Armenian National Committee of Canada
Comité National Arménien du Canada
130 Albert St.,
Suite/Bureau 1007
Ottawa, ON KIP 5G4
Tel./Tél. (613) 235-2622
Fax/Téléc. (613) 238-2622
E-mail/courriel:national.office@anc-canada.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2009

Contact: Roupen Kouyoumjian

Launch of "Armenian Golgotha" in Canada Rousing Success

Toronto– The launch of Peter Balakian’s "Armenian Golgotha" in
Toronto on May 29 was a rousing success as copies of the 500-plus page
book were sold out soon after the author’s speech at the Armening
Youth Centre. The event, which was attended by some 250 people, was
MC-ed by Antranik Ohannessian.

The book launch was organized by the Armen Karo Students Association,
the Armenian National Committee of Canada and the Armenian National
Committee of Toronto

"Armenian Golgotha", originally published in Armenian in 1922 by Peter
Balakian’s great great-uncle Grigoris Balakian, is an eyewitness and
comprehensive dramatic account of the Armenian Genocide in
1915. Grigoris was an Armenian Apostolic Church priest who later
became a bishop serving Armenians in southern France.

Peter Balakian, a poet and professor of literature, said the project
to translate "Armenian Golgotha" into English took more than 10
years. The co-translator of the book is Aris Sevag.

In his riveting speech Balakian covered the miraculous four-year
journey of Grigoris Balakian–from his arrest on April 24, 1915, along
with some 250 Armenian leaders in Constantinople to his dramatic
journey through the killing fields of Anatolia. In addition to
narrating his gruesome experiences across Asia Minor and Armenian
Cilicia, Grigoris Balakian also recorded his horrific encounters with
survivors of the Armenian Genocide, European eyewitnesses to the mass
murder of Armenians, Turkish perpetrators of the genocide, and
righteous Turks and Germans who, despite official sanction, saved the
lives of Armenians. Germans, allies of Turkey during the First World
War, were in Cilicia, laying the Berlin-to-Baghdad Railway line.

Bishop Balakian’s insights and analysis of the political, historical
and cultural context of the Armenian Genocide are masterful and add
yet another nail to the coffin of Turkey’s Armenian Genocide denial
policy. The book is also a confirmation of what Raphaël Lemkin, the
Polish-Jewish jurist who coined the term Genocide, wrote in his
memories referring to Turkey’s `definite intent of total destruction’
of the Armenian people.

The `Armenian Golgotha’ corroborates genocide scholarship which
maintains that the deportation and massacre of the Armenians were
planned by Turkey’s central government. In "Armenian Golgotha" Bishop
Balakian demonstrates how the Ottoman Turkish government used
sophisticated surveillance methods and created blacklists to arrest
Armenian cultural leaders, in addition to establishing killing squads
and spreading false reports of Armenian "provocations".

Peter Balakian narrated the genesis of the book, his discovery of the
original two-volume Armenian version, and the arduous ten years it
took to translate "Armenian Golgotha". He also explained what meant to
him to connect with the voice of his great great-uncle and other
victims and survivors of the Genocide.

Balakian concluded his remarks by reading several telling paragraphs
from the book. After the Q & A session, Ara Kerjikian, president of
the Armenian Community Centre, presented Balakian with a copy of
Isabel Kaprielian-Churchill’s `Like Our Mountains’ about the history
of the Canadian-Armenian community.

Among those attending the book launch were human rights activists,
intellectuals, writers, journalists, film makers, actors and members
of the Canadian Armenian community. "Armenian Golgotha" has already
received rave reviews from Canadian print and electronic media. For
details of media coverage visit the below links.

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CBC Radio One
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The Globe and Mail
-the-killing-fields-of-turkey/article1149084/

Maclean’s Magazine
balakian/

Forward

Reviews and Praises for `Armenian Golgotha’

`A heartbreaking book.’
ELIEWIESEL

`This is a story that needs to be known and it is told here with a sweep of experience and wealth of detail that is as disturbing as it is irrefutable.’
SIR MARTIN GILBERT

`The translation and publication of this book in English constitutes thundering historical proof that those who deny the Armenian Genocide are engaged in a massive deception.’
DEBORAH E. LIPSTADT

`It will become a classic both for its depiction of a much denied genocide and its humane and brilliant witness to what human beings can endure and overcome.’
ROBERT JAY LIFTON

`Blistering…an important historical document.’
Kirkus Reviews

*****

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues. ——

Le CNAC est l’organisation politique canadienne-arménienne la plus large et influentielle. Collaborant avec une série de bureaux, chapitres et souteneurs à travers le Canada et des organisations affiliées à travers le monde, le CNAC s’occupe activement des inquiétudes de la communauté canadienne-arménienne.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress