Armenian Genocide Commemorations List and related articles

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN CHURCH CANONISES '1.5M GENOCIDE VICTIMS'

20 minutes ago
23/04/14
>From the section Europe

Hundreds gathered for the ceremony near the capital

The Armenian Church has held a ceremony near Yerevan to canonise 1.5
million Armenians it says were killed in massacres and deportations
by Ottoman Turks during World War One.

The church says the aim of the ceremony was to proclaim the martyrdom
of those killed for their faith and homeland.

On Friday commemorations will mark the 100th anniversary of the
killings.

Turkey disputes the term "genocide", arguing that there were many
deaths on both sides during the conflict.

After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world.

The beatification at the Echmiadzin Cathedral did not give the specific
number of victims or their names.

It is the first time in 400 years that the Armenian Church has used
the rite of canonisation.

The use of the word "genocide" to describe the killings is
controversial. Pope Francis was rebuked recently weeks by Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for describing it as the "first genocide
of the 20th Century".

Bells tolled at the symbolic time of 19:15 local time to mark the
centenary of the killings

On Friday, a memorial service will be held in Turkey and its prime
minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said the country will "share the pain"
of Armenians.

However, he reiterated Turkey's stance that the killings were not
genocide.

"To reduce everything to a single word, to put responsibility through
generalisations on the Turkish nation alone... is legally and morally
problematic," he said.

Mr Davutoglu did acknowledge the deportations, saying: "We once again
respectfully remember and share the pain of grandchildren and children
of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during deportation in 1915."

What happened in 1915?

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915 at the hands of the
Ottoman Turks, whose empire was disintegrating.

Many of the victims were civilians deported to barren desert regions
where they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in
massacres.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people were killed. Turkey says the
number of deaths was much smaller.

Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide - as
do more than 20 states, including France, Germany, Canada and Russia,
and various international bodies including the European Parliament.

Turkey rejects the term genocide, maintaining that many of the dead
were killed in clashes during World War One, and that many ethnic
Turks also suffered in the conflict.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32437633

[Yervant1]

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF 100

NEWS | APRIL 23, 2015 1:26 PM
________________________________

By Alin K. Gregorian

I have spent a lifetime hearing about the events of 1915 and I can
say that this is an anniversary whose commemoration I have both looked
forward to and dreaded.

It is the ultimate round number, giving us an opportunity for an
impressive commemoration as well as possibly marking the end of an
era of remembrance.

The coverage of the events, as well as the community-wide cooperation
among many Armenian groups, has been heartening. Many international
leaders, including Pope Francis, have stepped up and put the focus of
the world, not just the Armenian diaspora and the Republic of Armenia,
on the centennial commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Major publications, such as the Washington Post and New York Times,
have come out with more affirmative editorials than ever before on the
subject and the importance of its proper labeling and commemoration.

In this year of positive developments, even reality stars such as
the Kardashian family was able to bring dignity and recognition not
only to the Armenian Genocide, but the country of Armenia, as a fun
and vital destination. Of course, Armenia and our hard-won Artsakh
face danger every day and it is our duty to make sure that the Azeri
government does not weaken them by constant aggression and a blockade
that weakens its economy.

It is a sad commentary on our society that serious and worthy Genocide
scholars are not able to bring their message to a mass audience,
but a lowbrow program can.

It is also empowering that events commemorating the anniversary
of these horrific events are spread throughout the year, so that
post-April 24, the issue is not forgotten. For example, major
commemorative programs are scheduled to take place in Washington in
May, including a joint mass at the National Cathedral.

A century is a time span that gives us enough distance to have even
better perspective on the events. The mind-numbing acts of violence,
the sheer and enthusiastic brutality against those least capable of
defending themselves has been captured this year in dozens of books
that pay homage to the spirit of survival that many of those carried.

Films, music and various other art forms have recorded for posterity
our people's collective pain.

The Armenian Diaspora has come a long way. From those haunting images
of women and children with distended bellies, dying in front of us,
to beheaded men, we have become success stories across the world.

Unfortunately, it seems much of our success is individual rather than
collective, yet those days are clearly behind us.

Should it matter to us if Turkey or the US does not recognize the
Armenian Genocide? Yes and no. What matters is that we are bringing
the truth to more and more people -- sources that can spread the word.

And what happens in April 2016? Let's hope that the energetic spirit
of so many young people, Armenians and non-Armenians, will endure. Is
it possible that Turkey will recognize the Genocide? It is highly
unlikely, since with acceptance comes consequences. While getting
back any of the Armenian lands may be almost impossible, Armenian
families can file suits against the government and certain families for
usurping their wealth after they were forcibly deported. After all,
the wealth that the Armenians left behind in Turkey is equivalent to
trillions in today's dollars.

It seems after the debacle of last year's apology issued by the Turkish
president, they have changed course and now promote a narrative of
deaths among both Armenians and Turks during World War I, while also
suggesting that Armenians were traitors who sided with the Russian
enemy and rose up against the authorities. In other words, we didn't
do anything and they deserved it.

Let's celebrate the spirit that is alive and well in us, our children
who speak Armenian, adults who reclaim their heritage and Turkish
citizens who are right along us, fighting for truth and recognition.

http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2015/04/23/the-psychology-of-100/

[Yervant1]

THE GUARDIAN VIEW ON TURKEY AND THE ARMENIANS: HISTORY MATTERS

Editorial

The battle over the word genocide is all but won, but the official
Turkish state remains in denial Recep Tayyip Erdoðan's government
in Turkey 'has essentially decided that its distorted version of
the origins of the state will remain in place'. Photograph: Kayhan
Ozer/AFP/Getty Images

Thursday 23 April 2015 19.48 BST

It is a hard thing to admit that the state to which you belong was
founded on a crime and that the history taught in your schools is
full of lies. Yet there is no redemption without repentance and,
on the centenary of the beginning of the genocidal campaign against
the Armenians, it is sad to record that Turkey has still not faced
the facts about what happened in 1915. The answer is quite simple in
outline, if complex in its dreadful detail. The Armenians, who had
lived in Anatolia since long before Turks arrived from central Asia,
were killed, deported, or forcibly converted to Islam. Estimates
suggest that at least 600,000 perished, while hundreds of thousands
were expelled from or fled the Turkish lands, never to return.

