Author: Mike Maghakian

Southland to Remember 107th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

Mike Maghakian

Armenian-Americans will gather at several events throughout Los Angeles County Sunday to mark the 107th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide — the mass killing of Armenians by Turkish forces during World War I.

Los Angeles County is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, with an estimated 214,628 living in the county, according to the 2011 American Community Survey.

To honor the county’s Armenian residents and their culture, the Board of Supervisors last month proclaimed April as “Armenian History Month” — and, this week, also passed a motion declaring April 24 as “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Los Angeles County.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom has also issued a proclamation declaring April 24, 2022 “A Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” in the State of California.

“As we remember the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide, we also honor the strength and resilience of the Armenian people,” the proclamation said, in part. “Forced to build new lives in all corners of the globe, Armenians bravely forged ahead in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Thousands made their homes in California, and we are greater for their contributions.”

April 24 is also observed throughout the Armenian diaspora, and is a holiday in Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.

In Los Angeles, at 3 p.m. Sunday, the Armenian Youth Federation will hold a protest outside the Turkish Consulate at 8500 Wilshire Blvd. to demand the Turkish government acknowledge the genocide and stop its support of Azerbaijan in the Artsakh, a region fought over by Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in a campaign blamed on Turkey’s Ottoman government. While the genocide has been chronicled by historians, who often view it as ethnic cleansing, Turkey has denied it occurred, saying the deaths of Armenians was a function of the chaos of World War I, which also claimed Turkish lives.

Until President Joe Biden in 2021 officially called the killings a genocide, American presidents had also declined to do so, instead classifying the deaths at the hands of the Ottoman Empire an atrocity, but not a genocide.

This week’s Remembrance Day motion by the L.A. County Supervisors — co-introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Kathryn Barger — said, in part, “Despite overwhelming evidence, the Turkish government still denies the occurrence of an Armenian Genocide. Many international and American leaders and elected officials from local, state, and federal governments have condemned the atrocities committed against the Armenians and are calling on Turkey to acknowledge the genocide and its participation in it.”

The motion went on to say, “On April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenia Genocide. That was a huge victory for the diaspora and the result of decades of tireless efforts to have the highest level of our government call this genocide by its name.”

Solis, whose district includes Little Armenia, said, “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is an especially poignant commemoration for residents across Los Angeles County. … Through this motion, we mark our commitment to remember the lives lost in the Armenian Genocide, honor the legacy of survivors and elevate the voices of this dynamic and diverse community.”

Said Barger: “The month of April and the celebration of Armenian culture culminates in our Day of Remembrance, a day to mourn and remember the loss of over 1.5 million innocent lives. I am heartened that my Armenian constituents are a resilient people — determined, focused and dedicated to persevering.”

Last year, following Biden’s declaration, Rep. Adam Schiff — whose district includes Glendale — said, “For Armenian-Americans and everyone who believes in human rights and the truth, today marks an historic milestone: President Biden has defied Turkish threats and recognized the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians for what it was — the first genocide of the 20th century. In so doing, he has cast aside decades of shameful silence and half-truths, and the broken promises of so many of his predecessors, and spoken truth to power.”

There will be other remembrances around L.A. County on Sunday as well.

The city of Glendale will hold its Annual Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event in-person for the first time in two years, at the Alex Theatre at 7 p.m.

The city said the program will allow people to experience a contemporary perspective of the genocide through music and dance. The program will feature the work of the Armenian priest Komitas through dance and musical performances curated by the Lark Musical Society. Tickets are free and can be reserved at itsmyseat.com/april24.

Also at 7 p.m. Sunday, St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church, at 500 S. Central Ave. in Glendale, will hold a concert dedicated to the martyr’s of the Armenian Genocide and the 44-day war in the Artsakh.

 

Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide ended the US’ denial of it

Mike Maghakian
 Jennifer M. Dixon Opinion 1

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the ongoing conflict at the Ukraine/Russia border, February 15, 2022 (Official White House photo by Cameron Smith/Flickr)

On April 24th last year, President Biden officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Last year’s announcement constituted an important reversal of decades of US complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Genocide. In the wake of Biden’s statement, commentators highlighted its importance in terms of what it said about the state (read: nadir) of US-Turkish relations and about Biden’s commitment to a moral foreign policy. While such analyses captured central factors behind this long-resisted official acknowledgment, its most important function was to end the US’ own denial of the Armenian Genocide. 

Turkey has long denied both the nature of the Genocide and the role of Ottoman officials in orchestrating and executing the World War I-era atrocities. This involved substantial efforts to enjoin US officials in suppressing references to the organized deportation and massacres of Ottoman Armenian (and other non-Muslim) citizens in the context of the war. In 1923, soon-to-be-Turkish negotiators in Lausanne refused to allow references to the massacres in the peace treaty that was being negotiated. In the mid-1930s, Turkey enlisted the help of the US State Department in successfully preventing the making of a Hollywood film about the resistance and international rescue of an Armenian community during the Genocide. In the 1960s, Turkish officials called on the State Department to stop a California community’s plan to erect a monument to the Genocide.

