1 - Catholicosate of Cilicia Refiles
Lawsuit Against Turkey
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
2- Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation President, former president of
New York Public Library, Pillar of Armenian Diaspora Dies at 87
3 - Pashinyan Releases 2020 Artsakh War Death Toll Numbers
4- US Ambassador to UN, Presidential Advisor Set Charles Momjian Dies
5- Armenia Faces 3rd Wave of COVID-19 Cases
6- Mekhitarist Priest, Artist, Educator Rev. Harutiun
Bezdikian Passes Away
7- MY RELIC: She Loves Collective Commemorates Genocide
with Art Installations on Artsakh Ave.
8- Borne of Armenian-American Roots, US Music Production Company
Yessian Celebrates 50 Years
9- Portantino Administers Attorney Oath of Office for
Inaugural Karabian Fellow Anahit Sargsyan
10- Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan charged with
money laundering
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1 - Catholicosate of Cilicia Refiles
Lawsuit Against Turkey
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In 2015 the Catholicosate of Cilicia (headquartered in Antelias,
Lebanon) filed a lawsuit against the government of Turkey seeking the
return of its historic seat in Sis, Turkey (present-day Kozan district
of the Adana Province), which was confiscated in 1921.
The Catholicosate had initially filed its lawsuit directly with the
Constitutional Court of Turkey because the claim raised issues of
historical property rights that lower courts would not have
jurisdiction over. At the urging of the Justice Ministry, the
Constitutional Court referred the lawsuit to a lower court. The
Catholicosate then appealed the ruling to the European Court of Human
Rights in 2016. The European Court rejected the Catholicosate’s
900-page lawsuit in 2017, finding it inadmissible because it had not
first exhausted all local legal remedies, such as the lower courts in
Turkey.
Therefore, the Catholicosate refiled its lawsuit in 2019, this time
with a lower Turkish court in Kazan (Sis). After two postponements due
to the coronavirus pandemic, a pre-trial hearing finally took place on
March 30, 2021 in the Kazan Civil Litigation Court to decide whether a
viable cause of action existed to proceed to trial.
The Catholicosate’s lawsuit against the Municipality of Kozan and the
Turkish government’s Treasury Department is being defended by a group
of international law experts, as well as Turkish lawyer Jem Sofouoghlu
and Turkish Armenian lawyer Setrag Davouthan, who is serving as a
consultant.
The Istanbul-based Jamanak Armenian newspaper reported that according
to attorney Sofouoghlu the March 30 hearing was intended to clarify
the applicant’s qualifications and authorizations and the possibility
of the expiration of the statute of limitations. The Municipality of
Kozan and the Treasury Department presented their counter-evidence
claiming that the applicant does not have standing -- is not a legal
entity -- and is a foreign litigant. The defendants also stated that,
before the hearing could proceed, the applicant as a foreign entity
must provide a letter of guarantee corresponding to 15% of the
demand’s value, as required by the Turkish legal system. Sofouoghlu
was quoted by Jamanak telling the Judge that the Catholicosate had
already submitted the required documents to the court. The Judge
agreed to go ahead and consider the substance of the lawsuit, meaning
that the court rejected the objections raised by the Municipality and
Treasury Department, and ruled that the lawsuit could definitively
proceed. The next hearing is scheduled for May 6, 2021. Sofouoghlu
said that he considers this a very positive development.
Now the trial will go through several presumable phases. Sofouoghlu
anticipates that the court will first assemble the evidence presented
by the Catholicosate of Cilicia. For this purpose, the corresponding
work will be carried out through the official archives and property
registers at governmental bodies. The investigative-exploratory phase
then follows the collection of evidence. According to Sofouoghlu, the
court, most probably later on, will reach the conclusion that it will
be necessary to appoint an expert to carry out this task. Such experts
are usually academics from one of the universities in the Adana
region. Even though the courts always have the authority to carry out
this work on their own, they prefer to appoint an expert.
At the end, should the Catholicosate’s lawsuit be rejected, as
expected, by the lower Turkish Court, it will then be appealed to the
Constitutional Court of Turkey and after its probable rejection there,
a new, and this time proper, appeal could be filed in the European
Court of Human Rights which hopefully will not dismiss it because of a
technicality.
Even though this lawsuit is filed by the Catholicosate of Cilicia to
recover its historic seat, it is in fact much more significant than
this particular case. The lawsuit is related to the Armenian nation’s
larger efforts to pursue its legal demands for the return of all
properties and assets confiscated by the Turkish government during the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. As Catholicos Aram I has rightly
pointed out: “This is the time that we move from the stage of
[Genocide] recognition to reparation.” He told the New York Times in
May 2015: “After 100 years, I thought it was time that we put the
emphasis on reparation. … This is the first legal step. This will be
followed by our claim to return all the churches, the monasteries, the
church-related properties and, finally, the individual properties.”
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2- Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation President, former president of
New York Public Library, Pillar of Armenian Diaspora Dies at 87
By Robert D. McFadden
Vartan Gregorian, the ebullient Armenian immigrant who climbed to
pinnacles of academic and philanthropic achievement but took a detour
in the 1980s to restore a fading New York Public Library to its place
at the heart of American intellectual life, died on Thursday in
Manhattan. He was 87.
The death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his son Dareh Gregorian. No
cause was given.
Vartan Gregorian was born on April 8, 1934, in the Armenian quarter of
Tabriz, in northwest Iran, to Samuel and Shooshanik (Mirzaian)
Gregorian. His father was an accountant for the Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company. Vartan’s older brother, Aram, died in infancy, and his mother
died of pneumonia when he was 6. His father was drafted in World War
II and later became an often-unemployed office worker.
Vartan and his younger sister, Ojik, were raised by their maternal
grandmother, Voski Mirzaian, an illiterate but gracious storyteller
whose allegorical fables instilled in the children lessons in
morality: about telling the truth, possessing integrity, and the
dignity to be found in stoicism and good deeds.
“She was my hero,” Dr. Gregorian said in an interview for this
obituary in 2019. “I learned more about character from her than from
anybody I ever met or any book I ever read.”
Gregorian received his elementary education in Iran and his secondary
education at Collège Arménian in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1956, he entered
Stanford University, where he majored in history and the humanities,
graduating with honors in 1958.
In 1960, he married Clare Russell, a fellow student at Stanford. In
addition to Dareh, they had two more sons, Vahé and Raffi, all of whom
survive Dr. Gregorian, along with his sister and five grandchildren.
He lived in Midtown Manhattan.
He was awarded a PhD in history and humanities from Stanford in 1964.
Gregorian has taught European intellectual history and Middle Eastern
history at San Francisco State College, the University of California
at Los Angeles, and the University of Texas at Austin.
In 1972, he joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty and was
appointed Tarzian Professor of Armenian and Caucasian History and
professor of South Asian History. He was founding dean of the Faculty
of Arts and Sciences at Penn in 1974 and four years later became its
twenty-third provost until 1981. His outstanding tenure at the
university has been honored with endowed professorships in English and
in the Humanities and through several graduate fellowships in the
humanities.
After an academic career spanning two decades, Gregorian served as
President of The New York Public Library from 1980 to 1989. The
institution includes a network of four research libraries and 83
branch libraries, and during his tenure, Gregorian was widely credited
with restoring the status of the library as a financially sound,
cultural landmark.
“The New York Public Library is a New York and national treasure,” he
said. “The branch libraries have made lives and saved lives. The New
York Public Library is not a luxury. It is an integral part of New
York’s social fabric, its culture, its institutions, its media and its
scholarly, artistic and ethnic communities. It deserves the city’s
respect, appreciation and support. No, the library is not a cost
center! It is an investment in the city’s past and future!”
In 1989, he was appointed the 16th President of Brown University,
where he led a campaign that raised over $500 million, bringing the
institution’s endowment past the $1 billion mark. Gregorian also
oversaw the creation of several new academic departments. In honor of
his legacy at the university, a residence quadrangle was named after
him, as well as three professorships: the Vartan Gregorian Assistant
Professorship, The Brooke Russell Astor Professorship in the
Humanities in Honor of Vartan Gregorian, and the Aga Khan
Professorship in Islamic Humanities created in honor of Gregorian. In
1997, the City of Providence renamed the Fox Point Public Elementary
School after Gregorian to acknowledge his role in strengthening
relationships between the university and the community.
In 1997, Gregorian assumed the presidency of one of the country’s
oldest grantmaking foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York. His
philanthropic work and scholarly accomplishments have been recognized
with more than 70 honorary degrees and dozens of significant awards,
including the National Humanities Medal, awarded by President William
J. Clinton; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by
President George W. Bush. President George H. W. Bush appointed
Gregorian to the J. William Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships,
and President Barack Obama appointed him to the selection committee of
the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.
Dr. Gregorian also advised philanthropists, including Bill and Melinda
Gates, Walter H. Annenberg and officials of the J. Paul Getty Trust.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Humanities
Medal, and in 2004 President George W. Bush conferred on him the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Gregorian has also been decorated by the Austrian, Italian,
Portuguese, French, and Armenian governments.
Gregorian was a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia,
which awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2001,
following an honorary degree awarded by Yerevan State University in
1995. He was a former trustee of the American University of Armenia, a
trustee emeritus of the Dilijan International School of Armenia, and a
co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative with Ruben Vardanyan
and Dr. Noubar Afeyan, who established the Vartan Gregorian
Scholarship Program in 2018 to support scholarly research of Armenian
history. In 2012, Gregorian was presented with the Republic of
Armenia’s Medal of Mkhitar Gosh, and in 2017, he was the recipient of
the country’s Order of Honor.
Besides his memoir, he wrote “The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan:
Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946” (1969); “Islam: A
Mosaic, Not a Monolith” (2004) and many articles on history and global
affairs.
Dr. Gregorian, who often recalled the kindness of strangers, said that
after landing in New York in 1956 to start life in America, he lost
his plane ticket to San Francisco. He was due to register the next day
at Stanford. His future seemed to hang in the balance. In faltering
English, he poured out his desperation to an airport ticket agent.
The man hesitated, saying something about regulations. Then he softened.
“I have never done what I am about to do,” the agent said. He stamped
the young man’s empty ticket envelope and told him to stay on the
plane — a four-stop, 14-hour flight — to avoid discovery.
“I never forgot that man,” Dr. Gregorian said in the 2019 interview.
“He gave me my future. For years I wanted to thank him but couldn’t
find him. I told the story in my book to thank him — and now my
conscience is clear.”
Gregorian was the author of The Road to Home: My Life and Times;
Islam: A Mosaic, Not A Monolith; and The Emergence of Modern
Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880–1946.
Gregorian was predeceased by his wife, Clare Russell Gregorian. He is
survived by his three sons: Vahé Gregorian and his wife Cindy
Billhartz Gregorian of Kansas City, MO; Raffi Gregorian of New York,
NY; and Dareh Gregorian and his wife Maggie Haberman Gregorian of
Brooklyn, NY. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Juan,
Maximus, Sophie, Miri, and Dashiell; and a sister, Ojik Arakelian of
Massachusetts and Iran.
This article appeared in the New York Times on April 16, 2021.
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3 - Pashinyan Releases 2020 Artsakh War Death Toll Numbers
YEREVAN (Armenpress)—The number of identified fatalities of the 2020
Artsakh war stands at 3621 identified war dead; 321 MIAs; and 201
bodies under DNA testing, as of April 14, according to Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan.
“At this moment we have 3621 deaths confirmed with death certificates,
we also have 321 persons in the list of those missing, we have 201
bodies or remains currently under DNA testing and we have more than
100 identified bodies who were identified with concrete family
members, but the families are still refusing to accept this fact for
various reasons. Many of our countrymen want to believe that their
loved ones are alive, or held captive [in Azerbaijan], there are
families who don’t trust the DNA tests,” Pashinyan said in parliament
in response to lawmaker Karapet Mkhchyan’s question.
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4- US Ambassador to UN, Presidential Advisor Set Charles Momjian Dies
Set Charles Momjian, 91, of Huntingdon Valley, well-known antiques
collector and advisor to presidents, died on Monday, April 12 after a
long illness.
He was born in Atlantic City in 1930 to Julia and Charles Momjian,
both orphaned refugees from the Armenian genocide who were raised by
American missionaries. Charles died at an early age and the family,
which included younger brother Albert, had a difficult time during the
Depression era.
Mr. Momjian attended Atlantic City High School, LaSalle College and
Charles Morris Price School of Advertising. After school, he joined
the Army, where upon learning that the platoon photographer would have
his own private quarters, spent a weekend learning all he could about
photography. Returning to Atlantic City, he used this skill again, as
the official photographer for the Miss America pageant.
He began and ended his long professional career at Ford Motor Company,
including years as a marketing executive at Philco-Ford, Ford
Aerospace and ultimately as a Washington liaison for the company.
Mr. Momjian is best known and remembered for his dual passions of
antique collecting and politics. A serendipitous find of an old gun
under the Atlantic City boardwalk when he was a young boy inspired his
lifelong love of antiques. During a 1987 interview about his
collecting on the Today show, he said “collecting is in the marrow of
my bones.” His son Chris said his father “spent every free minute he
had digging through stalls at flea markets, talking with dealers at
antique shows or attending auctions. I’d go along with him, leaving
before dawn; my ‘reward’ at the end of the long day was usually an
antique pocket knife for my collection.”
Early in his collecting career, following advice from the Grolier
Club, he pursued first edition books, but his obsession quickly
expanded into other areas, as he built his Americana collection that
spans genres from soda fountain fixtures and coin-op machines, to rare
historical manuscripts and early photography. He is nationally known
for his collection of White House and presidential china, much of
which has been on loan to presidential libraries. Mr. Momjian loved
sharing his passion for collecting with others and was in demand as a
speaker many groups throughout the country. Today objects from his
collections are on loan to numerous museums and historic sites. A
chance encounter with Jimmy Carter during his presidential campaign
led to decades of service and advice to presidential campaigns and
Presidents from both political parties. Mr. Momjian served the Carter
Campaign as Director of Special Projects. Merging his passion for art
and politics, he worked with modern artists including Andy Warhol and
Roy Lichtenstein, commissioning artwork to be sold to raise funds for
the DNC. Through the sale of the Inaugural Impressions portfolio,
funds were raised to keep the DC museums open late for visitors to the
nation’s capital. Following the election, President Carter nominated
Mr. Momjian as a U.S. representative to the United Nations with the
rank of ambassador, the first person of Armenian descent to hold the
position. He later served as a delegate to the UN Commission on Human
Rights in Geneva and chairman of the DNC’s Ethnic-American Committee.
He supervised Presidential gifts to heads of states, often combining a
special printing of a presidential speech presented in a fine binding.
He had miniature Liberty Bells cast from an old chip from the crack in
the original bell and presented one to the Queen of England when she
visited Independence National Historical Park on America’s
Bicentennial. He made sure there was always American art in the White
House, often lending works from his own collections.
In 1981 President Reagan nominated Mr. Momjian as the only non-Jewish
member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. As an original member
of the Council, he was very proud of his work in developing the U.S.
Holocaust Museum. During the terms of George H.W. Bush and Bill
Clinton he continued to work on special projects for both Presidents,
the preservation of the collections at the White House and the
restoration of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Mr. Momjian was equally passionate about his Armenian roots and was
committed to the Armenian-American community, holding leadership
positions with the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Assembly the Armenian
Sister’s Academy and Knights of Vartan. In 1976, during this country’s
Bicentennial he recognized America’s generosity to the Armenian
community by raising $1 million to buy a set of tapestries designed by
Christian Herter celebrating significant events in American History.
