Special Issue: 90 — Informing, Connecting, Inspiring
The Armenian Weekly, October 2024
On March 1, 1934, the editors of the newly launched Hairenik Weekly articulated a bold vision. Since 1899, its parent organizations, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and Hairenik Association, through publications including the Armenian language Hairenik Daily and Hairenik Monthly, had served as the “organic link between the Armenians of the Homeland and those who were forced by political or economic reasons to emigrate to the United States.” For 35 years, the longest-running Armenian American publication of the time encouraged readers and supporters to “keep the love for Armenia alive in their hearts and concentrate their thoughts and efforts upon the liberation of Armenia and the Armenians suffering for six centuries under the unspeakable rule of the Turks.”
With the emergence of a new generation of English-speaking Armenian youth, many heeding the call to action by General Karekin Njdeh and entering the ranks of the ARF Tzeghagrons (now the Armenian Youth Federation/AYF), this new publication’s mission was clear: to “encourage their active participation in Armenian as well as American public life,” and “enlist their services for the cause of Armenia without trespassing their loyalty to the great Republic under whose colors they were born.”
And so began 90 years of the Hairenik Weekly, now Armenian Weekly, community reporting — a herald for pro-Armenian advocacy on the international and U.S. stage — educating, motivating and activating its readership to hold an unrepentant Republic of Turkey accountable for the Armenian Genocide and to work toward the re-establishment and development of a free Armenian homeland.
In 2024, in the wake of Azerbaijan’s genocide and occupation of Artsakh and escalating aggression against Armenia, the Armenian Weekly’s role — and the broader role of the Hairenik Association and Armenian media worldwide — is more vital than ever to counter the Turkey/Azerbaijan multi-million dollar disinformation campaigns and serve as the voice of the Armenian nation, too often drowned out in mainstream U.S. and Armenian media.
Establishing a voice: 1930s-early 1940s
In its early days, the Hairenik Weekly served as a window into post-Genocide Armenian community organizing. It provided a platform for discussing issues pertinent to Armenians, both in the diaspora and the homeland, working to foster a collective identity and shared purpose, which were essential for a community still reeling from past crimes as the world was careening towards World War II.
From the onset, there was a special focus on the establishment and expansion of the ARF Tzeghagrons, determined to connect Armenian youth to their history and culture, as the Armenian American community was striving to find its voice in the United States. English translations of articles and essays spotlighting Armenian history of centuries past and articles by Armen Garo, the first Republic of Armenia ambassador to the U.S., on the First Armenian Republic were a staple in the newspaper, offering a necessary foundation for future pro-Armenian advocacy.
As the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the Hairenik Weekly would also become the chronicle of Armenian American heroism in the European and Pacific theaters and share in family sorrow over the loss of its young soldiers in service to the U.S. AYF-led war bonds campaign purchase of a Mitchell B-25 and a Flying Fortress.
Post-war advocacy and community mobilization: 1945-1965
With the issuance of the Atlantic Charter in August 1941 and visions of a post-World War II world order based on the principles of peace, security, self-determination and economic cooperation, the ARF worked to bring together a unified Armenian effort to secure justice for the crimes perpetrated by Turkey against the Armenian nation during the first World War. In a seminal series of five editorials, first published in the Hairenik Daily (Dec. 21–28, 1943) and reprinted in translation in the Hairenik Weekly (Dec. 26, 1943–Jan. 26, 1944), the ARF issued a wake-up call to the Armenian nation to refocus U.S. and international advocacy on “our forgotten cause,” arguing that “it is up to the Armenians to press their case in the coming peace conference.”
In January 1944, the Hairenik Weekly announced the ARF Central Committee’s establishment of the “Fund for the Defense of the Armenian Cause” and chronicled its nationwide grassroots support. From April 4, 1944, to May 10, 1944, the Hairenik Weekly would continue to make the case in a series of six editorials titled “The Armenian Cause and our Stand,” urging a divided community to use the historic opportunities offered by the peace process and future establishment of the United Nations to pursue justice for Turkey’s crimes against the Armenians, just as the world was demanding Germany be held accountable for the Holocaust.
