Glendale Archives

UNITED STATES The project of the future Armenian-American Museum in Glendale (California) to a new location in the central city park

February 25, 2016 by administrator

arton122585-480x310 The project of construction of the future Museum of Armenian-American Glendale -town located in the suburbs of Los Angeles (California) and that has a very high population arménienne- proposed to change the initial location of the museum. According to Glendale News Press, the Committee of the project Armenian-American Museum now offers the construction of the museum in the Central Park of Glendale. The Committee has been working for over a year with the Organizing Committee for the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Initially the construction project on an area of 5 hectares was to be held near the intersection of Verdugo Road and Mountain Street in Glendale. The mayor of Armenian origin Ara Nadjarian said for his part that “the idea of the Armenian-American Museum is great. We all seek a suitable place for this museum. “ He also said that the will of the City Council is not to divide communities and that such a project would contribute to strengthening them. Note that almost 40% of the 200 000 inhabitants of Fresno are Armenians.

Krikor Amirzayan

Glendale to host fundraiser for Armenian Genocide memorial Feb 18

February 6, 2016 by administrator

205474 A dinner fundraiser for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial will be held on February 18 at Phoenicia restaurant in Glendale, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The special guest at the event will be Sinan Sinanian, construction team leader for the memorial.

An Armenian Genocide memorial was dedicated at Sunset Park in Las Vegas on November 14, 2015. The monument is a replica of the one that was dedicated in 1965 in Yerevan, Armenia. It’s made out of precast concrete and has 12 pillars, which represent the 12 provinces where Armenians were massacred, as well as a bench and dedication plaque on an adjacent boulder.

Another memorial commemorating the Armenian Genocide was unveiled at Fresno State in April, 2015 to commemorate the centennial of the massacres perpetrated at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Glendale hospitals host Armenian Christmas ceremony

January 6, 2016 by administrator

tn-gnp-photo-gallery-armenian-christmas-ceremony-at-glendale-memorial-hospital-20160105 By Arin MikailianContact Reporter,

Armenian religious leaders visited a pair of local hospitals this week ahead of Armenian Christmas being celebrated on Wednesday. They blessed the facilities as well as performed the traditional blessing of water.

Glendale Adventist Medical Center celebrated its 110th anniversary last year and with it, more than a century of being a faith-based hospital.

One of the newer traditions was to observe the holiday celebrations of the large local Armenian community.

“And so this place has been a place of faith forever, for as long as it has existed, so it seems personally fitting to bring in that faith community and those words and blessings,” said Kevin Roberts, the hospital’s chief executive, on Monday.

“What we have seen and witnessed last year in the world brings pain to our hearts,” he said.

As he stood before the crowd of more than 100 people, mostly doctors and other medical staffers, Derderian said that everyone at the ceremony was entering the doorway to a new journey for the year.

“We pray for all of you, for those who are in operations, who are serving patients. We pray for all those who are contributing to the well-being of Adventist Hospital,” he said.

Derderian proceeded to bless a large pile of gatas — an Armenian pastry — and a pot of water with holy oil sourced from Armenia every seven years.

The blessing of the water symbolizes the baptism of Jesus Christ. The Jan. 6 date is referred to as the Epiphany or the Holy Nativity of Christ.

It’s always been the day the Armenian Orthodox Church observes Christmas, but for many other denominations, the date was moved to Dec. 25.

“We are keeping the old tradition,” said Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, prelate of the western United States.

He and fellow priests recited religious chants in Armenian and English for those in attendance at a similar blessing ceremony on Monday at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital.

During the blessing Mardirossian offered his best wishes for the coming year there, too.

“May God offer protection and peace upon this facility, beseeching him to guide you in your healing mission and to grant help to those under your nurturing care,” he said.

Molotov cocktail thrown at Armenian Consulate in Glendale

September 10, 2015 by administrator

An unknown assailant threw a Molotov cocktail at the Armenian Consulate in Glendale, California, on August 10, an informed source who wished to remain anonymous told The California Courier.

As reported by The California Courier editor Harut Sassounian, surveillance video cameras at the Consulate recorded a car stopping next to the Consulate building around 3 am. A passenger got out of the car and threw a bottle filled with flammable liquid after lighting it. The tossed object left burn marks on a small section of the outside wall of the building and scorched the branches of a nearby tree.

