2215 replies to this topic

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com

 

Denver Genocide Memorial Part of Mass Vandalism at Colorado State Capitol

May 30, 2020

 

Colorado State Capitol Khachkar memorial to the Armenian Genocide was vandalized during protests in Devnver

Armenians of Colorado “devastated.” Said “If necessary, we will rebuild our sacred monument again and again, while defending human rights and equality for all.”

The Colorado State Capitol in Denver was vandalized during protests that are gripping the nation over the death of George Floyd. The Armenian Genocide Khatchkar memorial, which is at the State Capitol was also not spared.

In as statement issued Saturday, the Board of Directors of Armenians of Colorado condemned “the ongoing injustices against our African American community and we join them in calling for justice for George Floyd.” The organization, however, was puzzled that a monument honoring victims of injustice was vandalized.

“Protest leaders have repeatedly denounced violence and vandalism. We do not hold the peaceful protesters responsible for the behavior of violent individuals,” said the Armenian of Colorado statement.

“As Armenian Americans, a community that has survived genocide and centuries of oppression, we recognize and condemn the ongoing injustices against our African American community and we join them in calling for justice for George Floyd,” added the statement.

“Since the Khachkar commemorates the victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery and state-sponsored racism, it is ironic that individuals who claim to seek justice have vandalized the very monument that honors the victims of injustice,” said the statement.

“Any vandalism against the Capitol khachkar is particularly painful given that it is a replica of one of the 3,000 medieval cross-stones of the legendary Djulfa cemetery destroyed by Azerbaijan’s government in 2005 as part of their plan of erasing the Armenian history in Nakhichevan,” said the Armenians of Colorado Board.

“We will continue to monitor the ongoing protests and consider short-term and long-term solutions for the protection of the Colorado State Capitol memorial to the victims of all crimes against humanity. If necessary, we will rebuild our sacred monument again and again, while defending human rights and equality for all,” said the Armenians of Colorado Board of Directors.

 

 

http://asbarez.com/1...xUSh45lXy8kEc5g

 

[Yervant1]

Washington Post

July 7 2020

 

 

The Trump White House finally — if unintentionally — invokes the Armenian genocide

 

By  Aaron Blake

July 7, 2020 at 5:41 p.m. GMT+3

 

President Trump’s close ally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may not be happy about this one.

 

After decades of the United States government declining to acknowledge the Armenian genocide because it would alienate Turkey, the White House on Monday invoked the term — albeit indirectly.

 

In the course of decrying protesters desecrating memorials across the country, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany referred to a memorial to the genocide by its proper name.

 

“There seems to be a lack of understanding and historical knowledge when the Armenian Genocide Memorial, remembering victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery, is vandalized,” McEnany said.

 

McEnany appeared to be referring to the Armenian Genocide Memorial outside the Colorado state Capitol in Denver, which was vandalized several weeks ago.

 

The inclusion by McEnany was meant to reinforce the haphazard nature of the protesters’ alleged disregard for history. But it also trod into uneasy waters for an administration that, like its predecessors, has conspicuously avoided using the g-word.

 

The United States has long declined to acknowledge the Armenian genocide, owing in large part to its strategic alliance with Turkey in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire is accused of slaughtering more than 1 million Armenians during World War I.

 

As a candidate, Barack Obama pledged to recognize the genocide for what it was, but his administration never made good on that promise over his eight years.

 

Likewise, Trump’s administration has shunned a more forceful congressional attempt to press the issue. After both chambers of Congress last year passed resolutions — each overwhelmingly — to symbolically recognize the genocide, Trump’s State Department maintained that the resolutions didn’t reflect U.S. policy.

 

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) later said that he momentarily blocked a vote on the measure in the Senate at the express request of the White House, given that Erdogan happened to be visiting at the time.

 

“The only reason I did it is because he [Erdogan] was still in town,” Graham said, adding: “That would’ve been poor timing. I’m trying to salvage the relationship, if possible.”

 

The recognition of the genocide is indeed politically dicey. The White House will surely argue that McEnany was simply referring to a memorial by its actual name, but even using that name has been a no-go for many years inside the White House. Some Obama aides have expressed regret for not making a more principled stand on the issue. “I’m sorry,” Obama’s former United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, said in 2018. “I’m sorry that we disappointed so many Armenian Americans.”

 

What’s more, groups that have been pushing for the recognition hailed McEnany’s comments Monday.

 

“We appreciate that the [Trump] administration has taken note that the Armenian Genocide memorial in Denver was vandalized and of the need for a better understanding of historical knowledge,” Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said in a statement to The Fix on Monday. “This monument, dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, ‘commemorates the victims of all crimes against humanity.’ ”

 

The Trump White House has addressed “atrocities” against Armenians, saying on Armenian Remembrance Day this year, “Today, we join the global community in memorializing the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern” — an Armenian phrase recent U.S. administrations have adopted meaning “great calamity” — “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.” That statement, including the use of the Armenian phrase, echoed how the Obama administration handled it. But both studiously avoided saying “genocide.”

 

The use of the actual word by McEnany is particularly striking from the Trump administration, though, given that Trump has carved out an especially close relationship with Erdogan. Among other things, Trump withdrew troops from northern Syria, which detractors, including many Republicans, argued allowed Erdogan to slaughter the U.S.-allied Kurds in the region. Former White House national security adviser John Bolton also said in his recent book that Trump told Erdogan he would intervene in a Justice Department case involving a Turkish firm — apparently Halkbank.

 

Given Trump’s posture, it would seem odd that McEnany would refer in any terms to the Armenian genocide, even if just using the proper name for something.

 

Update: The Turks are indeed pushing back, while allowing that perhaps McEnany just misspoke.

 

“We believe that the statement by the press secretary was an unfortunate slip of the tongue,” the Turkish Embassy in Washington told Business Insider’s John Haltiwanger. “In any case, these expressions cannot be accepted.”

 

 

 https://www.washingt...4G6HNkdQQOhSPWQ

[MosJan]

It’s official. Colorado now requires Armenian Genocide and Holocaust education as a condition for High School graduation

[MosJan]

ANCA Western Region
3 hrs  · Shared with Public
Introduced in early March, HB20-1336 was initially among majority of bills that were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, in part because ANC-WR, Armenians of Colorado, Jewish Colorado, and ADL committed to privately funding the administrative implementation of the law by making donations to the Department of Education, the bill was passed unanimously by both chambers of the state legislature.
Read the full press release here: https://bit.ly/3e9q2eg

 

 

[Yervant1]

 Turkish Scholars Acknowledge

            The Armenian Genocide on TV Program

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

I just found a video in which two Turkish scholars are advocating the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Republic of Turkey. The
discussion took place in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. The conversation between Erdogan Aydin and Aydin Chubukchu
is in Turkish with English subtitles on the video. The name of the one
hour and 37 minute-long program is Tower of Babel. The title of the
program is “Facing the Genocide.”

The unnamed Turkish moderator started the program with the following
questions: “What really happened in 1915; what people lived through?
was it a genocide? was it a deportation?”

Here are excerpts from that discussion:

Erdogan Aydin: “Let’s remember that the deportation in 1915, when one
focuses on the details, means the same thing as the genocide of 1948….
If the deportation is not carried out by the consent of the people who
are exiled for their own security -- by the way, deportations are not
carried out for this [reason]. It is done to enlarge sovereignty of
states, punish society, settle others if the land is productive. So,
if it is done against the will of the people, if all of them,
including women, children, and the elderly are sent away, then this is
a Crime Against Humanity.”

Moderator: “Davutoglu (former Prime Minister of Turkey) says so. He
says, he repeats everywhere that deportation is a Crime Against
Humanity. He accepts it as such.”

Aydin Chubukchu: “…But when we examine the articles of the 1948
Genocide Convention, we see that they in fact define this practice….”

Erdogan Aydin: “The documents that historians examine are not so
important. What is important is the way of interpretation of those
documents and how a final report would be penned and to serve which
policy. The historian is not someone like a physician in a laboratory.
History is not definite or closed to interpretation. It cannot be
explained by strict cause and effect relations. All those who have
studied the documents and made claims until today are already
historians. Ultimately, those who will settle the question under the
light of facts that historians present are the politicians. Of course,
it is political. When it comes to politics, what historians say is not
so important. Documents, statistics, laws showing the state practice
on the abandoned properties have already showed that the Armenian
people have reached the zero point as they had consisted of a large
population in this country. Where did this people go? Where did this
pedigree go to? The question is so simple. If they were not massacred
then what happened to them? They did not vaporize, did they? As very
well-known facts show, war and the Russian invasion in the region of
Van, Bitlis, etc., until Erzincan were a pretext to exile Armenians
from those lands. How? By being deported. Yes, villages were emptied.
People, including children on foot, bare and hungry, were forced to
walk to Syria. They were deported from Erzurum, Kars, Erzincan and Van
to Syria under the transportation conditions of the time. They could
not reach [Syria] because, according to the plan, unarmed miserable,
naked, hungry civilians, women with their babies, as we see in the
photos behind us, were also attacked by gangs along the way. They were
robbed on the way, held as captives, massacred. Eventually, only one
fourth of the Armenians who were deported from Turkey reached Syria.
Three fourths died on the way. Ottoman documents also accept these
deaths due to epidemics or assaults, [but] they say they had nothing
to do with it. Historical documents are clear. The critical point is
how the state politically will handle and what it will infer from
them. Historians have already done what they should do. Telegram sent
from someone to someone – thousands of documents like this. Thousands
of documents are exposed. No secret document remains. If there is any
secret document, it is a part of the documents transferred from the
Ottoman Empire to Turkey. The documents that prove the genocide by
saying ‘massacre them on the roads while deporting’ are being hidden
of course. We can never see them. As [Turkish journalist] Veysi
Sansozen said yesterday, we demand the evidence of the murder from the
murderer. Does he give? No, he does not. It will never show up.
Documents that Armenians have are rather based on testimonies and
reports prepared by clergy, foreign diplomats, and journalists. Most
of them obviously reflect the entire tragedy. There are photos and
films shot at that time despite very limited opportunities. The
annihilation of the Armenian people is doubtless. They were
annihilated. This is the point.”

Aydin Chubukchu: “Let me add this. This was not done by historians,
but by politicians. Cleaning it is also their job. Secondly, as my
brother Aydin mentioned, the perpetrators of these kinds of jobs
usually delete the documents, use expressions that are not possible to
decipher. So, when a felon oppresses, he tries to fabricate a cover
for it. In fact, the most important document is the actual and
physical eradication of a people from their historical land.”

Erdogan Aydin: “After 100 years have passed from the event, the 100th
anniversary of the genocide should be a turning point. This is how
world public opinion looks at it. Why couldn’t this question be solved
for 100 years? This is a problem. On the other hand, considering
Turkey’s foreign policy and its relations with the West and the US, we
can talk about cornering Turkey. Undoubtedly, this issue is now a
political card. It also has that aspect. But this does not change the
fact that Armenians were annihilated. When one says that the French,
Germans, the Pope want this [recognition], our domestic public opinion
perceives it as if all Christians of the world, all ‘giavours’
[infidels] have united and attacked us. It is obvious that as long as
this crime sticks on them, all Turkish governments and the state will
have trouble. That part interests the state, but the same thing is
also a shame for us and a shame for the Turkish people. We want to get
rid of this. Whoever wants this. But we want it. We are all today
guilty and responsible for the ignominious murder against the Armenian
people. We should feel this. So we want to get rid of this.
Undoubtedly, there is another aspect. Facing the genocide is an
important chapter of our struggle for democracy. If we defend the
ideals of fraternity of peoples and peaceful cohabitation, we should
perform our duties retrospectively too. Additionally, the Armenian
Question is a topic that continuously nurtures fascism and bigotry.
Animosity against Armenians is an essential part of fascist
propaganda. Therefore, in the struggle for democracy, this question
should be settled; genocide should be recognized to break and bury the
arms of fascism, bigotry and chauvinism.”

(Part II, to be continued in the next issue.)

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com

 

Amazon Halts Sale of Armenian Genocide Denial Book

July 14,  2020

 

Amazon removed “Armenian Genocide, A Big Lie” for denying Genocide

BY SHUNT JARCHAFJIAN

In recent weeks we have seen and heard much about the need to address the historical vestiges of tyranny. For some it might mean taking down statues of confederate leaders, the renaming of sports franchises, or the rebranding of Aunt Jemima pancake syrup. I for one decided to view this issue from the perspective of an Armenian. It meant addressing the misinformation campaigns run by the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Armenian Genocide denial comes in many forms. From chartered planes flying banners with denialist statements over our yearly protest at the Turkish Embassy to junk websites spewing the denialist rhetoric of the republic of turkey. One of the most dangerous forms of genocide denial is when we see it surface in academia.

Every year the government of Turkey spends millions of dollars on a failed campaign to deny the Armenian genocide. The dollars are funneled through think tanks, lobbyists, marketing groups, and institutions that fund academics. Its no secret that Turkey spent millions to fund “the Institute of Turkish Studies” to act as an academic front for the Turkish state.

Funding academia to rewrite and revise history is a sad attempt to hide the Republic of Turkey’s own culpability. Funding Turkish studies chairs at American universities and issuing grants to “historians” serves one purpose only, to buy history. There are certain “academics” who have earned a name for themselves by catering to the Turkish state’s denialist agenda by publishing “history” books that aim to undermine genocide recognition efforts and promote hate.

Interestingly enough, this problem is not one unique to Armenians. I recently read an article in the Jewish Chronicle about how Jewish interest groups pressured Amazon to remove literature that denied the holocaust.

The books referenced in the article were removed, but Amazon did not make an official statement acknowledging the removal.

I was curious to see if literature denying the Armenian Genocide was being sold on Amazon.  Usually such books have vague and misleading titles such as “Armenian history and the question of genocide,” or “The story behind Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story.” I didn’t need to search much until I stumbled upon the most blatant of all genocide denial books, “Armenian Genocide, A Big Lie” by Dr. A.N. Cora.

Here it was, fictitious denialist propaganda, being sold by the world’s largest bookseller, right alongside books written by reputable historians. It should be a crime to cut a tree to print this garbage.

Searching for literature on the topic of the Armenian Genocide such not yield fiction published by genocide deniers.

On June 12th I sent an email to Jeff Bezos that read in part:

”When searching for literature on the Armenian Genocide, Amazon.com search results yield many books authored by Genocide denialists and historical revisionist who wish to peddle hate-inspiring propaganda. Every day that this literature is available and promoted by Amazon.com is another day that Amazon is profiting from the trade in titles promoting Genocide denial and Anti-Armenian conspiracies and myths.

The Armenian Genocide is thoroughly researched and well-documented. Denying it is simply offensive and serves to kindle hate and anti-Armenian sentiments.

Amazon has policies to address offensive material and products that promote, incite, or glorify hate or violence towards any person or group.

Many authors of hate literature use misleading and deceptive titles, intentionally making it harder to separate from honest scholarly works. Those who wish to inflict pain on the survivors of genocide do not want to see any road blocks to the dissemination of hate literature.

I hope Amazon holds true to its stated principles and makes the appropriate changes necessary to address this issue. Now more than ever we must come together and better understand each other as human beings, and there is no substitute for having a foundation of knowledge based on Truth”

I soon received the following reply from someone on the Tech Support Executive Customer Relations team: “Jeff Bezos received your email and I’m responding on his behalf.”

About a week later the title was no longer listed on Amazon.

Unlike the article In the Jewish Chronicle, where Amazon did not acknowledge that it had removed the title, Amazon wrote back on June 30th stating:

“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and your patience while we further reviewed this title.

The book you mentioned, “The Armenian Genocide, A Big Lie” by Dr. A.N. Cora, has been removed from our website.

If there are any other specific titles you would like us to review, please reply to this email.

Thanks for choosing Amazon.”

I would like to praise Amazon in taking quick action to address the issue. I hope that they will take similar action on other titles that I have recommended for review.

I call on my compatriots to join in the fight for truth and justice. Our cause is not one championed by others. The Armenian Cause needs a new generation of guardians. We must strengthen the progress made by past generations and ensure that we do not lose ground in our fight against crimes against humanity. One person and a few emails can make a difference. There are many other fronts to this battle, from combating the destruction of our cemeteries and khachkars in Nakhichevan, to ensuring that consumers make informed decisions when confronted by Turkish products. The purchase of these products serves to enrich the Republic of Turkey and enable it to prolong its occupation of Western Armenia and its centuries long destruction of our cultural heritage. Lamenting about injustice is just as simple as taking action, so instead of just complaining, take action next time your confronted by something on the internet or in your local grocery store.

 

 

http://asbarez.com/1...wpdy2NXzwR3VoaU

[Yervant1]

Turkish Intellectuals Acknowledge

            The Armenian Genocide on TV Program

             (Part II)

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com



Last week, I transcribed the first portion of a lengthy video in which
two Turkish Intellectuals are advocating the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by the Republic of Turkey. The discussion took place
in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The
conversation between Erdogan Aydin and Aydin Chubukchu is in Turkish
with English subtitles on the video. The name of the one hour and 37
minute-long program is Tower of Babel. The title of the program is
“Facing the Genocide.” The Turkish discussion was translated and
subtitled in English by Ohannes Kilicdagi, Ph.D.

Aydin Chubukchu: “Of course it [the Genocide] did not start in 1915.
First of all, the Ottomans had an unjust order on the basis of nations
and faiths. There was a dominating nation and several others that were
dominated. The dominating nation [millet], which denoted religious
groups at older times rather than ethnicities, was the Muslims. So,
the dominating nation was Sunni Muslims. All the rest, Armenian and
Greek, in the first place, were the dominated nations. This is the
language of the state. It is not something that we make up today to
defame the Ottomans. This is the description used by the official
literature of the time. Moreover, there was a distinct term used only
for Armenians, loyal nation (milleti sadika). So, Armenians, who had a
privilege among other dominated nations, stood very loyal to the
sovereign system. They were unarmed, providing all services for the
state, etc. They had such fame. In fact, this is an unpleasant
situation for a nation. No nation should be loyal; subservient to or
dominant over another one. For us justice should be founded on
equality be it yesterday or today. Equal citizenship, equal nations,
fraternity of people…. There was a different standard; Ottoman
standard. States like the Ottomans have such characteristics. They
invade the land of others when they are strong. When invaded people
awakened and the Ottoman state got weaker, they started to demand
independence. Indeed, every Turk in Turkey should appreciate this.
Turkey was founded by a struggle for independence. So demanding
independence is a legitimate right for every nation: Greek, Bulgarian,
Arab and Armenian…. These were wars of independence for sovereignty….”

Moderator: “Let us follow this line: the 1853-56 Crimean War, the 1839
Tanzimat Edict, the 1856 Reform Edict, the 1876 Constitution—the
zenith of reform. Where were the Armenians at those dates?”

Aydin Chubukchu: “Those dates made it impossible for Ottomans to
retain the old order based on the dominant-subservient nations. They
had to issue Tanzimat and Reform edicts to be able to take credits
from abroad. This is the critical point: after these edicts they would
not call giavours [infidels] giavour. Giavour and Muslim would be
tried in the same court. Sure, giavour is a bad word, we should not
use it, but they called them so and this is the language that the
ordinary man understands. Properties of those called giavours would
not be confiscated. Accordingly, a relaxation came. But, this
relaxation, instead of bringing peace to Armenians, unfortunately,
exacerbated the tension. Why? Because the local power holders of the
old, the dominant nation, started to provoke the Muslim people by
saying: ‘what is happening? We are losing the sharia. Will the giavour
be equal with us?’ Indeed, the state also connived these provocations.
After a while, assaults against Armenians, especially by Kurdish,
Islamists, Circassian organizations started. Upon this, Article 61 of
the 1878 Berlin Treaty states that Armenians had been attacked and
held the Ottoman state responsible for their protection. The Ottomans
signed this. Moreover, let’s remember, against nationalist and
Islamist prejudices. That the Berlin Treaty was prepared to protect
the Ottomans. Otherwise, the Russians, who came until Yeshilkoy [Aya
Stefanos], 20 kilometers near the center of Istanbul, would invade it.
The Ottomans signed this, but, leaving aside informing [the Great
Powers], they continued to let the attacks by mentioned groups. They
did not implement the reforms either. Let us imagine ourselves for a
minute as Turks in Bulgaria, Uyghurs or Muslims in Bosnia. What would
we want, if we were there? Security of life and property. Nobody
should attack or harass us. So, the state assured the Armenians of the
time the same thing that we would want in Bosnia, but did not keep its
promise. The Ottoman rulers, Abdulhamid being in the first place, did
not want to acknowledge the rights of citizens as such. Moreover, they
did not want to give anything to non-Muslims. This is the essence of
the problem. …In fact, a just mind should defend the resistance of a
people when their rights are attacked. Since we are captured by the
mentality of slavery and an ideology that continuously exalts the
state, we expect people to say nothing when the state does whatever it
wants. But we do not follow the same logic for Bulgaria. If the
victims are Turks and the oppressors are Bulgarians or Greeks then we
do not accept it and defend resistance. We defend Bosnians against
Serbs, rightfully, of course. But, likewise, when Armenians and Greeks
demand their rights from the state, we say, ‘you rebels! You rebel
against the state!’ Although this is a medical term and maybe should
not be used in politics, but, it shows a schizophrenic, double
personality. Justice necessitates that we should give people from
different faiths and mother tongues what we want for those whom we
associate with ourselves, in Bulgaria, Bosnia, Uyghur, Cyprus. Justice
requires this. Kurds were used. But let us divide Kurds into two. One
is the ordinary Kurds. The other is the lords, Kurdish powerholders,
who aimed to get rich by extorting Armenian properties. Circassians
were also used. They were driven from Russia by genocide. They lived
through a heavy victimhood. The Ottoman state provoked Circassians
against the Armenians in Turkey. It led them to take their revenge
from the Armenians. In fact, we have numerous documents showing that
some Circassians were used in this way. We should not praise or curse
a people as a whole. This is what is called essentialism. All people
have their good and evil, victims and oppressors. Collaborationists,
disgraceful ones, exist in every people. We have to be sensitive to
differentiate those among Kurds, Armenians Circassians and Kurds.
Especially, we, who have a leftist worldview, should make this
distinction more carefully.”

(Part III, to be continued in the next issue)

[Yervant1]

 Turkish Intellectuals Acknowledge

            The Armenian Genocide on TV Program

            Part III - Final

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com



This is the third and final article on a lengthy video in which two
Turkish Intellectuals are advocating the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Republic of Turkey. The discussion took place in 2015
on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The conversation
between Erdogan Aydin and Aydin Chubukchu is in Turkish with English
subtitles on the video. The name of the one hour and 37 minute-long
program is Tower of Babel. The title of the program is “Facing the
Genocide.” The Turkish discussion was translated and subtitled in
English by Ohannes Kilicdagi, PhD. Here is the final segment of the
excerpts from that discussion:

Moderator: “A question from the TV audience: ‘There are those in this
country [Turkey] who are more Armenian than Armenians….’”

Aydin Chubukchu: “It is wrong to say that genocide was carried on
Turks. It is true that they died massively. They died in the war as
soldiers. Turkish people rather died at the front where their state
sent them: In Gallipoli, Sarikamish, Yemen…Suez, Galicia….”

Moderator: “We cannot call these [Turkish] deaths genocide.”

Aydin Chubukchu: “Of course, we cannot. They died in the war.”

Erdogan Aydin: “For example, the Jewish genocide took place in
Germany. Almost three times more Germans died than Jews. But one
cannot evaluate them under the same category and express condolences
for both.”

Moderator: “You mentioned the Germans who died in the Second World War.”

Aydin Chubukchu: “The one died in the clash of two armies, the other
was civilians massacred by a state. It is not the same thing. Of
course, Turks died, millions died. True. But they died in battles.
There is no state massacring them in Turkey. As for ‘being more
Armenian than Armenians’—right. If the Armenian people are oppressed
and silenced, I will be more Armenian than Armenians and try to be
their voice. If somewhere the Turkish people are oppressed and
silenced by a state then I will be more Turk than Turks and defend
them. I will be more Alevi than the Alevi and defend all who are
silenced: Circassian, Kurd, Arab, Assyrian. I will be more Armenian
than Armenians, more Assyrian than Assyrians to give them voice. This
is not an insult. If that person asking the question is trying to
insult me by saying ‘more Armenian than Armenians,’ it is my honor to
stand in solidarity with the oppressed people.”

Erdogan Aydin: In answer to a question regarding the role of Germany
in the Armenian Genocide: “They [Germans] played an essential role,
but we should be careful not to give the impression that the
[Armenian] genocide was carried out by the Germans.”

Moderator: “You say this does not acquit our Ottomans.”

Erdogan Aydin: “Exactly, because the annihilation of Armenians was
part Islamization and Turkification of this land, beginning before the
war. The policy of Islamization and Turkification of this land,
meaning the cleansing of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians served the
purpose of Germans who then made the Ottoman Empire and Enver Pasha
their collaborators, so that they would use a wider area of influence
against Russia and also please their collaborators. While pleasing the
Turan dream of their allies, Germany would use the whole Ottoman land
for its own system of exploitation…. The war was seen as an
opportunity for the elimination of distinct domestic groups. The
Ottoman sovereigns of the time aimed two main goals when they entered
the war. First is the founding of a Turan Empire from the Adriatic to
the China Wall leaning on the Germans, through their war mechanism.
Secondly, the war provided them an extraordinary free hand, as no one
could interfere in their domestic affairs. So, on this rare occasion,
they aimed to clean all distinct identities from Anatolia…. This
project is also the reason for sending millions of Ottomans, Turks and
Muslims in the first place, to their deaths. So the responsibility of
the deaths of Turks, in the question you asked, also belongs to those
following Turanism as Talat and Enver. The responsibility for the
annihilation of the whole Armenian population, kids and youth, also
belongs to Talats and Envers…. We should also underline that Armenians
had been organized here 3,000 years before Turks came from Central
Asia…. It is said that they [Armenians] were sent away from war zones.
No! This is an absolute lie. Besides the war zone, they [Armenians]
were exiled from places such as Adapazar, Izmit, Bursa, Eskishehir….
An approach that is based on the state but not the people and their
rights cannot generate democracy and justice. Similarly, people who do
not imagine fatherland with the rights of those living there but as a
piece of soil with a sovereign cannot produce real wealth and justice.
If we could carry our land into the future with Armenians who had been
there before us, we would see how much they, as a people who
constructed European-like cities 100-150 years before, would increase
our material wealth. If they were still here in Turkey, we would have
a higher rank in the unjust global income distribution. If that people
were here today, and we could oppose all powerholders, Turk, Armenian,
Kurd together, murders in Soma and Torunlar would have not happened.
So, facing the Armenian Question calmly means to re-explore
patriotism, our history, wealth, democracy, justice and humanity. It
seems we should repeat to our friends, authors, professors, academics
who try to cover it as ‘deportation’ that those who were deported were
ordinary people (pregnant women, children, the elderly), but not armed
people. We should repeat that our friends and neighbors were deported,
our humanity and conscience with them. Unfortunately, we continuously
talk about the state and its right in a country where they do not
exist. But the state is a mechanism of sovereignty with no conscience
and morality. Humans have conscience, morality, feeling of solidarity,
and their struggle for rights. Democracy is a system where the state
is the weakest and the human is the strongest…. Some of our friends
ask about documents. We should also be freed from document fetishism.
The most important document is the absence of a whole people which
once was one of the essential elements of this land. There cannot be
any document bigger than this. Moreover, a power which was
cold-blooded enough to do such inhuman things, deported, eradicated,
exiled a people, would not leave a document saying ‘I deported and
annihilated you.’ But we can already infer many conclusions from
existing documents….”

