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In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

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  • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

    Netherlands

    Armenians: More pressure on Turkey

    Reformatorisch Dagblad
    Dutch daily newspaper

    23 April 2008

    By Political Editor

    THE HAGUE - The Netherlands should give more support to those who want an
    open discussion on the Armenian Genocide in and outside of Turkey.

    The Netherlands should also more strongly emphasise the necessity of
    Genocide recognition in the process of the negotiations for accession of
    Turkey to the European Union.

    This is written in a petition that the Federation of Armenian Organisations
    in the Netherlands (FAON) offered Tuesday to the Dutch parliament. Tomorrow
    it will be the 93rd anniversary of the deportation and annihilation of about
    1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Turkey still refuses to
    recognise the massacres as genocide.

    The Dutch parliament indeed recognised the Genocide by adopting the motion
    submitted by Mr. A. Rouvoet in 2004. The government however should work out
    more seriously the conditions drawn up in the motion, according to the
    Armenians. For example the government should keep harking on the issue of
    human rights within the framework of the accession negotiations to European
    Union.

    The Armenians rectified on Tuesday the misconception, that the recognition
    of the black past would not be part of the conditions for the accession of
    Turkey to the European Union. That is in fact one of the conditions, they
    emphasised. Minister Bot has in the past pointed out in the parliament that
    the recognition of the Genocide is implied in the condition of the so-called
    ³good neighbourhood².

    In addition to the petition the FAON also handed over to the Parliament the
    Dutch translation of the book ³The First Holocaust² by the journalist Robert
    Fisk, in which the correspondent of the British newspaper The Independent
    draws attention to the Genocide of the Armenians.


    Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)
    24 April Committee for recognition and commemoration of the Armenian
    genocide of 1915
    Address: Weesperstraat 91
    2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
    Telephone: +31704490209
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.24april.nl
    Contact: M. Hakhverdian

    PRESS RELEASE

    Commemoration of Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2008 in The Netherlands

    By Inge Drost

    ASSEN - 24 April 2008 - Several hundred Armenians gathered together in the
    city of Assen for the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide that
    took place 93 years ago in the Ottoman Empire. The commemoration was
    organised by the 24 April Committee of the Federation of the Armenian
    Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON).

    Prior to this commemoration, earlier this week a petition was submitted to
    the Parliament by a FAON delegation. In addition to the petition, a copy of
    recently published Dutch translation of the book `The First Holocaust' by
    British journalist and writer, the Middle East correspondent of The
    Independent Robert Fisk was also handed over to the Parliamentary Commission
    of European Affairs. This book is about the Armenian Genocide. The copy was
    signed especially for this occasion by the author.

    The commemoration began by a quiet march towards the Armenian Genocide
    Memorial, where during a ceremony wreaths were laid at the Genocide monument
    on behalf of, among others, the newly established Armenian Consulate in The
    Hague, the FAON and the Gladzor Armenian Student Association.

    During the Commemorative meeting in the auditorium, Nicolai Romashuk Jr.
    played duduk music and Nicolai Romashuk Sr. recited a poem. Moreover,
    `Twenty Voices' from www.twentyvoices.com and `Holy Mountain' by System Of A
    Down were presented. Speeches were delivered by, among others, Mr. Arshak
    Manoukian, the Armenian Consul in The Netherlands, Mr. Noubar Sipan,
    chairman of the 24 April Committee of FAON, Mr. Dariush Madjlessi, an
    Iranian human rights activist. Two other invited speakers, Ms. Esme Wiegman,
    Member of Parliament and Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, had not been able to
    attend the ceremony due to unforeseen circumstances. Their speeches were
    instead read.

    Mato Hakhverdian, chairman of the FAON, opened the commemorative meeting. He
    cited the words of Robert Fisk, that the Armenian Genocide is `one of those
    historical tragedies that by elapse of time gets more and more
    significance'. This is mainly because the consequent generations of
    Armenians have kept the memory of the victims alive. This is in spite of the
    fact that Turkey has tried with huge financial and political means to erase
    the reality from human memory, such as by changing the written language,
    which makes the access to old literature difficult for the new generations
    and by renaming the geographical places. He pointed out that this subject is
    handled in a TV documentary `The land of our grandparents', a road movie,
    scheduled for broadcasting the same evening by Dutch National TV. It is our
    duty to keep alive the memory of the Genocide and to hope for recognition
    and reconciliation. It is our dream to see Armenia thus being prosperous and
    living in peace and harmony. We believe that with our best efforts this
    dream will be realised in the the future.

    Consul Manoukian expressed his gratitude to the Netherlands for accepting
    the Armenian refugees during the Armenian Genocide. He mentioned that the
    Armenian Genocide was not only a criminal act against the Armenians, but
    also a crime against humanity. Therefore other countries call continuously
    upon Turkey to account for this act. He emphasised that Armenia is ready to
    establish relations with Turkey without any precondition and to consider
    together the black pages of the past. The aspiration of Armenia to reach
    stability and to live in peace is only possible if the conflict about the
    past has been solved.

    The Chairman of the 24 April Committee Noubar Sipan concluded that the
    events of 1915 cannot be erased from the collective memory, but still, after
    93 years, it is forbidden in Turkey to read about these black pages of the
    history. But there are also white spots, according to Sipan, namely the
    courageous Turks and Kurds, who saved the lives of their Armenian friends
    and neighbours endangering their own lives. They deserve also to be
    remembered. He mentioned that the first commemoration took place in Istanbul
    on 24 April 1919, the only case of public remembrance in Turkey. Later it
    became a taboo, `the tears turned inwards.' At present, with Article 301 in
    force, the numerous persecutions on the basis of this article have led to
    self-censure. We are still hoping that things will change, because a small
    group in Turkey has chosen to look for truth. In this context, a group of
    intellectuals will meet today in one the universities of Istanbul to discuss
    `what happened on 24 April 1915.' Sipan expects that thanks to such
    initiatives, the truth will no longer remain hidden and he is thankful for
    these courageous people.

    In her message of solidarity, Ms. Esme Wiegman, who is the spokeswoman for
    the Christian Union parliamentary faction in the European Affairs
    Commission, had stated that even after 93 years, the Genocide is a real
    topical issue: `It is something that is on the agenda every day, through
    silence and denial. The death of Hrant Dink showed how could, speaking about
    Genocide, could mercilessly be punished'. Ms. Wiegman, who had attended in
    January this year the commemorative ceremony of the first anniversary of the
    assassination of Hrant Dink in Assen, stated that it is good that today we
    speak about the Armenian Genocide and we are commemorating it in loud voices
    and that `we can remember it in a moment of silence, but that is another
    silence than the silence of denial.'

    A very strong expression of solidarity with the Armenian people came from
    Mr. D. Madjlessi, an Iranian human rights activist, former chairman of the
    Dutch-Iranian People's Front (Jebhe-Mellie-Iran). He pleaded in his speech
    that Turkey, just as Germany and South Africa have done in the past, `should
    come clean with her sordid past' and that without such admittance of guilt
    Turkey cannot be a part of Europe. He considered the Armenian Genocide not
    an issue of the Armenians only, but also of all Iranians and in fact of the
    whole world. He considers that it is his duty to struggle side by side with
    the Armenians against denial and declared in the clearest terms: `I, too, am
    an Armenian'.

    The example of admittance of guilt by Germany was also emphasised by Rabbi
    A. Soetendorp. He referred to a reconciliation conference in Germany last
    year, where he had appealed for appeasement between the xxxs and Germans and
    where a spontaneous response had come from thousands of young people from
    the audience in the form of a peace song. `For the first time, I felt myself
    at home in Germany, and I realised then the great significance of the
    kneeling down of Willy Brandt before the monument of the Ghetto of Warsaw in
    1970'. In this context, Rabbi Soetendorp expressed hope `that a process of
    recognition would commence in Turkey as well'.

    Ms. Inge Drost of 24 April Committee concluded the dignified commemoration
    function with a summary. Persistence and duty to commemorate, but not
    hatred, was present in the speeches, she mentioned. Although, all speakers
    severely condemned the Genocide and its denial, their words were still
    characterised by expressions of hope, reconciliation and solidarity among
    people. First of all, it was emphasised that there had been courageous Turks
    and Kurds who at the risk of endangering their own life had given shelter to
    their Armenian neighbours and friends, just as mentioned also by Rabbi
    Soetendorp that he had remained alive thanks to a brave German woman.
    Secondly, there were warm words of solidarity between nations in general and
    with the Armenian people in particular.

    Finally it is to be mentioned that a TV coverage of the commemoration is
    broadcasted by TV Drente that you can watch at the websites of tvDrenthe
    (http://www.tvdrenthe.nl/761e2b9b-260...aspx?NewsID=22
    620) and You Tube (http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=4fC_aLprXtE&feature=user).


    Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)
    24 April Committee for recognition and commemoration of the Armenian
    genocide of 1915
    Address: Weesperstraat 91
    2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
    Telephone: +31704490209
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.24april.nl
    Contact: M. Hakhverdian

    PRESS RELEASE

    Iranian Solidarity with Armenians to keep memory of Armenian Genocide alive

    Speech delivered by Mr. Dariush Madjlessi during the commemorating function
    of 24 April 2008 in the city of Assen, The Netherlands. Mr. Madjlessi is an
    Iranian human rights activist, former chairman of the Dutch-Iranian People¹s
    Front (Jebhe-Mellie-Iran).

    Translated for Groong/ANN by Arsen Nazarian

    Armenian friends,

    It is for me, as an Iranian, an honour to have the privilege of being among
    you.

    I have to admit, though, that notwithstanding the historic bonds between the
    Armenians and Iranians, the terrible Genocide of 1915 is little known by the
    Iranians. It is therefore gratifying to see that in recent times things have
    begun to change. Pro-Armenian demonstrations in Tehran and the articles in
    different Iranian sites and weblogs are, but a few examples of, this
    development.

    Armenian friends, you are carrying out a tough job. Against the superior
    power of Turkish (and sometimes Islamic) fanaticism, you are trying to
    prevent a bloody and historic tragedy from going into oblivion.

    Friends, the Genocide of 1915 was too extensive and too horrible to forget.
    It is therefore your historic obligation towards 1.5 million Armenian men,
    women and children, who were butchered barbarously only because they were
    Armenians, to keep the memory alive.

    Armenians, go ahead, do not yield to the fascistic tendencies of a state
    that denies the Genocide that was carried out by its predecessors.

