The California
Courier Online,

1-         Pashinyan
Refuses to Resign, Despite

            Precipitous
Decline in his Popularity

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

           
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

           
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Glendale: 3 arrested as
protesters outside board meeting

            clash over
LGBTQ curriculum

3-         Fallen
Soldier’s Mother Freed After Judge Hands Down Suspended Jail Term

 4-          Letter to the Editor

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1-         Pashinyan
Refuses to Resign, Despite

            Precipitous
Decline in his Popularity

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

           
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Two polls were conducted in Armenia recently, giving the people
a chance to express their views on various issues, including the sharp decline
in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s popularity.

The first survey was conducted January 23-March 4, 2023 by
the Center for Insights in Survey Research, a project of the Washington,
D.C.-based International Republican Institute. This scientific survey, based on
a random sample of Armenia’s
population, was funded by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID).

Question: “Do you think Armenia is heading in the right
direction or wrong direction?” 52%: wrong direction (up from 11%-14% in 2018 when
Pashinyan first came to power); 36%: right direction (down from 72%-73% in
2018).

Question: “How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the
pace of democracy in our country?” 17%: satisfied; 46%: dissatisfied; 35%: no
change.

Question: “How much interest do you have in politics?” 43%:
very much or somewhat interested; 57%: not at all or somewhat not interested.

Question: “How would you evaluate the prevailing mood of the
Armenian population?” 44%: future will be better or somewhat better; 55%:
insecurity, worry, fear for the future, total disappointment, and disbelief in
any improvement.

Question: “Which politician or public person do you trust
the most?” 64%: none; 14%: Nikol Pashinyan; 3%: Ararat Mirzoyan; 2%: Robert
Kocharyan; others 2% each.

Question: “Which political party or alliance, if any, you
would vote for if national parliamentary elections were held next Sunday?” 47%:
would not vote or refused to answer or don’t know; 17%: Civil Contract; 5% Armenia Alliance;
4%: Public Voice party; 2%: Prosperous Armenia party; 2%: ARF Dashnaktsutyun;
others 1% each.

Question: “How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the
following institutions?” Armenian
Apostolic Church,
54%: very or somewhat satisfied; 40%: very or somewhat dissatisfied; Prime
Minister’s office, 38%: satisfied (down from 82%-85% in 2018); 61%:
dissatisfied (up from 13-17% in 2018).

Question: “How do you feel about the direction of each of
the following spheres during the past six months?” Freedom of speech, 56%:
improved a lot or somewhat improved (down from 73%-83% in 2018); 18%: regressed
a lot or somewhat regressed (up from 3%-6% in 2018); 26%: no change (up from
19% in 2018). Foreign policy, 37%: improved a lot or somewhat improved (same as
2019); 33%: somewhat regressed or regressed a lot (up from 17% in 2019); 26%:
no change (down from 39% in 2019). Armenia’s policy on Artsakh, 10%:
improved a lot or somewhat improved (down from 32% in 2019); 69%: regressed a
lot or somewhat regressed (up from 18% in 2019); 18%: no change (down from 45%
in 2019). Direction of fight against corruption, 43%: improved (down from 82%
in 2018); 22%: regressed (up from 2% in 2018); 32%: no change (up from 14% in
2018).

Question: “What do you think is the biggest success of the
government in the last 6 months?” 43%: none; 21%: don’t know or refused to
answer; 6%: development of diplomatic relation; other minor issues.

Question: “What do you think is the biggest failure of the
government in the last 6 months?” 21%: don’t know or refused to answer; 15%:
closure of Lachin Corridor; 9%: overturning the Artsakh issue; 8%: national
security of Armenia
and border issues; 7%: loss of territories; other minor issues.

Question: “What are the things Pashinyan’s government must
achieve in the next 6 months?” 23%: improvement of army conditions; 22%:
protection of Armenia’s
national security and borders; 16%: creation of jobs; 15%: establish peace;
13%: opening of Lachin Corridor; 13%: Pro-Armenian settlement of the Artsakh
issue.

Question: “To what extent is corruption a problem?” 73%:
very large or somewhat large problem; 25%: somewhat small, very small or no
problem.