Analysis The Armenian genocide - the Guardian briefing

Turkey has never accepted the term genocide, even though historians
have demolished its denial of responsibility for up to 1.5 million
deaths Read more

For a shamefully long time the world was complicit in Turkey's
insistence that the suffering of the Armenians, and of Assyrian
Christians as well, was not different in kind from that of other
peoples, including ethnic Turks, during the convulsions caused by the
first world war across Europe, and, in particular, that it was unfair
to call it genocide. But scholarship, including some distinguished
Turkish work, has increasingly ruled out the "bad things happen in war"
thesis, while an extraordinary effort among Armenians of the diaspora
to rescue and deepen their own national memory of events and to pass
that on to others has gradually changed public opinion in Europe and
America. The United States still avoids the word genocide, as does
Britain. But legislature after legislature has passed resolutions using
the word, with Austria and Germany, which had long resisted its use,
the latest to do so. The German formulation is still equivocal, and so
is the position of Pope Francis, who pronounced on the issue earlier
this month. But the battle over the name has essentially been won.

This struggle has mattered intensely to Armenians and Turks, but it
has also sometimes stood in the way of a more historically grounded
understanding of events. The Armenian-American writer William Saroyan
has a character in one of his plays say: "The world is amok ... Life is
on fire; caught in hurricanes; submerged in deep and blind waters ..."

He might have coined those words to describe the Ottoman empire as
it drifted towards a final shipwreck in the late 19th century. It
is not too much to say that those who were in charge of the empire
were for most of the time in a state of despair, or that they hardly
understood the forces that were changing their once multiethnic state
into something else.

By the middle of the world war "a government had come to believe that
among its subject peoples whole nations presented an immediate threat
to the security of the state," the historian Ronald Suny writes.

"Defence of the empire and of the nation became the rationale for
mass murder." And there was tinder available: Armenians and Kurds had
for a long time been in competition for power and land in territory
they both thought was theirs. The empire, when it worked, had kept
that rivalry, in which the Kurds were the persistent aggressors,
below a certain level of violence. But when the reins were slipped,
the Turkish government had eager executors of its will to hand.

The Kurds, ironically, then suffered from Turkish ethnic chauvinism
in their turn. There was no attempt to physically destroy them as a
people, but their language was suppressed and their identity denied.

They were supposed to turn into Turks, but refused to do so, a refusal
that recent Turkish governments have reluctantly come to accept. The
Kurds now, after their own bitter experience, are well to the fore
in recognising and regretting their role in 1915. Some, perhaps many,
ethnic Turks also know that the national narrative is problematic.

But the official Turkish state remains wedded to its threadbare myth,
fulminating and recalling ambassadors whenever the word genocide
is pronounced. This year it has even moved the anniversary of the
Gallipoli campaign so it coincides with the Armenian anniversary,
hoping to obscure one remembrance with another. Ministers will attend
some other, tamer ceremonies. But the Erdoðan government, which in
earlier years gave some cause for hope on this issue, has essentially
decided that its distorted version of the origins of the state will
remain in place.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/23/guardian-view-turkey-armenians-history-matters

[Yervant1]

SERJ TANKIAN: U.S. TAKES THE WRONG WORD TO RECOGNIZE WHAT WE CALL GENOCIDE

22:55, 23.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

YEREVAN. - Turkish mayor saved my grandmother during the Armenian
Genocide. The Turkish government must hail such people as heroes,
instead of denying history, Serj Tankian, lead singer of the legendary
group System of a Down, said during his concert in Yerevan.

"My grandfather was 5 when he saw his father die. He himself lost
his sight of hunger.

He appeared in the orphanage in Greece. The US Middle East fund was
saving the Armenian orphans. The fact that U.S. takes the wrong word
to recognize what we call Genocide is appalling not only to us but
appalling to Americans," Serj Tankian said.

According to him, Russia also saved many children orphans during
the WWI and was a good friend. "As survivors we need to meet all
governments eye-to-eye equally," he said.

Tankian noted that "there is still a lot of ***ing work to do in
Armenia" after 20 years of independence. The responsibility of Armenian
government is to bring in the principles of civic society, get rid of
institutional injustice about and stop depopulation that is occurring,

"We are SOAD and our responsibility is to tell you these things,"
Tankian said.

http://news.am/eng/news/263644.html

[Yervant1]

MARIA GULEGHINA: TURKEY MUST ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

22:38, 23.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

Turkey must acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, the opera singer Maria
Guleghina, who is considered as the best dramatic soprano in the world,
told Armenian News - NEWS.am at Zvatnots airport.

Referring to the question on what she feels on Armenian land, the
singer said: "Emotions brim me, since we mark such a mournful day -
the 100th anniversary. I think this date must become a kind of crucial
moment so that people merely understand, accept, realize and start
living in a new way afterwards. Since basically we all need only peace,
we only need to grow children, while the spite and hatred kill."

According to the singer, at different times of history some nations
fought between themselves and were at enmity, and that was horrible.

"What happened 100 years ago is terrible. But for the sake of our
children's future, for the sake of future in general we need to merely
live and remember those who died," Maria Guleghina said.

http://news.am/eng/news/263636.html

[Yervant1]

FRENCH MEP: ABOVE ALL, WE ASK TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

21:26, 23.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

Socialists and Democrats political group of the European Parliament
condemns all occurrences of crimes against humanity and genocide and
strongly deplores any attempts to deny them, the French MEP Sylvie
Guillaume told Armenian News -NEWS.am.

According to her, the European Parliament resolution came to a very key
moment. "Its message is clear: not only encouraging Turkish authorities
to use the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide as
an opportunity for Turkey to continue its efforts to come to terms with
its past and prepare for reconciliation with Armenia, but above all,
we ask Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide," the French MEP said.

On April 15 the European Parliament adopted by a majority vote a
resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide and calling on Turkey to
pave the way for reconciliation with Armenia.

http://news.am/eng/news/263600.html

[Yervant1]

VESTI: BELLS OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES CHIMED IN MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

23:30, 23.04.2015
Region:Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ASTRBC)
gives detailed coverage of the Ceremony of Canonization of the
Armenian Genocide Martyrs who died in the Ottoman Empire. A special
correspondent of the round-clock state informational TV channel
"Russia 24" reported livestream from Armenia several times during
Thursday evening, presenting in detail the history of Armenian
church's decision to canonize the Armenian Genocide victims, as well
as tomorrow's events.

