Category: 2020

Medical supplies produced in Artsakh will be sent to the State of California as symbolic assistance to the “friendly people of America” for its fight against COVID-19 pandemic, Member of Artsakh’s Parliament David Melkumyan said.

As a result of constructive discussions with the President of the National Assembly, the State Minister and the Foreign Minister, an agreement has been reached to medical supplies to California on behalf of the people of Artsakh, Melkumyan said.

The aid “to the friendly people of America and our compatriots” will be largely symbolic, but Artsakh will thus join the global fight against the pandemic.

“This is a wonderful humanitarian gesture. We are all in this together and the Government of Artsakh is showcasing for the world that it understands that what affects one of us affects all of us. I hope California can reciprocate in the future as needs arise,” California State Senator Anthony Portantino told Asbarez. Portantino has traveled to Artsakh three times and the chairs the Senate Committee which fosters cooperation between California Armenia and Artsakh.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in California has been increasing in recent days, with the state ordering restaurants, bars and other indoor businesses to shut down again.

The State of California is one of 9 states of the Union that has recognized Artsakh’s independence and its people’s right to self-determination. The City of Shushi enjoys a “Friendship City” status with the Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON—Friends, supporters, and leaders of the Armenian National Committee of America joined together virtually on Sunday, June 28 with U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to honor his long-standing legislative leadership on Armenian American issues.

Consistent with Covid-19 health guidelines, the virtual reception was hosted on Zoom by ANCA National Board Member Ani Tchaghlasian, ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, distinguished attorneys and ANCA supporters John Shahdanian from Old Tappan, New Jersey, Joseph Ariyan from northern New Jersey, as well as ANC of New Jersey activists James and Maral Sahagian.

“It’s an honor to support Senator Menendez, a man who has done so much for Armenians in the United States and in Armenia. We, as a community, must support the public servants who understand history, are on the right side of it, and are not afraid to fight for it,” said Ariyan who co-hosted the event.

“As a proud Armenian-American and grandson of a Genocide survivor, it was my honor to support the Armenian community’s greatest advocate in the U.S. Senate. The fact that he is my home state Senator makes it all that more meaningful. I look forward to Senator Menendez continuing to lead the charge on all issues that are important to Armenians,” said Shahdanian.

Senator Menendez, who has consistently scored an “A+” rating on his ANCA Report Card, serves as the Ranking Democrat on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A staunch supporter and a long-time friend of the ANCA, his unwavering leadership led to the unanimous passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.150), a bi-partisan measure led by Senators Menendez and Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Senator Menendez was direct and uncompromising in his calls on the Senate to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s Genocide denial. “The simple threshold question for this body comes to this: Do we recognize a clear case of genocide when it happens, or do we let a country like Turkey determine our own views, determine our own sense of history, determine our own moral obligation, and determine the public record,” said Senator Menendez. “At what point do we say enough is enough? At what point do we simply move forward and acknowledge the truth? The truth is that the Armenian Genocide happened. It is a fact. To deny that is to deny one of the monstrous acts of history. This denial is a stain on the Senate and our country. We have an opportunity to right that wrong and put the U.S. Senate on the right side of history,” continued Senator Menendez, who took to the Senate floor four times in as many weeks to secure the unanimous consent passage of the resolution on December 12, 2019.

Attendees joined the virtual reception on Zoom where they heard from the Senator about his work past and present including his support of U.S. aid to Artsakh for the life-saving de-mining work that the HALO Trust has been doing as well as the re-purposing of $25 million in already appropriated U.S. aid to bolster Armenia’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic for the Fiscal Year 2021 foreign aid bill.

Attendees engaged with the Senator through a question and answer period during which long-time ANCA leader and public health expert Kim Hekimian, PhD, told the touching story of her mother who was undergoing surgery during Senate consideration of S.Res.150, and whose first question upon awakening was whether the landmark human rights legislation had passed. Hekimian spoke about the importance of the historic vote to not only the generations who were represented on the virtual reception, but for the older generations who had long-awaited for the U.S. government to take a principled position on the issue.

“For over three decades – the ANCA has built a strong and durable relationship with Senator Menendez – based on mutual respect and a shared commitment to justice,” remarked ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “From his days as the mayor of Union City, to his service in the New Jersey Legislature and up and until today with his work in the U.S. Congress – Senator Menendez has blazed a brilliant and productive track record championing the Armenian Cause on Capitol Hill.”

“The Senator’s bold leadership last December in passing the Armenian Genocide resolution in the Senate was just the latest example of why the ANCA consistently awards him with our highest rating – an A+. Frankly, if the ANCA had a higher rating – I would urge Senator Menendez get it – because we have no better ally in the U.S. Senate fighting for Armenia and Artsakh,” added Hamparian.

