Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ARMENIA 20TH CENTURY’S FIRST GENOCIDE: POPE

IOL News, South Africa
April 12 2015

April 12 2015 at 03:19pm
By Steve Scherer

Vatican City – Pope Francis described the massacre of as many as 1.5
million Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century” at a
100th anniversary Mass on Sunday, choosing words that could draw an
angry reaction from Turkey.

Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes
with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of
the empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands were
killed and that this amounted to genocide.

It was the first time a pope has publicly pronounced the word
“genocide” for the massacre, repeating a term used by some European
and South American countries but avoided by the United States and
some others to maintain good relations with an important ally.

Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch
Kerekin II called it “the first genocide of the 20th century” in a
joint written statement in 2001.

Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
pope two years ago, said the phrase during a Vatican audience with
an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong protest from Ankara.

At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica,
the Argentine-born pontiff described the “senseless slaughter” of
100 years ago as “the first genocide of the 20th century”, which was
followed by “Nazism and Stalinism”.

“It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.

Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it!” he said.

The Turkish foreign ministry was expected to issue a statement on
his use of the word “genocide” later on Sunday.

The pope said genocide continues today against Christians “who, on
account of their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly
and ruthlessly put to death – decapitated, crucified, burned alive –
or forced to leave their homeland.”

Islamic State insurgents have persecuted Shi’ite Muslims, Christians
and others who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam
as they carved a self-declared caliphate out of swathes of Syria and
Iraq, which share borders with Turkey.

Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The appeal came in a letter handed out during a meeting after the
Mass to Armenian President Serzh Sargyan and the three most important
Armenian church patriarchs present.

“May God grant that the people of Armenia and Turkey take up again
the path of reconciliation, and may peace also spring forth in
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he wrote in a letter to the people of Armenia.

From: Baghdasarian

JUDGMENT TO ARREST ZHIRAYR SEFILYAN AND HIS FRIENDS TO BE APPEALED

14:10 | April 14,2015 | Politics

Judgments to arrest 5 members of “Centennial without the regime”
movement Zhirayr Sefilyan, Garegin Chugaszyan, Varuzhan Avetisyan,
Gevorg Safaryan and Pavel Manukyan passed by Court of General
Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts will
be appealed today.

Advocate Ara Zakaryan informed “A1+” about it and added that evident
political prosecution is being carried out.

To remind, on April 11 Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and
Nork-Marash Administrative Districts passed a judgment to arrest 5
members of “Centennial without the regime” movement Zhirayr Sefilyan,
Garegin Chugaszyan, Varuzhan Avetisyan, Gevorg Safaryan and Pavel
Manukyan. They are charged with organization of mass disorders on
April 24.

From: Baghdasarian

CHER CALLS ON TURKISH GOVERNMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS

Cher says Turkish government should acknowledge Armenian Genocide
YEREVAN, April 14. /ARKA/. World known singer and actress of Armenian
descent Cher (Cherilyn Sargsyan) urged the Turkish government to
acknowledge the genocide of Armenians.

“I don’t feel anger for (or blame) the people of Turkey, for
something that happened 100 years ago, But I think the Government
should acknowledge the Genocide,” Cher said in a twitter post.

In an earlier tweet she shared a story from her grandmother: “A Horror
Story my Grandmother Told me. “The TURKS came to the village. They
called a town meeting & Shot Men & Boys & Raped The Women & Girls,”
Novosti-Armenia reports.

The Armenian genocide was the first genocide committed in XX century.

Turkey rejects the accusation of massacres and the killing of one
and a half million Armenians during World War I.

The fact of the Armenian genocide is recognized by many countries,
particularly by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, most of the U.S.

states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina,
Belgium, Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Common House of
Canada, the Seym of Poland and lower house of Italian

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN COMPANIES AND MEDIA OUTLETS’ WEBSITES NEED CYBER PROTECTION AHEAD OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENARY

YEREVAN, April 13. /ARKA/. Websites of Armenian companies and media
outlets are vulnerable ahead of the centenary of Armenian Genocide
and need protection, Hayk Yesayan, CEO of Ucom company, said Monday
at The Media and Cyber Security Forum dedicated to the centenary of
Armenian Genocide.

he said.

