1 - Armenia’s Leaders Take Strong
Positions Against US & Azerbaijan
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Anna Hakobyan Visits Armenian Communities Throughout United States
3 - Maestro Constantine Orbelian Dismissed
by Culture Minister From Yerevan Opera
4- Councilmember Ara Najarian selected as Glendale mayor
5- Two Armenians Among Candidates Vying
for LA City Council District 12 Seat
6- Disagreeable Distinction: Arabs, Armenians, Iranians
Considered White in US Census
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1 - Armenia’s Leaders Take Strong
Positions Against US & Azerbaijan
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Haber Turk TV recently interviewed one of the thousands of Turkish
gravediggers who try to recover Armenian treasures leftover from the
genocide era of a century ago. It is not enough that 1.5 million
Armenians were killed and dispossessed of their properties and
homeland, now some Turks are ‘proudly’ rummaging for precious metals
by desecrating Armenian graves and other ancient Armenian sites such
as churches and homes.
Here is the text of the interview on Haber Turk:
“How can Armenian Gold be Stolen?”
Host: Oylum Talu
Guest: Ugur Kulac
Guest: An infidel does not show the place of the treasure to a Turk
because we are trying to find their money. We are looking for money of
Armenians or Greeks.
Host: So you are a professional treasure hunter?
Guest: Yes, I am.
Host: You are a very interesting person. First of all, your books are
amazing. I want to give these books to the people as a gift.
Guest: Thank you.
Host: Maps, explanation of maps. It is a very amazing book. What is a
treasure hunter?
Guest: The treasure hunter is a gold digger. The only thing the
treasure hunter thinks of is gold; nothing else. Of course, they are
destroying places where they dig carelessly. The treasure hunters know
many secret places which are even unknown to archaeologists. That is a
gold finder.
Host: Wow! So cool! Gold finder! How many treasure hunters are there in Turkey?
Guest: There are more than 500,000 treasure hunters who are registered
with my company.
Host: Really?
Guest: Yes!
Host: 500,000 treasure hunters?
Guest: I am in this field for about 18 years. I have been producing
these devices and selling them. Right now, I have sold them to 25,000
people. And now we are 130 companies in Turkey. We are serving in this
field for the people. For example, if the state would ask treasure
hunters to bring all historical materials, these materials would then
be more than the materials in the museums.
Host: Wow!
Guest: The treasure works in Turkey are in three types. In tons, pots
and kettles.
Host: What are you talking about? Pots, tons and kettles?
Guest: Yes.
Host: You mean, they put all the gold into the kettle, they covered
the top because there were no banks at that time. They escaped…
Guest: Of course.
Guest: The history of this work is approx. 100 years. At the time of
the deportation, some minorities were deported out of the country.
They could not take their belongings with them. They buried them in
different places, thinking that they would return. But most of them
could not find any way to return. But their children, at a certain
time of the year, are coming to Turkey where their ancestors lived.
And then they dig and take the money where their ancestors buried.
They have the maps. They stay as a guest of their ancestors’
neighbors. When the owner of the house falls asleep, they go out and
dig the ground, take the money and leave. Treasure hunting is divided
into two groups. The first group is near term — hunting of
minorities’ belongings. The second group is composed of those who are
looking for treasures of ancient civilizations. [The guest then
demonstrates how he finds treasures through his search device which
unfortunately does not work!]. If you get caught the first time by the
state, there is no penalty! The region of Izmit was the capital of the
Roman Empire and there are very nice buried treasures in there. Of
course, there are small buried treasures which belong to minorities of
the near past. Magic must be done over there. The treasure is given to
the genies for protection. We are looking for gold coins. Gold is very
important for treasure hunters. For example, statues made of gold or
anything else or gold coins. These are very valuable. They can be sold
everywhere. They melt them and sell them or directly sell to smugglers
or can be sold to the state. Let them give me permission, I will find
the money to repay the Turkish government’s debt to the International
Monetary Fund.
Host: Why is then this gold not coming out?
Guest: Because these countries do not want this gold to come out of
Turkey! Treasure hunters are not interested in ancient cities or
areas. The only interest for them is to find the grave, dig it, and
take the valuable things and leave.
Host: Why don’t archaeologists like you?
Guest: Because we break the historical materials.
Host: So you say that “we are looking for the money of the deported
minorities in the last 60 to 90 years?”
Guest: I have parliamentarians, doctors, businessmen, professors as
customers. Now Spring is coming, the treasure hunters liven up. They
have been patient for months. They will attack now. It is always like
that every year. The materials found in the digs made this year will
be sold abroad again. We are not materialistic. We believe in
spirituality too. Muslims must be rich and powerful. Why should we be
poor? We are a special country created by Allah!
Host: Thank you very much.
These thieves are not only stealing the treasures belonging to
Armenians and other minorities, but are also breaking Turkish laws. It
is incredible that such thieves are appearing on Turkish television
and recounting their criminal activities with such brazen arrogance.
Turkey has strict laws for treasure hunters whose permits are limited
to 30 days and an area of 100 square meters. There is a long list of
“cultural areas” such as religious sites and graves where even
licensed treasure hunters are not allowed to dig.
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2 - Anna Hakobyan Visits Armenian Communities Throughout United States
WASHINGTON—Anna Hakobyan, the spouse of Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan, began her visit to the United States on Wednesday, April 3,
by visiting Capitol Hill for a reception hosted by members of
Congress.
The reception was organized by Armenian American Members of Congress
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and
attended by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone
(D-Calif.) and Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as well as
Representatives Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), T.J.
Cox (D-Calif.), Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), Raja Krishnamoorthi
(D-Ill.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Tom Suozzi
(D-N.Y.), and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.).
Hakobyan delivered remarks introducing Armenia’s achievements and
stating that the country is fully on the path to democracy and
ensuring real economic growth. She emphasized that any support by
Armenia’s friends to ensure success on this path is welcomed.
In her remarks, Speier stated that the Congress will take every step
to ensure economic and assistance to Armenia from the United States.
“We want to be sure that democracy in Armenia not only will be
maintained, but also will prosper, and the country will fully
develop,” said Speier.
In his remarks, Schiff praised Armenia-U.S. partnership saying, “We
need to raise the partnership of our countries to a new level in order
to help your wonderful government to succeed.”
Hakobyan also discussed her “Women for Peace” initiative through which
Armenian women call on all women around the world to raise their voice
for peace so that no soldiers are killed on the border.
Hakobyan’s visit to Washington started with a tour of the Library of
the Congress where she was acquainted with the exhibits on Armenian
literature.
She also met with members of the Armenian community, with who she
discussed the “My Step” Foundation that aims to advance the goals of
her husband’s political alliance, as well as the “City of Smile”
charity that she founded to combat pediatric cancer.
On April 5, Hakobyan visited Boston where she was greeted at St.
Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School accompanied by the Ambassador of
the Republic of Armenia, H. E. Varuzhan Nersesyan, as well as the
executive director of My Step Charitable Foundation, Hovannes
Ghazaryan and the Director of City of Smiles Foundation, Esther
Demirchian.
Hakobyan received a warm welcome by the students, teachers,
administration and the pastor of St. Stephen’s Church, Archpriest
Antranig Baljian. Two students greeted the First Lady with the
traditional bread and salt, wearing Armenian national costumes. The
rest of the students, with Armenian flags in hand, sang the Armenian
National Anthem.
In her welcoming remarks principal Houry Boyamian explained that St.
Stephen’s maintains high educational standards to encourage parents to
send their children to an Armenian school. She stated that in addition
to providing a quality education, the school passes onto each new
generation the Armenian language, culture and history, while
instilling a sense of identity and profound love for the Motherland.
For this reason, every year, in May, the school organizes the
Graduating Class Trip to Armenia. The Principal ended her remarks by
wishing Hakobyan success in all her charitable work.
The students presented a short program, then Hakobyan and her
delegation visited the classrooms and interacted with the students who
charmed them with their questions, poetry recitals and their fluency
in Armenian.
Hakobyan will visit Los Angeles, where on Saturday she will deliver a
keynote address and be honored at the Armenian American Medical
Society’s annual gala. On Sunday, she will preside over the 25th
anniversary celebration of Armenia’s Consulate General in Los Angeles.