In June of 1945, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) — continuing a legacy of ARF-aligned advocacy dating back to the 1890s — submitted “A Memorandum Relating to the Armenian Question” for consideration by participants at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, held in San Francisco, California. In the Hairenik Weekly coverage, editors reported that “widespread approval among the delegates for the move toward a settlement of the long-standing Armenian-Turkish controversy was reported immediately afterward.”
Following the United Nations’ adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide in 1948, Hairenik Weekly editors James G. Mandalian and Reuben Darbinian and correspondent Levon Keshishian played a significant role in supporting Dr. Raphael Lemkin’s efforts to secure its ratification by the U.S. and countries around the world. Dr. Khatchig Mouradian’s research revealed that they used their platform to raise awareness, mobilized Armenian American letter-writing campaigns to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advocate for its ratification and facilitated connections between Lemkin and key political figures on the world stage in support of the Genocide Convention. In January 1959, in an exclusive article in the Hairenik Weekly, penned just months before his passing, Dr. Lemkin wrote, “The sufferings of the Armenian men, women and children thrown into the Euphrates River or massacred on the way to Der-el-Zor have prepared the way for the adoption for the Genocide Convention by the United Nations and have morally compelled Turkey to ratify it.”
Political activism, increased advocacy and youth empowerment: 1965-the 1980s
The 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was a watershed moment in Armenian advocacy efforts to secure U.S. and international recognition of that crime, and the Hairenik Weekly issued the ARF Central Committee’s call for unified action with a front page Jan, 7, 1965 declaration. “There is only ONE Armenian people, in its mourning and in its triumph, ONE in its FATHERLAND, and ONE in the ARMENIAN CAUSE. In its reliving of 1965, they must be ONE.”
Within months, the newspaper’s pages included original articles and reprints from local newspapers spotlighting nationwide grassroots action by Armenian National Committees (ANCs) working in conjunction with local community efforts. Over the next half-century, the newspaper would become the living repository of U.S. state-level recognition of the crime, documenting the full texts of state and local proclamations and resolutions from across the U.S. — inspiring even greater local efforts. In the age before C-SPAN and digital access to the congressional record, the Hairenik Weekly/Armenian Weekly’s coverage made statements by U.S. Senate and House leaders and congressional action accessible to a community striving for justice. From the passage of the first Armenian Genocide resolution in the U.S. House in 1975 to the long line of subsequent legislation leading to the 2019 U.S. Senate unanimous, U.S. House near-unanimous reaffirmation of the crime, and presidential affirmation by President Reagan (1981) and President Biden (2021), the Hairenik Weekly/Armenian Weekly has offered in-depth analysis of every step of the journey — from setbacks to triumphs.
At the same time, the Hairenik Weekly/Armenian Weekly’s pages served as the chronicle for federal, state and local celebrations of the successes of America’s “Little Ally” — the first independent Armenian republic — spotlighting milestones, including the 1968 50th anniversary congressional commemorations and decades of community advocacy efforts, leading to the re-establishment of Armenian independence in 1991.
In 1970, as the world marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres, the newly-renamed Armenian Weekly offered a 10-part in-depth series of editorials as part of an international call for renewed Armenian advocacy to secure the implementation of the treaty that recognized and guaranteed the independence of Armenia. “It is a task of immeasurable importance to the prosecution of the Armenian Case, which remains unfulfilled precisely because the provisions of Sèvres were never placed into operation through events the signatory powers could well have controlled, but did not, for all Armenians to be more than passingly acquainted with the Sèvres document,” stated the first editorial on the topic, published on Aug. 13, 1970.
In the 1970s and 1980s, parallel to expanding Armenian American political advocacy, the Armenian Weekly was a window into the growing community-wide protest movement — under the auspices of the “Action Committee on Armenian Rights,” with the support of the ARF and AYF — demanding Turkey be brought to justice for the Armenian Genocide, offering broad coverage of the earliest protests held in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Ottawa in 1971, and with expansive annual coverage of protest actions to this day.
