The committee was arrested by Soviet authorities on 11 December 1988 on charges of obstructing humanitarian aid from Azerbaijan after the December 7 1988 Armenian earthquake, but were released on 31 May 1989, subsequently forming the Pan-Armenian National Movement. In 1990 The New York Times described the committee as "the most influential nationalist group in Armenia."
A committee was seized by Soviet authorities on December 11, 1988, accused of blocking humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan following an earthquake in Armenia on December 7, 1988. However, they were freed on May 31, 1989, and went on to establish the Pan-Armenian National Movement.