    It is also the task of Iranians to strive with you, side by side, to keep
    the memory of this utmost murderous genocide alive. Only in this manner can
    we prevent genocides from being repeated. We should strive hand in hand to
    make our part of the world liveable and free of ethnic hate.

    However, the Turkish government continues to deny its crimes. But, you,
    courageous men and women hold a mirror against Turkey, so that she can see
    the ugly pages of her history.

    As long as Turkey continues to deny her criminal past, she cannot be part of
    Europe. It is up to Turkey to come clean of its dirty past. Germany has done
    it in a praiseworthy manner and so has South Africa. Turkey should in fact
    kneel down before the Armenian people and ask for forgiveness for 1.5
    innocent victims who were butchered in cold blood on its own territory.

    The Turkish nationalist-Islamic government that does not respect even the
    individual freedoms and rights of its own people should never be admitted to
    the EU as a member. If culture and traditions are criteria then Armenia is
    more European than Turkey.

    I was hoping that today the members of the Dutch Labour Party would be
    present here in order to make good of the shameful scandal that their
    leaders, Ms. Albayrak and Mr. Bos, caused during the last elections in
    connection with the Genocide issue.

    Armenians, I wish you much success in your just struggle. Your struggle is
    our struggle. I do not consider it a favour, but an obligation to be here
    with you. The fate of our two peoples and their historic alliance obligates
    me to declare, just as president Kennedy did so in Berlin by saying ³Isch
    bin eine Berliner², to announce here: ³I am an Armenian².

    We Iranians are too indebted to our Armenian citizens to call this Genocide
    an issue for Armenians only. It had to be an issue for all Iranians, were it
    not for the fact that religion forms a big obstacle. The Genocide of 1915
    should never be an exclusively Armenian issue. It is, just as the Holocaust,
    a stain on the conscience of the whole humanity.

    The beautiful bridges laid over the river Zayandehroud in Isfahan and the
    struggle of Yeprem-Khan at the forefront of the Constitutional Revolution of
    Iran in 1906, are only examples of the invaluable services Armenians have
    rendered to the Iranian society.

    Therefore, I repeat:
    Your struggle is our struggle.

    Pirouz bashid
    Haghtanak dzez.


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    • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

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      London (UK)

      Voice of Nor Serount
      1 Marsh Road
      Wembley
      Middlesex
      United Kingdom
      HA0 1ES
      Tel: +44 (0)20 8997 1200
      Fax: +44 (0)20 8997 0900
      email: [email protected]

      Press release

      Armenia Solidarity
      Nor Serount Cultural Association

      Unprecedented collaboration between Armenians, Assyrians and Kurds on Genocide day in the UK parliament, London.

      (Establishment of a Permanent People's Commission on 'Reconciliation
      after the Anatolian Genocide' proposed)

      The irresistible ethical arguments for the recognition of the
      Anatolian Genocides as the only ground for Reconciliation between the
      victim groups and the Turkish state, was articulated by scholars on
      Genocide Day in the House of Commons, London, organised by Armenia
      Solidarity & Nor Serount Cultural Association.

      Sabri Atman of the Seyfo Centre delivered a passionate interpretation
      of the Assyrian trauma at the continuing denial of the Genocide of
      their nation. Sara Aziz, also of the Seyfo Centre, put the case for
      the criminal penalisation of Turkey under international Law. Ruth
      Barnett expounded on the psychological effects of Genocide denial
      illustrating the complexities of traumatisation.

      Gregory Topalian, concentrating on the Armenian experience, addressed
      the issue of possibilities of reconciliation, based on recognition
      alone, and how some historians may adversely affect this
      process. Desmond Fernandes showed that Genocide still continues in
      Turkey, and that Denial owes much to US, Israeli and UK
      realpolitik. Professor Khatchatur Pilikian showed in his address, 'A
      bird's eye view on the phenomena of Genocide and the Armenian
      experience of it', that Genocidal intent of the Turkish state can be
      traced back to 1878.

      Some of the speakers emphasised the universal significance of Genocide
      Day, reflecting the increasing adoption of the 24th April as a day to
      dwell on all Genocides. Professor Pilikian, in this vein, claimed that
      the annual deaths from hunger of 14.6 million constituted 'the
      unmentioned Genocide'.

      The organiser proposed the establishment of a Permanent People's
      Commission (to be based in London in co-operation with UK politicians)
      on the Consequences of the Genocides perpetrated by the Turkish State,
      to focus on the search for Reconciliation based on truth and
      honesty. He also reminded the conference of the brutal murder of three
      Christians in Malatya almost a year to the day, as a reminder that
      Christians, as well as other minorities, are still living under a
      sustained threat in Turkey.

      Messages of support were sent from The Halabja Centre London; The
      Kurdish Museum, London; The Foundation For The Kurdish Library and
      Museum, Stockholm; Ms Rosie Malek Yonan, Los Angeles; Mr Ragip
      Zarokulu, Istanbul;
      Dr Tessa Hofmann, Berlin; Canon Andrew White, Baghdad; Barzoo Eliassi,
      Kurdish Ph.D. Student, The Department of Social Sciences, Mid-Sweden
      University; Martin Blecher, member of the Israel Group in Sweden;
      Sukran Kavak, a Kurdish journalist, Sweden; Shoresh Rahem,
      International Affairs for the Kurdistan Student Association and
      Kurdistan Youth Freedom Organization; Hediye Guzel, Press secretary
      for the Left wing party, Sweden; Gurgin Bakircioglu, Stockholm; Haydar
      Isik, Germany, and Greeks from across the world.

      The meeting was chaired by Mr Andrew George MP, Mr Daniel Rogerson MP,
      both Members of Parliament for parts of Cornwall.

      It was also supported by Mr John Marks, on behalf of Baroness Cox, Rev
      Stuart Windsor, of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Mr Andrew
      Stonestreet of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the
      Middle East and The Halabja Centre, London.

      Two Ministers at the Foreign Office, the Rt Hon. Jim Murphy MP
      (minister For Europe) and Lord Maloch-Brown, sent their apologies to
      the conference for their unavoidable absences. The book by Taner
      Akcam, 'A Shameful Act' was given to Mr Andrew George to be presented
      to the Minister for Europe. This was a gift from The Armenian-Turkish
      Studies Group of London.

      Attendees were encouraged to buy the book by Kemal Yalcin, 'You
      Rejoice My Heart' (Taderon Press). The following quote from Mr Yalcin
      was read to illustrate the possibilities ahead:

      'I bow to the memory of the Armenians and Assyrians who lost their
      lives on the road of deportation through planned killings. That is the
      greatest pain of our century, the stigma on the face of humanity. Your
      pain is my pain. As a Turkish writer, I beg forgiveness from you and
      mankind ...'

      [email protected]
      [email protected]

      (Speeches delivered at the conference will be published shortly)




      EXCERPTS OF MESSAGES:

      Canon Andrew White - President of the FRRME:

      Blessings from Baghdad

      I am so sorry that I have been unable to be with you today for this
      most important meeting. It is so important as in our life time there
      has still been genocide. The Genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians
      has never even been recognised. So many of the families of my people
      here in Iraq fled to Iraq to find sanctuary in the violence and
      Genocide of the Ottoman Empire. Both Assyrians and Armenians were
      killed in their masses.

      I have dedicated my life to the work of reconciliation. Forgiveness is
      indeed the only thing that will prevent the pain of the past from
      determining the future, but to have forgiveness and reconciliation you
      must have recognition of the evil deeds of the past. We have had clear
      recognition of the evil past of Germany and even the Rwanda's but
      Turkey still refuses to acknowledge past massacres of the Armenians
      and the Assyrians. To me that is totally unacceptable and
      unforgivable. They want to join the EU; people say how a can a Muslim
      nation be part of the EU. I have absolutely no problem with that but I
      do have a huge problem with the nation of Turkey not recognising the
      genocide of it past.

      My prayer is that this horror will not indeed be committed again,
      thank you all for taking this most important issue so seriously.




      Ragip Zarokulu of the Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch:

      Today, 24th of April, is worldwide recognised as the date signifying
      the Armenian Genocide. Only in Turkey it indicates a taboo. The
      Turkish state mobilises all its resources to deny the meaning of this
      date. At diplomatic platforms Turkish officials and their advocates
      claim that they recognise the `big tragedy' and they only object to
      its being named as a `Genocide'. That's not true. At every occasion
      in Turkey not only the Armenian Genocide, but also the great agony of
      the Armenian people is denied and attempts are made to justify the
      genocide.

      It was only last month that during a Symposium on the Armenian-Turkish
      relations the denialist official theses were voiced one after another,
      offending the Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere and insulting the
      memory of their grandparents. Lies were told in the name of `science',
      like `Armenians have always sold their masters', `deportation was a
      means of crisis management', `death toll of deportation is comparable
      to the death toll of flu epidemic in England that time', `there is no
      other people as noble as the Turkish nation in the world, it is
      impossible for them to commit a genocide', and many more, humiliating
      a people who was one of the most advanced in science, art, literature,
      and in all other aspects.

      Denial is a constituant part of the genocide itself and results in the
      continuation of the genocide. Denial of genocide is a human rights
      violation in itself. It deprives individuals the right to mourn for
      their ancestors, for the ethnic cleansing of a nation, the
      annihilation of people of all ages, all professions, all social
      sections, women, men, children, babies, grandparents alike just
      because they were Armenians regardless of their political background
      or conviction. Perhaps the most important of all, it is the refusal of
      making a solemn, formal commitment and say `NEVER AGAIN'.

      Turkey has made hardly any progress in the field of co-existence,
      democracy, human rights and putting an end to militarism since the
      time of the Union and Progress Committee. Annihilation and denial had
      been and continues today to be the only means to solve the
      problem. Villages evacuated and put on fire and forced displacements
      are still the manifestation of the same habit of `social
      engineering'. There has always been bloodshed in the homeland of
      Armenians after 1915. Unsolved murders, disappearances under custody,
      rapes and arrests en masse during the 1990's were no surprise, given
      the ongoing state tradition lacking any culture of repentance for past
      crimes against humanity.

      Similarly the removal of a public prosecutor and banning him from
      profession just for taking the courage to mention an accusation
      against the military, a very recent incident, is the manifestation of
      an old habit of punishing anybody who dares to voice any objection to
      the army. And today's ongoing military build up of some 250,000 troops
      in the southeast of Turkey is the proof of a mindset who is unable to
      develop any solution to the Kurdish question other than armed
      suppresion.