On Monday, Hakobyan will speak at a public gathering at Glendale’s
Alex Theater.
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3 - Maestro Constantine Orbelian Dismissed
by Culture Minister From Yerevan Opera
By Polina Lyapustina
Grammy nominee maestro Constantine Orbelian was dismissed from the
post of the National Opera theatre director by the acting Armenian
Culture Minister Nazeni Gharibyan. Gharibyan justified her decision by
noting that the director cannot be engaged in other paid activities
except scientific, pedagogical, and creative work; Orbelian served as
the general director in addition to the position of the artistic
director. Gharibyan clarified that maintaining the two posts
simultaneously was unlawful since position of artistic director was
managerial, not creative.
The Actors and staff of Armenian National Opera have openly opposed
this decision and protests against the Ministry of Culture’s actions
are scheduled for April 1, 2019.
There’s also a petition to the Prime Minister of Republic Armenia
Nicol Pashinian, which was signed by more than 2,500 people as of this
writing. Lithuanian-Armenian soprano Asmik Grigorian said to
OperaWire, “I can’t believe it could happen. I know how much
Constantine (Orbelian) did for the theatre, and it finally started to
work and live the way it should. They never gave a chance to my father
(Gegham Grigoryan) to bring his ideas to life there, but Constantine
has got the ball rolling. And the biggest fear is that there’s
literally no one to replace him.”
The Grammy-nominated Orbelian became the Director and Artistic
Director of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in 2017. He is
also the chief conductor of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra in
Lithuania since 2013.
Artists at Opera and Ballet Theater were set to protest Orbelian’s
dismissal, on Saturday, April 6, against what they describe as
arbitrary decision of the acting culture minister and to express
solidarity with maestro Orbelian. “There will be continuous protest
actions to make the culture ministry consider the concerns of the
proud citizens of Armenia and in this case, the fair cause of the
artists representing the high art,” reads the message posted on Opera
theatre Facebook page.
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4- Councilmember Ara Najarian selected as Glendale mayor
GLENDALE—On Tuesday, April 2, Glendale City Council Member Ara
Najarian was selected as the City’s mayor by fellow council members.
Najarian takes over the position from outgoing Mayor Zareh Sinanyan.
This is Najarian’s fourth time serving in the position of mayor.
Najarian was first elected to office in April 2005. During his tenure,
he has served as Chair of the Glendale Housing Authority, and the
former Glendale Redevelopment Agency.
“I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to serve as Mayor,” said
Najarian. “I look forward to working closely with my Council
colleagues and staff to keep Glendale the special place that it is.”
In addition to serving on the City Council, Najarian is past chair and
a current member of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
(MTA) Board of Directors, and a vice-chair of the Southern California
Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) Board of Directors. He is also
past chair and a member of the San Fernando Valley Council of
Governments and serves as a member of the Southern California
Association of Governments Transportation Committee. Najarian
previously served as a member of the Glendale Community College Board
of Trustees from 2003-2005. He is an attorney and has a bachelor’s
degree in economics from Occidental College and Juris Doctor degree
from USC. He is married to Palmira Perez-Najarian, and has two adult
children, Alexander and Christopher.
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5- Two Armenians Among Candidates Vying
for LA City Council District 12 Seat
By Jessica P. Ogilvie and
Mary Plummer
When Mitch Englander resigned his L.A. City Council seat last October,
District 12—which includes Chatsworth, North Hills, Northridge,
Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, Reseda, Sherwood Forest and West
Hills—was left with temporary representation (Greig Smith, his former
chief of staff, stepped into the role) Now, a special election will be
held to find his replacement. The primary election will be held June
4. If no candidate receives 50 percent plus one of the vote, a general
election will be held August 13.
Englander was the lone Republican on the 15-member council. Even
though the body is officially nonpartisan, a win for a Democrat would
signal a significant shift for the council which has had Republican
representation for many decades.
“This may well be a historic first if it happens,” said Jaime
Regalado, emeritus professor of political science at Cal State, L.A.
Regalado said the opposite has been true: before the mid to late
1950s, the city was politically conservative, and at times was
controlled by an all Republican council.
