The Diocese
Posted: 04/27/2018
On Monday, April 23, 2018, at the State Capitol in Sacramento, Armenian Assembly of America representatives led by the Assembly’s Southern California Regional Council member, Helen Haig, and Western Region Director, Mihran Toumajan, participated in annual Capitol Advocacy Day events organized by the leadership of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus. This annual initiative is held in the State Capitol in commemoration of the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Representing the Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America were Archpriest Fr. Datev Harutyunian, Vicar of Northern California and Pastor of St. Andrew Armenian Church of Cupertino, the Rev. Fr. Hovel Ohanyan, Pastor of St. Vartan Armenian Church in Oakland, the Rev. Fr. Mesrop Ash, Pastor of St. John Armenian Church of San Francisco, the Rev. Fr. Yeghishe Ksachikyan, Pastor of St. James Armenian Church in Sacramento and Dn. Daniel Aydenian, Parish Council Chair of Holy Cross Armenian Church in Turlock. At the start of the session, the opening prayer was delivered by Archpriest Fr. Datev Harutyunian.Â
This year’s Advocacy Day initiatives included strong, bipartisan statements in reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide by California Senate President Pro Tempore Emeritus Kevin De Leon, State Senators Scott Wilk, Anthony Portantino, and Scott Wiener, State Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian, Laura Friedman, and Dante Acosta, as well as from Fiona Ma, a member of the California State Board of Equalization.
Professor Emeritus of UCLA, Richard Hovannisian, was the guest of honor at this year’s Capitol Advocacy Day. He was recognized for the wealth of his academic and scholarly achievements, as well as for his quiet yet successful efforts in the late 1990s at preventing the establishment of a Turkish-government-funded Chair in Turkish Studies at UCLA, a chair for which the Turkish government exacted preconditions upon UCLA over the shaping of a subjective, pro-Turkish curricula to be taught under such a program.
Upon the conclusion of a lunch provided by the California Armenian Legislative Caucus to legislators and participants, formal resolutions reaffirming the Armenian Genocide took place on the floor of the California State Senate and California State Assembly respectively, both of which passed overwhelmingly and without opposition. The State Senate resolution, SR 107, was introduced by CA State Senator Anthony Portantino (D-25), whose senate district included Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, and the bulk of the San Gabriel Valley. The State Assembly resolution, AJR 37, was introduced by CA State Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-43), whose assembly district includes Glendale, Burbank, and parts of Hollywood.
In partnership with representatives of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church and the Armenian Democratic Liberal (Ramgavar) Party, the Armenian Assembly of America also initiated a number of one-on-one meetings with state officials on the sidelines of Capitol Advocacy Day, including sessions with Senators Portantino, Wilk (R-21), Wiener (D-11), and Nancy Skinner (D-9), in addition to meetings with Assemblymembers Jim Patterson (R-23) and Chris Holden (D-41).
“For the second year in a row, the Armenian Assembly of America is pleased to have participated in the Capitol Advocacy Day events at the State Capitol. On this solemn occasion of reflection on the horrors of the Armenian Genocide, the Assembly expressed its profound gratitude to all State legislators who spoke unequivocally on their respective floors in favor of official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Congress and the current Administration,” stated Western Region Director Toumajan.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
