Events Commemorating The Armenian Genocide, 90-th Anniversary

[Siamanto]

ONE AND A HALF MILLION CANDLES WILL BURN IN MEMORY OF THE GENOCIDE VICTIMS

A1+
01-04-2005

On April 24 this year one and a half million people will go to
Tsitsernakaberd and other monuments in memory of the Genocide
victims. On end a half million flowers will be put on the monument to
one and a half million innocent victims, and one and a half million
candles will burn that say in the Armenian churches.

The Committee celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide has worked out a program of events which will be organized in
Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and in many other countries of the world.

The events will start from April 11. In particular, on April 18-19 in
the Armenian Academy of Science a conference of Armenian scientists
will be held, and on April 20-21 in Yerevan an International
conference will take place with the theme Gravest Crime, Gravest
Challenges; Human Rights and Genocide�=80=9C, in which most remarkable
scientists, state and political bodies, artists and journalists will
take part.

On April 23 in the Yerevan Opera House a memory evening will be held,
and on April 24 in the St. Grigor Lousavorich Cathedral an ecumenical
mess will be celebrated with the participation of spiritual leaders of
different religions.

On April 24 in Yerevan and Nagorno Karabakh people will honor the
memory of the Armenian Genocide victims with a moment of silence, and
all the morning bells of all the Armenian churches will ring.

On those April days in Armenia and other places exhibitions, musical
and theatrical plays, film shows and other events will be organized
dedicated to that tragic part of the Armenian history.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg107020.html

[Siamanto]

SATURDAY, March 23, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

All-ASA Genocide Recognition Committee
c/o UCLA Armenian Student Association
Kerckhoff Hall Room 146
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Contact: Raffi Kassabian
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Armenian collegiate student groups join forces for genocide awareness, justice

LOS ANGELES, CA - Next month, area Armenian college students will gather to
commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The
All-Armenian Student Association's Genocide Recognition Committee, a
coalition of collegiate Armenian student groups, has been busy organizing
two major events set to take place this April. Aside from smaller
projects, the committee has organized two major events; an educational
panel presentation and an candlelight vigil for the southern California
student community. On April 7th, the CSU Long Beach campus hosts a panel
on human rights atrocities and genocide denial.

"Since Long Beach State holds such a diverse community it is of great
importance to hold a panel that reviews how denial and ignorance of
genocide affect cultures and people all around the world,' explained Lisa
Narinian, president of the CSULB Armenian Student Association and
representative to the committee.

The panel discussion will feature faculty from local universities who will
address the Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide and its continuation in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the genocide in Darfur, as well as the Women
of Juarez.

The following Thursday, the UCLA campus' Bruin Plaza will serve as the site
for the 2005 All-ASA Candlelight Vigil. Hosted each year at a different
college campus, this year's vigil will feature a reenactment of a genocidal
death march, performances by UCLA students, and the premier of an
educational video feature commissioned by the committee. The event will
also feature UCLA Professor Paul Von Blum, a specialist on media and
genocide, as well as rapper Knowledge from the Axis of Justice, a
non-profit, social justice organization formed by Tom Morello of Audioslave
and Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Local student and community groups
have been invited to participate and table at the event.

However, the panel presentation and the vigil will not be the first
genocide-related event of the year for many of the committee's
participating organizations. The UCLA Armenian Student Association has
also been addressing the impact of past genocides on current affairs. In
February, it co-hosted a similar panel presentation on genocide denial as
coalition student groups concerned about the genocide in Darfur. The event
drew over 150 students and members of the faculty.

"When groups of people are systematically oppressed, and targeted for
destruction, it is our duty as humans to do something. Genocide and denial
seems to run hand in hand," noted Matthew Sablove, a member of the Darfur
Action Committee at UCLA. "Students can lead the way for social justice as
well as social change to stop the current genocide in Darfur."

Earlier in November this academic year, the USC Armenian Student
Association, another Genocide Recognition Committee participant, co-hosted
a reception and book signing featuring Colgate University Professor Peter
Balakian and his NY Times Bestseller, Burning Tigris. The event was held
in conjunction with the opening of USC's Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial
Library exhibition documenting the Near East Foundation's relief efforts -
commonly cited as an example of one of the first world-wide humanitarian
relief efforts in the global age - to help survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

The committee also addresses issues regarding education about the Armenian
Genocide such as its proper inclusion in human rights-related curricula and
exhibitions such as the local Museum of Tolerance.

"The Museum of Tolerance issue is a continuing source of concern to the
student community," explained Arineh Der Petrosian, president of the
Glendale Community College Armenian Student Association and representative
to the committee. In 2003, college students protested the lack of a
permanent and prominent exhibit on the Armenian Genocide at the
museum. The GCC ASA supported their efforts by collecting 1,500 signatures
in support of this initiative.

"As of today, there is still no permanent exhibit. We think it is
important that the student community continues to work on this issue. The
lack of an adequate and prominent acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide
in a place like the Museum of Tolerance only serves to embolden deniers of
all genocides."

But in the end, much of the collective effort has been leading up to this
April's events.

