Author: Andres-Papazian

THE REGION MAY BE ON THE BRINK OF MAJOR RESTRUCTURING, IF NOT DESTABILIZATION
Haroutiun Khachatrian

Noyan Tapan
09.08.2010

Two major events have happened recently which remained almost unnoticed
in the lull of the summer. In fact, the first event, the report
about the possible supply of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system
to Azerbaijan was widely discussed in Armenia and even was denied by
an unnamed Russian official. The second event about developing the
Russian-Armenian military ties was covered to lesser extent. As for
the combination of analyses on these two lines of reports, they were
subject to combined analyses, but these analyses mostly seem to be
led to a wrong direction.

So, this analysis pretends to fill some of these drawbacks.

S-300 in Azerbaijan

I am not informed sufficiently in the political history, but my
impression is that the stability in the territories around Nagorno
Karabakh may be regarded a rather unique phenomenon in the world. The
cease-fire agreement started on May 12 1994, sixteen years ago, and
during these years, three armies, the Azerbaijani army on one side,
and the armies of the Republic of Armenia and of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, on the other side, have generally kept the cease-fire. This
was done without any peace-keeping of separating forces. The cease-fire
has been preserved despite the bellicose statements of the Azerbaijani
side which has been threatening almost each day to renew the war
and to “liberate Karabakh” from the “Armenian aggressors”. All the
specialists agree: Baku would in fact start a new war if it had
a smallest hope that its army had some chance to win. As this was
not case, the cease-fire was kept. So, the current combination of
military resources of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan secures
a balance which is optimal for stability.

To go a little farther into details, a key reason for this balance to
be kept is that the Armenian parties have the possibility to reach,
with their missiles, the main oil infrastructures near Baku, and
their possible damage during a renewed armed conflict has prevented
the Azerbaijani leadership from taking aggressive steps.

And now, rumors are spread that Azerbaijan is going to purchase a
Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system. In fact, the S-300 is not simply
an anti-aircraft system, but it is an anti-missile system as well. In
other words, this system, the pride of the Russian military industry,
is capable to protect the Azerbaijani oil terminals from the possible
attacks of Armenian missiles. Consequently, Azerbaijan can hope that,
if a new war campaign starts, its attacks on the Armenian armies may
remain unpunished. So, a temptation may rise®

In addition, these S-300 systems can serve not only as defense weapons,
but also as offensive ones. So, Azerbaijan may acquire a possibility
to hit the Armenian positions which were previously out of its reach.

Thus, here one has a reason to remember the Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaty between the U.S. and the USSR, the so-called SALT I, signed
in early 1970s. An important point of this first disarmament treaty
was that is was about limiting the number of anti-ballistic missile
(ABM) systems, and not simply the Offensive weapons. The anti-missile
weapons are more destabilizing than the offensive ones. It is because
they create an illusion of impunity.

The Russian officials have denied the information about the Russian
supplies of S-300 to Azerbaijan (see an example in this issue).

“If Moscow doesn’t sell its S 300 missile defense systems to Azerbaijan
then Israel of African Republic will,” arannews.ir reported military
expert Ruslan Pikhov as saying.

The Armenia-Russian military ties

In an August 4 TV appearance, Arthur Baghdasarian, Secretary
of President’s National Security Council, outlined the following
processes, which speak about further tightening of the Russian-Armenian
military contacts:

a. Extension of the terms of the Russian military base to 49
years from 25 years now. So, this base located mainly in Gyumri,
will be in Armenia until at least the year 2044. b. Amendment in the
Armenia-Russia military agreement whereby the Russian base will act in
favor of the national security of Armenia, c. Enhancing the activities
if both countries in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, in particular, in enhancing the rapid acting forces
of CSTO. d. Integration of some Armenian enterprises in the Russian
military production chains.

All of this news was to show that the security of Armenia will remain
high with an ally as Russia permanently present.

Yes, the support of Russia is, of course, important and welcome. But
a question remains: will this support be there if Azerbaijan acquires
an S-300 system? No matter, if it is from Russia or it is from the
South Africa.

Another question is: Even if Russia is decisive enough to assist
Armenia in case of an Azerbaijani attack, will this assistance be
effective enough against S-300? These missiles need just several
seconds to hit the target.

