Armenian Genocide Commemorations List and related articles

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DO THE RIGHT THING

Jerusalem Post
March 2 2015

As we prepare to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide,
Israel's continued refusal to recognize it is morally reprehensible.

A visit to Yad Vashem should convince all Israelis. This is even more
salient because if Iran has its way, Israel will not exist to mark
a century since the Holocaust.

It has been said that Israel's position is designed to mollify the
Azeris, as Jerusalem values its relationship with Baku as well as
the access it gives to Iran's northwestern border.

Notwithstanding both Azerbaijan's close alliance with Turkey and their
continuing hostilities with Armenia, it can be argued that Israel
is being uncharacteristically meek in worrying about offending Azeri
and Turkish sensibilities.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose animus to Israel is no secret,
would probably find it more in his interest to turn a blind eye to
Israel's change of heart and not to pressure Baku's relationship with
Israel, if only to prevent Iran from becoming the regional hegemon.

Sometimes doing the right thing is more important than political
expediency, but occasionally, principles and interests coincide. It's
about time Israel did the right thing and recognized the Armenian
genocide.

STEVE ADESSKY Montreal

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/March-3-2015-Theyre-not-here-392720

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ARMENIANS WISH TO JOIN TURKEY'S PARLIAMENT AHEAD OF GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

19:53 * 03.03.15

Arabs and Armenians of Turkey have responded to the Peoples' Democratic
Party's call for running in the country's parliamentary election on
June 7.

One of the ethnic Armenians, Nvard Bakyrjyoglu from Bakirkoy, said
she especially wishes to field her candidacy this year, which marks
the Armenian Genocide centenery.

The female parliament runner also expressed a desire to visit the
Urartian capital Van.

"The parliament has had no Armenian member for 100 years. An Armenian
candidate's presence would be to the point the year marking the
[Genocide] centenary. I wish to represent my people. I or any other
Armenian candidates should have our seat in Majilis as representatives
of our nation," she said.

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EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
For Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
Bruxelles, 1000
Belgique

Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 26 / 27
E-mail : contact@eafjd.org
Web: http://www.eafjd.org
http://www.eafjd.eu/
https://twitter.com/eafjd
https://www.facebook.com/European.Armenian.Federation


EAFJD on the EPP resolution calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian
Genocide: `The European Parliament should show similar determination and
courage'


Brussels, March 3, 2015: The Political Assembly of the European Political
Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament, today
adopted a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, and calling on
Turkey to recognize it.

The resolution entitled 'The Armenian Genocide, Turkish Responsibility, and
European Values' reaffirms EPP's `recognition and condemnation of the
Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian people on the eve
of its 100th Anniversary on 24 April 2015'. The resolution emphasizes the
incontrovertible evidence documented in the archives of several western
states, including Germany, United Kingdom, USA, France, that the `Armenian
Genocide , ... was perpetuated by the Young Turk Government in the final
years of the Ottoman Empire`. The resolution also criticizes the
destruction of thousands of Armenian cultural monuments in Turkey.

The largest political group of the European Parliament calls on Turkey
inter alia `to face history and finally recognize the ever-present
reality
of the Armenian Genocide', `make restitution appropriate for a European
country, including but not limited to ensuring a right of return of the
Armenian people to, and a secure reconnection with, their national
hearth...'.

The President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy
(EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian said `we welcome the resolution adopted and we
thank the European People's Party and in particular President Joseph Daul
for his support. EPP sister Armenian parties - Republican Party of Armenia,
Rule of Law and Heritage - showed that the Armenian political parties are
united in pursuing Armenian Genocide recognition in this centennial year'.
`The other political groups of the European Parliament, as well as
the
Parliament as an institution, should show similar determination and
courage, in condemning the Genocide and restoring historical justice',
concluded Karampetian.

Photo link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eppofficial/sets/72157648792848884

#####


Bedo DEMIRDJIAN - KURKJIAN
________________________
European Armenian Federation
for Justice & Democracy (EAFJD)

twitter.com/eafjd
facebook.com/European.Armenian.Federation
http://www.eafjd.eu

+32 2 732 70 26 / 27

Avenue de la Renaissance, 10
1000, Brussels,
Belgium
=80=8B

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ARMENIA SUBMITS RESOLUTION ON PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

11:48, 04 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On a visit to Geneva, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
met with Joachim Rucker, President of the Human Rights Council.

The interlocutors referred to the consideration of Armenian human
rights record at the UN Human Rights Council and its assessments.

Minister Nalbandian informed Joachim Rucker that as an important
role-player in the international community's fight against crimes
against humanity, Armenia submits a Resolution on "Prevention of
Genocide" to the consideration of the 28th session of the UN Human
Rights Council.

Edward Nalbandian underlined that it's important for UN member states
to express their unequivocal support to the combined international
efforts aimed at preventing new crimes against humanity.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/04/armenia-submits-resolution-on-prevention-of-genocide-to-un-human-rights-council/

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RED ZONE FESTIVAL IN OSLO DEDICATED TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

15:18, 04 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Armenian Cultural Association in Norway presents various
commemorative events marking the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
in Norway.

The events organized by Norwegian Church's cultural agency Kirkelig
Kulturverksted (KKV) include a film screening, photo exhibition,
theater performances, a cultural workshop, a concert and a panel
discussion on political aspects of denial within the prestigious
annual Red Zone Festival, happening this week, sponsored by freedom
of expression foundation Fritt Ord and the Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

At the time when the world commemorates that 100 years has gone since
the genocide, KKV has decided to dedicate this year's Red Zone festival
to the Armenian tragedy.

Red Zone is a festival, which highlights the freedom of expression
through the arts. It is annually arranged by KKV; every other year in
Oslo and in a city in the Middle East. The first edition took place
in Oslo in 2013. In 2014 it happened in Beirut and Cairo. In 2015 it
is once again back in Oslo.

The concert "A hundred years of oblivion" held within the framework
of the festival on March 3 featured musicians from Norway, Armenia,
Turkey and Iran.

The "Armine, Sister" performance will be staged at Kanonhallen, Løren
from March 4 to 6. Based on studies in Anatolia, the ensemble Teatr
ZAR has created a performance, which mirrors the Armenian genocide
through a wordless, densified theater play. Through their work Teatr
ZAR centers on the history of ignorance that feeds on inaction and
leads to inaction among today's Europeans. The history of ignorance
also includes the social story of building an accord of silence around
each act of violence.

Suzanne Khardalian's film "Grandma's Tattoos" will be screened on March
4. The documentary shows the fates of women during the aftermaths of
the genocide.

The events will be concluded by a discussion on "Forgotten by the
world, the selective memory of the West,"featuring Ara Sarafian, the
founding director of the Gomidas Institute in London and historian
Bård Larsen from Civita, Oslo and freelance journalist Frida Sebina
Skatvik from Oslo.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/04/red-zone-festival-in-oslo-dedicated-to-the-armenian-genocide/

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DESTRUCTION STS MARTYRS CHURCH IN DEIR EL-ZOR IS SYMBOLIC LINK BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: ARMENIA'S FM

10:26, 4 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian made a statement at the High
Level Segment of the 28th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva on March 3. The Press, Information and Public Relations
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Armenia informed "Armenpress" that the statement runs as follows:

"Mr. President,

Mr. High Commissioner,

Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to join previous speakers in congratulating Ambassador Rucker
on his election as the President of the Human Rights Council, and to
wish him success in this important endeavor.

As the Foreign Minister of Armenia, it is of particular significance
for me to address Human Rights Council, today, since this year, in the
whole world the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide is commemorated.

Mr. President,

In recent years, the Human Rights Council has expanded the thematic
scope of its work to respond to gross violations of human rights
in various parts of the world drawing attention to the issues of
protection of the most vulnerable groups. The protection of religious
and ethnic minorities requires the urgent attention and actions
of international community, due to massive human rights violations
perpetrated by the terrorist groups.

Less than a week ago we all saw the chilling video footage of how
the ISIS militants were smashing the 2.700 years old statues in
the Mosul museum. This crime against civilization is an appalling
reminder of earlier similar barbaric acts of destruction of Bamian
Budda's statues, Mausoleums of Timbuktu and thousands of Medieval
Armenian cross-stones in Nakhijevan. Barbarism has declared a war
against the civilized world.

Intolerance towards the values of civilization belonging to others,
damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage must be
resolutely denounced by the international community.

