Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Peabody, MA newspaper publishes article relaying war of words between Armenian and J-ewish communities in Massachusetts and the ADL including recollection of former J-ewish Journal contributor that ADL published an ad in NYT in early 2001 commending Turkey on its human rights records and that the Journal slammed Foxman as far back as then for ethnocentric myopia and hypocrisy. Nice artwork by local of Armenian descent. http://www.townonline.com/northshore...ge/x1875626792

Watertown newspaper republishes article detailing Belmont's move towards withdrawal from ADL' NO PLACE FOR HATE program. http://www.townonline.com/watertown/...ge/x2145714242

Catch the videofeed of Belmont's Human Rights Commission meeting wherein the ball started rolling on the Town's cutting ties with ADL's NO PLACE FOR HATE program, here. http://www.noplacefordenial.com/ ; see also http://www.anca.org/press_releases/p....php?prid=1284

Haig Vartanian, founder of noplacefordenial.com, goes all editorial, in UK's Daily Mail.

-------------------

Daily Mail (London)
September 5, 2007 Wednesday


LETTERS


Holocaust justice

ARMENIANS and their friends will be grateful that the British public
should be enlightened and reminded that the xxxs were not the only
unfortunate people to suffer the horrors of the Holocaust (Mail).

And yet, unlike the xxxs, Armenians are still waiting for justice to
be done.

My father was a boy of 15 in 1915 when the entire population of his
village in Van, Western Armenia, was deported, their homes looted and
burnt.

Of seven members in his family, only two survived to reach
Mesopotamia in 1918 when, luckily for the Armenian survivors, Iraq
was under the protection of the British occupying forces. It's not
revenge that my generation of Armenians seek for the genocidal
actions of the Ottoman Turks. What we want is justice and
restitution.

We seek recognition of the Armenian genocide by the governments of
the UK, the U.S. and, above all, the Turkish government and the good
people of Turkey.

HAIG VARTANIAN,
address supplied.

-------------------

J-post publishes article re-hashing the events inside and outside of the 92nd Y on Thursday evening including Mr. Foxman's fear of the unruly anti-semitic (just kidding!) crowd outside protesting his self-righteous hypocrisy and the unfavorable events that folded when he tried to call Jimmy Carter an 'anti-semite' in a debate with one of Carter's J-ewish domestic policy advisors and during a debate that was supposed to be about the recent book revealing the the influence of the Israeli Lobby on American Foreign policy and anti-semitism post this publication and Borat.
http://blogcentral.jpost.com/index.p...g_post_id=1489 ; see also http://www.anca.org/press_releases/p....php?prid=1283
and www.asbarez.com

Armenian newssource reports FM Oskanyan welcomed a group of British delegates led by Baroness Caroline Cox and House of Lords members and upon the request of the attending guests, Minister Oskanyan indulged them with reports re: Turkish-Armenian relations and international genocide recognition efforts. http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2007/09/10/qerolayn/ ; http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23303

Turkish parliamentarian recognizes Armenian Genocide. http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?s...s_arm&id=31453

Australian PM candidate in Howard's Armenian populated district proclaims that if elected she would work towards Australia's recognition of genocide. http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23288; http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?s...s_arm&id=31455

U.S. representative Republican Bobby Jindal from Louisiana apparently withdrew sponsorship of H.R. 106 after receiving phone call from Livingston Group; spokesperson dismisses event as mistake by staffer. http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/9680617.html

Hey, Mr. Foxman and the ADL, members of the Armenian J-ewish community have something to say to you: "Support H.R. 106", you bloody hypocrit!!!! http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104087.html http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?s...s_arm&id=31466

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23290

Abe demonstrates he just doesn't get it, reiterates that he is unapologetic for recent ADL actions arising from the organization's beatdown in Beantown and organizations almost recognition that amounts to a waffling denial despite conflict with organization's consituency mounting increased support of U.S recognition of Armenian genocide. He's detached from reality. The opinion's that follow his post are mostly on point with the message being "Abe must go!" http://blogcentral.jpost.com/index.p...g_post_id=1489

Italian historian's book about the Armenian Genocide attributing the tragedy on the 'Young Turks' based on a witness' account to be presented in Russia tomorrow. http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23299
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23299 ; http://www.panorama.am/en/culture/2007/09/10/genocide/

Turkish parliamentarian threatens that Turkey shall deport its Armenian population if H.R. 106 is passed. Probably, in violation of the U.N. and further corroborating evidence that the Turkish government is complete rubbish when it comes to deny Armenian genocide 'allegations' because they threaten to cleanse their own Armenian population in reaction to the non-binding actions of another government acknowledging a historical fact. http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23300

Hey, ho! Ararat St.! Salt Lake City, UT! http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695208475,00.html

J-ewcy goes after Israel's record on refusing Darfuri refugees and uses Darfur to draw analogy that the failure to recognize past atrocities is a implicit act of agreeing pre-commission to future atrocities. http://www.xxxcy.com/tags/armenian_genocide
J-ewcy contributor refers readers to op-ed piece in American Prospect that explains that Turkey's reliance on Israel and American J-ewish organizations is really sneaky 'anti-semitism' - i.e. since the J-ews run things, let's align with them because they can handle it.

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_israeli_governments_genocide_politics

H-post publishes article by kooky Turkish blogger that reads like an tourism ad for wealthy ex-patriates that references pending U.S. congressional genocide recognition resoultions claiming that U.S. recognition of Armenian genocide would be terribly insulting and hypocritical. Really, sounds like he is arguing the wrong side of the debate. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barry-...y_b_63772.html

Did you hear the joke about the J-ewish neo-nazis in Jerusalem? You can't make this stuff up. http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.p...story_id=22945

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Blogger John DiMascio, Watertown resident, who has been on this story for sometime - http://h2otown.info/blog/55 - http://www.townonline.com/watertown/opinions/x126635373 - drops a bomb on some media outlets for giving the ADL too much credit in their recognition of the genocide and takes the media to school re: deciphering Foxman's statement almost recognizing the Armenian genocide. http://www.townonline.com/newton/opinion/x1123490894 (Way to go Mr. DiMascio)
------------------------------

California's largest Muslim newspaper publishes article by scholar explaining why ADL's almost recognizing Armenian genocide is irreprehensible. http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/16423/379/

------------------------------

More than two months after ADL's Beatdown in Beantown, AAA leader Brian Ardouny provides his opinion rebutting an earlier Washington Times op-ed piece by a 'sympathetic researcher' for Turkish causes wherein the contributor concluded that the 1915 events were not genocide. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/...plate=nextpage

------------------------------
An outrageous denial

Bruce Fein rightly acknowledges that Turkey's strategic location is inconsequential to U.S. recognition of the Armenia Genocide, but his unconscionable denial that the events constitute genocide is simply outrageous ("Tawdry genocide tale," Commentary, Sunday).

Contrary to Mr. Fein's assertion, the Armenian Genocide was not the outcome of World War I. At the time of the killings, U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthau warned the State Department that "a campaign of race extermination is in progress.?" Since then, there has been ample validation for the truth — most notably by the 126 Holocaust and Genocide scholars who publicly affirmed the incontestable fact of the Armenian Genocide.

The Anti-Defamation League's Abraham H. Foxman did not need more days to "study" the facts because the evidence overwhelmingly supports what everyone, except Turkey, is willing admit.

BRYAN ARDOUNY
Executive Director
Armenian Assembly of America
Washington
•


Why does Bruce Fein defend the Ottoman Empire, which ceased to exist when modern Turkey was born ("Tawdry genocide tale," Commentary. Sunday)? On Sunday he claimed the Armenians sought to secede from the Ottoman Empire in the same way the Confederacy sought to secede from the Union.

Mr. Fein wrote, "For more than three centuries, under the Ottoman millet system, Armenians enjoyed religious, cultural and social harmony. Conflict with the Ottoman Empire was largely provoked by Armenian terrorism and plotting secession comparable to the Confederate States of America." But Mr. Fein undermines his own thesis: If Armenians had enjoyed 300 years of bliss under the Ottomans, why does Mr. Fein claim they engaged in unspecified terrorism and wanted to secede? During World War I, the Arab revolt indicated that other subjects of the Ottomans were unhappy. What terrorism did the States that formed the Confederacy engaged in? If anyone is guilty of terrorism, it was the Ottoman sultan and the Lincoln administration.

Hitler cited the Ottoman genocide of the Armenians to explain how he'd get away with the Holocaust. One wonders if Mr. Fein's Ottomans were inspired by the musings of Union Gen. William T. Sherman: "If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking"; "We are not fighting armies but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war"; and "War is at best barbarism." Or, perhaps the Ottomans read of Union General Phil Sheridan's boast that his 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign would so destroy all food production "that a crow flying over the valley would have to carry his own rations."

Regarding secession, surely M. Fein knows that the States created the Federal Government and gave up only certain powers, but not their right to secede. In ratifying the Constitution, Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia expressly stated they reserved the right to secede. Other States considered the right of secession self-evident. Mr. Fein conveniently forgets that decades before 1861 it was New England that wanted to secede from the Union.

Just as the West now condemns the Armenian genocide, it realizes the merits of secession. Secession gave birth to America in 1776. The United Kingdom finally allowed Ireland to secede in the 1920s and Scotland is on the same trajectory. The various components of Yugoslavia seceded from that artificiality. The European Union allows members to secede. Mr. Fein's opposition to secession appears entirely selective as he fails to condemn the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

MICHAEL SHUMAKER
Fairfax

-----------------------------------------

Pro-Turkish contributor discounts Ambassador Henry Morgenthau's as a war-time jingoist whose propaganda was refuted by his successor after WWI. http://www.washingtontimes.com/artic...109090002/1013

-------------------------------------
Short on substance

Stella L. Jatras dismisses the substance of Bruce Fein's Sunday column
by attacking the messenger instead of the message ("Genocide as
policy," Letters, Wednesday). She implies that Mr. Fein cannot be
trusted because he is a resident scholar at the Turkish Coalition of
America. Mr. Fein had asserted in his column that the Armenian tragedy
in the Ottoman Empire of 1915 cannot be called "genocide." The Jatras
letter falls short on the substance by quoting U.S Ambassador
Morgenthau, whose wartime propaganda was later refuted by Adm. Bristol
who replaced him after the war. Next, the letter repeats the supposed
Hitler quote "Who after all remembers the annihilation of Armenians?"
that no historian has authenticated.

Rosalind Ellis proclaims that Michelle Malkin's praise for the
Gathering of Eagles sickens her while she claims she supports those
who travel to make their case in our nation's capital ("A 'persistent
conflict'," Letters, Wednesday). She thinks the ANSWER (Act Now to
Stop War and End Racism) demonstration is "free speech" but that the
Gathering of Eagles counterdemonstration is "curtailing free speech."
Enough said.

ALI F. SEVIN
Fort Washington, Md.
----------------------------------------
Harout Sassounian reports on the recent genocide symposium at USC this past weekend, here. http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg201855.html

**************************
1 - Commentary
Legal Remedies in Claiming
Restitution for Genocide Losses
By Harut Sassounian,
Publisher, The California Courier

September 8, 2007 could be a turning point in the pursuit of the Armenian
Cause. On that date, University of Southern California's Institute of Armenian
Studies organized an unprecedented symposium on "International Law and the
Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility and Restitution."
After opening remarks by Prof. Richard H. Dekmejian, Director of the
Institute, Sarkis Bezelgues, an international lawyer and doctoral candidatein law at
the Free University of Berlin, presented a paper on "International Liability
and State Succession: the Responsibility of the Turkish Republic for the
Armenian Genocide." He stated that the Republic of Turkey is liable for themassive
deaths and destruction inflicted upon the Armenian population, because the
modern state of Turkey is a continuation and not the successor to the Ottoman
Empire. According to Bezelgues, Turkey can be held responsible for the Armenian
Genocide since a complete transmission took place of the Ottoman Empire's
rights and duties.
Michael J. Bazyler, Professor of Law at Whittier Law School, spoke on
"Litigation for Restitution: Comparative Analysis of Armenians and Other Groups." He
stated that most lawsuits against foreign governments in U.S. federal courts
have not been successful due to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) of
1976. Several lawsuits against foreign corporations were settled out of court.
Nevertheless, Bazyler pointed out that according to the FSIA, a foreign state
is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if "rights in property
taken in violation of international law are in issue." In response to a question
from the audience on the denial of the Armenian Genocide by Shimon Peres, the
President of Israel, Prof. Bazyler boldly stated that Peres "doesn't speak for
the xxxish people nor he speaks for the Israeli people."
Dr. David L. Nersessian, Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Program
on the Legal Profession, spoke on "Human Rights Litigation in Federal Courts:
an Overview." He discussed the complex issues involved in civil claims
brought in US federal courts for violations of fundamental human rights, including
the Armenian Genocide. These included procedural obstacles such as sovereign
immunity, political abstention, and acts of state.
The next speaker was Dr. Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law at
McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His topic was "Criminalizing Historical
Truth: Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and the Armenian Genocide." He
spoke about the case he recently filed with the European Court of Human Rights
against Article 301, in defense of Prof. Taner Akcam.
After warm welcoming remarks by Prof. Howard Gillman, Dean of USC College of
Letters, Arts and Sciences, attorney Mark Geragos spoke on the federal class
action lawsuits that he and attorneys Vartkes Yeghiayan and Brian Kabateck
initiated against New York Life Insurance and AXA Corporation for unpaid insurance
policies issued before the Genocide. These two cases were settled for $37.5
million. Two other lawsuits are pending against the German Deutsche Bank and
Dresdner Bank.
John Evans, the former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia (2004-06), a special guest
speaker at the symposium, spoke on "The Armenian Genocide: the International
Political and Diplomatic Context of Recognition and Redress." He said that the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide was making great strides in the court of
public opinion and that a favorable international political climate for the
pursuit of the Armenian Cause has developed in recent years. Public opinion
within Turkey was also changing gradually in favor of recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. He said that taking responsibility for the genocide could take various
forms, including setting up a Turkish Fund for compensating the victims and
their descendants, financial contributions by Turkey to a future Armenian
Genocide museum in Washington, D.C., the rescue and renovation of Armenian cultural
monuments in Turkey, and granting a special status for the Ararat and Ani
regions.
Dr. Alison Dundes Renteln, Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at
USC, spoke next on "Holocaust Denial Litigation: a Comparative Analysis." She
said that if Holocaust denial is outlawed in several European countries, then
genocide denial by a state such as Turkey could also be outlawed. Prof.
Renteln also said that freedom of speech is not an absolute right. For example,
hate speech is banned in many countries. She made a clear distinction between
laws against Holocaust denial in Europe and Article 301 in Turkey. She saidthat
in France and Germany, there is censorship in order to accept the past, while
in Turkey, censorship is used to deny the past.
The next speaker was Dr. John Torpey, Professor of Sociology at the City
University of New York Graduate Center. He spoke on "Beyond Recognition: Truth,
Reparations, and the Armenian Genocide." He examined a number of cases of
reparations claims-making in order to assess the propriety and prospects of
reparations for the Armenian Genocide.
Dr. Alfred de Zayas, Professor of International law at the Geneva School of
Diplomacy, could not be present. In his absence, Harut Sassounian read his
paper on "The Armenian Genocide in the Light of the Genocide Convention."
According to Prof. de Zayas, the U.N. Genocide Convention of 1948 can be applied
retroactively because it is declarative of pre-existing international law. Logical
consequences of the application of the Genocide Convention to the Armenian
Genocide should be the return to the Armenian people the churches and other
assets of historic and cultural significance, as well as granting a measureof
compensation to the descendants of the victims of the Genocide.
It is noteworthy that in recent years, Turkish leaders, after xxxxily
declaring that they are considering legal action in international courts against
Armenians to disprove the reality of the Armenian Genocide, have quietly backed
down realizing that they may end up losing such a lawsuit. It was, therefore,
not surprising that Turkish Consulate officials in Los Angeles initially
contacted USC symposium organizers last week indicating their interest in attending
the conference. Regrettably, according to highly reliable sources, U.S.
officials blocked the attendance of the Turkish diplomats.
Now that this groundbreaking symposium has taken place, it is up to political
leaders in Armenia and the Diaspora to carefully study the materials
presented at this conference by international legal experts in order to seriously
consider the steps that could be taken to seek redress for the Armenian Genocide
in national and international courts.
*************************
Armenian scholars to attend symposium on Asian and N. African Studies in Turkey wherein two panels on the Armenian Issue have been empaneled but the Hye scholars are not scheduled to speak. http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23298&page=1

