Armenian Genocide Commemorations List and related articles

[Yervant1]

ANCA Western Region Port of Oakland Refuses to Renew Gephardt Contract

Posted on March 12, 2015

 

In yet another setback to Dick Gephardt – a former U.S. legislator turned lobbyist for Turkey – the Port of Oakland will not be renewing its six-figure lobbying contract with Gephardt Government Affairs, according to the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region’s Bay Area chapter.http://www.ancawr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Attachment-1-1-300x248.jpeg

Former House Democratic Majority Leader Dick Gephardt serves as a registered foreign agent for Turkey and Ankara’s point person in obstructing American condemnation and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Last month, the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) praised the City of Los Angeles and its political leaders for moving to end a contract worth over $850,000 with Gephardt Government Affairs for advocacy work it was conducting on behalf of Los Angeles World Airports.

On February 24, 2015 the ANCA-Bay Area chapter wrote to the newly inaugurated Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf to express concerns about the Port of Oakland’s relationship with Dick Gephardt. The letter was addressed to the Mayor of Oakland because she is responsible for nominating all seven members of the Board of Port Commissioners, which controls the Port of Oakland. In their correspondence to Mayor Schaaf, the ANCA-Bay Area Chapter respectfully requested that the Mayor move to immediately end the contractual relationship between the City of Oakland (through the Port of Oakland)and Gephardt Government Affairs, based on that firm’s work, as a paid foreign agent of the Republic of Turkey, to deny the Armenian Genocide and prevent the proper commemoration of this crime against humanity. The letter to Mayor Schaaf, in part, asserted that “It is our understanding that Gephardt Government Affairs, as a matter of public record, has enjoyed a six-figure contract ($160,000 a year) with the Port of Oakland. We appreciate that this contract was not granted during your term in office. However, we do find it unacceptable that the City of Oakland – which is home to a longstanding Armenian American community – the majority of whom have family who were either murdered or brutalized during the Armenian Genocide – has had a contractual relationship with a lobbying firm that profits from genocide denial. Such a relationship clearly falls far short of the humanitarian and ethical standards of the City of Oakland.”

“Dick Gephardt’s unethical work in denying the Armenian Genocide makes his firm persona non grata here in the State of California,” remarked ANCA-Western Region Chair Nora Hovsepian. “Thanks to the great work of our ANCA chapters in Los Angeles and the Bay Area – Gephardt and his firm are beginning to pay a real price for their denial of the Armenian Genocide. As far as the ANCA is concerned, no public agency in the United States and especially in the State of California, should be spending taxpayer dollars on an unethical lobbying outfit that makes money denying the murder of 1.5 million human beings,” Hovsepian emphasized.

Earlier this month, the Gephardt firm signed a new lobbying deal with the Republic of Turkey in which it will be paid $1.7 million from March through December 2015 to actively deny the Armenian Genocide, among other activities. Dick Gephardt has made a name for himself on Capitol Hill by trading on his congressional connections for his work on behalf of the Republic of Turkey. As documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (which regulates the lobbying activity of those who advocate on behalf of foreign interests in the United States) reveal, Gephardt himself has had to disclose the fact that he acts on Turkey’s behalf as an ardent opponent of legislative efforts to fully recognize the Armenian Genocide.

New York Times writer and author of “This Town” Mark Leibovich outed Gephardt in 2013 for his hypocrisy on the Armenian Genocide. In a television interview later that year, Bill Moyers asked Leibovich about Gephardt’s stand on the Armenian Genocide. “In the House [of Representatives] he [Gephardt] had supported a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide of 1915. When he left Congress he was paid about $75,000 a month to oppose the resolution,” Moyers commented. Leibovich responded by sharing, “Yes. I guess the word genocide goes down a little easier at those rates.” Also in 2013, Christopher Buckley, the son of William F. Buckley, wrote a review of “This Town” in The New York Times in which he cited Gephardt’s genocide denial efforts. “There are a number of sanctimonious standout “formers” in Leibovich’s Congressional hall of shame, but just to name a few exemplars who gleefully inhabit ethical no-worry zones and execute brisk 180-­degree switcheroos on any issue, including the Armenian genocide, so long as it pays: Dick Gephardt…”

In his most recent anti-Armenian actions on Capitol Hill, Dick Gephardt aggressively lobbied against H.R. 4347 in the 113th Congress, a House measure to return Christian churches in Turkey to their rightful owners. Last year he also did the bidding of his lucrative Turkish Government client by fighting against a U.S. Senate resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

Despite Gephardt’s opposition, the Armenian Genocide bill advanced in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April of last year was ultimately adopted by the full committee by a vote of 12 to 5.

The move by the ANCA-WR to seek termination of LAWA’s contract with Gephardt and to ensure that his contract with the Port of Oakland was not renewed coincides with the launch of a nationwide campaign by a coalition of Armenian American groups, including the ANCA, to pressure Gephardt, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Dickstein Shapiro, LLC), Greenberg Traurig, Alpaytac, and LB International to stop advancing the Turkish
 Government’s Armenian Genocide denial agenda or face public scrutiny
 and protest. The effort was launched this past January with over 200 
letters sent to Turkey’s lobbying firms and the top businesses, universities, and NGOs who use their services, urging them to promptly drop their association with Turkey’s genocide denial or end their relationships with these public relations firms. Among those receiving letters were PepsiCo, TIME Inc., Amazon, and the Chrysler Corporation, in addition to many others.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the 
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
 with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the 
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, 
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

[Yervant1]

17:20 13/03/2015 » SOCIETY

Buenos Aires adopts resolution on Armenian Genocide centennial

The city council of Buenos Aires adopted unanimously a resolution on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which says that in the beginning of the previous century a million and a half Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire.
Armenpress reports, citing PrensaArmenia.com.ar that the resolution states that April 24 is the first genocide of the 20th century. The resolution also says that the city council supports the events dedicated to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide as a sign of solidarity and respect for the victims of the Genocide and their generations.
“These events are not only commemoration ceremonies. They should help respecting the generations and condemning the crimes against the humanity. And the historical justice should be revealed,” says the resolution.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

