21:45, 28 July 2023
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The new French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies has visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.
“Tonight, I paid tribute at the Armenian Genocide Memorial,” Decottignies tweeted.
July 28, 2023
In the early 20th century, as World War I ravaged much of the world, the Ottoman Empire began systematically persecuting and killing Armenian subjects. The Armenian genocide witnessed the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians, and those who fled to find refuge formed diaspora communities all over the world.
The largest of these diasporas — more than 200,000 people — now calls Los Angeles home. And for the past two decades, the Institute of Armenian Studies at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has been fostering research and collaboration that examines the social, cultural, educational and political issues facing the community.
With L.A. being home to the most Armenians outside of Armenia, there are many first-, second- and third-generation immigrants seeking to establish or maintain ties to their heritage, says Shushan Karapetian, the institute’s new director.
Southern California lays claim to some of the most vital spaces for the preservation and cultivation of Armenian culture in the diaspora: the event halls of La Cañada Flintridge in the San Gabriel Valley, the comedy clubs of North Hollywood, and the auditoriums of Glendale and Burbank, says Karapetian.
Shushan Karapetian hosts the Language Theory With Dr. K podcast series.
“Humor is very, very important for culture. The children of immigrants may not actively engage with Armenian in any other format, but they love comedy in Armenian,” she explains. “And they can connect with it because it’s a reflection of their bilingual, bicultural lives, from language to religion to dance and food.”
How Armenian culture is transmitted through language — via comedy, literature and other means — is at the heart of Karapetian’s research and is one of the cornerstones of her course “The Armenian Heritage: History, Arts, and Culture” (MDA 330), which looks at how narratives about the Armenian experience are transmitted.
“On the first day of class, I tell students this is not a history course; it is not a genocide course; it is not a culture course or an arts course,” she says. “We look at the defining narratives in the Armenian experience and the ones we make ourselves. The students really enjoy seeing the trajectory of a people across several millennia through this type of interdisciplinary framing.”
Although the course touches on traditional elements of Armenian culture, such as dance, film and literature, and is popular among students with Armenian heritage, it has also resonated with those from other backgrounds, Karapetian says.
“I had a Colombian American student tell me the class helped him come to terms with his own internalized racism and complexes about his hyphenated identity. I had a Black student write a paper on colorism in the Armenian community. That’s the beauty of working at an academic institution in L.A. — there’s such a wealth of diversity here, which allows for cross-cultural impact and transformation,” she says.
“The students really enjoy seeing the trajectory of a people across several millennia.”
Karapetian was born in Armenia’s capital — Yerevan, perhaps not coincidentally, is a Los Angeles sister city — during the twilight of the Soviet Union, which included Armenia as a constituent Republic. When she was 10, after the Soviet Union’s collapse, she and her parents moved to California, where she has lived ever since.
Krapetian earned her PhD in Near Eastern languages and cultures from UCLA in 2014 and went on to spend several years there as a faculty member. In 2019, she moved to USC Dornsife to steer the institute’s academic work. Earlier this year, she was appointed institute director.
In 2020, she created the popular podcast series Language Theory With Dr. K, which “looks at language in all kinds of social contexts — immigrant bilingualism, artificial intelligence, religion, music and dance, translation and interpretation, diaspora guilt, and more — with an Armenian twist,” she says.
Language, Karapetian explains, is one of the most important guarantors of cultural transmission that ties diasporic Armenians together and reinforces their links to Armenia itself. She points to an episode of her podcast during which she interviewed comedian Mary Basmadjian — whom she calls “boundary-defying” — about how important humor is to creating and solidifying those ties.
The two discussed the role of comedy not only as a means for holding a mirror to society, but also as a tool for healing. “Comedy does this on two fronts, by providing a safe framing for sensitive subjects along with a linguistic register that is accessible to heritage speakers,” Karapetian says.
“I’ve talked to many kids who didn’t grow up listening to Armenian music, who don’t watch Armenian TV. They don’t engage with Armenian culture anywhere except comedy. They not only love comedy, they actively seek it out. And in comedy, language is the tool. This is why humor, language — these are so important for maintaining Armenian heritage throughout the generations,” she says.
“That’s the beauty of working at an academic institution in L.A. — there’s such a wealth of diversity here.”