Turkey mad at Israel for using Turkish airspace during recent bombing raid in Syria. Article discusses recent cooling in Turkish Israel relations caused by ADL's submitting on Armenian genocide recognition issue contrary to Turkey's genocide denial campaign. http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2372411

Israeli paper blows the shofar calling in year 5768, marks key events in prior xxxish year including several disappointments and shoves the shofar right up Abe Foxman's kishka. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902925.html

J-ewish weekly in Mass. finally reports on Armenian and J-ewish press conference more than a week ago on the State House steps. http://www.thexxxishadvocate.com/thi...ontent_id=3653

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Newton's Human Rights Council votes unanimously to urge Mayor to sever ties with ADL's NO PLACE FOR HATE program. http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...o_adl_program/

Yesterday, Corona Del Mar High School in Southern California was designated as a NO PLACE FOR HATE campus after completing a project that was part of an ADL initiative. http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_254162316.html

Apparently, noone at the high school or CBS did any fact-checking or due diligence and the media and our leaders made little or no impact informing the public about the ADL's Beantown Beatdown.

J-ewish journal reader inquires: why isn't anyone talking about how the Armenian genocide was committed against Christians by Muslims?http://www.xxxishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18179

----------------------
Armenian Genocide

Why isn't anyone speaking about the fact that this terrible genocide was done by Muslims against Christians ("Turkey: Israel Could Suffer From Armenian Debate," Aug. 31)? This is the same jihadist phenomenon we see in Israel, America, England, France, Spain, etc.

J. Sand
Los Angeles
----------------------

J-ewish advocate reader opines that Mr. Foxman sounds a lot like Mr. Ahmadenijad re: the need to investigate claims of genocide claims by independent and impartial parties. http://www.thexxxishadvocate.com/thi...to_the_editor/

----------------------

The ADL Is On Shaky Ground

In the Anti-Defamation League statement dated Aug. 23, 2007, with reference to the Armenian genocide, Mr. Lewy and Mr. Foxman of the ADL write: “there is room for further dispassionate scholarly examination of the details of those dark and terrible days.”
On June 16, 2006, at a news conference following a meeting with China’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the following: “[…] these Holocaust events need to be further investigated by independent and impartial parties.”
In order to save its integrity and reputation as a champion of human rights, the ADL must promptly realize that when confronting genocide denial, it cannot afford to allow for political considerations to take precedence over moral principles.

Garen Megerditchian
Toronto

-------------------------

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Well, ANCA-WR officially throws their hat in the ring on gathering support of other organizations for the U.S. genocide resolutions and pressure on the ADL to unequivocally acknowledge the genocide including the resolutions currently at issue on the Hill. http://www.anca.org/press_releases/p....php?prid=1291 (WTG, Andy and the ANC gals and guys in So. Cal)

Here is the press release in full:

---------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release ~ 2007-09-12
Contact: Haig Hovsepian ~ Tel: (818) 500-1918


SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AFFIRM SUPPORT FOR CONGRESSIONAL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTIONS


-- Urge ADL to End Opposition to Human Rights Legislation


Los Angeles, CA - A broad spectrum of Los Angeles area community groups have joined with national organizations in speaking out in support of Congressional legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide and in voicing their disappointment over the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) ongoing opposition to this human rights legislation, reported the Armenian National Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR).

