LOS ANGELES, CA – More than 12,000 Armenian Americans from throughout California converged on the Beverly Hilton Hotel to protest the
Turkey-Armenia protocols as Armenia President Serzh Sarkisian met with representatives of Armenian American organizations to defend his
decision to sign the flawed documents.

Blockades and guardrails contained protesters who held signs proclaiming, “Serzh Don’t Betray the Armenian People,” “Turkey Accept
the Genocide!” and “No to the Protocols!” Meanwhile, planes overhead were carrying banners which stated “Stop Turkish-Armenian Protocols,” as large moving vans drove around the hotel with billboards picturing presidents Sarkisian and Gul with the slogan “Don’t Betray us.” Prior to the beginning of the community meeting, Pres. Sarkisian’s delegation stood out on their 12th floor balcony and watched demonstrators, who called out in hopes that the President would address them directly. Pres. Sarkisian chose not to address the people.

During the fourth hour of the protest, several hundred frustrated demonstrators broke through the barricades and stormed across the
street to the hotel entrance, yelling “votch, votch,” stopping traffic on Wilshire Blvd. Meanwhile ARF Western Region Central Committee member Hovan Tashdjian, who had just left the meeting with the President, who had just left the meeting, described a tense Pres. Sarkisian faced with overwhelming opposition by representatives of Diasporan organizations, attempting to defend the formation of a so-called “historical commission” and arguing that the Protocols would not affect the Karabakh peace process.

Pres. Sarkisian has embarked on a Diasporan junket to gain support for the beleaguered Turkey-Armenia Protocols, which have met with
resounding rebuke by Armenians around the world. He has been met with protests in Paris, New York and Los Angeles, with additional
demonstrations planned in Lebanon and Russia.

For more information on the campaign against the protocols visit, http://stoptheprotocols.com

video coverage from the protest, watch www.horizonarmeniantv.com and check the youtube posts by the Armenian Youth Federation Western Region at www.youtube.com/armenianyouthfederat.

You can also follow the protests on twitter at www.twitter.com/asbarez and www.twitter.com/ayfwest

Full coverage of the Sarkisian meeting and the protests will be posted on Asbarez.com and www.stoptheprotocols.com

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PLEASE ALSO EMBED THIS VIDEO WITH THE CLIP:

Panelists Mark Geragos, Steve Dadaian, Seto Boyadjian, and Harut Sassounian (left to right) discuss the 9th Circuit Court ruling

GLENDALE—Nearly 200 community members including young professionals, attorneys, and students gathered at the Saint Mary Armenian Church community hall in downtown Glendale on Wednesday for a public briefing to address the implications of the recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision declaring California’s Armenian Genocide Life Insurance Recovery law as unconstitutional.

The educational event was organized by the Armenian National Committee Western Region Legal Research Team, in collaboration with the Armenian Bar Association, Armenian Youth Federation USA-Western Region  and the ARF Shant Student Association.
“There are currently several major developments impacting the Armenian nation at every level – locally, nationally and internationally.  The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recent ruling is no different,” remarked Raffi Kassabian, an attorney and head of the ANC-WR’s Legal Research Team.

Locally, Kassabian, explained, this court decision “directly impacts the genocide heir who is seeking the recovery of insurance proceeds in a California court.”

Meanwhile, on the national, he added, “it impacts our Diaspora living in the United States who is seeking its Federal Government to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

“Internationally, it impacts every genocide and holocaust survivor living around the world by establishing a dangerous and chilling precedent to prohibit survivors from seeking reparations under a court of law,” Kassabian concluded.

Panelists included Mark Geragos, one of three attorneys representing Genocide victims’ heirs, Armenian National Committee of America National Board member Seto Boyadjian, ABA Board Member Armen Hovannisian, as well as attorney and community activist Steve Dadaian. Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier, moderated the event.

The speakers provided background and fielded questions from the audience regarding the case and what is being done by the plaintiffs as well as community organizations such as the ANCA and the ABA to challenge the ruling.

