YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. The resolution introduced by Elected Member of the California Democratic Party Central Committee Elen Asatryan, which calls on the US Congress and the Biden Administration to take actions for the return of Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan, urges to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan and Turkey, will be one of the 13 priorities of the party within the coming year, Elen Asatryan, who is in Armenia these days, said in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

“This is not only a resolution that passed during the convention, but it also became one of the party’s priorities. 159 resolutions were submitted, but only 13 could pass during the convention. It means that the issue of Armenia, Artsakh, the return of captives, imposing sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan will be among the priority issues to be discussed by the party’s all bodies during the year”, she said.

The resolution condemns Turkey and Azerbaijan for their war crimes during the recent war in Artsakh. It also calls on the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the State Teachers’ Retirement System to divest all public employee retirement funds from investment vehicles issued by Turkey and Azerbaijan until Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide, and until the people of Artsakh are afforded the opportunity of self-determination on their indigenous lands.

The California Democratic party is the dominant political party in the state. Representing over 10.3 million democrats, it is also the largest democratic entity in the United States. The resolution has been submitted to the Biden Administration, the State Department and the Congress. Elen Asatryan said the Biden Administration is democratic, and the resolution submitted by the CDP definitely has its share.

“It was not a topic of one day, the lines of this resolution will be discussed during the whole year. It must be discussed at all conventions as one of the priorities”, the author of the resolution said.

This is not the only one pro-Armenian initiative by Elen Asatryan. She has started her activities in the United States at the age of 16 and has come up with a number of initiatives. Elen Asatryan has also served as Director of the Armenian National Committee of Glendale. Thanks to the adoption of the law introduced by her, 15 Armenian policemen received jobs in Glendale. “The law required the police officer to be able to speak in Armenian as there are people in the city who do not speak in English”, she said, adding that now Armenians are not only working in the police system, but also occupy higher positions in the City Hall.

Elen Asatryan has also served as Director of the ANCA Western Region. In 2014, thanks to her efforts, the Armenian Genocide was taught in schools of California in the 10th and 11th grades. “In 2012 we created the Armenian Vote project which aimed to be sure that the Armenian community is participating in the elections. At that time it has been revealed within two years that 50,000 Armenians have participated in the elections for the first time. Thus, you manage to create a political power for your community”, she said.

During the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, Elen Asatryan has also been active by using all her ties in the United States. She came up with an initiative aimed at gathering all organizations and individuals who were active on Armenian issues around a table to collect true information and work together. She highlighted Diaspora’s getting accurate information from Armenia in order to understand the needs.

Elen Asatryan arrived in Armenia on a private visit, but she has already managed to meet with NGOs, as well as different governmental agencies to try to understand the needs in order to voice them in the US.

Talking about the Armenian community, she stated that although the community is broken after the war but is ready to help. Mrs. Asatryan is confident that the cooperation between Armenia and the Diaspora must continue. “The war showed that people, who are professional, no matter in which field, can play a role in Armenia”, Elen Asatryan added.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan