Category: 2020

Today marks the centennial of the Armenia’s Coat of Arms.

“On July 9, 1920, the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the Coat of Arms created by Alexander Tamanian,” President Armen Sarkissian reminded the nation in a Twitter post.

The law “On the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia” was adopted on April 19, 1992, by the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Armenia, reported Public Radio of Armenia.

The Coat of Arms of the First Armenian Republic (1918-1920) was designed by Architect Alexander Tamanian and artist Hakob Kojoyan.

Following the constitutional reforms of November 27, 2005, a new law on the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia was adopted on June 15, 2006.

The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia is a national symbol of the Republic of Armenia. It has a shield at its center depicting Mount Ararat with Noah’s Ark and the coats of arms of Armenia’s historic dynasties—Bagratuni, Arshakuni, Artashesian and Rubinian.

ANCA Continues to Work with Legislators to Ensure Ongoing U.S. Funding for a Mine-Free Artsakh

WASHINGTON—A key U.S. House panel has approved legislative report language indirectly calling for continued USAID funding for humanitarian de-mining in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“We certainly welcome this report recommendation as a step in the right direction,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “However, in light of this Administration’s all-out attack on Artsakh de-mining, it’s clear that Congress will need to do more in the underlying foreign aid bill to ensure continued U.S. support for a mine-free Artsakh.”

Support for Artsakh de-mining was included in the House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2021 Foreign Aid Bill, as follows:  “The Committee recommends funding consistent with prior years for USAID’s Humanitarian De-mining program.” The only USAID funded de-mining program currently in operation is in Artsakh, where The HALO Trust has successfully removed over 61,000 mines and cleared some 62,000 acres of land, ensuring a safer future for over 80% of Artsakh’s population.  Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who visited Artsakh last year and met with representatives of The HALO Trust, was a strong proponent of the report language, along with his Armenian Caucus colleagues, including Co-Chairs Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and others.

Congress has consistently pushed back against efforts to stop de-mining assistance to Artsakh, with over 30 Senators and 75 U.S. Representatives calling on key Appropriations Committee members to continue the assistance program, in letters sent in April and March of this year.  Last year, 22 Senators and 89 Representatives cosigned bipartisan letters defending the USAID-funded HALO-Trust de-mining program in Artsakh. In 2017 and again in 2019 the U.S. House passed amendments supporting continued U.S. aid to Artsakh.  In the lead up to today’s vote, one-third of U.S. House members testifying before the House Appropriations Committee cited Artsakh de-mining as a key priority for inclusion in the FY2021 Foreign Aid Bill.

The United States has been funding humanitarian programs in Artsakh since 1998, providing clean water to rural communities, support for maternal and child health, and life-saving de-mining assistance.  Artsakh assistance has been long under attack by Azerbaijan’s Aliyev regime, and over the past two years, aggressively targeted by the Trump Administration, even as it ramps up U.S. defense and security aid to Baku.

Continued aid to Artsakh to support de-mining and rehabilitation efforts has been a key part of the ANCA’s 360-degree policy priorities to ensure Artsakh security and freedom.  In testimony to the House Appropriations Committee earlier this year, ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan argued that “The U.S. aid program to Nagorno Karabakh may require only a small expenditure, but it represents a major American investment in peace.”  She went on to note that despite exceptional progress in The HALO Trust’s effort to make Artsakh mine-free, more needed to be done.  “While the exact percentage of territory requiring clearance remains uncertain, The HALO Trust’s village-by-village resurvey has already identified 1.8 million square meters of additional contamination in the highly populated Martakert region, a figure that will certainly increase as the re-survey continues. All told, 385 people have been killed or injured by landmines or other explosives in Nagorno Karabakh since 1995, including several HALO trust employees in just the past few years,” explained Yerimyan.

Over 10,000 advocates have contacted Congress in support of continued U.S. de-mining assistance to Artsakh through the ANCA’s online action portals.  ANCA Leo Sarkisian and Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Summer program participants have been rallying nationwide constituent outreach in support of continued Artsakh aid.  Send letters to Senate and House members.  Constituents can be directly connected to their U.S. Representative by phone through the ANCA’s Quick Connect system.  Grassroots outreach to Congressional offices will continue until the FY2021 Foreign Aid Bill is finalized.

