Author: John Hovhannisian

Armenian Photographer Seeks Default Judgment Over Attack on Jewish Diners

John Hovhannisian
Aug 30 2023
by Contributing Editor

A judge says she will hold a hearing in December regarding the possible finding of default judgments against two men who allegedly were part of a group dressed in black that attacked Jewish men and a non-Jewish photographer outside a Beverly Grove restaurant in 2021.

Photographer Mher Hagopian, an Armenian-American, is suing Samer Jaylusi and Xavier Pabon in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging civil rights violations, assault, battery, conspiracy to commit assault, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hagopian’s attorneys filed court papers on June 30 seeking default judgments against the defendants for ignoring the civil litigation.

On Monday, Judge Lynne M. Hobbs, having taken notice of the default court papers, set a hearing for Dec. 7.

Representatives for Jaylusi and Pabon could not be immediately reached.

A cell phone video was recorded of the May 18, 2021, attack, which took place about 9:45 p.m. outside Sushi Fumi, a Japanese restaurant on North La Cienega Boulevard. A group of cars with Palestinian flags arrived with about two dozen passengers and megaphones, the suit states.

“The convoy was there simply to seek out Jews,” the suit states. “Indeed, the area of Los Angeles adjacent to Sushi Fumi is widely known to be one of the centers for Jewish life in Los Angeles.”

Hagopian was hired to take photos at the upcoming wedding of his Jewish friend, so the two of them and two Jewish friends of the future groom met for dinner outside at Sushi Fumi to discuss the wedding plans, according to the suit filed in March 2022.

Most of the convoy passengers’ identities were obscured by hooded sweaters or other garb that partially or fully covered their faces, the suit states. They yelled out antisemitic remarks, including “dirty Jew,” “Are you Jewish?,” “Are you Israeli?” and “Be ashamed of yourselves,” the suit states.

“Refusing to be intimidated, Hagopian’s friends responded that they were Jewish,” the suit states.

At least one bottle thrown from the convoy hit Hagopian in the head and one other glass object shattered on the sidewalk near dining patrons, according to the suit.

“All hell broke loose,” the suit states.

Other diners ran inside the restaurant or away from the area, but Hagopian and his friends were quickly targeted because they did not have the chance to escape, the suit states.

“At this point, Hagopian and his friends truly feared for their lives,” the suit states.

The plaintiff grabbed a nearby stanchion that had roped off Sushi Fumi’s outdoor dining area and tried to fend off the attackers and protect his friends, the suit states.

At least four men, including Jaylusi and Pabon, overtook Hagopian, slammed him against a vehicle and began beating him with their fists and arms while also spraying him with an aerosol chemical, the suit states.

“Hagopian’s selfless conduct saved others from suffering severe injury” and led to Jaylusi, Pabon and the others leaving, the suit states.

“In the aftermath of this chaos, Hagopian and his friends, and their fellow diners, were left physically and emotionally beaten,” the suit states.

Hagopian suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation and injury to his reputation because of the attack, the suit states. The attack was condemned by many faith leaders as well as then-Mayor Eric Garcetti.

https://mynewsla.com/life/2023/08/30/armenian-photographer-seeks-default-judgment-over-attack-on-jewish-diners/

ALSO READ
https://vigourtimes.com/armenian-photographer-pursues-default-judgment-for-assault-on-jewish-diners/

Armenians Will Be Forever Grateful if Stallone Accepts This Challenge

John Hovhannisian
Aug 24 2023

As a child in the 1980s, I grew up watching Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” movies. It felt like Stallone and his movie wife Adrian, played by Talia Shire, were a part of our family.

Each punch Rocky took felt real and the series always got me teared up. The story of Rocky fits perfectly with the American dream and is similar to the stories of a lot of people trying to make it in this country.

Sevag Tateosian

Opinion

Rocky seemed like he was ready for any challenge.  But, as courageous as Rocky was, there is one fight that Stallone surprisingly backed away from in real life.