Armenia has unequivocally condemned the atrocities and violence
committed by ISIS, Al Nusra, other terrorist groups and called on the
international community to take firm actions against this new scourge,
preventing the terrorists to profit from the flow of foreign fighters
and financial assets, and to initiate cross-border attacks, using the
territories of neighboring states. In this regard, Armenia strongly
supports the full implementation of the appropriate UN Security
Council resolutions.

The destruction by those terrorists, of the Saint Martyrs Armenian
Church in Syrian town of Deir el-Zor, which was a sanctuary for
the remains of many victims of the Armenian Genocide is a sad, yet
symbolic link between past and present crimes against humanity.

Indeed, the very concept of "crimes against humanity" entered the
international legal system on May 24th, 1915 in a special declaration
by the Allied Powers - Russia, France and Great Britain, who warned
the perpetrators of the atrocities against the Armenian people.

Mr. President,

The protection of human rights is by nature a permanent and ongoing
process. On January 22nd of this year Armenia presented its second
UPR report to the Human Rights Council. Since Armenia's first review
cycle the National Strategy on Human Rights Protection and various
National Action Plans were adopted. There have been significant
positive developments regarding Armenia's compliance with human rights
instruments. According to international reports, Armenia has real
achievements, inter alia, in democratic reforms, good governance,
human rights records, freedom of expression, free media and internet,
freedom of assembly.

Mr. President,

The Human Rights Council has been playing a crucial role in
mainstreaming the obligations of states emanating from the Genocide
Convention into systematic protection of human rights and adoption
of the resolutions on the genocide prevention.

This year Armenia has again initiated a resolution on the genocide
prevention. There is a growing consensus of the international community
that the genocide prevention always requires the constant attention
and best efforts of the civilized world without subordinating that
noble cause to geopolitical calculations.

All members of the international community should stand together in
their efforts to prevent the crime of genocide and we call upon all
member states to support this resolution, in the same way, as it was
done two years ago.

Mr. President,

Today I recall the words of Andrei Sakharov on the uniting power of
Human Rights: "I am convinced that the idea of human rights protection
is sole ground that can unite people regardless of their nationality,
political convictions, religion or their position in the society..."

Indeed this is an important message and a benchmark for future
actions aimed at creating a world without war, dividing lines and
racist ideology, a world with firm belief that human rights can and
should bring people together and this is the ultimate raison d'etre
of the Human Rights Council.

Thank you."

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/796310/destruction-sts-martyrs-church-in-deir-el-zor-is-symbolic-link-between-past-and-present-crimes-against.html

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ARMINFO'S SURVEY: BELARUS AND FRANCE WILL BE REPRESENTED AT HIGHEST LEVEL AT EVENTS TIMED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

by Tatevik Shahunyan and Marianna Mkrtchyan

Wednesday, March 4, 14:07

Most of the countries invited to the Armenian Genocide Centennial
events in Yerevan have not yet responded to the invitation for not
having made up their delegations to Yerevan.

Talking to ArmInfo, Ambassadors of Switzerland, Georgia, Iran,
Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Japan, and Germany said Yerevan's
invitation is still considered by the foreign ministries of their
countries to determine the composition of delegations. Nevertheless,
all the diplomats assured ArmInfo that their countries will send
official representatives to the events timed to the Armenian Genocide
Centennial.

Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea told ArmInfo,
the EU has not made up its delegation to the Genocide Centennial
events in Yerevan. Meanwhile, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan
Andrey Sorokin said the delegation to Yerevan will be headed by Ilkka
Kanerva, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The decision
may be changed and the OSCE may be represented at the above events
at a higher level.

Belarus has already made up its delegation. Talking to ArmInfo,
Ambassador Stepan Sukhorenko said the president of Belarus will
attend the events timed to the Armenian Genocide Centennial. France
will also be represented at the highest level.

Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin said Moscow has already
made up its delegation. The diplomat did not reveal the composition
of the Russian delegation, saying the country will be represented at
an adequate level.

The survey revealed that some countries will not send any delegations
to Turkey - the country is going to celebrate the centennial of the
victory in the Gallipoli Battle on the same day - April 24. Others
will send their delegations for political reasons. The diplomats say
the centennials of the Armenian Genocide and the Gallipoli Battle
are morally incomparable events.

To recall, UK, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have already accepted
Turkey's invitation to the Gallipoli event and will be represented at
the highest level. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles will attend
the event.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=AD685DD0-C25E-11E4-A9290EB7C0D21663

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The Heritage Party
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 - 10) 27.16.00
Fax: (+374 - 10) 52.48.46
Email: info@heritage.am; office@heritage.am
Website: www.heritage.am


4 March 2015


EUROPEAN PEOPLE'S PARTY ADOPTS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

Brussels, Belgium--On 3 March, the European People's Party (EPP)
unanimously approved and adopted a resolution titled `The Armenian Genocide
and European Values.' The resolution condemns the genocidal acts against
the Armenian people and appeals to the EU and Council of Europe Member
States, as well as international organizations, to unite their efforts
aimed at restoring historical justice and paying tribute to the memory of
the victims of this genocide.

The text of the document reads as follows:

Resolution adopted by the EPP Political Assembly (3 rd March 2015) on

`The Armenian Genocide and European Values'

The European People's Party reaffirms its recognition and condemnation of
the Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian people on the
eve of its 100th Anniversary on 24 April 2015.

1. We condemn the genocidal acts against the Armenian people, planned and
continuously perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and various regimes of
Turkey in 1894-1923, dispossession of the homeland, the massacres and
ethnic cleansing aimed at the extermination of the Armenian population, the
destruction of the Armenian heritage, as well as the denial of the
Genocide, all attempts to avoid responsibility, to consign to oblivion the
committed crimes and their consequences or to justify them, as a
continuation of this crime and encouragement to commit new genocides.

2. We commemorate one-and-a-half million innocent victims of the Armenian
Genocide in 1915 and bow in gratitude to those martyred and surviving
heroes who struggled for their lives and human dignity. Moreover, we
recognize, that the Genocide resulted in the death and dispossession not
only of Armenian people but also extended to the Pontic Greeks and
Assyrians, and we commemorate them as well.

3. We join and strongly support the commitment of Armenia and the Armenian
people to continue the international struggle for the prevention of
genocides, the restoration of the rights of people subjected to genocide
and the establishment of historical justice.

4. We invite Turkey, in the finest example of integrity and leadership
proffered by the Federal Republic of post-war Germany, to face history and
finally recognize the ever-present reality of the Armenian Genocide and its
attendant dispossession, to seek redemption and make restitution
appropriate for a European country, including but not limited to ensuring a
right of return of the Armenian people to, and a secure reconnection with,
their national hearth--all flowing from the fundamental imperative of
achieving Reconciliation through the Truth.

5. We call upon the Government of Turkey to respect and realize fully the
legal obligations which it has undertaken including those provisions which
relate to the protection of cultural heritage and, in particular, to
conduct in good faith an integrated inventory of Armenian and other
cultural heritage destroyed or ruined during the past century, based
thereon to develop a strategy of priority restoration of ancient and
medieval capital cities, churches, schools, fortresses, cemeteries, and
other treasures located in historic Western Armenia, and to render the
aforementioned fully operational cultural and religious institutions.

6. We appeal to EU and CoE member states, international organizations, all
people of good will, regardless of their ethnic origin and religious
affiliation, to unite their efforts aimed at restoring historical justice
and paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

7. Taking the foregoing into account, the European People's Party invites
Turkey to take the following measures pursuant to its international
commitments and the European identity to which it aspires:

· to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman
Empire, and to face its own history and memory through commemorating the
victims of that heinous crime against humanity;

· to provide a vision and an implementing plan of action worthy of a truly
European Turkey, including a comprehensive resolution of issues relating to
the freedom of expression and reference to the Genocide in state, society
and educational institutions, as well as the repair of religious and other
cultural sites and their return to the Armenian and other relevant
communities;

· to launch the long-awaited celebration of the Armenian national legacy
based on a total Turkish-Armenian normalization anchored in the assumption
of history, the pacific resolution of all outstanding matters, and a
complete Europeanization of their relationship.

8. It also invites the European Union, its Commission, Council and
Parliament, and the international community as a whole, in assessment of
the honoring of commitments and obligations undertaken by Turkey, to accord
continued attention to the recognition, restoration, and restitution of our
shared heritage as herewith tendered, and hereafter officially to
commemorate April 24 as a day to remember and condemn the Armenian Genocide
and man's inhumanity to man.

