GLENDALE, Calf.—On Aug. 8, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Glendale chapter submitted the below open letter addressed to the CEO of Caruso Affiliated, Rick Caruso demanding that The Americana at Brand take measures to rectify issue surrounding its decision to deny advertisement space for “Architects of Denial,” a film that attempts to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide and other human rights violations.
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Mr. Rick Caruso:
I am following up on a correspondence sent to Caruso Affiliated’s management team on August 4, 2017 regarding the decision to deny advertisement space for “Architects of Denial,” a film that attempts to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide and other human rights violations. To date, we have not received a response to our letter on your proposed course of action to resolve this matter.
As noted in our earlier letter, the Armenian Genocide is a historical fact, which the City of Glendale, the Los Angeles County and the State of California recognize and commemorate every year.
Moreover, The Americana at Brand sits in the heart of Glendale, Calif., where half the population are descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors.
To call the advertisement, the film, and the subject of the Armenian Genocide “too political” is to show utter lack of sensitivity and understanding toward a large segment of the Glendale community.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time The Americana at Brand and its management have displayed insensitivity to the issue of the Armenian Genocide. This pattern of behavior is deeply concerning to us and we expect appropriate measures to be taken to rectify this situation.
It is with the vote of confidence and approval from the Glendale community that Yes on Measure ABC passed with 51% in 2004, granting you $77.1 million of our public funds and free land to construct the project and supplement your investment in our city. To that end, we do not view The Americana at Brand as just another shopping mall, but as a good faith partnership between the city’s diverse constituency and Caruso Affiliated. Currently, The Americana at Brand is not operating under this premise, which shows a lack of corporate citizenship.
The ANCA-Glendale requests an immediate meeting with your leadership team to further discuss this issue. Please contact us by email at margarita@ancaglendale.org or by phone at 818.243.3444. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Artin Manoukian
Chair, The Armenian National Committee of America – Glendale
cc: Senior Vice President David J. Antisdale, Senior Vice President, Community Relations Rick Lemmo, Public Relations and Communications Emily Davis, Senior General Manager Julie Jauregui
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