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Genocide Commemoration Events 2008


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The blockade on Armenia merely mentioned, the Armenian Genocide passed over in the EU report on Turkey

 

19.04.2008 11:52

 

The EP Committee on Foreign Affairs will adopt on Monday 21 April its traditional report on Turkey’s “progress.” The members of the Committee will have to look into the draft resolution prepared by Mrs. Ria Oomen-Ruijten (Christian-Democrat, Netherlands) and the 262 amendments tabled. Mrs. Oomen-Ruijten was also the rapporteur of the resolution adopted last year.

 

The new preparatory document seems to be less brief than the former one which essentially aimed at exhibiting a gesture of goodwill towards the new elected Turkish government. Nevertheless, it remains well short of European expectations by continuing in minimizing the serious breaches of Turkey.

 

Thus, in the “external relations” chapter, the draft report “calls on the Turkish government to end the economic blockade and re-open its border with Armenia” but, in accordance with the rest of the document, abstains from condemning Turkey. The Armenian genocide issue is dodged by a wording which “calls on the Turkish and Armenian governments to start a process of reconciliation, in respect of the present and the past, allowing for a frank and open discussion of past events”.

 

“This wording is typically dictated by Ankara: by refusing to mention the Genocide, it is denialist; by sending away Turkey and Armenia, the genocide is rooted out from the political scene and from the context of International Law in order to consider it as a tool of the only conflict between a criminal state and its victims”, commented Hilda Tchoboian, the chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.

 

The Federation reminds us that the position reaffirmed several times by the Parliament from 1987 to 2005 consists in demanding the recognition of the Armenian genocide as a prerequisite for accession. The Federation highlights that the Turkish regimes have never progressed on this issue as on others only under constraints of strong demands, and that any complacency is interpreted by Ankara as a green light given to its State denial in Turkey and even in Europe.

 

About 6 (mainly from communist and socialist MEPs) out of the 262 amendments tabled deal with Armenian issues, notably with the Armenian Genocide.

 

In a general point of view, the 2008 edition deals with all the Turkish breaches but by using light and depoliticised wordings: the innumerable lack of progress observed on crucial issues as the State of Law, democracy, protection of minorities or freedom of expression are only considered as “concerns”, “regrets” and “repeated demands.” Only the PKK is formally condemned but without any explanation regarding Turkish State exactions in Kurdistan.

 

Referring to article 301of the Turkish Penal Code, which penalises freedom of expression, the draft report only asks for a “reform” and “modifications” whereas the European civil society and all Human Rights organizations call for a complete abrogation.

 

“We believe that this way of proceeding – the one which consists in enumerating the problems in a technocratic manner by refusing to give them a political appreciation – reduces the role of the European Parliament”, continued Hilda Tchoboian. “Doing worse than the European Commission is useless for the Union and its citizens. What Europeans need is a Parliament which is the conscience of Europe”, she concluded.

 

Public Radio of Armenia

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North Andover Citizen, MA

April 18 2008

 

Community calendar

Fri Apr 18, 2008, 06:50 PM EDT

 

Armenian Genocide observance

 

A part of the 93rd commemoration ceremony of the Armenian Genocide,

"The Georgetown Boys" will be performed on Sunday, April 20, 3 p.m. at

the North Andover Middle School, Main Street.

 

The musical, written and directed by noted Armenian playwright

Dr. Herand Makarian, tells the story of 109 genocide orphans from

Western Armenia who were brought to Georgetown, Canada, to be trained

as farmers. Ranging in age from 8 to 12, they worked in the Toronto

suburb until they were able to open farms of their own.

 

The musical, performed by the New Jersey Youth Theater Group, will

be in both English and Armenian.

 

The overall theme of Sunday's commemoration will be "One and Half

Million Reasons to Remember," reflecting the 1.5 million lives lost

during the genocidal years under the Ottoman Turkish empire from

1915 to 1923. Survivors in the Merrimack Valley will be present at

the event.