      Turkey will not be able to take even one step forward without putting
      an end to the continuity of the Progress and Union manner of
      ruling. No human rights violation can be stopped in Turkey and there
      will be no hope of breaking the vicious circle of Kurdish uprisings
      and their bloody suppression unless the Turkish state agree to create
      an environment where public homage is paid to genocide victims, where
      the sufferings of their grandchildren is shared and the genocide is
      recognised.

      Today we, as the human rights defenders, would like to address all
      Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere in the world and tell them `we want
      to share the pain in your hearts and bow down before the memory of
      your lost ones. They are also our losses. Our struggle for human
      rights in Turkey, is at the same time our mourning for our common
      losses and a homage paid to the genocide victims'.



      Rosie Malek-Yonan, Author of The Crimson Field and Board of Advisor at
      Seyfo Center:


      The absence of the negotiation of world peace is the single greatest
      threat to humanity and the future of a violent-free world.

      In order to achieve freedom from war, we must examine the actions that
      continually create the cycle of anger and hatred as the catalyst to
      any conflict between nations.

      World peace will always remain a distant thought when reconciliation
      in the aftermath of genocide is not at the forefront of all
      discussions of human rights violations relative to those crimes.

      When we perpetually allow the practice of genocide and holocaust and
      consent to the denial of such actions to linger for decades as in the
      case of the Assyrian, Armenian and Pontic Greek Genocide, we are in
      essence consenting to denial as a compromise. Denial is not
      compromise.

      To the survivors and the children and grandchildren of the survivors
      of the Assyrian, Armenian, and Pontic Greek Genocide of 1914-1918 in
      Ottoman Turkey and northwestern Iran, there is no valid justification
      for the renunciation of facts.

      With the acknowledgement of past and present genocides we can slowly
      begin to mend the broken bridges that may ultimately lead the human
      race to eradicate bloodshed and violence among nations of this
      world. But so long as we turn a blind-eye to these killings, we are
      sanctioning the ongoing slaughter such as today's modern-day Assyrian
      Genocide occurring in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 war.

      A formal pronouncement by the Turkish government of the Assyrian,
      Armenian, and Pontic Greek Genocide will bring closure to not only the
      survivors of the genocide, but also to the Turkish people in that the
      nearly century-old hatred can begin to give way to human
      solidarity. Anything short of that will surely continue to threaten
      all hope of peace.
      .......
      What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

      Comment


      • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

        2 of 2

        London (UK)

        Voice of Nor Serount
        1 Marsh Road
        Wembley
        Middlesex
        United Kingdom
        HA0 1ES
        Tel: +44 (0)20 8997 1200
        Fax: +44 (0)20 8997 0900
        email: [email protected]

        Press release

        Armenia Solidarity
        Nor Serount Cultural Association

        Unprecedented collaboration between Armenians, Assyrians and Kurds on Genocide day in the UK parliament, London.
        .....
        Dr Tessa Hofmann, Chairperson of the Working Group Recognition -
        Against Genocide, for International Understanding (AGA):


        The Armenian Genocide Day Conference poses a demanding and challenging
        aim. The recognition of historic facts - Truth - and of justice is
        the precondition of any reconciliation and lasting peace, if the
        ultimate crime of genocide was committed. The comparative study of
        genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries reveals that again and again
        survivors and their descendents need legal justice in order to
        re-establish trust and the capability to come to terms with their
        fate.

        The case of the Ottoman genocide against 3.5 million Christian
        citizens is unique in the duration and obstinacy, displayed by
        official Turkey in the refusal to acknowledge the states crimes which
        were committed during the last decade of Ottoman rule. The refusal to
        come to terms with this past and to take responsibility for the murder
        and destruction of Non-Muslim ethnic groups in the process of building
        a Turkish nation-state have long ago turned into severe obstacles for
        democratization and regional stability in international relations. To
        help Turkey to overcome her self-imposed deadlock means the contrary
        of a policy of eye-closing and palliation. It means the exploration of
        the roots of nowadays hate towards ethnic and religious minorities.

        We hope that the Conference will be able to explain the necessity of
        such standards to the political decision-makers in the United Kingdom
        and thus will immediately contribute both to justice and
        reconciliation.




        Foundation For The Kurdish Library and Museum in Stockholm, Sweden:

        The new Turkish Republic which has been rebuilt on the remnants of the
        Ottoman Empire, has to confess once all the history of Turkish legacy
        of their ancestor. It is not possible for Turkey to accept parts of
        Turkish history and reject the other historical occurrences.

        The genocide of Armenians is a historical fact and whole world knows
        who committed these crimes. It is time once for all for Turkey, for
        the candidate of EU membership, to confess all events in Turkey's and
        Turks history. This is necessary for making the peace and democratic
        progress secured in the whole region and in the entire world.




        Barzoo Eliassi, Kurdish Ph.D. student at the Department of Social
        Sciences of Mid-Sweden University:


        The transition from the multicultural Millet system of the Ottoman
        Empire to the Republic of Turkey created an ocean of killing in the
        name of a threatened Turkish nation. It is not an exaggeration to
        compare the Nazi extermination of the xxxs with the systematic Turkish
        mass murder, or aptly put, the genocide against the Armenians during
        the First World War. The Turkish governments have been denying this
        event and labelled it as a conspiracy against the existence of the
        Turkish state. Any demand on raising and debating this issue of
        genocide and atrocities against the Armenians is seen as an external
        threat that attempts to undermine the political authority of the Turks
        over the Turkish history. History books in Turkey see surely this
        genocide in other terms and legitimatize it in the name of the Turkish
        nation and its right to existence and its right to use any means to
        protect itself from internal and external `threats'. Using any means
        included also the genocide of the Armenians, an evil crime that
        Turkish history has to pay back to its victims through recognition.




        Martin Blecher, member of the Israel Group in Sweden:

        Today our thoughts go to the one and half million that were killed in
        Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916. Our thoughts also go to the children and
        grandchildren of the survivors who have witnessed the horror by
        survivors passing their story along. The xxxish people and our
        Armenian brothers have experienced one Holocaust upon us ... We deeply
        sympathize with the Armenian nation and encourage them to continue
        their search for national justice. It is our responsibility to forget
        in order to live in the present and move along the path that leads to
        peace. It is also our responsibility not to forget and to tell the
        story that once were told to us.




        Sukran Kavak, a Kurdish journalist in Sweden:

        The legal definition of genocide was found in the 1948 United Nations
        Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
        But the crimes of genocide were committed much earlier then this legal
        definition. The world failed to stop the genocide of the Armenians
        during and after the First World War by the Ottoman Empire. To honour
        the hundreds of thousands of victims and their relatives, the crimes
        against the Armenians must be acknowledged as genocide by the
        world. To not recognize this is a further crime and insult against the
        victims, the survivors and the whole Armenian people.




        Shoresh Rahem, International Affairs for the Kurdistan Student
        Association and Kurdistan Youth Freedom Organization:


        When I came to Sweden at the age of eight, I learnt about Kurdish
        history through my family. The Swedish history classes were limited to
        the European countries and those who Europe had relations with. Few
        people knew that there was a Kurdish genocide in Iraq during
        1980's. Neither did we study that more than one million Armenians were
        victims of genocide in Turkey. There is nothing we can do today to
        get back the victims of the genocide. But we must inform and
        acknowledge the crimes so that it will not be repeated, but also to
        honor the survivors to the victims that they are not forgotten. To
        know that a crime of genocide has been committed but to deny it is
        another serious crime. Therefore, I see as my obligation to the Kurds
        and to our friends, the Armenians, not to keep quiet about the crimes
        of genocide as my teachers and the politicians did when I grew up.



        Hediye Guzel - Press secretary, Left wing party, Kurdish origin:

        Reconciliation must be the leading star, when discussing the Armenian
        genocide. This awful genocide has also affected the Assyrians/Syrians
        and Chaldeans in the Ottoman Empire. But reconciliation must be
        founded on truth, not on manipulation of truth. Without true and
        honest historical research and approaches, we will never reach this
        goal. We must not hesitate to use the right words about happened in
        the Ottoman Empire 1915 and the following years. We cannot be afraid
        of truth! And we cannot deny or hesitate as the Turkish republic does.

        The genocide in the Ottoman Empire is a trauma not only for the
        Armenians, the Assyrians/ Syrians and the Chaldeans, it is also a
        trauma for the Turkish people. Nationalist and chauvinist institutions
        and forces in Turkish society which deny the genocide prevent and
        punish people who recognize the genocide of 1915. They stop the
        development of reconciliation and peace of a whole society. With a
        recognition of what happened in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, hatred and
        bitterness can disappear and reconciliation can be reached.

        As long as the Turkish state denies the genocide of 1915 it will be
        caught in the past. We have to look at the future and leave the
        past. To reach peace and harmony between people, it is necessary to
        see the truth and condemn the genocide.




        Haydar Isik, Germany:

        I am an Alevi Kurd! Where we lived there were no mosques. In my
        childhood I admired the ruins of the Armenian churches in the
        area. Though their walls had crumbled the domes supported by the
        columns still stood. The marvelous pictures painted on them could
        still be seen. My birth city was called 'Kizilkilise' or 'Red Church'
        in the Kurdish language [it probably had a Syriac or Armenian name
        before]. But later like other Kurdish names the Kizilkilise was
        changed to 'Nazimiye' by the Turkish government.

        My childhood was affected by two important historical events. One was
        the Dersim massacre of the Kurds in 1937/38 , when 70,000 of them were
        killed by the Turkish army which still is very fresh and sorrowful in
        my mind. The other was the Armenian Genocide, of 1915-16 by the Turks
        which exterminated one and half million Armenians and a half million
        Assyrians. During the winter months I often heard about the sorrowful
        fate of our Armenian neighbors and it made me cry.

        To achieve racial supremacy in Anatolia, the Turkish regime wiped out
        first the Armenians and Assyrians and then the Kurds. General Kazim
        Karabekir, who had participated in the killing of the Armenians and
        Assyrians once had said: 'le yandan zo zo lari, doenuence de lo lo
        larin isini bitirecegiz.' 'We will exterminate the Armenians with an
        invasion to the east, on our way back we will do the same with the
        Kurds.'

        It was always the strategy of the Turks to kill or drive out the
        country first the Christian Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks to turn
        the country into an Islamic nation, then to carry out similar genocide
        and ethnocide against the Kurds. To accomplish this Turkish rulers
        promoted hatred and incited one people against the other ... The
        Kurdish feudal chieftains became instrumental in carrying out these
        Turkish policies.

