Armenian Independence Day Festival Draws Thousands

GLENDALE, CA – In celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia, the Nor Serount Cultural Association’s annual Armenian Independence Day Festival on September 21 drew hundreds of attendees to Glendale’s Verdugo Park.

Onlookers cheered for the vibrant Nor Serount dance ensembles of young children and musical guest performers delighted dancers of all ages with traditional folk dance music and patriotic songs. The joyful mood originated by the Master of Ceremonies Mrs. Ani Marselian who not only entertained the crowd but also highlighted the significance of Independence. Educational and cultural booths adorned the park featuring authentic Armenian cuisine, souvenirs, hand-woven rugs, tapestries, books and media.

Among dignitaries present for the joyous occasion were His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America who stated the importance of the independence of Armenia from Soviet rule in the 1990’s, and praised the Nor Serount Cultural Association for providing such a great event to the Armenian American community where all age groups come together to have fun, preserve their culture and maintain their bond to their ancestral homeland.

The Armenian Council of America began the program by introducing Councilmember Laura Friedman and Ara Najarian, followed by State Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and LA Community College Board Trustee Scott Svonkin. Others in attendance included, Glendale City Councilmember Paula Devine, LA City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, West Hollywood Councilmember Jeffrey Prang, Glendale Unified School District Board Member Dr. Armina Gharpetian, former Assemblymember Anthoni Portantino and representatives from the office of Congressman Adam Schiff, Assemblyman Mike Gatto and County Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

All of the elected officials praised the Armenian-American community for their efforts in continuing to persevere as nation of survivors and fighters for justice, as they presented beautiful proclamations commemorating the grand event.

“For the past 16 years we have been bringing this festival to the Armeinan-American community, drawing large groups of people from all over Southern California, said Armenian Independence Day Festival organizer Mr. Mehran Khatchadorian. “Our festival brings together young and old generations of Armenians as well as non-Armenians. Our goal is to not only promote the Armenian culture and identity for future generations of Armenians, but to also educate our non-Armenian neighbors and friends. We look forward to continuing this great endeavor for many decades to come.”

Harut Hakobyan

Armen Aloyan

Sako G

LA Community College Board Trustee Scott Svonkin

Mrs. Rita Hadjimanoukian representing County Supervisor Michael Antonovich with ACA Communications Director Christine Aghakhani

Assemblyman Mike Gatto Representative Mary Manoukian with ACA Communications Director Christine Aghakhani

LA City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell with ACA Communications Director Christine Aghakhani

West Hollywood Councilmember Jeffrey Prang with ACA Communications Director Christine Aghakhani

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson

State Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee

Glendale City Councilmember Laura Friedman

Glendale City Councilmember Ara Najarian

His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian

Glendale City Councilmember Paula Devine

Former State Assemblymember Anthony Portantino

Armenian Independence Day Festival Draws Thousands

Achieving True Victory in War

STEPANAKERT — In Chapar, a northern village in Artsakh, Armenia Fund has constructed a new school with modern amenities to serve the local population. During the time Armenia Fund has realized many projects in and around the area, 15 families have moved back and resettled in the village.

Fourteen year old boys usually have less serious things on their mind.

The ceasefire negotiations were underway and an independent Artsakh was in sight. On the verge of a monumental defeat, Azerbaijan, suffering from embarrassingly disproportionate military losses, chose to continue its hostilities. One of the targets for Azerbaijan’s special forces was the civilian population of Chapar village in northern Artsakh’s Martakert region. As recorded by Human Rights Watch, six Armenian civilians, including one 14-year old boy, were killed.

One of Artsakh’s oldest communities, picturesque Chapar is in northern Artsakh, close to the militarized border and the Azerbaijani-occupied Armenian region of Shahumian. Armenia Fund chose the village of 300 residents for the location a new school as a part of its Rural Development Program. The building of the new school was co-sponsored by the government of the Artsakh Republic.

The school is built with the future in mind, bearing accommodations that will allow students to have a holistic educational experience. Among the different facilities are included biology and chemistry labs, a computer lab, and a library. A unique feature at the school that speaks to its precarious geography – and with a nod to its history – is a classroom specially built for military studies.

Spanning over 10,000 square feet, the school’s campus also houses a grass sports field, as well as an outdoor playground. For Chapar’s cold winters, a boiler room was installed so that the children and faculty could benefit from central heating and not have to limit class time for lack of it.

Despite now having a brand new building outfitted with the most modern educational equipment, Chapar School’s most valued possession is distinctly antiquated: a hundred year old bell. Having survived through some of the most tumultuous times in Armenian history, the bell will hang proudly from the new building where it will continue to see off the school’s graduates in the spring and welcome new students in the fall.

This is not Chapar’s first experience with Armenia Fund. In 2012, a water pipeline almost 2.5 miles long was installed and has since provided the village with regular access to drinkable water.

Chapar is also one of the locations along the new Vardenis-Martakert Highway which is being constructed by Armenia Fund with donations from Armenians throughout the world. These developments, together with the new school and a general improvement in the village’s conditions have encouraged 15 families that had left to return and continue their lives there.

In fact, in addition to the traditional trades of the villages, which include beekeeping, animal husbandry, and agriculture, many of the village’s residents have been hired to work on the Armenia Fund infrastructure projects in and around their homes.

We can’t know what the 14-year old boy who was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers would have been if he was able to grow up. But, by continuing to build the communities that were destroyed by the War for Independence and which continue to live on the razor’s edge, we can ensure that his innocent life, and that of many others like him, was not lost in vain. The real victory in war is giving the fourteen year olds of today and tomorrow that which the ones from yesterday did not have.

Achieving True Victory in War

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian's "Peace of Art" at the National Gallery of Armenia

Launch of the 5th Armenia-Diaspora Conference was marked by the opening of Armenian American painter Daniel Varoujan Hejinian’s personal exhibition called “Peace of Art”

YEREVAN — On September 18, Armenian American painter Daniel Varoujan Hejinian opened his personal exhibition called “Peace of Art” (www.PeaceofArt.org) at the National Gallery of Armenia. The exhibition is part of the 5th Armenia-Diaspora Conference organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and is dedicated to the 23rd anniversary of Armenian Independence and to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

Among the participants of the event were RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, leaders and representatives of Diaspora Armenian organizations, as well as Armenia’s public and political figures and artists.

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian was born to a family of Armenians who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and took shelter in Syria. Since childhood, he had heard stories of the brutal massacres and had seen it through his parents’ eyes. The longing for the homeland and the desire to develop his innate talent brought young Varoujan to the Homeland.

In 1996, Hejinian raised signs commemorating the Armenia Genocide in the State of Massachusetts for the first time in the history of the Armenian Diaspora, and he has been doing so every year since 1996. He has presented the Armenian Genocide to the international community as an irrefutable historical fact and has urged to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide and demand reparations.

Greeting the painter and all art lovers, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan mentioned: “By naming their son after great writer Daniel Varoujan, the painter’s parents raised a talented artist by the name of Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, and whereas writer Daniel Varoujan portrayed the sorrow and desires of the Armenian people in his writings, painter Daniel Varoujan Hejinian did that with his brushstrokes.”

The RA Minister of Diaspora drew the participants’ attention to Hejinian’s bronze cross-stone called “Hands of a Mother”, which is dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. The cross-stone has been placed in front of the municipality of Lowell for everyone to see and has been named the “Mother Cross-Stone” since the stone symbolizes the body, that is, the “Homeland”, and the bronze symbolizes the spirit, that is, the “Diaspora”.

The minister stressed the fact that the love for the Homeland, women, nature and children prevails in all of the artist’s paintings.

Art critic Shahen Khachatryan talked about Hejinian’s paintings and praised the artist’s unique style and high mastery.

Sheriff of Middlesex County of the State of Massachusetts Peter Koutoujian gave his welcoming remarks and expressed gratitude to the RA Ministry of Diaspora for the invitation to participate in the opening of his fellow Armenian American’s personal exhibition in the Homeland. The Armenian sheriff proudly spoke about his compatriot Daniel Varoujan Hejinian’s highly artistic paintings, which are devoted to the Armenian Genocide and show the world the crime perpetrated by the Turks in the early 20th century.

