Watertown TAB & Press, MA
April 28 2006

Rally campaigns come together to stop genocides

By Melody Hanatani/ Belmont Citizen-Herald
Friday, April 28, 2006 – Updated: 11:04 AM EST

A new coalition of diverse local ethnic groups kicked off an
anti-genocide campaign with a rally at the State House last Friday,
following the annual Armenian genocide anniversary commemoration.

The group, called kNOw Genocide, includes 10 organizations such
as Rwanda Outlook, the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association and
the Jewish Community Relations Council.

On his way from the ceremony to the rally, state Sen. Steven
Tolman, D-Boston, talked about why the coalition was formed.

“Today is a reaction of a diverse group to the lawsuit about the
denial of the Turks that this [genocide] even happened,” he said,
referring to a lawsuit seeking to introduce materials denying the
genocide into the statewide curriculum.

In listing the genocides that have occurred over the past 100
years, such as Armenia, Bosnia and Cambodia, U.S. Rep Edward Markey,
D-7th, called on President George W. Bush to recognize the genocides
in Armenia and Darfur.

“Don’t forget Palestine, Markey,” said one protester. “It’s been
too long for them, too.”

The protester was later escorted farther down Beacon Street,
where he continued to yell at the speakers.

Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Watertown resident and
gubernatorial hopeful, said the pending case in Boston is not about
limiting free speech. He said the only way to find a more just and
peaceful future is to face the “ugly truth of our past.”

State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, announced new “landmark”
legislation would be filed this week to force the state to divest
from any country where genocide occurs. He said the legislation would
be the first of its kind in the country, and hopes it will be a model
for other states.

Markey said earlier that the legislation would “ratchet up
pressure on the Bush administration to take a firmer stand in
Darfur.”

According to some humanitarian groups, about 400,000 people have
died in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Belmont resident Heather Krafian, a teacher at Muraco Elementary
School in Winchester, is a granddaughter of Armenian genocide
survivors. She spoke about the importance of teaching about the
genocide in the schools.

She spoke out against the denial of the genocide, and said it has
become the modus operandi of the Turkish government. She said there
is no doubt among scholars and experts that the Armenian genocide
occurred.

“The thread of lies Turkey has woven for 91 years is slowly
beginning to unravel,” said Krafian. “The fabric of denial has become
torn and tattered. The truth will not be killed, but will prevail.”