Question: “How do you evaluate the relationship between Armenia and…?”
96%: France (very good or somewhat good); 91%: Iran;
88%: United States; 86%:
European Union; 84%: China;
80%: Georgia; 50%: Russia;
44%: Ukraine; 23%: Turkey; 4%: Azerbaijan. The relationship
between Armenia and Russia has gone
down from 87%-92% in 2018 to 50% good in 2023. The relationship between Armenia and Turkey
has gone up from 1%-11% in 2018 to 23% good in 2023, while 75% of Armenia’s
citizens (down from 85% in 2018) consider the relationship bad.

A second poll was carried out in May 2023 by the Marketing
Professional Group, affiliated with Gallup International. This is a scientific
survey based on a random sample of Armenia’s population.

Question: How do you evaluate Nikol Pashinyan’s recognition
of Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan?
3.8%: definitely positive; 5.4%: rather positive; 63.4%: not positive; 18.5%:
rather not positive; 8.9%: no answer.

Question: Do you think it is possible for Artsakh Armenians
to exist as an ethnic minority in Azerbaijan? 2.8%: yes; 5.6%: rather
yes; 77.7%: no; 8.7%: rather no; 5.1%: no answer.

Question: “Which of these judgments do you agree with?”
32.8%: Pashinyan is trying to conduct a balanced policy with the West and Russia; 20.5%: Pashinyan is trying to integrate Armenia with Europe, the West and NATO circles;
14.7%: Pashinyan is aiming to bring Armenia
closer to Azerbaijan and Turkey; 12.9%: Pashinyan’s actions are directed
to push Russia out of Armenia; 19%:
no answer.

Question: “Given Armenia’s internal and external
challenges, is it necessary to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections and
form a new government?” 41%: definitely necessary; 18.9%: rather necessary;
12.2%: rather not necessary; 19.5%: not necessary; 8.5%: no answer.

Question: “Turkey
expressed its displeasure at the placement of the Nemesis statue in Yerevan and as a first
step closed its airspace to Armenian flights. Do you think the Armenian
government or city officials should give in to Turkish pressures and dismantle
the memorial dedicated to the Nemesis heroes?” 82.5%: definitely no; 7.7%:
rather no; 2.6%: definitely yes; 3.5%: rather yes; 3.5%: no answer.

Question: “Did you participate in the 2018 revolution?” In
the 2023 survey, 62.6%: no; 37.4%: yes. In the 2018 survey, 91%: yes; 9%: no.

Question: “Is it right for protesters to block streets and
movement of cars?” In the 2023 survey, 44.5%: yes; 50.8%: no. In the 2018
survey, 87.1%: yes; 8.7%: no.

Question: “Five years have passed since the revolution: In
the meantime, how well were your expectations realized?” In the 2023 survey,
3.8%: fully realized; 21.5%: partially realized; 18%: partially not realized;
52.1%: not realized. In the 2018 survey, 14.4 %: fully realized; 64.2%:
partially realized; 7.6%: partially not realized; 10.9%: not realized.

Question: “Evaluate Prime Minister Pashinyan’s performance.”
In the 2023 survey, 5.4%: fully positive; 13.4%: rather positive; 24.2%: rather
negative; 47.1%: negative; 10%: no answer. In the 2018 survey, 45.4%: positive;
46.2%: rather positive; 3.9%: rather negative; 2.4%: negative.

We all have our personal opinions, but it is important to
know what the citizens of Armenia
think about these issues. There are major changes in their perceptions from
2018 to 2023.

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2-         Glendale: 3 arrested as protesters outside
board meeting

            clash over
LGBTQ curriculum

A furious debate over how gender identity and sexual
education should be taught to children and protected in schools unfolded on
Tuesday, June 6 at the night meeting of the Glendale Unified School District
(GUSD) School Board.

At 5 p.m. a crowd of more than 200 gathered outside GUSD
headquarters. The crowd stood in two physically and ideologically divided camps
with a row of Glendale
police officers between them. The protest swelled in size and intensity and
police set up physical barriers between the two sides and around the building’s
entrances.

Several police helicopters circled overhead. Glendale Police
Department officers locked down the building at one point after a fight broke
out outside. Police called all staff to return to the building, declared an
unlawful assembly and cleared a crowd from the parking lot. On one side were
protesters opposed to teaching children about sexual identities in
school—including a large number of Hispanic Americans and Armenian Americans—
holding American flags and signs that said, “Leave our kids alone.” On the
other side were LGBTQ+IA advocates speaking a message of inclusion.