Englander’s departure from the council is the second in the last few years.
Former Councilmember Felipe Fuentes left abruptly in 2016. Both
Fuentes and Englander left for job’s in the private sector. Fuentes
took a job as a lobbyist and Englander took a job as executive vice
president for government affairs at Oak View, an entertainment and
sports facilities company founded by AEG’s former chief executive.
Among the 15 candidates, two Armenian-Americans are vying for Englander’s seat.
Jack Kayajian (Democrat) is an administrator at City Attorney Mike
Feuer’s office. Previously, Kayajian worked as a Valley area
representative for former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. His
platform includes reducing overcrowding in classrooms, improving
public safety officers’ response times and supporting small
businesses.
Stella Maloyan (Democrat) is an executive at the Los Angeles Alliance
for a New Economy and a commissioner on the city’s Tourism and
Convention Board. Maloyan is a resident of Porter Ranch, having
immigrated to the area from Iran at age 15. Her past work includes
advocating for gender equity and equal pay, working to secure
resources for the city’s middle class and pushing City Hall to develop
affordable housing.
LAist has confirmed each of their party affiliations. Other details
regarding platforms, stances on issues and personal or professional
life, were gathered from candidates’ official websites and are
publicly available.
This article appeared in LAist on April 1, 2019.
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6- Disagreeable Distinction: Arabs, Armenians, Iranians
Considered White in US Census
By Sarah Parvini and
Ellis Simani
Samira Damavandi knows that when she fills out her 2020 census form,
she will be counted. But it pains her that, in some way, she will also
be forgotten.
When asked to mark her race, Damavandi will encounter options for
white, black, Asian, American Indian and Native Hawaiian — but nothing
that she believes represents her family’s Iranian heritage. She will
either have to choose white, or identify as “some other race.”
“It erases the community,” she said.
Roughly 3 million people of Southwest Asian, Middle Eastern or North
African descent live in the United States, according to a Los Angeles
Times analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. No county is home to more
of these communities than Los Angeles, where more than 350,000 people
can trace their roots to a region that stretches from Mauritania to
the mountains of Afghanistan.
In past census surveys, more than 80 percent in this group have called
themselves white, The Times analysis found.Arab and Iranian
communities for years have lobbied the bureau to create a separate
category for people of Middle Eastern or North African descent.
Over the last decade, it seemed the tide would turn — the Obama
administration was considering proposals to ask questions about race
and ethnicity in a different way, shifting not only how the government
would count the Middle Eastern community, but the Latino population as
well.
In 2018, however, the bureau announced that it would not include a
“MENA” category. Instead, the next survey will ask participants who
check “white” or “black” to write in their “origins” for the first
time. Lebanese and Egyptian are among the suggestions under white.
For many, a write-in doesn’t go far enough because they identify as
people of color. The bureau’s move was seen as a blow to a group
already grappling with feelings of invisibility. Advocates say the
category goes beyond issues of self-identity and has real-life
implications for Arab and Middle Eastern communities, including the
allocation of local resources.
“We are our own community,” said Rashad Al-Dabbagh, executive director
of the Arab American Civic Council in Anaheim. “It’s as if we don’t
count.”
At stake in the decennial count is nearly $800 billion in federal tax
dollars and the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House
of Representatives. Many of the services people rely on are tied to
funds and programs determined by the census.
In addition to those resources, advocates argue, the “white” label
could hurt universities and companies that use the information to
promote diversity and could result in the gathering of little or no
statistical data on important issues, such as health trends in the
community.
Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, said
this lack of proper representation has “deprived our community of
access to basic services and rights,” such as language assistance at
polling places and educational grants.
“I think it’s a big disappointment to people because there was a real
effort made from the last census to create that category,” said Persis
Karim, director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San
Francisco State University. “It’s another erasure of both Middle
Eastern and North African people.”
Those communities have struggled to become visible for decades, Karim
said, especially in the post 9-11 period.
In 2015, the census bureau tested creating new categories — including
MENA. Government research showed that Middle Eastern and North African
people would check the MENA box if given the option. Without it, they
would opt for white or “some other race.”
