Author: Kalantarian Kevo

PARIS : 100 ANS DE RECHERCHE SUR LE GéNOCIDE ARMéNIEN

Publié le : 27-02-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Le colloque international ”
Le génocide des Arméniens de l’Empire ottoman dans la Grande Guerre.

1915-2015 : cent ans de recherche ”, organisé par le Conseil
scientifique international pour l’étude du génocide des Arméniens
(CSI), se tiendra a Paris, du 25 au 28 mars 2015 sous le haut
patronage du Président de la République, Francois Hollande, dans
quatre prestigieux lieux de la capitale : le Grand Amphithéâtre
de la Sorbonne, le Mémorial de la Shoah, l’EHESS et la BNF. Places
limitées.

Réservation obligatoire a : [email protected].

Centenaire.org

Sous le haut patronage du Président de la République

Le génocide des Arméniens de l’Empire ottoman dans la Grande Guerre

1915-2015 : cent ans de recherche Paris, du 25 au 28 mars 2015

Conseil scientifique international pour l’étude du génocide des
Arméniens (CSI)

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Le Programme du colloque

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Mercredi 25 mars – 16h30/20h30

Allocution du Président de la République Francaise, MONSIEUR
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE

Messages de soutien

Allocution du Recteur de l’Académie de Paris, MONSIEUR FRANCOIS WEIL

Allocution du Président de l’Ecole des hautes études en sciences
sociales (EHESS) MONSIEUR PIERRE-CYRILLE HAUTCOEUR

Conférence inaugurale de MONSIEUR YVES TERNON historien, membre du
conseil scientifique du mémorial de la Shoah, président du CSI

Adresse : Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne 76 rue des Ecoles –
75005 Paris

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1ère Journée : Jeudi 26 mars, 9h30-19h00,

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Mémorial de la Shoah 17 rue Geoffroy L’Asnier, 75004 Paris

Premier Panel : 10h00-12h30

Espace-temps, les étapes du processus génocidaire

Président : Catherine Nicault, historienne, Université de Reims.

Discutant : Stephan Astourian, historien, Université de Berkeley

Interventions : 1. L’héritage d’Abdulhamid II. Janet Klein,
historienne, Université d’Akron.

2. L’opposition ottomane, le Comité Union et Progrès et la
révolution de 1908. Erdal Kaynar, historien, Polonsky Academy de
l’Institut Van Leer, EHESS.

3. Le ” Concert européen ” et les réformes dans les provinces
orientales, 1878-1914. Claire Mouradian, historienne, CNRS.

4. L’Organisation Spéciale. Sait Cetinoglu, historien, Université
libre d’Ankara.

5. L’entrée de l’Empire ottoman dans la guerre, 1914-1915. Mustafa
Aksakal, historien, Université de Georgetown.

12h30-13h30 : déjeuner

Deuxième Panel : 13h30-15h00

Perpétrateurs, Victimes, Sauveteurs

Président : Richard Hovannisian, historien, Université UCLA.

Discutant : Vincent Duclert, historien, EHESS.

Interventions : 1. La première phase de la destruction : déportations
et massacres (avril-aoÔt 1915). Raymond Kévorkian, historien,
Université Paris VIII.

2. La deuxième phase du génocide. Khatchig Mouradian, historien,
Université Rutgers.

3. Les conversions forcées. Űmit Kurt, historien, Université
Sabancı.

15h00-15h15 : Pause

Troisième Panel : 15h15-16h20

Témoins

Président : Wolfgang Gust, journaliste. Discutant : Ara Sarafian,
historien, Gomidas Institute.

Interventions : 1. Témoins européens et américains. Hans-Lukas
Kieser, historien, Université de Zurich.

2. Témoins arméniens. Amatuni Virabyan, historien, Archives d’Ã~Itat
d’Arménie.

16h20-16h30 : pause

Quatrième Panel : 16h30-19h00

Les autres minorités de l’Empire

Président : Gérard Chaliand, géostratège. Discutant :
Laurent-Olivier Mallet, historien, Université de Montpellier.

Interventions : 1. Les Juifs de l’Empire ottoman a la fin du xixe
siècle. Georges Bensoussan, historien, Mémorial de la Shoah.

2. La complexité du génocide des Assyro-Chaldéens. David Gaunt,
historien, Centre d’études des pays baltes et de l’Europe de l’Est,
Université de Soedertoern.

3. Les Grecs ottomans. Sia Anagnostopoulou, historienne, Université
d’Athènes.

4. Kurdes-Yézidis-Arméniens, facettes multiples d’une communauté en
exil(s). Estelle Amy de la Bretèque, anthropologue, ethnomusicologue,
CNRS.