9. We express the hope that recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide by Turkey will serve as a starting point for the historical
reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

Also open the link:

http://www.epp.eu/sites/default/files/content/documents/Final_Res_Armenian%20Genocide.pdf

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MEMORIAL PLANNED TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN RELIEF LEADERS

The Fresno Bee, CA
March 4 2015

The Fresno Bee
March 4, 2015

Fresno's Armenian community hopes to recognize three prominent founders
of an organization that helped resettle about 25,000 Armenians from
World War II labor camps to America with a memorial at the Masis
Ararat Armenian Cemetery.

The late George Mardikian and Suren Saroyen and Brig. Gen. Haig
Shekerjian were instrumental in the formation of the American
National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians, or ANCHA, said Sophie
Mekhitarian of the Mardikian/Saroyan Memorial Fund at Fresno's Holy
Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church. ANCHA and other relief organizations
coordinated the relocation of displaced ethnic Armenians from German
labor camps and from elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East in the
years following World War II.

Shekerjian, who was buried in San Francisco, died in 1966. Mardikian,
who died in 1977, and Saroyan, who died in 1995, are both buried at
the Ararat cemetery in Fresno. Mekhitarian estimates that a memorial
monument to the men will cost about $20,000. Contributions can be made
to Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, Mardikian/Saroyan Memorial
Fund, 537 M St., Fresno, CA 93721. Details: sophiem2125@gmail.com.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/03/04/4408128_memorial-planned-to-recognize.html?rh=1

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STARBUCKS BECOMES FLASHPOINT BETWEEN TURKS, ARMENIANS

Al-Monitor
March 4 2015

by Pinar Tremblay
Posted March 3, 2015

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) posted on Feb. 18 a
picture of women with traditional Armenian gear, holding a Starbucks
coffee cup, under the Turkish crescent and star flags on their Facebook
account. Under the photo, which was displayed at the Mulholland and
Calabasas stores in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, ANCA
posed the question: "Why is Starbucks selling coffee using an image
of women, dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, celebrating a
Turkish state that systematically victimized Armenian women during
the Armenian genocide, and that still denies this crime against all
humanity?" Starbucks, known as a rather liberal establishment, promptly
issued an apology and removed the posters, which were displayed in
a couple of locations in Southern California.

The photographer responsible for the design of the poster, Timothy
Rose, also issued an apology on his Web page explaining that he had
not known the women were Armenian.

When asked for the sentiments of Armenian-Americans about the
Starbucks posters, Aram Hamparian, the executive director of ANCA,
told Al-Monitor, "We felt that the Starbucks ad inappropriately used
images of women dressed in traditional Armenian costumes to glorify
a Turkish state that brutally persecuted Armenian women during the
Armenian genocide and that still, to this day, denies this crime
against all humanity." Indeed, the reaction was so strong, Hamparian
informed Al-Monitor, that the entire campaign to remove the posters
lasted about five hours. He said, "Armenian-Americans are generally
a highly networked community that follows Armenian issues closely
and that is quick to react to misrepresentations in politics, media
or advertising. Social media, of course, helps Armenians to more
quickly connect to one another and to more effectively communicate
our collective concerns. We saw this on the morning of the Starbucks
poster. In the course of just a few hours, we were alerted to the ads,
developed quick graphics, generated protests, engaged Starbucks and
resolved the issue to everyone's satisfaction."

Several pundits agree it was just a marketing effort gone wrong.

Although the swift resolution of the matter must have pleased
Armenian-Americans and Americans in general, there was another group
that was not pleased: some misinformed Turks.

The news was reported quite differently in Turkey. One report alleged
Starbucks branches in Los Angeles had female hostesses dressed in
Turkish traditional dress and flags serving coffee, and this is what
had angered Armenian-Americans. On Feb. 22, Adana Mayor Huseyin Sozlu
had the municipal police hang Turkish flags in Starbucks branches
as customers clapped. Sozlu told the press, "As April 24 approaches,
the Armenian diaspora will be increasing its attacks on Turkey and the
Turkish nation. On the 100th year of the alleged Armenian genocide,
they launched an operation to remove the Turkish flag. And here in
Adana, we hung up our honorable flag in front of Starbucks branches
to retaliate."

Turks were divided on social media about the appropriate reaction to
the episode. One tweeted: "After this point, I suspect the loyalty
to Turkey of anyone who steps into a Starbucks." Others were more
cynical. One tweeted: "The mindset is tragic and comical. Those who
fail to protect their flag within their own borders are now putting
up flags with the police force at Starbucks storefronts."

Yet, due to the incorrect translation of the news, the majority of
the Turkish public, who do not know English, were under the impression
that the Armenian-Americans were upset about a Turkish flag.

Some protests turned out to be rather counterproductive. For example,
on Feb. 22, several events were held in Turkey and cities around
the world to commemorate the Khojaly Massacre of February 1992,
when about 160 ethnic Azerbaijani civilians were killed during the
Nagorno-Karabakh war. Agos Daily, a Turkish Armenian newspaper,
reported on "racist posters in different corners of Turkey." While
the goal was to remember the victims of the horrible events, a
group called "Genc Atsizlar," self-described as "accepting Turkish
nationalism in their hearts," took the idea of commemoration in a
different direction. Their hate-filled slogans tacitly accept the
Armenian genocide. For example, one of them reads "We celebrate
the 100th anniversary of cleansing our country from Armenians. We
are proud of our honorable ancestors." This racist banner was hung
in several cities in a perplexing admission of ethnic cleansing
and genocide. These protests, unlike others in Turkey, prompted no
police reaction, raising questions about the kind of relationship
these ultranationalistic groups have with the Turkish state. We
cannot help but question: How many people agree with such racist,
hateful commentary about the Armenians in Turkey?

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Harut Sassounian, a prominent
researcher and publisher of the California Courier, broke the
story Feb. 23, reporting, "ANCA-[Western Region] announced that
Los Angeles World Airports [LAWA], a wholly-owned entity of the
City of Los Angeles, has decided to terminate its contract worth
over $845,000 with the Gephardt Group." This story did not find its
way into the Turkish news. Only one online publication, on Feb. 8,
announced that the Armenian lobby in the United States is targeting
companies that have business links with Turkey. Even in this brief
report, credit was given to the meticulous and transparent work of
dedicated Armenian-American activists for their cause. The plans of
the Turkish government to recover from this important setback for
Turkish lobbyists in the United States are unknown.

Sassounian told Al-Monitor that the Gephardt Group is one of the
major lobbying firms for Turkey and highlighted the fact that
former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt has been a supporter of
Armenian-Americans' efforts for the United States to recognize the
Armenian genocide. Yet once Gephardt retired, this support wavered.

Sassounian said, "The latest contract on file with the US Justice
Department reveals that the Gephardt Group is paid $1.4 million a year
to lobby for Turkey in Washington." Sassounian and his team have been
raising red flags about the Gephardt Group since August 2014.

Sassounian told Al-Monitor that the Gephardt Group has not responded
to his article. So far, the group has not responded to the inquiries
from Al-Monitor, either.

Whether we agree with the motivations of the Armenian diaspora or not,
the victory by Armenian-Americans over the Gephardt Group should be
acknowledged as a significant accomplishment. In the short month of
February, we have witnessed the Starbucks public relations fiasco,
which led to an angry outburst in Turkey, a commemoration ceremony
for the Khojaly Massacre, which evolved into a racist platform with
counterproductive slogans, followed by a successful campaign to deter
businesses lobbying for Turkey.

When we read all these events together, we see that Armenian-Americans
form a unified, determined group of activists with clear goals. They
are well organized. Their success is the result of years of tenacious
efforts. There are significant lessons to be learned from their
civilian activism experience -- not only for Turks, but for many
different groups.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/turkey-armenia-starbucks-discord.html#

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ARCHBISHOP CHARLES J. CHAPUT: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WAS THE DRESS REHEARSAL FOR NAZI EXTERMINATION OF JEWS

15:37, 05 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

"The dress rehearsal for the Nazi extermination of the Jews took
place exactly 100 years ago, in 1915," Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
writes in his weekly column on The Catholic Philly. The full article
is provided below:

"Lent is a time for self-examination and repentance; a time for good
spiritual reading and the sacrament of penance. It's also a time for
renewing our sense of solidarity with fellow Christians around the
world. It's a moment to remember the witness of so many Christians
who've died simply because they were Christian.