Glendale Police arrived at the Consulate moments after the assailants had fled the scene of the crime.

Both the Glendale Police Department and the U.S. State Department’s Security Office are vigorously investigating the attempted arson.

This is the first time that an Armenian diplomatic building has come under attack in the United States, and probably anywhere else in the world.

A Spokeswoman for the Glendale Police Department told The California Courier that she cannot make any comments as the incident is under ongoing investigation.

20-year-old US Armenian who died in Armenia’s Tsaghkadzor town had gone there for rest

August 2, 2015 by administrator

“Accident took place in [the Armenian town of] Tsaghkadzor today on August 1. Levon Tovmas, 20, who had arrived in Armenia from US to take part in the 6th Pan-Armenian Summer Games left for Tsaghkadzor with some teammates and relatives to have a rest prior to the official beginning of the games. The young man died there as a result of a road accident. Pan-Armenian Games World Committee expresses its deep condolences to the family, relatives and teammates of the young man,” the statement of the Pan-Armenian Games World Committee press service reads.

The Pan-Armenian Games World Committee urges all the participants of the Games to be careful with their own initiatives and avoid dangerous actions.

Eatlier Armenian News – NEWS.am reported that a young man fell from quad and died at the scene in Tsaghkadzor town of Armenia’s Kotayk province. Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations was alerted to the incident at 15:21 on August 1. Kotayk province operative group arrived at the scene. It turned out that Yamaha quad overturned on the mountain path in Tsaghkadzor, this resulting in the immediate death of the driver, Levon T., 20. The firefighters and rescuers de-energized the quad. The young man had arrived in Armenia to take part in the 6th Pan-Armenian Games.

Electric Networks of Armenia sues Glendаle Hills over debts

July 2, 2015 by administrator

YEREVAN. – Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC sued Glendale Hills CJSC, requiring to declare it bankrupt, ENA press-service told Armenian News – NEWS.am.

According to the information, Glendаle Hills owes ENA roughly 138 million AMD for electricity. The question is considered in the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative districts, under the supervision of Judge Aleksey Sukoyan.

Comments of Glendаle Hills Company with regard to this matter couldn’t be received.

Besides Glendаle Hills, a number of other companies owe ENA, among them Nairit, Hrazdan Cement, Vanadzor Chemical Plant, Artsakh Energo, Garni and Dzoraghbyur. In fact, some of those companies owe ENA over 1 billion AMD. The debts of Vanadzor Chemical Plant, Nairit and Hrazdan Cement comprise 400 million AMD, that of Garni reaching 46 million AMD.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

Glendale man Agasi Vartanyan ends 55-day fast for Armenian Genocide victims

May 29, 2015 by administrator

By Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News

“Agasi Vartanyan, completes 55 day fast for Armenian Genocide

After 55 days spent in a small enclosure with no food and only jugs of water, a thinner and thick-bearded Agasi Vartanyan emerged from his perch Thursday, his voice weak but his spirit swelling with victory for a mission accomplished.

Vartanyan needed no help as he used a ladder to climb down from a glass enclosure built on a high platform outside St. Leon Armenian Cathedral in Burbank. A flock of doves was released and a crowd of people clapped as he stepped on the ground, raised his arms to give the peace sign, then sat in a wheelchair. The 55-year-old Glendale man had entered the 12-foot-by-12-foot enclosure on April 3 promising to fast for 55 days to draw attention to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

He went in weighing 224 pounds and emerged nearly 60 pounds lighter. After a quick check-up by a medical crew, Armenian television reporters swooped in and Vartanyan told the crowd he felt well and that he was grateful for all their support.

“I have great satisfaction,” the Armenian man said through a translator. “You wouldn’t believe the reaction I had from around the world.”

• PHOTOS: Agasi Vartanyan ends his 55-day fast to bring attention to Armenian Genocide

Vartanyan’s hunger strike was meant to cast global attention on what he and many have called an injustice to the 1.5 million Armenians killed under the command of the Ottoman Turks starting a century ago this year. From 1915 to 1923, Armenians were forcibly deported from their homes and killed as part of a systemic ethnic cleansing that also affected Assyrians and Pontic Greeks.

Historians, scholars, human rights activists and even Pope Francis call it the first genocide of the 20th century, but the Turkish government maintains the deaths were a result of betrayal and civil unrest in what was then a collapsing Ottoman Empire.