The detailed plotting from Armenia was also shown during the news of
the program Vesti on state TV channel "Russia 1" and its international
version "RTR-Planeta," which goes on air at 21:00 Yerevan time (20:00
Moscow time).

In all the ASTRBC materials, the Armenian Genocide is presented as
an undeniable fact, acknowledged by Russia at state level. Turkey's
position is not mentioned in any way.

http://news.am/eng/news/263652.html

[Yervant1]

He welcomes Pope's expression but can't say it. Why care to explain clearly.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 23, 2015



Statement by the President on Armenian Remembrance Day

* *

This year we mark the centennial of the Meds Yeghern, the first mass
atrocity of the 20th Century. Beginning in 1915, the Armenian people
of the Ottoman Empire were deported, massacred, and marched to their
deaths. Their culture and heritage in their ancient homeland were
erased. Amid horrific violence that saw suffering on all sides, one
and a half million Armenians perished.

As the horrors of 1915 unfolded, U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau,
Sr. sounded the alarm inside the U.S. government and confronted
Ottoman leaders. Because of efforts like his, the truth of the Meds
Yeghern emerged and came to influence the later work of human rights
champions like Raphael Lemkin, who helped bring about the first United
Nations human rights treaty.

Against this backdrop of terrible carnage, the American and Armenian
peoples came together in a bond of common humanity. Ordinary American
citizens raised millions of dollars to support suffering Armenian
children, and the U.S. Congress chartered the Near East Relief
organization, a pioneer in the field of international humanitarian
relief. Thousands of Armenian refugees began new lives in the United
States, where they formed a strong and vibrant community and became
pillars of American society. Rising to great distinction as
businesspeople, doctors, scholars, artists, and athletes, they made
immeasurable contributions to their new home.

This centennial is a solemn moment. It calls on us to reflect on the
importance of historical remembrance, and the difficult but necessary
work of reckoning with the past. I have consistently stated my own
view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed. A full,
frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.
Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a foundation for a more
just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful
elements of the past. We welcome the expression of views by Pope
Francis, Turkish and Armenian historians, and the many others who have
sought to shed light on this dark chapter of history.

On this solemn centennial, we stand with the Armenian people in
remembering that which was lost. We pledge that those who suffered
will not be forgotten. And we commit ourselves to learn from this
painful legacy, so that future generations may not repeat it.

 

[Yervant1]

PRESS RELEASE
Date: April 23, 2015

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
Contact: Taniel Koushakjian
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Email: taniel@aaainc.org
Web: www.aaainc.org


ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA'S APRIL 24 STATEMENT


WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama today issued a statement which failed to
characterize the systemic massacres and ethnic cleansing committed against
Armenians 100 years ago as genocide, despite his personally stated view
that Armenians suffered a genocide. Instead, he again used the Armenian
language term Meds Yeghern for the Armenian Genocide. While the Assembly
recognizes that President Obama this year has gone farther than any
President since Ronald Reagan in 1981, who acknowledged the genocide of the
Armenians, he again stopped short of fulfilling his promise and reaffirming
the US record.

President Obama used a dictionary definition of the Armenian Genocide
noting `the Armenian people of the Ottoman empire were deported, massacred,
and marched to their deaths... one and a half million Armenians perished.' He
also referenced Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term genocide and cited what
happened to the Armenians and what happened to the Jews as prototypes of
genocide, as well as the courageous leadership of U.S. Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau who alerted the world that a `campaign of race extermination'
was under way and America's response and humanitarian intervention. The
absence of leadership on something as simple as condemning genocide is
becoming too familiar to the American people.

On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
Genocide, Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly of
America, issued the following statement:

`President Obama's exercise in linguistic gymnastics on the Armenian
Genocide is unbecoming of the standard he himself set and that of a world
leader today. One hundred years ago, a crime without a name took place. The
definition of that shameful act can be found in the statement just released
by the White House. When America stands apart from the European Parliament,
Pope Francis, Germany, Austria, and the International Association of
Genocide Scholars, we should pause and think about where we are as a
nation. The world should know that while our President bowed to Turkish
denial, Armenian Americans and other people of good conscience will never
allow our history to be swept under the rug. In that spirit, the Assembly
is recommitted to educating our neighbors, friends, and our communities
through the launch of the Armenian Genocide Museum of America. This
state-of-the-art online museum (www.armeniangenocidemuseum.org) is
dedicated to educating the public about the continuing consequences of the
Armenian Genocide and its denial. The interactive site invites visitors to
explore the story of the Armenian people and its fateful experience in
1915, and it will serve on the frontlines against genocide denial. Genocide
prevention is our obligation and we look forward to the day when the
President joins us.'

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and
awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501©(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR: # 2015-029

Available online at: http://bit.ly/1EkLMPi

[Yervant1]

Armenian genocide anniversary to be marked with Ottawa march

Rally in Ottawa scheduled to begin at noon on Parliament Hill

CBC News Posted: Apr 24, 2015 8:35 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 24, 2015 8:44 AM ET

• http://i.cbc.ca/1.3045631.1429800692!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/4x3_620/turkey-armenian-genocide-remembrance-day-yerevan-april-21-2015.jpg
  

• Tensions between Armenia and Turkey appeared to ease last year when Turkey's then-prime minister Tayyip Erdogan offered a statement of condolence to Armenians, but Pope Francis's use of the word genocide during a mass prompted Turkey to withdraw its ambassador to the Vatican earlier this month. (David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

11 of 12

Thousands of people are expected to gather on Parliament Hill this afternoon and march through Ottawa's downtown streets to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities in what is now present-day Turkey began rounding up and executing Armenians under their rule.

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

Millions of people around the world mark April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day and more than 20 countries, including Canada, recognize the slaughter of Armenians during the First World War as genocide.

Turkey, however, rejects the term.

A vigil was held Thursday night at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument on Elgin Street, where about 100 people gathered.

"Remembering genocides and commemorating them is one important step towards making sure that genocides and human rights atrocities around the world do not happen again," said Daron Keskinian, chair of the Armenian Youth Federation of Canada, at the vigil.

Rally to begin on Hill at noon

A rally in Ottawa is expected to begin on Parliament Hill Friday at noon.

The crowds are then expected to march along Wellington, Rideau and Cobourg streets from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Traffic congestion and delays are expected in the downtown core.

Rolling road closures will be in effect along the march route, Ottawa police said.