 

A joint requiem service will precede the play, conducted by area clergy

and there will be hymns from the Armenian Choral Group of Merrimack

Valley. Winners of an annual essay contest will also be announced.

 

Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students. For advance tickets,

call either 978-373-1654 or 978-256-2538. A reception will follow in

the school cafeteria.

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Ms. Marianne Davitjan

April 18, 2008

Tel: (416) 505 3181

Armenian National Committee Toronto

 

Armenian Community of Toronto Commemorates 93rd Anniversary of

Armenian Genocide

 

Toronto, Ontario - The Canadian-Armenian Community of Toronto will

be commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of

1915. Over 1.5 million Armenians perished in a systematic effort by

the Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire to eliminate the

indigenous Armenian population living peacefully on its historic

homelands. It was the Armenian Genocide which introduced the spectre

of holocaust to the 20th Century; a crime that has since been

duplicated in various forms in Nazi Germany, Rwanda and Darfur .

 

Date: Sunday, April 20, 2008

 

Time: 2:00pm to 4:00pm

 

Location: Armenian Youth Centre, 50 Hallcrown Place , Willowdale

(major intersection Victoria Park Ave. and Highway 401)

 

Members of all levels of Canadian government and major political

parties will be participating.

 

It is expected that 800 members of the Canadian-Armenian Community of

Toronto will attend.

 

For further information on the Armenian Genocide, please see the

Armenian National Committee of Canada website at

http://www.anccanada.org.

 

The Armenian National Committee of Toronto is a chapter of the

Armenian National Committee of Canada, a grassroots organization that

was founded in 1965 to address the concerns of the Canadian Armenian

community on a broad range of issues.

 

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TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION ON APRIL 23

 

armradio.am

21.04.2008 17:17

 

The Youth and Nikol Aghbalyan Student Unions of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun

will organize a traditional torchlight procession to the Genocide

Memorial on April 23. the procession will start from the Liberty

Square at 20.00.

 

As a sign of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims and

support of the Hay Dat, the ARF Youth Union asks everyone to light

one candle at the window seal in every house.

 

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Photo exhibition dedicated to Armenian Genocide opens in Tartu, Estonia

 

 

21.04.2008

 

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 21-May 11, the Tartu University, Estonia, will host an exhibition ”First Genocide of 20th Century”.

 

The exhibition is dated to April 24, the Day of Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims, reported the Armenian portal of Estonia.

 

The exposition includes photocopies of archives, recollections of witnesses and photographs depicting mass murder and persecution of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

 

The Armenian Museum-Institute of Armenian Genocide provided historical data on number of Armenian population, parishes and schools in 1914-1922.

 

The exhibition was organized by Baltic Armenian House NGO.

 

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SEVERAL EVENTS TO BE HELD IN TBILISI ON APRIL 23 AND 24 DEDICATED TO 93RD ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

 

arminfo

2008-04-21 10:59:00

 

ArmInfo. A number of events will be held in Tbilisi on April 23 and

24 dedicated to the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

 

The event have been organized by the Armenian Cooperation Center

of Georgia.

 

As the press service of ACCG reports, torches will be lighted on April

23 at 8:30 PM near Turkey's Embassy in Georgia, where a large-scale

meeting has been scheduled on April 24 at 1:30 PM. A photo-exhibition

and first performance of an artificial film will be held the same

day. To note, it is the 4th year the ACCG has been holding different

events within the frames of the campaign on activation of the Armenian

Genocide issue. In order to attract more number of people to such

events, every year, members of the organization conduct an active

work with wide strata of the Armenian community of Tbilisi, namely,

they hold preparatory meetings with schoolchildren, students and the

older generation, as well as distribute booklets, leaflets and other

agitation materials.

 

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Event commemorating Swiss humanist Jacob Kunzler to be held in Yerevan

 

 

21.04.2008

 

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An event dedicated to Swiss humanist Jacob Kunzler, representative of German Eastern Mission and doctor at local Swiss Mission Hospital in Western Armenia, will he held in Armenian Genocide Museum Institute on April 22.