Vartanyan couldn’t participate in the March for Justice last month when more than 100,000 people walked for six miles through the streets of Los Angeles to mark the April 24 centennial. But he said he watched television and saw news reports and was filled with pride when he learned of the great outpouring.

His efforts were supported by the nonprofit Crimes Against Humanity — Never Again (CAHNA), which formed to raise global awareness on genocides past and present. The organization set up a live stream camera of Vartanyan, which drew some 19 million viewers.

That sort of attention will help the organization’s next goal, which will move away from trying to garner recognition of the Armenian Genocide to fighting for justice for those who are descendents, said CAHNA’s president Harut Sassounian, who lost relatives to the genocide. That includes pursuing legal actions against the Turkish government, which has refused to call the events of that time a genocide.

“We Armenians went through hell,” Sassounian said. “We’re continuing the struggle. We want to get back all the lands we lost, the churches that are gone.”

Vartanyan said his goal was to encourage the Armenians of the diaspora to keep fighting for justice. More than 200,000 people of Armenian descent call Los Angeles County home. It is the largest Armenian diaspora outside of the Republic of Armenia.

“I believe you’ll never achieve anything unless you fight for it, struggle for it,” he said. “I did this so that no one will forget the genocide that was committed against my people.”

Vartanyan said he prepared a year for this fast, although he had gone on a similar hunger strike almost 10 years ago in Russia. Back then, he abstained from food for 50 days, in part he said to break illusionist David Blaine’s 44-day fast in London.

It was unclear Thursday if Vartanyan broke any records.

“We do not have a current record holder as we do not currently recognize this category,” said a spokeswoman from Guinness World Records in an e-mail reply.

But those in the crowd said they were proud of him and inspired by his efforts.

“I was very worried about what he was doing,” said Hamlet Pogosian, Vartanyan’s cousin. “I didn’t like what he was doing for health reasons, but I’m proud of what he did for our nation.”

Vartanyan would not discuss the mental and physical struggles he endured, saying he preferred to let the public use their imagination. But halfway through the ordeal, he admitted to reporters he thought a lot about “meat, all kinds of meat.” The front of the enclosure where he spent all his time had one glass wall, allowing the public to see him day and night, though there was some privacy. He was given 55 gallons of water, a few clothes, a cot and a television. He often could be seen pacing back and forth or looking out on the street.

He also wouldn’t say what his first meal would be, but offered a hint through a smile.

“Whatever I eat will be the most delicious thing in the world,” he said.

Source: Daily-news

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Glendale: Man to fast for 55 days to commemorate #ArmenianGenocide

April 5, 2015 by administrator

Agasi Vartanyan raised awareness five years ago with a similar sacrifice.

By Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com April 4, 2015 | 12:00 p.m.

Agasi Vartanyan waves from inside a glass enclosure built at the St. Leon Armenian Cathedral Church in Burbank

Agasi Vartanyan climbed up a ladder Friday morning into a glass enclosure with wood framing outside St. Leon Cathedral in Burbank, where he will fast for 55 days to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

The Glendale resident chose to fast for 55 days because he is 55 years old, and a decade ago, he fasted for 50 days to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, so he’s looking to beat his previous record.

By fasting, he hopes to raise awareness about the genocide and the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed, beginning in 1915, at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.

Speaking in Armenian through interpreter Harut Sassounian, Vartanyan said he has been thinking about fasting to commemorate the centennial of the genocide for years.

“I’m ready. I’m very positively inclined to carry this out,” he said.

The enclosure is in clear view of passersby on Glenoaks Boulevard, and they can get a close look at it by walking up to the cathedral.

It was built with help from the organization Crimes Against Humanity Never Again, and Sassounian is its president.

On the nonprofit’s website, www.cahna.org, a live-stream of Vartanyan’s fast is expected to be posted, according to members of the organization.

Just before Vartanyan entered the enclosure, men lifted supplies into it such as clean socks, shirts, underwear, pants, body wipes, towels and disinfectant wipes.

The enclosure also has a television and padded lawn chair, and is dotted with images of purple forget-me-not flowers, a symbol adopted universally this year by members of the Armenian diaspora around the world to commemorate the 100 years since the genocide.