        The Turkish regime used sunni tribes in Northern Kurdistan who lived
        side by side with the Armenians and Assyrians in Mesopotamia to
        implement its policies. The Aschirets (tribe) which lived in Van,
        Urfa, Agri; Mus and Bingöl were known as Hasenen, Cibran, Zirkan,
        Sipkan, Zilan, Milan etc.. These Aschirets were a minority of the
        Kurds. The Aleviti Kurds, the yezidis and the rest of the sunni Kurds
        provided no assistance to the Turks.

        A minority of Kurds was used to kill Christians to prove their loyalty
        to Turkey and Islam. Today's Kurds see the massacre of the Armenians
        [and Assyrians] as a shame on Kurds. I am ashamed that Kurds were
        involved in killing their neighbors in such barbarous manners.

        In the shadow of the 1ST world war, during the rule of Pascha Enver
        Talat and Cemal, Turks organized the Christian pogrom in Anatolia and
        Mesopotamia with the approval and knowledge of Germany. It was the
        first genocide in human history that was carefully planned and carried
        out. However one needs to see the other side of the coin also. The
        rag-tag brigades, recruited by Turkey out of 36 Kurdish tribes, which
        were used to massacre the Christian were also incited against the
        Alevi and the yezidie (moslem) Kurds.

        The regiments were formed exclusively out of the sunni tribes in
        Northern kurdistan which means, the young Turkish regime (Ittihat
        Terakki) intentions were to incite one section of the Kurds against
        the other according to the principle of 'divide and
        conquer'. Consequently animosities between Sunni and Alevi Kurds
        continues to this day.

        The Hamidiyeh regiments was also used against the Kurds to undermine
        the Kurdish aspirations for independence. Their Attacks against the
        Armenians, Assyrians or Kurds remain a blemish in the history of the
        Kurds. Nothing holds back the Kurdish descent bandits who attacked
        Armenian villages yesterday and killed countless people from killing
        their own. One has to ask: is it just for anyone to kill other human
        beings because someone orders them to do so?

        Yes, the story of humanity is full of such events. About 50 years ago,
        German fascism massacred the xxxs in industrial fashion. They believed
        that their victims deserved to die! ...

        Now Turkey is using Kurds to fight their compatriots. Like the
        Hamidiyeh brigades of the past which killed 100,000 of their own
        people, Kurdish gangs have been equipped to fight against the Kurdish
        liberation movement, which fights for liberty and well-being being of
        the Kurds living in the mountains.

        The same mentality which massacred the Armenians and the Assyrians
        yesterday, is responsible for the killing of the Kurds today. The
        Kurds in Dersim provided protection for their Armenian neighbors
        despite pressure >From the Turks, however such kindness cost them
        dearly when Turks massacred them in 1937/38, partly for that reason.

        Turkey is a country of various people, Turks, Kurds, Armenians,
        Assyrians and other minorities. Although Turkey has signed almost all
        the international treaties including: The 'General Declaration of the
        Human Rights', the 'European Convention of Human Rights', the 'CSCE
        treaty' , which promises Equal Rights, Self-determination, and rights
        of minorities to teach their mother tongue, Turkey has denied such
        liberties to its non-Turk[ish] citizens, yet it wants to join the
        European Union.

        The Armenians were exterminated by the policy of Turkey in
        Anatolia. We, the Kurds would like to live peacefully together with
        our neighbors, Armenians, Assyrians and Turks in a country, where the
        sound of the church-bells and the call of the Muezzin can be heard
        side by side. We are not any more the Kurds who were used as tool by
        Turkey to exterminate their Christian neighbors. We are ashamed and
        would like to make amend and do well - From: 'Confessions of an Honest
        Kurd: The Assyrian & Armenian Genocide, Past and present' - Translated
        from the German Language. wm.warda;


        ARMENIANS ORGANIZE ACTION OF PROTEST IN FRONT OF EMBASSY OF TURKEY IN LONDON ON OCCASION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

        Noyan Tapan
        April 28, 2008

        LONDON, APRIL 28, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. On the occasion of the
        93rd anniversary of Armenian Genocide, a group of Armenians organized
        an action of protest in front of the Embassy of Turkey in London.

        As the Cihan agency reported, at that moment a group of Turks with
        Turkey's flag in their hands approached the Embassy. The Police
        interfered at that moment and in order to avoid incidents took Turks
        away from Embassy's territory.

        It was also mentioned that London-based Armenians intended to organize
        a procession on Sunday.

        What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

        Comment


        • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

          Washington, DC (US)

          AMERICAN-BASED ARMENIANS ORGANIZE ACTION OF PROTEST IN FRONT OF EMBASSY OF TURKEY ON OCCASION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

          Noyan Tapan
          April 28, 2008

          WASHINGTON, APRIL 28, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. On the occasion
          of the 93rd anniversary of Armenian Genocide American-based Armenians
          organized an action of protest in front of the Embassy of Turkey
          in Washington.

          As the Anadolu agency reported, at the same time, not far from
          Armenians, American-based Turks also organized an action of protest
          with Turkey's flag and different placards.

          Reporting that it is the first time American-based Turks are organizing
          such a large action of protest, the agency in no way mentioned the
          approximate number of Turks taking part in the action.

          It was also mentioned that Nabi Shensoy, the Ambassador of Turkey to
          Washington, thanked Turk demonstrants for the "efforts they exerted."

          What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

          Comment


          • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

            1 of 2

            THE ARMENIAN QUESTION, 2008
            Harut Sassounian

            PRIMARY SOURCE
            April 24, 2008
            LAT

            Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier and a leading
            figure in the local Armenian-American community, visited the Times
            this week to discuss relations with Turkey, genocide recognition and
            other matters. Here are some highlights.



            Giving a forum to the ATAA

            Tim Cavanaugh: The Times recently put up a transcript of our meeting
            with the Assembly of Turkish American Associations. You've indicated
            that that's comparable to giving, says, skinheads a platform to deny
            the Holocaust.
            Could you expand on that?


            Harut Sassounian: I fully respect freedom of expression -- after
            all, I'm the publisher of the California Courier, so I understand
            the mission and purpose of journalists and editors. However, I took
            offense, and a lot of the people who contacted me were offended, that
            this group could come in an not only have a meeting -- which is not a
            problem, having a meeting with any group -- but then have their words
            of denial put on the world wide web. Even with the best intentions
            of educating and informing the community about their position, the
            L.A. Times is becoming in indirect conduit for denial of genocide,
            which is very offensive to us.



            Tim Cavanaugh: Clearly anything I say on this is going to sound
            defensive, but I would say there's news value in hearing these
            people state their position. This is not a fringe group; it's a well
            established organization.


            Harut Sassounian: Well let me just say one thing about that and then
            we can move on. Any group, no matter who they are, that denies any
            genocide or holocaust, I can not with a clear conscience call them
            a respectable group.
            They lose respectability when they deny genocide.



            Talking Turkey

            Harut Sassounian: I avoid interfacing with Turkish officials, because
            they're bound by their positions to propagate the official Turkish
            line of denial. So there's no point in having any communication
            with an official who can't say anything other than the government's
            position. I've had wonderful conversations with individual Turkish
            citizens, even when we may disagree.

            I've had many offers to meet with consuls or ambassadors, but I turn
            down all invitations because they know what I'm going to say and I know
            what they're going to say, so there's no point offending each other.



            Paul Thornton: But they would say they're inviting you to join them
            in some kind of fact-finding mission that will determine the final
            say in this -- even though historians agree...


            Harut Sassounian: Yeah, as far as fact finding, I'm not the one who
            needs fact-finding. So there's nothing for me to join. I welcome
            and encourage Turkish, officials, scholars and journalists to do all
            the fact finding they need. If they have questions, I'll be happy to
            answer questions or direct them to sources. But I don't need to find
            out what happened. I know what happened. My grandparents' families
            on both sides were wiped out. So that's not something I read in a
            book. I grew up with my grandfather and grandmother telling me the
            hell they went through. It would be besmirching their good name to
            join in some kind of fact finding. I know what happened.



            Widespread recognition of the Armenian genocide

            Tim Cavanaugh: My anecdotal impression is that there's pretty wide
            acceptance of the reality of the Armenian genocide: popularly in the
            United States, and maybe worldwide. I mean, a substantial number of
            people in the world don't even know the Holocaust happened, so you're
            never going to have total awareness, but there does seem to be pretty
            wide recognition.


            Harut Sassounian: That is a very correct impression. After all, if you
            just look at what has taken place, it goes all the way back to 1915. So
            it's not surprising that not many people know what happened. Most
            people don't follow the news as closely as journalists. To that
            effect the Holocaust is a more recent event, and it took place in the
            center of Europe, where there were films and archives, and the Allies
            filmed all the evidence in the death camps. With the Armenian genocide
            there were some pictures, some films, but the memory is much dimmer,
            because it's so far in the past.

            However, your observation is correct. Scores of countries, parliaments,
            have passed resolutions recognizing it as genocide. The U.S. Congress
            itself, all the way back in 1916. There was a Senate resolution in
            1920; more recently in 1975 the House passed a resolution recognizing
            the genocide. In 1984 there was a second resolution. President Reagan
            in 1981 signed a presidential proclamation saying "genocide." The
            UN Sub-commission on Human Rights did a study and concluded it was
            genocide. The European Parliament in 1987 passed a resolution. And
            many others have since then. So at this point it's no longer what
            we used to call the forgotten genocide or the hidden Holocaust. Most
            people who know such things are aware of it.



            Tim Cavanaugh: So what are you campaigning for now? I mean there was
            this thing last year where Jane Harman disappointed a lot of people
            locally. What would we be looking for now in terms of recognition?


            Harut Sassounian: Let's dispose of Jane Harman before we get on to more
            serious issues. Jane Harman's mistake was that she was a co-sponsor of
            the genocide resolution; while remaining on record as the co-sponsor,
            she wrote a letter to the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
            Committee asking that the resolution not be brought up for a vote. So
            she was saying one thing openly and doing something else behind the
            scenes. That's double-talk and dishonest in my book. If she'd come
            out and said "I don't support this resolution" that would have been
            something we could respond to. But instead she gives the impression
            to the community: "I'm on your side, I support you.

            But I'm going to work behind your back to undermine this resolution."

