Author: Parkev Tvankchian

The Armenian Genocide is an atrocity that has been denied by the Turkish government for nearly 100 years. The US, UK, Israeli and many other countries have not formally recognized this horrendous event either. There are even those who have only adopted this position within the last twenty years, despite the fact that the actual events took place in the early 1910s to 1923.

In the last century, two different works intending to depict the truth of the Armenian Genocide were shut down before they’d even had a chance to be made. To combat this, The Promise was mostly privately funded.

“We were fully backed by the Kerkorian Foundation. And we had an Armenian-American production company”, director Terry George said after the London screening of the film, reports.

The Kerkorian Foundation was founded by the late Kirk Kerkorian, an Armenian businessman whose intention was to fund a truthful story of the Armenian Genocide.

Because of the sensitivity of the issues The Promise seeks to bring to the screen, this film was kept quiet.

“We tried to fly under the radar as much as we could so that we didn’t have to deal with outside pressure. So we shot in Spain and Portugal and Malta. We were crucially aware of what we were trying to do, so we said, let’s get this thing made and put it out there, and then have the political debate and the conversation that we need to have.”

With The Promise, George stated that he intended to “entertain as well as educate”.

“I wanted to make something that would appeal to audiences with no particular interest in the war or the conflict that would stand on its own, because this is one of the most contentious subjects out there. Even now, they’re locking up journalists who speak up on the matter”.

This makes the character of Chris Meyers (Christian Bale) so important. George stated that by introducing an American journalist it allowed him to move into the history outside of the characters of Mikael and Ana, to see how and what information was being sent across the world around this period of time.

The presence of Meyers also allowed for the introduction of historical figures, such as Henry Morgenthau, who was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and published his memoirs about his dealings during that time.

Although The Promise is no doubt going to meet opposition, whether in the form of denial, or by those who see exploitation for money, or those who cannot understand the importance of this story, George doesn’t seem deterred.

“I wanted to make a film that moves and enrages, that really evokes the spirit of rage, because that’s what the events called for. If we can do that, then we’ve succeeded.”

When asked if he preferred Armenia or Lebanon, the Lebanese Minister of Tourism chose Armenia. Evidently, this resulted in quite the outrage among the Lebanese people, reports.

The Minister, Avedis Guidanian, is also the deputy chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun.

During the interview on Al Jadeed’s “Talk of the Town” show where the host, Mona Abou Hamze, asked him questions to which he could only choose between 2 options.

Among the questions, he was asked to choose between Israel and Turkey – which he refused to answer.

Then when he was asked to choose between Armenia and Lebanon, he quickly chose Armenia.

Understandably, Armenia is his mother country and he is a member of one of the main Armenian parties. Lebanon and Armenia have close relations – especially due to the fact that we both faced persecution from the same oppressor – the Ottoman (modern day Turkey). Lebanon became a safe haven for many Armenians fleeing the genocide.

Following his response, the audience applauded him and the host commended him on choosing his “motherland.”

Many people didn’t like his response. Following the outcry, he issued a statement saying the following:

“Let’s make things clear, I am a Lebanese with Armenian roots, Lebanon is my home country.”

There was an outcry among Turkish people – calling him racist – for his comments towards Turkey.

“I would not promote anything related to Turkey, none of their products, or establish relations with them. I cannot prevent Turks from coming to Lebanon and I do not want to welcome them at an airport,” he said.

The series of questions start at the 21-minute mark but this is the full interview:

The Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin have exchanged messages on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“This remarkable event marked the start of a new stage in the centuries-old Armenian-Russian relations of friendship, brotherhood and mutual support, and formed the ground for allied strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia,” President Sargsyan said in a message to his Russian counterpart.

“The relations between Armenia and Russia are on the highest level today, and stand out for active political dialogue, effective coordination of steps on bilateral, regional and global platforms, joint efforts to ensure peace and security in the South Caucasus,” President Sargsyan said.

“We have made important decisions on furthering joint projects in the economic, humanitarian and other domains. Russia and Armenia have made a significant contribution to the Eurasian integration process, reinforcement of cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, CIS and other structures,” he noted.

The President voiced confidence that the multifaceted Armenian-Russian relations would continue to deepen embracing new spheres of productive cooperation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said, in turn, that “we have managed to raise the Russian-Armenian relations to the high level of allied cooperation based on the long-standing traditions of friendship and mutual respect.”

“The political dialogue is developing dynamically, joint projects are being implemented in the economic, scientific-technical, humanitarian and other domains,” Putin said. He hailed the cooperation within Eurasian integration frameworks, coordination of efforts in fighting urgent threats and challenges to regional security.

Asbarez – The American Hellenic Council on Monday released a statement urging the Greek American community and all descendants of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide, to boycott the new Turkish-produced film “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” expressing the AHC’s solidarity with the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States, which issued a similar call last week.

“The film is a blatant attempt to repudiate the upcoming movie, The Promise, and mislead impressionable youth into believing the Genocide was a ‘two-sided’ event, reads a part of the statement.

AHC Executive Director Ioannis Fidanakis, who signed the statement, asks the Greek community to join “an AYF-initiated letter writing campaign to local theaters to educate them about the purpose of the film.”

Below is the text of the AHC’s statement.

Dear Supporter,
We, the American Hellenic Council (AHC), in solidarity with the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Western United States, urge the Greek-American community, as well all descendants of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide, to jointly boycott the recently released film, The Ottoman Lieutenant.

The movie, which was produced by a Turkish production company, was released on March 10 and stars Michiel Huisman, Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett, and Ben Kingsley, is set in Ittihadist Turkey at the time of the Genocide. The film is a blatant attempt to repudiate the upcoming movie, The Promise, and mislead impressionable youth into believing the Genocide was a “two-sided” event.