14:35 13/03/2015 » SOCIETY

German politician of Turkish descent urges German government to recognize Armenian Genocide

Cem Ozdemir, a German politician of Turkish descent, the co-chairman of the German political party Alliance 90/The Greens, has called on the German government to recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated 100 years ago in the Ottoman Empire, Ermenihaber.am reported, citing Hurriyet.
According to Ozdemir, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the time has come to not hide the term “genocide.”
He expressed regret that the German government does not use the right words when speaking about the bloody crimes perpetrated in 1915-16.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

GEORGE CLOONEY: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 'HASN'T BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED'

18:18, 12 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

George Clooney talks with CNN's Richard Roth about his efforts to
stop genocide and other human rights abuses through his group Not
on Our Watch, at an event in New York where he announced the new
annual AURORA prize for those who have overcome adversity and gone
on to help others. Clooney also opens up about being part of a human
rights power couple with his wife, Amal Clooney.

"The Armenian Genocide has not been acknowledged 100 years after it
happened," Clooney told the CNN.

He said one of the things that is important to his group Not on Our
Watch is to prevent the genocide before it happens. "Part of this is
acknowledging what happened before. We cannot just ignore the history,"
he added.

Clooney said it's important to bring attention to the genocides still
happening today.

On March 10 George Clooney joined humanitarian leaders to launch a
new global prize, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, as part
of the 100 LIVES initiative.

"We really want people to get involved with 100 LIVES," said Clooney,
"to celebrate those that overcome adversity and give back to others,
just as the Armenian community is doing in this centenary year."

The Aurora Prize will be given to those who put themselves at risk and
enable others to survive and thrive. Its annual grant of $1 million
will be awarded to a recipient who will, in turn, present it to the
organization identified as the inspiration for their action. Mr.

Clooney will award the inaugural Prize at a ceremony in Yerevan,
Armenia on 24 April, 2016.

Click here to watch video

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/03/11/orig-oth-george-clooney-power-couple-zef.cnn

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/12/george-clooney-armenian-genocide-hasnt-been-acknowledged/

[Yervant1]

PUTIN TO ATTEND GENOCIDE CENTENARY IN ARMENIA

19:24, 12 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend ceremonies marking 100
years since the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
in April, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Armenia is hosting the commemoration for those killed by Ottoman
forces in World War I in its capital on April 24.

"Yes, he will fly to Yerevan," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
AFP, adding the Russian leader had discussed the issue with his
Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian by telephone on Thursday.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/12/putin-to-attend-genocide-centenary-in-armenia/

[Yervant1]

PUTIN TO ATTEND 1915 COMMEMORATION IN YEREVAN

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 12 2015

Nerdun Hacıoglu - MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will attend
the ceremony in Yerevan to commemorate the 1915 events.

According to a statement issued by the Russian Presidency, Putin
told his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian by telephone on March
12 that he would join the commemoration ceremony scheduled for April
24 in Yerevan.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were killed in a
genocide starting from 1915. Turkey denies that the deaths amounted
to genocide, saying the death toll of Armenians killed during mass
deportations has been inflated and that those killed in 1915 and 1916
were victims of general unrest during World War I.

Russia is among around 20 nations that recognise the killings as
genocide.

News of Putin's call to Sarkisian comes as speculation that he is
ill swirls online following his cancelation of a number of meetings.

Speaking to AFP, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims,
ascribing media reports of the leader's ill-health to "March madness."

Armenia is Russia's most loyal ally in the Caucasus, but ties have
been strained since January when a Russian serviceman killed a family
of seven in Armenia, sparking mass protests.

March/12/2015

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/putin-to-attend-1915-commemoration-in-yerevan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=79611&NewsCatID=359

[Yervant1]

GEORGE CLOONEY TEAMS UP WITH VCS IN HUMANITARIAN EFFORT

Upstart - Biz Journals
March 12 2015

by Don Seiffert

Flagship Ventures founder Noubar Afeyan has enlisted the help of
George Clooney and others to honor people who put themselves at risk
to help others.

Noubar Afeyan is known locally as founder and head of Flagship
Ventures, one of the largest locally-based investors in early-stage
companies looking to save or improve lives by innovating heath care.

But Afeyan has also long been involved in philanthropic efforts to help
humanity, and he doesn't see the two activities as all that different.

"I actually do find a great deal of overlap between what I do in my
personal life and what I do professionally," Afeyan said.

This week, Afeyan is launching a new humanitarian effort with two
other internationally-known philanthropists, Russian entrepreneur Ruben
Vardanyan and Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corp., called
100 Lives. The initiative is rooted in next year's centennial of the
Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million people died at the hands of
the Ottoman government between 1915-1923, and one project will be to
uncover stories of survivors and people who saved lives during that
period. All three founders of 100 Lives are of Armenian descent.

But another project that is aimed at recognizing present day acts
of heroism has enlisted the help of George Clooney, founder of the
Not On Our Watch foundation which highlights genocide globally, as
well as Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, professor emeritus at
Boston University and survivor of the German Holocaust. That project,
called the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, will be given annually
by Clooney and Weisel to people who put themselves at risk to help
others starting next year.

It's a cause to which Afeyan owes his identity, in a sense. The
Armenian immigrant says his grandfather lived near Istanbul a
century ago, and twice was taken to be executed. He was saved,
in what Afeyan calls an "ironic" twist, by a German officer during
World War I. Since then, Armenians have "not only recovered, but have
struggled to survive" and now have strong communities in the U.S.,
including in Watertown, Massachusetts.

It was the example of people like his grandfather who Afeyan says
influenced him to become the head of the Cambridge-based Flagship,
which has raised more than $800 million since he founded it in 2000
to invest in early-stage biotech and healthcare firms. He is also
involved with several local Armenia groups, and in 2008, he received
the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

"I'm a descendant of survivors," he said. "It has not only caused me
to not take life for granted, but if you're a descendant of survivors,
you don't take anything for granted."