[Yervant1]

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=armenian%20news&source=newssearch&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8Q-AsoAzAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2015%2F04%2F24%2Fmiddleeast%2Farmenians-mass-killing-commemoration%2F&ei=d1Q6VcCcOreZsQTH8oGwDw&usg=AFQjCNGvOvDARMmi8jFWfdohAn1DOEDBCg

[Yervant1]

NBC News

 

Armenian Genocide: On 100th Anniversary, Germany Becomes Latest to Use Term

YEREVAN — Armenia marked the centenary Friday of a mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as Germany became the latest country to recognize it as a genocide.

Turkey denies that the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in what is now Turkey in 1915 constitutes genocide, and relations with Armenia are still blighted by the dispute.

Germany's parliament approved a resolution Friday branding the killings a "genocide," risking a diplomatic rupture with Ankara in a significant change of stance for Turkey's biggest trade European Union trade partner.

The European Parliament refers to the killings as genocide, as did Pope Francis this month. The U.S. has refrained from doing so. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as recently as Thursday refuted the description of the killings as genocide.

The French and Russian presidents, Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin, were among guests Friday at a hilltop memorial near the Armenian capital Yerevan and led calls for reconciliation.

"Recognition of the genocide is a triumph of human conscience and justice over intolerance and hatred," Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said.

In a speech at the ceremony that was met by warm applause, Hollande said a law adopted by France in 2001 on recognition of the killings as genocide was "an act of truth."

[Yervant1]

Germany Recognizes Armenian Killings in 1915 as Genocide

byBrian Parkin

2:35 PM EDT
April 23, 2015

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http://media.gotraffic.net/images/ikrpilXc5_fE/v3/488x-1.jpg

A picture released by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute dated 1915 purportedly shows soldiers standing over skulls of victims from the Armenian village of Sheyxalan in the Mush valley, on the Caucasus front during the First World War. A hundred years after an estimated million members of the empire’s Christian minority were forced from their homes on death marches by Turkish forces during World War I, Germany is still struggling to come to terms with its role in enabling the massacres that many European governments, including Pope Francis, call the first genocide of the twentieth century. Source: STR/AFP via Getty Image.

German political leaders for the first time labeled the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians under Turkish rule 100 years ago as genocide, saying the recognition was overdue.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition presented a parliamentary resolution Friday that describes the campaign against Armenians as genocidal and says German actions at the time were partly to blame. That echoed a speech by German President Joachim Gauck in Berlin late Thursday.

“We have to understand that the denial of this genocide has a special role for Turkey’s national identity,” Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union who heads the lower house’s foreign affairs committee, said in a speech to parliament. “We can’t condone that with silence. Even 100 years later isn’t too late. This is overdue.”

Germany has faced pressure from some European partners to follow their example and confront Turkey about the killings and deportations that began in April 1915 during World War I. German-Turkish ties and Germany’s wartime alliance with the Ottoman Empire have held back condemnation until now.

France, Russia, Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands are among countries that recognize the killings as genocide and are sending senior representatives to commemorations Friday in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Merkel isn’t attending and is sending a junior foreign minister instead.

Germany is Turkey’s biggest trading partner in the European Union, its biggest foreign investor and home to the largest group of Turks outside the country. Turkey acknowledges the killings, while saying they weren’t genocide.

Modern Turkey

Recognizing genocide “isn’t an attack on the reputation of modern-day Turkey,” said Bernd Fabritius, a lawmaker from the Merkel-allied Christian Social Union.

Cem Oezdemir, a lawmaker of Turkish descent for the opposition Greens, voiced hope that Germany’s shift will aid reconciliation between Turks and Armenians. It’s “important for Turkey to deal with this,” he said in a floor speech.

Lawmakers in the lower house, or Bundestag, sent the resolution to a committee for final review, a procedural requirement before passage by the full chamber.

The fate of the Armenians “is an example of the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and, yes, the genocides that left such a terrible mark on the 20th century,” the resolution says.

German military advisers helped plan and partially carry out the deportations, while leaders in Berlin ignored reports by German observers and diplomats on the ground, Gauck said in his speech at Berlin’s main cathedral. That means Germany had “a shared responsibility, possibly even a shared blame, for the genocide of the Armenians.”

Edited April 24, 2015 by Yervant1

[Yervant1]

17:23 24/04/2015 » SOCIETY

‘I apologize for my leaders not having courage to recognize Armenian Genocide’

“I am here today because the prime ministers of my country are in Turkey. The people of Australia and New Zealand are very sincere and mindful. I am here so that the Armenian nation knows about that, that we are with you and that we are ashamed,” a citizen of Australia and New Zealand Len Wick told the correspondent of Panorama.am at Tsitsernakaberd monument as he had visited Armenia to pay tribute to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

He was holding a poster that read: “On behalf of Australia and New Zealand people I apologize to the Armenian people for my leaders not having the courage to recognize the Armenian Genocide…”

He said that 34 thousand Australian soldiers were killed in Gallipoli and his countries do not recognize the Armenian Genocide because they fear that Turkey will not allow them to go to Gallipoli and pay tribute to the memory of their killed soldiers. “Turkey says, if you recognize, we will not allow you to come here.”

Len Wick added that he has written a book dedicated to Armenia and he intended to shoot a film on that book to tell the world who the Armenians are and what history they have.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

14:25 24/04/2015 » SOCIETY

Famous footballer Dani Alves demands Armenian Genocide recognition

Brazilian national and Barcelona FC footballer Dani Alves has demanded the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Facebook page of the Armenian Embassy in Spain reports.

The Brazilian defender of the Catalan club Barcelona has called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, holding a poster on the topic.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

12:38 24/04/2015 » SOCIETY

Garry Kasparov: Armenian Genocide is mother of all genocides of 20th century

“Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Like all great acts of evil, it is difficult to face and it must be faced. Evil grows when we shy away from it and refuse to acknowledge it; this we know from history,” Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion and Russian opposition figure, wrote on Facebook.

“So we must be honest and we must be brave enough to call evil by its name, especially this, the mother of all genocides of the 20th century.

“In 2002, I wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal calling for Turkey to be admitted to the European Union if a few issues could be resolved. First among them was recognition and full investigation of the Armenian genocide of 1915. It is a great disappointment that this never came to pass. As I wrote then, “Only by incorporating a large Muslim country fully in Western ranks will we be able to call for the final crusade against global terrorism, which is so far smartly wrapping itself with Islamic colors.

