Highlights: Artsakh's Armenian Past, Present and Future

International experts join Professor Frank V. Zerunyan of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy discuss the past, present and future of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Featuring:

Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles

John Evans, Former United States Ambassador to Armenia

Frank V. Zerunyan, Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Ambassador Armen Baibourtian holds the position of Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles since September 2018. This is his second tour of duty in California. He proudly holds the title of the first Armenian Consul General in Los Angeles. He has the top diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Dr. Armen Baibourtian is a career diplomat and scholar. He was Professor of Political Science at University of Massachusetts Amherst for 5 years from 2014-2018. He worked earlier at the United Nations in capacity of Senior Adviser to the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia. He became the first in Armenia to hold the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair of European Union Studies when teaching at the Center for European Studies at Yerevan State University. Ambassador Baibourtian served twice as the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister from 1997-2000 and then again from 2004-2008, simultaneously being the Chief Negotiator with the European Union. Along with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, he co-chaired the U.S.-Armenia Security Dialogue. From 2006-2008, he co-chaired Armenia’s bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation with China and India. Dr. Baibourtian became the first Ambassador of Armenia in India and, concurrently, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Ambassador Baibourtian had frequent diplomatic assignments in Singapore, Thailand and Australia. He was also the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York dealing with international peace and security issues at the UN Headquarters. Dr. Baibourtian holds two Ph.D.s - in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Modern World History from Yerevan State University. He has also received graduate certification from Harvard University and MIT.

John Evans, a native of Virginia, spent more than three decades in the U.S. diplomatic service, ending up as Ambassador to Armenia from 2004-2006. He was recalled from his post after publicly confirming that a genocide of the Armenians had taken place in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. He is the author of Truth Held Hostage: America and the Armenian Genocide -- What Then? What Now? (2016). He tweets @EvansinAmerica.

Frank V. Zerunyan is a Professor of the Practice of Governance, Director of Executive Education and Director of the ROTC Programs at USC Price. His key areas of expertise include local governments, public-private partnerships, civic and ethical leadership, regulation, negotiation and executive education. He teaches graduate courses on intersectoral leadership, business and public policy, international issues in public policy, negotiation and place institutions and governance. Frank is a three term Mayor and still serving Council member in the City of Rolling Hills Estates, California. Frank’s public service on various local government policy committees extends statewide with the California League of Cities, California Contract Cities Association and Southern California Association of Governments. In 2008, Frank was elected and assumed a leadership role as the 52nd President of California Contracts Cities Association, the second largest municipal organization in the state of California. As a gubernatorial appointee under Governor Schwarzenegger, Frank was a state regulator serving on the Medical Board of California in the Department of Consumer Affairs. He was elected by the Board to serve as its Vice President. In January of 2013, Frank was appointed to an ad hoc experts committee on capacity building in public administration at the United Nations Division for Public Administration and Development Management in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In that capacity, he lectures and conducts capacity building seminars at UN headquarters in New York as well as at UN Forums around the world. Frank has more than 30 years of comprehensive and multi-sectorial experience as a lawyer, judge pro tem, author, consultant, director, board member, professor and public servant. Frank earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Western State University College of Law and his B.A. from California State University Long Beach. He also completed his advanced legal studies in Corporate Taxation at the University of Southern California Law Center.

[wolflarsen]

It is often difficult to study intricate details of history especially when studying a region so far from your home. That said the complete disregard to historical facts in this shameful piece of propaganda makes it really easy to identify logical fallacies, inaccuracies as well as blatant lies. As an example, completely biased panel of speakers, the convenient avoidance of referencing historical facts such as “Turkmenchay Agreement”, the state of occupied territories showing Armenia’s lack of interest for developing their so-called ancient motherland, no mentioning of Khojaly Genocide and many others. In the digital age anyone interested in truth can dig up and verify the basic facts. Do you realize that no one is buying this bs anymore?!

Apart from the “heartfelt statements of unity”, Armenia got “0” support from the international community in the second Karabakh war. Is that because Armenia has no allies? Or perhaps that’s because Armenia doesn’t have a strong diaspora which can advance its agenda abroad? It’s because, not only according to the international law Armenia’s occupation of the Karabakh is illegal, Armenia is also morally wrong. Hence even Armenia’s allies, such as France, are not willing to go beyond empty rhetorics and show their support in action. Suck it..