The comments come in response to the ongoing controversy surrounding ADL National Director Abraham Foxman’s recent statements regarding the Armenian Genocide in which he publicly opposed House and Senate Armenian Genocide resolutions (H.Res.106 /S.Res.106). H.Res.106 enjoys the broad bipartisan support of over 225 cosponsors in the House, a clear majority of its membership, while S. Res. 106 currently has 31 cosponsors.

UCLA History Professor David Myers argued that, “Foxman should follow the logic of his own statement and take the essential next step of supporting HR 106". The well-respected scholar went on to urge the Southern California ADL Board to “either announce its support for H. Res. 106 - if not here in the heart of the Armenian Diaspora, then where? Or else renounce the organization’s declared mission ‘to secure justice and fair treatment for all.’”

xxxish World Watch Founding President Janice Kamenir-Reznik and Executive Director Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug concurred, stating that “as a community with first-hand knowledge and experience of the ravages of genocide, we have a particular moral obligation to stand up and ask our government to recognize what we know as true: that 1.5 million Armenians were systematically slaughtered in a government-sponsored campaign of genocide against them. The Anti-Defamation League’s announcement that it would finally recognize the Armenian Genocide as genocide is clearly a step in the right direction. However, we believe that the ADL, the premiere xxxish anti-discrimination agency in this country, must go a step further and join in asking our government to do the same.” Similarly, Progressive xxxish Alliance Executive Director Daniel Sokatch noted. “‘Never Again’ applies to all people everywhere.”

These Southern California xxxish American leaders and organizations added their voice to a broad range of organizations which have called for passage of Armenian Genocide legislation, including the American Federation of xxxs from Central Europe (New York, NY), the American xxxish World Service (New York, NY), Americans for Peace Now (Washington,D.C.), the Center for Russian xxxry with Student Struggle for Soviet xxxry (New York, NY), the xxxish Social Policy Action Network (Philadelphia, PA), xxxish War Veterans of the USA (Washington, D.C.), Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Wyncote, PA), the Union for Reform of Judaism (Washington, D.C.), Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring (New York, NY) and the Zionist Organization of America (New York, NY)

Earlier this week, the xxxish community of Armenia joined the global call for ADL to support the Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolutions. According to the xxxish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), the Chairwoman of the Armenia’s xxxish Community, Rimma Varzhapetian-Feller stated that the failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide paved the way for the Holocaust and stressed that a Congressional resolution could help prevent future genocides.

Leaders in California’s prominent Greek American community also voiced serious concern over the ADL’s morally unjustified position. "Abraham Foxman's refusal to support passage of H. Res. 106 properly acknowledging the facts of the Armenian Genocide betrays the years of service that the ADL has devoted to educating the world about the facts of the xxxish Holocaust. Being selective when it comes to proper genocide acknowledgement is simply absurd. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire were massacred alongside the Armenians. We urge the ADL to take the moral high ground and support this critical piece of legislation in respect for all victims of genocide," remarked Aris Anagnos, Vice President of the American Hellenic Council of California.

Local leaders in the Armenian community also expressed strong disappointment over the ADL’s lack of support for Armenian Genocide recognition legislation. “The ADL's position is extremely unfortunate – opposing the resolution is completely illogical and unacceptable," remarked Glendale ANC Executive Director Elen Asatryan. We applaud Rep. Schiff for his efforts to bring the ADL National leadership to the right side on this core human rights issue, we can only hope that Mr. Foxman will take Congressman Schiff's advice to heart by supporting Armenian Genocide recognition and returning to his organization's true mission of fighting racism and bigotry."

"Watertown has set a strong example of standing up for the truth – and standing up against both individuals and groups that, sadly, preach tolerance while practicing division and denial," remarked La Crescenta ANC Chairman Arick Gevorkian. "The resolution is a critical component of the process of acknowledging and recognizing truth that deserves the support of all groups who are working to end genocide,” he added.

Darfur activists also spoke out urging the ADL to support the resolutions. “To recognize the Genocide and to stop short of supporting the Resolution turns a noble quest for justice into a game of politics. The Armenian Genocide is not up for debate, and therefore, the Resolution must be passed in order for justice to be served for all victims of genocide and mass-atrocities,” stated Pastor Vazken Movsesian, Priest at Saint Peter Armenian Church and Youth Ministry Center in Glendale, California. Movsesian is also the Director of In His Shoes Ministries, a mission and movement which rallies support for those suffering from genocide and human rights atrocities in the world, and has traveled to Africa to help end the cycle of genocide.

Sarah Czuleger, member of the University of California, Santa Barbara Chapter of STAND, an anti-genocide student coalition, stated that, "as an organization committed to ending the cycle of genocide, we call upon the ADL and all community and civic organizations to support the Armenian Genocide resolutions in Congress."