“I still hold out hope that this will happen. How can we fight against the many evils present in our world today if we do not have the courage to face an evil whose ghosts are now a century old?” Karparov wrote.

 

Source: Panorama.am

[ED]

astvats hoqinere lusavori,

 

I dont know about you but on every april 24th something always comes down on me, i really hate and dislike the word genocide

my mood is down and very somber, the lessons of the past let it be a education to us as a nation, the only way someday we will see justice is thru our unity and devotion to each other, turkeys admitance wont do any good to us, and dont expect world powers to hand us our lost homeland, we have one now, we need to love and support our brothers and sisters, no nation really gives a damn

 

all I can say is what Charents said, Qo prkutyune miayn qo havaqakan uji mej e

[Yervant1]

 

NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, granddaughter of Armenian genocide victims, attends commemoration service in Yerevan

By Danuta Kozaki

Posted yesterday at 7:04pm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/5396242-3x2-340x227.jpgPHOTO: NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian will be attending the 100th commemoration service for Armenian genocide victims. (AAP: Paul Miller, file photo)

RELATED STORY: Who on April 25 will remember the Armenians?

RELATED STORY: Australians remember 100 years since Armenian death marches

MAP: Armenia

NSW Treasurer and descendant of Armenian genocide survivors Gladys Berejiklian has attended the 100th commemoration service for victims in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

Ms Berejiklian is the granddaughter of genocide survivors orphaned during the death marches and attacks under the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed at the time - a figure disputed by Turkey.

The Turkish prime minister said a ceremony will be held in Istanbul in memory of killed Armenians, but Turkey continues to outlaw the use of the word "genocide" in relation to the mass killings.

Ms Berejiklian said she was honoured to attend the service in Yerevan where victims have been canonised by the Armenian Church.

"For me it was a very important decision I took to be there, because of my family history, but also on principle to ensure that tragedies, that genocides, don't happen again," she said.

"The only reason that they will not happen again is that if we remember those events and acknowledge them for what they are."

Ms Berejiklian said there was no conflict with her attending the service in Yerevan and the marking of the 100th anniversary for Gallipoli.

"As an Australian, I appreciate that important time in our nation's history," she said.

"I think that relationship we have with modern Turkey is so important and integral, but that should not stop us recognising what horrible acts occurred 100 years ago under Ottoman rule.

"You can respect the warm relationship with Turkey but that the previous government under the Ottoman Empire had a state-based policy against Armenians and other minorities.

"You cannot ignore history and accept those things will not happen again.

"If you do not stand up or do not speak up acts of genocide will continue to occur and that is something that I cannot have on my conscience."

The Federal Government previously said it would not send an official representative to the ceremony in Yerevan.

 

[Yervant1]

OBAMA PLAYING WORD GAMES WITH GENOCIDE: ANCA

09:03, 24 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram
Hamparian offered the following comment on President Obama's April 24th
'Armenian Remembrance Day' statement.

"The sad spectacle of President Obama playing word games with genocide,
so obviously dodging the truth at the direction of a foreign power,
falls beneath the dignity of the American people," said Hamparian.

"Candidate Obama was right when he said that 'America deserves a
leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds
forcefully to all genocides.' He has, regretfully, proven to the
world today that he is not that president. In fact, it's now clear
that President Obama's misguided attempt to appease Ankara has only
isolated Washington," he added.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/24/obama-playing-word-games-with-genocide-anca/

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S INTERVIEW WITH TURKISH HURRIYET DAILY

11:07, 24 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On the morning of April 24, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet has
published an extensive interview with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan.

- As a politician who has invested great efforts into the process
of reconciliation between your country and Turkey, what scenario you
would dream of having on April 24 Remembrance Day this year?

I believe one such option would be giving tribute to the innocent
victims of the Armenian Genocide jointly with the Turkish President
on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd, and proclaiming from the Memorial to
the whole world that we join our efforts in condemning the crimes
of genocide of the past thus preventing the possible recurrence of
genocide and other crimes against humanity.

This was exactly our aim when we sent an invitation to the President
of Turkey to participate in the commemoration events on April 24.

Unfortunately, this became another missed opportunity for Turkey.

- If the protocols were implemented, would Armenia still continue its
aggressive campaign calling upon states and international organizations
to recognize the Armenian Genocide?

First of all, the characterization of being 'aggressive' is misplaced.

The steps we have taken should not be misconstrued as an attack,
and are not against the Turkish people. And, secondly, I would rather
avoid any hypothetical questions.

That was a process, which had not reached its logical conclusion.

Should it have been crowned with success, perhaps, we would have found
ourselves in another reality: it is possible that eventually Turkey
itself could have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, and with that
we would enter a new phase of a genuine reconciliation between our
nations. Today we have what we have.

The present tendencies of recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide by various states and organizations demonstrate in practice
the international community's awareness that impunity for the crimes
against humanity is inadmissible, and we shall join efforts to devise
effective mechanisms for the prevention thereof.

The continuous process of the Armenian Genocide recognition by the
international community should be a serious signal to the Turkish
authorities that the denials stance of Turkey on this issue does not
in any way or shape fit the values and realities of the XXI century.

- What have you gained from the latest statement by Pope Francis? Did
you anticipate it? What possible consequences do you think it may
entail?

World leaders are vested with a unique mission to prevent crimes
against humanity. In this context, the Mass at St. Peter's Basilica
served by Pope Francis on April 12 to commemorate the Armenian Genocide
Centennial, who followed the lead of Pope John Paul II in defining
the well-known events as genocide, was a clear demonstration to that
effect. The Pope's statement was a message of humanism, tolerance,
struggle against xenophobia, and crimes against humanity addressed
to the entire humankind. I hope it will become a landmark to guide
especially those countries that subordinate universal values to their
political interests.

The emotional and non-diplomatic reaction of the Turkish leadership
was yet another proof that Turkey continued its policy of evident
denial pursued at a state level, thus taking upon it the burden of the
responsibility for the crime perpetrated by the authorities of the
Ottoman Empire. If Turkey does not share this view, if it disagrees
with numerous countries and international organizations that have
recognized the Armenian Genocide, that is Turkey's problem, and not
the one of the international community.

- What are your expectations from the U.S. President Obama on April
24 this year? If the United States decides to take into account its
strategic interests in the region, and not to initiate any steps that
might infuriate Turkey, what would be your reaction?