 

“A handful of soil from Kunzler’s grave will be buried under the Wall of Memory in Tsitsernakaberd. Catholicos of Al Armenians Garegin II and Kunzler’s heirs will attend the event,” Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Director Hayk Demoyan told a news conference today.

 

On January 1, 1922, Dr Kunzler with assistance of American Near East Relief Organization conveyed 8000 Armenian orphans from Turkey to Syria and Lebanon. The same year he founded an asylum for 1400 Armenian girls in Syria and then a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon.

 

Jacob Kunzler died in 1949 and was buried at the Protestant Cemetery in Beirut.

 

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CITY GEARS UP FOR GENOCIDE COMMEMORATIONS

By Jason Wells

 

Glendale News Press

April 18 2008

CA

 

Glendale's Week of Remembrance schedule addresses worldwide crimes

against humanity.

 

GLENDALE -- The proliferation of Armenian flags hanging off car windows

and apartment balconies as the weekend wears on can only mean one thing

-- the annual hearkening of Glendale's Week of Remembrance, culminating

in the citywide commemoration of the Armenian Genocide on Thursday.

 

In a city that is home to the largest Armenian community outside of

Armenia, the event at the Alex Theatre Thursday commemorating the

93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is expected to be the week's

biggest draw, city officials said.

 

"It will be sold out and we're going to have a standby line," said

Councilman Ara Najarian, who is chairman of the events committee.

 

Attendees snatched up all 1,381 seats last year, and are expected to

do the same, theater officials said.

 

The city-sponsored event schedule kicks off Sunday with a blood

drive at St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church and continues with

public events addressing worldwide crimes against humanity throughout

the week.

 

This year's genocide commemoration comes at time when the Armenian

community is working overtime to have the U.S. Congress recognize

the killings of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1918 in the

former Ottoman Empire, as it has the Holocaust.

 

A genocide resolution introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district

includes Glendale, received an unprecedented amount of Congressional

support last year when 235 House members signed on as co-sponsors. But

lobbying from opponents, who say such a bill would soil crucial

U.S. military relations with Turkey, whittled that down to 211,

pushing it to the back burner.

 

Turkey's government has refused to acknowledge the mass killings

as genocide, instead arguing they were the result of an internal

civil war, and has threatened to pull back from the United States

diplomatically if the resolution is passed.

 

Still, the political strength of the resolution is sure to lift spirits

of those attending commemorative events this year, said Andrew Kzirian,

executive director of Armenian National Committee Western Region.

 

"Overall I think the mood is very positive, there's no shortage of

energy," he said. "I think they're willing to channel that energy

into the commemorations."

 

While the Armenian Genocide certainly gets the lion's share of

attention in a city in which Armenians make up 40% of the population,

other crimes against humanity will also be recognized during the

week's events.

 

Speakers at the Central Library Auditorium on Monday evening will

discuss other issues related to massive human suffering, past and

present in a forum called "Man's Inhumanity to Man."

 

The Rev. Berdj Djambazian will discuss the trips he's made to the

Darfur region of Sudan, where the United Nations estimates 200,000

people have died, mostly due to hunger and disease.

 

Dennis Doyle, professor of English at Glendale Community College,

will discuss the political and environmental underpinnings of The

Great Famine in Ireland, which occurred between 1845 and 1852 and is

estimated to have reduced the country's population between 20% to 25%.

 

The mass killings of Native Americans, in which thousands of indigenous

people died in the 1800s with the migration of settlers West across

the plains, will be the topic of discussion for Roger Bowerman,

professor of history at Glendale Community College.

 

And Ramela Grigorian Abbamontian, assistant professor art history

at Los Angeles Pierce College, will discuss how genocide affects the

psyche of survivors and its manifestation in art.

 

Admittance to all of the week's events are free, but the Armenian

Genocide Commemoration event on Thursday, which will feature

award-winning director and producer Carla Garapedian and several live

performances, will require a ticket.

