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04/28/2005
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1) April 23rd Turkish Consulate Protest
2) Kansas 38th State to Recognize Armenian Genocide
3) Turkey Says Genocide Campaign Blocks Ties with Armenia
1) April 23rd Turkish Consulate Protest
LOS ANGELES–Up to 4,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish Consulate
in Los Angeles on April 23, demanding Turkey recognize its genocide of
Armenians in 1915.
“The fact that the majority of the participants was youth shows that the
youth
is still seeking justice and will continue to seek justice, not only from the
Turkish government but from the US government as well,” said Director of the
2005 Protest, Tro Tchekidjian.
The protest, which has taken place now for close to thirty years, attracts
thousands of Armenian-Americans, particularly Armenian youth who converge to
demand justice for the Armenian genocide.
It was organized by the western region of the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF),
under the auspices of the 90th anniversary Armenian Genocide Commemoration
Committee.
“All of AYF’s programs, projects, and events serve this great cause either
directly or indirectly,” explained Tchekidjian.
“The lives and memories of our 1.5 million ancestors can never be replaced,”
said western region AYF chairman, Shant Baboujian. “However, we will be
relentless in pursuit of our just rights–from the international recognition
and condemnation of the Genocide, to our lands in Western Armenia, and the
proper allocations of reparations to the Armenians,” he explained.
The Armenian Youth Federation of Western United States strives to serve
Armenian American Communities west of the Mississippi through education,
athletics, political activism, cultural activities and social settings. To
learn more about the Armenian Youth Federation please log on to
2) Kansas 38th State to Recognize Armenian Genocide
WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas has issued a
proclamation marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, making the
Sunflower State the 38th US state to go on record commemorating this crime
against humanity.
“Armenian Americans very much appreciate Governor Sebelius’ leadership in
adding Kansas to the list of US states that have formally recognized the
Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We
are hopeful that the growing pressure on the White House–from state
governments and US legislators–will impress upon the President that he should
not stand in the way of Congressional legislation marking this crime against
humanity.”
In the proclamation, issued on April 20, Gov. Sebelius proclaims April 24,
2005, “Armenian Remembrance Day.” She notes that April 24th marks “the
ninetieth anniversary of the genocide and deportations of countless Armenians
in Ottoman Turkey; this great sorrow continues to haunt not only Armenians but
also their neighbors in Turkey.”
Governor Sebelius goes on to “salute the modern nation of Armenia, and
Armenians everywhere,” noting that “Kansas is grateful for the
contributions of
Armenian Americans who have chosen Kansas as their adopted home. They have
employed wisdom, courage and centuries old traditions to enrich the character
of our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia,
government and the arts.”
In 2004, Governor Sebelius had issued a proclamation marking June 18, 2004 as
“Kansas-Armenia Partnership Day.” The measure called attention to the special
relationship between the Kansas National Guard and Armenia, which began in
2003
as part of the State’s Partnership Program. That program pairs developing
nations in Europe, South America and Asia with the National Guard in states
and
territories to foster mutual interests and establish long-term relationships.
During a June 18, 2004 special ceremony held at the State Defense Building in
Topeka, State Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. (KS) Tod Bunting noted, “Our
Constitution starts ‘We, the People of the United States…’ Through this
program, it is ‘We the People’ of Kansas who are reaching out in a spirit of
cooperation to the people of Armenia to show them who we are and how we live
and to learn from them who they are and how they live.”
3) Turkey Says Genocide Campaign Blocks Ties with Armenia
Yerevan Wants Relations Normalized without Pre-conditions
(AFP)–Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday an Armenian
campaign to have the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks recognized
internationally as genocide is an obstacle to establishing formal relations
between the two neighbors.
“Before we make a political decision [on normalizing ties], there is a very
important issue that should be resolved and this is the problems stemming from
history,” Erdogan told reporters.
He was commenting on a letter from Armenian President Robert Kocharian, who
accepted, in principle, a Turkish proposal to create a joint committee to
study
the genocide, but said that Ankara should first normalize relations with
Yerevan without pre-conditions.
Turkey demands that Armenia abandon its campaign for the recognition of the
World War I massacres as genocide before formal diplomatic relations can be
established between the two countries. In 1993, Turkey also shut its border
with Armenia in a show of solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, which was
at war with Armenia.
Erdogan stressed Turkey had opened its archives to all historians to study
whether the massacres constituted a genocide, and urged Yerevan to follow
suit.
“Let historians and experts work in the archives. If the outcome of these
studies require us to question our history, we will do that,” he said.
Armenians across the world Sunday marked the 90th anniversary of the
beginning
of the genocide, which have already been recognized as genocide by a number of
countries. Ankara fears that the genocide allegations could fuel anti-Turkish
sentiment in international public opinion at a time when it is vying for
membership in the European Union.
Some EU politicians are also pressing Turkey to address the genocide
claims in
what Ankara sees a politically-motivated campaign to impede its EU bid.
In a related move, the Turkish parliament has unilaterally called off a
series
of meetings with lawmakers from the Polish parliament next month in protest at
the latter’s acknowledgment as genocide of the killings of Armenians during
World War I, a Turkish source said Wednesday.
Turkish parliament speaker Bulent Arinc also sent a letter to his Polish
counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz on Wednesday to denounce the resolution
adopted on April 19, which condemned the Armenian genocide between 1915 and
1917. “We learned with great regret and disappointment of the (Polish)
resolution,” Arinc said in his letter.
“The resolution has outraged members of the Turkish parliament. The Turkish
people are deeply saddened by a friendly country unilaterally interpreting
tragic incidents affecting both peoples,” he added.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress