a while. HEINMAN That no longer works for me. (To Goldsmith.) It’s your choice. PENSAR Jennifer, a few minutes, ca va? GOLDSMITH (To Freeman.) You realize that we are bending over backwards to be fair. FREEMAN Anahid, you were taken to Marsa....? ANAHID Marsavan. My uncle owned a factory there, they needed him to run it. Also, at about this time, the deportations out of Marsavan stopped. The Turks… FREEMAN Why did the deportations stop? ANAHID The shops were closing, places of work were shutting down. You see, Turkish men only know how to serve in the army or in government jobs, they don’t know how to do anything useful, so they needed Armenians to… GENERAL (To Committee.) Now that is both unfair and untrue. Can’t you see what they are doing? FREEMAN (To General) Perhaps you can tell us why the deportations stopped. ANAHID They stopped because the Armenians were the light of the city. The Turks discovered they were putting that light out. This was… GENERAL They stopped simply because the insurrectionists had been identified, apprehended and deported to holding camps. To contain them. Very simple. FREEMAN (To Anahid.) So, life went back to normal in Marsavan? Almost? No? ANAHID General Khalil Rejai Bey came, with his army. I saw him. His face was made of granite. He was on his way to Ankara, killing all the Armenians in his path… GENERAL This child could not have known by her own eyes that Kahlil Bey was killing all Armenians in his…please admit someone put that idea in your head. Admit that… ANAHID Horrible things were done to people. Unimaginable things were…old, young, women, men, little ones…children… (Anahid drifts into her own thoughts.) FREEMAN Little children? One particular little child? (Anahid is silent, She stares at Freeman.) GENERAL Yes? What happened to this little girl? Was she unusually pretty? With golden curls and rosy cheeks? A plaything? Little girls can be quite coquettish, isn’t that true? Did you twirl for him, in your pretty littte dress with the… ANAHID My mother gave me that dress for my tenth birthday. GENERAL Grown men, away from their wives, evil thoughts… ANAHID My dress was covered with blood, torn to shreds… GENERAL Men who normally would never dream of… ANAHID It started to rain. GENERAL Oh, please do say it aloud, Madame. ANAHID I died there. GENERAL So I can deal with it. MOURADIAN She died. GENERAL Say it! ANAHID No! GENERAL Now! ANAHID It was a clear night. I was in the street, lost. Alone, I don’t know why. I couldn’t scream. He…the stars were shimmering…heaven was trying to catch her breath, I lay there wondering if God…if God even cared. The blood was inside me. My life was over sixty years ago! I have no children. I never married. GENERAL Wartime. Beastly acts. But what of men who commit atrocities in peacetime? The wanton murder of the Turkish Ambassador to Austria just a few years ago? And then the First Secretary of our embassy in Bayrouth is killed at his own dining room table. And last February, the Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican is torn apart by automatic gunfire on the steps of the embassy. All atrocity, all in peacetime. Yanikian? ANAHID What? GENERAL You know that name? (Beat.) No answer. It all started with Yanikian, did it not, these killings, this wave of terrorism. Five years ago in Los Angeles? FREEMAN What is this, who are you… GENERAL That name rings a bell, yes? This terrorist sends word to our Consul General that he wishes to make a gift. A rare painting of one of our revered leaders. And when he comes for his gift, it is a bullet. Beware of Armenians bearing gifts. We know you were his friend. Did you know of his plan? Justice you say? No. Revenge. Because your life ended in some alleyway sixty years ago. FREEMAN (To Anahid.) What is he talking about? GENERAL Did you know of his plan? ANAHID He was my friend, but I never… FREEMAN You will not accuse my witness of complicity in… ANAHID I didn’t know! GENERAL You did not know he was going to commit murder? A close friend? ANAHID I had nothing to do with any of this! I have never harmed a human being in my life! PENSAR Sir, what honor is there in suggesting that an old woman is responsible for killing… GENERAL Let me ask you, what honor is there in permitting outrageous lies to be entered into an official record, to be reported to the world by… HEINMAN There is no question of honor here, or lack of it. GENERAL (To Heinman.) You know of honor, Sir, you were awarded the Iron Cross. Heroism under intense enemy fire. So indeed I bow to your judgment on this point. HEINMAN That was a long time ago, Sir. Again I was only a…I was not a hero. GENERAL I am reminded that heroes are modest. My point… GOLDSMITH As Dr. Heinman suggests, it is time, Mr. Freeman. FREEMAN Ma’am? GOLDSMITH I have begun to question the prudence of my decision to permit your witnesses to testify at all. You will now make that all-important connection or terminate further… FREEMAN (As Anahid leaves witness chair.) I told these people that according to the bylaws of your charter they would… HEINMAN Subject to our discretion. GENERAL (Holds up leather folder.) I assume that at some point in this process I will be permitted to finish the official policy statement of my government. So far… HEINMAN I suggest we permit the General to do so, Dr. Goldsmith. It will give Mr. Freeman time to mull over what you have requested of him. FREEMAN Wait a minute. GOLDSMITH That’s fine. Take a seat, Mr. Freeman. PENSAR FREEMAN Dr, Goldsmith… Madame, please…I told them… GOLDSMITH (To Freeman.) This committee is not bound by commitments you made. Ponder that. General. (Freeman sits and motions Anahid off the witness stand as the General rises, approaches the screen. Anahid resumes her seat next to Freeman.) GENERAL I will ask the attendant to turn on the slide projector, perhaps lower the lights so we can… (The screen lights up blank as general stage lighting is lowered.) Ah, here we go. That first slide, please? (Image appears, map shows Turkey’s borders to the east. GENERAL uses his pointer.) Yes, Turkey. France and Britain to the west, Russia to the east, winter 1915. We are at war with all three of these powerful nations, Germany and Austria our allies. Surrounded. Next slide, please. (Closer image of Turkey’s eastern border.) The Russian front. Our eastern border a shambles…300,000 well-equipped fighting men reduced to 15,000 ragged patriots counting their bullets, all that stood between our heartland and the barbarians. Which included 50,000 Armenians in Russian uniforms. ANAHID They were Russian, not Turkish. GENERAL Deserters. ANAHID Armenians who had been driven out of Turkey by… HEINMAN I recommend we show the General the courtesy of letting him finish. GENERAL (Pointer.) The city of Van. Here, Bitlis, here Erserum. Cities teeming with well-armed Armenian insurrectionists, fanatical haters of Turks and Muslims. The Russian barbarians are pouring over those eastern borders, slaughtering, destroying. And that is when the insurrectionists attacked from the rear with all the ferocity of raging savages. Many soldiers, many innocent Muslims died. This is historical fact It was imperative that the Armenian population be moved away from proximity to the Russian front, to new homes where good Armenians would not have to suffer because of the disloyalty of traitors. That is why we did our utmost to get them out of harm’s way while our armed forces from the interior rushed forward to quell the insurrectionists and meet the enemy. PENSAR Allow me. (To Anahid.) To your knowledge, Miss Siroonian, were there Armenian revolutionaries at that time? Sivas, was it? ANAHID Yes. GENERAL Aha, there, you see? FREEMAN Now you trust her memory. ANAHID Men and boys trying to protect their families from being murdered in their beds. GENERAL Traitors, Madame. PENSAR Sivas. I am wondering, General, how far is it from Sivas to…the Russian… GENERAL (Points at Sivas.) Ah, yes, where this woman’s family lived? Excellent question, why indeed move people out of Sivas? (Points.) You see these lines? Major roads to the front over which traveled truck convoys. Food, munitions, medical supplies for our soldiers. Roving bands of Armenian rebels were tearing up these roads, destroying the convoys, killing men who are trying to help their suffering comrades, the same in areas such as Cilicia, Urfa… MOURADIAN Yah, me Urfa! GENERAL Yah. No, this was no genocide, national survival was at stake. Now you can see how the things that happened sixty-two years ago have absolutely nothing to do with this hearing. FREEMAN (Standing.) Now that we’ve heard from… (General goes to his table, picks up leather folder and takes it to Goldsmith’s table. He lays it on top of the Turkish census report.) GENERAL This statement of official policy bears the authenticating signature of my Prime Minister. You have all of the necessary documentation now to make the right decision in this… PENSAR How many more witnesses are here? MOURADIAN Millions, all dead, yah. GOLDSMITH That does not matter, Rene. HEINMAN I must agree. PENSAR (Points at Mouradian.) The old man, is he… GENERAL In the name of humanity, please, no more witnesses! PENSAR (To General.) You are not dictating to this committee, Sir! GENERAL Please do not force me to caution you, Sir, that… PENSAR You caution me? GENERAL How many innocents will die while you enjoy mythology? Can you hear their cries? The old, the sick, the children…especially the… ANAHID (To Freeman.) Tell them. GOLDSMITH Tell us what? FREEMAN I have no idea. ANAHID Tell them. GENERAL (To Freeman.) Yes. Tell us. FREEMAN (To Goldsmith.) It’s nothing. (To Anahid.) You don’t win by advertising your weaknesses. PENSAR If you refuse to let at least one more of these people speak, I will take them out into the hallway and listen to every word they have to say. ANAHID (Stands.) Then I will. PENSAR (Stands to address front row.) And I invite the members of the press to come with me! FREEMAN (Rising, to Anahid.) Don’t do that. ANAHID Our attorney has been given explicit instructions. FREEMAN (Takes Anahid’s arm.) Please! PENSAR (To the Press.) Will you come with me? ANAHID (Pulls loose of Freeman.) No children are to be jeopardized! GOLDSMITH (Gavel.) Everyone! Sir down! (To cameras.) Stop that! (Flashes stop, they all sit.) No one is going anywhere! Dr. Pensar, remember where you are. PENSAR (Calming.) I apologize. Indeed, I…but please…perhaps just one more. For the sake of fair…fair… FREEMAN Play. PENSAR Oui, merci, fair play. HEINMAN And what of fairness to Turkey? GENERAL Exactly. GOLDSMITH That is why we are here. (To Freeman.) One more. Do you understand? FREEMAN Oh, yes, ma’am. (Freeman and Anahid to review the list. They turn to look at one woman.) FREEMAN Madame. Madame, will you please take the stand? (The woman does not move.) We absolutely need you to come and take the stand. (Beat.) I call Mrs. Arpine Garabedian. (Pause.) And if she does not come forward… GOLDSMITH There is no going back. GENERAL Perhaps the clever lawyer from New York has outfoxed himself. FREEMAN (To Arpine.) Has the clever lawyer from New York outfoxed himself? (Pause. Arpine frozen. Mouradian rises, moves toward the witness chair.) ANAHID FREEMAN HEINMAN Gerard. Mr. Mouradian, don’t… Sir? (Mouradian ignores everyone, goes to the witness chair and sits.) GOLDSMITH I do not believe this. GENERAL Quite believable, he’s a madman. Senile. ANAHID (Rises, goes to Mouradian..) He is not mad. He is… broken. Gerard. Come. (Mouradian rises, lets himself be led out of the witness chair by Anahid. She speaks to him, inaudible, He looks at Arpine. Anahid returns to her seat.) GENERAL Very well, then. Can we move along now? (Mouradian moves toward Arpine.) MOURADIAN Yah. Move along, yah. FREEMAN (Picks up file.) Yes, we can. I would like to… GENERAL You are finished, Sir. GOLDSMITH Mr. Freeman, there is something about “no more witnesses” that baffles you? FREEMAN (Holds up a letter.) This is not a witness, Madame. It’s… (Mouradian, stands before Arpine, speaks to her, inaudible.) GENERAL (On his feet.) Madame, have we not had enough of this Mr. Freeman? HEINMAN In view of the critical nature of the famine in Turkey… PENSAR Au contraire, in view of the famine throughout the world… GOLDSMITH (To her colleagues.) Gentlemen, this is not a struggle for male supremacy, we are here to make decisions… GENERAL Most respectfully, decisions that will be heard round the world, yes. GOLDSMITH Meaning? Please say what you are saying, General. GENERAL Your President’s cabinet secretary of education is quite ill and...well… GOLDSMITH Yes, you can say it out loud, Sir, I am under consideration as his replacement, along with several others. That’s personal, it has nothing to do with hearing, General. GENERAL In the view of Allah, everything is related to all. You, Madame, are also a highly regarded figure in the feminist movement in your country, you even wrote a book… PENSAR That is also personal. GENERAL For this you are to be greatly admired, but your book, Madame…it does not treat kindly of woman’s role in Muslim