1 - Catholicosate of Cilicia Refiles Lawsuit Against Turkey By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7i8EEjvBYIC38Xqe2vQ4XYT38VRRImwPUZqezHNA9GAynQGyodOrlX0JMPdryQ$ 2- Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation President, former president of New York Public Library, Pillar of Armenian Diaspora Dies at 87 3 - Pashinyan Releases 2020 Artsakh War Death Toll Numbers 4- US Ambassador to UN, Presidential Advisor Set Charles Momjian Dies 5- Armenia Faces 3rd Wave of COVID-19 Cases 6- Mekhitarist Priest, Artist, Educator Rev. Harutiun Bezdikian Passes Away 7- MY RELIC: She Loves Collective Commemorates Genocide with Art Installations on Artsakh Ave. 8- Borne of Armenian-American Roots, US Music Production Company Yessian Celebrates 50 Years 9- Portantino Administers Attorney Oath of Office for Inaugural Karabian Fellow Anahit Sargsyan 10- Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan charged with money laundering ***************************************** ****************************************** 1 - Catholicosate of Cilicia Refiles Lawsuit Against Turkey By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7i8EEjvBYIC38Xqe2vQ4XYT38VRRImwPUZqezHNA9GAynQGyodOrlX0JMPdryQ$ In 2015 the Catholicosate of Cilicia (headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon) filed a lawsuit against the government of Turkey seeking the return of its historic seat in Sis, Turkey (present-day Kozan district of the Adana Province), which was confiscated in 1921. The Catholicosate had initially filed its lawsuit directly with the Constitutional Court of Turkey because the claim raised issues of historical property rights that lower courts would not have jurisdiction over. At the urging of the Justice Ministry, the Constitutional Court referred the lawsuit to a lower court. The Catholicosate then appealed the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights in 2016. The European Court rejected the Catholicosate’s 900-page lawsuit in 2017, finding it inadmissible because it had not first exhausted all local legal remedies, such as the lower courts in Turkey. Therefore, the Catholicosate refiled its lawsuit in 2019, this time with a lower Turkish court in Kazan (Sis). After two postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic, a pre-trial hearing finally took place on March 30, 2021 in the Kazan Civil Litigation Court to decide whether a viable cause of action existed to proceed to trial. The Catholicosate’s lawsuit against the Municipality of Kozan and the Turkish government’s Treasury Department is being defended by a group of international law experts, as well as Turkish lawyer Jem Sofouoghlu and Turkish Armenian lawyer Setrag Davouthan, who is serving as a consultant. The Istanbul-based Jamanak Armenian newspaper reported that according to attorney Sofouoghlu the March 30 hearing was intended to clarify the applicant’s qualifications and authorizations and the possibility of the expiration of the statute of limitations. The Municipality of Kozan and the Treasury Department presented their counter-evidence claiming that the applicant does not have standing -- is not a legal entity -- and is a foreign litigant. The defendants also stated that, before the hearing could proceed, the applicant as a foreign entity must provide a letter of guarantee corresponding to 15% of the demand’s value, as required by the Turkish legal system. Sofouoghlu was quoted by Jamanak telling the Judge that the Catholicosate had already submitted the required documents to the court. The Judge agreed to go ahead and consider the substance of the lawsuit, meaning that the court rejected the objections raised by the Municipality and Treasury Department, and ruled that the lawsuit could definitively proceed. The next hearing is scheduled for May 6, 2021. Sofouoghlu said that he considers this a very positive development. Now the trial will go through several presumable phases. Sofouoghlu anticipates that the court will first assemble the evidence presented by the Catholicosate of Cilicia. For this purpose, the corresponding work will be carried out through the official archives and property registers at governmental bodies. The investigative-exploratory phase then follows the collection of evidence. According to Sofouoghlu, the court, most probably later on, will reach the conclusion that it will be necessary to appoint an expert to carry out this task. Such experts are usually academics from one of the universities in the Adana region. Even though the courts always have the authority to carry out this work on their own, they prefer to appoint an expert. At the end, should the Catholicosate’s lawsuit be rejected, as expected, by the lower Turkish Court, it will then be appealed to the Constitutional Court of Turkey and after its probable rejection there, a new, and this time proper, appeal could be filed in the European Court of Human Rights which hopefully will not dismiss it because of a technicality. Even though this lawsuit is filed by the Catholicosate of Cilicia to recover its historic seat, it is in fact much more significant than this particular case. The lawsuit is related to the Armenian nation’s larger efforts to pursue its legal demands for the return of all properties and assets confiscated by the Turkish government during the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. As Catholicos Aram I has rightly pointed out: “This is the time that we move from the stage of [Genocide] recognition to reparation.” He told the New York Times in May 2015: “After 100 years, I thought it was time that we put the emphasis on reparation. … This is the first legal step. This will be followed by our claim to return all the churches, the monasteries, the church-related properties and, finally, the individual properties.” ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 2- Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation President, former president of New York Public Library, Pillar of Armenian Diaspora Dies at 87 By Robert D. McFadden Vartan Gregorian, the ebullient Armenian immigrant who climbed to pinnacles of academic and philanthropic achievement but took a detour in the 1980s to restore a fading New York Public Library to its place at the heart of American intellectual life, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 87. The death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his son Dareh Gregorian. No cause was given. Vartan Gregorian was born on April 8, 1934, in the Armenian quarter of Tabriz, in northwest Iran, to Samuel and Shooshanik (Mirzaian) Gregorian. His father was an accountant for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Vartan’s older brother, Aram, died in infancy, and his mother died of pneumonia when he was 6. His father was drafted in World War II and later became an often-unemployed office worker. Vartan and his younger sister, Ojik, were raised by their maternal grandmother, Voski Mirzaian, an illiterate but gracious storyteller whose allegorical fables instilled in the children lessons in morality: about telling the truth, possessing integrity, and the dignity to be found in stoicism and good deeds. “She was my hero,” Dr. Gregorian said in an interview for this obituary in 2019. “I learned more about character from her than from anybody I ever met or any book I ever read.” Gregorian received his elementary education in Iran and his secondary education at Collège Arménian in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1956, he entered Stanford University, where he majored in history and the humanities, graduating with honors in 1958. In 1960, he married Clare Russell, a fellow student at Stanford. In addition to Dareh, they had two more sons, Vahé and Raffi, all of whom survive Dr. Gregorian, along with his sister and five grandchildren. He lived in Midtown Manhattan. He was awarded a PhD in history and humanities from Stanford in 1964. Gregorian has taught European intellectual history and Middle Eastern history at San Francisco State College, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Texas at Austin. In 1972, he joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty and was appointed Tarzian Professor of Armenian and Caucasian History and professor of South Asian History. He was founding dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Penn in 1974 and four years later became its twenty-third provost until 1981. His outstanding tenure at the university has been honored with endowed professorships in English and in the Humanities and through several graduate fellowships in the humanities. After an academic career spanning two decades, Gregorian served as President of The New York Public Library from 1980 to 1989. The institution includes a network of four research libraries and 83 branch libraries, and during his tenure, Gregorian was widely credited with restoring the status of the library as a financially sound, cultural landmark. “The New York Public Library is a New York and national treasure,” he said. “The branch libraries have made lives and saved lives. The New York Public Library is not a luxury. It is an integral part of New York’s social fabric, its culture, its institutions, its media and its scholarly, artistic and ethnic communities. It deserves the city’s respect, appreciation and support. No, the library is not a cost center! It is an investment in the city’s past and future!” In 1989, he was appointed the 16th President of Brown University, where he led a campaign that raised over $500 million, bringing the institution’s endowment past the $1 billion mark. Gregorian also oversaw the creation of several new academic departments. In honor of his legacy at the university, a residence quadrangle was named after him, as well as three professorships: the Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professorship, The Brooke Russell Astor Professorship in the Humanities in Honor of Vartan Gregorian, and the Aga Khan Professorship in Islamic Humanities created in honor of Gregorian. In 1997, the City of Providence renamed the Fox Point Public Elementary School after Gregorian to acknowledge his role in strengthening relationships between the university and the community. In 1997, Gregorian assumed the presidency of one of the country’s oldest grantmaking foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York. His philanthropic work and scholarly accomplishments have been recognized with more than 70 honorary degrees and dozens of significant awards, including the National Humanities Medal, awarded by President William J. Clinton; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President George W. Bush. President George H. W. Bush appointed Gregorian to the J. William Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships, and President Barack Obama appointed him to the selection committee of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Dr. Gregorian also advised philanthropists, including Bill and Melinda Gates, Walter H. Annenberg and officials of the J. Paul Getty Trust. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Humanities Medal, and in 2004 President George W. Bush conferred on him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Gregorian has also been decorated by the Austrian, Italian, Portuguese, French, and Armenian governments. Gregorian was a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, which awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2001, following an honorary degree awarded by Yerevan State University in 1995. He was a former trustee of the American University of Armenia, a trustee emeritus of the Dilijan International School of Armenia, and a co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative with Ruben Vardanyan and Dr. Noubar Afeyan, who established the Vartan Gregorian Scholarship Program in 2018 to support scholarly research of Armenian history. In 2012, Gregorian was presented with the Republic of Armenia’s Medal of Mkhitar Gosh, and in 2017, he was the recipient of the country’s Order of Honor. Besides his memoir, he wrote “The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946” (1969); “Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith” (2004) and many articles on history and global affairs. Dr. Gregorian, who often recalled the kindness of strangers, said that after landing in New York in 1956 to start life in America, he lost his plane ticket to San Francisco. He was due to register the next day at Stanford. His future seemed to hang in the balance. In faltering English, he poured out his desperation to an airport ticket agent. The man hesitated, saying something about regulations. Then he softened. “I have never done what I am about to do,” the agent said. He stamped the young man’s empty ticket envelope and told him to stay on the plane — a four-stop, 14-hour flight — to avoid discovery. “I never forgot that man,” Dr. Gregorian said in the 2019 interview. “He gave me my future. For years I wanted to thank him but couldn’t find him. I told the story in my book to thank him — and now my conscience is clear.” Gregorian was the author of The Road to Home: My Life and Times; Islam: A Mosaic, Not A Monolith; and The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880–1946. Gregorian was predeceased by his wife, Clare Russell Gregorian. He is survived by his three sons: Vahé Gregorian and his wife Cindy Billhartz Gregorian of Kansas City, MO; Raffi Gregorian of New York, NY; and Dareh Gregorian and his wife Maggie Haberman Gregorian of Brooklyn, NY. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Juan, Maximus, Sophie, Miri, and Dashiell; and a sister, Ojik Arakelian of Massachusetts and Iran. This article appeared in the New York Times on April 16, 2021. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 3 - Pashinyan Releases 2020 Artsakh War Death Toll Numbers YEREVAN (Armenpress)—The number of identified fatalities of the 2020 Artsakh war stands at 3621 identified war dead; 321 MIAs; and 201 bodies under DNA testing, as of April 14, according to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. “At this moment we have 3621 deaths confirmed with death certificates, we also have 321 persons in the list of those missing, we have 201 bodies or remains currently under DNA testing and we have more than 100 identified bodies who were identified with concrete family members, but the families are still refusing to accept this fact for various reasons. Many of our countrymen want to believe that their loved ones are alive, or held captive [in Azerbaijan], there are families who don’t trust the DNA tests,” Pashinyan said in parliament in response to lawmaker Karapet Mkhchyan’s question. ********************************************************************************************************************************************** 4- US Ambassador to UN, Presidential Advisor Set Charles Momjian Dies Set Charles Momjian, 91, of Huntingdon Valley, well-known antiques collector and advisor to presidents, died on Monday, April 12 after a long illness. He was born in Atlantic City in 1930 to Julia and Charles Momjian, both orphaned refugees from the Armenian genocide who were raised by American missionaries. Charles died at an early age and the family, which included younger brother Albert, had a difficult time during the Depression era. Mr. Momjian attended Atlantic City High School, LaSalle College and Charles Morris Price School of Advertising. After school, he joined the Army, where upon learning that the platoon photographer would have his own private quarters, spent a weekend learning all he could about photography. Returning to Atlantic City, he used this skill again, as the official photographer for the Miss America pageant. He began and ended his long professional career at Ford Motor Company, including years as a marketing executive at Philco-Ford, Ford Aerospace and ultimately as a Washington liaison for the company. Mr. Momjian is best known and remembered for his dual passions of antique collecting and politics. A serendipitous find of an old gun under the Atlantic City boardwalk when he was a young boy inspired his lifelong love of antiques. During a 1987 interview about his collecting on the Today show, he said “collecting is in the marrow of my bones.” His son Chris said his father “spent every free minute he had digging through stalls at flea markets, talking with dealers at antique shows or attending auctions. I’d go along with him, leaving before dawn; my ‘reward’ at the end of the long day was usually an antique pocket knife for my collection.” Early in his collecting career, following advice from the Grolier Club, he pursued first edition books, but his obsession quickly expanded into other areas, as he built his Americana collection that spans genres from soda fountain fixtures and coin-op machines, to rare historical manuscripts and early photography. He is nationally known for his collection of White House and presidential china, much of which has been on loan to presidential libraries. Mr. Momjian loved sharing his passion for collecting with others and was in demand as a speaker many groups throughout the country. Today objects from his collections are on loan to numerous museums and historic sites. A chance encounter with Jimmy Carter during his presidential campaign led to decades of service and advice to presidential campaigns and Presidents from both political parties. Mr. Momjian served the Carter Campaign as Director of Special Projects. Merging his passion for art and politics, he worked with modern artists