Heralding the Artsakh movement and Armenia and Artsakh independence
With the earliest February 1988 protests heralding the start of the Artsakh freedom movement, the Armenian Weekly’s reporting inspired the Armenian American community to action, educating readers about the history of Artsakh, rallying support for the Armenian nation’s call for its reunification with Soviet Armenia and urging broad-based community action — from protests to advocacy — in support of the people of Artsakh and Armenia. “The reunification of Kharabagh with Soviet Armenia is an issue which all Armenians, wherever they may live and whatever political persuasion they may follow, are in total agreement. […] It is precisely because Kharabagh addresses the very essence of our national existence that we urge and encourage all Armenians to participate in any and all activities which are being organized to support our national demands,” stated a March 12, 1988 editorial, which was accompanied by a special supplement offering a primer on Artsakh history.
The Armenian Weekly’s extensive coverage of the Artsakh war — its victories and setbacks — laid the groundwork for the ANCA’s pro-Artsakh advocacy efforts from congressional letters expressing U.S. support for Artsakh freedom to the 1992 passage of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, restricting U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until it lifted its blockades and stopped its aggression against the newly-independent republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
Its coverage of the 1988 Spitak earthquake bolstered ANCA and Armenian community advocacy efforts to secure unprecedented U.S. government and non-governmental organization assistance in the form of financial aid, medical supplies and rescue teams to assist survivors in the Soviet Armenian republic.
Following Armenia and Artsakh’s independence in 1991, the Armenian Weekly provided extensive coverage of the countries’ challenges and progress — providing a foundation for the ANCA’s pro-Armenian advocacy. Its consistent coverage of the ANCA’s national, regional and local efforts spurred the expansion of the ANCA’s network of chapters and advocates across the U.S. — strengthening the ANCA’s presence in established communities and sparking expanded activism in smaller communities.
Until the prevalence of email and digital advocacy, the Armenian Weekly “From the A.N.C. Desk” column served as the original ANCA action alert system, announcing ANCA letter writing and telegram campaigns to the White House and Congress to expand U.S. aid to Armenia and Artsakh, strengthen U.S.-Armenia economic and political ties and bolster support for Artsakh self-determination and freedom. The column was copied by local ANC chapter members and advocates and shared at Armenian church and community gatherings to enlist broad-based community assistance.
21st century modern advocacy and digital expansion
Embracing the digital age, the Armenian Weekly’s online presence has expanded its reach to a wider audience and enhanced its impact on pro-Armenian advocacy, serving as the paper of record for the ANCA’s and broader Armenian community’s pro-Armenia/Artsakh political initiatives. Its prominent position in online news search capability makes it an important resource for elected officials and, in many cases, serves as a foundation for broader mainstream news coverage. Members of Congress regularly rely on and share the Armenian Weekly articles spotlighting progress in U.S. policy on Armenia and Artsakh.
Its importance in community education and empowerment has been felt most during times of national crisis. During Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenia in the 2016 Four-Day War and subsequent 2020 Turkey/Azerbaijan onslaught against Artsakh and Armenia and Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh in 2023 — more than sharing the news, the Armenian Weekly worked closely with the Armenian Cultural Association, ANCA, the Armenian Relief Society and a broad range of community organizations to serve as an action platform for pro-Armenian advocacy and humanitarian aid.
The catalyst for Armenian American youth civic engagement
Throughout its 90 years of community reporting, the Armenian Weekly has served as a safe space for youth exploration of Armenian history and culture and avenues for civic engagement and advocacy.
In addition to serving as the paper of record of the Armenian Youth Federation since the inception of the organization, it has spotlighted the ANCA’s broad range of internship and career development programs since the launch of the Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship Program in 1986. Over the nearly 40 years, hundreds have gone through that program and the subsequent ANCA youth initiatives it has inspired, including the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program serving recent graduates, ANCA Rising Leaders Program and Lucine Kouchakdjian Capitol Hill Days geared toward university students and the Haroutioun and Elizabeth Kasparian Summer Academy serving high school students.
In each case, the Armenian Weekly coverage has made these life-changing programs available to new generations of Armenian youth — with 21st-century methodology and tools — but always staying true to its founding mission to “encourage their active participation in Armenian as well as American public life,” and “enlist their services for the cause of Armenia without trespassing their loyalty to the great Republic under whose colors they were born.”
Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
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