In the end, painter Daniel Varoujan Hejinian expressed gratitude to the RA Ministry of Diaspora and particularly to Minister Hranush Hakobyan for turning his dream of holding a personal exhibition in the Homeland into a reality.

Hejinian also expressed gratitude to his wife and daughter for encouraging him to organize a personal exhibition and invited the participants of the event to the exhibition hall to view the paintings showcased at the exhibition.

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian's "Peace of Art" at the National Gallery of Armenia

Fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) reportedly desecrated and blew up the Armenian Genocide memorial complex in the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, near the site where vast numbers of Armenian refugees were forced to march to their deaths in the early 20th century.

The Church, located in al-Rashidyeh neighborhood, was built in 1989-1990, and consecrated a year later.

The Armenian Genocide Memorial Church contains the remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide collected from the Syrian desert and has served as a pilgrimage site for Armenians worldwide, and every year, on April 24, special commemoration ceremonies attended by thousands of people would be held at the site.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has strongly condemned the destruction of the church.

In a statement released today he called on the international community to combat the Islamic State, which, he described as “a threat to the civilized mankind.”

‘This hideous crime against a shrine once again demonstrates the brutal nature of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. The international community should immediately stop and uproot this plague threatening the civilized world, cut off the routes of its supplies, funding, support and sponsorship,” he said.

Since its emergence as a real force in the Middle East ISIS has committed vandalism and sacrileges in many shrines and holy sites both in Syria and in Iraq. In recent weeks the United States and its allies have stated about their commitment to confront ISIS that has been called a threat to the region and the entire world.

President Obama Praises Strong Ties with Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. President Barack Obama has described U.S.-Armenian relations as “strong” and pledged to deepen them in the future.

“The American people join me in sending best wishes as you commemorate the 23rd anniversary of Armenia’s independence on September 21.

Armenia and the United States have a strong history rooted in partnership and friendship. The people-to-people, cultural and economic ties that bind our countries are impressive and inspiring. We recognize and honor Armenia’s rich cultural heritage and the many contributions Americans of Armenian descent have made to the United States over the years. The U.S.-Armenia relationship remains strong, and we look forward to continuing and deepening our cooperation for many years to come.” Obama said in a weekend letter to President Serzh Sarkisian that congratulated him on Armenia’s Independence Day.

“The deep bonds between the United States and Armenia are strong,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said for his part. “We will continue to strengthen our partnership with Armenia in various dimensions including security cooperation, economic and democratic development, and expanding people-to-people exchanges.”

President Obama Praises Strong Ties with Armenia

John Kerry: The US Stands With Armenia as a Partner and Friend

WASHINGTON, DC — The US Department of State has issued Secretary John Kerry’s address congratulating the Armenian people on independence day.

The statement is below:

“On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Armenia as you celebrate your independence day this September 21.

“The deep bonds between the United States and Armenia are strong. We will continue to strengthen our partnership with Armenia in various dimensions including security cooperation, economic and democratic development, and expanding people-to-people exchanges. This is also a special occasion to honor the achievements of Armenians and Armenian-Americans who have contributed to the development of both countries.

“As you celebrate 23 years of independence, know that the United States stands with Armenia as a partner and friend. I congratulate all Armenians on this important holiday and wish you great success in the year to come.”

John Kerry: The US Stands With Armenia as a Partner and Friend

Pope Francis Accepts Invitation to Visit Armenia in 2015

VATICAN CITY — At a meeting at the Holy See Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and His Holiness Pope Francis hailed the high-level relations between Armenia and Vatican, emphasizing that those relations built on a solid basis stem from the same Christian value system and ideology.

The interlocutors attached importance to the high-level reciprocal visits over the past years, which testify to the willingness to keep the bilateral relations in the focus.

Serzh Sarkisian and Pope Francis exchanged views on the close cooperation between the Holy See and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

During the meeting President Sarkisian extended an official invitation to Pope Francis to visit Armenia in 2015, which the Pontiff readily accepted, expressing his sincere desire to visit the country, according to the President’s office.

Pope Francis Accepts Invitation to Visit Armenia in 2015