Diasporan Armenian Organizations

[Guest]

About the Armenian Assembly

 

The Armenian Assembly of America is a nationwide nonprofit organization established in 1972 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Assembly promotes public awareness of Armenian issues, encourages greater Armenian-American participation in the American democratic process, and assists in humanitarian and development programs in Armenia.

 

Origins and Evolution

In 1971, John Hanessian, Jr. and Dr. Haikaz Grigorian were members of the faculty at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. From time to time they met for lunch to discuss their common concerns for the Armenian-American community.

 

During these meetings they considered the possibility of forming a new Armenian organization in which leaders from various Armenian groups would participate for the benefit of the community as a whole. Their idea was new and exciting: an organization for all Armenian-Americans, headquartered in the nation's capital, to represent and promote Armenian interests.

 

http://www.aaainc.org/images/founders.jpeg

 

 

Community leaders first met in 1972 to discuss forming an "assembly" of Armenian-American organizations, at Airlie House in Virginia. Pictured are: (back row) Vartkes Kassouni, Hirair Hovnanian, Ralph Baker, Garo Garabedian, Armen Topouzian, Avedis Sanjian, Harry Sachaklian and (front row) Lionel Galstaun, Robert A. Kaloosdian, Haig Der Manuelian, Stephen Mugar, Hagop Nersoyan, Dennis Papazian and John Hanessian.

 

 

The two men traveled to Boston to share their idea with two prominent attorneys, Robert A. Kaloosdian and Haig Der Manuelian, having agreed beforehand that if the meeting did not go well they would drop the idea. These four discussed the merits and practicality of creating yet another diasporan Armenian organization--and decided it would be more effective to create an "assembly" of existing organizations.

 

Ultimately, the four decided that the benefits of such an assembly would far outweigh the risks. Buoyed with optimism, they sought to enlist others. Among the first to join them were Dr. Richard Hovannisian and Dr. Lionel Galstaun, well known and highly respected community leaders, who endorsed the concept enthusiastically.

 

Of immediate concern to the fledgling organization was funding. Two benefactors came forward who were to have a lasting impact on the new assembly: Stephen P. Mugar and Hirair Hovnanian. Mugar, the original owner of the Boston chain of Star Markets, was the first to offer financial support. The assembly concept appealed to his own sense of the need for intra-community cooperation and for Armenian community participation in the democratic process of the United States.

 

Mugar was to become known affectionately as the Assembly's "godfather." Hovnanian, head of a New Jersey development and construction firm, also gave support. He felt strongly that the new organization would unify the Armenian-American community, guarantee the participation of community members in government, and, most importantly, encourage Armenian youth to retain their identity and serve the Armenian people.

 

Hovnanian's contributions helped make possible the first gathering of Armenian-American leaders in 1972 at Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia. This conclave--and subsequent meetings in 1973 and 1974--endorsed the Armenian Assembly and gave it specific objectives and a community mandate.

 

The future of the Assembly was assured in 1984 when Hovnanian and the Mugar estate launched an endowment fund with contributions of $1 million each. Additional contributions to the endowment fund followed from Mrs. Deran Hintlian, Edward Mardigian, Richard and Gail O'Reilly, Leon Peters and David Shakarian. As more and more Armenian-Americans lend their support, the Assembly's projects and its role as a professional institution continue to expand.

 

The tragic earthquake in Armenia in late 1988 ushered in a new area of activity for the Assembly--helping to rebuild Armenia. In 1989, the Armenian government gave the Assembly permission to open an office in the capital city of Yerevan, thus making it the first Western nonprofit organization to do so. Armenia's independence, as well as its commitment to democracy and market reform, have afforded the Assembly the opportunity and privilege to advocate for a special and strong relationship with the United States.

 

 

 

 

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Armenian Assembly of America

122 C Street, NW, Suite 350

Washington, DC 20001

 

tel: (202) 393-3434 fax: (202) 638-4904 e-mail: info@aaainc.org

 

Western Regional Office:

50 North La Cienega Boulevard, Suite 202, Beverly Hills, California 90211

tel: (310) 360-0091 • fax: (310) 360-0094 • e-mail: aaawr@idt.net

Armenia Office:

2 Republic Square, Suite 105, 375010 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

tel: 374 (1) 15-10-60, 374 (1) 52-95-13 • fax: 374 (1) 15-10-59

e-mail: aaa@arminco.com

 

 

Copyright © 1999 Armenian Assembly of America http://www.aaainc.org/

 

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited February 10, 2001).]

[Guest]

About the Armenian National Committee of America

 

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

 

The main goals of the ANCA are:

 

 

To foster public awareness in support of a free, united and independent Armenia;

 

 

To influence and guide U.S. policy on matters of interest to the Armenian American community;

 

 

To represent the collective Armenian American viewpoint on matters of public policy, while serving as liaison between the community and their elected officials.