Finally, here we see a situation, when Russia (like any outside
player), can use the Karabakh conflict as a nice pretext to sell
weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. This means that Russia may
not be interested in having the conflict settled quickly.

Isn’t Russia creating obstacles to the settlement of the conflict
between Azeris and Armenians now and will it be doing so in the future?

From: A. Papazian

AN ARCH FOR THE ARMENIANS FROM TRANSYLVANIA
Andrea GhiÅ£Ä~C

Noyan Tapan
09.08.2010

Translation by Hasmig Danielian

On July 15th 2010 the opening of the Armenian Museum of the Armenians
from Transylvania took place, in the Apafi Castle from DumbrÄ~Cveni,
county Sibiu. The project called ARCA (word which in Romanian means
“arch”, translation: Action for Regeneration of the Armenian Community)
is a public-private partnership, where the involved societies
are: National Network of Museums from Romania, Local City Council
of DumbrÄ~Cveni, Armenian Foundation DumbrÄ~Cveni, Transylvania
Trust Foundation and Folkeuniversitetet Fjellregionen from Norway,
benefited from financial support from the Government of Norway, Island,
Lichtenstein, through Financial Mechanism of European Economic Area.

The city and the location itself have special meanings in the history
of the Armenians from Transylvania. The castle, which was built in
1552 by the nobiliary Apafi family, became in 1661 the residence of
the prince, as Mihály Apafi was installed prince of Transylvania. In
1671 he was the one who gave permission to the Armenians refugees
from Moldavia to establish in the princedom.

DumbrÄ~Cveni (ex Elisabetopole) and Gherla (Armenopolis) were the two
emblematic cities for the Armenians from Transylvania. Both prospered
thanks to the Armenian initiative spirit and in the present are the
places where grandiose Armenian-Catholic churches can be found. In
the 18th century, when the Princedom of Transylvania became part of
the Hapsburg Empire, the Apafi Castle, which was now property of the
imperial revenue authority, was bought by Armenians.

The sunset of the Armenian community in DumbrÄ~Cveni started after the
First World War and became more visible after the Second World War,
when the population emigrated or just left the city to establish in
the other greater cities of the country. Years later, it became more
obvious that the situation of the city, which before could rival with
other important cities like Sibiu and Cluj, is not the same without
Armenians. Nowadays, the city of DumbrÄ~Cveni, which is powerfully
affected by the years of transition, tries to rediscover its Armenian
roots, hoping to be back in the top of the cities.

Dioramas, another way to present the history of Armenians

First phase of the project which sights for utilizing the cultural
heritage “as a factor of durable development and social cohesion”
meant the partial rehabilitation of the Apafi Castle: renewing four
rooms and a hall of approximate 700 quadrate meters which meant
trimming and finishing the walls, reconditioning of the furniture,
reconditioning of the entry-doors and of the stairs. As Ioan Bakk
CÄ~Clinescu, president of the Armenian Foundation from DumbrÄ~Cveni
says, the second pahse meant organising these rooms as the Museum of
the Armenians from Transylvania, part of a vaste and ambitious project:
The European Center of Cultural Diversity.

The salons, each one having a theme: history, religion and every day
life of the Armenians from DumbrÄ~Cveni, present these themes through
furniture and art objects, photographs and documents, donated by the
descendents of the old Armenian families. All these are replenished
with dioramas and digital exponents: images and texts which present
aspects of the Transylvanian-Armenian heritage, viewed on the monitors
placed on the walls. The main theme of this museum represent the
travelling chests which accompanied the Armenians for centuries, during
their wanderings, exodus and exiles, interrupted by stops and leisure
which permitted, sometimes, a permanent establishment on the host land.