societies and even though I have not finished reading… GOLDSMITH Finish the book, Sir. It does not treat kindly of woman’s role in the Judeo-Christian culture that presupposes God is of the male gender. But you are suggesting I have a bias? (Freeman holds up the piece of paper to get Goldsmith’s attention as Mouradian struggles to his knees before Arpine. She reaches out to steady him.) GENERAL Madame, relations between your country and mine are excellent and I would regret to see…we should…I just wish to clear the air on anything that might… GOLDSMITH (To General.) I’m greatly relieved to hear that. (To Freeman.) Will you please stop…what is that? FREEMAN (Holds up the document.) This is what the General asked for. By lamenting the lack of documentation, he… GENERAL I lament only dishonesty…and your presence. (Arpine rises, helps Mouradian to his feet.) FREEMAN Documentation that something other than an insurrection took place. Something like a… (Arpine and Mouradian cross.) GOLDSMITH As Dr. Heinman has made clear, this committee will base decisions on…(Sees Arpine.) Oh. It appears you have a choice. Mr. Freeman…your last witness or your document. GENERAL Must we? MOURADIAN Yah. We must, yah. FREEMAN (To Arpine.) Thank you, ma’am. (Puts down the document.) We can wait on this. PENSAR May I see that? FREEMAN (Takes document to Pensar.) Absolutely. (Heinman quietly swears in Aprine; Pensar studies document.) GENERAL One hopes to hear a different story from this witness, perhaps a story about a compassionate Turk who gave a dying Armenian a sip of water, a piece of bread, a… FREEMAN Yes, one can always hope. GOLDSMITH General, I will limit Mr. Freeman’s time, but please let us go forward now. FREEMAN I’ll be happy to sit down and be quiet if... GENERAL That would be greatly appreciated. FREEMAN (To General.) But only if you acknowledge the genocide. (Pause.) GENERAL Only if there are icicles in hell, Sir. FREEMAN In which case, I would like to make the point that Mrs. Garabedian was an adult in 1915, well into her twenties. The General was quite adept at minimizing Mrs. Siroonian’s testimony because she was so young, but Mrs. Garabedian, you were already…? ARPINE I was married. I already had my own little… MOURADIAN Yah! I know her then, I am little boy. ARPINE My little princess. PENSAR Eh, bien. There you are, please do continue. FREEMAN Where were you and your family living in 1915 and what happen to you at that time? ARPINE Dibrik. My father was a successful merchant, he held important positions in the community, so did my husband. They helped a lot of poor people to… GENERAL To buy guns? ARPINE They were both fine, upstanding men…and they were hanged. GENERAL (File in hand.) Madame, was your father an insurrectionist? (To Goldsmith.) I’m obliged to ask this woman what were the roles of her father and husband in the insurrection. (Beat.) Regrettably, they were found guilty of treason during a time of… ARPINE My husband was a very gentle man. He was very well educated, a Yerospoghan, like a Senator in the United States, if you needed money for something… GENERAL For guns that killed so many innocent Muslims and brought the blind hand of justice down upon your own people. Did you know that your father confessed to… ARPINE That is not true. FREEMAN You have a signed confession here? GENERAL Many authentic documents are en route and that may well be among them. Oh, and yes, perhaps you did not know that it was your father who implicated your husband. He… FREEMAN Mrs. Garabedian, what was the first indication of something, well, out of the… ARPINE Turkish soldiers came like a tidal wave…it was insane. Killing, looting, burning homes. The whole city was crying. You could hear it the wailing of the young women at night, it was like a thousand broken bee hives. At the same time, we heard that all Armenians in the Turkish army were stripped of their guns, they were being used as common laborers, digging ditches and… GENERAL I myself have dug many ditches. FREEMAN And graves. (Beat.) You told us about the armory? Before? ARPINE Armory? Oh, yes, later, they herded us into a huge wooden armory. They brought dry hay. Soon smoke is everywhere . We hold onto each other, screaming…praying. (Pause.) Our prayers were answered. A military doctor. Put out that fire, he screamed at the soldiers. And then he said: They