Men also hoisted dozens of gallons of water into the enclosure, and Vartanyan plans to drink one gallon each day. A doctor will monitor his vital signs.

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, along with fellow clergy, offered a prayer for Vartanyan before he entered the enclosure.

“Our prayers will be with him,” Derderian said. “And I have no doubt that this will send out a clear message to all nations and to all people around the world that what God has given us, the gift of life, we need to honor, and we need to become peacemakers in the life of the world.”

Friends and supporters applauded as Vartanyan climbed the ladder to enter the enclosure around 11 a.m. on Friday.

“I will see you next time, 55 days from now,” he said.

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Glendale: Protesters assemble at Americana after mall’s handling of apparel referencing Armenian Genocide

March 15, 2015 by administrator

By Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com and Sameea Kamal, sameea.kamal@latimes.com

Elin Nazarian, who works at Shop1915.com, holds up a t-shirt for a prospective buyer at the Americana at Brand in Glendale on Friday, March 13, 2015

About 50 people, most of them Armenian-Americans, gathered at the Americana at Brand Friday evening wearing T-shirts that referenced the Armenian Genocide — shirts the outdoor mall’s management allegedly told the vendor to stop displaying before reversing their decision and issuing an apology on social media.

They were there in protest of the management’s decision, which recently came to light.

At around 6:30 p.m., protesters began assembling around the Brand Boulevard entrance. They walked inside the Americana and went, first, to the booth where the T-shirts were being sold.

PHOTOS: Quiet protest takes place at Americana over Armenian Genocide apparel

The T-shirts and hoodies were not on display because one of the owners of the business, Tina Chuldzhyan, said she still has not received a personal apology from Caruso Affiliated.

Later, the protesters walked in a circle around the outdoor mall.

Ara Manoogian, founder of the blog “The Truth Must be Told,” organized the event, which was meant to be a peaceful gathering. He said participants were handing out fliers with an article written about the controversy by an Armenian publication.

“The overall goal, at this stage, is to get an explanation from Americana management because there’s been a lot of inconsistencies,” Manoogian said, adding that if Americana officials want to show they’re sorry, they could host an event commemorating the centennial of the Armenian genocide because they’ve organized other events celebrating heritage, such as the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Glendale police officers were walking around the mall during the protest, but there was no confrontation with the protesters.

Source: Glendale news press

Americana at Brand Issues Apology to Armenian Cart Vendors

March 12, 2015 by administrator

The Americana at Brand

GLENDALE—The Americana at Brand issued an apology to Armenian cart vendors after the shopping center’s management chose to bar them from selling their merchandise saying that it was inappropriate.

“We would like to apologize to our cart tenants, Tina Chuldzhyan, Alex Kodagolian and Armin Hariri, for the regrettable misunderstanding regarding their cart’s merchandise,” the Americana at Brand posted on the company’s Facebook page. “The cart tenant is more than welcome to have its product in question displayed on the cart.”

On Monday, Asbarez published an article by Harut Saassounian, in his regular “My Turn” column, in which the he reported on Americana’s decision to ban the sale of Armenian Genocide-themed t-shirts.

“Three young Armenian entrepreneurs rented a cart last month at the Americana — a large shopping-restaurant-theater complex in Glendale — to sell T-shirts, hats, and other clothing items advertised on their shop1915.com website.

After Americana’s leasing staff approved their merchandise, Tina Chuldzhyan, Alex Kodagolian, and Armin Hariri (a rapper known as ‘R-Mean’) began selling their merchandise.

On February 12, the opening day of their business, the three Armenians were unexpectedly told by Americana’s management to keep their cart family-friendly and remove all pictures of protests. Even though there were no pictures of any protests on the cart — just posters of people wearing the T-shirts on sale — Chuldzhyan told The California Courier that she immediately took down the posters to avoid any conflict with Americana.

On Feb. 25, Americana issued an ultimatum telling Tina and her two partners that within 24 hours they had to change the kind of merchandise they were selling, claiming that there had been public complaints about the ‘genocide’ clothing. Otherwise, they would have three days to vacate the premises.

Fearing that they were on the verge of eviction, the three entrepreneurs agreed not to display the Armenian T-shirts, and sell them only if requested by a customer. Later that afternoon, an Americana official reiterated that all clothing items with the ‘genocide’ theme had to be completely removed from the cart,” wrote Sassounian.