The tapestries were purchased from the Armenian Sister’s Academy and
then donated to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also in 1976,
Mr. Momjian participated in the erection of the Meher statue in
Philadelphia by the Knights of Vartan.
Over the years Mr. Momjian served on many non-profit boards; among
them the Ellis Island Restoration Commission, Balch Institute for
Ethnic Studies, African-American Museum, National Holocaust Museum,
International League for Human Rights, the Liberty Museum, First
Ladies Library, Capitol Children’s Museum, Brandywine Museum and the
National Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the Library Company of
Philadelphia, Poor Richard Club, the Union League of Philadelphia and
the Huntingdon Valley Country Club.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Joan (Reed), sons Bruce
(Christine) and Christopher (Gail) and six grandchildren. Arrangements
will be private; memorial contributions may be made to the Armenian
Martyrs’ Congregational Church, Havertown, PA or the Armenian
Missionary Association of America, Paramus, NJ
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5- Armenia Faces 3rd Wave of COVID-19 Cases
Armenian health officials are sounding the alarm of a third wave of
COVID-19 cases just as the country commences the vaccination phase.
The most recent rise in coronavirus infections following a loosening
of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.
On April 14, it was announced that Armenia would purchase one million
doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
There were 15,906 active cases in Armenia as of April 19. Armenia has
recorded 208,818 coronavirus cases and 3,895 deaths; 189,017 have
recovered.
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6- Mekhitarist Priest, Artist, Educator Rev. Harutiun
Bezdikian Passes Away
Rev. Harutiun Bezdikian, senior member of the Congregation (AKA P.
Arturo), died on Sunday, April 11, 2021, while residing in the
Armenian Samuel-Moorat College in Paris. Bezdikian served throughout
his life in the Mekhitarist schools in Aleppo, Venice and Paris, where
he played an important role in the human, Christian and Armenian
training of many young people; he was editor of Bazmavep magazine, as
well as author of several articles and books about the Armenian
Church, Culture and the Congregation.
Bezdikian was a talented painter, who organized several exhibitions
and received important awards. The Holy Mass celebration and funerals
took place Monday, April 19 at San Lazzaro church on the island, and
Bezdikian’s remains will then be buried in the monastic cemetery of
Abbey.
In compliance with COVID restrictions, the funeral took place
privately with the participation of monks and family. But the ceremony
was broadcast on the Monastery’s Facebook page. Once the pandemic
situation has improved, it is the Congregation’s intention to
celebrate a Mass in requiem of Father Harutyun (Jacques) Bezdikian, in
which all friends of the Father and of the Congregation can
participate.
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7- MY RELIC: She Loves Collective Commemorates Genocide
with Art Installations on Artsakh Ave.
GLENDALE—As part of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Month, emergent
international collective of established female artivists,
SheLovesCollective, has created an interactive art installation called
My Relic, which will take place within 3 retail units on Artsakh Ave.
(117 Artsakh Ave., 123 Artsakh Ave., and 127 Artsakh Ave.) from April
11 to 25, 2021, and will feature 3 individual installations.
“A Ritual in Bread Making” (117 N. Artsakh Ave.) uses Lavash, the
traditional Armenian oven baked bread, to create items that make up a
typical room in a home. Additionally, a short documentary film will be
either projected in large format wall-to wall/ceiling-to-floor or
played on a variety of vintage television screens of varying sizes.
The short film will be of a healing ritual performed by collective
members and footage from two previous performance art documentaries.
“Relics” (123 N. Artsakh Ave.) will feature 50-yard-long white
tapestries suspended from the ceiling that displays digitally printed
images of Armenian relics such as ancestral heirlooms, objects that
evoke a memory of ancestral struggles, scars and loss, but also, of
triumph, survival and photos of a time before. A QR code will allow
spectators to scan and learn more about each relic.
“Reclamation” (127 N. Artsakh Ave.) will feature hundreds of shoes
placed in piles as the remnants of a war/bombing with a backdrop of
Mount Ararat.
My Relic is generously sponsored by the Glendale Arts and Culture
Commission through funding from the Urban Art Program, and support
from Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and Glendale Economic
Development.