The story goes that in 2006, while promoting “Rocky Balboa,” another beautiful and touching Rocky film and presumed finale in the series, Stallone revealed to the Denver Post that he wanted to create an epic. The book that intrigued him was Franz Werfel’s 1933 novel “The 40 Days of Musa Dagh.”

Wefel’s book is based on a true story and is one of survival.

In the movie “The Promise,” the ending scene depicts the 1915 story of the Armenians living in Musa Dagh (known as Mousa Ler in Armenian) in Ottoman Turkey. They were alerted by clergymen that a genocide was occurring and they would be targeted next.

The villagers of Musa Dagh prepared to fight back and took to the hillside. After 53 days and numerous victories by the small Armenian population against a much bigger Ottoman Turkish military, the Armenians of Musa Dagh were evacuated by the French after their naval ships saw them.

In 1965, a group of Fresno Armenians founded the Forty Days of Mousa Dagh Commemorative Association USA, Inc. Today, the society remains committed to preserving and promoting Armenian heritage and culture, and to advocating for Armenian causes and issues.

Each September the society and community members hold a festival in Fresno with music, dancing, and great food to celebrate survival. During the festival, Armenian porridge (harissa) is made and distributed to attendees. The dish was eaten during the resistance and provided the necessary nutrition to stay alive and continue fighting.

This year’s festival is on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 2-3.

In addition, there will be an unveiling of the monument dedicated to the Armenians of Mousa Dagh located at Masis Ararat Cemetery later this year in Fresno. The concept was born in 2018 when a member of the committee approached the cemetery with the idea.

The monument is almost complete. Half of the $150,000 budget has been collected through donations. The organization is looking at doing a little more fundraising to complete the rest.

In 2006, Rocky caved to Turkish pressure. Perhaps now that the United States has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, it’s time for Rocky to fulfill his dream project and produce this epic story.

I’ll start the chants now: “Rocky…Rocky…Rocky!” Who is joining me?

About the Author

Sevag Tateosian is host and producer of “San Joaquin Spotlight” on TalkRadio 1550 KXEX and CMAC Comcast 93 and Att 99. He works for the County of Fresno, and he and his wife own a Clovis area spa.

https://gvwire.com/2023/08/24/armenians-will-be-forever-grateful-if-stallone-accepts-this-challenge/

Pashinyan, Mishustin commend growing ties

John Hovhannisian

 16:48,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting Thursday with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ahead of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council session in Tsaghkadzor. 

During the meeting Pashinyan commended the opening of new lanes in the Upper Lars border checkpoint, something the Russian authorities vowed to do during their previous meeting. PM Pashinyan lauded this as a “very important event” in bilateral relations.

“With results of 2022 the trade turnover between our countries amounted to five billion dollars. It continues to grow and this year we’ve already surpassed three billion dollars, and we will surpass the 2022 figure in yearend. We have solid and mighty relations, which allows me to confidently say that our future cooperation will be more productive,” the Armenian PM said.

In turn, Mishustin said that Russia attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Armenia.

“We attach importance to the strategic partnership between our two countries. The trade-economic ties are developing, trade turnover is increasing, which is beneficial in terms of Armenia’s participation in the EEU. There’s productive cooperation between all members of the organization. Regarding other initiatives, we are expanding partnership in energy, mining, and logistics. There are a number of programs related to IT,” the Russian PM said.

He added that the ties between business circles are positively impacting the economic growth. Russia proposes promoting the pace of cooperation in all areas, especially in terms of investment programs, he said.

“There’s productive cooperation in the humanitarian sector as well. There’s great interest among Armenian citizens in terms of obtaining education in Russian universities. Today, more than five thousand Armenian students study in Russia. We will support them in obtaining high quality education. We attach great importance to the process of teaching Russian language in Armenia and we consider the prospect of building new schools. Numerous experts from Armenia are undergoing Russian language teaching trainings in Russia. We will send more than fifty thousand textbooks for all schools in Armenia by yearend,” Mishustin added.