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2ème Journée : Vendredi 27 mars, 9h30-20h30,

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EHESS Amphithéâtre Francois Furet 105 boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris

Cinquième Panel : 10h00-12h30

Logiques de guerre, économiques, idéologiques.

Président : JoÔl Kotek, politologue, historien, Université Libre
de Bruxelles. Discutant : Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, historien, EHESS.

Interventions : 1. Logiques idéologiques, démographiques et
économiques du génocide.

Hamit Bozarslan, politologue, historien, EHESS.

2. La logique des massacres pré-génocidaires. Vincent Duclert,
historien, EHESS.

3. L’évolution du front caucasien. Peter Holquist, historien,
Université de Pennsylvanie.

4. Les mécanismes de prise de décision de la direction jeune-turque
(1913-1915). Erik-Jan Zurcher, historien, Université de Leyde.

5. La spoliation des biens arméniens pendant le génocide. Mehmet
Polatel, historien, Université Koc.

12h30-13h30 : déjeuner

Sixième Panel : 13h30-16h00

Relations internationales et droit pénal

Président : Pierre Mertens, juriste, Centre de sociologie de la
littérature, Université libre de Bruxelles.

Discutant : Vincent Nioré, avocat et président de l’Institut de
droit pénal.

Interventions : 1. Les procès de Constantinople (1919-1920). MikaÔl
Nichanian, historien, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

2. De la rupture du consensus. L’affaire Perincek, le génocide
arménien et le droit pénal international. Sévane Garibian, juriste,
Universités de Genève et de Neuchâtel.

3. Le statut des réfugiés apatrides arméniens et l’action
internationale de la Société des Nations et du Bureau international
du Travail. Dzovinar Kévonian, historienne, Institut des sciences
sociales du politique, Université de Paris-Ouest Nanterre-La Défense
4. RaphaÔl Lemkin, l’extermination des Arméniens et l’invention du
mot génocide. Annette Becker, historienne, Université de Paris-Ouest
Nanterre-La Défense 5. Lemkin et le génocide des Arméniens, une
lecture juridique. Olivier Beauvallet, magistrat international.

16h00-16h15 : Pause

Septième Panel : 16h15-18h20

Les historiographies, un nouveau domaine de recherches

Président : Michel Marian, philosophe, Institut d’études politiques
de Paris. Discutant : Edhem Eldem, historien, Université Bogazici.

Interventions : 1. Les historiographies du génocide des Arméniens,
un nouveau domaine de recherches. Gaïdz Minassian, journaliste et
politologue, Institut d’études politiques de Paris.

2. Réflexions sur l’historiographie ottomane (années 1960-1990)
a propos du rôle des non musulmans et des Arméniens ottomans dans
le commerce et l’économie urbaine. Stephan Astourian, historien,
Université de Berkeley.

3. Les gouverneurs ottomans opposés aux déportations et aux massacres
d’Arméniens. Ayhan Aktar, historien, Université Bilgi.

4. Le discours de la Turquie sur le génocide des Arméniens. Jennifer
Dixon, politologue, Université de Villanova.

18h20-18h30: Pause

Huitième Panel : 18h30-20h30

Regards croisés sur l’effacement des traces ou le fantôme arménien.

Président : Patrick Donabedian, historien d’art, Université
d’Aix-Marseille. Discutant : Antoine Spire, journaliste,
vice-président de la Licra.

Interventions : 1. La permanence des traces du génocide de 1915 dans
la mémoire arménienne ; rôle du politique dans leur inscription
ou leur effacement. Janine Altounian, essayiste, traductrice de Freud.

2. La confiscation et la destruction de la richesse et des biens des
Arméniens et le génocide. Dickran Kouymjian, historien, Université
d’Ã~Itat de Californie.

3. Photographier après. Pascaline Marre, photographe et Anouche Kunth,
historienne, CNRS.

4. Aram Andonian, la bibliothèque Nubar et la constitution d’un
patrimoine en exil après la destruction des Arméniens ottomans. Boris
Adjemian, historien, Bibliothèque Nubar de l’UGAB.

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3ème Journée : Samedi 28 mars, 9h30-19h30,

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Bibliothèque Nationale de France Quai Francois Mauriac, 75013 Paris

Neuvième Panel : 10h00-12h30

Mémoire, transmission, histoire, négation

Président : Henry Rousso, historien, CNRS. Discutant : Claude
Mutafian, historien.

Interventions : 1. Le sacrifice, le témoignage et le pardon : Le
Candidat de Zareh Vorpouni. Marc Nichanian, professeur de philosophie,
Université Sabancı.

2. Genre, génocide, survie. Arméniens islamisés : nouveau travail
de mémoire. AyÅ~_e Gul Altinay, anthropologue, Université Sabancı.

