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04/26/2005
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1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More
2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide
4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues
5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement
1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More
WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Ignoring calls from a record two hundred and ten US
legislators, President Bush failed, once again, to honor his pledge to
properly
characterize the Armenian genocide as a “genocide” in his annual April 24
remarks.
In a statement issued on April 24, the President again resorted to the use of
evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the reality of Turkey’s
genocide
against the Armenian people between 1915-1923. In retreating from his promise,
the President ignored the counsel of the one hundred and seventy-eight
Representatives and thirty-two Senators who had written letters urging him to
properly characterize the Armenian genocide.
“While we appreciate the President’s willingness to join with Armenians
around
the world by issuing a statement on this occasion, we remain deeply
troubled by
his continued use of evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the moral,
historical, and legal meaning of Turkey’s genocide against the Armenian
people,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This statement,
sadly, once again, represents a form of complicity in the Turkish government’s
shameful campaign to deny a crime against humanity.”
The ANCA also expressed concern that the Administration’s refusal to
recognize
the Armenian genocide reflects a broader unwillingness to confront
genocide–as
evidenced by the White House’s failure to take decisive steps to bring an end
to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The ANCA is working with a
broad
coalition of organizations to pressure the Administration to respond in a
timely and meaningful way to the worsening crisis in Darfur. “If we are to end
the cycle of genocide, we must, as a nation, generate the resolve to
forcefully
intervene to stop genocide when it takes place, to unequivocally reject its
denial, to hold the guilty accountable, and to secure for the victims the
justice they deserve,” added Hamparian.
In February of 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush, campaigning
for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican primary, pledged to
properly characterize the genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. In
his statements as President, he has consistently avoided any clear
reference to
the Armenian genocide, and his Administration has consistently opposed
legislation marking this crime against humanity.
The text of the President’s remarks is provided below.
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the forced exile and mass
killings of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
This terrible event is what many Armenian people have come to call the “Great
Calamity.” I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in
expressing my deepest condolences for this horrible loss of life. Today,
as we
commemorate the 90th anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the
suffering of the Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future
for an
independent Armenian state.
The United States is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to the war on
terror
and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We remain committed to
supporting the historic reforms Armenia has pursued for over a decade. We call
on the Government of Armenia to advance democratic freedoms that will further
advance the aspirations of the Armenian people. We remain committed to a
lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek
a deeper partnership with Armenia that includes security cooperation and is
rooted in the shared values of democratic and market economic freedoms.
I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine the
historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and sensitivity. The
recent analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice did not
provide the final word, yet marked a significant step toward reconciliation
and
restoration of the spirit of tolerance and cultural richness that has
connected
the people of the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of
freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that Prime
Minister Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian commission can
help advance these processes.
Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry to Armenia. Their faith,
traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural, political, and economic
life of
the United States. I appreciate all individuals who work to promote peace,
tolerance, and reconciliation. On this solemn day of remembrance, I send my
best wishes and expressions of solidarity to Armenian people around the world.
2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Thousands of Armenians marched a steep road on April 24,
leading to the Genocide Memorial of Dzidzernagapert in Yerevan to pay respect
to the memory of 1.5 million victims killed by the Ottoman Empire during the
Armenian genocide of 1915.
President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, parliament
speaker Arthur Baghdasarian, along with other Armenian leaders, visited the
Memorial in the morning as they laid flowers in remembrance. His Holiness
Catholicos Karekin II conducted a prayer service in memory of the dead.
In his message to the Armenian people, President Kocharian said, “The year of
1915 became a dividing line in the fate of all parts of our nation. It changed
their lives drastically and disrupted the path of its normal development. Its
heavy consequences are felt today in the lives of Armenians living both in the
Republic of Armenia and Diaspora.”
Stating the necessity of international recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian genocide in the context of regional and international politics,
Kocharian said, “We have made our position heard many a time. We are not
motivated by the feelings of revenge and once again repeat today our
willingness to build normal relations with Turkey, but its continued denial of
that crime, causes the perplexity of not only Armenians, but also of the
international community.”