Those who actively participated in the development of this project
hope that the heritage of this museum will grow along with the help
of the Armenian Republic, whose ambassador, Mr. Hamlet Kasparian, was
present at the museum inauguration. Recently, Mr. Varujan Vosganian,
president of the Armenian Union from Romania, made a trip to Armenia
to make authorities there aware of this project and to obtain their
support. The ongoing rehabilitation of the Apafi Castle and the
expansion of the Centre of Cultural Diversity, which will be hosting
areas for other minorities from DumbrÄ~Cveni like Hungarians and
Gypsies, in a great proportion depends on maintaining the external
financial support. Mrs. Liv Maria Roste, general secretary of the
Embassy of Norway in Romania, who also attented this event, pointed
out that the state of Norway allocated 75.000 euros for this museum
to exist and that the financial support will continue if this action
will still be among the priorities of the Financial Mechanism of
European Economic Area.

Digital exponents in the Armenian museum from the Apafi Castle

The museum of the Armenians from Transylvania, which mainly has
digital exponents, happily completes the work of the Armenian Museum
Association from Gherla which aims to take back the rich and extremely
valuable heritage of the first Armenian museum from Transylvania,
which functioned from March 1904 until the end of the second world
war, and to re-establish this place which plays an important role in
building the “arch” which will help save the culture and tradition
of the Armenians from Transylvania.

From: A. Papazian

U.S. GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE $53 MILLION TO ARMENIA FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL REFORMS

/ARKA/
August 9, 2010
YEREVAN

On Friday, Armenian Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsyan, U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch and USAID Yerevan Office Head Jatinder
Cheema signed two agreements, under which $53 million will be provided
to Armenia over the period between 2010 and 2013 for promoting economic
development as well as social and health reforms in the country.

The agreements imply support for the private sector and steps aimed
at creation of a favorable environment for development of small-
and mid-scale businesses.

The top focuses of these agreements are innovations, enhancement of
availability of financial resources, development of the labor market
and cooperation between state and private sectors.

Under the agreement on promoting social and health reforms, USAID
will continue supporting the government in its efforts to improve
social and healthcare services.

Yeritsyan said that Armenian-American cooperation keeps developing. He
expressed hope that these agreements would contribute a great deal
to this development.

The minister said that a special emphasis would be put on support
for small and medium businesses.

Ambassador Yovanovitch, stressing importance of the agreements,
said that they would make cooperation between the two countries in
economic and social areas closer.

Cheema, the head of the Yerevan Office of USAID, said these agreements
mark a new stage of the U.S.-Armenia cooperation.

From: A. Papazian

U.S. EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKS ABOUT DELAY IN MATTHEW BRYZA’S CONFIRMATION PROCESS

Azeri Report
Aug 5 2010

BAKU. August 5, 2010: At the request of some of its members, the U.S.
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations postponed voting on the candidacy
of Matthew Bryza to the position of ambassador to Azerbaijan, said
Keith Bean, the press-secretary of the U.S. Embassy to Azerbaijan.

Some local experts in Azerbaijan relate the delay in Bryza’s
confirmation process to the tensions in bilateral relations of
Azerbaijan and the United States. Commenting on such opinion, Bean said
the visit of the U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton to Azerbaijan
last month testified to the development of bilateral relations. “She
touched upon and discussed certain spheres, including questions on
democracy and human rights,” Bean said. “U.S. always stated that
the most reliable partners are the countries devoted to democracy,
” – he added.

During her visit to Baku Clinton spoke about some progress in the
sphere of democracy, and expressed hope on the quick release of
the bloggers from jail. However, after her visit the bloggers were
not released, and a new verdict was passed against the imprisoned
journalist Eynulla Fatullayev.

Commenting on these questions Bean said that there was a special
statement of the U.S. Government calling Azerbaijan to respect its
international obligations. Bean also expressed a hope that the bloggers
would be released soon.

“Media questions have also been important for us, because free media
are constituent parts of developed democracy. And we will always be
on this position,” the diplomat said.

Ketih Bean did not comment on the questions why the assistance
allocated by the Congress for Armenia in 2011 was twice higher than
for Azerbaijan. “American lawmakers deal with these issues”, he noted.

The U.S. diplomat also noted that U.S. did not recognize Nagorno
Karabakh/Mountainous Garabagh, and that U.S. allocated them money only
for humanitarian projects by NGOs. The similar sums are allocated
for people who suffered from the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan,
said Keith Bean (Turan).

From: A. Papazian

BAKRE DRAWS WITH ANDRIASIAN, IN JOINT LEAD

Times of India
Aug 5 2010

KAVALA: Grandmaster Tejas Bakre remained in joint lead after settling
for a quick draw with former world junior champion Zaven Andriasian
of Armenia in the sixth round of the Kavala International open chess
tournament.

Bakre took his tally to five points out of a possible six and now
leads the field with Andriasian, Andrey Rychagov of Russia and Adam
Tukhaev of Ukraine who defeated compatriot Vladislav Borovikov in
the sixth round.

Vishnu Prasanna, who is yet to get the International Master
title, continued his dream run in the tournament and defeated Lela
Javakhishvili of Georgia. The victory put the Indian back on track
for his maiden Grandmaster norm for which he maximum needs two points
out of the next three rounds.

2008 world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta remained in the hunt for top
honours after drawing with American Robert Hess. Playing white, Robert
showed no intentions of a full-bloodied game and proposed a draw early
that was accepted by Abhijeet after some thought. Abhijeet now shares
the fifth spot along with five other Grandmasters including Robert.

14-year old International Master Sahaj Grover almost went out of
reckoning for his second GM norm after losing to third seed Eduardas
Rozentalis of Lithuania.

Playing the white side of a Pirc defense, Grover had his illustrious
opponent guessing for moves in the queen less middle game when he
came up with a speculative sacrifice but as the dust subsided, it was
only an equal endgame that was reached. Further inaccuracies by Grover
proved costly and he was gradually grinded in a long drawn affair.

Vishnu Prasanna has played a very tough opposition and he was unfazed
by another one in Lela who had incidentally lost the first round
against another Indian – Karma Pandya here.

Playing white, Vishnu kept things under control for the major part
of the game and his patience paid off eventually as Lela faltered.

International Master D Harika played out a draw with Yuri Yakovich of
Russia in a tense English opening game. Harika sacrificed a pawn in
the middle game to initiate a king side attack but Yakovich remained
on guard to force the draw.

Tania Sachdev won a fine game against Michelakos Panagiotis of Greece
while Soumya Swaminathan played out a draw with Bernal Moro Luis
Javier of Spain.

From: A. Papazian

HAMPIG “HARRY” SASSOUNIAN DENIED PAROLE FOR HIS ROLE IN 1982 WESTWOOD ASSASSINATION

The Beverly Hills Courier
http://67.59.172.92/article/Local_News/Local_News/Hampig_Harry_Sassounian_denied_parole_for_his_role_in_1982_Westwood_assassination/70504
Aug 5 2010

Hampig “Harry” Sassounian was denied parole today for his role in
assassinating a Turkish diplomat in Westwood in 1982.

A parole board panel meeting at the California Men’s Colony in San
Luis Obispo ruled that Sassounian, an Armenian immigrant who lived
in Pasadena, will not be up for parole again until 2013.

Sassounian was convicted in 1984 in the shooting death of Turkish
Consul General Kemal Arikan and sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole.

A federal appeals court overturned the jury’s special circumstances
finding of murder because of national origin, which had made him
eligible for the life sentence without the possibility of parole.

In 2002, Sassounian signed a statement renouncing terrorism and the
prosecution agreed not to go forward with a retrial on a special
circumstance allegation.

Sassounian was resentenced to 25 years to life in prison, with the
possibility of parole.

Arikan, 54, died shortly after two armed men approached his car from
both sides while he was waiting for a red light at the intersection
of Wilshire Boulevard and Comstock Avenue on Jan. 28, 1982 and fired
several rounds that hit him in the head and chest.

At trial, a jailhouse informant testified that Sassounian told him
he killed Arikan to “get revenge on what the Turkish people did to
his people.’

The Turks massacred more than a million Armenians from 1915 to 1918
in their historic homeland in eastern Turkey.

From: A. Papazian

WESTERN MILITARY ROLE IN CAUCASUS WOULD BE ‘FOOLISH’

news.az
Aug 5 2010
Azerbaijan

Paul Robinson News.Az interviews Dr Paul Robinson, a professor at the
University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International
Affairs.

What does the Caspian region, and Azerbaijan in particular, mean to
Canada? What are Canada’s main interests in the region?