3. L’enseignement des génocides : exemples européens. Alban Perrin,
historien, Mémorial de la Shoah, Institut d’études politiques
de Bordeaux.

4. Les mythes fondateurs du négationnisme turc. BuÅ~_ra Ersanli,
politologue, Université de Marmara.

5. La mémoire du génocide chez les Arméniens de Turquie. Hira
Kaynar, historienne, EHESS.

12h30-13h30 : déjeuner

Dixième Panel : 13h30-15h00

Spécificités et comparatismes, I

Président : Jean-Pierre Chrétien, historien, CNRS. Discutant :
Meïr Waintrater, journaliste.

Interventions : 1. La pensée génocidaire : une perspective
comparative. Dominik Schaller, historien, Université de Heidelberg.

2. Le génocide des Arméniens, des Assyriens et des Grecs par les
Ottomans. Roger Smith, historien, Collège William and Mary.

3. Le génocide arménien au regard d’une théorie générale du
génocide.

Bernard Bruneteau, professeur de science politique, Université de
Rennes I.

15h00-15h15 : Pause

Onzième Panel : 15h15-17h00

Spécificités et comparatismes, II

Président : Claire Mouradian, historienne, CNRS. Discutant : Yves
Ternon, historien, membre du conseil scientifique du Mémorial de
la Shoah.

Interventions : 1. Singularité de la Shoah. Christian Ingrao,
historien, CNRS.

2. Singularité de la famine en Ukraine. Nicolas Werth, historien,
CNRS.

3. Singularité du génocide des Tutsi. Hélène Dumas, historienne,
EHESS.

17h00-17h15 : pause

Conférence de clôture : 17h15 a 19h30 Président : Gaïdz Minassian,
journaliste et politologue, Institut d’études politiques de Paris.

Interventions : 1. Bilan du colloque. Raymond Kévorkian, historien,
Université Paris VIII.

2. 1915 et les sciences sociales. Taner Akcam, historien, Université
de Clarke.

3. Turquisme et panturquisme. Erik-Jan Zurcher, historien, Université
de Leyde.

4. Le négationnisme contemporain et ses défenseurs. Richard
Hovannisian, historien, Université UCLA.

5. Les perspectives du point de vue de la justice internationale.

Nicholas Koumjian, procureur près les cours internationales de
justice.

6. L’édition de la recherche sur le génocide des Arméniens en
Turquie.

Ragıp Zarakolu, éditeur.

INSCRIPTION DANS LA LIMITE DES PLACES DISPONIBLES : Ecrire a :
[email protected]

******

Membres fondateurs du CSI,

Annette Becker, professeur d’histoire contemporaine a l’Université de
Paris-Ouest Nanterre-La Défense), membre de l’Institut universitaire
de France.

Hamit Bozarslan, historien, politologue, directeur d’études a l’Ecole
des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS).

Vincent Duclert, historien, enseignant-chercheur au Centre d’études
sociologiques et politiques Raymond Aron (EHESS).

Raymond Kévorkian, historien, directeur émérite de recherche a
l’Institut francais de géopolitique, Université Paris VIII.

Gaïdz Minassian, journaliste, docteur en sciences politiques,
maître de conférences a l’Institut d’études politiques de Paris.

Claire Mouradian, historienne, directrice de recherche au CNRS.

MikaÔl Nichanian, historien, conservateur a la Bibliothèque nationale
de France, chercheur associé au Collège de France.

Yves Ternon, historien, membre du conseil scientifique du Mémorial
de la Shoah, président du CSI.

INSCRIPTION DANS LA LIMITE DES PLACES DISPONIBLES Ã~Icrire a :
[email protected]

Lire aussi :

” Génocide arménien ” vs ” génocide des Arméniens ”

TÃ~ILÃ~ICHARGER : Le Programme du colloque

Source/Lien : Centenaire.org

Birthday stroll in the Old City’s Armenian Quarter…

By RUTH WASSERMAN LANDE
03/01/2015 16:13

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday. Having chosen a rather unusual
way in which to celebrate it, I had a rare, yet intriguing, glimpse
into the life an Armenian priest, and an even rarer chance to examine,
from within, the underlying tensions between Armenian, Greek Orthodox
and Catholic Christians in an already complex Jewish capital…

We began by entering the usually unyielding Armenian priests’ compound
in the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. Quite astounded,
I discovered wide parking lots behind secret gateways, in an area
where it is barely possibly to pass by, even with a small car.
Likewise, the living quarters of approximately 100 Armenian monks, as
well as approximately 150 more Armenians, who live with their families
within the premises, were wondrously opened to us, a Jewish Israeli
couple, by our friend, an Armenian

Lebanese monk, who has been living in Israel for the past 30 years.
The Armenians follow their own Archbishop and Pope, whose seat is in
faraway Armenia and provide services and protection to those following
the Ethiopian and the Coptic Churches in Israel. Their undeclared
enemies are neither the State of Israel, nor Islam, at least not in
Israel, yet the Greek Orthodox Church and to a lesser degree, the
Catholic Church in this country.