“The results of this research indicate that it is optimal to use a
dedicated ‘Middle Eastern or North African’ response category,” a 2017
census report said. Still, census officials have said they need more
research before committing to a change, citing feedback suggesting
MENA should be treated as an option for ethnicity, not race —
something the bureau has not researched.
Sarah Shabbar grew up in Santa Barbara feeling underrepresented. In
school, she was counted among the white students and wondered why she
had to “conform to something I don’t agree with.”
“It was such a weird thing to grow up and be told, ‘You should be
proud to be Jordanian. You should be proud of where you come from,’”
said Shabbar, now a graduate student at Cal State Northridge. “None of
these forms are allowing me to feel proud of it, because I’m just
white according to them.”
Her parents would tell her to choose “white” if that’s how Middle
Eastern people were classified by the government, she said. There
wasn’t a discussion about identity, or what it would mean to properly
classify the community.
“It’s like, khalas, just put it,” said Shabbar, using the Arabic word
for “enough.” “For them it doesn’t matter. Until you apply for college
… then it’s like, there’s no money for Arabs?” the 25-year-old said
with a laugh.
Experts say that generational divide is a common split within the
Middle Eastern and North African community. For some, it stems from
the notion of being from the Caucasus region — and therefore,
literally Caucasian — and for others, identifying as white became a
means of survival in a new country.
“Our parents came as immigrants and worked with this idea of
aspirational whiteness, that if you work hard and put your head down
you’ll be successful,” said Khaled Beydoun, who teaches law at the
University of Arkansas. “But for young people, with 9/11 and now with
Trump, whiteness means something specific.”
Some worry that in the current political climate, it may be dangerous
to create a separate category.
Beydoun, who is Egyptian and Lebanese, served on a committee of field
experts that provided the Census Bureau with feedback on the idea of a
MENA box on the 2020 census. He supported adding the classification,
he said, but also worried that the information could be used to track
where Arabs or Iranians live or be used against the community “during
times of crisis.”
Prior to the 2010 census, the Arab and Iranian communities in Southern
California teamed up to spread a message: “Check it right, you ain’t
white!”
The tongue-in-cheek campaign encouraged people to choose “some other
race” and sought to combat the notion that Arabs and Iranians are
white — an idea that experts say has roots in a legal battle from the
early 1900s. Arab immigrants from modern-day Syria and Lebanon, who
were considered Asian, successfully fought to be classified as white
and thus eligible for citizenship.
That classification was cemented in the late 1970s when the Office of
Management and Budget listed all Middle Easterners as white.
“In the Arab community, there are varying degrees of assimilation,”
said Omar Masry, who was part of the 2010 census movement. “They are
categorized as white, but they aren’t treated the same as the white
guy in front of them in line when they are in an immigration line
coming back from a trip.”
For David Shams, the census question codifies a feeling he’s known all
his life: a sense of straddling two worlds, both fully American and
intensely proud of his Iranian heritage. The 36-year-old remembers a
conversation he had with an administrator about the lack of inclusion
of Middle Easterners in diversity scholarships when he was a student
at Murray State University in Kentucky. The school official told him
Iranians weren’t considered for diversity scholarships because they
were white, and minorities needed help more than “you all do.” All the
talk did was push “the misconception that we’re white,” Shams said.
“Having the federal government label us as white, while our social
status is anything but, further stigmatizes our position in society,”
said Shams. “We have no recourse. We have no way to talk about
diversity or discrimination because if we’re white, we can’t be
discriminated against based on race. And so we’re left in this gray
area.”That wasn’t a topic Shams had delved into with his father until
two years ago. The two were sitting at a beer garden in Washington,
D.C., during the Persian New Year when they started discussing Trump’s
administration and the rise of white nationalism. The elder Shams
emigrated from Iran in 1964, more than a decade before the Islamic
Revolution.
“They hate brown people,” Shams told his father as he sipped his
favorite lager. “But we’re white,” his father replied. “I’m white.
You’re white.” “Stand up on this bench right here and say that,” Shams
said. “Nobody in this bar would agree with you.”
This article appeared in Los Angeles Times on March 28, 2019.
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