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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
PARIS HIGH SCHOOLS DISTRIBUTE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CIRCULAR TO 500,000
STUDENTS
Paris – In May 2006, 500,000 high school students and 80,0000
teachers and government officials of the French Ile-de-France region,
which represents the Paris metropolitan area, received an informative
brochure about the Armenian Genocide written by the Regional Council of
Ile-de-France in cooperation with the Coordination Council of Armenian
Organizations in France (CCAF-Paris). Emphasizing that the history
of the Armenians is part of the history of France, the four-page
color document, entitled "Genocide of the Armenians," was written by
historians Philippe Videlier of CNRS in Lyon, Claude Mutafian, and
Raymond Kevorkian, the Director of AGBU’s Nubarian Library in Paris.
The brochure’s content was tailored to the region’s high school
students and included the crucial facts and lessons of the Armenian
Genocide. Intended for use as an educational tool, teachers have been
using the materials during classroom discussions on the topic. The
document illustrates the context of the Ottoman Empire at the time,
the situation of the Armenian population on the eve of the Genocide,
the tragic decision to eradicate the Armenian population by the Young
Turk government, the creation of concentration camps, the role of
the Young Turk Central Committee, and the criminal Turkish trials
that followed (1919-1920). It also includes a brief history, complete
with photos and maps, of the forced Armenian exile, and presents an
overview of the Armenian diaspora and realities faced by Armenians
in present day Turkey.
The Armenian Genocide brochure was a result of the vision of CCAF,
that after seeing that the Regional Council of Ile-de-France published
several documents pertaining to the Holocaust, contacted the region
in 2004 and persuaded them of the necessity to relate an important
event that has impacted the lives of all French Armenians.
Other French regions, including Provence-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes,
are considering distributing similar informational brochures to
their students.
The Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF)
() brings together the 23 French Armenian organizations,
17 of which are permanent members (AAAS, ADL, AGBU, ANACRA, CBAF,
CDCA, FRA, GIIA, JAF, MAFP, Nor Seround, SD Hentchak, UCFAF, UMAF,
the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, and the
Armenian Evangelical Church), to coordinate joint initiatives. In
addition the "Genocide of the Armenians" document, this year’s
CCAF activities also included the organization of April 24th
commemorations, the mobilization against Turkish denial efforts,
the inauguration of Lyon’s Armenian Genocide memorial, and the
organization of demonstrations that supported the law that would
criminalize genocide denial.
The mission of AGBU’s Nubarian Library, based in Paris, France, is
to preserve, promote and highlight the Armenian heritage. Historians,
researchers, musicians, movie producers, and journalists consult the
library’s rich archive-which includes over 40,000 books, periodicals,
photos, post cards, musical scores, and maps-for projects ranging
from academic studies to television documentaries. The library also
publishes books, as well as, the quarterly journal, "Revue Armenienne
des Question Contemporaines." Open to the public four days a week,
please contact the AGBU Nubarian Library by calling +33.1.45.20.03.18,
or email [email protected] for more information.
AGBU is the largest Armenian non-profit organization in the world
and reaches 400,000 Armenians annually in 35 countries through its
educational, humanitarian and cultural projects. For more information
about AGBU and its programs, please visit
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