As institute director, she plans to continue the podcast and launch other projects to explore facets of language in Southern California’s ever-expanding Armenian community.
“The epicenter of the Armenian diasporic experience is now L.A. It was the Middle East a couple of decades ago. There’s no question that those communities are being emptied, and most of them are redirecting here,” she explains.
The institute, she says, will continue to capture their narratives and experiences through such projects as My Armenian Story, which has sent staff members into local communities via a repurposed food truck to record Armenians’ oral histories. And earlier this year, the institute embarked on a mission to collect testimonies of diasporans for its California History through Armenian Experiences — a project made possible by funding from the State of California and championed by former State Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian.
In addition to having the institute sponsor more research projects on Armenian language and culture, Karapetian also hopes to launch an Armenian language program and an Armenian studies minor at USC Dornsife.
Armenians have been a diasporic people for millennia, she says. But Armenian culture has survived countless dispersions, and the communities have retained their sense of heritage. She cites two high school students, born and raised in L.A., who came to her to discuss using their life savings to start a microloan program in a village in Armenia.
“Why would two American kids who have never been to Armenia spend their entire life savings on this? What are the narratives that drive this kind of activity? This is powerful,” she says.
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/preserving-threatened-languages-and-cultures-armenian-studies-institute/
It’s a Saturday morning and Rosa Linn is on the bus traveling to the next stop on tour.
“I’m working today,” she emphatically says. “Being on the road has been fun because I’m learning so much. I get to perform night after night, and this is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
It was only a few years ago that Rosa Linn left her home country of Armenia to move to Los Angeles to pursue her lifelong dream of being a musician.
Along with her drive, she’s managed to make impressions with the right people and finds herself supporting on national tours. She also has an EP, “Lay Your Hands Upon My Heart,” which was released on June 23.
She started the earlier part of spring opening for Ed Sheeran on his stadium tour for seven dates — this was her first tour ever.
“I started in stadiums,” she says, thinking back. “Ed came to me before the first show to make sure I wasn’t nervous. He told me, ‘Make sure you’re not nervous because you don’t have anything to prove. You’re already here.’ His words put into perspective what I’ve always wanted to hear.”
Currently, she’s in the opening slot for the Young the Giant tour, which makes a stop at Revel ABQ, on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The tour also has Milky Chance on the bill.
“The shows are very different for me,” Rosa Linn says. “Opening for Ed Sheeran was in stadiums, so I had a band with me. On this tour, it’s just me, my guitar and one guitar player. The set is a little more subdued but full of powerful songs.”
When it comes to writing for the EP, Rosa Linn worked with writer and producer Rick Nowels on songs.
Prior to meeting Nowels, Rosa Linn spent time in Los Angeles writing with other writers.
“When I met Rick, we loved working with each other and started writing every day,” she says. “Instead of me jumping around, we started working for a couple months and recorded a bunch of songs. The last few months before I went out on tour I was putting the finishing touches on the EP.”
Although Rosa Linn has found success early, her journey has been filled with plenty of peaks and valleys.
“There have been a lot of sleepless nights,” she says. “I need to remind myself that three years ago, I thought it was impossible. I’m from Armenia, and things like this don’t happen to people like me. The first step was getting to the United States. Then I worked daily to spark the interest of people in the industry. At the end of the day, when I’m on stage, it’s totally worth it.”
Lyrics also come from a personal place, which makes it easier for her to connect with the song.
“It’s important for me to perform songs that I feel,” she says. “The best thing about songwriting is it’s easy to code stuff. I will write about my experiences but change some references. That’s the gem with songwriting.”
Life on the road does take some getting used to. Rosa Linn has established herself a great circle of support of friends in Los Angeles, yet she misses her home in Armenia.
“I literally left my life behind and started with a blank page,” she says. “It was 100% different except for the fact I was still writing the songs. I came here alone, and it was hard to be away from my country, family and friends. So, I always try to share my story through music. I leave a piece of me on every song I write.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/lifestyle/music/from-armenia-to-los-angeles-rosa-linn-is-making-waves-within-music/article_ddf918de-28f5-11ee-9524-27312c5d901c.html
The transfer of critically ill patients from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia has been halted, local Armenian leaders said, after a man traveling with the Red Cross to seek treatment was arrested by Azerbaijani forces on war crimes charges.
Gurgen Nersisyan, the state minister of the breakaway region’s unrecognized government, announced on Saturday that Vagif Khachatryan was “taken from the checkpoint” installed by Baku on the border with Armenia and that his whereabouts are unknown. Speaking to POLITICO, one of his advisers, Artak Beglaryan, confirmed that all medical evacuations have been stopped indefinitely as a result.
In a statement shared with state media, Azerbaijan’s prosecutor’s office confirmed Khachatryan had been detained, adding that he stands accused of committing “genocide.” Officials allege he was involved in the killing of 25 people in the village of Meshali during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1991, which saw hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azerbaijanis forced to flee their homes in the breakaway region.
Inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders, Nagorno-Karabakh has been de facto controlled by its ethnic Armenian population since then, with a brief but bloody conflict in 2020 leaving the Lachin Corridor as the only road in or out. Under the terms of a cease-fire agreement, the highway was to be guarded by Russian peacekeepers, but Moscow’s troops have been all but missing in action in recent months, while Azerbaijan has moved to restrict access to the region.
The Red Cross did not immediately respond to a query from POLITICO. The Swiss-based aid organization issued a statement on Tuesday in which it said it was being prevented from bringing supplies into the region and warned that, without access to food and medicine, “the humanitarian situation will further deteriorate.”
The EU, the U.S., the U.K. and a host of other countries have called on Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor to civilian traffic and uphold a ruling from the International Court of Justice that said Baku must “ensure movement” along the highway.
However, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has accused foreign nations of bias and “blatant misinterpretation” of the court’s decision. It insists it is open to supplying Nagorno-Karabakh from inside the country — a suggestion local Armenian leaders have ruled out.
TEHRAN, Jul. 29 (MNA) – The Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister accused Azerbaijan of blocking Lachin Corridor and demanded international allies step in to allow 19 trucks with 400 tons of humanitarian aid to pass.
“The additional pressure of our international partners on Baku is very important. We have heard statements from our various colleagues, but we don’t think this is enough,” Vahan Kostanyan said, AP reported.
Kostanyan previously also accused Azerbaijan of ignoring a ruling by the International Court of Justice ordering Azerbaijan authorities to ensure unimpeded movement in the Lachin Corridor, the only road from Armenia into Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Armenian media, trucks and foreign diplomats are currently in the village of Kornidzor on Armenia’s border with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is at one end of the Lachin Corridor.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said that it viewed Armenia’s attempt to send a convoy to Nagorno-Karabakh “under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’” as a violation of Azerbaijan’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
The latest flare-up comes weeks following talks in Brussels and Washington aimed at calming tensions between the two countries after Azerbaijan opened a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor in April.
At that point, the road had already been blocked for four months by demonstrators who were protesting what they claimed to be illegal mining and other ecological abuses by Armenians in the area.
RHM/PR
TEHRAN- Mehdi Sobhani, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s new extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to Armenia, has formally begun his mission in the Caucasus nation after presenting his credentials to Armenian President Vahagn Khachatryan.
The president of Armenia congratulated Sobhani on his appointment as Iran’s ambassador to Yerevan during a meeting between the two officials, the IRNA reported on Saturday.
In reference to his nation’s cordial relations with Iran during the last three decades, Khachatryan expressed optimism that Sobhani’s tenure will similarly see a strengthening and development of such relationships.
For his part, the Iranian ambassador thanked the Armenian president for his gracious hospitality and said he was honored to convey the warm greetings of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to his Armenian counterpart and the people of his friendly country.
Sobhani continued by stating that there is significant room for the expansion of relations between Iran and Armenia given their long-standing historical connections.
Also, in a meeting with Iran’s new ambassador to Turkey, Mohammad Hassan Habibollah Zadeh on Thursday afternoon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for closer cooperation with Iran in countering terrorism and Islamophobia, and Islamic unity.
Referring to the arrival of the month of Muharram and Ashura, the President of Turkey considered Ashura a symbol of Muslim equality and an excuse for the unity of Islamic societies.
He further mentioned various fields of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey and emphasized the importance of developing economic and commercial cooperation.