Although we at the AHC, acknowledge that Ottoman Turks were affected by the state of war throughout the Empire, like all Ottoman citizens, their suffering cannot be equated with a systematic campaign of extermination, which befell the native Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian peoples of Eastern Thrace and Anatolia.

Therefore, we ask the Greek-American community to refrain from paying to watch this film in theaters or supporting it in any way.”

Photos: Asbarez

 

Asbarez – The extraordinary theatrical performance titled “You Rejoice My Heart,” dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, premiered in New York. The play was adapted and directed by the veteran of Armenian Theater, renowned actress of Armenian Stage Film and Television and executive producer of Voice of Armenians TVNY Karine Kocharyan.

The adaptation of the play was based on a novel “You Rejoice My Heart” by Turkish writer Kemal Yalçin. The novel tells the seldom discussed story of so-called secret or hidden Armenians, whose descendants still live in the provinces of Turkey and elsewhere today.

“You Rejoice My Heart” performance opens with Yalçin’s personal and emotional apology, saying “My dear Armenian friend, the greatest pain of humanity this century, the mark of black soot on the forehead of history, is the Armenian Genocide. I bow down to the memory of all the Armenians killed. I accept your pain as my pain. As a Turkish writer, I speak for myself and all of the world when I ask for your forgiveness. The shame of this great disaster is stamped on the forehead of humanity, and the planners, projectors and perpetrators will be cursed. When justice is finally implemented, when our great pain has subsided and when we finally ensure this injustice will never happen again, I give my heart to you and my soul will rejoice with you.”

The story then follows Yalçin (played by Arthur Karapetyan) who through the guidance of his teacher Meline, who is of Armenian origin, embarks on a project to seek out Armenians living in Turkey as converted Muslims.

While the play opened with a Yalçin’s apology, its ending carried a deep symbolic and emotional meaning with Kemal’s Turkish mother, on her knees offering sacrificial bread to the people of her village as a gesture for asking forgiveness and mercy for the souls of all Armenians killed during the genocide.

The escalation of tension on the Line of Contact, provoked by the Azerbaijani side, only deepens the distrust and postpones the prospects for a final resolution of the conflict, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Lack of international response fuels Azeri aggression

The full text of the statement is below: 

“In the early hours of February 25, 2017, the Azerbaijani armed forces attempted an attack on the positions of the Defense Army of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), which was neutralized by the military units of Artsakh. The incident was the most serious violation of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan after the April war of 2016. Like in last April, it followed the systematic and deliberate steps by the Azerbaijani side on the gradual escalation of tensions, to which the mediators responded by untargeted appeals for restraint.

The incident of February 25, 2017 is another proof of total disregard for the commitments assumed by Azerbaijan in the frameworks of the agreements of 1994 and 1995, as well as the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg. It is obvious that by increasing the degree of tensions on the Line of Contact the Azerbaijani side tries to check not only the combat capability of the Defense Army of Artsakh, but also the reaction of the international community to the use of force.

It was the absence of international community’s strong and targeted assessment of actions of Azerbaijani authorities on disrupting the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict and preparing for war that to a certain extent, created a situation, taking an advantage of which, Baku considered it possible to unleash a military aggression against Artsakh in April 2016.

The escalation of tension on the Line of Contact, provoked by the Azerbaijani side, only deepens the distrust and postpones the prospects for a final resolution of the conflict. We believe that the response to the provocative policy of Azerbaijan must be refraining from making untargeted appeals to the parties of the conflict and increased efforts on the practical implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg on strengthening the ceasefire and creating conditions for the resumption of the negotiation process.

Photo: Reuters

 

US actor Harrison Ford has been involved in a near-miss while flying his plane in California, US media say, the BBC reports.

They say Ford, aged 74, was instructed to land on a runway at John Wayne airport in Orange Country on Monday.

But instead he mistakenly landed on a parallel taxiway, passing over a waiting American Airlines plane with 110 passengers and crew on board.

That plane safely departed minutes later. Ford has not commented on the reported incident.

Just before the landing, the Indiana Jones star is quoted as asking air traffic controllers: “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”

The Federal Aviation Authority confirmed that the pilot of the single-engine Aviat Husky plane had been cleared to land on the runway.

But it declined to confirm that the pilot was in fact Harrison Ford.

Armenia is ranked 82nd (up from 86th last month) in FIFA World Ranking released today.

Argentina is still on top of the world followed by Brazil and Germany.

Armenia and China are planning to expand business cooperation and expand the trade relations. For this purpose, the Armenian government has adopted a decision, under which Armenia will appoint a Trade Attaché to China.

The presence of Armenia’s Trade Attaché in China will allow to better present the Armenian economic interests in China, will facilitate the bilateral cooperation in the economic, commercial, scientific-technical fields and  contribute to the establishment of ties.

The decision also pursues the aim of contributing to the implementation of the provisions of the Trade and Economic Agreement signed between the governments of Armenia and China.

The team of Western Armenia will not participate in this year’s ConIFA World Football Cup because of lack of security guarantees, ConIFA Vice-President Dimitri Pagava told reporters after the Annual General Meeting in Geneva, reports.

The 2017 European Football Cup will be held from 4-11 June in Northern Cyprus, and the Turkish side has failed to provide security guarantees to the Armenian club.

This year the title will be contested by Northern Cyprus, Padania, Sapmi (Lapland), Abkhazia, County of Nice, Székely Land, Occitania and Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man).

ConIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, is the football federation for all associations outside FIFA. Western Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are members of the Confederation.

ConIFA is a global acting non-profit organization that supports representatives of international football teams from nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority peoples and sports isolated territories.

ConIFA was founded on the 7th of June 2013, and organized its first World Football Cup in June 2014 in Ostersund, Sweden.