The world rightly remembers the mass murder of Jews and other
minorities by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. In its scope,
the Shoah dwarfs anything in human history, and its echoes continue
today in the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, much of it driven by
radicalized Islam. But the Shoah was by no means the only mass murder
carried out in the 20th century.

In fact, the dress rehearsal for the Nazi extermination of the Jews
took place exactly 100 years ago, in 1915. The genocide was carried out
by Turkish authorities, and it murdered more than 1 million Armenians,
a people who were overwhelmingly Christian. Religion wasn't the only
reason for the killings - ethnic and economic resentments of Turkey's
Armenian minority played an important role - but Muslim contempt for
the "unbelievers" legitimized the violence and was a powerful current
throughout the killings.

Men, women and children were turned out of their homes, marched to
exhaustion and starved, beaten, hanged and burned to death by the tens
of thousands. The systematic murder campaign went on in bloody waves
into the 1920s. Witnesses recalled Turks taunting their victims with
shouts of "Where is your Christ now? Where is your Jesus? Why does
he not save you?"

To this day, Turkey has never adequately acknowledged the Armenian
genocide. As President Jimmy Carter once remarked, "there weren't
any Nuremburg trials" for the mass murder inflicted on the Armenians.

During the Cold War, Turkey was a NATO ally. The United States and
Europe found it easier to turn a blind eye to history than to resurrect
a crime from the past.

Today, with the resurgence of militant Islam inside Turkey itself,
a full national truth-telling by Turkish authorities may be even more
remote. Armenians were the first nation in the world to formally adopt
Christianity in A.D. 301. Today, in their historic home regions of
modern Turkey, their culture and memory have been wiped out.

Every year on April 24, Armenians around the world celebrate
Remembrance Day for the victims of the 1915 genocide. This year, on
the centenary of that mass murder, Christians from every tradition
need to remember and pray for the victims of that genocide, which
remains one of the worst unrepented crimes in history.

We also need to remember that the persecution and murder of Christians
still continues at the hands of ISIS and radicalized Islam throughout
the Middle East. And to date, our national leadership has been utterly
ineffective in stopping it - or even fully engaging it.

We Americans take for granted our traditions of religious liberty,
human rights and judicial process. We see the coexistence - and even
the friendship -- of different religious communities and beliefs
as quite normal. But it's not. We too often don't understand the
uniqueness of that gift.

Today, in many places around the world, living as a Christian invites
discrimination, hatred and violence. The beheading of Christians by
ISIS is the latest crime in a long history of Middle Eastern Christian
martyrdom - not the phony and homicidal "martyrdom" that involves
blowing up innocent women and children, but the realmartyrdom of
being murdered for one's belief in Jesus Christ.

Lent is a time of repentance. It's also a time for forgiving even the
wicked. But it's also a time to remember and learn from history --
even when the whole world wants to forget it. This Lent we need to
remember and pray for the Armenian Christians who died 100 years
ago. Like us, they were part of God's people; the people of Jesus
Christ. The memory of their suffering should turn our hearts and our
energies to helping the millions of Christians now suffering in the
Middle East and around the world."

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/05/archbishop-charles-j-chaput-armenian-genocide-was-the-dress-rehearsal-for-nazi-extermination-of-jews/

[Yervant1]

FRENCH MP VALERIE BOYER: WE WILL NOT YIELD TO THREATS BY THE TURKS

March 4, 2015

An exclusive interview of the member of the National Assembly of
France Valerie Boyer to Armenian News-NEWS.am

Madame Boyer, will you visit Armenia on April 24 to attend the events
on the occasion of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide?

I have visited Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh several times on the
occasion of April 24 events. This year, despite the requests to
attend events in Yerevan, I decided to stay in Marseille. Senator of
Marseille Jean Claude Gaudin devoted 2015 to Armenia. In this context
the city will host numerous cultural events referring to Armenia
and Armenians. On April 24 the municipality of Marseille and the
municipalities of all districts will turn into the colors of Armenia.

So, I chose to stay with the French of Armenian descent to show them
my support and commitment.

Besides, together with Blue Cross of the Armenia's of France (ARS
France), I organized tree planting. 100 trees will be planted near
the April 24 monument, not to mention conferences and exhibitions
. We will honor the Armenian culture and our duty.

France has recognized the Armenian Genocide. What should be the
next step?

I think that acknowledgment is the first step, but today I expect
France to criminalize denial of the Armenian Genocide after adoption
of my bill by the National Assembly and the Senate in 2012 which was
a step forward in terms of a law on criminalization. The genocide
of 1915 is the second genocide that was recognized by France after
Holocaust. The text was adopted in 2001 and was confirmed without
raising the question of constitutionality, but did not envisage
punishment for denial.

The 2001 law must be supplemented by acknowledgment of the punishment
mechanisms. I worked on a new bill that is no longer referring to
free expression. This will be an important move forward and will ban
tarnishing the memories of thousands of men, women and children who
died just because their only crime was being Armenian Christians.

Last year you introduced a bill banning denial of the genocides and
crimes against humanity that were committed in the twentieth century.

The law has not been adopted yet. Do you think the French parliament
will pass the bill this year - on the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide?

Back in 2011 I introduced a bill, based on the right of the community
to fight against racism and denial of genocides that were recognized by
the French law, including the Armenian Genocide. The bill was passed
by all groups of the National Assembly and the Senate on January 23,
2012. Unfortunately, the Constitutional Council overturned it on
the grounds that the denial is part of freedom of expression, thus
putting an end to this attempt to criminalize denial.

Nevertheless, the possibility of criminalizing denial of all genocides
and crimes against humanity echoes the topical problem in the context
of persecutions similar to genocides, those targeted at Christians of
the Middle East, Yezidis, in particular in Iraq. They were described
by Ban Ki-moon as a crime against humanity.

There is obvious need to pass the law in order to offer new
characteristics to denial. Therefore, I am working hard to work out
an alternative and new version that was a fruit of my work with the
leading lawyers, experts on criminal law - Bernard Jouanneau and
Sevag Torossian. This is why I suggest that the denial was no longer
considered a simple abuse of the freedom of expression, but a crime
against humanity.

This offers two advantages: to get out of the legal impasse created
by the Constitutional Council in connection with the freedom of
expression, and to protect the memory of the victims of all genocides
recognized by our legislation.

So, I offer my fellow MPs to sign the legislative mechanism, an
apolitical bill that is pursuing the public interest, which is
free from party considerations. This text aims to be universal,
because it protects all the genocides recognized by French law,
and expresses its respect for human rights. This project relates
to human dignity. Since October 2014, the law has been available
on the website of the National Assembly, and I hope that it will be
reviewed in the near future, as this is not only close to my heart,
but is especially important for our commitment and our rights.

Hearing into Perincek vs. Switzerland case has been recently held in
the European Court of Human Rights. Perincek accused Switzerland of
violating his right for freedom of expression. Where do you think
is the limit when the priority is not to allow repetition of awful
crimes of the past at the same time not violating freedom of speech?

This is not about permitting or banning everything. Freedom of
expression, as well as its limitations, must be protected. The law
also establishes a framework. Freedom cannot exist without the rule
of law, and the government should take responsibility, if necessary,
allowing the popular representation to establish the scope and limits
of freedom of expression. This freedom is relative, not absolute,
and should respect the beliefs and memory of the victims.

The problem is that now the choice of a suitable expression is based on
the impact of the media. Alas, in this demagogic approach, the judge is
not completely innocent. Thus, the judges in Strasbourg concluded that
the denial of the Armenian Genocide had no consequences, and this means
that you can allow hurting the victims and their descendants. Again,
neither the government, nor even Francois Hollande, who committed
himself to introducing punishment for challenging this genocide,
did nothing. Not a word!

The question is: who makes the decision regarding the public expression
of opinion or what is acceptable to say and what is not?

Does a politician have a direct interest? The current government is
a consumer of communications not having any problems with showing its
inconsistency, until tweets reach an alarm threshold or the reaction
of the population will not limit them.

This is an expectant management, which sorely lacks personality and
beliefs, but reflects the state of confusion, where modern France
has plunged.

What do you think about Turkish authorities' initiative to mark the
100th anniversary of Gallipoli events on April 24?

I think I should not express my opinion on Turkish government's
decision to mark or not to mark anything. I do not approve
interference. Nevertheless, one must be blind not to see that the
state lie hundred years after the events impels the government to
continue denial of the crimes up to coming up with a memorial event
to disguise the centennial ceremonies. As far as I know, the date of
the battle is April 25.