Yesayan said that cyber security problems are expected to emerge by
April 24. Hackers may attack mail boxes or news agencies and large
companies and providers’ websites.

“There are no such problems inside Armenia, but we expect massive
attacks from other countries,>> he said.
From: Baghdasarian

THE NEW YORK TIMES: STUNG BY POPE’S REMARKS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, TURKISH MINISTER INSULTS ARGENTINA

14:19 14/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

Turkish officials continued to vent their fury at Pope Francis on
Monday, one day after he called the mass killing of Armenians a century
ago “the first genocide of the 20th century,” at a commemorative mass
at the Vatican, The New York Times writes.

The latest outraged response came from Volkan Bozkir, Turkey’s
minister for European affairs, who significantly upped the ante on
his colleagues by suggesting that Argentines as whole, and not just
the pope, had been brainwashed by rich and powerful Armenians in
their midst.

In remarks broadcast on national television, Mr. Bozkir sought to
provide an explanation for where Argentines might have gotten the
idea that the 1.5 million Armenians killed between 1915 and 1923 in
the last days of the Ottoman Empire had been slaughtered intentionally.

“In Argentina,” Mr. Bozkir asserted, “the Armenian diaspora controls
the media and business.” The minister provided no evidence for his
assertion and was not asked for any.

From: Baghdasarian

BAY AREA ARMENIANS HEARTENED BY REMARKS OF POPE FRANCIS

Tampabay.com
April 13 2015

Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer

PINELLAS PARK —When the Tampa Bay Armenian community learned that
Pope Francis had labeled the early 20th century slaughter of 1.5
million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks a genocide, they were surprised
and gratified.

Adrienne Ekizian had grown up hearing her mother and grandmother
tell of being driven from their home in Turkey, suffering hunger and
exhaustion, seeing the elderly and children left to die along the way
and of soldiers throwing babies in the air and using their bayonets
to spear them.

Chris Sassouni called the pope’s statements — coming as Armenians
worldwide prepare to mark the centenary of the killings on April 24 —
“huge.”

“Armenians throughout the world all carry this emptiness in their
spirit because they feel lost and forgotten. We recognize the
genocides of Rwanda, Cambodia, the genocides that occurred in Bosnia,
and certainly we recognize the Holocaust,” said Sassouni, a member of
St. Hagop Armenian Church in Pinellas Park, which draws parishioners
from as far away as Fort Myers and Gainesville.

“My family was a victim of the genocide,” he said, adding that his
grandfather’s mother and a brother were burned alive and a sister
and two brothers were shot to death.

During a Mass on Sunday, the pope called the killing of Armenian men,
women and children, which began in 1915 and lasted until 1923, the
first genocide of the 20th century.

“We’re hoping that other world leaders will recognize the genocide,”
said Michael Shahnasarian, a psychologist in Tampa and chairman of St.

Hagop’s parish council. “Ultimately, we would like Turkey to take
responsibility for the atrocities.”

More than 20 nations have recognized what occurred as genocide. The
United States has not.

“President Obama has an opportunity this April 24 to fulfill his
campaign promise and unequivocally affirm the Armenian genocide,”
said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of
America, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

In the Tampa Bay area, the 100th anniversary will be marked with song
and prayer at St. Hagop’s, part of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox
Church, and other events.

While Francis has pleased Armenians, his remarks have annoyed Turkish
officials, who summoned the Vatican’s ambassador to condemn the
pontiff’s remarks. They notified the ambassador “of their government’s
‘grave disappointment and sadness’ over the pope’s remarks, which
were ‘away from historical facts’ and dismissive of the deaths of
non-Christians in the country during the same historical period,”
the New York Times reported.