 

Garapedian, who will deliver the keynote address, was the director and

producer of the critically-acclaimed 2006 documentary "Screamers" of

the band "System of a Down" that won the AFI Film Festival's Audience

Award. She has worked to raise awareness about the current genocide

in Darfur and on genocide prevention.

 

Classical operatic singer Gegam Grigorian, together with the

Mikael Avetisyan Chamber Orchestra, are among those scheduled to

perform live. Jivan Gasparian Junior -- grandson and apprentice of

the world-renowned Djivan Gasparian, a master of the traditional

woodwind instrument used in traditional Armenian folk music -- will

also perform.

 

Those who want to attend that event can pick up their free tickets --

four per person -- at the Alex Theatre box office in advance.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

SUNDAY

 

Commemorative Blood Drive takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,

St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church, 500 S. Central Ave. For more

information, call (818) 243-3444.

 

MONDAY

 

"Man's Inhumanity to Humanity" starts at 6 p.m., Central Library

Auditorium, 222 E. Harvard. For more information, call (818) 548-4844.

 

TUESDAY

 

Glendale High School hosts a genocide remembrance program in its

auditorium, 1440 Broadway, at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature guest

singers, poetry readings, video presentations and traditional dances

by students from the four Glendale Unified high schools.

 

WEDNESDAY

 

A joint genocide commemoration among Armenian and Episcopal churches

takes place at St. Peter Armenian Church, 632 W. Stocker Ave., at

7 p.m.

 

THURSDAY

 

Armenian Genocide Commemoration, starts at 6 p.m., Alex Theatre, 216

N. Brand Blvd. Free Parking at Orange Street parking garage. Doors

to theater open at 5 p.m. Tickets available at the box office.

 

The Armenian Genocide United Commemorative Committee will host guest

speakers and cultural performances at the Glendale Civic Auditorium,

1401 N. Verdugo Road, at 8 p.m.

 

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FRENCH ORGANIZATION 'GRAND ORIENT DE FRANCE' TO PAY TRIBUTE TO MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

 

arminfo

2008-04-21 18:07:00

 

ArmInfo. Chairman of the French masonic organization "Grand Orient de

France" Jean-Michel Quillardet intends to take part in the Ceremony

of Memory to be organized in Paris by Armenian organizations of France.

 

At the same time, a delegation headed by the deputy chairman of

this organization will visit Armenia for the second time to share

Armenian people's pain and pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian

Genocide victims.

 

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TURKS INTEND TO ORGANIZE ACTION OF PROTEST IN NEW YORK AGAINST FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan

April 21, 2008

 

NEW YORK, APRIL 21, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. Turks are going

to organize an action of protest on April 26 in New York against the

fact of the Armenian Genocide.

 

As the Anadolu agency reports, the action of protest organized under

the aegis of the Federation of Turkish-American Associations, on the

initiative of the Young Turks union will take place in Times Square

under the title Struggle against the Lies of Armenian Genocide.

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MARSEILLE - FRANCE

 

THE 12 ARMENIAN CHURCHES OF MARSEILLE'S MARATHON ON APRIL 19TH 2008.

 

 

http://www.yevrobatsi.org/st/item_report.php?r=7&id=364

 

 

http://www.yevrobatsi.org/st/item_report.php?r=7&id=366

 

 

 

UNVEILING OF THE HUGE BANNER "THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PERPETRATED BY THE YOUNG TURK GOVERNMENT OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 1 500 000 VICTIMS. 93 YEARS AFTER, LES BOUCHES-DU-RHÔNE (Council of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône which administrative center is Marseille) REMEMBER." AT THE FRONT OF THE REGIONAL LIBRARY ON APRIL 14TH 2008.

