USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE PUBLISHES SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 2007
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.01.2008 17:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The year 2007 will go down in the Armenian history
annals as a ground-breaking year. In many ways, the year brought an
impressive number of victories for the Armenians. How can one talk of
2007 and not mention the valiant individuals who significantly impacted
our collective life, in the service of Justice and Humanity?" the USA
ARMENIAN LIFE Magazine writes citing the list of main events of year
2007 basing on The California Courier publications.
According to the magazine, one of the most outstanding events was
the statement by Ahmet Ertegun, a significant figure in the modern
recording industry, who said that recognition of the Armenian Genocide
would be good for Turkey. On Jan. 5, 2007, Harut Sassounian, the
Publisher of The California Courier, wrote: "Ahmet Ertegun was a music
magnate who launched the careers of many great singers and groups,
such as Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. … He
surprised me by saying that he could not understand why Turkish
officials denied the Armenian Genocide – a fact known to the entire
world. He made it clear that he was not acknowledging the Genocide
in order to appease the Armenians. He believed that it was, first of
all, in Turkey’s interest to acknowledge the Genocide, because doing
so would help Ankara’s application for membership in the European
Union and get rid of the stigma that had haunted his native land for
so many years. Ertegun said he had read about the Armenian Genocide
in many Western books, but had not seen a single reputable book that
denied its occurrence. He referred to Turkish officials who denied the
Genocide as being "Turk ghafali," implying that they had a stubborn
Turkish mentality."
Event number two refers to TIME EUROPE. On Feb 9, 2007, Sassounian
wrote: "It took a little more than a year and a half, but it was well
worth the wait. After lengthy, sometimes complex, but mostly amicable
discussions, the European edition of TIME magazine, in its Feb. 12,
2007 issue, published a full-page text on the Armenian Genocide and
distributed a complimentary DVD, in English and French, which contains
a compelling 52-minute documentary on the Armenian Genocide by French
director Laurence Jourdan. The DVD also includes a 46-minute interview
with Dr. Yves Ternon, a leading expert on the Armenian Genocide.
This issue of the magazine, which has been on newsstands since Feb. 2
in 67 countries throughout Europe, parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle
East, was sold out within the first 48 hours of its availability. When
scores of TIME subscribers, the Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA)
and this columnist complained to TIME executives, Managing Editor
James Kelly in a letter to SAA dated Sept. 2, 2005, apologized for
having disseminated the Turkish DVD which he said ‘was not adequately
reviewed by anyone at TIME." Furthermore, he acknowledged that the
Turkish DVD did not "meet TIME’s standards for fairness and accuracy.’"
Among the other events of last year the Magazine mentions the verdict
of guilty to Dogu Perincek in Switzerland, publication of "British
Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922, dismissal of
Los Angeles Times editor for refusal to publish an article about
the Armenian Genocide, recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the
Anti-Defamation League.