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/money/loot/2015/03/12/george-clooney-teams-up-with-vcs-in-humanitarian.html

[Yervant1]

RELICS BROUGHT FROM DEIR EZ-ZOR TO BE ENCLOSED IN CAMPANILE OF STEPANAKERT

10:46, 13 March, 2015

STEPANAKERT, 13 MARCH, ARMENPRESS: The events dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of Armenian Genocide in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic are
not only limited by commemorating. Events, conferences, cultural and
political meetings are to be held throughout the year. In an interview
with "Armenpress" David Babayan, the Spokesman of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic President, stressed that in the mid-April the opening ceremony
of monument-bell tower, which is dedicated to the victims of Armenian
Genocide, will be launched in the capital of Karabakh.

"The monument-bell tower is a unique structure and will become
the most important memorial which is dedicated to the centenary
of Armenian Genocide. The relics brought from Deir ez-Zor will be
buried in the foundation of the bell tower, which has given us by
the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The bell tower will become a
place, where people of Artsakh will come and will pay their tribute,"
David Babayan stated.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/797502/relics-brought-from-deir-ez-zor-to-be-enclosed-in-campanile-of-stepanakert.html

[Yervant1]

LATVIAN PARLIAMENT READY TO DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONDEMNING STATEMENT

15:24, 13 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS: The Vice President of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov met with the
members of Latvia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group of
the Latvian Parliament. The press service of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia informed Armenpress about it.

During the meeting the NA Vice President proposed to discuss in the
Latvian Parliament the possibility of the adoption of the statement
condemning the Armenian Genocide.

The Head of Latvia-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Sergejs
Potapkins in response to him has assured that they are ready to discuss
the adoption of the statement condemning the Armenian Genocide in
the Parliament of Latvia.

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIONS KICK OFF IN URUGUAY MFA

16:47, 13.03.2015

The presentation of a book by law and human rights specialist Oscar
Lopez Goldasarena, and entitled Armenian Cultural Genocide, was held
at the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Uruguay.

In his remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin
Novoa reflected on cultural heritage and its preservation.

Goldasarena, for his part, spoke about the history of the Armenian
Genocide. He also reflected on cultural genocide, and noted that
this can be carried out regardless of extermination of people. The
law and human rights specialist stated that the Armenian cultural
genocide still continues one century after the Armenian Genocide,
as Armenian cultural sites and monuments are destroyed in order to
eliminate the presence and traces of the Armenian nation.

Armenia News - NEWS.am

[Yervant1]

16:02 14/03/2015 » SOCIETY

Aznavour attends discussion on Armenian Genocide at Swiss Federal Assembly

Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour attended a discussion titled ‘100 Years after Mets Yeghern: Consequences of the Armenian Genocide Denial,’ with members of the Swiss Federal Assembly in Bern on March 11, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

French Armenian historian Raymond Kévorkian delivered an address about the historic and legal realities of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s policy of denial and its consequences. Swiss lawmakers asked different questions during the discussion.
The book Armenian Genocide Memorial by Raymond Kévorkian and Yves Ternon was presented at the end of the discussion.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

10:52 14/03/2015 » SOCIETY

Vatican holds ‘moment of reflection’ on Armenian Genocide

The Pontifical Oriental Institute on Thursday held a “moment of reflection” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the “Metz Yeghern, the Great Evil: Ter voghormia, Lord have mercy,” Vatican Radio reports, according to Asbarez.
Metz Yeghern is the traditional expression used for the Armenian genocide, when ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were systematically put to death by the government. Between one and one and a half million people are believed to have been killed between 1915 and 1918.
Thursday’s event centered on the presentation of the work of Father George Ryssen, S.J., and on the commemoration of alumni of the Pontifical Armenian College who were killed in the genocide. Father Ruyssen’s work, of which four of a projected seven volumes have been published, collects all the documents pertaining to the Armenian Genocide to be found in the different archives of the Holy See.
The Prefect for the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri – who is also Chancellor of the Institute – attend the event, and addressed the participants.
In his remarks, Cardinal Sandri said the “moment of reflection” was not only an academic exercise, but was also “a Christian gesture of justice and mercy.” The event, he said, shows that we are untiring seekers after the Truth that is Christ; collaborators [working for] the coming of the city ‘in which dwells righteousness’; and supplicants invoking the intercession of the witnesses, the martyrdom of the Armenian people” who made the supreme profession of faith by shedding their blood.
Cardinal Sandri also noted the gratitude of the Armenian people to the Pope of the time, Benedict XV. He said the work of Father Ruyssen “allows us to understand how the Holy See was diligent in attempting to stay the hands of the executioners, and to bring possible relief and aid to those who escaped the massacres that took place one hundred years ago.”
“We are still saddened,” he continued, “for those who rose up to kill their neighbors, but even more, astonished by the silence of so many nations and so many powerful people, as we are still astonished to day on the part of others to speak with objectivity, to arrive at the longed-for goal of reconciliation, in truth and in justice.”
“The mystery of evil,” he said, “mysterium iniquitatis, that is able to flow from the heart of man, and that is made manifest in the destruction that every sin brings with it, compels us to get down on our knees, and pray, as we say in the subtitle of our meeting: ‘Ter voghormia… Lord have mercy!’ Have mercy on man whom you have created, but who now is wounded, is far from you, poor, a sinner, capable, as Cain was, of conceiving death for his brother, capable of nourishing hatred and seeking vengeance.”
Cardinal Sandri concluded his remarks with the words of Benedict XVI during the former Pope’s visit to the extermination camp at Auschwitz: “We cannot peer into God’s mysterious plan – we see only piecemeal, and we would be wrong to set ourselves up as judges of God and history. Then we would not be defending man, but only contributing to his downfall. No – when all is said and done, we must continue to cry out humbly yet insistently to God: Rouse yourself! Do not forget mankind, your creature! And our cry to God must also be a cry that pierces our very heart, a cry that awakens within us God’s hidden presence – so that his power, the power he has planted in our hearts, will not be buried or choked within us by the mire of selfishness, pusillanimity, indifference or opportunism. Let us cry out to God, with all our hearts, at the present hour, when new misfortunes befall us, when all the forces of darkness seem to issue anew from human hearts: whether it is the abuse of God’s name as a means of justifying senseless violence against innocent persons, or the cynicism which refuses to acknowledge God and ridicules faith in him. Let us cry out to God, that he may draw men and women to conversion and help them to see that violence does not bring peace, but only generates more violence – a morass of devastation in which everyone is ultimately the loser.”