“The Darfur Action Committee of UC-Irvine strongly supports the passage of H. Res. 106. In solidarity with worldwide Save Darfur Coalitions, the Darfur Action Committee understands the moral and humane importance of recognizing the first genocide of the 20th century. In order to take action and provide aid for the people of Darfur, the international community must first heal the past. Our hearts and efforts stand with the Armenian community in this incredibly imperative issue,” stated Anita Issagholyan, co-chairwoman of the Darfur Action Committee at the University of California, Irvine. We urge ADL to join us in solidarity of human rights, genocide recognition and justice for all mankind by supporting the Armenian Genocide resolution,” she added.

The ADL controversy was sparked by Foxman’s April statements in the Los Angeles Times denying the Armenian Genocide and opposing Congressional Armenian Genocide legislation. These statements precipitated a groundswell of civic activism in Watertown, Massachusetts, leading to the unanimous August 14th Town Council decision to disassociate from the ADL's "No Place for Hate" tolerance program. Within 48 hours, the New England Regional ADL called on the national leadership to speak truthfully and honestly about the Armenian Genocide and support Congressional Armenian Genocide legislation. Foxman, who had claimed ignorance of the facts of the Armenian Genocide and opposed its Congressional reaffirmation in subsequent interviews with the Boston Globe and a number of xxxish American publications, fired Tarsy, precipitating the resignation of several ADL New England Regional Board Members. Following widespread outrage by the New England area civil rights activists, Foxman issued a “Statement on the Armenian Genocide” where he concluded that the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian people in 1915 were “tantamount to genocide” but said that the ADL remained opposed to Armenian Genocide legislation. Soon thereafter, he rehired Tarsy and pledged that the ADL would review its position on the legislation during a November national meeting.

New England “No Place for Hate” communities, unsatisfied with both Foxman’s statements and his continued opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution, continue to call for ADL support for this legislation and to urge towns to suspend or sever their ties with NPFH until the ADL revises it position.

For complete coverage of this controversy, visit: http://www.noplacefordenial.com

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Ed Markey, U.S. representative for Massachusetts, remarking to his colleagues called for the adoption of H.R. 106. http://www.anca.org/press_releases/p....php?prid=1290

Watertown, Mass. newspaper reports on Newton's voting to sever ties with ADL and its NO PLACE FOR HATE program. http://www.townonline.com/watertown/homepage/x680946500

[Siamanto]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

YouTube: Lenna Charibian's moving speech at the Belmont HRC meeting.

There are other ones on Youtube.com


[The following is the French transcript of Lenna Gharibian's allocution; can be translated using SYSTRAN ]

RECONNAISSANCE DU GENOCIDE
La Déclaration de Lenna Garibian à la Commission des Droits de l’Homme de Belmont

mercredi19 septembre 2007, par Stéphane/armenews

Le 6 septembre 2007

Pendant ces derniers mois, depuis que la question « Pas de Place pour la Haine » a démarré, les Arméniens n’ont pas cessé d’être frustrés et frappés par l’indifférence de la Ligue Anti-Diffamation, tout comme les villes et les politiciens qui accueillent des programmes « Pas de Place pour la Haine ».

Quelques suggestions ont été faites aux arméniens :

Il a été suggéré que les Arméniens s’asseyent aux côté d’historiens turcs afin de « découvrir la vérité » sur les événements de 1915.

Il a été suggéré que les Arméniens retirent la résolution présentée au Congrès déjà soutenue par une majorité de membres du Congrès des Etats-Unis et qui appelle le Congrès à faire du 24 avril le jour de la commémoration des victimes du génocide arménien.

Il a été suggéré que les Arméniens se réconcilient avec la Turquie et en finissent avec un ressentiment vieux de près de 100 ans.

Enfin, il a été suggéré que les Arméniens laissent plus de temps, une fois de plus à M. Foxman et à l’ADL pour décider, peut-être jusqu’à novembre, quelle sera la politique de l’ADL concernant le génocide arménien.

Je suis ici pour vous dire que les Arméniens en ont assez de ces suggestions dures et insensibles que l’on nous a proposées. Nous sommes les fils et les filles d’une génération que l’on a chassée de leurs pays, violée, torturée et massacrée dans les déserts de la Turquie.

Une génération qui vit ses parents abattus sous les yeux de leurs enfants.

Une génération qui a vu les mères et les sœurs être violées.

Une génération qui a vu les pères décapités à la hache ou être abattus.

Une génération qui a vu les frères et les sœurs périr lentement de faim, forcés de traverser de stériles campagnes.

C’est une génération qui fut témoin des tortures les plus cruelles et des massacres les plus brutaux que l’on puisse imaginer.

Ma grand-mère avait cinq ans lorsqu’elle fut chassée de sa maison et forcée de marcher. Son père avait été arrêté quelques semaines auparavant par la police turque. Lorsque les mêmes policiers revinrent, ils dirent à sa famille que leur village n’était plus en sécurité et qu’ils seraient escortés pour leur sécurité.

Alors elle partit avec sa mère et son frère de trois ans, Edward. Peu après, sa mère tomba malade et mourut sous ses yeux. Ma grand-mère se souvenait de façon vivace de la vision de sa mère enterrée dans le désert syrien. Mais ce dont elle se souvenait le plus ce sont les paroles de sa mère avant de mourir lui demandant de prendre soin de son frère âgé de trois ans. Alors tous deux continuèrent seuls leur route, et elle tenait son frère par la main --- traversant le désert des semaines durant, jusqu’à ce qu’un jour elle découvre qu’elle l’avait perdu. Quelque part sur la route elle était devenue si faible ou si fatiguée ou se trouvant tellement en proie au délire qu’elle ne peut plus tenir la main de ce garçon âgé de trois ans et qu’elle le perdit à jamais.

Perdu pour toujours, excepté dans l’esprit de ma grand-mère. Car, le reste de sa vie, cette petite fille de cinq ans vécu dans la culpabilité d’avoir laissé son petit frère seul mourir dans le désert. Jusqu’à ses derniers jours ---dans ses moments de grande confusion----elle pleurait dans sa maison de retraite essayant encore à retrouver Edward. Elle ne put jamais oublier l’horreur de l’avoir laissé errer seul dans le désert, vraisemblablement mort, et elle ne se le pardonna jamais.

Alors, quand je pense à la culpabilité de ma grand-mère, à sa douleur, et que je pense à ces suggestions faites aux Arméniens, je suis outragée. Et quand je lis les déclarations entre M. Foxman et les officiels turcs se référant à cette crise de la Ligue comme un épisode pénible, que doivent endurer les Turcs, je suis en fureur. Ayant grandi dans le milieu de ces récits sans fin tels que ceux que vous avez entendus ce soir, j’ai perdu ma capacité à être patiente avec ces politiciens et gens qui veulent que j’attende un peu alors qu’ils pensent que les choses vont s’arranger.

Ce soir, je Dis...Aucun Arménien ne doit s’asseoir aux côtés d’un historien turc révisionniste, corrompu par le gouvernement turc, pour discuter si le génocide est arrivé ou non. LE MONDE SAIT. LA TURQUIE SAIT. Abe Foxman sait. Ce fut un génocide. Le massacre délibéré et systématique d’un million et demi d’Arméniens.

Et si la Turquie n’était pas au Moyen Orient, si elle n’avait pas été aux frontières de l’URSS pendant la guerre froide et si elle n’était pas aujourd’hui un allié d’Israël il n’y aurait personne pour prêter l’oreille aux absurdes déclarations de la Turquie demandant un second regard sur l’Histoire.

Je dis... : Les Arméniens d’Amérique ne retireront du Congrès la résolution sur le génocide tant que le gouvernement des Etats-Unis n’aura pas reconnu ouvertement et une fois pour toutes, qu’un million et demi d’Arméniens furent sauvagement massacrés.

Je dis... : Les Arméniens ne seront jamais capables de se réconcilier avec la Turquie à propos des événements de 1915, tant que le gouvernement turc n’aura pas reconnu son histoire et les atrocités commises.

J’ai deux filles à la maison, l’une a sept ans, l’autre cinq. En pensant à elles, l’image de les voir errer dans le désert toutes seules, sans que moi et mon époux ne puissions les protéger, me terrifie. La pensée de les voir toutes deux se tenant par la main, ne sachant que faire, ayant faim, malades et effrayées, avant que l’une d’elles abandonne l’autre, m’horrifie. Et la pensée que l’une d’elles devrait vivre avec cette culpabilité pour le restant de son existence, comme dut le faire ma grand-mère, m’enrage.

Pour ces raisons, il est impossible d’accepter quelque chose de moins qu’une reconnaissance claire du génocide et l’appui de l’ADL et NPFH. Aussi louable que sont quelques-uns de ses programmes, le programme NPFH n’a aucune place dans cette ville tant que l’ADL garde sa position. Et finalement, non, je n’ai pas la patience d’attendre que M. Foxman puisse se tourner en novembre vers la juste direction au sujet du génocide arménien.

L’opportunité est à la portée du HRC et du Conseil des Conseillers municipaux de faire le bon choix.

Merci.

Lenna Garibian

Pine St.

Belmont, MA

http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=34652

[Siamanto]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

The following statement by the authors is inaccurate as it is also true of both Morocco and Tunisia - of course, there may be others.
"It is true that Turkey...remains the only Muslim country that allows a small xxxish community to live in relative freedom"

PETER BALAKIAN AND DEBORAH LIPSTADT

New York xxxish Week, USA
09/21/2007

Turkey Must Acknowledge Its Past

In the wake of the Turkish government's anger over the Anti-Defamation
League's recent decision to acknowledge as genocide the extermination
of more than a million Armenians in 1915, crucial issues concerning
human rights, historical memory, and ethics have come to light.

Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Namik Tan, told The Jerusalem Post
(Aug. 27) that Israel must force the ADL to retract its acknowledgement
of the Armenian genocide, that failure to do this would be a stab in
the heart of the Turkish people and that the Turkish people do not
distinguish between Israeli xxxs and Diaspora xxxs on this issue. Tan
also said that recognizing the Armenian genocide will mean that
"my ancestors have done something inconceivable," and it will set
off "a campaign against Turkey and the Turkish people." Though he
subsequently tempered his language, this was a very harsh attack with
overtones of classic views of xxxish power.