Every country pursues its strategic interests, but there are universal
interests and universal priorities. One of them is to build a secure
and peaceful world, which is possible through straightening out
disputes we presently that exist today. And that means that one
needs to face its own past, learn lessons from it by taking the
necessary steps.

The 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson 95 years ago
actually formulated the need for the international recognition of
the Armenian Genocide, since the prevention of the crimes of genocide
and all other future sufferings starts with the acknowledgement.

As a mighty power and champion of democratic values the United States
has on numerous occasions stated its position regarding the Armenian
Genocide. Out of 51 U.S. constituent states 44 recognized and condemned
the Armenian Genocide. Throughout history various American Presidents,
such as Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, described the atrocities against
the Armenian people as genocide. Even those U.S.

Presidents that had not used the word "genocide" during their tenure
had used that term while campaigning. It means that they never
questioned the veracity of what had happened, and only due to certain
political considerations refrained from uttering the word "genocide".

We strongly believe that universal values will eventually prevail
over ephemeral political interests.

- In spite of the European Parliament recognition of the Armenian
claims in 1987, and a similar resolution adopted on April 15 this
year, I have met numerous European liberals in past years that
happened to support the Turkish views that history is better left
to historians. There was also a reference to that effect in the
Armenian-Turkish protocols too, aiming at the establishment of a
special commission. Despite this we have noticed the position of the
Armenian authorities that history is not a matter of discussion. This
is a kind of controversial stance, isn't it?

I do not know which representatives of the European Parliament you
have met but the resolution of April 15, 2015, was adopted by a sheer
majority in the European Parliament that represents 28 European states,
and around half a billion people. That in itself is already a very
vocal fact that testifies the clear cut position of the European
family with regard to the Armenian Genocide.

By adopting that document, the European legislative body paid tribute
to the memory of 1.5mln victims of the Armenian Genocide, and once
again underscored its commitment to the protection of human rights
and universal values.

On the notion of leaving history to historians: the veracity of
the Armenian Genocide has been studied by various scholars, social
and political figures, international law experts, the International
Association of Genocide Scholars, lawmakers, and also a number of
Turkish historians for about a century now. The unanimous view of all
of them was that what happened to the Armenian people in the Ottoman
Empire definitely constituted genocide. Under the light of this,
it becomes obvious that the Turkish proposal of establishing the
so-called commission of historians has only one goal, which is to
delay the process of the Armenian Genocide recognition, and divert
the attention of international community from that crime. That is
not only our view but also the view of the international community
that goes on recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide.

The protocols contain no clause of establishing any commission
on historical studies. The respective paragraph in the protocol
envisages a dialogue aimed at restoring mutual confidence between
the two nations, which entailed the establishment of a sub-commission.

Throughout the negotiations the Armenian side has stressed on numerous
occasions at various levels also to the Turkish side that the veracity
of the Genocide cannot be questioned under any circumstances.

- On February 16 you recalled the protocols from your Parliament. On
the other hand, the protocols are still in the Turkish Parliament
waiting for a politically expedient time for ratification. Isn't this
move by Armenia perceived as a step back from the reconciliation
efforts on your side? Does this mean the 2009 process has failed
totally?

I will ask a rhetorical question: when the expedient time will
arrive according to the Turkish standards? It has already been
the sixth year since the protocols have been signed: when is the
expedient time? On the part of Turkey this signifies lack of any
basic respect not only towards the side that the protocols have been
concluded with but also towards its international obligations. The
years behind have demonstrated that Turkey is looking forward not
to some convenient moment, but instead is trying to prevent the
manifestation of unambiguous position of the international community
on the Armenian Genocide by imitating a process of the Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement, claiming that recognitions were something that hindered
the reconciliation.

The process of the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation was launched upon my
initiative, and pursued a very simple goal - to establish diplomatic
relations without any preconditions, and unseal the last closed
border in Europe, safeguarding peaceful and neighborly coexistence
of our nations.

Unfortunately, the lack of political will on the part of the
Turkish authorities, distortion of the letter and spirit of the
protocols, fresh manifestations of denial, and continuously brought
up preconditions intended to feed groundless demands of Azerbaijan
thwarted the implementation of the protocols. Everyone is well-aware
that it was Armenia that could have brought up some preconditions
in the first place, but we have not resorted to it yet since we are
guided by our vision of establishing an environment of cooperation
in the region.

After six years of unfulfilled expectations I have decided to recall
the protocols from the parliament. On one occasion I said that
the Armenians are not going to wait indefinitely for the Turkish
authorities to be able to find a convenient moment to finally ratify
those protocols.

It was not Armenia that closed the Armenian-Turkish border, and it is
not Armenia shutting the doors to the reconciliation. Unfortunately,
the window of opportunity to arrive at historic reconciliation between
our nations was missed because of the unconstructive Turkish policies.

We, however, are ready to embark upon a constructive dialogue with
Turkey in case it faces its own history, heeds to the calls of the
international community, and guided itself by the vision of creating
a peaceful future for the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

- Does the Republic of Armenia have any territorial claims from Turkey?

The Republic of Armenia has never declared any territorial claims
either to Turkey, or to any other country since our independence.

There has never been such an issue on the foreign policy agenda of our
country, and there is none today. That is a clear cut position. We are
a fully-fledged and responsible member of the international community.

As a member to the United Nations we recognize our role in the
international affairs, we respect the principles of international
law, and the same, incidentally, we anticipate from our neighbor to
the West. The one that illegally keeps the border with our country
shut, turning it into the last closed border in Europe, and brings up
unacceptable preconditions for the establishment of the diplomatic
relations with Armenia in disrespect towards the international
community that mediated the Zurich Protocols. The Zurich Protocols,
I remind you, which bears Turkey's own signature underneath.

And, finally, I would like to register: you might have noticed that the
talk of Armenia's territorial claims towards Turkey or any intentions
of our to that effect is mainly carried in Turkey, not in Armenia. I
will stop here to let each of us draw his own conclusions as why it
is so.

- Why Armenia considered offensive the Turkish invitation to
participate in the ceremonies dedicated to the Battle of Canakkale
on April 24? The Turkish officials were saying that for the past 20
years they had been marking that event, and the present year has been
significant because of the hundredth anniversary of the Canakkale
battle. It seems around 30 heads of states are going to participate
in that ceremony. Is Armenia concerned about that?