This is a pathetic initiative. However, instead of commenting on what
is happening in Turkey, let's find a voice in France to fulfill our
duty to ensure continuation of the 2001 law in order to criminalize
denial. Help me so that the bill presented in April 2014 could be
considered and adopted by the National Assembly and the Senate in 2015.

We will not yield to threats by the Turks or to any delays because
of political and legal reasons in France.

http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/62844

[Yervant1]

16:22 06/03/2015 » SOCIETY

Turkish students hold protest against Armenian Genocide denial

The students of the Boğaziçi (Bosphorus) University of Istanbul held a protest action against the event denying the Armenian Genocide organized by the Ataturk Club, Armenpressreports citing the Turkish News Agency Etha.
With the call of the “Peoples' Democratic Congress” Council (HDK), the Turkish students entered the hall of the so-called “Deportation Centenary” event organized by the Ataturk Club, and made a statement for the media.
In the statement, the students said that the Christmas Holidays in Malatya, Kayseri, Konya, Mardin and Hatay (Antioch) and many alike sites were last celebrated a hundred years ago and Hrant Dink’s nation, living for 4,000 years in these lands, no longer exists.
Having made the statement, the students hung posters on the walls of the hall with the content “Not deportation, but Genocide,” “Face Hrant and the Genocide.”

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

APOLOGY NOT ENOUGH FOR GENOCIDE, TURKEY OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED - EXHIBITION IN HAMBURG

March 5, 2015 12:47

As part of the commemorations of the Armenian Genocide centenery,
an exhibition portraying the lives of Ottoman-Armenians was recently
held in the Alevi Center of Hamburg (Germany).

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 5, ARTSAKHPRESS: Entitled "My Beloved Brother,
Armenians in Turkey 100 Years Ago", the event featured Armenians
residing in different parts of Turkey in the early 20th century.

The exhibition, which lasted three days, offered the visitors a unique
chance to conduct a historical journey from Istanbul to Trabzon and
Erzurum, Sivas to Malatiya, Elaziz, Marash and Ayntap.

Osman Koker, a Turkish writer who organized the cultural event, said
he derived inspiration from his very first exhibition in Istanbul
(2005), which encouraged him to repeat the positive experience also
in Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden, United Kingdom and Armenia.

A debate held on the exhibition's last day was attended by Wolfgang
Goust, a journalist who worked for for 25 years worked for the German
exhibition Spiegel, and Martin Dolzer, an ethnic Turkish parliament
member elected from Hamburg.

In his speech at the event, Mr Goust admitted Germany's role in the
Armenian Genocide, citing documents published by the country's Foreign
Ministry in 1919.

Turkish writer Recep Marasli said many Armenian churches on Turkey's
territory are now used as mosques. "Apologizing is not enough;
[descendents of the perpetrators] ought to be ashamed," he said, adding
that the grandchildren and grand-grand-children of the Ottoman-era
genocide orchestrators and perpetrators have not abandoned the wealth
accumulated illegally by their ancestors.

http://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/13719/apology-not-enough-for-genocide-turkey-ought-to-be-ashamed-%E2%80%93-exhibition-in-hamburg.html

[Yervant1]

SDHP URUGUAY CONVEYS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL MESSAGE DURING PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

By MassisPost
Updated: March 5, 2015

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - On the occasion of the inauguration of
President-elect Tabare Vazquez, South American presidents, dignitaries
and media outlets took part in the ceremonies, including those at
the Presidential Palace, adjacent to The Social Democrat Hunchakian
Party Executive Committee of Uruguay.

Seizing the moment to attract attention to the Centennial commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide, SDHP Executive Committee members placed a
large banner in front of the Hunchakian center, paying homage to the
100th Anniversary of the Genocide perpetrated by Turkey. The Spanish
language banner gained worldwide attention from media outlets who
were in attendance.

"Being in such close proximity to the Presidential Palace, we felt
that it would be a great way to convey our message on behalf of
the Armenian community, to not only South American dignitaries at
the ceremony, but also to the media who would publicize this crime
against humanity - that even after a century, is being denied by the
government of Turkey," said Ani Garabedian, SDHP Uruguay Chairwoman.

"As Urugayan-Armenians We are proud to be citizens of the first nation
that has acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and we hope that other
nations in South America follow."

http://massispost.com/2015/03/sdhp-uruguay-conveys-armenian-genocide-centennial-message-during-presidential-inauguration/

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN MUSICIANS WEAR "FORGET-ME-NOT" BADGES AT THE AL BUSTAN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

12:55, 06 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On March 4 the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia performed a concert of
classical music within the framework of the Al Bustan International
Festival. The program included compositions by Rachmaninov and
Tchaikovsky; pianist Khatia Buniatishvili performed as a soloist.

All the performances of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia at the Al
Bustan International Festival are dedicated to the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. In this regard, both the musicians of the
Youth Orchestra and Gianluca Marciano, the artistic director of the
festival wear the "Forget-me-not" badges, the symbols of the 100th
anniversary of the Genocide.

Speaking of the Orchestra, the conductor Gianluca Marciano mentioned:
"This Orchestra has far long passed the path of being youth,
establishing its status today as mutual, highly professional
collective".

The Al Bustan concerts are supported by the State Commission on
Coordination of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/06/armenian-musicians-wear-forget-me-not-badges-at-the-al-bustan-international-festival/

[Yervant1]

COMMEMORATIVE CONCERT TO BE HELD AT CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE

By Contributor on March 5, 2015 in Headline, Mid-Atlantic
http://armenianweekly.com/2015/03/05/commemorative-concert/

On April 25, Perspectives Ensemble, in cooperation with the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine of New York, the Reverend James Kowalski, dean,
and Kent Tritle, director of cathedral music, will present a one-hour
concert of Armenian classical and village music and "sharagans"
(church hymns) in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The concert celebrates the beauty and endurance
of Armenian culture.

Zulal

Featured artists include Zulal A Cappella Trio with Teni Apelian, Yeraz
Meschian, and Anais Tekerian, as well as Perspectives Ensemble harpist
Alyssa Reit, and flutist and artistic director, Sato Moughalian. The
concert will take place in the St. James Chapel of the Cathedral
Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at West 112th
St. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert will also mark the release of Perspectives Recordings'
second CD of "oror"/lullaby Armenian music for flute and harp,
dedicated to the memory of all those who have "fallen asleep."

In Armenian, Zulal means "clear water." Zulal, the a cappella trio,
takes Armenia's village folk melodies and weaves intricate arrangements
that pay tribute to the rural roots of the music while introducing a
sophisticated lyricism and energy. Zulal's singers have been singing
together since 2002.

The trio celebrates the trials and joys of old Armenian village life:
budding romances in elevated gardens, the disappointments of hapless
suitors, secret messages placed upon the western winds, the moonlit
faces of shepherd boys and their brides... These are the searing
impressions of the past that come to life in Zulal's arrangements,
reminders of a simpler past, tokens of comfort in the complex,
modern world.

Sato Moughalian

Perspectives Ensemble was founded by Moughalian in 1993 as the resident
ensemble for the series "Perspectives in Music and Art" at Columbia
University. The ensemble has presented thematic concerts as well as
programs on subjects that bridge the visual, musical, and literary
arts, consistently receiving the highest critical accolades.

The New York Times praised the "first-rate performances by accomplished
musicians," "a superb recital by the Perspectives Ensemble," and
"rhythms [that] were remarkably precise, supple and subtle."

Perspectives Ensemble presents concerts and recordings that feature
the works of living composers and historic figures, shedding new
light on their work through explorations of music in the context
of time and place. Perspectives has collaborated with IberArtists in
programs of Spanish and Catalan music of the modernist movement and for
world premieres by Vadillo, Artero, Sotelo, and Erkoreka. Perspectives
Ensemble was recently appointed "artist in residence" of the Foundation
for Iberian Music, City University Graduate Center. The New York
Times called the ensemble's performance of "El Amor Brujo" stunning:
"Perspectives Ensemble worked [without a conductor], yet gave a
performance that was remarkably polished, fastidiously balanced,
and full of electricity."

Perspectives Ensemble has presented in the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie
Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, New York
University, the Rubin Museum, and the Ethical Culture Society, and has
recorded for Sony Classics, Newport Classics, and New World Records,
among others. It was the resident ensemble for the Young People's
Chorus of New York's Transient Glory commissioning program, and has
served as a resident ensemble for the Miller Theatre's groundbreaking
"Pocket Concerto Project."

Recordings include "Sonnets to Orpheus" by Richard Danielpour (Sony),
"Recollections" by Karl Husa (New World), and Charles Tomlinson
Griffes' "Goddess of the Moon" (Newport). "The performances by the
Perspectives Ensemble, an outstanding aggregation based in New York,
are first-rate, with particularly fine playing by the flutist Sato
Moughalian," wrote the New York Times. Most recently, Perspectives
Ensemble released a critically acclaimed CD featuring the works
of Xavier Montsalvatge with soloists Timothy Fain, violin, Sato
Moughalian, flute, Sasha Cooke, mezzo, and Angel Gil-Ordoñez in 2013
on the Naxos label.

The April 25 program is made possible by the generous support of
the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Daniele Doctorow Prize
for Music, the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation,
the Hegardt Foundation, and Perspectives Ensemble's many friends.

The commemorative concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of St.

John the Divine, St. James Chapel, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. (at
112th St), in New York. For more information, e-mail
perspectivesensemble@gmail.com or call (212) 923-3657.

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL TO BE ERECTED IN COSTA MESA

16:06, 6 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. A memorial dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be erected at St. Mary
Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa, California. As reports
"Armenpress" citing Daily Pilot, the opening ceremony will be held
on March 8. On March 8, after the dedication, the church will hold
a commemorative ceremony at Orange Coast College's Robert B. Moore
Theatre. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of the Western Diocese
of the Armenian Church, will lead an invocation and benediction,
and speeches and musical performances will round out the program.

The diocese has recently undertaken a similar project, dedicating
the Holy Martyrs' Monument in January at its headquarters in Burbank.

Other commemorative events are planned around Southern California in
the coming months, including "LIFE:100," an art exhibit at the Brand
Library & Art Center in Glendale, and LA2DC, a genocide-awareness
cycling and running marathon from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.

Will the commemorations this year make a difference -- especially
for those who have refused to budge in the past? Tashjian, who has
served as St. Mary's pastor since 1992, hopes so.

"I only pray, as a priest, that the government of Turkey, once and for
all, will recognize and do justice to the deceased Armenian citizens
of Turkey," he said. "This is my prayer and wish, and I hope I see
that in my lifetime."

Among other things, the Daily Pilot reported: "When Moushegh
Tashjian was growing up, his father never spoke to him much about his
experience surviving the Armenian genocide. But he and his siblings
heard harrowing stories about it from their grandmother.

Actually, she wasn't their real grandmother -- something Tashjian
only realized as he grew older. His father's mother had perished in
the Turkish government's campaign, which began during World War I
and, by typical estimates, left 1.5 million dead. After Tashjian's
grandmother died, his grandfather married a woman who had lost two
husbands and three children in the forced marches across the desert.

Hearing her accounts as a child, Tashjian -- now the pastor of St. Mary
Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa -- felt hatred toward those
who had victimized his family and others.

Only in later years, he said, did he let that attitude slip.

"As a young child, as a young boy, I would picture a Turk with
the Ottoman-style clothing, with fez, with, what do you call it,"
he said, drawing the shape of a robe with his hands as he sat in the
community room of St. Mary last week. "And with a sword. And I would
see pictures of Turks slaughtering Armenians. They were everywhere.

"And, of course, yeah we wanted justice. And we still do."

On March 8, the Eastside church will dedicate the Genocide Centennial
Monument, a sculpture that features a pair of white marble pillars
connected by a cross, set on a black granite base where a small
fountain, flame and garden will eventually reside.

The church formed a remembrance committee and called for artists to
submit designs. Nearly a dozen entries came in, and Harout Joulhaian, a
Burbank resident who sometimes attends St. Mary services, got the nod.

Joulhaian, who grew up in Syria and moved to the United States 10
years ago, was partly inspired by his grandparents, who survived the
genocide. In crafting his design, he aimed for a mixture of somberness
and hope.

"The fountain and the flame and the black granite represent the
memory of our tragic past and symbolize the life and immortality of
the 1.5 million Armenians," Joulhaian said. "And the white two pillars
symbolize our new generation and the bright future, which is that we
are living now in this free country and we can express our feelings.

These two white pillars are attached with the cross, which symbolizes
our Christian faith and belief."

St. Mary's congregation raised money to pay for the monument, which
Tashjian estimated would cost between $50,000 and $60,000. Some members
of the church donated construction work for free; contractors will
do the rest."

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/796695/armenian-genocide-memorial-to-be-erected-in-costa-mesa.html

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION OPENS IN UKRAINE

10:49, 06.03.2015

An Armenian Genocide 100th anniversary exhibition has opened in Poltava
city, and within the framework of the genocide commemoration events
which the Union of Armenians of Ukraine is organizing.

The exhibition features eyewitness accounts, documents, photographs,
world press reviews, etc., AnalitikaUA.net reported.

The aforesaid union has set up a special committee to organize the
Armenian Genocide centenary commemorations in Ukraine.

Thematic events were held earlier in capital city Kyiv and in
Zhytomyr city.

http://news.am/eng/news/255691.html

[Yervant1]

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN MODERN TURKEY'S OFFICIAL DENIALISM: A HUNDRED SHADES OF DENIAL

23:41, 06 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Foreign Policy Journal has published an article by Grigor
Boyakhchyan titled "The Armenian Genocide in Modern Turkey's Official
Denialism: A Hundred Shades of Denial."

Repentant or emboldened through a hundred long years of denial, the
Turkish statehood stands at a critical juncture of its historical
past, present, and future. The Armenian Genocide and the Great
National Dispossession of the Armenian people from their homeland
will ultimately determine its decent place in the family of civilized
nations. Recognition and repentance, along with elimination of dire
consequences, is the right way forward for the Turkish government.

Only a month ahead of the April 24 Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,
the Republic of Armenia, together with Diaspora Armenians from
many far-flung corners of the world, brings together the vestiges
of enduring historical memory and remembrance on human suffering,
extermination and resurgence to denounce past inhumanities and prevent
future ones. Unbroken in spirit against this unprecedented crime, the
message they bring to the fore of international agenda stretches far
beyond the tragedy of a single nation to embrace the whole humanity.

Against the backdrop of Turkish official denialism, distortion, and
propaganda stunt - as the commemoration of Gallipoli landings staged
by the Turkish government on April 24 demonstrate - looms the larger
decay of a state rooted in organized forgetting and long-enforced
oblivion. Not only does the strenuous denial of the Armenian Genocide
by the Turkish government constitute a form of renewed aggression
that should be condemned and outlawed in its own right, but it also
forecloses the mere opportunity for many decent men and women in
Turkey to come to grips with their own history.

Despite the vast amount of evidence that points to centrally planned
and systematically orchestrated genocide against the Armenian people -
the testimony of survivors, documentary evidence, official archives,
and the reports of diplomats - the denial of Armenian genocide by
successive regimes in Turkey has proceeded from 1915 to the present.

Among the scores of articles available in the archives of the New York
Times, one featured on February 23, 1916 presents the reflections
of Lord Bryce, the head of British delegation to the Anglo-French
Parliamentary conference, on Turkish atrocities committed against
Armenians. It reads in part: "The cause of Armenians is especially
dear to me. There is no people in the world which has suffered more.

It has been a victim not of religious fanaticism, but of cold-blooded,
premeditated hatred on the part of the brigands who term themselves
the Turkish Government and who do not intend to permit the existence
of any national vitality except in their own element."

In an attempt to assassinate the entire civilization and culture,
the Ottoman Turkish government unleashed the deportation of Armenian
people to the arid deserts of Syria that would come to be known
as death marches of men, women and children, with many dying along
the way of exhaustion and starvation. The American ambassador Henry
Morgenthau would later write in his memoirs: "When the Turkish
authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely
giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well,
and in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt
to conceal the fact."

Various perspectives on denial can be brought to bear on the form
and content of Turkish attempts to transplant a benign political
image around the world; what unites them together, however, is the
state-sponsored struggle to diminish, disguise and consign to oblivion
the memory of race extermination behind their actions in whatever
way possible - a struggle of forgetting against memory.

Regardless of the state of play on the ground in the Middle East
or elsewhere and the ensuing geopolitical significance allegedly
attributed to Turkey in world affairs, it is crystal clear that
the only enduring strength, authority and leadership that a country
seeks to obtain in international arena proceeds along the principles
of morality and justice. Unwillingness to embrace this route is an
attribute of politicians who think in short timelines.