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

"100 YEARS, 100 ARTS" TO DEDICATE CULTURAL PROJECT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

By MassisPost
Updated: March 13, 2015

YEREVAN -- Eiva Arts Foundation launched the initiative "100 Years,
100 Arts" that aims to collect pieces of arts of the Armenian artists
from Armenia and Diaspora in one place.

According to the organizers, 2015 is a sensitive year for Armenia:
a year of remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide, a year of
fostering the global recognition of the Genocide as well as celebrating
the rise and renaissance of the Armenian nation.

The power of art is undeniable and artworks are eternal. Therefore,
Eiva Arts Foundation is determined to contribute to the global
recognition of the Armenian Genocide through the medium of the most
powerful tool of visual media.

Genocide theme has always had its special place in the artworks of the
Armenian masters of different generations. Great Armenian artists, such
as Arshile Gorky, Grigor Khanjian, Hakob Hakobian, Minas Avetisian,
Zhansem, Eduard Isabekian and many Armenian artists upheaved from
their homes created artworks dedicated to the Armenian Genocide thus
contributing to the promotion of the global acknowledgement of the
Armenian Genocide fact.

Many of these artworks have been publicly presented and even more of
them have been hidden from public eye.

The goal of the "100 Years, 100 Arts" project is to take the
alternative, aesthetic and cultural approach to foster the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide worldwide through the medium of gathering,
presenting and archiving 100 pieces of arts of the Armenian artists
from Armenia and Diaspora dedicated to the Armenian Genocide.

The project output will foster the worldwide recognition of the
Armenian Genocide through gathering and archiving the art pieces of
the Armenian artists who covered the Genocide theme in their art.

The art pieces of "100 Years, 100 arts" project are intended to be
gathered at a website, catalog and public art installation creating
sustainable resources for raising the global awareness on the fact
of the Armenian Genocide.

The funding generated by this crowd-funding campaign will be allocated
to the creations of the website as well as will co-fund the publication
part of the project.

Eiva Arts Foundation was established in 2012 in Yerevan with
the mission to practice social art as a tool of raising public
awareness of current social issues and contributing to the creation
of the alternative content as a new form of information sharing and
educational resource. The projects implemented by the foundation are
directed to the fulfillment of the mission of the organization.

In order to get support for the implementation of the initiative,
the organizers now present it on "Indiegog" crowd funding platform.

http://massispost.com/2015/03/100-years-100-arts-to-dedicate-cultural-project-to-armenian-genocide/

[Yervant1]

TURKEY MUST FACE WITH ITS OWN HISTORY: TURKISH MP OF BUNDESTAG

12:28, 13 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 13 MARCH, ARMENPRESS: On the initiative of "Alliance 90/The
Greens" party of Federal Republic of Germany, a discussion will be
held, which is dedicated to 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in the Bundestag. The results of discussion will be enclosed in the
new resolution. In the framework of preparation of the discussion,
the delegation of Green Party headed by Co-chairman Cem Ozdemir is
in Armenia. "Armenpress" represents an exclusive interview with Mr.

Ozdemir concerning the international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

- Mr. Ozdemir, within the framework of the visit, You have been in
the Memorial of Armenian Genocide and paid a tribute to the victims
of Armenian Genocide. What were Your impressions when You returned
from the Memorial of Armenian Genocide?

- There are so many sources that prove that we, the Germans,
unfortunately have been involved in the Genocide as an ally of
Ottoman Empire in that time. I think that Germany should obviously
refer to the Armenian Genocide issue. As a friend of two countries,
we should help to open the Armenian-Turkish border. As a friend of
both countries, we should exert effort, so that the Armenian-Turkish
relations become like the French-German or Polish-German relations.

Surely, one of the preconditions to achieve it is that the each
country must face the dark pages of its history, and this is also
true for Turkey.

- As a German politician, who has Turkish roots, in Your opinion,
what steps should be taken by the government of Turkey in order to
assume the full responsibility for the implementation of the Armenian
Genocide?

- In our delegation, besides me there is another MP, who has Turkish
roots too. Our visit shows that the Turks who live in Germany,
enjoying the freedom of Germany, they see that Germany has chosen
different way to deal with its history. It was not an easy process,
but Germany hasn't weakened from that. On the contrary, Germany's
strength is that it was able to resolve its dark pages of history.

Noting all this, I would like that Turkey recognizes and admits,
that as a result of the Armenian Genocide it has lost a lot of things.

When I was in Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, I was impressed by
seeing the photos of intellectuals, who had been brought to the camps
and killed there. Those people in that time was the intellectuals of
Istanbul. Komitas was not only a composer and musician for Armenia,
but also for the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, it was the loss of the
Ottoman Empire. Therefore, it was also the loss of the Ottoman Empire.

As Hrant Dink had said: "If Armenian were still alive, twenty cities
of Van would become Paris." I think that this issue must be discussed
in the books and in Turkish social public sphere and I am sure that
it will be useful. Opening border with Armenia is another step forward.

The opening borders stems from interests of two countries.

We have also discussed this issue with President Serzh Sargasyan.

Unfortunately, there are so many missed opportunities. It stems also
from interests of Turkey, due to the opened borders, the intervention
of third countries will be weakened. If Turkey does not want to see
Russian soldiers on the border, the opening border is one of the steps
to achieve success and establish normal relations with Armenia. I
hope that one day, if the border is opened, it will be called "Hrant
Dink border".

