Category: 2021

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region welcomed the introduction of two ‘Stop Investment in Turkey’ bills in the California State Assembly and Senate, AB1019 and SB457, respectively.

Introduced by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41), AB 1019 mandates the state stop all new investments and precludes renewal of existing investments issued or owned by Turkey using the full force of the California government to pressure Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and take steps towards justice to its victims.

Introduced by Senators Anthony Portantino (D-25) and Scott Wilk (R-21), SB 457 is a measure that requires the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) Boards of Administration to allow school districts and cities to opt out of investment vehicles issued or owned by the Republic of Turkey. Legislators who have signed on as co-authors of SB 457 include Senator Bob Archuleta (D-32) and Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-08).

As part of ongoing government outreach efforts, the ANCA Western Region Board of Directors, Staff, and local chapter representatives had earlier held productive meetings with Assemblymember Holden, Senator Portantino, and Senator Wilk.

“The ANCA Western Region is grateful to Assemblymember Holden, Senator Portantino, and Senator Wilk for introducing these bills, both of which send a strong message in line with Congress’ 2019 pronouncement of US policy rejecting efforts to engage the United States in Turkey’s ongoing denialist campaign,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “At a time when Turkey has revealed its continued genocidal policies through its support of Azerbaijan’s recent aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, including its own provision of foreign mercenaries to attack innocent Armenian civilians and ethnically cleanse the Armenian presence from our ancestral Homeland, these bills seek to hold Turkey accountable for its past and present crimes. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure that these bills are passed and signed into law so that California’s taxpayer and pension funds are not used by Turkey to advance its genocide denial agenda.”

Current California law established by AB1320 (in 2019), can impose economic sanctions against Turkey for not recognizing its responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, but only upon passage of federal sanctions imposed specifically for Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Since passage of AB1320 the United States Government has taken significant action against Turkey. At the end of 2019 the United States Congress formally recognized the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.296 and S.Res.150) with overwhelming bipartisan support. In 2020, the Executive Branch imposed sanctions on Turkey over a multibillion-dollar acquisition of a Russian missile system under the “CAATSA – Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.”

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.

New Director of Programs Will Oversee Internships, Job Placement, and Youth Programming

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America welcomed Alex Manoukian as a new and powerful addition to its professional staff in the nation’s capital.

“The ANCA is proud to have Alex Manoukian join our team of professionals in Washington, DC,” shared ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “Across many ANCA programs, we offer ladders of success for emerging Armenian American professionals. We are confident that Alex is going to build on these ladders to help young leaders reach their full potential,” Hamparian added.

Manoukian, who is studying toward a Bachelors in Government with a Minor in Arabic at Georgetown University, will serve as the organization’s Director of Programs. He will steward the expansion of the ANCA’s signature youth initiatives – the Leo Sarkisian Internship and the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program, as well as Rising Leaders, an innovative multi-day series of interactive seminars to introduce college-age Armenian Americans to Washington, DC.

“I’m excited to join the ANCA Washington DC team as Programs Director,” said Manoukian. “I look forward to working with students and recent graduates across the U.S. to share the incredible resources that the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program and Leo Sarkisian Internship have to offer – both in terms of career development and pro-Armenian advocacy.  Whether it’s expanding the Armenian American presence professionally in politics, policy, and media or increasing our collective voice in Congress and State Capitols across the U.S. – today’s Armenian youth are the game changers who will take Armenian advocacy to new heights. And the ANCA is ready to work with them every step of the way,” concluded Manoukian.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Manoukian attended Mesrobian Armenian Catholic High School and the Melankton & Haig Arslanian Djemaran, prior to moving with his family to Montebello, Calif., where he studied at Armenian Mesrobian School in Pico Rivera. He belongs to his local Armenian Youth Federation AYF DC “Ani” senior chapter, serves as a member of the AYF Eastern Region Central Executive, and is active in the Armenian Relief Society, the Armenian General Athletic Union (Homenetmen), Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural Association, Georgetown Armenian Students Association, and Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church. He is fluent in Armenian and Arabic.

The ANCA’s Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program, Leo Sarkisian Internship Program, and newer initiatives like ANCA Rising Leaders and the Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Fellowship empower the next generation of Armenian Americans by training university students as effective advocates and helping recent graduates start promising policy, political, government, and media careers in Washington, DC.

Now in its 35th year, the Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship has trained hundreds of community leaders during annual intensive eight-week programs designed to give them the tools necessary to effectively advance issues of concern to the Armenian American community on the federal, state, and local level. Former interns hold leadership positions in the ANCA and across the Armenian community.  The Summer 2021 program will take place virtually from June 14th to August 6th.  For more information and to apply, visit anca.org/internship.  The application deadline is March 31st.

Established in 2003, the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program (CGP) has placed hundreds of recent college graduates in full-time positions in the White House, Congress, Federal agencies, World Bank, think tanks, media outlets, and other influential organizations.  Alumni give back through the CGP Advisory Committee, which leverages the ANCA’s influential political network to assist program fellows. Mentorship, enrichment seminars, and networking events featuring alumni and Washington DC’s seasoned public policy professionals are staples of the program.  The Spring session of the Gateway Program is set to begin on March 31st. To learn more and apply, visit anca.org/gateway.

A group of young protesters gathered on Alex Manoukian Street in Yerevan with calls for students to join their calls for the government’s resignation, they entered the Yerevan State University campus on Wednesday.

The young activists urged YSU students and faculty to join the “Armenia Without Nikol” effort.

The protesters first went to the university law school and later to its international relations department.

“We would like thank the Yerevan State University and all other universities and colleges that have joined the Homeland Salvation Movement,” announced the protest organizers.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organization of Armenia Central Executive member Christine Vardanyan explained that currently the main objective must be to defend the state.

YSU Acting Director Gegham Gevorgyan reiterate his earlier position: “I believe that this government must resign.”

The protesters then left the YSU campus and headed for Armenia’s State Economy University. They attempted to enter the building but were met with a large number of law enforcement officers who began pushing and shoving the protesters and did not allow them entry, forcing the protesters to enter the building from another entrance.

The protesters entered the university president’s waiting room and declared that the Homeland Salvation Movement is demanding that all citizens join the movement. They also entered the lecture halls and urged students to walk out and join the effort.

The protesters said the students and faculty at both facilities supported their effort of demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Russian pro-government lawmakers and pundits strongly condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday for implying that Armenia’s most advanced Russian-made missiles proved useless during the recent war with Azerbaijan.

In an interview with the 1in.am news service aired late on Tuesday, Pashinyan responded to former President Serzh Sarkisian’s claim that the Armenian military did not adequately use its Iskander missiles against advancing Azerbaijani troops because of wrong government orders.
Sarkisian made the claim earlier this month as he harshly criticized Pashinyan’s handling of the the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10.

“Let him ask why the fired Iskander did not explode or why it exploded by, say, 10 percent,” Pashinyan hit back without elaborating.

Pashinyan went on to suggest that the sophisticated missile system might be outdated. Asked whether it could have indeed malfunctioned, he said: “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a weapon of the 1980s.”

The remarks provoked a storm of criticism in Russia which supplied several Iskander systems to Armenia in 2015. Senior members of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, attacked Pashinyan in unusually strong terms.

“The Iskander is a highly precise weapon, which has repeatedly been proved during military exercises,” said Viktor Zavarzin, the deputy chairman of a State Duma committee on defense and security.

What Pashinyan said about the missile is a “complete lie,” Zavarzin told the Govorit Moskva radio station.

Another Russian lawmaker, Dmitry Sablin, mocked the Armenian premier and questioned his competence.

“A bad dancer is hampered by other things. This popular saying best describes the Armenian prime minister’s claims about the use of the Iskander in the last war and its being obsolete,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Sablin as saying.

Vladimir Solovyov, Russia’s leading political talk show host, and other pro-Kremlin commentators likewise denounced Pashinyan’s remarks widely circulated by the Russian media.

Pashinyan also came under fire from his political opponents at home.

“How can 10 percent of a missile explode and the remaining 90 percent not explode after hitting a target?” said Seyran Ohanyan, a retired general who served as Armenia’s defense minister during the acquisition of Iskander missiles.

“I think that [Pashinyan] is very far from being qualified to make judgments about them,” Ohanyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

With a firing range of up to 500 kilometers, the Iskander is known for its precision and ability to overcome modern missile defense shields. Russia prompted serious concerns from the United States and other Western powers when it deployed such missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea in 2018.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday reversed a decision by Governor Gavin Newson who rejected the parole eligibility and application of Hampig Sassounian, court documents obtained by Asbarez show.