 

 

The Armenian National Committee of America is active in a number of areas and engages in a wide variety of political and educational activities, including:

 

Initiating legislation on issues of concern to the Armenian American community, such as strengthening Armenia as a secure, prosperous and democratic state; supporting Nagorno Karabagh's right to self-determination and independence within secure borders; increasing U.S. aid levels to Armenia to promote economic and democratic development; securing direct U.S. aid to Nagorno Karabagh; ensuring the appropriate commemoration of the Armenian Genocide; and encouraging Turkey and Azerbaijan to lift their blockades and adhere to international standards for human rights and humanitarian practices.

 

 

Participating in the American electoral process at the federal, state, and local levels by educating elected officials about Armenian American issues and providing Armenian American voters with up-to-date information about the positions of candidates on Armenian American concerns. The ANCA regularly endorses candidates, organizes voter registration drives, and distributes Candidate Questionnaires, Congressional Report Cards and Election Guides to Armenian American voters.

 

 

Publishing the TransCaucasus: A Chronology, congressional testimony, position papers, press releases, fact sheets, and regional newsletters.

http://www.ebusolutions.com/anca/anca_home.asp

[Guest]

Armenian National Committee of America

888 17th Street, NW, Suite 904

Washington, DC, 20006

Tel. (202) 775-1918

Fax (202) 775-5648

E-mail: anca@anca.org

Internet: http://www.anca.org

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release

Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian

February 13, 2001

Tel: (202) 775-1918

 

ONE MILLION DOLLARS RAISED AT GENEVA BANQUET

FOR ANC OF EUROPE CENTRAL OFFICE

 

-- ANCA Executive Director Briefs Supporters on Armenian

American Advocacy; Expresses Armenian American Community's

Support for Expansion of European Activism

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Representatives of the Armenian National

Committee of America (ANCA) joined with Armenians from throughout

Europe, the Middle East, and Armenia this weekend in a major

fundraising event in Geneva, Switzerland for the newly established

Armenian National Committee of Europe Central Office.

 

The February 10th dinner, held at the Hotel Le Richemond under the

high patronage of Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia,

far surpassed its fundraising goal of five hundred thousand

dollars, with a million dollars being raised during the course of

the evening for the expansion of the ANC's European operations.

 

"We were extremely gratified by the tremendous response to this

historic evening, marking the expansion of the Armenian National

Committee's European advocacy," said ANCA Executive Director Aram

Hamparian. "Building upon all that the Armenian National Committee

has already accomplished in Europe, this Central Office will play a

vital role in ensuring that Europe's vibrant and increasingly

influential Armenian community is fully represented in all the

various public policy debates impacting Armenia, Karabagh, and the

region."

 

In remarks to those in attendance, representatives of ANC of Europe

noted that the establishment of an ANC European Central Office

reflects the recognition that Europe will play an increasingly

central role in Armenia's security and prosperity, and in the

resolution of the Armenian Cause. As an institution dedicated to

ensuring that the voices of Europe's Armenians and the interests of

the entire Armenian nation are heard in European institutions, the

ANC Europe Central Office will actively advocate on issues ranging

from Armenia's integration into Europe, the ongoing Artsakh

negotiations, increased aid, trade and investment in Armenia, and

the Turkish government's campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide.

 

Among those at the event were Armenia's Ambassador to Geneva, Garen

Nazaryan, Lebanese parliamentarian and Minister of Sports and Youth

Affairs, Sebouh Hovnanian, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

of Armenia, Levon Mkrtchyan. Members of the National Assembly of

Armenia in attendance were Manvel Badeyan, Vahakn Grigoryan, Martin

Hovhanisyan, Haroutiun Pamboukyan, Taron Sahagyan, Levon Sargisyan

and Vahan Hovhannesyan. Members of the clergy joining with

Catholicos Aram I at the program were the Prelates of Aleppo and

Tehran, Archbishop Souren Kataroyan and Archbishop Sebouh

Sarkissian respectively. Also present was the Chairman of the

National Executive Council of the Great House of Cilicia, Andre

Tabourian. Among the community leaders gathered for the banquet

were members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau

and Armenian Relief Society Central Executive Chairperson Maro

Minassian.

 

The evening's program featured powerful remarks from Catholicos

Aram I, who stressed that Hai Tad (the Armenian Cause) is a central

part of the Armenian identity and the cause of every Armenian and

every Armenian institution. He underscored that the Great House of

Cilicia has always been at the forefront of the Armenian Cause,

sharing with those in attendance his recent consultations with the

President of Germany and other European leaders regarding the

recognition of the Armenian Genocide. His Holiness' inspirational

words and announcement that the Great House of Cilicia was donating

$100,000 toward the ANC Europe Central Office were met with a

standing ovation.

 

Speaking on behalf of the ARF, Bureau Chairman Hrand Margaryan

noted that, in the years since the 1988 earthquake, the

organization's attention had largely been focused on meeting the

immediate security and humanitarian needs of Armenia and Karabagh.