- I know that your party in the Bundestag raised the issue regarding
the launch of commemoration ceremonies of Armenian Genocide. What
events are planned in the German Parliament devoted to 100th
anniversary of Armenian Genocide?

- On April 24, in Bundestag, we will have a debate on the Armenian
Genocide, with participation of all parliamentary factions. I will
speak on behalf of the Green Party, after which all the results
will be transferred to the Foreign Relations Committee, and then
a unified resolution will be drafted. Therefore German Bundestag,
besides government, has an important message. This document will be
a continuation of the resolution, which is adopted on 2005. We will
talk frankly about the events, which took place in the end of 1915
and we will call "Genocide", as international community calls.

- What is Your attitude regarding that Turkish government has decided
to mark the anniversary of Battle of Gallipoli on April 24.

- I think that it was another missed opportunity. If Turkey opens the
border with Armenia, It would be a great step for it. I remember from
my childhood years that the triumph of the battle of Canakkale has
never celebrated on April 24. So, why is it unexpectedly celebrated
on that day this year? This is very strange and causes inappropriate
ambiguities.

There are some issues that need to highlight. The example of Torossian
shows that the Armenians have fought on the Ottoman Empire's side,
which shows that the claims are true and perpetrators of Genocide
needed to be persuaded that Armenians do not betray the Ottoman
Empire. The Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were good citizens,
and some of them have served in the army of the Ottoman Empire and
sacrificed their lives for the Ottoman Empire. I would like to see,
that about those events the Turkish students knew from Turkish books.

- Summing up, what is Your call taking into account the solution of
problems in the 21st century?

- I think that the twenty-first century should not be a century of
closed borders, a century of the solving problems by military way. One
of the greatest achievements of the European Union is that we are
negotiating. Those negotiations last on nights, but eventually we find
common points. It is not always easy, but we find solutions. This is
much better than war, which during last century led to the I and II
world war. Today's France and Germany have overcome it all, and I want
to see the same here. I'm sure, that it is only the matter of time.

Interviewed by Syune Barseghyan, Araks Kasyan

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/797525/turkey-must-face-with-its-own-history-turkish-mp-of-bundestag.html

[Yervant1]

FILMS ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE SHOWN AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH "NEVER AGAIN..." PROGRAM

15:54, 13 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 13 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. "Never Again..."-this is exactly
the title under which films devoted to the Armenian Genocide will
be shown in several countries around the world. The "Golden Apricot"
Film Development Non-Governmental Organization, in association with the
State Commission on Coordination of the events for the commemoration
of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the Ministry
of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, will be presenting one of the
most terrible crimes of the early 20th century to the international
community through films.

During a March 13 press conference devoted to the "Never Again..."

Program,Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia Nerses
Ter-Vardanyan mentioned that the program is of special significance.

"Cinema is one of the most suitable "languages" in the arts to send
a clear message across. We will be organizing film screenings, as
well as plays in several countries around the world. Many prestigious
individuals will be holding seminars," Nerses Ter-Vardanyan mentioned,
as "Armenpress" reports.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/797575/films-about-the-armenian-genocide-to-be-shown-around-the-world-through-%E2%80%9Cnever-again-%E2%80%9D-program.html

[Yervant1]

BUCKS MAN RUBBED SHOULDERS WITH GEORGE AND AMAL CLOONEY

Get Bucks, UK
March 13 2015

15:18, 13 March 2015
By Laura Mowat

There was a launch of 100 Lives in New York to commemorate a century
since the Armenian genocide

Chenies man, Vartan Melkonian, helped launch an International
Humanitarian prize in New York on 10 March with George and Amal
Clooney.

Mr Melkonian said: "100 lives is about saying thank you to those people
who helped so many orphans, like me , during the Armenian genocide.

"It reminds us all that this thing should never, ever happen again.

This 100 lives initiative gives us a voice to speak about our world."

Mr Melkonian was brought up in an orphanage in Lebanon. This orphanage
was run by Maria Jacobson, who will be recognised by 100 Lives.

The 100 Lives campaign hopes to celebrate those who helped Armenians
in need one hundred years ago and to continue in their spirit by
supporting people and organisations that keep their legacy alive.

Clooney spoke about the significance of the centennial with co-founder
of the initiative Ruben Vardanyan.

Vartan Melkonian is a conductor for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

http://www.getbucks.co.uk/news/local-news/bucks-man-rubbed-shoulders-george-8836249

[Yervant1]

ARMENIANS REMEMBER THE DEATHS, CELEBRATE THE SURVIVORS OF GENOCIDE

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
March 12 2015

By Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News

The pieces of human bones have come to rest under glass and light
inside a San Fernando Valley chapel, far from the sun-drenched Syrian
desert where they were once found unburied and scattered.

Little is known about them except that they belonged to Armenians,
forced from their homes in villages in the Ottoman Empire and marched
out to the Der Zor desert where they died.

The remains carry a century-old story, not only of death, but also
of survival, as well as the pain of denial and the yearning to be
remembered.

"Wherever you go in the Der Zor desert, you will find the bones of
our people," said Maggie Mangassarian-Goschin, curator of the Ararat
Eskijian Museum in Mission Hills. "It is still a wound for us that
has never quite healed."

The bones are often displayed inside the museum, which was opened in
1996 near the Ararat Home of Los Angeles, a senior care facility where
a special memorial service was held Thursday to observe the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Armenians say 1.5 million of
their people died from 1915 to 1923 as the Turks worked to establish
their own country. Historians, scholars and human-rights activists
call it the first genocide of the 20th century.

Thursday's ceremony included a brief Mass held by archbishops and
clergy from several local Armenian churches. They stood together
and blessed the bones, which have been placed carefully inside the
senior facility's chapel. Later, the clergy unveiled a tall, granite
memorial dedicated to those who perished and those who survived the
genocide. A mulberry tree also was planted nearby, to symbolize that
the fruit of the Armenian nation will continue to grow.