The events scheduled for the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
Centennial are not a matter of competition for us. If the Turkish
authorities are in pursuit of securing more state leaders in attendance
at any cost in order to overshadow the Armenian Genocide Centennial
events, we have got much more serious and forward-looking goals, that
is to establish a vigorous platform together with the international
community in struggling against the past and future crimes against
humanity.

In contrast to Turkey, we neither force, nor threaten, and nor
blackmail the international community to partake in our commemoration
events. The representatives of states and international organizations
are coming to Armenia guided not by political or economic gains,
but principles, universal values and moral imperatives.

As you have indicated, it has been for only 20 years that Turkey holds
those ceremonies. But let us also register that in the course of those
20 years it has never been held on April 24. This is the first year
that the celebration is planned on the very same day of April 24,
when the Armenian people for a hundred years has been firmly getting
together to commemorate the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Regardless of what name do the Turkish authorities ascribe to the
Armenian Genocide, such an indelicate move manifested disrespectful
attitude towards their own citizens - the memory of 1.5 million
murdered Armenians. Meanwhile, had Turkey a slightest willingness to
normalize our relations, figuratively speaking, "it should not have
organized a feast and celebration on the day when the neighbor is
mourning at home."

- Don't you think that opening the border will change the existing
difficulties in the relations?

Opening the border will change many things. First of all, it will
create a certain atmosphere of trust, lay foundation of establishing
beneficial business ties, and make a considerable contribution to
the economic development of the Eastern provinces of Turkey. Opening
the border will also make contacts between our civil societies more
active, making them more informed about each other's approaches and
perceptions, which, I believe, will also have a positive impact on
the two nations' rapprochement.

- Now, as April 24 passes, what will be the strategy of the Armenian
state in the upcoming years? Will there be a place for renewed efforts
to start a new process of rapprochement? Do you personally have the
political will to change this process of stalemate, which does not
make it possible for the two states to live as neighbors?

We have stated many times that our struggle does not end in 2015 - it
will just enter a more mature phase. Let us not forget that we have had
an opportunity to raise the issue of the Armenian Genocide, and condemn
it only after the declaration of independence of the third Republic
of Armenia. And that means that our struggle has just started. And
it will be more coordinated and purposeful in the upcoming years.

The bridges of rapprochement are not burned yet and we even initiated
rapprochement ourselves. However, it is impossible to open the
door whose key we don't have. And even now, when we commemorate the
centennial of our innocent victims, I declare that we are ready for
the normalization of relations with Turkey, for starting a process
of rapprochement between the Armenian and Turkish nations without
any preconditions.

- Prime Minister Davutoglu of the Republic of Turkey made a statement
on April 19, which was unexpected for us. He said, "I express my
condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians who lost their
lives during WWI." There were also expressions like sharing the pain,
true memory, honestly confronting the past in the statement. Another
surprise is that on April 24, a liturgy will be served in the Armenian
Patriarchate. How do you assess the content of this message?

It is interesting that this message was published on April 19. If it
had been made public on April 24, i.e., on the day of the centennial
of the Genocide or a day before that, I would have considered it
as an ordinary statement whose denialist content we know from the
previous statements. However, since it was made public so early, in
our opinion, it is an attempt to resist or affect the larger process
related to the recognition of the Genocide that is under way around
the world. It is understandable why it was made public on April 19.

And I think it was inappropriate to distort, manipulate or respond
to His Holiness Pope Francis's words.

I don't want to talk about the content of that spurious statement -
I expect that on April 24, Mr. Erdogan, the President of Turkey, will
prove to be more robust and rational and will make a real statement,
in which he will say what happened, which will make it possible for
us to start a process of rapprochement between our two nations. To be
more accurate, perhaps, one needs to say - not between the nations,
but between ourselves and the Turkish government because I don't
blame the Turkish people, the Turks for anything whatsoever.

- If you are ready to share your feelings toward the Turkish people,
I would like to ask the following question. During the same war, what
does the pain suffered by the Turkish and Muslim societies signify
to you? Does Armenia admit the pain, sufferings, and deportations of
Turks during the same period?

The Armenian people cannot but understand that suffering because the
Armenian people have suffered many defeats and won many victories
during their three-millennia-long history. There have been both
sufferings and joys; therefore, the Armenian people can understand
very well what any people, including the Turkish people, can undergo
during war. However, it is one thing to suffer and another thing to
undergo genocide. If the Turkish people also went through genocide
during the Ottoman rule, let the current government of Turkey recognize
the genocide of both Armenians and Turks, which was committed by the
Ottoman government.

It is one thing when residents of one, two, or three villages move to
another place, or individual citizens change their places of residence,
which we pity, but when a whole people is eliminated, it is quite
another thing. I suggest that you pay attention to two facts: first,
the statements of the Young Turks' leaders about their intentions
to eliminate Armenians. Secondly, there are interviews with Raphael
Lemkin, during which he was asked, "What does genocide mean?"

He answered, "Genocide is what happened to Armenians and Jews." What
can one add to this?

I hope that some years on from now, there will be so many people in
Turkey who realize what happened, that it will be impossible to make
statements like the one the Prime Minister made (on April 19).

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/24/armenian-presidents-interview-with-turkish-hurriyet-daily/

Edited April 25, 2015 by Yervant1

[Yervant1]

ARMENIA WELCOMES GERMAN PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

11:32, 24 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenia has welcomed the statement of German President Joachim Gauck
on the occasion of the 100tha anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

"With this step Germany pays tribute to the memory of the innocent
victims of the Armenians killed in the Ottoman Empire under the cover
of the World War First," Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
said in a statement.

"President Gauck's statement is important not only from the point
of view of recognition and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
but is also a contribution to the joint efforts of the international
community to prevent crimes against humanity.

In his speech at the Berlin Cathedral, Gauck said "Germany condemns
the massacre a century ago of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman
forces as a genocide," adding that Germany bore partial blame for
the bloodletting."

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/24/armenia-welcomes-german-presidents-statement-on-armenian-genocide/

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT UNVEILED AT FRESNO STATE - VIDEO

11:41, 24 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

More than an estimated 4,000 people crowded Fresno State's Maple
Mall on Thursday night for a somber ceremony to unveil the Armenian
Genocide Centennial Monument, the Fresno Bee reports.