There are no "smart denials" on the face of justice, irrespective
of the strategies and techniques the Turkish authorities choose
to concoct behind the sealed borders and closed doors. Denials are
either short-or long-lived; but they never mature into reality. Nor
does the known fade into the unknown - no matter how intensely the
hundred shades of distortion and denial envelop the truth - and those
who have attempted it have themselves ended up in the dustbin of
history. To bind the country to the same path of government-backed
denial is an expression of no strategy, no goals, and no vision for
its future. It is a sign of moral decay.

Grigor Boyakhchyan holds a Master's Degree in International Security
Studies (ISS) from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,
Tufts University. He currently serves as Head of Foreign Relations
Department of the Center for Information and Analytical Studies under
the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/06/the-armenian-genocide-in-modern-turkeys-official-denialism-a-hundred-shades-of-denial/

[Yervant1]

SPECIAL PROJECT: "THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: BREAKING THE SILENCE". TURKISH JOURNALIST: DENIAL IS A SEVERE TRAUMA

Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aysor.am
presents a special project whose purpose is to feature the cultural
projects being carried out now.

Turkish journalist, columnist Serdar Korucu has been studying and
covering problems of the country's national minorities, including
Armenians for a long time and has authored articles appearing in
leading Turkish newspapers.

Korucu is the author of "The Kurdish Issue in the Eyes of Foreign
Journalists" and "After Syria Went to Wreck and Ruin". He also
co-authored the book "1965: 50 years before 2015, 50 years after
1915." Towards the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Serdar
Korucu, as a representative of the younger generation, spoke of the
attitude of young people in Turkey towards the issue and prospects
of recognition of the Genocide.

- What would serve as a "wake up call" to a young man like you in
Turkey? What would make them take interest in the matter?

- I think it's more related to the environment they grew up in. I live
in Sisli. It is a cosmopolitan district: Greeks, Jews, Armenians. We
all live side by side. Many of the districts in Istanbul lack this
atmosphere, but Sisli still retains it. In our neighborhood, Easter
and Christmas are celebrated.

- Being Turkish, is it easy to use the word 'Genocide'?

- Yes, and I easily use it thanks to Rafael Lemkin. The word
'Genocide' was coined by Lemkin. I do not care for the ideological
aspect of the word. Lemkin clearly explained the phenomenon he named
genocide. Therefore, the word fully reflects what happened to the
Armenians. After all, Lemkin said that the word also described what
had happened to the Armenians.

- Among young people, the idea circulates that "Armenians were killed,
but their number did not reach 1.5 million."

- Even if 500 Armenians were killed, it's a genocide all the same. The
phenomenon has nothing to do with quantity. Nowadays, the largest
mosques in Urfa are former Armenian churches.

In this case, we're asking ourselves, "Where is the community? Where
are the people who attended these churches?" Jugding by the size of
the churches, we can assume a large community.

- Once, there were Armenians, today only their traces remain, which
are being erased, are they not?

- Yes, once there were Armenians. The cultural genocide continues and
that's the worst of it. First of all, the cultural genocide must be
stopped, or else nothing will be left for the future. Armenians have
left in these lands a cultural legacy created throughout the centuries,
which is now being destroyed.

- Looking at the new generation of Turks, what can we say? Is there
hope?

- Turkish educational system teaches student that we were killed by
Armenians. And not every person is an intellectual or a researcher
to have the opportunity to study this issue.

- Does this mean that the generation is not going to change unless
the textbooks change?

Yes, it is not going to change. However, nowadays social networks
and the Internet in general are also important. People communicate
through them. Ideas are being exchanged more openly. For insctance,
I consider the ceremony commemorating the victims of the Armenian
Genocide in Taksim Square in Istanbul an important event. Civil
society's opinion is very important. The Armenian Diaspora also plays
an important part in the settlement process.

- The Armenian Diaspora is not particularly liked in Turkey. Why?

- Yes, and there is always a discrimination. Ankara tells the
Armenians in Turkey, "You're good, it is your diaspora that puts you
against us." But it is also necessary to understand the Diaspora's
pain. They lost their names, their surnames. Their family tree was
destroyed. They lost their ancestral homes. Their properties were
lost. This is a terrible thing.

- Sometimes my Turkish acquaintances tell me, "100 years have passed.

Let's forget what happened and move forward." I think they absolutely
do not understand our pain. Do you think the Turks will ever understand
what we feel?

- I think what most cuases pain to Armenians is that those who do
that do not admit their guilt. Denial is a severe trauma. Armenians
endure the pain because their grief is not recognized.

- Perhaps Turks avoid recognition, fearing of being branded as
descendants of a genocidal nation?

- First we have to understand what we mean by saying 'Turkish'. The
fault lies with "Ä°ttihat ve Terakki": Turks, Cherkesians and others.

This means Turks were not the only culprits. As far as I am aware,
Sunni Muslims in general participated in the genocide by "Ä°ttihat ve
Terakki's" order. Now, is it right to say that Turks were the only
ones who committed genocide? A significant part of the property of
Armenians was despoiled by Kurds. "Ä°ttihat ve Terakki" transformed
Western Armenia into Kurdistan. Today, Kurds live in Van.

- How do you think recognition should take place?

- In my opinion, recognition cannot occur by acknowledging and
apologizing alone.

- Does that mean that the compensation is necessary?

- That should be jointly discussed by Armenians of the Diaspora,
Armenia and Turkey. They should come to a consensus about what they
want. In any case, the descendants of those who survived the Genocide
must be given something. Even if it is something symbolic, it must
be given.

- Looking ahead to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
do you have something to say? A message?

- I don't know... You are asking for something difficult... What can
I say to people with an indescribably painful past.

The project was prepared with the assistance of the Information and
Analytical Center of the Armenian Government Staff.

06.03.15, 20:52

Astghik Igityan/Istanbul

Related news

Special project: The Armenian Genocide. Breaking the Silence. "100
doors - 100 Prayers" Special project: The Armenian Genocide. Breaking
the Silence. Dogu Perincek apologizes for insulting religious feelings
of Christians

http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2015/03/06/Special-project-%E2%80%9CThe-Armenian-Genocide-Breaking-the-Silence%E2%80%9D/915642

[Yervant1]

DESCRIBING THE INDESCRIBABLE: 1915

By MassisPost
Updated: March 6, 2015

By Alan Whitehorn

How does one 'think about the unthinkable?' How does one 'describe the
indescribable?' These are among the analytical and moral challenges in
trying to understand genocide. As Raphael Lemkin, the originator of
the concept of genocide, noted: genocide occurred in history before
the word 'genocide' was created. The history of humans is marked by
episodes of great cruelty and mass killings where groups that were
different were targeted for persecution and slaughter.

Alan Whitehorn

The mass deportations and killings of the Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire peaked during WW I, but occurred before the term genocide
emerged in 1944. In fact, the Young Turk regime's slaughter of the
Armenians would be a catalyst for Lemkin to develop such a legal
concept, in a preliminary way in the 1930s and in final phrasing in
the 1940s.

When trying to understand the events of 1915 onwards, it is useful
to ask: What words and phrases were used by the Armenian survivors,
domestic and foreign witnesses, and newspaper writers to describe
what happened? The challenge was how to describe the indescribable,
or what Churchill would later in 1941 call "the crime without a name".

The influential international newspaper The New York Times reported
extensively on the massacres of the Armenians under the Young Turk
dictatorship. A content analysis overview of The New York Times for
the year 1915 (the peak year of the deportations and killings) reveals
that a variety of words and phrases were used to try to describe the
horrific scenes and deeds. Reviewing the range of the words employed
can assist in conveying the magnitude of the man-made catastrophe
that befell the Armenians.