            Coming back to the more serious issue, for several decades after 1915,
            parts of various families survived the genocide. Some families were
            completely wiped out, so there are no inheritors there. Others, like
            my family, they married other survivors and formed new families. So
            initially, they found themselves in the deserts of Syria, no housing,
            no food, nothing. Completely in destitute shape. So what was on their
            mind was getting a mud hut to live in and a piece of bread to eat. Over
            time, they built churches, schools, a semblance of normal life. Then
            people of the next generation started forming groups dedicated to
            recognizing the injustice that was done to them. They would write
            letters to government officials, which would get ignored.

            When my generation came along, we were the first to get educated,
            know foreign languages, understand the ways of politics. It was this
            generation that began to get some recognition of the genocide. Little
            by little, as things began to change, the Turkish government started
            to react, started saying there's no such thing, just ridiculed it. But
            as the world began to accept this, the Turkish government started
            putting serious money and effort behind the denial. So they brought
            in hundreds of Turkish and non-Turkish scholars, hired lobbying firms.

            But now the genocide is an established fact. So we're not clamoring
            anymore about the world ignoring us. And the L.A. Times is the best
            example of that.

            The paper is on record recognizing the genocide. So are the New York
            Times and the Boston Globe. Even recently, Time magazine issued a
            statement recognizing it as genocide and saying it would be referred
            to as such.

            So now we're back to 1915. In 1915 there was a nation living on its
            own ancestral homeland. They had been there long before there was a
            Turkey. In addition to losing 1.5 million people, we were uprooted
            from our homeland.

            So what Armenians would like, and this is not a dream that can be
            realized anytime in the near future, is justice. Everything was taken
            from them: their lands, their churches, bank accounts, livestock,
            homes, everything.

            This was a gross injustice done to these people. Just asking for
            recognition from the Turks, having them come and say "Yes, 90 or 100
            years ago, your ancestors were wiped out," that doesn't do anything. We
            already know we were wiped out.

            So what we want, as a right, no matter how impossible the
            implementation, as a right we demand justice for the Armenian
            people. For all the stuff that was taken from them we demand just
            compensation. And that can take many forms. This is where Armenians
            and Turks should sit down, and have a very lengthy and serious
            discussion about what can be done, what's realistic and what's not,
            what form it should take, whether it's realistic to demand land at
            this point, whether it's realistic to make financial compensation,
            as Germany did with survivors of the Holocaust... At least at the
            surface level, Armenian churches, religious monuments in Turkey,
            should be returned to the Armenian Church in Turkey. Not to the United
            States or Armenia or some foreign entity. But for the few survivors
            who live in Turkey still.

            These are citizens of Turkey and these are their houses of worship. And
            they have the right, under the Treaty of Lausanne, to worship there...
            .......
            What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

            Comment


            • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

              2 of 2

              THE ARMENIAN QUESTION, 2008
              Harut Sassounian

              PRIMARY SOURCE
              April 24, 2008
              LAT
              ......
              Court cases

              Paul Thornton: What's preventing a case from being brought to the
              international court right now?


              Harut Sassounian: Nothing's really preventing anyone. There are
              several practical issues. One is that Armenians for many decades were
              trying to recover and establish the facts of the genocide, so they
              weren't running to court. In recent years, lawyers filed against New
              York Life, and got a $20 million settlement for people who had life
              insurance policies. Now there are suits against several German banks,
              to recover funds that Armenians deposited before the genocide. There
              was also a large amount of money deposited in Ottoman Bank. And that
              line still exists today. So at some point, Armenians are going to
              go for their possessions, and go to the European courts with their
              deeds of trust and demand that they get their possessions back.

              The second answer is that the world court can only take cases brought
              by governments. For many years there was no Armenian nation. So now
              we have the Republic of Armenian, which is in desperate straits,
              so they're not going to go and antagonize Turkey, which is a much
              stronger neighbor. And the Diaspora has no standing to go into court.

              This is not about wishful thinking. You have to go to international
              experts and find out, for example, does a court now, in 2008, deal
              with an event that took place 93 years ago? You have to look at
              questions regarding the Genocide Convention of 1948, whether that has
              any retroactive effect. Those are very complex legal issues. It's not
              a matter of just civilians saying "I want this or that." Because the
              worst thing that can happen to Armenians is, if they're not skilled
              in legal issues, if they just go and file in court and the court
              dismisses the case because it has no jurisdiction, then the next day
              the Turkish propaganda machine will say, "The Armenians tried to file
              a genocide claim but it was dismissed because it had no merit."



              [/b]Realpolitik axis[/b]

              Tim Cavanaugh: One of the things that really seems to make it tough
              for these kinds of discussions is this axis in Washington D.C. of
              realpolitik types who take the line that we can't do anything
              to infuriate Turkey, that we need to have them on board, they're
              important to Israel, and so forth.
              What presence do you maintain in D.C.?


              Harut Sassounian: We have a couple of small Armenian organizations
              with small staffs, who try to defend Armenian interests and counter
              the Turkish efforts.

              But as for realpolitik, I studied international affairs and I was
              a U.N.

              delegate for ten years, so I know the reality of the world. And I know
              many of the things we say run counter to realpolitik. But let's stay
              at the level of realpolitik for a moment, and not get into issues of
              justice or truth. If U.S. officials and Israeli officials, from day
              one, or even now, would say to the Turkish republic: "We are allies,
              we share common interests, we wouldn't want to do anything to hurt
              you. But this is something that was done more than 90 years ago, by a
              former regime that no longer exists. We cannot, because of friendship,
              go against the truth. This is history. We're not talking about taking
              action, of grabbing a chunk of Turkey and giving it to Armenia. We
              have no ill will against Turkey. But we cannot change history. This
              thing happened in 1915. We will continue to be friends."

              Think of it this way: Say a new administration came up in Germany
              and said, "We are deeply offended by the constant reminders of
              the Holocaust, and if the United State ever again brings up the
              Holocaust, we're going to walk out of NATO, send the ambassador back,
              cut off trade, etc. We're going to do that unless you shut down
              the Holocaust Museum in Washington." What would the U.S. government
              do? The government would say, "I'm sorry, we're going to continue to
              recognize the facts and we're not going to be bullied by anybody,
              especially a country that is much less powerful than the United
              States." And Germany's much more powerful than Turkey.

              This is what they should have done with Turkey. But instead, to the
              detriment of U.S. interests, they are always trying to appease,
              trying to say "Yes, it was a tragedy but it was not genocide. We
              can't pass this resolution." If you are always trying to appease,
              and saying you're sorry whenever Turkey gets offended, once they see
              that you're being soft and weak and not determined, then they start
              being demanding. That's why last year when the resolution came up,
              Turkey threatened to block delivery of military hardware going through
              Turkey to Iraq. Now they've got you. Now you've allowed yourself
              to be manipulated by a regime that's not only denying history but
              threatening your interests.

              Instead, you should show you are resolute. In 1981, when President
              Reagan signed that proclamation, the Turkish government complained, and
              there were negative articles in the Turkish press. Three days later,
              and until now, it was completely forgotten. That's the position the
              U.S. government should take. Many other countries have taken that
              position, and for a while Turkey was mad at them, but to this day
              they don't take the position that this or that country recognizes the
              Armenian genocide and punish them for it. It's just finished. So if
              you want realpolitik, just bite the bullet and get it over with.



              Changing governments

              Tim Cavanaugh: Do you see different attitudes from the Turkish
              government, on this or any other issues, since the Islamist party
              has been in power?


              Harut Sassounian: I think the government in power now is much more
              people-oriented, sympathetic in general to all sorts of minority
              rights and human rights. That doesn't mean they're pro-Armenian by
              a long shot. But that's a government that eventually could lead to
              positive developments between Armenians and Turkey.

              However, on the negative side, that government is under tremendous
              internal pressure from the Turkish equivalent of neocons. The radical,
              nationalist, and kemalist Turks are putting so much pressure on
              Erdogan's government that Erdogan is not in position to take any
              positive steps on this point.

              However, since the new government has come into power in Armenia,
              there has been an exchange of letters between Turkey and Armenia,
              saying they're interested in establishing normal relations. So there
              are early indications that possibly with new officials, this could
              lead to something positive.

              What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

              Comment


              • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

                New York (US)


                NEW YORK GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON ISSUES A PROCLAMATION ACKNOWLEDGING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
                mailto:[email protected]

                NewsBlaze
                http://newsblaze.com/story/200804230750 ... itics.html
                April 23 2008
                CA

                93rd Anniversary Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide to be Held in Times Square On Sunday, April 27th From 2-4 PM

                NEW YORK, April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- New York Governor David
                A. Paterson issued a Proclamation for the Empire State to join in
                with the entire community to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of
                the Armenian Genocide. In the proclamation, the Governor states,
                "Whereas, it is fitting that all New Yorkers recognize the hardships
                the Armenians faced, for the purpose of preventing such as the Armenian
                Genocide of 1915-23 from recurring and to appreciate the United States
                role as a refuge for all oppressed people."

                The public is welcome to participate in the 93rd Anniversary
                Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide to be held in Times Square
                (43rd & Broadway) on Sunday, April 27 from 2-4 PM. Organized by
                the Knights & Daughters of Vartan, an Armenian-American fraternal
                organization, the Commemoration theme is "We Cannot Forget, We Will
                Not Forget." Armenian-Americans and their supporters will gather to
                pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the
                Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire. The Commemoration will
                also celebrate the survival of the Armenian people, their rich heritage
                and their contributions. Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, Founding Director
                of the Armenian Research Center of the University of Michigan and
                Mary A. Papazian, PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic
                Affairs at Lehman College, C.U.N.Y, will preside over the ceremonies.

                Commemoration participants will include Armenian Genocide survivors
                and their families, elected officials, and humanitarian, cultural,
                religious, educational and community leaders. Distinguished speakers
                include U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ); U.S. Representative Frank
                Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
                Issues; Carla Garapedian, director of the award-winning documentary
                Screamers, which explores the history of reoccurrence and denial of
                genocides in the 20th and 21st centuries; Attorney Mark J. Garagos,
                who helped lead groundbreaking Federal Class Action Lawsuits against
                New York Life and other insurance companies for insurance polices
                issued to Armenians living in Turkey prior to the Armenian Genocide;
                Alex Hinton, PhD, Director of the Study of Genocide and Human
                Rights at Rutgers University and Vice President of the International
                Association of Genocide Scholars; and Dr. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen,
                author of Hitler's Willing Executioners. In 2009, Goldhagen will
                host the PBS documentary Worse Than War, based on his forthcoming
                book exploring the general phenomenon of genocide throughout the world.