Armenians were a Christian minority in a Muslim community. Beginning
on April 24 1915, said St. Hagop’s pastor, Father Hovnan Demerjian,
intellectuals and powerful Armenians were rounded up and killed. Other
Armenians were sent to starvation and death. Young women were raped,
forced into harems or to marry their abductors.

Ekizian’s son-in-law, Dr. George Kamajian, said he has put up two
billboards addressing the issue. One sits across from his Largo
office and another on Interstate 275. They ask Turkey to acknowledge
and condemn the genocide. His grandparents were ordered out of their
homes, he said.

Jean Shahnasarian, who is married to Michael Shahnasarian, is in
charge of the April 24 “Evening of Remembrance” at St. Hagop’s. She
is putting together a commemorative book.

“A lot of people at the church are including information in this book
in memory of their relatives,” she said. “One woman is going to be
performing. Her father was an orphan and somebody else raised him.

It’s not only Armenian heritage. It’s history and how it affected
all of us.”

On Easter Sunday, the church dedicated an 8-foot monument to those
who perished.

“We’re trying to look beyond this. We don’t believe this defines
our culture,” Michael Shahnasarian said, noting the symbolism of the
dedication on the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. “We are looking
at what lies ahead of us.”

It’s the message that his pastor emphasizes.

“After 100 years, my hope is that the open wounds of Turkey and the
Turkish people will be healed by recognition and that the open wounds
of Armenians will be healed only through the answer of their faith,”
Demerjian said.

“On April 23, for the first time in 100 years, we are going to canonize
a group of martyrs of the genocide,” he said of the ceremony that will
take place in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, the spiritual and administrative
headquarters of the Armenian Church.

“This is living history of our church being made. Yes, we were victims,
we were persecuted, but that’s not all we are.”

—–

Armenian Genocide remembrance events

Orphans of Genocide,” a documentary by director Bared Maronian, 8 p.m.

April 21 on WEDU.

Rising from the Ashes of Tragedy – Armenia’s Triumph Over Its
Genocide,” Dr. Garabet Moumdjian and student panel, 2 p.m., April
23, University of South Florida, Main Library Building, 4th floor,
Grace Allen Room 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. A second presentation
will take place at 7 p.m. April 25, at St. Hagop Armenian Church,
7020 90th Ave., Pinellas Park.

An Evening of Remembrance, 7 p.m., April 24, St. Hagop Armenian Church.

From: Baghdasarian

UN CHIEF CONSIDERS SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS BY OTTOMAN TURKS 100 YEARS AGO ‘ATROCITY CRIMES’

Fox News
April 13 2015

UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman says the
U.N. chief considers the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 100
years ago “atrocity crimes,” but he isn’t supporting Pope Francis’
description of the killings as “the first genocide of the 20th
century.”

Turkey denies the killings were genocide and accused Francis of
spreading hatred.

Stephane Dujarric told reporters Monday that Ban took note of the
pope’s comments on Sunday. He said the U.N. chief is fully aware of
“the sensitivities related to the characterization of what happened”
in 1915.

Dujarric said Ban believes the commemoration of the centenary and
continuing cooperation with Armenians and Turks “with a view to
establishing the facts about what happened should strengthen our
collective determination to prevent similar atrocity crimes from ever
happening in the future.”

From: Baghdasarian

POPE FRANCIS SAYS SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS WAS FIRST GENOCIDE OF 20TH CENTURY

New York Daily News
April 13 2015

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 100th anniversary
of the slaughter of Armenians by calling the massacre by Ottoman Turks
“the first genocide of the 20th century” and urging the international
community to recognize it as such.

Turkey responded by recalling its ambassador and accusing Francis of
spreading hatred and “unfounded claims.”

Francis issued the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica
commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church
leaders and President Serge Sarkisian, who praised the Pope for
“delivering a powerful message to the international community.”

“The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot
but have a strong impact,” he told The Associated Press.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies a genocide took place. It has insisted that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.