Correction: In the previous two articles, I had mistakenly transposed
the names of the speakers Erdogan Aydin and Aydin Chubukchu.

[Yervant1]

Fresno Bee, CA

July 31 2020

 

 

 

The genocide that never ends: Turkey, Azerbaijan renew threats to Armenians

BY MARSHALL MOUSHIGIAN SPECIAL TO THE BEE

 JULY 31, 2020 05:00 AM

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Chances are good that you awoke this morning to the unpleasant sound of an alarm clock. Chances are certain that you did not wake to the unpleasant sound of Azerbaijani artillery shells crashing through your roof. But if you are Armenian living along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan or in the yet-to-be-recognized Republic of Artsakh (formerly Nagorno Karabagh), you did suffer such a rude awakening.

To understand today and tomorrow, we must understand yesterday. Artsakh is a region that traces its Armenian roots to the fourth century AD. When Armenia and Azerbaijan were independent, from 1918 to 1920, Azerbaijan recognized Artsakh as part of Armenia. However, when the Soviet Union subsumed these two countries, Joseph Stalin, then the Commissar of Nationalities, gave Artsakh and her Armenians to Azerbaijan. Time and again the Armenians of Artsakh petitioned Moscow, unsuccessfully, for reunification with Armenia.

The Christian Armenians of Artsakh were second-class citizens of Soviet Azerbaijan. Tensions came to a head in 1988 with a near-unanimous vote for reunification. This enraged the Muslim Azeris and they pounced on the Armenians living in the Azeri cities of Baku and Sumgait. Armenians who weren’t killed were driven out. Full-scale war ensued and, given the ethnic bonds between Azeris and Turks, it was obvious that what was happening to the Armenians of 1988 was the same tragedy that befell the Armenians of 1915 — genocide. The war ended in 1994 with the Azeri army vanquished, and sovereignty for the Artsakh Armenians.

Since 1994 Azerbaijan has, without provocation, violated the cease-fire with Artsakh hundreds of times, frequently targeting civilians. Although an uneasy peace has held, July has witnessed renewed and intensified violence by Azerbaijan. Now the guns are fixed on Armenia proper. Armenian soldiers and civilians alike are subjected to torture; Azeris use their own as human shields.

To make matters worse, Turkish strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened to eliminate the “remnants of the sword,” i.e. those who survived previous Turkish slaughters and genocide. Last week he told his compatriots that he would continue what their grandfathers had begun — genocide.

We are well into the 21^st century and Armenians are again facing genocide from Turkey, this time with Azerbaijan’s help. A quarter century has passed since the cease-fire and Armenians of Artsakh, who earned their right for self-determination, are still awaiting international recognition.

As much as Azerbaijan and Turkey are to blame for this mess, a lazy and enabling press must accept its share of responsibility for spreading misinformation. Rarely do we learn that oil-rich Azerbaijan is the persistent aggressor. Armenians seeking justice for crimes committed against them are portrayed as troublemakers. Legislators at the state and federal level, lacking intelligence and ethics, have not helped.

What is happening now is what I warned of in the Fresno Bee in 2001 and again in 2012, that the longer the world waits to recognize Artsakh’s independence, the worse matters will get. Azerbaijan has used billions in oil revenue and illegally channeled U.S. aid dollars to strengthen its military, including the use of Israeli-supplied suicide drones. Azerbaijan is actively engaged in state-sponsored xenophobia, portraying all Armenians as monstrous enemies, even including Armeno-phobia in pre-school curriculum. Just last week Armenians in Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia were attacked, and the Armenian school in San Francisco was vandalized — all by Azeris who have been emboldened by a disinterested and misinformed world.

The longer the world waits to confront two of the world’s most belligerent and oppressive regimes, the more they thumb their noses at decency and humanity. The West has coddled and caved to Turkey and Azerbaijan to the point that these two brutal dictatorships consistently act with impunity toward those who demand civility. The constant appeasement of Turkey and its bastard child Azerbaijan must end now, before Armenia itself comes to an end. Artsakh, and indeed Armenia, will not be another Czechoslovakia.

Armenians have faced an existential threat from Turkey for over a century, and from Azerbaijan since the early 1990s. The threat is real; Armenians worldwide, including this writer, are on high alert. Armenians simply want to live peacefully with our neighbors, on our land. Artsakh is not a conflict, it is a country — and so is Azerbaijan. The sooner the latter starts acting like the former, the sooner we can all wake to a peaceful morning.

Marshall D. Moushigian of Fresno is an attorney and financial adviser.

RELATED STORIES FROM FRESNO BEE

 

 

 

https://amp.fresnobe...dbGhY0xyKO6n6ps

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Aug 1 2020

 

 

Massachusetts Senate passes genocide education bill

     

The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill that requires genocide and human rights education for middle and high school students, CBS Boston reports.

“It is shocking how many young people today have never heard of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Holocaust, or other heinous genocides perpetrated in the past,” said Sen. Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education.

“This important legislation will ensure that more students understand the history of genocide so that it never happens again,” the Senator added.

“To forge a more just future, our next generation must be educated on the tragic history of the Holocaust and other instances of genocide,” stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). 

“The importance of this bill cannot be overstated, and I say this as a Jewish woman and the daughter of a World War II veteran who helped liberate the victims of Nazi concentration camps,” she said.

The bill would require all schools to annually submit their lesson plans on genocide education to the Department of Education and establish a Genocide Education Fund that would “ensure the development of curricular materials, as well as to provide professional development training to assist educators in the teaching of genocide.”

The Mass. House of Representatives is now considering a genocide education act.

https://en.armradio....education-bill/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Aug 18 2020

 

 

100 Years From Home: Armenian Genocide documentary to air on PBS SoCal on Sept. 1

 

Massis Post – Lilit Pilikian’s parents would’ve never met, and a new family and generation would’ve never formed, had her ancestors not been targeted and forced to flee their homeland during the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century.

Pilikian came to the grim realization that the systematic killings of her people is a reason why she is alive today, and embarked on a storytelling journey that has led to “100 Years from Home,” a documentary that makes its broadcast premiere on PBS SoCal on Tuesday, September 1 at 8:30 p.m. PT.

“100 Years from Home” is a vivid portrait of an American woman grappling with questions about cultural identity, intergenerational trauma, family, survival, and finding her place in her community and the world as an Armenian.

The film was nominated for “Best Documentary” at the 2019 Arpa International Film Festival in Hollywood, Calif. where it premiered to a sold-out screening.

The picture follows Pilikian’s journey as she searches for her great-grandparents’ house in modern-day Turkey in the location of which they were forced to abandon over a century ago during the Armenian Genocide, which killed over 1.5 million Armenians during and after World War I.

The home’s blueprint was passed down from generation-to-generation until finally ending up in the hands of Pilikian. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide on April 24, 2015, Pilikian embarked on an emotional journey to Armenia and Turkey in search of the house with her filmmaker husband Jared White.

The harrowing-yet-hopeful documentary was produced by the duo and directed by White, a non-Armenian who offers a unique outsider’s perspective on the subject.

“My culture and identity is something I’ve always struggled with, and it’s probably something most people don’t even know about,” said Pilikian. “Jared and I were able to tell the ‘100 Years from Home’ story in a way that allows people who aren’t Armenian into this world.”

The husband and wife tandem had to balance their roles as a couple and filmmakers while they captured the intimate and painful story. Born in Los Angeles, which is home to one of the largest Armenian populations in the world, Pilikian never felt fully at home as an Armenian or as an American. Her struggles are common among American-born children of immigrants.

Turkey’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide also perpetuated that, and its lasting impact on the descendants of survivors is a sentiment that is shared from various sources throughout the film. “100 Years from Home” illuminates many of the complex issues that have led to the tensions that still exist today at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, as evidenced by recent crossfire between both countries. This state of affairs caused apprehension for Pilikian to enter Turkey, where hatred of Armenians is still very common today. The film also sheds light on the United States’ role in providing humanitarian relief during the Genocide, just as they subsequently refused to officially recognize it as a genocide for the next century.

“I knew we would be mining some very difficult topics, and I wanted to be able to support Lilit in this emotional exploration,” said White.

“Confronting these issues that I often avoided while growing up was difficult for me, but ultimately cathartic,” said Pilikian. “The experience of making this film really brought the two of us closer together.”

The documentary features interviews with luminaries like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, historian and UCLA professor Richard Hovannisian, social critic Vahe Berberian, documentarian Carla Garapedian, Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Armenian studies scholar Shushan Karapetian.

While “100 Years from Home” deals with weighty issues, in the end, the story is a hopeful one. Pilikian comes away from the experience with a much stronger sense of herself and her heritage. “I became more comfortable in my own skin, in my own story,” said Pilikian. “I realized I’m not alone in this.

https://en.armradio....ocal-on-sept-1/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Sept 24 2020

 

 

Australian Government Minister supports recognition of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides

 

 

In a major announcement for the the Joint Justice Initiative of the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, Australia’s Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar MP has added his voice to growing calls for national recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides.

The February 2020 launch of the Joint Justice Initiative at Australia’s Parliament House featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) and Australian Hellenic Council (AHC), which declares Australia’s recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides as a priority on behalf of their communities.

The Federal Member for the Melbourne seat of Deakin, who is of Lebanese heritage, addressed Australia’s position appeasing Armenian Genocide denial during a December 2018 House of Representatives debate honouring the 70th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

“No amount of economic consequences and no amount of diplomacy should ever stop us from doing the decent thing as Australians and calling out the genocide for what it is,” Sukkar said.

“If the consequences with governments and countries like Turkey or Azerbaijan mean that economic consequences flow, I say so be it—and I know the Australian people will back this parliament all the way when taking that approach.”

Following the 2019 Federal Election, Sukkar was named the Morrison Government’s Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing. He joined the Joint Justice Initiative this year, in 2020.

“The addition of a Government Minister to our calls for Australian recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides is further evidence that Turkey’s exported denialism is unwelcome in our country’s foreign policy,” said Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.

“We thank Minister Sukkar for his support and conviction on this important issue on human rights.”

The Joint Justice Initiative has so far announced the support of Sukkar, Senator Louise Pratt, Warren Entsch, Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Andrew Wilkie MP, Julian Leeser MP, Michelle Rowland MP, Senator Paul Scarr, Tony Zappia MP, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Senator Hollie Hughes, Senator Rex Patrick, Mike Freelander MP, Senator Eric Abetz, Senator Larissa Waters, Senator Pat Dodson, Jason Falinski MP, Josh Burns MP, John Alexander MP, Senator Andrew Bragg and Bob Katter MP, with a promise of more announcements to come.

On 25th February 2020, over 100 Federal Australian parliamentarians, diplomats, departmental officials, political staffers, academics, media and community leaders were treated to cultural performances, food, wine and brandy, as well as the historic signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which affirmed that the signatory public affairs representatives of the three communities were jointly committed to seeing Australia recognize the Turkish-committed Genocide against the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian citizens of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

 

https://en.armradio....reek-genocides/

 

[Yervant1]

Silicon Angle

Oct 12 2020

 

 

 

Facebook bans content denying Holocaust, but rules don’t apply to Armenian or Rwandan genocide denials

 

BY JAMES FARRELL

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Content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust” will be banned from the Facebook Inc. platform, but other genocide denials won’t.

The move, announced today, is an about-face for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg (pictured), who has been criticized in the past for not being bold enough to remove such content. In 2018, Zuckerberg said in an interview that while he found Holocaust denial “deeply offensive,” he believed people had the right to discuss their point of view.

That attitude apparently has now changed. In a blog post published today, Facebook said that as part of a wider crackdown on hate speech and the spread of misinformation, any content denying the Holocaust ever happened or distorting the facts about the Holocaust will be removed.

“Our decision is supported by the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people,” said Facebook. “According to a recent survey of adults in the U.S. aged 18-39, almost a quarter said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, that it had been exaggerated or they weren’t sure.”

