Armenian National Committee of Texas
c/o Vatche Hovsepian, Chair
Houston, TX 77082
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Contact: Vatche Hovsepian
Email: (818) 500-1918
Genocide Denial in Texas University Exposed
— SMU Withdraws Sponsorship after Learning of Conference’s True Purpose
Dallas, TX – On Saturday, April 14, 2007 the Armenian community of Texas
rapidly mobilized to counter Genocide denial in their own university
system. A conference on "Turkish-Armenian Dialogue" (officially
entitled "International Conference on Turkish-Armenian Dialogue") slated
to take place at Southern Methodist University (SMU) was discovered
early last week by the ANC of Texas. Similar to the UT-Austin
conference two weeks ago entitled "Ottoman Diversity and
Multiculturalism," the conference was an all day event. As the
conference was to take place in their backyards, activists in Texas set
out set the record straight on the conference and its purpose.
With local, regional and national collaboration involving grassroots
activists, the ANCA, ANCA-WR, and the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian
Church joined forces with the Armenian community of Texas to counter the
attempts of genocide denial making inroads at SMU and the university
system of North Texas. These attempts by genocide denialists coincide
with local efforts to build support for the Armenian genocide
resolution, H. Res. 106 which awaits a vote in the U.S. Congress.
In a few short days, these combined efforts, buttressed by an ANCA
action alert asking activists from across the nation to contact SMU
requesting that the university withdraw its support regarding this
misleading conference, resulted in an official withdrawal of all
credible speakers and the removal of SMU sponsorship of the
genocide-denial masked as dialogue event. No local, national or
international Armenian presence was invited to the event, except for the
Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, who is bound under the repressive laws
of the Republic of Turkey, including Article 301 under which Hrant Dink
was charged and convicted prior to assassination this year in Istanbul.
Local Armenians achieved official withdrawal of SMU’s Office of the
Chaplain and University Ministries’ sponsorship and the Chaplain to the
University, Dr. William M. Finnin, Jr. Several other speakers also
withdrew per learning that the speakers list of the conference included
many denialists. Community and ANCA activists ventured into the
conference itself, opening the very beginning of the conference by
expressing disapproval from within the audience for all attendees to
hear. Activists delivered statements which highlighted the lack of
Armenian participation in an event billed as dialogue which concealed
genocide denial agendas, Article 301 which acted to prevent the only
Armenian presence on the panel and general anti-Armenian propaganda.
The organizers were unable to cite a single Armenian community member,
religious figures outside Turkey or scholars who were notified of the
event.
The official letter of withdrawal by William M. Finnin, Office of the
University Chaplain was read by a Texas Armenian ANC activist to all
attendees present in an audience numbering 400 people. Additionally,
the organizers attempted to intimidate a local North Texas professor of
Armenian origin who calmly and professionally asked a question about
whether the written questions were filtered. When the organizers turned
the security on this professor, other attendees at the conference voiced
loud disapproval at the questionable treatment of a Texas Armenian
professor in a conference labeled as a "dialogue".
During a lecture on the Armenian Identity in Diaspora by Turkish
sociologist Dr. Huseyin Cakillikoyak, the Armenian Genocide was outright
denied three times in addition to the damage of the deportations. The
Diaspora identity in the US was defamed unabashedly and one Texas
Armenian silently turned their chair around to the speaker to silently
show the backwards nature of the discussion at hand. Most voted with
their feet, and all efforts were successfully made to reveal the charade
of genocide denial masked in academic speech.
The Armenian community of Texas will continue to coordinate efforts
locally and beyond to pursue the truthful, just path of official
recognition of the Armenian genocide through H. Res. 106 and shall
remain vigilant regarding the coordinated efforts of the Turkish
government to fund genocide denial propaganda conferences at
universities and or on Capitol Hill.
The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.
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Photo caption #1: His Holiness Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan, bound by
Article 301 of the penal code which prohibits any mention of the
Armenian Genocide as an insult to Turkishness, reads his censored
speech.
Photo caption #2: One of the very few Armenian American attendees to the
conference explains to the conference organizers and the participants
about the lacking merits of the conference and calling the conference a
Turkish Monologue of Armenian Genocide Denialists.
Photo caption #3: Turkish organizers try to justify their attempt to
start dialogue but were unable to name a single Armenian scholar or
individual that they approached for conference participation.