Category: 2019

Last month, under the auspices of Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, a Sunday school teacher’s seminar took place at the Western Prelacy, where clergy and more than 25 directors and teachers from various Prelacy church Sunday schools were in attendance.

A vesper service was conducted at the Prelacy’s “Sts. Drtad and Ashkhen” chapel, and the hymn “Vork Zartaretsin” was sung in commemoration of the Holy Translators. Afterward, those in attendance were invited to the “Dikran and Zarouhi Der Ghazarian” hall, where the seminar began with the singing of the Sunday school anthem.

Hagop Tchaghatsbanian, co-chair of the event, gave a short spiritual reflection by referencing Matthew 10:42: “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose his reward.” Event co-chair, Raffi Torossian’s remarks followed. These reflections were followed by presentations by Sunday school directors, in regard to their schools yearly goals.

The seminar continued with the first speaker, Very Rev. Muron Aznikian, who reflected on the theme of the seminar – “Jesus the good Shepherd.” He touched on the various obstacles that today’s youth face, including reasons for having strayed away from their faith. Rev. Aznikian emphasized that a religious education and the Bible are foundations of morality, and cited the Book of Proverbs: “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.” (Prov. 12:6)

After the lunch break, the second guest speaker, Rev. Karekin Bedourian reflected on the Holy Translators and their roles in building the Armenian identity. He focused on the necessity of keeping the Armenian language strong within the youth.

Following Fr. Bedourian’s remarks, a short video clip depicting Jesus as the good Shepard was presented to those in attendance. The video presentation was followed by a workshop.

Closing remarks were provided by Prelate Mardirossian, who congratulated the Sunday school teachers and directors for their continued efforts. Emphasizing on the tribulations which we all face, he invited all to renew their faith, dedication, and service.

Prelate Mardirossian also spoke about the traditions which we inherited from the Holy Translators and invited all to not only be proud of the achievements of the Translators, but to also exemplify them in our daily lives.

The seminar concluded by the benediction of the Prelate and singing of “Cilicia.” Each Sunday school director received a gift for their schools, and the attendees received a plaque with the Lord’s Prayer as well as prayer cards.

BOSTON (Armenian Weekly)—The Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts has announced that the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Education will be discussing a bill related to genocide education next week.

The public hearing for H.566 and S. 327 – “An Act concerning genocide education” – will be held on Monday October 7 at the Massachusetts State House.

The hearing will feature testimony from scholars, teachers, students, and community activists in support of the bill that mandates the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to include the instruction of the Holocaust and the genocide “to address the notion that national, ethnic, racial or religious hatred can overtake any nation or society, leading to calamitous consequences.”

The language of the bill continues: “To reinforce that lesson, such curriculum unit shall include the Nazi atrocities of 1933 to 1945 known as the Holocaust, and other genocides including, but not limited to, the Armenian Genocide, the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine known as Holodomor, the Pontian Greek Genocide, and more recent atrocities in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and Sudan.”

In 1998, the state legislature passed a bill that required genocide education in the state social studies curriculum framework; but this bill would mandate that all students learn about cases of genocide. It will provide young people more opportunities to explore how stereotypes, prejudice and religious and ethnic hatred can escalate to tragedy.

Currently 12 states mandate the teaching of genocide. Most recently in 2016, the ANC of Michigan took a leading role in the successful effort to pass a genocide mandate for Michigan public school students.

The ANC of Eastern Mass., the Anti-Defamation League of New England, and the Jewish Community Relations Council are leading a coalition of 25 organizations and religious institutions that are advocating for passage of the Genocide Education Act.

The public is encouraged to attend so that legislators can witness the community’s broad support for genocide education in Massachusetts public schools.

SACRAMENTO—Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed the Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act, into law.

“California stands on the side of justice and remembers the 1.5 million souls lost during the Armenian Genocide,” stated Governor Gavin Newsom. “Today and every day, let us recommit ourselves to making certain that we never forget and that we always speak out against hatred and atrocities anywhere they occur. I am proud to stand with friends and sign AB 1320 into law.”

“California, the 5th largest economy in the world, just told Turkey to end its deceitful campaign of genocide denial,” stated Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian. “I want to thank my colleagues, Governor Newsom, and all those who have fought with me on this long path to recognizing the 1.5 million Armenian souls lost to genocide.”

“This is a significant victory for the Armenian Cause after a long and hard-fought battle, but the war is not over by any means. We are exceedingly grateful to Governor Gavin Newsom for remaining steadfast in his commitment for justice for the Armenian Cause by keeping his promise to sign the Divest Turkey bill into law once he assumed office after publicly voicing his support during his term as Lt. Governor and after our meeting with him in August,” said Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region chairperson Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“The persistence and perseverance of Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian and the unflinching support of his colleagues in the State Assembly and State Senate in working with us to advance this agenda have been immeasurable, and we greatly appreciate the hard work it took to achieve this result,” added Hovspeian.

“After this movement was initiated by the Armenian Youth Federation and the All-Armenian Students’ Association on college campuses throughout California, the ANCA-WR worked hard to bring it to the legislative floor. This was truly a team effort, and the result speaks for itself. We will continue to spread the message of Divest Turkey to other entities, now being able to use this newly-enacted law as an example of how the State can align its human rights policies with its fiscal policies.” explained Hovsepian.

California has a long history of divesting from countries that violate human rights, such as South Africa (apartheid policy), Sudan (Darfur genocide), and Iran (international terrorism, human rights violations). Threatening to divest from Turkish bonds over its denial of the Armenian Genocide would end the continued funding of a campaign of genocide denial. This bill sends a strong message internationally that California demands justice for the murder of 1.5 million Armenians.

AB 1320 prohibits the boards of the California Public Retirement System (CalPERS) and California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) from making additional or new investments, or renewing existing investments issued or owned by the government of Turkey after federal sanctions are imposed on Turkey.

The boards shall liquidate investments only upon action taken by the federal government. More specifically, CalPERS and CalSTRS must liquidate any of the investments described above within eighteen months of the passage of federal sanctions on Turkey.

This bill also requires the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS to submit reports to the Legislature and the Governor, within a year of when the federal government issues sanctions against Turkey. The report will detail a list of investments that they have already liquidated and a list of investments that potentially can be liquidated. CalPERS, estimated that the exposure to the fund from Turkish investment vehicles ranges between $77 million up to $350 million as of December 31, 2018.

From its July analysis, CalSTRS estimates the holdings of debt securities issued by the government of Turkey is approximately $3.2 million. Global equities and currency investments subject to possible divestment have a potential combined market value of up to $8.3 million.

“I want to thank the Armenian Assembly, the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region, Armenian Youth Federation and Armenian Student Associations throughout the UC and Cal State system and all the other college campuses for helping advocate for AB 1320,” stated Assemblymember Nazarian.

California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States and one of the largest Armenian Diaspora communities in the world. Annually, the Los Angeles Armenian Diaspora organizes a march and protest on April 24th, to the Turkish Consulate to condemn Turkey’s denial of their history of human rights violations and targeted murder of the Armenian people in 1915. AB 1320 sets precedent that we will not support Turkey, as it continues to savagely violate human rights today as it did over a century ago.

Assemblymember Nazarian added: “I am not finished fighting for justice and reparations. My next fight is federal recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

A day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia heaped praise on the ongoing “strong” relations between Yerevan and Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Pashinyan’s statement that “Artsakh is Armenia. Period,” calling it non-conducive for the advancement of the Karabakh conflict resolution process.

Speaking at the Russian think-thank Valdai Forum in Sochi on Wednesday, Lavrov lamented at parties to the Karabakh conflict “making quite serious statements.”

“In particular,” Lavorv said, “there has been a statement to the effect that Karabakh is Armenia, just like Albanian Prime Minister [Edi] Rama said from Tirana than Kosovo is Albania. This certainly does not help to create an atmosphere conducive to the resumption of the political [settlement] process.”

Lavrov was referencing a speech given by Pashinyan at a rally in Stepanakert in August on the eve of the opening ceremonies of the Pan-Armenian Games, where he said, “Artsakh is Armenia. Period,” evidently disturbing Russia’s top diplomat.

When asked about Lavrov’s statement, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan, during a press briefing on Thursday, cited official Baku’s ongoing rants about how the Karabakh conflict must be resolved “exclusively within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.” Naghdalyan insisted that such assertions “do not contribute to the fostering an atmosphere of respect in advancing the peace process.”

“Armenia has and continues to support the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, which has provided impartial and unbiased mediation on the conflict and has united the co-chairing countries in their efforts for a peaceful resolution. At the same time we find it important for each of the mediators to avoid random and one-sided assessments,” said Naghdalyan.

“Armenia’s position has been clearly expressed in all of the Armenian prime minister’s speeches, including in the September 24 speech made at the U.N., during which he reiterated the formula proposed by Armenia on achieving peace and compromise. In this regard we consider unacceptable Azerbaijan’s inability to publicly express the kind of solutions for peace, which will be acceptable for the people of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan,” added Naghdalyan.

The foreign ministry spokesperson also clarified other statement made by Lavrov who said that mechanisms were in place for exchanging prisoners and returning remains of killed soldiers to their respective countries.

“No exchange of remains has taken place, rather Artsakh authorities allowed the retrieval of an Azerbaijani serviceman’s remains as a humanitarian step,” explained Naghdalyan.

We must clearly note that Armenia is not considering an exchange of prisoners kept in the territories of the parties, but is proceeding from positions of addressing every individual case within the framework of humanitarian law,” added Naghdalyan.

Lavrov made the statements a day before Putin met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the same forum in Sochi, where Aliyev told Putin, “For us, Russia is a very important partner, friend and good neighbor. We very much value this relationship.” Neither leader mentioned the Karabakh conflict in public remarks.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Lavrov has used his pulpit to admonish Yerevan. Last year, he inserted himself in Armenia’s domestic affairs when he commented on the criminal proceedings related to the March 1, 2008 case, calling actions taken against indicted suspects politically motivated.

It is commendable that the Armenian Foreign Ministry emphasized the disparity in Lavrov’s statements and essentially fact-checked his remarks about prisoner exchanges. What is curious is if Moscow has such concerns, why then did Putin and Pashinyan praise Yerevan-Moscow relations in their public announcements after a meeting Tuesday in Yerevan on the margins of the Eurasian Economic Union summit?

“Armenia-Russia relations are on a reliable and positive course,” Pashinyan reiterated on Wednesday in a Facbook post, where he also announced that he had a second meeting with Putin at Zvartnots airport on Tuesday that lasted 90 minutes and “will give new impetus to Armenia-Russia relations.”

The Karabakh conflict as a topic of discussion was not mentioned by Putin or Pashinyan in their public statements. One wonders if it was even discussed.