                Armenian Genocide Experts Sam Azadian and Dr. Dennis R. Papazian
                are available for media interviews via phone and in-person. Armenian
                Genocide Survivors are also available (with translators) to discuss
                their eyewitness accounts as refugees from the Armenian Genocide. Their
                painful accounts of the horrendous horrors and mass destruction
                they witnessed and lived through are critical contributions to world
                history.

                Free round-trip bus transportation will be available from all Armenian
                New York and New Jersey churches, Baruyr's (40th Street & Queens
                Boulevard) and the Hovnanian School, New Milford, New Jersey. For
                information about the Commemoration and bus transportation contact:
                Dr. Dennis Papazian-PH: (201) 505-1591.

                The Knights of Vartan logo is available at

                69-23 47th Ave.
                Woodside, NY 11377
                (718) 651-1530
                April 29, 2008
                For Immediate Release

                New York AYF Commemorates April 24 with Month-Long Activities

                NEW YORK - April as a month of remembrance and a call to action was the theme
                for the New York Hyortiks this year as they approached Armenian Genocide
                commemorations. The chapter organized various activities and carried out
                several projects throughout April to lead the community in a continuous
                remembrance.

                Early in April the chapter's educational committee organized two
                consecutive screenings of movies with Armenian Genocide-related
                themes. On April 13 the Hyortiks showed *Back to Ararat* at St. Sarkis
                Armenian Apostolic Church after services. The following week on April
                20 they showed *Genocide in Me*to an audience at St. Illuminator's
                Armenian Apostolic Cathedral. Community members were engaged with the
                films and issues they brought up regarding Genocide recognition,
                different ways of commemorating, and the concept of "never
                forgetting."

                In conjunction with the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New York
                the Hyortiks also put together general "April is Genocide Remembrance
                Month" posters that gave a brief description of the Genocide and why
                certain businesses might be closed on April 24. The posters - that
                were hung outside local Armenian churches and a few Armenian
                businesses in Manhattan - targeted those passing by the buildings,
                educating them on this issue.

                On the day of April 24 members hit the streets and passed out flyers in
                Manhattan's xxxelry district. The flyers called for the United States to
                "end the gag rule," referring to Turkish pressure on the US when it comes to
                the Armenian Genocide. In the afternoon some members attended a
                commemorative service and lunch at St. Vartan Cathedral in Manhattan.
                Finally that evening, the chapter helped set the solemn mood for a memorial
                service at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church. Members decorated the
                stairs leading up to the church with small candles and posters remembering
                the Genocide. After the service junior and senior members led attendees in
                singing "Adanayin Voghpuh."

                The following evening the Hyortiks volunteered at the welcome table of the
                annual City Hall Event sponsored by the ANC of New York. As in years past
                the chapter presented a speech on behalf of the organization during the
                program. This year's comments highlighted the theme of freedom and human
                rights. Presented by Hyortik executive member Maria Nercessian, the speech
                discussed freedom as an essential component of humanity. "Nintey-three years
                ago, Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire had all of their freedoms taken
                away, the freedom to laugh, to sing, to think, and to live freely as
                Armenians. What makes these individuals different from those suffering here
                and now and to those, for example, in Darfur who are constantly enduring
                such pain on a daily basis? Nothing. We are all humans," said Nercessian.
                She ended her presentation with remarks in Armenian, quoting from Mikael
                Nalbantian's poem "Yerk Azadoutyan" that touched upon the human desire for
                freedom.

                On April 26 the AYF Central Hai Tahd Council led many in the region on the
                March for Justice. Drawing in people from New York, New Jersey, Boston,
                Providence, and Philadelphia, the march led the group from St. Illuminator's
                Armenian Apostolic Cathedral to the UN xx Plaza where they rallied for
                justice for the Armenian Genocide. That day New York AYFers came out early
                to help set up for the event, run the technical aspect and support CHTC's
                leadership on the protest. Flyer-ing the community weeks before the event,
                the Hyortiks brought out local community members to the march. Staying until
                the very end to clean up, New York's AYFers helped CHTC pack up and return
                to the Armenian Center in Woodside, N.Y.

                Finally the Hyortiks participated in an Armenian youth and student movement
                to help out at the annual Times Square Rally as an organized and unified
                body. Together with youth from various local organizations, AYF members
                assisted at the event by passing out t-shirts; bringing and handing out
                placards to attendees; distributing booklets to passers-by; and cleaning up
                at the end. After the event the Hyortiks joined fellow youth at a small
                gathering held at St. Vartan Cathedral where they mingled and discussed
                various issues in the Armenian community.

                "I think it was important for the Hyortiks to host and participate in
                Genocide commemoration events throughout the month of April in order to show
                the world that all Armenian youth have not forgotten our martyrs, our Cause.
                We will keep protesting and marching until Turkey admits the crimes it has
                committed against our ancestors," said Hyortik member Arousiag Markarian. **


                PHOTO CAPTIONS:

                CityHallHyortiks: Some New York AYF members with ANC Eastern Region Director
                Karine Birazian at the annual City Hall Commemoration sponsored by the ANC
                of New York

                March for Justice1: On April 26, New York AYFers came out early to help set
                up and helped out all day for the March for Justice held by the AYF Central
                Hai Tahd Council

                St Sarkis Candle Lighting: New York AYF members decorated the stairs leading
                up to the St. Sarkis Armenian Church with small candles and posters
                remembering the Armenian Genocide

                Times Square AYF: Together with youth from various local organizations, AYF
                members assisted at the annual Times Square Rally by passing out t-shirts;
                bringing and handing out placards to attendees; distributing booklets to
                passers-by; and cleaning up at the end


                ARMENIAN COMMEMORATION AT BINGHAMTON SOUTHSIDE PARK
                Ed Arzouian

                Press & Sun-Bulletin, NY
                May 1 2008

                On Sunday, April 27, 2008 St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church
                of Binghamton along with the Armenian Community of Broome County
                commemorated the 93nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

                Pictured is the Southside monument to the those 1,500,000 Armenians who
                died in the Genocide from 1915-1923 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks..

                Statements were read from: US Senator Hillary Clinton, NYS Senator
                Thomas Libous, Congressmen Maurice Hinchey & Arcuri. Present were:
                Kevin McCabe, representative from NY Governor David Paterson to read a
                resolution, Bob Messinger as representative of US Congressman Michael
                Arcuri, Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala, and City of Binghamton
                Mayor Matt Ryan.



                Originally posted by Siamanto View Post
                Related Post
                What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                Comment


                • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

                  Fresno, California (US)

                  FADING MEMORIES OF GENOCIDE: AS ARMENIAN SURVIVORS GROW OLD, RECOGNITION GROWS MORE URGENT.
                  by Vanessa Colon

                  The Fresno Bee (California)
                  Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
                  April 24, 2008 Thursday

                  Apr. 24--Lucy Jamgotchian of Fresno lived through the panic and peril
                  of the Armenian genocide. The tears she shed as a 6-year-old caused
                  her mother to briefly abandon her as the family fled, fearful that
                  her cries would cost them their lives.

                  But at age 98, her memories of the seminal event in Armenian history
                  have largely faded. And many other survivors have died.

                  That worries a younger generation of Armenians. They fear their efforts
                  to pressure the United States to formally recognize the genocide will
                  weaken without the emotional testimony of its survivors. Even more,
                  they fear the residents who lived through the genocide won't live to
                  see it recognized by their adopted homeland.

                  "I can't imagine any Armenian who went through that isn't tremendously
                  disappointed for the country they became citizens and pledged their
                  allegiance to but didn't recognize it," said Alan Yengoyan, a Fresno
                  County deputy district attorney whose mother, a genocide survivor,
                  died in 1997.

                  On the 93rd anniversary of a day recognized as the start of the
                  genocide, fewer than a dozen survivors remain in California -- and
                  only an estimated 50 are still living nationwide, according to the
                  Armenian National Committee, Western Region, an Armenian-American
                  advocacy organization.

                  Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the
                  Ottoman Empire. The Republic of Turkey emerged out of the empire's
                  collapse in World War I. Turkish officials have denied that any
                  genocide occurred, calling it a tragedy of World War I in which both
                  Armenians and Turks died.

                  For decades, congressional resolutions to formally recognize the
                  event with the term "genocide" have stalled because of Turkey's strong
                  opposition. The most recent attempt failed last year when President
                  Bush warned that a genocide resolution would harm relations with
                  Turkey, a U.S. ally bordering Iraq and Iran.

                  The failure of Congress -- and Turkey -- to recognize the genocide
                  disappoints one of its survivors, Melena Boghosian of Fresno. At 102,
                  she is one of the oldest survivors still living in the Fresno area.

                  "I want to see [genocide recognized] before I die," Boghosian said
                  in Armenian. Her daughter, Jessy Shahbazian, interpreted for her.

                  Boghosian became an orphan when she was about 8 after her parents
                  were killed by Turks, she said. Her aunt, who carried Boghosian as
                  they traveled through the desert to Syria, also died.

                  Boghosian emigrated to the United States as an adult in the 1920s,
                  eventually settling in Fresno.

                  About 60,000 residents of Armenian descent live in Fresno
                  County. Although Armenians began settling here in the 1880s, their
                  numbers grew dramatically after the start of the genocide.

                  Jamgotchian was a child when she traveled with her mother in a caravan
                  fleeing the village of Van in August 1915, according to a written
                  account by her younger brother, Bob Der Mugrdechian, who was born
                  in Fresno.

                  Jamgotchian and her mother battled hunger and thirst and saw thousands
                  of refugees die before they reached Tiflis, Georgia, according to
                  Der Mugrdechian's book.

                  At one point, Jamgotchian cried so much that her mother was pressured
                  by their group to leave her behind a boulder because her cries could
                  alert the Turks to find them, according to the book. Her mother
                  couldn't bear leaving her behind and soon returned for Jamgotchian.

                  Jamgotchian's own recollections are hazy.

                  "We were suppose to hide away so we wouldn't be killed," she said
                  holding a black-and-white photo of her family taken in Georgia in 1916.

                  But asked for details, she replies: "I don't remember."

                  The fading memories of survivors like Jamgotchian adds urgency to the
                  effort to get Congress to recognize the genocide, said Andrew Kzirian,
                  executive director for the Armenian National Committee, Western Region.

                  "It paints a very tragic story how justice will continue to be
                  denied. It speaks volumes how it's more important to recognize the
                  genocide [now] more than ever," he said.