 

http://www.yevrobatsi.org/st/item_report.php?r=7&id=363

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: April 22, 2008

Armenian National Committee of Albany

6 Grace Street, Albany NY 12205

Contact: Antranig Karageozian

Tel: 518-331-8559

Email: ancofalbany@gmail.com

 

Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY-21) to Address Community at ANC of

Albany Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

 

Troy, NY--- On Friday, April 25, 2008, the Armenian National Committee

of Albany (ANC of Albany), will host the 93rd annual commemoration of

the Armenian Genocide at Troy City Hall at One Monument Square at 6:45

pm.

 

"Every year, Armenian communities throughout the nation and the world

join together in remembering those that perished during the genocide.

Having lost a survivor, Enza Mategian who was just short of her 95th

birthday in July 2007, the time for recognition is now," commented

Antranig Karaegozian, ANC of Albany Chairman.

 

Cong. Michael McNulty (D-NY-21), Mayor Harry Tutunjian of Troy, and

Mayor Michael Manning of Watervliet will be in attendance at the

event, and will speak and reflect on the importance of genocide

recognition and local activism. Also present will be Democratic

candidate for New York's 21st congressional district, Darius

Shahinfar, who is seeking to replace the retiring Cong. McNulty.

 

Cong. Mike McNulty has served in the House of Representatives since

first being elected in 1988. Throughout his twenty years of dedicated

service to his constituents, he has been a staunch supporter of issues

of concern to the Armenian American community in upstate New York. He

has traveled to the Republic of Armenia, and has consistently received

an A+ rating from the Armenian National Committee of America for his

ardent support for genocide recognition and the self-determination of

Nagorno Karabagh.

 

Following the ceremony, a "Madagh" dinner sponsored by the Homenetmen

of Albany and a lecture by David Kherdian, an Armenian American poet

and novelist, will be held at the Armenian Community Center in

Watervliet. For more information on this event, please contact

Antranig Karageozian at 518-331-8559.

 

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and

most influential Armenian American grassroots political

organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,

chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated

organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the

concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of

issues.

###

 

Photo Captions #1: Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY-21)

Photo Captions #2: Mayor Harry Tutunjian of Troy

Photo Caption # 3: Mayor Michael Manning of Watervliet

 

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Prof. Shemmassian to Lecture at

Ararat-Eskijian Museum, May 4

MISSION HILLS, CA - Prof. Vahram Shemmassian, Assistant Professor of Armenian

and Director of the Armenian Studies Program at California State University,

Northridge, will speak at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, 15105 Mission Hills

Road, Mission Hills, CA, on May 4, at 4 p.m.

The lecture, entitled "The Rescue of Enslaved Armenian Women and Children in

Syria at the End of the World War I Genocide," is co-sponsored by the Museum

and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

Women and children constituted a special category of victims during the

Armenian Genocide. Those who did not succumb to outright massacre, drowning,

diseases, starvation, and exposure, became objects of rape, abduction, enslavement,

forced religious conversion, involuntary marriages, economic manipulation,

and other abuses.

Prof. Shemmassian's lecture will deal with efforts to rescue such victims in

Syria in the immediate aftermath of World War I. More specifically, it will

highlight the governments, agencies, and individuals involved in the recovery

campaign; venues of and obstacles to liberation; and shelter and disposal.

Shemmassian received a Ph.D. from UCLA in 1996 with a dissertation entitled

"The Armenian Villagers of Musa Dagh: A Historical-Ethnographic Study,

1840-1915."

More information on Prof. Shemmassian's talk may be had by calling

617-489-1610, by fax at 617-484-1759, by e-mail at hq@naasr.org, or by writing to

NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478; or by contacting the Ararat-Eskijian

Museum at 818-838-4862 or by e-mail at aem@ararat-eskijian-museum.com.

 

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COMMEMORATIONS - ROME, ITALY

 

On the occasion of the 93th Anniversary of the Genocide, the Council for the Armenian Community of Rome promotes the awareness campaign called "THE WORDLESS TRAGEDY" publishing a manifesto in memory of the Metz Yeghern’s victims.

 

This unique campaign is the only one of its kind and, besides the publishing of the manifesto (tens of thousands copies issued both on national newspapers and on the free press), it also includes a spot which will be broadcasted on the public transports provided with LCD monitors.