The FY 2021 Foreign Aid Bill and its accompanying report were approved by the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 29 to 21 and is scheduled to be taken up by the full House of Representatives soon.  The Senate Appropriations Committee will be taking up its version of the FY2021 Foreign Aid Bill in upcoming weeks.  The House measure did not specify amounts for direct aid to Armenia or Azerbaijan, allowing the State Department latitude to define funding levels and programs.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a law that mandates the teaching of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, among other cases of genocide, as a requirement for High School graduation in the Centennial State.

“Armenian Genocide education has been a long-standing goal of the ANCA-WR and was included in the language of the recent congressional resolutions recognizing the Genocide. After years of hard work and persistence, we are thrilled that Armenian Genocide education has become a reality in yet another state,” remarked Nora Hovsepian, Esq., chair of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

“We are grateful to Governor Polis, the legislative sponsors, and our community partners who championed this important bill and brought it to the finish line despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. This is yet another accomplishment for the Armenian Cause by our grassroots and Colorado’s vibrant Armenian community in a state that boasts America’s only Capitol Khachkar memorial that was recently referenced by the White House and a highway honoring the Battle of Sardarapat. We will continue this movement State by State and at all levels of government until public schools throughout the country are taught the valuable lessons of the Armenian Genocide and the pride as Americans of the Near East Relief rescue effort,” concluded Hovsepian.

At a socially-distant signing ceremony hosted outside the Jewish Community Center and across from the Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Wednesday, July 8, Gov. Polis was joined by the primary cosponsors of House Bill 20-1336, as well as representatives of the organizations that championed the law and community leaders.

In remarks broadcast live on his official Facebook page, Gov. Polis announced that “This bill… will make sure that every Colorado child including my son Caspian who is here will learn about Holocaust and Genocide, including the Armenian Genocide….” He then acknowledged Colorado’s oldest Holocaust survivor and education advocate Fanny Starr before stating, “I also want to thank the Armenian National Committee Western Region and Armenians of Colorado, and I want to thank you, Simon Maghakyan, for you work on this issue, and I want to thank the sponsors Rep. [Dafna] Michaelson Jenet, Rep. [Emily] Sirota, Sen. [Stephen] Fenberg, and Sen. [Dennis] Hisey… This bill will make sure that we will honor the words ‘never again’ in our time and in our children’s time.”

Following the Governor’s opening statement, remarks were made by the legislative sponsors and community leaders, including Coalition Against Global Genocide’s Roz Duman and Armenians of Colorado’s Sona Hedeshian.

“Today is a dream come true,” remarked ANCA’s Colorado representative Simon Maghakyan following the bill signing ceremony. “It was exactly a year ago tomorrow when we held the very first capitol meeting on what became Colorado House Bill 20-1336. I am very proud of my state for requiring genocide education in public schools, because teaching about the worst choices that humans are capable of making is a critical lesson for our children. Today’s victory is a testament to decades of activism and a celebration of the strong bond between Colorado’s Armenian and Jewish communities. As Governor Jared Polis said today upon signing the law, Hitler and Turkey have failed,” continued Maghakyan, whose full statement acknowledging all stakeholders of the bill can be read here.

Introduced in early March, HB20-1336 was initially among majority of bills that were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though it received unanimous support in the March 12 House Committee on Education, where Armenian community members Anahid Katchian, Kim Christianian, and Simon Maghakyan joined many others in testifying in support of the bill. However, in part because ANC-WR, Armenians of Colorado, Jewish Colorado, and the Anti-Defamation League, among others, committed to privately funding the administrative implementation of the law by making donations to the Department of Education, the bill was passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on June 5 and the Senate on June 10.

The law requires Colorado’s state board of education to adopt standards related to Holocaust and genocide studies by July 2021, after which each school district board of education and charter school must incorporate those standards into an existing course that is already a condition of high school graduation for school years beginning in July 2023. The standards will be supported with a resource bank of materials pertaining to Holocaust and genocide courses and programs created and maintained by the Colorado Department of Education.

In addition to Colorado, a dozen other states across the U.S. require genocide education, with specific mandates to teach the Armenian Genocide in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Rhode Island. Other states, like Texas, have established commissions that encourage genocide education.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.