"The panel and the vigil being organized by the committee are critical not
only because they mark the April anniversaries of such tragedies as the
Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide, and Holocaust, but also because we are
living in a world today in which genocide is being committed, specifically
in Darfur," emphasized Raffi Kassabian, chair of the committee and
president of the UCLA Armenian Student Association. "I think this is a
clear illustration that if people continue to turn a blind eye or deny such
atrocities the cycle of genocide will continue to turn."

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE All-ASA GRC Events in April:

"All-ASA Panel Presentation - The Blind Eye: Genocide & Denial"
at the Soroptomist House, CSU Long Beach Campus
THURSDAY, April 7th @ 7:30pm
- featuring: presentations on the Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide,
genocide in Darfur, and the Women of Juarez
- for more info contact: CSULB ASA - c/o Lisa Narinian <[email protected]>

"2005 All-ASA Candlelight Vigil"
at Bruin Plaza, UCLA Campus
THURSDAY, April 14th @ 7:30pm
- featuring: genocide reenactments/recollections, performances, speakers,
and a newly commissioned educational video montage
- for more info contact: UCLA ASA - c/o Raffi Kassabian <[email protected]>

PHOTO # 1:

http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/agsa/photos/2004-2005/031905grc-pr-photo01.bmp

CAPTION # 1:
Pictured from Left to Right: Raffi Kassabian (UCLA Armenian Student
Association), Ani Nahapetian (UCLA Armenian Graduate Student Association),
Ara Krikorian (Loyola Marymount University ASA), and Arineh Der Petrossian
(Glendale Community College ASA). Not pictured are representatives from
the AEO, ARF-SSA, CalPoly ASA, CalTech ASA, CSULB ASA, CSULA ASA, UCI ASA,
UCR ASA, UCSC ASA, USC AGSA, USC ASA, Woodbury U. ASA and other All-ASA
participating organizations.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg107002.html

[Siamanto]

Watertown TAB & Press, MA

Armenian Genocide commemoration events
Friday, April 1, 2005

The Greater Boston Committee for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
an umbrella organization of all area churches and major civic groups,
announces the following community-wide commemoration events for the 90th
anniversary of the Genocide. All events are free and open to the public,
unless otherwise noted. For more information, and periodic updates, log on
to www.weremember1915.org.

"Genocide and Mass Killing: Origins, Prevention, Healing and
Reconciliation"- Tuesday, April 12, 7:30 p.m., at Goddard Chapel at Tufts
University in Medford. Presented by Ervin Staub.

"Victims of 1915 and We Today"- Sunday, April 17, 10 a.m., at Holy
Cross Armenian Catholic Church, 200 Lexington St., Belmont. A memorial
service and evocation.

"Remembrance and Commemoration through Armenian Culture and Music"-
Sunday, April 17, 5 p.m., at St. James Armenian Apostolic Church, 465 Mount
Auburn St., Watertown. Featuring Sayat Nova Dance Company and Zulal Armenian
Folk Trio.

"The Road to Redemption: Memories of the 1915 Armenian Genocide"-
Thursday, April 21, 7:30 p.m., at Boston University's Morse Auditorium, 602
Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Presented by the Greater Boston Committee for the
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Massachusetts State House Commemoration - Friday, April 22, 11 a.m.
Details to follow.

Ecumenical Service and Memorial Service - Saturday, April 23, 6:45
p.m., at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, 145 Brattle St., Cambridge.
A service for 250 Armenian intellectuals who perished on April 24, 1915.
Presented by the Honorable Clergy of Boston Armenian Churches.

Requiem and Memorial Concert for the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide - Saturday, April 23, 7:30 p.m., at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic
Church. Presented by Erevan Choral Society, under the direction of the Very
Rev. Oshagan Minassian.

Rally to Commemorate the Armenian Genocide in New York - Sunday, April
24. Busses depart from St. James and St. Stephens Armenian Churches in
Watertown to Times Square, for those wishing to take part in the rally to
commemorate the Genocide and denounce the denial of the Turkish government.
For more information, log on to www.weremember1915.org.

The Films of J. Michael Hagopian - Friday, April 29 and May 6, various
times, at Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge. Screenings of
"Germany and the Secret Genocide" and "Voices from the Lake." Presented by
the Greater Boston Committee for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
with cooperation of Kendall Square Cinema. Tickets are $5.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg106960.html

[winoman]

http://www.genocidewatch.org/MeetingsINTERNATIONALASSOCIATIONOFGENOCIDESCHOLARS2005.htm

Ninety Years after the Armenian Genocide and Sixty Years after the Holocaust:

The Continuing Threat and Legacy of Genocide

6th Biennial Conference, June 4-7, 2005

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES scheduled include Prof. Richard G. Hovannisian

The International Association of Genocide Scholars welcomes proposals for scholarly papers and sessions dealing with a variety of related themes such as:

1. The origins of and accountability for the Armenian Genocide and/or the Holocaust.

2. The legacy of the Armenian Genocide and/or the Holocaust for survivors, perpetrators, bystanders, and the world community, including international law and organizations.

3. Identification of endangered communities and the prevention of genocide, including the current genocidal catastrophe in Sudan.

4. The origins of and accountability for genocides in Cambodia, former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and for indigenous peoples.

5. The legacy of genocide in Cambodia, former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and for indigenous peoples, and for the world community, including international law and organizations.

6. The denial of genocide.

7. The representation of genocide in literature, art, film, and music.

8. Commemoration, restitution, and reconciliation