Many of those who attended the service were residents of the Ararat
senior care facility such as 101-year-old Yevnige Salibian. Salibian
was born just before the formal start of the genocide, but as a
young child she remembers growing up under fear and threats. There
are certain sounds and voices she can still hear.

"My father had a friend named Mohammed who helped us stay in Turkey,"
she said. "But when I used to look out of our door, I would hear
people crying. I would hear mothers, fathers, children saying,
'I'm hungry, I'm thirsty.'"

And she remembers whips.

"The Turkish general would crack his whip, and he would say, 'You!

You! You! Get out of here!'"

Salibian said her family left Turkey in 1921. They used two wagons led
by horses to go to Syria. While on the road she and an older woman
traded seats. The wagons overturned in an accident and the older
woman died, while Salibian's right leg was caught by an iron bar in
the wagon and she suffered a deep gash. The scar is still present.

"My aunt said, that old woman gave her life for the little girl,"
Salibian said.

Armenians mark the date April 24, 1915, as the start of the genocide
because it is when their nation's intellectuals were rounded up,
arrested and later executed by the Turkish soldiers as part of a
movement to "Turkify" the region.

Today, the Turkish government maintains the deaths were a consequence
of betrayal and civil unrest in what was then a collapsing
Ottoman Empire. Armenians, however, say the killings involved the
systematic cleansing of their collective existence from the region,
where Assyrians and Pontic Greeks also were affected. Priests and
intellectuals were beheaded. Women and children were terrorized as
they were marched out of their homeland and into the Middle East.

The issue remains politicized, with both the United States and Turkish
governments refusing to call it a genocide. Armenian-American activists
have said the U.S. government won't officially recognize the killings
as genocide because it would hurt relations with Turkey, a NATO ally.

Thursday's ceremony was one of several Armenian Genocide-related
events to be held across Los Angeles in the next few weeks. The goal
behind such memorials is to both remember those who died and celebrate
the living, said Joseph Kanimian, chairman of the Ararat Home of Los
Angeles Board of Trustees

"If you forget the past then you tend to repeat history, and we don't
want this to happen again, to any nation," Kanimian said. "But we also
want to honor our people, to celebrate the living and the survivors.

It's a day of resurrection for us."

Most of those who attended the ceremony wore purple scarves or sweaters
and a pin that features a forget-me-not flower, its petals symbolizing
the past, present and future.

But some continue to worry about the Armenian nation, particularly
for those survivors of the genocide who stayed in Syria and whose
families remained there. The Islamic State last year forced Armenians
out of the area of Kessab. Churches were desecrated and homes were
burned by IS. The extremists also recently destroyed 35 Assyrian
villages and kidnapped more than 200 people. The group's intent to
cleanse the area of Christians and other minorities parallels with
the events that began in 1915, said Nancy Eskijian, whose father
built the museum that houses historical maps, coins, crafts, medals,
sketches, musical instruments and a library.

If the Turkish government had been held accountable, if they had
recognized what they did as a genocide, then future atrocities such as
the Holocaust and massacres in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda and Darfur
and those occurring now in Syria and Iraq could have been avoided,
she and her brother, Martin Eskijian, said.

"What's happening now (in Syria and Iraq) is about the same as 100
years ago," Martin Eskijian added. "That's the tragedy of it."

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150312/armenians-remember-the-deaths-celebrate-the-survivors-of-genocide

[Yervant1]

WHACKING WHITEWASHING WORMS

Friday, March 13th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/132998/whacking-whitewashing-worms/

BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

You were undoubtedly pleased over the last few weeks when you read
about Los Angeles and Portland dropping disgusting Dick Gephardt,
the former House Speaker and Genocide recognition advocate who sold
his soul to Turkish government denialists in exchange for millions
of dollars, as their lobbyist. This has cost disgusting Dick close
to a million dollars.

This is the fruit of the ANCA's (along with the Armenian Assembly
and AYF on both coasts) efforts to educate and pressure clients of
consulting companies/lobbyists that have contracts to lobby on behalf
of Turkey. There are 180 companies that have been contacted, based on
information that the dirty lobbyists have on their own websites. Some
have responded, others have not. It turns out the lobbying firms
keep the names of their clients posted on their websites even after
a contract expires.

Clients were asked to require of their Turkish-government-representing
consultants/lobbyists to terminate the relationship with Turkey.

Failing that, they were asked to terminate their own relationship with
the lobbyists. The lobbyists were also asked directly to terminate
their Turkish relationship, and given one month to do. In the same
letter, they were informed that if they did not act within a month,
appropriate public information would be disseminated and actions
taken. We've seen the early results.

This type of activity is extremely important to keeping the pressure
on Turkey, and I have no doubt Azerbaijan's turn must and will come.

It falls in the realm of economic warfare. Over the last few months,
I've mentioned such possibilities, pointing out what Turkey and
Azerbaijan do from tourism fairs, to matching funds for marketing,
to effectively hiring "scholars" who mask their paid (in one form
or another) relationship with those two dictatorial states and write
glowingly about opportunities there.

I am very glad to see our organizations were thinking, planning, and
now acting in the same vein all along. We should also remember the
beginnings of a "divest from Turkey" movement with the resolutions
passed recently at University of California's Berkeley and Los
Angeles campuses.

But let's return to the dirty lobbyists and their clients. Of the
five consulting firms, three are of real interest--Dickstein Shapiro
(Denny Hastert, another former House Speaker, works with this one),
Gephardt, and Greenberg Traurig. The other two are less interesting,
LBI, which has ONLY Turkey as a client, and Alpaytac which is a
Turkish owned firm.

You might be surprised at who does business with them. Some are notably
unsavory companies, so I do not expect much from them. But others,
especially some that are involved in businesses that cater to average
people, might be very sensitive to some negative public commentary.

In the automotive world, Chrysler, Honda, Enterprise Rental Car,
Michelin, and the Tire Industry Association are clients of the three
dirty lobbyists. How many hundreds, if not thousands, of Armenians own
a Chrysler, Honda, or use Michelin tires? How many tire stores and car
repair shops are owned by Armenians? Who hasn't used Enterprise since
they are usually relatively inexpensive to rent cars from? Imagine
if we all went and told our dealers we're NEVER going to buy their
products again as long as they are (indirectly) supporting Turkish
denialism? Imagine if our tire sales folks picked up the phone
and complained to the leaders of their trade association about the
relationship with Genocide deniers. Imagine if a frequent car renter
told the agency, "no more" until you cut off the ties with deniers.

Boycotts work-- think of the Montgomery bus boycott, the work of the
extremist religious right wingers activities in the 1990s, and the
anti-Apartheid divestment movement of the 1980s. Companies know this
and will respond when the pressure level gets up to a point.

Other companies are familiar, household, names who would not want their
reputations tarnished: Amazon.com, Annheuser-Busch, Bayer, Boeing,
DirectTV, DISH Network, Fox Entertainment, General Electric, Intuit,
Mastercard, PepsiCo, and more. In fact a simple letter expressing
your concerns might be enough to move these very image-conscious
companies. It may not even be necessary to resort to the harsher
approach suggested in the previous paragraph.

With some effort, we can notch many successes. They'll be more
difficult to come by than Los Angeles and Portland since public
agencies are accountable to the citizens while private companies
are accountable to their owners (though there is slight progress in
changing this conception).

Start drafting your letters. No doubt the call to action from the
organizers of this effort will soon come. Get ready to relish the
success of hitting Turkey on one of its vulnerabilities.

[Yervant1]

"Responsibility 2015" international conference kicks off in New York

15:46, 14.03.2015


The opening panel of "Responsibility 2015" international conference
kicked off in New York on Friday.

Hannibal Travis, keynote speaker Geoffrey Robertson QC, and Antranig
Kasbarian discussed 100 years of human rights violations with a
special focus on justice for the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian
National Committee of America said in a message on Facebook.

In his speech Geoffrey Robertson condemned the equivocation of
Armenian Genocide by U.S. and UK.

"Final act of genocide is denial," he said.

Robertson added that scars of Armenian Genocide continue till Turkey
makes some sort of acknowledgment and reparations.

The conference entitled "Responsibility 2015" is being held on March
13-15, 2015 at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel


http://news.am/eng/news/257021.html

[Yervant1]

Italy politician tells Turkey consul to recognize truth about Armenian Genocide

18:29, 14.03.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics


The president of the Italian Regional Council of Lombardy, Raffaele
Cattaneo, met with the Turkish Consul General in Milan, Aylin
Sekizkok, Lombardia Quotidiano reported.

The Turkish diplomat asked Cattaneo to once again reconsider, before
the deliberations, on Councilmember Stefano Bruno Galli's bill, which
calls on the regional government to assist in the Armenian Genocide
commemorations, and take measures to force Turkey to recognize the
genocide, and as a necessary condition for membership in the European
Union.

"Start recognizing the truth! This is the spark which will start sound
discussions in our council. Dialogue, peace, and mutual respect toward
different nations are the principles of our work," Cattaneo responded
to the Turkish consul's aforesaid request.

"The tragedy in 1915 has had a profound impact on the 20th century
history. The Armenian people's and other similar tragedies should be
observed not solely from the viewpoint of the law, but that of
historical truth," Galli stated, for his part.


http://news.am/eng/news/256976.html

[Yervant1]

Armenian Genocide: New way to commemorate - The Economist

17:30 * 12.03.15


In the early 20th century, concern for the fate of the Armenians was
often presented in the Western world as a matter of inter-Christian
solidarity. If you were an American Protestant church-goer, you
probably heard sermons about the suffering endured by your
co-religionists in the Near and Middle East. American missionaries
were by that time well-established in the Ottoman lands, tending to
the education and welfare of Christian communities in far-flung
places.

American and other missionaries were crucial witnesses of the terrible
fate that was meted out to well over a million Armenians starting in
the spring of 1915: a mass "deportation" in which most did not
survive, whether they died of heat, hunger, exhaustion or were killed
outright. In places ranging from Syria to Transcaucasia, missionaries
succoured those whose did somehow live through the experience, and
made sure that orphans were fed, educated and given a new life. Money
for this cause was raised in American churches. In devout American
households, a child who ate poorly would be told to "think of the
hungry Armenians" and be more grateful.

In New York today, an initiative was launched to honour the dead and
celebrate survivors in ways that far transcend the bounds of any one
religion or ethnic group. Two businessmen of Armenian origin, one
Russian and one American, teamed up with a scholar and philanthropist,
Vartan Gregorian, head of the Carnegie Corporation, to come up with a
response to the dreadful events of 1915 that goes beyond lamenting the
victims of genocide or demanding recompense.

One aim of the 100 Lives project is to uncover stories of "survivors
and saviours", in other words cases where an individual or family
lived through the horrors thanks to courageous helpers. Ruben
Vardanyan, a co-founder who also built up the Russian investment bank
Troika Dialog, said his grandfather was saved and schooled by American
missionaries; his Armenian-American partner, Noubar Afeyan, a biotech
entrepreneur, recalls that his grandfather was spared from execution
thanks to the intervention of German officers who were building a
Berlin-Baghdad railway for their Turkish allies. But in some cases,
the "saviours" might turn out to be a Muslim Turkish or Kurdish family
who hid an Armenian family at risk to themselves.

A second part of the project will establish a prize for people in any
part of the world who take risks to help others survive, from health
workers braving an epidemic to human-rights campaigners in a zone of
war or oppression. An Aurora prize of $1m will will be awarded
annually to one individual, who will then be invited to pass the money
on to an organisation that is doing inspiring work. Selectors will
include Elie Wiesel, a Nobel prize laureate and Holocaust survivor,
Mary Robinson, a former Irish president and UN human-rights
commissioner, and George Clooney, an actor and human-rights
campaigner.