Following a heart-to-heart chat about the complexities of our region,
I probed deeper into the life experiences of our friend, whose family
members remain in Lebanon, dreading the likes of ISIS and other evils.
Once more, it became abundantly clear to me, that despite all
criticism of- and complexities in the tiny State of Israel, there
remain certain pillars of virtue which are remarkable, once of which
is the freedom of religion which is granted in general and to
Christians in particular.

I was witness to just how difficult and sensitive my aforementioned
observation really was, in the following part of the trip: Following a
group of Armenian monks, my husband and I strolled with them in a
ceremonious manner, from the Armenian Quarter towards the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre- a half-an-hour walk , if one is not in a hurry…
I was a Jewish Israeli woman, strolling with a group of Armenian
monks, cloaked in black with huge gold crosses on their necks and
pointed tall caps, in the midst of a Christian pilgrim crowd, Muslim
local merchants and several, particularly religious, Jewish
passers-by.

As if this was not surreal enough, I was both surprised and proud to
notice several Israeli security personnel securing the monks. When
asked who they were securing them from, I was answered by one of the
policemen that it was from several extreme Jewish individuals, who had
taken the habit to spit at the monks during former such parades…
During this particular parade, I was spared dubious pleasure of
experiencing the above… What ensued within the Church itself was even
more astounding- hordes of visitors, both pilgrims and local clergymen
were organized in a miraculous fashion, according to a strict
timetable, which enabled the Armenian followers to perform their
rituals and ceremonies, then those who follow the Greek Orthodox
Church and finally the Catholics to carry out their own such
practices.

This surprisingly well-ordered, if somewhat tense manifestation of
internal agreements between the three sects vis-à-vis their holy of
holies, was not only respected and acknowledged by the State of
Israel, but kept orderly by Israeli policemen, lest Greek Orthodox
monks physically abuse those of the Armenian order, or vice versa.
Quite surreal.

My birthday gift was clear: yet another astounding reminder and a
greater clarity of just how complex, potentially explosive and
wondrously fascinating this city of Jerusalem really is – for all
people.

ACTIVISTS TURN THEIR BACKS TO DENIALIST SPEAKERS AT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

15:56, 02 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On Feb. 27, Armenian youth held a silent protest at a lecture, entitled
“WWI 100th Anniversary: Human Suffering in Eastern Anatolia,” that
featured genocide deniers Justin McCarthy and Bruce Fein.

Organized by the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations, the
lecture was held at the University of Toronto (UofT), St. George
Campus, the Armenian Weekly reports.

The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) of Canada, in collaboration
with the Armenian Students Association (ASA) of UofT St. George and
Scarborough campuses and the Armen Karo Student Association spearheaded
this protest action.

More than 70 human rights activists from the university community,
who made up the majority of those in attendance, held the silent
protest by standing in unison and turning their backs to the lecturers.

Protesters allowed the speakers to deliver their opening remarks.

However, when it became apparent that the speakers would deny and
misconstrue the facts of the Armenian Genocide, the group stood up
and turned their backs to the podium as a silent protest against
genocide denial.

Several racial slurs and discriminatory comments were directed at
the protesters as they stood in silence.

The lecture organizers briefly stopped the talk, but after campus
police made it clear that the form of protest did not interfere with
the event, they were asked to continue.

The protesters continued to stand with their backs to the podium as
Fein spoke, then marched out in an organized walk-out, leaving the
remaining 20 or so attendees to listen to the lecture.

The demonstrators then marched to UofT’s Anti-Racism and Cultural
Diversity Office to voice their concern regarding the event, and to
deliver a petition of over 2,000 signatures denouncing the talk and
demanding that the university distance itself from the organizers and
speakers. The group had previously sent to the university a letter
signed by academics, human rights groups, and student associations,
including the Hillel of Greater Toronto, the Greek Students Association
of UofT-Scarborough, and the Hellenic Students Association of Ryerson
University, demanding that the event be canceled.

McCarthy, who was turned away from the University of Melbourne and
Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2013, has long been regarded as a
mouthpiece of the Turkish state in spreading denial of the Armenian
Genocide. Fein is employed by the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA)
as a resident scholar, to similarly support and propagate the Turkish
denial policy of the Armenian Genocide, and has penned several articles
attacking the veracity of the genocide.

AYF-Canada Chairperson Daron Keskinian said it was “extremely
troubling” that such an event took place at UofT.