The Turkish leader said the realization of 30 billion dollars of trade between the two countries is within reach and called for efforts to remove trade barriers to realize the figure.
President Erdogan also called for increasing cooperation between the two countries in the field of countering terrorism and Islamophobia and the unity of the Islamic world.
Offering his warm greetings to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian president, Erdogan invited Ebrahim Raisi to visit Turkey. He expressed satisfaction with the upcoming visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey to Tehran.
In the meeting, the new Iranian ambassador outlined his plans for boosting Iran-Turkey relations.
“The main agenda of the institutions of the two countries is to develop relations, especially in the economic and commercial fields, and at the same time, cooperation and consensus in bilateral, regional and international political issues will be one of the most important issues to be pursued,” Habibollah Zadeh said.
He pointed to the wide range of cooperation and consultations between the two countries in the political field, including the Astana process, quadrilateral talks, the Caucasus, Palestine, the Islamic world, and the fight against terrorism.
He also stressed the need to deepen interactions between two important countries regarding regional issues.
The Iranian ambassador praised the joint positions of Iran, Turkey and a number of Islamic countries regarding the desecration of the holy Quran, and considered it necessary to strengthen the unity and solidarity of Muslims to counter the trend of Islamophobia and insulting religious sanctities.
Iran has taken strong positions against the desecration of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark, including summoning the Swedish envoy.
The path to peace in Nagorno-Karabakh runs through Ankara and Tehran—and possibly Washington.
Given its shared cultural and ethnic heritage and desire to protect its sphere of influence, Turkey has long supported Azerbaijan’s territorial claims in Nagorno-Karabakh. During the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Turkey grew bolder in its support by providing infrastructure and weapons assistance, including Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, which helped secure Azerbaijan’s overwhelming victory. Ankara’s support has encouraged Baku’s assertiveness and reluctance to grant concessions. This attitude persisted throughout the September 2022 border clashes. Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu directly intervened, tweeting, “Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan.”
Iran, meanwhile, played a pivotal role in perpetuating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Iranian army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have conducted large-scale military drills along its border with Azerbaijan. While Iran has a sizable Azerbaijani population, Tehran is concerned about Israeli influence in the Caucasus. Baku has received high-tech drones and other weapons from Jerusalem. Azerbaijan also supplies 40 percent of Israeli oil consumption. Iran is also concerned that Israel’s support for Azerbaijan is an opportunity for the former to conduct surveillance on Tehran via unmanned surveillance aircraft. Additionally, if Baku were to construct the Zangezur overland transport corridor, which would connect Azerbaijan and Turkey via southern Armenian territory, Iran could be further isolated from the South Caucasus.
Excluding the regional powers from future Nagorno-Karabakh peace negotiations would be an unwise error. Upcoming Nagorno-Karabakh talks present the opportunity for Armenia and Turkey to make concrete steps in pursuing the normalization of ties discussed in 2022. Iran could also appease its Azerbaijani population by achieving peace with its neighbor.
Reconciling Turkey and Iran could also serve as an avenue for Washington to improve its own relations with Ankara and Tehran. U.S.-Turkey relations have deteriorated since the early 2000s. U.S.-Iran links have been in a deep freeze since the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. As a result, the Iran nuclear crisis has worsened, with Iran now possessing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Through cooperation over Nagorno-Karabakh, Washington and Tehran could potentially revitalize peace talks in other areas, including nuclear nonproliferation.
While diplomatic cooperation between Iran and the West may appear unlikely, all parties have clear interests in furthering peace. Iran’s Azerbaijani population, which has staged protests in the past, poses problems for Iranian unity. The United States and France are also home to sizable Armenian diaspora communities. American and EU investors maintain commercial interests in Azerbaijan’s energy projects. Baku helped build 2,174 miles of natural gas pipelines to Europe via Georgia and Turkey. These projects will be critical for the success of the EU-Azerbaijan energy plan to double Brussels’ gas imports from Azerbaijan by 2027.
What conditions will ensure a durable peace settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh? First, Azerbaijan must cease its blockade of the Lachin corridor. This blockade has restricted the freedom of movement for the 120,000 Karabakh Armenians and threatened their access to food and medicine. Ending the blockade would be a suitable concession, allowing Armenia to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan’s territory.
Protection of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh will also be crucial for lasting peace and will put to rest Yerevan’s concerns about a potential ethnic cleansing. Persecution of Karabakh Armenians would surely lead to an increase in Iran and Turkey’s military involvement in the region. The United States should make clear that failure to assure the security of Karabakh Armenians would negatively impact Baku's reputation as a dependable trading partner.
If these objectives can be met, a commitment from Iran and Turkey to reduce escalatory practices will keep Karabakh tensions from spiraling into a more significant conflict. UN peacekeepers are ideal, neutral guarantors of preserving these conditions, as Russian peacekeepers have been ineffective in quelling violence in the region. Peacekeepers from the United States are out of the question, as there are no vital U.S. national interests in the South Caucasus that would warrant the risk of starting new wars.
The United States should recognize that it can reap considerable benefits from including Turkey and Iran in future Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. Not only is it a chance for open dialogue on a myriad of important issues, but it could provide the greatest likelihood of lasting peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Alex Little is an MS graduate of Georgia Tech and specializes in Russian and Central Asian affairs.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/eurasia-transition/azerbaijan-armenia-peace-deal-only-possible-turkish-and-iranian
ANCA Western Region Summer 2023 interns on their first day
GLENDALE—The Armenian National Committee of America Western Region welcomed this year’s interns who on June 19 embarked upon their journey to advance the Armenian Cause. Eight students and two recent graduates make up the group of ten young Armenians who will have the chance to learn about the organization’s mission, objectives, activities, and operations to advance Hye Tahd.
“After receiving a record number of applications for ANCA Western Region’s Summer internship, we are thrilled to host ten exceptional interns who are deeply committed to advocating for the Armenian Cause and representing the Armenian American community,” said ANCA-Western Region Executive Director Sarkis Balkhian. “We are certain that this group of young Armenians are ready to tackle the insurmountable challenges of Hye Tahd from different vantage points, not only during their internship this summer but for many years to come.”
During the ten-week-long internship, Armenian youth from across the Western United States will gain in-depth knowledge of ANCA Western Region’s work in the realms of government affairs, advocacy, media and communications, community outreach, coalition building, and research, while developing their professional skills that will help them in their future professional endeavors.
The ANCA-Western Region 2023 Summer Interns are:
Alik Artinian is a second-year student at UCLA majoring in Public Affairs. Alik has always had a passion for Armenia and Hye Tahd. After participating in the ANCA Summer Academy in 2021, she wanted to continue contributing to Hye Tahd through the ANCA-Western Region internship program, where she will be working as an intern in the Coalition and Community Development division. She seeks to explore opportunities that will allow diaspora Armenians like her to help the homeland while being far away.
Alik considers her culture to be a central and important part of her identity. She is a dancer in Lernazang Ensemble, where she performs traditional folk Armenian dances that have originated from Western Armenia. She was able to pass this knowledge to younger Armenians at AYF Summer Camp in 2021 when she was a counselor. Alik also serves as the Secretary of the Hidden Road Initiative chapter at UCLA, which is a club that aims to raise revenue for educational and leadership opportunities for students living in remote villages in Armenia. This past year she was also a Bruin Leaders Project Intern, organized by UCLA’s Student Organizations, Leadership, and Engagement office, where she attended weekly leadership-based workshops/seminars and honed her skills surrounding public speaking, communication, and leadership skills that she will be able to utilize as an intern at ANCA-Western Region this summer.
Anna Badalyan earned her first Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 1996, and her second Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence in 2011, in Armenia. She has more than twenty years of work experience at the Prosecutor General’s Office of the R.A., ten of which she served as the Chair of the Statistics and Analysis Division. She is a career prosecutor and a licensed lawyer in R.A. She is a Co-Founder of the Shahgaldyan & Friends Legal Services LTD in 2021, based in Armenia.
She has received certificates of completion of various courses in Armenia, such as GMAT courses at the American University of Armenia and Media Production and Marketing courses.
In 2021, Anna decided to pursue her professional goals by moving to the United States. In a very short period of time, she got involved in the community, mainly in the spheres of education, employment and business. She has been a licensed Life Agent since 2022. She has also completed a Privacy Data Protection course. In addition, she has started volunteering since May, 2023, and right now serves as an intern at an immigration law firm.