Lemonade for Humanitarian Aid

John Hovhannisian
 Pauline Getzoyan Community News, Diaspora, Youth 0

Harrison Markarian, Matthew Burke, Melissa Burke and Elise Markarian happily awaiting lemonade customers

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Elise Markarian and Matthew Burke are on a mission to help people in need. The 11-year-old cousins decided to team up and raise money for two worthy organizations offering humanitarian aid around the world—and they chose a lemonade stand as the way to do it.

A few years ago, Markarian “had this idea that I wanted to help people.” Since it was summertime, she decided to sell lemonade. At first, she planned to sell the lemonade for the reasonable price of $1.00 per serving. But then she thought, “Maybe I’ll get more donations if I make everything free.”

Helping people who have suffered through disasters, both natural and man-made, is important to Markarian. Her grandmother shared that whenever Elise receives a monetary gift, she donates it to a charity. Over the years, she has made contributions to Toys for Tots and the Northern Rhode Island Food Pantry, among others. Her father, Stephen, told the Weekly that she refuses to spend monetary gifts for herself. “We try to tell her that she can use some on herself, but she doesn’t want to,” he said.

A happy neighborhood customer with the young humanitarians

“I have just always loved to help people who are in need. There are many people who are in need, now more than ever. And I think it would be awesome to see smiles on some people’s faces when they see what we’ve done,” Markarian told the Weekly in between customers.

Markarian’s portion of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross. She picked the organization “because I know with all these weather issues that have been happening, and the wildfires, that people are losing their homes, and I noticed that the American Red Cross is doing a lot to help them.”

This year, Burke decided to join forces with his cousin. Burke knew that his cousin had been “raising money for different organizations these past few years, and I thought it was a good idea because so many people need help,” he said. “So, we decided to combine efforts and raise money for the American Red Cross and the Armenian Relief Society.”

The seed was planted last year when Burke wanted to raise money to help Armenians in the homeland. Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh and the difficulties of getting supplies to its Armenian population captured his attention and prompted his selection of the Armenian Relief Society as his charity of choice.

“I picked the Armenian Relief Society because I heard a lot about how Artsakh has been struggling and not getting supplies. I thought if we could send money, they could get more supplies to help in Armenia and Artsakh,” Burke said.

Supporters greeting each other and enjoying their lemonade

The lemonade stand was set up in front of Steve Elmasian’s home in Providence for maximum visibility. Elmasian, who is the co-chair of the ANC-RI, thought it would be easier for people to stop by than if it was held in Cumberland or Lincoln where the cousins live. “I’m honored to have them use my house, and we’ve had people from church coming by, plus neighbors,” he said. “It’s nice to see positive actions from the youth and for them to get attention.”

Elise is the daughter of Stephen and Heidi Markarian and the sister of Aedan and Harrison. She is entering the sixth grade this year at North Cumberland Middle School.

Matthew is the son of Jon and Paula Burke and the brother of Melissa and Mia. He attends Mercymount Country Day School and will be in the seventh grade this year. He also is a member of the AYF Providence “Varantian” Junior Chapter.

Notably, the lemonade was homemade, as were the baked goods. Assisting the stand and making lemonade, including squeezing all the lemons, were Burke’s sister Melissa and Markarian’s brother Harrison.

As of this report, the proceeds from the lemonade fundraiser had reached over $1,500. The young humanitarians expressed sincere gratitude to all who supported their efforts on their parents’ social media: “Melissa, Matthew, Harrison and Elise say thank you. Today was a huge success.”

The children with their supportive parents (Pictured l. to r.: Matthew, Jon, Melissa and Paula Burke, Harrison, Elise, Heidi and Steve Markarian)

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Editor
Pauline Getzoyan is editor of the Armenian Weekly and an active member of the Rhode Island Armenian community. A longtime member of the Providence ARF and ARS, she also is a former member of the ARS Central Executive Board. A longtime advocate for genocide education through her work with the ANC of RI, Pauline is co-chair of the RI branch of The Genocide Education Project. In addition, she has been an adjunct instructor of developmental reading and writing in the English department at the Community College of Rhode Island since 2005.


