The California
Courier Online, August 3, 2023
1- Jerusalem
Armenian Patriarchate’s
98-Year
Lease Details Revealed
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Armenian
Gov’t Seems to be Producing
‘straight
up legendary’ Snoop Dogg Yerevan concert
3- Former
Ambassador Armen Smbatyan, Son Sergey
Arrested
for Large-Scale Real Estate Fraud
4- Holden
Secures $2M in Funding for AYF Camp
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1- Jerusalem
Armenian Patriarchate’s
98-Year
Lease Details Revealed
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
In recent months, I have been contacted by many readers who
asked me to write about the controversy regarding the Jerusalem Armenian
Patriarchate’s lease of around 25% of the Armenian Quarter to a Jewish investor
for 98 years. However, as the details of the lease contract were not made
public, I was unable to write about it.
Trying to learn the facts, I called the Armenian Patriarch
of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian twice, asking him for a copy of the contract. He
did not respond. I spoke with now defrocked Fr. Baret Yeretzian, one of the
signatories of the contract, who said he did not have a copy of the contract. I
made several unsuccessful attempts to contact some of the lawyers who went on a
fact-finding mission to Jerusalem
and prepared a 184-page report. I was told that the report has not been made
public because it had some sensitive information. I also contacted an Armenian
activist in Jerusalem
and one of the sponsors of the fact-finding mission.
Even though I still have not seen a copy of either the
report or contract, I just read a revealing article in the Keghart website
which posted an interview with a Jerusalem Armenian activist who had a copy of
the 184-page report, including the contract with one of the pages missing. I
decided to write about what I have learned so far, even though I prefer to
review personally copies of the contract and report.
For those who have been following the various scandals
involving the Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate, there is nothing surprising:
sad, but not surprising. Such covert land leases and sales of precious items
owned by the Patriarchate have been going on for decades.
This current scandal is not just a questionable business
transaction. It has political repercussions given the controversy between
Palestinians and the State of Israel over Jerusalem.
It has also consequences for the survival of the dwindling Armenian community
in Jerusalem.
The contract for the lease has been signed by three
clergymen: Patriarch Nourhan Manoughian, now defrocked Father Baret Yeretzian,
and Archbishop Sevan Gharibian. As Fr. Baret, the former director of the
Patriarchate’s Real Estate Office, has come under intense criticism, many feel
that the Patriarch has attempted to shift the blame on Fr. Baret, making him
the scapegoat. Nevertheless, King Abdullah II of Jordan, historically the
custodian of Holy Sites in Jerusalem, and
Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, in a joint
announcement, blamed the Patriarch and suspended their recognition of
Archbishop Manougian as the Patriarch of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem, the Holy Land and Jordan.
Hagop Djernazian, an Armenian activist in Jerusalem, told Keghart that the
Australian-Jewish investor, Rubinstein/Rothman, plans to build a seven-star
hotel on ‘Goverou Bardez’ (Cows’ Garden), the land leased from the Armenian
Patriarchate. The size of the property leased is 11,500 square meters or
123,785 square feet. The annual payment to the Patriarchate is $300,000.
However, Fr. Baret told me that the income will be 5% of the hotel’s profits
which can vary from year to year. Djernazian said that the leased land
currently includes five Armenian homes, the Patriarch’s Garden, the Patriarch’s
private parking as well as the hall of the seminary. At the end of the first 49
years, the buyer has the option to renew the lease for another 49 years.
Djernazian also explained that the lawyers obtained a copy
of the contract from an unknown third party, not the Patriarchate nor the municipality of Jerusalem, but he insists that the
contract is genuine, as “we were able to confirm it with the Patriarchate.”
Patriarch Manougian, under pressure from Armenians
worldwide, has promised to cancel the contract, but a unilateral cancelation
may result in legal challenges and financial penalties. A representative of the
Palestinian Authority stated that it would be willing to pay the penalty for
cancellation. However, Djernazian does not seem to be aware of that pledge, as
he told Keghart: “If money is needed, I’m sure the Patriarchate, the community
and the Armenian nation will work together to raise the required amount to pay
the cancellation penalty.”
