Author: Kalantarian Kevo

MOTION TO BE INTRODUCED IN CANADIAN PARLIAMENT TO DECLARE APRIL GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE MONTH

March 26, 2015

Motion to be Introduced in House of Commons to declare April Genocide
Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month

Ottawa – The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) is proud
to have worked closely with Mr. Brad Butt, Member of Parliament for
Mississauga – Streetsville (Conservative) on a motion to declare
April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month and,
among other things, to mark April 24 of each year as Armenian Genocide
Memorial Day.

The ANCC urges all Canadians dedicated to the cause of preventing
future genocides and properly recognizing past genocides to make
their voices heard by writing or calling their Members of Parliament
and asking them to vote for this motion.

ANCC President Dr. Girair Basmajian said “This motion reaffirms
Canada’s commitment to the important cause of genocide prevention
and recognizes that the first step to prevention is to ensure that
we remember and condemn past genocides.” Dr. Basmajian further stated
“We are very grateful that this motion designates April 24 as Armenian
Genocide Memorial Day so that all Canadians can join with the Armenian
community to work to prevent future genocides, which is especially
important in light of the religiously and ethnically motivated violence
against minorities currently taking place in Iraq and Syria.”

The Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month motion
was published on the Notice Paper today, which is the first step that
must be taken before the motion can be introduced in the House of
Commons and then brought to a vote. It is expected that the motion
will be formally introduced in the House of Commons next week by Mr.

Butt. It is also expected that other Members of Parliament will speak
in favour of the motion at that time. It is not yet clear when the
motion would be approved.

The Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month motion
recalls that Canada has officially recognized four genocides (the
Holocaust, the Holodomor, the Rwandan Tutsi Genocide and the Armenian
Genocide) and that three of these genocides have a memorial day
in April, so it is appropriate to designate April of each year as
Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month. The ANCC
notes that the designation of April 24 of each year as Armenian
Genocide Memorial Day in this motion is the first time that any
Canadian federal government body has formally recognized April 24 as
Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.

Motion 587

March 26, 2015- Brad Butt, Member of Parliament for
Mississauga-Streetsville, gave notice for a motion today. Motion
587 reads:

That this House re-affirm its support for

(a) the Holocaust Memorial Day Act, which received Royal Assent on
November 7, 2003;

(b) the Armenian genocide recognition resolution, adopted on April
21, 2004;

(c) the Rwandan genocide resolution, adopted on April 7, 2008; and

(d) the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (“Holodomor”) Memorial Day Act,
which received Royal Assent on May 29, 2008;

That this House call upon the Government of Canada to honour the
victims of all genocides by recognizing the month of April as Genocide
Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month; and

That this House acknowledge the associated commemorative days of

(a) Yom ha-Shoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, as determined by the Jewish
Lunar calendar;

(b) Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, April 24;

(c) Rwandan Genocide Memorial Day, April 7; and

(d) Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (“Holodomor”) Memorial Day, fourth
Saturday in November.

***

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Armenian-Canadian
grassroots human rights 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 Armenian-Canadian community on a broad range
of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout
Canada and the world.

LUTTE-LIBRE
Krikor Krikorian vice-champion d’Europe de lutte-libre des -23 ans

Aux championnats d’Europe de lutte-libre des -23 ans en Pologne, dès
la première journée, l’Arménie a gagné une médaille. Krikor Krikorian
parvenu en finale des 74 kg, fut défait par le Géorgien Zourab
Erbotsonashvilli. Krikor Krikorian a offert ainsi à l’Arménie une
médaille d’argent. Un autre membre de l’équipe d’Arménie, Narég
Sirounian (65 kg) s’est incliné sur le score de 2-10 pour la médaille
de bronze face au Russe Evgeni Jirbaïev.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 28 mars 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

I am not a nationalist, but what happened was genocide: Mahçupyan

15:38, 28 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 28 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of
Turkey, Istanbul-Armenian Etyen Mahçupyan, who is recently standing
out with his anti-Armenian statements, has declared that he considers
the events of 1915 as Genocide. As “Armenpress” reports, citing the
Turkish Haberler.com, this is what Mahçupyan talked about during a
roundtable discussion on “Understanding Change: The Era of JDP in
Turkey” in London.

He reiterated the statement that he had made in Belgium, stating that
even though he is Armenian, he considers himself an Ottoman. “As I
said yesterday, I feel more like an Ottoman than an Armenian. I am not
a nationalist, but I use the term “Armenian Genocide” when touching
upon the topic of the genocide of 1915. I believe what happened was
genocide since there is a clear formulation of genocide, and what
happened falls in line with that formulation. If you change the
formulation, the events may not be considered as genocide. Many people
might not understand me. Genocide is not a historical formulation, but
a legal term,” Mahçupyan mentioned.

On 27 March, Turkish presses reported that the Senior Advisor to
Turkey’s Prime Minister had said he did not care if the Armenians
referred to him as a “traitor”. “After all, each Armenian has a
different view. It’s very likely that there are Armenians who refer to
me as a “traitor”, but that does not matter,” he added.

ARMENIENS-RUSSIE
Disparition de Vyatcheslav Lazarian (67 ans), leader de la communauté
arménienne de Saint-Petersbourg (Russie)

Le journal arménien > annonce que lundi dernier
dans l’un des hôpitaux de Moscou est mort Vyatcheslav Lazarian (67
ans) l’une des personnalités les plus actives de la communauté
arménienne de Saint-Petersbourg (Russie). Durant de longues années,
Vyatcheslav Lazarian avait été le leader de la communauté arménienne
de cette > qu’est Saint-Petersbourg. Il était
également membre du Conseil paroissial des églises arméniennes de
Russie et du Nor Nakhitchévan. Durant près de 25 ans, il était le
directeur de l’importante société de construction automobile > basée à Saint-Petersbourg mais connue dans toute la Russie. Il était
né au village de Drmbon dans la région de Mardakert (Haut Karabagh).
Ses obsèques se sont déroulés à l’église arménienne Sainte Catherine
de Saint-Petersbourg.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 28 mars 2015,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Armenia rescuers are everywhere, bringing water to village and taking
blind to home

12:21, 28 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 28 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s residents have started
calling the Fire and rescue service more frequently. They alert them
even when there is no water supply in the village or they need water
or when they cannot lift a heavy person up and put on the bed. The
rescuers can reach the same person, who has limited mobility, even two
times in 1.5 hours, the first time descending from the home and
approaching to the car, the second time taking to the home from the
car.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations of
the Republic of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that on March 28, at
01.56 am, a call was received from the Davitashen 2nd District No. 19
apartment that a heavyweight and unhealthy citizen has fallen on the
floor of the flat, so that, the help of rescuers is needed to lift him
up and move on the bed. One fire brigade has gone to the scene. The
rescuers have rendered appropriate assistance to S. M.

On March 28, at 01.07 am, a call was received from the Soghomon
Taronts Street No 7/2 apartment, saying that the help of the rescuers
is needed to take heavyweight and unhealthy resident to the ambulance
car. One fire brigade has gone to the scene. The rescuers have
rendered appropriate assistance to V. B, who was born in 1951.

On March 28, at 01.01 am a call was received that a citizen got lost
in the Lusagyugh area of the Aragatsotn province. He has visual
problems and need help. One fire brigade has gone to the scene and
helped the citizen.

Burbank Candlelight Vigil to Mark Genocide Centennial

Friday, March 27th, 2015

Community members commemorate the Armenian Genocide at the steps of
Burbank City Hall

BURBANK, Calif.–The Burbank community will commemorate the centennial
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on Tuesday, April 7, when the
Burbank City Council will present its annual Proclamation in
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

At 5:30 p.m., a remembrance program will be held at the Burbank City
Hall, during which the City Council will present its Proclamation. The
program will be followed by a candlelit walk from Burbank City Hall to
the Burbank Youth Center, where a commemoration program will take
place at 7 p.m.

The Candlelight Vigil is the Burbank community’s annual commemoration
event for the Armenian Genocide. It is organized by the Armenian Youth
Federation, Burbank “Varak” Chapter; the Armenian National Committee
of America, Burbank; the Burbank Homenetmen “Sipan” Chapter; the
Armenian Relief Society, Burbank “Araz” Chapter; and the John
Burroughs High School Armenian Language Club.

Burbank City Hall is located at 275 E. Olive Avenue, Burbank, Calif.,
while the Burbank Youth Center is located at 75 E. Santa Anita Avenue,
Burbank, Calif., at zip code 91502.

SHOULD OBAMA MARK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENARY?

Commentary Magazine
March 25 2015

Michael Rubin

Every year, the Armenian Diaspora marks April 24 as the anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. Traditionally, senators representing states
with large Armenian communities–California, Massachusetts, and New
Jersey, for example–seek to pass a formal resolution commemorating
the genocide. Out of fear of angering Turkey, however, presidents
and secretaries of State have traditionally avoided the word genocide.

