ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
March 13, 2009
Contact: Carole Karabashian
Email: news@agmm.org
Phone: (202) 383-9009
AGMA: ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY HOSTS RECEPTION AT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM BUILDING
Washington, DC – As part of the Armenian Assembly of America’s
(Assembly) 2009 National Advocacy Conference, a reception was held
Monday, March 2, at the future site of the Armenian Genocide Museum of
America (AGMA).
Mulvihill presented a gift from Senator Ensign to the Assembly’s
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hirair Hovnanian
Dr. Rouben Adalian, Director of the Armenian National Institute (ANI),
opened the evening’s events by stating, "This is our evening to
introduce you not just to a building but to the plans we will be
unveiling so you can begin to imagine and appreciate what it is that
will go inside the building."
Honored guests included the Republic of Armenia’s Minister of Diaspora
Affairs Hranush Hakobyan; Armenian Ambassador to the United States,
Tatoul Markarian; Ambassador Peter Rosenblatt of the American Jewish
Committee; Massachusetts State Representative Peter Koutoujian; Kathryn
Porter of the Leadership Council for Human Rights and Sarah Morgenthau,
the great-granddaughter of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau.
A winter snowstorm prevented Senator John Ensign (R-NV) from returning
from his home state in time to attend, but he sent his Legislative
Director and Chief Counsel Jason Mulvihill to address the attendees.
Sen. Ensign has consistently supported Armenian-American issues
throughout his career in the U.S. Senate.
Speaking on behalf of the Senator, Mulvihill said, "Within the walls of
this building, the story of the Armenian Genocide will be shared until
everyone knows the story of how 1.5 million Armenians were deported,
tortured, and killed. Yes, they were victims of one of the greatest
examples of inhumanity and intolerance in the 20th century. And, yes,
though some deny it, what happened to the Armenians was genocide."
Mr. Shant Mardirossian
Mr. Shant Mardirossian, Chairman of the Near East Foundation, an
organization working in partnership with AGMA, delivered a presentation
highlighting the history of the relationship between the United States
and Armenia dating from the time of the Genocide. He discussed the
importance of the relief efforts of American organizations and stated,
"With your help and that of this museum, we will ensure that this part
of American history is resurrected and preserved for all future
generations of Armenians and Americans to learn from."
Mr. Hayk Demoyan
Mr. Hayk Demoyan, from the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in
Yerevan, spoke about the close ties between the museum in Armenia and
the importance of establishing a similar institution in the U.S.
Patrick Gallagher and Robert Maloodian of Gallagher and Associates,
Edele Hovnanian, AGMA Building and Operations Committee Member, Dr.
Rouben Adalian, ANI Director, and James Reigle, Senior Associate and
Director of Historic Preservation with Martinez & Johnson, Architecture
Presentations on the future of the museum were given by representatives
of the firms of Martinez & Johnson Architecture, which specialize in the
rehabilitation of historic buildings, and Gallagher & Associates, the
exhibit design firm. Both firms have been working on the development of
the museum project since mid-2007.
The Armenian Genocide Museum of America is an outgrowth of the Armenian
Assembly of America and the Armenian National Institute (ANI), catalyzed
by the initial pledge of Anoush Mathevosian toward building such a
museum in Washington, DC.
NR#2009-01