The company said enforcement of the new policies will be a slow process as reviewers and systems are trained to detect such content. If people do start looking for Holocaust information on the platform they will now be directed to “credible information.”

On his own Facebook page, Zuckerberg wrote that the decision wasn’t easy. “I’ve struggled with the tension between standing for free _expression_ and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the horror of the Holocaust,” he said. “My own thinking has evolved as I’ve seen data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence, as have our wider policies on hate speech.”

The new policies won’t affect denial of the Armenian genocide, an atrocity that has been denied by the Turkish government. Turkey, a country that has the 12th biggest number of Facebook users in the world, had for years spent millions lobbying the U.S. government before the genocide was officially recognized by the Senate in 2019. Facebook’s policies also won’t affect content relating to Rwandan genocide denial.

 

 

 

https://siliconangle...3bicGyOs27hqXQE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Yervant1, 14 October 2020 - 09:25 AM.

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 21 2020

 

 

Library of Congress corrects “Armenian Massacres” subject heading to “Armenian Genocide”

 

ANCA launched this successful campaign in the wake of Congressional passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

“This long-overdue correction by the Library of Congress – a principled, fact-based stand for the integrity of American institutions against malign foreign influence – comes at a particularly meaningful moment for Americans of Armenian heritage,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.

“We see today the painful, real-world results of American leaders having allowed Turkey to bully our country into a century of silence on the Armenian Genocide.

Even today – as Ankara and Baku openly seek to complete the destruction of the Armenian homeland – our government remains all too fearful of truth-telling to Erdogan and Aliyev. That has to end.”

 

 

 

https://en.armradio....enian-genocide/

[Yervant1]

If this had it happened to another group, the prof would have been fired long ago but with Armenians not so much! If you are with the right tribe, you are protected, otherwise forget it.

Oct 31, 2020

 

Former U Student Calls Out U Professor For Denial of Armenian Genocide

October 31, 2020

 

 

On April 24, 1915, the Armenian Genocide, where 1.5 million Armenians would be killed by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, began.

This event is not simply a moment in history — it is relevant today. According to Diana Pogosyan, an Armenian-American graduate from the University of Utah, the Turkish president has made claims to continue what his ancestors started.

“I have cousins who have been drafted to war, and they have no choice but to protect their homeland because they know that this is a potential genocide on the rise in the 21st century, and the world is silent about it,” Pogosyan said.

When Pogosyan posts on her social media about the modern-day hate crimes happening in the United States against Armenians, she sometimes receives death threats. 

“I have actually been very outspoken on my social media platform about everything that’s been going on and I have received multiple death threats by people saying that ‘we are going to finish the Armenian genocide,’” Pogosyan said. 

On Oct. 22, Pogosyan heard from a friend that in one of their political science classes on Middle East Relations, their professor, Dr. Hakan Yavuz, denied the Armenian genocide. She then posted two things on Instagram, one was a screenshot of an email she sent to Yavuz, and the other was a letter she sent to the U’s educational board members.

Pogosyan’s friend explained to her how Yavuz disseminated one of his articles from 2014, entitled “Orientalism, the ‘Terrible Turk’ and Genocide” to his class, where his use of language, according to Pogosyan, is a form of genocide denial.

“Today, the Armenian genocide discourse is used to perpetuate the image of the ‘Terrible Turk,’ undermine the legitimacy of the Turkish Republic, and to keep Turkey out of the European Union. The genocide narrative is put to use by many who share little else except their dislike of Turks,” Yavuz stated in his article.

However, Pogosyan said the label of genocide is not intended to harm modern Turks.

“The mere point of naming it the genocide isn’t intended to shame modern Turkey, that is not it at all. It is to bring peace and reconciliation by acknowledging historical truths,” Pogosyan said. 

Pogosyan is personally connected to this historical event because her ancestors were victims.

“Among those 1.5 million Armenians were my ancestors, my great grandparents who were raped, tortured and massacred, who were marching through deserts for hundreds and hundreds of miles without water or food,” Pogosyan said. 

After hearing of Yavuz’s actions, Pogosyan said she does not feel safe or valued at the U. 

“It doesn’t make me feel heard, because I’m really suffering. The fact that my great grandparents were persecuted and we had to flee and all of that to be denied by an institution that I attend is very heartbreaking,” Pogosyan said. 

Pogosyan also expressed frustration at what she considers the biased nature of a professor trained in history and political science — while the professor does not have to be Armenian to teach about the Armenian Genocide, Pogosyan believes they have to be neutral. 

“What makes this even more scary is that there is a Turkish professor at the University of Utah who is obviously biased,” Pogosyan said. “Spreading things like saying that the Armenian Genocide is just a label used to perpetuate hate against Turks and Muslims is very dangerous because this is not at all the case.”

If the point of learning history is to prevent tragedies from reoccurring, Pogosyan worries that students will not be able to achieve this if they are not taught the truth in class. 

“How are we supposed to learn history when a professor, someone that you should trust…teaches you against the denial of the suffering of people?” Pogosyan said. 

Pogosyan believes not only is Yavuz denying the Armenian Genocide but that he is also participating in historical revisionism. 

“Turkey, to this day, denies that there was an Armenian Genocide, and the issue with that is that there are countless photos that were taken by Germans and French people during World War One that are direct proof that the Armenian Genocide happened,” Pogosyan said.

On Oct. 27, the College of Social and Behavioral Science issued a “statement regarding student complaint,” which began with an acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide from U communications.

“The United States, the state of Utah and the University of Utah (as a state entity) recognize the historical events of 1915 as the Armenian genocide. The genocide involved extensive suffering and the brutal deaths of more than 1.5 million Armenians, and the pain of those events is still felt in the Armenian community today,” the statement read.

The U communications portion of the statement continued on to address the policy that protects Yavuz. 

“The University of Utah stands by a faculty member’s right to academic freedom and the right to examine and communicate ideas by any lawful means even should such activities generate hostility or pressures against the faculty member or the university (Policy 6-316),” the statement read.

The rest of the statement was written by the dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science, Cindy Berg, and the department chair of political science, Brent Steele. 

“We spoke with Yavuz, who recognizes and teaches the reality of the Armenian massacres of 1915 and understands them to be a catastrophe,” the statement read.

The statement proceeded to note that Yavuz’s work as a political scientist is partly aimed at creating a shared dialogue between Turks and Armenians. “He welcomes dialogue on the massacres from the students in his courses and regrets that his work was understood differently than he intended,” the statement read.

Pogosyan was disappointed to see the various terms used to label the Armenian Genocide — after the portion of the statement written by U communications, the term “genocide” is not used. 

