Author: Anna Tamamian

At the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region in coordination with the Tatoyan Foundation, a delegation of mayors from the Syunik province of Armenia visited California from November 11 to 16.

The visiting officials met with various elected officials and the local Armenian community and provided them with first-hand reports about Azerbaijan’s ongoing threats against Armenia and particularly the border province of Syunik and outlined the conditions on the ground as the region addresses the refugee crisis resulting from the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

The Syunik delegation was led by the Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan, Goris Mayor Arushan Arushanyan and Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender Dr. Arman Tatoyan, who is the Founding Director of the Tatoyan Foundation. Tatoyan received the ANCA-WR Human Rights Champion Award in 2011.

Additional delegation members included Irina Yolyan, Deputy Head of Goris County; Zhora Tumanyan, Civil Defense Attache of Goris County; Ruzanna Torozyan and Armen Hovhannisyan, members of the Goris County Board of Supervisors; and Hasmik Harutyunyan, Assistant to the Chief of Kapan County. Joining the delegation in its meetings was Los Angeles-based attorney Garo Ghazarian, CEO of the Tatoyan Foundation USA, as well as representatives of the ANCA Western Region.

The delegation attended the ANCA-WR Annual Awards Gala on November 12 where the Mayors and Dr. Tatoyan were introduced to the crowd and delegation members had the opportunity to interact with public officials, including Congressmembers Adam Schiff and Brad Sherman, as well as hundreds of supporters and activists in our community to discuss issues of concern to Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

During the visit, the Syunik delegation also had separate meetings with California State Senator Anthony Portantino, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilmember Nithya Raman, and Glendale City Councilmembers and representatives, where detailed reports about the intricacies of the Second Armenian Genocide in Artsakh and ongoing Azeri aggression were presented by the delegation.

Given the fact that California is a sister-state with Syunik Province, Los Angeles is a sister city with Yerevan, and Glendale is a sister city with Kapan, these meetings were important to set the stage for expanding these relationships and exploring ways in which U.S. government entities can assist in supporting Artsakh refugees.

The Syunik delegation also visited the Western Diocese where they met with Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, and subsequently met with representatives of the Pan Armenian Council Western USA to brief them on the situation on the ground.

A highlight of the week was the delegation’s visit to the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School where they held an interactive discussion with upper class students and faculty.

The delegation’s trip concluded with a successful Town Hall event organized by ANCA-WR, where dozens of members of the community listened intently to their reports on topics including continuous Azerbaijani threats against Syunik, and the situation of Artsakh refugees in the towns Kapan & Goris, culminating with a lively question and answer session.

During each meeting, Dr. Tatoyan presented his latest findings on Azerbaijan’s genocidal assault on Artsakh, resulting in the forced deportation of more than 100,000 Armenians from Artsakh into the Republic of Armenia. Furthermore, Dr. Tatoyan shed light on Azerbaijan’s continued aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia, especially in the regions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik. Mayor Parsyan and Mayor Arushanyan reported about Syunik’s security concerns, especially amidst the influx of over 5,000 Armenian refugees from Artsakh into the towns of Kapan and Goris, as well as the impact and threat of the potential establishment of a so-called “Zangezur Corridor” being advocated by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

A Jerusalem police officer engages with representatives of the Armenian community

Police in Jerusalem has demanded local Armenians to vacate the area of “Armenian Gardens”—known as the “Cows’ Garden” in the Old City of Jerusalem— and accused them of misappropriation of property.

The alarm was sounded by local attorney and activist Daniel Seidemann who, in a post on X, also added that the Armenian community of Jerusalem is resisting.

Since November 12, a large group of Jerusalem Armenians, in cooperation with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, are on duty in protest in the area of “Cows’ Garden” and have barricaded the access to the wall, with cars and fences, in order to impede any further illegal construction on the Armenian property.

The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, had leased the area of “Cows’ Garden” to a Jewish businessman for 99 years. This decision, however, caused a lot of uproar; but after a long battle, the deal was canceled.

The Movement for the Protection and Preservation of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has released a statement, according to which there is a tense situation at the “Armenian Gardens.”

It is noted that at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a convoy of vehicles presumably belonging to Jewish settlers entered the “Cows’ Garden,” after which the Armenian residents of Jerusalem gathered there and surrounded the barricaded border.

The Israeli police have arrested three Jerusalem Armenians, one of whom is a minor.

The Israeli police allowed some settlers to stay at the “Cows’ Garden,” whose objective, according to the aforesaid statement, is to appropriate that area.

In response, the local Armenian residents formed a human shield and peacefully urged to vacate the area of the “Cows’ Garden.”

The situation remains tense, the statement added.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has warned that it is facing the “greatest existential threat” in its history.

In a statement, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the developer who sought to lease some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works, and moreover police now demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. This existential-territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem.

Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cows’ Garden have completely disregarded the legal approaches of the Patriarchate toward this issue, and instead have elected to use provocation, aggression, and other harassment and incendiary tactics including destruction of property and deploying heavily armed instigators.

In recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the permits from the municipality by neither the developer nor the police.

Despite this fact, the police have chosen in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

“We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land,” the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.