NEW YORK — Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier newspaper, will speak at the 95th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide which will take place on Sunday, April 25, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Times Square.
A seasoned writer whose weekly commentaries appear widely in both Armenian and non-Armenian media, Sassounian also wrote the book The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, Documents and Declarations, 1915-2005, which has been published in English and Arabic.
As president of the United Armenian Fund, the coalition of seven major Armenian-American organizations, Sassounian has managed the acquisition and delivery of $600 million of humanitarian aid to Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh) in the past 20 years. As senior vice president of the Lincy Foundation, Kirk Kerkorian’s charitable organization, he has overseen $240 million of infrastructure projects in Armenia and Artsakh. Sassounian has also served as a human rights delegate at the United Nations for 10 years and played a leading role in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by a UN human rights committee in 1985.
In the private sector, Sassounian has extensive background as an international marketing executive for Procter & Gamble in Geneva, Switzerland.
He has earned a master’s degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and an MBA from Pepperdine University. For his humanitarian work, Sassounian has been decorated by the president and prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches and is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
The 95th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Times Square will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire (1915-1923). Major political figures will speak as well as civic, humanitarian and educational leaders.
This event is sponsored by the Knights & Daughters of Vartan, a national fraternal organization, and co-sponsored by the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian National Committee of America, Armenian Democratic Liberal Party and the Armenian Council of America. Participating organizations include the Diocese of the Armenian Church, Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Evangelical Union, Armenian Catholic Eparchy and several national Armenian youth organizations.