Despite a recommendation in December 2019 by the Board of Parole in favor of Sassounian’s suitability, Newsom, last May, rejected that decision and denied his parole, saying in a lengthy decision that while he acknowledged the steps Sassounian had taken over decades to rehabilitate himself, he did not believe Sassounian to be fit for release.

“I commend Mr. Sassounian for his rehabilitative efforts in prison, but I find they are outweighed by negative factors that show he remains unsuitable for parole at this time,” said Newsom in his letter obtained by Asbarez at the time. “I believe that Mr. Sassounian has not yet demonstrated that he has developed and sustained the necessary insight and skills for a sufficiently long period.”

Saying Newsom’s decision was “arbitrary and procedurally flawed,” LA County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan on Wednesday granted Sassounian’s attorney’s motion to reverse the governor’s decision ruling that Newsom “used an improper standard” when “considering both the ‘import’ of his offense and the notoriety of his victim.”

Ryan also said it did not find evidence to support Newsom’s decision that Sassounian “posed an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.”

With its ruling on Wednesday, the court vacated Newsom’s decision to reject Sassounian’s parole and reinstated the California Parole Board’s decision to grant Sassounian parole.

“The wheels of justice sometimes move slowly, but this is the right time for this decision. I applaud the team of lawyers and activists working on this case for decades,” California State Senator Anthony Portantino told Asbarez on Thursday.

“This is an important case not just for his family but for California. We have done many things in justice reform on behalf of teenagers and it’s nice to see that it has benefitted Hampig,” added Portantino. “The community can sleep peacefully and joyfully tonight.”

“Wednesday’s decision by the court is a welcome change in the status for Hampig Sassounian, whose eligibility for parole was unjustly rejected last year by the governor,” attorney Levon Kirakosian told Asbarez on Thursday “The Armenian community has waited with bated breath for this moment and I am confident that Hampig’s release will be imminent.”

“Hampig’s family and the entire Armenian community applaud and appreciate the court’s ruling,” added Kirakosian, who for the past four decades has worked on or closely with Sassounian’s legal team.

“As an organization which expressed its disappointment last year to the governor for his decision to overturn the unanimous votes of two separate Parole Boards to grant parole to Hampig Sassounian on humanitarian grounds, we are gratified that the court has issued its favorable ruling today in which it overturned the Governor’s unfounded decision. We are confident that justice has finally been served, and we are grateful that the court agreed,” said Nora Hovsepian, Esq., the chair of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region.

International calls for restraint and calm in the wake of Armenia’s military brass demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation continued throughout Thursday with the United States, the European Union, NATO as well as the OSCE weighing in on the matter.

The State Department on Thursday afternoon called for restrain and respect for rule of law.

“We urge all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any escalatory or violent actions. We remind all parties of the bedrock democratic principle that state’s armed forces should not intervene in domestic politics,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in comments to the press, which were posted on the department’s official Twitter account.

“The United States has been a steadfast supporter of the developments of democratic processes and institutions in Armenia. We continue to support Armenia’s democracy and its sovereignty and we urge its leaders to resolve their differences peacefully while respecting the rule of law, Armenia’s democracy and its institutions,” added Price.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said it was attentively following the developments in Armenia, “including the announcements of the stakeholders.”

‘’We encourage all the parties to demonstrate tranquility, restraint and bring down the tensions peacefully and without violence,” said a statement by the embassy, which also emphasized the importance of democratic institutions and processes for solving political disagreements through dialogue.

The European Union called on all sides to show restraint.

“Political differences must be resolved peacefully and in strict adherence to the principles and processes of parliamentary democracy. In line with the Armenian Constitution, the armed forces ‘shall maintain neutrality in political matters and shall be under civilian control,’” said European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said on Thursday.

The EU also stressed the need for maintaining the democratic and constitutional order as “the only way Armenia can effectively tackle the challenges it is confronted with.”

NATO encouraged democracy in Armenia on Thursday amid growing tension between the military and prime minister.

“We are closely monitoring developments in our partner country Armenia. It’s important to avoid words or actions that could lead to further escalation,” NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Twitter.

“Any political differences should be resolved peacefully & democratically and in line with Armenia’s constitution,” she added.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde expressed concern about the developments in Armenia, according to a post on her Twitter page.

“I am concerned with the latest developments in Armenia. I urge all parties to act peacefully in respect of the OSCE commitments on democratic processes and the rule of law. The situation must be resolved without violence,’’ she wrote.