“The University of Toronto should distance itself from this event
immediately,” he said. “The lecture organizers have used the location
to bring legitimacy to their event, and have been given free rein to
present their denial propaganda at the expense of the university’s
reputation.”

The ASA of UofT released a statement stressing that the event should
be disconcerting to the university community at large.

“In the interest of maintaining its integrity and making amends
for this event taking place on campus, the University of Toronto’s
President’s Office should release a statement indicating that they
distance themselves from this event. The Armenian Genocide is taught
at this institution and the University of Toronto should not provide
podiums to those who are looking to legitimize their denial of the
first genocide of the 20th century,” read the statement.

MONNAIES ARMENIENNES
La Banque Centrale d’Arménie honore le 150ème anniversaire du général Antranik

La Banque Centrale d’Arménie vient d’émettre le 27 février une monnaie
commémorative dédiée au 150ème anniversaire de la naissance du général
Antranik (Antranik Ozinian). D’une valeur faciale de 1000 drams, la
pièce frappée en Lituanie et tirée à seulement 500 exemplaires est en
argent. La gravure sur la pièce -qui porte les insignes de la
République d’Arménie- représente la statue du Père Lachaise (Paris)
avec le général Antranik sur son cheval avec les inscriptions

L’AVENIR DE L’OPPOSITION EN ARMENIE

Politique

Les principaux partis d’opposition d’Armenie sont restes vagues sur
les mesures immediates a prendre après la reaction ambigue du BHK
face a la pression du gouvernement.

Le HAK et le parti du Patrimoine ont declare vendredi qu’ils
clarifieraient leurs actions après le congrès du BHK.

S’exprimant lors d’une conference de presse a l’Assemblee nationale, le
leader parlementaire du HAK, Levon Zurabian, a dit que la cooperation
future du trio depend desormais du BHK.

“Nous sommes prets a cooperer avec le BHK si ce parti maintient sa
resistance et continue a lutter contre le regime et contre la reforme
constitutionnelle envisagee”, a t-il dit.

Ruben Hakobian, leader parlementaire du parti du Patrimoine, a
egalement declare que les nouvelles mesures seront precisees après
le prochain congrès du BHK. “Ce n’est pas un secret : le BHK avait un
gros poids politique dans le trio”, a t-il dit, en observant que, ces
derniers jours, le parti dirige par Tsarukian a “gele” ses positions.

Pendant ce temps, le chef d’un parti de l’opposition
extra-parlementaire a declare vendredi qu’un certain nombre de forces
d’opposition a l’adhesion de l’Armenie a l’UEE a tenu des discussions
et qu’un nouveau “pôle politique” peut se degager a la suite de ces
negociations.

Paruyr Hayrikian, de l’Union pour l’autodetermination nationale, a
declare qu’il avait rencontrer vendredi des dirigeants d’un certain
nombre de partis et groupes d’opposition, y compris du Patrimoine,
du Mouvement national armenien, des democrates libres, du Founding
Parliament et du Parti conservateur. Ce serait deja leur cinquième
reunion en fevrier.

“Nous devons creer et presenter au peuple un veritable pôle auquel
il peut faire confiance”, a declare Hayrikian, soulignant que la
première reunion a eu lieu avant que le gouvernement ne commence sa
campagne contre le BHK.

Hayrikian n’a pas cache que le sol initial pour la cooperation
entre ces partis, c’est le fait que tous sont contre l’adhesion de
l’Armenie a l’UEE. “Mais lors de notre première reunion, l’un de nos
participants a suggere que nous oublions le fait d’etre >
quelque chose. En d’autres termes, au lieu d’etre contre la Russie
de Poutine, nous sommes pour l’autodetermination de l’Armenie, nous
sommes pour la democratie et la protection des droits de l’homme en
Armenie”, a t-il dit.

lundi 2 mars 2015, Claire (c)armenews.com

Eurasia Review
Feb 28 2015

Iranian Film Critic, Zaven Ghokasian Passes Away At 65

February 28, 2015 Radio Zamaneh Leave a comment
By Radio Zamaneh

Prominent film critic Zaven Ghokasian passed away on February 20 at
the age of 65 in his home in Isfahan following a long battle with
stomach cancer. Ghokasian had spent five months in hospital in Austria
and underwent stomach surgery in September. On January 27 he finally
returned to his hometown of Isfahan. Upon return to Iran he was again
where he was transferred to hospital undergoing more general exams and
after about two weeks around February 10 finally he returned home
where he had to finally surrender in the battle against cancer.

Ghokasian was born in 1951 in Isfahan and graduated with a bachelor in
chemistry from university of Isfahan. His mother, Ada Atayan, was one
of the young cinema lovers that frequented the newly established Cine
Club in Isfahan in the 1950s. She then became Zaven’s first
introduction to cinema and film magazines.

In 1970 Arby Avanesian Armenian- Iranian auteur filmmaker went to
Isfahan to film Cheshmeh and Zaven found himself drawn to his film
sets. He met with Avanesian and was deeply influenced by him which
made him further pursue studies and research in film. In 1972,
Ghukasian published his first book on film titled Dar Bareye Cheshmeh
(About Cheshmeh), an analysis of Avanesian’s film by the same title.
He also went on to work as an amateur filmmaker with 8mm film and
later became head of Isfahan’s Free Cinema. All My Children, Another
Season and Old Bride are amongst the titles of his films. Armenian
artists and customs of Iranian-Armenians were some of the chief
subjects of his films.

Ghokasian has published 24 books on Iranian filmmakers and actors such
as Abbas Kiarostami, Bahram Beyzai, Bahman Farmanara and Fatemeh
Motamedarya. Ghokasian also served on numerous judging panels in film
festivals in Iran, Austria, Italy and Armenia and wrote hundreds of
articles and film reviews and critiques in his 43 years as a film
critic.

He researched extensively about oral history and documentary
filmmaking. He also held teaching positions in Tehran’s Soureh
University and Isfahan’s Sepehr University.

During his hospitalization in Austria, the ailing film critic was
visited by a number of Iranian filmmakers and artists including Abbas
Kiarostami. Asghar Farhani, Heshmat Arash Riyahi. Farhad Varharam and
Fatemeh Motamedarya.

Zaven Ghokasina will be laid to rest in the Cemetery of Armenians in
Isfahan next to his parents.

korazym.org- Italia
25 feb 2015

Gregorio, il Papa e gli armeni

25 febbraio 2015

L’Armenia celebra quest’anno il centenario dell’atroce genocidio di
cui fu vittima ad opera della Turchia. Una ricorrenza importante, non
solo e non tanto dal punto di vista storico, ma anche perché l’evento
dovrebbe servire a far conoscere in modo più diffuso e capillare quel
che è successo a cominciare dall’aprile del 1915, quando lunghe file
di uomini, donne, bambini, anziani furono condotti a morire lungo le
strade infuocate e sabbiose. In queste marce della morte, che
coinvolsero almeno 1.200.000 persone, che morirono per fame,
malattia, sfinimento.

Furono organizzate con la supervisione di ufficiali dell’esercito
tedesco in collegamento con l’esercito turco, secondo le alleanze
ancora valide tra Germania e Impero Ottomano: in molti le considerano
una sorta di “prova generale” ante litteram di quelle che diventeranno
le deportazioni di massa dei deportati ebrei messe in atto dal
nazismo.

Le fotografie scattate in quell’inferno di morte e desolazione sono la
più spietata e lucida testimonianza che i negazionisti d’oggi si
affannano a a voler trascurare. Basterebbe visitare l’esposizione di
quelle scattate da Armin T. Wegner e raccolte in una bella mostra
organizzata circa un mese fa Venezia. Wegner era un ufficiale e
paramedico tedesco di stanza in Medio Oriente nei primi decenni del
Novecento. Documentò le stragi degli armeni, cercando di mobilitare le
coscienze contro questi eccidi, come poi fece per quanto succedeva
agli ebrei. Inascoltato, perseguitato, solo molti decenni dopo poi
proclamato Giusto delle Nazioni.

Papa Francesco ha annunciato che celebrerà una messa nella basilica di
San Pietro il 12 aprile prossimo proprio in occasione di questa
ricorrenza. Un gesto importante, anche simbolicamente, perché proclama
dinanzi al mondo intero che non è più possibile mettere in dubbio,
tacere, ignorare la realtà tragico di quei giorni, e che i genocidi,
le persecuzioni, per motivi razziali, religiosi, etnici, non sono un
semplice retaggio del passato, ma storia contemporanea, cronaca di cui
si riempiono quotidianamente i nostri occhi.

E un altro gesto significativo è stata la decisione, da parte del
Pontefice, di proclamare san Gregorio di Narek . Sacerdote monaco, San Gregorio, nato ad Andzevatsik, in
Anatolia, che allora era in Armenia e oggi è in Turchia, intorno
all’anno 950 e morto a Narek (allora Armenia, ora Turchia) circa nel
1005, è stato un insigne teologo e uno dei più importanti poeti della
letteratura armena. La Chiesa Armena già lo annovera fra i Dottori. La
Chiesa latina ne riconosce la santità definendolo , come recita il
Martirologio Romano ricordandolo al 27 febbraio.
San Gregorio era un grande devoto della Vergine, che, secondo la
tradizione, gli sarebbe apparsa. A Lei si rivolgeva sempre, nei
momenti di profonda gioia contemplativa come nei momenti di sconforto.
, si legge nella Preghiera 80, rivolta
alla Madre con accenti di autentica poesia. Non per nulla Gregorio è
considerato figura centrale della letteratura cristiana delle origini.
Preghiera, contemplazione, introspezione, paesaggio interiore
illuminato dai bagliori dei versi si fondono nelle sue parole giunte
fino a noi intatte nella loro forza e nello struggimento che le
pervadono, rivolte al Creatore: .

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE SITUATION IN ARMENIA – MP

14:15 * 02.03.15

Head of the Heritage parliamentary group Ruben Hakobyan does not
object to constitutional amendments.

However, he stressed the authorities must sound convincing in their
wish to change the situation by means of constitutional amendments.

“If they are sincerely willing to change the government system,
they should have made relevant steps toward changes,” Mr Hakobyan
told Tert.am.

The first proposal concerned amendments to Armenia’s election law.

According to the second proposal, Armenia’s Parliament is to adopt
a bill that would envisage serious supervision mechanisms for the
Opposition.

“The third point is that if the authorities state they are not
‘anthropocentric’, it is logical that, after the referendum with a
reformed constitution, they could hold national elections, in 2016
for example.”

Mr Hakobyan calls for attention to one of the principles by the Venice
Commission – “documents that need to be approved unanimously.”

“Even most of the Constitutional Reforms Commission members,
when they refer to the Venice Commission’s positive opinion, they
should consider the fact that some norms and documents need to be
unanimously approved. The first of the documents is the Constitution,”
Mr Hakobyan said.

This implies that the greater part of society has to be unanimous on
particular documents.

“Regrettably, they are ignoring sociological surveys, to know if
society is unanimous. More than fifty percent must be unanimous.”

Hakobyan said he never saw a unanimous attitude to the basic document
ever since its adoption.

He said he doesn’t think that constitutional amendments are necessary
for the implementation of the necessary reforms.

“So if they are willing to change the provisions, they can do that
without amending the Constitution. To make us believe that they
sincerely want to change the Constitution to the benefit of our
country’s development, they should first of all follow the requirements
which are unrelated to the constitution but impede the country’s
development,” he said, adding that the authorities reject the reforms.

“They give no logical explanation as to why they avoid the
100% proportional representation system, being well-aware of the
irregularities committed during majority seat votes. We are not against
the constitutional reforms, but need to be sure that we really can
and want to change the situation with their help,” he added.

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
Feb 28 2015

Library and Archives Canada acquires huge Malak Karsh collection

Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen

Malak Karsh’s vibrant photos of Ottawa tulips, Gatineau leaves and
Canada’s full glory are about to be preserved for future generations.

Library and Archives Canada will announce Sunday the purchase of more
than 200,000 photographic images from Malak’s vast collection of
transparencies, negatives and prints.

The images, captured between 1968 and 2001, include many colour photos
of Parliament Hill and the tulip festival, along with landscapes from
across the country. Other images feature Canadians at work in
agriculture, industry and the arts.

Library and Archives Canada has already acquired much of Malak’s
black-and-white photo collection.

The eldest of Malak’s four children, Sidney, said his late father
travelled the country hundreds of times, always with his camera at the
ready. “He specialized in finding the beauty of Canada,” Karsh, 68,
said in an interview Friday. “He wanted to make sure that Canadians
saw that beauty. … It was a lifelong passion for him.”

Malak, who died in November 2001 from leukemia, would have celebrated
his 100th birthday on Sunday.

Library and Archives Canada plans to digitize the Malak collection and
make some photos available to Canadians through its website.

Librarian and Archivist of Canada Guy Berthiaume called photography an
“integral and invaluable part” of Canada’s documentary heritage. At
least six of Malak’s images have appeared on Canadian stamps and
another — a picture of a log drive behind Parliament Hill — was
featured on the back on the now-defunct $1 bill.

The federal government paid $644,000 for the Malak collection.

Malak Karsh was born in the city of Mardin, in what is now
southeastern Turkey, only weeks before the Ottoman government began
the forced deportation of its Armenian Christian population in April
1915. The massive deportation, and accompanying massacres, killed more
than one million Armenians, who were regarded as an enemy within by
the Ottomans.

Malak survived the slaughter and immigrated in 1937 to Canada where he
learned photography from his older brother, Yousuf, a
much-sought-after portrait photographer. He used the name Malak to
distinguish himself from his famous brother — and decided to focus his
lens on the dramatic landscapes of his adopted homeland.

It was a decision prompted by his first visit to the Gatineau Hills.

“When I saw the beautiful autumn colours, I said, ‘That is what I am
going to be: I am going to be a photographer,’ ” Malak told an
interviewer in 1997. “If Canada is all as beautiful as the Gatineaus,
I am going to travel all over Canada.”