Foreign diplomats from more than 15 countries were also present to pay their
respects to the 1.5 million innocent Armenian lives taken away brutally by the
Ottoman Empire. Among them were delegations from France, Russia, Italy,
Ukraine, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and
Georgia.
French ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny told journalists, “France was one of
the first nations to give shelter to thousands of Armenians who escaped
massacres in Turkey. France has also officially recognized the Armenian
genocide and I am happy that the Armenian community in my country is
flourishing and prospering. France was and is Armenia’s friend.”
“We have come here to remember the Armenian victims of the first genocide of
the 20th century. Armenians sustained the greatest damages during World War I.
At this hour of sad remembrance, Georgians are with their Armenian brothers
and
sisters,” Georgian ambassador to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze said.
Former president of Poland and Nobel laureate Lech Walesa, Israeli Knesset’s
member Yosi Sarid, and other dignitaries paid their respects earlier this
week.
Walesa said during his visit to Yerevan that Armenians have the right to
demand
that the European Union bar Turkey from joining the bloc unless it admitted to
genocide. “It is a just claim of the Armenians,” he said.
Thousands of young Armenians, joined by Armenians from the US and Europe,
marched through the streets of Yerevan on Saturday night, singing the national
anthem as the torch lit procession marched towards Dzidzernagapert.
Addressing an international conference dedicated to the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide in Yerevan earlier this week, President Kocharian urged
Turkey to recognize the crime, saying such recognition is essential for the
reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish people.
“Recognition is important for Turkish-Armenian relations as it would provide
answers to numerous questions dividing our two peoples and enable them to look
to the future,” he said. “We remember the past with pain but not with hatred.
It is difficult for us to understand the reaction of the Turkish side which
manifests itself not only through the denial of the past but also the blockade
of present Armenia,” he said.
In an interview to a Russian RTR TV channel on April 23, Kocharian said it
was
strange that “malice has been preserved by the side responsible for the crime
and not by the victim of that crime.”
It was on the night of April 24, 1915, when the Turkish government placed
under arrest more than 200 Armenian community leaders in Constantinople.
Hundreds more were apprehended soon after and sent to prison in Anatolia,
where
most were executed. In a single year, 1915, the Armenians were robbed of their
millennia-old heritage. The desecration of churches, the burning of libraries,
the ruination of towns and villages–all erased an ancient civilization.
With the disappearance of the Armenians from their homeland, most of the
symbols of their culture–schools, monasteries, artistic monuments, and
historical sites–were destroyed by the Ottoman government.
The latest nation to recognize the genocide was Poland when its parliament
passed a resolution condemning the Armenian massacres. in Germany, members of
parliament from across the political spectrum appealed to Turkey to accept the
massacre of Armenians as part of its history, saying this would help its EU
aspirations.
3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide
LOS ANGELES–“With all due respect to our presidents, past and present, there
is a word for what you describe [as the events of 1915] and the word is
genocide,” US Congressman Adam Schiff told the crowd gathered at the athletic
field of Glendale High school on April 24 to commemorate the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide.
The event was organized by the Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary
Commemorative Committee of California.
Elected officials joined Armenian religious leaders and representatives of
various political organizations to honor the victims of the Genocide and
demand
proper recognition of the events. They included, among others: US Congressman
Adam Schiff, California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, State Senators Jack
Scott, Jackie Speier, Richard Alarcon, State Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer, State Assemblymembers Carol Liu, Cindy Montanez, Paul Koretz, Jerome
Horton, Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, Glendale City Council members Ara
Najarian, Frank Quintero and Bob Yousefian, Rolling Hills Councilman Frank
Zerunyan, California Supreme Court judge Zaven Sinanian, Burbank Board of
Education member Paul Kerkorian, and Glendale Board of Education member Greg
Krikorian.