will stink up the city for weeks, you must stop burning people to death and then he screamed: Kill them differently! GENERAL Please, you were inside this huge armory with so many people praying and screaming and this military doctor was out in the street, how could you hear him say… ARPINE Oldermek farkli! Oldermek farkli! Those words will echo in my tomb. Kill different. GOLDSMITH Mrs. Garabedian? (Pause.) Do you wish to stop? GENERAL This is too much for her that would be best for all… ARPINE I did not want to come here at all. FREEMAN MOURADIAN You’re doing fine. You do good, yah, she do good.. ARPINE They took all the old men into a high school. I stand out in the street with the others. We listen to the screams. We can hear the sound of the whipping and the bastinado, we… GOLDSMITH Bastinado?…Madame? FREEMAN (To Goldsmith.) GENERAL You don’t know? Shall I explain? It’s immaterial. We… GENERAL We cannot even be certain it was employed! Madame, I suggest… FREEMAN Oh, I hear it’s quite popular in Turkish prisons even today. The ankles of the victim are secured or lashed to a pole… Madame, please, I… GENERAL (To Goldsmith.) I can only ask that you consider the inflammatory nature… GOLDSMITH I will hear this, General. (To Freeman.) Up to a point. FREEMAN And the pole is held horizontally by two men, one at each end. When they lift it, the bottom of the victim’s feet are exposed to the executioner. The shoes of… GENERAL This is not an execution! FREEMAN They will often leave the victim’s shoes on for this little number. The executioner… (Freeman approaches Mouradian, reaches for his cane.) Excuse me, Sir, may I? MOURADIAN (Clutches cane.) You give back, yah? FREEMAN (Takes the cane.) Trust me. (Holds up the cane.) The executioner employs something like this, this length and shape, but probably made out of metal, for weight, make a better swing. (Freeman stands near the General and takes a practice baseball swing.) The executioner then swings the rod with great power and whips it across the bottom of the victim’s feet. The pain is terrible to begin with but as the whipping proceeds, with blow after blow… (Freeman leans against the Ambassador’s conference table and begins to tap the cane against the bottom of one his own feet, in synch with his words.) …the pain (Tap.) gets worse because the feet are being damaged, you see. (Tap.) And now the feet begin to swell from the constant beating. (Tap.) But they can’t, because they are trapped inside the shoes, remember? And the beating goes on. (Tap.) And on. (Tap.) And on. The beating goes on…(Tap.) until the feet eventually burst. PENSAR They burst? Grotesque! FREEMAN (Returns cane to Mouradian.) Burst. Throughout this process, the victim continues to scream. The sound of the bastinado is unmistakable. The screaming is maddening. GENERAL (To Freeman.) There were things done to the Vietnamese by Americans that would turn the stomach of any civilized human being, and you know that, you… FREEMAN (To Arpine.) I think you were saying, the women were standing outside, listening… ARPINE There is a blacksmith shop next to the high school. Soldiers take all the horseshoes, all the horseshoe nails. They pile them up next to the hearth. They force the blacksmith to pump the bellows. They aim a gun at him, and he pumps…he cries, the poor man, but he pumps, he pumps. Heating the horseshoes red hot. GENERAL Can we stop this? ARPINE Red hot they glow. They bring the men out. They have already been through a nightmare, naked, covered with blood that pours from toothless mouths, dirt, down onto their bellies in the dirt. GENERAL Incredible… ARPINE Soldiers hold their feet up so they can…and they…they… GENERAL I think it would be best for her if… ARPINE They nailed them! GENERAL Will someone please stop this. ARPINE They nailed those red-hot horseshoes into the bleeding feet of those men! You will all burn in hell for that! Oh, my God, I can still hear that scorching sound when the metal was pressed into their flesh, I can still…can you…can you smell that? GENERAL Smell? HEINMAN (Goldsmith.) Has this gone far enough? FREEMAN Ma’am, you mentioned you already had your first baby, can you… ARPINE Baby? Yes.Izabella. My princess. I was holding her. A soldier tickled her. She giggled. I remember thinking maybe he has a little baby at home, and he…he asked if he could hold her. I told him