                  Liebe Geft, director of the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, said
                  survivors of the xxxish Holocaust are facing similar challenges as
                  their numbers dwindle.

                  "There is nothing more powerful than the personal testimony of an
                  eyewitness account," Geft said. "It makes a profound impression on
                  everyone, young and old alike."

                  She added: "Because it's so personal, it's not easily forgotten."

                  Barlow Der Mugrdechian, professor of Armenian studies at California
                  State University, Fresno, and a nephew of Jamgotchian, said he remains
                  hopeful that the United States eventually will recognize the genocide,
                  but he is doubtful that it will happen soon.

                  Even if none of the genocide survivors lives to see that day, their
                  stories will never die.

                  "It will be a case of having to depend on other evidence," Der
                  Mugrdechian said. "The information is there if people wish to see it."


                  GENOCIDE: ARMENIANS COMMEMORATE GENOCIDE
                  Clint Olivier & Charlene Lee

                  KMPH Fox 26, CA -
                  April 25 2008

                  Hundreds gathered at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Downtown
                  Fresno, to pray and remember.

                  "It's not just recognizing the Armenian Genocide, but it's recognizing
                  all genocide in general," Jennifer Torosian said.

                  Torosian and Knar Mekhitarian are members of the campus Armenian
                  organization at Fresno State.

                  Torosian isn't unlike other worshippers, who have a personal connection
                  to the tragedy.

                  Torosian's grandparents were tailors, and only survived by making
                  uniforms for the Turkish Army.

                  "There was a genocide committed, and now we're asking for justice,"
                  Father Vahan Gostanian said.

                  He is talking about another element of the April 24th story,
                  reaffirming support for lawmakers in Congress to keep working toward
                  official recognition of the killings.

                  Former state lawmaker Chuck Poochigian agrees and blames the pressure
                  placed on U.S. lawmakers by Turkey's government for the delay.

                  "It's very painful for Armenians around the world to have to deal
                  with the denial of that historical fact," Poochigian said.

                  And on this solemn 93rd anniversary, Jennifer Torosian says she's
                  committed to using what she knows about the struggle of her ancestors,
                  to make the world a better place for everyone.

                  "History will repeat itself if we don't stop and learn from our
                  mistakes in the past," she said.

                  Attendees point to the mass killings in Darfur and the Sudan in Africa
                  as places where genocide is still going on, and must be stopped.

                  What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                  Comment


                  • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

                    Canada

                    NEARLY ALL CANADIAN POLITICAL FORCES STAND FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                    PanARMENIAN.Net
                    29.04.2008 16:20 GMT+04:00

                    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Over 1,000 Canadian-Armenians from Montreal, Laval,
                    Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Cambridge, and St. Catharines gathered
                    on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 24 to commemorate the 93rd
                    anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National
                    Committee of Canada.

                    After playing the national anthems of Canada and Armenia by Homenetment
                    Montreal's boy scouts band, Taline Abrakian, the master of ceremonies,
                    invited the gathering to observe a moment of silence in memory of
                    the victims of the Armenian Genocide and all other genocides.

                    Immediately thereafter, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the
                    Armenian Prelacy of Canada; Rev. Mher S. Khatchikian of the Armenian
                    Evangelical Church of Montreal; Very Rev. Georges Zabarian from Notre
                    Dame de Nareg Armenian Catholic Church in Montreal and other clergymen
                    conducted a requiem service for the victims of the Genocide.

                    Dr. Girair Basmadjian, president of the Armenian National Committee of
                    Canada (ANCC), extended the Canadian-Armenian community's "expressions
                    of gratitude to the Canadian Senate and the House of Commons for their
                    adoptions of resolutions recognizing the Armenian genocide." Moreover,
                    he said that he was "proud as a Canadian of Armenian heritage to listen
                    to our Prime Minister reaffirm, in no uncertain terms, the position
                    of our government," on the Armenian Genocide as a Government policy.

                    Dr. Badsmadjian said that he welcomed the honest opinions of Turkish
                    genocide scholars, authors and historians, who have confirmed
                    unequivocally the Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Turkish
                    government in 1915. "They deserve praise and congratulations because
                    they are victimized by their current government, not the government
                    of 1915.

                    Actually, the government of today does not miss any opportunity to
                    prosecute and punish honest Turkish academics who exercise their
                    freedom of expressions for anti-Turkishness and treason. The terror
                    against those academic voices is legalized by laws in Turkey."

                    Pierre Lemieux, parliamentary secretary for official languages and
                    deputy whip of the Conservative Party, talked about the positive
                    contributions the Canadian-Armenian community had made to Canada. He
                    said: "Armenian-Canadians are an integral part of this country's
                    history, and Canadians of Armenian heritage have definitely made an
                    important contribution to the Canada of today."

                    As official opposition and as government, the Conservative Party
                    recognized the Armenian Genocide and would continue to do so, Lemieux
                    emphasized. He reminded everyone of the "letter that Prime Minister
                    Stephen Harper sent to the Armenian National Committee of Canada,"
                    where the prime minister said: "We have made it very clear that our
                    recognition of the Armenian genocide represents the official position
                    of the Government of Canada."

                    At the end of his speech, Mr. Lemieux read the Right Hon. Stephan
                    Harper's message. The Prime Minister in his message "on the day of
                    commemoration of the Armenian genocide," recalled "the terrible loss
                    of life...and in particular the horrific suffering endured by the
                    Armenian people." He also reminded Canadians "that both Houses of
                    Parliament have adopted resolutions recognizing 'the first genocide
                    of the twentieth century.'"

                    Dr. Bernard Party representing the Liberal Party of Canada, relayed
                    the message of the leader of the official opposition the Hon. Stephan
                    Dion. Mr. Dion said that he greeted with "deep reverence" the people
                    gathered on Parliament Hill to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of
                    the Armenian Genocide." He paused to "remember those Armenians who
                    were persecuted and killed in 1915" and expressed solidarity with
                    the survivors."

                    Madam Nicole Demers, representing the Bloc Quebecois, described her
                    fond memories about her recent visit to Armenia and her admiration of
                    the Armenian people. She told the gathering that she and her leader,
                    Gilles Duceppe, would stand by the Armenian community until justice
                    is rendered. She also urged Armenians to continue the struggle for
                    the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and that they
                    should not stop until it is achieved.

                    Paul Dewar, representing the New Democratic Party, read the NDP leader,
                    Mr. Jack Layton's message where Mr. Layton committed the NDP to work
                    with the Canadian-Armenian community to "press other countries to
                    recognize this horrific chapter of our collective history and for
                    non-governmental organizations such as the UN to recognize one of
                    the worse crimes against humanity in the 20th century."

                    In his speech, Jon-Carlos Tsilfidis, director of public relations of
                    the Pontian Community in Toronto, recalled the Armenian Genocide as
                    "an unprecedented event in human history both in terms of the misery
                    and destruction it exacted...Many have called it the first holocaust
                    of the 20th century but sadly, it was not the last...Sadly, there are
                    still some people who deny the very existence of the Genocide... This
                    is why events such as the gathering of today are vital...We have to
                    shout out the truth, to amplify our memories and to let them resonate
                    in the historical record... In the Turkey of today, Armenian Genocide
                    denial has somehow been transformed into national doctrine.

                    "My message to you today is that we can never forget.

                    We, as the Greeks of Pontos, share your pain of the past and are
                    prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. We know all too well about
                    'relocations', 'deportations', and death marches. We have been down
                    that road ourselves as well. We will walk step by step with you."

                    The keynote speaker, Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National
                    Committee of America, reiterated that "Canada's recognition of the
                    Armenian Genocide both holds profound meaning for the Armenian nation
                    and has sent a powerful message to the government of Turkey as well
                    as to those who condone Turkey's campaign of denial by looking the
                    other way... The acknowledgement of this crime by your Parliament
                    and Prime Minister Stephen Harper - in the face of fierce foreign
                    threats and intimidation and no end of political pressure - speaks
                    to Canada's courage in matching her actions with her ideals. It
                    also speaks to her special role as a worldwide leader in advancing
                    human rights...In taking this step toward justice for the Armenian
                    Genocide, Canada served many noble aims, first and foremost among
                    them the cause of our collective conscience, our shared morality,
                    and our common humanity as citizens of the international community."

                    Hachikian said that a "vital part of ending the cycle of genocide is
                    rejecting the denial of past genocides...As Armenians we are owed a
                    profound debt, but also carry a special burden like the Jews, Pontians,
                    Assyrians, Cambodians, Rwandans, and, unfortunately, too many others
                    - to bear witness to the suffering visited upon our people. To make
                    sure that the horrors of our past are not repeated against any other
                    people, anywhere in the world."

                    The ANCA Chairman said he considered it chilling and ominous "the
                    growing military partnership between Sudan and Turkey. The recent
                    red carpet, three-day visit to Turkey by Sudan's president," and
                    the Sudanese Government usage of "Turkish arms to kill the people
                    of Darfur."

                    The ANCA chairman said that he found it ironic that after 93 years of
                    the Armenian Genocide that "Sudan is today using the same tactics -
                    including starvations and deportations - used by the Ottoman Empire
                    against Armenians in 1915."

                    Furthermore, he said: "Sudan is today already employing the same
                    hateful methods used by Turkey to deny the Armenian Genocide."

                    At the conclusion of his remarks, Hachikian stated that "denial
                    stands in the way of the truth. And without the truth, we can never
                    have justice."

                    Thereafter the dignitaries and the people at the gathering laid
                    flowers around the Centennial Flame in memory of the victims.

                    Among dignitaries present were Secretary of State for Multiculturalism
                    and Canadian Identity Jason Kenney's chief of staff; the Executive
                    Assistant of the President of Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Group
                    President, Gary Goodyear; and Eric Vernon representing the Canadian
                    Jewish Congress.

                    Then started the march toward the Turkish Embassy to protest the
                    Turkish Government's denial policy, and called on the Turkish
                    Government to recognize the Genocide.

                    Earlier in the day, a delegation headed by Dr. Vagarch Ehrmadjian,
                    Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, visited the
                    Embassy of Armenian in Ottawa and laid a wreath at the "Armenia
                    Immortal" monument which is dedicated to the victims of the Armenian
                    Genocide.


                    Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada commemorates 93rd Anniversary of Genocide with community

                    armradio.am
                    26.04.2008 14:48

                    His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Armenian
                    Prelacy of Canada, attended the several events held in honour of the
                    93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

                    On the eve of Genocide Remembrance Day, His Eminence joined the
                    Armenian Youth for a special event featuring different cultural
                    presentations and a candle light vigil at the Montreal Armenian
                    community centre's Aharonian hall.