As senator, for example, Barack Obama was a vocal supporter of
commemorating the genocide. In 2008, he declared, “America deserves
a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and
responds forcefully to all genocides,” and added, “I intend to be
that president.” Once he won the Oval Office, he avoided doing so
just as his predecessors had, instead using the formulation “one
of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.” Likewise, as senator,
John Kerry was solicitous of the Armenian community and its demands
to recognize the mass murder of the Armenians as genocide, but upon
becoming America’s top diplomat, let’s just say he was with them
before he was against them. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, was as hypocritical: Her claim to fame has been as a
scholar of genocide and a moral voice castigating the United States
for refusing to acknowledge genocide for diplomatic reasons. Prior to
becoming an advisor to Barack Obama, she criticized American passivity
with regard to the Armenian genocide and, as UN ambassador, she hasn’t
hesitated to get on Twitter or issue statements that take a tougher
line than Obama. But on the Armenian issue? Crickets.

The forthcoming anniversary is, of course, special: It marks
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. For Turkey,
which seeks to prevent formal recognition abroad, it is a perfect
storm. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown himself to be an
anti-Semitic and corrupt dictator. And parliamentarians from his
Justice and Development Party as well as Turkey’s court journalists
and access-craving intellectuals have, with their blind support,
shown themselves equally culpable, if not supportive of Erdogan’s
noxious vision.

And while Turkey has long been able to count on a strong lobby in
Washington, there is no real Turkey lobby anymore. Some congressmen
may have kept their names on the Congressional Turkey Caucus roster
but, as one congressman recently put it, “that’s a nothing burger.”

Ankara and its paid lobbyists understand that when push comes to shove,
few congressmen will stick their necks out for Turkey.

So what should Obama do? Here things are more complicated. Genocide
studies has always been more a political discipline than an academic
one. Few members of that field research in the primary languages
or step foot in archives. Area specialists are a bit more divided
on whether what transpired against the Armenians was state-directed
or spontaneous, and whether it was directed against all Armenians or
just those living in areas through which the frontlines of World War
I passed. While no one denies the deaths of hundreds of thousands if
not more than a million Armenians, Guenter Lewy, Edward Erickson,
and Bernard Lewis have all questioned the popular narrative that
assumes genocide. After all, more than fifteen million people died
around Europe as a result of the war.

While there will be pressure on Obama to confirm genocide on the 100th
anniversary of the arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul
on April 24, 1915, perhaps a better question is why politicians should
be in the business of arbitrating history.

While Erdogan’s offensive behavior in recent years means that few
will shed tears if Turkey suffers a rebuke in a vote few care about
outside of the Turkish and Armenian communities, the very fact that
contemporary Turkish politics could influence such a vote underlines
why politicians should not be the judges of history. Ultimately,
liberated from facing another election and caring very little for
his peers of either party, Obama may use the 100th anniversary
commemorations to officially put the imprimatur of the president of
the United States behind the idea that what occurred in the Ottoman
Empire a century ago was genocide. But, ultimately, such a statement
will be meaningless to the understanding of events or the facts of
the case. For that, political grandstanding and polemic will always
matter far less than careful historical research and debate.

HISTOIRE – ARMENIENS, L’AUTRE GENOCIDE

Valeurs Actuelles
25 mars 2015

1915. Depuis un siècle, les Armeniens se battent pour un mot. S’ils
ont renonce a des reparations materielles, ils veulent que le massacre
qui a frappe plus de la moitie des leurs dans l’Empire ottoman prenne
le nom de genocide.

Le signal fut donne le 24 avril 1915. Six cents notables et
intellectuels armeniens d’Istanbul furent arretes et assassines
ce jour-la sur ordre du gouvernement jeune-turc. Ce fut le debut
d’une vaste operation deployee principalement en Anatolie ainsi qu’en
Cilicie, où se concentrent les 2 millions d’Armeniens qui vivent alors
dans l’Empire ottoman. Dans les provinces de Van, Bitlis, Erzurum,
les populations armeniennes apprennent qu’elles ont de quelques heures
a quelques jours selon les lieux pour rassembler leurs affaires et
partir vers une destination inconnue. Une fois eloignes des villes,
les hommes sont separes de leur famille et executes.