European Churches urge action for humanitarian crisis in Upper Karabakh

John Hovhannisian
    Aug 13 2023
As the seven-month blockade of the Upper Karabakh Armenian enclave continues, European Churches call for international action to reopen the Lachin corridor, urging sustained dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan to attain long-term peace in the region.

By Lisa Zengarini

The European Churches have reiterated their appeal for lifting the ongoing blockade of Upper Karabakh in the Southern Caucasus region by reopening the Lachin Corridor.  

The Corridor is the only road that links the Armenian enclave (also referred to as Artsakh by Armenians) to the Republic of Armenia. 

Despite the trilateral ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia brokered by Russia in November 2020, the movement of people, vehicles and goods to and from the territory has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022.

The over seven-month blockade is seriously affecting the lives and living conditions of 120,000 ethnic Armenians living there, including 30,000 children, who are lacking food, medication, electricity, and fuel.

“This is a crime against humanity,” said Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, the Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, in a message to the Sir news agency.  “There are children, elderly people, sick people, hungry people and in this desperate scenario nobody is doing anything,” the Patriarch lamented.

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have also expressed their concerns for the humanitarian crisis in Upper Karabakh, and reiterated the need for urgent and immediate action by the international community.

“The humanitarian crisis in the blockaded enclave of Upper-Karabakh (Artsakh) is escalating into tragic levels of experiences with the prolonged deprivations and sufferings of civilians,” reads a joint letter they addressed last week to the European Union. “Their fundamental human rights are increasingly violated on a daily basis”. 

The WCC and the CEC therefore urge the European Union and the entire international community “to step up immediately their efforts and act without delay to bring the blockade to an end in order to save the lives of the Artsakh residents and to restore and respect their fundamental rights and freedoms.”

The letter also emphasizes the crucial need for Armenia and Azerbaijan to normalize their relations after decades of hostilities through a “sustained dialogue” between Baku and the breakaway Republic of Artsakh.

“We reiterate our firm conviction that lasting peace could be built only on the genuine commitment of all interested parties in negotiations who take seriously the full observance of all human rights and the fundamental freedom of all people based on mutual trust and respect,” said the letter. 

“We continue to hope and pray for the ending of this blockade so that peace, harmony and justice may prevail.”

The border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Upper Karabakh and surrounding districts has its origins in the early 20th century.

However, it broke out into a full-scale war in the early 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. That war was won by Armenia resulting in the expulsion  of Azerbaijanis from the Armenian-controlled areas.

The "Second Nagorno-Karabakh War" in late 2020 resulted instead in a clear-cut military victory by Azerbaijan, which regained all of the occupied territories surrounding Upper Karabakh as well as capturing one-third of Upper Karabakh itself.

Since the ceasefire mediated by Russia, skirmishes have continued and tensions have continued leading to the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

 

Pashinyan warns Azerbaijan against undermining ‘historic chance for peace’

John Hovhannisian

 11:54,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned on August 11 that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to deteriorate.

Commercial supplies into Nagorno-Karabakh have been blocked by Azerbaijan since December 2022 through its illegal blockade. Furthermore, since July 15 Azerbaijan has been blocking humanitarian supplies, including baby food and medication, including through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, PM Pashinyan said that the Armenian government on July 26 decided to send humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh, and the 19 trucks carrying food and medicine remain stranded in the village of Kornidzor near the entrance to the Lachin Corridor.

“I’d like to remind you that these 19 trucks carry 100 tons of flour, 80 tons of pasta, 60 tons of sugar, 40 tons of vegetable oil, 40 tons of powdered milk, 20 tons of salt, 12 tons of baby food and 9 tons of medicine. A total of 361 tons of humanitarian aid.  The content of the cargo has been verified by foreign diplomats accredited in Armenia and can be verified again at any moment by inspecting the trucks which have been in Kornidzor for already 16 days. Then, two other trucks joined the humanitarian convoy, carrying 9 tons of confectionaries sent by a candy company and 1 truck carrying 25 tons of pasta sent on behalf of the Mayor of Paris and the heads of the French regions of Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire,” Pashinyan said.