                    Following the special commemoration, His Eminence led a procession with
                    more than 200 youths to the Genocide memorial at park Marcelin-Wilson
                    for a special requiem service in honour of all victims of genocides.

                    This event and march were organized by the Montreal and Laval chapters
                    of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organization of Canada.

                    On April 24, Genocide Remembrance Day, Prelate Hagopian joined members
                    of the Canadian Armenian community at the Embassy of the Republic of
                    Armenia in Ottawa to take part in a flower laying ceremony at the
                    `Armenia Immortal' monument.

                    Archbishop Hagopian then presided over a requiem service at the
                    Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, where political representatives,
                    representatives of other genocide victim nations, Genocide survivors,
                    and community members laid wreaths around the Flame in memory of the
                    victims of the Armenian Genocide.

                    Along with the thousands of Canadian Armenians gathered in Ottawa,
                    Prelate Hagopian proceeded to the Turkish Embassy to call on the
                    current Turkish government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. His
                    Eminence closed the protest with a few words and a prayer.
                    Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada commemorates 93rd Anniversary
                    of Genocide with community


                    Originally posted by Siamanto View Post
                    Related Post
                    Last edited by Siamanto; 05-06-2008, 09:46 PM.
                    What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                    Comment


                    • Re: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide - 2008

                      Greater Los Angeles Area, California (US)


                      Valley Marks 93rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

                      Astrid Seipelt

                      Valley Star , CA
                      April 28 2008


                      A DAY TO REMEMBER - One of the many signs that were carried by marchers
                      at the Turkish Consulate April 24. The date marked the 93rd anniversary
                      of the Armenian Genocide that occured in the Ottoman Empire - the
                      forerunner of modern Turkey.

                      Thursday night was a night of remembrance and recognition for the
                      Armenian community of Valley College, as more than 80 people gathered
                      in Monarch Hall to honor the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

                      Organized by Valley's Armenian Student Association with the support
                      of the college and the Associated Student Union, the genocide was
                      remembered through music, dance, poetry and film.

                      "The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century
                      and because it was not recognized by the world, other genocides
                      happened," said Amy Eritsian, president of the Armenian Student
                      Association. "When we get the Armenian Genocide recognized, these
                      things will stop happening,"

                      Monarch hall was filled with candles, flowers and a replica of the
                      Tsitsernakaberd memorial, which overlooks the Armenian capital of
                      Yerevan. The 140-feet-high stele represented the rebirth of Armenia,
                      and the 12 slabs arranged in a circle represent the twelve lost
                      provinces in modern-day Turkey.

                      Students who organized the event wanted to send a message of hope
                      and to keep the memory of the Armenian Genocide alive. Ani Yeremyan,
                      a speech communication major, attended the event and was proud of
                      the different groups of Armenians coming together to remember.

                      "Lebanese Armenians, Persian Armenians, Armenian Armenians came
                      together on this day not only for Armenians in particular, but for
                      everybody that has experienced some kind of atrocity in their culture,
                      whether is be Latinos, African Americans....," she said. "Our Armenian
                      Student president and ASU president do a great job bringing the
                      community together, especially the older members,"

                      Yeremyan also performed at the event, her dance telling the story of
                      the pain of the genocide.

                      "The meaning of my dance, it's a very sad and emotional dance, it's
                      a mothers cry, going back to home, going back to where the heart
                      belongs...Ninety three years, it's a very long time," she said.

                      ASU President Mari Kiridjian said that recognition and participation
                      are the most important aspects of the genocide anniversary, which is
                      remembered on campus each year.

                      "Students need to learn outside what is in their history books; they
                      should know what has occurred to other people," Kiridjian said. "You
                      go to class with these people, don't you want to know where they come
                      from, their history?"

                      The country of Turkey was known as the Ottoman Empire during World
                      War 1. It was in the Ottoman Empire where Armenians were subjected
                      to a genocide in 1915.



                      Student Groups Remember Genocide

                      Silva Sevlian

                      Daily Trojan Online, CA
                      Univ. of Southern California
                      April 25 2008

                      Students remember Armenian genocide victims with music and speeches.

                      Naritsa Kazanjian cannot trace back her family linage more than two
                      generations, a fate common among Armenians because of the Armenian
                      genocide, which left 1.5 million people dead.

                      "My grandfather doesn't know who his parents are," said Kazanjian,
                      a junior majoring in accounting.

                      "Kazanjian is not even my last name - it is the name he took from
                      his adopted family."

                      Members of the Armenian Students' Association and the Armenian Graduate
                      Students' Association hosted a one-hour ceremony Thursday honoring
                      the genocide victims, and demonstrated the vitality of the Armenian
                      culture both on campus and post-genocide.

                      "Remembering the Past, Celebrating the Future" featured students,
                      scholars and musicians and was the culmination of a week-long effort
                      to raise awareness about the culture's past.

                      Father Vazken Movsesian, executive director of the St. Peter Armenian
                      Church, spoke about his visit to Rwanda and said the political climate
                      felt familiar.

                      "I had one foot in the first genocide of the 20th century and one
                      foot in the last," Movsesian said. "I saw what my grandparents told
                      me about, and that same evil continues in Darfur."

                      Movsesian said that the genocides that have taken place in Armenia and
                      in other countries such as Darfur are in the hands of the government.

                      "Let it be clear in your heads that it was not a couple of Turkish men
                      that got up and killed Armenians - it was a government," Movessian
                      said.

                      Although the event attracted many members of the USC community, others
                      came from outside the university to be part of the commemoration and
                      share their family's story of genocide.

                      "When he was sixteen, my grandfather saw a Turkish solider smash the
                      face of a 2-month-old baby with his rifle because she was Armenian,"
                      Maraslian said.

                      Students from the USC Turkish Student Association were at the event
                      claiming the Armenian deaths arose from fighting during World War I
                      and not a deliberate campaign to wipe out the Armenian population.

                      Kanakara Navasartian, a graduate student studying strategic public
                      relations and president of the Armenian Graduate Students' Association
                      said, "The students were inappropriate and their reactive tactic was
                      disrespectful on a day where California's governor and the state has
                      recognized [April 24] as a day of remembrance."

                      Turkish students held up signs facing the stage in front of Tommy
                      Trojan and argued with members of the Armenian group who encouraged
                      both the Turkish students and the current Turkish government to
                      recognize the Armenian Genocide as a part of its history.

                      Caroline Cha, a junior majoring in international relations, said her
                      only knowledge about the Armenian genocide comes from literature she
                      has read in her international relations courses.

                      "The more I read about the flagrant human rights abuses and the
                      systematic killing of people, the more I sympathize for the Armenians
                      who have come here to honor their heritage," Cha said.

                      Magdiel Ledesma, a student visiting from Mira Costa Community College,
                      said the event is his first exposure to information about the Armenian
                      Genocide.

                      "The tone of the instruments gets inside of your heart and makes you
                      feel the sadness of genocide," Ledesma said.

                      Non-profit organizations such as the "Never Again" campaign, lead by
                      Armenian fraternity Alpha Epsilon Omega, are raising funds to create
                      educational projects to disseminate to students at junior and senior
                      high school schools.

                      The event on USC's campus is one of many that occurred in the Los
                      Angeles County Thursday to commemorate the lives that were lost and
                      to protest the denial of the genocide.

                      Members of the Armenian community marched the streets of Little
                      Armenia, protested in front of the Turkish Embassy and children in
                      Glendale participated in a 30-hour fast.

                      Armenian Youth Federation - Western Region
                      104 N. Belmont,
                      Suite 206
                      Glendale, CA 91206
                      Tel. (818) 507-1933
                      Email: [email protected]

                      PRESS RELEASE

                      April 30, 2008

                      Contact: Ishkhan Boghossian

                      Armenian Youth Federation - Western Region Organizes Protest In Front Of Turkish Consulate

                      Courtesy of Asbarez - www.asbarez.com
                      Author: Allen Yekikian

                      WATCH VIDEO CLIP - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DbRhN0-DPNF0

                      Los Angeles, CA- The Armenian Tricolor waved with determination on the
                      steps of the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles on Thursday as thousands
                      of Armenian-Americans came out to demand justice and recognition in
                      protest of 93 years of Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide.

                      "93 years, no more tears," was shouted by an estimated 15,000 people
                      as they marched united along the perimeter of the consulate, located
                      on the corner of Wilshire blvd and Crescent Heights on Los Angeles's
                      historic miracle mile.

                      "93 years ago, the perpetrators of the Genocide tried to wipe the
                      Armenian Race off the face of the earth," Jivalagian exclaimed. "All
                      of us standing here today are living proof, that the goals and desires
                      of the Turks failed," he added.

                      The protest featured speeches in both Armenian and English. California
                      Assembly member Paul Krekorian took the podium to talk about the
                      relevance of genocide recognition for America, while AYF Educational
                      Committee Chairman Saro Haroun and AYF Chairman Caspar Jivalagian
                      followed with inspiring speeches about the youth's steadfast
                      commitment to continue the struggle for recognition.

                      Krekorian, who represents the largest Armenian community outside of
                      Armenia, told the thousands gathered of his own personal connection
                      with the Genocide, about his ancestor who was brutally murdered in
                      Kharpert on June 1915.

                      "But it is important, not just for our community, but for all
                      Americans, to commemorate the anniversary of one of the greatest
                      crimes in human history," stated Krekorian. "Only when Turkey
                      confesses to their crimes will our people have peace, and Turkey's
                      soul be saved, and only then can the world community have any hope of
                      preventing atrocities like the Genocide from happening now and in the
                      future," he added.

                      This year's protests were held against the backdrop of intensified
                      activity by the Turkish government to prevent the United States House
                      of Representatives from finally recognizing the Genocide.

                      The annual April 24 protest in front of the consulate has become a
                      uniting force over the past decade for the community's youth, which
                      having grown up in America, identify the event as one that helps
                      connect them to their people's history.

                      Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown to
                      become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth
                      organization; with chapters throughout the United States and
                      affiliated organizations around the world. Inspired by our past and
                      motivated by the needs of the future, the AYF actively strives to
                      advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of
                      all Armenian youth.

                      ###

                      Photo caption: Members of the Armenian American Community protesting
                      at Turkish Consulate on April 24, 2008.



                      Originally posted by Siamanto View Post
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                      Last edited by Siamanto; 05-06-2008, 09:56 PM.
                      What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

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