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Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am
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August 15, 2005

Professor Richard Hovannisian with Teachers and Deniers in Houston

Yerevan — Professor Richard Hovannisian, AEF Chair in Modern Armenian
History at UCLA, is continuing his worldwide activities on the occasion
of the ninetieth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In June he was
the keynote speaker at the biennial conference of the International
Association of Genocide Scholars in Boca Raton Florida, during which
he placed the Armenian Genocide in perspective and focused on the
current challenges facing scholars engaged in genocide studies and
human rights programs. He then traveled to Montpelier, France, to
participate in an international symposium organized by the “Centre
de Juifs, Armeniens et Chretiens d’Orient” (Gerard Dedeyan and Carol
Iancu) on the theme of typologies of mass killing in the twentieth
century. Hovannisian discussed recent revelations about the planning
and organization, as well as evolving interpretations, of the genocide.

Dr. Hovannisian’s summer activities included lectures to Yerevan and
Houston, Texas. In Yerevan he gave the opening lecture on July 22
to Armenian youth from several countries who had come together for
the annual Hamazkayin Forum. As a member of the organizing committee
of the forthcoming international congress on the 1600th anniversary
of the creation of the Armenian alphabet, to be held in Yerevan in
September, he also helped to finalize arrangements for the gathering.

At the invitation of the Holocaust Museum of Houston, Richard
Hovannisian traveled to Houston on July 25-26 to speak at a summer
institute for teachers and to give an evening public lecture. For the
first time, the Max Kaplan Summer Institute for Educators was given
a formal presentation on the Armenian Genocide, which emphasized the
importance of inclusion of the Armenian experience as a prototype
of mass killings in the modern age. On July 26 teachers from
five states as well as from Chile, Uruguay, and Romania learned
of the preconditions and warning signals of genocide, the role of
ideology, the use of technology, and the similarities and differences
between the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. In the words of the
Museum’s Director of Education, Christina Vasquez, the teachers became
intensely engaged with the subject and “raved” about Dr. Hovannisian’s
presentation. She added: “The lecture about the Armenian genocide and
its relation to the Holocaust was framed in a very skillful way so that
our participants could use the information in their classrooms. What
was particularly striking was the twelve points in the patterns of
genocide, as well as how the situation in Turkey in regard to the
Armenian genocide sadly differs from Germany’s confrontation of
its past.”

A turn-away capacity audience was present for Richard Hovannisian’s
public lecture in the auditorium of the Holocaust Museum on the evening
of July 26. In his reflective discourse, Hovannisian considered
the historical, ethical, and humanitarian aspects of the genocide
which remain immediate and relevant in contemporary times. He began
by taking note of the presence of a significant number of members
of the American Turkish Association of Houston, who had come with
denial literature and materials to challenge the reality of the
Armenian Genocide. Apparently, officials from the very highest levels
of the Turkish government and supportive committees in the United
States had attempted to have the lecture cancelled, but the Holocaust
Museum stood firm in its decision to include the presentation in its
summer series. Hovannisian suggested that the ATA members and all
other doubters should become better acquainted with the facts and
the consensus of world scholarship and join the growing number of
Turkish scholars who now reject the state’s untenable narrative of
events. He noted that one of the sad consequences of denial is that it
has prevented proper acknowledgement and respect to the thousands of
good Turks and other Muslims who intervened to rescue Armenians during
the deportations and massacres. Hovannisian’s adept handling of the
situation was roundly applauded by the audience but apparently did not
satisfy all of those who had come to detract. During the discussion
period, many of the familiar denial arguments were repeated, but they
were met with calm, factually-based responses and a new appeal for
all sides to face their history honestly as a necessary precondition
to some form of eventual conciliation. He hoped that his reflections
on the legacy of the Armenian Genocide might further the on-going
quest for truth.

For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am;
or visit