she would cry, and then she did just that, she started to cry and he told her to stop crying, why are you crying, little one, do you think the big, bad Turk would harm you, no, no, no, stop crying, little one, I said stop… FREEMAN Go on, please. ARPINE He took my little princess in one hand by the ankles, he wrenched her away from me, he swung her around singing some insane Turkish song and then he bashed her brains out against a rock. There, he said, she has stopped crying. She has stopped… (Arpine drift off, cradles her arms, hums lullaby to imaginary baby.) GENERAL What is going on here? FREEMAN Mrs. Garabedian? ARPINE (To Freeman.) Don’t you think she’s beautiful? FREEMAN Uh…yeah, I, uh… ARPINE GENERAL Maybe just to me she’s…she does The woman is lost… have her father’s ears. Such big ears ANAHID (To Freeman.) my baby has, but to me…she looks We should let her go. like an angel who just left the arms FREEMAN of God, an angel He sent to us… Aprine? Mrs….Mrs. Garabedian? ARPINE (Holds baby forth to Freeman.) My little baby girl. Just 20 days old. Isn’t she beautiful? PENSAR Mon Dieu. GENERAL Madame, the poor woman is hallucinating. She’s repeating herself, rambling on and…She should be excused, she is not even here. (Beat.) FREEMAN She’ll be all right. ANAHID Are you blind? Look at her. GENERAL Mrs. Garabedian, do you know where you are? See? That look in her eyes? ARPINE He sends these little angels to teach us how to love. ANAHID (To Freeman.) Can’t you see what’s happening? GENERAL This is impossible. (To Goldsmith.) Madame, most humbly, may I suggest…I sincerely do not want to question this woman, she is… ANAHID Arpine, you can leave, you… FREEMAN Leave her alone. She’s just… GOLDSMITH (To Arpine.) Madame? FREEMAN Just a little emotional, we… ANAHID He will destroy her as he tried to do me. She is old, frail, she is… FREEMAN (Stands.) We have come this far. If you insist… ANAHID If I insist? (Freeman begins to jam files and papers back into his attache case. ANAHID rises, goes to Arpine.) We cannot let him do this. GENERAL My last word, that woman is in no condition to be in that witness chair. (Beat.) Please. If you do not have this woman stand down, I am obligated to… ANAHID (Behind Arpine, hands on her shoulders.) I’m here. (To Goldsmith.) Madame… GOLDSMITH You chose to be here. GENERAL Very well. Mrs. Garabedian. A tragic story, despair is a common experience during… ARPINE No, you do not speak to me of despair. GENERAL I could not help but think of my own daughter when she was just a little… ARPINE I saw an old woman. GENERAL Our princess. ARPINE Rags. Filthy. GENERAL I beg your…oh. ARPINE Stinking for lack of bathing. She had fallen. She could not get up. She knew, we all knew, the Turks were leaving the dead on the roadside, leaving them in the streets where they dropped. She began to dig in the dirt. Her fingernails were broken. I helped her. Her hands, her fingers were bleeding, but she did not make a sound. When the hole was big enough, she rolled her body into it and began to pull the dirt in on top of her. I helped her. When all that was showing was her face, she looked at me. She smiled. I put her shawl across her face. I covered it with dirt, patted it down. She didn’t want the wild dogs to mutilate her flesh. She wanted to meet God with…God forgive me, I helped her. GENERAL You were without blame, and it pains us to watch you relive this tragic memory. (To Freeman.) In fact, we deplore those who require that you endure this… ARPINE I still lay awake with her smile in the darkness. You do not speak to me of despair. GENERAL I truly wish it were not so. I wish also that I did not have to ask…your nsame – Garabedian – it is well known in Turkey, your ancestors, doctors, lawyers, teachers…my task is not an easy one, I…Madame, you still have relatives living in Turkey? FREEMAN He’s threatening her? (To Goldsmith.) Madame, he’s… GENERAL I knew this would happen, I had hoped, a foolish hope no doubt, that Mr. Freeman would relent even for one moment, but no, I was hoping we could come together for one precious moment to agree on what might be done to protect those people, but, no, not… ARPINE Protect, my brother, his wife? The children? I don’t… GENERAL With Allah as my witness, I threaten no one, my concern is for the welfare of your…(To Freeman.) You had to do this, didn’t you? (To Aprine.) Madame, this man does not care about you or your loved ones, he knew that by having you testify you would jeopardize them and he… FREEMAN That is not true! That’s… GENERAL They live among Muslim families who now watch their own children suffer, what can you expect of them? I will ask the local authorities to protect your family, but how long…how long can we…(To Freeman.) And you, Sir do not give a damn. ANAHID Let her go now! FREEMAN None of this would be necessary of you would just admit that… GENERAL Will you admit that you prompted this poor woman, you filled her head with terrifying distortions, you rehearsed this entire scene knowing full well what the consequences would be for her and her loved ones and then you dragged her in here and… ANAHID That’s a lie! GENERAL You would crucify this woman, you would sacrifice all of them just to win. (Arpine clutches her belongings and rises.) ARPINE You leave them alone! Damn you! MOURADIAN (Rises, waves cane.) No! Do not go! ANAHID Let her go! GENERAL (To Aprine.) Speak the truth, Madame, they told you to tell these lies! ARPINE (Tries to run out.) Yes, yes, all lies! MOURADIAN (Blocks her path.) Do not let them drive you out again! ARPINE Let me go! MOURADIAN No! You will not run away! We do not run. No more, yah? (Arpine, blocked, puts face and hands. Mouradian takes her to a seat.) GOLDSMITH Mr. Freeman, have you had enough of this? FREEMAN (Folder in hand.) Enough? GOLDSMITH Is that a question? Yes, enough. I am not an attorney, but it’s obvious you’re willing to crucify the old and the weak in order to achieve your objectives yet you keep those objectives a secret. To me, that is heartless, uncaring and cruel. FREEMAN And if the cause is just? GOLDSMITH Oh, I know what a just cause is, you cannot be a woman in my country today without knowing that. FREEMAN Nor can you be me, Madame. We have heard from only two survivors and they account for many who died under decidedly questionable circum… GENERAL I believe that by any sensible standard of judgment their testimony has been worthless in view of the fact that we are supposed to be here to help starving people. FREEMAN Speaking of starving people…(Holds up file of photos.) I have here a small sample of photographs that will horrify anyone with a grain of human decency or com… HEINMAN PENSAR One moment. Photographs? GENERAL Wonderful, he has photographs. Please, the Armenians have been circulating bogus, unauthenticated inflammatory literature and yes, photographs, for years now and… FREEMAN (Advances on Committee.) I’ll show you… HEINMAN PENSAR Wait! You will halt right there. May I… GOLDSMITH (Rises, gavel.) Did you hear Dr. Heinman? Not one more step, Sir! HEINMAN Those photos are authentic? Mister Freeman? Can you prove… FREEMAN Someone said this is not a court of law. HEINMAN And I say we are attempting to be a court of reason. Dr. Goldsmith? GOLDSMITH Put them away. FREEMAN But, Madame, we… GOLDSMITH Now. FREEMAN (Puts down the folder.) Would you question the authenticity of a report provided by Professor Anthony Merlino of Columbia University who until recently was a member of the UNFRA Committee holding these hearings in London. (Holds up report jacket.) I believe you know him? GOLDSMITH Don’t be coy, Mr. Freeman. FREEMAN (To General.) I meant you. General? You know this man? Merlino? Advanced degrees in History, Sociology, a recognized authority on population trends… PENSAR Very highly regarded, yes. GENERAL Scholars can be bought. PENSAR I beg your pardon? FREEMAN They can also be destroyed. GENERAL He is apparently on Mr. Freeman’s payroll, perhaps they hired him as a propagandist. FREEMAN I asked Dr. Merlino – on the basis of what was known of the Armenian population before the war – if they had never been touched or disturbed in any way, if they had been permitted to reproduce in a normal manner – I asked how many of them would be living in Turkey. I submit this report as evidence… GENERAL You cannot put that report under oath, can you? No. Produce this Merlino so we can… FREEMAN Professor Merlino was recalled. He’s back at Columbia trying to defend his job, thanks to the influence of the Turkish government. But of course, you know nothing of that. GENERAL We wish him well. FREEMAN Yeah, right, but his work will not have been in vain because on the basis of this report and on behalf of my clients, I contend that those dead people, those murdered Armenians, and all the babies and grandchildren that would have come from them in the last sixty-plus years, if they had been permitted to live…nine million, that’s the magic number… GENERAL Absolutely without foundation! Dr. Goldsmith! FREEMAN Nine million of the dead and never-born! (Freeman quickly takes the census report off the Committee’s conference table.) GOLDSMITH Freeman, there are limits to my patience! (Freeman slams the census report down in front of the General.) FREEMAN They’re all in here, aren’t they? You put them in here, the dead and the unborn. GENERAL I am not on trial here! Turkey is not on trial here! HEINMAN That is slander! GOLDSMITH (Gavel. To Freeman.) You have overstayed your welcome here! FREEMAN We demand that those dead and unborn Armenians be deducted from the 49 million population claimed by the Turkish Government in this bogus document. (Freeman brings the census report back to place it squarely in front of Heinman.) FREEMAN (Cont’d. To Heinman.) You demanded relevance? I gave you relevance. GOLDSMITH Mr. Freeman, you are finished here. ANAHID (Approaches Committee.) No, please. PENSAR (Holds up document.) Dr. Goldsmith… GOLDSMITH Not a word, Rene. FREEMAN PENSAR Madame, please bear with me for a… Dr. Goldsmith… GOLDSMITH (To Freeman.) One more word of contention and I will lodge an official complaint with your ethics committee. You have just flown too close to the flame, Sir, and now you can… (Anahid rushes to Pensar and picks up the document.) ANAHID (Offers document to Goldsmith.) Madame, please. GOLDSMITH (Pushes document away.) Ms. Siroonian, you will please… ANAHID We need Mr. Freeman… GOLDSMITH (To Freeman.) Your objectives have now become a matter of utter indifference to me , Sir, and… ANAHID (Stops center.) No! If we lose him… FREEMAN Madame, please… ANAHID (. Addresses the press.) We will be alone again. GOLDSMITH Miss Siroonian, sit down or… ANAHID (To the press.) May I read this to you? GENERAL What is she doing? ANAHID I will read this to you. GOLDSMITH You will not read anything here unless I… ANAHID This is an official letter from the minister of the interior to the governor of Aleppo. GENERAL Can you stop her? ANAHID September 15th, 1915. GENERAL Where fact ends… ANAHID “It was first communicated to you… GENERAL And fiction begins. ANAHID “…that the Ottoman Government…” HEINMAN (To Anahid.) Madame. ANAHID “…has decided to destroy completely…” GENERAL She is out of order! ANAHID “…all Armenians living in Turkey. An end…” GENERAL I do not want to hear this! PENSAR Be quiet! ANAHID “An end must be put to their existence, however criminal the measures taken. No regard must be paid to age, sex or conscientious scruple. Those who oppose us cannot remain on the official staff of the Empire. We also learn that some individuals are obtaining photographs and letters which represent tragic events and give them to the American Consul. They are to be arrested.” The letter is signed Minister of the Interior, Talaat. (Silence. Anahid turns to face the Committee. She holds forth the document. Goldsmith stands, does not reach out for the document.) ANAHID However criminal the measures taken… GENERAL This is unpardonable. (Pause.) Madame, I respectfully request that profanity be deleted from the record of this hearing, and without any further waste of time… GOLDSMITH (Gavel, stands) We need to talk. PENSAR (To General.) However criminal… GOLDSMITH (Moving away.) Eric. Rene. I am calling a brief… PENSAR No regard for age or sex. (Heinman and Goldsmith stop when they see that Pensar has not moved.) GOLDSMITH Professor Pensar. PENSAR (Points at the document.) Have you read that? GOLDSMITH I said we have to talk. PENSAR My question, Madame. (Pensar does not move or respond. Goldsmith returns to Anahid. Anahid raises the hand in which she holds the document. Goldsmith takes it, starts to leave, stops to look at Pensar. Pensar finally follows.) GENERAL (Stands abruptly.) Madame! That document is not worth the… GOLDSMITH (As she leaves.) We are in recess. (Points at Freeman.) And we will decide your fate, Mr. Freeman. (They exit. All still. Anahid looks throughout the audience, then goes to Mouradian.) ANAHID Is he here yet? MOURADIAN He will come. FREEMAN Who? (They do not answer him. Lights down, lights out.) End of Act I