Les femmes, les enfants et les vieillards continuent leur route a pied,
sans nourriture et quasi sans eau. Sur la route de leur calvaire,
certaines femmes vendent leurs enfants contre un peu de pain aux
Turcs et aux Arabes en quete d’esclaves. Les mères peuvent ainsi
esperer que leurs enfants ne mourront pas. Ils deviendront musulmans.

Les jeunes femmes et les plus beaux enfants ont davantage de chances
de survie. Les autres rejoignent Deir ez-Zor, dans le desert de Syrie,
où ils vont mourir dans des campements de fortune.

Talaat Pacha, le ministre de l’Interieur (il sera promu grand vizir,
c’est-a-dire chef du gouvernement, après le massacre), a donne des
instructions : > Toutes les branches de l’administration collaborent a ce
plan coordonne par l’Organisation speciale du Comite union et progrès,
le nom officiel du parti jeune turc au pouvoir. Elles s’appuient aussi
sur une participation populaire sous forme de pogroms et de pillages.

Les banquiers et les riches commercants sont particulièrement detestes
du petit peuple. Les syriaques, les Grecs, les juifs, les chaldeens
subissent le meme sort que les Armeniens. Des eglises et des ecoles
sont detruites par milliers.

Cependant, dans les grandes villes de la côte mediterraneenne,
le mouvement est rapidement stoppe : des diplomates allemands et
americains, comme Henry Morgenthau, sont choques. Ils alertent
leur gouvernement et la presse internationale. Certains Armeniens
sont sauves par des “justes” comme le consul americain en poste a
Kharpout, Leslie Davies. Le maire de Malatya, Mustafa agha Aziz oglou,
est assassine par son propre fils pour avoir sauve des chretiens. En
Cilicie, une flotte francaise conduite par le croiseur Guichen evacue
plusieurs milliers de refugies vers Port-Saïd, en Egypte. Cet episode
est raconte, en 1933, dans un roman a succès de Franz Werfel, interdit
dans l’Allemagne hitlerienne, les Quarante Jours du Musa Dagh. Mais
quand il s’agit de l’adapter au cinema, quelques annees plus tard,
le gouvernement turc fait pression sur la MGM, a Hollywood, pour
arreter le projet…Lire la suite…

À lire Le Genocide armenien, de la memoire outragee a la memoire
partagee, de Michel Marian, Albin Michel, 176 pages, 17 EURO (en
librairie le 2 avril). Detruire les Armeniens, histoire d’un genocide,
de Mikaël Nichanian, PUF, 288 pages, 21 EURO. À voir The Cut, la
blessure, film de Fatih Akin, janvier 2015.

ARMENIA FOCUSED ON HAMPERING BILATERAL RELATIONS, SAYS TURKISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 25 2015

25 March 2015

Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek has said that even though
Turkey is “approaching Armenia with candidness in an effort to resolve
the 1915 incidents,” Yerevan focuses on the events to hamper the
normalization process between the two countries.

“We see that Armenia chooses to focus on intensifying its anti-Turkey
events organized within the concept of the centenary of the 1915
incidents, rather than carrying the normalization process further on
the path towards April 24. This is despite all the well-intentioned
initiatives coming from our country,” said Cicek during a speech titled
“Turkey-U.S. Relations in the 21st Century” at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on March 24.

He said there was “no change” in Turkey’s stance toward normalizing
relations with Armenia, adding there was still hope for it to improve.

“The condolences messages and statements about these issues by our
president and prime minister are important steps taken in this way,”
Cicek said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message
issued in April 2014.

Cicek also said Turkey had opened all of its archives to researchers
and wished that the Armenians would do the same.

“We want the exploitation [of the subject] to be removed and for
peace to be supported by enlightening historical facts. We are ready
to give support to any kind of research,” he added.

The year 2015 marks the centenary of the 1915 Ottoman Armenian mass
killings during World War I.

While Armenia and a number of other countries and international
organizations legally refer to the incidents as genocide, the Turkish
state does not accept the term.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s view of the issue, published on its
website, states that Turkey “does not deny the suffering of Armenians,
including the loss of many innocent lives, during the First World War.

However, a greater numbers of Turks died or were killed in the
years leading up to and during the War. Without belittling the
tragic consequences for any group, Turkey objects to the one-sided
presentation of this tragedy as genocide by one group against another.”

