The 60th Regional Convention of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western United States was held from June 25 to 28, 2026, at the Pasadena Armenian Center, with the participation of authorized delegations from the region’s 16 chapters and the Armenian Youth Federation, as well as representatives of the ARF Bureau and the ARF Central Committees of the Eastern United States and Canada.
The 60th Regional Convention convened under historically exceptional and fateful circumstances, at a time when our homeland and the Armenian people throughout the Diaspora face fundamental existential threats, and when the regime that has seized state power in the Republic of Armenia, through its destructive policy of unconditional concessions, is openly serving hostile agendas through its anti-Armenian, anti-national, and anti-state actions.
The 60th Regional Convention of the ARF Western United States strongly condemns the manner in which the parliamentary elections of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia were held on June 7, 2026, which represent yet another manifestation of the violation of the Armenian people’s will through stolen and distorted votes.
In order to perpetuate its power at any cost, the anti-national regime of the Civil Contract Party did not hesitate to employ every possible unconstitutional, administrative, and authoritarian mechanism. By continuously terrorizing its own people with the threat of war, unconditionally satisfying all of the enemy’s demands in exchange for an alleged and illusory “peace,” and distorting and denying the fundamental pillars of Armenian national identity, including the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian culture, Armenian history, the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the just pursuit of recognition and redress, the regime succeeded in securing full pre-election and post-election patronage and support from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and certain Western centers in Europe and the United States.
Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts and votes of the patriotic core of the Armenian people, this imposed regime, which has embraced every anti-national concession, has still failed to secure in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia the absolute and qualified majority necessary to carry out the hostile demand for a fundamental revision of the current Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. This regime, which deliberately questions and denies Armenian history, the chronicle of the Armenian liberation struggle, the heroic battles of Artsakh, and the internationally recognized fundamental rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, has, through its anti-Armenian activities, become the greatest internal threat to the existence of the Armenian nation, implementing point by point the hostile strategy aimed at eliminating Armenian statehood and the Armenian people.
The ARF Western United States Region reaffirms its unwavering and principled support for all national and patriotic forces waging an unceasing struggle in the Homeland and throughout the Diaspora against the anti-Armenian regime; for our Artsakh Armenian sisters and brothers displaced from their ancestral homeland; for the political and military leadership of Artsakh held hostage in Baku’s prisons, along with all prisoners of war; and for the political prisoners and persecuted individuals imprisoned by the institutions of the Armenian state.
The 60th Regional Convention held thorough and comprehensive discussions on the urgent issues facing the homeland, the local community, and the Armenian nation as a whole. The Convention noted the rapidly evolving qualitative needs of the growing community, outlined strategic directions for preserving the integrity of Armenian national identity, revitalizing church and community life, increasing the effectiveness of sister organizations, and expanding the political work of the Armenian Cause, while adopting the corresponding strategic decisions.
For the upcoming two-year term, the Regional Convention elected the new Central Committee of the ARF Western United States Region, composed of:
Levon Baronian, Representative
Raffi Sarkissian, Co-chair
Mike Keleshian, Co-chair
Alfrik Bandaryan
Raffi Dadaian
Antranik Jarchafjian
Chris Keosian
Rafi Kuyumjian
Apo Panossian
Hilda Saliba
Hrayr Sherikian