Canadian interests in the Caspian region and Azerbaijan are very
limited. While there is some interest in energy issues, because Canada
is a massive oil producer itself, it does not need Caspian oil or gas,
and so its energy security is not much affected by events in the region
(except in so far as they affect the price of oil and gas).

Regional stability is, of course, desirable, but instability is
unlikely to have a large affect on our security here.

Do you agree that the Russian-Georgian war scared the West and now
the US and its allies prefer not to anger the Russians by active
military and other contacts with Georgia and other Russian neighbours?

I haven’t observed a great change in US policy towards Georgia
post-war, but I feel that it is unlikely that other NATO members
would now be very supportive of NATO membership for Georgia.

Georgia left the Commonwealth of Independent States after the war
with Russia in 2008. Can the West and NATO fully compensate for the
cooperation Georgia has lost in the economic, political and military
spheres?

The CIS is not a very meaningful organization, so Georgia has not
obviously lost anything by leaving it. I would have thought that the
EU would have more to offer than NATO for Georgia in the long term,
but in all probability even that would be very limited.

After the Russian-Georgian war, the issue was raised of sending NATO
troops to the Caucasus to ensure the security of regional pipelines.

What do you think about that?

Personally, I feel that it would be very foolish of the West to get
involved militarily in the Caucasus. I cannot see any benefit that
we would gain from taking sides in these disputes. The best way of
preventing a new Russian-Georgian war would be to avoid rearming and
encouraging Georgia, and to make it clear that it cannot rely on NATO
to help it out.

Do you think that the case of Kosovo may influence other conflicts,
in particular the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia?

The Kosovo declaration of independence could eventually encourage
something similar by Nagorno-Karabakh. To be honest, I do not know what
the resolution of that problem will be, but it seems almost impossible
that Karabakh would ever agree to be reunited with Azerbaijan. It would
probably be best for all concerned if they recognized this reality,
however unpleasant some of them might find it.

Russia and the US are the main mediators in the Karabakh settlement.

Can we say that the Cold War period between the US and Russia is
already over when it comes to cooperation on solving conflicts in
the post-Soviet area?

The Cold War as such is over, but there remains a strong element of
Russophobia in policy circles in the West, while there is a degree
of paranoia about in Russia. This creates inevitable tensions in
the relationship.

Paul Robinson is a former military intelligence officer in the British
and Canadian armies and the author of a number of books and articles.

He holds an MA in Russian and Eastern European Studies from the
University of Toronto and a D. Phil. in Modern History from the
University of Oxford.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA FEARS ITS OCCUPATIONAL POLICY MIGHT BE EXPOSED IN NATO

news.az
Aug 5 2010
Azerbaijan

Malahat Ibrahimgizi Azerbaijani deputy has commented on the Armenians
fears regarding possible discussion of the Karabakh conflict in the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as an influential international
organization, must show its objective attitude to the Karabakh
conflict”, said Malahat Ibrahimgizi, deputy of Milli Medjlis and
representative of the Azerbaijani delegation in the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly.

According to the deputy, the Azerbaijani delegation has long been
tending to raise the Karabakh issue in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
and this problem is expected to be discussed at the next meetings of
the organization.

“Armenia is concerned about this fact, therefore, the speaker of
the Armenian parliament, Hovik Abramyan asked chairman of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly John Taner not to discuss the Karabakh conflict
there. But the assembly is not going to reject discussions”, he said.

The deputy stressed the concerns of the Armenian side due to the
discussion of the Karabakh issue in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“Certainly, the concerns of the Armenian side are clear. Armenians fear
their occupational policy may be exposed further in the international
arena. NATO, as an influential international structure, must express
its attitude to the occupational policy of Armenia, since this policy
is an aggression against international law”, she said.

From: A. Papazian

LAWSUIT OF ARMENIAN-AMERICANS AGAINST TURKEY A SPECIAL PROCESS

Aysor
Aug 5 2010
Armenia

The lawsuit of Armenian-Americans – heirs of Armenian Genocide victims
against Turkey is a special process, the outcome of which can be
useful for all heirs of Genocide victims, Head of the International
Treaties Department at Constitutional Court Vladmir Vardanyan said.