including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, commissioning artwork to be sold to raise funds for the DNC. Through the sale of the Inaugural Impressions portfolio, funds were raised to keep the DC museums open late for visitors to the nation’s capital. Following the election, President Carter nominated Mr. Momjian as a U.S. representative to the United Nations with the rank of ambassador, the first person of Armenian descent to hold the position. He later served as a delegate to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and chairman of the DNC’s Ethnic-American Committee. He supervised Presidential gifts to heads of states, often combining a special printing of a presidential speech presented in a fine binding. He had miniature Liberty Bells cast from an old chip from the crack in the original bell and presented one to the Queen of England when she visited Independence National Historical Park on America’s Bicentennial. He made sure there was always American art in the White House, often lending works from his own collections. In 1981 President Reagan nominated Mr. Momjian as the only non-Jewish member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. As an original member of the Council, he was very proud of his work in developing the U.S. Holocaust Museum. During the terms of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton he continued to work on special projects for both Presidents, the preservation of the collections at the White House and the restoration of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Mr. Momjian was equally passionate about his Armenian roots and was committed to the Armenian-American community, holding leadership positions with the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Assembly the Armenian Sister’s Academy and Knights of Vartan. In 1976, during this country’s Bicentennial he recognized America’s generosity to the Armenian community by raising $1 million to buy a set of tapestries designed by Christian Herter celebrating significant events in American History. The tapestries were purchased from the Armenian Sister’s Academy and then donated to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also in 1976, Mr. Momjian participated in the erection of the Meher statue in Philadelphia by the Knights of Vartan. Over the years Mr. Momjian served on many non-profit boards; among them the Ellis Island Restoration Commission, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, African-American Museum, National Holocaust Museum, International League for Human Rights, the Liberty Museum, First Ladies Library, Capitol Children’s Museum, Brandywine Museum and the National Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Poor Richard Club, the Union League of Philadelphia and the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Joan (Reed), sons Bruce (Christine) and Christopher (Gail) and six grandchildren. Arrangements will be private; memorial contributions may be made to the Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Church, Havertown, PA or the Armenian Missionary Association of America, Paramus, NJ ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 5- Armenia Faces 3rd Wave of COVID-19 Cases Armenian health officials are sounding the alarm of a third wave of COVID-19 cases just as the country commences the vaccination phase. The most recent rise in coronavirus infections following a loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. On April 14, it was announced that Armenia would purchase one million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. There were 15,906 active cases in Armenia as of April 19. Armenia has recorded 208,818 coronavirus cases and 3,895 deaths; 189,017 have recovered. *********************************************************************************************************************************************** 6- Mekhitarist Priest, Artist, Educator Rev. Harutiun Bezdikian Passes Away Rev. Harutiun Bezdikian, senior member of the Congregation (AKA P. Arturo), died on Sunday, April 11, 2021, while residing in the Armenian Samuel-Moorat College in Paris. Bezdikian served throughout his life in the Mekhitarist schools in Aleppo, Venice and Paris, where he played an important role in the human, Christian and Armenian training of many young people; he was editor of Bazmavep magazine, as well as author of several articles and books about the Armenian Church, Culture and the Congregation. Bezdikian was a talented painter, who organized several exhibitions and received important awards. The Holy Mass celebration and funerals took place Monday, April 19 at San Lazzaro church on the island, and Bezdikian’s remains will then be buried in the monastic cemetery of Abbey. In compliance with COVID restrictions, the funeral took place privately with the participation of monks and family. But the ceremony was broadcast on the Monastery’s Facebook page. Once the pandemic situation has improved, it is the Congregation’s intention to celebrate a Mass in requiem of Father Harutyun (Jacques) Bezdikian, in which all friends of the Father and of the Congregation can participate. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 7- MY RELIC: She Loves Collective Commemorates Genocide with Art Installations on Artsakh Ave. GLENDALE—As part of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Month, emergent international collective of established female artivists, SheLovesCollective, has created an interactive art installation called My Relic, which will take place within 3 retail units on Artsakh Ave. (117 Artsakh Ave., 123 Artsakh Ave., and 127 Artsakh Ave.) from April 11 to 25, 2021, and will feature 3 individual installations. “A Ritual in Bread Making” (117 N. Artsakh Ave.) uses Lavash, the traditional Armenian oven baked bread, to create items that make up a typical room in a home. Additionally, a short documentary film will be either projected in large format wall-to wall/ceiling-to-floor or played on a variety of vintage television screens of varying sizes. The short film will be of a healing ritual performed by collective members and footage from two previous performance art documentaries. “Relics” (123 N. Artsakh Ave.) will feature 50-yard-long white tapestries suspended from the ceiling that displays digitally printed images of Armenian relics such as ancestral heirlooms, objects that evoke a memory of ancestral struggles, scars and loss, but also, of triumph, survival and photos of a time before. A QR code will allow spectators to scan and learn more about each relic. “Reclamation” (127 N. Artsakh Ave.) will feature hundreds of shoes placed in piles as the remnants of a war/bombing with a backdrop of Mount Ararat. My Relic is generously sponsored by the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission through funding from the Urban Art Program, and support from Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and Glendale Economic Development. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 8- Borne of Armenian-American Roots, US Music Production Company Yessian Celebrates 50 Years FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Bob Seger’s performance in a March 2021 episode of the television show “The Simpsons,” to Cadillac’s “Scissorhands”/Winona Ryder advertisement during the National Football League’s biggest professional football game of 2021, Yessian music production company’s 50th year in business continues its groundbreaking work— as one of the oldest US Commercial production music companies. The company provides sound for the best-known brands in advertising, film, TV, gaming, and theme parks and has clients all over the world. Earlier this month, Yessian was awarded two Gold Awards by 2021 American Advertising Awards Los Angeles for Detroit Youth Choir’s “Glory” which was recorded on site in Detroit and in the studio, and Vistaprint’s “Unregiftable” advertisement. Other notable recent projects by Yessian include producing the sound for Hudson Yards Observation Deck in New York City, ‘Flying Over Indonesia’ theme park ride at Trans Studios Bali, and Lincoln’s ‘Ivory Keys’ ad for the 2021 Grammy’s featuring singer songwriter John Baptiste. The Farmington Hills, Mich. based company is believed to be one of the oldest commercial music production companies in the United States with a reputation for continually furthering its reach both regionally and technologically. For a company timeline, images and audio click here. Founded in 1971 by award-winning composer Dan Yessian, of Armenian descent, the company began in a 300-square-foot bait shop in metro Detroit. Yessian’s early success in creating jingles for companies such as Whirlpool, Dodge, Ford Motor Company and Frigidaire, plus music for TV shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company,” allowed for the creation of purpose-built studios. Since working alongside his two sons Brian Yessian, chief of operations, and Michael Yessian, head of production, Dan Yessian was able to expand the company into a global enterprise with producers, composers, music supervisors, research creatives and recording artists creating groundbreaking and award-winning audio. The company maintains additional locations in Los Angeles, New York City and Hamburg, Germany, totaling 20,000 square feet of studio and office space. “I was an English teacher with a dream: making music. I left teaching in the Detroit Public Schools to start creating jingles in a tiny space I rented for $50 a month, and fortunately I was embraced by the Detroit advertising community,” says Dan Yessian, who was inducted into the Adcraft Hall of Fame in 2018. “Now, with my sons, who have taken the business to a level I could never have imagined, and with an outstandingly talented team, our current scope of work includes music for theme parks across the world along with network television and global advertising for Fortune 500 companies. Ours is the business of telling stories and experiences through sound, and every year we continue to achieve new milestones.” Notable in that work was a project that took the Yessian team to Abbey Road Studios in London, England, where Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” was rearranged and recorded for a United Airlines advertisement; and to Changsha in China, for the creation of audio to accompany a 5D Theater Experience film celebrating the birthplace of Chinese pottery. Yessian was also asked to provide the sound for the One World Observatory which opened in 2015 at the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City; and in 2019 the company created a 360-degree audio experience for the band Aerosmith’s Las Vegas residency. A brief list of company clients over the years includes Disney, RAM, Budweiser, Macy’s, United Airlines, Walmart, Coca Cola, L’Oreal, McDonald’s, Porsche, Nintendo, Proctor & Gamble, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Bosch, NBC (“Sunday Night Football,” “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent”), ESPN (College Football, Major League Baseball), Disney Channel, HGTV, Lifetime, PBS, US Navy, and US Air Force among countless others. Yessian is a global collective of producers, composers, music supervisors, research creatives and recording artists. With six full-service recording studios including a music licensing and research division, the studio offers a complete source for music, sound design and soundscapes. This powerful combination has allowed Yessian to enlist some of the world’s best-known brands in film, television, advertising, gaming, and theme parks as clients. For more information about Yessian, visit https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.yessian.com__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7i8EEjvBYIC38Xqe2vQ4XYT38VRRImwPUZqezHNA9GAynQGyodOrlX2olG9ywQ$ ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 9- Portantino Administers Attorney Oath of Office for Inaugural Karabian Fellow Anahit Sargsyan SACRAMENTO—Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Canada-Flintridge) was proud to administer the oath for the State Bar of California for Anahit Sargsyan, the first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow and former Legislative Assistant in his Capitol office. “Anahit was an outstanding choice to be the inaugural Karabian Fellow,” commented Senator Portantino. “She served our Sacramento office and the 25th Senate District extremely well. I also appreciated her dedication to and support of Artsakh. I had the opportunity to meet her terrific family and the privilege of swearing her into the State Bar of California, where she will continue her stellar service as an attorney,” he added. Sargsyan was selected as the first Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellow in 2016 and placed in Senator Portantino’s 2016 State Senate campaign. Shortly after, she was hired as a Legislative Assistant in his Capitol Office. During her time at State Senate, she had an opportunity to assist the Senator on a number of important projects, including securing state funding for the Armenian American Museum and the formation of the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia, and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural Exchange. Sargsyan earned her B.A. with honors from the University of California, Davis, where she studied History, with an emphasis in Western Civilization. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2020 and is currently working as an associate at a California law firm’s Los Angeles office, focusing her practice on litigation, elections, state legislation, ethics and conflict of interest, and education matters. While attending law school, Ms. Sargsyan worked as a judicial extern at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as a litigation fellow at a firm in Los Angeles. She also spent a summer interning at Republic of Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender’s Office in Shushi. Inspired by her experience of advising Portantino on education policy matters, Sargsyan developed a passion for teaching and mentorship. She worked as a Graduate Student Instructor for the Freedom of Communication course at UCLA and also served as a mentor for the UCLA Law Fellows Program and as Vice-President of UCLA Armenian Law Students Association. “Working in environments that invest in your growth early in your career is crucial,” said Sargsyan. “I am so thankful to Senator Portantino for his mentorship and to the Karabian Fellowship for the invaluable experiences they have provided me. We have many opportunities to create pathways for Armenian students interested in politics and public service. Being introduced to Senator Portantino through Karabian Fellowship was the beginning of that path for me. I encourage all young professionals to seek out mentors and programs that inspire them,” she added. Sargsyan moved to California from Yerevan in 2010, where she also studied law at the Yerevan State University. She joined her family in Sacramento, relying on their support to overcome the challenges of being an immigrant and navigating the educational system in the United States. Sargsyan maintains strong ties with the realities in Armenia. She remains active in the Armenian American community, supporting various advocacy efforts, including those programs that invest in extending access to high quality education for Armenian students. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ 10- Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan charged with money laundering YEREVAN (Armenpress)—The Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan was charged on April 19 with money laundering and accessory to misconduct in a case involving a former Cabinet member. Announcing the criminal charges, the Committee of Investigations said Monday that its investigation revealed that Smbatyan allegedly fraudulently helped the former Armenian minister of culture H.P. to launder 550,000 dollars in proceeds from the sale of a building of historic-cultural significance located at 3 Abovyan Street in Yerevan. Smbatian was also the head of the Armenian Association of Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries, and the then-minister was his deputy during that time. The building in question was allegedly fraudulently acquired by the association before being allegedly sold to an offshore company registered at the British Virgin Islands, in turn belonging to a family member of the then-minister. A bail bond of 20,000,000 drams is set for Smbatyan. The Committee of Investigations had earlier reported that the former minister of culture and youth is also charged and wanted. Ambassador Smbatyan served as an Advisor to the President of the Republic Armenia from 2014 to 2018. He was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Russian Federation from 2002 to 2010 and meanwhile served as Executive Director of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (IFESCCO) in Russian Federation. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ California Courier Online provides viewers of the Armenian News News Service with a few of the articles in this week's issue of The California Courier. Letters to the editor are encouraged through our e-mail address, [email protected]. However, authors are requested to provide their names, addresses, and/or telephone numbers to verify identity, if any question arises. California Courier subscribers are requested not to use this service to change, or modify mailing addresses. Those changes can be made through our e-mail, [email protected], or by phone, (818) 409-0949.