According to Djernazian, there are a couple of problems with
the contract:
1) It violates the
by-laws of the Patriarchate;
2) The date on the
contract is altered from July 7 to July 8, 2021, to reflect the date that the
investor’s company, Xana Gardens Limited, was registered in Israel. Fr.
Baret explained the discrepancy as a simple typing error.
It is not clear what the next steps are to resolve this
thorny issue. One way would be for the Jerusalem Armenian community to hire
Israeli lawyers to sue the Patriarch or the Jewish Investor, however, no one
else other than the Patriarch and the Jewish investor have legal standing in
court.
Given the prominence of Jerusalem
in the world and importance of the Armenian presence in the Holy City
starting from the fourth century, this lease is of interest to all Armenians
worldwide as well as Palestinians, the State of Israel, and the King of Jordan.
However, one party we have not heard from is the Government
of Armenia which could officially contact the State of Israel to make its
wishes known. However, Armenia’s
leaders have their hands full right now, given the precarious situation in
Artsakh and Armenia.
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2- Armenian Gov’t Seems to be
Producing
‘straight
up legendary’ Snoop Dogg Yerevan concert
By Jenny Yettem
The California
Courier
On July 28, American rapper Snoop Dogg posted a video to
Instagram announcing, “Armenia,
what it do? It’s your boy big Snoop D-o-double-G with some big news coming your
way. I’ll be rolling through your beautiful city of Yerevan on September 23 for a special show,
yea. It’s not a regular gig—it’s nothing regular about this. It’s gonna be
straight up legendary. Word on the streets is that Armenian people got that
next-level hospitality game. I can’t wait to see y’all and celebrate together.
September 23. At the Stadium. Big Snoop Dogg and Armenia. Spread the word.”
The caption says, “Armeniiaaaa, I’ll be pulling up to
Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan
on September 23rd for a special show. Head to dopingspace.com for ticket sign
up and on sale info.”
The event is not posted on Snoop Dogg’s official website. It
is also not posted on any of the major ticket sales sites, including
LiveNation, StubHub, Ticketmaster, or AXS.
The last concert dates for the other websites are: August 22
in New Mexico (Ticketmaster); August 25 in Sacramento (StubHub); and August 27 in Irvine, Calif.
(LiveNation and AXS).
The Doping Space website home page states “The event is
being held under the auspices of the Government of the Republic
of Armenia” underneath Armenia’s coat
of arms.
According to an unconfirmed financial agreement posted to
GlobalHye Information Services by Ara Papian—Armenia’s former Ambassador to
Canada from 2000 to 2006—the Armenian government has agreed to pay the
organizers $23 million for a series of three concerts ($6.2 million; $9
million; and $7.9 million, respectively).
The Armenian government has denied these reports.
In a statement released Saturday, the Prime Minister’s
Office said the media reports are “totally untrue.”
It added that soon the Cabinet will adopt a decision in
relation with the upcoming concert and all the details, including its possible
economic impact, will be made public.
The two other event sponsors are Evoca and apparently Jack
Daniel’s. The link to Evoca redirects to the online banking platform whose
vision is “to be the most innovative and progressive commercial bank in Armenia whose
services will be available online without visiting the bank.”
Jack Daniel’s is a popular brand of Tennessee whiskey. The link on the Doping
Space website, however, is not active.
Doping Space by Doping Creative Agency says its “primary
focus has been on promoting creativity and inspiring innovation through our
diverse areas of activities. Today, we are extending our expertise to bring
that same ‘doping’ to the music industry.”
“Our vision is to elevate Yerevan into a thriving hub for international
modern music. And to achieve this, we have assembled a team of seasoned
industry professionals to organize mega-concerts of unparalleled magnitude.”
“Dope” is rap parlance for something being pleasing or good.
It’s also slang for marijuana. While it may be a matter of translation,
“doping” is not used as a verb in English except to mean “the unlawful use of
drugs to enhance or inhibit the performance of an athlete, racehorse, or
greyhound.”
The website has not started selling tickets yet but is
registering subscribers by name, phone number and email to announce when
tickets become available.