There are, of course, lots of initiatives that aim to investigate and
denounce genocide; and plenty of efforts to recognise those who have
courageously saved human lives, either recently or long ago. This is a
proposal to serve all those purposes, with no regard for the religion
or race of the saviour or the saved.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/12/genocide-review/1615498
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/03/armenian-genocide

[Yervant1]

ANC Canada: Representatives of Canada government to attend April 24 events

22:00, 14.03.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics


The Canadian Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee will organize
numerous events ahead and after April 24, and the Committee has been
working on these events for the past two years, Executive Director of
the Armenian National Committee of Canada Roupen Kouyoumdjian said in
an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Events will include cultural, political, academic, social and
religious ceremonies throughout Canada. The list of events also
includes academic conferences in different cities including
internationally renown scholars such as Henri Theriault and Geoffry
Robertson, cultural events such as World premiere of Bedros
Shoujounian's Armenian Symphony. On April 24 a commemoration march
will be held in Ottawa and on May 3rd a special march will be
organized in each city through the Armenian Youth, local and federal
political figures will certainly take part in such events.

"High level representatives of the Canadian government will attend
April 24 events in Yerevan, but due to certain circumstances which you
certainly understand, those names are not yet made public," Roupen
Kouyoumdjian said.

Executive Director of ANC Canada is confident that western pressure
can make Turkey change its position on the Armenian Genocide,"
Kouyoumdjian believes.

"Isolating Turkey on this question on the international scene will
definitely be a major force pushing it to recognize the genocide. Once
official recognition is obtained, we must turn to the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide to deal with issues such as
reparations, restitution and reconciliation," he added.


http://news.am/eng/news/256994.html

[Yervant1]

AberdeenNews.com, South Dakota
March 14 2015

NSU professor to address Armenian genocide


Northern State University's Steven Usitalo will present a talk on the
Armenian genocide this month at a Pennsylvania university and will
discuss the topic this summer in Washington, according to a news
release from the college.

Usitalo will present "The Armenian Genocide: Origins, Nature and
Consequences" from 6 to 7 p.m. March 26 at Slippery Rock University.
The event, part of a history series on World War I, was organized by
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.


Usitalo will also present a research talk on the Armenian genocide in
May at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The presentation will be a micro-study of one mass killing of
Armenians in Syria in 1916. In July, he plans to attend the annual
meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars in
Yerevan, Armenia, according to the release.


http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/local/education/nsu-professor-to-address-armenian-genocide/article_3d05bc74-2534-504c-9c9b-f8398c8c9d34.html

[Yervant1]

Let's commemorate the Armenian Genocide in Turkey

March 15, 2015


It has been one hundred years since the genocide of the Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire - a massacre in which a million and a half
Armenians were murdered.

For one hundred years too many, the denial of this crime has been at
the heart of the policy and diplomacy of the Turkish state, which was
founded in part on the expropriation of the Armenians and the
destruction of their culture.

One hundred years on, the denial or the condoning of this genocide are
still causing victims, feeding violent nationalism and racism,
breeding conflict and stifling democracy and freedom of expression in
Turkey.

For several years, a growing number of voices have made themselves
heard at the heart of civil society in Turkey, with increasing support
from European civil society, to recognize the reality of the genocide
and to commemorate this crime in Turkey itself. It is in this context
that, since 2010, commemorations of the Armenian genocide have been
held in Turkey.

This year, the Turkish state has cynically planned commemorations of
the battle of Gallipoli on April 24 in a new attempt to overshadow the
Armenian genocide. In addition, Turkish officials are engaged in a
charm offensive to prevent international involvement in the
commemorations of the Armenian genocide.

We Europeans, Armenians, Turks and Kurds, who have initiated,
organized, supported or participated in these commemorations, call on
all those who care for the truth to commemorate together, peacefully,
in Istanbul, on April 24the genocide perpetrated against the
Armenians.

The commemoration of this genocide concerns not only Turks and
Armenians, but all of humanity. Today, the front line in the fight
against genocide denial is also at the heart of Turkish society. Our
shared campaign is universalist in character. It is a future-oriented
campaign for solidarity, for justice and for the promotion of
democracy.

It is a campaign of solidarity among all those who fight for
historical truth. The dividing line is not between Turks and
Armenians, but between those who fight against denial and those who
promote it, irrespective of their origins or nationalities.

This is a campaign for justice. Genocide is the most violent political
act which racism can lead to, and denial is a part of the act itself.
To fight against denial is to fight racism and therefore for a more
equal and just society.

This is a campaign for the promotion of democracy. To remember those
who disappeared is an act of humanity and of symbolic reparation that
involves all of us. To remember in Turkey is to contribute to freedom
of expression and to question the very foundations of the undemocratic
nature of power in this country.

We call on all those who share these values and this vision to join us
and commemorate in Istanbul on April 24th the one hundredth
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.



Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement - EGAM,

Alexis Govciyan & Nicolas Tavitian, President & Director of the
Armenian General benevolent Union - AGBU-Europe,

Levent Sensever, Spokesperson of Durde (Turkey)


http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/03/15/lets-commemorate-the-armenian-genocide-in-turkey/

[Yervant1]

Russian president's visit highly important on eve of Armenian Genocide
centennial - ambassador

14:42 * 15.03.15


Armenian former deputy FM, ambassador Arman Navasardyan attaches high
importance to Russian President Vladimir Putin's planned visit to
Armenia as part of the events marking the Armenian Genocide
centennial.

"The visit is highly important as part of the events. The larger is a
state the more importance is its presence," he said.

Of high importance would also be the presence of the United States,
France and other great powers on April 24.

The Russian president's visit will be a turning point in the context
of the recent events in Gyumri.

"The visit is of importance in the context of foreign political
factors. I mean Russian-Turkish relations because many people think
they affect our national interests. On the other hand, this visit is
evidence of Armenian-Russian ties within the Collective Security
Treaty Organization," Mr Navasardyan said.

According to him, this visit may upset some western nations, while
others will be glad.

"I think it is going to be a warming to Azerbaijan. Baku must calm
down because such tensions may eventually lead to serious
hostilities."


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/15/armannavasardian/1617911