“Those who attended tonight’s event were able to get an in-depth look into this issue provided by an exceptional panel of attorneys,” commented Saro Kerkonian, Chairman of the ABA’s Armenian Rights Watch committee. “With their years of litigation experience, they were able to educate the audience about the Movsesian case and its impact on the Armenian community.”

“This event demonstrated how our community can join together to meet the legal challenges that face us,” he added.

On August 20, heirs claiming life insurance entitlements from Armenian Genocide era policies were denied the right to sue insurance carriers for their long withheld benefits.  A three judge panel of the Appellate Court struck down the underlying statute, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 345.5 which allows for redress through the California Courts, on Federal Preemption grounds.  The majority reasoned that the mere use of the phrase “Armenian Genocide” conflicts with United States foreign policy objectives.

Attorneys for the heirs disagree and are appealing the decision citing no express foreign policy against the Armenian Genocide or use of the phrase.  Various groups including the Armenian Bar Association, the Armenian National Committee of America, the Zoryan Institute, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have filed an Amici Curaie brief, also known as a “friend of the court” brief, in favor of the appeal.  The State of California through its Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. has also submitted an Amicus Curaie brief emphasizing the State’s long standing interest and right to regulate insurance carriers within its borders.

“As an Armenian-American law student, I think it’s important to stay in touch with Armenian issues, particularly legal ones,” said Nayiri Keosseian, a first year student at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law who noted that the discussion covered issues covered in the classroom.  “I was not very familiar with the particulars of the case and its litigation so, I found it very interesting and informative.”

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest Armenian American grassroots community 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 ANC-WR works to promote understanding regarding issues of concern to the Armenian American community.

LOS ANGELES–The “Stop the Protocols” Campaign, a broad-based coalition of Armenian youth groups and organizations across the United States, demonstrated Friday against the Turkey-Armenia protocols at the Swiss Consulate in Los Angeles.

The protest sought to inform the Swiss government of the contradictions in participating in a process that has seen the drafting of a set of one-sided protocols that threaten Armenia and undermine the rights of all Armenians. During the demonstration a delegation met with the Consul General to deliver a written letter to the Swiss government expressing the campaigns concerns.

“The meeting with the Swiss Consul General was an important step in expressing our community’s disapproval of the protocols and course being taken in the Turkey-Armenia negotiations process, explained Caspar Jivalagian, who met with Consul Brigitta Schoch Dettweiler alongside Haroutin Haroutinian.

The so-called protocols call on Armenia for the establishment of a “historical commission” to examine historical “problems” between the two countries, a move many analysts and genocide scholars consider a ploy by Turkey to cast doubt on the veracity of the Armenian Genocide.

As the primary mediator between the Turkish and Armenian governments, the Swiss government has been involved in the negotiations process between the two countries since before the drafting of the protocols.

“We explained to the Consul that the protest was not against the Swiss government but against the mediation process,” added Jivalagian. “The voice of our community needs to be heard by all those involved in making decisions affecting the fate of the Armenian nation.”

During the visit, the delegation, which also included Haroutin Haroutinian, also thanked the Swiss government for its firm stand in recognition of the Armenian Genocide. “But we stressed very heavily on how her government’s role in the mediation processes–the protocols in particular–go counter to the traditions and the beliefs of the Swiss people,” explained Haroutinian.

Schoch Dettweiler, for her part, said her government was not involved in the drafting of the protocols, adding that the Swiss are trying to stay as neutral as possible and are only interested in facilitating talks between Armenia and Turkey.

Expressing respect toward the demonstrators for taking time to make their voices heard, Schoch Dettweiler promised she would relay the letter to her government, as well as the demonstrators’ overall message that the protocols go against fundamental Swiss values.

“Our message got across, they understand our points, and we hope that when she takes our letter back to her government, they listen to what we said,” explained Arek Santikian.

Pointing to the hundred people rallied outside the consulate, one demonstrator, Patil Aslanian, exclaimed that “if we do not express our opposition, then the Armenian government will not see how the overwhelming majority of people in the Diaspora are against the protocols.”