Senator Menendez’ commitment to Artsakh safety and security has been a hallmark of his tenure in both the Senate and House. Most recently, he was joined by 30 Senate colleagues in calling for continued life-saving U.S. demining and rehabilitation assistance for Artsakh.   Alarmed by a U.S. military aid program to Azerbaijan that has “skyrocketed” to more than $120 million over the past three fiscal years, Senator Menendez formally requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a detailed report on this assistance program and its compliance with Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. Enacted in 1992, Section 907 places statutory restrictions and requirements on U.S. taxpayer funding to Azerbaijan until that government takes “demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“It is a great honor to support a brave and principled leader like Senator Menendez who relentlessly fights for justice for all people. His unwavering determination and purpose is a force to be reckoned with – a true champion of all Armenians,” added Maral Sahagian, who along with her husband James, were co-hosts of the event.

Senator Menendez, whose outstanding track record of support on key Armenian American community concerns began with his election as mayor of Union City in 1986, continued through his time in the New Jersey state legislature from 1988 to 1992, and flourished on a national scale following his 1992 election to the U.S. House of Representatives. As a member of the House International Relations Committee, then-Congressman Menendez voted in favor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution in 2000 and 2005, setting the stage for future House consideration of the measure. During his years in the U.S. House, he is best remembered for his leadership in maintaining Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan in 1997.

He continued to elevate Armenian American priorities when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. Whether he is scrutinizing U.S. ambassadorial nominees to Turkey and Azerbaijan regarding their positions on the Armenian Genocide or mediating a lasting peace for the Republic of Artsakh, Senator Menendez has been a stalwart leader on Armenian American concerns.

Pompeo Urges Erdogan to drop plans to convert the 1,500-year-old church to a mosque

A Turkish court on Thursday decided to delay a decision on whether the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul should be converted into a mosque, the BBC reported. The Council of State – Turkey’s highest administrative body – said it would make a ruling within 15 days, after a hearing that lasted just 17 minutes.

The 1,500 year old UNESCO World Heritage site was originally a Greek Orthodox cathedral before becoming a mosque and then a museum in the 1930s.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the change during an election rally last year.

Islamists in Turkey have long called for it to be converted, but secular opposition members have opposed the move. The proposal has prompted international criticism, from religious and political leaders worldwide.

In fact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday urged Erdogan not to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque and said Istanbul’s celebrated former cathedral should remain open to all.

“We urge the government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey, and to ensure it remains accessible to all,” Pompeo said.
“The United States views a change in the status of the Hagia Sophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability — so rare in the modern world — to serve humanity as a much-needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures,” he said in a statement.

Pompeo said that the United States hoped to maintain dialogue with Turkey over the preservation of religious and cultural sites.

The Istanbul Patriarch Bishop Sahak Mashalian has endorsed the idea of restoring Hagia Sophia’s status as a place of worship, but has urged to allocate space for Christians.

Last month, In Defense of Christians, the Armenian National Committee of America and the Hellenic American Leadership Council called on UNESCO to respond to Turkey’s continued threat to violate Hagia Sophia’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and convert the museum into a mosque. st1yle=”margin:0px 0px 10px;font-family:Bayon;font-size:15px”>“Holy sites of any and all faiths should be respected, preserved, and operated as places of worship within the faith tradition in which they were built and consecrated,” ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian told Asbarez Thursday.

“Thousands of Christian churches, cemeteries and other religious properties across the territory of present-day Turkey—stolen or seized through genocide—need to be immediately returned to their rightful owners and fully restored at state expense,” added Hamparian.

BY MEGHEDI MELODY NAZARIAN

Do you remember a time when Democrats and Republicans worked together — not against each other? In today’s divisive political climate, especially in 2020 with the Coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matters movement, it’s hard to imagine such a time ever existed. But Walter Karabian — former California State Assembly member from 1967 to 1975 and the first Speaker of assembly (and third Armenian-American ever elected to the state’s legislature in the history of the U.S.) — not only recalls that more harmonious time but actually lived through it. This is a man that turned from Republican to Democrat in a heartbeat (and never looked back) after the fateful meeting of then, soon-to-be-president, John F. Kennedy, at the Democratic National Convention in 1960. 

This is a man with many more captivating accomplishments spotlighted in a short documentary titled, Karabian: A Glimpse Into a Statesman’s Life, by filmmakers Hrag Yedalian and Garen Mirzaian. Mirzaian recently served as cinematographer on Live Nation’s documentary, “Truth to Power,” chronicling Serj Tankian.