According to him, lawyers needs to prove that the lawsuit concerns
not only the two Armenians who brought it but everybody in any way
connected with this issue.

“In many respects, the court verdict will depend on it,” Vardanyan
said.

He mentioned that the Turkish authorities will do their utmost to
dismiss the lawsuit or to protract is for years.

Vardanyan said it is not a mere chance that simultaneously with the
lawsuit of the two Armenians, Greek Cyprians brought almost similar
lawsuit. “From the political point of view, Turkey is in a complicated
situation,” the speaker said.

“If the court proves that the Armenians were deprived of their property
with violation of the international law, the American court can demand
a compensation from Turkey on the basis of the state legislation,”
he stressed.

Vardanyan believes that the U.S. will try to defend the rights of its
citizens, but all issues concerning property compensation of Armenian
Genocide victims’ heirs cannot be solved by the court verdict.

From: A. Papazian

PLANS IN WORKS FOR OFFICIAL MEMORIAL
AMANDA BASKIND

NorthJersey.com

Aug 5 2010

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS – Mayor Joseph C. Parisi Jr., calls Englewood Cliffs
the American Dream because of the town’s diverse ethnic makeup.

At the Aug. 11 borough council meeting, officials will discuss a
dedication for memorials in the memory of the 1.5 million victims of
the Armenian Genocide and the more than 6 million victims of Jewish
ancestry who perished in the Holocaust.

Parisi said these displays are going to memorialize “the wrongs that
the ancestors of Englewood Cliff residents had to live through.” In
addition to the borough’s large Jewish population, the borough has
“one of the largest Armenian concentrations in the United States as
per the population,” said Councilman Hon. Martin V. Asatrian.

Every year, the borough does a memorial to honor the victims of the
Armenian Genocide by raising a flag outside borough hall. This year,
Asatrian suggested doing something different.

“I merely want the precious memories of those that perished at the
hands of murderous leaders to be memoried and never forgotten, as
I am deeply concerned about a repeat of these atrocities on other
minority groups in other regions of the world,” said Asatrian. “A
genocide on any minority is a genocide on all of humankind and crimes
against humanity are intolerable,” he said.

This is also a personal issue for Asatrian, whose ancestors perished in
the Armenian Genocide during 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. He has worked
with the Armenian Assembly in Washington as well as the American
National Institute that advocated the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide in the United States.

“I just want to memorialize the crimes against humanity and to
remind our residents that history can repeat itself, even in the
United States, and to respect and have compassion for all people and
celebrate our differences and rejoice in our collective diversity,”
Asatrian said.

E-mail: baskind@northjersey. com or call 201-894-6700 ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS
– Mayor Joseph C. Parisi Jr., calls Englewood Cliffs the American
Dream because of the town’s diverse ethnic makeup.

At the Aug. 11 borough council meeting, officials will discuss a
dedication for memorials in the memory of the 1.5 million victims of
the Armenian Genocide and the more than 6 million victims of Jewish
ancestry who perished in the Holocaust.

Parisi said these displays are going to memorialize “the wrongs that
the ancestors of Englewood Cliff residents had to live through.” In
addition to the borough’s large Jewish population, the borough has
“one of the largest Armenian concentrations in the United States as
per the population,” said Councilman Hon. Martin V. Asatrian.

Every year, the borough does a memorial to honor the victims of the
Armenian Genocide by raising a flag outside borough hall. This year,
Asatrian suggested doing something different.

“I merely want the precious memories of those that perished at the
hands of murderous leaders to be memoried and never forgotten, as
I am deeply concerned about a repeat of these atrocities on other
minority groups in other regions of the world,” said Asatrian. “A
genocide on any minority is a genocide on all of humankind and crimes
against humanity are intolerable,” he said.

This is also a personal issue for Asatrian, whose ancestors perished in
the Armenian Genocide during 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. He has worked
with the Armenian Assembly in Washington as well as the American
National Institute that advocated the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide in the United States.

“I just want to memorialize the crimes against humanity and to
remind our residents that history can repeat itself, even in the
United States, and to respect and have compassion for all people and
celebrate our differences and rejoice in our collective diversity,”
Asatrian said.

From: A. Papazian