Only by being active and united, she continued, will the Diaspora be able to show its discontent and work toward stopping these protocols.

“At this point it doesn’t matter what organization you are a part of or what political opinions you hold, none of us agree with these protocols and all of us agree on the Armenian Cause so we are all working together and speaking with one voice to call for a serious change and an immediate stop to these protocols,” she said.

Built around the shared conviction that these protocols must be stopped at all costs, the “Stop The Protocols” Coalition consists of the ARF Shant Student Association, Unified Young Armenians, Armenian Youth Federation, Woodbury University Armenian Students Association, UCLA Armenian Students Association, and others. For more information, updates, and ways to get active on this issue, visit: http://stoptheprotocols.com

GLENDALE–Members of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) visited the Armenian Consul General’s office in Los Angeles on September 14 to voice their opposition to the announced protocols between Armenia and Turkey. Consul General Grigor Hovhannessyan met with a representative from the delegation and discussed some of the points of contention put forth by the AYF.

“The meeting with the Consul General was an important step in getting the voice of our community heard by those who are making decisions affecting the fate of the Armenian nation,” said AYF Executive Director Serouj Aprahamian, the delegate who met with the Consul General. “Our community must be vigilant and speak with one voice against the dangerous elements encompassed in these Protocols.”

The visit on Monday came after five representatives of the AYF went to the Consulate last Friday, asking for a meeting with the Consul General. After being told that the Consul General himself was out of town, the delegation sat down with Consul Sahak Sargsyan to convey their outrage over the proposed protocols. They made it clear that
they wanted their message to reach the administration in Armenia and that they would return the following week to sit down with Mr. Hovhannessyan.

“The Consulate represents the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles and showing them our concern over the Protocols is an important part of the overall process in stopping them from being signed,” said Patil Aslanian, a member of the AYF who was part of the delegation on September 11.

Upon arrival to the Consulate on Monday, the AYF was told that the Consul General would agree to meet but only with one of the delegates. As AYF Executive Director, Aprahamian sat down with Consul General Hovhannessyan and Deputy Consul Mesrop Shaboyan to explain the organization’s opposition to the signing of the Protocols.

Aprahamian explained that the issue of establishing a “historical sub-commission” and implementing a “dialogue on the historical dimension” would be used by Turkey as a ploy to question the long-established facts behind the Armenian Genocide. He also raised the AYF’s concern over the language and provisions which threaten Nagorno Karabakh’s right to self-determination. The clause outlining “mutual recognition of the existing border between the two countries as defined by the relevant treaties of international law” and its implication for the cause of securing restitution for the Armenian Genocide was also discussed.

Consul General Hovhannessyan responded to the concerns by assuring that the Armenian Genocide would not be put into question by the historical commission identified in the protocol, pointing to the fact that the Genocide is not specifically mentioned in the document. He claimed that, instead, the commission would deal with such matters as historical monuments and other such unresolved matters.

He also noted that Karabakh is not mentioned either and that the Protocols are completely delinked from the conflict there. The Consul General reiterated that these were the official positions of the Armenian government.

Hovhannessyan sought to reassure the youth that the Armenian government is negotiating in the best interest of the Armenian people. He even insisted that diplomats such as himself would never forsake our national interests. “If I felt that this administration was forfeiting the national rights of Armenians,” stated Hovhannessyan, “I would not hesitate to resign from my post.”

The AYF members maintained that such reassurances were not enough to placate the dissatisfaction of their organization and community. “The trust and moral capital of the administration has been compromised by their announcement of these Protocols,” said Levon Abrahamian, another AYF member who participated in the delegations. “The mere announcement of such a one-sided document favoring Turkey’s demands is in itself a major setback for our Cause.”

In addition to bringing this matter to the attention of Armenia’s officials in Los Angeles, the youth made it clear that they are on the alert and ready to work with all segments of the community to stop the protocols as they stand from being ratified.

For more information about the AYF and its efforts to stop the Protocols contact ayf@ayfwest.org or call (818) 507-1933.