Burbank Leader, CA
April 7 2007

Words anger community

Group alleges intolerant comments were made at city committee
meetings about name and goals of Armenian Relief Society.

By Chris Wiebe

CITY HALL – A dozen Armenian community members voiced their outrage
Tuesday at a City Council meeting over anti-Armenian remarks
allegedly made during two Community Development Goals Committee
meetings.

The speakers urged the council to take action related to accusations
that members of the goals committee – which makes recommendations
regarding public funding from nonprofit organizations – joked during
Feb. 28 and March 7 meetings that the Armenian Relief Society would
be more likely to receive public money if the organization dropped
"Armenian" from its name. The society provides assistance to recent
immigrants and refugees from foreign countries, including Armenia,
Iraq, Iran and Russia.

Speakers said that the offensive comments were followed by some
laughter in the room.

"It saddens me that myself, as well as everybody here, has to bring
to your attention that there were … a couple members who made several
intolerant statements," said Arbi Ohanian, chairman of the Armenian
National Committee Burbank Chapter. "The part that I find
particularly disturbing is that this bigoted approach is coming from
people who are appointed and people who are representatives of our
city government."

Though there is no written transcript or audio recording of the
meeting in question, grants coordinator Mas Toshinaga – who oversees
goals committee meetings – confirmed that comments were made
regarding the benefits of a name change for the nonprofit
organization.

But the comments were not voiced with the underlying negative meaning
that was represented at Tuesday’s council meeting on, he added.

"It’s not that the comments didn’t occur," he said. "It’s that they
didn’t occur to the extent that they were mentioned at the council
meeting."

After hearing the allegations, council members directed city staffers
to gather information about the incident, and apologized to the
Armenian community members in attendance, proposing the possibility
of sensitivity training for committee members.

"Although I was not there, if these things were said, we owe you an
apology – the community owes you an apology," Mayor Todd Campbell
said. "And I would beg you not to change your name. I think you
should be proud of your name."

The majority of the members of the goals committee reacted to the
allegations with disbelief at a meeting on Wednesday.

Committee Chairman Kirk Bowren said that while it was true that a
question was asked about whether the Armenian Relief Society serves
other populations in addition to Armenians, there was no insinuation
that the organization should change their name if they wanted
funding.

The council’s behavior on Tuesday was the "equivalent of throwing the
committee under the bus" to provide a "quick solution," he said.

But that sentiment was not unanimously shared.

"I don’t believe that the comments made by certain committee members
were appropriate comments," committee member Annie Hovanessian said.

Grant funding for the Armenian Relief Society is often scaled back
during community grant disbursements, due, in part, to concerns that
public money should not be used to support organizations that are
identified with a specific ethnicity, said Mourad Topalian, a former
Armenian National Committee chairman.

"It’s not because I don’t believe the Armenian Relief Society isn’t
doing great work…. Personally I believe that using public funds we
need to make sure that the focus of the agency we help is really
broad-based and inviting to everybody," Councilman Dave Golonski said
on Tuesday.

"And when we have an organization that’s primarily formed around a
religious … or an ethnic group, I’m going to have a really hard time
to support them."

Topalian told the council that the relief society has always served
clients who are not Armenian. In fact, more than 50% of its clients
are non-Armenians, he said.