Starting in the early 1980s, as part of a broad effort by Turkish officials to better articulate and defend Turkey’s official position on the “Armenian question,” US involvement in Turkey’s denial dramatically increased. With the help of US lobbying firms, Turkey enlisted the active support of the State Department, Department of Defense and the White House in successfully opposing a series of Congressional resolutions that would have recognized the Armenian Genocide. 

Since the mid-1970s, such resolutions have been repeatedly proposed in both houses of Congress. Until 2019, no resolution managed to pass both houses of Congress. A key reason is that, when such resolutions were introduced and considered, the US State Department sought to reassure Turkish officials that it opposed their passage, and more surprisingly, it helped fight them. In 2000, President Clinton even personally intervened to prevent the passage of such a resolution. 

Additionally, every year since the mid-1990s, the US President has made a statement commemorating the Genocide on April 24, but until last year, the statements had assiduously avoided using the term that most appropriately and accurately described what they were purporting to commemorate: genocide. President Obama, in an apparent attempt to signal that he viewed the Genocide as such without using the term, deployed the Armenian phrase Medz Yeghern (“Great Catastrophe”). Such rhetorical adaptations mirror Turkey’s own evolving effort to craft a message that resonates with international normative expectations but rejects the label genocide.

While the US’ long-standing “complicity” in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide was noted in passing by others, its ending deserves to be singled out and highlighted as arguably the most important implication of President Biden’s shift to acknowledging the Genocide as such.

Of course, in publicly recognizing and naming dark parts of other countries’ pasts, Biden invites charges of hypocrisy, given the US’ failure to fully or properly reckon with its own dark pasts, which include slavery, institutionalized racism and the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Native Americans. But the answer to the charge that other historic wrongs have not been acknowledged should not be the silencing, forgetting and denial of all dark pasts. Rather, Biden’s historic acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide should galvanize much-needed truth-seeking and truth-telling in the US. The final paragraph of Biden’s 2021 statement looked “to the future—toward the world that we wish to build for our children” and closed with the goal of “healing and reconciliation for all the people of the world.” Not long after recognizing the Armenian Genocide, President Biden took a step in this direction by designating Juneteenth a national holiday. Another key opportunity lies in H.R. 40, which proposes the creation of a commission to “study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans.” This proposed bill – a version of which was first introduced in 1989 – was approved by the House Committee on the Judiciary in a historic vote last April, but the House has taken no further action on the bill and the Senate Judiciary Committee has not taken action on a related bill. Given President Biden’s expressed support for the bill and stated commitment to racial justice, perhaps Biden’s long-awaited acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide can serve as a catalyst for greater attention to and more concrete steps toward the acknowledgment of and redress for the US’ own dark pasts.

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Jennifer M. Dixon is an associate professor of political science at Villanova University and the author of Dark Pasts: Changing the State’s Story in Turkey and Japan (Cornell University Press, 2018).


Turkey’s main opposition party leader visits Hrant Dink Foundation

Mike Maghakian

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 14:26,

YEREVAN, APRIL18, ARMENPRESS. Leader of the main opposition party – the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Turkey Kemal Kılıçdaroglu visited the Hrant Dink Foundation together with a group of teammates and the representatives of the party’s Istanbul branch.

Kemal Kılıçdaroglu and his team members met with Hrant Dink’s widow Rakel Dink and the leaders of the Foundation.

During a press conference following the meeting, Kemal Kılıçdaroglu said their main fight is going to be against the dark circles. “Yes, the murderer of Hrant Dink is known, is arrested, but we must fight and find the real murderers”, he said.

Armenia analyst: There are reports that Azerbaijan supplies not only fuel but also weapons to Ukraine

Mike Maghakian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
15:01, 15.04.2022

There is information that Azerbaijan supplies not only fuel but also weapons to Ukraine, and I do not think Russia has not noticed that, Armenian political analyst Argishti Kiviryan stated during a discussion Friday.

According to him, Azerbaijan is strengthening its military potential, while the enemy in this case is not only—and, perhaps, not so much—Armenia.

According to the analyst, today when incompetent authorities are at the helm of Armenia, the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) must to some extent solve their problems on their own, as well as with the help of Armenians—including those linked to the Kremlin.

"Artsakh must build vertical relations with Russia, deepen those relations, coordinate its steps with Moscow, provide assistance to the solution of geopolitical issues—taking into account as well Baku's anti-Russian position on the Ukrainian events. In order to avoid a catastrophe, there is a need to gain time at all costs," Kiviryan added.