The establishment of the ANC of Europe Central Office reflects the

realization that strengthening our Diasporan institutions will

strengthen the homeland, just as the strengthening of our homeland

will, in turn, strengthen the Diaspora.

 

On behalf of the ANC of the European Community, Hilda Tchoboyan

noted that the ANC had been active with European institutions since

1984. The ANC of EC, she reported, operates active branches in

nine of the fifteen European Community nations and works through a

network of friends and activists in the remaining six countries.

Among the ANC of EC's most visible successes have been the 1987 and

2000 European Parliament resolutions calling on Turkey to recognize

the Armenian Genocide.

 

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian briefed those in attendance

about Hai Tad efforts in the United States and underscored the

importance of coordinated action on issues impacting the security

of Armenia, the defense of Nagorno Karabagh, and the advancement of

the Armenian Cause.

 

Master of ceremonies Alecco Bezikyan of Italy coordinated the

evening's program, introducing the dignitaries in attendance and

announcing all the donations. Bezikian, as the chairman of the ANC

of Italy, had played a central role in the adoption of an Armenian

Genocide resolution by that nation's parliament.

[MJ]

2) Armenian Democratic Liberal Party Reunited at Athens Assembly

After many months of preparation, the 22nd General Assembly of the Armenian

Democratic Liberal Party (ADL) convened in Athens April 6 to 8. It was hosted

by the local chair and witnessed the participation of delegates from all

branches of the ADL.

Certain developments in the past decade created a national and political

reordering in the Armenian diasporan structures; first and foremost, it was

the traditional political parties which were jolted. Unfortunately, the ADL

didn't escape those shocks, which ruptured its internal unity and temporarily

retarded the progress of its mission.

After lengthy negotiations, the party's various circles of leadership

decided, no matter how difficult, to reestablish the internal unity of the

organization and put it back on the historical track of its mission. This

decision was motivated by the urgent political priorities of the day, as well

as moving appeals for unity made by the party's rank and file.

In the first place, the General Assembly provided the opportunity to engage

in healthy discussion of the points of dissension affecting the organization,

as well as the priorities of its activities. At the conclusion of its

sessions, the General Assembly took the definitive step of making the

much-desired unity a reality.

The Assembly elected a Central Committee which succeeded in establishing a

common denominator among all the strata and factions of the party. The

Central Committee was given the authorization to reestablish chapters in

light of new reforms introduced to the basic by-laws.

After completing its agenda, the Assembly discussed certain fundamental

issues affecting the Armenian people as a whole, and adopted resolutions

corresponding to those issues. The principal resolutions are the following:

1. Armenia and Artsakh

The ADL continues to offer its support to the government of the newly

established Republic of Armenia and for the maintenance of its territorial

integrity. Likewise, the ADL offers its moral and financial capabilities for

the well being of the native Armenian population.

The ADL accepts the ADL of Armenia as the legal heir to the Armenagan Party,

which came into being in 1885, as well as the entity continuing the ADL’s

ideological creed which, was adopted in 1921.

The Assembly was gratified to welcome the presence of a delegation of the

Central Committee of the ADL of Armenia.

The Assembly expressed its solidarity with the just struggle of the

freedom-loving people of Artsakh, and formulated its wishes in connection

with a fair political resolution of the Artsakh conflict.

2. Armenian Cause

The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, as torchbearer of the defense of the

Armenian Cause, decided to continue its struggle through the mass media press

and in political circles, in order to obtain recognition of the Armenian

Genocide and to achieve the integration of the territory of historical

Armenia and its return to its rightful owner through unrelenting struggle.

3. The Armenian Church

The ADL affirms its traditional policy of recognizing the Catholicos of All

Armenians, of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, as the sole head of the

Armenian Apostolic Church. At the same time, it notes with regret the

continuing disunity within the Armenian Church, whose principal role player

is the Catholicate of the See of Cilicia, with its historically illegitimate

pretensions and politically one-sided orientations. It is time for the

Catholicate of the See of Cilicia to become free from its political

constrictions and return to its spiritual calling.

The ADL Party hereby also calls upon the faithful flock of the Armenian

Apostolic Church to continue its struggle to reestablish the unity of the

church. In this sacred struggle, it considers as foremost the role to be

played by the clergy under the jurisdiction of the Mother See, in assuming

leadership and educating the faithful.

On the eve of the 1,700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as

the state religion of Armenia, the reestablishment of the unity of the

Armenian Church becomes a top priority, which will lead the Armenian people

to spiritual unification and progress.

At the end, the Assembly enthusiastically received the announcement marking

the party's 80th anniversary, which invited the organization’s membership,

scattered throughout the world, to mobilize, hail this significant milestone

in the party's history with a unified spirit, and to proceed towardthe

triumphant centennial and bright future.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg31304.html