Being an immigrant from Armenia, Anna Badalyan has always been interested in the Armenian community’s activities and life, and today she serves as an intern at the Community Outreach division of the ANCA Western Region. Participating in the 2023 ANCA Western Region’s Summer Internship Program will give her an opportunity to help the Armenian community in the Western United States and Armenians worldwide, namely by supporting Armenians in Artsakh and Armenia.
Anna Badalyan likes entertainment, traveling, and reading business and motivational books. In her free time, Anna enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and traveling to Armenia to enjoy the divine landscape of her homeland.
Beaina Bedrossian is a recent graduate of UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in political theory and a minor in history. As a student, she was a writer for UCLA’s premier feminist news magazine, FEM, and served as programming staff for UCLA Radio, where she created and oversaw the production of original radio content.
Aside from her involvement in student media, Beaina clerked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office in Van Nuys, working alongside litigating attorneys on various criminal cases. She is planning on attending law school in the upcoming year. Beaina was born in Vancouver, Canada, and moved to Los Angeles in 2012. She played violin for almost ten years, and most enjoyed performing pieces by one of her favorite composers, Komitas.
Sevan Derderian is a student at UC San Diego studying political science with a concentration in data analytics on the pre-law track. She is UCSD Associated Students’ incoming Associate Vice President of Transportation for the 2023-24 academic year, as well as an active member of the university’s Armenian Students Association. She will also be volunteering with San Diego county’s JusticeCorps program beginning in the fall. Sevan has been a lifetime advocate for the Armenian cause, championing Armenian issues in every community she has been a part of.
Whether it be coordinating fundraising efforts during her time at Ferrahian Armenian school or educating fellow students about contemporary issues in college, Sevan has engaged in countless efforts to advance the Armenian cause. She participated in the inaugural ANCA Haroutioun and Elizabeth Kasparian Summer Academy in Washington, DC, where she explored and furthered her interests in government affairs, public policy, and diplomacy. She is eager to continue working with the ANCA Western Region this summer as a Government Affairs Intern to advance Armenian-American interests.
Sofia Gevorgian studies Political Science with a concentration in International Relations at the University of California, Los Angeles. She currently serves as a Research and Writing Intern at the Center for Truth and Justice, a human rights organization that collects war crime evidence committed against Armenians during and after the 2020 Artsakh war and prepares reports for purposes of advocacy, education, and court cases. She is also a published author on the platform TalkDiplomacy and is preparing her first article for the Journal on World Affairs through UCLA. Applying her experience drafting and publishing both reports and articles, she seeks to expand her knowledge as a Research and Writing Intern at the ANCA WR this summer.
Sofia is also the president of the UCLA Hidden Road Initiative (NGO/NPO), where she leads both fundraising and development projects in Armenia and Artsakh’s border villages, by providing scholarships, organizing camps, engaging in renovation work, and facilitating English language courses. While she has been tutoring English as a Second Language to students living in these villages for the past two years, she has gained deeper insight into life in Armenia—fueling her growing commitment to her homeland. Upon graduating from UCLA, Sofia seeks to attend law school.
Juliette Hagobian is an eighteen-year-old poet and advocate from Los Angeles, California. She works for the Social Media and Communications Division of the ANCA Western Region where she is able to display her passions for advocacy, representation, and raising awareness about the Armenian community. She has also been published or is forthcoming in h-pem, Corporeal, Surging Tide, and The Howl Magazine. She works as a poetry/prose editor for Kalopsia Literary. Juliette is a 2023 poetry mentee for The Adroit Journal’s Summer Mentorship Program as well as The International Armenian Literary Alliance’s Mentorship Program.
She is a recent graduate of Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School in Encino, California, and is planning on pursuing a double concentration in English and Psychology in university. Her hobbies include taking dance classes, reading feminist works, drawing doodles of people’s faces, writing poem ideas in her Notes app, and baking banana bread. She loves fruit-flavored gum, constantly reapplying chapstick, and dancing in her room at two in the morning. Find her on Instagram as @juliette_hagobian and on Twitter as @jjules_h.
Sonia Meroian is a recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a focus on International Relations. During her 2023 summer internship with ANCA Western Region, she will focus on political and legal research on issues concerning the Armenian nation.