 

The ad is on air from the 11th to the 30th of April with 150 daily passages. The initiative involves 900 buses in Rome, the A Line of the city subway and will be extended also to the cities of Milan (20 buses), Siena (20 buses), Florence (60 buses) and Bari (70 buses).

 

The headline of the manifesto is "24th of APRIL 2008 - ANNIVERSARY OF THE Armenian Genocide: "THE WORDLESS TRAGEDY". On the background, a close up of a man with the lips sewn up which is a clear metaphor of the silence that, for many years, has surrounded the deep tragedy suffered by the Armenian people at the beginning of the XX Century. Even the ONU Human Rights Subcommittee, in 1973, defined this atrocious event as "The first genocide of the 20th Century”.

 

Besides, the Council for the Armenian Community of Rome decided to found an "Armenian Calendar" starting every year from the 24th of April and which is calculated from the Metz Yeghern on.

 

All of the official documents and the communiqués will bring, besides the effective date, the indication of the Armenian Year written in Roman characters and followed by the letters M. Y. (Metz Yeghern). According to this Calendar, we are now in the XCIII M. Y. year (93th M.Y.) and on the next 25th of April we will enter the XCIV M. Y. year (94th M. Y.).

 

The Council hopes that the initiative will be extended to all the communities of the Diaspora and of the Armenia itself. This project is aimed at protecting the memory‘s right and the right to fight against any Negationism.

 

Rome, April 2008 - XCIII M. Y.

 

http://www.comunitaarmena.it/comunicati/CA...ILE%202008.html

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Here's the Never Again campaign. Not sure where else to put it.

 

The only thing I think they could have done was make the words on the wrist-bands a different color. It's not visible from far away or even from a close distance and most people don't really read it because there are so many cheap companies that also have the same bands with cheesy messages all over them. But there's also the cost and the fact that the paint might peel off anyway. I'll contact them about it.

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So what all you guys doing? I'm just asking 'cos I have no-where to go round here...if you tell me what you're doing I can live vicarously through your experiences :down:

 

as opposed to sitting around drinking too much vodka and crying by myself, which is what I've done every year up 'till now :runtear:

 

 

 

actually that is what I'm doing now too, but at least I can come here to do it.....

Edited by fluttermoth
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So what all you guys doing? I'm just asking 'cos I have no-where to go round here...if you tell me what you're doing I can live vicarously through your experiences :down:

 

as opposed to sitting around drinking too much vodka and crying by myself, which is what I've done every year up 'till now :runtear:

 

 

 

actually that is what I'm doing now too, but at least I can come here to do it.....

Hi fluttermoth, it's nice to hear from you again! :)

You can lid a candle in their honour, that is what I did.

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Hi there Yervant...

 

I have lit a candle, but it seems a bit feeble. One candle in the face of all that pain...

I mean my friends and family are sympathetic, but they only get it in an intellectual way; they don't really feel it like I do,

 

thanks for replying; I have been around; I just haven't had much to say :(

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Oops I just noticed, you are from England!!! I think there are places to go in England to commemorate the Genocide. You just have to look around. Tonight is the light the night, basically what you do is light a candle near your after 10pm, and take a picture of it from outside!, there is a place to post it, I will direct you there on Friday, we wouldn't mind looking at the pictures either!!!
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yeah Ashot; I know there are places in England doing stuff but they are all along way away from me and I'm agoraphobic, so I don't get out much:(

 

I don't think I'll be able to see my candle from outside...the flame is pathetically small and my phone has a shitty camera. and I can't put the pics from it on my pc either...doh...

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Armenians march on killings anniversary

 

From correspondents in Yerevan | April 24, 2008

 

THOUSANDS marched in the streets of Yerevan today on the eve of the 93rd anniversary of mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, demanding Turkey recognise the massacres as genocide.

 

More than 10,000 marchers, mostly youths and students, carried torches and candles to commemorate the killings, which began in 1915 and which many countries have termed genocide.

 

Turkey strongly rejects the genocide label and the issue has often been a flashpoint in relations between Turkey and the West.

 

After burning a Turkish flag in Yerevan's Freedom Square, participants marched to a monument to the victims of the killings, where they laid wreaths and flowers.

 

Many carried flags of the 23 countries whose governments or parliaments have recognised the killings as genocide, including Canada, France, Switzerland and Poland.

 

Others held banners reading: "Save Europe! Keep Turkey out of the EU!" and "93 years since the Armenian genocide."

 

"They tell us: forget this tragedy, move on with your life. But how can we forget? The pain of this tragedy is passed from generation to generation," said 19-year-old Dvin Titizian, a Canadian who was among the many from Armenia's widespread diaspora who took part in the march.

 

"We will continue to condemn Turkey for denying the genocide because we must believe that one day it will recognise the genocide and ask our forgiveness," she said.

 

Thousands more, including Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, were expected to attend official ceremonies marking the anniversary tomorrow.

 

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated killings during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

 

Turkey rejects the killings constituted genocide, saying that 300,000 Armenians and at least an equal number of Turks were killed in civil strife in 1915-1917 when the Christian Armenians, backed by Russia, rose up against the Ottomans.

 

The dispute has been a major obstacle in relations between Turkey and Armenia, which have no diplomatic ties and whose border has remained closed for more than a decade.

 

It has also complicated relations between EU-aspirant Turkey and many Western countries, especially those with large ethnic Armenian communities.

 

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...0-12335,00.html

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PRESS RELEASE

Armenian American Cultural Society of Las Vegas

P. O. Box 94406, Las Vegas, NV

Contact: Andy Armenian

Tel: 702 580 0807

Fax: 702 456 8849

E-mail: Andy.Armenian@cox.net

 

NEVADA ARMENIANS HONOR CONGRESSWOMAN BERKLEY DURING 93RD GENOCIDE

COMMEMORATION

 

Las Vegas, Nevada - April 20: During the commemoration of the 93rd

Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Las Vegas Armenian community

honored Congresswoman Shelly Berkley with a plaque for her relentless

efforts for congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The

packed audience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) applauded

Congresswoman Berkley's strong position on the issue. After accepting the

plaque from the event chair, Hriyr John Dadaian, Congresswoman Berkley

noted, "as a Jew, it is a shame to deny somebody else's genocide and that it

is why I cannot deny what happened to the Armenians and I will continue to

support recognition."

 

The commemoration also featured as keynote speaker Mr. Armen Liloyan, Consul

General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, on his first official

visit to Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Liloyan spoke passionately about the need

for the current Turkish government to recognize the Genocide of the previous

Ottoman Empire and to come to terms with its past so that the regional

neighbors may move toward a prosperous future.

 

Additionally, staff members representing Senator Reid, Senator Ensign,

Congressman Porter, and Congressman Heller delivered strong statements

joining the community's commemoration and recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

 

Mr. Adroushan Andy Armenian, Treasurer of the Armenian-American Cultural

Society of Las Vegas and Board Member of the Genocide Memorial Committee,

presented plans to erect a Monument at a dedicated Memorial Park in Las

Vegas. The UNLV Armenian Students Association presented a slide show

depicting various Genocide Monuments throughout the world. Mr. Armenian

also noted several recent donations and pledges for the project.

Congresswoman Berkley also pledged her personal donation for the memorial.

 

"With support from our elected officials and representatives of the Armenian

Republic, the Las Vegas Armenian-American community recommitted itself to

the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, so that we can work to

prevent similar human rights tragedies from recurring," stated Hriyr John

Dadaian in closing the program.

 

Participants for the commemoration also included the Armenian Relief Society

"Shoushi" Chapter Saturday School students; the Homenetmen "Artsakh" Chapter

Scouts; the Armenian Evangelical Church Choir; Herman Brumm performing

violin and piano solos.

 

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