He established his own photographic studio on Sparks Street in April
1941 and hired a young assistant, Barbara Fraser, whom he married the
following year. Malak sold one of his cameras to pay for their
honeymoon.

Equipped with a German-made Hasselblad camera, Malak photographed much
of the country, but he had a special affinity for the national capital
region. “This is the only landscape that lets me take crocuses through
the snow,” he once said. “And in winter, the hoarfrost and trees here
transform our landscape into a fairyland.”

Malak captured log drives on the Ottawa River, the Parliament
buildings draped in snow, a tour boat emerging from the mist of Rideau
Falls, the ByWard Market brimming with produce and, of course, tulips.

In 1952, Malak approached the Ottawa Board of Trade with the idea of
starting a tulip festival — and a beloved Ottawa tradition was born.

“I have unlimited love for tulips,” he told one interviewer. “Every
year I say, ‘I have enough tulip pictures, I won’t take any more.’ But
each year, it doesn’t work.”

Malak continued to work after being afflicted with leukemia. He’d snap
pictures of nurses and doctors during visits to the hospital, and once
photographed a group of interns examining his gout-stricken feet. Only
days before his death, he walked to Parliament Hill from his home in
the Glebe to photograph a tree he admired.

US-BASED GREEK-ITALIAN DIRECTOR MAKING A MOVIE ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

12:12, 02 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Jon Milano, an Oradell native of Italian and Greek descent now living
in California, is making a movie about the Armenian genocide, the
North Jersey reports.

“I am not Armenian,” Milano says, “but I grew up in Oradell, which
has one of the biggest Armenian populations in America. When I was
growing up, at first I had no idea that was the case. Then when I
went to public school, all my friends were Armenian. They have such
a great history behind them.”

His movie, “Straw Dolls,” has been a work-in-progress the past two
years. Final photography was completed in November. The film is in
its final phases of editing and is to premiere at a screening on
March 15 in Los Angeles, with subsequent screenings on the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide on April 24 in Copenhagen,
New York City and Armenia, according to Milano.

Milano learnt the story of the Armenian Genocide from a childhood
friend.

“Over the years, he told me the horrible, horrible stories about his
grandparents and how they survived,” he says. “The only people who
talk about this are Armenians. It’s not taught in schools. And so I
wanted to tell their story.”

The film stars the award-winning Iranian-Armenian actress Mary Apick
and Marco Khan, with a full ensemble of young Armenian actors. On
a shoestring budget of $40,000, the movie was shot on location at
a movie ranch in California’s Simi Valley. It was the same location
used for shooting Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” (2012) and
“Saving Mr. Banks (2013), according to Milano. “It’s the only location
in Southern California that doesn’t look like Southern California,”
Milano said with a laugh. “It looks like the Middle East. It’s just
a big-open-space ranch you can build movie sets on.”

As for the story, he said that the challenge for him and his co-writer
was to tell a self-contained plot that reflected the bigger historical
picture without ever getting too broad.

“It’s a slice of the Armenian genocide.” Milano says. “It’s about
this Armenian farmer and his daughter. They have gotten word of the
deportations, and in a last-ditch effort to escape their village
before the deportations happen, they are too late. Typically, men
were killed immediately. So he pretends to be a Turkish sympathizer,
and he convinces the soldiers he is one of them. His daughter hides
and makes a decision that will alter the rest of their lives.”

Milano studied film at William Paterson University before graduating
and going on to get his master’s in filmmaking from Chapman University
in Orange County in California. He has made two other films before
writing the initial screenplay for “Straw Dolls.” Realizing the script
needed revisions, he brought in screenwriter Caitlin Riblett. “She’s a
fantastic writer. She came in, and we ended up doing drafts together,”
he said.

Yervant Kachichian, 26, of Oradell, the Armenian childhood friend
who Milano says inspired the film, says he couldn’t be prouder.

“My family was always very open about their culture, and John was like
part of our family,” Kachichian says. “John is an honorary Armenian.

That’s how it feels. He’s like a brother to me. So whenever we’re
together, he hears of our family’s stories.”

Some are pretty gruesome, Kachichian says.

“My grandmother barely survived,” he says. “She got out when she
was a baby. The Turks took her from her mother, and they threw
her onto a pile of dead people, dead corpses, and they had a horse
stomp on her to kill her. By the grace of God, she didn’t die. My
great grandmother then came back, found the baby on he pile of dead
people. My grandmother [now deceased] showed me the horseshoe prints
on the back of her neck.”

Kachichian says that he has seen a rough cut of the film and that it
is a great tribute to Armenian people.

“It’s incredible the way they were able to tell a story and make you
feel so emotionally attached in such a short amount of time,” he says.

“It’s really touching.”