Congressman Schiff, one of the keynote speakers, along with California State
Senator Jackie Speier, explained that in commemorating the Armenian genocide,
he, for a long time took to the house floor to read the names of individual
victims of the genocide. “Sometimes talking too large a number is simply
beyond
the power of our comprehension, but talking about several people, hundred
people, reading their names, letting my colleagues know these were real
people,
they were brothers and sisters, they were mothers, they were fathers,
grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and scientists and scholars,
musicians… so that we would all know the sound of suffering.”
He expressed his happiness at the rebirth of a new Armenian nation. “In that
nation of Armenia, we see how the Ottoman Turks have failed.”
Speaking about the need to maintain US support for Armenia strong in order to
keep the country vibrant and growing, Congressman Schiff insisted that the
success of the Armenian nation and its diaspora is the final proof of Ottoman
Turkey’s failure.
Senator Jackie Speier began by proclaiming “never again,” to describe the
massacre of Armenians by Turk beginning in 1898. A third generation Armenian
American, Senator Spier pointed to the 37,000 pages in the archives of the US
government, recorded by diplomats, on the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman
Turks–and called on President Bush to properly characterize the Armenian
genocide.
Sen. Speier’s resolution SJR 2, which marks April 24, 2005 as California’s
day
of remembrance, unanimously passed the Senate floor last Thursday.
Other elected officials who addressed the gathering called on President Bush
to properly characterize the first Genocide of the twentieth century in order
to prevent future genocides. Many alluded to the event as one of the “darkest
pages in history,” and pledged their unwavering support to Armenian Americans
in demanding the US and Turkey officially recognize the Armenian genocide.
In another victory last Thursday in Sacramento, the California State Assembly
passed (70-0) SB 424, authored by Sen. Poochigian–that permanently designates
the week of April 24 California’s week of remembrance of the Armenian
genocide.
Other events marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide included
the unprecedented March for Humanity that began on April 2 and ended at the
State Capitol in Sacramento last Thursday to end a 19-day 215 mile journey
that
Began in Fresno and ended with over 500 members of the California Armenian
American community–along with Senator Jackie Speier and State Assembly
Majority Leader Dario Frommer–joining the marchers. The procession was met at
the Capitol steps by legislators, including Sen. Poochigian.
On April 23, the yearly protest in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los
Angeles once again gathered young and old alike to demand justice from
Turkey–including reparations for their Genocide of Armenians at the turn of
the 20th century.
That event was followed by a requiem service in Montebello, California at the
site of the Genocide monument dedicated to all the victims of the Armenian
genocide.
On April 24, System Of A Down held their annual benefit Souls concert,
performing for their fans at the sold-out Gibson Amphitheatre.
As with last year’s Souls concert, the group fittingly ended the show with
“P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers),” which includes the
verse, “A whole race genocide/ Taken away all of our pride/ Revolution, the
only solution/ We’ve taken all your sh–/ Now it’s time for restitution.”
Proceeds from Sunday’s show benefited several organizations, including the
ANCA, Amnesty International, Center for the Prevention of Genocide, and
Axis of
Justice.
4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues
LOS ANGELES–As the March For Humanity reached its final destination in
Sacramento, organizers of the 215-mile and 19-day walk slogan promised that
“The walk may end, but the march continues.”
“Similar to what our slogan suggests, we and the Armenian youth as a
collective must create new and more powerful ways of securing justice for the
Armenian Genocide,” said Vicken Sosikian, director of the March For Humanity.
“We are currently discussing ways to not only continue the march [for
justice],
but also to expand it.”
The March For Humanity marked an unprecedented Armenian genocide event. In
conjunction with the last two days of the walk, organizers of the March For
Humanity launched a nationwide ad campaign on April 19 and 20 on CNN Networks.
Reaching an audience of up to 8 million Americans, the March For Humanity
marked the first recorded instance of a nationwide Armenian genocide ad
campaign. The commercials informed viewers about the Armenian genocide, as
well
as the March For Humanity.