Not everyone in Armenia is giving Snoop Dogg the
next-level hospitality he anticipates. “I love Snoop. But they’re trying to
distract the people from noticing the horrible future they’re facing by
spending millions to bring him to Armenia for a concert. They did the
same with 50 Cent around or after the 44-Day War,” wrote Harout Farajian on
Facebook, on July 29. Farajian is a repatriate to Armenia
from Los Angeles.
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3- Former Ambassador Armen Smbatyan,
Son Sergey
Arrested
for Large-Scale Real Estate Fraud
YEREVAN—Sergey Smbatyan, the artistic director, and chief
conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, along with his father,
Armen Smbatyan, the former ambassador of Armenia to Israel, have been arrested
and accused of engaging in particularly large-scale fraud.
The General Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Smbatyan’s
actions led to a loss of one billion drams for the state, and that the
300-square-meter plot of the Yerevan
Tchaikovsky Music
School was stolen.
The department announced that the “Sochocenter” company
proposed to construct a multi-functional complex called “Book World” in honor
of the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing and Yerevan’s recognition as the world book
capital in 2012.
The company also offered to build a new boiler house and
concert hall for the Tchaikovsky school at its own expense.
Back in 2012, the government granted a central area worth
about 170 million Drams to the “Sochocenter” company, which, according to law
enforcement officers, is owned by the Smbatyan family.
However, instead of fulfilling the proposed project, the
company started constructing a 17-story business center, leading the
Prosecutor’s Office to label the investment project as fraudulent and aimed at
looting the territory.
The former ambassador, Armen Smbatyan, who has held various
positions in Armenia,
allegedly convinced a relative, Avag Smbatyan, to establish the “Sochocenter”
company on behalf of Sergey Smbatyan to avoid linking his son’s name to
business activities. Another co-founder of the company is former minister of
culture and close friend Hasmik Poghosyan, who is currently under
investigation.
Shortly after its establishment, Sokhosetri’s then-director,
now head of the Komitas Museum Institute, Nikolay Konstadyan, presented the
investment project to the mayor. The Mayor of Yerevan forwarded the proposed
plan to the Minister of Culture, Poghosyan, for evaluation. Poghosyan allegedly
knew about the Sochocenter company’s true intention to use the land for
non-educational purposes and build a multi-functional building on it but did
not oppose the investment plan. Consequently, the government approved the
program.
Months later, Poghosyan reportedly signed “Property
Expropriation and Pledge” and “General Lien” contracts with “Sokhocentr”,
intentionally omitting the primary investment obligation defined by the
Government’s decision, which was to construct the “Book World”. This allowed
Sokhocentr’s shareholders to register ownership rights to the plot of land at
36 Koghbatsi Street in Yerevan on November 3, 2016, without fulfilling the
stated obligation, resulting in property damage amounting to 966 million 103
thousand drams for the state.
As of now, the Smbatyan family has not responded to the
accusations, and their lawyers cannot be reached. Hasmik Poghosyan, who is
under investigation, is also considered an accused in this case, and law
enforcement is currently trying to locate co-founder Arman Petrosyan.
It is worth noting that Sergey Smbatyan not only serves as
the head of the symphony orchestra of Armenia and Principal Conductor of
the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra—he was just recently appointed UNICEF Armenia
Ambassador (see page 2). In this role, Maestro Smbatyan will use his passion for
music and dedication to cultural education to advocate for the rights and
well-being of children.
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4- Holden
Secures $2M in Funding for AYF Camp
The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Camp has secured $2M in
funding from the State of California, thanks in large part to the support of
Assemblymember Chris Holden and the leadership of the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) National and California chapters who played a
pivotal role in advocating for and securing this significant state funding by
working in collaboration with the AYF Camp board.
This funding will be dedicated to major renovations at AYF
Camp Big Pines and AYF
Camp Twin
Valleys. After years of
tirelessly working on growing and improving the Camp, the AYF Camp Management
Board will move from the planning phase to the execution and engineering phases
of development.
Prior to his election to the Assembly in 2012, Holden was a
mayor and City Councilmember in Pasadena.
Holden currently serves as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the most
powerful position after Speaker.
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