25 March 2015

CENTENNIAL RENEWS K STREET BRAWL OVER ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ RESOLUTION

The Hill, DC
March 25 2015

By Megan R. Wilson – 03/25/15 06:00 AM EDT

Lawmakers in the House are pushing to mark the 100th anniversary of
mass killings of Armenians during World War I with a controversial
resolution that would officially label it an act of genocide.

Coming at the centennial, the proposal — which dates back decades
— has reignited a lobbying battle, with each side more resolved
than ever.

ADVERTISEMENT “We’re going to see a level of grassroots activism
all across the country that will be unprecedented: huge marches and
protests and commemorations, a national campaign to try and move
the Congress and the president to recognize the genocide on its
centennial,” said Rep.

Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the resolution’s initial sponsors. “If
not after a hundred years, then when?”

Opponents of the measure, led by the Turkish government, have
supporters outmatched.

Turkey recognized last year that Armenians faced “inhumane” treatment
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, but its leaders refuse to refer
to the mass killings that began in 1915 as genocide.

Unsatisfied, the Armenian National Committee of America spent $120,000
last year lobbying the U.S. government, the most it has spent in at
least seven years.

Since 2006, the group has spent $840,000, according to records.

But before lawmakers introduced the Armenian Genocide Truth and
Justice Resolution last week, Turkey renewed its contract with Gephardt
Government Affairs, run by former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt
(Mo.), for $1.7 million.

Signed on March 1, the contract also includes payments to four other
firms working on behalf of the Turkish government, including Dickstein
Shapiro and Greenburg Traurig. The two firms enlist help from former
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), former Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.)
and former Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.).

Armenian groups also have public relations operations in place,
something the resolution’s supporters hope will make a difference.

“There’s going to be a lot more attention this year,” Aram Hamparian,
the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America
said of the events planned to mark the centennial. “Issues like this
— human rights issues — tend to do well in the spotlight. They tend
to be defeated in the shadows when no one’s looking.”

The issue has been debated in Congress for three decades. Although
the resolution has never come to a full vote in Congress, it received
as many as 212 co-sponsors in 2007. In 2010, it had under 200. This
month, it was introduced in the House with 43.

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is passing around a “Dear Colleague” letter
to urge members not to support the nonbinding resolution. He says
its adoption would be “cataclysmic.”

Turkey, a strategic U.S. ally in the Middle East, lobbies on many
issues involving its reputation and relationships with American
politicians and groups. But its outspoken disapproval of the term
“genocide” to describe the mass killings has garnered the most
attention. Since 2008, the Turkish government has paid lobbyists more
than $12 million.

“Every cycle of Congress, there is a draft resolution,” a Turkish
official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told The Hill.

“We are not happy, because our position has not changed, in two ways:

The fact that [the resolution] does not help anyway, to bring a
fair memory or to actually bring reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians,” the official said. “To politicize a debate is not helpful
at all. … The two communities have suffered.”

A new U.S.-based advocacy organization, Turkish Institute for Progress,
recently registered with Levick — and former Rep. Connie Mack
(R-Fla.) — to lobby on its behalf in regards to Turkish-Armenian
relations. While it does not agree with the resolution, the group
said it would not be lobbying against it.

“We believe the resolution introduced last week is shortsighted and
only serves to exacerbate the division between two countries that
have so many strategic and economic interests in common,” said Derya
Taskin, the president of the organization, in an email.

However, the dispute between the two countries may not be solved
without a more public debate.

“We are confident that, as has been the case for the 30 years, the
U.S. Congress will do the right thing and not get involved in this
historical debate,” the Turkish official said.

“The genocide issue is the central issue between the Armenian and
Turkish peoples,” said Hamparian. “Ignoring it, or forcing others
into silence about it has not worked. It’s beyond being just being
morally wrong; it practically hasn’t worked.”

This April marks 100 years since the Ottoman Empire, partly composed
of present-day Turkey, began a massacre and relocation of ethnic
Armenians, whom it accused of supporting its Russian enemies in World
War I. More than 1 million people perished.

How the events are described has caused tension, not only between
the two countries but between those countries and the U.S.

As a senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama promised to be
the first commander in chief in 30 years to use the term “genocide”
to describe the killings. However, since being elected president,
he has avoided the word.

Opponents have said that referring to the events as an act of genocide,
which is a punishable crime, as opposed to an act of war could cause
an undue rift between the United States and Turkey. In past years,
Turkey has threatened to recall its U.S. ambassador and restrict
U.S. access to a geographically important military base.