The school board’s agenda included a resolution celebrating
Pride month, but the agenda had no items related to curriculum changes or
gender policies.

Law enforcement arrested three individuals amid the mayhem
after the protest “exceeded the bounds of peaceful assembly,” for various
charges including unlawful use of pepper spray and willfully obstructing
officers in the course of their duties the Glendale Police Department announced
Tuesday night.

Attendance at the meeting was capped at 75 public speakers
who, over the course of several hours, shared their views on the district’s
LGBTQ+IA inclusive curriculum, on allowing students to select their own
pronouns, and on transgender students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms.

“I’m here on the side of parents who want to keep the focus
in schools on academics rather than on sexual orientation, or on so-called
gender identity, which is a fake, made-up concept with no basis in material
reality and does not help kids get ahead in life,” said Alyssa Cohen. “LGBTQ+,
those letters represents a harmful ideology that’s impacting kids’ education.”

GUSD on Monday, June 5 further released a statement and FAQ
in response to criticisms raised by the anti-LGBTQ+IA activists. “Recently,
intentional and harmful disinformation has been circulating about what is being
taught in our district and the ways we serve our students,” said GUSD
Superintendent Vivian Ekchian. “This includes disinformation about LGBTQIA+
curriculum, sex education, and supporting transgender and gender nonconforming
youth. We have absolutely no agenda. We are not in the business of converting
anyone’s child.”

At GUSD, tension has grown for more than a year over the
district’s approach to gender and sexuality identity. In a recent statement,
Ekchian said that GUSD is committed to “providing a safe, inclusive environment
where every child can learn and thrive” and follows “all laws and policies
established by the California
legislature and Department of Education.”

In elementary school, GUSD students are not taught specific
information about LGBTQ+IA or gender identity, but are taught lessons on
diversity and about different types of families. In secondary school, GUSD
students are taught about the contributions of LGBTQ+IA Americans in their
social studies curriculum as required by the state in Senate Bill 48.

The district’s policies of allowing students to select their
own gender pronouns, and use the restroom of the gender with which they
identify, are also in line with California
state laws. Since 2013, state law and the interpretation of state law by the
California Department of Education have mandated that students have a right to
ask to be referred to by a name or pronoun that might be different from that on
their official record. 

California
law requires that, “students shall have access to the restroom and locker room
that corresponds to their gender identity asserted at school.” No student is
ever forced to disrobe or change clothes in front of any adult at school.

Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement after
Monday’s reports of violence outside of a Glendale Unified
School District board
meeting: “I spoke with Superintendent Ekchian and I want to thank her and the
Glendale Unified School Board for standing tall against this organized campaign
of hate. In California,
we celebrate the beauty of pluralism — how our diverse communities, heritages,
and identities belong and, together, make us whole. Glendale represents the best of this
commitment, but the hate we saw on full display last night does not,” said
Newsom in the statement.

 “What should have
been a routine vote — simply recognizing Pride Month for the fourth year in a
row — turned to violence. The words of the resolution did not change from years
past, but what has changed is a wave of division and demonization sweeping our
nation. With hate on the rise nationally, we must rise together in California to affirm what both Pride Month and Immigrant
Heritage Month represent — that in the Golden State,
no matter who you are or what diverse community you are from, you belong,”
Newsom concluded in the statement.

Many people spoke out during the meeting about the
importance of embracing the LGBTQ+IA community as did members of local advocacy
organizations including GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society, the Armenian American
Action Network, Southern California Armenian Democrats and the LA LGBT Center.

“My experience as a young LGBTQ+ student was made difficult
because I did not see any representations of what it meant to be gay,” said
Erik Adamian, a former GUSD student and board president of the GALAS LGBTQ+
Armenian Society. “We are in full support of our public schools’
acknowledgement that diverse families and LGBTQ-plus identities exist, and we
ask our community members and allies to push for safe and welcoming schools for
all students.”

Planned performances by students, listed on the meeting
agenda, were scrapped due to safety concerns expressed by the Glendale Police
Department, said Board President Nayiri Nahabedian.