The March also received media coverage from outlets in geographical locations
that normally do not offer much news about the Armenian genocide. Newspapers
and television news programs in Visalia, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Turlock,
Modesto, Lodi, Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Glendale,
Burbank, and other California cities all echoed news of the March For
Humanity.
Preliminary media monitoring shows that the following media outlets covered
the
March For Humanity: Lodi News Sentinel, Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee, Los Angeles
Times, Daily News, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record, Contra Costa Times, San
Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, San Luis Obispo Tribune, Merced
Sun
Star, USA Today, Burbank Leader, Glendale News Press, Monterey County Herald,
Voice of America, Democracy Now, ABC, CBS, NBC, UPN, and more than 100 other
internet news sources.
“An estimated 10 million Americans have been educated about the Armenian
Genocide as a result of the news coverage generated by the March For
Humanity,”
said Sosikian. “More detailed research is likely to show that this number is
even greater when our nationwide CNN ad campaign is included. Now we must
search for ways to educate not ten but 100 million about the Genocide.”
The March For Humanity was made possible by the flood of financial and moral
support it received starting in late January by Armenians and non-Armenians
alike. More than 500 organizations, businesses, and individuals invested in
the
idea. Some people mailed in their checks, others made their donations at the
March For Humanity website, others sponsored walkers, others delivered their
donation personally, some donated food, others water, others their cars, some
gave clothes. Some, who lived in cities the marchers walked through, opened
their doors to the young group of devoted youth.
“The amount of support we received to organize the march was unseen, at least
by me,” said Serouj Aprahamian, coordinator of the March For Humanity.
“Although support is still needed, the amount we received prior to its
beginning was a large encouragement for the walkers.”
More than 11,500 different people from 84 different countries visited the
March For Humanity website– February 24 and
April 24. More than 500 action alerts, calling on President Bush to officially
recognize the Armenian genocide, were completed by many non-Armenians.
“Hundreds helped make the March For Humanity a reality. We are thankful to
each and every individual, business, and organization who contributed in
anyway
to the March For Humanity,” Sosikian. “A few such donors we would like to
thank
in particular include the Armenian Relief Society, Armenian National Committee
of America, AA Cater Truck Manufacturing Company, GBH, Homenetmen, Horizon
Armenian Television, Asbarez Armenian Daily Newspaper, Kerovision, Adin of
California, Sunworks Tanning, New Armenia Daily, Armenian Life Magazine, Axis
of Justice, and all the churches who made our marchers feel like home every
night. We would also like to thank Mr. Kevork Aslanian, Mr. Sarkis Sarkissian,
and Mrs. Vergine Sarkissian.”
5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement
(AP, AFP)–A Turkish group uniting hundreds of businesses and organizations
demanded Tuesday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies be banned from Turkish
television to protest the California governor’s use of the term genocide to
describe the massacre of Armenians by Turks during World War I.
Schwarzenegger, a former actor best known for his role in “The Terminator,”
declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.” California
has one of the largest populations of diaspora Armenians.
An umbrella organization grouping some 300 Ankara-based associations, unions
and businesses and led by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce said it launched a
petition to have the governor’s films banned in Turkey.
“We condemn and protest movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared April
24 a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide and accused Turks of genocide by
acting under the influence of the Armenian lobby, and without researching
historical truths,” read a statement from Sinan Aygun, head of Ankara Chamber
of Commerce. “We don’t want his films shown in Turkey,” said the statement.
In a related move, Turkey said on Monday it would fight mounting
international
pressure to recognize as genocide the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire, urging public agencies and civic groups to launch an “all-out
effort” against the damaging allegations.
“It has become inevitable for all state institutions and NGOs, for everybody
to (work to) disprove those baseless allegations all over the world,” the
government spokesman, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, said after a cabinet
meeting. “There was no genocide. An all-out effort is needed to expose the
lies
of those who say it happened,” he said.
The cabinet discussed what strategy Turkey should pursue to counter the
Armenian genocide and decided to set up, if necessary, a special agency to
coordinate such efforts, Cicek said.
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