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8- Borne of Armenian-American Roots, US Music Production Company
Yessian Celebrates 50 Years
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Bob
Seger’s performance in a March 2021 episode of the television show
“The Simpsons,” to Cadillac’s “Scissorhands”/Winona Ryder
advertisement during the National Football League’s biggest
professional football game of 2021, Yessian music production company’s
50th year in business continues its groundbreaking work— as one of the
oldest US Commercial production music companies.
The company provides sound for the best-known brands in advertising,
film, TV, gaming, and theme parks and has clients all over the world.
Earlier this month, Yessian was awarded two Gold Awards by 2021
American Advertising Awards Los Angeles for Detroit Youth Choir’s
“Glory” which was recorded on site in Detroit and in the studio, and
Vistaprint’s “Unregiftable” advertisement. Other notable recent
projects by Yessian include producing the sound for Hudson Yards
Observation Deck in New York City, ‘Flying Over Indonesia’ theme park
ride at Trans Studios Bali, and Lincoln’s ‘Ivory Keys’ ad for the 2021
Grammy’s featuring singer songwriter John Baptiste.
The Farmington Hills, Mich. based company is believed to be one of the
oldest commercial music production companies in the United States with
a reputation for continually furthering its reach both regionally and
technologically. For a company timeline, images and audio click here.
Founded in 1971 by award-winning composer Dan Yessian, of Armenian
descent, the company began in a 300-square-foot bait shop in metro
Detroit. Yessian’s early success in creating jingles for companies
such as Whirlpool, Dodge, Ford Motor Company and Frigidaire, plus
music for TV shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company,”
allowed for the creation of purpose-built studios. Since working
alongside his two sons Brian Yessian, chief of operations, and Michael
Yessian, head of production, Dan Yessian was able to expand the
company into a global enterprise with producers, composers, music
supervisors, research creatives and recording artists creating
groundbreaking and award-winning audio. The company maintains
additional locations in Los Angeles, New York City and Hamburg,
Germany, totaling 20,000 square feet of studio and office space.
“I was an English teacher with a dream: making music. I left teaching
in the Detroit Public Schools to start creating jingles in a tiny
space I rented for $50 a month, and fortunately I was embraced by the
Detroit advertising community,” says Dan Yessian, who was inducted
into the Adcraft Hall of Fame in 2018. “Now, with my sons, who have
taken the business to a level I could never have imagined, and with an
outstandingly talented team, our current scope of work includes music
for theme parks across the world along with network television and
global advertising for Fortune 500 companies. Ours is the business of
telling stories and experiences through sound, and every year we
continue to achieve new milestones.”
Notable in that work was a project that took the Yessian team to Abbey
Road Studios in London, England, where Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”
was rearranged and recorded for a United Airlines advertisement; and
to Changsha in China, for the creation of audio to accompany a 5D
Theater Experience film celebrating the birthplace of Chinese pottery.
Yessian was also asked to provide the sound for the One World
Observatory which opened in 2015 at the site of the former World Trade
Center in New York City; and in 2019 the company created a 360-degree
audio experience for the band Aerosmith’s Las Vegas residency.
A brief list of company clients over the years includes Disney, RAM,
Budweiser, Macy’s, United Airlines, Walmart, Coca Cola, L’Oreal,
McDonald’s, Porsche, Nintendo, Proctor & Gamble, Mercedes-Benz,
Samsung, Bosch, NBC (“Sunday Night Football,” “The Voice,” “America’s
Got Talent”), ESPN (College Football, Major League Baseball), Disney
Channel, HGTV, Lifetime, PBS, US Navy, and US Air Force among
countless others.
Yessian is a global collective of producers, composers, music
supervisors, research creatives and recording artists. With six
full-service recording studios including a music licensing and
research division, the studio offers a complete source for music,
sound design and soundscapes. This powerful combination has allowed
Yessian to enlist some of the world’s best-known brands in film,
television, advertising, gaming, and theme parks as clients. For more
information about Yessian, visit
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9- Portantino Administers Attorney Oath of Office for
Inaugural Karabian Fellow Anahit Sargsyan
SACRAMENTO—Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Canada-Flintridge)
was proud to administer the oath for the State Bar of California for
Anahit Sargsyan, the first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow and
former Legislative Assistant in his Capitol office.
“Anahit was an outstanding choice to be the inaugural Karabian
Fellow,” commented Senator Portantino. “She served our Sacramento
office and the 25th Senate District extremely well. I also
appreciated her dedication to and support of Artsakh. I had the
opportunity to meet her terrific family and the privilege of swearing
her into the State Bar of California, where she will continue her
stellar service as an attorney,” he added.
Sargsyan was selected as the first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow
in 2016 and placed in Senator Portantino’s 2016 State Senate campaign.
Shortly after, she was hired as a Legislative Assistant in his Capitol
Office. During her time at State Senate, she had an opportunity to
assist the Senator on a number of important projects, including
securing state funding for the Armenian American Museum and the
formation of the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia, and
Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural Exchange.
Sargsyan earned her B.A. with honors from the University of
California, Davis, where she studied History, with an emphasis in
Western Civilization. She received her J.D. from the University of
California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2020 and is currently working
as an associate at a California law firm’s Los Angeles office,
focusing her practice on litigation, elections, state legislation,
ethics and conflict of interest, and education matters. While
attending law school, Ms. Sargsyan worked as a judicial extern at the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as a litigation fellow
at a firm in Los Angeles. She also spent a summer interning at
Republic of Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender’s Office in Shushi.
Inspired by her experience of advising Portantino on education policy
matters, Sargsyan developed a passion for teaching and mentorship. She
worked as a Graduate Student Instructor for the Freedom of
Communication course at UCLA and also served as a mentor for the UCLA
Law Fellows Program and as Vice-President of UCLA Armenian Law
Students Association.
“Working in environments that invest in your growth early in your
career is crucial,” said Sargsyan. “I am so thankful to Senator
Portantino for his mentorship and to the Karabian Fellowship for the
invaluable experiences they have provided me. We have many
opportunities to create pathways for Armenian students interested in
politics and public service. Being introduced to Senator Portantino
through Karabian Fellowship was the beginning of that path for me. I
encourage all young professionals to seek out mentors and programs
that inspire them,” she added.
Sargsyan moved to California from Yerevan in 2010, where she also
studied law at the Yerevan State University. She joined her family in
Sacramento, relying on their support to overcome the challenges of
being an immigrant and navigating the educational system in the United
States. Sargsyan maintains strong ties with the realities in Armenia.
She remains active in the Armenian American community, supporting
various advocacy efforts, including those programs that invest in
extending access to high quality education for Armenian students.
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10- Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan charged with
money laundering YEREVAN (Armenpress)—The Armenian Ambassador to
Israel Armen Smbatyan was charged on April 19 with money laundering
and accessory to misconduct in a case involving a former Cabinet
member.
Announcing the criminal charges, the Committee of Investigations said
Monday that its investigation revealed that Smbatyan allegedly
fraudulently helped the former Armenian minister of culture H.P. to
launder 550,000 dollars in proceeds from the sale of a building of
historic-cultural significance located at 3 Abovyan Street in Yerevan.
Smbatian was also the head of the Armenian Association of Cultural
Cooperation with Foreign Countries, and the then-minister was his
deputy during that time. The building in question was allegedly
fraudulently acquired by the association before being allegedly sold
to an offshore company registered at the British Virgin Islands, in
turn belonging to a family member of the then-minister.
A bail bond of 20,000,000 drams is set for Smbatyan.
The Committee of Investigations had earlier reported that the former
minister of culture and youth is also charged and wanted.
Ambassador Smbatyan served as an Advisor to the President of the
Republic Armenia from 2014 to 2018. He was the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to
Russian Federation from 2002 to 2010 and meanwhile served as Executive
Director of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (IFESCCO) in Russian Federation.
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