Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has responded to an October 13 open letter from the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, William Schabas. In the letter, addressed to both Sarkisian and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Schabas, said: “Acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide must be the starting point of any ‘impartial historical commission,’ not one of its possible conclusions.”

The roadmap to regime change is a response to conditions that were crystallized by the recently signed protocols which represent the first step in the process of rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey. The ARF has properly viewed these documents as being detrimental to Armenia’s present and future national interests. In response to this assessment, the party has announced its formal opposition to the protocols. In Part I an explanation was offered as to how the ARF can deliver on its roadmap to regime change. Although this is a gargantuan task for which the ARF has the necessary experience to undertake, it is the how of the undertaking that is crucial. The response by the ARF, if it is to be effective, must be multi-faceted in its objectives and multi-operational in its implementation.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation marked its 119th anniversary during a celebration event organized by the Central Committee of the ARF-Western USA. More than 1,500 community members flocked to the Glendale High School auditorium to witness a resurgence of the ARF’s commitment to fight for justice and the rights of the Armenian nation. Speaking at the event on behalf of the youth, Arek Santikian, the chairman of the Armenian Youth Federation, reassured the community of the youth’s willingness and determination to carry out its traditional duty to be the vital force of change in society; to hold true to the core values of the ARF, and to struggle for the Armenian nation. Below are his remarks.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared on the Charlie Rose show on Tuesday evening to discuss his meeting with President Obama in Washington DC earlier this week. Speaking on Prime-Time television, he directly linked the normalization of his country’s relations with Armenia to a pro-Azerbaijani settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At Sunday’s 119th anniversary celebration of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation its Western US Central Committee Chairman Avedik Izmirlian said no Armenian government has the right to take decisions against the national interests of Armenians, referring to the current Armenia-Turkey protocols that endanger the national security and future of the Armenian nation.

Khatchadour Tankian, father of System of a Down’s lead singer Serj Tankian, will release his debut record “Inchbes Moranank” through his son’s record label Serjical Strike on December 29, 2009.

… a man, mid 40s, wide awake at 2:24 AM, staring at his keyboard trying to fulfill a promise to himself and his editor that he would write a weekly column. He is a weak man at this hour, considering not to ever write again when newspapers of his day via the Internet have become bathroom stalls where any reader with a keyboard can scribble nasty notes and tell the writer to shut up because the reader thinks the writer has no substance.

Midway into the month-long Armenian American grassroots campaign to encourage President Obama to personally confront Turkey’s Prime Minister with the facts of the Armenian Genocide during their December 7th White House meeting, the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) “Countdown to Erdogan” has come under heavy fire from a Turkish lobby that appears increasingly nervous about the impact that Ankara’s growing rift with Washington will have on U.S. complicity in its genocide denial campaign.

Social networking applications, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, powerfully leverage our already highly-networked Armenian American community, providing free, new, and exciting avenues to develop open communication, foster greater understanding, develop mutual respect, and facilitate practical cooperation toward shared goals:

The Armenian National Committee, Western Region, celebrated a year of successes at its annual banquet at the newly-renovated Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, November 8, 2009. More than 800 activists and donors attended the fundraiser, which drew prominent and senior elected officials and civil servants from the federal, state, and local governments. Also joining the ANC-WR were leaders from the Armenian community, representatives from Armenian churches, educational, cultural, sporting, and social services organizations, and friends of the Armenian Cause.

The Armenian National Committee, Western Region, celebrated a year of successes at its annual banquet at the newly-renovated Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, November 8, 2009. More than 800 activists and donors attended the fundraiser, which drew prominent and senior elected officials and civil servants from the federal, state, and local governments. Also joining the ANC-WR were leaders from the Armenian community, representatives from Armenian churches, educational, cultural, sporting, and social services organizations, and friends of the Armenian Cause.

Hundreds of people gathered together across from the Armenian Consulate in Glendale Tuesday evening, joined in solidarity with 34 young Armenians holding a hunger strike against the Turkey-Armenia protocols set to be signed on Friday.

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.

This week we preview the Summer issue of the Armenian Youth Federation’s quarterly publication, Haytoug, by presenting a snapshot of the upcoming issue which will focus on the theme of solidarity between people and causes. The issue will be distributed at the Navasartian Games on July 2-5 and will be available at community centers, schools and local book stores.