He noted that the protection of the Armenians of Artsakh is currently carried out by the Russian peacekeepers, and their presence there holds Azerbaijan back from launching a large-scale attack.

"If Russia faces problems in Ukraine, I am sure that Azerbaijan will again attempt to get ‘active’ in several directions—as in the case of Parukh [village of Artsakh]," the political analyst concluded.

Armenian PM expects people’s unity around peace agenda

Mike Maghakian

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 14:04,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan expects the unity of the people around the peace agenda.

During the Q&A session in the Parliament today, the PM said: “Yes, our society was divided after November 9, 2020. Election, where people can express, is the mean to overcome the society’s division in democratic countries. This is the mean because there is no atmosphere of consent in a democratic society, where everyone agrees with everything. This is the essence of democracy. But there are also moments when the entire public is consolidating around solving a problem. I said today that if our people gave that mandate to us, the people must unite around that peace agenda and the government that pushes forward that peace agenda. I think it’s obvious that this path has no alternative”.

The PM said declaring that agenda doesn’t mean that they will be able to succeed because it requires double, triple, quadruple efforts.

“But we must also see the challenges, learn lessons from our history, from our history of the recent period. And yes, the state’s interest must become the core and the backbone of everything. I have heard a sentence after the war that the war showed the gaps of our model of patriotism”, he said.

Pashinyan considers CSTO reaction to situation in Sotk-Khoznavar section as failure for Organization

Mike Maghakian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan considers the CSTO's reaction to the situation in the Sotk-Khoznavar section on the border with Azerbaijan as a failure for the Organization.

"What happened at the Sotk-Khoznavar section is, of course, a failure  of the Armed Forces and the government. But the way the CSTO reacted  to what happened, I think, was also a failure for the Organization,"  he said on April 13 in parliament.

Pashinyan noted that, despite existing procedures, the CSTO has not  yet made a decision to monitor the problem area, justifying the  long-standing fears of the Armenian public that this Organization,  which is of paramount importance for the security system of Armenia,  will do nothing at the right time, remaining in observer status. "The  fact is that the CSTO still does not consider this situation in any  way, even as an observer," he stressed.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces continue to be in the Sotk-Khoznavar  section, posing a real threat to the security of Armenia, he noted.  "But I also want to state that the territory of 45 square kilometers  that was occupied as a result of these events, unfortunately, is not  the only one in the Republic of Armenia. Since the beginning of the  90s, about 70 square kilometers of the territory have been in this  status, and as I already said, our policy on this issue is to  consider the solution of it in the context of the activities of the  commission on delimitation and demarcation," Nikol Pashinyan said. 

Asbarez: Hollywood Presbyterian Employees Roll Up Sleeves During Nationwide Blood Shortage

Mike Maghakian
by Contributor

 

 April 7, 2022

 

in Community, Latest, News, Sponsored, Top Stories

CHA HPMC's Mobile Drive in partnership with Southern California Blood Bank

Blood drive with Southern California Blood Bank collects more than 20 units

LOS ANGELES—April 6 In an effort to collect much-needed blood during the national shortage, CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, a member of CHA Health Systems, a global network providing a full spectrum of dynamic healthcare services, hosted a blood drive in partnership with the Southern California Blood Bank on April 6.

The drive collected over 20 pints to meet the needs of patients in local medical facilities. Since each unit could save up to three lives, this drive could help save up to 66 lives in our community.

The COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting the availability of blood and blood products for patients in need in California and throughout the U.S. Blood is often a lifesaving requirement for accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, those battling cancer, as well as those with other medical and surgical needs.

“This mobile blood drive is part of our concerted effort with Southern California Blood Bank to address the current shortage and augment the supply,” said Nate Mabry, Chief Nursing Officer and VP of Operations, CHA HPMC. “As frontline workers, our employees understand the critical need, and we are proud to see them roll up their sleeves to support and meet the health needs of countless patients and our community. I encourage everyone who is well and able to donate a bit of yourself so that others may return to good health.”

Currently operating under the name Southern California Blood Bank, San Diego Blood Bank has been serving hospitals in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas for decades and hosts over 200 mobile blood drives each year. The Blood Bank provides blood products to many hospitals in the area, including CHA HPMC.

“We truly appreciate partners like CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center,” said Doug Morton, CEO, San Diego Blood Bank. “Mobile drives like these are key to keeping our blood supply stable.”

As a century-old community healthcare provider, CHA HPMC has been at the forefront of several initiatives to provide much-need access to quality care to the Los Angeles community, especially the underserved population. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical center established the first hospital-based drive-through dispensing site for COVID-19 vaccines in the County of Los Angeles and partnered with local community organizations to reach and deliver vaccines to the underserved in the Los Angeles community.

