By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comOver a year ago, a handful of young Armenians formed the American Armenian Rose Float Association and embarked on an ambitious project that many Armenians had contemplated for a long time, but no one had tried. They decided to enter the first Armenian float in 126 years in the world famous Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comHere is a surprising news item being disclosed for the first time in this column -- Amal Ramzi Alamuddin, wife of prominent actor and human rights activist George Clooney, will be one of the attorneys representing Armenia next month at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comI delve this week into a thorny subject that has distressed much of the Armenian world: The uproar generated by the highly critical and harshly-worded letter posted on the internet by the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian addressed to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comLast week, a Turkish Parliamentarian submitted a proposal to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, seeking condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, a series of atrocities, and other acts of state terrorism.

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comIn recent years, a growing number of Turkish intellectuals, scholars, journalists and human rights activists have taken bold positions on the Armenian Genocide, in opposition to their government’s denials. Although their number is small and their influence on Pres. Erdogan negligible, the fight for truth and justice has to be carried on two fronts: within and outside Turkey. Hopefully, over time, the ranks of such liberal ...

By Harut Sassounianwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comNearly all congressional candidates nationwide who supported Armenian -American issues were victorious during the November 4 elections. The outcome was similarly positive for other candidates running in state and local races. Consequently, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) announced that over 95% of its endorsed candidates had been successful.

By Harut Sassounianwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comArmenians boosted their historical ties with the Arab and Muslim world last month with the simultaneous visits of Armenia’s President and Jerusalem’s Armenian Patriarch to the Kingdom of Jordan, and visits by the Armenian Prime Minister and Aram Catholicos of Lebanon to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Harut Sassounianwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comI just learned that the Turkish government has quietly corrected the signpost near the historic Holy Cross Church (Sourp Khach) on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, by indicating its “Armenian” origin.

By Harut Sassounianwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comThe Turkish government got a big slap in the face last week when the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to turn down its application for a Security Council seat. In effect, the international community was rejecting Turkey’s hostile policies both at home and abroad.

Rather than Decry its Ties with RussiaBy Harut Sassounian www.TheCaliforniaCourier.comOn October 10, after lengthy heated debates, Armenia signed a treaty to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), composed of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. The agreement goes into effect on January 1, 2015, subject to ratification by parliaments of the four countries. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have also expressed an interest in joining the Union.