Among the terms and phrases offered in the articles in The New York
Times in 1915 were the following: "pillage", "great exodus", "great
deportation", "completely depopulated", "wholesale deportations",
"systematically uprooted", "wholesale uprooting of the native
population", "young women and girls appropriated by the Turks, thrown
into harems, attacked or else sold to the highest bidder", "children
are being kidnapped by the wholesale", "kidnapping of attractive
young girls", "rape", "unparalleled savagery", "acts of horror",
"murder, rape, and other savageries", "endure terrible tortures",
"revolting tortures", "their breasts cut off, their nails pulled
out, their feet cut off, or they hammer nails into them just as
they do to horses", "burned to death", "helpless women and children
were roasted to death", "massacres", "slaughter", "atrocities",
"unbelievable atrocities", "systematically murdered men and turned
women and children out into the desert, where thousands perished
of starvation", "million Armenians killed or in exile", "1,500,000
Armenians starve", "dying in prison camps", "wholesale massacres",
"slaughtered wholesale", "fiendish massacres", "massacre was planned",
"most thoroughly organized and effective massacres this country has
ever known", "extirpating the million and a half Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire", "policy of extermination", "plan for extirpating
Christianity by killing off Christians of the Armenian race", "plan to
exterminate the whole Armenian people", "deliberately exterminated",
"virtually the whole nation had been wiped out", "annihilation
of a whole people", "organized system of pillage, deportations,
wholesale executions, and massacres", "pillage, rape, murder, wholesale
expulsion and deportation, and massacre", "systematic, authorized and
desperate effort on the part of the rulers of Turkey to wipe out the
Armenians", "deliberate murder of a nation", "war of extermination",
"race extermination", "intention was to exterminate the Armenian race",
"Armenia without Armenians", "extinction menaces Armenia", "death of
Armenia", "deportation order and the resulting war of extinction",
and "aim at the complete elimination of all non-Moslem races from
Asiatic Turkey", and "crimes against civilization and morality".

There are at least ten examples (five in the decades before 1915
and five in the years after) where the biblical word "holocaust"
in the generic sense is used to describe either the mass burning of
Armenians alive, massacres of Christians or attempt at annihilation of
the Armenian people. The New York Times' references in the 1915-1922
era to the Armenians' fate include the phrasing "holocaust", "war's
holocaust of horror", "great holocaust" and "final holocaust".

Clearly authors strained for the words that could explain the magnitude
of such horrific scenes and deeds. Witnesses were often overwhelmed,
particularly at the time of the deadly deeds, but also in the retelling
of the painful accounts. For many who witnessed such atrocities,
it was a life-altering experience.

Within a month of the Ottoman Empire's April 24, 1915 arrest,
deportation and later killing of key Armenian leaders in Constantinople
and increasing reports of mass deportations and massacres, the allied
Entente countries of Britain, France and Russia used the ominous phrase
"crimes against civilization and humanity".

This description officially issued on May 24, 1915 (printed in The
New York Times on the same day) was part of a semi-judicial warning
to the Young Turk regime about its crimes and would become a key term
in international law. It was an important step in the development of
the legal concept of genocide.

However, no single word or combination of words or phrases could
adequately convey the magnitude of suffering and horror of what
transpired. Even today, we search for ways to "describe the
indescribable".

An excerpt from Alan Whitehorn, ed., The Armenian Genocide: The
Essential Reference Guide (Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2015) to be
published in April.

book: 978-1-61069-687-6 e-book: 978-1-61069-688-3

http://massispost.com/2015/03/describing-the-indescribable-1915/

[Yervant1]

FOREIGN MINISTER SHUNS ISRAELI LEADERS ON JERUSALEM TRIP

Friday, March 6th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/132757/foreign-minister-shuns-israeli-leaders-on-jerusalem-trip/

Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian (left) with Israeli
President Reuven Rivlin

JERUSALEM (RFE/RL)--Underscoring Armenia's uneasy relationship with
Israel, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has not met with his
Israeli counterpart or any other member of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's government during a rare visit to Jerusalem.

Nalbandian held talks instead with Israel's largely ceremonial
President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday during what the Armenian Foreign
Ministry described as a one-day "working visit." He also attended a
concert by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Ministry statements on the trip did not explain why Nalbandian failed
to meet with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other Israeli
cabinet members. The ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, could not
be reached for comment on Friday.

Nalbandian flew to Jerusalem one week after Yerevan condemned
Lieberman's presence at what it considers an anti-Armenian ceremony
in the Israeli city of Acre that was organized by an Azerbaijani
government-linked group. The event was dedicated to the 23rd
anniversary of the deaths of several hundred Azerbaijani residents of
Khojaly, a small town in Nagorno-Karabakh. It was part of the group's
efforts to have the international community recognize the 1992 deaths
as a genocide committed by the Armenians.

Lieberman was a keynote speaker at the ceremony. "We are here today
to combine the experience of Israel with that of Azerbaijan so that
we can prevent such tragedies from happening in the future," he said,
according to Azerbaijani news agencies.

"It is inappropriate that any politician could allow himself to be
dragged into the Azerbaijani cheap manipulations," Balayan said in
written comments on February 26.

Lieberman already raised eyebrows in Armenia during a 2010 visit
to Baku. He reportedly voiced support for Azerbaijan's territorial
integrity and accused international mediators of pro-Armenian bias
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Lieberman's deputy, Danny Ayalon, contradicted those claims in a 2011
phone call with his Armenian opposite number, Arman Kirakosian. Ayalon
said Israel supports the peace efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-headed by the United States, Russia and France.

Armenian-Israeli relations have also been soured by Israel's
large-scale arms sales to Azerbaijan. In 2012, Israeli defense
officials confirmed a reported deal to provide the Azerbaijani
military with more unmanned aircraft as well as anti-aircraft and
missile defense systems worth a combined $1.6 billion.

An Israeli-made Azerbaijani drone was apparently shot down by Armenian
forces while flying a reconnaissance mission over Artsakh in 2011.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Nalbandian and President
Rivlin stressed the need to "invigorate political dialogue" between
their countries. They also agreed that the Armenian and Jewish peoples
share "common responsibility to prevent crimes against humanity,"
a ministry statement said.

"Few nations have as many similarities as Armenians and Jews do,"
Nalbandian said in a speech that preceded the Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra concert later in the day. "Having endured genocides and been
scattered around the world, we are proud of restoring our statehoods
in the 20th century."

Nalbandian, who had served as Armenia's Paris-based ambassador to
Israel from 2000-2008, went on to pay tribute to prominent Israeli
and Jewish-American scholars advocating international recognition of
the 1915 Armenian genocide.

Successive Israeli governments have declined to recognize the slaughter
of some 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide for
fear of antagonizing Turkey. Rivlin, who is a member of Netanyahu's
Likud party, called for Israeli recognition of the genocide when he
served as parliament speaker in 2012.

[Yervant1]

French-German TV to air Armenian Genocide centennial commemoration films


On the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the ARTE
cultural television will air two films in April, reported the French
Armenian Nouvelles d'Arménie magazine.

On April 27, it will broadcast "The Lark Farm" by Paolo and Vittorio
Taviani, and on the next day, ARTE will screen the new documentary,
entitled "The Vengeance of Armenians: The Tehlirian Trial," by Bernard
Georges.


07.03.15, 11:43
http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2015/03/07/French-German-TV-to-air-Armenian-Genocide/915778

[Yervant1]

Armenian Genocide Centennial exhibition opens at Vittoriano Museum
Complex in Rome

14:11, 7 March, 2015

ROME, 7 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. On March 5, Minister of Culture of the
Republic of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan, Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino,
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Italy Sargis Ghazaryan,
Armenia's Ambassador to the Holy See Mikayel Minasyan, Director of the
Vittoriano Museum Complex of the Italian Renaissance in Rome
Alessandro Nicosia attended the official opening ceremony of the
exhibition called "Armenia: People of the Ark" at the central gallery
of the Vittoriano Museum Complex of the Italian Renaissance. As the
news service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Armenia reports to "Armenpress", the exhibition was organized by the
Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia and the embassies of
Armenia in Italy and the Holy See, in association with the Mekhitarist
Congregation and the Congregation of Fathers of Italy.

Among the hundreds of visitors were Italian public and political
figures, senators and deputies, as well as representatives of the
diplomatic corps and the Armenian community. Minister of Culture
Hasmik Poghosyan, Director of the Vittoriano Museum Complex Alessandro
Nicosia and Armenia's Ambassador to Italy Sargis Ghazaryan gave
welcome speeches. The exhibition will run until May 3rd and will
showcase documents related to the Armenian Genocide, as well as the
adoption of Christianity in Armenia, the creation of the Armenian
alphabet, the bibliography of Armenian books, Armenian arts and
architecture, the centuries-old relations between the Armenians and
the Italians and the great presence of Armenian culture in Italy.


http://armenpress.am/eng/news/796770/armenian-genocide-centennial-exhibition-opens-at-vittoriano-museum-complex-in-rome.html