Professionally, Sonia supplemented her academic experience with an internship at Action on Armed Violence in London, where she contributed to their research on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), global military special forces units, and lethal autonomous weapons systems. Currently, she is in the process of publishing her undergraduate thesis, “Recentralization Under Xi Jinping: Exploring the Means and Incentives Guiding the Chinese Communist Party’s Consolidation of Power Over China’s Business Sector.”
Throughout her academic career, Sonia has held numerous student leadership positions, including President of the Associated Student Organization at Los Angeles Mission College and Advisor for the All-Armenian Student Organization. At ANCA-WR, she seeks to gain valuable knowledge on international humanitarian law and instrumentalize her skills in pursuit of furthering Hye Tahd – the Armenian Cause.
Anna Mkoyan is a dedicated second-year student at Los Angeles Valley College, pursuing a major in Political Science. She is currently interning in the Coalition and Community Development division of ANCA-WR, where she seeks to foster relations between the Armenian and non-Armenian communities and channel those relations to support her homeland, despite being far away from Armenia. In her capacity as the president of the debate club at LAVC, Anna takes on responsibilities such as organizing meetings and debates, providing guidance and support to club members, and ensuring the club’s adherence to its mission statement.
Having recently graduated from Burbank High School, her exceptional academic performance earned her the privilege of an accelerated graduation. Her ambition lies in pursuing a future in International Relations at a four-year university, with the ultimate goal of becoming a diplomat representing the Republic of Armenia. Alongside her academic pursuits, Anna indulges in reading Armenian literature, cultivating her sense of style, and cherishing quality time with her loved ones.
Raffi Sarian recently graduated from Glendale Community College by completing his general education and will transfer to UCI this fall, majoring in Film and Media studies. Outside of college, Sarian loves to watch movies and spend time with his family, whether going to restaurants with them or simply staying at home and playing games.
The idea of entertaining others has always fueled his love and passion for pursuing a career in the film industry. Since childhood, he has always been captivated by the art of movies because of the magical and warm effects movies would leave on him. Year after year, Raffi’s love and attachment to movies never faded but flourished with each passing year as he kept discovering majestic angles in classic and contemporary movies. Sarian hopes to be able to develop films depicting Armenian stories to bring people together to enjoy the magic of cinema.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential 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 Western Region advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
Accredited diplomats representing 19 foreign countries on Friday visited Kornidzor in Armenia’s Syunik Province where a humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medical aid to Artsakh remains blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor.
The foreign representatives were able to see first hand how the delivery of 400 tons of humanitarian assistance from Armenia is being barred from entry into Azerbaijan.
It was announced that the trucks, which arrived there on Wednesday, would remain at the mouth of the Lachin Corridor by the Hakari Bridge, where Azerbaijan has set up an illegal checkpoint.
The foreign diplomats and members of international organizations represented the United States, Belarus, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Poland, Lithuania, India, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, France, United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
While in Syunik the foreign representatives met with citizens of Artsakh who have been stranded in Armenia since the Azerbaijani blockade began in December, 2022.
Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan and the Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan accompanied the foreign representatives as they toured the area and later held a closed-door meeting with the Artsakh citizens.
“As you can see the trucks carrying humanitarian cargo have been stranded here for a while now,” Ghukasyan told the foreign representatives “The vehicles have stopped here and it is impossible to transport the humanitarian cargo to the other side of the border,” Ghukasyan said, pointing to the convoy of trucks that cleared the Armenian checkpoint at Kornidzor on Wednesday.
The governor pointed out that the Azerbaijani authorities are attempting to advance the notion of “reintegration” when people, including children in Nagorno-Karabakh are starving.
“Do they intend to reach that integration by way of starvation to death? This is unacceptable for us all. This humanitarian cargo must reach the people who are impatiently waiting for it, who are hungry. Otherwise we would all silently witness the situation get worse with every second,” Ghukasyan told the diplomats.
“I probably cannot imagine the difficult situation you are in. I wish I had some good news to share with you. But unfortunately, we know what you know. At this moment, I want to ask: if you have any clear message, a message that you want us to take to our embassies, to the capitals of our country, send them,” Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy to Armenia John Allelo said after meeting with Artsakh citizens.