Turkey has told Israel and various xxxish organizations that if they
favor a congressional resolution acknowledging the genocide it will
not bode well for Israel's relationship with Turkey or for Turkish
xxxs. It is true that Turkey is the only Muslim nation willing to
maintain a close diplomatic relationship with Israel and remains the
only Muslim country that allows a small xxxish community to live in
relative freedom. We know that Turkey is pressured by internal factions
and by other Muslim nations to sever ties with Israel. And it is also
clear how fragile and tenuous, despite seeming quite comfortable,
xxxish life in Turkey is.

Nevertheless, it is equally crucial that historical denial of genocide
be addressed in an uncompromising fashion. While historians are taught
to be skeptical, it is absurd to be skeptical or neutral about events
of the magnitude of the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, which
are attested to by reams of documents and material evidence as well
as testimonies by victims, perpetrators and bystanders. Neutrality
or skepticism in the case of these two tragedies constitutes denial,
which is the final stage of genocide in that it seeks to demonize
the victims and rehabilitate the perpetrators.

The broad and international record on the Armenian genocide has been
created by an international body of dispassionate scholarship for
decades, and notably, affirmed by The International Association of
Genocide Scholars in repeated statements that note that this history
is not controversial anywhere in the world but in Turkey. Raphael
Lemkin, the noted legal scholar who lost 49 members of his family
in the Holocaust, invented the concept of genocide, in part, on the
basis of what happened to the Armenians in 1915.

The main actor here, however, is Turkey. It is time for Turkey to end
its nine-decade campaign to erase the Armenian genocide. It is time
to stop bullying and attempting to coerce states and organizations
that engage history honestly. Such a campaign is immoral.

By passing the resolution (H.R. 106) before it, Congress must make
it clear to Turkey that, even as we welcome its alliance with the
United States in so many arenas, the time for this denial is over.

Turkey's calls for a commission of historians to resolve this issue are
disingenuous, especially for a country that has a law that makes it
a crime to "insult Turkishness," under which scholars and publishers
who have spoken about the Armenian genocide have been prosecuted and
even killed. It is wrong and unbecoming for the xxxish community to
participate in what can best be described as a charade, i.e. the notion
that the jury of historians is "still out" on this issue. Imagine if
Germany had taken a similar stance with the Holocaust. While hindsight
may be 20/20, it is regrettable that the xxxish community telegraphed
a message to Turkey that this is a matter of debate and negotiation.

We understand Turkey's difficulty in acknowledging these dark episodes
in its past. However, acknowledging this crime would, rather than
spawn a campaign against Turkey, as ambassador Tan claims, prompt
applause from the international community. It will be a sign that
Turkey can critique its past honestly. The most effective way for a
country to resolve its criminal past is to acknowledge the criminal
act, try to make some form of recompense and become a force in trying
to prevent the repetition of such events. Germany has, with varying
degrees of success, achieved that. It is time for Turkey to do the
same with the Armenian genocide. And it is time to stop threatening
a small vulnerable xxxish community or the one other parliamentary
democracy in the Middle East for acknowledging historical truth.

The time has come for the U.S. Congress to join more than 20 other
countries, the Vatican, the European Parliament and other world
organizations, in affirming the Armenian genocide. Given that H.R. 106
is a nonbinding resolution with no "teeth in it," the hysteria over
the resolution has reached a point of absurdity. It is time for Turkey
to acknowledge the moral perspective of other countries, and time to
move on.

Peter Balakian is professor of the humanities at Colgate University
and the author of "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and
America's Response," which won the Raphael Lemkin Prize. Deborah
Lipstadt is professor of Holocaust studies at Emory University and
author of "History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving,"
which won the National xxxish Book Award.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg202951.html

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Another Massachussetts town (Bedford) ceases participation in ADL'S No Place For Hate Program. http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...lace_for_hate/

Number of towns in Massachussetts that have suspended or severed ties with ADL: 9

Needham, MA may be the next town to can No Place for Hate program. http://www.boston.com/news/local/art..._drop_program/

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Andrew Tarsy, regional director of New England's ADL, resigns as Needham, MA is the next town to give ADL's No Place for Hate program the heave-ho.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/05/adls_regional_leader_resigns/

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/105722.html

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/APN/712050655&template=apart

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

Watertown Armenians embrace Holocaust with genocide museum's inclusion of exhibit of personal belongings of victims.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/01/13/tragic_bond/

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/x156011381

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Watertown Armenians in arow over ADL's anti-genocide stance

The eleven.

No Place for Denial is repoting that Newburyport is the 11th town to cut ties with ADL's No Place for Hate Program. http://www.noplacefordenial.com/2008...king-news.html

Local Newburyport newspaper confirms No Place for Denial's lead on the story. http://www.wickedlocal.com/newburypo...ge/x1107265820

Salem, MA "No Place for Hate" Committee meets tomorrow 2/5/08 at 4:30 p.m. http://www.salemnews.com/punews/loca...035060010.html