“Again he’s denying the genocide by calling it ‘the events of 1915.’ When we talk about the Holocaust, we don’t say the events of the 1940s till 1945. No, we talk about the Holocaust,” Pogosyan said. 

Although there have been calls for Yavuz to be fired, the statement addressed Yavuz’s employment by saying he will continue to have these conversations in his classroom — with more accessibility and sensitivity. 

However, Pogosyan still wants the U to reconsider Yavuz’s employment. 

“He is very biased and he is promoting political propaganda. I think that for a professor to do something like this is absolutely unacceptable,” Pogosyan said. “I think that this ruins his credibility completely because he has been teaching this since 2014, so who knows how many students have went through his class, not even realizing how dangerous his genocide denial is.”

She would also like the U to terminate any support for the Turkish Coalition of America, an independent organization funded by Turkish Americans who are proud of their heritage. 

“The University being a part of an organization like the Turkish Coalition of America is again very dangerous because it’s not historical facts, it’s just individuals who are scared of their government,” Pogosyan said. 

Pogosyan asks that the U issue a formal apology addressing the harm that has been caused. 

“As an Armenian-American student that attends the U, I would really appreciate a public apology and a statement of what they’re going to do to make sure that this type of historical misinformation does not get spread,” Pogosyan said. 

April 24 is also Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, and Pogosyan would like the U to acknowledge that. 

Yavuz was contacted on Oct. 26 for a comment, but the Chronicle did not receive a response. 

“My heart is really suffering right now,” Pogosyan said. 

 

k.silverstein@dailyutahchronicle.com

 

 

 

https://dailyutahchr...UhRhv32Btlp_IkA

 

 

 

[Yervant1]

Turks vandalize Armenian Genocide Memorial in Lyon, France

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 14:05, 1 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Turks have vandalized the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the French city of Lyon, the Office of Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs said on Facebook, releasing respective photos.

On October 29 Turkish mobs went to the streets of Lyon threatening the Armenian community.

 

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

[Yervant1]

May be you are one!

 

 

Obama recalls "failure" to recognize Armenian Genocide in new book

November 18, 2020 - 17:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former U.S. President Barack Obama in new book "A Promised Land" has spoken about his failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide while still in office.

According to a screenshot shared by Senior Securities Policy Adviser Lev Bagramian on Twitter, Obama weighed in on about his work with Samantha Power who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017. Power is a champion of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide but has faced criticism for her silence on Obama's failure to recognize the Genocide.

"She (Power) was shattered when on Armenian Remembrance Day I failed to explicitly acknowledge the early-twentieth-century genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Turks," the former U.S. President wrote.

Obama claimed he had "good reason" to not make a statement at the time. He said the Turks were "deeply touchy about the issue", and he was "in delicate negotiations" with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on managing America's withdrawal from Iraq: "But still she made me feel like a heel."

April 24, 1915 is the day when a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide commemorated the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

 

 

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Dec 2 2020

 

 

San Vincenzo, Italy, recognizes the Armenian Genocide

 

 

The Council of the Municipality of San Vincenzo, Italy, has recognized the Armenian Genocide, Qui News Valdicornia reports.

The Council has expressed “full solidarity with the Armenian people in their battle for historical truth and for the defense of human rights.”

The resolution presented by Roberta Casali was approved unanimously by all councilors.

In addition, Letizia Leonardi, who translated Mayrig, a work by Henri Verneuil, into Italian, will give four copies of the book to school libraries.

 

https://en.armradio....enian-genocide/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Dec 4 2020

 

 

San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy, recognizes the Armenian Genocide

 

 

The Municipality of San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy, has recognized the genocide of the Armenian people perpetrated in the years 1915-1916, the Council of the Armenian community of Rome reports.

With a resolution presented by Councilor Fabio Fiorin and voted unanimously by those present, the Municipality of San Giorgio di Nogaro formally recognized the historical truth of the Armenian genocide “on the basis of the resolutions already adopted by the UN, the European Parliament, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States of America and by the Parliament of the Italian Republic itself.”

With this pronouncement the name of the Municipality of San Giorgio di Nogaro joins the more than 140 Italian communities that have recognized the Genocide.

The Council for the Armenian community of Rome welcomes the news of the recognition and expresses its gratitude to the Municipal Council of San Giorgio di Nogaro for having chosen to be on the side of universal values such as truth and justice and express solidarity with the Armenian people particularly at this challenging moment in its history.

On 25 November 2020 the Council adopted another resolution which recognized the independence of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

 

https://en.armradio....enian-genocide/

[Yervant1]

PENN STATE University

Dec 4 2020

 

 

PBS to air Armenian genocide documentary co-written by Brandywine instructor

 

 

 

Bill Tyson

December 04, 2020

MEDIA, Pa. — A documentary co-written by Mary McDermott, an adjunct instructor in English at Penn State Brandywine, about the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide will air on Philadelphia’s public broadcasting station WHYY at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8.

"What Will Become of Us" follows six Armenian Americans — famous and otherwise — as they navigate the 100th anniversary of the genocide, which began in 1915. According to the film’s website: “Their struggle speaks to the many immigrant communities who have experienced trauma. 100 years ago, Armenians were nearly annihilated by genocide. Today, often unrecognized, it remains defining — while the long shadow of the genocide creates a burden for young Armenian Americans, discouraging them from taking up their culture.”

The project began as producer/co-director Stephanie Ayanian, a Penn State graduate, took the idea of making a film about Armenians in America to her filmmaking partners, Joseph Myers and Tom Keiter, also Penn State alumni. According to Ayanian, they decided to make a film that grappled with the long shadow of the Armenian genocide but was also forward-looking, one that would examine what brought Armenians to America, what they have accomplished since they have been here, and the bright path that lies ahead in their future.

The film was co-written by McDermott and Greg Feinberg.

“Stephanie is a dear friend from my Temple MFA cohort,” McDermott explained. “Before working on this documentary, I thought I was aware of the many accomplishments of Armenian Americans thanks in part to our very long friendship. I also thought I knew about the horrors of the Armenian genocide. But I realized after working on this project for over a year that I had previously known only a little about the trauma and hardships Armenians endured.”

“This film has deepened my appreciation and respect for Armenian Americans — for their indomitable strength — as well as for the people of Armenia,” McDermott added. “I find the people in this documentary and their work incredibly inspiring.”

McDermott is a writer and an occasional filmmaker who has placed in festivals, including as a top-10 finalist in Slamdance's feature screenplay competition. She holds master’s degrees in film and media arts and English. At Brandywine, McDermott teaches film and communications courses including Cinema Art; Identity, Citizenship, and the Rhetoric of American Horror Film; Film Theory; and English Composition.

 

 

https://news.psu.edu...tten-brandywine