"I'm very sad, very sad," said Asadour Boghossiu, one of hundreds of
Fresno Armenians who attended the ceremony on the eve of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Boghossiu's father was the sole
survivor of seven brothers and four sisters who were killed in the
genocide. As many as 1.5 million Armenians are believed to have been
killed from 1915 to 1923 by Ottoman Turks.

The stone-and-concrete monument dedicated Thursday consists of nine
pillars -- six representing historic provinces of the Armenian people,
Cilicia (a region of Ottoman Turkey that was home to many Armenians),
one representing an estimated 10 million Armenians around the
world, and the final representing the modern Republic of Armenia. An
incomplete halo rests on top of the pillars, meant to symbolize the
damage of the genocide and the unity of the Armenian people. It is
the first monument on a U.S. college campus marking the genocide.

"This beautiful monument is one visible action which demonstrates our
strong commitment to human rights and justice here in the Valley,
in the United States, and throughout the world," said Fresno State
President Joseph Castro.

Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, Excellency
Sergey Sarkisov, said a number of governments, including the United
States, still don't officially recognize the Armenian genocide. By
refusing to do so, he said, "it's an assault not only on Armenians,
but on history. It's an assault on truth. It's an assault on justice.

And it's an assault on humanity itself."

A number of elected officials and religious leaders from Fresno and
the Valley attended the ceremony.

"We appreciate the incredible contributions of the Armenian people
in Fresno and we all stand together in solidarity and in support of
the Armenian people," said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin after the
ceremony. "Tonight was a very special time to do that."

Fresno residents Charity and Joel Rockey attended the ceremony to
support their many Armenian friends.

After hearing about the hundreds of thousands of Armenians killed in
the genocide, Charity said, "It made you think, how did all this get
swept under the rug or missed? It's sobering."

Joel added, "I'm thankful that our city and local governments are
starting to recognize it as the genocide and giving it the remembrance
that it was due."

A few videos were shown during the ceremony that highlighted how
many Armenians were killed in each province during the genocide,
and there were reflections from local leaders.

During the film spotlighting the genocide's toll on each Armenian
province, a narrator described Bitlis, home of the family of famed
dramatist and author William Saroyan, whose family immigrated to
Fresno. "On the eve of the genocide, Bitlis had 198,000 Armenians.

After the genocide, it had none."

Rabbi Rick Winer of Temple Beth Israel in Fresno said the Jewish and
Armenian communities share the "scar" of genocide.

"One of the lessons we learned from having lived through such difficult
tragedies is that we can survive and we can lift up," Winer said. "We
can take the scar we bear and have it serve as an emblem that we are
survivors in a difficult world, but a world that still blooms. ... Out
of the ashes we create beautiful communities, beautiful culture, and
what we have here in this community is a beautiful example of that."

Earlier on Thursday, a large crowd watched as Santa Clara Street
between O Street and Van Ness Avenue in downtown Fresno was officially
renamed Armenia Street to commemorate the Armenian heritage of the
area and its influence on Fresno.

Later in the afternoon, about 100 Fresno-area Armenians gathered
at Ararat Cemetery for a special service to remember those who died
during the genocide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyhU-hRSrVM

http://www.fresnobee.com/welcome_page/?shf=/2015/04/23/4492497_armenian-genocide-monument-unveiled.html

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/24/armenian-genocide-monument-unveiled-at-fresno-state/

[Yervant1]

A MINUTE OF SILENCE AT UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENT IN MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

12:53, 24 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Ukrainian Supreme Rada observed a minute of silence in memory of
the Armenian Genocide victims.

MP Nikolay Knyazhitsky said "today is a tragic day in the history of
the Armenian people and the whole humanity."

"On this day 100 years ago the annihilation of a whole nation started
with the deportation of the elite. Armenians and Ukrainians have
lived side by side in the course of centuries. An Armenian was the
first to die during the Revolution of Dignity," he said.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/24/a-minute-of-silence-at-ukraines-parliament-in-memory-of-armenian-genocide-victims/

[Yervant1]

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: WORLD COMMUNITY MUST REMEMBER GENOCIDE TO PREVENT IT IN FUTURE

by Nana Martirosyan

Friday, April 24, 13:36

The world community must remember the Genocide to prevent it in
future, French President Francois Hollande said at the Armenian
Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, on April 24.

"With our participation in these events we make our contribution
to the process of reconciliation, process of expanding peace in the
region, in the world, in the Middle East," the president said. He said
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is another act of peace. Hollande
said important words have been repeatedly made in Turkey, but there
are still the ones that are yet to be pronounced to relieve the paid.

The French president hopes the Armenian-Turkish border will open in
the near future. He touched upon the Karabakh conflict saying France
contributes to the peace process.

The French president recalled that the first victims of the Armenian
Genocide in 1915 were Armenian intellectuals. Many of them who survived
found shelter in France and made their contribution to the prosperity
of that country. "Like Charles Aznavour they have become the common
pride of Armenia and France," he said.

Francois Hollande said his country has recognized the Genocide, as it
does not want such crimes to repeat. In this light, he said, France is
against denial, against distortion of the truth, and against genocides.

"France sees no difference between Cambodia, Rwanda or any other
country that suffered genocide. It is important to remember the
historical fact. Therefore, I permitted opening the archive on Rwanda.

People must not be killed for their nationality or religion," he said.

Hollande said the situation in the Middle East is alarming as
representatives of the national and religions minorities have faced
a threat of extermination there.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=68CF4C90-EA65-11E4-B26D0EB7C0D21663

[Yervant1]

GENOCIDE OBSCENELY SPECULATED FOR POLITICAL INTERESTS - SERBIAN PRESIDENT

14:12 * 24.04.15

The Serbian president condemned the international attempts to speculate
upon the Armenian Genocide issue, considering such policies foul
and unjustified.

Tomislav Nikolic, who is one of the fourt state leaders attending
the centenary commemorations in Yerevan, said in his speech at
the ceremony that his country too, experienced heavy ordeals during
World War I, suffering the greatest number of losses that made up 28%
of its population.

"In this era, when the term 'genocide' is being obscenely abused
for political interests, when legal acts are implemented based on
double standards, when all that turns into something absurd, with
the victims of even the pogroms and genocides being characterized
as perpetrators, how can we, the Serbian people who suffered so many
losses, fail to be present here and betray the millions of victims'
memory?" he said, highlighting the importance of being world citizens
and uniting efforts in the fight against genocides.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/04/24/tomislav-nikolich/1656602