The idea behind the 20-minute film came when Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian connected the filmmakers with Karabian “because he felt that Wally’s story was valuable and that we would be able to capture it for posterity,” Yedalian said. Mirzaian continued: “I remember I was intrigued, but after meeting Wally, the inspiration was solidified.”

And there’s plenty of inspiring moments to be seen thanks to Karabian’s experiences both as a politician and an Armenian-American man who educated politicians on the Armenian Genocide back in the late ‘60s and simultaneously rubbed elbows with the likes of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Fidel Castro. 

When I first set out the popcorn to watch this short film — which premiered at the Arpa Festival in the fall of 2018 and had its Canadian premiere at the 2019 Pomegranate Film Festival — I didn’t expect to feel as close as I did to Karabian’s stories and character. But by the end of it, I was compelled to meet him after experiencing a wave of emotions ranging from enthusiasm for his grand career accomplishments, excitement over his meeting of such prominent figures in history, sadness for his near-death experience during a terrorist hijacking on a plane he was aboard in 1970, and most importantly, pride for his building a powerful legacy as an Armenian-American. This is a man who used the words “candid” and “complex” when asked to describe himself — I, and many others, would settle on a more ordinary lexicon. But as you soon come to find in this fascinating short film Karabian was anything but average.

“Wally is a first-class diplomat and a man of action,” filmmaker Yedalian said. “From making an indelible mark on state politics to improving the lives of disenfranchised communities, Wally has been able to use his career to bring about important and meaningful change.”

Walter Karabian was born in Fresno, California on March 14, 1938, the same day Superman was introduced to the public on the cover of Time Magazine. So it’s no surprise that he himself would go on to exemplify “superman powers” in his political career. “I was ambitious. I had strong feelings about public issues and I felt I could do something about them in a position of power,” he said. Karabian got his political feet wet at the University of Southern California by getting involved in student politics. At the age of 28, he was among four legislators elected under the age of 30 in the history of California. At 32, he became the youngest assembly majority leader in California’s history. Throughout his career, Karabian championed social justice and equal rights. He also changed the way we see divorce by coining a very popular term that we use until today (it’s a funny story which I’ll let him tell in his own words in the documentary). 

After running for Secretary of State in 1974, Karabian spent the rest of his career practicing law in Los Angeles for 45 years. He also served as a founding member of the Armenian Bar Association. Among Karabian’s most cherished contributions to politics and the Armenian cause came during the first Armenian Genocide Commemorative Resolution in 1967, which he authored in the assembly. It was the first time the members of the legislature had ever heard of the Armenian Genocide and Karabian “felt it was my duty to educate them.” Until today Karabian continues to teach non-Armenians about our history. “My Armenian identity was always there for me,” Karabian said. “It wasn’t as prominent as it is today but it was always there inside me.” 

While he no longer actively works in politics or law, Karabian has left an undeniable legacy for Armenian-Americans who came and will come after him. “I’ve had a fortunate, bountiful, and productive life,” he said. “I was a role model for many and I accepted that role to motivate younger Armenian men and women to engage in politics to better not only themselves but to better their community and their constituency.”

You can view “Karabian: A Glimpse Into a Statesman’s Life” and learn more about Walter Karabian through the accompanying archives.

Watch the film

As for the filmmakers’ upcoming projects, Yedalian and Mirzaian are currently in post-production on their feature length documentary, slated to be released before April 24, 2021, about the emotional and psychological impact of the Armenian Genocide on multiple generations of Armenians since 1915.

Artsakh Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan sent letters to a group of U.S. Congressmen to thank them for their continued support of Armenian issues, especially their efforts to continue funding de-mining activities in Artsakh.

Mayilyan expressed gratitude to the members of Congress for honoring the assurances they made during his meetings on Capitol Hill last year and are undertaking consistent efforts to ensure continued humanitarian assistance by the United States to the post-war rehabilitation of the Republic of Artsakh.

“Throughout the past decades, the assistance helped address various urgent humanitarian needs, and consequences of the devastating aggression by Azerbaijan. In particular, the American support of the HALO Trust’s effective and efficient activities in war-affected areas allowed the international humanitarian mine-clearance organization to neutralize tens of thousands of landmines and other deadly remnants of the aggression,” said Mayilyan in the letter.

The Artsakh Foreign Minister expressed hope that the ongoing and enhanced humanitarian assistance from the United States to the Republic of Artsakh would help both countries to continue enforcing regional stability and security, as well as to provide basic humanitarian needs to the citizens of the Republic of Artsakh.

Mayilian also congratulated the members of Congress on U.S. Independence Day, noting that throughout its independent history, the United States has been at the forefront of defending the values of freedom and democracy, which have inspired many nations across the globe, including the Republic of Artsakh, to rise up and fight for their inalienable rights and liberties.