The blocking of the humanitarian convoy further corroborates fears that Azerbaijan wants to commit genocide against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said.

“And indeed, stronger opinions are voiced by international expert circles that Azerbaijan’s policy on causing a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor can be viewed from the perspective of the 9 December 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I think that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor has reached a level where greater efforts are required in the direction of giving an international legal assessment to the situation, especially when Azerbaijan is still not implementing the February 22 and July 6 binding rulings by the International Court of Justice on ensuring unimpeded movement of persons, goods and vehicles along the Lachin Corridor,” Pashinyan said.

PM Pashinyan highlighted the fact that the highest instances have recently recorded that Azerbaijan’s comments on the ICJ rulings have nothing to do with reality and that Azerbaijan must ensure unimpeded functioning of the Lachin Corridor.

“In these conditions I must note that the best solution in this situation would be the lifting of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and the start of the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue within the framework of an international mechanism. For its part, the Republic of Armenia continues to reiterate its commitment to the peace agenda and calls on official Baku to refrain from steps nullifying the historic chance for establishing peace,”  Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Pashinyan calls for introduction of scholarships for Monte Melkonyan military college cadets

John Hovhannisian

 13:41,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Cabinet members on August 11 that they should introduce scholarship opportunities for cadets of the Monte Melkonyan Military College.

“A scholarship must be set for cadets of the Monte Melkonyan college in order to promote admissions. This issue must be solved,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

Armenia calls on allies to help get aid to Nagorno-Karabakh

John Hovhannisian
 MEHR News Agency
Iran –

TEHRAN, Jul. 29 (MNA) – The Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister accused Azerbaijan of blocking Lachin Corridor and demanded international allies step in to allow 19 trucks with 400 tons of humanitarian aid to pass.

“The additional pressure of our international partners on Baku is very important. We have heard statements from our various colleagues, but we don’t think this is enough,” Vahan Kostanyan said, AP reported.

Kostanyan previously also accused Azerbaijan of ignoring a ruling by the International Court of Justice ordering Azerbaijan authorities to ensure unimpeded movement in the Lachin Corridor, the only road from Armenia into Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to Armenian media, trucks and foreign diplomats are currently in the village of Kornidzor on Armenia’s border with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is at one end of the Lachin Corridor.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said that it viewed Armenia’s attempt to send a convoy to Nagorno-Karabakh “under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’” as a violation of Azerbaijan’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.” 

The latest flare-up comes weeks following talks in Brussels and Washington aimed at calming tensions between the two countries after Azerbaijan opened a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor in April.

At that point, the road had already been blocked for four months by demonstrators who were protesting what they claimed to be illegal mining and other ecological abuses by Armenians in the area.

RHM/PR

Apricot Capital has launched a foreign currency trading platform in its mobile application

John Hovhannisian

 11:05,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Apricot Capital, a licensed investment company in Armenia, has launched a foreign currency trading platform in its mobile application.

From now on, customers can make real-time foreign exchange conversions with the primary currency pairs (US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Chinese Yuan, etc.) at global cross rates through the Apricot Capital application.

The Apricot Capital platform grants entry to currency transactions and trading in international securities markets at a competitive rate and the ability to observe the result of the transaction directly on the account.

To utilize Apricot Capital's currency conversion tools and other platforms, one must become an Apricot Capital client by completing all the mandatory procedures once. Upon successful validation, resident, and non-resident citizens of the Republic of Armenia fund brokerage accounts in the specified minimum amount, after which the client gets access to the mobile application.

The Apricot Capital mobile app is available on the App Store and Google Play. It is a reliable platform through which Apricot Capital offers its clients a wide range of brokerage services. Apricot Capital's commercial infrastructure ensures the high-quality execution of transactions with various financial instruments through a wide network of partnerships with leading European and American brokers and financial companies.