Armenian Genocide

A coalition of Armenian groups and attorneys are scheduled to hold a town hall meeting tonight to discuss the implications of a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that struck down a California law allowing insurance claim lawsuits related to the Armenian Genocide. The town hall meeting — to be held at St. Mary’s Apostolic Church, 500 S. Central Ave. — comes as Rep. Adam Schiff filed a legal brief Monday with the appellate court in support of a petition for a rehearing of the case.

On the face of it, the Armenian Genocide is about Armenians. But it must serve as a lesson to all mankind, so that the tragic events of the past never become the fate of new generations. The annual Week of Remembrance, starting Sunday, offers a chance to solemnly look back. It is a week devoted to remembering the Armenian Genocide, when the Ottoman-Turkish Empire killed 1.5 million Armenians. For many, it is just history — easy to bury in the days when it happened, more than 90 years ago in a land far away from the neighborhoods of Glendale and Burbank.

DOWNTOWN — In the wake of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s announcement to suspend all efforts to normalize relations with Turkey, hundreds of people gathered at the Alex Theatre to commemorate the first genocide of the 20th century. And while attendees Friday did not bear witness to the start of the mass exterminations, many mourned the losses of aunts and uncles, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. On the eve of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the word “genocide” alone continues to frustrate international relations.

Three candidates vying to fill a vacant seat in the 43rd Assembly District faced off in a bilingual forum Sunday that featured perspectives on the state budget, the economy and the Armenian Genocide. The Assembly hopefuls were non-confrontational while expressing their often starkly different takes on solving state challenges, with one calling for cuts to regulations while another pushed for passing new laws to stimulate growth. “We are the only state that doesn’t tax the oil companies that drill,” Democrat Nayiri Nahabedian, a member of the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education, said in response to a question about how to improve funding for education.

GLENDALE — A judge's ruling on Monday to move forward in a class-action suit against two German banks accused of withholding money and property from victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide brings their descendants a step closer to restitution and recognition of the tragedy, their attorneys said. "It's a watershed moment," said Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, who represents the plaintiffs who are descendants of the victims of the genocide. United States District Judge Margaret M. Morrow's ruling marks the first time a lawsuit against a non-insurance company regarding assets withheld from Armenian Genocide victims' descendants has gotten this far along, Geragos said.

Armenia’s past collided with its future Thursday night on a stage, in a theater, in Glendale. The more than 1,300 people who attended the city’s event at the Alex Theatre commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were confronted with a classic herald to the Eurasian country’s tragic past through operatic overtures, while at the same time challenged to maintain the momentum for international recognition of...

The city?s annual Week of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide kicked off with a blood drive Sunday at St. Mary?s Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian National Committee, Glendale chapter of the Armenian Relief Society, Glendale?s Week of Remembrance Committee and the American Red Cross hosted the blood drive as part of the events scheduled this week in commemoration of victims of the 1915 genocide. ?I think with Week of Remembrance, we have many events that talk about education, but there is no event that gives back to the community like the blood drive,?

GLENDALE — An Armenian flag hung close aside a United States flag behind two lighted candles just past noon Monday as Archbishop Hovnan Derderian of the Armenian Church addressed a crowd gathered on the entryway patio of Glendale Memorial Hospital. Seven hours later, the same flags were raised before more than 800 people in the auditorium of Glendale High School by the members of the Glendale Homenetmen Ararat Chapter at the introduction of the seventh annual Glendale Unified School District Genocide Commemoration.

CITY HALL — The policy moves of the Glendale City Council may not register a blip on the federal government’s radar, but that’s not stopping it from weighing in on the fierce international debate on a pending U.S. House resolution affirming that body’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide. After a key House committee approved the nonbinding, symbolic resolution by a 27-21 margin on Wednesday — despite staunch opposition from President Bush, nine secretaries of state and the Turkish lobby — the council is set to adopt its own symbolic resolution urging representatives to approve the measure when it goes for a final vote on the House floor.