“I feel like that’s a huge loss for all of us in this room,
and watching online, to not get to celebrate children because of arguments
adults are having about politics,” said GUSD parent Amanda Shiroh. “So I wanted
to recognize those children who didn’t get to be here today and express a great
gratitude to all of you (school board members) for supporting our inclusive, diverse
community.”

The heated meeting came on the heels of a June 2 protest at Saticoy Elementary School, where parents
objected to a book reading that explained same sex parents. LGBTQ advocates
organized a counter-protest. Days before the reading, a transgender teacher’s
Pride flag was burned at Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood, California.
The flag burning incident is under LAPD investigation.

On Thursday, June 8, the Armenian Sisters of Academy in Montrose, California
(which falls within the Glendale
school district) issued a promotional statement “in support of the GUSD parent
voices who are speaking out against the sexualization of our children. The
actions of public schools have highlighted the incredible differences between
the curriculum, which is based on political ideologies, and our school, based
on the Christian faith and the Armenian culture.”

“Don’t let the public education system steal your children’s
minds away from you,” said the statement. “Especially in these times devoid of religion
and morals, consider us for your child’s education. You will recognize how
important a decision this was not too long from now.”

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3-         Fallen Soldier’s Mother Freed
After Judge Hands Down Suspended Jail Term 

            By Robert
Zargarian

(RFE/RL)—A woman accused of attempting to “kidnap” Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s son was freed on Friday, June 10 after a court in Yerevan gave her a
four-year suspended prison sentence at the end of a short trial. Gayane
Hakobian, whose son Zhora Martirosian was killed during the 2020 war in
Nagorno-Karabakh, walked free because of pleading guilty to the accusation
strongly denied by her until then. She avoided talking to the press after the
announcement of the guilty verdict. The final session of the trial took place
behind the closed doors.

The lawyers who represented Hakobian for the last two weeks
said earlier in the day that she has fired them because of disagreeing with
their defense tactic. They did not deny that she struck a deal with
prosecutors.

“There is a conflict between Mrs. Gayane’s and our
positions,” one of the lawyers, Hovsep Sargsian, told reporters. “We planned on
continuing our defense aimed at her acquittal, but Mrs. Gayane is of a
different opinion now.”

Hakobian already replaced other lawyers who represented her
right after her arrest on May 17, which sparked angry protests by several dozen
other parents of fallen soldiers and hundreds of their sympathizers. That move
fueled speculation that she is cooperating with what the protesters condemned
as a politically motivated investigation into her argument with Ashot
Pashinyan.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee charged Hakobian with
tricking the prime minister’s son into getting in her car and trying to drive
him to the Yerablur Military Pantheon where her son was buried along with
hundreds of other soldiers killed in action. Pashinyan jumped out of the car on
their way to Yerablur.

The grief-stricken woman insisted at the start of her trial
on June 5 that Ashot Pashinyan was not forced into her and that she only wanted
to talk to him at Yerablur.

The high-profile trial began hours after the Court of
Appeals moved Hakobian to house arrest. The lower court judge presiding over
the trial promptly issued a new arrest warrant demanded by the prosecutors and
Ashot Pashinian. The latter told the judge that she committed a “grave crime”
and must remain behind bars.

Armenian opposition leaders and other critics of the
government claim that Nikol Pashinyan ordered Hakobian’s arrest in a bid to
muzzle the families of deceased soldiers who have staged demonstrations over
the past year to demand his prosecution on war-related charges. Hakobian
actively participated in them.

Pashinyan triggered the regular demonstrations in April 2022
when he responded to continuing opposition criticism of his handling of the
disastrous war with Azerbaijan.
He said he “could have averted the war, as a result of which we would have had
the same situation, but of course without the casualties.” The soldiers’
families say Pashinyan thus publicly admitted sacrificing the lives of at least
3,800 Armenian soldiers.

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4-         Letter to
the Editor

Dear Editor:

Finally we witness some show of spine and self respect when
Nikol Pashinyan in his interview with CNN Prime News of Check Republic has said
that, “In the Russia’s war with Ukraine Armenia is not Russia’s ally.”
Putin’s secretary Dimitry Peskov acknowledged the announcement and said, “We
accept this as an information…”.

Well, I suppose it is payback time. During the 44-day War,
our so-called trusted ally Russia,
did not lift a finger to help Armenia.

Sincerely,

Armine Koundakjian

Torrance,
Calif.

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