From: Baghdasarian

SCHIFF APPLAUDS POPE, URGES US TO FOLLOW SUIT

Monday, April 13th, 2015

Rep. Adam Schiff

WASHINGTON–Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the
Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution, on Sunday released
statement applauding Pope Francis for courageously recognizing the
Armenian Genocide.

“Pope Francis has proven himself a remarkable figure in every way, and
his recognition today of the Armenian Genocide was another courageous
milestone in his Papacy. The Pope was exactly right when he said that
‘concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it.’ I hope that the Pope’s words will inspire our
President and Congress to demonstrate a like commitment to speaking
the truth about the Armenian Genocide and to renounce Turkey’s campaign
of concealment and denial.

“America must speak plainly about the facts of what happened one
hundred years ago, when in the throes of defeat, the Ottoman Empire
murdered one and a half million Armenian men, women and children. With
the centennial of the genocide fast approaching, and with a few
survivors still among us, the time for inexcusable silence has come
to an end.”

The Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution is a bipartisan
resolution calls upon the President to work toward equitable,
constructive, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the
Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgement of the facts and ongoing
consequences of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution will also
establish a fair, just, and comprehensive international record of
this crime against humanity.

Later this month on April 22nd, Rep. Schiff will for an entire hour
on the House Floor, he will read the names of a small fraction of the
1.5 million people killed during the Armenian Genocide. Congressman
Schiff invites the descendants of Genocide victims — in his district
and around the nation — to submit the names of family members who were
killed for inclusion in his speech and in the Congressional Record.

Schiff is encouraging the submission of names by using the special
online form.

From: Baghdasarian

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 12 2015

Turkey recalls its Vatican envoy over ‘genocide’ remark

12 April 2015 16:23 (Last updated 12 April 2015 21:14)

Ambassador Pacaci summoned to Ankara for consultations over Pope
Francis’ statement on 1915 incidents, Turkish Foreign Ministry says.

ANKARA

Turkey’s ambassador to Vatican has been summoned to Ankara for
consultations, Turkish Foreign Ministry has said in a statement
Sunday.

Ambassador Mehmet Pacaci has been called back to Ankara after Pope
Francis called the 1915 incidents involving Armenians “genocide” on
Sunday during a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at the St. Peter’s
Basilica, which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also attended.

“In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies,” Pope said.

“The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the
twentieth century, struck your own Armenian people, the first
Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians,
Chaldeans and Greeks and, more recently, there have been other mass
killings, like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia,” the
pontiff said.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said, “Pope Francis, who has defended the
opinion of building peace and friendship between different groups
around the world since the day he was assigned as Pope, has
discriminated about people’s suffering, overlooked atrocities that
Turks and Muslims suffered in the First World War and only highlighted
the Christian suffering, especially that of the Armenian people.

“It is meaningful that Pope Francis describes the tragedies in Bosnia
and Rwanda as ‘mass killings,’ which were proven as genocide by
authorized international courts, while describing the incidents in
1915 as ‘genocide’ disregarding the fact that there is not a single
court ruling on them (incidents),” the statement added.

The ministry said the pontiff’s remarks are “null and void,” and added
that the Pope was under the influence of Armenian narrative, “which
insists on fomenting hostility instead of leaving behind peace and
friendship for the next generations.”

Cavusoglu also slammed Pope’s statement earlier in the day via social
media, saying: The Pope’s statement, which is out of touch with both
historical facts and legal basis, is simply unacceptable.

“Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity
are fueled by unfounded allegations,” Cavusoglu shared through
Twitter.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Vatican’s envoy to Ankara,
Antonio Lucibello, earlier on Sunday to relate the message that the
incident has caused “loss of trust” and would be met with a response.

‘Great tragedy’

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.

Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying
that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.

The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.

Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that
both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim
Turks.

Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents
as “genocide.”

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences for
the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the
events of 1915.

“May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early
twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” Erdogan said.

From: Baghdasarian