The only message from the people of Artsakh was “open the road of life.”
Azerbaijan announced that an Artsakh resident who was being transported from Karabakh to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross has been arrested and will face criminal charges when he arrives in Baku.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said that a “an international warrant” for the arrest of Vakif Khachatryan was issued in 2013. Baku is filing several criminal charges against the Artsakh resident, including “involvement in Genocide.”
“The investigation established that on the specified date, a citizen of Azerbaijan, born in 1955, a native of the village of Badara, [Mayraberd] Askeran region, who lived in this village, Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan, who worked as a driver at the city motor transport enterprise in [Stepanakert] Khankendi, together with other persons of Armenian nationality in the village of [Kharkhaput] Meshli, using various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, carried out an armed attack on this village; 25 people of Azerbaijani nationality were killed, 14 people received bodily injuries of varying severity, 358 people were forcibly evicted from their places of legal residence. In addition, Khachatryan, continuing joint criminal actions with persons with whom he had previously colluded, caused material damage to the state and the property of the villagers in the total amount of 5 million 496 thousand 900 Manats,” Azerbaijani media reported.
Artsakh Presidential Advisor Artak Beglaryan called the charges against Khachatryan fabricated.
“Like all men, he [Khachatryan] also defended his homeland during the war of 1991-94. However, Azerbaijan’s accusation is false, because there was no such operation in the village of Meshali,” he wrote on X.
Azerbaijani authorities on Saturday detained a 68-year-old Artsakh citizen while he was being transported by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Armenia to receive medical treatment. The ICRC representative is also with the detained man.
Azerbaijani authorities on Saturday detained a 68-year-old Artsakh citizen while he was being transported to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Armenia to receive medical treatment. The ICRC representative is also with the detained man.
Armenia and Artsakh are accusing Azerbaijan of kidnapping the Artsakh citizen.
Armenian authorities later identified the man as Vagif Khachatryan, who according to the Artsakh authorities was taken to another location by Azerbaijani authorities.
“At this moment the ICRC representative is with our citizen, but the negotiations haven’t produced any results so far, we are waiting for new information,” Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan said in a statement.
“Other patients have been evacuated to a hospital in Goris by a Red Cross representative who arrived from Goris. The evacuation was carried out via the same route. However, the planned return of those who have completed treatment in Armenia has been cancelled,” added Nersisyan.
He added that the Azerbaijani authorities are continuously attempting to obstruct the ICRC medical evacuations by setting forth new conditions, and that this move was “yet another step to make people fear using Lachin Corridor even for essential healthcare purposes.”
The ICRC’s Armenia spokesperson Zara Amatuni told Armenpress that the organization was taking relevant measures, through dialogue, regarding Khachatryan’s detention.
She said that until today the Red Cross was able to transport people – patients or those who had expressed desire to reunite with their families – “through previously arranged procedures.”
“Regarding this specific situation, I have to say that we are addressing all problems with the corresponding authorities, but we will do so through dialogue and it will be confidential. As of this moment I can’t convey any other details on the incident,” Amatuni added.
“Troubled by news that 68-year-old patient, being transported from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia for medical treatment, accompanied by ICRC, was abducted at illegally installed checkpoint by border guard service of Azerbaijan. Abduction of person under international humanitarian protection is flagrant violation of IHL,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in a social media post.
Armenia’s Ambassador at Large Edmon Marukyan accused Azerbaijan of kidnapping the Artsakh patient, saying his whereabouts was unknown.
“On a daily basis, Azerbaijan is resigning from the fake narratives it has created regarding their willingness to live in coexistence with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Today, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was being transported from Nagorno Karabagh to Armenia for a medical treatment, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, was abducted by the representatives of the border guard service of Azerbaijan and taken to an unknown direction. Neither the relatives of Khachatryan, nor the ICRC representatives or Russian peacekeepers are aware about the whereabouts of Vagif Khachatryan. His fate is unknown as of this writing,” Marukyan said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The detention of the patient happened a day after several diplomats accredited in Armenia visited Kornidzor, in Armenia’s Syunik Province, where a convoy of 19 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance from Armenia to Artsakh has been stranded not allowed entry into Artsakh.