To be eligible to donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 114 pounds, and be in good health. Eligible blood donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment online or by calling 844-380-5220.

CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center is a nationally recognized acute care facility that has cared for Hollywood and its surrounding communities since 1924. Today, CHA HPMC offers comprehensive health care services with a 434-bed acute care facility, including 89 skilled nursing beds. The hospital has a medical staff of more than 550 physicians and specialists, representing 69 specialties and 75 different countries. CHA HPMC embraces the area’s diverse, multicultural patient populations by providing all who walk through its doors quality care in a compassionate manner. It is a member of CHA Health Systems, a dynamic global healthcare organization that provides a full spectrum of services in seven countries around the world, including 25 hospitals and clinics, 30 research and 14 education institutions and 30 bio/pharmaceutical/healthcare companies. For more information, visit the website.

Southern California Blood Bank is dedicated to community health by providing a reliable supply of blood to patients in need. Our vision is to further ensure the health of our community by simultaneously delivering related health and wellness education and services and extending into research. Southern California Blood Bank is a division of San Diego Blood Bank, an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit that serves hospitals in San Diego, Orange, Imperial, and Los Angeles counties with blood transfusion products and reference laboratory services. For more information about San Diego Blood Bank and Southern California Blood Bank’s locations and blood collection program, visit the San Diego Blood Bank website and the Southern California Blood Bank website.

Sos Hakobyan deplores peace deal plans amid unsettled Artsakh issue

Mike Maghakian
Panorama
Armenia – April 9 2022

The spokesman of the opposition Homeland party, Sos Hakobyan, expressed concerns over the outcome of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels.

“There is no mention of the self-determination and security of the Artsakh people in the statement of European Council President Charles Michel following the trilateral meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Brussels on April 6,” he told a program aired on the Public TV Company.

"Let us remember the war, thirty years of negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What are we negotiating now? What are we making a peace deal for if we don't address the main problem and don't take steps to resolve it fairly?" Hakobyan said.

The spokesman says an attempt is apparently being made to create a new format in order to sign the so-called “peace treaty” between Armenia and Azerbaijan or to promote the process.

“Some time ago the Armenian authorities said that they had asked the OSCE Minsk Group to arrange these talks under the auspices of the mediators, which would lead to the signing of a treaty. From the very beginning it was a very bad idea in a sense that there is an attempt to remove some mechanisms, elements and principles that have been developed over the 30 years of the Karabakh conflict, and fill the void with a vague peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But we see a retreat even from this too; it seems that there is an attempt to move it to the field of mediation of the European Union,” Hakobyan said.

Russian FM speaks of Karabakh conflict, investments in Armenia

Mike Maghakian
ARMINFO
Armenia – April 8 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.The Nagorno-Krabakh problem, and the South Caucasus in general, has always been a key issue in Armenian-Russian discussions of regional affairs, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov stated at enlarged talks with an Armenian delegation  led by FM Ararat Mirzoyan. 

"And our meeting is one more good opportunity to review all the  fields of our cooperation and alliance. We are interested in further  development of Armenian-Russian relations. We are appreciating your  contribution to our cooperation as Parliament Speaker and Minister of  Foreign Affairs," Mr Lavrov said. 

Speaking of the bilateral dialogue, the Russian FM said that a  consultation plan is to be signed on April 8 for the next two years. 

"We are preparing for another all-important event, a summit, and  today we are going to discuss how to impart a new quality to our  alliance. 

"As a key ally, we will continue assisting Armenia in strengthening  its defense potential and ensuing border security. And as Armenia's  major trade and economic partner and foreign investor, we will go on  seeking new projects that would ensure stability of our trade and  creation of production capacities and jobs," Mr Lavrov said.  

He reported a package of additional Russian investments in Armenia's  economy.

The Russian FM also mentioned the traditional bilateral cultural and  humanitarian and educational cooperation. 

In the context of Armenia's CSTO chairmanship, Mr Lavrov said that  "it is much more important for the CSTO, CIS and EAEU to compare  their actions with the plans Armenia has presented to the  organization members."

"As regards the Karabakh peace process, we have three groups of  agreements reached at the top level, and we will continue  implementing them, including the activities of the Russian  peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh, under its mandate," Mr Lavrov  said. 

The UN Security Council will meet on April 5 to discuss Ukraine

Mike Maghakian

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 20:29, 4 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS. The United Kingdom intends to hold a meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine on April 5, ARMENPRESS reports the permanent representative of Great Britain in the UN Barbara Woodward said in a video message posted on "Twitter".

In her video message, she stressed the need to pay special attention to the events in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

Earlier, journalists and Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 16 people had been found in the town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities have blamed the Russian military for killing them.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the video of the Bucha incident is fake.